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I n his marathon meeting with Chief Ministers, his fifth one to review the pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday sought suggestions on reviving the battered econ- omy and scaling up all efforts to bring more “red” zones with high Covid-19 case load into “orange” or “green” zones. While the Prime Minister maintained that country has “largely succeeded” in con- trolling the pandemic, most of the Chief Ministers insisted on graded opening of the lock- down with at least five of them — Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh — even opposing the resumption of train services from Tuesday and asked the Centre to push it back, cau- tioning that it would make it harder to identify, isolate and test suspected coronavirus cases and could lead to chaos. It was decided to “redraw and narrow down” of the con- tainment zones in different States. The States were asked by the Centre to submit their re-drawn maps of contain- ment units showing areas of maximum coronavirus cases and the lowest ones by May 15, two days ahead of the last date of the extended lockdown. While saying that people should stay wherever they are and be on “high alert”, Modi said situation was “largely” under control. “There is glob- al recognition for India’s suc- cess in handling the Covid-19 pandemic and the Government of India appreciates the efforts made by all State Governments in this regard. Let us stay the course as we move forward together,” he said in the begin- ning of the meet. All States have raised con- cerns about the crisis for thou- sands of migrants, stranded because of the lockdown since March-end. Economic mea- sures to help migrants, small and medium industries and to help revive consumption were discussed. The Union Home Minister in intervention spoke about running special trains for the migrants. Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa suggested dis- continuing district-wise demarcation to contain pan- demic. “We propose to do away with the district-wise demarcation into red, orange and green zones. Only con- tainment zones should be iden- tified and strictly cordoned. At least 50 to 100 meters around the known clusters may be declared as containment zones. Commercial activities includ- ing public transport should be allowed in non-containment zones,” he said. Continued on Page 2 S ingle-judge Bench of the Supreme Court would hear from May 13, appeals of bail and anticipatory bail matters in cases related to offences entail- ing jail term of up to seven years and application for trans- fer of cases. It is for the first time since its inception that the top court has provided for sitting of a sin- gle-judge Bench to hear mat- ters. The apex court till now normally used to sit in the combination of two or three judges, besides constitution benches. To reduce huge pendency of the cases, the apex court had Continued on Page 2 T he death of a patient in hos- pital due to Covid-19 will be considered as non-medico legal case and will not require post-mortem as it might leave the doctors and mortuary staff exposed to the virus in the body. At the same time, deaths of those with negative or incon- clusive test results but with symptoms of the coronavirus disease will be recorded as probable Covid-19 deaths, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has said in its recently released fresh guide- lines on recording Covid-19 deaths. The guidelines come in the wake of various queries from the doctors and hospitals treating the Covid-19 as well as symptomatic patients. So far over 2,000 people have suc- cumbed to the deadly viral infection in the country. In its guidance for appro- priate recording of Covid-10 deaths in the country, the ICMR said deaths with incon- clusive test results, but in which coronavirus symptoms are pre- sent will be recorded as “prob- able Covid-19” fatalities. Covid-19 would be record- ed as an “underlying cause of death” when leading to pneu- monia, cardiac injury and clot- ting in the bloodstream, among others, said the document. Explaining the public health significance of recording the cause of death in the Covid- 19 pandemic, ICMR said that Covid-19 is a new disease and is a pandemic affecting all communities and countries and a robust data is needed in India to measure the public health impact of the ailment and to plan for timely health interventions. Deaths in which tests are awaited with the presence of symptoms will be recorded as suspected deaths, while those testing negative but have symp- toms will be mentioned as clinically-epidemiologically diagnosed Covid-19, the guid- ance stated. It is likely that Covid-19 is the underlying cause of death (UCOD) that leads to pneumonia in most of the deaths due to Covid-19. Patients may present with other pre-existing co-morbid conditions such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, ischemic heart disease, cancer and dia- betes mellitus. These condi- tions increase the risk of devel- oping respiratory infections, and may lead to complica- tions and severe disease in a Covid-19 positive patient. “These conditions are not considered as underlying cause of death as they have not directly caused death due to Covid-19. Continued on Page 2 T he Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) website crashed after booking for tickets reopened for as many as 15 pairs of spe- cial trains on Monday. The website crashed after a surge in user traffic at 4 pm and after a delay of over two hours, it was back up again to take bookings for passenger trains which will run from Tuesday. The Ministry of Railways had announced to start oper- ations of 15 special trains (30 return journeys) from May 12 in a graded manner. Other reg- ular passenger services includ- ing all express, passenger and suburban services will remain cancelled until further order. The decision to restart train services was taken in consultation with Ministry of Health and Family welfare (MoHFW) and Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the Ministry said in a statement. “These special trains which have been started presently will have only air conditioned classes i.e. first, second and third AC. The fare structure for the “special trains” shall be as applicable for the regular time tabled Rajdhani trains (exclud- ing catering charges),” it said. Only online e-ticketing will be done through IRCTC web- site or through Mobile App and “Maximum Advance Reservation Period” (ARP) will be of maximum seven days, it added. Only confirmed e-tickets shall be booked. Booking of RAC or waiting list ticket and on board booking by ticket checking staff shall not be per- mitted. Current booking, tatkal and premium tatkal booking shall not be permitted. “No catering charges shall be included in the fare. Besides, provision for prepaid meal booking, e-catering shall be disabled. Continued on Page 2 A s India’s confirmed cases of Covid-19 crossed 70,000 mark on Monday while the death toll topped the 2,220 mark, the Government said some relatively large outbreaks have been noticed in particu- lar locations and it is important to focus on containment efforts to ensure that the country did not reach the community transmission stage. With Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh high num- bers, the total count reached 70,717 by 10.30 pm, a jump of 3,540 new cases during the day. This is the fifth day in a row when the country has seen new cases topping 30,000 mark. Maharashtra continues to be the epicentre of the coron- avirus spread with the State wit- nessing massive spike on daily basis. On Monday, the State added 1,230 cases and as many as 78 deaths. Maharashtra has now 23,409 cases and 869 deaths. Mumbai, the financial Capital of the country, has become the hotbed of the coro- navirus spread in the State where the number of cases has reached 14,521 and the death toll is over 500. After reporting 669 new cases on Sunday, Tamil Nadu’s march towards south continue on Monday also as it registered record 798 new cases to touch 8,002 confirmed cases. Rajasthan reported 174 new cases of coronavirus and five deaths, taking the total number of cases and deaths to 3,988 and 113, respectively. Uttar Pradesh too reported 109 new infections, taking the tally to 3,573. Gujarat reported 347 fresh cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours, following which its total count reached 8,542. The State also reported 20 deaths in the last 24 hours, after which its death toll mounted to 513. Madhya Pradesh, which has seen exceptionally high death ratio, reported 171 new cases for a total of 3,785 and 228 deaths. Kerala on Monday report- ed seven fresh cases of coron- avirus which took its infection count to 519. Out of the total tally, 27 cases are currently active in the State. Of the new cases, four are from Kasargod and the patients had recently returned from Maharashtra. Palakkad, Malappuram, and Wayanad reported one case each on Monday. Eighteen more tested pos- itive in J&K on Monday to take the Union Territory’s coron- avirus tally to 879 while after 14 fresh cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours, Karnataka’s total count has reached 862. This includes 31 deaths 426 recoveries. Five deaths and 124 new Covid-19 cases were reported in West Bengal, taking the total number of positive cases in the State to 2,063. Bihar reported 39 new cases to reach a total of 749 while Jharkhand continued to keep the disease under control by reporting just 4 new cases for a tally of 164. Continued on Page 2 M igrants are turning out to be nightmare for certain States which have somehow managed to contain the spread of coronavirus so far. These States are now haunted by the homecoming of tens of thousands of workers who are potential carrier of the deadly virus. Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal have begun to wit- ness significant spike in Covid- 19 cases after return of the migrants. Majority of these migrants were not tested for coronavirus before they set out for their native places. On return, they are sent to quarantine after mere thermal screening. The scope of them acting as corona spreaders remains a high probability. The Centre in an affidavit in the Supreme Court had stated that almost a third of the migrants returning to their hometowns and villages could be infected with the novel coronavirus. But no efforts ever have been made to carry out bulk testing in case of migrants. As per the data of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Odisha reported 154 cases till May 1 which has become more than double to 377 after the migrant workers from Gujarat and other States returned in a big number. Among the 377 who tested positive, 290 had come from Gujarat and West Bengal. So far infections have been reported in 21 of the 30 districts of the State. Continued on Page 2 I n a bid to ferry migrants stranded in various parts of the country amid the nationwide lockdown due to coronavirus, 100 Shramik trains to run daily. Also, the Centre has asked States to assist migrants trudging back to their native places. The Maharashtra Government too announced launch of free bus services up to the borders of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat for migrant labour- ers, days after 16 workers, who were walking back home to MP were mowed down by a goods train in Aurangabad after they fell asleep on railway tracks. Continued on Page 2 I n the Chief Ministers’ meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee raised the issue of the Centre targeting her State, sources in the State Government said. The Bengal Chief Minister reportedly told the Prime Minister how her State administration was being singled out by the Centre at a time when all the sides should work in cohesion to fight corona pandemic. Raising the issue of the Centre repeatedly pulling up Bengal for alleged dilution of lockdown protocols, the CM reportedly told the PM that her State had worked accord- ing to the central guidelines and hence it should not have been targeted the way it had been for the past several weeks. Continued on Page 2 Indore: The National Highway Number 3, also called Mumbai- Agra Road that touches Indore in Madhya Pradesh through a bypass road, is seeing a steady stream of autorickshaws from the country’s commercial cap- ital as people move back to their native towns and villages amid the coronavirus-enforced lockdown that has rendered them jobless. Officials and eye- witnesses put the number of these three-wheelers from Mumbai crossing the Indore Bypass Road at 50 every hour. New Delhi: WHO’s Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan on Monday commended India for keeping the coronavirus cases and deaths very low com- pared to other countries and said it will play an important role in the development of a vaccine for Covid-19. She said the whole world has to be prepared for the ongoing transmission of infec- tion for “many many months and for perhaps years to come”. New Delhi: Three inmates of Tihar Jail have been put under quarantine after one of them, a rape accused, is suspected to have come in contact with a coronavirus-infected person, jail officials said on Monday. They said the man was lodged in a separate cell in cen- tral jail number 2 of Tihar along with two other inmates in a rape case and did not show any symptoms for Covid-19.

English News Paper | Breaking News | Latest Today News in ......Minister Narendra Modi on ... Chhattisgarh — even opposing the resumption of train services from Tuesday and asked

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������������� �34�!356�

In his marathon meeting withChief Ministers, his fifth one

to review the pandemic, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi onMonday sought suggestionson reviving the battered econ-omy and scaling up all effortsto bring more “red” zones withhigh Covid-19 case load into“orange” or “green” zones.

While the Prime Ministermaintained that country has“largely succeeded” in con-trolling the pandemic, most ofthe Chief Ministers insisted ongraded opening of the lock-down with at least five of them— Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,Telangana, Tamil Nadu andChhattisgarh — even opposingthe resumption of train servicesfrom Tuesday and asked theCentre to push it back, cau-tioning that it would make itharder to identify, isolate andtest suspected coronaviruscases and could lead to chaos.

It was decided to “redraw

and narrow down” of the con-tainment zones in differentStates. The States were askedby the Centre to submit theirre-drawn maps of contain-

ment units showing areas ofmaximum coronavirus casesand the lowest ones by May 15,two days ahead of the last dateof the extended lockdown.

While saying that peopleshould stay wherever they areand be on “high alert”, Modisaid situation was “largely”under control. “There is glob-

al recognition for India’s suc-cess in handling the Covid-19pandemic and the Governmentof India appreciates the effortsmade by all State Governmentsin this regard. Let us stay thecourse as we move forwardtogether,” he said in the begin-ning of the meet.

All States have raised con-cerns about the crisis for thou-sands of migrants, strandedbecause of the lockdown sinceMarch-end. Economic mea-sures to help migrants, smalland medium industries and tohelp revive consumption were

discussed. The Union HomeMinister in intervention spokeabout running special trains forthe migrants.

Karnataka Chief MinisterBS Yeddyurappa suggested dis-continuing district-wisedemarcation to contain pan-demic. “We propose to doaway with the district-wisedemarcation into red, orangeand green zones. Only con-tainment zones should be iden-tified and strictly cordoned. Atleast 50 to 100 meters aroundthe known clusters may bedeclared as containment zones.Commercial activities includ-ing public transport should beallowed in non-containmentzones,” he said.

Continued on Page 2

���� �34�!356�

Single-judge Bench of theSupreme Court would hear

from May 13, appeals of bailand anticipatory bail matters incases related to offences entail-ing jail term of up to sevenyears and application for trans-fer of cases.

It is for the first time sinceits inception that the top courthas provided for sitting of a sin-gle-judge Bench to hear mat-ters. The apex court till nownormally used to sit in thecombination of two or threejudges, besides constitutionbenches.

To reduce huge pendencyof the cases, the apex court had

Continued on Page 2

� �� �34�!356�

The death of a patient in hos-pital due to Covid-19 will

be considered as non-medicolegal case and will not requirepost-mortem as it might leavethe doctors and mortuary staffexposed to the virus in thebody. At the same time, deathsof those with negative or incon-clusive test results but withsymptoms of the coronavirusdisease will be recorded asprobable Covid-19 deaths, theIndian Council of MedicalResearch (ICMR) has said in itsrecently released fresh guide-lines on recording Covid-19deaths.

The guidelines come inthe wake of various queriesfrom the doctors and hospitalstreating the Covid-19 as well assymptomatic patients. So farover 2,000 people have suc-cumbed to the deadly viralinfection in the country.

In its guidance for appro-priate recording of Covid-10deaths in the country, theICMR said deaths with incon-clusive test results, but in whichcoronavirus symptoms are pre-sent will be recorded as “prob-able Covid-19” fatalities.

Covid-19 would be record-ed as an “underlying cause ofdeath” when leading to pneu-monia, cardiac injury and clot-ting in the bloodstream, amongothers, said the document.

Explaining the publichealth significance of recordingthe cause of death in the Covid-19 pandemic, ICMR said that

Covid-19 is a new disease andis a pandemic affecting allcommunities and countriesand a robust data is needed inIndia to measure the publichealth impact of the ailmentand to plan for timely healthinterventions.

Deaths in which tests areawaited with the presence ofsymptoms will be recorded assuspected deaths, while thosetesting negative but have symp-toms will be mentioned asclinically-epidemiologicallydiagnosed Covid-19, the guid-ance stated. It is likely thatCovid-19 is the underlyingcause of death (UCOD) thatleads to pneumonia in most ofthe deaths due to Covid-19.

Patients may present withother pre-existing co-morbidconditions such as asthma,chronic bronchitis, ischemicheart disease, cancer and dia-

betes mellitus. These condi-tions increase the risk of devel-oping respiratory infections,and may lead to complica-tions and severe disease in aCovid-19 positive patient.

“These conditions are notconsidered as underlying causeof death as they have notdirectly caused death due toCovid-19.

Continued on Page 2

����������� �34�!356�

The Indian Railway Cateringand Tourism Corporation

(IRCTC) website crashed afterbooking for tickets reopenedfor as many as 15 pairs of spe-cial trains on Monday. Thewebsite crashed after a surge inuser traffic at 4 pm and after adelay of over two hours, it wasback up again to take bookingsfor passenger trains which willrun from Tuesday.

The Ministry of Railwayshad announced to start oper-ations of 15 special trains (30return journeys) from May 12in a graded manner. Other reg-ular passenger services includ-ing all express, passenger andsuburban services will remaincancelled until further order.

The decision to restarttrain services was taken inconsultation with Ministry of

Health and Family welfare(MoHFW) and Ministry ofHome Affairs (MHA), theMinistry said in a statement.

“These special trains whichhave been started presentlywill have only air conditionedclasses i.e. first, second and

third AC. The fare structure forthe “special trains” shall be asapplicable for the regular timetabled Rajdhani trains (exclud-ing catering charges),” it said.

Only online e-ticketing willbe done through IRCTC web-site or through Mobile App and“Maximum AdvanceReservation Period” (ARP) willbe of maximum seven days, itadded.

Only confirmed e-ticketsshall be booked. Booking ofRAC or waiting list ticket andon board booking by ticketchecking staff shall not be per-mitted. Current booking, tatkaland premium tatkal bookingshall not be permitted.

“No catering charges shallbe included in the fare. Besides,provision for prepaid mealbooking, e-catering shall bedisabled.

Continued on Page 2

� �� �34�!356�

As India’s confirmed cases ofCovid-19 crossed 70,000

mark on Monday while thedeath toll topped the 2,220mark, the Government saidsome relatively large outbreakshave been noticed in particu-lar locations and it is importantto focus on containment effortsto ensure that the country didnot reach the communitytransmission stage.

With Maharashtra, Delhi,Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, TamilNadu, West Bengal andMadhya Pradesh high num-

bers, the total count reached70,717 by 10.30 pm, a jump of3,540 new cases during the day.This is the fifth day in a rowwhen the country has seen new cases topping 30,000mark.

Maharashtra continues tobe the epicentre of the coron-avirus spread with the State wit-nessing massive spike on dailybasis. On Monday, the Stateadded 1,230 cases and as manyas 78 deaths. Maharashtra has

now 23,409 cases and 869deaths. Mumbai, the financialCapital of the country, hasbecome the hotbed of the coro-navirus spread in the Statewhere the number of cases hasreached 14,521 and the deathtoll is over 500.

After reporting 669 newcases on Sunday, Tamil Nadu’smarch towards south continueon Monday also as it registeredrecord 798 new cases to touch8,002 confirmed cases.

Rajasthan reported 174new cases of coronavirus andfive deaths, taking the totalnumber of cases and deaths to3,988 and 113, respectively.Uttar Pradesh too reported109 new infections, taking thetally to 3,573.

Gujarat reported 347 freshcases of coronavirus in the last24 hours, following which itstotal count reached 8,542. The

State also reported 20 deaths inthe last 24 hours, after which itsdeath toll mounted to 513.

Madhya Pradesh, whichhas seen exceptionally highdeath ratio, reported 171 newcases for a total of 3,785 and228 deaths.

Kerala on Monday report-ed seven fresh cases of coron-avirus which took its infectioncount to 519. Out of the totaltally, 27 cases are currentlyactive in the State. Of the new

cases, four are from Kasargodand the patients had recentlyreturned from Maharashtra.Palakkad, Malappuram, andWayanad reported one caseeach on Monday.

Eighteen more tested pos-itive in J&K on Monday to takethe Union Territory’s coron-avirus tally to 879 while after 14fresh cases of coronavirus inthe last 24 hours, Karnataka’stotal count has reached 862.This includes 31 deaths 426recoveries.

Five deaths and 124 newCovid-19 cases were reportedin West Bengal, taking thetotal number of positive casesin the State to 2,063. Biharreported 39 new cases to reacha total of 749 while Jharkhandcontinued to keep the diseaseunder control by reporting just4 new cases for a tally of 164.

Continued on Page 2

���������� �34�!356�

Migrants are turning out tobe nightmare for certain

States which have somehowmanaged to contain the spreadof coronavirus so far.

These States are nowhaunted by the homecoming oftens of thousands of workerswho are potential carrier of thedeadly virus. Bihar, Odisha,Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh andWest Bengal have begun to wit-ness significant spike in Covid-19 cases after return of themigrants.

Majority of these migrantswere not tested for coronavirusbefore they set out for theirnative places. On return, they aresent to quarantine after merethermal screening. The scope ofthem acting as corona spreadersremains a high probability.

The Centre in an affidavitin the Supreme Court hadstated that almost a third of themigrants returning to theirhometowns and villages couldbe infected with the novelcoronavirus. But no effortsever have been made to carryout bulk testing in case ofmigrants.

As per the data of theMinistry of Health and FamilyWelfare, Odisha reported 154cases till May 1 which hasbecome more than double to377 after the migrant workersfrom Gujarat and other Statesreturned in a big number.Among the 377 who testedpositive, 290 had come fromGujarat and West Bengal. So farinfections have been reported in21 of the 30 districts of the State.

Continued on Page 2

����������� �34�!356�

In a bid to ferry migrantsstranded in various parts of

the country amid the nationwidelockdown due to coronavirus,100 Shramik trains to run daily.Also, the Centre has asked Statesto assist migrants trudging backto their native places.

The MaharashtraGovernment too announcedlaunch of free bus services up tothe borders of Madhya Pradeshand Gujarat for migrant labour-ers, days after 16 workers, whowere walking back home to MPwere mowed down by a goodstrain in Aurangabad after theyfell asleep on railway tracks.

Continued on Page 2

��������������� ����� ������

������� ������ #75# �

In the Chief Ministers’meeting with Prime

Minister Narendra Modi onMonday, West Bengal CMMamata Banerjee raised theissue of the Centre targetingher State, sources in the StateGovernment said.

The Bengal ChiefMinister reportedly told thePrime Minister how her Stateadministration was beingsingled out by the Centre ata time when all the sidesshould work in cohesion tofight corona pandemic.

Raising the issue of theCentre repeatedly pulling upBengal for alleged dilution oflockdown protocols, the CMreportedly told the PM thather State had worked accord-ing to the central guidelinesand hence it should not havebeen targeted the way it hadbeen for the past severalweeks.

Continued on Page 2

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Indore: The National HighwayNumber 3, also called Mumbai-Agra Road that touches Indorein Madhya Pradesh through abypass road, is seeing a steadystream of autorickshaws fromthe country’s commercial cap-ital as people move back totheir native towns and villagesamid the coronavirus-enforcedlockdown that has renderedthem jobless. Officials and eye-witnesses put the number ofthese three-wheelers fromMumbai crossing the IndoreBypass Road at 50 every hour.

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New Delhi: WHO’s ChiefScientist Soumya Swaminathanon Monday commended Indiafor keeping the coronaviruscases and deaths very low com-pared to other countries andsaid it will play an importantrole in the development of avaccine for Covid-19.

She said the whole worldhas to be prepared for theongoing transmission of infec-tion for “many many monthsand for perhaps years to come”.

New Delhi: Three inmates ofTihar Jail have been put underquarantine after one of them,a rape accused, is suspected tohave come in contact with acoronavirus-infected person,jail officials said on Monday.

They said the man waslodged in a separate cell in cen-tral jail number 2 of Tiharalong with two other inmatesin a rape case and did not showany symptoms for Covid-19.

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New Delhi: The DelhiCommission for Women(DCW) on Monday issued anotice to the Registrar of DelhiUniversity after female studentsfrom northeast India allegedthat they were forced to vacatehostels and were facing racialdiscrimination.

The students complained tothe DCW alleging that the uni-versity administration wasputting pressure on them tovacate the hostel, the DCW saidin a statement.

“It is learnt that taking cog-nizance of the matter a UnionMinister had assured assistance,but on Monday a fresh com-plaint has been registered by thegirl students to the Commissionseeking intervention in the mat-ter,” the DCW said.

In the complaint, the stu-dents alleged that they were toldto vacate the hostel.

“They also complainedabout the food being served tothem in the mess,” the DCWsaid. The DCW said the stu-dents have also complainedabout racist remarks beingmade against them.

“In view of the seriousnessof the matter, the DelhiCommission for Women hasissued a notice to the Registrarof Delhi University. The com-mission has also asked theUniversity to provide an actiontaken report and has also askedit to provide all facilities to thestudents,” the commission said.

“Due to the lockdown, theyhave no choice but to stay in thehostel. The students have alsocomplained to the Commissionabout racist comments beingmade against them,” DCW chiefSwati Maliwal said.

Maliwal said that this was avery serious matter and in view

of this, the commission hasissued a notice to the universi-ty, asking it to immediatelytake action in the matter.

“Any such discriminationwon’t be tolerated at all,” shesaid.

The notice to the universi-ty said that there are 13 girlsstaying in the North-EasternStudents House for Women inDelhi University.

“It is alleged that the com-mon facilities of the hostel,including the essential internetroom, have been kept underlock and key by the Provost andshe has threatened to closedown the mess as well,” Maliwalsaid in the notice.

She demanded a report byMay 15 on the action taken onthe complaint as well as themeasures being taken to ensuresafe and comfortable stay of thestudents in the hostel. IANS

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New Delhi: Barring contain-ment zones, economic activitiesshould be allowed to resume inthe national capital, Delhi ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwal saidduring a video conferencechaired by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi with CMs ofdifferent states on Monday.

The fresh round of con-sultation was held on ways tostrengthen the Covid-19 con-tainment strategy and step-ping up of economic activitiesin a calibrated manner as the54-day nationwide lockdownnears an end.

“During the interaction,the Chief Minister said eco-nomic activities should beallowed to resume in Delhi,except in COVID-19 contain-ment zones,” a source told PTI.

The Government hasalready demanded from theCentre that all 11 districts ofDelhi be not treated as ‘redzones’ so that more economicactivities are allowed in thenational Capital, sources said.

They said that theGovernment wants that inDelhi ‘red zones’ be identifiedas per municipal wards insteadof districts.

Recently, the Union HealthMinistry classified the entirenational capital, which has 11districts, as red zone. The cityhas 272 wards.

During the video confer-ence PM Modi told chief min-isters that India will have todevise and implement a “bal-

anced strategy” to deal with thecoronavirus pandemic, and thebiggest challenge for the coun-try will be to ensure that theinfection does not spread to vil-lages.

Appreciating the roleplayed by the states in the fightagainst the pandemic, Modisaid the entire world is of theview that India has been able tosuccessfully protect itself fromthe pandemic, according toofficial sources. PTI

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Lahaul-Spiti (HP): The bodyof a farmer, who was buriedunder an avalanche inHimachal Pradesh’s tribal dis-trict Lahaul-Spiti, was recov-ered after about a month, a dis-trict official said on Monday.

The 42-year-old farmerRajendra’s body was recoveredat 4 pm on Monday by a searchand rescue team comprisingthe police, Indo-TibetanBorder Police and local people,he added.

He had been buried undersnow when the avalanche hitBargul village in Lahaul’sMooling gram panchayat onApril 13. He was removingfountain pipes in his field whenthe incident happened.Meanwhile, the body was takento Keylong regional hospital forpostmortem, he added. PTI

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From Page 1He further added, “All

domestic and internationaltravel should not be permittedat least till the end of May.”

Maharashtra ChiefMinister Uddhav Thackeraywas of opinion that any orderon lockdown should be takencautiously as the threat of peakin coronavirus cases loomslarge.

“Cases are expected to peakin May, it may peak in June orJuly also. I’ve read Wuhan iswitnessing a second wave ofcases, even the WHO haswarned about this. So, I suggestthat any action on lockdownmust be taken cautiously,” hesaid.

Delhi Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal asked foropening up of economic activ-ities in Delhi except in the con-tainment zones.

Most of the States, includ-ing Bihar, Andhra Pradesh,Telangana, Tamil Nadu, andPunjab, wanted extension ofthe lockdown with a carefully-crafted strategy to revive eco-nomic activities across thecountry. States requested theCentre to re-schedule the debtsaying they were in “massivedebt”.

Punjab Chief MinisterAmarinder Singh pitched forcontinuing the lockdown butbacked by fiscal and econom-ic empowerment of the States,

to save lives and secure liveli-hood.

Tamil Nadu Chief MinisterEdappadi K Palaniswami want-ed refinancing support of Rs2,500 crore to the StateIndustrial InvestmentCorporation through IDBI andcommercial banks.

Opposition-ruled Stateslike Punjab, Chhattisgarh andWest Bengal said that Statesneeded to be given greaterflexibility in micro-planning aspart of a carefully planned exitstrategy, encompassing bothCovid-19 containment and adefined path of economicrevival.

At least five CMs opposedrunning of passenger trains andresumption of flights. Raisingobjection to the operation ofpassenger trains from Tuesday,Telangana Chief Minister KCRao backed Palaniswami’sstance of not running trainsuntil next month. The twoChief Ministers were furtherjoined by Andhra CM JaganMohan Reddy andChhattisgarh CM BhupeshBaghel in opposing the move.

Rao was of view thatresuming train services wouldlead to a lot more chaos interms of identifying peoplewho’ve been infected, testingand quarantining. Tamil NaduCM said trains should not berun to Chennai which hasrecently seen spurt in coron-avirus cases.

Rao , along with others,urged Modi to reschedule theCentre’s debt on the States andasked for more Special

Protection Equipment andother health kits.

“All the States are undermassive financial burden andno State is in a stage to clear thedebt to the Centre.” Raorequests the PM to ‘reschedule’debts that States need to pay tothe Centre, like the way farmerloans have been deferred”, saidthe Telangana CM.

Andhra Pradesh ChiefMinister Jagan Mohan Reddysaid it was important to reopenagricultural markets, publictransport, markets and shop-ping malls with some SOPs toprevent infections. “Normalcywill revive the economy,”Reddy reportedly said.

Chhattisgarh CM BhupeshBaghel sought independencein decision making saying“State Governments shouldget the right to take decisionson handling of economicactivities within their States.They should also get theresponsibility to declare red,green and orange zones.”

The BJP-ruled TripuraCM Biplab Deb said, “TheNorth-East will work togeth-er and will fast track its eco-nomic activities.” He urged thePM that the NE corridorshould be connected by roadfrom Bangladesh, so that tradeand business activity can beaccelerated. He also sought forGST collection from theCentre.

Manipur CM N BirenSingh said, “Stranded peopleare coming back and we willnow face the challenge. We willscreen them at railway station

and will send them to respec-tive homes and ask them tohome quarantine. The lock-down should be graduallyopened and only economicactivities should be allowedwith strict protocol.”

Though the number of

cases showed the biggest jumpon Monday, India also has asignificantly improved recov-ery rate of 31 per cent. OnMonday the number of coro-navirus patients is 67,152 with4,213 new cases in the last 24hours.

From Page 1In the Ganjam district, the

epicentre of Covid-19, casesare spiralling with 125migrants testing positive onreturning from Surat. OnSunday, 83 tested positive inthe State, all of whom weremigrant workers barring one.The State Government is wor-ried by the prospect of casesballooning in the next coupleof weeks as 4-5 lakh moremigrants are likely to return toOdisha.

Bihar reported 466 casestill May 1 which has gone upto 707 till May 10, thanks tothe homecoming of a largenumber of migrants. In Bihar,nearly 70 per cent of the newcases since May 1 have beendetected in migrant workers.As many as 100 migrants test-ed positive on Saturday and 44on Sunday taking the tally to707. According to PrincipalSecretary (Health) SanjayKumar, going by the experi-ence over the past 10 days,almost 60 per cent to 70 percent of the tested sampleswhich came positive were ofpeople who came from outsidethe State.

In Jharkhand, one-thirdof the 160 positive cases spreadover 13 districts have been

reported in the past one week,around the time that migrantworkers began to reach theirhome States. There is a spike of50 per cent when compared to113 cases the State reported tillMay 1. On Saturday, 22migrants who returned fromSurat tested positive for thecoronavirus disease in the high-est single-day tally in the State.

Rajasthan coronavirustally has reached 3,898 ascompared to 2,666 cases tillMay 1. Majority of new caseswere reported from the borderdistricts of Gujarat, fromwhere the migrant workershave returned.

West Bengal reported 795cases till May 1, which increasedto 1,939 by May 11, more thandoubling in just 10 days.

UP has reported 3,467cases so far as compared to2,328 cases till May 1. Officialssaid that cases have increasedafter arrival of migrants fromother States.

The Covid-19 cases in theState of Andhra Pradesh havereached 2,018. As many as 38cases tested positive during thelast 24 hours. Twenty-six ofthem have returned fromGujarat, one from Karnatakaand eight from the Chittoordistrict.

From Page 1Asserting that this was not

the time to play politicsBanerjee told the PrimeMinister that the CentralGovernment was workingaccording to a “script.”

She raised the issue of theInter-Ministerial CentralTeams being sent to Bengal fora “hostile review” of the situa-tions whereas the StateGovernment was only follow-ing the rules made by theCentre.

She said that Bengal was a

border State with a high den-sity of population and hencethe policies on the State shouldbe made with care and caution,sources said.

Wondering why the Centrewas not clearing the State’sdues she reportedly said thather Government had to bearhuge burden of providing freeration to the entire populationbesides bearing the cost oftreatment of the people.

She also said that no trainfare should be extracted fromthe migrant workers who werereturning from other States,sources said.

Earlier her nephew andTMC MP Abhishek Banerjeeslammed the Centre for notconsulting the Chief Ministersbefore the ‘lockdown one’.

From Page 1Also, a patient may have

many co-morbid conditionsbut only those that have con-tributed to death should berecorded,” the guidance docu-ment stated.

The health research bodyhas set up ICMR-NCDIR e-Mortality (e-Mor) softwarefor recording the cause ofdeath.

In its final draft ‘StandardGuidelines for Medico-legalautopsy in Covid-19 deaths inIndia,’ the ICMR said that theinvasive techniques should notbe adopted for forensic autop-sy in Covid-19 death cases asdoctors and other mortuarystaff are exposed to potential-ly dangerous health risks dueto organ fluids and secretions.

Some of the cases of sus-pected Covid-19 death whichare brought dead to hospitalsare labelled by emergencydoctors as MLC and the body

is sent to the mortuary andpolice are informed whichmay need post-mortem exam-ination for clarity in the causeof death.

“The forensic autopsy ofthese cases may be waived off,”the draft guidelines said.

Some of the cases are sui-cide, homicide or accidentand may be positive or sus-pected case of the novel coro-navirus infection. After theinquest procedure, if any crimeis not suspected, police havethe authority to waive off con-duction of medico-legal autop-sy, even though labelled asmedico-legal case.

“The investigating policeofficer must proactively takesteps to waive off unnecessaryautopsies during such pan-demic situation,” the draftdocument said.

“The body must be takento the burial/cremationground in presence of lawenforcing agencies, where notmore than five relatives of thedeceased should be allowed,”it said.

From Page 1However, the IRCTC shall

make provision for limited eat-ables and packaged drinkingwater on payment basis.Information to this effect shallbe made available to passengersduring time of booking ticket,”it said.

Passengers are encouragedto carry their own food anddrinking water. Dry, ready-to-eat food and bottled watershall be provided on demand,inside the trains on paymentbasis, it said. “All passengersshall be compulsorily screenedand only asymptomatic pas-sengers are allowed to boardthe train,” it added.

From Page 1Official said on Monday

that the Railways will now run100 ‘Shramik Special’ trainsdaily, adding that 468 suchtrains have been operatedsince May 1 ferrying homeover five lakh migrants strand-ed in various parts of thecountry.

The Railways also decidedto carry around 1,700 passen-gers on board these trainsinstead of the current 1,200and the railway zones havealso been asked to providethree stops in the destinationstate other than the terminat-ing station, at the request ofthe state governments.

The central government

has noted with great concernthat migrant workers contin-ue to walk on roads and rail-way tracks, Union HomeSecretary Ajay Bhalla said in aletter to chief secretaries of allstates and union territoriesand asked them to ensure thatsuch people are provided shel-ter and food till such time theyare facilitated to board the spe-cial trains or buses to theirnative places.

The opposition has beencritical of the Centre’s handlingof the situation, accusing it ofnot doing enough to ease thehard ships of the migrant work-ers, many of whom have losttheir jobs during the lockdownwhich started on March 25.

From Page 1While Punjab reported 54

new cases to reach a total of1,877 cases and 31 deaths,Haryana reported 27 cases toreach a total of 730 cases and 11deaths.

However, on the positiveside, recovery rate surged to31.15 per cent with 20,917Covid-19 patients cured tillnow. “The recovery rate standsat 31.14 per cent, which is a sig-nificant development over lastSunday’s 26.59 per cent,” saidLav Agarwal, Joint Secretarywith the Union Health Ministryat the press conference here.

The Health Ministry avoid-ed mentioning the number offatalities and remained in thedenial mode whether it con-stitutes a community trans-mission or not, during thepress conference. Asked by themedia whether or not thecountry has entered the com-munity transmission stage,Agarwal said: “We have founda few clusters and have noticedrelatively large outbreak in afew places. Even the Director,AIIMS said that if we do notcontain the zones properly, therate of transmission willbecome higher. Therefore it isimportant for us to maintain atthis stage only and scale upcontainment efforts and ensurethat we don’t go at the com-munity transmission stage.”

From Page 1made certain amendments

to the Supreme Court Rules,2013, in September last yearwhich stated that single-judgebench would hear appeals inbail and anticipatory bail mat-ters in offences entailing jailterm of up to seven years.

As per a notice issued bythe top court on its website onMonday, besides other amend-ments the competent authori-ty has provided that certain cat-egories of matters may be“heard and disposed of finallyby a judge sitting singly nomi-nated by the Chief Justice”.

“Special Leave Petitionsarising out of grant, dismissal orrejection of bail application oranticipatory bail application inthe matters filed against theorder passed under section437, section 438 or section 439of the Code of CriminalProcedure, 1973 (2 of 1974)involving the offences punish-

able with sentence up to sevenyears imprisonment,” the noticesaid. It further said that singlejudge would also hear applica-tion for transfer of cases undersection 406 of the Code ofCriminal Procedure (CrPC)and also application of urgentnature for transfer of casesunder section 25 of the Code ofCivil Procedure (CPC).

“Take further notice thatthe matters referred to abovewill be listed before judge sit-ting singly w.E.F May 13, 2020,”the notice said. A gazette noti-fication was issued onSeptember 17 last year, throughwhich the apex court hadamended the Supreme CourtRules, 2013.

Earlier, as per SupremeCourt Rules, 2013 and olderrules, the Chief Justice of India(CJI) had the power to appointone or

more judges to hear allmatters of an urgent nature dur-

ing summer vacation or winterholidays.

The Supreme Court web-site said, “The originalConstitution of 1950 envisageda Supreme Court with a ChiefJustice and 7 puisne Judges -leaving it to Parliament toincrease this number”.

It said, “In the early years,all the Judges of the SupremeCourt sat together to hear thecases presented before them. Asthe work of the Court increasedand arrears of cases began tocumulate, Parliament increasedthe number of Judges from 8 in1950 to 11 in 1956, 14 in 1960,18 in 1978 and 26 in 1986.”

“As the number of theJudges has increased, they sit insmaller Benches of two andthree - coming together inlarger Benches of 5 and moreonly when required to do so orto settle a difference of opinionor controversy,” the apex courtwebsite said.

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New Delhi: An association ofmedics of civic hospitals inDelhi has written to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, alleg-ing that doctors of the northcorporation have not been paidsalaries for the last threemonths.

The MunicipalCorporation Doctor’sAssociation (MCDA), set upduring the time of the erstwhileunified municipal corporationof Delhi, sent the letter in an e-mail last week, officials said.

The association, in the let-ter has said that doctors areworking in “highly stressful”condition due to the coron-avirus pandemic.

“We have not been givensalaries for the last threemonths (February-April), and

we know our duty as a doctorto serve the patients. We are notasking for anything more, butjust our salaries,” MCDA pres-ident Dr RR Gautam said.

There was no immediatereaction from the North DelhiMunicipal Corporationauthorities.

“We have been compelledto write to the PM, seeking his interference, as this issueneeds to be resolved,” Dr RRGautam said.

Otherwise, only option leftfor the doctors would be to“resign en masse”, the lettersaid.

Ten medical staff, includ-ing seven doctors of NDMC-run Hindu Rao Hospital havetested positive for Covid-19 inthe past few weeks. PTI

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The Delhi Police on Mondaylaunched special police

vehicles to cater to the needs oftransportation of infected orsuspected personnel withCovid-19. The police onMonday also earmarked 25beds in ‘Army Base’ in Delhi'sNaraina area for its personnel.

According to a seniorpolice official, to deal withCovid-19 while maintaininglaw and order, the Delhi Policehas been proactive in takingmeasures to protect field func-tionaries from being infected byCovid-19.

"With coordination ofMinistry of Ayush, specialmedical kits have been dis-

tributed to all staff to improveimmune system. Governmentand private hospitals have beenroped in to augment medicalfacilities for Police personnel.In continuation, selected policevehicles have also been mod-ified to cater to need of trans-portation of infected/suspect-ed personnel," said the seniorpolice official.

"Special Commissioner ofPolice, Vigilance, S SundariNanda and Special CP NuzhatHassan are supervising thesewelfare measures. As a result, 35Corona Warriors from DelhiPolice have recovered from thisdeadly disease and haveresumed duties," he said.

During a meeting with itsofficials, SN Shrivastva, the

Delhi Commissioner of Police,emphasised that the SOP for“Daily Health Monitoring ofDelhi Police Personnel Due ToPrevailing Covid-19 Infection”should be communicated toeach and every personnel inthe force.

"All senior officers shouldreach out to field formationsand tell them again and againabout the procedure and stepstaken to deal with the diseasein order to instill confidenceand boost up their morale," hehad ordered.

"The senior officers shouldalso form Whatsapp groupsand regularly pass on materialon preventive measures to thestaff. These procedures shouldbe repeatedly conveyed so that

the same are imbibed by thestaff. The staff should be regu-larly counseled and advised tocontrol any panic reaction oranxiety'c said the CP.

CP, Delhi reiterated that thestaff deployed at high risk dutiesshould not return to police sta-tions and they should stay atdesignated guest houses andhotels. Further, the normsregarding social distancing andpersonal hygiene should bestrictly adhered to by all.

"The facility shall be usedfor providing treatment toCovid-19 positive personnelin real emergency. The StationHouse Officer (SHO), Narainapolice station is the model offi-cer for this purpose," stated theorder issued on Monday.

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A33-year-old auto-rickshawdriver allegedly strangled

his wife to death at his home insouth Delhi and then surren-dered. Police said that the inci-dent occurred on the inter-vening night of Sunday-Monday after the man wasenraged over his five-monthpregnant wife talking to anoth-er man on the street.

The accused, identified asVijay Kumar, a resident ofDakshinpuri area, went toAmbedkar Nagar police stationat 12:30 am on Sunday andconfessed he had killed his wifeearlier that night.

According to Atul Kumar

Thakur, the DeputyCommissioner of Police (DCP),south district, after returninghome Saturday night Kumar didnot find his wife at home inDakshinpuri and went to his in-laws residence nearby to look forher, but did not find her there aswell. "Later, he saw her talkingto a person on the street and gotangry. The accused had an argu-ment with his wife, whichturned into a scuffle and then amurder.The woman's body wasfound on a bed. There was astrangulation mark on her neck,"said the DCP. "The body hasbeen preserved at AIIMS mor-tuary and a murder case hasbeen registered against Kumar,"said the DCP.

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New Delhi MunicipalCouncil (NDMC) has

strengthened their anti-larvalmeasures and action to containthe vector borne diseases likeMalaria, Dengue andChikungunya in its area afterbeing informed by NationalVector Borne Disease ControlProgram (NVBDCP) abouthigh chances of spreading thediseases.

The NDMC’s healthdepartment has directed to itscross checking team to speedup anti-larval action to checkthe President House, RailBhavan Sardar Patel Bhavan,Shastri Bhavan, North andSouth Avenue and TalkatoraMarg premises.

NDMC has deployed twovehicle mounted foggingmachine, around 30 portablefogging machine and 130 knap-sack sprayer machine for antilarval action, a senior NDMCofficial said, adding that fieldworkers are already visitingthe area premises to find outcollection of water at the con-struction sites and other places.

The number of Dengueand Chikungunya cases arefound 2.5 times more com-pared to the last year up toApril this year, he said, addingthat the civic body has taken allthe steps to contain the diseasefrom further spreading.

“NDMC is issuing 50000SMS every week to residentsregarding actions to be takenfrom their side to containspread of mosquito breeding intheir locality,” he said.

There are around 162 Gangman for carrying out fieldactivities in the area. Besidesfive sanitary inspectors havebeen posted to supervise the

field work of malaria in all the14 sanitation circles of NewDelhi area, he added.

“We have also as issuedadvisory letters to Presidentsand Secretaries of ResidentsWelfare Associations (RWAs),‘markets trader's associations’(MTAs), SHO of police stationsand the executive engineers ofCPWD for carrying out the allefforts to not allow mosquitobreeding in their jurisdictionarea.

Keeping the view of covid-19 pandemic situation, NDMCis carrying Information,Education andC o m m u n i c a t i o nCommunication ( IEC ) activ-ities with social distancingnorms through video confer-encing or mobile to mobilewith RWAs, MTAs and otherofficials to take action by them-selves for containing mosqui-to breeding.

The official further saidthat this year due to covid19,instead of interactive sessionsfor schools students, RWAs,MTAs or other public activitiesfor awareness, NDMC isfocussing on SMS messages;calling on mobile phones, videoconferencing, placing of hoard-ings and posters in publicplaces.

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The number of people infect-ed with Malaria in the

national Capital has reached to41 this year which is highestreported in last five years tillMay.

According to the datareleased by the South DelhiMunicipal Corporation(SDMC) on Monday two freshcases of Malaria reported lastweek, taking the number ofpeople suffering from malariato 41 this year.

Also, one fresh case ofdengue reported in the city tak-ing the total count to 48 casesthis year. Besides, no new casesof chikungunya reported thisweek.

According to the data outof these cases, 16 patients whodiagnosed with the diseasewere from different states whilefive patients did not providetheir address.

The malaria parasite istransmitted by femaleAnopheles mosquitoes, whichbite mainly between dusk anddawn. According to WorldHealth Organisation malaria iscaused by the protozoan para-site Plasmodium. Humanmalaria is caused by four dif-ferent species of Plasmodium:P. falciparum, P. malariae, P.ovale and P. vivax.

At least 1322 legal noticeswere served and 50 prosecu-tions were launched after vec-tor-carrying mosquitoes werefound breeding in 915 housesand building premises

The data further revealedthat ‘dengue breeding checkers’(DBC) have visited 3172896houses for checking mosquito’sconducive environment tillMay 4.

However, civic body offi-cials said that preparations to

contain the disease have beenstarted. Concerned over thespurt in cases, North DelhiMunicipal Corporation (NMC)had called a high-level reviewmeeting on Wednesday to out-liner strategy in order to pre-vent and control such diseasesin Delhi.

A senior SDMC officialsaid that the civic body hasstarted spraying insecticidesin its areas besides the regard-ing officials are also planningto adopt a different approach totackle VBD with Coronavirus.

Union Health MinisterHarsh Vardhan had chaired ahigh-level review meetingrecently on prevention andcontrol of VBD and stressed onthe importance of innovativeawareness drives, communityparticipation and cooperationof all the stakeholders in chang-ing the situation of Covid-19 toprevent such diseases.

A senior SDMC officialsaid that all the preventivesteps have been taken to reducethe cases. “The key to preven-tion of Dengue is ensuringthere is no clean stagnant waterin homes and around, whichdoes not allow the Aedes mos-quitoes to breed, and thereforedengue cannot spread,” he said.

Last year only one case ofmalaria reported in 2019, sevenin 2018 and nine in 2017 till thetime, according to the data.

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A-35-year-old Gym ownerwas allegedly shot dead by

bike-borne unidentifiedassailants in a park located atGurugram’s Naurangpur villageon Monday morning.

The incident took placewhen the victim was out for amorning walk along with histwo kids.

Police suspect that thekilling was a fallout of a mon-etary dispute.

The deceased had beenarrested in 2011 for his allegedinvolvement in the prominentmurder case of a toll collectorat Kherki Daula but was acquit-ted by the court in 2016 for lackof evidence.

The deceased has beenidentified as Manjeet Pahlawan(35) a resident of villageNauranpur and originally hailsfrom Delhi's Wazirpur.

The victim used to run a

gym in the village and also usedto work as a newspaper vendor.

According to the police, theincident took place at around5.30 am when Manjeet alongwith his two children - a-15-year daughter and an 8-year-old son - was out for a morn-ing walk in the park located inNaurangpur village.

“Soon after three-fourunidentified assailants arrivedat the spot and pumped 14 bul-lets into the victim includingchest, head, both hands andlegs, due to which he died onthe spot,” said Preet PalSangwan, ACP (crime).

The Police said that thebody has been handed over tothe victim’s family after anautopsy. “A police team of CIAPalam Vihar, Bilaspur havebeen formed to nab the crim-inals," Sangwan said.

However the police saidthat the reason behind thekilling is yet to be known butpreliminary probe suggests that

a big nexus is going on inGurugram related to the news-paper vendor business, due towhich many murders havealready taken place inGurugram.

"This could be a reasonbehind the incident,” said apolice official privy to the mat-ter. A murder case has beenregistered under sections 302(murder) and 34 (commonintention) and relevant sectionsof the Arms Act at the KherkiDaula police based on a com-plaint by Naurang sarpanchPardeep who first informed thepolice about the crime, thepolice said.

“We are investigating thecase from all different anglesand also exploring CCTVfootage of the area to identifythe assailants. Further probeinto the matter is underway theaccused will be arrested soon,”said sub-inspector UmeshKumar the investigation officerof the case.

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Tata Power-DDL consumerscan instantly receive their

latest duplicate bills now by justsending a message from theirregistered number on compa-ny’s WhatsApp number7303482071.

A senior Tata Power-DDLofficial said that this feature hasbeen introduced with an aimto ensure consumer safetywherein they can avail e-billsinstantly and smoothly amidstthe lockdown.

“In order to get the dupli-cate bill, Tata Power-DDL con-sumers will have to save TataPower-DDL’s WhatsAppNumber in their contacts andsend a message from theirregistered contact number typ-ing – BILL <SPACE> <11DIGIT CA NUMBER> toWhatsApp Number –7303482071,” Tata Power-DDLsaid in a statement.

������������34�!356�

Accusing Delhi ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwal

of hiding the actual data relat-ed to corona pandemic fromthe public, Delhi CongressCommittee Chief ChaudharyAnil Kumar said the real fig-ures are much higher thanwhat the Government hasrevealed. Kumar said that thedata released by the CentralGovernment hospitals and theDelhi Government bulletinsalso differ.

������������34�!356��

The Delhi Government hasannounced that it will

provide financial assistance of�5,000 again to the construc-tion workers in the wake of theextended coronavirus lock-down.

The decision was taken ata meeting of the ConstructionWorkers' Welfare Board,chaired by Labour MinisterGopal Rai on Monday.

There are around 40,000construction workers regis-tered with the board. TheDelhi Government has alsodecided to launch an onlineportal where constructionworkers can register them-selves from May 15-25th. TheGovernment had also given�5,000 recently to the con-struction workers due to thelockdown over the COVID-19pandemic.

Soon after the board’s deci-sion, Delhi Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal tweeted,“Delhi government will againgive �5,000 to constructionlabourers."

"The Delhi Government inApril had given one-timefinancial assistance to the con-struction workers registeredwith it. Close to 40,000 work-ers were given �5,000 eachduring the lockdown. But thenthe lockdown was extended,therefore, we have decided togive �5,000 again as financialassistance to the constructionworkers," said Rai.

"We had also received

reports regarding opening ofregistration for new labourers.The Delhi Government hasdecided to change the proce-dure for new registration. Wehave decided that from May15-25 we will open online reg-istration. The online websitelink will be shared with all. Thelabourers can register throughthat link and upload photo-copies of their documents.After May 25 we will verify allthese applications, thereafter,we will call the applicants to

the labour department, 50 perday to submit their originaldocuments," he said.

"There are some doubtsregarding who all can registerthemselves as constructionworkers. According to laws,carpenters, worker grinders,construction site guards, thepeople who work in concretemixers, crane operator, elec-trician, comp operator, Mason(Raj Mistry), tiles stone fitters,welders, coolies and otherscan apply," Rai added.

����������� �34�!356�

The Tihar jail authorities inthe national Capital have

put three inmates under quar-antine after one of them, a rapeaccused, is suspected to havecome in contact with a coron-avirus-infected person. Theauthorities said they have takenthis step as a precautionarymeasure after the woman, whois the complainant in the rapecase, tested positive for Covid-19 on May 9 following whichthe police informed the author-ities.

Tihar jail authorities saidthat the man was lodged in aseparate cell in central jailnumber 2 of Tihar along withtwo other inmates in a rapecase and did not show any

symptoms for Covid-19.According to Sandeep

Goel, Director General,Prisons, after they receivedinformation from police thatthe complainant had testedpositive for coronavirus, theaccused was also tested forCovid-19 on Sunday morningalong with the two otherinmates who were lodged in thesame cell. "None of themshowed any symptoms buttheir samples were sent for test-ing as a precautionary measure.We received their reports onMonday according to which allthe three of them have beentested negative for the infec-tion. But all of them have beenquarantined for 14 days as aprecaution," said the DG

"The officials have taken

several precautionary mea-sures, including creation ofisolation wards in each jail forsuspected cases, restrictingentry of new inmates only totwo jails among others," headded.

According to jail officials,medical screening of everyoneentering the jails includinginmates, jail staff, security andmedical staff are being con-ducted.

Repeated screening of allthe existing inmates for anysymptoms of COVID-19 arealso being carried out regu-larly. Besides, court produc-tion of inmates and their fam-ily meetings have also beenstopped while the inmate tele-phone call facility has beenextended to all inmates 'free ofcost', they said.

Visits by outside agencies,including NGOs have also been

discontinued and referral andvisits to outside hospital havebeen restricted to only emer-gency situations.

Movement of inmates out-side the ward in all jails havealso been restricted and sani-tisation and disinfection of thelodgement areas of the inmatesand residential complexes ofstaff are being done on regularbasis, according to jail officials.

All new inmates are pre-screened before lodging in jailand regular awareness drivesare being held among inmatesas well as jail staff includingsecurity forces and other agen-cies in the jail through briefingsand public announcementsabout the infection, the officialsadded.

The jail authorities saidthey have procured and dis-tributed Personal ProtectiveEquipment kits, masks, gloves

and and alcohol-based handrubs and soaps for its front linestaff.

SOP tor transfer of sus-pected Covid-19 cases to refer-ral hospital has been formu-lated and is being implement-ed and Special Task Force hasbeen formed for contract trac-ing of suspected Covid-19 casesin all jails, according to jail offi-cials.

Psychological screening ofnewly admitted inmates toproperly manage mental healthissues is also being done whilearrangements have also beenmade for quarantine of jail staff,paramilitary, medical staff aftertheir return from outstationleave.

Instructions have also beenissued to screen all the inmateswho are being released from jailfor any COVID-19 symptoms,they said.

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����������� �34�!356��

As corona has changed theway of life, the academi-

cians also pitched a few upda-tions in their study patterns inschools.

Delhi Deputy ChiefMinister Manish Sisodia initi-ated dialogue with key stakeholders for school education inpost Covid-19-induced lock-down.

In this regard, Sisodia invit-ed students, parents, teachersand Principals to give their sug-gestions for school education inpost Covid-19 induced lock-down. “We have faced chal-lenges in the past, the differ-ence this time is that the entireworld is facing it together.Soon, we will learn to livewith corona. Slowly, thingswill open up and so will theschools. However, this also

means that new ideas ofschools and learning will haveto be scripted,” said Sisodia.

“For decades, schools hada set pattern, standardisedclasses, times, way of func-tioning, these need to bereimagined now”, he added.

As per Directorate ofEducation ( DoE ) officials , asa first step to initiate this dia-logue, an online suggestionform has been put on the web-site of the Directorate ofEducation, Govt.of Delhiwww.edudel.nic.in. Students,teachers, principals and parentswhose children are studying inschool can give their inputs.

“Respondents submittingpractical and out of the boxsuggestions will be invited toshare their thoughts with theEducation Minister of Delhithrough online platform,” saidan official.

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Former JNU student SharjeelImam, arrested in a case

related to alleged inflammato-ry speeches during the protestsagainst CAA and NRC, onMonday approached the DelhiHigh Court challenging a trialcourt order granting more timeto police to conclude investi-gation.

The petition is likely to belisted for hearing on May 14.

The accused has chal-lenged trial court's April 25order by which the Delhi Police

was granted three moremonths, beyond statutory 90days, to complete the investi-gation in the case under thestringent Unlawful Activities(Prevention) Act.

Imam was arrested onJanuary 28 in the case relatedto violent protests against theCitizenship Amendment Actnear the Jamia Millia IslamiaUniversity in December lastyear. The statutory period of 90days from the arrest was con-cluded on April 27.

He was arrested fromBihar's Jehanabad District.

He has also sought defaultbail in the matter on theground that the investigationwas not concluded within thestatutory period of 90 days andwhen the police had filed anapplication for more time tocomplete the investigation, hewas not given a notice asrequired under the law.

The trial court had recent-ly dismissed the bail plea.

The trial court had saidthat the order extending peri-od of investigation was passedbefore expiry of statutory timeperiod of 90 days.

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New Delhi: Over 60 cases wereregistered and 2,139 peopledetained in the national capitalon Monday for violating gov-ernment orders during the lock-down imposed to control thecoronavirus outbreak, policesaid. According to the datashared by the police, 66 caseswere registered under section188 (for disobedience to orderduly promulgated by public ser-vant) of the Indian Penal Codetill 5 pm. A total of 2,139 peo-ple were detained under section65 and 98 vehicles impoundedunder section 66 of the DelhiPolice Act, they stated. PTI

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The Government on Monday clar-ified that only passengers with e-

ticket will be allowed access to rail-way stations and they will be med-ically screened and only asympto-matic persons would be allowed toboard the train. This has been doneto maintain social distancing.

The Ministry of Home Affairs(MHA) issued standard operatingprocedures saying passengers mustadhere to social distancing and wearface masks.

“Movement of passengers to &fro and entry at the railway stationwould be permitted only on con-firmed e-ticket. There would becompulsory medical screening of allpassengers. Only asymptomatic per-sons would be allowed to board thetrain. During the travel and at therailway stations, strict adherence toHealth/hygiene protocols and socialdistancing must be observed.

All passengers would be provid-ed with hand sanitiser at entry andexit points at station and in coach-es. Further, it would be ensured thatall passengers wear face covers/masks at entry and during travel.

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The Union Home Ministryon Monday directed the

States to provide securityand ensure smooth move-ment of medical profession-als and operation of estab-lishments including privateclinics. The Ministry alsotold the States to facilitate thesmooth movement of the

trains carr ying migrantlabourers and prevent themfrom walking through therailway tracks.

Home Secretary AjayBhalla, in a letter, told theState Chief Secretaries thatprivate clinics and nursinghomes must be allowed toopen for the service of allkind of patients.

“MHA has written to allStates/UTs pointing out that

unhindered movement of allmedical professionals isessential for meeting publichealth requirements and sav-ing precious human lives.Any restriction on the move-ment of medical profession-als and para-medical staffcan lead to severe constraintsin rendering COVID andnon-COVID medical ser-vices. In the view of above,the communication empha-

sises that all State/ UTGovernments should ensuresmooth movement of allmedical professionals, nurs-es, para medical, sanitationpersonnel and ambulances.

“This would help in ren-dering all COVID and non-COVID medical services topatients without any con-straint. It was also stated thatthe inter-State movement ofall above mentioned profes-

sionals may be facilitated bythe States/UTs. It has beenfurther emphasised that allprivate clinics, nursing homesand labs, with all their med-ical professional and staff, beallowed to open.

This would facilitate incatering to all patients,COVID and non-COVIDemergencies, without anyhindrance and relieve theburden on hospitals,” said

the MHA in statement. On the migrant labourer,

the MHA asked the states toprevent them from walkingthrough the railway tracksand speedy facilitation of‘Shramik Express’, the specialtrains for the migrant labourers.

The Centre also asked theStates to co-operate for moretrains for the transportationof the labour force.

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In a touching gesture, theNavy on Monday felicitated

a young woman, one of the 698Indian nationals evacuatedfrom Maldives and brought toKochi, Kerala on Sunday andwho delivered a baby boyshortly after disembarkation.

The Indian Navy warshipINS Jalashwa had brought theIndians from Male whileanother warship INS Magar onMonday docked at Tuticorin,Tamil Nadu with 200 moreIndians evacuated fromMaldives. Incidentally, thewoman, a nurse by profession,returned on the ‘Mother’s Day’and was felicitated on the eveof the ‘Nurses’ Day.’ Moreover,she had undergone miscar-riage on some earlier occasions.

Giving details about thefelicitation, navy officials saidthe young mother Sonia Jacobwas honoured by the SouthernNaval Command (SNC) atKinder Multispeciality

Hospital, Ernakulam. The SNCrepresentative, LieutenantCommander Remya Savy metSonia’s parents KA and BeenaJacob as the COVID protocolsprevented physical contact withthe passengers.

The Naval officer pre-sented the parents with a flo-ral bouquet and conveyedgreetings and best wishes tothe extended family on behalfof the Flag Off icerCommanding-in-Chief SNCon the much awaited newarrival into the family whileexpressing the happiness inthe Navy being instrumentalin bringing Sonia Jacob to themotherland on “Mother’sDay” and into a long cher-ished Motherhood.

Remya subsequently alsoconnected with Sonia andShijo, her spouse, who areboth under institutional quar-antine, via videocall and con-gratulated the proud parentswishing the baby boy health,happiness and a long life. The

family members on their partconveyed the gratitude andappreciation of Sonia to theNavy for the care and comfortaccorded to her on board thenaval ship throughout thepassage.

Later, Remya said it isindeed a proud moment for allpersonnel in the Navy, par-ticularly the crew of INSJalashwa to be associated withthis special moment in thecouple’s life considering thenumber of miscarriages whichoccurred previously withSonia. She highlighted thefact that it was also special forher to be able to wish Soniawho is a nurse by profession,on the eve of the “Nurse’s day”in the backdrop of CoViD19pandemic. ManagingDirector, Kinder HospitalPraveen Kumar Arjunan andChief Operating OfficerNarain Gunaseelan Pillai andother hospital staff memberswere also present on the occa-sion.

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Obesity is associated with ahigher risk of developing

severe symptoms and compli-cations of coronavirus disease,independent of other illnesses,such as cardiovascular disease,according to researchers, whohave alerted that it is a risk fac-tor that needs attention.

In their article publishedin the latest journal ofCurrent Science, theresearchers said that obesity,a comorbidity not well docu-mented in the Covid-19 pan-demic, is now being identifiedas a risk factor for severeviral-19 infection, includingin those less than 60 years ofage.

“We suggest that weightsand heights be recorded in allcase-record forms and epi-demiologic surveillance toolsto assess the associations ofbody mass index with infec-tion status and disease out-comes. Obese individualsshould be closely monitoredin view of the r isk ofincreased severity of COVID-

19 infection,” said AnuragBhargava and MadhaviBhargava, both fromYenepoya Medical College,Mangalore.

Mortality in Covid-19infection has been related toage and the presence ofcomorbidities, among whichhypertension, cardiovasculardisease and diabetes are themost common.

A recent meta-analysisshowed that the pooled preva-lence of hypertension, car-diovascular disease and dia-betes was 16.3 per cent, 12.1per cent and 7.8 per cent%respectively, in hospitalizedpatients, pointed out theresearchers.

Obesity is one of the com-monest underlying comor-bidities worldwide. However,none of the studies in the sys-tematic review mention theprevalence of obesity in theCovid-19 cases. Obesity is apotential confounder of theassociation between hyper-tension, diabetes and out-comes in Covid-19 infection,and should therefore be

assessed, they added.The researchers’ views

came following observationthat how obesity was identi-fied as a novel risk factor forincreased disease severity andmortality reported in theinfluenza A (H1N1) pan-

demic. “It is pertinent to notethat obesity is also a risk fac-tor for the severity of otherviral infections like denguefever in children.”

In the case of influenza A(H1N1) infection, later workhighlighted several other

implications of obesity whichmight be relevant to COVID-19 infection.

It would also be impor-tant to examine whetherlower prevalence of obesity incountries like India is linkedto lower mortality due toCovid-19 infection.

The database of patientswith Covid-19 infection inIndia and other countriesshould have information onBMI. This will confirm theinitial observations of obesi-ty as a risk factor for severeCovid-19 infection in a larg-er number of patients.

It will also reveal whethera low BMI confers risk or pro-tection against adverse out-comes in Covid-19 infection.Hence, obese individualsshould be more careful aboutpreventive measures duringthe pandemic, said theresearchers.

� �� �34�!356�

Days after asking the defenceindustries to be ready with

a plan to ramp up productionto the optimum level after thelockdown is lifted, DefenceMinister Rajnath Singh onMonday stressed the need forIndia to become self-reliant and“net exporter of technology.”He also lauded the DefenceResearch and DevelopmentOrganisation(DRDO)for com-ing out with at least 50 items inthe ongoing fight againstCOVID-19.

Addressing the scientists ofthe DRDO on the NationalTechnology Day (NTD) herethrough video conference, theminister stressed that there isno alternative to indigenoustechnology and indigenousmanufacture. “We will be trulyself-reliant only when Indiasucceeds in becoming a netexporter instead of a netimporter of technology,” hesaid. The National TechnologyDay is observed to commem-orate the nuclear tests con-ducted by India in 1998 thatsymbolized successful achieve-ments of home grown tech-nologies.

While calling upon thecountry’s pool of experts tocontribute to make India atechnological powerhouse,Singh said the government andpeople fully support theirfuture endeavours in this direc-tion.

On the role of the defencesector in the national effort tofight the corona pandemic, theminister said defence organi-sations are tackling the chal-lenges posed by COVID-19using state-of-the-art technol-ogy. India’s defence forces andResearch & Developmentefforts have contributed signif-

icantly in finding solutions tothe challenges posed by thisinvisible enemy.

He added the DRDO hasdeveloped more than 50 prod-ucts in the last 3-4 months, likebio suit, sanitiser dispenser,PPE kits through its continuousefforts to contribute to thefight against COVID-19. “The

indomitable spirit of ourdefence industry has increasedthe opportunity for mass pro-duction of these high qualityproducts in record time,” Singhsaid.

He said, “NationalTechnology Day is an oppor-tunity to take stock of ourtechnological advancements

and if we are to emerge as atechnological force then weshould know what to do.

This year’s NationalTechnology Day 2020 was cel-ebrated at the DRDO to com-memorate and pay tribute tothe dedication, determination,and sacrifice of scientists andengineers, who have worked forachieving a national techno-logical identity with the success

of Shakti-Pokhran 2. On thisoccasion, a webinar was heldand a Presentation on DRDOtechnologies to fight againstCOVID-19 was given.

Member Niti Aayog andformer DRDO chief V KSaraswat in his address said theDRDO must provide morefocus on life sciences laborato-ries and “must revive work onbio-defence programme”. He

also emphasised on the need forthe development of more robot-ic devices where the DRDO hasstrong base. Principal ScientificAdvisor (PSA) to theGovernment of India K VijayRaghavan emphasised the needof developing IT enabled tech-nologies and applications.

DRDO chief G SatheeshReddy appealed to all to reded-icate themselves to the service

of the nation by providing cut-ting edge technologies for mak-ing the country strong andself-reliant. He also said duringlockdown, products should besupplied all over the worldadding “delayed delivery is nodelivery.” The DRDO has devel-oped 53 products to fightCOVID-19, Reddy said andsome of the systems wereinducted in record time.

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��Obesity is one of the commonest underlying comor-bidities worldwide. However, none of the studies in the systematicreview mention the prevalence of obesity in the Covid-19 cases.Obesity is a potential confounder of the association betweenhypertension, diabetes and outcomes in Covid-19 infection, andshould therefore be assessed, they added

� �� �34�!356�

The BSF on Monday report-ed six new Covid-19 cases

followed by four in the CRPFand one in ITBP, taking thetally of patients in the para-military forces to 764.

While the Indo TibetanBorder Police (ITBP) reportedone positive case on Monday,one infected personnel recov-ered from the viral pandemicin the last 24 hours, an officialspokesperson said, adding atotal of 156 infected persons inits ranks are admitted at vari-ous hospitals.

As many as 26 personnel ofITBP are undergoing treat-ment at AIIMS, Jhajjar,Haryana, two patients areadmitted at Safdarjung Hospitalhere and one at LNJP Hospitalin the national capital.

Besides these cases, 127ITBP personnel infected with

novel corona virus are under-going treatment at CAPFReferral Hospital, GreaterNoida. One ITBP infected per-son has recovered from the dis-ease.

The CAPF ReferralHospital is also managing 28patients of BSF followed by fourinfected persons from CRPFand one each from CISF andNSG apart from a civilian.Four family members of ITBPpersonnel are also admitted inthe referral hospital.

The Border Security Force(BSF) on Monday reported a

total of six infected persons inits ranks-one each in Delhi andTripura and four in Kolkata.

A BSF spokesperson saidall the patents are undergoingtreatment at designated Covidhealth care hospitals.

One patient from 126Battalion in Delhi and admit-ted at AIIMS, Jhajjar, has recov-ered after treatment.

In the Central ReservePolice Force (CRPF), four newCovid-19 patients were report-ed and the tally of patients inthe paramilitary is 240 out ofwhich one had died and threehave recovered after undergo-ing treatment.

One Covid patient of 39Battalion who was admitted atSharda Hospital in Noida hasbeen discharged after recoveryfrom the disease. Presently, thedischarged patient has beenunder home quarantine, aCRPF official said.

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Against the backdrop of theCovid-19 pandemic, as

many as 177 new mandis from10 States and Union Territories,including 26 in Punjab and 17in Haryana, were integratedwith the e-NAM platform formarketing of agricultural pro-duce on Monday, taking thetotal number of mandis inte-grated with it to 962. The man-dis integrated include those inGujarat (17), Haryana (26),Jammu and Kashmir (1), Kerala(5), Maharashtra (54), Odisha(15), Punjab (17), Rajasthan(25), Tamil Nadu (13) andWest Bengal (1).

Launching the new mandisthrough video conferencing,Union Agriculture MinisterNarendra Singh Tomar saidefforts should be made to

strengthen e-NAM further tobenefit the farmers. Right now,farmers auction their agricul-ture produce at 6,900-oddAPMC (Agriculture ProduceMarketing Committees) man-dis spread across the nation.Some agriculturists are alsousing online bidding through e-NAM platform.

Earlier, 785 mandis wereintegrated with eNAM across17 States and 2 UTs, with a userbase of 1.66 crore farmers, 1.30lakh traders and 71,911 com-mission agents. According tothe ministry, as many as 1.66crore farmers, 1.30 lakh tradersand 71,911 commission agentsare using e-NAM platform.

Commodities, worth over� 1 lakh crore, have been trad-ed on the e-NAM as on May 9this year. The volumes of tradestood at 3.43 crore tonnes and37.93 lakh bamboo and

coconuts.

That apart, digital pay-ments worth � 708 crore weremade through the eNAM plat-form, benefitting more than1.25 lakh farmers.

A total of 236 mandis par-ticipated in inter-mandi tradeacross 12 States, whereas 13states/UTs have participated inthe trade, allowing farmers to

interact directly with distantly

located traders.At present, 150 commodi-

ties, including foodgrains,oilseeds, fibers, vegetables andfruits, are being traded oneNAM. More than 1,005 FPOshave been registered on eNAMplatform and have traded 2,900tonnes of agri-produce worth�7.92 crores.

� �� �34�!356�

Amid privacy concernsraised by various quarters

about Aarogya Setu,Government's digital platformto track Covid-19 patients, theCentre on Monday sought toallay fears saying that it is"completely safe" and it hasbeen ensured that user data arenot compromised.

Ajay Sahni, Chairman ofEmpowered Group 9, said at apress briefing here that “AarogyaSetu app has been downloadedin 9.8 crore smartphones so far.It will be available on Jio featuresmartphones from tomorrow.We've worked a lot on data pri-vacy of Aarogya Setu users &made sure that user data are notcompromised.”

Recently a French hackerhad unearthed one too manyprivacy issues with the app,causing apprehension about cit-izens’ privacy.

Countering the claims,Sahni said that the App has beendeveloped to formulate healthresponses that "not only containthe epidemic but also protect the

health and safety of the com-munity at large."

These health responsesrequire data of individuals forthe management of the Covid-19 pandemic, syndromic map-ping, contact tracing, and com-munication between them.

“The Aarogya Setu is des-ignated to carry out most ofthese responses and needs con-fidential information of indi-viduals. The informationincludes travel history, deviceinformation, location data, con-tact data, demography, and self-assessment data, which is col-lected by the app only after theuser has permitted it.”

The officer said that no datawould be retained beyond theperiod as deemed necessary tofulfil the purposes. At maxi-mum, the contact, location,and self-assessment data shouldbe "permanently" erased after180 days from the day they wererecorded by the app. However,the demographic data couldstill be retained by NIC for aslong as the Protocol related tothe covid-19 pandemic remainsinto effect.

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The coronavirus pandemichas put more than two

million micro, small and medi-um enterprises (MSMEs)employing 1.3 crore workers ina major crisis. The Tamil NaduSmall and Tiny IndustryAssociation, the apex body ofMSME units in the State hasapproached Union FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharamanand Union Minister for MSME,Nitin Gadkari with pleas tosave the sector and the employ-ees from an impending disas-ter.

The 45-day lockdown dueto coronavirus pandemic hasresulted in these units losingtheir orders from major indus-tries and other clients. Themigrant workers have goneback to their respective villagesand all kinds of income sourceshas been dried up putting theentrepreneurs themselves introuble.

S Anburajan, president,TANSTIA, reminded the

Centre and State Governmentsthat it was Union MinisterGadkari who said that theMSME units are on the vergeof collapse.

“In spite of repeated callsby various MSME associationsin the State and in the countrynothing constructive has beendone to this sector,” saidAnburajan.

“Some of the Banks havedeferred the equated monthlyinstalments (EMI) for threemonths with some conditionwhich in turn will make theMSME to pay more at a laterstage due to the accumulatedinterest added in the principalamount. Instead of relief thiswill increase financial pres-sure on MSME units,”Anburajan told union financeminster in a memorandum hehas sent.

The TANSTIA presidenttold The Pioneer that theMSME units were willing topay back all the loans availed bythem but the CentralGovernment and the Banks

should show some compassion.“What we are asking is that theBanks should defer the EMIpayment by six months and thewaiver of the interest for thisperiod. We have also request-ed that the pending principalamount should be consideredas separate loan and allowed tobe paid back with 5 per centinterest in easy instalments,”said Anburajan.

Banks should be advised todefer all the loans for a periodof six months instead of threemonths which needs to be reg-ulated by RBI instantly to savethe MSME sector, the TANS-TIA has demandedfurther.

The industrialists havedemanded a hike of 25 per centon all working capital loans. “Ason date, the practice is that theBanks retain 25 percent of theloan amount in the form of ourfinished products which meansthat for every one lakh rupeesof loan we avail, the Banksrelease only �75,000 and retainthe remaining part as some

kind of surety for the loan. Thispractice has to go as we willreturn the loan promptly oncethe crisis is blown over,” said SVasudevan, an entrepreneurand joint secretary of TANS-TIA.

The association hasdemanded that the interest onall working capitals be chargedat 5 per cent up to March 2021.

The TANSTIA alsodemanded that theSecuritisation AndReconstruction of FinancialAssets and Enforcement ofSecurity Interest Act (SAR-FAESI Act) should not beimposed up to March 2021. Bythis Act the Banks wereempowered to launch pro-ceedings for seizure of proper-ty if the borrower delays to pay back the principalwith interest within twomonths of the stipulated term.“We want the Government toexempt micro units which haveborrowed up to �2 crore fromthe purview of this dreadful act,” said

Vasudevan.The grievances of TANS-

TIA found an echo in K HariThiagarajan, chairman,Confederation of IndianIndustries (Tamil Nadu StateCouncil).

“The MSME units shouldbe protected by offering themall kind of concessions. TheMSME sector, which is one ofthe largest employmentproviders, is facing severe cri-sis and this is the time to offerhelp in the form of waiving offbank loans and concessions inGoods and Services Tax. Weexpect lot of job losses and it issure that 30 per cent of theMSMEs would have to shutdown immediately if no help isforthcoming,” said HariThiagarajan.

The plea by TANSTIAcomes closely on the heels ofthe request sent by TiruppurExporters Association to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi witha request to save the knitwearcotton industry from sinking.

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Jammu: A patient admitted inthe Chest disease hospital diedon Monday taking the totaldeath toll due to Covid-19 inJammu & Kashmir to 10. Fourdays ago, 32-year-old son of thepatient too had died after he hadcontracted coronavirus infectionwhile attending to his ailingfather in the Super Specialty hos-pital.

Meanwhile, 18 new positivecases of coronavirus were detect-ed, 12 from Kashmir divisionand 6 from Jammu division onMonday taking the total tally to879 cases. Out of 12 new cases,11 cases were detected positivefrom Kulgam district alonewhile 1 patient tested positive inBaramulla. In addtion, 44patients, all from Kashmir, weredischarged from hospitals aftercomplete recvovery.

So far , more than 51,000samples have been tested acrossJammu & Kashmir and 427

patients have recovered.According to Shailendra

Mishra, SSP, Kathua, "3 moretested positive for covid atBillawar, taking the toll up to 05in Kathua district. All 3 werealready in quarantine and wereidentified at Lakhanpur corridor.Let’s keep our guard up."

Three cases were detectedfrom Jammu. One of the patientfrom New Plot area of Jammuwas already admitted in theGMC, Jammu and one eachfrom Nagrota and Bhatindi,with a travel history toAhmedabad tested positive dur-ing screening at the gateway ofJammu and Kashmir inLakhanpur.

On the other hand, ChiefSecretary BVR SubrahmanyamMonday visited Jammu railwaystation to review arrangementsfor stranded passengers, reach-ing here via special trains fromTuesday. PNS

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Expatriate workers whoreached Kerala during the

last two days brought withthem more coronavirus patientsto the State which had on lastThursday declared that the pan-demic curve has been flattened.

According to a release by KK Shylaja, Kerala Minister ofHealth, seven persons havebeen tested positive for coron-avirus in the State on Monday.Out of this, four persons hadreached the State fromMaharashtra, one person fromChennai and another fromKuwait. An individual inWayanadu district who testedpositive on Monday got itthrough a contact.

The Minister said that 27persons are under treatment invarious hospitals in the State for

the pandemic. “Till Sunday,1,307 persons returned to theState from foreign countries. Wehave put 650 persons underhome observation while 641have been admitted to covidcare centres and 16 to varioushospitals for observation. Thereare 229 pregnant women amongthe expatriates who reachedthe State,” said the minister’srelease.

The release further saidthat 27, 986 persons are underobservation in the State. Out ofthis 27,545 are in their houseswhile 441 are in hospitals. 157perosns have been admitted tohospitals on Monday. Thereare 34 coronavirus hotspots inthe State.

Earlier in the day, a womanwho reached Kochi by INS JalAshwa from Male on Sundaygave birth to a baby boy in a

Kochi hospital. The youngmother and her close relationsthanked the Indian Navy for thehelp rendered by them duringthe journey. The ship ferried 698passengers inclusing 440Keralaites from Male to Kochi.INS Magar, another ship hasalready reached Male to trans-port 200 more passengers toKochi and is expected to arriveat Kochi in the next two days.

Meanwhile the KeralaGovernment on Monday issueda special order allowing the3,595 toddy shops in the Stateto open from Wednesday. Theshops would function from 9am to 7 pm. Tipplers may haveto buy the bottles and take ithome because they are notallowed to consume the toddyin the shop. The business wouldbe held as per the coronavirusnorms and regulations,

Chennai: In a gruesome inci-dent, a 14-year old schoolgirlwas set on fire in Tamil Nadu'sVillupuram district by twomen connected to the rulingAIADMK party. The girl, whohad suffered 95 per cent burns,died on Monday, police said.

According to police,Jayashree, daughter of smallshop-owner Jayapal, had givena statement to the magistratenaming two persons - G.Murugan and K.Kaliaperumal- as the persons who had sether on fire.

The crime occurred onSunday at Sirumadurai locali-ty near Thiruvennainallurwhen the girl was alone at herhouse.

On hearing the girl's criesand the smoke coming out of

her house, neighbours rushedin and were shocked. They tookthe girl to the governmenthospital where she breathed herlast.

Police told IANS thatMurugan and Kaliaperumalhave been taken into custodyand are being questioned.

According to a police offi-cial, there had been a previousenmity between the girl's fatherand the alleged killers.

Meanwhile, major opposi-tion parties have demandedsevere punishment to thekillers.

Demanding quick andsevere punishment to the twoaccused, including a formermunicipal councillor, opposi-tion DMK's President M.K.Stalin on Monday claimed that

the duo tied the hands and legsof Jayashree, stuffed her mouthwith a cloth, and set her afire.

The girl was admitted in agovernment hospital with 95per cent burn injuries, and inher dying declaration to a mag-istrate, named the twoAIADMK members as the cul-prits, he added.

According to Stalin, it is thesecond such crime of burningalive a student by AIADMKmembers. A bus was set ablazein Dharmapuri, in which three

girl students of Tamil NaduAgricultural University wereburnt alive in 2000.

Stalin urged the police toact impartially and ensure thestrictest punishment to theculprits.

Similarly, PMK FounderS.Ramadoss said whatever bethe previous enmity, the grue-some act of burning alive aschool girl cannot be permit-ted. Ramadoss, in a tweet, saidthe killers should be speedilypunished in such a way that itremains as a lesson for suchkillers.

MDMK General SecretaryVaiko too demanded a speedyand severe punishment for thekillers. Meanwhile the rulingAIADMK is silent on the issue. IANS

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Bengaluru: ReinforcingKarnataka's Covid-19 combatefforts, a mobile fever clinic hasbeen inaugurated. "Covidmobile fever clinic has beeninaugurated," tweeted ChiefMinister B.S. Yediyurappa, hereon Monday.

The makeshift clinic, set upin a remodelled KSRTC bus,was inaugurated by the ChiefMinister at his home officeKrishna.

Bengaluru South memberof Parliament Tejasvi Suryasaid his office along with otherentities developed the mobilefever clinic. "We have madeavailable swab collection facil-ities for Covid, CBC, CRP andESR tests in five such clinics,"said Surya. The KarnatakaGovernment has deployed ahost of innovative solutions tocombat Covid-19. IANS

Thiruvananthapuram: TheCongress has alleged that thePinarayi Vijayan Governmentin Kerala is engaged in only aPR exercise and is least both-ered about bringing back peo-ple who are stranded in variousparts of the country.

Speaking to the media hereon Monday, Leader ofOpposition RameshChennithala said it has nowsurfaced that the IndianRailways has run more than366 trains from various loca-tions in the country.

"It's really unfortunate thatnot a single train came intoKerala when thousands of stu-dents, women and others havebeen stranded since the lock-down began in various states inthe country. They are waitingto return to their home state,"said Chennithala. IANS

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Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant in a video message, hereon Monday, urged villagers staying along the border not to

help those trying to sneak into the state during the lockdown.There entry was being facilitated by residents of border vil-

lages for as little �500-1,000, he said. "It has come to my noticethat people are trying to smuggle in their relatives or workers,using shortcuts along the border. This should not be allowed.People are coming to Goa in taxis, motorcycles or using shortcuts. It's wrong," Sawant said.

He urged people to not allow people to enter Goa withoutcoronavirus tests. "If someone is caught, strict action will be takenunder the National Disaster Management Act," Sawant said.

Goa, which shares borders with Maharashtra and Karnataka,has green zone status, with not a single active Covid-19 case. TheState had seven Covid-19 patients, who tested negative after treat-ment.

Chennai: Tamil Nadu ChiefMinister K. Palaniswami onMonday said migrant workersliving in the state will be sentback home in phases with thepermission of the respectivestate governments.

In a statement issued here,Palaniswami said 9,000 migrantworkers with the permission ofthe respective state govern-ments have been sent backhome in special trains.

The remaining migrantworkers will be sent back homein a week's time with the per-mission of the respective stategovernments, he said.

He requested the migrantworkers to remain in the campstill such time. IANS

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Mumbai’s Dharavi slumerupted once again on

Monday, as 57 more personstested positive for Covid-19,taking the total number ofinfected cases in Asia’s biggestslum to 916.

A day after two more per-sons succumbed to coronavirustaking the total number ofdeaths to 29 and 26 others test-ed positive in Dharavi, 57 newinfected cases were reportedfrom various parts of thisdensely populated slum.

Matunga Labour camp,which has emerged as the mostaffected area, reported as manyas eight Covid-19 positive caseson Monday. There was a sev-enteen- year-old among theseven newly infected persons,who comprised a 71-year-oldman and others were in the agegroup of 31 years and 53 years.Six new infected cases hadbeen reported from MatungaLabour camp on Sunday.

Dharavi Cross Road areawas another where as many assix cases were reported onMonday.

Like in the previous days,

new infected cases were report-ed from most of the localitiesin this densely populated slum.

What is worrying thehealth authorities is that dur-ing the last 40 days since theoutbreak of the pandemic inDharavi, there have alreadybeen 29 deaths in this slum,while the infected cases havecrossed the 900-mark (916).

Despite creating contain-ment zones and isolating the“contacts”, the authorities haveso far not been able to arrest thespread of the pandemic in thisslum.

Dharavi, a slum spreadover 240 hectare area that ishome to more than 4 lakh peo-ple, has been an area of concernfor the BrihanmumbaiMunicipal Corporation (BMC)ever since the first coupledeaths and infected cases werereported from this slum in thefirst week of April.

That Dharavi is on theBMC’s top agenda could beevidenced from the fact thatMumbai’s new MunicipalCommissioner Iqbal SinghChahal visited this slum and

took stock of the situationhours after he assumed theoffice on Saturday.

During his visit to Dharavi,Chahal went around worst-affected localities of MukundNagar and Shastri Nagar andtook stock of the situationthere. He also visited a con-tainment zone located nearTata Colony and interactedwith the residents there.

Having apparently takencognisance of the reports thatpublic toilets in Dharavi havebecome a major source for thespread of Covid-19 in Dharavi,Chahal inspected a public toi-let there.

Among other things, thenew Municipal Commissioneradvised the police personnelposted at Dharavi to enforcethe lockdown norms sternly inthe area in view of the rapidspread of the pandemic in thearea.

He exhorted the BMCmedical staff to intensify thetracing of Covid-19 “contacts”in the densely populated slumand put them in an institutionalquarantine in a big way to pre-vent the rapid spread of theCovid-19 in the area.

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The number of coronavirus cases in Tamil Naducrossed the 8,000 mark by Monday evening.

According to the daily media release issued by the TamilNadu Government, 798 persons tested positive for coro-navirus in the State till Monday evening. With this, thenumber of cases detected so far has reached 8,002 in theState.

Though the spurt in the number was mind boggling( from 2,757 patients on May 2 to 8,002 on May 11) , JRadhakrishnan , special nodal officer, Greater ChennaiCorporation, has told the people on Sunday itself thatthe number of covid patients in the State in general andChennai in particular would see an increase for a fewmore days and the general public need not panic.

The death toll in the State stood at 53 on Monday.But what shocked the people was that six persons suc-cumbed to the pandemic on a single day. Out of the 53fatalities, 32 are from Chennai.

Chennai registered 538 coronavirus positive casesout of the 798 cases registered on Monday. Till date 2,051 persons have been discharged from hospitals , fullycured.

Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswamy, during thevideo conferencing with Prime Minister Narendra Modion Monday has asked that train and air services fromand to the State should not be resumed till May 31 dueto the prevailing conditions.

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With his election to theMaharashtra Legislative

Council having become a mereformality, Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray on Mondayfiled nominations for the StateCouncil poll scheduled for May21.

Uddhav was accompaniedby his wife Rashmi Thackeray,State Cabinet Minister-sonAaditya Thackeray and ShivSena spokesperson Sanjay Rautwhen he went to file his papersfor the State Legislative Councilpolls.

Monday was the last day forfiling nominations. The nomi-nations will be scrutinised onTuesday, while the last date forwithdrawal of papers is May 14.

The biennial elections tonine State Legislative Councilseats have been necessitated bythe retirement on April 24 ofnine members — comprisingfour from the NCP, three fromthe BJP and one each from theShiv Sena and Congress.

Uddhav, who was sworn inas the Chief Minister onNovember 28 last year, is not amember of either of the Housesof the State Legislature. As pro-

vided under the Constitution,Uddhav will have to get electedto either of the Houses on orbefore May 27, the six-monthdeadline for his becoming amember of either of the Houses.Along with Uddhav, four can-didates from the ruling MahaVikas Aghadi (MVA) also filedtheir papers on the last day forfiling their nominations.

The others who filed theirnominations on Monday were:Shiv Sena’s Neelam Gorhe, whois the current deputy chairper-son of Maharashtra legislativeCouncil, NCP’s ShashikantShinde, Amol Mitkari, KiranJagannath Pwaskar andShivajirao Yeshwant Garje andand Congress' Rajesh Rathod.

In addition to four BJPcandidates who had filed nom-inations on May 8, two morecandidates from the same party– Sandeep Lele and RameshKarad filed their nominationson Monday.

The four BJP candidateswho had filed their papers ear-lier were: Praveen Dhatke,Ranjitsinh Mohite-Patiol, DrAjit Gopchade and GopichandParalkar.

In addition, an independentcandidate Shahbaz Allauddin

Rathod filed his papers.There are in all 14 candi-

dates in the fray. Of them, fourare dummy candidates – twoeach from the NCP and BJP –who will withdraw from thecontest, before the deadline forthe withdrawals. The candida-ture of Independent candidatewill in all likelihood be reject-ed.

As a result there will be onlynine candidates for as manyseats in the State Council forwhich the biennial electionsare slated for May 21. Hence, theelection of Uddhav and eightother candidates in the fray hasbecome a foregone conclusionnow.

However, the speculationthat was making rounds in thestate political circles on Mondaywas that the Congress’ candidateRajesh Rathod had filed onlyone set of nomination papersand that too his papers mightnot stand the test of scrutinyscheduled for Tuesday.

In such an event, the StateCouncil poll schedule maystretch till May 14, the last dateof withdrawal of nominations.The one seat gainer in the endwill either be the NCP or theBJP.

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Coronavirus continued to rulethe roost in Maharashtra on

Monday, as it claimed 36 morelives and left an alarming 1230others infected, causing consid-erable anxiety among the healthofficials battling the pandemicfor nearly eight weeks now.

With the fresh fatalities, thetotal number of deaths inMaharashtra mounted to 868,while the total number of infect-ed cases rose to a staggering23,401.

Of the 36 deaths reportedfrom across the state on Monday,Mumbai accounted for 20deaths, while there five deaths inSolapur, three in Pune, two inThane and one each in Amravatidistrict, Aurangabad city,Nanded city, Ratnagiri andWardha. Additionally, 1 death ofan Uttar Pradesh resident wasrecorded in Mumbai.

Off the 36 dead, 23 weremen while 13 were women.Seventeen of them aged above 60years, 16 were from the age

group 40 to 59 years and 3 wereaged below 40 years.

“Twenty seven out of the rest36 patients (75%) had high-riskco-morbidities such as diabetes,hypertension and heart disease,”the State health bulletin said inthe evening.

With new 20 deaths, thetotal number of deaths inMumbai rose to 528, while with782 fresh cases the total numberof infected cases went up to14521.

Out of 2,18,914 laboratorysamples, 1,93,457 tested negative,

while 23,401 tested positive forcoronavirus until Monday.

There are 1256 active con-tainment zones in the state cur-rently. Total 12,027 surveillancesquads worked on Mondayacross the state and surveillanceof 53.71 lakh population wasdone.

Meanwhile, 4786 patientshave been discharged till dateafter full recovery. Currently,2,48,301 people are in homequarantine and 15,192 people arein institutional quarantine.

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Mumbai: In a major revision in the Covid-19 patient dischargepolicy, the Brihanmumumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) onMonday announced that mild, very mild, pre-symptomatic casesadmitted to a Covid Care Facility would be discharged after 10days of the onset of symptoms and there was no fever in patientsfor three days.

On a day when fresh 20 deaths and 782 positive cases werereported in Mumbai, the BMC said that its decision to revise theCovid-19 patient discharge policy was in alignment with theguidelines on the 3 tier Covid facilities and the categorizationof the patients based on clinical severity.

“There will be no need for testing prior to discharge. At thetime of discharge, the patient will be advised to follow the homeisolation for further 7 days as per guidelines available by govt.of India,” the BMC announced in its daily medical bulletin.

“After discharge from the facility, if he/she again developssymptoms of fever, cough or breathing difficulty he will contactthe Covid Care Centre or helpline no. 1916,” the bulletin stat-ed.

“Moderate cases & severe cases will be discharged as per clin-ical parameters & clinical opinion of treating doctors mentionin guideline.For severe patients 1 single RT PCR test will be doneafter resolution of symptoms & patients will follow all guidelinesas mentioned above after discharged,” the bulletin added. PNS

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As the Coronavirus movesremorselessly across theworld and medical expertssurmise that it could be withus for another two to three

years, its lasting legacy will be painfulfor those at the bottom rung of society,those marginally above and those in themiddle. With three successive lock-downs, India has managed to keep mor-talities low but now, as tentative movesare made to reopen the economy, theanticipated spike in cases has begun.

Civil society across the nation roseas one to ensure that no one went hun-gry in the cities; at least two nutritiousmeals were provided daily in every clus-ter where unemployed labour resided;those with facilities to cook themselveswere given dry rations as State agencieschipped in. Without the Herculeanefforts of ordinary middle class men andwomen, it would have been impossibleto avert starvation deaths in such a largecountry but India did it.

Events of the last few days, howev-er, show that India’s poor, the migrantand daily wage earners got tired ofstanding in lines for food amid grow-ing uncertainty over employment. It isone thing to line up for food cooked fora religious occasion as communitysharing is deeply ingrained in Indian tra-dition but these hard-working souls felttheir self-respect undermined when thelockdown was extended, twice.Ironically, State transport to their dis-tant homes arrived almost simultane-ously with the resumption of some eco-nomic activity. Sadly, some felt sohomesick that they began walking; 16migrants fell asleep on a railway trackin Maharashtra and were mowed downby a freight train at night. It wasnobody’s fault but the incident added tothe national anguish.

Overall, the economic forecast isgrim. Understandably, many smallbusinesses and small manufacturerscould not sustain without income butmany well-off organisations alsoannounced lay-offs. Amid the gloom,Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh andGujarat announced major reforms toattract investments to their States.

In Bhopal, Chief Minister ShivrajSingh Chouhan made major changesin the Agriculture Produce MarketingCommittee (APMC) to put the pro-ducer-farmer on top of the trade,rather than the middleman or APMCthat have traditionally pocketed theirprofits. Henceforth, farmers can selltheir crops to any buyer if they cannegotiate higher prices than theGovernment-stipulated minimum sup-port price (MSP), or go to the mandifor MSP. This will benefit farmers withhigher quality crops.

Madhya Pradesh has alsopermitted private mandis withtrading facilities, yards and evencold storage chains; they canoperate throughout the State ona single licence. These mandis willcharge a single fee for a transac-tion and won’t pay commissionsfor crops purchased at non-baselocations. The prevailing prices inall mandis will be made public.While mandi tax rates remainand farmers will have to bearsome cost of sales, the new ruleshelp promote Farmer ProduceOrganisations (FPOs). An elec-tronic retail facility will allowfarmers to find buyers outside theState, on the lines of the e-National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) launched by the PrimeMinister in 2016.

Simultaneously, Chouhanhas tweaked labour laws for thenext three years to attract indus-try to the State. He has put an endto “inspector raj” by relaxingdepartmental inspections andpaperwork and allowed factoriesto structure shifts to maximiseproductivity. The MadhyaPradesh Industrial Employment(Permanent Order) Act, 1961, isbeing modified to exempt facto-ries employing up to 100 work-ers from the provisions of the Act.All new factories will be exempt-ed from vexatious provisions inthe Factories Act, 1948.

Uttar Pradesh Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath, too, is aggres-sively wooing investments, sus-pending the Uttar PradeshTemporary Exemption fromLabour Laws Ordinance for threeyears. This will impact bothexisting and new industrial units.The State hopes to attract indus-

try that may withdraw fromChina in the wake of theCOVID-19 pandemic and reviveits flagging economy. However, ithas clarified that it is retainingimportant legislations such as theBonded Labour Act of 1976,Employee Compensation Act of1923, Building and OtherConstruction Workers’ Act of1996, Maternity Act, EqualRemuneration Act, Child LabourAct and Section 5 of the Paymentof Wages Act. But the enforce-ment wing will not be permittedto raid factories on minorgrounds.

Gujarat has avoided theRajasthan route that permits fac-tories with less than 300 workersto retrench workers at will,though it allows units in specialeconomic zones (SEZs) to lay offworkers without Governmentsanction, regardless of the num-ber of workers; however, in 2015,it increased the wages due toretrenched workers from 45 daysto 60 days. Gujarat also amend-ed the definition of “employer”under the Minimum Wages Actto cover outsourcing agencies andcontractors, among others, whowill have to pay minimum wagesto contractual workers.

The State is racing to woonew investments by announcinga 1,200-day holiday from labourlaws (barring Minimum WagesAct, Industrial Safety Rules andThe Employee CompensationAct) for new units. ChiefMinister Vijay Rupani has madeapprovals for setting up newindustries completely online, tobe granted within 15 days andland allotted within seven days.The idea is to attract industries

and multinational companiesfrom Japan, the US, Korea andEurope that may want to relocatefrom China.

Gujarat has already ear-marked around 33,000 hectaresof land at Khoraj, Sanand, DahejSEZ, Dholera SEZ and other pri-vate SEZs. It has reduced thepaperwork to a single annualreturn scheme for factories.Further, it has permitted com-pounding of offences under theIndustrial Disputes Act,Minimum Wages Act, Paymentof Bonus Act, Contract LabourAct, Payment of Gratuity Act,Motor Transport Workers Act,Equal Remuneration Act andBeedi Cigar Workers Act, toallow time-saving out-of-courtsettlements at higher fines.

The Bharatiya MazdoorSangh (BMS) and other labourunions are concerned that Statesare using the need to empowerindustries to snatch away therights of the workers. They warnthat at a time when over 100 mil-lion people are jobless, suchmeasures may not bring eco-nomic revival as lack of employ-ee welfare systems and in theabsence of dispute settlementmechanisms, labour productiv-ity could be impacted. TheCentre, however, is enthusiasti-cally backing the reform mea-sures as the industry has longbeen demanding labour reforms.In fact, the Confederation ofIndian Industry was quick to wel-come the moves, though onlytime will tell if these measures cankickstart the economy.

(The author is a senior journalist. Views expressed are personal)

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Sir — To open up the economyor keep it shut for an uncertaintime is a question that manynations are forced to reckon within Corona times. The US is notwanting in COVID-19 testinginfrastructure but has got into aneedless political wrangle in acrucial election year.

While US President DonaldTrump retains a unique prerog-ative to allocate funds to theStates, his greater fixation on theeconomy is pitting him againstthose concerned about thehumanitarian aspect. Here, heseems to be progressively losinggrip. Back home in India, we arehandicapped both by our lack ofmassive testing and an economythat is fragile. Though the Centreand State Governments havelargely found common purposetill now, a delay in reviving theeconomy can bring in differ-ences. That will affect not onlythe economy but governance,too. The Government’s deci-sion to resume limited operationof passenger trains is a step in theright direction.

R NarayananNavi Mumbai

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Sir — In a rather belated move,the Government has allowedmigrant workers, students,

tourists and pilgrims to return totheir homes amid the growingCoronavirus crisis. Why hadthey not been allowed to gohome at a time when the coun-try had only a few hundred

cases? Would that not have beenbetter than to allow movementnow, when the number of caseshas crossed 67,000? Why was anationwide lockdown imposedwithout giving stranded people

enough time to go back to theirhometowns or villages?

The number of shockingincidents in which migrantworkers are victims has grownexponentially of late. The deathof 16 migrant workers, whowere crushed under the wheelsof a train, was horrible. Theymust have been truly exhaustedto fall asleep on rail tracks. If thelockdown had been properlyplanned, such horrifying inci-dents could have been avoided.

Ibne GiasuddinMumbai

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Sir — The death of the 16labourers in Maharashtra hap-pened solely due to the suddenannouncement of a lockdownand the denial of transport tothem for weeks. It is a pity thatwhile no one was ready to givethem even �5 when they werealive, after their death, theGovernment has immediatelyannounced �5 lakh as grant.

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The right communication strategy andleveraging technology is an important pol-icy to deal with the COVID-19 pandem-

ic. As we move ahead to the critical stage where-in certain activities have been allowed in Greenand Orange Zones, there is a need for a commu-nication strategy that helps drive behaviouralchange and ushers in an era whereby we can learnto live with the virus. This requires effective two-way communication between the citizens and theGovernment, which has been the core strengthof MyGov till now. It has been the endeavour ofMyGov to act as a bridge between citizens andthe Government and ensure citizen participationand information dissemination on platforms thatmost people use.

When the pandemic began, it was realisedthat words and phrases like “quarantine”, “socialdistancing” and “lockdown” needed to be com-municated well as most people didn’t know whatthese terms meant. Social distancing was an alienconcept. Hence, epidemiologists and healthexperts came up with Dos and Don’ts for prevent-ing the spread of the Coronavirus. Fake news andmyth busters posed another challenge thatMyGov had to deal with. We had all kinds of con-spiracy theories being bandied about, rangingfrom a Wuhan laboratory experiment gone wrongto use of hot water and garlic to kill the virus.There was a need to bust these myths and focuson making interventions like the use of masksand washing hands properly for 20 seconds thenorm. This was done with explanatory infograph-ics and videos that helped explain all these in sim-ple language.

Towards this objective, MyGov India, the cit-izen engagement platform of the Governmentlaunched several initiatives on its MyGov.in plat-form as also its dedicated COVID-19 page, coro-na.mygov.in to support the communicationefforts of the Ministry of Health and FamilyWelfare. MyGov has a presence on almost allsocial media platforms that include not only theconventional ones like Facebook, Instagram,Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn but for the COVID-19 campaign, MyGov is also using unconvention-al platforms like Telegram, TikTok, Helo, VMateand Likee, with an objective to reach out to allsections of people by leveraging all channels andplatforms.

Content was created in multiple languagesand also sign language to ensure that everyonebecame part of the communication process.Videos from reputed doctors were made to ensureclear and correct messaging. MyGov alsolaunched its MyGov Saathi Chatbot that is avail-able on WhatsApp & FB Messenger and is alsoavailable on https://mygov.in andhttps://self4society.mygov.in. MyGov Saathi is amobile-enabled platform and uses a menu-dri-ven approach, allowing users to select availableoptions such as “Latest update on Coronavirusin India”, “State-level status”, “Useful alerts” and“Where to get help” to access information. It pro-vides ready access to COVID-19 related resourcessuch as latest updates, helplines, advisoriesfrom various Central and State Governmentdepartments as well as access to Self4Society ini-tiatives, including donation and volunteeringopportunities.

Another key feature of the campaign is the

ability to ensure adherence to lockdownregulations which are among thestrictest in the world and have con-tributed greatly in limiting the spreadof the pandemic till now. This was madepossible by the Prime Minister’s call forthe “Janata (people’s) curfew”, cheeringand clapping for healthcare profession-als, the 9PM-9Minute lamp-lightinginitiative, showering of petals on hos-pitals and so on. Some may not find anymerit or value in these initiatives butwhen we did the sentiment analysis ofthe social media posts, it was found thata vast majority of people supportedthese measures.

We also launched the pledgesaround these campaigns — JanataCurfew Pledge, Stay Home, Stay SafePledge and Fight Against Corona —which saw the participation of lakhs ofpeople. The Citizens’ Ideas andSuggestions page saw more than1,00,000 suggestions coming from cit-izens. The Innovation Challenge fortechnological solutions launched onMyGov led to brilliant ideas and solu-tions — including those on contacttracing, which has now evolved into theAarogya Setu app. The quiz onCOVID-19 has seen almost 1,00,000entries.

These initiatives help the people getinvolved and once they are engaged,they feel part of the overall solution tothe pandemic. It has been a veryimportant part of our communicationsstrategy.

The launch of the Aarogya Setu appis an important part of the Coronaviruscampaign. Given the questions raisedby some with regard to privacy issues,it was essential to communicate clear-ly what the app does, why it is requiredand how privacy is built into the appby design. This was done by innovativeuse of graphics and videos. Evencelebrities like Ajay Devgn helped in

creating the #SetuMeraBodyguard cam-paign which was also endorsed by sim-ilar videos by regional language super-stars like Nirahua in Bhojpuri and AnujSharma in Chhattisgarhi.

Top cricketers helped in the#TeamMaskForce campaign that pro-moted use of masks. Campaigns aroundthese hashtags were launched on socialmedia platforms that helped in gettinguser-generated content even in region-al languages that contributed to carry-ing the message far and wide.

The lockdown instructions were amajor challenge for us. The feedbackwas that many people were finding itdifficult to interpret the directionsand there was a lot of confusion onwhat to do. Immediately, MyGovdemystified the directions and instruc-tions by coming up with simple, easyto read and understand infographicswhich became very popular. These werealso translated in various languageswith the help and support of a volun-teer group who did it pro bono.

With the lockdown, came the chal-lenge of catering to the migrant labour-ers and there were a lot of issues regard-ing shelter homes and feeding centresfor the poor and urban homeless.MyGov collaborated with Google Mapsand Map My India and put details ofshelters and feeding homes of around750 cities on Maps so that they wereeasy to find and locate. Google alsolaunched a messaging service forMyGov on Google Maps which hasbeen integrated with the Saathi Chatbotto answer queries instantly.

When the Myth Busters infograph-ic was released, it became viral and mil-lions of people shared it. A suggestionwas received to make it available inaudio format. Accordingly, these, as alsoCOVID-19 updates, were convertedinto audio podcasts as part of MyGovSamvaad. These podcasts were also

shared with more than 200 CommunityRadio Stations who translated the con-tent and helped expand the outreach ofCOVID-19 messaging. Further, it wasfelt that we also need to address anxi-ety and stress specially for people dur-ing the lockdown. So, an initiative called“Positive Harmonies” was launched inwhich prominent musicians fromacross the country created specialnumbers for MyGov along with theirmessages to help manage the crisis. Thishas become very popular. One key fea-ture of all these endeavours has beenthat all of this was managed by ourteams while working from home. Teammembers collaborated across citiesand came up with brilliant innovations.We greatly benefitted from collabora-tions with top technology companies,media, volunteers and variousGovernment departments. Innovationand collaboration seem to be ourstrength that has not only helped us inour communications but will ulti-mately help us tide over this crisis.

As India completes almost sixweeks of the lockdown, one realises thatsome of the learnings from this crisiswill help us in future, too. It is possi-ble to work remotely and not everyoneneeds to commute daily for work. Thereare collaboration tools available that canhelp get output, that in some cases canbe better than what is possible now. Ifemployees save three hours of commutetime, it will make them happier.

Other benefits will be lesser trafficand congestion, a smaller carbon foot-print and we may be addressing issuesof climate change, too. In the days tocome, one expects that more and morecompanies will adopt this and it willgreatly transform lives.

(The writer is CEO MyGov andPresident & CEO, National eGovernance Division. Views expressedare personal.)

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Even as corporates, MSMEs, infor-mal sector workers and othersimpacted by the pandemic are

demanding relief packages from theCentre, the States, too, have given theGovernment their wish list and fiveStates have collectively sought close to�2,25,000 crore. While Maharashtrahas asked for �50,000 crore,Chhattisgarh wants �30,000 crore,Kerala, �80,000 crore, Rajasthan�40,000 crore and West Bengal hasdemanded �25,000 crore as immedi-ate compensation for the revenue losssuffered because of the nationwidelockdown. Rajasthan Chief Minister,Ashok Gehlot has also proposed set-ting up of a �1,00,000 crore national

COVID-19 management fund fromwhich the States can get money as andwhen needed. This is supported byMamata, who also wants �10,000 to begiven to every worker from the unor-ganised sector, tea gardens, MSMEsand farmers.

The Punjab Chief Minister,Amarinder Singh, has asked for rev-enue grant for the next three months,with flexibility to spend as per localconditions; bonus to farmers for stag-gered purchase of wheat; direct cashassistance to daily-wage industrialand agricultural labourers.

This is in addition to other pend-ing demands such as immediate releaseof GST compensation for December2019–January 2020; increase in theborrowing limit from three per cent ofthe State GDP under the FiscalResponsibility and BudgetManagement (FRBM) Act to five percent; suspending repayment of allState development loans for a periodof three months; allowing flexi-fundsunder Centrally Sponsored Schemes(CSS) for COVID-19 management andfurther increase in their Ways andMeans Advances (WAMA) limit which

helps them borrow more; deferringpayment of GST Advance Tax and ITfor six months by MSMEs.

In a crisis, when the devastationcaused is widespread and the atmos-phere is surcharged, any demand,even if it happens to be unreasonable(for instance Maharashtra has soughtuntied assistance of �1,00,000 crore)carries enormous appeal. But thisraises the bigger question, what is therealistic amount that States ought to beasking for?

This depends a lot on the assis-tance already announced by the Centrefor beneficiaries under the latter’sown package. So, what is it that theCentre is giving?

The Centre has promised torelease during the first ten months ofthe current financial year till January2021, 70 per cent of the share of theCentral taxes to States (as per the 15thFinance Commission recommenda-tion) which works out to �5,50,000crore. This is based on Budget projec-tion of total devolution to States atabout �8,00,000 crore. Thus, even if theCentre’s tax collection declines, whichis inevitable due to the pandemic, the

funds available to States won’t face anycut. It has also released a portion of thepending GST compensation despitefacing a shortfall in cess collection. Forthis purpose, it has not only used the�30,000 crore surplus from the previ-ous year but also intends to borrowmoney to ensure that all dues arecleared. The Government has givenhelp to States through release of firstinstalment of money for the Centrally-funded schemes.

Besides, the RBI has allowed 60per cent increase in the Ways andMeans Advances (WMA) limit ofStates (these borrowings are intendedto help them tide over temporary mis-matches in cash flows of their receiptsand expenditures; however, this moneyneeds to be returned within threemonths of availing) over and above thelevel as on March 31.

Invoking the recommendation ofthe NK Singh Committee on review ofthe FRBM Act (2003), which permitsbreach of the fiscal deficit (FD) targetby 0.5 per cent in exceptional circum-stances, the Centre has also allowedStates to breach the cap of three percent of State GDP by 0.5 per cent.

The funds available through theabove four routes should help inaddressing the resource crunch facedby States. The increase in WMA limitby 60 per cent will put about �50,000crore at their disposal. Likewise, relax-ation in the FRBM limit gives themadditional leeway. For instance,Maharashtra will be able to borrow�15,000 crore extra (0.5 per cent ofabout �30,00,000 crore being the StateGDP). Further, States getting theirshare of taxes from Centre’s kitty alsohelps immensely. As far as GST com-pensation is concerned, the Centre isdoing its best to clear pending dues.

In addition, under the PM GareebKalyan Scheme (PMGKS), the Centreis giving �1,70,000 crore directly to thebeneficiaries. This includes five kg ofrice or wheat per person per month for“free” to around 80 crore people forthree months; ex-gratia of �500 permonth to Women Jan Dhan accountholders; �2,000 under PM-KISAN toabout nine crore farmers; ex-gratiaamount of �1,000 for three crore wid-ows and senior citizens; free gas cylin-ders to 8.3 crore Women Ujjawalascheme beneficiaries and �20 hike in

wages under the MGNREGA. Furthermore, States can use the

nearly �31,000 crore welfare fund forbuilding and construction labourers tohelp them; funds under the districtmineral fund for testing activities, med-ical screening and providing healthcareto fight the pandemic. The Centre isalso paying the EPF contribution ofboth the employer and the employeeor 24 per cent for three months.

The benefits under the aboveschemes are accruing to tens of mil-lions, spread all over the States, whichthe latter need to consider while arriv-ing at their requirement.

Likewise, measures taken by theRBI to give more credit, reduce cost ofcredit and ease norms for stressedassets are helping entities — both informal and informal sector — locat-ed in States. The boost provided bymassive liquidity injection of close to�5,00,000 crore at mere 4.4 per centalso needs to be suitably captured intheir calculations. The States shouldonly ask for “incremental” support, ifrequired.

But, that is not happening. Forinstance, when Maharashtra wants

�1,00,000 crore, the argument given isthat this is needed “to compensate forthe revenue loss due to lockdown.” Isthe Centre to believe that Maharashtrahas lost this much revenue in 40 days?This is bizarre. If, this is the projectedloss for the whole year, then also thedemand for releasing it immediately isuntenable.

How the situation will unfold afterthe lockdown ends, no one can predict.One can’t rule out a V-shaped recov-ery. In that case, the revenue loss dueto the pandemic would be much less.Even if there is contraction in the econ-omy and loss is huge, then also Statescan afford to wait for the help to comelater. The States need to take an objec-tive and reasonable view. They shouldcorrectly assess the amount needed forApril–June. Then consider what isalready being given by the Centre andthe RBI. If funds are still needed,request for the incremental only shouldbe put up. The States should under-stand that the Centre doesn’t haveunlimited funds and accordingly mod-erate their demands.

(The writer is a New Delhi-basedpolicy analyst)

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Plastic spacing barriers andmillions of masks appeared

on the streets of Europe’s newlyreopened cities Monday, asFrance and Belgium emergedfrom lockdowns, theNetherlands sent children backto school and Spain let peopleeat outdoors.

All faced the delicate bal-ance of trying to restart bat-tered economies without caus-ing a second wave of coron-avirus infections.

Fears of infection spikes incountries that eased theirrestrictions have been borne outover the past few days inGermany, where new clusterswere linked to three slaughter-houses; in Wuhan, the Chinesecity where the virus started; andin South Korea, where onenightclub customer was linkedto a 85 new cases.

Health officials in the U.S.will be watching closely in thecoming days for any resur-gence of the virus two weeksafter states began graduallyreopening.

Authorities have warnedthat the scourge could comeback with a vengeance withoutwidespread testing and tracingof infected people’s contacts,and efforts to assemble contact-tracing teams are underway inEurope and the US.

While some countries such

as Germany have establishedrobust tracing abilities, othercountries are far behind. Britainabandoned an initial effort inmid-March when the virus’srapid spread made it impossi-ble. Now it is recruiting 18,000people to do the legwork oftracking contacts.

Britain and other countriesare also developing contact-tracing cellphone apps thatcan show whether someone hascrossed paths with an infectedperson.

In the hardest-hit corner ofthe US, contact tracers in NewYork began online trainingMonday. A May 15 goal forreopening parts of the statehinges on the ability to trackthe spread of the virus.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo set arequirement of 30 contact trac-ers per 100,000 residents forareas to reopen. That translatesto about 6,000 workersstatewide.

Contract tracing across therest of the US is a patchwork ofapproaches and readiness levels.

In loosening up the coun-try’s lockdown, German author-ities have spelled out a specificlevel of infection that couldlead to the reimposition ofrestrictions in local areas. Othercountries — and US states —have been vague about whatwould be enough to triggeranother clampdown.

With Monday’s partial

reopening, the French did nothave to carry forms allowingthem to leave their homes.Crowds formed at some metrostations in Paris, but the city’snotorious traffic jams wereabsent. Only half the stores onthe Champs-Elysees were open.

Parisian hairdressersplanned to charge a fee for thedisposable protective gear theywill have to give customers.Walk-ins will be a thing of thepast, said Brigitte L’Hoste, man-ager of the Hair de Beauté salon.

“The face of beauty willchange, meaning clients won’tcome here to relax. Clients willcome because they need to,”said Aurelie Bollini, a beauti-cian at the salon. “They willcome and aim at getting themaximum done in the shortesttime possible.”

In South Korea, the gov-ernment clamped down again,halting school reopeningsplanned for this week andreimposing restrictions onnightclubs and bars. It is tryingto track down 5,500 patrons ofa Seoul nightlife district bychecking credit-card transac-tions, cellphone records andsecurity camera footage.

In China, ShanghaiDisneyland reopened but withlimited visitors who had to wearface masks and have their tem-peratures checked.

Roughly half of Spain’s 47million people shifted into

looser restrictions, beginning tosocialize, shop in small storesand sit outdoors at restaurants.Its biggest cities, Madrid andBarcelona, remained underlockdown.

Spanish hotels were allowed

to open with precautions, buttheir financial prospects werebleak with people not allowed totravel outside their provincesand few flights from overseas.

“Unfortunately this year’sbusiness is lost already. It’s going

to be catastrophic,” said ManuelDomínguez, manager at Seville’sDoña María Hotel.

In Belgium, Brussels’ City2shopping mall reopened, and“everyone was impatient toopen their shops, see their

customers, so it is a reliefdespite the tremendous workthey did to adapt their shops,to create paths with entries andexits for customers,” said man-ager Jurgen De Gelas.

British Prime Minister BorisJohnson announced a modesteasing of the country’s lockdownbut urged citizens not to squan-der the progress made. Somepeople, however, were confusedas the government shifted its slo-gan from “Stay at Home” to “StayAlert.” Scotland, Wales andNorthern Ireland stuck withthe old motto.

At the risk of more confu-sion, the British government didan about-face on masks Monday,telling people to cover theirmouth and nose in stores and onbuses and subways.

People in jobs that cannotbe done at home “should beactively encouraged to go towork” this week, Johnson said.He also set a goal of June 1 tobegin reopening schools andshops if Britain can control newinfections. Johnson himself isthe only world leader to suffera serious bout of COVID-19.

At London’s Waterlootrain station, not everyonewas convinced. “I am nervousabout going back, because I havea family and they have been iso-lating since the start. I feel likeI am now putting them at risk,”said Peter Osu, 45, who wasreturning to work at a con-

struction site.In the US, Trump adminis-

tration officials spoke opti-mistically about a relativelyquick economic rebound fromthe pandemic — but thenannounced that Vice PresidentMike Pence is “self-isolating”after an aide tested positive.

The US has seen 1.3 mil-lion confirmed infections andabout 80,000 deaths, the mostin the world by far, accordingto a tally by Johns HopkinsUniversity. Worldwide, 4 mil-lion people have been report-ed infected and more than2,80,000 have died, over150,000 of them in Europe.Health experts believe all thosenumbers understate the truetoll of the outbreak.

Dr Christopher Murray,director of the University ofWashington institute that hascreated a widely cited model pro-jecting the course of the out-break, said that moves by statesto reopen businesses “will trans-late into more cases and deathsin 10 days from now.” Infectionsand deaths are going up morethan expected in Illinois,Arizona, Florida and California,he said. In South Africa, author-ities in Cape Town and the sur-rounding province consideredreimposing a stricter lockdownas the area became the country’scoronavirus hotspot. Theprovince accounts for about halfof South Africa’s 200 virus deaths.

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Moscow: Russia has reporteda record 11,656 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours,raising the total number ofinfections to 221,344, the coun-try’s coronavirus response cen-tre said ont Monday.

The more than 10,000 sin-gle-day increase has nowentered the ninth day, Xinhuanews agency.

The death toll grew by 94to 2,009, while 39,801 peoplehave recovered, including arecord of 5,495 over the last 24hours, the statement said.

Moscow, the country’sworst-hit region, confirmed6,169 new cases in the past 24hours, taking its total to115,909.

Russia’s consumer rightsand human well-being watch-dog said on Monday that247,842 people were undermedical observation as ofSunday. IANS

Tehran: A missile fired duringan Iranian training exercisemistakenly struck a naval ves-sel instead of its intended tar-get in waters near the strategicStrait of Hormuz, killing 19sailors and wounding 15 oth-ers, Iranian authorities said onMonday.

The bungled training exer-cises took place on Sunday andraised new questions aboutthe readiness of the IslamicRepublic’s armed forces amidheightened tensions with US,just months after they acci-dentally shot down a Ukrainianjetliner near Tehran, killing176 passengers.

It also comes soon after atense naval encounter betweenIranian and US forces in thenearby Persian Gulf.

President Donald Trump

withdrew the US from Tehran’snuclear deal with world pow-ers two years ago, launching amaximum pressure campaignagainst Iran that has pushed thearchrivals to the verge of con-flict repeatedly.

Analysts have warnedregional tensions likely willincrease again. This week alsomarks the one-year anniversaryof attacks on oil tankers nearthe strait that the US blamed onIran.

Sunday’s friendly fire inci-dent struck the Iranian navyvessel Konarak near the port ofJask, some 1,270 kilometers(790 miles) southeast of Tehranin the Gulf of Oman, theIranian army said in a state-ment.

Iran’s regular Navy typicallypatrols those waters, while ves-

sels from the paramilitaryRevolutionary Guard usuallypatrol the Persian Gulf.

The Konarak, a Hendijan-class support ship taking partin the exercise, came too closeto a target and the missilestruck it, state TV said.Authorities did not identify theship that fired the missile,though semiofficial media inIran identified it as the Iraniandestroyer Jamaran.

The Konarak had beenputting targets out for otherships to target, state TV said.

Initially, officials said onlyone sailor had been killed.That number quickly changedto 19. A local hospital admit-ted 12 sailors and treatedanother three with slightwounds, the state-run IRNAnews agency reported. AP

Washington: Inspired by thecheetah, scientists have devel-oped a new type of soft robotthat can move over three timesfaster on solid surfaces or in thewater than previous genera-tions of such machines.

The new soft robots arealso capable of grabbing objectsdelicately — or with sufficientstrength to lift heavy objects,according to the research pub-lished in the journal ScienceAdvances. Cheetahs are thefastest creatures on land, andthey derive their speed andpower from the flexing of theirspines, said Jie Yin, an assistantprofessor at North CarolinaState University in the US.

“We were inspired by the

cheetah to create a type of softrobot that has a spring-pow-ered, ‘bistable’ spine, meaningthat the robot has two stablestates. We can switch betweenthese stable states rapidly bypumping air into channels thatline the soft, silicone robot,” Yinsaid.

“Switching between thetwo states releases a significantamount of energy, allowingthe robot to quickly exert forceagainst the ground. Thisenables the robot to gallopacross the surface, meaningthat its feet leave the ground,”said Yin. Previous soft robots,the researchers said, werecrawlers, remaining in contactwith the ground at all times,which limits their speed.

They said the fastest softrobots until now could move atspeeds of up to 0.8 body lengthsper second on flat, solid sur-faces.

The new class of softrobots, which are called“Leveraging Elastic instabilitiesfor Amplified Performance”(LEAP), are able to reachspeeds of up to 2.7 body lengthsper second— more than threetimes faster— at a low actuationfrequency of about 3 Hertz,according to the researchers.

These new robots are alsocapable of running up steepinclines, which can be chal-lenging or impossible for softrobots that exert less forceagainst the ground, theysaid. PTI

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Four back-to-back roadsidebombs exploded in a north-

ern district of Afghanistan’scapital Kabul on Monday,wounding four civilians includ-ing a child, police said.

Kabul police spokesmanFerdaws Faramarz said a clear-ance team was at the site of theattacks.

Terrorists have carried outseveral roadside bombings androcket attacks in Kabul andother parts of the country inrecent weeks, but Monday’sfour consecutive explosionsappeared to be the first coor-dinated effort for some months.

The Taliban has not carriedout any large attacks in the citysince they signed a landmarkwithdrawal deal with the US inFebruary, meant to pave theway for peace in the country.

No group has claimed theattacks.

The explosions come asauthorities are trying to imposea lockdown in the capital tocurb the spread of coronavirusin the country.

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Pakistan’s Opposition partieson Monday accused

Prime Minister Imran Khan’sGovernment of mishandlingthe coronavirus crisis, as the total number of the Covid-19 patients in the country roseto 31,684.

During a NationalAssembly session convenedafter a gap of nearly twomonths, Pakistan MuslimLeague-Nawaz (PML-N) leaderand former Defence MinisterKhawaja Asif led the criticism.

Deputy Speaker QasimKhan Suri chaired the sessionin the absence of Speaker AsadQaiser who is recovering fromthe coronavirus.

The meeting is the firstsince the outbreak of Covid-19

in the country.Asif said that the federal

government was confused overthe issue of how to handle thecoronavirus crisis.

“The current situation thatwe are in is due to the approx-imately two months-long neg-

ligence showed by theGovernment. When we hadfewer deaths, the entire coun-try was completely shut down.Now that we are seeing a dan-gerous spike in cases, they areeasing lockdown restrictions,”he said.

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The US Federal Bureau ofInvestigation and cyberse-

curity experts believe Chinesehackers are trying to stealresearch on developing a vac-cine against coronavirus, twonewspapers reported Monday.

The FBI and Departmentof Homeland Security are plan-ning to release a warning aboutthe Chinese hacking as gov-ernments and private firmsrace to develop a vaccine forCovid-19, the Wall StreetJournal and New York Timesreported.The hackers are alsotargeting information and intel-lectual property on treatmentsand testing for Covid-19.

US officials alleged that thehackers are linked to theChinese Government, thereports say.The official warningcould come within days.

In Beijing Foreign Affairsministry spokesman Zhao Lijianrejected the allegation, sayingChina firmly opposes all cyberattacks. “We are leading theworld in Covid-19 treatment andvaccine research. It is immoral totarget China with rumors andslanders in the absence of anyevidence,” Zhao said. The warn-ing would add to a series of alertsand reports accusing govern-ment-backed hackers in Iran,North Korea, Russia and Chinaof malicious activity related to thepandemic, from pumping outfalse news to targeting workersand scientists.

The New York Times saidit could be a prelude to offi-cially-sanctioned counterat-tacks by US agencies involvedin cyber warfare, including thePentagon’s Cyber Commandand the National SecurityAgency.Last week in a jointmessage Britain and the UnitedStates warned of a rise in cyberattacks against health profes-sionals involved in the coron-avirus response by organisedcriminals “often linked withother state actors.”

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Italy’s transport minister saystourists from abroad won’t

have to go into quarantineonce they are able to visitagain. Presently during pan-demic travel restrictions, for-eigners can enter Italy for as long as five days but onlyfor work reasons. Then theymust leave.

Transport Minister PaolaDe Micheli told the foreignpress association in Rome onMonday that when thatrestriction can be lifteddepends on how coronavirusinfection rates are running inspecific countries.

When visitors for pleasureeventually can resume travel to Italy, “we can’t insistthat a tourist comes and goesinto quarantine,” the minister said.

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United Nations: Internationaltourism could shrink by awhopping 60-80 per cent in2020 due to the Covid-19 pan-demic, resulting in the revenueloss of $910 billion to $1.2 tril-lion and placing millions oflivelihoods at risk, according tothe World TourismOrganization (UNWTO).

The pandemic, spreadacross every country on theplanet, has so far infected 4.1million people and killed282,719 people. The US hasbeen the worst-affected coun-try with 1.3 million confirmedcoronavirus cases and nearly80,000 deaths.

The global internationalagency said the pandemic hasalready caused a 22 per cent fallin international tourist arrivalsduring the first quarter of 2020.According to the UN’s spe-cialised agency, the global healthcrisis could lead to an annualtourism decline between 60 percent and 80 per cent whencompared with the 2019 figures.

“This places millions oflivelihoods at risk and threat-ens to roll back progress madein advancing the SustainableDevelopment Goals,” it said.

“The world is facing anunprecedented health and eco-nomic crisis. Tourism has been

hit hard, with millions of jobs atrisk in one of the most labour-intensive sectors of the econo-my,” UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvilisaid. Available data reported bydestinations point to a 22 percent decline in arrivals in thefirst three months of the year,according to the latest UNWTOWorld Tourism Barometer.

Arrivals in March droppedsharply by 57 per cent follow-ing the start of a lockdown inmany countries, as well as thewidespread introduction oftravel restrictions and the clo-sure of airports and nationalborders. AFP

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After the Government’smove to raise its market

borrowing programme for thecurrent financial year by � 4.2lakh crore, a foreign brokerageon Monday estimated the fis-cal deficit to come at 5.8 percent of the GDP in FY21 asagainst the budget target of 3.5per cent.

In a report, analysts atBank of America also reviseddown their GDP growth esti-mate to 0.5 per cent for the cur-rent fiscal year, as against theearlier estimate of 1.5 per centadding that they fear that thelockdown my extend beyondMay.

It can be noted that due tothe heavy dip in growth - it wassupposed to hit a decadal low

of 5 per cent in FY20 as perofficial estimates - theGovernment is forced to spendthe extra to help restrict theimpact of the coronavirus(COVID-19) pandemic on theeconomy.

Even though a wider fiscaldeficit raises concerns onmacroeconomic stability, manyexperts have backed the moveto spend more.

“We now forecast the cen-ter’s fiscal deficit at 5.8 per centof GDP (from 4.8 per cent ear-lier) versus 3.5 per cent as bud-geted for FY21, with growthlikely to slip to 0.5 per cent(from 1.5 per cent) with thelockdown set to extend beyondMay,” the analysts pencilled.The brokerage said the stateswill also have fiscal slippagesranging from 0.50 to 1 per-centage point of their budget-ed targets for the current finan-cial year.

On likely routes of fund-ing the fiscal deficit, it said theoptions before policymakers

may include open market oper-ations by the ReserveBank(RBI) with a new calendarbeing put out by GovernorShaktikanta Das to comfortmarkets, a direct monetisa-tion where RBI can directlysubscribe to Government debtor incentivising banks to puttheir surplus in money mar-kets, it said.

From a revenue generationperspective, it suggested a 5 percent COVID-19 cess for thoseearning above �5 lakh, whichcan yield the exchequer �20,000 crore. Moreover, thehigher taxes on oil will deliver�1 lakh crore, it estimated.

It said Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman may soonannounce a second round offiscal stimulus which may cost0.75 per cent of the GDP, asagainst the first one of �1.70lakh crore which was 0.35 percent of the GDP.

The focus of the newpackage will be on small busi-nesses, real estate and the

banking sector, it said, addingthat this is after assuming a slipin growth to 0.5 per cent, thebrokerage said.

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The centuries old wholesalespice market, Khari Bawli,

a paradise for spice connois-seurs and dealers, and night-mare for those who dreadcrowd, wore a deserted look onMonday with barely 10-12shops open and no buyersaround.

In normal days, businesscontinues amid chaos causedby carriages parked in the mid-dle of road, shops extending tothe footpath, and thousandstrying to elbow each other inthis market, known for spicesand dry fruits.

“We have enough stock ofred chillies and other spices,like coriander powder, blackpepper, cardamom (elaichi)and cumin (jeera). But there areonly few buyers. We have Patnaand Kashmiri chillies. Buthardly anyone to sell to,” saidKrishna Mittal, a shop ownerin the market, who opened theoutlet as soon as the govern-ment relaxed lockdown norms.

There were only one whitevan and a couple of personalvehicles on the road in the mar-ket where finding parkingspace in normal days is next toimpossible. Few carriages wereparked and locked outside shutshops. Majority of the labourforce -- migrants workers fromUP and Bihar -- have left fortheir native places.

The area outside HariRam’s shop on the main roadalways remained cluttered. Butsince the lockdown, deafening

silence has replaced that. Suchis the situation that chirping ofbirds could be heard.

A shop owner, who openedhis outlet only to take outsome necessary documents,told IANS, most outstationtraders were not coming asDelhi was a red zone.

“They used to buy in bulk.Moreover, no hotels and cater-ing companies are buyingingredients either,” said ShivParshad, a trader.

Khari Baoli is not only thelargest spice market of Asia butalso an important and busycommercial district cateringto the North, West and CentralIndia.

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Global stocks were mixedMonday as investors looked

past dismal American jobs andother data toward hopes for aglobal recovery from the coro-navirus pandemic.

European markets openeddown while most Asian marketsadvanced. Wall Street futuresswung between gains and loss-es. US shares gained despite agovernment report thatAmerican employers cut arecord-setting 20.5 million jobsin April.

Investor optimism is gain-ing as China and some othercountries begin to revive theireconomies. But with infectionnumbers still rising in the UnitedStates, Brazil and some othercountries, analysts warn a glob-al recovery might be some wayoff.”While the argument that for-ward-looking market hopes ofrecovery should override back-ward looking economic gloommay not be groundless, itinevitably understates inherent

fragilities and risks,” Riki Ogawaof Mizuho Bank said in a report.

In early trading, London’sFTSE 100 was off 6 points at5,929.72 and Germany’s DAXlost 0.2% to 10,876.78. France’sCAC 40 declined 0.6% to4,521.51.On Wall Street, thefuture for the benchmark S&P500 Index was down 0.3% andthat for the Dow Jones IndustrialAverage lost 0.2%. Both werepositive earlier in the day.

On Friday, the S&P 500Index rose 1.7% and the Dowadded 1.9%. The Nasdaq com-posite rose 1.6%.

Investors expect a weekfilled with data announcementsincluding European factory out-put and trade, U.S.Unemployment claims and retailsales and Australianjobs.Markets got a jolt Sundaywhen one of Latin America’slargest airlines, Chile’s Avianca,asked a New York City bank-ruptcy court for protection fromcreditors while the carrier reor-ganizes amid a travel slump itsaid has cut revenue 80%.

Chittaranjan: ChittaranjanLocomotive Works (CLW)built “NAVKIRAN”, firstWAP-7 electric loco of 6000HPbearing serial no 30201wasflagged off from CLW on May10, 2000, exactly 20 yrs back forthe service to Indian Railwaysand the performance of thisloco is quite very encouraging.

With change of electrictraction technology world over,the GTO based technologywhich was used initially waslater changed and upgraded tolatest Insulated Gate Bi Polartransistor (IGBT ) based con-verter technology which ismore energy efficient worldover. Recently, Hotel load tech-nology was introduced and

this loco is presently haulingprestigious Rajdhani &Shatabdi express trains over IR.With further improvements,this WAP-7 HS loco has suc-cessfully passed the trial run at180kmph and clearance wasgiven to run at 160kmph over IR. CLW is also workingfor upgrading the existing6000HP loco of WAP-7 series

to 9000HP and the work ingoing on.

It is to mention here thatCLW got certification fromLIMCA BOOK OF RECORDSfor creating WORLDRECORD by producing 402locos in FY 2018-19 and in theFY 2019-20, CLW surpassed itsown record by producing 431locomotives.

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Veteran industrialist Ratan Tata on Mondaysaid the coronavirus pandemic will force

entrepreneurs to adapt, create and find ways toenable new or modified enterprises that wouldbe benchmarks of tomorrow.

While seeking not to “downplay the chal-lenges and the difficulties embedded in these

current times” the Chairman Emeritus of TataSons - the holding firm of Tata Group said, “Itcan all start on a clean sheet of paper that looksat ways of doing things that were never thoughtof before.” In a post on social media platformInstagram, Tata hoped that entrepreneurs willfind a better way to run their operations fol-lowing the pandemic that has severely disrupt-ed economic activity.

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Farmers body FAIFA onMonday urged the

Government to provide a res-cue package for tobacco grow-ers, saying the crop worth �4,400 crore is lying unsold inthe fields due to the coron-avirus pandemic. FAIFA, whichclaims to represent farmersand farm workers of commer-cial crops across AndhraPradesh, Telangana, Karnatakaand Gujarat, said demand fortobacco has weakened due todeclining volumes of cigarettesand other tobacco products asa result of prolonged lock-down.

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Union Minister NitinGadkari on Monday said

he expects the Centre to unveila financial package in two-three days, observing that thesituation “was very bad” despitethe three-month moratoriumon loan repayments announcedby the RBI. The Minister forMSME, and Road Transportand Highways said the Govtstands with the industry but italso needs to understand theGovt’s limitations. “We are try-ing our level best on how wecan protect everybody,”Gadkari said, adding that whileJapan and the US Govts haveannounced mega packages,their economies are biggerthan India’s.

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Benchmark Sensex gave upall its early gains to end 81

points lower on Monday,dragged by losses in financialstocks as lenders beefing upprovisions against COVID-19risks stoked slippages worry.

Besides, spiking COVID-19 cases in the country andtepid cues from global marketsweighed on investor sentiment.

After gyrating over 800points during the day, the 30-share index settled 81.48 pts or0.26 per cent lower at31,561.22. Similarly, NSE Niftyfell 12.30 pts, or 0.13 per cent,to 9,239.20. ICICI Bank was thetop laggard in the Sensex pack,cracking over 5 per cent, fol-lowed by Kotak Bank, HUL,HDFC, IndusInd Bank, HDFCBank and Nestle India.

On the other hand, HeroMotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, Maruti,TCS and HCL Tech wereamong the gainers.

Joining peers, ICICI Bankmade COVID-19 related pro-visions of Rs 2,725 crore to fur-ther strengthen the balancesheet -- causing worries on fis-cal slippages front. “Indianmarket opened on a positivenote following global cues astrade-war fears receded and

more countries announcedplans to ease their lockdownrestrictions amid hopes of glob-al economies reopening,” saidNarendra Solanki, Head-Equity Research(Fundamental), Anand Rathi.

The traders also took noteof Prime Minister Modi’s meet-ing with chief ministers of allstates which is expected todiscuss the plan for exit fromthe ongoing nationwide lock-

down to prevent the spread ofcoronavirus.

However, the marketcouldn’t hold the strength dur-ing the day as selling pressurewas witnessed in heavy indexweighing sectors like financialand bank stocks, erasing major-ity of gains in afternoon sessionas COVID-19 related one timeprovision were seen undercut-ting the earnings on the finan-cial companies, he added.

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The rupee on Mondaydeclined by 19 paise to

close at a one-week low of75.73 against the US dollar dueto fiscal deficit concerns as thegovernment raised its marketborrowing programme for2020-21 in view of COVID-19pandemic.

Forex traders said whilepositive domestic equities sup-ported the local unit, market

participants were concernedabout the impact of increasedborrowing on the fiscal deficit.

A foreign brokerage onMonday estimated the fiscaldeficit to come at 5.8 per centof the GDP in 2020-21 asagainst the budget target of 3.5per cent as the governmentincreased the borrowing pro-gramme by more than 50 percent to Rs 12 lakh crore fromthe budget estimate of Rs 7.8lakh crore.

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Ten central trade unions onMonday said they are con-

sidering approaching theInternational LabourOrganissation (ILO) againstsuspension of major labourlaws in some States.

The Uttar Pradesh Cabinetchaired by Chief Minister YogiAdityanath last week gave nod to ‘Uttar PradeshTemporary Exemption fromCertain Labour LawsOrdinance, 2020’ to exemptfactories, business establish-ments and industries from the purview of all, exceptthree labour laws and one pro-vision of another law, for threeyears.

The Madhya PradeshGovernment has also sus-

pended some labour laws andas per media reports, Gujarattoo is following suit.

In a joint statement issuedon Monday, the central tradeunions also threatened to givea call for nationwide agitationto protest against such movesby State Governments.

“The CTUs consider thesemoves as gross violation of theRight to Freedom ofAssociation (ILO Convention87), Rights to CollectiveBargaining( ILO Convention98) and also the international-ly accepted norm of eight hourworking day â�” espoused byCore Conventions of ILO),” thestatement said.

It also noted that the ILOConvention 144 with regard totripartism has been under-mined by the Governments.

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The telecom regulator onMonday asked public to

exercise due caution while join-ing online conference plat-forms via audio calls by firstchecking applicable rates fordialling such numbers andtheir helplines.

The advice by the TelecomRegulatory Authority of India(Trai) comes in the wake ofinstances where users experi-enced “bill shocks” after inad-vertently dialling internation-

al numbers to get onto onlineconferencing.

The regulator said it is alsoaware of cases where the cus-tomer care centres of serviceproviders are either premiumnumbers or international num-bers. “Obviously, the mem-bers of public who use such ser-vices inadvertently may have topay higher rates applicable topremium numbers or interna-tional numbers which wouldimply application of ISD tar-iffs,” the telecom sector watch-dog said in a statement.

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Once-booming materialrecycling industry has

come to a standstill after thelockdown, bringing thousandsof traders to the brink of bank-ruptcy as they face mountinglevies from shipping liners andfreight stations for stuck con-tainers despite the Govt givingwaivers, an industry body said.Around 2.5 lakh containerscontaining imported scrap arelying at various ports of the

country waiting for clearancesever since the lockdown began,says material recycle producersbody MRAI. The industry thatgives direct and indirectemployment to 25 lakh people,is staring at a huge financial cri-sis with dimming hopes of arevival from coronavirus-induced lockdown, it said. AGujarat-based trader who didnot wish to be named saidaround 100 containers of scrapmetal imported by him arelying at Gujarat’s Mundra Port.

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To be precise, keeping your handsclean was amongst the first few

recommendations that the globalorganizations suggested to the world-wide people, amid the COVID-19pandemic. The measure was specifi-cally suggested to fight and break thechain of the coronavirus transmissionthat was occurring worldwide.Covering the mouth and nose wereother recommendations that theworld adhered to for eradicating thisvirus.

But as the market demand forhand sanitisers surged drastically,people also raised the question aboutits usefulness and effectiveness. Thecommon question being, are handsanitisers really safe to use? Realisingthe need to debunk the query, wethought of taking an initiative of high-lighting several pointers related to theeffectiveness of the hand sanitisers.

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Citing the medical reports, it’sstated that the alcohol-based handsanitisers are compelling as compared

to the ordinary ones. But here’s a catchthat needs to be addressed by all ofus. A lot of people have also claimedthat the over usage of such hand sani-tisers can lead to an issue like handdermatitis.

So it’s good to stay protected, butjust assure not to overdo it as it can

give birth to some other disease, rais-ing your concern towards your over-all health.

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If you believe that overdoingthings can always work in your favor,

then you might need to rethink this.Hand sanitisers have the potential tokill the germs up to an extent. Butoverusing it can lead to several skin-based issues like psoriasis, dryness ofthe skin, rashes, eczema, dry eczema,and dermatitis.

So if you are using sanitisers, con-sider using it in a fixed proportionrather than overdoing it. Otherwise,it might take a toll on your healthyskin which can turn out to be a mat-ter of concern.

�������������� �����One can simply switch to using

normal soaps for washing hands ifyou are having any doubt about theeffectiveness of hand sanitisers.Consider using an antiseptic soapespecially amid this pandemic.Though remember that even soapsabsorb the skin’s moisture, making itdry and itchy in some situations. Thusit’s suggested to always use a goodmoisturiser after washing your hands,be both sanitisers or soaps.

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���#���%��&�������"��/����#���The spread of COVID-19 across the world is constantly

increasing. India is home to over 25 lakh cancer patients, withroughly eight lakh new cases added up every year. Nearly six lakhpeople die of the disease. Cancer patients are more susceptible toCOVID-19 than individuals without the disease because of theircompromised immune system and various other factors like anti-cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy, targeted therapy andimmunotherapy.

Not everyone will get sick. But like the flu virus, there aredefinitely people who are more at risk. People who are older (par-ticularly over 60) and people with underlying health conditions,such as chronic lung disease, cardiovascular disease, diabetes,chronic kidney disease and cancer appear to be at higher riskfor major complications. That includes admission to intensivecare and even death.

The early data from China, and reports from the ground inother countries of local transmission is that our cancer patientsare going to be at increased risk, infact cancer patients record-ed a 40 per cent mortality rate much higher than any other sam-ple groups. So we’re taking all these factors into considerationwhile treating cancer patients now.

Patients with hematologic (blood) malignancies we believewill have the biggest risk. Also, patients who are in activechemotherapy and those who have undergone bone marrowtransplants. Those are the ones with the most profoundimmune deficits.

Immunosuppressed and cancer patients should be extra cau-tious and treat this like a bad fluseason. There is also a concernamong of patients of what hap-pens if one stops, delays orswitches the cancer treatment.There is a need to do varioustests to assess their conditionand progress of the disease,chemotherapy and radiotherapy,every week, especially for aggres-sive types of cancer.

Cancer patients with sched-uled appointments should keepthem, unless they’re experienc-ing coronavirus symptoms.Those with symptoms are askedto wear a mask, which decreas-es the spread of viruses and bac-teria.

If you develop symptoms of coronavirus such as high fever,a deep dry cough, fatigue and shortness of breath, the first andforemost step is to let someone know, call your provider and tellthem if you have respiratory symptoms. Sometimes, they mayadvise you to stay home or can provide guidelines and protectyou when you walk in the door depends on your symptoms andcondition. And if the symptoms are minor just stay home.Remember, it’s still flu and cold season.

Your family is important and you don’t want to avoid them,but if someone in your household gets sick, use some social dis-tancing. Wear gloves, have them sleep in a different room if youcan, make sure you wipe down areas with some sort of bleachwipes and keep washing your hands regularly. That’s really impor-tant.

It’s also crucial not to bring a sick family member into yourcancer treatment center. We need less people who are ill, not more,You don’t want someone going in with you even if they only haveminor symptoms. It’s important to bring just one caregiver withyou to treatment, not your entire family.

There is an importance of sleep in recharging the immunesystem. Sleep deprivation is one of the most potent ways of sup-pressing the immune system. Everybody has a different thresh-old but if you’re not getting a minimum of six or seven or, ide-ally, eight hours of sleep a night, there’s demonstrable scientif-ic evidence that the immune system may be compromised.

Also try doing light exercises, preferably something aerobic,like walking or jogging, which will get the heart pumping. Takea walk in the fresh air may be in your balcony or garden sinceyou cannot go out due to lockdown.

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���� ���Kachchi kairi, orraw mango, is etched in all ofour summer memories, asstrongly as are the scorchingwinds, the uncomfortable heatand the relentless sun.Drinking juice of raw mangoduring summers is more than amere exercise in palatepleasing. The drink reduces theeffects of intense heat andprevents dehydration, bystopping excessive lossof sodium chlorideand iron from thebody. Theseminerals oftentend to leach outinto yoursweat, durings u m m e r s ,making youdehydrated.

Raw mango is also con-sumed for its action againstgastrointestinal disorders,which tend to go up during thesummers. It is often prescribedto people with morning sick-ness, constipation, diarrhoea,chronic dyspepsia and indiges-tion.

Raw mangoes are great forthe liver, and are believed totreat liver ailments. Having alittle bit of raw mango powdercures the afternoon drowsiness

that often takes effectafter your meals.

This is because itgives your bodyan energy boost

that wakes you upand helpsyou perform

well.

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As the time is passing by, entireworld is witnessing newinsights in regard to novel

corona virus and its effects onhuman body almost every day.Considering COVID-19 to be a res-piratory disease,initially the majorfocus is on lungs and their function-ing but it has also been found thatother pre-existing diseases pose anadditional risk of getting infection.People with, pre-existing diseases likeDiabetes Mellitus, hypertension,bronchial asthma, on chemotherapyfor cancer, on dialysis and with lowerimmunity are at much higher riskthan normal individuals of gettingCOVID-19 disease with seriousconsequences. In recent times newinsights have suggested obesity anadditional risk factor in this regard.

CDC (Centres for DiseaseControl and Prevention) now listssevere obesity as a risk factor forsevere COVID-19; it states thatBMI (Body Mass Index) of 40 orabove is a risk factor for COVID-19.Now the mere fact that incoun-tries like USA, a significant popu-lation is already suffering fromsevere obesity and getting infectedat the same time, which thus mightbe leading to this observation andconsequent hypothesis but still itshould beof major concern.

What really makes obesity a riskfactor for COVID-19, and how it canbe dealt with let’s have a glimpse intothe explanation:

Obese people have lower level ofimmunity due to inflammation dri-ven by certain cells in the fat tissue

, they start experiencing breathless-ness even after doing minor phys-ical work, as the process of oxygensupply to the various parts of thebody is compromised. As a resultthey are at the higher risk of a num-ber of diseases, and COVID-19 isone of them as well. In the presentscenario during lockdown morethan normal eating and no physicalactivity can add to this risk of gain-ing weight and subsequent conse-quences.

Change your approach: First andforemost thing to be kept in mindis that an obese person is already ata major risk of diabetes, cardiovas-cular diseases, high blood pressure,arthritis even cancer. While gettinginfected with novel corona virusentirely depends upon coming incontact with an infected person andfomites, an obese person is at high-er risk of Covid infection, due tothese coexisting diseases Obesitybeing one of them .

Time has come when obesityshould also be dealt as a challengein a country where in some cas-esobese people are culturally calledhealthy or khaatey peetey ghar ke.This is particularly important espe-cially among children as obesity isnotably on a rise and this is a sec-tion of population along with theelderly is already vulnerable to theinfection.

It’s more about overall wellbeingthan only about COVID-19: Thispandemic has increased awarenessand made people serious abouttheir health. So should be the case

with obese people as well. Theyshould be more responsible towardstheir own health and not become apart of the chain of covid-19 dissem-ination and start accepting a healthylife style from today itself. Followingare few points to be kept in mind:� Follow the rules of lockdown,stay

at home andtake extra precautionsin maintaining basic hygiene. � Add immunity boosters to yourmeals like tulsi, ginger, turmeric andtake Vitamin C.� Follow a healthy diet plan. Consulta dietician or nutritionist if need beand make a balanced diet chartaccordingly which leaves little scopeof weight gain. Increase your waterintake if allowed as per your healthor pre-existing ailment.� It may well be a starting point dur-ing this lockdown to lose weight andimprove your health quotient.� Start with mild exercise or simpleyoga asanas at home and then slow-ly speed up the process. There are anumber of exercises which can bedone at home without extra equip-ment and lesser space, for that pur-pose you can take help of socialmedia or follow some fitness experton YouTube. � Keep in contact with your con-cerned doctor if already sufferingfrom any disease or have been fol-lowing some medication.

These times convey a strongmessage to be followed that COVID-19 is not merely about precautionsrather now it’s more about people’sentire wellbeing and future health.Always remember we cannot defeatthis pandemic merely with treat-ment rather with healthy lifestyleand positive attitude in life will bringsignificant change in the world tofight COVID-19 better.������� ������������������ �� ����)��$��� ��"

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Yoga has proved to be instrumental in theimprovement of immune function.

One clear mechanism for this efficacy hasbeen the evolution of the new field of psy-choneuroimmunology, which has provid-ed very strong evidence for the role of psy-chological state on the immune system.While chronic stress and negative moodstates such as anger, anxiety and depressionhave a significant effect in compromisingimmune function; many research studieshave shown that yoga practices are an effec-tive stress management strategy.

Another way that yoga may enhanceour immune function indirectly is byenhancing mind-body awareness. Itimproves healthy behaviors such as gettingadequate sleep, exercise and nutrition,which are contributors to proper immunefunctioning. Whether yoga works by somemechanism to directly stimulate immunefunction apart from the indirect pathwaysis yet to be determined.

Given its positive potential, there is ahigh possibility that yoga practices can actas preventive techniques against infec-tious diseases, and more specifically, of res-piratory-related infectious diseases such asupper respiratory tract infections (URTI’s).With outbreaks and pandemics of coron-aviruses, including severe acute respirato-ry syndrome (SARS), Middle East respira-tory syndrome (MERS), and COVID-19,which are the leading cause of morbidityand mortality from infectious disease inter-nationally, yoga can extend a helping hand.

A well-known ancient ancillary yogapractice called jala neti kriya, referred to asnasal saline irrigation (NSI), involves flush-ing of the nasal passages with a salt watersolution using a neti pot. It has been recog-nised within Western medicine since thelate 1800’s as an effective therapy for treat-ment of nasal and sinus congestion due toallergens or URTI’s. It is hypothesised tofunction by thinning mucous, improvingmucociliary clearance, decreasing edema,and reducing antigens in the nasal and sinuscavities and thereby enhancing the nasalmucosa’s ability to resist the effects of infec-tious agents, inflammatory mediators andirritants. NSIs are now commonly pre-scribed in everyday clinical practice as aURTI treatment.

Taken together, the research on poten-tial efficacy of contemplative mind-bodyinterventions on prevention of URTI’s isencouraging. Along with enhancement ofimmune function by removing the inhibito-ry effect of mood impairment and stress onthe immune system; yoga and meditationpractices have a direct effect in enhancinghygienic preventive behaviors. Though thelatter is a valuable indirect strategy, appli-cation of jala neti could be considered tobe a direct-acting preventive behavioralstrategy for URTI’s. Though there are moreresearches going on to prove the directimpact of yoga on mind, body and soul,time will prove the positive impact of yogaon healthy individuals as well as more sus-ceptible population such as the elderly.������� ��������!.�!���� ������)�������.�,��������A���)��������#�� � � ��B�*���� �� ����������������������.

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Shattered after her graduaterecital was cancelled amid

Coronavirus scare, Brooke Meadnearly gave up. Faced withrecording the concert alone, athome, the 23-year-old viola stu-dent stopped practicing alto-gether.

But then, the music took anamazing turn. After seeking outadvice in an online question-and-answer session with thePhiladelphia Orchestra, she wasinvited to perform her recital onthe renowned body’s live webcastas the lead-in to a rebroadcast ofone of its performances.

That allowed her to reachhundreds of classical music fansaround the world who otherwisewouldn’t have got a chance tohear her play, had her perfor-mance gone on as originallyplanned at Temple University’sPhiladelphia campus.

“It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster emotionally, just thinkingabout going from a packed hall tono hall, to having possibly torecord yourself, to then havingthis virtual audience,” Mead said.

In the online session, Meadasked the orchestra’s assistantprincipal cellist, Yumi Kendall,how she should deal with her dis-appointment. Mead had doneintern-level work for the orches-tra from September to March,and Kendall recognised hername.

“Instinctively, I just raised myhand,” Kendall said. “I said, ‘Oh,OK. I’ll be there. You have anaudience of at least one and I’lldefinitely be there’.”

People watching the discus-

sion chimed in: They wanted tobe a part of Mead’s audience, too.The orchestra’s president andCEO, Matias Tarnopolsky, decid-ed then and there to incorporateMead’s recital into the organisa-tion’s online platform.

Mead felt re-energised. Herapartment became her stage. Herin-person audience was limited tojust roommates and a dog (thecats were too noisy to let into theroom where she performed).

Mead and Kendall, whoserved as master of ceremoniesfor the online recital, ran throughthe program ahead of time towork out logistical kinks. The liveshow — pieces by German com-posers Johann Sebastian Bach

and Jean Paul Hindemith, andAmerican folk musician JayUngar’s Ashokan Farewell — wentoff without a hitch.

When the university cancelledgatherings in mid-March, spurredby widespread social distancingmeasures, Mead didn’t really thinkshe was entitled to be disappoint-ed.

Coronavirus was killing peo-ple, among them was also her part-ner’s percussion instructor, long-time Philadelphia Orchestra musi-cian Alan Abel, who died the dayafter her performance at age 91.Doctors and nurses were riskingtheir health to save others. Andhere she was, mourning the loss ofa concert.

But music has been Mead’s life.She fell in love with it around whenshe was two, when her college pro-fessor mother took her to children’smusic classes on her campus inLancaster, Pennsylvania. She start-ed playing the viola in third grade.

Now, as she looks to a careeras an orchestra performer oradministrator, she has a momen-to to inspire her — a printout toremind her of all the wonderfulfeedback she received during herrecital, virtual cheers and scores ofemojis — clapping hands, smilingfaces and lots of fire.

“I get to read the real-timereactions to my performance forthe rest of my life,” Mead said.

—AP

The almost shutting down ofthe world and the restric-tions around us has made

not just adults but even childrenmiss being outdoors. Staying athome all day can become tiresomefor these active energy bundlesand we need to think creatively tomake staying at home fun forthem. The Montessori teachingmethod fits in perfectly at thistime and can be used to deviseactivities with things that are eas-ily available at home. Children canlearn important skills in a fun wayand stay happily engaged.

Core Montessori ideas aresupported by a strong body of evi-dence in developmental psychol-ogy. Dr Montessori was a physi-cian and brought an observation-based, practical and holisticapproach to the learning anddevelopment. Though over 100years old, its concepts are extreme-ly relevant in an age where chil-dren are exposed to screens evenbefore getting their first tooth.Here are a few simple activity ideasthat you can be done at homewithout any fancy equipment. Asingle activity can apply to morethan one concept and can betweaked to suit any situation.

��� �7��� �Children learn best with

hands-on experience. Researchhas shown that we are more like-ly to remember a concept andunderstand it clearly when we doit on our own, rather than read-ing or simply hearing about it.�Involve them in simple choreswith clear and precise step-by-stepinstructions and appropriatechild-sized tools. Let them keeptoys back on shelves or stackbooks by size. Putting clothes inthe laundry basket, sorting clothesby colour or texture, placing cut-

lery in the correct shelves orfolding small clothes helps buildcognitive skills and logical think-ing. Older children can help setand clear the table or wipe sur-faces. This also instills a sense ofdiscipline, confidence and accom-plishment.�Learning new words andspelling can become a fun activ-ity by enacting the words throughcharades and forming letters usingbody parts.�Science is best understood withexperiments. Seeds like corianderand fenugreek planted in dis-carded containers are perfectopportunities to observe stages ofplant growth. Growing sproutscan demonstrate germination anddouble up as a healthy snack.Experiments with baking in thekitchen can yield delicious out-comes.�Water play can be used to under-stand measurement, volume andgravity right from an early agewhen a child scoops and pourswater into different containers.

��������� ������The Montessori methods are

largely self-motivated as kids learnbetter when they are interested ina subject. They are free to choosewhat and how they want to learnwith reasonable boundaries set bythe parent.�Encourage storytelling wherechildren are free to build a storyaccording to their imaginationand modify vocabulary learningactivities as per the theme. Openended discussion gives the childmore opportunity to think cre-atively and share thoughts.�If a child is interested in build-ings and bridges, let them useblocks to build a tower. Ask themto make the base in different mate-rials and size to understand its

impact.�Don’t give away the answers butjust enough information to piqueinterest. This encourages chil-dren to think and challenge theirbrain.

�� ��7�����Most Montessori materials

are designed to engage all thesenses. These can be easily repli-cated at home with everydayitems.�Tactile development is believedto lead to cognitive thinking. Achild’s sense of touch is highlydeveloped right from birth. Playdough can be made easily athome and used for kneading,pinching and shaping to homefine motor skills. Shapes andalphabets cut out of sandpaper ortextured material make learningfun.�Different surfaces throughoutthe house can be a great sensoryexperience for the child. Let themexplore rough and smooth floors,textures of wood and stone and

reflective mirrors.�Create a set that activates thesense of smell. Toddlers will reactdifferently to the aroma of cinna-mon, lemon, cloves or mild per-fume.�Playing with a rattle is afavourite activity for infants.Move the rattle to vary the volumeand direction of the sound or usebells or drum on the table with aspoon. The child also under-stands spatial context and a senseof direction through this simpleactivity.

���� ��� � ������Faced with so many options,

children tend to get distracted attimes. Enabling them to directtheir attention in a certain direc-tion improves concentration.�Goal-oriented activities helpchannel effort and focus. Forbabies, this could mean kicking aball or grasping a favourite toy.�Use a mat or tray to placeobjects that relate to a certainactivity. This directs focus on

what is in front rather than allover the place. Similar to a workdesk for adults, this defines aworkspace and increases concen-tration.�Children get confused with ifthey are faced with too manychoices and will feel empoweredwhen allowed to make simpledecisions. Limit the number oftoys that a child plays with toavoid over-stimulation and bore-dom within a short period of time.�Schedules and routines give asense of order and familiarity.Follow a set time for meals, napsand bedtime with activities thatcan be associated with them.Reading a bedtime story, dimminglights and a massage are signals ofbedtime.

������ �� �� ������ � �

Moving the limbs help thebrain cells build a connectionbetween a specific movementand its outcome.�For infants, grasping objectslike a toy kept just out of reachencourages movement, dexteri-ty and development of fine motorskills.�The benefits of tummy time areimmense. Activities done by ababy while s/he is on his/herbelly build core strength, neckand upper arm muscles. Let thebaby crawl and explore, withoutworrying about dirty knees andlegs.�Use coloured tape or chalk todraw zigzag lines on the floorwith arrows or create a simpleobstacle course using shoes orsoft toys. Children will enjoynavigating the path with addi-tional rules of jumping, skippingor running at different points ofthe course. Cushions can becomelanding points and a rolled up

rug could work as a balancebeam.

����� ���������Children love to act like adults

and doing things that they see theirparents do. Activities designedaround this make them feel likegrown-ups and are perfect oppor-tunities for you to bond with yourchild.�Age appropriate tasks like carry-ing a jug and watering the plants aresimple things that kids will enjoydoing.�Working and learning together canbe more fun at times. Set up a playdesk or a pretend desk where yourchild can work with you. A simplejigsaw puzzle, a favourite book orcolours can keep them busy whileyou work.�Set things that they may requirewithin reach. Providing a stool in thebathroom for easy access to the sink,fixing the towel hook at a lowerheight, child-safe scissors or plasticknives for them to cut parboiled veg-etables and fruit gives the child achance to become independent.

�� ��� ��� ����When children misbehave, tak-

ing a deep breath before reacting issometimes all it takes to restore calm.�Respond to the child’s feelings andneeds in a sensitive manner. Askingwhy they did something helps themshare their thoughts through opencommunication.�While being strict on rules, be will-ing to discuss the reasons and alterthem if needed.�Consider taking away the freedomto choose for a while, while stillallowing them to do certain activi-ties. This instills the importance offollowing rules and the value of free-dom of choice.

(The authors are the co-foundersof KinderPass.)

In the midst of people practis-ing self-isolation, in response

to the Coronavirus pandemic,filmmaker Shirish Kunder’s MrsSerial Killer is streaming onNetflix and continues to be atrend on the platform.

What emerges as the high-light of the OTT film is ManojBajpayee’s performance. Theactor essays the role of DrMrityunjay Mukherjee, who is agynaecologist and a suspectedserial killer whose wife is deter-mined to prove his innocence bycopying the impugned crime.

Shirish’s whodunnit cap-tures Bajpayee in his elementwith his performances and char-acteristic quirks in the film.When asked about landing therole, the actor said, “Shirishcame to me at the last minuteand I somehow realised thateven if the role is not so lengthy,I will have a great time shootingwith him. He has got a great wayand style of telling the storywithout losing its mainstreamelements.”

With rave reviewsfor his performanceand his latest OTTventure beingappreciated bymany, Bajpayeeis grateful to theviewers. Heexpresses, “Itis over-whelmingto see somuch love

and adoration that I have got. Iwill always be thankful to them.And will think twice beforechoosing anything and shallalways keep them in mind thatthey’re waiting for somethingnew and unique from me.”

The actor who has beenloved for his previous digital out-ings is very much in favour ofOTT platforms. He says,“Whatever content was madeand scheduled for this time isgetting released accordingly. Theshows and films take a lot of timeto be made, so you can’t justrelease it just because there is alockdown. To make a film orshow, there are certain stages for

its completion.Once the

lockdownis over, allthe OTTplatforms

and con-tent aregoing to bein demand.”

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�������� Tennis ace Sania Mirza onMonday became the first Indian to winthe Fed Cup Heart Award for her success-ful return to the court post motherhood.

Sania won the award forAsia/Oceania zone after securing awhopping 10,000 plus votes out of the

total 16,985 cast for this year’s threeregional Group I nominees.

The Fed Cup Heart Award winnerswere determined via online voting by fanswhich went on for a week starting fromMay 1.

Sania’s vote share of over 60 per centof the total votes is a testimony to theglobal popularity of the Indian star at theFed Cup competition.

“It’s an honour to win the Fed CupHeart Award as the first Indian. I dedi-cate this award to the entire country and

to all my fans and thank everyone for vot-ing for me. I hope to bring more laurelsto the country in the future,” she said ina statement issued by the All India TennisAssociation (AITA).

Sania made a comeback to Fed Cupafter four years and helped India quali-fy for the play-offs for the first time inhistory.

After giving birth to her son, Izhaanin October 2018, Sania returned to thecourt in January this year and instantlyachieved success by clinching the

women’s doubles title at HobartInternational alongside Nadiia Kichenok.

Former world number one in dou-bles and six-time Grand Slam champi-on Sania beat Indonesia’s 16-year-oldPriska Madelyn Nugroho for the awardin Asia/Oceania regional category.

The winners from each categoryreceived $2000 as prize money, which the33-year-old Hyderabadi decided todonate to the Chief Minister’s ReliefFund to fight against the Covid-19pandemic. PTI

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Former India openerGautam Gambhir feels theBCCI should behave like a

statesman amid the current cri-sis and he would have a lot morerespect for the richest cricketbody if the national team toursAustralia later this year.

Gambhir was reacting toBCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal’sstatement that if required, theIndian team could go into quar-antine upon their arrival DownUnder for the scheduled tour inthe Australian summer.

However, the need for twoweeks quarantine will only ariseif the preceding T20 World Cupdoesn’t take place in Australia.

“Good on BCCI, fabulous.Good on them. This is a veryvery positive sign, because Ithink they are looking at a farbigger picture, that it will changethe mood of the entire countryas well.

“It is not only about winningseries in Australia, which is veryvery important. But it will changethe mood of both the countriesas well, not only India, but prob-ably for Australia as well,”Gambhir said on Star Sportsshow Cricket Connected.

India are scheduled to playfour Tests Down Under and ifthe tour doesn’t take place,Cricket Australia could lose asmuch as 300 million A$.

“And then you have got to bestatesman as well, when BCCI,they are probably the richestboard and probably the mostpowerful board in the world, so

they need to look at a bigger pic-ture as well and that is whatprobably they have done.

“If India look to tourAustralia, I have got a lot ofrespect then for BCCI…,” addedthe southpaw.

The 38-year-old Gambhir,who played 58 Tests and 147ODIS, also took a jibe at worldbody ICC on the recent Testrankings, where Australia

dethroned India to be the num-ber one side. India slipped to thethird spot.

“No, I am not surprised,because I don’t believe in all theserankings, points system, proba-bly the worst was the points sys-tem what was there in World TestChampionship, you get samepoints if you win a Test matchaway from home, that’s ridicu-lous…,” said Gambhir, who is

known for his straight talk.Questioning Australia’s rise

to the top, Gambhir said theteam was particularly pathetic insub-continent conditions.

“If you have to see from theoverall impact point of view, yesIndia has lost a Test series awayfrom home, they have won inAustralia, but they have been themost competitive side, handsdown, they won a Test match in

South Africa, they won a Testmatch in England and probablynot many other countries havedone that.

“....Because Australia, I haveserious serious doubts, on what

front you have you givenAustralia the number one Testranking, because they have beenpathetic away from home, espe-cially in sub-continent…,” signedoff Gambhir.

�� �� � Former Englandcaptain Alastair Cook hasincluded current India skip-per Virat Kohli in his list ofbatsmen who came close tomatching genius of legendaryWest Indies batter Brian Lara.

Lara, who is the onlybatsman to score 400 in a Testinning, had retired after scor-ing 11,953 runs in 131 Testsand 10,505 runs in 299 ODIs.

During a Q&A sessionwith the Sunday Times, Cookrecalled a 2004 tour gamewhere the legendary WestIndies batsman had scored acentury in a session to leavehim awestruck.

“I was part of an MCCteam that played West Indiesat Arundel in the first matchof their 2004 tour,” Cooksaid.

“We had a decent bowl-ing attack — Simon Jones,Matthew Hoggard and MinPatel, all of whom wereEngland players.

“Brian Lara scored a cen-tury between Lunch and Teawhich made me realise I waswitnessing another level ofbatsmanship altogether. Itwas genius at work,” headded.

Apart from Kohli, theother players who found spotin Cook’s list were RickyPonting, Jacques Kallis andKumar Sangakkara.

According to the formerleft-handed England opener,Kohli finds a spot in the listbecause of his sheer ability toscore runs freely across for-mats.

“Now you would have toput Virat Kohli in that group,especially for his ability toscore so freely in all three for-mats,” Cook said. IANS

������Real Madrid’s players returned to work at theclub’s training ground on Monday ahead of the plannedresumption of La Liga next month.

After finding no positive cases from tests for coro-navirus last week, Madrid players arrived at Valdebebasto train for the first time in two months.

Madrid were one of the first clubs to go into quar-antine after a basketball player tested positive for coro-navirus on March 12, the same day La Liga suspend-ed all competitive fixtures.

But after almost nine weeks training at home,Zinedine Zidane’s players initiated the first phase ofLa Liga’s training programme, that includes playersworking individually, with a maximum of six on a pitchat once.

“Divided into two rotations and on variouspitches, Real Madrid footballers carried out their firstindividual exercises with and without the ball,” the clubsaid in a statement, with several photographs of theplayers in action.

Eden Hazard was among those pictured running,the Belgian returning after undergoing surgery on hisright foot in the United States on March 5.

Thibaut Courtois, Gareth Bale and Marcelo werealso training alone while Zidane wore a mask as hegave out instructions.

Madrid preferred to wait until Monday to begintraining again, after other clubs like Barcelona, Sevillaand Villarreal resumed on Friday.

Barcelona are two points ahead of Real Madrid atthe top of the table.

La Liga’s plan is for players to progress through astaggered schedule that will see them train alone, insmall groups and then finally in larger team sessions.

The league’s president Javier Tebas told Movistaron Sunday night he hopes games might be able torestart behind closed doors on June 12.

Tebas said the remaining 11 rounds of La Ligamatches would be played over 35 days, with fixtureson every day over that period. AFP

�������� India’s national bad-minton coach Pullela Gopichandwants BWF to come up with “rad-ical” solutions to restart the sportsmoothly in a post Covid-19world, suggesting that conductingmore tournaments at a singlevenue could be the way forward.

The coronavirus outbreak,which has so far infected over 41lakh people worldwide, forced theBadminton World Federation tosuspend all events, including theOlympic qualifiers, till end of July.

“BWF should talk to healthpeople and revise the formatitself, the tournament structureitself and do whatever is required,”Gopichand said.

“My view is if somethingradical needs to be done, then let’sdo it and let’s go ahead with thesport,” he said.

In a bid to salvage the inter-national circuit, the governingbody had postponed importantevents such as the Thomas andUber Cup Final (October 3-11),

besides asking for fresh slots fromrespective countries, includingIndia, to conduct the suspendedOlympic qualifiers.

“My concern is that, you aretrying to shift the dates, probablythere needs to be a change inthinking. If the same thing con-tinues, and the whole entourageis travelling again to different

countries then it is again riskingplayers,” Gopichand said.

Shuttlers travel almost everyweek to a new tournament duringthe badminton season. Gopichandsaid this should change.

“I would say, planning of thetournaments has to be such thatplayers can actually stay at oneplace and play more number oftournaments. It could be the nextnormal,” he said.

There is speculation that thesport might initially return with-out fans in the wake of the glob-al health crisis.

Gopichand believes one wayof going about things is to segre-gate the players on the basis oftheir respective formats — men’ssingles, women’s singles and dou-bles — and then conducting tour-naments in three different coun-tries simultaneously.

“If there are no spectators, andit is a TV and internet sport thenhow does it matter whether youare conducting it in three differ-

ent places, just lock the players inone place for three weeks.

“Instead of doing the tourna-ments say Indonesia, Malaysia andSingapore in three different places,do it in one place,” he said.

Indonesia, Malaysia andSingapore were scheduled to hostthree crucial Olympic qualifiersalong with India before all theevents had to be suspended.

“You give men’s singles to onecountry, give women’s singles toone country and doubles to onecountry. So parallelly three tour-nament can happen. In this way,players will not have to travel somuch, they can be quarantined,”he said.

“If it is a draw of 32, it is only16 matches per day. We can oper-ate just two courts maximum, sothat you don’t have to mix withmany players.

“So basically, if you really haveto move, you probably have tolook at a radical change in format,”he explained. PTI

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The Sports Ministry on Monday grantedrecognition to 54 national federations till

September this year, leaving out the govern-ing bodies of archery, golf, gymnastics andparalympics among others.

In the revised list, the ministry grantedfresh recognition to the All India CarromFederation.

The Paralympic Committee of India(PCI), Rowing Federation of India (RFI) andSchool Games Federation of India (SGFI)were the ones denied affiliation.

While the PCI initially found a place inthe 2019 annual recognition list, it was de-recognised by the ministry in September lastyear for violating the National Sports Code.

PCI Secretary General Gursharan Singhsaid that the PCI could not submit someimportant documents to the sports ministrydue to the lockdown and that was why it wasnot given recognition.

Just like PCI, the RFI and the SushilKumar-led SGFI too were part of 2019 listbut were de-recognised earlier this year forviolating the 2011 National Sports Code andmismanagement respectively.

The ministry also continued to denyrecognition to the Archery Association ofIndia (AAI), the Indian Golf Union (IGU),the Gymnastics Federation of India (GFI)and the Taekwondo Federation of India.

While recognition to NSFs is usuallyannual, this time the ministry has decidedto offer it only till September this year,prompting questions from the IndianOlympic Association (IOA) presidentNarinder Batra.

“Why September 2020 and why not tillDecember 2020,” Batra questioned.

Sports Ministry officials did not imme-diately respond to calls for an explanation onthe matter.

Ministry’s recognition is of great signif-icance to small NSFs as they mostly dependon the Government’s yearly funding tomanage their day-to-day expenses.

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Pakistan might play more Testmatches during their tour of

England if it goes ahead asscheduled in July after theWindies pulled out of an assign-ment there in June owing to theCovid-19 pandemic.

The Pakistan Cricket Boardand the England Cricket Boardofficials are due to have a videoconference on May 18 to discusshow they should proceed withthe tour given the situationbecause of the pandemic.

“At present we have to playthree Tests and three T20Is butthe number of Tests could beincreased and the tour could starta bit early in July,” a PCB sourcesaid.

The source said that theECB could offer to organise afour or five Test series againstPakistan if the West Indies tourdidn’t go ahead.

Issues that are likely to bediscussed in the May 18 meet area quarantine period for Pakistaniplayers when they arrive in

England in July and limiting thevenues for the matches and play-ing before empty stadiums.

PCB CEO Wasim Khan con-firmed the video conference butsaid so far, the ECB has not spo-ken to them on increasing thenumber of matches on the tourwhich is scheduled between Julyand September.

“Things will be clear after themeeting but whatever decisionwe take we will consult our cap-tains and head coaches beforegiving any confirmation,” Khansaid.

The PCB has so far keptmum on the chances of theseries taking place in Englandbecause of the Covid-19 situa-tion.

But with the BritishGovernment announcement toease the lockdown in the coun-try, it appears Pakistan could betouring on schedule.

Pakistan is also scheduled toplay an ODI series against Irelandwhile in UK but that series couldbe rescheduled and also be heldin England.

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Barcelona football star Gerard Piqueon Sunday said he was “pessimistic”

that the Davis Cup Finals, which hiscompany finances, would be held inMadrid this year.

Pique’s Kosmos investment grouphas a 25-year deal worth $3 billion withthe International Tennis Federation.

However, he believes that theNovember 23-29 finals in theSpanish capital could fall victim tothe coronavirus.

“There is alot of uncertain-ty, we try to beaware of whatt h eGovernment saysregarding sportsand to whether we canput spectators inside theCaja Magica,” Pique told

Movistar television.“I would say I am a bit pes-

simistic, because a Davis Cup withoutfans is difficult.

“I think that nobody at themoment has the certainty that we canput fans in or if it will have to be behindclosed doors. As the days go by, I sup-pose we will have a little more clarity.”

Spain, one of the worst-affectedcountries by the pandemic, starteda four-phase plan last week to relaxthe strict confinement rules applied

since mid-March.In the more advanced

phases of the plan, a maximumof 400 people will be allowedto attend open-air events andjust 50 if they are heldindoors.

Spain won the first edi-tion of the new-look Davis

Cup in 2019, beating Canada 2-0 in the final in Madrid.

�� � � !6 #

Bangladesh all-rounderShakib Al Hasan said it

will be challenging for him topick-up the game from wherehe left off when he finallyreturns to the field after serv-ing his suspension.

Shakib was banned fromall forms of the game for twoyears, one year of that sus-pended, in October 2019 forbreaching ICC’s Anti-corrup-tion Code.

He can finally return tothe game on October 29 thisyear and according to Shakib,the biggest challenge for himwill be to reach the lofty stan-dards he had set for himselfbefore the enforced break.

Shakib was at his absolutebest in the 2019 World Cup ashe slammed 606 runs in 8innings and also picked up 11wickets. He slammed two cen-turies and five half-centuriesduring the group stage butfailed to power the team intothe knockouts.

“First of all, I want toreturn to the game. I willreturn to the game after 4-5months,” Shakib was quoted assaying by DW Bangla as perCricbuzz.

“No other decision will betaken before that. The biggestchallenge is to be able to startagain from where I hadstopped, that is what I’mexpecting from myself.

“Wish I can start fromwhere I ended up. That is thechallenge for me, nothingelse,” he added.

Shakib was suspended forfailing to report corruptapproaches and he said onehas to sometimes pay forbeing ignorant. He alsorevealed his mental healthtook a beating during histime way from the game.

“I have realized that thereare certain things that you justcannot take lightly due toignorance and probably that isthe biggest lesson I learntduring this time,” Shakib said.

“It is very difficult time forme because at the back of themind you always think that Iam not playing or not beingable to play.

For me making sure thatI am not depressed is extreme-ly important as I am lockeddown in my house.”

�� �� 5 67(3

Pakistan pacer HarisRauf heaped praise

on Melbourne Stars’skipper Glenn Maxwelland stated theAustralian helped inbuilding his confidencethat eventually led to thepacer shining in the lastedition of the Big BashLeague (BBL).

He revealed thatMaxwell went out ofthe way to support himright through the courseof the tournament andthat led to him picking20 wickets in his maid-en BBL campaign.

“I feel that coachDavid Hussey and cap-tain Glenn Maxwell’sconfidence in my abili-ties was the key factor inmy excellent perfor-mances in the BBL,”Rauf was quoted as say-ing by PakPassion.net.

“Maxwell had extra-

ordinary confidence inmy ability to bowl andused me where I was ofmost use to the team.

“He went out of hisway to support mewhilst we were on thefield and for my part, Irepaid him by bowlingto the plan and to thefields he set for me,” headded.

Rauf also spokeabout his admirationfor South Africa speed-ster Dale Steyn, with

whom he shared thedressing room in theBBL last term. He spokeabout the things thatSteyn taught him duringtheir brief stint togeth-er and how it helpedhim better his game.

“Dale Steyn hasbeen my role modelever since I started toplay cricket and to be inthe same team as him atthe BBL was absolutelythrilling,” Rauf said.

“I was very happy tomeet him, and I can tellyou that he is a wonder-ful teacher. He gave metips in the nets and gaveme a lot of advice abouthow to go about mygame and what attitudeto adopt.

“In particular, hetold me about theaggression that I need tohave as a fast bowler andsince then I have tried toadopt that attitude formyself,” he added.

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�������� “M S Dhoni is whathe is because of his unbiasedopinions,” said former Indiaplayer R P Singh, recalling aselection controversy in 2008when the pacer lost his place inthe team to Irfan Pathan.

A media report in 2008 hadclaimed that Dhoni wanted RPSingh instead of Pathan for apart of the home ODI seriesagainst England. Withoutacknowledging the claims of thereport, the then Indian captainhad called the selection meet-ing leak as “disgusting and dis-respectful”.

Looking back at that inci-dent and his career of 14 Tests,58 ODIs and 10 T20s, RP Singhsaid he had no hard feelingsover his axing.

“I don’t think I was affect-ed by the leak. The Englandseries we are talking about, Ididn’t get a wicket in Indore.Obviously people think theywill get 2 or 3 more chances. Butit was not meant to be. Some get5 chances, some get 10 chancesthe lucky ones,” the 34-year-old,whose last game for India camein 2011, told Sports Tak.

“But many times it hashappened to me, whenever myperformance dipped, I was

directly sent to play domesticcricket. Sometimes, people tendto stay with the team even iftheir performance dips and getgood quality practice. Themoment you go to domesticcricket, you won’t get that qual-ity competition.”

He said Dhoni was a faircaptain and their friendshipnever affected the wicketkeep-er batsman’s decisions for theteam.

“We (Dhoni and I) had adiscussion about where I couldimprove, what I can do to getbetter. I know MS Dhoni.Friendship is a different thing,but leading the country is dif-ferent altogether. At thatmoment, I think he pushed theones who he thought were bet-ter. I think he pushed peoplewhom he thought would followthe plans better.

“This is why MS Dhoni isMS Dhoni today. His unbiasedopinions on cricket and deci-sion making. I didn’t play asmuch as I should have becausemaybe my speed dipped andmy swing dipped. Everythingelse is secondary. If I hadimproved then, I would haveplayed more. But I am happywith whatever I achieved.” PTI

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