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JOURNALISM OF COURAGESINCE 1932

DA ILY FROM: AHMEDABAD , CHAND IGARH , DELH I , JA IPUR , KOLKATA , LUCKNOW, MUMBAI , NAGPUR , PUNE , VADODARA

THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2020, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES `6.00 (`8 PATNA & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMJOURNALISM OF COURAGE

SINCE 1932

DIPANKARGHOSEBHAGALPUR, JULY1

THESIGNSofeconomicdistressare obvious. It's the city’s oldest“big hotel”, and at 4 pm on aweekday,with offices andmar-kets nearby, the restaurant ofHotelRajhansisempty.Thereareonlytwowaiters,bothwatchingPrimeMinister NarendraModiannouncemore free ration for

thepoor.Asthespeechends,theoverwhelmingfeelingisofrelief—anda littledisappointment.Relief, saysSonuKumar, one

of the twowaiters, because “hedidnot announce another lock-down”.Anddisappointment,be-cause he was waiting for thePrimeMinister to tell the coun-try about whatwas happeningontheborderwithChina.“Idon’tmean a ban on goods, becausethat wouldmeanmore losses,butheshouldhaveatleastmen-tionedChina,no?”heasks.Bhagalpuraspirestobecome

oneof the four “SmartCities” inBihar,withmarketsthatsellmo-bilephonesandplastic trinkets,

flatscreen TVs and silk sarees.Here, traders back the govern-ment in its economic offensiveagainst China. But, with an im-portantcaveat: thegovernmentmust provide options that willnot sink the local economy.With 60,000 returningmi-

grants,andaCovidcounttouch-ing500,thedistrictisalsothefo-cusofamonth-longassignmentby The Indian Express to trackhow lives and livelihoods insmalltownIndiaarecopingwiththeunlockdown.The flavour of the week,

though,isChina.Orrather,ChinaMarket, opposite theBhagalpurrailway station. Its small shops

sellcheapelectronicequipment,most of it sourced from China.There is a torch that sells forRs 230, an emergency light forRs 150, plastic bats, toys. Buttherearenocustomers.“China killed 20 of our sol-

dierson theborder,wearewiththe government. Who doesn’twant to sell Indian goods? Butarethereanyinthemarket?Giveus an alternative,” saysManishSah, a shopkeeper.“Ourbusinesshasfallenover

90percent.Muchof themarketrevolvedaroundtherailwaysta-tion, and since that is shut, ex-cept for one train, everything isgone. If the government bansChineseitemswithoutgivingusany other options, where willwe go?” asks another shop-keeper,whodoesnotwishtobenamed.As for those clamouring for

war, there is a word of caution

outsidethedistrictsoldierswel-fareoffice,about3kmaway.Andtheman voicing it is HonoraryNaibSubedarYogendraMandal,whospent24yearsintheIndianArmy, serving in 10 Bihar and14 Bihar. He spent four years inLadakh, over two terms, and isone of the nearly 6,000 ex-ser-vicemenfromBhagalpurdistrict.That's not all. Both his sons

arealso in the IndianArmyand,he says, one of them is beingmovedtoGalwanValley,thesiteoftheviolentface-offwithChinatwoweeksago.“Iknowhowdifficulttheter-

rainis.Iwaspostedabout110kmCONTINUEDONPAGE2

PAGE1ANCHOR

TheChinaMarket inBhagalpur; (Right)HonoraryNaibSubedarYogendraMandal servedfor20years.His twosonsare intheArmy,oneposted inGalwanValley.DipankarGhose

ASADISTRICTUNLOCKS

ANEXPRESS SERIES

In China Market: ‘Want to sell Indian goods but where are they?’

EXPRESSNETWORK

SECONDBLAST IN 2MONTHSATPLANTIN TN, 6 DEADTNCUSTODYDEATH:SUB-INSPECTORARRESTEDPAGE7

BUSINESS AS USUAL

BYUNNY

TWODAYSAFTERBANONAPPS

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, PATNA, JULY1

INAMOVE that targets Chinesetrade and investments in India,the government Wednesday

said itwould not allowChinesecompanies to participate inhighway projects includingthosethroughjointventuresandalsonotallowChineseinvestorsinmicro,smallandmediumen-terprises (MSMEs).

“Wewill not givepermissiontojointventuresthathaveChinesepartnersforroadconstruction.Wehavetakenafirmstandthatifthey(Chinese companies) come viajoint venture in our country,wewill not allow it,”UnionMinisterforRoadTransport,HighwaysandMSMENitin Gadkari told newsagencyPTI inaninterview.OnMSMEs,hesaidwhilethe

effortwas to enhance local pro-ductioncapacity, foreigninvest-mentwasalsobeingpromoted.

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

SUSHANTSINGH&KRISHNKAUSHIKNEWDELHI, JULY1

A DAY after XIV CorpsCommanderLtGeneralHarinderSingh and South XinjiangMilitary Region CommanderMajorGeneralLiuLinheldexten-sive talks at the Chushul borderpointonwaystoreducetensionsalong the Line of Actual Controlin Ladakh, Army sources indi-cated that moremeetings andtalkswill beneeded, bothat themilitaryanddiplomaticlevels,to

breakthe impasse.Sourcessaidbothsides,atthe

meeting that went on for 11hours,“emphasisedtheneedfor

anexpeditious,phasedandstep-wisede-escalationasapriority”.Thiswasthethirdmeetingofthe

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

RajnathSingh,J&KL-GGirishChandraMurmuWednesday.PTI

CurbsonuseofChinese telecomgear,BSNLcancelstenderfor4G

SHUBHAJITROYNEWDELHI, JULY1

US SECRETARY of StateMichaelR Pompeo Wednesday wel-comed India’s ban on Chinesemobileapplicationscallingthem“appendages of CommunistParty of China's surveillancestate.” And Australian PrimeMinisterScottMorrisonunveiledAustralia’s Defence StrategicUpdate inwhich he referred tothe India-Chinastand-off.FromAustraliatoJapan,United

States toAseanand countries inEurope,a loosestrategiccoalitionis taking on China even asNewDelhi tries tobreak thedeadlockwith Beijing amid the standoffalongtheLineofActualControl.Though this is not linked to

SouthBlock’scoercivediplomacy,CONTINUEDONPAGE2

US backs appban; Chinachill promptspushbackelsewhere too

Wehavetakenafirmstand:NitinGadkari

Chinese firmsbarred fromroadprojects, investing inMSMEs

LAC stalemate: More meetings needed,Rajnath, Army chief in Ladakh tomorrow

Athree-year-oldboywalksawayfromthebodyofhisgrandfather(notshowninthisphotograph)whowaskilledwhenmilitantsopenedfireonCRPFpersonnel inSopore, JammuandKashmir,onWednesday.ACRPFheadconstablediedintheattack.ANI

3-yr-old watching, his grandfather andCRPF head constable killed in SoporeNAVEEDIQBAL,ADILAKHZER&BASHAARATMASOODSRINAGAR,SOPORE, JULY1

THE THREE-year-old pretendshishandisagun,turnstheindexfinger towardshimself, actsas ifhe is pulling the trigger, andmimics thesoundof gunshots.It’s several hours since the

childwas photographed sittingon the body of his grandfather,killed during an encounter atSoporeonWednesdaymorning.He isstillwearingthebluetrackpants and full-sleeved T-shirt

thatofficersattheSoporePoliceStation bought for him, tochange him out of his blood-stainedclothes.The J&K Police, which re-

leased the boy’s photos sayingtheyhadrescuedhimat thesiteof theencounter,saidhisgrand-father, 65-year-old BashirAhmad Khan, was killedwhenmilitantsopenedfireonsecurityforcesontheoutskirtsofSopore.The CRPF,which lost aHead

Constablewhilethreeof itsmenwere injured, said they had gotoff theirvehicles tosetuparou-tinecheckpointwhentheattackhappened. “Militants hiding in

theatticof amosquestartedfir-ing indiscriminately,” a CRPFspokesmansaid, identifyingthedeceased as Head ConstableDeep Chand. While they firedback,theCRPFsaid,themilitantsmanagedtoescape.As the boy listens, back at

Khan’shomeontheoutskirtsofSrinagar, the family accuses po-liceof shootingKhanafterdrag-ging him out of his car. He qui-etly hands over a glass of watertohismotherIram,whoisincon-solable at the loss of her father.“Couldn’t they see he was ac-companiedbyachild?”shecries.

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

Powered by entry-levelsurge, Maruti, Hyundaisee spike in June salesSANDEEPSINGHNEWDELHI, JULY1

MARUTI SUZUKI India andHyundai Motor India have re-ported a sharp rise in sales inJuneoverthepreviousmonth—spikes driven by pent-up de-mand for cars, and a trend offirst-timebuyerschoosingsmallandcompactvehiclesinordertoavoidusingpublic transport.Bothcarmakershaveexperi-

encedafasterrecoveryinsalesinruralareasthatarelessimpactedbytheCovid-19pandemic.Thereis alsogreaterdemand forCNG-run vehicles amid the continu-ousincreaseinthepriceofpetrolover thepastmonth.Maruti Suzuki India, the

biggestmanufacturerofpassen-ger vehicles in the country, an-nounced sales of 51,274units inthe domestic market in June

2020. HyundaiMotor India an-nouncedthesaleof21,320unitsin June.

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

AUTOMAKERSBELIEVEtheyareseeingsomepent-updemand,alongwithpeoplemovingawayfrompublictransportastheeconomyreopensslowlyevenasthepandemicrageson.Availabilityofcreditoneasiertermsisalsohelping.

Someshunningpublictransport

121DAYSSINCEPANDEMICBEGAN

KEYSTATESTOWATCH■Maharashtra■TamilNadu■Delhi■Telangana■Haryana

7 DAYS EARLIER:

3.17NOW:

2.97

7 DAYS EARLIER:

6.20NOW:

6.63

DETECTED TODAY

18,653RECOVERED TODAY:

13,157

TOTALCASES1,74,76190,16787,36016,33914,548

DOUBLINGRATE**21.6614.7618.229.0421.24

SURGEIN24HOURS4,8783,9432,199945338

7-DAYAVGGROWTH*3.32%4.88%3.95%7.97%3.39%

TRACKING INDIA’SCOVIDCURVE

CASES:5,85,492TESTS: 88,26,525 | DOUBLING RATE: 19.84**

RECOVERED:3,47,978DEATHS: 17,400

*CompoundedDailyGrowthRateover last 7days **Calculatedover7-daygrowth

BasedondailydatafromUnionMinistryofHealth, ICMRandstates.Oftendailynumbers includedatafrompreviousdays.Assuch, trendsbasedondailynumbersare indicative,notdefinitive

CASE FATALITYRATIO

Deaths as a ratio ofpositive cases (in %);indicator of progressin averting deaths

Positives againstnumber tested

(in %); indicator ofthe spread of disease

Becoming sick vsrecovering; more

recoveries for 14 daysmay signal the peak

POSITIVITY RATE DAILY IN, DAILYOUT

9 of 12 confession statementsnear copies of one anotherKAUNAINSHERIFFMNEWDELHI, JULY1

THE POLICE have charged 12with the brutal murder of20-year-oldwaiter Dilbar NegionFebruary26intheDelhiriots.Negi’sbodywasfoundmutilatedand charred in Anil Sweets inShiv Vihar, the shop where heworked.Besidesmurder, theaccused

have also been charged withcriminalconspiracy,rioting,andpromoting enmity betweengroups.A scrutiny of their confes-

sion statements by The IndianExpress reveals a pattern: Nineof the 12 accused have state-ments near identical — wordsand sentences are repeated adverbatim.Three of the remaining ac-

cused have distinct statementswhere they talkof howtheygot

a pistol and one admits that hestarted“indiscriminatefiringonHindus.”These statements, recorded

under Section 161 CrPC and at-tached in the chargesheet, arenotsubstantiveevidencebutcanbeusedtocorroborateorcontra-dict evidence during the trial.The chargesheet has been filedin the court of ChiefMetropolitan Magistrate,Karkardooma.Alltheaccusedareinjudicial

custody.

Matching excerpts forfour: SeelampurConsider the matching ex-

cerpts in the following state-ments of Azad (24),Rashid/Monu (20), Ashraf Ali(29) and Mohd Faizal (20) re-lated to theSeelampur riots:AZAD: “In the last few days,therewereprotestsagainstCAA

CONTINUEDONPAGE9

DELHIRIOTSMURDERCHARGESHEET

KAUNAINSHERIFFMNEWDELHI, JULY1

WHILENINEof the12havenearidentical confessions, the re-maining three, Shahnawaz,SalmanandSonuSaifi,havesep-arate statements inwhich theytalkofprocuringapistolandoneadmits to “firingatHindus.”According to Shahnawaz’s

statement — part of the DelhiPolice chargesheet in themur-der of Dilbar Negi — as he sawthe crowd coming fromMustafabad, “I andmy friends,Sahil Parvez, Salman and theirfriends collected sticks, match-stickandbottles.”

CONTINUEDONPAGE9

3 admit to pistol,firing; hunt onfor 24 suspects

JOHNSONTABENGALURU, JULY1

ASYSTEMdesignedtocentralisebed allocations in Bengaluru,with themunicipal corporationgiven the powers to inform pa-tients,determinetheseverityoftheir symptoms, and ensuretheir transfer in ambulances tohospitalsorcarecentres,hasledtochaos in thecity.Ambulances, often carrying

multiple people, arewaiting forhours outside hospitals as thelatter demand paperwork re-gardingtests,whichisnotbeing

madeavailable topatients.On June 27, Karnataka

Director of Health and FamilyWelfareServicesDrOmPrakashPatil issuedacircularforbiddinggovernmentandprivatelabora-tories from conveying positiveresults of Covid tests to individ-uals concerned directly. Theywere told to upload the resultson the ICMR portal and onlysharedetailswithstateofficials.RevenueMinister R Ashoka,

who was given charge of the

state’s anti-coronavirusmeas-uresonJune25,saidoncethere-sult was known, officials of theBBMP (Bruhat BengaluruMahanagara Palike) “who haveaccesstoaspreadsheetwiththelatesthospitalbedpositionswillfind a vacancy and coordinatewiththepatientandambulanceservicestotakethepatienttotherighthospital”.Whilethiswasmeanttopre-

ventasituationwherepatientsCONTINUEDONPAGE2

TESTREP RTSFROMTHE

FIELDTRACKINGTHEVIRUS,

LOCKDOWN

PARESHDAVEOAKLAND(CALIFORNIA), JULY1

CALIFORNIAREGULATORSsuedCisco Systems Inc Tuesday, ac-cusing it of discriminatingagainstanIndian-Americanem-ployee and allowing him to beharassed by twomanagers be-causehewasfromalowercastethan them.USemploymentlawdoesnot

specificallybar caste-baseddis-crimination, but California'sDepartmentofFairEmploymentand Housing contends in thelawsuitthattheHinducastesys-tem is based on religion, whichisaprotectedclass.The lawsuit, filed in federal

court inSanJose,doesnotnamethe alleged victim. It states thathehasbeenaprincipalengineeratCisco's San Joseheadquarterssince October 2015 and that hewas born at the bottom of thecastehierarchyasaDalit.LikeotherlargeSiliconValley

employers,Cisco'sworkforcein-cludes thousands of Indian im-migrants, most of whomwereborn Brahmins or other highcastes.Former Cisco engineering

managers Sundar Iyer andRamana Kompella also are de-fendants in the lawsuit, whichaccuses themofharassment forinternallyenforcingthecastehi-erarchy.Cisco spokeswoman Robyn

Blum said the network gearmakerfolloweditsprocesstoin-vestigate employee concerns inthis caseandwould "vigorouslydefenditself"againstthelawsuit.

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

Californiaregulatorsaccuse Ciscoof caste bias

THEEDITORIAL PAGE

HORSEMENOFTHEAPOCALYPSEBYSYEDAKBARUDDINPAGE10

Govt ICUs full, beds short, Bengaluru battleagainst surge leaves ambulances stranded

INDIA BREAKS SILENCEON HONG KONG PAGE 7

New Delhi

THESECONDPAGE2 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY, JULY2,2020

SoporeKhan’s son Suhail Ahmad askswhyKhanwouldhavecomeoutof his car in themidst of firing,addingthereisnobulletmarkonthe vehicle. “They say he waskilledincross-fire.Thenheshouldhavediedinsidethevehicle.”TheJ&KPoliceandCRPFhave

deniedthefamily’sallegations,in-cluding that security forces tookphotosofKhan’sbody.Soonafterthe shootout, the J&K Policetweetedpicturesofanofficercar-rying the boy after his “rescue”.Minutes later, pictures appearedof himsitting on thebodyof hisgrandfatheronsocialmedia.National Conference leader

OmarAbdullahaccusedthesecu-rity forces of using the boy as a“propaganda tool”. “Everythingbecomesapropagandatoolinthebloody violence in Kashmir. Athreeyearoldtoddlerhastohavehismiserybroadcasttothewholeworldtodrivehomethe‘wegoodtheybad’message,”hetweeted.Omar also said, “Wewould

have expected no less from themeninuniformthantorescuetheyoung boy& for that they haveour gratitude butwewould ex-pectbetterthanforthemtofilm&useathreeyearold’spainthewayit’sbeingdonetoday.”PDP president Mehbooba

Mufti’s daughter Iltija Muftitweeted fromhermother’shan-dle: “Two versions aboutwhatcausedthedeathofa65yearoldcivilianinSopore.FamilyhasheldCRPF responsible for his coldbloodedmurder.”At a press conference, IGP,

Kashmir,VijayKumarsaid,“Ifanycivilian says that the CRPF hasdone this, pleasecometousandreport.Wewilltakeaction.Thisisnot true at all. It is just to spreadrumours and create lawandor-derproblems.”CRPF Special DG (J&K Zone)

Zulfiqar Hassan told The IndianExpress, “I can say that the anglefromwherethefirecameandhitthecivilian, itwas fromthemili-tantside…Thecivilian,whowascaughtinthemiddleofthefiring,mayhavegotouttotakecover.”Thefamilysaysthatthethree-

year-old, the youngest of threesiblings,wasdeeply attached tohisgrandfather.“Heaccompaniedhimeverywhere, sleptwithhimand looked forhimthemomenthe got up in themorning,” Iramsays.EarlyWednesdaymorning,Khanhad takenhimalongashedrovetoHandwara,viaSopore,tofetchthefamily’sdomestichelp.SpeakinginamixofUrduand

Kashmiri,theboywondersatthecrowdathisnana’shouse.ThefactthatKhanisnomorehasnotreg-istered; he askshismother if hecangoout to look, as “nana is inthecarwaitingforme”.Thefamilymarvelsthathees-

capedwithoutascratch.Anaunt,who picked him up from theSoporePoliceStationandgothimhome,says,“Itisamiraclethatthebulletsmissedhim.”

Cisco“Cisco is committed toan in-

clusiveworkplaceforall,”shesaid.“Wewere fully in compliancewith all laws aswell as our ownpolicies.”IyerandKompelladidnotre-

spond to requests for comment.Itwasnot immediatelyknownifthetwohaveretainedattorneys.ThecivilrightsgroupEquality

Labs ina2018report cited in thelawsuit foundthat67percentofDalits surveyed felt treated un-fairlyattheirUSworkplaces.At Cisco, the unnamed em-

ployee reported Iyer to HR inNovember2016foroutinghimasaDalittocolleagues.Iyerallegedlyretaliated, but Ciscodeterminedcastediscriminationwasnotille-gal,andissuescontinuedthrough2018,thelawsuitstates.Ciscoreassignedandisolated

theemployee,rejectedaraiseandopportunitiesthatwouldhaveledto one and denied two promo-tions,accordingtothelawsuit.REUTERS

LAC stalemateCorpsCommanders—themeet-ings on June6and June22wereheldatMoldoontheChinesesideof theLAC,oppositeChushul.In Beijing, Chinese Foreign

Ministry spokesperson ZhaoLijian told reporters: “The twosides continueworking towardsimplementing the consensusreachedatthetwoearlierroundsof commander-level talks andmadeprogressineffectivemeas-uresbyfrontlinetroopstodisen-gage and de-escalate the situa-tion.Chinawelcomesthat.”“WehopetheIndiansidewill

workwith the Chinese side to-wards the same goal, keep upclose communication throughmilitaryanddiplomaticchannels,andeasethesituationandreducethe temperature along the bor-der,”Zhaosaid.Meanwhile,DefenceMinister

Rajnath Singh will be visitingLadakhFridayforareviewof thesituation.AccompaniedbyArmychiefGeneralMMNaravaneandNorthernArmyCommander LtGeneralYKJoshi,Singhwillinter-actwithtroopsandwillbebriefedbymilitary commanders. Thiswillbehis firstvisit toLadakhaf-tertensionsbeganinMay.Army sources said the

TuesdaymeetingatChushul“waslong andheld in a business-likemanner keeping in view theCovid-19protocols”. Thediscus-sions,sourcessaid,“reflectedthecommitmentof bothsides tore-ducetensionsalongtheLAC”.“Moremeetingsareexpected

both at themilitary and at thediplomatic level, in future, to ar-rive atmutually agreeable solu-tionandtoensurepeaceandtran-quility along the LAC as perbilateral agreements andproto-cols,”sourcessaid.The sources did not refer to

any ‘consensus’ or ‘agreement’reachedondisengagementorde-escalation.“Theprocessofdisen-gagement along the LAC is com-plex,”sourcessaid.Disengagement refers to the

process inwhich troops of twosidespullbackfromstandoffpo-sitionsorsituationsofcloseprox-imity, therebyending such face-to-facesituations.De-escalation,in contrast, refers to both sidesbringing downenhanced trooplevels tomore ‘normal’ levels,therebyreducingriskofconflict.A security official told The

Indian Express that during themeeting the Chinese sidestonewalledalldiscussionsonthePangong Tso area where theyhave moved eight kilometreswest on to the Indian sideof theLAC, and are in a faceoff withIndiansoldiersbetweenFinger4andFinger3.Therewasalsonosubstantive

discussionon theDepsang area,where Indian patrols are nolonger being allowed to reachPP10,PP11,PP11A,PP12andPP13—onthearc formedbyRakiandJivannalas—byChinesetroopsataplacecalledBottleneck.PangongTsoandDepsangare

two ‘areas of friction’where thetwosidesdonotagreeonthe lo-cationof theLAC.According to the official, the

emphasisisonatleast“maintain-ingtheequilibrium”sothatnoin-cident, like theoneon June15 inGalwanValley,where 20 Indiansoldiersandanunspecifiednum-berofChinesesoldiersdied,takesplacesbetweenthetwosides.Another government official

saidthatthe“talksatthemilitarylevelareameanstokeepthenewstatusquostable”eventhoughtheIndianpositionisunequivocalonseeking restorationof status quoante as of April on the LAC. ThishasbeenconveyedtotheChinesesiderepeatedly,theofficialsaid.According to the official, the

progress in these talkshas tobeseen from the prism of the“groundsituation,”whichhaswit-nessed no change in the recentpast.OnTuesday,bothsidesreiter-atedtheconsensusarrivedonJune6, butprogresshasbeendifficult

becauseofhighdegreeofmistrustandChineseintransigence.The official said they expect

this tobea“longhaul”andthereis fear it could eventually lead toa“hardenedall-seasonLAC”.Theofficial cited the example of theKargil-Dras sector on the LineofControl(LoC)withPakistanwhichhadno round-the-clockdeploy-ment of forces before the 1999KargilWar.Now,thereisamoun-taindivisionwhichisdeployedinthatareathroughtheyear.

US backs app banmovesbythesecountriesaddupto a concertedpushback againstBeijing.Pompeo,whowasbriefing re-

porters inWashingtonDC, said,“WewelcomeIndia’sbanoncer-tainmobileappsthatcanserveasappendagesofCCP’ssurveillancestate. India’s cleanappapproachwillboostIndia’ssovereignty,willalsoboostIndia’sintegrityandna-tionalsecurity,astheIndiangov-

ernment itself has stated.”Morrison Wednesday

announced Australia’s 2020DefenceStrategicUpdate, a270-billionAustralian dollar 10-yeardefenceplanwhich includes, forthe first time, land, sea and air-basedlong-rangeandhypersonicstrikemissiles.Significantly, the India-China

standofffiguresinitsassessment.“Tensions over territorial claimsare rising across the Indo-Pacificregion, aswehave seen recentlyon thedisputedborderbetweenIndia and China, and the SouthChinaSea,andtheEastChinaSea.The risk of miscalculation andeven conflict is heightening…Previous assumptions of endur-ing advantageand technologicaledgearenolongerconstantsandcannot be relied upon. Coerciveactivities are rife,”Morrison saidattheUpdate’sannouncement.This comes days after

AustralianLabourMPShaoquettMoselmane,whopraisedChina’s

handlingofthecoronaviruscrisis,was questioned by policewhoraidedhishomeaspartofaprobeintowhetherChineseagentshaveinfiltratedhisoffice.OnTuesday,Japan delivered its toughestwords to China on the issue ofHongKong after Beijing report-edlypasseda sweepingnationalsecuritylawforthecitythatTokyosaidwould shake internationalfaith in the “one-country, two-systems”principle.Japan and China are also

locked in awar of words over aJapanesemovetochangethead-ministrativestatusoftheSenkakuIslands,whichChina claims andreferstoastheDiaoyuIslands.Also, last week, India and

Japan Navies conducted their15thjoint“goodwilltraining”ex-erciseintheIndianOcean.The US Federal Communi-

cations Commission’s designa-tionof Huawei Technologies Co.andZTECorp. as “national secu-ritythreats,”isseenastightening

thescrewsonChinesemanufac-turers.Thisis likelytohaveanim-pactonothercountries,includingIndia,which isyet tomakeupitsmindonthe5Grollout.TwoUSaircraftcarrierskicked

offjointexercisesinthePhilippineSeaSunday,aweekafter theUSSNimitz and another carrier, theUSSTheodoreRooseveltconductedtheirownjointoperations in thearea. It is rare tosee threeUSair-craft carriers operating at thesametimeintheWesternPacificand evenmoreunusual to haveseparatedual-carrierexercisessoclosetoeachother.OnSaturday, theAssociation

of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN) said, in a statement is-suedbyVietnamonbehalfofthe10-nation bloc, that a 1982U.N.oceanstreatyshouldbethebasisof sovereign rights and entitle-mentsinthedisputedwaterway.Europe, too, iswaking up to

theChina challenge,withmanyleaders condemning Beijing’s

movetopressaheadwithitsnewsecuritylawsinHongKongwarn-ing that itwill speed up the re-assessment of China as a trust-worthyeconomicpartner.EuropeanUnionCouncilpres-

identCharlesMichelsaid“wede-plore thedecision”and theheadof the European Commission,UrsulavonderLeyen,saidtheblocwasdiscussing,withinternationalpartners, anypossiblemeasuresinresponse.TheEUrecentlyannounceda

newschememeanttofightbackagainstChina’suseofstatesubsi-diestogiveitsfirmsanunfairad-vantage against European rivals.A long-planned investmentscreeningmechanismmeant toshieldkeyEuropeanfirmsandin-dustries frompredatory acquisi-tionswillfinallybeimplemented,amoveseenasanattempttokeepChinaincheck.NewDelhi iswatching these

movescarefully,awarethathowitconductsnegotiationswithChinaisalsobeingwatchedworldwide,saidaseniorofficial.“ThatChina’speaceful rise is amythhas beenreinforcedthroughitsaggressivebehaviourinthelastfewmonths.More andmore countries willpushback,”hesaid.

Bengaluruwentfromhospitaltohospitalforabed,onpaperithasledtoprob-lemsofitsownasBengalurusees500-pluscasesdaily.On Tuesday, a 25-year-old

pregnant woman was left atVictoria Hospital — the largestCovid facility in the city—by anambulance. As the hospitalsought a copyof her test results,herhusbandtrieddesperatelytoreachtheBBMPofficialwhohadcalledthem.“Mywifehadbeengoing for

regularexaminationstoamater-nityhospital near ourhome.OnMonday, they askedher to get aCovid-19 test done. Today a cityofficialtoldusshehastestedpos-itiveandmustbeadmittedinhos-pital…They arenot allowingusinaswedonothaveacopyofthereport,” the 26-year-old said,standingwith her outside thehospital. “She is in goodhealth, Ido not knowwhy theywant toadmither.”Karnatakarequireshospitalor

institutionalquarantine,depend-ingonsymptoms,forallCovid-19patients. OnWednesday, withcasessurging,expertsadvisedthegovernment to adopt a homequarantine policy for asympto-maticcases.Bengaluru has been seeing

more than500 cases daily sinceJune27,with thehighest single-dayspikeof783onJune28.Itsac-tivecasenumbersstandat4,649as on July 1,with191patients inICU.Of itstotal5,290cases,4,932havebeenreportedinJunealone.As on June 27, out of 2,033

bedsavailableacrossgovernmentfacilitiesinBengaluru,1,770wereoccupied.All100ICUbedsingov-ernment hospitals were full.While around 1,500 beds areavailable in private hospitals onpaper for coronavirus patients,theyhavenotbeenofficiallyallot-tedtotheState.TusharGirinath,theofficialin-

chargeof streamliningbedallo-cations for Covid 19 patients inBengaluru,saidtheyhavedetailsregarding vacancies in all hospi-tals. “Hospital bedpositions areupdatedat regular intervals andpatients are allotted tohospitalsonthisbasis,”Girinathsaid.However, ambulancedrivers

say it is theywho are facing thebrunt of the new system. “Wehavebecomelikecallcentres,”MRudresh, an ambulance driverwhohadjustdepositeda35-year-old, severely unwell patient atBowringHospital,said.“BBMPof-ficials tell us topickupapatientanddropthem.Wehavetocoor-dinatebetweenthepatientsandhospitals.Sometimesthepatientsdonot have thedocuments andweare shuntedbetweenhospi-tals. It ischaotic.”Rudresh said recently, one

ambulancewas used to pick upfivepatients.“Onedoctorrefusedtogetin.”Another ambulance driver

saidhespentanhouronMondayatVictoriaHospitalasrelativesofa 56-year-old patient tried toarrange for a copyof her test re-port.“Thehospitalsaidthedocu-mentationwasnotright.”Ahospitalofficialsaidtherel-

ativeshadahandwrittennoteofthetestresult.“WeneedaPDF.”An official at a government

hospital being used to treat“mediumrisk”patients,however,said the streamlining of admis-sionsbeingtriedbythenewsys-temwasessential.OnJune27,forexample, the official said, “Wehad20patientswaiting outsidewhenallour150bedswerefull.”UnderKarnataka’sthree-level

systemofcategorisationof coro-navirus patients, those sympto-matic and in vulnerable groups,liketheelderlyabove60,pregnantwomenand thosewith co-mor-bidities, are to be admitted inCovid19hospitals;theelderlyandthose below60with no symp-tomsbutco-morbiditiesaretobetaken to dedicated state healthcentresorprivatehospitals;low-riskcasestoCovidCareCentres.Till the third week of June,

Bengaluru looked likeoneof thecoronavirus success storiesamongmega cities—with 827casesand43deathsatatimethatMumbai had 60,228 cases and3,167deaths,Delhi 44,688 casesand 1,837 deaths; and Chennai34,245 cases and422deaths. Itspracticeof quarantiningpositivecases and identifying contactswithin24hours of apositive re-sultwaslaudedasafactor.Underlining the seriousness

ofthebedcrisisnow,aseniordoc-tor at aCovidhospital inBengal-uru said, “Wedon’t knowwhenwewillreachthelimit; italreadylookslikewe’regettingthere.”

China Marketfrom Leh... There was a placecalledtheThreeSistersmountainwhere you could see China. Itused to be so cold that our foodwasneverwarm,andwehadnoappetite,”Mandalrecalls.Thenewsoftheborderdeaths

shookhim.“Sofar,whatwehavesaidanddoneinresponseisokay,butmoremust follow. I amsurethatModi is looking for the righttimeandopportunity,”hesays.Mandalwarns, though, that

the cost of war is terrible. “Oureconomicsituationandtheirswillboth be damaged, our lives andtheir lives will both be lost.Perhaps,first,wecantryandsolveitwithoutbullets,"hesays.That's the hope across the

markets of Bhagalpur, includ-ing the Khalifabagh bazarwhere Chinese phones areneatlypackedinpolythene,andbusiness has picked up in thelast twoweekssincethereturnof migrant workers. At everycorner is a shop that sells elec-tronics,oramobilephone,withbillboards of Vivo, Xiaomi orOppo.Says the local distributor of

a Chinese smartphone brand:“In Eastern Bihar, we usuallysell as many as 15,000 phonesa month. Combine that withthe two other Chinese brands,that’s above 60 per cent of themarket.” But over the pastmonth, as the rhetoric againstChina and for “Make in India”has grown, he has been scour-ing the market for opportuni-ties, to no avail.“Iftheybanthesephones,like

theydidTiktok,thefirstthingthatwillhappenisthat22Indiansthatwork in this officewill lose theirjobs.Then, theIndiansthatworkinthecompany'sfactoriesinIndiawill losetheir jobs,”hesays.Onhis table is a newsticker:

Below the nameof the Chinesebrand,itsays“MakeinIndia”witha logo that has the TajMahal, apeacock, the IPL symbol, theMake-in-Indialion,andalotus.

FULLREPORTSONwww.indianexpress.com

FROMPAGEONE

Chinese firms barred from road projectsButhere too, Chinese investorswould not be allowed. "Forupgradationof technology, re-search, consultancy and otherworks,wewill encourage for-eign investment and joint ven-tures inMSMEs, but in case ofChinese,wewill not entertainthem,"Gadkarisaid.Already,theCentralgovern-

mentseemstobemovinginthedirection. Sources in the Bihargovernment said a tender forconstruction of amega bridgeover Ganga at Patnawas can-celled.Thoughtechnicalreasonshavebeencitedforthecancela-tion, state government sourcessaid “chances of Chinese com-paniesgettingthebid”couldbethemainreason.Afreshtenderfor the Rs 2,900-crore project,wouldnowopenonJuly30.Whencontacted,BiharRoad

Construction Minister NandKishore Yadav told The IndianExpress, “It is true that five ofseven bidders were Chinesecompanies and five of thesecompanieshadbeencollaborat-ingtogettheproject.Therehadbeen incomplete paperworkandhence the tenderwas can-celled,”hesaid.Separately, theDepartment

of Telecommunications (DoT)onWednesday formally can-celled theMarch23 tender for

4Gnetwork installation, plan-ning,testing,andmaintenance,floated by state-run BharatSancharNigamLimited (BSNL)and Mahanagar TelephoneNigam Limited's (MTNL), ac-cording to official documentsaccessedby The IndianExpress.The DoT has decided to barChinesetelecomvendorsinthenewtender.These decisions come

withintwodaysoftheMinistryof Electronics and InformationTechnologybanning59appsofChineseoriginincludingTikTok,UCBrowser andShareIt onna-tionalsecurityconcerns.Itispartof the government’s coercivediplomacytosendastrongsig-nalandmessagetoBeijingthatitcannotbebusinessasusual.Twomonths ago, in April,

theDepartment for Promotionof Industry and Internal Trade,hadmadeitmandatoryforfor-eign direct investment fromneighbouringcountries to takepriorgovernmentapproval.TheDPIIT move, also targeted atChineseinvestmentsintoIndia,wastakentocurbopportunistictakeovers/acquisitionsofIndiancompanies during times ofCovid-19pandemic,whenval-uationswereatnewlows.AccordingtoGadkari,apol-

icy will be out soon banning

Chinese firms and relaxingnorms for Indiancompanies toexpand their eligibility criteriafor participation in highwayprojects.Therewereafewproj-ects undertaken earlierwhichinvolved Chinese partners.Whenaskedaboutthis,hesaidthenewdecisionwouldbeim-plementedincurrentandfuturetenders.Withrespecttoexistingten-

ders and future bids, Gadkarisaidrebiddingwouldbedoneiftherewere any Chinese jointventures. “Wehavedecided torelaxnorms forourcompaniesto ensure that they qualify forbidding in largeprojects. IhavedirectedtheHighwaysSecretary(GiridharAramane) andNHAIChairman(SSSandhu)toholdameeting for relaxing technicalandfinancialnormssothatourcompaniescanqualifytowork,”hesaid.Elaboratingonit,hesaidif a contractor canqualify for asmallproject,hecanqualify fora large one too. "Constructionnorms are not good so I haveasked to change it. We arechanging it so thatwe can en-courage Indian companies,” hesaid.Accordingtohim,qualifica-

tionnorms for projects are be-ingrationalisedtoensureIndiancompaniesdonotrequiretoen-

terintopactswithforeignpart-nerstograbprojects.“Evenifwehavetogoforforeignjointven-ture in the areas of technology,consultancyor design,wewillnotallowChinese,”Gadkarisaid.In the telecom sector, the

DoTdecisiontobaruseofequip-mentprovidedbyChinesetele-com vendors could lead tohighercostsaswellasadelayintherolloutof4Gservicesbythestate-run telcos,which are al-readybehindprivateoperatorsin implementing the technol-ogy. Both BSNL andMTNL donothavea4Gnetwork.“Thecostsforuscouldbe25-

30per cent higher now if newtenderbarsthem(Chineseven-dors).Weare also anticipatingdelayof 2-3years fromnormalschedule,”anofficialsaid.According to industry esti-

mates, Chinese telecom gearvendorshavea25percentsharein the total Rs12,000 croredo-mesticmarket. For both BSNLandMTNL,whose3Gnetworksmainly comprise equipmentfrom Shenzhen-based ZTE, ashift to European vendors islikelytoputfurtherstressonitslimitedresources.

(WITHINPUTSFROMPTI,AASHISHARYANINNEW

DELHIANDSANTOSHSINGHINPATNA)

MSILandHMILhavecloseto70percentshareinthedomes-ticmarket. In thesmallcarseg-ment, these two automakershaveanevenbiggershare.MSIL and HMIL also ex-

ported4,289and5,700unitsre-spectivelyinJune2020.While retail sales forMSIL

and Hyundai India are downby 53.8 per cent and 49 percentrespectivelyfromthecor-responding month last year,bothcompanieshavereportedsharp increases in sales overMay2020.While MSIL sold almost

four times its May sales of13,865 units in the domesticmarket, HyundaiMotors soldmorethanthreetimestheMaynumberof 6,883units.“Retail inquiries, bookings

are back at 80-85 per cent ofpre-Covid levels, ShashankSrivastava, ED, sales andmar-keting at MSIL, said. The rea-son,hesaid,wasa“mixofsev-eral factors”.“Whilethereissomepent-

up demand, a big part of thisriseindemandisonaccountofpeople moving away frompublic transport andwantingto have their own vehicle.Besides, facilitationintermsofflexiblefinancingschemesbe-

ing offered in these times hasalsohelped,”Srivastavasaid.Headdedthatwhilesmaller

carsaregettinga lotof traction,“there is a clear trend of cus-tomersshiftingtowardsCNGaspetrolpriceshaveshotupsignif-icantlyoverthelastone-month.Wehavealsoseenfasterrecov-ery in rural markets less im-pactedbyCovid-19.”AHyundaiIndiaofficialcon-

firmed the trends of increaseddemand for smaller and com-pact vehicles from first-timebuyers,andofthebetterrecov-eryinruralmarkets.Whileretailsalesarerising

andthereisexistinginventoryinthemarket,thereislesserac-tivityatthewholesalelevel, in-dustryplayerssaid.“Whileourretaildemandisbackto80-85percentofpre-Covidlevels,thewholesale demand is back toonly 50 per cent,” Srivastavasaid.

AHyundaiofficialsaidthatthe company had decided tokeep its production level forFY’21 at 70 per cent of lastyear'sproduction.Amongothermanufactur-

ers, Toyota Kirloskar Motorsannouncedmore thandoublethe sale numbers in June(3,866 units) overMay (1,639units). In June 2019, TKM sold10,603units.HondaCarsIndiasaidithad

despatched 1,398 units in thedomestic market in June, asagainst 10,314 units in June2019.Thetrendofrecoveryisvis-

ible in the two-wheeler seg-ment aswell. HeroMotoCorphassaidthatitmadewholesaledeliveries of 4,50,744 units inJunetodealerships,whichwasover four times the 1,12,682units it despatched in May2020.“Amajorpartof themarket

demandisemanatingfromtheruralandsemi-urbanmarkets,which have been helped to alarge extent by the variousstimulus packages rolled outby the government. A combi-nation of multiple factors, in-cluding the forecast of a nor-malmonsoon, a bumper rabicropandtheupcomingfestiveseason are expected to keepthemomentumgoingoverthenext few months,” PawanMunjal,chairman&CEO,HeroMotoCorp, said.As the country went into

lockdown and all productionandsales froze,almostallpas-senger vehiclemanufacturersregistered zero sales in April.Some sales followed the gov-ernment’sdecisiontorelaxre-strictionsinMay.Junehasseenamuchbroaderrevivalinretailactivity.Maruti sold10,458units in

the mini segment (Alto & S-Presso) in June, down 44 percent over the sales of June2019. In thecompactsegment(WagonR, Swift, Celerio, Ignis,Baleno, and Dzire), it sold26,696 units, down 57.6 percent. In theutility vehicle seg-ment, thecompanysold9,764units, down 45 per cent overthepreviousyear.

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COVAXIN:OneofIndia's topCovid-19vaccinecandidatesNEWEPISODEEVERYDAY

In today’sepisodeof the3Thingspodcast,wetalkabouthowCOVAXINwasdevelopedandhowitgotapproval forhumantrails.

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MarutiSuzuki India 1,11,014 51,274 1,23,250 13,865

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Maruti, Hyundai see spike in June sales

New Delhi

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JULY1

THE FATHER of an 18-year-oldwoman,whowentmissing andwassubsequentlytraced,hastoldtheDelhiHighCourt thathehadto bear the expenses of a DelhiPolice team’s visits to Jaipur andKolkata, andalsohost aparty forpoliceofficersinJaipur.Thecourthas nowordered the transfer ofthe investigation from the localpolicestationtotheCrimeBranch.The woman was allegedly

kidnappedbyamanwhothreat-ened to leak her private photos,followingwhich her father re-

ported hermissing on June 11.The GD (general diary) entry inthecasewasrecordedonJune12at Sonia Vihar police station,however, the samewasomittedin a Delhi Police status report,court recordsshow.When there was no action

fromthepolice,thefatherfiledawritpetition incourt. The fatheralleged that only after filing thispetition did the police act andsend a team to Jaipur andKolkata, fromwhere his daugh-ter was recovered and the ac-cused arrested. Police invokedIPCsections376,366and365 inthecase.The father’s counsel, Sanjay

Khanna, submitted to the courtthatthefather“wasmadetobearall the expenses of the policeparty’stravelto,andstayat,Jaipurand Kolkata, and the petitionerwasevenmadetohostapartyforthepolicepersonnelat Jaipur”.SHO Sonia Vihar, who was

present during the hearing, de-nied the allegations stating thatthe expenseswereborneby thedepartment.A division bench of Justice

Vipin Sanghi and Justice RajnishBhatnagarpassed theordernot-ing: “The aforesaid statement oflearnedcounselforthepetitioner,if true, raises serious concernsabout the functioning of the po-

lice force. It is clear tous that theSHO, Police Station, SoniaVihar,and the IO concernedwere ab-solutely indifferent to the com-plaint made by the petitionersincetheydidnotevenregisteracaseonreceiptofthepetitioner’scomplaint on 12.06.2020... TheFIR was registered only on20.06.2020 – after the advancecopyof thewritpetitionwascir-culatedbythepetitionertothere-spondents. There is no explana-tion as towhy therewas a delayofeightdaysinthematterofreg-istrationoftheFIRandinthemat-terof conductof investigation.”TheHCorderedthattheIOto

whomthe casewill be assigned

shallhavetheinternalexamina-tion of the victim conductedwithoutanydelay.“Though the petitioner’s

missing daughter has been lo-cated and returned to her par-ents,weareof theviewthat theinvestigation cannotbeallowedtoremain in thehandsof theof-ficers at Police Station SoniaVihar. Accordingly, we transferthe investigation in this case totheCrimeBranchforthwith,”thecourtsaid.The court has also directed

the Commissioner of Police togrant audience to the petitionerandhiscounsel,sotheyshalldis-closethemannerinwhichpolice

allegedlymisused itsauthority.The court directed the peti-

tioner and his counsel to “pro-duce all the documents/bills tosubstantiatetheirclaimthattheyexpendedamountsforthetravel,lodging andboarding of the po-lice party at Jaipur and Kolkata.TheCommissionerofPoliceshallexamineallthematerial, includ-ing by calling upon the SHO, PSSonia Vihar, to produce proof ofexpenditure incurred by thePolice Department for the saidvisits, andon that basis, if a caseismadeoutofmisuseofauthor-ity, take appropriate actionagainst the IO/ SHO and all oth-ersconcerned.”

The India-IsraelGrowing Partnership –

Stronger than Ever

M E S S A G EH.E. Dr. Ron Malka

Ambassador of Israel to India

IT is hard to recognize the reality we live in today.The outbreak ofthe COVID-19 global pandemic has disrupted our lives, our worldorder and the world as we know it. However, one thing that hasnot suffered from the virus has been the Indo-Israeli

bilateral relations.The partnership between India and Israel has been growing

steadily, and like many other ongoing processes, COVID-19 hasboosted it even further.Today, India and Israel are working together tofind solutions for COVID-19 challenges. PM Modi and PM Netanyahuhave spoken 3 times since the outbreak, sharing best practices andcommitting to work together for a united response to the globalpandemic.The DRDO and Israel’s R&D at the Ministry of Defence areworking together to develop rapid testing to enable life in the post-COVID era.The Ministry of ForeignAffairs is also coordinatingcooperation between the Indian and Israeli ministries of science andhealth, assessing 50 potential fields of cooperation against COVID-19between the governments.

Alongside the high-level cooperation between the two countries onthis crucial challenge, India and Israel continue to invest incooperation today, which will change our tomorrow.We continue towork on improving the lives and livelihood of farmers with virtualagricultural training sessions through our CoEs.We invest inconnecting Indian and Israeli business, industry and entrepreneurshipecosystems, which have potential to benefit us all.We work togetherto implement Israeli water knowledge and experience in India, whichhas become ever more critical with the need to provide the means forhygiene everywhere in order to prevent the spread of COVID.

We also see the elimination of borders between our countries, aswe move into the digital world. International conferences, academicopen days, virtual tours and even academic classes and programs allavailable between Indians and Israelis. By widening the channels ofcommunication between us, we are able to bring together the mostbrilliant minds to shape the future.Together, we can make sure ourreality post-COVID is safer, cleaner and better for India, Israel and theentire world.

ADVERTORIAL

ISRAEL is one of the most devel-oped nations in the world today,and this resonates well with the

country’s approach to tackling theCOVID-19 crisis from the start. Someof the most brilliant minds in thecountry quickly grasped the need toflatten the curve early in order togain full control over the infection.Consequently, the country tookdrastic measures, including a fulllockdown. As of June 22, over20,000 people are infected, out ofwhich 15,694 have recovered andonly 306 have died.The country hasrelaxed the lockdown as of now andhas opened its schools and offices.

Israeli scientists around the coun-try are working day and night to de-velop a vaccine or cure. It has made

dramatic progress with the help ofIsraeli Institute of Biological Re-search (IIBR).The IIBR has managedto develop three kinds of antibodiesto the COVID-19 virus that prevent itfrom infecting nearby healthyhuman cells.This treatment has beendescribed as a breakthrough achieve-ment in COVID-19 management,

healing the infected and serving asa stepping-stone to an eventualvaccine.

The country is also collaborating

with India on developing COVID-19rapid testing techniques. Highlight-ing the new initiative, Dr. RonMalka, Israel’sAmbassador to India,

recently said, “Israel’s Ministry ofDefence is collaborating with India’sDefence Research and DevelopmentOrganisation (DRDO) to work onrapid tests for COVID-19 usingvarious techniques.”

He further said that there is aparticular scent to coronavirus thatcan be detected in people infectedwith the virus within minutes withthe help of advanced technology.Another test is based on measuringthe frequencies emitted by the voiceof patients infected with the virus bytrans-technology. Israel is alsohelping India in COVID-19 manage-ment by sharing new guidelines andpractices, know-how, and otherdetails from its own experiences inmanaging COVID-19.

Israel and India Work Towards Finding COVID-19 SolutionsCompleting each other in every possible manner, both India and Israel are working round the clock to develop

COVID-19 solutions with each other’s extensive support, knowledge transfer, know-how, and other joint collaboration.

Moving Towards a Promising FutureShowing unrelevning commitment towards each other’s progress, the India-Israel partnership holds

a promising future in the fields of agriculture and water management, in time of COVID-19 and beyond.

ANATION’S progress is dependent onits ability to innovate and, conse-quently, change the status quo of per-

tinent problems that hinder its growth. Israel isa nation of innovation, famous for its inter-disciplinary knowledge of material engineer-ing, biotechnology and life science academia,industry and a thriving high-tech ecosystem.No wonder then that Israel has had resound-ing success over the years with some game-changing solutions to tackle issues of watermanagement and recycling across the globe.

Today, the COVID-19 pandemic has high-lighted many core issues that need urgent at-tention in drastic times like these. The out-break has shifted the world’s attention instrengthening their essential services thathave become critical infrastructures for sur-vival. Before the pandemic struck, both Indiaand Israel came together to collaborate in cre-ating a synergy to deal with water manage-ment issues to achieve Prime Minister NarendraModi's ambitious goal of providing tap waterto every household by 2024.The bilateral co-operation aims to resolve issues related towater use efficiency, desalination, wastewaterand grey water reuse, pollution abatement,technological interventions etc.

On similar lines, India and Israel are also

cooperating to facilitate innovation in theagricultural sector.With about 28 Centres ofExcellence (CoE) in agriculture spreadthroughout India, both the countries areendeavouring to share resources, know-how,best practices and technology. Furthermore,the Indo-Israel Agricultural Project (IIAP), astrategic cooperation on the G2G level in thefield of agriculture, has introduced cropdiversity, increased productivity and opti-mised water use efficiency in horticulture toaddress the challenges arising out of thepandemic. This agricultural project hasshown extreme promise in introducing

villages to cutting-edge technologies infiltration and water usage to promote preci-sion in agriculture. Within this project, satel-lites and drones are used to monitor cropsfor the exact amount of water, fertiliser andnutrition each plant needs to increase effi-ciency and optimise yield.

The CoEs act as a meeting point forAcade-mia, Government and farmers to cooperatetowards fruitful achievements, says DanAlluf, MASHAV Counsellor, Science and Agri-culture at the Embassy of Israel in India.“Through the ongoing partnership, we arepromoting advanced and sustainable agricul-

tural practices, we generate applicable knowl-edge and solutions which are transferred toan average of 1.5 lakh farmers annually in allagricultural activities.To overcome the hurdleposed by the restriction of movements duringthe lockdown, we have started impartingtraining through digital platforms,” saysAlluf. The way forward for the India-Israelcooperation in agriculture is a plan to create“villages of excellence”, create eco-systems,based on the G2G IIAP, for the establishmentof end-to-end solutions comprising infra-structure, capacity building, and a compre-hensive market-oriented approach.

THECITY3 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY, JULY2,2020

INSPECTSFACILITYATCOMMONWEALTHGAMESVILLAGE

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JULY1

DELHI CHIEF Minister ArvindKejriwalWednesday said thatwhiletheCovidsituationinDelhiwasnotasalarmingasprojectedearlier, no one should believe“experts on social media” whohaveclaimedthatthenumberofcases in the city haspeakedandwilldecreasehenceforth.Kejriwal, addressing aweb-

cast,said:“Expertsarecomment-ing on socialmedia that Delhi’speakhascomeandgone.Don’tlis-ten to them.Wearmasks,main-tainsocialdistancing,washhandsregularly, don’tmake amistake.Wehavemanagedtobringthesit-uationundercontrolafteralotofconcertedeffort.Thereisasaying,hope for the best, prepare forworst.That’swhatwehavetodo.”Laterintheday,theCMvisited

theCovidcarecentrebeingread-iedattheCommonwealthGamesVillage. The centre will havearound500bedsandafacilityfordoctorstostayat,andwillbeman-agedbyNGODoctorsforYou.DrSaketKumar, in-chargeof

the facility, said, “The facility

shouldbereadyinthenextthreedays.WeareaimingatbeginningoperationsonMonday.Therearearrangements for doctors whoare coming in from differentpartsofthecountry.Therewillbeapproximately 40 doctors, 80nursesand120paramedicstaff.”Separate wards have been

createdformenandwomen.The

CM,afterhisvisit,saidthatwhilehehopedextra facilitieswill notberequired,if thereisaspike,thecitywillbereadytodealwith it.On the projection that Delhi

would have 1 lakh cases by theendof June,Kejriwal,duringthewebcast, said collective effortsmade to fight the infectionmeantthecitywasbetterplaced

than itwasexpected initially.“Close to amonth ago,when

lockdownwaseasedinDelhi,thenumberofcasesroseveryquickly.Wehadexpectedthisrisebutnotat this speed. At the time, thewebsite created by national ex-pertsforthecentralgovernmentusedtogiveusfutureprojectionsof thenumberof coronacases in

thecountryafteramonthortwomonths. According to that, ourprojections showedthatby June30,therewouldbearound1lakhcases in Delhi, out of which60,000wouldbeactivecasesandaround 15,000 beds will beneededinthehospitals,”hesaid.Thecity saw87,360cases till

June 30. Of these, 26,270wereactivecases.OnWednesday,thecity saw 2,442 cases, taking thetotal to 89,802 . As per the gov-ernment dashboard, of the15,242hospital beds atpresent,9,444 are available. 61 deathswere reportedonWednesday.“Wehavemanagedtocontrol

thesituationsomewhat.Atpres-

ent, the number of those beinghospitalised is also decreasing.Last week, about 6,200 peoplewereadmitted.Thisnumberhasnowfallenbelow5,800.Wealsoseethatwheretherecoveryratewas around 38% last month, ithasnowrisento67%...WhereonJune 23 there were 3,950 newcases, this numberwas around2,200onTuesday.Positivityratehas fallen from 31% to around13%now. Thenumber of deathsperdayhashalvedascomparedtothatonsomedays.Whilethereisadecreaseintheseparameters,these numbers could rise again.We cannot be complacent. Thisvirus isunpredictable,”hesaid.

Kejriwal, Sisodiaat theCovidcarecentrebeingreadiedatCWGVillage,Wednesday.AmitMehra

CORONAVIRUS IN THECAPITAL

TOTAL CASES

89,802Total Vacant

HOSPITAL BEDS 15,243 9,449VENTILATORS 794 221

Dailycases Recoveries Deaths TestsJune30 2,199 2,113 62 17,179July1 2,442 1,644 61 19,956Total 27,007* 59,992 2,803 5,51,708

*Total active cases

Kejriwal cautions: Don’t listen to socialmediaexperts that Covid peak has comeandgone

ARANYASHANKARNEWDELHI,JULY1

DEPUTY CM Manish SisodiaWednesdayaskedtheDirectorateof Higher Education to audit ac-counts of Delhi-governmentfundedBhaginiNivedita College(BNC)forthelasttwoyears,afterhe receivedcomplaintsof finan-cialirregularitiesagainsttheprin-cipal."Thesecomplaintshavecome

fromdifferent stakeholders likestudents, parents, teachers, etc.These allege financial irregulari-tiesintenderingprocesses,hiringof a car for the principal, buyingofunnecessaryitemsnotneededinaneducationalinstitution,etc,"Sisodia wrote to the SecretaryHigherEducation. "DirectorateofHigherEducationshould imme-diatelygettheaccountsofthelasttwoyearsaudited,preferablybyaCAGempanelledauditor."Manisha Saxena, Secretary

Higher Education, said she hadnot yet received the letter, butadded that the department hadasked12collegesfundedbyDelhigovernment for salary bills andrecruitmentdetailsearlier.Whencontacted,BNCprinci-

pal Charu Sharma said, "I'mshockedtohearthis.Ididn'tknowabout it. I only tookover asprin-cipal in April last year. Since thelastoneyear,wehaveseenanin-

creaseinacademicseminarsandstudent activities. The collegeshould be known for that ratherthanall this."BNC governing body chair-

man Pavan Sharma claimed hehad also received complaintsagainst the principal but did notdivulge details. Asked if the GBtook a call to probe the com-plaints, Sharma said the lastmeeting on June 9 ended in awalkout by somemembers, sotheissuewasnotbroughtup.This is not the first time the

principalofBNChasfacedallega-tionsoffinancialandadministra-tiveirregularities.FormerprincipalPurbiSaikia

hadfacedallegationsofirregular-ities in faculty appointment, ha-rassment of staff,misuse of staffcar, bribery, followingwhich theCollegeGBhadsuspendedher.

‘Receivedcomplaintsoffinancial irregularities fromthecollege’s stakeholders’

Sisodia orders auditinto accounts ofDelhi Univ college

Had to host party for cops: Father of kidnapped girl in HC

New Delhi

SURBHIGUPTANEWDELHI,JULY1

“A DEDICATED librarian, thor-oughgentleman,whohadadeepinterest in literatureandpoetry”— that’s how former diplomatand author Pavan K Varma re-members DrHari Krishen Kaul,whohe had firstmet during hiscollegedays,whenhewaswork-ing as the ExecutiveAssistant totheDirectoratIndiaInternationalCentre (IIC). Kaulwas the ChiefLibrarian at IIC, and had servedthereforfourdecades.Anotedli-braryandinformationspecialist,author, poet, and bibliographer,

hediedafterbattlingwithCovid-19fortwoweeks.Hewas79.Kaulwas known for forming

DELNET, anetworkof over1,500librariesinSouthAsia,in1988,andwas the founder-member andpresident of the Poetry Society(India),whichhe set up in 1984,alongwithpoetsKeshavMalik, JPDasandLakshmiKannan.

Hailing fromKashmir, Kaulwasapostgraduateinlibraryandinformation science from theUniversityofMumbaiandgothisPhDfromtheUniversityofPune.An author of more than 50

books,hewasknownforeditinganthologies Traveller’s India andHistoricDelhi. “Aspublishers,welooked forward toourbooksbe-ing a part of the discussion pro-grammeatIIC,”veteranpublisherSridhar Balan told The IndianExpress.Noted poet-critic K

Satchidanandan rememberedhim as a “very gentle person…whofoundpleasureinpromotingyoungpoets”.

SOMYALAKHANINEWDELHI,JULY1

“YOU BE careful, you have dia-betes... Iwill be fine,” iswhat in-spectorSanjeevKumarYadavtoldassistantsub-inspectorSatenderoverthephonefromthehospitalbed, ashebattledCovid, on June17.The48-year-oldinspectoralsoreassured his younger brotherRajeevandhisclosestfriend,SHO(Wazirabad) P C Yadav, that hewillbehomesoon.EarlyWednesday, inspector

Yadav, whowas a part of DelhiPolice’sSpecialCell,passedawayatMaxSuperSpecialityHospital,Saket,duetoCovid-relatedcom-plications,afterbeingonventila-tor for 13days.Hewas adminis-teredplasmatherapytwice, saidSHOWazirabad.“WeevengotthedrugRemdesivirfromMumbaiasit wasn’t available in Delhi.Everyonetriedtheirbest...thepo-lice headquarters, the SpecialCell,”hesaid.Itwas in June firstweek that

inspectorYadavgottestedafteracolleaguecontractedCovid.“Thatresult camenegative, and thenafewdays later, he fell sick again.He was taken to Rajiv GandhiSuperSpecialtyHospitalonJune17,where his testwas repeated.OnJune18,hewasshiftedtoMaxHospital,Saket.HissecondCovidtest came positive,” said a col-league.Yadav is survived byhiswife

andtwochildren,aged11and17,who live in East Delhi's LaxmiNagar. His brother Rajeev (46), ateacher, told The Indian Express,“He had no co-morbidities, noblood pressure or lung-relatedproblems or diabetes. He wasveryfit—infactsomepeoplere-ferredtohimas‘cheetah’.InMay,hevisitedourmotherandtherestofusinourvillageinBulandshahr.Hegotmemasks, sanitisers, andtoldustobecautious.”His wife too contracted the

virus andwas admitted toMax,Saket, and isbackhomeafter re-covering.Yadav was enlisted in the

DelhiPoliceasasub-inspectorin1996, worked in the CrimeBranch,gotpromotedtotherankofaninspectorin2015,andjoinedthe Special Cell in 2018. OnJanuary 26, hewas awarded thePoliceMedal forGallantry.SHO (Wazirabad) P C Yadav,

recalledtheirdecades-oldfriend-ship, and the team thatwas “PCYadav-Sanjeev Yadav”. He said,“WeworkedintheCrimeBranchtogetherfrom2007-16.Hewasavery disciplinedman, and careddeeplyabouthisteam.Beforeanyraid, hewould ensure that theteamwas safe.Wemadea greatteam...We are nothingwithouteach other. He was like mybrother.”ASISatender,whohasknown

him closely since 2015, said,“Since Covid started, hemadesure to brief us about how to besafe, how to keep paperworkready.Evenwhenhewasinhos-pital,hewasconcernedaboutmyhealthbecauseIhavediabetes.”On Tuesday afternoon, Delhi

Police head constable DheerSingh(47) toosuccumbedtothevirus—adayafterhetestedpos-itive. Singhwas deployedwithDelhi Police’s PCR (north zone),and is survived by hiswife andtheirtwochildren,saidDCP(PCR)Sharat Kumar Sinha. He joinedtheforceover20yearsago.“Singh had taken three days

off as he wanted to rest. OnMonday,hegot therapid test forCovid done and the result camepositivethesameday.Thedoctoradvised himhome quarantine,andonTuesday,wesentaPCRve-hicletopickuphiswifeandchil-dren to get their test done. Bythen,hewasfeelingsickashehaddeveloped fever. The PCR tookhim to Lady HardingeMedicalCollege for treatmentwhere hepassed away,” said Special CP(Operations)MukteshChander.Ten police personnel have

died of the virus so far. Around2,000personnelhavetestedpos-itive,ofwhichatleast1,300haverecoveredandresumedduty,saidaseniorofficer.

THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY, JULY2,2020

THECITYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

4

ASHNABUTANINEWDELHI, JULY 1

IN THE bylanes of the nearlyempty Majnu Ka Tila, TenzingDikyi (40) reflected on how heis now cut off from the land ofhis birth, Tibet, asWeChat, hisonly link home, is among 59Chineseappsbanned in India.For decades, Majnu ka Tila

hasbeensynonymouswith theTibetansettlementnearthegur-dwara. Since the early 1960s, ithas been home to over 365Tibetan families who have set-tledhere.

Recalling his emigration in1992,Dikyisaid,“Iwasoriginallyfrom Lhasa. It took amonth toreachNepalonfoot, fromwherewe took buses to cities in India.I was alone with a group ofstrangers… My parents andthree siblings are still there. Formany years, it was difficult tospeak to themas itwasnot safeandthecallrateswereveryhigh.ThencameWeChat,makingitalot simpler.”WeChat is amessaging, so-

cialmediaandmobilepaymentapp that was released byTencent Technology in 2011.Dikyiaddedthathis familycan-

not use WhatsApp andFacebookasit isbannedinTibet.For a while, he used QQ, an

instant messaging softwareservice also developed byTencent. “We would not talkvery often. But every once in awhile, it was nice to see theirfaces. They always called meduringfestivalsandfamilyocca-sions.”AChinese translatorbypro-

fession, he said, “There is noworkunder lockdownas it is. Inthecurrentclimate, it looks likemy language skills hold novalue.”Sitting on the banks of the

Yamuna, three friends spokeabouthowtheappbanwasgo-ing to impact local businesses.Youton (30), who used to

sendAyurvedic cosmetic prod-ucts from Delhi to Tibet andChina, said, “I would click pho-tos of products onWeChat andsend them to clients. If theyliked the product, they wouldmake thepayment through theapp. Then, we would dispatchtheproduct.”Youton came to India when

shewas 13: “My family startedusingWeChatafewyearsagoascall rates used to be aroundRs40perminute.”

TrinleyRigzi (32),whohadaclient base of 200 Tibetans andChinese on the app, added, “It’sokay if WeChat is banned butthere should be a substitute. IusedtoexportIndianmedicinestoChinaandTibet.Andwehavebeen unemployed since thelockdown.”ThefearthatexporttoChina

and Tibet might be adverselyimpacted loomed in theair.Yangkyi Lhamo (26) looked

distraught as she began herwork day in a courier office inthearea.ShecametoIndiawithher brother when they werechildrenasherparentsdeemed

Tibetunsafeforthemtogrowupin. “When I was studying, myparentswould sendmemoneyviaWeChat.NowthatIamearn-ing, it is the other way round. Ido not have a fixed income,rather,myincomeisdependenton howmany items are beingexported toChinaorTibet,” shesaid.“Mostofourbusinesscomes

fromChina. People order itemsfrom here, pay us onWeChatand then the boxes areshipped…,” she said, addingthat she doesn’t know of anyother payment or video callingappavailable inboth countries.

MANY USED WECHAT TO KEEP IN TOUCH WITH FAMILY, FOR BUSINESS

Majnu Ka Tila residents, with relatives in Tibet, feel pinch of app ban

365TibetanfamilieshavesettledinMajnukaTila. AbhinavSaha

After concerns on 175 ventilators from Centre,manufacturer to send experts to Lok NayakASTHASAXENANEWDELHI,JULY1

AFTER DELHI’S Lok NayakHospitalraisedredflagsover175ventilators provided by theGovernmentofIndia,sayingtheydo not have the BiPAPmode, ateam of experts from BharatElectronicsLimited(BEL)willvisitthehospitaltoaddressconcerns.The companyhas themanufac-turing license for themachines,produced by Mysore-basedSkanrayTechnologies.Theventilatorsweregivento

theDelhi government-run hos-pital—thecapital’s largestCovidfacility — out of the PMCARESFund.Bilevel positive airway pres-

sure (BiPAP) is a non-invasivetechniquetosupplyoxygentothelungswithout intubation. As re-portedbyThe IndianExpress, theissuewasflaggedbyLokNayakinfeedback given to the DirectorGeneralofHealthServices,Delhi,DrNutanMundeja. Thehospitalaskedforanother250BiPAPma-chinesequippedwiththismode.While 155 ventilators have

beenmanufactured by Skanray

Technologies, 20 are by Delhi-basedAgVaHealthcare.“Wehavereceivedacallfromthecompanytodaysayingsomechangeshaveto bemade in the ventilators. Ateamofexpertswillvisitthehos-pitalinadayortwo,”saidaseniordoctorfromthehospital.OnTuesday,DrSureshKumar,

medical director of Lok Nayak,had toldThe IndianExpress: “Wehavegivenfeedbackandtoldtheauthorities that we need 250BiPAPmachinessincethatpartisnotavailableontheseventilators.Wearealsoformingacommitteeto see if we canmodify thema-chines.Theengineerswillhaveto

upgradetheequipment,howwecanuseitaftermodifyingit.”Accordingtoexperts,ventila-

tors provided to thehospital arehigh-endmodelsandcan“simu-late”theuseofBiPAPmodeinthepresenceofatechnicianordoctor.The hospital also wrote an

emailtoAgVahealthcaretoseekclarifications on themachine’sspecifications. Prof DiwakarVaish, the company’s founder,said:“Wehaverespondedtothehospital. Ourmachines have aBiPAPmode.”Aseniordoctorsaidthatwhile

BiPAPandCPAPmodes“aren’tdi-rectlyavailableasmenuitems”,it

hasbeenconveyedtothehospitalthattherearemodesthatcanem-ulatethesefunctions.Thesealter-nativemodes are pressure sup-port ventilation (PSV) andpressure-controlled synchro-nised intermittentmandatoryventilation(PC-SIMV).M V Gowtama, chairman

managingdirectorofBEL,saidthemachines are produced as perspecificationsprovidedbyatech-nical committee formed by theMinistry. “We have told Delhihospitals that we have twomodes — PSV and PC-SIMV,which can emulate CPAP andBiPAPmodes respectively.Wehave suggested to them to usethese twomodes. The hospitalwillalsoshareaquestionnairetogetdetailsontechnicalguidance.Themachinesarecapableofpro-vidingBiPAPthroughagraphicaluser interface.”TheMinistryalsowrotealet-

ter to Delhi’s Principal HealthSecretaryVikramDevDutt. “It isto reiterate that all concernedmaykindlybeadvisedtorefertothespecificationsof theseventi-lators and usermanuals for anyclarity,andprovidetimelyobjec-tivefeedbackaboutthespecifica-

tionswhichtheseventilatorsarerequired to meet,” wroteMandeepKBhandari,jointsecre-tary,MOHFW.Tuesday’sletteralsohasasec-

tioncalled“acceptabledeviationsin essential features”. Here,against the ‘essential technicalfeature’that“themachineshouldhave invasive, non-invasive andCPAPfeaturestomakethemver-satile”isan‘acceptabledeviation’:“Pressure support ventilationmode available can be used inplaceofCPAPandBPAP”.TheMinistryalsoclarifiedthat

theventilatorssuppliedtostatesandUTsbytheMinistryofHealthandFamilyWelfarearemeantforICUs.“VentilatormodelsBELandAgVa supplied to the States/UTsarecomplyingwithrequirementsas per the specifications laiddown by the TechnicalCommittee.Thesecost-effective,made in India ventilators haveBiPAP mode and other suchmodes as have been prescribedin technical specifications. Theventilators are being suppliedalong with user manuals andfeedback formswhichmust bereferredtoforclarity,”saidastate-mentissuedbytheMinistry.

Gurgaon malls reopen, low footfall on Day 1

LEAVESBEHIND2CHILDREN

VERSUS COVIDCovidpatientsplaychessatShehnaibanquethall, aCovidcarecentre linkedtoLokNayakhospital,Wednesday.PremNathPandey

SAKSHIDAYALGURGAON, JULY 1

THERMALSCANNINGofallcus-tomers, automatic hand sani-tiser dispensers at entrances,PPE kits and face shields for se-curitystaff, electronicmenustobeviewedonphones at restau-rants—severalsafetymeasuresareinplaceatmalls inGurgaon,which reopened their doorsWednesdayafterathree-monthshutdownamidthecoronavirusoutbreak.Malls, however, reported a

low footfall, with only a slowtrickleofcustomersthroughtheday.Whilesomecustomerssaidtheywanted to take advantage

ofsalesatclothingstores,otherssaid theywanted to see and trybefore spendingmoney.Ashish Sood (43), a resident

of Sector 53, said, "I needed apair of shoes but the brand Ishop fromis slightly expensive,so I didn't think it was a goodideatoorderthemonline. Ihavecome today to make that pur-chase…Idon't intendtoventureoutregularlybutseeingthepre-cautions in place, I won't be re-luctant to stepout."Officialsatdifferentmalls in

the city said this latter senti-ment would echo amongstother customers as well, andhelpbuildconfidence.Althoughconceding that footfall onWednesday remained much

lesserthanusual, theysaidtheyexpect things will improve inthe comingweeks."This is the first day and the

situation is not normal, so wecannotexpectfootfalltobewhatit was three months ago.However, the trend has beensatisfactory;we sawmany cus-tomersaround2or3pm.Peoplecame to purchase cosmetics,manyvisitedclothingstoresandfood outlets," said an official atAmbiencemall.At MGFMetropolitan Mall

onMGRoad,officialssaidthingshad "intentionally" been keptslow onWednesday, to assesspreparednessofdifferentstores."Todayisthefirstdayandwe

have not even advertised re-opening yet. Themanagementwas more focused on seeinghow many people will openstores, and on checking that

thosewhoopendosowhilefol-lowing the norms. Most of ourshops have opened, only 7-8%areclosed.Theytooareplanningtore-openbutit isnoteasy;alotof them have staff issues be-causepeoplewenthomeduringthe lockdown…," said AmanBajaj, member of the MGFMetropolitanMallAssociation.Hesaidheexpectsfootfall to

build up in another week:"People have been stuck athome for threemonths.Wherecan theygo if theywant toven-ture out — theatres are closed,the temperature is so high thatgoing tomarkets isnotmuchofanoption. Inanotherweekorso,weexpectpeoplewillgaincon-fidenceand thencome."

DrHKKaulworkedatIIC for fourdecades

InspectorSanjeevYadavdiedatMaxhospital, Saket

MCGwarningtoRWAsGurgaon:Office-bearersof Residents’ WelfareAssociations (RWAs) inGurgaonwill face actionif theyarefoundtobein-troducing restrictions ormeasures beyondwhathas been laid out in theorder issued by theMinistryofHomeAffairsforUnlock2onJune29.

ConstablehangsselfNewDelhi:A26-year-oldDelhiPoliceconstableal-legedly committed sui-cide by hanging himselffromatreeinDelhiCantt,saidofficersWednesday.

Man‘killedoverdrinkinghabit’,wifearrestedNoida:Awomanwas ar-restedbyNoidaPoliceforallegedlykillingherhus-band during a fight overhisdrinkinghabits.

GurgaonbusserviceresumesGurgaon: Threemonthsafter it was directed tostop services amidst thecoronavirusoutbreak,theGurugramMetropolitanCityBusLimitedresumedoperations in Gurgaon,withbusesplyingontworoutesWednesday.

NorthbodyseeksbuildingauditreportsNew Delhi: North MCDhas issued115notices toschools,residentialgrouphousingsocietiesandin-stitutional buildings tosubmit structural auditreport to ensure seismicstabilityof thebuildings.

ManheldforextortionNewDelhi:A21-year-oldwrestlerwas arrested forallegedly firing bulletsoutside a businessman’shouseandtryingtoextortRs 1 crore from him inNarela.ENS

BRIEFLY

The IndianExpress reportdated July1

AtGurgaon’sAmbienceMallonWednesday. TashiTobgyal

IIC chief librarian, who formedpoetry society, dies of Covid

Special Cellinspector diesof coronavirus

0-50 Good

ANANDVIHARPoor

0 500

224AQI

Pollutant:OZONE

SIRIFORTModerate

0 500

SHADIPURSatisfactory

0 500 500

51-100 Satisfactory 101-200 Moderate 201-300 Poor 301-400 VeryPoor 401-500 Severe

DWARKA- SECTOR8Moderate

0

127AQIPM:10

59AQI

Pollutant:CO

130AQIPM:10

New Delhi

5THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY, JULY2,2020

GOVT&POLITICSWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

DELHICONFIDENTIAL

PROCEDURAL DELAYPRIMEMINISTERNarendraModipulledoutfromChinesemi-cro-bloggingplatformWeiboonWednesday.Themovecomestwodays after the government announced a ban on59mo-bileappswithChineselinks,includingWeibo,WeChat,TikTokandShareit.Modi joined theTwitter-likeChinese socialme-diaplatformaheadof hisvisit toChina inMay2015, andhadmore than 2.4 lakh followers. It seems the platform’s strictrules for verified handles of prominent personalities hadslowedtheprocessof quitting theplatform.

LOUD SILENCEINTHE lastoneweek,EDofficialsquestionedseniorCongressleader AhmedPatel twice in connectionwith amoney-laun-deringcase involvingSterlingBiotechgroupofGujarat.WhiletheCongressgaveastandardresponseonthefirstday—thatitisawitchhuntandisaimedatdivertingattentionfromotheris-sues—formerCongresspresidentRahulGandhiandPriyankaGandhiVadrahadbeensilent.Mostofthetoppartyleaderstoohave not spoken out. Priyanka and Rahul are both active onTwitter.TheirsilencehasnotgoneunnoticedinCongresscircles.

LEGAL HURDLEAFTERTHEgovernmentmovetobanTikTokand58otherapps,it seems there are few in the legal fraternity to represent thecompaniesincourt.WhilesenioradvocateMukulRohatgihasrefused to appear for TikTok, senior advocate and Congressleader AbhishekManu Singhvi,whohad earlier representedandwonacaseforBytedanceTechnologyPvtLimited(whichownsTikTok), isalsounlikely torepresent them.Sourcessaidhe had refused indirect enquiries. Singhvi had last year ap-pearedfor thecompanywhenitchallengedabanagainst theappimposedbytheMadrasHC.

DOUBLE BOOSTFOLLOWINGPMNarendraModi’s call to be vocal about local,TripuraCMBiplabKumarDebonWednesdayannouncedanovelscheme. The state government has asked self-help groups ofDeendayal Antodaya Yojana - National Urban LivelihoodsMissiontodistributepineappleandlemonjuicebetweennoonand4pmonSaturdays.This,theCMsaid,willhelpimproveim-munity inCovid timeswhile supporting farmers. Tripurapro-duces1.28 lakhMTpineapples annually. ThegovernmenthasallocatedRs1croreforthescheme.

LIZMATHEWNEWDELHI,JULY1

MONTHSAFTER thewithdrawalofSPGprotectiontotheGandhis,the Union government onWednesday issued an order forCongressleaderPriyankaGandhiVadra tovacate thebungalowal-lottedtoherinLutyensBungalowZone.Anotice sent by theMinistry

of Housing and Urban AffairsaskedtheCongressgeneralsecre-tary to vacate her governmentbungalowinDelhibyAugust1. Itsaid her allotment stands can-celled fromWednesday, and sheowesRs 3.46 lakh indues to thegovernment.Priyankaandherfamilywere

allottedtheType6Bbungalowin1997asshewasanSPGprotectee.“Consequent upon with-

drawal of SPG protection andgrant of Zplus security cover byMinistry of HomeAffairs,whichdoesnothaveprovision forallot-ment/retention of Governmentaccommodation on securitygrounds to you, the allotment ofType6Bhouseno.35LodhiEstate,NewDelhi is hereby cancelledw.e.f 01/-07/2020. Onemonthconcessionalperiodonthesamerenti.e.upto01.08.2020isallowedasperrules,”thenoticesaid.It said that any stay beyond

August 1 will “attract damagecharges/penalrentasperrules”.The Congress said themove

showed that Prime MinisterNarendraModiwasunnervedbyPriyanka’s political activities inUttarPradesh.WhileCongressspokesperson

Randeep Surjewala alleged thatthe governmentwas blindedbyrevenge and said the Congresswouldnotbedeterredbysuchno-tices, Punjab Chief MinisterAmarinder Singhasked thegov-ernmenttowithdrawtheorderintheinterestofPriyanka’ssafety.InNovemberlastyear,thegov-

ernmentwithdrewtheSPGcoverthatwas given toCongress lead-ers SoniaGandhi, RahulGandhiandPriyankasincetheassassina-tion of former Prime MinisterRajivGandhi in 1991. TheHome

Ministryhadsaidthedecisionwastakenafter“threatassessment".In December, Parliament

passedtheSPG(Amendment)BillthatlimitsSPGprotectiononlytothePrimeMinisterandhisfamilyandtoaformerPMandhisfamilyforfiveyears.FollowingWednesday’snotice,

Congress leaders speculated thatPriyanka,who is the party’s in-charge of UP,may shift base toLucknow. “She has been tryinghard, thoughunsuccessfully, toresurrect theCongress inUP. It isan opportunity to shift base toLucknow to breath life into theCongressandestablishherself asaleader,”aseniorpartyleadersaid.SurjewalasaidPMModi’sand

hisgovernment’s“blindrageandrevenge against the Congressleadershipiswellknown”.Hesaidthegovernmenthadwithdrawnthe SPG cover given to Nehru-Gandhifamilymembersandfor-merPrimeMinistersManmohanSingh andHDDeveGowdabe-causethey“continuouslyshowedthemirroroftruthoftheanti-peo-plepoliciestothegovernment”.“Now theModi government

has stooped even further.WhetheritisModiorUPCMYogiAdityanath, they are deeply un-nervedby thepolitical activitiesandactivismof PriyankaGandhiVadra as also theCongress inUPbringing to light successive fail-ures of the BJP government,”Surjewalasaid.Congress leader in LokSabha

AdhirRanjanChowdhurysaidthemove shows theBJP’s priorities.“Insteadofwagingbattle againstCongress and Gandhi parivar,wage the battle against CoronaandChina.” WITHENSINPUTS

FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

DEEPTIMANTIWARYNEWDELHI,JULY1

THECBI has registered a case ofcorruption against arms dealerSanjay Bhandari, SamsungEngineeringLtdandunknownof-ficials of Oil and Natural GasCorporation(ONGC)amongoth-ers for alleged irregularities inawardofacontractrelatedtoape-troleum project at Dahej inGujarat.Sourcessaidthecasewasreg-

isteredbasedonareferencesentbytheEDtoCBIlastyearwhenEDwas probing an alleged Londonproperty associated withCongress president SoniaGandhi’sson-in-lawRobertVadra.ThelatterhasdeniedowninganypropertyinLondon.Among those bookedby the

CBIareBhandari’s companyM/s.Santech International, FZC,UAE;M/s. Samsung Engineering Co.Ltd., South Korea; M/s. FosterWheeler Energy Ltd., UK;HongNamKoong, the then SeniorManagerof SECLand “unknownofficialsofONGC/OPal”.According to CBI, “Sanjay

Bhandari,DirectorofM/s.Santechinternational,UAEacted incrim-inal conspiracywith other ac-cused and in furtherance of thesaid conspiracy entered into aconsultancyagreementwithM/s.SECL in violation of the contractagreementbetweenM/s.OPaL&M/s.SECLandallegedlyobtainedUS$49,99,969(approx)fromM/s.SECLintheoverseasbankaccount

ofM/sSantechInternational,UAEinordertoinduceunknownpub-licservantstoshowallegedunduefavour to the consortiumofM/sSECL in the award of contract ofDFCUprojectatDahej,Gujarat.”IntheFIR,theCBIalleged“the

saidagreementwasrelatingtotheconsultancy services to be pro-vided by M/s. SantechInternationalFZCtoM/s.SECLforobtainingthesaidcontract”.The Indian Express had on

February10, 2019, reported thatprobingVadraandhisrelationshipwithBhandari, theEDwas look-ing intowhethera2008dealbe-tween ONGC and SamsungEngineeringLtdwas linkedtoal-leged payoffs thatwere behindthe purchase of a property inLondon. TheED isprobingVadrain connectionwithhalf-a-dozenproperties in London,which, itclaims, are indirectly owned byhim.Theagencyhadlastyeartolda Delhi court that one of thesepropertieshadbeenpurchasedin2010with “kickbacks” throughBhandari. It had claimed thesekickbackswerepaid toBhandariin a “petroleumministry deal oftheUPAera”.Vadra’s lawyerKTSTulsihad

then called the ED probe a“smearcampaignandnotanin-vestigation”.Samsung Engineering

spokesperson JinHartmannhadearlier told The Indian Express,“SamsungEngineering complieswith the laws and regulations intheconductofbusiness,includingintheprojectawardprocess.”

HARIKISHANSHARMANEWDELHI, JULY1

ONLY13per centof 8 lakhmet-ric tonnes of free foodgrains al-located for returning migrantworkersundertheAtmanirbharBharat package have actuallyreachedmigrants during Mayand June, government data re-veals.This special allocation was

madebytheCentreinMay,amidcriticismovermigrantsworkers’exodus fromurbancentres.Latestdataof theMinistryof

Consumer Affairs, Food andPublic Distribution shows thatagainst the Centre’s announce-ment of distributing free 5-kgfoodgrain per month for twomonthstoabout8croremigrantworkerswhodonothaverationcards,only2.13crorebeneficiar-iesitinMay(1.21crore)andJune(92.44 lakh).Announcing this onMay 14,

Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman had suggested thatthe allocation was meant forabout8croremigrantworkers.According to theministry's

data, all 36 states and UnionTerritories lifted 6.38 lakhmet-rictonnes,or80percentof8lakhmetrictonnesoffoodgrainsallo-catedunderAtmanirbharBharatAbhiyaan forMayand June. Butthey have distributed only 1.07lakhmetrictonnes(or13%ofal-located quantity) of free food-graintotheintendedbeneficiar-iesuntil June30, it shows.Despite lifting their full two

months'quota,severalstatesdidnotdistributethefreefoodgrainto thereturningworkers, statis-tics shows.At least 26 states and UTs

have lifted100-per centof theirallocation from the Centre butnot one of themdistributed fullquantitiestothebeneficiariesinthelasttwomonths,datashows.The maximum quantity —

1,42,033metric tonnes—wasal-located toUttar Pradesh,whichlifted1,40,637metrictonnes.Butthe state distributed only 3,324metric tonnes (2.03 per cent) toabout 4.39 lakh beneficiaries inMay,andto2.25lakhbeneficiariesinJune,accordingtotheministry.Biharalso lifted100percent

quota of 86,450metric tonnesbut distributed only 1.842met-ric tonnes (2.13%) to about 3.68lakhbeneficiariesinMay,andtonooneinJune,accordingtodata.ElevenstatesandoneUTdid

notdistributeeven1percentofthe quantity they had lifted tothe beneficiaries during June.

These areAndhra Pradesh, Goa,Gujarat, Jharkhand, Ladakh,Maharashtra, Meghalaya,Odisha, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu,TelanganaandTripura.Some states have lagged

behind in lifting of their shareof grains. For instance, Odishalifted only 388 metric tonnesfrom the Food Corporation ofIndia against its allocation of32,360 metric tonnes underAtmanirbharBharatAbhiyaan.Madhya Pradesh lifted 1,963metric tonnes (4%) of its allo-cation of 54,642 metrictonnes, while Chhattisgarhliftedonly944 tonnes (5%) outof the allocated 20,077metrictonnes.Sixorsevenstates, including

GoaandTelangana,havewrittento theCentreand informedthatthey will not be able to imple-ment theschemesincemigrantworkershavemovedoutoftheirstates.Atavirtualmediaconference

onWednesday, UnionMinisterof Consumer Affairs, Food andPublic Distribution Ram VilasPaswan said, “Some states arenotdistributingfoodgraintothepoor. It is a matter ofconcern...they should be sensi-tive to the poor.... We have noproblem inproviding foodgrainto states.When it is being givenfree,Idon'tunderstandtheprob-lem in distribution.We are tak-ing this issueseriously.”Among states which have

performedcomparativelybetter,Rajasthan lifted almost 100 percent of its allocated quota of44,662metric tonnes and dis-tributed over 95 per cent — or42,478metric tonnesof grain to42.47 lakh beneficiaries inMayand Juneeach.Haryana distributed 6,463

metric tonnesagainst its alloca-tion of 12,649 metric tonnes.Himachal Pradesh, Assam andKarnataka also performedwell,theministry'sdata shows.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JULY1

ASCOVID-19 cases in the coun-try continue to surge, seniorCongress leader Rahul Gandhion Wednesday said govern-ments are trying to “manage”the“perception”andgiveasensethat the problem is “not as badas it is” and argued that it is im-portantto“accept”theproblem,defineit“accurately”andfightit.Theremarkscameduringhis

interaction with four IndiannursesworkinginNewZealand,Australia, the United Kingdomand India on the occasion ofDoctor’s Day. The interactionwas streamed on social mediaplatforms.During the interaction, the

frontline healthworkers sharedtheir experiences, perspectivesandthechallengestheyarefacing.Expressing solidarity with

healthworkers,Rahuldescribed

them as “a non-violent Army”riskingtheir lives tosavepeoplefromthepandemic.Speakingaboutthesituation

inDelhi,hesaidtestingisnotbe-ing allowed atmany hospitals.“Oneof thedoctors Iwasspeak-ing to in a private hospital wastellingme that it becomes im-possibleforthemtoworkif theycannottestCovidpatients.If theydon’t know if the patient hasCovid or not, they don’t knowwheretoputhim...Sotheyweresaying that they are completely

frustratedanddonotknowhowtomove forward,”hesaid.“I think…the governments

aretryingtomanagethepercep-tion(and)theyaretryingtogivea sense that the problem is notas bad as it is. But I believe thatlook, we have to face the prob-lem, so we should accept theproblem,definetheproblemac-curatelyandthenfighttheprob-lem,”theCongressleaderadded.Rahul was in conversation

with Anu Ragnat, who iswork-ing in New Zealand, NarendraSingh, who is in Australia,Sherlylmol Puravady, a nurse inLiverpool, UK, and VipinKrishnanofAIIMS-Delhi.Krishnan, a former general

secretaryofAIIMSNursesUnionwho had tested positive forCovid-19, saidnurses in thepri-vatesectorarefacinga“lotofdis-crimination”andsalarycuts.Hefelt the government “must helpthem and pay their entiresalaries”.

MILINDGHATWAIBHOPAL, JULY1

ALMOST 100 days after the BJPunseated the Kamal Nath gov-ernment in Madhya Pradesh,Chief Minister Shivraj SinghChouhan is set to have a full-fledgedCabinetonThursday.Chouhan had taken oath

aloneonMarch23,thenightbe-fore the Prime Minister an-nounced the nationwide lock-down.AfterworkingaloneuntilApril 21,he inducted fiveminis-ters, including two loyalists offormer Congress leaderJyotiraditya Scindia, whose re-bellionbroughtdowntheprevi-ousCongress-ledgovernment.Over the last few days there

were fractious discussions inNewDelhi and Bhopal onwhowill make it to the Cabinet be-cause the party had tomake atightropewalkintryingtoadjustBJPleaders, includingthosewhohad beenministers in the past,as well as Scindia’s supporters,whowillsoonfaceby-elections.Twenty-twoCongressMLAs,

including six ministers in theerstwhile Kamal Nath govern-ment, had resigned and laterjoined the BJP earlier this year.While two of his loyalists, TulsiSilawat and Govind Rajput, arealready ministers, Scindia islearnt tohavewanted10otherstobeaccommodated.Mostseatsboundfortheby-

elections are in the state’sGwalior-Chambalregion,where

theformerUnionministerholdsclout. The Congress had donewell in the region in the 2018

Assemblyelections.Chouhan had a tough time

convincing the BJP high com-

mand to accommodate seniorMLAs who were ministers inhis three previous terms be-tween 2005 and 2018, even astheparty looked fornewerandenergetic faces. Three BJPMLAs who were ministers inthepast areunlikely tomake itto his Cabinet this time, it islearnt.The Chief Minister, who

spent two days in Delhi beforereturningtoBhopalonTuesday,hintedthathehadtomakesomecompromises. “Jab bhimanthanhotahai amrit nikalta hai, vish toShivpee jatehai (everychurningproduces nectar, Lord Shiv con-sumes the poison),’’ he told themediaonWednesday.TakingadigatChouhan, for-

mer CM and Pradesh Congress

Committee chief Kamal Nathtweeted, “The churning lastedso long that it produced onlypoison. Poison will have to bedrunk daily from now on be-cause there will be churningeveryday.”Nath was likely indicating

thatthegovernmentwillhaveatough time because Chouhanwill have to dealwith unhappyBJP aspirants who will not beable togetministerial berths.Uttar Pradesh Governor

AnandibenPatel,whotookoathasMPGovernoronWednesday,willadministertheoathofofficeto newministers on Thursday.Thestate’sincumbentGovernor,LaljiTandon,isundergoingtreat-ment at a private hospital inLucknow.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEKOLKATA, JULY1

MEDINIPUR MP and WestBengalBJPpresidentDilipGhoshonWednesday said thathewasheckled by Trinamool Congresssupporters and his vehicle van-dalised when he was out for amorningwalkinRajarhat,wherehewas scheduled toholdan in-teractionwithpartyworkersonWednesday.

Alleging inac-tionbythepo-lice, Ghoshclaimed thathis securitypersonnelwere also at-tacked.“I was out

for a morningwalk and wasscheduled to

visit a tea stall at nearbyKochpukur village to talk to ourparty workers. Before I couldreachthere,Trinamoolsupport-ersvandalisedtheteastall.Later,they heckled andmanhandledme and several of our vehicleswere vandalised. My securityguardswho came to rescuemewere also beaten up. The localpolicewere informedaboutmyvisit to the area. However, theydidnothing,” saidGhosh.PartysourcessaidthatUnion

HomeMinisterAmitShahspoketoGhoshoverthephoneanden-quiredabout the incident.The state BJP president has

recentlyshiftedtoanew12-bed-roomresidenceatRajarhatareainNorth24Parganasdistrict.Ghosh also alleged that the

ownerof thenewresidencewasbeing harassed by theadministration.The TMC, however, dis-

missed Ghosh’s allegations as“baseless”. “Every day we getto hear similar things (attackon Ghosh)... There is no needfor our party to resort to vio-lence to stop the BJP. In 2021Assembly polls, BJP’s positionin the state will be clear,” saidSudip Bandyopadhyay, TMCMP and party’s leader in LokSabha.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JULY1

OPPOSITION PARTIES in Biharhaveobjectedtovirtualralliesasamode of campaigning for theupcomingAssemblyelections.TheRJD,CPI,CPI(M),NCP,BSP

andRLSPhavearguedthatdigitalcampaigningwould violate thelevel-playingfieldandfavourrichparties with “resources”. Theypitched for smallmeetings andgatheringsofvotersinstead.Theparties put their views forwardinanall-partymeetingcalledbythe Bihar Chief Electoral Officer(CEO)onJune26.The BJP, which held virtual

rallies throughout last month,supported the digital mode ofcampaigning in the all-partymeetingandsaiditwouldbe“in-appropriate” for the ElectionCommission (EC) toban it.ItsallyJD(U)wassilentonvir-

tual rallies specifically. But theparty representative said thatsomepolitical partieswere con-tradicting themselves by asking

theECtoallowbigcampaignral-lieswhileseekingacapof700onthenumberof votersatapollingbooth.LJP,amemberoftherulingNDA, also did not offer any sug-gestionondigitalcampaigning.The ECwill in all likelihood

conductBiharelectionsontimeamid the pandemic. In a strongindication of this, theCommission has already con-vincedtheLawMinistrytoallowCovid-affected patients to votethroughpostalballots.The EC isn’t opposed to the

ideaofdigitalcampaigning.Inaninterview to The Indian Expresslast month, ElectionCommissioner Sushil Chandrahad said that “partieswill havetorelyonvirtualralliesandcam-paigning through socialmedia”duringBiharelections.To ensure social distancing,

the EC has decided to limit thenumberofvotersateachpollingbooth to 1,000, instead of 1,600innormalcircumstances.Partieshave suggested bringing thisnumberdownfurther.TheLJPin-dicatedthatthemaximumnum-

berofvotersataboothshouldbe500andtheCPIandJDUwantedit tobecappedat700.The BJP and JDU also sup-

ported fewer polling phases.While BJP wanted elections intwophases,thelatterpitchedfora single phase. Last time,Assembly elections in Biharwereheld in fivephases.TheEConWednesdaywrote

toCPMdefendingitsdecisiontoallow 65-year-olds to votethroughpostalballotsintheup-coming election. TheCommission said the decisionwas taken toprotect vulnerablegroupsduringpollswhileensur-ingtheyarenotdeprivedoftheirvoting rights.CPMleaderSitaramYechury

hadquestionedthemovesayingthe poll body bypassed the es-tablished practice of consulta-tion with political parties. TheEC, in turn, pointed out that itwas consulting political partiesbefore polls and attachedmin-utes of the all-party meetingcalled by the Bihar CEOon June26.

CBI books SanjayBhandari for‘corruption’ inpetroleum contract

HousingministryciteswithdrawalofSPGprotection;Congalleges revenge

100 days after taking over, Chouhan set to have full Cabinet

ShivrajSinghChouhanwithAnandibenPatel inBhopal. PTI

Govtnotice toPriyanka tovacatebungalowbyAugust 1

PriyankaGandhiVadra

TMC supportersmanhandledme, vandalisedvehicle, says BJPBengal president

Govts trying to manage perception,must accept Covid situation: Rahul

DilipGhosh

RahulGandhi

Workers loadfoodgrainsontrucks inRanchi. PTI

Bihar Oppn parties object tovirtual rallies ahead of elections

8lakhmetrictonnesallocatedforMay,June;States/UTslifted6.38lakhmetrictonnes;Distributed1.07lakhmetrictonnes

Only 13% of allocated free food grain handed outto returning migrant workers, reveals govt data

New Delhi

DIRECTORATE OF ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE DEPARTMENT, HARYANAS.C.O. NO.1, 2, 3, SECOND FLOOR, SECTOR 17-D, CHANDIGARH-160017

Applications are invited to fill up the following posts on contract basis for one year (may be extended further) in the projectEstablishing/strengthening the State Climate Change Cell under NMSKCC in the Environment and Climate ChangeDepartment Haryana.

The last date of receiving the application is 30.07.2020. The application format is available on website i.e.www.harenvironment.gov.in.

DIRECTOR, ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE DEPARTMENT, HARYANA

Sr. Name of the Post Essential Qualification and Experience EmolumentsNo. per Month

1. Senior Research Rs. 28,000/-+20% HRAFellow (1 Post)

2. Junior Research Rs. 25,000/-+20% HRAFellow (2 Post)

3. Project Assistant Rs. 8,000/-(1 Post)

Post Graduate Degree in Environment Science/ Chemistry/ Botany/Zoology/Micro-Biology/Bio-Chemistry .Two years of research experience in field of environment and climatechange. Preference will be given to UGC-CSIR_NET qualified candidates.

Post Graduate degree in Environment Science/ Chemistry/ Botany/Zoology/ Micro-Biology/Bio-Chemistry. Preference will be given to UGC-CSIR-NET qualified candidates.Desirable: One year of research experience in field of environment and cli-mate change.

Bachelor degree with Economics (one of the subject)/B.Sc.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION KINDLY VISIT: www.haryanaeprocurement.gov.in or www.etenders.hry.nic.in

TENDER NOTICE

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6THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY, JULY2,2020

THEOUTBREAKWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

ABHISHEKSAHAGUWAHATI, JULY1

UNION HOME Minister AmitShah has told Assam HealthMinister Himanta Biswa Sarmatotrytoconduct10,000Covid-19testsperdayinGuwahati,evenasthecityremainsundercompletelockdownandcontinuestoshowa spike in the number of peopleinfectedwiththecoronavirus.Speaking at a press briefing

Wednesday, Sarma said,“Conducting10,000testsperdayisabigtask... I thinkinGuwahatisomanypeoplemightnotcomeforward to submit samples perday—wecannotforcepeople.Inourmodesttarget,weshouldbeabletoconduct2,000-4,000testsper day. Of course, if we can do10,000testsitwillbeverygood.”As a consequence of Shah’s

telephonic conversation withSarma,andinconsultationwiththe ICMR, the Assam govern-menthasdecidedtoimplementanewtestingregimewiththe‘Q

Covid-19Ag’test,throughwhichtheresultofasamplecanbeob-tainedwithin15minutestoonehour. The government has or-dered2lakh‘QCovid-19Ag’testkits, Sarmasaid.Medical staff would be

trained to use the new kit onThursday,andit isexpectedthatfull-fledged testing through itwill start in the city in the nexttwo-threedays.GuwahationTuesdayhadre-

ported 382 fresh coronaviruscases and byWednesday after-noon,another157peopletestedpositive from the city. As ofWednesdayevening,Assamhadreported a total of 8,547 Covid-19 cases, including 2,885 cases,andhadreported12 fatalities.Currently,Guwahatihasato-

tal bed capacity of 1,538, ofwhich987areoccupied.OnWednesday,Sarmainau-

gurated a 900-bed Covid carehospital at Guwahati’sKhanapara. He said thatwithinthe next 4-5 days, the statewilldevelopaplasmabank.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEKOLKATA, JULY1

THEBODYofa71-year-oldman,who had tested positive forCovid-19 after his death onMonday, was kept at home fornearly48hoursas familymem-bersranfrompillartopostseek-inghelpfromgovernmentagen-cies and police for its disposal.Following the delay in crema-tion, the familyevenhadtorenta freezer topreserve thebody.The deceased, a resident of

Kolkata, died with Covid-19symptomsathishomearound3pm onMonday. To get a deathcertificate, the familymemberscontacted a local doctor whosuggestedaCovidtest.Thefam-ily then contacted the local po-lice station, HealthDepartmentand Kolkata MunicipalCorporationforcremationofthebodyasperCovidprotocol.However, the family alleged

thatithadreceivednohelpfromanygovernmentagency.Thedeceased’snephewsaid,

“We contacted the local policestation,andweweretoldtocon-tacttheHealthDepartment.WecalledonthehelplinenumberoftheHealthDepartment, but gotno response. We also tried tokeepthebodyinmortuaries,butwerenotallowedasunclewasasuspectedCovidpatient.”On Tuesday morning, the

familymembers contacted theKolkataMunicipal Corporation,whichtooaskedthemtocontacttheHealthDepartment.“Wevis-ited the Health Department of-ficewherewewereaskedtogeta Covid test report, withoutwhich the cremation could notbedone,” said thenephew.The family thenmanaged to

getatestconducted,andthede-ceasedtestedpositive.“Meanwhile, we had

arrangedafreezertopreventthebodyfromdecomposing.Today,in themorning, we submittedtheCovidreporttoKMC,follow-ingwhichcivicbodyworkers fi-nally took away the body in theafternoon for cremation,” thenephewsaid.“Even our neighbours were

worriedbecauseof thedisease,”said thesonof thedeceased.

SREENIVASJANYALAHYDERABAD, JULY1

WITHTHEnumber of Covid-19cases continuing to rise inTelangana, the High Court onWednesdaycriticisedthegovern-ment for “behaving in amannerthat isviolatingtherighttolive”.Thecourtsaiditisthedutyof

the state to protect the lives ofcitizens.Bynotdeclaringthere-quired information regardingthe spread of Covid-19, includ-ing information onwhere con-tainment zones are, the state isendangeringthelivesofcitizens,it said.“Youcannotabdicateyourre-

sponsibility to protect your citi-zens.Whyareyounot conduct-ing the required number oftests?Whyare younot dissem-inatinginformationdailyinyourbulletins about containmentzones, and more informationaboutspreadofthevirus?”ChiefJustice Raghavendra SinghChauhansaid.Facing flak from theHC and

others, the Telangana govern-ment had promised to increasethe number tests to over 5,000perday,butithasrestrictedthemtoless than4,000sofar.The CJ directed the govern-

menttoprovidedetailsofeffortsbeingmadetocontainthesitua-tionbyJuly17,failingwhichithasordered the chief secretary,healthsecretary,directorofpub-lic health and commissioner ofpublichealthtoappearinvirtualcourt.The Bench of Chief Justice

Raghavendra Singh Chauhanand Jusice Vijayasen Reddyquestioned why the govern-

ment was not conductingenough tests tomeet themarkof 50,000 in 10 days, as it hadpromised to do in its last affi-davit filedon June17.“There are high positives

amidst low testing but the gov-ernment has not adhered to itsassuranceof increasingtesting,"theBenchsaid.The court sought informa-

tion from the government onhowmanyprimaryandsecond-arycontactsof infectedpersonswere tracedandsamples taken.“Health authorities started

conductingmore tests, but theywerealarmedbythehighnum-berofCovid-19caseswhentest-ing was increased. TheTelangana government hasscaleditdown,”ahealthdepart-mentofficial said.Theincreaseintestsresulted

in the number of cases triplinginTelangana,withamajorityre-ported inHyderabad.Asof June30, there were 16,339 cases inTelangana.On June 30, 945 new cases

werereported;869of945caseswere reported from GreaterHyderabad MunicipalCorporationarea.Therewere seven deaths in

the last 24 hours, taking the to-tal toll to260.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEPANAJI, JULY1

WITHAviewtoget itseconomyback on track, Goa will beginopening over 250 hotels acrossthestatestartingThursday,withthetourismministryhavingen-sured thatall SOPswith regardstothecoronaviruspandemicareinplace.State Tourism Minister

Manohar Ajgaonkar made theannouncement onWednesday,saying, “Economically,weare ina bad shape.” He said touristswhowishtoenterthestateneedto pre-book themselves andshould be tested for the coron-avirus atmost 48hours prior totheir arrival. Thosewhohaven'ttested themselves for the virusshould bewilling to get testedand may only leave the hotelpremises if they testnegative.

The announcement comeseven as Goa looks at the possi-bilityofcontainmentzones,with713 active Covid-19 cases andaround330peoplequarantinedinvarious facilities.Meanwhile, with anMLA of

therulingBJPtestingpositiveforthevirusaweekafterameetingof the legislators, ChiefMinisterPramod Sawant onWednesdayaskedthosepresentat themeettoget themselves tested.

Can’t abdicateresponsibility toprotect citizens,says Telangana HC

Jammu:TheJammuandKashmiradministration has initiated aninquiry into the circumstancesthat led a private hospital atBanihal conduct surgery on awomanwithoutwaiting for herCovid-19report.The32-year-oldlater testedpositive for thevirusBanihal Sub Divisional

Magistrate Zahir Abbas said thewomanwasoperated for herniaonMondayandherCovidtestre-portcameaspositiveonTuesday.As per theprotocol, a hospital isrequiredtoget thepatient testedforCovidbeforeundertakingsur-geryonhim/her,hesaid.A surgeon at the hospital,

meanwhile,saidthesurgeryhadto be performed in emergencyfollowing obstruction in her ar-tery.“...Herfamilyinsistedonget-ting her operated at Banihal inviewof restrictionsoninter-dis-trictmovement intheUT.” ENS

Goa to begin opening hotels today Covid body keptat home for48 hrs, Kolkatafamily allegeslack of govt help

TABASSUMBARNAGARWALAMUMBAI, JULY1

PRIVATE LABORATORIES havekick-startedantibodytestingforanyonewhowants to undergothe same, with most requestscoming from the private sector—peopleattachedtosalons,filmindustry, private hospitals, andindustrial andcorporateoffices.Thyrocare, which has con-

ducted about 5,000 ELISA (en-zyme-linked immunosorbentassay) antibody tests acrossIndia,saidithasfound8percentof those examined testingposi-tive for antibodies against thecoronavirus.Severalof thesamplesittook

inMumbaiwere part of a sero-surveillance being undertakenbyBMCalongwithNitiAayog.The ELISA IgG antibody test

involves taking a blood sampleof apersontocheckwhetherheorshehasdevelopedantibodiesagainst an infection. Antibodiestaketwoweekstodevelopafterexposure to infection. A personmay or not develop symptomsbutwill still develop antibodiesto fight the infection.Thistest,usedassurveillance

tool, indicates howmanymayhavegotexposedavirus.In European countries, the

test is being used as an “immu-nity passport” for peoplewant-ing to return toworkwhile be-ing assured that they haveimmunityagainstCovid-19.“Wehavemostlyreceivedre-

quests fromcorporate offices indifferent parts of India thatwanteditsemployeestoresumework.Wefoundthat10percentof those examined in cities and5 per cent in smaller townstestedpositive.Onanaverage,8percentpeopletestedhadbeenexposed toCovid-19 anddevel-oped antibodies,” said Dr AVelumani, founderofThyrocare.

ThyrocareischargingRs600pertestandresultsaregeneratedin24hours.Thelab'sheadofop-erations, Dr Caesar Sengupta,said they started antibody test-ingfromJune26,andhavebeentestingamixof high-riskpopu-lation and the general popula-tion. “Wearealso testing indus-triallabourerswhoarereturningtowork,”headded.Suburban Diagnostics

started antibody testing fromMonday, and has tested 250samples so far. The lab is charg-ing Rs 950 for walk-ins, and Rs1,450 forhometesting.“We are receiving queries

fromhealthworkerswhowantto know if they have been ex-posed to the virus. Salonswanttheir employees to be tested.Since the film industry hasstarted shooting, several arecoming for ELISA tests,” said DrSanjayArora, founderandman-aging director of Suburban

Diagnostics.The lab found 25 per cent of

those examined tested positivefor antibodies but Arora saidmoretestsareneededtodrawadefinitive conclusionon the ex-posure rate. “Testing 250 sam-plesisasmallnumber.Thismayormaynotindicateactualexpo-suretothevirusamongthegen-eralpopulation,”Arora said.DrNilesh Shah, grouppresi-

dent at Metropolis, said theystarted ELISA testing in 45 labson Tuesday and have testedaround 500 people so far. “Wehave mostly tested corporateemployeestillnow.Somehous-ing societies are also approach-ingus,"hesaid,addingthattheyare yet to analyse the positivityrateandwillarequirelargerpooltododo.Until last month, Indian

Council of Medical Research(ICMR) guidelines had allowedantibodytestingforfrontlineand

healthworkers, in containmentzones, and for government ap-provedsero-surveys.On June 23, in its revised

guidelines, while ICMRmain-tained RT-PCR (real-time poly-merase chain reaction) testwasthe“goldstandard”fordetectingCovid-19infection,itallowedpri-vate labs to performELISA anti-bodytestsforabroaderspectrum.A spokesperson for SRL

Diagnostics said they are stillevaluating protocol and willsoonstartperforming the tests.India so far has 1,000 ap-

provedCovid-19testinglabs,730of them in the public sector. InMay, ICMR had conducted asero-surveillanceof26,400peo-pleandfound0.73percentpos-itive for antibodies, indicatingtheexposureof viruswas lowerthan1percent.India so far has 1,049 ap-

proved labs. Among them, 761are in thepublic sector.

Shah asks Assam toconduct 10,000 testsin Guwahati per day

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEBENGALURU, JULY1

KARNATAKA’SCOMMISSIONERfor Health and FamilyWelfareServiceshasissuedashowcausenotice to 18 private and publichospitals inBengaluruforrefus-ing treatment to a 52-year-old,who later died of influenza-likeillness symptoms.The notice was issued after

reportsindicatedthatBhawarlalSujani could not get admissionatvarioushospitalsthroughJune27and28.Thehospitals, includ-ing major ones like Bowring,Fortis andManipal, have beentold togetbackwithin24hoursonwhyactionshouldnotbeini-tiated against them, includingunder the State DisasterManagementAct.The notice, by Commisioner

PankajKumarPandey,saysSujani“succumbedduetodenialof ad-

missionby18hospitals…HissonVikramJainandnephewDineshhavestatedthatSriBhawarlalwastaken to these hospitals onSaturday andSunday for admis-sion on observing some ILI-likesymptoms. But noneof thehos-pitals admittedon thepretextofunavailability of beds/ventila-tors.” Thenotice underlines thatprivatemedical establishments“cannotdeny/refuse/avoidtreat-ment to patientswith Covid 19andCovid19-likesymptoms”.As per the SOP for coron-

avirusinKarnataka,peoplewithILIsymptomsaretobetreatedassuspectedcasesandtested.Bengaluruisseeingasudden

surge in cases, especially sincethe beginning of June, resultinginaheavydemandforbeds.Thenearly 100 ICU beds in govern-menthospitalsandmedicalcol-leges are currently full, and thegovernment has been trying togetprivatehospitals todedicate

50 per cent of their beds forCovid19patients referredby it.On June 27, it had issued a

warningtothemfordenyingad-mission tocoronaviruscases.The Karnataka government

hasprescribedamountsrangingbetween Rs 5,200 per day for ageneralbedandRs10,000foranICUwithaventilator,forpatientsreferredbyittoprivatehospitals.For patients reaching privatehospitalsonown,theceilinghasbeen set at Rs 10,000 for a gen-eral ward and Rs 25,000 for anICUwith a ventilator. However,in the case of patients who re-portdirectlytoprivatehospitalsand have a private insurancecover, there isnoceiling.Healthofficialssayprivatehospitalsarefavouring patientswith privateinsurance.As per official data, of the

1,619 beds in the private sectorforCovid19cases,only418werefullbetweenJune1andJune28.

MEANWHILE, INMUMBAI:TheMumbaiPoliceonWednesdayaskedresidents torestricttheirmovements totheir “neighbourhood”till July15. It reiteratedthatbarringa fewrestrictions thathavebeenrelaxedbetween9pmto5am,prohibitoryorderswillbe inplaceduringthis timeperiodunderSection144of theCrPC.NirmalHarindran

Corporate sector queues up as pvtlabs begin ELISA tests for antibodies

Notices to 18 hospitals inBengaluru as 52-yr-old dies

KARISHMAMEHROTRANEWDELHI, JULY1

SOME STATES have been utilis-ing testing laboratories, espe-cially private labs, at a “sub-op-timal” level and it is “stronglyrecommended” that laborato-riesshouldbefreetotest“anyin-dividual in accordance to ICMRguidelines”, the ICMR and theHealthMinistry has stated in aletter to state governments andUnionTerritories.The letter notes that states

havemade prescription from agovernmentdoctormandatorytoallowforaCovid-19test, andob-servesthatthismayposeimped-imentsandleadtodelays.Theletter,signedbyICMRdi-

rector-general Dr BalramBhargava andHealth SecretaryPreeti Sudan states: “It has beenobservedthatinsomeStates/UTs,thecapacityutilizationofthetest-ing labs particularly the ones inprivate sector, is grossly sub-op-timal. It is strongly advised thatyoushouldtakeallpossiblestepstoensurefullcapacityutilizationof all COVID-19 testing laborato-ries intheState/UT.”Currently, Telangana and

Maharashtra have the troublingduoofhighpositivity(both18percent)andlowtestsperpopulation(251 and 863 tests per 100,000population, respectively).WhileDelhihasahighertestingratio,itshighpositivity rate also inches itclosertotheworrisomequadrant.Ontheothersideof thespec-

trum, JammuandKashmirhas alowpositivity rate of 2 per cent

and a high testing ratio of 2,910per100,000people.Eleven states andUTshave a

positivity rate below5per centandatestingratiobelow1,000per100,000population. Another 12stateshaveasimilarpositivityratebutatestingratiobetween1,000and2,000per100,000people.At 212 per 100,000 popula-

tion,Biharhassomeofthelowesttesting rates. Telangana, UP,Jharkhand,MadhyaPradesh,andWest Bengal all have below600testsper100,000population.Theletterstates:“Atthisjunc-

ture, it isabsolutelynecessarytofacilitatetestingattheearliestbyenabling all qualifiedmedicalpractitioners, including privatepractitioners,toprescribeCOVIDtesttoanyindividualfulfillingthecriteria for testing as per ICMRguidelines.Infact,ICMRstronglyrecommends that laboratoriesshouldbefreetotestanyindivid-ual in accordance to the ICMRguidelines and State authoritiesmust not restrict an individualfromgettingtested...”Theministry and the ICMR

encouraged states to set upcampsandmobilevans inhigh-incidence areas to collect sam-ples using rapid antigen tests, anew type of quick and cheapertest recentlymade available bythegovernmentagency.The positivity rates of

Telangana (18%), Maharashtra(18%), Delhi (16%), and Gujarat(8%) remain someof thehighestinthecountry.The ICMR has also added a

newsetofvalidatedantibodyandRT-PCRkits.

Somestatesusing test labsatsub-optimallevel: ICMR,govt Facingflak , thestate

governmenthadpromisedto increasetestingtoover5,000perday,buthasrestrictedthemtolessthan4,000sofar

Probe orderedafter hospitalperforms surgerywithout waitingfor Covid result

New Delhi

7THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY, JULY2,2020

EXPRESSNETWORKWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

YUBARAJGHIMIREKATHMANDU, JULY1

UNDER FIRE for his remarksagainst India and toldby the rul-ing Nepal Communist Party toprovehischargesorresign,NepalPrimeMinisterKPSharmaOliini-tiated conciliatory moves onWednesday, but the chorusagainsthimcontinuedtogrow.LeelamaniPokhrel,amember

oftheNepalCommunistPartysta-ndingcommittee,echoedtheot-herleaders,tellingOli:“Youralle-gation that Indiawasplotting totoppleyoudidnotbehovethesta-tureofthepositionthatyouhold.Youmustfurnishprooforquit.”MatrikaYadav,alsoastanding

committee member, said Olishouldquitthepostimmediatelyas he acted more like a “gangleaderthanthatof theparty”.On Wednesday, Oli invited

someofhiscabinetcolleagues,loy-alists anda fewparty leadersbe-fore the committeemeetingbe-gan.“Oliwasmildinhisexpressionand lookedworried.Heaskedustodefendhiminnationalinterest,”saidoneoftheleadersinvited.

Intheinformalmeeting,somemembers advised him to handover thePrimeMinister’s post toPushpaKamalDahal Prachandafortheremaininghalfofthetenureaspertheunderstandingreachedbetweenthem28monthsago.Agroupof leaders, including

Civil AviationMinister YogeshBhattaraiandAgricultureMinisterGhanshyamBhusal,offeredtostepdown.BhusalmadeitclearthathewasnothappywiththePrimeMi-nister’swayoffunctioning.“Ifyoubecomestronger,democracywillgetweaker,but if yougetweaker,itwillhaveadirectfalloutonnatio-nalism,” he said, implying thatwhile he opposed Oli’s way offunctioning, he supported thePrimeMinisteronthedecisiontoamendtheConstitutiontoincludeKalapani, LipulekhandLimpiya-dhura,areasonIndianmaps,inthenewmapofNepal.

Oli softens stance, butpressure to quit mounts

ENS&PTICHENNAI,NEYVELI, JULY1

IN THE second such blast at theNLC India thermal power plantin Neyveli, Tamil Nadu, in twomonths,sixworkersdiedand17wereinjuredfollowinganexplo-sion in a boiler onWednesdaymorning.Many of the injured have at

least 50 per cent burns. Theyhave been brought to Chennaifor treatment.Theplanthasbeenshutfora

safety audit and a senior officersuspended.An official of NLC, a

‘Navratna’ PSU, said they wereinvestigatingthereasonsfortheblast in power station II, whichhas about 2,000 workers andsevenunits.Theblasthappenedwhenworkersweredoingmain-tenancework for resuming op-erations followingashutdown.In theMay7blastat theNLC

plant, fivewerekilled and threeinjured.ThesixkilledonWednesday

were all contractworkers, agedbetween 25 and 62 years. Themaintenance team included anexecutive,twosupervisors,threenon-executiveemployeesand17contractworkers.NLC India, formerly Neyveli

Lignite Corporation Limited, is-suedastatementsayingahigh-level inquiry has been orderedheadedbyretiredNTPCdirectorP K Mohapatra, and the unitheadof thermalpower station-II suspended pending thereport. All the 210MWunits ofthe power station-II havebeen shut down for immediatesafety audit, Chief GeneralManager, PR, SGurusamynathansaid.Union HomeMinister Amit

Shahexpressedanguishovertheincidentandassuredallpossiblehelp to the Tamil Nadu govern-ment.ChiefMinisterEdappadiKPalaniswami announced Rs 3lakh each to families of the sixdeceased.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JULY1

AFTERCHINAblockedaccesstoallIndian newspapers andmediawebsites, the IndianNewspaperSociety(INS)onTuesdayissuedastatement saying that the actionby the Chinese government isuncalledfor.INSpresidentShaileshGupta,

onbehalfofthemembers,“statedthattheactionoftheChinesegov-ernment to restrict access ofIndian newspapers andmediawebsites isuncalledforandeventheaccessthroughVPNserverhasbeen blocked by creating atechnologically advancedfirewall”.Gupta “strongly” urged the

Indian government “to expedi-tiously takestepstobanallkindsofaccesstoChinesemediainIndiaandcalloffcollaborations/invest-mentsmadebyChineseinIndianmedia companieswith immedi-ateeffect”.India hadbanned59mobile

apps with Chinese links onMonday, amid tensions withChinaovertheLadakhstandoff.

ADILAKHZERSRINAGAR, JULY1

OVER 90 per cent of militantsgunneddownintheValleyinthefirst half of 2020 were localyouths, according to the J&KPolicerecords.Officials said 118 militants

have been killed in the last sixmonths, 11 of whomwere for-eignersand107werelocalyouths.IGP,Kashmir,VijayKumarsaid

nearlyhalf of themilitantskilledin the last sixmonthswere fromHizbulMujahideen. “In last sixmonths,thecommandersofmil-itant outfits have been killed aswell,”hesaid.Amongthemilitantskilledin

the Valley this year, 57 are fromHizbul, 24 fromLashkar-e-Taiba,22 from Jaish-e-Mohammed,seven each from ISJK and AGHandonefromAl-Badr.Duringapressconferenceon

Wednesday, IGPKumar said themain target for the next twomonthswillbetoneutraliseJeM’sPakistan militant Adnan, JeMcommanderWaleed andGhazi

Rashid. “It is being said that he(Ghazi)hasbeensentbyPakistanrecently, and is an ex-armymanandJeMchief,”hesaid.Aboutmilitantrecruitmentin

thelastsixmonths,policerecordsshowthat67peoplehavejoinedmilitantranksthisyear.“129people joinedmilitancy

in the first sixmonths last year.Thisyear,datashowsthereisade-cline of 48 per cent. It is a goodthingforforcesandsociety.Ofthe67, around 24 have been neu-tralised in encounters and 12have been arrested, and the restof themare in the field. I appealtotheparentstobringthemback.Make them understand. If anyparent brings himback,wewillnottakelegalactionandwilltakeitassurrender,”saidtheIGP.Aseniorpoliceofficersaidthe

majorityofthosewhojoinedmil-itancy this year are from southKashmirdistricts.“Thisisdefinitelya challenge for us andwe havebeenmakingalleffortssothatlessyouth joinmilitant ranks.Whilethis year the number is half ascomparedtolastyear,therecruit-menthasnotstopped,”hesaid.

China blocksIndian mediawebsites, INSseeks govt action

ARUNJANARDHANANCHENNAI, JULY1

THE MADRAS High Court-ap-pointedCB-CIDteamprobingthecustodialdeathofatraderandhissonatSathankulampolicestationnearThoothukudiarrestedoneofthe two accused sub-inspectorsonWednesday.Meanwhile, thetwoFIRsofsuspiciousdeaths(176CrPC) were altered to includemurdercharges(302IPC).TheCB-CID teamhasbooked

sixofficersfromSathankulampo-lice station.While sub-inspectorRaghuGaneshwas arrested onWednesday, sub-inspectorBalakrishnanand fourothersareyettobearrested.ACB-CIDofficial saidGanesh

wouldbesentto judicialcustodyonWednesdaynight. Theyhaveformed12teamstonabtheotheraccused.The senior inspector of

Sathankulam station, Sridhar,whowasaccusedofanactiverolein torture sessions in affidavitsgivenbypeoplewhofacedcusto-dial torture last month, wasspared.Apartfromsub-inspectorsGaneshandBalakrishnan,consta-blesMaharajan, who allegedlymadederogatory remarks at thejudicialmagistrate on Sunday,Sellathurai, Murugan andMuthurajwerenamedinthecase.The Madras HC had on

TuesdaydirectedTirunelveliDSPAnil Kumar to head the CB-CIDprobetoprotectevidenceuntiltheCBItakesovertheinvestigationonthestategovernment’srequest.TheCB-CID teamconducted

enquirieswith familymembersandacquaintancesof thevictimsonWednesday.PJeyaraj(62)waspickedupby

apoliceteamfromhisshoponJune19.HissonJBennix(32),whowenttothepolicestation,wasalsotakeninto custody. According to thecharges,bothfatherandsonweresubjected to torture through thenightbeforetheywereremandedinjudicialcustodyonJune20.Sathankulamstationwasbrou-

ghtunderthecontrolof theReve-nueDepartmentonMondayasperthedirectionof theHCafter theKovilpattijudicialmagistrate,whowasinitiallydeputedtoprobethecase,saidhewasharassedandthr-eatenedbyseniorofficersduringhisinquiryatthestationonSunday.

NewDelhi:TheCentreonWedn-esdaydesignatedninepersonsas-sociatedwiththeKhalistanmove-ment as terrorists under theUnlawfulActivitiesPreventionAct(UAPA). Under the recentlyamendedUAPA, individuals canbedesignatedasterrorists.Babbar Khalsa International

chief Wadhawa Singh Babbar,International Sikh Youth

Federation head Lakhbir Singh,Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF)headRanjeetSingh,andKhalistanCommandoForce chief ParamjitSingh are among those desig-natedasterrorists.AllofthemarebasedinPakistan.Alsoon the list areKhalistani

separatistsholedupinGermany—KZFmembers Bhupinder SinghBhindaandGurmeetSinghBagga.

Sikh for Justice memberGurpatwant SinghPannun,whois based in theUS, has also beennamed. Sikh For Justicehadear-lier been declared an “unlawfulassociation”bythegovernment.Paramjit Singh, theUK-based

chiefofBabbarKhalsaInternatio-nal, is in the list. So is HardeepSinghNijjar, Canada-basedheadofKhalistanTigerForce. ENS

Now, a Covid hurdle in bullet train tracksVISHWASWAGHMODE,MAYURAJANWALKAR&NEERAJTIWARIMUMBAI, JULY1

THE SHIV Sena-ledMahaVikasAghadi government inMahara-shtrahasanewreasontogoslowontheMumbai-Ahmedabadbul-lettrainproject—Covid-19.TheRs 1.1 lakh crore-project

thatChiefMinisterUddhavThac-kerayhaddescribed as a “whiteelephant”wasannouncedjointlybyPrimeMinisterNarendraModiand his Japanese counterpartShinzoAbeinTokyoin2017.Japan International Coope-

rationAgency(JICA)isfunding80per cent of the estimated cost ofthe project through a soft loan.The remaining cost has to beborne by Gujarat andMahara-shtra in the formof landacquisi-

tionsfortheproject.Railways set up theNational

High SpeedRail Corporation Li-mited(NHSRCL),aspecialpurposevehicle,toexecutetheproject.With108kmofthe530-kmof

corridorinMaharashtra,thestatehas to acquire 353 of the total1,400 hectares required for the

project.However,withthepeopleof the area opposing theproject,acquisitionhasbarelybegun.Within days of taking office,

Uddhavhad announced that allbig projects, including thebullettrain,would be reviewed in thelightof thestate’smassivedebt.Now, Covid-19has provided

thegovernmentwithareadyrea-son.Aseniorfinancedepartmentofficial said the governmenthadalreadyimposeda67percentcutin expenditure ondevelopmentschemesforthecurrentfinancialyearduetoreducedrevenuecol-lectionamidthepandemic.“Thegovernmenthas takena

decision that projects, inwhichwork is yet to commence,wouldbe stayed for a year now,” stateTransportMinisterAnilParabtoldThe Indian Expresswhen askedspecifically about thebullet trainproject. The government maylater review the projects put onhold,asourcesaid.“At thismoment,wehaveno

suchidea(of restructuringthefi-nancialagreement), soaspertheagreement,wewill continue tosupport (the project),” saidShinsukeNagai, seniorrepresen-tativeof JICA,India.

On the ground, however, thedelaysarealreadybeingfelt,mak-ingtheplannedrolloutinAugust2022,tocoincidewith75yearsofIndependence, tough. InGujarat,wherework on the project hadcommenced,thedisplacementofmigrantworkers following thelockdownfromMarch24hasal-readycausedalabourshortage.AchalKhare,ManagingDirect-

orofNHSRCL,said,“Itisverydiffi-cult to forecast anything at thisstage but yes, it (pandemic)willhaveanadverseeffect.”Ironically,theprojectmayhave

more takers inMaharashtranowthanbefore.InPalghardistrict,res-identswhohad refused tomakewayfortheprojectin2018,arere-considering theiroppositiondueto theprecarious financial condi-tionbroughtonbythelockdown.

FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

2nd blast in 2 months at govtthermal plant in TN, 6 dead

After theexplosionat thepowerplantonWednesday. PTI

90% militants gunneddown in Valley thisyear were local youths

L-G Murmu, top J&Kofficers meet Shah,Home secy in capitalDEEPTIMANTIWARYNEWDELHI, JULY1

LIEUTENANTGOVERNORofJam-mu and Kashmir G C Murmu,alongwith several top bureau-crats of theUnionTerritory,metwithHomeMinister Amit ShahandHomeSecretaryAjayBhallaon Wednesday and discussed“developmentissues”associatedwiththeregion.The meeting holds signifi-

cance,cominginthebackdropofdiscomfort in both Jammu andtheValleyoverthegovernment'sdomicile policy. It also comesamid various speculations overstockingofLPGcylindersinthere-gionandthependingdelimitationof itsAssemblyconstituencies.BesidesMurmu, J&K’s Chief

SecretaryBVRSubrahmanyam,Law Secretary Achal Sethi andPrincipalSecretary(Power)RohitKansal,amongothers,tookpartinthemeeting. The officialswerefirst hostedbyAdditional Secre-tary (Kashmir division)GyaneshKumar, who had over an hour-longmeetingwiththem.Thiswas

followedbyameetingwithHomeSecretaryAjay Bhalla. After this,Murmumet Shah. The series ofmeetingsbeganaround4pmandendedat8.30pm.Askedabout theagendaafter

themeeting.Murmusaid,“Itwasrelated todevelopmentprojectsinJammuandKashmir.”With the J&Kadministration

havingbegunprovidingdomicilecertificatestooutsiderswhofulfilcertain conditions, including aminimumtime spent in theUT,voices of discontent haveemergedfromvariousquartersofthesociety.FormerJ&Kchiefmin-ister and National ConferenceleaderFarooqAbdullahhasbeenquotedhavingcalledthedomicilelaw“illegalandunconstitutional”.A recent communication by

theDirector,FoodCivilSupplies&ConsumersAffairsDepartmentinJ&KaskingoilcompaniestostockuponLPGcylindershasledtocon-cern in the Valley. The depart-ment,however,hassaidtheorderwas issued toprevent a shortfallof “essential commodities” andmaintainedthat“somepeoplearespreadingfalseinformation”.

NepalPrimeMinister KPSharmaOli

SHUBHAJITROYNEWDELHI, JULY1

FORTHEfirsttimesincetheHongKongprotestsbrokeoutlastyear,IndiaonWednesdayspokeoutattheUnitedNationsHumanRightsCouncilandsaidtherelevantpar-ties should address the issues“properly, seriously and objec-tively”.Thisisbeingseenasaretal-iatory step in terms of reputa-tional cost to Beijing, after IndiainflictedeconomiccosttoBeijingbybanningChinesemobileapps.The statementwasdelivered

by India’s PermanentRepresentative to the UN inGeneva, RajivKumarChander, atthe 44th session of theHuman

Rights Council being held be-tween30June-21JulyinGeneva.“Given the large Indian com-

munity that makes the HongKong Special AdministrativeRegion of China its home, Indiahasbeenkeepingaclosewatchonrecent developments,” Chandersaid,readingoutfromapreparedstatement.“Wehaveheardseveral state-

mentsexpressingconcernonthesedevelopments.Wehopetherele-vantpartieswilltakeintoaccountthese views and address themproperly,seriouslyandobjectively,”Chander said, while making astatementduring ‘Presentationofannual reportandoralupdateonCovid-19by theHighCommiss-ionerunderAgenda2.

After banning Chinese apps,India raises Hong Kong at UN

9 linked to Khalistani groups get ‘terrorist’ tag

TNCUSTODYDEATHS

One cop held,murder chargeadded in FIR

Sub-inspectorRaghuGanesh

TheRs1.1 lakhcrore-projectwasannouncedin2017

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEGUWAHATI, JULY1

FLOOD WATERS are showingsignsofrecedinginAssam,butstillclaimed six lives onWednesday,taking this year’s cumulative tollto 33. TheAssamState DisasterManagementAuthority(ASDMA)statedthatover14.95lakhpeoplewere affected in2,197villages in21districtsof thestate.While the six flood deaths

wererecordedfromDhubri,Nag-aon, Barpeta andNalbari, a 50-year-oldfromCachardistrictdiedasaresultofalandslide.AsperAS-DMA,thecauseofdeathwas“elec-trocution due to uprooted treefallingonpowerlineasaresultoflandslide”.Lastmonth,21people,includingminors, died ina seriesoflandslidesinCachar,KarimganjandHailakandidistricts.“Theoverall trend is improv-

ing, thewaters are receding be-cause the rains have lessened,”said an official fromASDMA.AsperareleasebytheCentralWaterCommission (CWC)Wednesday,thereductioninrainfallhasledtoadeclineinthelevelofmostrivers.Someofthem,however,continuetobeinthe“SevereFlood”state.“RiverBrahmaputrahasstarted

fallinginall thedistricts inAssam.Since rainfall is likely tocontinuewith lesser intensity during thenext4-5days,the‘AboveNormal’to ‘SevereFlood’ situation is likelytocontinuewithslowfallingtrendinthestatesofArunachalPradesh,AssamandSub-HimalayanWestBengalduring thenext3-4days,”theCWCreleasesaid.TheASDMAreleasesaidtheBrahmaputrawasflowing above danger level atNimatighat in Jorhat, Tezpur,Guwahati,GoalparaandDhubri.

Assam floods: 7more die, nearly15 lakh affected

New Delhi

Sd/- Executive Engineer,Mangaluru Smart City Limited, Mangaluru

E-tender notification No. MSCL/AEC-14/2020-21 Date:01.07.2020Advt. No.73/2020-21

Mangaluru Smart City Limited invites fresh tender for Architecture &Engineering Consultancy for the project “Development of Waterfront,Public Spaces with Mangala Corniche including town planningscheme proposal for Mangaluru Smart City”. Further details can beobtained from http://www.eproc.karnataka.gov.in

Refer this e-Tender Notification No. MSCL/AEC-13/2020-21 Dated:20.06.2020, the same isnowcancelled.

MANGALURU SMART CITY LIMITED

CIN: U74999KA2017PLC102010 Phone: 0824-2986321Email id: smartcitymangaluru@gmail.com Website: www.mangalurusmartcity.net

Address: M.G. ROAD, LALBAGH, MANGALURU-575003,DAKSHINA KANNADA, KARNATAKA.

DIPR/MNG/MCA/193/20-21 dt.1.7.20

OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEERConstruction Division-2, P.W.D, Bulandshahr

No. 1221 /7A Dated. 12/06/2020E - Procurement Inviting Tender Notice

On behalf of Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Executive Engineer, Construction Division-2, P.W.D., Bulandshahr invitesfollowing percentage rate bid online through http://etender.up.nic.in from the eligible and approved Contractorsregistered with Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. Mathura for Cartage of Bulk Bitumen from Date 15.07.2020 10.00 A.M.to 25.07.2020 upto 12:00 Noon as per the prescribed T-1 of Govt. of U.P. The technical bids will be opened onlineon dated 25.07.2020 at 12:30 Noon. If the office happens to be closed on the date of opening of the bids asspecified, the bids will be opened online on the next working day, at the same time and validity of bid will beconsidered from the original date. The date and time of opening of the financial bid shall be notified on the website.

1. The Bid Security and Tender Document Fee must be deposited through Internet Banking only.2. Terms & Other Conditions related to bid are available on https:// etender.up.nic.in

Sl.No

Name of Work Estimated cost(Rs.in Lac)

Bid Security(Rs.in Lacs)

WorkCompletion

Tender documentfee including GST

1 2 3 4 5 6

1 Cartage of Bitumen From MathuraRefinery to SikandrabadDivisional Store

10.00 1.00 09 Month Tender Cost-Rs. 225+500+G.S.T. 18% 131= 856

Sd/-Assistant Engineer

Construction Division-2. PWDBulandshahr

Sd/-Executive Engineer

Construction Division-2, P.W.D.Bulandshahr

UPID-153025 Dt. 30.06.2020www.upgov.nic.in

North central railways @ CPRONCRwww.ncr.indianrailways.gov.in

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF GENERAL MANAGER(P&C) IDCO,

IDCO TOWERS, BHUBANESWAR-751022, ODISHARFP Call Notice No. IDCO/H.O./P&C/EST/E 1536/04/2020 8942Date: 17.06.2020NOTICE INVITING REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL UNDER NATIONAL

COMPETITIVE BIDDING THROUGH e-Procurement1. Name of the Work: Fixation of rates for Supply, Installation, testing &

commissioning of Fire fighting fixture.2. Other details

Further details can be seen from the e-Procurement Portal.www.tendersodisha.gov.in. Corrigendum or addendum if any will notbe published in news papers and can only be seen in the e-procurementportal www.tenderodisha.gov.in as well as IDCO websitewww.idco.in.

Sd/-Chief General Manager (P&C) I/C

IDCO, BhubaneswarOIPR-14003/11/0038/2021

Procurement Officer BidIdentification

No.

Availability of Tender onLine for Bidding

From To

1 2 3 4

Chief General Manager(P&C), IDCO, IDCO Towers,Bhubaneswar-751022

Bid ID. No.-PC-EST-E-16/2020-21

17.00 Hours ofdt. 24.06.2020

17.00 Hours ofdt. 03.07.2020

CAD-196

GOVERNMENT OF ODISHA,“e”-PROCUREMENT NOTICE

OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDINGENGINEER, KHORDHA (R&B)

CIRCLE, KHORDHAWORKS DEPARTMENT

Tender call NoticeE-mail: rbcirclekhurda@gmail.com

Bid Identification No. SE-Khorda (R&B) Circle-04/2020-21 Memo No- Dt.The Superintending Engineer, Khordha (R&B) Circle, Khordha onbehalf of Governor of Odisha inviting percentage rate bid in doublecover system in ONLINE MODE from eligible contractors forBuilding work as detailed in the table below:1. Nature of Work : Building Work2. No of Work : 1 No

3. Tender Cost : Rs. 10000.00 (On-line)

4. Class of Contractor : 'B ' Class , & , A Class5. Available of Bid

document in theWebsite

: From Dt. 08.07.2020 10.00 AM toDt. 20.07.2020 05.00 PM

6. Date of opening of Bid : Dt. 21.07.2020 at 11.30 AM7. The Bidders have to participate in ONLINE bidding only.

Further details can be seen from the Website:https://tenderodisha.gov.in. Any Addendum/ Corrigendum/Cancellation of tender can also be seen in the said website.

B-116

Superintending Engineer,Khordha (R&B) Circle, Khordha

OIPR-34127/11/0006/2021

GOVERNMENT OF CHHATTISGARH,WATER RESOURCES DEPARTMENT

SUPERINTENDING ENGINEERE&M Circle Water Resources Department Raipur

NATIONAL OPEN COMPETITIVE PROCUREMENT(Two-Envelope Bidding Process with e-Procurement)

eProcurement Portal: https://eproc.cgstate.gov.in( First Call )

System Tender No.: 65660/RFB No.: 02/SAC/2020-21, Dated : 29.06.2020

Online Tenders are Invited for the following works up to23.07.2020 at 5:30 PM

Name of Work : Supply erection testing & commissioning of new30mtr Hot dipped galvanized high mast polewith 350watt LED flood light and repair withreplacement and fixing of 350watt LED fixturepower cable and panel at 30mtr of 9 nos existinghigh mast of RSP Gangrel Dam.

Probable Amount of Contract : Rs. 110.59 Lakhs

The details can be viewed and downloaded online directlyfrom the Government of Chhattisgarh Integrated e-Procurement Portal(https://eproc.cgstate.gov.in) from Date 06.07.2020, at 5:31 Hours(IST) onwards.

NOTE :- All eligible/interested contractors/bidders are mandated toget enrolled on the Integrated e-procurement portal(https://eproc.cgstate.gov.in) and get approval on specific vendorclass from PWD under Centralized Contractor/Supplier Registrationin order to download the tender documents and participate in thesubsequent bidding process. Sd/-

EXECUTIVE ENGINEER,E&M H.E.M.M. Division Rudri

for Superintending Engineer82013 E&M Circle Water Resources Department Raipur

e-PROCUREMENT REQUEST FOR BIDS

MADHYAPRADESHRURALROADDEVELOPMENTAUTHORITY

(AN AGENCY OF PANCHAYAT & RURAL DEVELOPMENTDEPARTMENT, GOVT. OF M.P.)

5th Floor, Block-II, Paryavas Bhawan, BHOPAL M.P.– 462 011No. 9902/22/D-12/MPRRDA/2020 Bhopal, Dated : 30.06.2020

NOTICE INVITING TENDER N0. 899(PMGSY-III, Batch-I)

Online Tenders for Construction of Rural Roads/CDs with 5years maintenance are invited on the E-Procurement Systemportal https://www.mptenders.gov.in as detailed below :

S. Name of District No. of Packages Total PACNo. (In Rs.)

1 2 3 4

1 Rewa 1 173066000.00

1. Tender document can be purchased only online from theabove Website from 01.07.2020 17:30 hrs. Other Critical datesand details can be viewed in the detailed N.I.T. and tenderdocument on the above-mentioned portal and concerned PIU.M.P. Madhyam/97801/2020 CHIEFGENERALMANAGER(T&E-G)

Delhi Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd.An Enterprises of Govt. of NCT of Delhi,

ISBT Kashmere Gate Delhi-110006NOTICE INVITING TENDER

The Executive Engineer, DTIDC invite tenders on behalf of MD, DTIDC Ltd. for thefollowing works through e procurement solution only.

1. NIT No. : 05/DTIDC/2020-21

Tender ID No. : 2020_DTIDC_192086_1

Name of work : Construction of New Entry Road near impoundingpit & other misc. Civil Works at Burari, Delhi.

Estimated Cost : Rs. 1,19,62,898/-Earnest Money : Rs. 2,39,258/-Time Allowed : Three MonthsLast date of receipt ofTenders

: 15.07.2020

2. NIT No. : 06/DTIDC/2020-21

Tender ID No. : 2020_DTIDC_192090_1

Name of work : Renovation work of VIU Auto Rickshaw & Taxi Unitat Burari, Delhi.

Estimated Cost : Rs. 95,29,952/-

Earnest Money : Rs. 1,90,599/-

Time Allowed : Three Months

Last date of receipt ofTenders

: 14.07.2020

The tender forms and other details can be obtained from the websitehttpss//govtprocurement.delhi.gov.in/

Sd/-Executive Engineer

DTIDC Ltd., ISBTDIP/Shabdarth/0119/20-21 Kashmere Gate, Delhi

DIPR/ 2472/Tender/2020

STATE INDUSTRIES PROMOTION CORPORATION OF TAMILNADU LIMITED19-A, RUKMANI LAKSHMIPATHY ROAD, EGMORE, CHENNAI - 600 008.

CIN U74999TN1971SGC005967

SUPERINTENDING ENGINEER, SIPCOT, Chennai-8

Tender Notice NIT.No.15/CW/DO/T.No.20/2020-21 Dt.30.06.2020For and on behalf of State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil

Nadu Limited, sealed bids are invited under “Two Cover System” for thefollowing work from Class-I State level registered Civil contractors of PWD,Highways, National Highways, TWAD, CMWSSB or with an equal monitory limitin other Government/Quasi Government Organisations having experience insimilar nature of works.. Tenders will be received upto 3.00 PM on 30.07.2020and the same will be opened on the same day at 3.30 PM.

Name of Work Approx. value of work EMDConstruction of innovation center atSIPCOT Industrial Complex, Hosur.

Rs.869.12/- lakhs Rs.4,45,000/-

in the form of Demand Draft drawn in favour of SIPCOT Ltd., payable atChennai.The tender Schedule can be Downloaded at free of cost from the websitewww.tenders.tn.gov.in

315 FIELD REGIMENT (KARGIL)SALUTES ITS MARTYRS

On the auspicious occasion of Martyr’s Day of315 Field Regiment (KARGIL) we fondly remem-ber and salute our brave souls of Kargil War.

NK Bishnui Ray,L/Nk P Gopaiah,Gnr INC Singha, SML/Hav Mallayya,NK Sarvan Kumar andGnr Raj Kumar.

SALUTE THE SOLDIER

Maj CB DwivediSM

EXPRESSNETWORK8 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY, JULY2,2020

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JULY1

FORTHEfirsttimesinceitwases-tablished in 1997, Prasar Bharatihassetupaboardforrecruitmentofthousandsofprogramming,en-gineering,transmissionandotherexecutives up to the level ofDirectors,accordingtosources.Thesix-memberboardwillbe

headed by senior journalistJagdishUpasane,who is a direc-torofBharatPrakashan,thegroupthat publishesRSSmouthpiecesPanchajanyaandOrganiser.Sources said there are thou-

sandsofvacanciesat these levelsin both All India Radio andDoordarshan.Theprovisionsforthecreation

of the boardwerementioned in

thePrasarBharatiActof1990,butit had not been created sincePrasarBharatiwassetupin1997,when theAct came into force. InFebruary this year, the govern-mentnotifiedtherulesforitsset-ting-up.As per the notified rules, the

new recruitment board “shallholdthecompetitiveexaminationordepartmental examinationorconduct interviews for selectionofcandidates”and“shallshortlistand recommend to the (PrasarBharati)Boardcandidatesforap-pointmentthereto”.Upasane, chairperson of the

board, is the brother ofChhattisgarh BJP spokespersonSachidanand Upasane. TheirmotherRajniUpasanewasaJanaSanghmember and a legislatorfromRaipurin1977.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JULY1

THEDELHIHighCourtonWednesdaysoughttheCentre’s response on a plea seeking direction toensurethatthenameofthemanufacturingcoun-tryisdisplayedalongsideproductssoldone-com-mercesites.The PIL also sought a direction to ensure that

e-tailers display the ‘Made in India’ option sepa-ratelyandconspicuously for consumers.To this, a bench of Chief JusticeDNPatel and

Justice Prateek Jalan also issued notice to theCentre and e-commerce platforms Amazon,FlipkartandSnapdeal,seekingtheirstandbyJuly22.ThePILbyanadvocatesoughttheimplemen-

tation of the LegalMetrology Act, 2009 and theRules framed,whichmandates that the countryof origin has to be displayed on products beingsoldone-commerceplatforms.Thepleasaidtheenforcementof themandate

was important in thecurrent scenario,whencit-izens intend to complywith the Centre’s appealtopromoteandpurchase Indiangoods.“Therefore, itwasessentialthatthecountryof

origin is displayed on products being sold on e-commerceplatforms,” thepleasaid.

For first time, Prasar Bharatisets up recruitment board

HC seeks Centre responseon plea for e-tailers todisplay product origin

New Delhi

EXPRESSNETWORK 9WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY, JULY2,2020

FROMPAGEONE

and NRC; my friends told methosewhodon'thaveevidence(to prove citizenship) will beevicted from the country. Onthebasisof this,on24February,in Seelampur, riots hadbegun;and slowly it spread acrossJamnapar. At around 2-3 pm,manypeoplestartedgatheringatShivViharTirahaandstartedpeltingstonesatHinduhouses.Hindus also started peltingstones at us; this went on forquite a long time.”“....At Mustafabad, many

peoplehadgatheredandstatedthat Muslims will be evictedfrom the country and todaywe have to show them thestrength of Muslims. Alongwith theentirecrowd, I alsogotcarried away by what thecrowdwas saying…The crowdgathered at Shiv Vihar, whereHindu pelted stones at us, wethrewstonesat them.Fromourside, thecrowdwassloganeer-ing:kill them,wewillnot leavethe Kaafirs today. I got carriedaway and started peltingstones. I continued to peltstones for a long time.”"…After this, the crowd

started climbing onto thegodownofAnilSweetshopandRajdhani School and indulgedin stone pelting. I returned tomy house in the night andstayed there. I committed amistake, please forgiveme."MONU: “In the last few days,there were protests againstCAA and NRC; my friends toldme those who don't have evi-dence (to prove citizenship)will be evicted from the coun-try. On the basis of this, on 24February, in Seelampur, riotshadbegun;andslowly it spreadacross Jamnapar. At around 2-3 pm, many people startedgathering at Shiv Vihar Tirahaand started pelting stones atHindu houses. Hindus alsostartedpeltingstonesatus; thiswent on for quite a long time.”“....At Mustafabad, many

peoplehadgatheredandstatedthat Muslims will be evictedfrom the country and todaywe have to show them thestrength of Muslims. Alongwith theentirecrowd, I alsogotcarried away by what thecrowdwas saying…The crowdgathered at Shiv Vihar, whereHindu pelted stones at us, wethrewstonesat them.Fromourside, thecrowdwassloganeer-ing:kill them,wewillnot leavethe Kaafirs today. I got carriedaway and started peltingstones. I continued to peltstones for a long time.”"…After this, the crowd

started climbing onto thegodownofAnilSweetshopandRajdhani School and indulgedin stone pelting. I returnedhome after 7-8 hours andstayed there. I committed amistake, please forgiveme."All these sentences are re-

peated,adverbatim, inthecon-fessionstatementsofAshrafAliandMohd Faisal.

Matching excerpts fortwo: JafrabadSimilar is the pattern in the

confession statements ofMohammed Shoeb (22) andShahrukh (24) related toJafrabad riots.SHOEB: “There were protestsagainst CAA and NRC; myfriends told me those whodon't have evidence (to provecitizenship) will be evictedfrom the country. On the basisof this, on 24 February, inJafrabad, riots had begun; andslowly it spread across

Jamnapar,”“...At around 3 pm, many

peoplestartedgatheringatShivVihar Tiraha and started pelt-ing stones atHinduhouses.”“...At Mustafabad, many

people gathered and startedsayingMuslimswill beevictedfromthecountry, andtodaywehavetoshowthemthestrengthofMuslims. I alsostartedsloga-neering and others who werewithmealsostartedsloganeer-ing against the Hindus. Afterthis, the entire crowd, startedsloganeering, to set fire, throwout the kaafirs and NaareTakbir, Allah Hu Akbar; andstarted throwing marbles andstones using a slingshot atHinduhouses.”SHAHRUKH: “There wereprotests against CAA andNRC;my friends told me those whodon't have evidence (to provecitizenship) will be evictedfrom the country. On the basisof this, on 24 February, inJafrabad, riots had begun; andslowly it spread acrossJamnapar,”“...At around 3 pm, many

peoplestartedgatheringatShivVihar Tiraha and started pelt-ing stones atHinduhouses.”“...At Mustafabad, many

people gathered and startedsayingMuslimswill beevictedfromthecountry, andtodaywehavetoshowthemthestrengthofMuslims. I alsostartedsloga-neering and others who werewithmealsostartedsloganeer-ing against the Hindus. Afterthis, the entire crowd, startedsloganeering, to set fire, throwout the kaafirs and NaareTakbir, Allah Hu Akbar; andstarted throwing marbles andstones using a slingshot atHinduhouses.”

Matching excerptsfor three:The statements of Tahir

(38), Parvez (34) and Rashid(22), constitute a similarmatching set, identical to thestatementsabovewithaminoraddition.TAHIR: “In the last few days,there were protests againstCAA and NRC; my friends andexperts toldmethat thosewhodon't have evidence (to provecitizenship) will be evictedfrom the country. On the basisof this, on 24 February, inJafrabad riots had begun; andslowly it spread acrossJamnapar…”“...At around 3 pm, many

peoplestartedgatheringatShivVihar Tiraha and started pelt-ing stones atHinduhouses.”“...At Mustafabad, many

people had gathered andstarted telling that Muslimswill be evicted from the coun-try, and todaywehave to showthem the strength of Muslims.After this, the entire crowd,startedsloganeering, toset fire,throwoutthekaafirsandNaareTakbir, Allah Hu Akbar; andstarted throwing marbles andstones using a slingshot atHinduhouses.”These paragraphs from

Tahir’s statement are repeatedadverbatimintheconfessionalstatements of both Parvez andRashid.Thestatementsdiffer in the

weapons used. Azad andAshraf Ali said they had a“wooden balla”; Monu said hehad an “iron rod;” Faizalclaimed he had a “stick.”Shoeb,Shahrukh,Tahir, Parvez,andRashidclaimed that theyhad “stored” lathis at theirhomes.

9 of 12 confessionstatements nearcopies of one another

In his statement, Salmansaid thathehad“toldSonu…tobring thepistolbecausehehadpurchased a pistol three-fourmonths back fromShahnawaz.”Headmits thathe “wore (a)

helmet, and started indiscrim-inate firing on Hindus at theShiv Vihar Tiraha, emptied themagazine, and returned thepistol to Sonu.”Inhis statement, Sonusays:

Salman, who was peltingstoneswithus, askedmetogetapistol,which IhadpurchasedfromShahnawaz…Ibought thepistol frommyhouse and gaveit to Salman. Salman wore thehelmet, and began firing thebullets atHindus.”The Delhi Police

chargesheetcitesananalysisof

Call Detail Records of the ac-cused to show that they werepresentat thecrimescene.Andfootage from CCTVs seizedfrom the Rajdhani School, po-lice said, locate six of the ac-cused there.For example, the

chargesheet says, Azad, is seen“carrying a danda” at 4:09:05pm; Faisal is “seen” at 3:44:50pm; Shahrukh at 3:27:20 pm;Shoeb is “seen” at 3:37:04 pm;Rashid is “seen”at3:37:55pm;Tahir is “seen” at 3:41:59 pm;Salman is seen at 4:50:25 pm.Police have also identified

24 more “suspects”, who stillhave to be questioned. Detailsof the further investigationwillbeplacedon record in the sup-plementary chargesheet, thepolice has said.

3 admit to pistol, firing;hunt on for 24 suspects

VIVEKDESHPANDE&MILINDGHATWAINAGPUR,BHOPAL,JULY1

FIVEMONTHSafterhisarrestbyMadhya Pradesh ForestDepartment foralleged involve-ment in “shifting” a tigress car-cass fromMaharashtra side totheMP side of the state bound-ary, a plantationwatcher fromMaharashtra is likely tohavehisbailplea finallyheard.Dhamsingh Khandate was

arrested on January 31, for thealleged crime that took placeon December 11 last year. Hisbail plea is scheduled to comeup before the principal benchofMPHighCourt in JabalpuronThursday.MP officials maintain that

Khandatewas involved, alongwith a fewMaharashtra ForestDepartmentstaffers,intheallegedcrime. Since then,hehasbeen injailwithoutbail.Meanwhile, the two Forest

Departments continueexchang-ingallegations.Thetigress,Sharmili,reported

on MP Forest Department'srecord,was founddead inSeoniforests onMP side of the stateboundarywith Nagpur districtonDecember 11 last year. Afterarresting Khandate,MPofficialssaidhehadtoldthemthatthean-imal had died on theMaharashtra side. According tothem, Khandate said he, helpedby some others, includingMaharashtra forest staffers,loaded the carcass on a bullockcartandmovedit to theMPsideon directions of Maharashtra"DeputyRanger"of thearea.But callingKhandate's 'writ-

ten statement' a “farce”, Nagpurdivision's Chief Conservator ofForest (CCF) KalyanKumar said,“They (MPofficials) have attrib-utedthetermDeputyRanger;wedon't use that term.Wecall himround officer. Clearly, the state-mentisafarce."Maintaining that the tigress

haddied anatural death, Kumarasked, “Whythenwouldanyonetake the risk of carrying the car-cass and dump it on the otherside?" He cited MP ForestDepartment's ownpostmortemreportcallingitanaturaldeath.Statingthattheanimaldieda

naturaldeath,MP'sPrincipalChiefConservator of Forest (PCCF),Wildlife, S KMandal said, “TheMaharashtraforesterdumpedthecarcassinMPoutoffearpsychosis.Wewrote to them tohandoverpeoplenamedbyhim(Khandate)becausehewouldhavedefinitelyinformed his seniors beforedumping the carcass. Until theyhandover their staffer, theprobecannotprogress.”Asked why they would

dumptheanimal'scarcasswhenit was natural death, MadhyaPradeshPCCFRajeshShrivastava,whowas PCCF (Wildlife) whenthe incident took place, said“only they (Maharashtra offi-cials) can answer that, which iswhywewanttoquestionthem”.

Maharashtra forest officials,meanwhile, call it a foul. “AftertheyarrestedKhandate,they(MPofficials) did not contact us.Weapproached themafter reportsemerged in someMPnewspa-pers,” Nagpur CCF Kumar said.“Later,wewrotetothemtosharethecasepapers sowecould takeactionagainstourstaffers, if theyhadanyknowledge.Buttheydid-n'trespond.WefinallysentateamledbyourDeputyConservatorofForestPrabhunathShuklatoSeonitocheckthefacts.”According toKumar, Shukla

sought copy of the papers MPofficials had. “(But) they re-fused, saying that they(Maharashtra team) can onlysee and read thepapers.”MP's Mandal said, “They

wantedcertaindocumentsandwe wanted their staffers.Correspondence is on. It wasneither a case of poisoning norof poaching.”A “crucial evidence” that

couldworkinKhandate'sfavour,

Maharashtra officials said, is thespot panchnama conducted byMPofficials---itreportedlystatesthattheanimal'spugmarkswerespottedatthesitewherethecar-casswas found.Kumarasked, “Ifthecarcasswasbrought there inabullockcarthowdidpugmarksgetonthespot?”HealsoaskedwhyMPforest

officials are yet to seize the bul-lockcart,whichcouldbe“suchacrucial material evidence”, andarrest thecart'sowner.To this,MPPCCF Shrivastava

said, “We could neither identifythebullock cart ownernor seizethe cart. Unless we arrest thedeputyrangerandtakehisstate-ment,wecan’tprogress,’’hesaid.Kumar asked, "Why didn't

they seek call details record ofourstaffers?Itmighthaveledtoevidence. They didn't do it; wedid. Andwe foundnothing sus-picious.Sowhyshouldwehandoverourstafferstothem?....Theyhave clearly made Khandate ascapegoat in thecase."

ABHISHEKSAHAGUWAHATI, JULY1

ONEOFthe26Bangladeshifish-ermen under arrest in a jail inAssamfornearlytwomonthsforallegedlyfloutingvisarulesdiedduetocardiacarrestatahospitalonWednesday,officials said.TheIndianExpresshadearlier

reportedon thegroupbeingar-restedinAssam’sDhubridistrictinMaywhiletheyweretryingtoreturn to their country.While calls for the release of

themen,whoworkedas fisher-menandfarmlabourersandhadvalid passports stamped withtravel visas, have been growingintheneighbouringcountry,thepolice have filed criminalcharges, alleging theywere en-gaged in employment activitiesand had violated the terms oftheirnon-workvisa.MohammadBokulMia,a55-

year-old resident of Chilmari inBangladesh,wastakentoDhubriCivilHospitalTuesdayeveningaf-terhecomplainedofchestpain.Dhubri SP Yuvraj said, “He

wastakentothehospitalandhedied in thehospital. Formalitiesareontohandover thebody...”

SRINATHRAOMUMBAI,JULY1

THEONLYcelebrationatLalbaugthis year will be at Peru Chawl,the historic settlement fromwhereMumbai'smost popularGanpatipandal rose.On Wednesday, the

Lalbaugcha Raja SarvajanikGaneshotsavcancelleditsfestiv-ities,whichwereduetobeginonAugust 22, citing the Covid-19pandemic. Themandal insteadannounced a10-day awarenesscampaign for cured patients todonate plasma and a blood do-nation drive at its office in thechawl–where it all began.Local fishermen and street

vendorslivinginthechawlhadsetup themandal in1934after suc-ceeding in a two-year effort topersuade their landlord to setasideaplottobuildamarket.The residents credited Lord

Ganeshawithgrantingtheirwishandfirstworshippedanidollaterthat year, a custom unbrokensince then. City historian BharatGothoskarsaidLalbaugderivesitsnamefromLalShahDargahded-icatedtoSufisaintLalShahBaba.A shrine dedicated to his

brotherChandShah is located in

theadjacentChivdaGalli.Anotherorigin theorypins thename to abungalownamedLalbaugbuiltonParel island by amerchantwhoprosperedduringBritishrule.Walking tours in Lalbaug's

crampedbylanes are extremelypopular among both Mumbairesidentskeentolearnaboutthecity'shistoryandtourists.Santosh Kambli of Kambli

Arts, which has been designingthe towering Lalbaugcha Rajaidol for four generations, saidWednesday'sdecisionwastakenat a teary-eyedmeeting at PeruChawl. "Dil pe paththar rakhke

kiyahai(Wehavedonethiswithaheavyheart).Butthisadecisiontaken in the interest of people'swell-being,”headded.Santosh said his father

Ratnakar,who is now inhis 80sandonlyworksontheidol'seyes,toowas in favour of letting theyearpassbywithout the festival.Reducingtheheightof theidoltofour feet tomeet the BMC's re-quirement was also out of thequestion,asthescripturesdonotallowforit,hesaid."At every pandal, there are

twoidols– thesmaller ismeanttobeworshippedandthelarger

one is only a representation. AtLalbaug, there is only one largeidol,whichwebuildforthepur-pose of worship," Santosh said.Headdedwhilethemandalhadearlier considered having theidolinstalledandsettingupdar-shanby video-link, the logisticsof the visarjan journey madethoseplans impossible.Mumbai has about 14,000

major Ganesh pandals withLalbaugbeing themost famous.Somemandalshave20to25feetidols.However,inviewofthepan-demic, Chief Minister UddhavThackeray had asked them tolimit the size of the idols to fourfeetandnottakeoutprocessions."Themandal couldhavepre-

vented people fromvisiting thepandal but itwouldbe impossi-bletostoppeoplefromjoiningthevisarjan,"saidSantosh.The procession departs

Lalbaug in the afternoon,windsitswaythroughMumbai,beforetheidol is immersedatGirgaumChowpattyearly thenextday.There is some consolation,

however, fordismayeddevotees.Asmallidol,whichlocalresidentsworship, stays outside the site ofthe pandal throughout the year."The idol actually never leavesLalbaug,"saidGothoskar.

ABHISHEKSAHAGUWAHATI, JULY1

THEASSAMgovernmenthasan-nounced an ordinance to allowconversionoflandformicro,small,andmediumenterprisestosetupindustries on the basis of a self-declaration—withouttherequire-ment of any “permission, clear-anceorlicence”forthreeyears.Theordinanceisyettobenoti-

fiedorreceivetheGovernor’sassentbut theannouncementhas trig-geredcriticismbytheOppositionaswellasonsocialmedia.Inastate-ment on decisions taken at theCabinetmeetingonMonday, theCM’sofficestated,“Inamajordeci-siontoboostAtmanirbharAssam,the CoM passed the MSMEOrdinancewhichputsanendtotheprocessoftakingmultiplepermis-sions forsettingupMSMEsinthestatefornextthreeyears.”Assam’s Industries and

Commerce Minister ChandraMohanPatowarytoldTheIndianExpressthedecisionwilleasetheprocess of setting up industriesby doing awaywith the need to

apply for clearances at variousdepartments.“A personhas to self declare

thathe issettingupthis industryat this location.Hehas to file thedeclaration in the formof anap-plication either online or physi-cally to the office of theCommissioner of Industries,” hesaid. “Aftercheckingtheapplica-tion, the Commissioner ofIndustrieswill acknowledge theself-declaration. That acknowl-edgement letterwill itself bea li-censetostarttheindustry...”Debabrata Saikia, Leader of

theCongressLegislativePartyinAssam, said the decision was“notgood for thestate”.“Therewillbeenvironmental

hazards...agriculturallandisveryessential forastatelikeAssam.Ifagriculturallandisturnedintoin-dustriallandjustonthebasisofaself-declaration,thenlandwillbeexploited by industrialists,” hetoldThe IndianExpress.Patowary said, “Of course, if

the self-declaration says that theindustry is of a environmentallyhazardousnature, thenpermis-sionwillnotbegranted.”

BAILHEARINGTODAY;STATESFIGHTOVERPROBE

Maharashtra forestwatcherheldbyMPfor5months for ‘moving tigercarcass’

No Lalbaugcha Ganesh festival thisyear, mandal to host Covid campaign

Mumbaihasabout14,000majorGaneshpandals,withLalbaugbeingthemost famous. File

Assam announces ordinanceallowing land conversion forMSMEs without clearances

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEJAIPUR, JULY1

THE OPPOSITION BJP hasslammed the Congress govern-mentinRajasthan,accusingitofmisusingstatemechanismsandagenciesfor‘spyingonMLAsandpublic representatives’.The BJP levelled the allega-

tions after a letter allegedlywritten in April surfaced. In it,the intelligence unit ofRajasthanPolicehadrequestedthatanewunitof thestatespe-cial branch in Delhi be createdfor “collecting intelligence” re-lated to movements of thestate’s public representativesvisitingDelhiandfromtheper-spective of security.Theletter,datedApril22and

written by the Additional DGP,(Intelligence) to the ADGP(Reorganisation)statesthatthereis a unit functioning inDelhi forthesecurityoftheChiefMinisterandtheGovernorbutthereisnofunctioningunitofthestatespe-cial branch in the capital for col-lectionof intelligence.“After keeping inmind the

present political situation ofRajasthan state and because ofthe regular visits of state’selectedpublicrepresentativestothe national capital, difficultiesarise in the collection of intelli-gence about theirmovements,”reads the letter.The letter states that there is

a dire need of opening a unit ofthestatespecialbranch inDelhifor intelligence collection andtheperspectiveof security.The letter requests the cre-

ation of 10 posts of police offi-cialsinDelhiforthispurposeandalso gives a breakup of budgetrequired for it.When contacted, Additional

Director General of Police,Intelligence, UmeshMishra de-clinedtocommentonthe issue.Aseniorpoliceofficialsaidon

theconditionofanonymitythatsuch proposals have been for-warded to the government ear-lier aswell.State BJP president Satish

Poonia said that the state gov-ernment doesn’t trust its ownMLAs and alleged that theCongress is misusing officialmechanismforspyingonpublicrepresentatives.“Thisisagovernmentmisus-

ing state machinery to spy onpublicrepresentatives.Thetim-ing of the letter shows the gov-ernment was trying to spy onMLAsinordertogatherinforma-tion pertaining to the RajyaSabhaelections,” saidPoonia.

GAGANDEEPSINGHDHILLONSHIMLA,JULY1

A WOMAN in almost everyhouseholdofKazavillageinSpitihasbeenbookedbythe localpo-lice for holding ademonstrationagainst Himachal PradeshAgriculture Minister Ram LalMarkandaearlierthismonth.Policehave initiated legal ac-

tionagainstover200membersoftheMahilaMandalwhohadpar-ticipated in theprotestat theen-trygateofthevillageonJune9,de-mandingthattheministerandhisentouragebeplacedunderquar-antine for entering the valley, asper theCovid rules decidedby apeople's committee.Markanda,theMLAfromLahaul-Spiti,turnedbackandlefthisconstituency.Thenextday,police registeredanFIRagainsttheprotesters,wholearntaboutitwhentheystartedreceiv-ingsummonsafewdaysago.Kazavillagehas apopulation

of around 1,700. With an FIRagainstover200,morethan10percentofthetotalpopulationofthevillagenowstandsaccusedinthecase, bookedunder Sections341(wrongfulrestraint),143(unlaw-ful assembly)and188(disobedi-enceofpublicorder)of theIPC.Mahila Mandal president

Sonam Dolma, who was alsobooked for taking part in theprotest,said:“Policewerecomingto every household to identifywomenprotesters.Sowesubmit-tedalistourselves.Thenamesin-cludewomenfromalmosteveryvillagehousehold, andnowtheyallstandbooked.”Therehave so far beennoar-

restsinthecase.

ThecontroversyAsisthecasewithmanytribal

areas, collective decisions takenbylocalorganisationssometimescarrymoreweight thangovern-ment regulations. In the case ofSpiti, there is a local committeecomprisingmembers from thefivemonasteries (Gompa) andothercommunityleaders.Fearingthatthediseasemight

wreak havoc in the valley, thecommittee banned the entry ofoutsiders on March 15. In lateApril,when the government al-lowedHimachalistoreturnhome,thecommitteedecidedtoenforcequarantineonallreturnees.Residents said they stood

guardatthevillagegatetoensurecompliancewiththesenorms.OnJune 9,members of theMahilaMandal,YuvaMandalandBeoparMandalandothershadgatherednear the gate to discuss local is-sueswiththegovernmentwhena convoy of vehicles carryingMarkandaarrivedthere.

“Itwasaspontaneousprotesttoensure that theMLAobservesquarantinejustliketheothers,”saidYuvaMandal presidentKesang,whowaspartoftheprotest.Markanda told The Indian

Express that hehad toheadbackto Shimla for official duties andcouldnotagreetoaquarantine,soheleft.Heallegedthattheprotestagainst himwaspolitically insti-gated.Someprotestersalsoraisedpro-Congressslogans,healleged.Mahila Mandal president

SonamDolmavehementlydeniedthese allegations. “Somepeopleaskedustogiveawrittenapologyfor raisingpolitical slogans...Wewon’tapologiseforsomethingwehavenotdone.Itwasanon-polit-ical,anti-Covidprotest,”shesaid.Lahaul-Spiti SP Rajesh

Dharmani alleged the residentssingledouttheministerinenforc-ingthequarantinerestrictionandblockinghis entry, and the stategovernment rulesdonot requirequarantine for intra-state travel,so the casewas registered. SpitihasremainedCovid-freesofar.

In Himachal’s Kaza village,a woman from nearly everyhouse now faces police case

Over200membersoftheMahilaMandalhadprotestedagainstAgricultureMinisterRamLalMarkanda

BJP accusesRajasthan govtof using statemachinery tospy on MLAs

Assam: 1 of 26Bangladeshisjailed dies ofcardiac arrest

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JULY1

THEINDIANRailwaysWednesdaytook its first formal step towardsopeningupitsnetworktoprivatefirms, invitingproposals tooper-ateatotalof151moderntrainson109pairsofroutes.The project, intended to

break the Railways’ longstand-ing monopoly in running railservices, would entail a privatesector investment of around Rs30,000crore.

Thenational transporter's in-vitationof “request for qualifica-tion” proposals comes aroundeightmonthsafteranempoweredgroup of secretaries led byNITIAayogCEOAmitabhKantstartedsteeringthelong-pendingsubject.Globalrollingstockmanufac-

turerswith Indian partners areexpectedtobekeenlyinterestedinthecontract.SourcessaidthatChinese companies will not beentertained given the currenttensions with Beijing. TheRailwayshasnotofficially com-mentedonthesubject.

The 109 origin-destinationrouteshavebeendividedinto12clusters across the rail network.Each train on these routes shallhave aminimumof 16 coaches,theRailwayssaidinastatement.Italsosaidthatamajorityof

these trains are to be made inIndia; the private firm shall beresponsible for financing,procuring,operatingandmain-taining them.The trainswill bedesignedforamaximumspeedof 160kmph.

FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

Decks cleared for pvt firms to board Rlys network

SHAJUPHILIPTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM,JULY1

CHANGINGITSdischargeproto-col forCovid-19patients,Keralawillnowdischargepeopleif theytest negative the first time aftertheiradmission,oncetheycom-plete their14-dayhospital stay.Until now, the state started

testing patients on the seventhdayofhospitaladmission,whichcontinued until they reportedtwonegative results for consec-utivedaysata24-hour interval.Under the newprotocol, pa-

tientswhoare asymptomatic, orshowmild symptoms, will betestedonthe10thdayofhospitaladmission,sourcesinHealthDep-artment said. “Wewere startingtestingofasymptomaticpatientsontheseventhdayof admission.Asper the revisedprotocol, theywill be testedon the10thdayofadmission,”asourcesaid. “Therewon’tbearepeattest if theyturnnegative at first instance.However, dischargewill be onlyafter14daysofadmission.”

Kerala to dischargepatients testingnegative the firsttime in hospital

New Delhi

10WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THE GRAIN MOUNTAINExtensionof PMGKAYiswelcomeamidcontinuingeconomic

distress.ButFCI’sproblemofplentyremains

RICEANDWHEATstocksingovernmentgranariesstoodat73.85milliontonnes (mt) as on April 1, 3.5 times the normative operational-cum-strategic reserve requirement for thisdate. Twomonths later,with theprocurementofthenewwheatcrop,theseinventoriesrosefurthertoanall-time-highof over97mt.Against thisbackground,andontopof the

widespread distress unleashed by the COVID-19 induced lockdown, there is a strongmoral as well as economic case for offloading the excess grain lying with the FoodCorporationof India(FCI),byevengivingitoutfree.That’swhatisbeingdonethroughthePradhanMantriGaribKalyanAnnaYojana (PMGKAY).Under the scheme, over80crorepeoplewerebeingprovided5kgoffreegrainpermonthduringApril-June.Ithasnowbeenextended for another fivemonths till November. In all, itwould amount to some32mtbeinggivenfreeofcost.Consideringthatthisgrainisgoinglargelytopoororlow-incomehouseholds—andtheyarealsotheworst-affectedbythecurrenteconomicdislocations—themoral argument is self-evident.Asregardseconomics,itistruethattheFCIincursanaveragecostofRs37.27onprocur-

ing,bagging,transporting,handling,storinganddistributingeverykgofrice,andRs26.84forwheat.Totheextentanygrainisissuedfreeofcost, thereisanobviouseconomicloss.But these“economiccost” calculationsdonot factor in thebuffer “carryingcost”,whichisbasically the interestandstoragechargespayableontheexcessstocksheldbytheFCI.ThiscarryingcostisestimatedatRs5.40perkgduring2020-21.On32mt,itwillworkouttoRs17,280crore. Themore theexcess grain that is offloaded, themorewill be the sav-ings on this count. From the FCI’s and the government’s subsidy standpoint, the issuepriceofgrainshouldideallybeascloseaspossibletotheeconomiccost.Butthat’simpos-sible, given the sheer quantumof excess stocks. PMGKAY, if anything, has provided anavenue for liquidationof this surplus riceandwheat.There is nodoubt that the FCI’s grainmountain has been the singlemost important

reason forno significant incidenceof starvationor food riotsduring theongoingCOVIDpandemic—afarcryfromthe1943BengalFamineandotherpastlarge-scalecalamities.But that does not still justify themagnitude of procurement— 39mt of wheat and 50mt-plusof ricefromthe2019-20crop—beingundertakenbygovernmentagencies.TheFCI’s problem of plentywill, indeed, remain even if the PMGKAY is extended beyondNovember.Theexistingregimeofopen-endedminimumsupportprice-basedprocure-ment for paddy andwheat is financially and environmentally unsustainable. The gov-ernmentshouldmaintainsufficientstocksof all essential foodstuffs—includingpulses,edibleoil, sugar,andmilkpowder—todealwithcontingencies.But thatdoesn’t requireeven60mt inFCIgodowns.

OLI’S BLUSTERNepalPMseeks toblameNewDelhi forhisdiscomfiture in

office,his rivalsare right incallinghimout

NEPALPRIMEMINISTERKPOli’sremarkthathispoliticalrivalsarecon-spiringwithIndiatoremovehimfromofficeisill-judgedandmislead-ing. In Kathmandu, senior leaders of the Communist Party of Nepal(CPN), including former prime ministers Pushpa Kamal DahalPrachanda, Madhav Kumar Nepal and Jhalnath Khanal, and former

deputyPMBamdevGautam,havedemandedthatOliquitofficeovertheremarks.Oli,whoisalso theCPNchief, appears isolatedwithin theparty, andmaynot find thegoingeasy.His attempt to drag India intoNepal’s internal politics, rooted in power rivalrieswithintheCPN,hasbeenrightly criticisedathome.PrachandadescribedOli’s remarksas “nei-therpolitically correct,nordiplomaticallyappropriate”, andwarnedthat thestatement“maydamageour relationswith theneighbour”.Olihasconsistentlymaintainedananti-Indiastance—it facilitatedhis rise inpolitics.

As the leaderof Communist PartyofNepal-UnifiedMarxist Leninist (CPN-UML), hewasthe faceof theanti-Indiaprotests that rockedNepal following the2015borderblockade.It helped him gain the upper handwhen the CPN-UML and the CPN-Maoists led byPrachandafoughtthe2017electionstogetherandthereaftermergedtoformtheCPN.Olihassincebeenaccusedofconsolidatingpower,bothingovernmentandparty,whiletak-ingNepalawayfromIndiaandclosertoChina.Themergerfailedtoresolvethelong-stand-ingrivalrybetweenthetwoCPNgroupsandthecontradictionsarenowmanifestinthefac-tionalfightwithintheparty.EventhereportedattemptsbytheChineseCommunistPartyleadershiptomediatepeaceamongtheCPNfactionshavenotsucceeded.Meanwhile,Olisoughttotapintoanti-IndiasentimentinsectionsofNepalsocietytowhipupanational-ist fervour,andcontainthechallengetohis leadership.Therecentcartographicchallengeto India—Nepal’sParliamenthaspassedaConstitutionAmendmentBill thatendorsesanewmapwhich includes Indian territory—wasasmuchOli’s attempt to foregroundhisnationalistcredentialsandconsolidategroundwithintheCPN.The latestdevelopmentssuggest thatOlimayhaveoverplayedhisanti-Indiacardby

accusingpartycolleaguesof conspiringwitha foreignpowertotopple thegovernment.Prachandaandothersmaynotwanttheirnationalistcredentialsquestionedinaclimateofhyper-nationalism.ThereislittleforIndiatodointhiswarofwords,butwaitforNepal’sleaders to settle theirdisagreements.

DRAW A LINEFornow,actionagainstmatch-fixing insport is

hobbledby lackof legaldefinition

RAVINDERDANDIWALHASbeenaccusedofbeingthekingpininaglobaltennismatch-fixingandbettingscambytheVictorianpoliceinAustralia.Dandiwalhasdabbledincricketinthepast—hetriedtorunaT20leagueinMohaliandissupposedtohavebeenbehindaleagueinNepal—andhasbeen labelled as a “personof interest” by theAnti-CorruptionUnit

(ACU)of the Indiancricketboard.Despitehis tennismisadventuresandhisknownpast,that’sallthatthenon-enforcementagencycando.Thelawdoesn’tallowittoevencallhimin forquestioning. Since fixing isn’tdeemeda legaloffence, it canat themost try tostophimfromenteringcricket stadiums.Unsurprisingly,astheBCCI’sACUhead,AjitSingh,toldthisnewspaper,thelistof“per-

sonsof interest”islong.If theACUisabletosuccessfullywarntheplayersabouttheseper-sons or if their personnel spot and stop them from contacting the players, they simplychangetheirmethodology—orthesport.AsDandiwalapparentlyswitchedfromcrickettotennis.Thesparsely-staffedACUunitdependsontheplayerstoreportanyuntowardap-proach.It’sabattleagainsthumannature—onethattheanti-corruptioncrusadersinsportoften lose.Withoutadequate legislation inplace, theculpritsaren’t reallyworried.TheACUneedstoconstantlymonitor,updatethedatabaseofsuspectedpersons,share

informationwithother boards and the ICC—andhope that theplayers do their bit. Fornow,beyondthis,notmuchcanbereallydone.“That’swhyweneedamatch-fixinglaw,”Ajit Singh told thisnewspaper. Thecycleof impunityneeds tobebroken.

Horsemen of Apocalypse

SyedAkbaruddin

Pandemicaccentuateschallengestoglobalorder.Newframeworkisneeded, Indiamustberule-shaper

THEERUDITEUNSecretaryGeneral,AntonioGuterres, is a consummatediplomatwho iswidely regarded as having his ear to theground.However, littledidheknowthatthebiblical analogy of the four horsemen ofApocalypsethatheenunciatedonJanuary22astheprincipalglobalchallengesintheUN’s75th anniversary year would be over-whelmedbyanunforeseenblackswanevent—thecoronacrisis.Midwaythroughtheyear,itisnotgeopo-

liticaltensions,climatecrisis,globalmistrustorthedarksideofthedigitalworld—thefourissues which Secretary General Guterreslistedasprimarythreats—thatordinarypeo-pleviewastheirprincipalpreoccupation.Thechallengesthehorsemenposehave,fornow,been overshadowed by the uber crisisspawned by the black swan. 2020will godownastheyearof thecoronacrisis.However,prudentplanningforthedayaf-

terrequiresanassessmentofwherethelong-termexistentialthreatsstand.EvenastheUNprepares for its 75th anniversary, are thehorsemen reined in and locked away in thestables?Areanystrainingatthebitandwant-ingtoberunaways?The notion that the pandemic has not

been “bad” for the environment is wide-spread. InAprildailycarbonemissionsweredownby 17 per cent compared to last year.NewdatainJuneindicatesthattheyare5percentlowerthanatthesamepointin2019,in-dicating a spurt. The drop in emissions in2020—projectedtobeabout8percentdownon last year —will just put us on track towherewe should be, if we are to reach theParisagreementgoalof limitingwarmingto1.5C.Thethreatof climatechange,althoughraising itsheadagain, hasbeenconstrained.Thehorsemanwhosethreatisexistentialhasgivenusa longer leaseof existence, fornow.Cyberspacehasbeenadigitalsaviourdur-

ing the corona crisis. Constancy of virtualcommunicationsenhancedthroughvariousservices, new apps, expanded coverage hasbeenkeytoenhancedvirtuallivesformillionsby increaseof theavenues forworking fromhome,videochatconnectivityandonlinede-livery of goods. Companies that have deftlyused cyberspace have prospered themost.

Amazontowersoverallotherswithanetcap-italgainofover$400billion in2020.However,thereisagrowingbodyofthou-

ghtthat“darkside”troublesarelikely.Asurgeincybercrimeandcyberfraudisanticipated,ifnottherealready.Thelogicbeingthatcybe-rspaceusehasexpandedwithoutcommen-surategrowthinsecurityfeatures.AnarticlebyStevenMcBrideinForbesmagazineinMaypredicted that the corona crisis practicallyguarantees thatwewill see the “largest cy-berattackever”inthenextsixmonths.Severalothers,too,aremakingdireprojectionsofanimpending“cyberPearlHarbour”.Thishorse-man is lurking in theshadowsanda“break-out”cannotbediscounted.Instances of accentuation of geopolitical

tensions during the corona crisis arewell-documented.TheUS-Chinarelationshipwasalready deteriorating, the blame game overthe virus has exacerbated it. The brazen be-haviourofChinainmattersrelatingtoTaiwan,Hong Kong, Australia, South China Sea andthe India-China border has added to the in-flammable state of geopolitics. That there isnorecourse tothose involvedreflectsonthepoorstateofglobalgovernancemechanisms.Rarelyhastheworldseensuchpaucityof in-ternational cooperation sinceWorldWar II.Theunravelingoftheglobalinfrastructureofinstitutionsandpartnershipsthathavebeenbuilt sinceWorldWar II is stark. The horse-mansignifyingariseingeopolitical tensionsis trottingabout.Thepaucityofglobaltrustamongststates

hasplummetedtoitsworstsinceWorldWarII.TheEUthattoutsan“evercloserunion”hasnot been a pretty picture.When facedwithcorona crisis shortages, almost all EU statesresponded at the national level. Globally, atonetime,morethan70percentoftheworld’sportsofentry—air,seaandland—restrictedtravel.AccordingtoaGlobalTradeAlertstudy,nearly90governmentsblockedtheexportofmedicalsupplieswhile29restrictedfoodex-ports.Inmanyregionswhereco-operationwas

flourishingall of a sudden thereare rivalriesand hard feelings between people wheretherehavebeennoborders at all. For exam-ple, the Nordic region. Norway opened its

borders to the rest from the region barSweden,becauseof its infectionrate.Lackof trust isalso impactingdiversified

supply chains. The corona crisis is driving ashiftfromefficiencytoself-sufficiency.JapanispayingcompaniestorelocatefactoriesfromChina. President Emmanuel Macron haspledged “full independence” for France incrucialmedical supplies by year-end. PrimeMinisterModihascalledforselfrelianceandbeing vocal for local in India. In theUS, sup-portfor“BuyAmerican”benchmarksforgov-ernmenthealthspendinghasgrowingbipar-tisan support. Countries are preparing forindividuallyforgingrecoverieswhenthecri-sispasses.Thishorsemaniscantering.SecretaryGeneralGuterresmaynothave

gaugedthespeedwithwhichthehorsemenwill gather pace but got the trends right.However, underpinningGuterres’s progno-siswasthatthesethreatsbeyondbordersarebest addressed bymultilateral bodies. Alas,evenwhileGuterres’ apocalyptic horsemenhave been prancing around, theUN systemhas beenmissing in action, except at thefringes.Barringthedescentofaguardianan-gel, the current multilateral order thatGuterrespresidesover is indeeptrouble.Thelasttimethinkingaboutthemultilat-

eralorderwascementedwasatatimewhenIndia did not independently partake in thethoughtprocess.Itresultedinourbeingcon-fined to the category of “ruler takers” for 75years and counting. Challenges that tran-scendborders are of cardinal importance toIndia’swellbeing.Itis,therefore,timetocon-ceptualise,inconcreteterms,pathwaystoad-dressthem.Thiswillneedtoincludeouren-visaging theneworder and India’s ownrolein it aswell aswhoourpartners in this ven-turearetobe.Othersarealreadyworkingontheirgameplans.Thehereandnowisimpor-tant.So,too, islookingbeyondthehorizon.Ifwewanttobe“ruleshapers”ratherthanbe-ing“ruletakers”,thenweneedtostartwork-inginpartnershipatblueprintsforchange.Itisnever tooearly toplanfor thefuture.

Thewriter retired fromthe IndianForeignService inAprilas India’sPermanentRepresentative totheUnitedNations

Instances of accentuation ofgeopolitical tensions duringthe corona crisis are well-documented. The US-Chinarelationship was alreadydeteriorating, the blamegame over the virus hasexacerbated it. The brazenbehaviour of China inmatters relating to Taiwan,Hong Kong, Australia,South China Sea and theIndia-China border hasadded to the inflammablestate of geopolitics. Thatthere is no recourse to thoseinvolved reflects on the poorstate of global governancemechanisms. Rarely has theworld seen such paucity ofinternational cooperationsince World War II. Theunraveling of the globalinfrastructure of institutionsand partnerships that havebeen built since World WarII is stark. The horsemansignifying a rise ingeopolitical tensions istrotting about.

FOUNDED BY

RAMNATH GOENKA

B E C A U S E T H E T R U T H I N V O L V E S U S A L L

§ §

THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY, JULY2,2020WORDLYWISE

Hungryman, reach forthebook:it is aweapon.— BERTOLT BRECHTTHEEDITORIALPAGE

AmritaDutta

NOT FAIR, BUT HOW LOVELYExploitative ideasof skincolourdon’thave todefineyou forever

A LITTLE GIRL and her brother go to themarket.Theysniffpurpleflowers,posta let-ter in a red post-box, spy an orange catpeeking out frombehind a basket of greenbhindi, andwatchtheirmotherhagglewitha fisherwoman in an ochre sari. These areimages from a wordless picture book forchildren that artist-writer ManjulaPadmanabhanmade in 1986.What standsout inAVisit to TheCityMarket (NBT) is therich earth of the children’s skin, and themany shades of dark brown of other peo-ple, fromcoffeetochocolatetochestnut.ForPadmanabhan, one of the most genre-bending English writers in India, the bookwasamilestone. “Thosechildrenaredark,”she told me in an interview in 2015. “Tillthen, Ihadbeenusing—notpink,butasoftbrowncolour.AndIsuddenlythought:Whydon’t I use brown? The full undilutedbrown. Itwas very liberating. But I also re-alised thatmanypeople found it ugly.”I cameacross thebookyears later, as an

adult, longafter Ihadsteppedoutofachild-hood where the word for dark skin inBengali—formydarkbrownskin—wasnotjustshamla,butmoyla (dirty).TheadsofFair& Lovely, beaming in the message of“twachakanikhar”even inourunfamiliar-with-Hindi homes, therefore, didnotneedany translation.Afair-skinobsessioninacountrywhere

themajority of people are brown is a life-long training in self-loathinganddiscrimi-nation. It is tangledwithbroaderstructures

of inequality, fromcastetogenderandclassprivilege, securing them in place with itssofter,more invisiblepower. Itworks insid-iously against the vulnerable, by chippingawayat their self-worth.For Hindustan Unilever, it has meant

cold, hard profit — Fair & Lovelywasmadefor Indianmarkets in1975, and is nowaRs2,000-crore business. In 2020, comes theturnaround,promptedbytheintrospectionin America of ways by which apparentlyneutralcultural idealsof successandbeautyperpetuate systemic bias. “We recognisethat the use of thewords ‘fair’, ‘white’ and‘light’ suggestasingular idealofbeautythatwe don’t think is right,” the company hassaid,whileannouncing itsdecision todrop“fair” fromthebrandname,andassuringus— in the face of 45 years of evidence to thecontrary—that it iscommittedto“aglobal,inclusiveportfolio of skin care brands”.This is suspiciously less than a cosmetic

change. More than black or brown lives,profitmatters, which in an attention econ-omy runby global socialmedia algorithms,needsinsinceresocialmessagingtomanage.NeitherHULnorotherbrandsthatreignovertheRs4,000-crorewhiteningcreammarkethas shown a desire to examine their role inthe perpetuation of racist, casteist ideas ofskin colour. Nor how deviously they havetwistedideasofwomen’sempowermenttosellunsubstantiatedclaimsofmelanin-sup-pressing “miracles”. In Fighting PovertyTogether (2011), thewriter Aneel Karnani, a

professor of strategy at University ofMichigan, cites HUL research that claimed“90 per cent of Indianwomenwant to usewhiteners,becauseitisaspirational, likelos-ingweight. A fair skin is, like education, re-gardedasasocialandeconomicstepup.” Inrecentyears, Fair&Lovelyadshave showedwomen turning into successful teachers,cricket commentators or a lawyer fightingfor“women’srights”bylighteningtheirskin.Inoneadvertisement,ayoungworkingpro-fessionalprovesherworthtoherfather,whowisheshehadason,bytransformingherselfintoa fairwoman.HUL and other brands are not the only

onesguiltyof colouristbias—fromcinemato news television and advertising, therehasbeenlittlechallengetotheupper-caste,North Indian ideal of beauty anddesirabil-ity. But, given the generations of darkwomen andmenwho have beenmade tofeelunworthybecauseof thecolourof theirskin, it is not a burden they can shrugoff.Exploitative ideas of skin colour do not

define you forever. I remember flippingthrough Padmanabhan’s book, as I read ittomydaughter, lingeringoveralittlebrowngirl dressed in a bright yellow— a colour Iwas ashamed towear as a child— and herstatuesque mother, a darker shade ofbrown, also in a yellow sari, and feeling awarmglowof affection: This is us. Not fair,but how lovely.

amrita.dutta@expressindia.com

A fair-skin obsession in acountry where the majorityof people are brown is alifelong training in self-loathing and discrimination.It is tangled with broaderstructures of inequality,from caste to gender andclass privilege, securing themin place with its softer, moreinvisible power. It worksinsidiously against thevulnerable, by chipping awayat their self-worth.

PM ON ASSAMPRIMEMINISTERINDIRAGandhi, todayde-clared that she had an “openmind” on ne-gotiations to settle the foreigners issue inAssam. “I amfornegotiations. I havealwaysbeenworkingfornegotiations.Wewantne-gotiations. But so far as secession is con-cerned,therecanbenotwoopinionsthatnoprice is toogreat topay for theunityand in-tegrityof thecountry…IamwillingtoagreetoanythingprovidedotherIndiansaresafeinAssamandnottoanythingthatputsthelivesof minorities in danger. They are not statis-tics, theyarehumanbeings—men,womenandchildren,” she said.Meanwhile, theAll-AssamGana Sangram Parishad said that it

would not accept any “consensus” reachedby the political parties butwas prepared tothrashout a solution to the foreigners issuethrough direct negotiations with an openmind.

BAGHPAT VISITAFTERATWO-HOURvisittoBaghpat,HomeMinisterZailSinghand11MPs, including10women, returned to Delhi, seemingly con-vinced that the 25-year-old, Maya Tyagi ofSankalputhi village, was brutally assaultedandparadednakedonthemainroadonJune18.While the Congress (I) delegations holdthecrowd,allegedlycollectedduringashoot-out inwhich threemenwerealsokilled, re-

sponsible for the outrage, the Lok Dal sup-porters put the blame squarely on the localpolice. Common people and shopkeepersaround themain chowkwhere the killingtookplaceappearedtobesilencedbythefearof beingpersecuted.

JANATA EVICTEDA POLICE PARTY, accompanied by amagis-tratebrokeopenthelocksof theJanataPartyoffice in Patna and threwout all the effects,including typewriters and duplicatingma-chines, apparently to “evict” theparty fromthe building. The incident took placewhenSingh and other partymembers had goneout for lunch.

JULY 2, 1980, FORTYYEARSAGO

New Delhi

11THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY, JULY2,2020 WHATTHEOTHERSSAY

‘‘China has won the first battle against the epidemic, and this is worthy ofpride. But to maintain victories, we must also look at what is going on in theworld. It is a global fight, and situations in other battlefields will affect theChinese battlefield.’’ — GLOBALTIMES, CHINATHE IDEASPAGE

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

The only sphere whereAyurveda seems to havesucceeded is in themanufacturing sector. Notprepared to takemarginalisation like theother actors in this play, themanufacturers have tried towin this game by takinginnovation to another level.They have found that withthe right kind of packaging,positioning and pricing, anyAyurvedic medicine can betransformed to an FMCGand be sold as well as, oreven better, than products ofmodern pharmaceuticalcompanies.

Ayurveda deserves better Unlock the House

THEPREAMBLEtotheIndianConstitution— “We the people of India… adopt, enactand give to ourselves this constitution”—declares the ultimate sovereignty of thepeople. The Constitution rests on the au-thorityof thepeople.Thisideaisexercisedthrough the instrument of representativedemocracy.Accordingtoconstitutionalexperts,par-

liamentarydemocracyconsistsof therep-resentationof thepeople,responsiblegov-ernment andaccountability of the councilof ministers to the legislature. We, theMembersofParliament,oweourpowerdi-rectlyor indirectly tothepeopleof India.I am goaded to quote Edmund Burke:

“Parliament is not a congress of ambassa-dors from different and hostile interests;which interestseachmustmaintain,asanagent and advocate, against other agentsandadvocates;butParliamentisadeliber-ativeassemblyof onenation,withone in-terest, that of thewhole;where, not localpurposes, not local prejudices, ought toguide,butthegeneralgood,resultingfromthe general reason of the whole. Youchoose aMember indeed; butwhen youhave chosen him, he is not Member ofBristol,butheisaMemberofParliament.”So,whenpeopleelectarepresentative,

he or she represents the people of thecountryirrespectiveof colour,creed,casteandreligion.Weelectedrepresentativestocarryforwardthepeople’smind,whichin-cludes their weal andwoe and the viewsofthenation,asaninputtoParliamentandextract as an output the plethora of Acts,rules, sub-rules, etc, to serve the country.We safeguard the basic features of thedemocraticrepublic,infusedwiththespiritof justice, liberty, equality and fraternity.Parliament is considered the arena of de-bateanddialogue,decencyanddiscussion—thediademsof parliamentaryniceties.There is no gainsaying the fact that

COVID-19 has affected every segment ofournationallife.Eachandeveryinstitutionhas been undergoing a paradigm shift todealwith this threat. One such institutionis Parliament, the sanctum sanctorum ofIndiandemocracy.Thepeopleof thecoun-try have long remained watchful ofParliament’s proceedings as the power ofthe executive originates from this augustHouse.Inthewakeofthepandemic,aquestion

has been in the air: Howwill Parliamentresumebusiness?TheFinanceBillconcernsthecountry’s

finances, rangingfromtaxesandexpendi-ture to the government’s borrowings andrevenue,andmore.After thepresentationofthebudget,theFinanceBill isintroducedin the Lok Sabha. In aword, it is crucial tothecountry.Now,considerthattheFinanceBillhasbeenpassedwithoutawordofdis-cussioninParliament—anunprecedentedevent. And since the prorogation of theHouse due to the pandemic onMarch 23,

nostandingcommitteehasconductedanybusiness.In normal circumstances, there are

threesessionsofParliamentinayear—theBudget Session, Monsoon Session andWinter Session. TheMonsoon Session isgenerallyheldfromJulytoSeptember.Thistime, anewmodusoperandi for the func-tioningof theHousehastobeworkedout.Several options can be considered, learn-ing from the best practices of legislaturesaroundtheworld.First,therecanbetheusualmeetings/sit-

tingsbutwithpreventivemeasuresinplaceto protectMPs. In addition to ensuring so-cial distancing, Parliament’s premises canbe sterilised as per WHO guidelines.Legislatures in Egypt, France, Germany,Israel,SwedenandtheEuropeanParliamenthaveoptedforthismodel.Second,Parliament sessionscanbeat-

tendedremotelythroughvideoconferenc-ing and web meetings. Indonesia,Venezuela,SouthAfrica,Poland,Argentina,Brazilandmanyothershaveoptedforthismodel.Third, a hybridmodel,which incorpo-

rates elements of both the abovemodels,canbeconsidered.ThePhilippinesandtheUnitedKingdomcanserveasaguideinthisregard.Article 85(1) in the Constitution states:

“ThePresidentshallfromtimetotimesum-mon eachHouse of Parliament tomeet atsuch timeandplaceashe thinks fit, but sixmonthsshallnotintervenebetweenitslastsittinginoneSessionandthedateappointedfor its firstsittinginthenextSession.”Themaximum gap of sixmonths be-

tween sessions is important to be kept inmind.Thelastsittingof the17thLokSabhawas onMarch 23. Sixmonths or 180 dayswill elapse on September 19. The Housemustbesummonedbefore thatdate.Our Constitution states that the

President may summon Parliament “tomeet at such time and place as he thinksfit”.Besides, therulesofprocedureofbothHousesrequirethesecretary-generaltois-sue summons to eachMP specifying the“date, time and place of commencementof theseason”.Theseenablingclausescanbe used to hold the sittings of the Housethroughhybridor remotemeetings.A crucial factor that should not be lost

sight of is that though the power to sum-monParliament is vested in thePresident,the latter actson theadviceon thecouncilofministers,headedbytheprimeminister.Asessionisnotterminatedbyadjourn-

ment. During the eighth Lok Sabha, a ses-sionwhich commenced on February 23,1987, was adjourned sine die onMay 12,1987.TheLokSabha,however,wasnotpro-rogued. On a proposal from the thenMinister of Parliamentary Affairs, theSpeaker, exercisinghis powers under rule15of theRulesOfProceduresandConductof Business in LokSabha, agreed to recon-venethesittingofLokSabhafromJuly27toAugust 28, 1987. The twoparts, precedingand following theperiodof adjournment,weretreatedasconstitutingoneseasondi-vided into twoparts.Thepeopleareeagerlyawaitingthere-

sumption of Parliament, especially at atime the country is reeling from amon-strouspandemicandconcernedabouttheChineseaggression.

Thewriter is the leaderofCongress inLokSabha

Whenonemanufacturerpushesanuntestedproduct inanunethicalmanner,whydoes itvilifyAyurvedaasawhole?

BABA RAMDEV HAS done a disservice toAyurveda.HeputsoutCoronil, adrug in themarket that claimsnothing short of being a“cure” for theworst public health crisis wehave faced in a long time. Soon, it turns outthat thedrughad failed tomeetboth scien-tificprotocolsandregulatoryrequirements.This episode reinforced all the modernstereotypesof traditionalmedicine—thatofmumbo-jumbo peddled by charlatans andquacks. Specifically, it buttresses an old butill-informedscepticismaboutAyurveda,thatwhile it might have a strong knowledge ofplantsandtheirmedicinalvalue, it isnotev-idence-based, that it has unstructured con-ceptsthatarenotbelievable,andthatitcan-notexplainhowitknowswhat itknows.Hundreds of practitioners, researchers

andmanufacturers that Ihavemetover thelast three decades while researchingAyurveda have taughtme otherwise. Yes, Iknowandhavewrittenaboutpopularmed-icines that Ayurveda is today known for —Liv-52,Septilin,Hajmola(didyouknowthisisacandyversionofKshtudhavardhakbati?).Yes, I know theunderbelly of Ayurveda too— BAMS doctors prescribing allopathicdrugs, andworse, Ayurvedic practitionersmixing steroids in their prescriptions. Butmy research has shownme several otherworldsofAyurveda—theworldof theprac-tisingAyurvedic doctor, the teachers in thescores of colleges and universities ofAyurvedaandresearchers indifferent insti-tutes. These worlds are much bigger anddeeper,beyondthatof Patanjali,DaburandHimalaya.Thatworldisvibrant,hasintegrityand it is important that it be known, re-spectedandvalued.Thanks tometiculous researchbyhisto-

rians and anthropologists, we know thatAyurveda functioned in a dynamic andproactive state for a very long time.“Tradition” isnotthebestwaytodescribeit,becausethatmakesitseemlikeastaticwis-dom of one time. In reality, the canonicalAyurvedic texts were complemented byhundreds of commentaries — adapting,modifying, even challenging principles bystating evidence to the contrary. Also, therewereexchangesofknowledgebetweenprac-titioners of the broad traditions of Unani,Ayurveda and Siddha, acknowledged untilthe colonial period, which brought in thehegemony ofmodern bio-medicine. Undertheinfluenceofcolonialism,wetetheredthelanguage,theinstitutionsandthesystemsofAyurvedic knowledge production to themargins of our learning and education.Weclosedmany doors andwindows of scien-tificpracticeswithinandaroundtraditionalmedical systems. But in a trick of inversion,we say theydonot follow the languageandmethodologyof science.Contrary to popular opinion, there are

thousands of Ayurvedic practitioners whoare true to their education and confidentlyprescribe only Ayurvedicmedicines. Theyhave foundways, for instance, to comple-mentsurgerywithsupportinrecovery.Theystayuptodatewiththelatest investigations

andmolecules entering themarket so thatthey can support their patients.Most often,they have to do thiswhile being judged onthe basis of rank ignorance and false pridefrompractitionersofmodernmedicine.Despite Ayurvedic knowledge being

rooted in a different philosophy, teachershavefoundwaysofkeepinguptheprocessofadaptinglearningfromthetextstocontem-porary education, fitting intomodern clas-sificationsofanatomy,physiologyandhigherspecialisations at a deeper level. They haveboth adapted to and adopted new knowl-edge, widening their horizons unhesitat-ingly, truetotheir tradition.Yettheyhavetofaceunhappystudents, strugglingwith lowself-esteem, under immense pressure tocompromise theirknowledge.ResearcherslikeAshokVaidyahavetaken

theresponsibilityofexplainingthemeaningof Ayurveda tomodern scientific research.Theyhavesystematically,faithfullyandoftenwithverylittlerecognition,donethedifficultjob of getting the languages of science andAyurveda to speak to each other. They havelearnt and used their methods, while alsothinkingcarefullyofcredibletranslationsbe-tween two languages,methods, and indeedworld-views.Fromthis, theyhaveproducedcredibleevidencethatcorroboratesandcom-plementsmodernmedicalresearch.Despitethis hardwork and brilliance, they struggletopublish in themainstreamandthose thatdo,nevermakebreakingnews.Withthisenormouseffortavailable,and

giventhatthespiritof inquiryguidesscience,it couldwell have been expected that com-munication between science, theseworldsof Ayurveda and the public would be fos-tered. Thiswould have been a great contri-butiontomedicalknowledge, forhumanityas awhole. Sadly, though,with honourableexceptions, this has not been the case. So, itis Ayurvedic doctors, teachers and re-searcherswho havemade it their businesstoinquire, implement, investigateandinno-vatewiththeseknowledgesystemsincom-municationwith science.Withoutwaitingforreciprocity,confidentlycarryingthedou-ble burdenof understanding theAyurvedicaswellasmodernscientificknowledge,theyarepossiblycontributingmoretothegreater

commongood.Theonly spherewhereAyurveda seems

to have succeeded is in themanufacturingsector.Notpreparedtotakemarginalisationliketheotheractorsinthisplay,themanufac-turershave tried towin thisgameby takinginnovationtoanotherlevel.Theyhavefoundthatwith the right kind of packaging, posi-tioningandpricing,anyAyurvedicmedicinecanbe transformedtoanFMCGandbesoldas well as, or even better, than products ofmodern pharmaceutical companies. Thissuccesscomeswithaprice.Ayurvedicman-ufacturers have to enter the race to createnewproducts,of “matching”thecapacityofbiomedicine tomakenewproducts; and of“matching”thecapacitytominethemarketforequallyhugeprofits.The worlds of Ayurveda have long de-

bated some of the fundamental flaws builtinto this apparent success. When twoknowledge traditionshave twocompletelydifferentperspectivesonbodyanddisease,then why compete on the medicine andcure? Andwhen parameters of treatmentand expected outcomes are of differentkinds, then how can the protocols of bio-medicine beused for evaluatingAyurvedicmedicines?Why can Ayurvedic manufac-turingnotfocusoncreatingadifferentworldofdiagnosis, treatmentandcure inkeepingwithitsperspective,expandingtherangeofchoicespatientshave?Thecommercialsuc-cess of Ayurvedic manufacturers enablesthem to be the emblemof Ayurveda in thepublic imagination. Thus, when one of theroguemanufacturers pushes an untestedproduct in an unethical manner it vilifiesAyurveda as a whole. But on the flip side,evenwhentheeditorofTheLancet, theven-erable journal of medicine, admits that hewas under immense pressure from thepharma industry topublishunreliabledataonRemdesivir, itwas consideredanexcep-tion,anddidnotmalignthemodernmedicalsystem as a whole. I think Ayurveda de-servesbetter.

Thewriter isprofessorofpolitical science,UniversityofDelhiandauthorofPower,

Knowledge,Medicine:AyurvedicPharmaceuticalsatHomeandintheWorld

Madhulika Banerjee

SMART MOVE

THISREFERSTOtheeditorial, ‘Newredline’(IE, July1).Unlike1962,thecontestwith China this time is amultidimen-sional one.We should be prepared touse non-linear options and hit themwhereithurts.Thisiswhywehavetobesmart about dealingwith Chinese im-ports.Whileblockingoffessentialsup-pliessuchasactivepharmaceutical in-gredients and other critical inputs forIndian industry is silly, targetingChinese internetplatformsclosesase-curity loophole and leverages India’shugemarketpotentialtoputeconomicpressureonChina.Thisisalsoanoppor-tunity to develop Indian alternativesleveragingour strengths in IT.

SanjayChopra,Mohali

SAD REALITYTHIS REFERS TO the article, 'Guardingthe guardians' (IE, July 1). The imple-mentationof theDKBasu judgmentstocurb police brutality has been, by thewriter’s ownadmission, a fiasco.Mostpeople are still terribly afraid of andavoidcontactwiththepolice.Thisisun-fortunate.Thepolicehavearoundtheman air of impunity, be it free rickshawrides,custodialtortureorfakeencoun-ters. At times, probably because of ouraversion to the slow system, we areswayedintocelebratingpoliceofficers’cruelty as instant justice.Wemust re-alise that the object of their bloodlustcanbeanyone.Wemustrealisetheim-

portanceof dueprocess.MAbdullahGhazali,Patna

TORTURE IGNOREDTHISREFERSTOtheeditorial, ‘Deathincustody’(IE, June30).Accordingtodatasubmitted by the state police to theMadrasHighCourt,therewere157cus-todial deaths in Tamil Nadu between2012and2016.Thereisanurgentneedfor India to ratify the United NationsConvention against torture (UNCAT),whichitsignedin1997buthasnotrat-ifiedyet.DespitetwoofficialBillswhichlapsedandareportbythelawcommis-sion, the issue has not been a priorityfor theCentral government. Thismustchangeat theearliest.

ShubhamChoubey,Gurugram

LETTER TO THEEDITOR

ONJANUARY30,IndiahaditsfirstCOVID-19patient, the same day the World HealthOrganisation (WHO)declared theoutbreakasapublichealthemergencyof internationalconcern. OnMarch 11, when theWHOde-clareditapandemic,thegovernmentofIndiainvoked the Disaster Management Act(2005), and the Epidemic Diseases Act(1897). The national lockdown began onMarch25.These invocationsweremeant tofacilitate and galvanise disaster prepared-ness tomeet theunparalleledhealthcrisis.After PrimeMinister Narendra Modi's

warcryagainstthepandemic,citizensmusthave felt relieved and secure when thehealthministry briefed themedia on April12 that nation is over-prepared in terms oftesting, training and hospitalisation to stayahead of the disease curve. It stated, “As oftoday, if we need 1,671 beds for COVID-19patients, we have over 1 lakh 5 thousandbeds available”. Even though the figurelooked impressive, on theground, thebedswere scattered and not located as per thehospitals’ requirement at a given point intime. Thus, when there is no coordination,cooperation and collaboration amonghos-pitals inageographical region, theproblemofshortageofbedsgetsacutelyexacerbatedand becomes unmanageable even with aslight increase in thenumberof patients. Ahospital that is full may deny admission,

whereas bedsmay be available in anotherhospital. But for a patient, it is too burden-some to locate hospitals with vacant beds.This has caused tremendous hardship tomany patients, resulting in delayed treat-ment andevendeaths.On June 5, Neelam, who was eight-

monthspregnant,wasrefusedadmissionbyeighthospitalsin12hoursanddiedinanam-bulanceinNoida.Aprobeorderedbythedis-trictmagistratefoundthatshehadtoshufflebetweenhospitalswithoutaproperreferral,and Noida hospitalsmade excuses to denyheradmission.Manysuchtragicstorieshavebeen reported from different parts of thecountry. Meanwhile, high courts and theSupreme Court took note of the difficultiespeoplewerefacinginaccessingmedicalcareandpassedscathingremarksonthegovern-ments' handling of the situation. The Courtreminded the custodians of public healthservicesthattheyareduty-boundtoprovidecare.Thegovernment,awareof itsinadequa-cies,triedtoropeinprivatehospitalssoastocoverasmuchgroundaspossiblefromtest-ing to hospital beds for serious COVID pa-tients. The delayed corrective measures,morethanfourmonthsafterthefirstCOVIDcase, reflect misjudgement of an evolving,calamitouspandemic.In 1992, there was no disaster, no epi-

demic and no pandemic. Hakim Seikh, a

farm labourer, fell from a train atMathurapur station in West Bengal ataround 7.45 pm on July 8, and sustained aheadinjury.Hewasgivenfirst-aidinthepri-mary health centre atMathurapur and re-ferred to a higher centre for further treat-ment. Unfortunately, he was deniedadmission due to the lack of a bed in fourgovernmentmedical colleges, and twopri-vate hospitals. He finally got admission intheCalcuttaMedical Research Institute thenext day andwas treated there. This case,PaschimBangaKhetMazdoorSamityvsStateofWest Bengal and Anr, was adjudicated bythe Supreme Court in 1996. The Union ofIndia was also made a party to the case.Considering the range of implications, theapex court observed that other states,though not parties, must take necessarysteps in lightof thedirectionspassed.The SC ruled that denial of emergency

treatment is a violation of the right to lifeguaranteed under Article 21 of theConstitution.Theorderlaidoutcomprehen-sive guidelines for proper documentationandprotocolsforreferral/transferofpatients.Ifapatientistoosicktobetransferred,he/sheistobekeptonatrolleyandevenonthefloortillshe/hecanbeaccommodated.Toeasethepressureforemergencybeds,theSCrecom-mended that “a Central Bed Bureau shouldbe set upwhich should be equippedwith

wireless or other communication facilitiestofindoutwhereaparticularemergencypa-tient can be accommodatedwhenapartic-ularhospitalfindsitselfabsolutelyhelplesstoadmit a patient because of physical limita-tions. In such cases, the hospital concernedshouldcontactimmediatelytheCentralBedBureauwhichwill communicate with theother hospitals and decide inwhich hospi-talanemergencymoribund/seriouspatientis to be admitted.” The Delhi government’s“CoronaApp”isagoodinitiativetolocateva-cant beds, but is yet to prove effective.Nonetheless,allthebedsavailablewitheveryhospital inageographical regionneed tobepooled forequitabledistribution in thebestinterestsof thepatients.Were these SC recommendations taken

seriouslyandfollowedanywhere in India inthelast27years?Instead,thestatesarebusyreinventing thewheel amid the pandemic.Theneglectofemergencyhealthservicesfordecades is taking a toll. Hakim Seikh waslucky to survive. But theremay be no suchluck for many of the seriously ill patients,withCOVIDorotherwise.

Thewriter isprofessorof emergencymedicine (surgery), departmentof

emergencymedicine,All India InstituteofMedical Sciences,NewDelhi.Viewsare

personal

CreationofCentralBedBureau,hospitaltransferprotocols, is long-overdue

It shouldn’t take a pandemicLRMurmu

IDEASONLINE

ONLY IN THE EXPRESS

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●●ABASELESSMERITOCRACY:

NOUMAANANWER

www.indianexpress.com

Adhir RanjanChowdhury

CR Sasikumar

Parliamentrepresentswillof thepeople.Waysmustbe foundfor it toconveneanddebate in

timesofCovid-19

New Delhi

CLASSIFIEDS&TENDERS12 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY, JULY2,2020

''IMPORTANT''Whilst care is taken prior toacceptance of advertisingcopy, it isnotpossible toverifyits contents. The IndianExpress (P) Limited cannot beheld responsible for suchcontents, nor for any loss ordamage incurredasaresultoftransactions with companies,associations or individualsadvertising in its newspapersor Publications. We thereforerecommend that readersmake necessary inquiriesbefore sending any monies orentering into any agreementswith advertisers or otherwiseacting on an advertisement inany manner whatsoever.

I HarshvardhanKumar S/oMahendraPal SinghR/oVillageMaheshwari, Post andPS-Mandawar, Distt-Bijnor, UP-246721, have finally changedmyname toHarshvardhanSingh 0070707712-1

I Kadambari SinghD/OLtColAnandSingh (retd) R/o J-57ASector 10 Faridabadhavechangedmyname toVernikaSingh for all futurepurposes.

0040540901-1

I, Yuvraj S/oAshokKumarR/0-D-41 gali.no-2 EastVinod-NagarDelhi-91.have changedmyname toyuvrajChoudhary,for all,purposes.

0040540899-2

II,, SNitinkumar Sajjan S/oSureshBSajjanR/o 14, NandiniBadawane, Vijayapura,Karnataka-586109, havechangedmyname toNitinkumar Sajjan

0070707757-1

II,, RajeevKumarDangS/oRamnathDangR/oB-12, AlokNagar, JaipurHouse,Shahaganj, Agra, UP-282010,have changedmyname toRajeevDang 0070707760-1

II,, Rahul S/oDamodarR/oE-447,DakshinPuri, Dr. AmbedkarNagar, Delhi-110062, havechangedmyname toRahulBagdi 0070707724-1

II,, RabiyaNadeemW/oSyedNadeemAkhtarR/oMohalla-PalwalyanPost-GulaothiBulandshahrUttar Pradesh, IHave changemyNameRabiyaKhatoon For, All Purpose.

0040540895-2

II,, PradeepKumar LakhwanS/oMohender SinghR/o 7/512,VatsColony,NahraNahri Road,Bahadurgarh, Jhajjar, Haryana-124507, have finally changedmyname toPradeepKumar

0070707729-1

II,, Neerja Jaryal D/oP. C. JaryalandEx.Wife of PuneetUpadhyay, R/oRZF-1/30, LotusApartment FlatNo-202A, LaneNo-3,Mahavir Enclave, PalamVillage, Delhi-110045, declarethat I got divorce frommyhusbandPuneetUpadhyayvide court decreeHMANO-2729/2018, Dated 09.10.2018.Further I have changed thenameofmyminor sonAryanUpadhyayaged 7years andheshall hereafter be knownasAryan Jaryal 0070707758-1

II,, KRITIKA, D/ORAVINDERKUMAR,H.NO.M-43,GALI.NO-5NEWMAHAVIR-NAGARNEWDELHI-110018,changedmyname toKRITIKAMALHOTRApermanently.

0040540932-6

II,, KMShakambari,w/oSh.Rajender SinghRawat, r/o F-66Jawahar Park, Devli Road,Khanpur, NewDelhi-110080have changedmyname toShakmbri Rawat for allpurposes. 0040540897-1

II,, GurcharanSinghS/o-SohanSinghR/o-Flat.No.97,Farmers-ApartmentsPlot.No.8, Sector-13, Rohini Delhi-85,changedmydaughter’s name Ipsita Singhto IpsitaKaur. 0040540899-3

II,, GURVINDERKAURSACHDEVA,W/O JATINDERSINGHSACHDEVA,H.NO.L-1/255B, DDAFLATSKALKA JINEWDELHI 110019. CHANGEDMYNAMETOGURVINDERKAURpermanently. 0040540932-5

II,, DeepanwitaMukherjeeD/oMrigankMouliMaitraR/o. FlatNo.N-1401, Prateekwisteria,Sector-77, Noida-201301,have changedmynametoDeepanwitaMaitra.

0040540895-1

II,, Anil KumarPanwar S/oChandiLal PawarR/o 507, Sector-15,Part-1, Gurgaon,Haryana-122001, have changedmynametoAnil Pawar

0070707756-1

II,, DakshNagpal S/oPankajNagpal R/o.B-34DefenceColony,NewDelhi-110024,havechangedmyname toDakshKhannapermanently.

0040540899-1

II,, D BalaKoteshwaraRaoS/oDNarayanaRaoR/o 006,HimalayaTower, AhinsaKhand-2, indirapuram,Ghaziabad, UP-201014, havechangedmyminor son’s namefromDShivaSai Suryaaged 15years toDSivamsh forever

0070707750-1

II,, BurhanAli S/oMohammadHussainR/oPipali ChokSenmohalla, Aklera, Jhalawar,Rajasthan-326033, havechangedmyname toBurhanuddin

0070707726-1

II,, AnupamRawatD/oPremSinghRawatR/oHouseNo-34,Vill-Nijhada, PO-Kashipur,Distt-UdhamSinghNagar,Uttrakhand-244713, havechangedmyname toAnupamaRawat 0070707717-1

II,, Anuj Kumar SinhaS/oBirendraPrasadSinhaR/oHNo-2257,RoadNo-20, PSHarla, Sector-8B, BokaroSteel City, Bokaro,Jharkhand-827009, havechangedmyminor daughter’sname fromAyanaSinhaaged 4years toAnanyaSinha forever

0070707762-1

II,, Anand s/oRanjodhSingh r/o L-011, 1st floor, CentrumparkindiaBulls, sector-103,gurgaon, haryana-122006havechangedmyname toANANDSINGH. 0040540893-1

II,, Amit Kumar S/oRajpal SinghR/o.Rehmapur, Syewali Distt.-BulandshahrU.P., declare thatmyminor son’s iswrittenwrongas, ReebuSingh inmyservice recordwhereas,hiscorrect nameReebu.

0040540895-3

II,, AmanKumar S/o LalchandKumarR/oH-164, 2nd Floor,DakshinPuri, Dr. AmbedkarNagar, Delhi-110062, that nameofmy father hasbeenwronglywrittenas Lal Chand inmyEducational Documents. Theactual nameofmy father isLalchandKumar

0070707754-1

II,, Aanchal Ranghare,D/oMr.RajeshKumar, holder ofIndianPassportNo.J1449511R/o.H.No.C-15, South-ExtensionPart-2, NewDelhi-110049,have changedmynametoAanchal. 0040540932-3

II,, Roshini U,D/o Udaya R/o-F-1/176, J.J.Colony,Madangir,NewDelhi.have changed myname to Roshini,forall,purposes. 0040540899-4

II RameshKumar S/oDariyavSinghR/oH.No-778,DichaonKalan,Delhi-110043, havechangedmyname toRamesh.

0040540932-4

II RakeshKumar SharmaS/orajender prasad sharmaR/o-k-3/202 f-black 1st-floormohangardenND-59,have changedmyname toRakesh sharma.

0040540932-1

II AJAYKUMARGUPTAS/ORAJANLALGUPTA, R/o-RZ-A-3/74,GALINO-A-3, DURGAPARK,DELHI-110045.have changedmyname toAJAYGUPTA.

0040540932-2

PPEERRSSOONNAALL

LLOOSSTT&&FFOOUUNNDD

Classifieds

PUBLIC NOTICEOur clients Sh. Om Prakash S/o LateKishori Lal, Smt. Heera Devi W/o OmPrakash and all Family Members R/oC-485, Gali No.9, Mangolpuri, Delhi-110083 have severed/terminated allrelations from his son Sh. BhagwanDass @ Vikas S/o Sh. Om Prakash andhis wife Smt. Komal their child MasterPranav R/o C-538, Gali No.9,Mangolpuri, Delhi-110083 disinherited/disowned them from their all moveableand immovable properties due to theirmisconduct. In future, if any persondealing with the aforesaid debarredpersons, that shall be his/her own risksand costs and my clients will not beresponsible for the same in anymanner.

Ankur Gupta & B.Khan AssociatesAdvocate Chamber No.169,Civil Wing,Tis Hazari Courts, Delhi-110054

PUBLIC NOTICE

"Be it known to the general public thatmy client, Sh. Tilak Singh S/o LateSh. Raj Veer Singh aged about 45years R/o B-2/533. Gali No.23,Harsh Vihar Delhi-110093 along withhis wife, has disowned his eldestdaughter namely Babita from all hismoveable and immoveable propertyand severed his relationship with heras a result of sufferings andharassment due to unsocial,aggressive, and inhumane act &behavior of her abovementioneddaughter. If anybody keeps anyrelation or deals with her in anymanner whatsoever, he/she wouldbe doing solely at his/her own riskand consequences and my clientshall not be responsible for the act ofBabita.

ASHOK THAGAL ADVOCATECHAMBER NO.477 (LGF), CIVIL WING,

TIS HAZARI COURTS, DELHI- 54

PUBLIC NOTICEMy client Smt. Radha Joshi W/o LateShri Jagdish Chand Joshi R/oH.No.133, Gali No.8, Bhagat Colony,West Sant Nagar, Burari, Delhi-110084have severed / terminated all relationsfrom her son Prabhakar Joshi S/o LateSh. Jagdish Chand Joshi and his wifeSmt. Prakrti Kambhoj R/o Kh-140/1/12,Gali No.23, Bengali Colony, SantNaga r, Bu r a r i , De l h i - 110084disinherited / disowned them from theirall moveable and immovable propertiesdue to their misconduct. In future, if anyperson dealing with the aforesaiddebarred persons, that shall be his/herown risks and costs and my clients willnot be responsible for the same in anymanner.Ankur Gupta & B.Khan AssociatesAdvocate Chamber No.169,Civil Wing,Tis Hazari Courts, Delhi-110054

PUBLIC NOTICEMy client MS. Tulsa DEVI W/o Late, Shri OmPrakash Resident of F-243, Inder EnclavePhase-2 Kirari Suleman Nagar Nithari NewDelhi-110086, have debarred and disownedtheir son Mr.Hemant Kumar with daughter in-law namely Nitu And younger son Mr.NareshKumar with daughter in-law namely Mamta,from all their movable and immovable propertiesdue to his disrespectful behavior and out ofcontrol of my client. My client have also severedall their relation with him. If anybody deal withhim in any manner he/she/T.G. shall do so athis/her own risk, cost and consequences. Myclient shall not be liable or responsible for thesame in any manner.

Sd/-Kaushal Kumar Singh

AdvocateChamber No. 651, Lawyers Block,

Saket Courts, Complex,New Delhi-110017

PUBLIC NOTICEPublic at large is informed that my client ShriVirender Kumar Sharma son of Late Shri D.D.Sharma, resident of C-25, New Krishna Park, DhauliPiau, New Delhi-110018, is the exclusive owner ofthe property bearing No. C-25, New Krishna Park,Dhauli Piau, New Delhi-110018 to the extent of 50%and also he is exclusive owner of the properties atKhasra No.38, situated at Village Dabri, New Delhi-110045. He has not given any attorney norauthorized anyone including but not limited to hissons and nephews namely Shri Vivek Gaur, ShriAman Gaur, Shri Gaurav Gaur, Sandeep Gaur andDeepak Gaur to deal in any manner with regards tothe aforesaid properties nor they have any right, titleor interest, authority of any kind in the saidproperties. Anyone dealing with them shall do so athis/her/ their own risk, costs and consequences. Myclient shall not be liable for any kind of dealing withanyone except my client in relation to the aforesaidproperties. It is however clarified that I have given anattorney to the limited extent to pursue a case titledas Virender Kumar Sharma Versus Sunita & Othersto my son Shri Vivek Gaur.

Sd/-ROHIT SEHGAL

ADVOCATEChamber No, 6, Civil Side,

Tis Hazari Courts, Delhi - 110054(M): 9811838411

3 5h k (3)

PUBLIC NOTICEIt is for general information that IBALJIT SINGH son of BANI SINGH,residing at F-4/243, 2nd FLOOR,SECTOR-16, ROHINI, DELHI-110085, declare that wrongly dateof birth (09.01.2003) minor sonNAMAN aged 17 years (actualD.O.B. is 07.01.2003) also name ofmy wife has been wrongly written as“JYOTI SINGH” in his educationaldocuments CBSE 10th classmarksheet. The actual name of mywife is “JYOTI” which may beamended accordinghly.It is sertified that I have compliedwith all other legal requirement inthis connection.

PUBLIC NOTICEMY CLIENTS SH. RAM DARSH YADAV ANDHIS WIFE SMT. SINGARI DEVI BOTH R/ORZ-100/284, GALI NO: 2, GEETANJALIPARK, NANGAL RAYA, DELHI-110046,SEVERE ALL RELATIONS & DEBAR THEIRSON RAKESH YADAV & DAUGHTER-IN-LAW PRIYANKA YADAV BOTH R/O H. NO:99, GROUND FLOOR, POLE NO: 33,VILLAGE DABRI, SHEETLA MATA MANDIR,DELHI-110045 FROM ALL MOVABLE-IMMOVABLE PROPERTY(S) DUE TOTHEIR MISCONDUCT. MY CLIENTS WILLNOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY OFTHEIR ACTS /DEALINGS IN FUTURE.

Sd/-VIJAY YADAV

ADVOCATEAt: 8-168, North-Ex Mall,

Sector-9, Rohini, Delhi-89D/1254-8/04 Mob. 9711292858

PUBLIC NOTICEGeneral public at large is informed that myclient Sh. Rishi Prakash S/o Late Sh. KawalSingh R/o Khasra No. 77/20, Balmiki Basti,Bawana, New Delhi-110039, has severed allhis relations with his son, namely Sh. AndeepS/o Sh. Rishi Prakash and his daughter-in-law Smt. Rachna W/o Sh. Andeep. My clienthas disowned/ disinherited his son, Sh.Andeep and daughter-in-law Smt. Rachnaand their legal heirs, successor, attorney fromall his moveable and immovable propertieswith immediate effect. As my client's son, Sh.Andeep and his daughter-in-law Smt. Rachnais not under the control of my client and hedoes not listen to him at all. Henceforth, ifanyone dealing with my client's son anddaughter-in-law, he shall be doing so athis/her own risks and consequences. And, myclient shall not be responsible for any act ofhis son, and daughter in law in any manner.

Sd/-Karan Singh

AdvocateChamber No. 846, Lawyers Chambers',

Dwarka Court, Sec-10 Dwarka,New Delhi-75. Mob: 9560572128

LLoossttMyOriginal Certificate ofClass 10th, Year 2018, RollNo.8156661. Passout fromCBSEDelhi. FinderContact:-Ambareen Anwar, 194, Pocket-B , NewMIGFlats ,MayurViharPhase-3, Delhi- 110096.

0040540890-1

II SurendraKumarGarg, S/OLate.GangaPrasadhave lostmyoriginal Allotment-letterdated-2/9/1985 andpossession-certificate issuedbyNoidaAuthority. PropertyaddressPlot.NO-233, sec-15A,NOIDAGautambudh-nagarUP-201301.If anyoneFoundcontactmeDeepakGarg,Mob.No-9999175100address.plot.No-233, SEC-15A,NOIDAGautamBudh-NagarUP-201301.

0040540932-8

Government of Jammu & KashmirOFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER PWD (R&B) DIVISION RAMBAN

(2nd TIME SHORT TERM) NOTICE INVITING TENDERSFresh E-NIT No.: 09 of 2020-21 Dated: 27.06.2020 to E-NIT No 04 of 2020-21 dated 12.06.2020 (E-tendering)

For and on behalf of the Lt .Governor of Jammu & Kashmir UT, the Executive Engineer PWD (R&B)Division Ramban invite tenders by e-tendering mode on Item/%age rates from approved and eligibleContractors/Firms registered with J&K UT Govt. PWD, CPWD, MES & Railways for the following work:-

Sr. Name of Work Tender Doc. Earnest Time & Class of Type ofNo. In shape of Money date of Contr- Contract

Try. Challan (in Rs.) Opening actor/Receipt of Tender

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

1. 600.00 10000.00 “SHG” StageContact2020-21

2. 600.00 10000.00 “A&B ” StageContact2020-21

3. 600.00 10000.00 “A&B ” StageContact2020-21

4. 600.00 10000.00 “SHG” StageContact2020-21

5. 600.00 10000.00 “A&B ” StageContact2020-21

6. 600.00 10000.00 “A&B ” StageContact2020-21

7. 600.00 10000.00 “A&B ” StageContact2020-21

8. 600.00 10000.00 “SHG” StageContact2020-21

Restoration of various roads of PWD R&B SubDivision Banihal by way of Snow clearance like-ly to be damaged during the current financialyear 2020-211.Battoo Gogani Road Length 3.00 Kms

Restoration of various roads of PWD R&B SubDivision Gool by way of slip clearance,filling ofruts & snow clearance likely to be damagedduring the current financial year 2020-211.Tragwal Morh to Salballa road length 2.50 Kms2. Gool Bye Pass road Length 2.50 Kms.

Restoration of various roads of PWD R&B SubDivision Gool by way of slip clearance,filling ofruts & snow clearance likely to be damagedduring the current financial year 2020-211. Poultry Farm To Jaral Mohallah road length1.250 Kms. 2.Link road to I.T.I I Gool Length0.150 Kms

Restoration of various roads of PWD R&B SubDivision Gool by way of slip clearance,filling ofruts and snow clearance likely to be damagedduring the current financial year 2020-211.Link road to Employes Hostel length0.150 Kms. 2.Mugji to Dharam length2.50 Kms.

Restoration of various roads of PWD R&B SubDivision Gool by way of slip clearance,filling ofruts & snow clearance likely to be damagedduring the current financial year 2020-21.1.Link road to Ziarat Sharief Asthankund length1.10 Kms. 2. Gool Dheedah via Dachan roadlength 5.00 Kms.

Restoration of various roads of PWD R&B SubDivision Gool by way of slip clearance,filling ofruts & snow clearance likely to be damagedduring the current financial year 2020-211.Ziyarat Sharief Farid-ud-Din Jaba Gool length2.00 Kms. 2 Jabli gool to Old PWD rest housevia Forest Guest house length 1.20 kms.

Restoration of various roads of PWD R&B SubDivision Gool by way of slip clearance,filling ofruts & snow clearance likely to be damagedduring the current financial year 2020-211.Perthmulla to Kharbhak road length0.90 Kms. 2. Shan Mohallah to Zalus roadlength 0.750 Kms.

Restoration of various roads of PWD (R&B) SubDivision Gool by way of slip clearance,filling of ruts &snow clearance likely to be damaged during the cur-rent financial year 2020-211.Shanabati to Karara road road length3.00 Kms. 2. Dharam Kund to Shanabati road length1.90 Kms.

Position of AAA = APPLIED FORPosition of Funds = AVAILABLE IN 2020-21 PLAN

1. Date of Issue of Tender Notice

2. Period of downloading of bidding documents

3. Date, Time and place of pre-bid meeting

4. Bid submission Start Date

5. Bid Submission End Date

7. Date & time of opening of Technical Bids (Online) -[The date should be one day after deadline for receiv-ing of hard copies]

8. Date & time of opening of Financial Bids (Online)

27.06.2020

From 28.06.2020,10.00 A.M. to 08.07.2020, 4.00 P.M.

28.06.2020 From 10.00 A.M.

08.07.2020 upto 4.00 P.M.

09.07.2020 at 12.00 A.M. in the Office of theExecutive Engineer PWD (R&B) Division Ramban.

To be notified after technical bid evaluation is completed

1. The Bidding documents Consisting of qualifying information, eligibility criteria, specifications, Drawings, bill ofquantities (B.O.Q), Set of terms and conditions of contract and other details can be seen/downloaded from thedepartmental website: www.jktenders.gov.in.

No. 1999-2021 Sd/- (Er. Maqbool Hussain)Dated: 27.06.2020 Executive Engineer, PWD (R&B) Division, Ramban

DIPJ-1819

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New Delhi

NIHALKOSHIENEWDELHI, JULY1

THEDEATHof asumowrestler (rikishi)dueto Covid-19 in May has opened a debateaboutthedietandlifestyleof Japan'sheavy-weightwrestlers.

Whoistherikishiwhodied?ShobushiKanji,just28,diedonMay13be-

cause ofmultiple organ failure after hewasfoundcoronaviruspositive .Hewasnota topprofessional sumowrestler butwas in thefourth-tierdivision,the‘Sandanme'.Shobushiwasoneofthesevenwrestlerswhotestedpos-itivefromtheTakadagawastable.AstableislikeanakharainIndia,aplacewherewrestlerstrainandlive.AccordingtoareportintheJapanTimes,Shobushi “is thought tobe the first person inthe20stodiefromthevirusinJapan”.HeisalsothefirstsumowrestlertodieofCovid-19.

Whyis thereadebateontheirdiet?Last week, the heaviest-ever rikishi,

AnatolyMikhakhanov,whoweighed 292.2kgjustbeforeheretired,wasvocalabouttheill-effectsofeatingtogainweightinthesport.AsahiShimbunreportedthatShobushiwasadiabeticanddoctorscited'poorhealth'asoneof thereasonsforhisdeathaftertestingpos-itive for Covid-19.Mikhakhanov is from theRepublic of Buryatia near Serbia, where hereturnedafter calling it aday in2018.Ayearafter adopting a fitness regimen ofwalking,having fivesmallmealsadayandnoteatingafter7pm,Mikhakhanovlost100kilograms.“It's never easy to stay healthy as long as

you're living the life of a sumo wrestler,”Mikhakhanovwasquotedas sayingbyAsahiShimbun.“Youaretheonlypersonthatcantakecareofyou.Nobodyinyoursumostablecaresaboutyou.Itistrueyoucannotdotrainingun-lessyoueat.Butthereisnosenseinendingupill.”Whenhewas active, hewouldhave twohugemealsadayandwouldgulpdownacrateofbeerand200piecesofsushibeforegoingtobed.Hewasdiagnosedwithhypertension,andinitiallyfounditdifficulttowalkshortdistanceswithoutachesafterhisretirement.

What is thedietof arikishi?Though theystart theirdayatdawn, the

first meal sumowrestlers have is aroundnoon. The first-half of the day is spend instrenuous training and practice, whichmeanstheyareveryhungrywhenitismeal-time.Thetypicalmealofarikishiisthehigh-protein chankonabe or chanko, which is abrothofvegetables, includingbokchoy, fish,chicken,meat,mushroom,onionsandeggs.They also eat huge amounts of rice. Theyhavelargeportionsofchankotwiceadayandsleepshortlyaftereachof thesebingeeatingsessions.Theaverageintakeofarikishiisbe-tween 7,000 and 10,000 calories a day (foranaveragehuman it is2,000-2,500caloriesa day). There are noweight restrictions insumowrestling in Japanandhence theaimis togetheavieraswellasstrongerandflex-ible.Rikishisusetheirsuperiorbodyweightandstrengthtopushanopponentoutof theringorforceanypartof thebody,otherthansolesof feet, to touch the ring.

Does lookingobesemeanarikishi ispronetohealth issues?Reports say Shobushi was diabetic.

However, it isunclearif itwasbecauseofhisgenes or lifestyle. Yet previously done re-searchshowsthatarikishiwhoisobesemayhaveexcellenthealthparameters.Awidelycitedstudybyprofessoremeritus

of OsakaUniversity, YujiMatsuzawa, called‘Theroleof fat topologyintheriskofdisease'points tosumowrestlershaving lessvisceralfat (around organs including stomach andpancreas;knowntoincreaseriskofheartdis-ease and stroke) as compared to an equallyobeseperson.“Sumowrestlerseatahigh-en-ergy diet (7,000 to 10,000 calories) to gainweight but at the same time they performstrenuous physical training daily. Althoughtheyshowmarkedobesityandhavemarkedlyhighwaistcircumference,theaverageratioofvisceral-to-subcutaneous fat (just below theskin) is0.25 inyoungsumowrestlers,whichis comparable to subcutaneous obesity, andtheirglucoseandlipidlevelsremainnormal,”thestudystates.BasedonCTscanimages,thestudystatesthatsumowrestlershaveverylit-tle intra-abdominal visceral fatwith ‘devel-opedmuscularity’.However, the study,pub-lished in the International Journal of Obesity,haswarned that in retiredwrestlers, whodon'tdoasmuchphysicalactivity,thechancesof diabetes can increase if they continue tohavethesamehigh-calorie intake.

Whatarethestress levelsarikishi faceswhileatastable?The life of a rikishi is hard, like Indian

wrestlerswhostayinakharaswherethereisaclearhierarchybetween‘senior'and‘junior’andaguru-shishyatradition.Arikishibelongsto a stable where there is a stablemaster(Oyakata)whoisthehead.Stablesalsohavea hairdresser (Tokoyama) as a rikishimustalways keep his bun (Chonmage) in place.Theaverageageatwhichanaspiring rikishicanjoinastableis15.Thebuddingwrestlersare expected to clean, cook and serve andusuallygettoeatlastaftertheseniorprofes-sionals(seniormostiscalledsekitori) finish.Awrestlercannotjoinanotherstableandhasto remainwith the same one till he retires.Wrestlers in the lower divisions are hardlypaid but once they climb up the laddermoney starts coming in. In the lower divi-sions mobile phones cannot be used andtherearealsocertainrestrictionsonarikishistaying outside the stable with his wife.Grand Champions, once they retire, havespokenaboutrelentlessbeatingswhileatthestable. The death of a 17-year old sumowrestler in 2007, according tomultiple re-ports because of beatings at the stable,causedanuproar in Japan.

EXPERTSEXPLAIN

AASHISHARYANNEWDELHI, JULY1

ONTUESDAY,theUSFederalCommunicationsCommission (FCC) designated Chinese tele-comvendorsHuaweiTechnologiesCompanyandZTECorporation,andalltheirparent,sub-sidiaryandaffiliatefirmsas“nationalsecuritythreats”.HuaweiandZTEhavebeenaccusedofbeingclosetotheChinesegovernmentandspyingforitbysharingthedataofUScitizens.

WhataretheallegationsagainstHuaweiandZTE?The US-Huawei-ZTE tussle is nearly a

decade old now. The first official actionwastaken in 2012, when the US HouseIntelligenceCommitteereleasedareportsay-ingHuawei andZTEposeda risk tonationalsecurity, and suggesting that US businessesavoid buying equipment from them. ThecommitteesaidneitherHuaweinorZTEhadproperly addressed concerns raised on thetheirability tosnooponUScitizensor firms.TheUShasoftenaccusedHuaweiandZTE

ofworking inways thatwere contrary to its“nationalsecurityorforeignpolicyinterests”.US authorities claim these companies sendregular data packets to Chinese intelligenceagenciesbyinstallingwhatarecalled“back-doors” incritical telecominfrastructures.

■ The US has accused the founders ofHuaweiandZTEofbeingclosetocoremem-bersofChineseCommunistPartyandreceiv-ing regular funding from the People'sLiberationArmy.“Bothcompanieshavecloseties to the Chinese Communist Party andChina’smilitaryapparatus,andbothcompa-niesarebroadlysubject toChineselawobli-gatingthemtocooperatewiththecountry’sintelligence services,” FCC Chairperson AjitPai said in the latestorder.

■ TheUS had also accusedHuawei andZTE of violatingUS economic sanctions im-posed on Iran. Former President BarackObama's administrationhadblacklisted ZTEfor sevenyears for sellingequipment to Iran.WhilecurrentUSPresidentDonaldTrumphas

saidZTEwouldbeabletoremaininbusinessintheUSafterpayingafineof$1.3billion,andproviding “high-level security guarantees”,FCC's latestactionsundoesthatdecision.

■In2018,basedonaUSwarrant,CanadianauthoritiesarrestedMengWanzhou,daugh-terofHuaweifounderRenZhengfei,forviolat-ing sanctions placed on Iran.Wanzhou re-mainsunderhousearrestinCanada,awaitingeitherextraditiontotheUSorreturntoChina.

Whatequipmentdotheymanufacture?Huawei,theworld'slargestmakeroftele-

comequipment,andthesecondlargestman-ufacturer ofmobile phones and spareparts,hasof latetriedtodiversifyintothesoftwareindustry.TheShenzhen-headquarteredcom-pany, now 33 years old, had started out bymakingrouters,Ethernetswitchesandwire-lesslocalareanetworkequipment.Ithasnowexpanded its footprint to optical transportnetworks, cloud computing and smart datastorage solutions. It has also ventured intomobile operating systemwith the launchofHarmonyOS,which it claimscouldcompetewithGoogle'sAndroidandApple's iOS.ZTE,alsoheadquarteredinShenzhen,man-

ufacturesback-endnetworkhardwaresuchas

Ethernet switches, small base stations, andbasebandunits.The35-year-oldcompanytoohasmoved into databasemanagement sys-tems,cloudcomputing,softwareandstoragesystems,aswellasnetworkcontrolandman-agement software systems. ZTE has tie-upswithseveralbigcorporationstomanufacturetheirequipmentinChinaatverylowcosts.

Whyis thebanimportant?The classification as ‘national security

threats' couldputpressureonUSallies suchasIndiatotakesimilar,ifnotthesame,action.AbanonHuaweiandZTEbyothercountriescouldmeananincreaseofupto30percentincostof telecomequipmentacrosstheboard,especiallywhenmanycountriesaregearinguptolaunch5Gservices,accordingtoexperts.The only other major players globally

present in the telecom equipmentmarketare Ericsson,Nokia and Samsung.Owing totheir large units in China, Huawei and ZTEhave managed to keep prices of networkrouters, Ethernet switches and base trans-ceiver stations incheckover theyears.In India, Huawei and ZTE control a com-

binedabout25percentoftheRs12,000croretelecom equipmentmarket. Bharti Airtel's

networkcomprisesupto30percentChinesetelecom equipment, including Huawei's,whileVodafoneIdeauses40percent.BSNL's3G network largely comprises equipmentfromZTE,whoseshare is40percent.

HowdoestheHuaweibanimpact India?With the reserve price for 8,300MHz

spectrum,includingthe5Gband,unchangedat Rs 5.22 lakh crore, low-cost equipmentfromHuawei or ZTE could have providedsomerelief todomestictelecomcompanies.InDecember last year, TelecomMinister

Ravi Shankar Prasadhad said all players, in-cludingHuawei,hadbeenpermittedtopar-ticipateinthe5Gtrialsinthecountry.HuaweiIndia’sChiefExecutiveOfficerhadsaidinJune2019 that the companywas ready to sign a“no backdoor” agreementwith the govern-ment—itwouldvouchthatitdidnotgainac-cess toany Indiancustomer’sequipment.Alothaschangedsincethen.Followingthe

attackontheLineofActualControl,a4Gnet-workexpansiontenderfloatedbyBSNLforit-selfandMahanagarTelephoneNigamLimited(MTNL)hasbeencancelledandis likelytobereworkednextweek tobarChinesevendorssuchasHuaweiandZTEfromparticipating.Privatetelecomoperatorshavewarnedof

huge economic costs if such a ban is put inplace.Oneofthemostimportantimplications,they said, couldbe the lossof their cost arbi-trage, as barringHuawei andZTE fromevenbiddinginthe5Gauctionscouldmeanequip-ment up to 30per cent costlier. “Overall, theprices of Chinese gear are up to 30 per centlowercompared to theirEuropeancompeti-tion.Thatgivesusbuyersapointtonegotiate.Withthemgone,ourpowertonegotiatealsogoes,”anexecutivehassaid, addingthat tak-ingChinesevendorsoutoftheequationwouldresult inaduopolyofEricssonandNokia.Reliance Jio uses equipmentmanufac-

turedbySamsung.Thecompany'spresidentMathewOommen said in a recentwebinarthat as companies move towards deploy-ment of 5G technologies in their respectivecountries, they must be wary of vendorswhichcanbringa“digitalpandemic”.

13WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

Why Huawei, ZTE are ‘threats’SIMPLYPUT

TheUShasdesignatedHuaweiandZTEasnationalsecuritythreats.Whatdoesthismeanfortelecomcompaniesworldwide, includinginIndia, thatwereusingequipmentfromtheseChinesemanufacturers?

AFTER THREEmonths of missteps, thereseems tobeconsensus—or rathera late re-alisation— that not all patientswithCovid-19 need to be taken to hospitals. We haveknownwithfaircertaintysinceearlyMarchthatCovid-19doesnotspreadlikeEbola,andthatintheabsenceofeffectivemedicaltreat-ment,non-pharmaceuticalinterventionslikehand-washing, masking and physical dis-tancingwouldbe thebestdefence.Andyet,fornearlyonehundreddays,confirmedcasesof Covid-19 in India’s cities were being ad-mittedtohospitals, irrespectiveof thesever-ityof disease.Thisblunder—withnoclinical justifica-

tion—resultedinfirstparalysing,thenover-whelming,andfinallycrushingentirehealthsystems. Thehospitalswere rendered inca-pableofcaringfortensof thousandsofotherpatients with non-Covid-related diseases,andjeopardisedthewellbeingof theirover-worked staff.What can other cities, townsand villages in India learn from this, as thepandemic spreads to thehinterland?There are a finite number of permuta-

tions that can occur, when someone is ex-posed toCovid-19. Let’swalk through thesepossibilities,andthepossiblecarepathwayseachsituationwarrants.Asymptomatics: If exposed, one gets

Covid-19 or one doesn’t. Of all who get it,mostwill beasymptomatic: theywill shownosymptoms,butwillcontinuetospreadit.It is likely that theymay be less contagiousthansomeonewhoisactivelycoughing,butthere is no evidence to suggest that theasymptomatic patients do not spread thevirus. They,however,neednotreatment.Presymptomaticsandmildcases:Ofthe

fewthataresymptomatic,allwillfirstbepre-symptomatic.Thisistheroughlytwo-dayin-terval inwhich theywill becontagious,willspreadthevirus,butwillnothavedevelopedsymptoms.Eventuallytheywilldeveloponeoracombinationof theCovid-19symptomswe recognise: loss of smell or taste, cough,fever, andsoon.Mostofthesesymptomaticcaseswillonly

havemild symptoms andwill also need notreatment,exceptwhatphysiciansappropri-ately call “symptomaticmanagement”,withmedicationstosimplymanagethefeverandcough andbodyaches. Home remediesmayhelpwith some of this, but there is no evi-dencethattheyalterthecourseofthedisease.Symptomatics, moderate: Of the re-

mainder,somewilldevelopmoderatesymp-toms,andsomewilldevelopseveredisease.Onlythesetwocategoriesneedsophisticatedmedical intervention.Thosewithmoderatesymptomswillben-

efit from oxygen therapy, and “pronation,”

which inplain English,means lyingonyourbelly,insteadofyourback.Doingsoopensuptheairchambersinthebackofyourlungsthatare normally collapsed, thereby providingmore oxygen to your blood. Early evidenceshowsthatthishelpsaverttheneedformoreaggressive interventioninsomecases.But the principal intervention for those

withmoderate severity is oxygen—whichcan be delivered through amask and tubeconnectedtoaportableoxygentank(whichlikeagascylinder, isheavy, andmustbe re-placed); or as piped oxygen, as is availablein some hospitals, andwhich comes fromlarger tanks;or simplyviaa small, portablemachine called an oxygen concentratorwhichmakesoxygenfromair.Manypeoplewith lung diseases have them at home.There is no clinical justification to take upICUbedsforthesepatients.Theydonotneed

ventilators, or intensive care specialists —especiallywhennocity inIndiahasenoughof either, andmost smaller towns and vil-lageshaveneither.Severe cases: Unlike run-of-the-mill

pneumonias, we have observed that theshortness of breath in patientswith Covid-19canprogressabruptly,andthesepatientsneedventilators.Thesebreathingmachinesarehighlycomplexsystemsthatneedskilledtechnicianstorunthem,andrequirethatpa-tients have a flexible plastic tube advancedintotheirtrachea(windpipe),typicallybyananaesthesiologist or emergency physiciansor intensivists. Thepatients thenhave tobekeptsedated(asleep)withapreciselydosedintravenousmedication — an overdose ofwhichcaneasilykill thepatient.Andfinally,plasma donated from Covid-19 survivorshelpssomeof thesickest.Thesearethecrit-

icalelementsofan“ICUbed”—thereisnoth-ingspecial about thebed itself.Community-basedcare:Thebestwayto

relaxtheloadonhospitalsistokeepallthosewhodonotneedhospital-basedcare, awayfromhospitals— foras longas is safelypos-sible. Keeping people home safely meansmonitoringsymptomaticpatientsbymeas-uring their respiratory rate (counting howmanybreathstheytakeperminute—theav-erageperson takes about12) and their oxy-gensaturation,usingasmalldevicethatclipsontoyour fingertips, calledpulse-oximeter.Neighbourhoodchampionsandcommunityhealthworkerscanbeeasilytaughttodothisviaonline teachingaids.If the oxygen saturation begins to go

down,ortherespiratoryratebeginstogoup,the patients need intervention— first, oxy-gentherapy.Mostwillnothaveaccesstohos-pitals, and can be safely given oxygen athomewhen possible, or in neighbourhoodCovid-care centres. Aminoritywill have togo tohospital.Therewill,ofcourse,bemanyexceptions

to this neat linear progression, but the vastmajoritywill follow this trajectory, as datafromaroundtheworldareshowing.(Westilldon’thave reliableclinicaldata fromIndia.)This strategy is not new. By early April,

patients in NewYork, where the epidemicwas then at its peak,were being sent homewithpulse-oximetersandevenoxygencon-centrators.VariousstatesinIndiawereatthetime embracing unproven, unvalidated in-terventions.Insteadofdistributingspicemixtures,ar-

senicumalbumandhydroxychloroquine, itwillnowbewisertodistributepulse-oxime-terstocommunitiesatrisk.Sofar,earlydatasuggest that a steroid and the antiviralremdesivirmayshowsomebenefit inmoresevere hospitalised cases. Favipiravir hasbeenapproved foruse inmoderate cases inIndia, but the data have not been released.Note however, that a similar wonder-drugforinfluenzamostlybringsdownsymptomsbyaday.Thesemedicationsarenotcures.Covid-19 will ravage neighbourhoods

across India. The best strategy will be tomountahyper-localresponsethatisbackedbyscience.DharaviandKerala—verydiffer-ent from each other — have shown how ahighly context-driven strategyworks.Mostof thosewhowill get Covid-19will be fine.Among those who have some symptoms,monitor as many as possible with pulse-oximeters (or simplybycounting the respi-ratory rate, when devices run out). And ifshortofbreath,administeroxygenationandpronation.Aminoritywillgetverysick,andwill re-

quire critical care. The harsh reality is thatmostfromthelastgroupwillnotgetthecaretheyneed.Wecannot fixdecadesofneglectwhile in the throesof apandemic.

(DrSatchitBalsari is assistantprofessor inEmergencyMedicineand inGlobalHealthatHarvardUniversity’smedicalandpublic

health schools.DrZarirUdwadia isConsultantChest

Physician,PDHindujaHospital&MedicalResearchCentre,Mumbai)

Satchit Balsari &ZarirUdwadia

@ieExplained#ExpressExplainedIf there are questions of current or contemporary relevance that youwould likeexplained, pleasewrite to explained@indianexpress.comE EXPLAINED

THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY, JULY2,2020

If you are infected: demystifying Covid-19 care

How a coronavirusdeath has rekindleddebate on weight ofsumo wrestlers

AHuaweistore inBeijing,onWednesday.AP

EXPOSURE

HaveCovidDon’thaveCovid

Asymptomatic SymptomaticPre-symptomatic

Mildsymptoms OtherShortnessofbreath

Highflowoxygen Pronation VentilationPharmaceuticals

TOP 10STATES

INDIA COUNT: 5,85,493 (17,400 DEATHS)

1,74,761Maharashtra

90,167Tamil Nadu

18,014Rajasthan

23,492 UP

87,360 Delhi

32,557Gujarat

18,559West Bengal

14,548Haryana

15,242Karnataka

16,339Telangana

UnionHealthMinistryupdateasof11pm,July1.Somestatesmayhavereportedhighernumbers.Onlystates/UTswithatleastonecaselistedabove.

3,47,979PATIENTSDISCHARGEDIN35STATESANDUNIONTERRITORIES

RESTOFINDIAAndamanandNicobarIslands 97AndhraPradesh 14595ArunachalPradesh 191Assam 8227Bihar 10043Chandigarh 440Chhattisgarh 2860DadraandNagarHaveli 213Goa 1315HimachalPradesh 953JammuandKashmir 7497Jharkhand 2490Kerala 4442Ladakh 973MadhyaPradesh 13593Manipur 1234Meghalaya 52Mizoram 160Nagaland 459Odisha 7065Puducherry 714Punjab 5568Sikkim 89Tripura 1388Uttarakhand 2881

Have a question on the COVID-19 outbreak andwhat you should/should not do?Write to explained@indianexpress.com

CORONAVIRUSDASHBOARD

585,481India

240,578Italy

230,211Iran

314,991United Kingdom

279,393Chile

249,271Spain

2,638,338US

1,402,041Brazil

285,213Peru

TOTAL CONFIRMED: 10,509,749 DEATHCOUNT:512,331Source: JohnsHopkinsUniversity,updatedat11pmonJuly1 . JHU’sIndiatallyandHealth

Ministry’stally(right)maynotmatchastheseareaccountedatdifferenttimes.

THEWORLD653,479Russia

A sumowrestler’saverage intake is7,000to10,000caloriesaday. File

New Delhi

14THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY, JULY2,2020

THEWORLDWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

FOREST FIRES

INDONESIAPROVINCEDECLARESEMERGENCYIndonesia’s third-largest province declared a state of emergency after identifying morethan 700 fires, as the country braces for its annual fire season. The province of CentralKalimantan said the state of emergency will run until Sept 28.

SOUTHASIA

PakistanArmyappointsfirstwomanLtGenPAKISTAN ARMY has pro-moted awoman officer totherankoflieutenantgeneralforthefirsttime,themilitarysaidTuesday.MajorGeneralNigarJohar,whogotthecov-etedpostofathree-stargen-eral,hasalsobeenappointedas the first female surgeongeneralofthePakistanArmy.“Sheis the1st femaleofficertobepromotedasLieutenantGeneral.Theofficerhasbeenappointed as 1st femaleSurgeon General of PakArmy,” the Inter-ServicesPublic Relations DirectorGeneral, Maj Gen BabarIftikhar,tweeted.Johargrad-uated fromArmyMedicalCollege,Rawalpindi, in1985and joined the Army’sMedicalCorps.

LtGenNigarJoharalsobecamePakistanArmy’sfirstfemalesurgeongeneral

TOPOFTHEWORLD

USA

JudgedelaysreleaseofbookbyTrump’snieceDISTRIBUTIONOFatell-allbook by US PresidentDonaldTrump’sniecewasblocked by a judgeTuesday after thePresident’sbrothersaiditspublicationwouldviolatea pact among familymembers, but a pub-lisher’schiefexecutivesaysthebookhasalreadybeenshippedand couldnotbestopped. NewYork stateSupremeCourt JudgeHalBGreenwaldissuedanor-der requiring the niece,Mary Trump, to explainwhy they should not beblocked frompublishingthe book: TooMuch andNever Enough: How MyFamilyCreated theWorld’sMostDangerousMan.

ITALY

‘ISIS-made’drugsseizedinrecordhaulITALIAN POLICE haveseized 14 tonnes of am-phetamines,allegedlypro-duced in Syria by theIslamic State group anddestinedfortheEuropeanillegal drug market.Customs Police Col.Domenico NapolitanocalledthediscoveryofthedrugsintheportofSalernothebiggestamphetamineseizureevermadeworld-wide.Napolitano said thedrug’s production pro-videsISwithvitalrevenue.The amphetamineswerelabelled captagon, thestreet name for a drugwhose chemical base isfenethylline.

REUTERS&PTIHONGKONG, JULY1

HONGKONGpolice firedwatercannonandteargasandarrestedmore than 300 people onWednesdayasprotesters took tothe streets indefianceof sweep-ingsecuritylegislationintroducedbyChinatosnuffoutdissent.Beijingunveiledthedetailsof

themuch-anticipated law lateonTuesdayafterweeksofuncer-tainty,pushingChina’sfreestcityandoneof theworld’smostglit-tering financial hubs on to amoreauthoritarianpath.The United States and the

United Kingdom have con-demnedthemove.BritishPMBorisJohnsonsaid

the new law violated Sino-British Joint Declaration. "Westand for rules and obligationsandwethinkthatisthesoundestbasis of our international rela-tions. The enactment and theimposition of this NationalSecurity Law constitutes a clearand serious breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration. It vio-latesHongKong'shighdegreeofautonomy and is in direct con-flictwithHongKongBasicLaw,"JohnsontoldMPs.US Secretary of State Mike

Pompeo said the United Stateswould not stand idle as China“swallows” Hong Kong into its“authoritarian maw”. Pompeosaidthenewlawwasanaffrontto all nations andWashingtonwould continue to implementPresident Donald Trump’s di-rective to end the territory’sspecial status.In Hong Kong, as thousands

ofprotestersgatheredforanan-

nual rallymarking the anniver-sary of the former Britishcolony’s handover to China in1997, riot police used peppersprayand firedpellets.Police said they had made

morethan300arrests for illegalassemblyandotheroffences.The law punishes crimes of

secession,subversion,terrorismandcollusionwithforeignforceswithupto life inprison,will seemainland security agencies inHongKongforthefirsttimeandallows extradition to themain-land for trial.China’s Parliament adopted

the law in response to protestslast year triggered by fears thatBeijing was stifling the city’sfreedoms,guaranteedbya“onecountry, two systems” formulaagreed when it returned toChinese rule.Hong Kong police cited the

lawinconfrontingprotesters.“You are displaying flags or

banners/chanting slogans/orconducting yourselveswith anintent such as secession or sub-version,whichmayconstituteof-fencesunderthe...nationalsecu-ritylaw,”policesaidinamessagedisplayedonapurplebanner.

THENEWYORKTIMESJULY1

MORETHAN48,000coronaviruscases were announced acrosstheUnitedStatesonTuesday,themostofanydayofthepandemic.Officialsineightstates—Alaska,Arizona, California, Georgia,Idaho,Oklahoma,SouthCarolinaandTexas—alsoannouncedsin-gle-dayhighs.Tuesdaywasthefourthtime

inaweekthat theUnitedStatesposted a new single-day caserecord.The number of newcases in

theUnitedStateshasshotupby80 per cent in the past twoweeks, according toaNewYorkTimesdatabase.More than 4,600 new cases

of the viruswere announced inArizona,byfaritsmostinasingleday, as Vice President MikePenceplannedtotravelthereonWednesday. More than 7,800new cases were announcedacrossCaliforniaandmore than6,800 inTexas.The increase in infections

cameas the leadersof themostpopulous counties in TexaspleadedwithGov.GregAbbottto allow them to issue stay-at-home orders. “We are havinganexperiment, agamble, in thehopes that we can be the firstcommunity that suddenly flat-tens the curve without a stay-at-home order,” said LinaHidalgo, theexecutive inHarrisCounty, which includesHouston, the hardest-hit areaof the state.California’s case count has

explodedinrecentdays—lead-ing the governors of NewYork,New Jersey andConnecticut totell travellers fromCalifornia toquarantine for 14 days, joiningthe ranks of travellers fromother hard-hit states.

DAWITENDESHAWADDISABABA, JULY1

AT LEAST 52 peoplewere killedin Ethiopia’s Oromiya region inprotestsfollowingthefatalshoot-ingofapopularsinger,aregionalspokesman said onWednesday,laying bare splits in the primeminister’s political heartlandaheadofnextyear’spolls.Musician Haacaaluu

Hundeessaa was shot dead onMonday night in what policesaidwasa targetedkilling.Protests reflecting anger at

thekillingofapopularfigureanda sense of politicalmarginalisa-tionbrokeoutthenextmorningin the capital and other townsand cities in the surroundingOromiyaregion.Thedeadincludedprotesters

and members of the securityforces, spokesman GetachewBalcha said. Some businesseshadalsobeenseton fire.Police said late on Tuesday

that a policemanwas also killedinAddisAbaba,andthreeexplo-sionstherehadkilledandinjuredanunspecifiednumberofpeople.Prominent Oromo opposi-

tion leader Bekele Gerba andmediamogulJawarMohammedwerealsoarrestedwhenJawar’s

bodyguards refused to disarmduringastand-offwithpolice.Haacaaluu, whose funeral

will beheldThursday, provideda soundtrack to a generation ofyoung protesters. Their threeyears of bloody street demon-strations forced the unprece-dentedresignationof theprevi-ous prime minister and theappointment of PrimeMinisterAbiyAhmed in2018.REUTERS

LALITKJHAWASHINGTON, JULY1

“IRRESPONSIBLE” AND “erro-neous”media leaksnotonlyun-dermine the position of the USPresident, but also damage theabilityof thenationtocollect in-telligence, theWhiteHouse hassaid,refutingreportsofRussiaal-legedly giving bounties toTaliban-linkedmilitantsforkillingAmericantroopsinAfghanistan.The intelligence assessment

ontheRussianbountieswasfirstreportedbyTheNewYorkTimes.Subsequently, othermediaout-lets also published the report,triggeringacontroversy.“Which allies will want to

share informationwithus if theyknowthatsomerogueintelligenceofficercangosplashthatinforma-tionon the frontpageof amajorUS newspaper?”White HousePressSecretaryKayleighMcEnanysaidonTuesday.McEnanyalsore-futed reports that PresidentDonald Trumpwas briefed ontheissue.“Inthisadministration,we’veseen100criminal leakre-ferrals to the DOJ in 2017, 88 in2018, and 104 on average peryear,”McEnanysaid.PTI

SHEILADANG&KATIEPAULNEWYORK,SANFRANCISCO,JULY1

ADVERTISEMENTS FORmorethan400brandsincludingCoca-Cola and Starbucks are due tovanish from Facebook onWednesday, after the failure oflast-ditch talks to stopaboycottoverhate speechonthesite.UScivilrightsgroupshaveen-

listed themultinationals to helppressure the socialmedia giant

intotakingconcretestepstoblockhate speech in thewake of thedeath of George Floyd and amidanationalreckoningoverracism.Facebook executives includ-

ing Carolyn Everson, vice presi-dentofglobalbusinesssolutions,andNeil Potts, public policy di-rector,heldatleasttwomeetings

withadvertisersonTuesday,theeve of the planned one-monthboycott, three sourceswhopar-ticipatedinthecallstoldReuters.Buttheexecutivesofferedno

newdetails onhowtheywouldtackle hate speech, the sourcessaid. Instead, they pointed backtorecentpressreleases,frustrat-ing advertisers who believethoseplansdonotgofarenough.Facebook Chief Executive

Mark Zuckerberg has agreed tomeetwith the organisers of theboycott, a spokeswoman saidlateTuesday.REUTERS

LARRYNEUMEISTERNEWYORK, JULY1

HARVEYWEINSTEINandhisfor-merstudio’sboardhavereacheda nearly $19million settlementwith dozens of his sexual mis-conduct accusers, New Yorkstate’s attorney general andlawyersinaclass-actionlawsuitsaidTuesday.The agreement was an-

nounced byNewYorkAttorneyGeneralLetitiaJamesandChicagoattorneyElizabethA.Fegan.The deal, if approved by

judges in federal courts, wouldpermit accusers to claim from$7,500 to $750,000 from the

$18.8millionsettlement.The formerHollywood pro-

ducerwas convicted earlier thisyear of rape and sexual assaultagainsttwowomen.Accusationsbydozensofwomenin2017de-stroyedhiscareerandgaveriseto#MeToo,theglobalmovementtohold powerfulmen accountablefortheirsexualmisconduct.The 68-year-old was diag-

nosed inMarchwith the coron-avirus just days after he wasmovedtothestate’smaximumse-curityWendeCorrectionalFacilitynearBuffalo tobegin servinghis23-yearprisonsentence.AP

Mississippi dropsConfederatesymbol from flagEMILYWAGSTERPETTUSJACKSON,JULY1

WITHAstrokeof the governor’spen,Mississippiisretiringthelaststate flag in the US with theConfederate battle emblem—asymbolcondemnedasracist.Republican Governor Tate

Reeves signed the historic BillTuesday at the Governor’sMansion,immediatelyremovingofficial status for the 126-year-oldbannerthathasbeenasourceofdivisionforgenerations.“Thisisnotapoliticalmoment

tome but a solemn occasion tolead our Mississippi family tocome together, to be reconciledand tomoveon,” Reeves said onlive TV just before the signing.“Wearearesilientpeopledefinedbyourhospitality.Weareapeo-pleofgreatfaith.Now,morethanever,wemust lean on that faith,put our divisions behindus, anduniteforagreatergood.”AP

Mississippi’swasthe lastUSstate flagwiththeConfederateemblem.AP

Over 300arrested in Hong Kong’sfirst protest under newsecurity law

RALLIESONANNIVERSARYOFHONGKONG’S 1997HANDOVERTOCHINA

UKsayslawbreachesSino-BritishJointDeclaration;USsayswon’tstandidleasChina‘swallows’HK

HongKongprotestersgesturewith five fingers, signifyingtheir“Fivedemands—notone less”slogan,Wednesday.AP

New coronaviruscases in US up 80%in past two weeks

Asoldiercarriessamplesfrompatients inBamako,Timbuktu,Mali.AP

Covid-19 casesmount in remoteTimbuktu

BABAAHMEDTIMBUKTU, JULY1

HARANDANE TOURE startedtakingmalariapillswhenhefirstspiked a fever but as the dayspassedhisillnessonlyworsened.Doctors ultimately told him

he was among the hundredsnow infected with the coron-avirus in this town long fabledfor being inaccessible from therestof theworld.There are no commercial

flights to Timbuktu, whose re-mote location in the SaharaDeserthaslongmadethetown’snamesynonymouswiththeendsof the Earth. Health officials saythe global pandemic hasman-aged to reach here all the same.Alreadytherearemorethan500cases including at least ninedeaths,making itMali’s largestoutbreakoutsidethecapital.At the localhospital, acluster

of tents set up outside nowhouses 32 Covid-19 patients.There isn’t a single ventilatoravailable.Temperaturesregularlysoar above 45 degrees Celsius,addingto thepatients’miseryastheybattle fever.AP

Facebook frustrates advertisers asboycott over hate speech kicks off

Zuckerberghasagreedtomeettheorganisersof theboycott

Harvey Weinstein reaches tentative$19-million deal with his accusers

Hewasconvictedearlier thisyearof rapeandsexualassaultagainst twowomen

‘Irresponsible’media leaksdamage abilityto collect intel:White House

52 killed in Ethiopiaprotests followingsinger’s fatal shooting

HaacaaluuHundeessaaintraditionalcostumelastyear.ThemusicianwasshotdeadMondaynightinwhatpolicesaidwasatargetedkilling.

7-DAY VOTE ON CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES THAT COULD SEE PUTIN IN POWER TILL 2036 COMES TO AN END

Even as Russians vote in elaborate referendum, its outcome is preordainedANDREWHIGGINSMOSCOW,JULY1

THEOUTCOMEofRussia’sseven-daynational plebiscite, intendedto keep President Vladimir V.Putininpoweruntilatleast2036,isallbutcertain:PutinwillgetthenumbersheneedsafterafinaldayofvotingonWednesday.Lessclear,however,iswhyhe

even needs voters to approve araft of constitutional amend-mentsthat,alreadyapprovedbythe national parliament inMoscow and regional legisla-turesacrossthecountry,entered

into lawmonthsago.“From a juridical point of

view, this whole exercise is in-sane,” saidGregBYudin, a soci-ologist and political theorist attheMoscowSchoolofSocialandEconomic Sciences. But, headded,“it isnotatallameaning-lessprocedure,”becauseRussia’ssystemunderPutindependsonthe appearance of popular sup-port to confer legitimacyonde-cisionshehasalreadymade.“It istheatre,butveryimpor-

tantandwell-playedtheater.Thesystemneedstostagedisplaysofpublic support even when itdoesn’thaveit,”Yudinsaid.“This

vote isputtingPutin’s theatricaltechniques to the test.”Inafinalmelodramaticflour-

ishonTuesday,Putinaddressedthenationagainst thebackdropofmonumentstoSovietsoldierskilledfightingNaziGermany,as-suring voters that their voicesmattered, no matter that thescores of amendments theywerebeingaskedtovoteonhavealready been enacted and theamendedconstitutionhasbeenpublishedand isonsale inbookstores. “Thevoiceof eachof youis themost important, themostsignificant,”Putin said.Voterscould, intheory,reject

theamendments,andPutinhaspledged to honour their deci-sion.Butthechancesofthathap-pening areminuscule, not leastbecauseofwhatGolos, an inde-pendentelectionmonitoringor-ganization, described onTuesday as an electoral processrigged fromthestart.Golos said the vote, unfairly

skewed by a noisy one-sidedpropagandacampaignbystate-controlled media and blatantpressurefromasprawlinggalaxyof state-funded companies andorganisations,does“notallowustotalkseriouslyaboutthepossi-bilityofthewillofthepeoplebe-

ingexpressed.”The state’s vast reachand re-

sourceshaveallowedit tomobi-lize people like LyudmilaSavinkina, the editor in chief ofYegoryevsk Today, a small statetelevisionstationinatownsouth-eastofMoscow.Inarecordingob-tainedbyGolos, sheorderedherstaffnotonlytovotebuttomakesure they voted in the town ofYegoryevsk, no matter wheretheyareusuallyregistered.(Localofficials risk losing their jobs ifthey fail tomobiliseenoughvot-ers intheirowndistricts.)Forthosewhodisobeyed, the

editor toldher staff, therewould

beconsequences.Those,shesaid,“mayvary, I’m justwarningyou.And this concerns both you andme. Iwill not even explain it toyou. Everyone can lose jobs,bonuses—and this amid apan-demic,whenmanypeople havealreadylosttheirjobs.”Savinkinadidnotrespondtotelephonecallsseekingcomment.For weeks, a long parade of

prominent Russians who de-pendon the state for their posi-tions and income—fromactorsandmusicianstothepatriarchoftheRussianOrthodoxChurch—haveparadedacrossstatetelevi-sionurgingpeople tovote.NYT

PutinaddressesRussiansamidthereferendumonconstitutionalamendments.Reuters

Whynew lawwillworryTaiwan

CHINA’SSWIFTpas-sageofthesecuritylawthatthreatensHongKong’sautonomywillbeworryingtoTaiwan,whichhassofarheldoffBeijing’sattemptsatpersuad-ingittowardsunification.Withthere-electionofpro-in-dependencePresidentTsaiIng-weninTaiwan,Chinahassteppedupflightsofmilitaryaircraftintotheisland’sair-space,andalsowarneditagainstprovidingasylumtoactivistsfromHongKong,ac-

cordingtoaNewYorkTimesreport.AsChinatakesamoreaggressivestanceintheregionamidtheCovid-19pan-

demic,Taiwan’sworriesarefurthercompoundedbyun-certaintyregardingUSsupportunderTrump.FormerUSNSAJohnBoltonsaysinhisnewbookthatTrumprepeatedlydismissedTaiwan’ssignifi-canceincomparisontoChina.TheUSPresidentisalsotryingtoholdtogetheramuch-trum-petedtradedealwithChina.

New Delhi

15SENSEX: 35,414.45 ▲ 498.65 NIFTY: 10,430.05 ▲ 127.95 NIKKEI: 22,121.73 ▼ 166.41 HANG SENG: 24,427.19 ▲ 125.91 FTSE: 6,088.55 ▼ 81.19 DAX: 12,111.94 ▼ 198.99

THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY, JULY2,2020

ECONOMYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

GOLD`49,908

RUPEE`75.60

OIL$42.07

SILVER`51,870

Note:Gold, silverratesatspotmarket inDelhi;goldper10g, silverper1kg;Brentcrudeasof2230 IST

Internationalmarketdatatill1900IST

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE EDUCATION AND RESEARCH PUNE(An Autonomous Institution under Ministry of HRD., Govt. of India)Dr. Homi Bhabha Road, Pune - 411 008 l www.iiserpune.ac.in

Advt. No. 29/2020/IISER-P/Rect./01.07.2020 Registrar

For detailed information about emoluments, requirements andsubmission of online application, please visit www.iiserpune.ac.inand click on the link “Opportunities – Technical/Administration”.The last date for submission of online application isJuly 22, 2020.

RECRUITMENT: OFFICE SUPERINTENDENTInstitute invites online applications from Indian nationals havingexcellent academic record for the position of “OfficeSuperintendent”[Level-6,ReservedforOBC (NCL)Category].

ODISHA RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT AGENCYS-3/59, Mancheswar Industrial Estate, Bhubaneswar-751010Phone: (0674) 2588260, 2586398, 2580554, Fax: 2586368

Website : www.oredaorissa.com,E-mail : ceoreda@oredaorissa.com

e-TENDER CALL NOTICENotice No: 2701 Date: 30.06.2020

Tender is invited through e-tender portal from eligible bidders fordesign, engineering, supply, installation, testing, commissioning andacceptance of Rooftop Solar Power System (RSPS) and solar StreetLighting System (SLS) through off-grid mode along with comprehen-sive Operation & Maintenance (O&M) for ten (10) years at variouslocations in the 115 no. of Panchayat Samiti Office premises acrossall 30 district(s).

Details can be seen from the website www.tenderwizard.com/OREDA or www.oredaorissa.com. Further corrigendum, if any, willbe uploaded in these websites only.

Sd/-Chief Executive

Tender Notice No: AMD/WR/ESG(Civil)/Internal & External Painting MIG & Elect/2019-20/148&01Dated: 24/01/2020

GOVERNMENT OF INDIADEPARTMENT OF ATOMIC ENERGY

ATOMIC MINERALS DIRECTORATE FOR EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH1-10-153-156, AMD COMPLEX, BEGUMPET

HYDERABAD - 500016

Director, AMD, DAE, on behalf of the President of India invites online item rate tender (in two bid) throughe-tendering mode from reputed, qualified, experienced, technically and financially sound firms for the workof “ SUPPLY, INSTALLATION, TESTING & COMMISSIONING FOR 1. LAN UPGRADATION: SWITCHES,CABLES, & OTHER PASSIVE COMPONENTS, 2. AMD WAN UPGRADATION: DATA ENCRYPTION SD-WAN,NASSERVER,SFFSERVERWITHMONITOR,NETWORKMANAGEMENTSYSTEM,INTEGRATIONOF DEVICES WITH EXISTING BSNL MPLS BASED VPN ROUTERS, FIREWALLS CONNECTING HQAT HYDERABAD & SIX REGIONAL CENTERS OF AMD AT NEW DELHI, BENGALURU, TATANAGAR,SHILLIONG, JAIPUR AND NAGPUR. WARRANTY WITH ONSITE MAINTENANCE AND SUPPORT FORA PERIOD OF 3 YEARS”. Estimated cost: Rs. 1,54,00,000/-, EMD Rs. 3,08,000/-, completion period 04months, Cost of tender processing fee Rs. 5900/- in the form of e-payment. Detailed tender notice alongwith other documents are available on website: <www.tenderwizard.com/DAE>. Tender documents areavailable for view/download from 02/07/2020 (11:00 hrs) to 15/07/2020 (17:00 hrs). Pre-bid queries from16/07/2020 to 17/07/2020 (17:00 hrs). Date of uploading of pre-bid clarifications on 22/07/2020. Closingof online submission of tender’s upto 17:00 hrs on 25/07/2020. Receipt of hard copies towards EMD etc.upto 15:00 hrs. on 31/07/2020. Opening of online tender (Technical bids) on 04/08/2020 at 15:30 hrs.Financial bids of qualified bidders shall be opened at a later date to be notified separately. Detailed NITis also available on website: www.amd.gov.in for view only. For further clarification, please contact on040-27761159, 040-27776267.

NOTICE INVITING e-TENDERNIT NO.AMD/AMDC/LAN-UPGRADATION/2020-21/T-1 dated 02/07/2020

Tender Notice No: AMD/WR/ESG(Civil)/Internal & External Painting MIG & Elect/2019-20/148&01Dated: 24/01/2020

GOVERNMENT OF INDIADEPARTMENT OF ATOMIC ENERGY

ATOMIC MINERALS DIRECTORATE FOR EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH1-10-153-156, AMD COMPLEX, BEGUMPET

HYDERABAD - 500016

Director, AMD, Begumpet, Hyderabad invites on behalf of the President of India, sealed item rate tender intwo parts (TECHNICAL AND COMMERCIAL) from eligible vendors, for the following work in the permisesof AMD complex, Hyderabad

1) Sale of Tenders: 02.07.2020 to 10.07.2020 on working days only up to 17:00 Hrs.2) Dates for Site visit: 02.07.2020 to 10.07.2020 (Please note that site visit is mandatory)Tender documents: Tender Documents can be obtained in person or by post from Incharge AMDC, AMD,Complex, Begumpet, Hyderabad 500016, (Phone No. 040-27761159, 040-27776267) on any workingday from 02.07.2020 to 10.07.2020 on submission of required documents as per eligibility criteria givenin detailed NIT at cost of Rs. 500/- (Postal charges Rs. 100/- extra) by non-refundable crossed demanddraft, drawn on any nationalized/ Scheduled bank in favour of the Pay & Accounts Officer, AMD payableat SECUNDERABAD. Cheques/ Bank Gurantees/ Postal Orders will not be accepted. For downloadedTenders, Cost of Tender and documentary evidence in support of eligibility criteria should be submittedalong with the Technical bid.For further details and eligibility criteria, please refer to the Notice Inviting Tender available in AMD’s websitehttps://www.amd.gov.in. The tender Documents will also be available for downloading from the AMDwebsite from 02.07.2020 to 10.07.2020.

NIT NO. AMD/AMDC/LANWAN/AMC/2020-21/1 DATE: 02.07.2020BRIEF TENDER NOTICE

Earnestmoney(In INR)

12600/-

Last Date ofSubmission

14/07/2020(15:00 Hrs)

Estimatedjob value (InLaksh INR)

6.3

SCOPE OF WORK

Comprehensive AnnualMaintenance Contract of :1) AMD-LAN (VLAN) 320nodes atAMDHyderabad, 2)Secured LAN (intranet) 100Nodes at AMD Hyderabad,3) AMD-WAN (wide areaNetwork) comprising of VPNequipment (Including Rout-ers) inter connecting AMDHeadquarters, Hyderabadwith SIX Regional Centres ofAMD viz, New Delhi, Jaipur,Nagpur, Shillong, Tatanagarand Bangalore.

TenderNo.

NIT NO.AMD/AMDC/LANWAN/AMC/

2020-21/1Date:

02.07.2020

Period ofcompletion

1 YEAR

Date andTime ofOpeningof part 114/07/2020(15:30 Hrs)

AASHISHARYANNEWDELHI,JULY1

INDIA’SDEPENDENCEon“foreignappswhichhaveall agenda for avariety of reasons must stop,”Union Electronics and Infor-mationTechnologyMinisterRaviShankarPrasadsaidWednesday.“Inthewakeofthebanwhich

wehave imposed ... I don’twanttogointothedetailsofit...emerg-encypowershavebeenexercisedandthelegalprocesseshavebeenfollowed. But I think it is a greatopportunity for goods and appsmadebyIndians,”hesaidatavir-tualconferencetomarkfiveyears

ofthecompletionofDigitalIndia.Prasad also requestedNass-

compresidentDebjaniGhoshandInfosys’ non-executive chairmanNandanNilekani,whowerepres-entattheconference,toencoura-gestartupsandindividualswhichmadesuchapps.TheMinistry of Electronics

andInformationTechnologyhadMondaybanned59apps,includ-ingpopular ones of Chinese ori-ginlikeTikTokandShareIt,basedoninformationthattheywereen-gaged in activities “prejudicial tosovereignty and integrity”, de-fence,securityandpublicorder.

Full report onwww.indianexpress.com

‘Dependence on foreign appswhich have agenda must stop’

BRIEFLYCarlyletobuystakeinAirtel’sdatacentrebizNew Delhi: Carlyle Groupsaid itwillacquireabout25percentstakeinAirtel’sdatacentrebusiness,NxtraData,for$235million.

Pricefixing:USDoJchargesGlenmarkNew Delhi: GlenmarkPharmaceuticals Inc, USA,was charged for conspiringto fix prices for genericdrugs,theUSDepartmentofJustice said Tuesday. AGlenmark spokespersonsaid, “Westronglydisagreewith the charges being ad-vancedby the Federal gov-ernmentanddonotbelievethe evidence supports thegovernment’scase”.

VaidyatakesoverasIOCChairmanNewDelhi:ShrikantMadhavVaidyaWednesdaytookov-erasChairmanof IndianOilCorporation(IOC),succeed-ingSanjivSingh,whosuper-annuatedonJune30. PTI

SeniorLICofficialtakeschargeNewDelhi: LIC saidDineshBhagat has taken charge asAdditionalZonalManagerofNorthernZone,whichcom-prises Delhi, Haryana,Himachal Pradesh, Jammu& Kashmir, Leh, Punjab,RajasthanandChandigarh.

`2crfromJSPLtoChhattisgarhCMReliefFundNew Delhi: Jindal Steel &Power Ltd (JSPL)Mondaysaid itdonatedRs2croretotheChhattisgarhChiefMini-ster Relief Fund tohelp thestatebattleCOVID-19. ENS

Makers, importers of pulse oximeters, oxygenconcentrators asked to submit pricing dataENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,JULY1

ASTHEdemandforpulseoxime-ters and oxygen concentratorssurge in thewakeof the pande-mic,theNationalPharmaceuticalPricingAuthority (NPPA)hasdi-rectedmanufacturers and im-

portersof theseproducts to sub-mit pricingdata. Themoveaimsto ensure that people seeking tobuy these items at this time arenotfleecedintheprocess.As per some industry execu-

tives,therehavebeeninstancesofhike in prices of these productsduetoariseindemandandocca-sional shortage insupply. Stating

thatmaximumretailprices(MRP)of medical devices cannot behiked over 10per cent in a year,NPPAsoughtinformationonMRPdetails of pulse oximeters andoxygen concentrators, a copy ofthenotificationwhichThe IndianExpresshasviewedstated.

Fullreportonwww.indianexpress.com

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,JULY1

THE WORLD Bank’s Board ofExecutiveDirectorshasapproveda$750millionMSMEEmergencyResponse program to supportfunding to micro, small, andmediumenterprises(MSMEs),se-verelyimpactedbytheCOVID-19pandemic.The programmewill help in

improving funding capacity ofsmall finance banks (SFBs) andnon-bankingfinancialcompanies(NBFCs)fortheMSMEsector.TheWorldBanksaidthispro-

grammewill address the imme-diateliquidityandcreditneedsofsome1.5millionviableMSMEstohelp themwithstand the impactof the current shock andprotectmillions of jobs. The loan has amaturity of 19 years including afive-yeargraceperiod.

World Bank to give $750 mnfunding support to MSMEs

New Delhi: Insolvency profes-sional entities (IPE)will nowbeable to provide support servicesto any all insolvencyprofession-als(IP)handlingacorporateinsol-vency resolutionprocess (CIRP),asper anotificationby the insol-vencyregulatorWednesday.IPEs assist IPs in carrying out

theirresponsibilitiesinmanagingtheCIRP, including collating clai-

msofcreditorsandpreservingthegoingconcernstatusandthevalueofassetsof thecorporatedebtor.Experts said the move will

boost the business of IPEs andhelpdevelopmentofmoreIPEstosupport IPs aswell ashelp insol-vencyprofessionalstotakeonas-signmentswith the support ofIPEsthatwouldotherwisenotbeabletotakeup. ENS

IPEs can give support servicesto insolvency professionals

‘Manufacturing index still in contraction mode in June’Mumbai: India’smanufacturingactivitysurgedsharplyinJunebutcontinuedinthecontractionmodefor a third straightmonth asde-mandandoutput suffered fromthreemonths of lockdowns toquellthespreadofthecoronavirus.

At47.2 in June, the seasonallyadjusted IHS Markit IndiaManufacturingPMIIndexsurgedfrom30.8inMay.Areadingbelow50 indicates contraction.Despitetherise,thelatestreadingpointedtoa thirdsuccessivemonthlyde-

clineinthehealthofthemanufac-turing sector, albeit one thatwasfar softer than registered inAprilandMay, itsaid.PMIfell to27.4inApril from51.8 inMarch, its low-est reading sincedata collectionbeganover15yearsago. ENS

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,JULY1

GOODSANDServices Tax (GST)collectionintheApril-Junequar-terdeclined41percenttoRs1.85lakhcrore,datareleasedfromtheFinanceMinistry onWednesdayshowed.While themonth-on-monthcollectionsshowedapickup in June, rising to Rs 99,940crore, from a record low of Rs32,394crore inApril inwhatcanbe seen as a sign of greater eco-nomic activity amid easing oflockdown for COVID-19, the re-coverycouldalsobepartlyattrib-uted to delayed payments frompreviousmonths as deadlines

wereextended,officialssaid.Finance and Revenue

SecretaryAjay Bhushan Pandeysaid that 70-80 per cent of theJunecollectionwouldhavecomefromtransactionsinMay.“Wearedoing that exercise to find outfromtheavailabledatabutmyes-timateisthat70-80percentoftheJunecollectionwouldhavecomefromtransactionsinMay,”hetoldTheIndianExpress.TheFinanceMinistryinitsre-

leasesaidtherevenueshavebeenimpacted due to the pandemicandrelaxationinreturnfilingandtaxpaymentdeadlines.“Therev-enues during the financial yearhasbeenimpactedduetoCOVID-19,firstlyduetotheeconomicim-

pact of the pandemic and sec-ondlyduetotherelaxationsgivenbytheGovernmentinfilingofre-turnsandpaymentoftaxesduetothepandemic.However,figuresofthe past threemonths show re-covery inGST revenues,” the re-leasesaid.InApril,whichreflectsGSTrev-

enues for sales inMarch, theGSTrevenuedeclined71.6percent toRs32,294crore.InMay,thecollec-tionswere recordedatRs62,009crore, a decline of 38.2 per centover the same period last year,while in June, the collectionsde-clined9percenttoRs90,917crore.“The government collected

gross#GST revenueof Rs90,917croreinJune2020,whichis91per

cent of the collections in June2019,”Office of FinanceMinisterNirmalaSitharamantweeted.DetailedbreakupforGSTcol-

lections raised in various statesshowedthatmoststatesrecordedadeclineinGSTcollectionsinJune.However, states such as Punjab,Chhattisgarh,Madhya Pradesh,Bihar,AndhraPradesh,Telangana,Karnatakaalongwithnortheast-ern states of Assam, Sikkim,Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura,NagalandandArunachalPradeshrecorded growth inGST collec-tionsinJuneoverlastyear.Taxexperts saideven though

GSTcollectionshavedeclined forthequarter, signsof recoveryarethereinJune.

MONTH-ON-MONTHRISE INJUNECOLLECTIONONPICK-UP INBIZACTIVITIES,DUES

PRABHARAGHAVANNEWDELHI,JULY1

THENATIONALPharmaceuticalPricingAuthority (NPPA)hasde-cided to allowpharmaceuticalcompaniestoincreasethepriceofessentialbloodthinnerheparinby50percentuntilDecember,citingshortages and rising costs of therawmaterialsfromChinausedtomake it here. Thepricehike alsocomesasheparinwasamongsev-eral drugs flaggedby theHealthMinistry as essentialmedicinesthat needed to remain in stockwhilethecountrybattledtheon-goingCOVID-19pandemic.Meanwhile,otherpharmaceu-

tical companies have also ap-proachedthedrugpricingwatch-dog seeking price increases forvariousotheressentialmedicineslikeparacetamolformulationsandantibioticsonsimilargrounds,TheIndianExpresshaslearnt.Thedevelopmentalsocomes

atatimewhentensionsbetweenIndiaandChinahavebeenontherise.While therehadbeen issueswithdelayed clearances of con-signments fromChina at Indianportsoverthelastfortnight,ship-mentsofpharmaceuticalproductshave begun to get released thisweek, as per PharmaceuticalsExportPromotionCouncilofIndiaChairmanDineshDua.TheNPPAhadreceivedappli-

cationsfrom“several”companieswithmajormarket share of he-parin injections seeking an up-wardpricerevision.Indoingso,the

firmshadsubmittedthatthecostoftheheparinsodiumactivephar-maceutical ingredient (API)usedtomake thedrughad risen “to aconsiderable extent”,making it“entirely unviable” for them tocontinuemanufacturingit.Thecostsof theAPIconstitute

a“major”portionoftheinputcostforthedrugandtheAPIis“mainlyimported fromChina,” the firmshadsubmittedtoNPPA,accordingtoanotificationdatedJune30.“TheAuthority furthernoted

thatHeparininjection5000IU/mlhas also been included in list ofmedicineessentialforpatientsad-mittedinICUandHospitalizationdue to COVID-19 circulated byMinistry of Health & FamilyWelfare.Uninterruptedsupplyofsuchmedicines is essential formanagementofCOVID-19,”statedtheminutes of NPPA’s June 22Authoritymeeting. “Further, re-ports of shortagehavealsobeenreceivedforHeparinInjection.”TheIndianExpresshasreviewedacopy

oftheminutes.A committee headed by

Central Drugs StandardControlOrganisationjointdrugcontrollerDrSEswaraReddyhadinformedtheAuthoritythattherehasbeena211percentincreaseinthepriceof heparin’sAPIwhencomparedto the base year of September2018,accordingtotheminutes.Asperpharmaceuticalassoci-

ations, API costs imported fromChinaandusedtomakeessentialmedicinesherehaveonaveragerisen20-35percentinthelast3-6months,withamajorityoftherisebeingbrought induring thepan-demic.Antibioticazithromycinhasseena“substantial”increaseinAPIcosts,asperIndianPharmaceuticalAlliance Secretary GeneralSudarshanJain. Paracetamolprod-ucts, as per IndianDrugManu-facturers Association SecretaryGeneralDaaraBPatel,havealsoex-periencedsimilarhikes.

Full report onwww.indianexpress.com

ENSECONOMICBUREAUMUMBAI, JULY 1

THE RESERVE Bank of India(RBI) on Wednesday said thegovernment has approved ascheme for non-banking fi-nance companies (NBFCs) andhousing finance companies(HFCs) to improve their liquid-ity position and avoid any po-tential systemic risks to the fi-nancial sector throughaspecialpurpose vehicle (SPV).As per the government de-

cision, SBI Capswhich is a sub-sidiary of the State Bank ofIndia has set up an SPV (SLSTrust) to manage this opera-tion. “TheSPVwillpurchasetheshort-term papers from eligi-bleNBFCsandHFCs,whichwillutilise the proceeds under thisscheme solely for the purposeof extinguishingexisting liabil-ities,” the RBI said.According to theRBI, the in-

struments will be CPs andNCDswith a residualmaturityof notmore than threemonthsand ratedas investment grade.“The facility will not be

available for any paper issuedafter September 30, 2020 andthe SPV would cease to makefresh purchases afterSeptember30,2020andwouldrecover all dues by December31,2020orasmaybemodifiedsubsequently under thescheme,” it said.

TAX RATES that are lower thanrevenue neutral levels, coupledwith the sluggish economicgrowth,haveendedupimpactingrevenues, Finance SecretaryAJAY BHUSHAN PANDEY said,addingtherearenointrinsicstruc-tural issueswith the indirect taxregime. In an interview withAANCHALMAGAZINE, Pandey,who holds charge as RevenueSecretary,saidraterationalisation,correctionofinverteddutystruc-ture have beendiscussed in theGST Council and the decisionsabout thesewill be taken in thenext8-9months.Editedexcerpts:

Howdoyouseeresolvingthedeficitinthecompensationcessfund?Taxcollectionsarereflectiveof

tax rate andeconomicactivity inthe country. In the pre-GSTregime,onanaverage,mostitemswere sufferinga tax rateofmorethan 31 per cent. The revenueneutralratewasdecidedat17-18per cent, but today the averageGST rate is 11-12per cent.Manyitemsare exempted.Most itemsareatalowertaxratethanearlier.Yet,averagemonthlycollectioninthefirstyearofGSTwasRs89,000crore, in the secondyear it cametoaroundRs97,000croreandlastyear itwasmore thanRs 1 lakhcrore. This isdespite the fact thattheratesonmanyitemswerere-duced in the first, second, andthirdyear.Also, in FY20 (July-

September),therewaslowereco-nomicactivity,eventhenaveragetaxrevenuelastyearwasRs1lakhcrore.Lastyear,theFY20nominalGDPgrowthratewas7.5percentbut thedomesticGST collection,leaving aside the import part asGDPgrowthand taxgrowth canbecomparedondomesticcollec-tion,wasaround9percent—bet-terthanGDPgrowth.Thepercep-tion that GST revenue has notgrown,thusleadingtoacompen-sationgapisnotcorrect.What onehas tounderstand

is thatthecollectionisdowndue

to rates that are lower than rev-enueneutralrates.Alsoduringlastyear and this year, the slump ineconomic activity is reflected inGSTcollection.Inthecurrentsitu-ationifGSThadnotcome,wouldtheVAT revenuehave grownby14percent?So,therefore,itisnotcorrect to infer that because ofGST,revenuehasdeclined.Thewayweareusingdataan-

alytics to target thosewhoare atthefringeofthelaw,thecollectionhasbeenandwillbehigher thanGDPgrowth.However,inCOVID-19situationifthecollectionislessthan14percentgrowthrate,thenthequestion ishowtobridgethecompensationgap.Theanswerisin theGSTCompensationAct it-self,whichsaysthatthecompen-sationwouldbepaidoutfromthecompensationfundandthesolu-tion has to be found by theGSTCouncil,whichdiscussed this inthelast2-3GSTCouncilmeetings.TheGSTCouncilwill takeappro-priatedecisionsonthis.

Isoneoftheoptionsonthetableaboutlessthan14percentgrowthrateasisinthecompensationlaw?Itwillbeveryprematureforme

tosaywhatGSTCouncilwilldecide.

Puttingitanotherway,inretrospect,was14percenttoohighanaskingrateforcompensation?Supposing the economyhad

grown at 12 per cent, then ofcourse, 14 per centwas achiev-able.Butsupposingtheeconomygrowsonly at say5per cent or 6percent,thenofcoursethe14percent(ishigh).Say,thegrowthwas

happeningat12percentandiftheGSTcollectionsweregrowingat5percent,thenitwouldhavebeenacauseofworryandmeantsomeGST implementation problem.But as long as GST collection isgrowingatahigherrate thantheeconomicgrowth, then itmeansthat the problemdoesn’t lie somuchintheGSTimplementationandthenitisonaccountof lowereconomicgrowth.And, thenonehas to look for certain solutionsthat howdowemanage till theeconomy picks up, what is thekind of solutionswhich peoplecanarrive at andall those thingswill be looked at by the GSTCouncil.

Inthisyear,goingforward,whatcouldbethetopreformsunderGSTinthecomingsixmonths?Wehave to improve the tax-

payers’ experiences, if there areproblems, however small itmaybe, itmaybe affecting even onetaxpayer,wehave to ensure thathealsogetsassmoothanexperi-enceasanyoneelse...andforthatwe are constantlyworkingwithInfosys.Onthelargerpolicyquestions,

suchasinverteddutystructure,orraterationalisation,thegoodthingis that over the last fewmonths,several groupshavebeenconsti-tuted under the GST Council.Those discussions are going on.Somedecisionshavebeen takenandmoreandmoredecisionswillgettakenaswegoforward.Thisisa continuous exercise andhope-fullywithinthenext8-9months,manysuchdecisionswillbetaken.

Includingraterationalisation?This is something beingdis-

cussed. TheentireGSTCouncil isvery sensitive to theneedsof theindustryandaccordinglytheytakeanappropriatedecisionwhetheritisraterationalisation,orinverteddutystructureorwhetheritis fur-thersimplification.

Full interviewonwww.indianexpress.com

E●EXPLAINED

GSTCOLLECTIONonamonth-on-monthbasishas,however,shownare-covery,partlyduetopickupineconomicactiv-ityandoverduepay-mentsfrompreviousmonths.Revenuetrendincomingmonthswillbecrucialforthegovern-menttobeabletomeetitsexpenditurealongwithcompensationpay-mentstostates.

Revenuetrendtobekey

Down41%inApr-Jun:GSTmop-uptakesalockdownhit

RBI unveilsliquidityscheme forNBFCs, HFCs

INTERVIEWWITHFINANCESECRETARYAJAYBHUSHANPANDEY

‘Collection is down due to levies lowerthan revenue neutral rates, wrong toinfer revenue has declined due to GST’

Rising costs of raw materials from China: NPPAto allow pharma cos to raise heparin price by 50%

AMIDTENSIONS, INDIA&CHINAHAVEBEENBLOCKINGCONSIGNMENTSATTHEIRRESPECTIVEPORTS

ThecostsoftheAPIconstitutea“major”portionoftheinputcostforthedrugandtheAPIis“mainlyimportedfromChina,”thefirmshadsubmittedtoNPPA

New Delhi

NITINSHARMA&SHAHIDJUDGECHANDIGARH/MUMBAI,JULY1

Newly-crownedPremier LeaguechampionsLiverpool travel to Etihad Stadium onThursdaynighttotakeonsecondinthetableManchesterCity,title-holdersforthelasttwoseasons. As is the custom, Pep Guardiola’steamwillgivetheRedsaguardofhonourbe-forekick-off.Eventhoughtherewillbenofansinattendanceatthevenue,it’sboundtomakeevery Liverpool fan’s heart swellwith prideand there are bound to be a few tears of joywhentheywatchtheendof their30-year ti-tledroughtfromafar.KenSkupski, a former top50men’s dou-

bles tennis player, was just seven whenLiverpoolwonitslastleaguetitle,backin1990.Hedoesn’t remember it, but curiously, has afaint recollection of his hometown club los-ing the 1988-89 title to Arsenal based on aweakerscoringrecord(bothteamsweretiedon76points).“Thathurt,”heoffers.Patrick Newton, another Liverpool resi-

dent,wasjustfourwhenLiverpoolwonwhatis arguably considered themost grippingChampionsLeaguefinalseverplayedin2005.He doesn’t havemuch recollection of thatmatch that he assumes hewatched at hisgrandparents’ home (“Family tradition, towatchallfinalsthere,”heexplains).ItwasonlyafewmonthsafterNewtonhadattendedhisfirstmatchathisfavouriteclub’shomegroundAnfield–aYouthFACuptie.“Myparents prettymuch started taking

metomatcheswhenIwasoldenoughtoleavehome,”hesays.While Skupski andNewtonhave no rec-

ollection of the last time Liverpoolwon theEnglish Football League – the top flight divi-sionuntil thePremier Leaguewas formed in1992 – over in Leeds, 61-year-old SimonPlimleyhadspentjustunderhalfhislifewait-ingtoembracethatold,longlostfeelingagain.That feeling of watching The Reds beingcrownedchampionsofEngland.

Subdued celebrationsAnd so it happened,whenChelsea beat

second-placedManchesterCity, and the ti-tle was secured. Yet this time, precautionsagainsttheCOVID-19pandemicwouldforcethecelebrations tobesubdued– including,

empty stands this Thursday night whenCity’s players give the new champions aGuardofHonour.“Toknowthatwewon’tseeitandthetro-

phyceremonyinperson, thatwewon’tbe inthegrounds toenjoy themoment, it’s a littledisappointing,” saysNewton,who grewuplisteningtostorieshisgrandfatherwouldtellhimof the glory years in the 1970s and 80s,whenthelikesofKennyDalglish,IanRush,BillShankly,BobPaisleyetall ruledtheroost.“The older generation, they’ve seen it,

they’ve experienced it. They knowwhat it’s

like. For (the younger generation) to thinkwe’re finally going to see it, to have ourmo-ment,andnowit’sbeentakenawayfromus.It’saterriblesituationintheworld,sowecan’tcomplain,butyes, it isdisappointing.”Skupski acknowledges that disappoint-

mentaswell.Butthe37-year-oldalsoexudesasenseof relief.“Youhavetoappreciatethefactthereare

things going on bigger than football,” saysthe 2017Wimbledonmen’s doubles quar-terfinalist.“Wehavehadanamazingseasonbutatonepointwealmosthadtoaccepttheseasonwasgoing tobevoid. So tobeable tocomeback to finish offwhatwe started is areliefmorethananything. It’sdisappointingtonotbeinthestadiumbutattheendof theday, we are just super excited to finally getbackonourperch.”

Football getawayWheneverhemanagedtotakeaweekor

twoofffromthetenniscircuit,SkupskiwouldsneakinanoutingatAnfield–includingthe5-

2win over local rivals Everton. Newtonhasgone for all homematches this season eversincehewasemployedbyTheAnfieldWrap–afan-sitethatstartedoffbypublishingpod-casts(includinginterviewswithformerplay-ers Dalglish andKevin Keegan, and currentmanagerJurgenKlopp).Plimley,though,isaveteran.He’sbeengo-

ingforgamessince1969.“In the last five decades, I have seen

Liverpoolwinning three Champions Leaguetitles,atWembley(1978),Paris (1981)andinMadridlastyear,” liststhesexagenarian.“I’vealsowatchedthemplayfourFACupfinalsandfourdifferentleague-titlewinningmatches.”This time though, once the league

restarted behind closed doors in June, thematchexperiencewasdifferent.“I ammissing the camaraderie of fellow

fans–travelling togetheronthebus,havinga pre- and post-match beer together andtauntingtheoppositionfans,”hesays.“Ican’treplicate this at home asmywife was nothappyaboutmemakingalotofnoiseinfrontof the television.”The stadiummay be shut for them, and

visitstothepubs–aregularvenueforbanteramong fans –limited because of the pan-demic. Butwith Liverpoolwinning its firstleague title in 30 years, and 19th overall,meansTheUnbearables(atagLiverpool fansweregivenbyrivalfans,butonethattheyem-bracedcitingtheopponentsbeing‘jealous’oftheclub’s achievements)nowholdbraggingrights.Andafterthethree-decadewait,there’sa long listof rival fans the ‘torture’will be re-paid to–which includes, inSkupski’s list,hisformer doubles partner andAndyMurray’scurrentcoachJamieDelgado.“My entire career, I’ve had to listen to

ManchesterUnitedfanstellmehowgoodtheirteamwas and how sad itmust be being aLiverpoolfan,”Skupskisays.“IhavetoadmitIwasenviousoftheirsuc-

cess. The title has beenourneed for too longasother fanshavemockedus for so long.Butnowit’stimeforTheUnbearablestoenjoytheirwonderfulteam.”And he signs off in amanner typical of

Liverpool fans:“YNWA.”You'll NeverWalk Alone. Ironic in these

times.TVGUIDE:ManchesterCityvsLiverpool,

liveonStarSportsNetworkandHotstarfrom12.45am(Thursday)onwards.

16THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY, JULY2,2020

SPORTWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

VolLXXXVIIINo.201Regd.No.DL-21046/03-05

R.N.I.No.506/57. PrintedandPublishedbyR.C.Malhotraonbehalf of The IndianExpress (P) LimitedandPrintedatThe IndianExpress (P) LimitedPress,A-8, Sector-7,Noida -201301andPublishedatThe IndianExpress (P) Limited,MezzanineFloor, ExpressBuilding, 9&10,BahadurShahZafarMarg, NewDelhi-110002. Editorial office:The IndianExpress (P) Limited,MezzanineFloor, ExpressBuilding, 9&10,BahadurShahZafarMarg, NewDelhi-110002. Phone:0120-6651500.Advertisingoffice: The IndianExpress (P) Limited,B1/B, Sector -10,Noida -201301. Phone:0120-6651291.Chairmanof theBoard:ViveckGoenka,Chief Editor:RajKamal Jha, Editor:Unni

RajenShanker, Editor (Delhi):RakeshSinha ** **Responsible for selectionofNewsunder thePRBAct. Copyright: The IndianExpress (P) Limited.All rights reserved.Reproduction inanymanner, electronicorotherwise, inwholeor inpart,withoutpriorwrittenpermission isprohibited. The IndianExpress®

Fields of Fanfield RoadTheymaynotbeabletocelebrateatthestadium,butLiverpoolfansarerevellingattheendof the30-yeardrought

Sanga’sstatementsoughtinWCprobeFormer Sri Lanka captain KumarSangakkarahasbeenaskedtorecordhis statement in front of a special in-vestigatingunitoftheSportsMinistryprobingallegationsthatthecountry's2011WorldCupFinallosstoIndiawasfixed, localmedia reportedhere.SriLanka'ssportsministrylastmonthordered an investigation into formersports minister MahindanandaAluthgamage'sallegationthatthena-tional cricket team's loss to India inthe2011WorldCupfinalwasfixedby"certainparties". PTI

RonpowersJuveto3-1winatGenoaCristianoRonaldoscoredwithalong-range rocket on a night when eachJuventus goal wasmore spectacularthantheother ina3-1winat relega-tion-threatened Genoa. Chasing arecord-extendingninthstraightSerieA title, thevictory restored Juventus'four-point lead over Lazio, whichwon 2-1 at Torino earlier Tuesday.Since losing the Italian Cup final toNapoli in a penalty shootout,Juventus has won all three of itsleaguematches in the restart. AP

LivecricketinSAtoresumefromJuly18Thepostponed '3TCricket' competi-tion,whichwouldmarktheresump-tionof livecricket inSouthAfrica fol-lowingthecoronavirus-forcedbreak,willbeheldonJuly18. TheSolidarityCup, which will see 24 of SouthAfrica'stopcricketersfeatureinthreeteamsplaying twohalves in a singlematch,was scheduled to be held onJune27butwaspostponed afterCSAfeltmoreworkwas needed to stageit. The teams that will take part inthematch are the Eagles, to be cap-tainedbyABdeVilliers, Kingfishers,to be led by Kagiso Rabada and theKites, which will have Quinton deKock as skipper. PTI

BRIEFLY

Messiscores700thgoalindrawvsAtleticoLionel Messi scored his 700th career goal for club and country before Atletico Madridcame back to draw 2-2 in the Spanish league and deal Barcelona's title hopes a majorblow. Barcelona's third draw in four rounds left it in second place, one point behindleader Real Madrid. Madrid hosts Getafe on Thursday with a chance to open up a four-point lead with five more matches remaining.

CROSSWORD4159

ACROSS1 Noise interruptsspeech inchurchceremony(10)

8 Girl I careabout(5)

9 Wronglypresumeit’s thehighest (7)

10 Addone’s ringingtones to theconversation?(5,2)

11 Smallpictureaspartof acollection(5)

12 What is left (6)14 Firmforhorses (6)17 Oneof thedamsels Ienjoyholding (5)

19 Ahighpost? (3,4)21 Canhideperhaps, thoughconfinedtoonearea(7)

22 Rosie is inwillowyshape(5)

23 Possiblyagoodtryer?That’s somewhatdisparaging(10)

DOWN2 Attackingagirl indistress(7)

3 Iamontimefor thepicture(5)

4 Agree it looks likewhatwasdespatched(6)

5 I’mthetypetomakeanimpression(7)

6 WhentheDevildrives, theymust (5)

7 Thetopsalesman inprint?(4,6)

8 Official titleof greatmerit(10)

13 Comparativevacuum?(7)

15 Acoal-burningvessel(7)

16 Greyhound?(3,3)

18 Whereonemaysitorget toone’s feet (5)

20 Rod,poleorperch(5)

ARIES(Mar21-Apr20)Moneycouldbethemainregionof lifestillrequiringattention,although

theexcitementshouldbeover.Iamnotaskingyoutobeasaint,butIdothinkthatyoushouldbegintobealittlelessconcernedwithyourownaffairsandmorepreparedtohelpotherswhohavemissedout.

TAURUS(Apr21-May21)Yourchart today iswhatastrologerscall‘exalted’. Thisonewordshouldbe

enoughtoconveytheimpressionthatyouarewellonthewayto improvements in thequalityof your life.Therespectyoudeserve iscoming,andwillbeverygratifyingwhenitfinallyarrives.

GEMINI (May22- June21)There is only onething left to say athomebut, exactlywhat, is not clear

fromyour chart. Havingfitted one last piece into thejigsawyoumaybe able togo your ownway and leavefamily relationships tolook after themselves.Hopefully, other peoplewillnowco-operate.

CANCER(June22- July23)Aplethora ofplanetary patternsprogresses slowlythroughyour

horoscope. As theydo so,youwill becomehappierwithyour ideas andmoresuccessful in setting thepace at home. Youwill alsocookup anewwayofmakingone of yourmajor ambitionscome true.

LEO(July24-Aug23)Prosperity is indeedon theway. It just sohappens that onevery particular

planetary alignment indicatesawell-deserved increase inyour earnings. I earnestly hopethat the promise of the starscomes to pass.What youhave to do, though, is takethe initiative.

VIRGO(Aug24-Sep23)Thedown-to-earthandtheultra-mundanewillbeintricately tiedto the

profoundandthe long-term.Thereforedon’tdismissapparentlymeaninglesspeopleoreventsoutofhand, for theymayeventuallyhavegreatsignificance.Themost trivialdevelopmentsmaywellbe themost important.

LIBRA(Sep24-Oct23)This is thesectionoftheweekduringwhichyoushouldbeginto thinkabout

money.Yoursolarchartdenotesexcellent financial skills, so Ihavenodoubt thatyouarenowpoisedtopickupa fewbargains.Evenwhen selectingpartners,youneedtoshoparound.

SCORPIO(Oct24-Nov23)Sometimesyouareguilty, like anyordinarymortal, ofcrossing the road

andwalkingpastwhenyou see trouble.However, theimpact theSunhashadrecently indicates thatfor thenextmonthyou shouldmakeapoint of helpingpeoplewhoaremuchworseoffthanyou.

SAGITTARIUS(Nov24-Dec22)Thecurrenttendency inyourchart isverymuchtowardsdevoted

hardworkanddedicationtoyourresponsibilities.Evenrelationshipsmustbeworkedat,otherwiseeventswill slipfromyourgrasp.Assoonas thathappens, thenyou’llhavetodealwithcircumstancesthatyouthoughthadbeenfinishedwith.

CAPRICORN(Dec23- Jan20)Wecannot livebybreadalone.Whataremarkably truestatement that is,

andhowamazinglyrelevant toyourcurrentcircumstances. Ifyoukeepyoureyes fixeddoggedly to theground,marvellousopportunitieswillflybyunseen.Raiseyoursightsto theskies.

AQUARIUS(Jan21-Feb19)Onlywhenothershave beenput rightin nouncertaintermswill yoube

able to get yourway at home.However, itmaybe anotherfewdays before youhave thevery genuine satisfaction ofhaving beenproved right.Even then, youmaynotreceive an apology.

PISCES(Feb20-Mar20)Theconcludingscene isabout tobeplayed inoneparticulardrama.

Probablyall that isat stake isaquestionof fact. It allboilsdowntowhoiscorrectbut,asaPiscean,youmustrememberthat truth is relative.Everyonecouldberight, each intheirownway.

SUDOKU4157

DifficultyLevel2sInstructionsTosolveaSudokupuzzle,everydigitfrom1to9mustappear ineachofthenineverticalcolumns, ineachoftheninehorizontalrowsandineachofthenineboxes.

DifficultyLevel1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy;3s=Medium;4s=Hard;5s=VeryHard;6s=Genius S

OLU

TIONSUDOKU4156

Givenbelowarefour jumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemtotherespectivesquaresbelow.Selecttheletters intheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtogettheanswerforthegivenquip.The__ofbecominga‘__-___’keepssomepeoplefrombecominganything.-EricHoffer(4,.,3-4)

SOLUTION:MELEE,ARENA,HASTEN,BEFOREAnswer:Thefearofbecominga‘has-been’keepssomepeoplefrombecominganything.-EricHoffer

LMEEE THANES

ENAAR EEORBF

SolutionsCrossword4158:Across:1Exhale,4Versed,9Sundown,10Tuner,11Rhine,12Concern,13Conscripted,18Ruffian,20Impel,22Cones,23Snooker,24Seemed,25Offset.Down:1Ensure,2Hanoi,3Lioness,5Eaten,6Sincere,7During,8Anachronism,14Offence,15Pairoff,16Cracks,17Claret,19Issue,21Pekes.

JUMBLEDWORDS

OVERTHEHEDGE byMichael Fry&TLewis

CALVIN&HOBBES byBillWatterson

MARVIN byTomArmstrong

DAYTODAY BYPETERVIDAL

SimonPlimley(greyjersey),aregularatLiverpoolgamessince1969,duringthefirst legof theChampionsLeaguesemifinals inMadridlastyear.(Belowleft)KenSkupskiwithhissonTaylorataLiverpoolvsLeicestermatchatAnfield.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEKOLKATA, JULY1

AS SHASHANKManohar stepped down asthe International Cricket Council chairmanonWednesday,hecticparleysareexpectedindifferent cricket boards in the next fewweeks,with aneye tonominatehis succes-sor. It is learnt that the ICC AnnualConference,scheduledinmid-July,hasbeenpostponedindefinitelybecauseofCovid-19.Manohar’ssecondtwo-yeartermwould

havecometoanendat theFullCouncil. Thesenioradministrator,whobecamethe ICC’sfirst independent chairman in2016, hadal-readyannouncedthathewouldn’tbeseek-inga third term.The ICC release said deputy chairman

ImranKhwaja“willassumetheresponsibil-ities of the Chairperson until a successor iselected”. The Board agreed to the ad-hocarrangement when it met today. The ICCchairisusuallyelectedattheFullCouncil,butnowthat it ispostponed, itneeds tobeseenwhat timeline the game’s global body putsout. “The process for the Chairperson elec-tion is expected to be approved by the ICCBoardwithinthenextweek,”theICCstated.WiththeCovid-inducedeconomiccrisis

looming on the horizon, the majority ofcricket boards need the BCCI’s support, es-pecially in terms of playing bilateral series,asabailout.TheBCCI is readytoprovidetheleadership.However,thispaperunderstands,the Indianboardhasn’t yet takenadecisiononwhether to nominate someone from itsfoldor tothrowitsweightbehindaconsen-suscandidate.ComingbacktoManohar,hebecamethe

ICC chief, nominated by the BCCI, inNovember 2015 after the Indian board hadrecalledNSrinivasanandreplacedhimwiththeformer.Nextyear,ManoharquittheBCCIpresidentshiptobecometheICC’sfirst inde-pendentchairman.However,afterjusteightmonthsinoffice,heresignedbuteventuallytookitback.HistenuresawtheICCdisman-tle theBigThreemodel to adopt amoreeq-uitable revenuedistributionsystem. “ThereisnodoubtthatcricketowesShashankadebtofgratitudeforallhehasdoneforthesport,”Khwaja, the ICCdeputychairman, stated.

Manohar stepsdown as ICCchairman

New Delhi