DA ILY FROM: AHMEDABAD , CHAND IGARH , DELH I , JA IPUR , KOLKATA , LUCKNOW, MUMBAI , NAGPUR , PUNE , VADODARA
FRIDAY, MAY 7, 2021, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES `6.00 (`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
MANOJCGNEWDELHI,MAY6
AN IIT graduatewho stumbledintopoliticstotakeupthelegacyof his legendary fatherChaudhary Charan Singh, AjitSinghwould go on to become aconsummate politician whomovedeffortlessly from theBJPto the Congress, and from theSocialists to Communists — asthe situation demanded — tokeeptheRashtriyaLokDal(RLD)relevant above and beyond itselectoral strength.On Thursday, the RLD
supremo,whohadhandedover
the baton to his son JayantChaudhary, passed away inGurgaon due to Covid-19 com-plications, at theageof 82.While never rising to the
heights of Charan Singh, whoservedbrieflyasprimeminister,theaffableandever-smilingAjitSingh ensured that the RLD re-mained a key contender inHindi-beltpolitics—retainingitsfertile support base amongfarmers, cutting across regions.As recently as February, partiesseeking to tap into the farmeranger against the Centre wereknockingatRLDdoors.However,Singhwasoftenac-
cusedofusinghisastutenessand
deal-making skills more forshort-term political survival.And of not allowing ideologicalrigidities to come in theway ashe sought out partners in hislong-nursed dream of a thirdfront.The RLD supremo remained
constrained in this due to hislimitations as a leader, particu-larly when compared to his fa-ther, with his electoral appealnot growing beyondWesternUttarPradeshand,more specif-ically, theMuslim and Jat com-munitiesof the region.Over theyears, Samajwadi Party chiefMulayam Singh Yadav got thebetterofhimandemergedasthe
undisputedsocialistleaderoftheHindibelt.Analumnusof IIT-Kharagpur
and Illinois Institute ofTechnology, Chicago, Singhwasworking intheUSwhenCharanSingh took ill in the early 1980sand suffered a paralytic stroke.With his father hospitalised,Singhreturnedandtookovertheleadershipof theLokDal (as thepartywasknownatthetime) inthemid-1980s,andneverlookedback.InJuly1986,hewaselectedto the Rajya Sabha. Less than ayear later, after Charan Singh'sdeath, Singh took over as presi-dentof theLokDal (A).Singh’s old colleague and
senior JD(U) leaderKCTyagi re-members him as an accidentalpolitician.“AjitSinghwasnotin-terested inenteringpolitics.Butbecause of the unexpected de-miseof his father,hehadto... fillthevacuum.”Around 1988, as several
JanatafactionsincludingtheLokDal (A) merged to form theJanataDal,AjitSinghbecameitspresident.ChandraShekharwasbelievedtohavehelpedhimbe-comethepresidenttocounterVP Singh. However, Singh soonshifted loyalties and joinedhands with V P Singh — in thefirstof hismanysomersaults.In 1989, the Janata Dal won
the Assembly elections in UttarPradesh, and Singhwas toutedtobethechiefministerwithVPSingh'ssupport.However,atthisstage, Mulayam Singh Yadav—whowas to takeoverasDeputyCM— unexpectedly threw hishat in the ring. After much be-hind-the-scenesdramaandpo-litical lobbying, Yadav trumpedSingh in a secret political ballot.SinghcouldnevercatchonwiththeSPchiefafterthatinthestate.WhenVPSinghbecame the
PM after the 1989 elections, hepicked Ajit Singh as IndustryMinister.WithhisfootprintinUPconfined,Singhwouldfromthen
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PAGE1ANCHOR The accidental politician who mastered the art of sharp turns
JOURNALISM OF COURAGESINCE 1932
THEWORLD
USCOVID OUTLOOKREACHESMOSTHOPEFULPOINT YETPOST-BREXIT ROW:FRANCE, BRITAINSENDPATROLBOATSTO JERSEY PAGE 14
THEEDITORIAL PAGE
NEEDANATIONALCOVIDACTIONPLANBYPRATAPBHANUMEHTAPAGE10
Centre sendsteam to WestBengal, asksfor a reportin 48 hours
DEEPTIMANTIWARYNEWDELHI,MAY6
THE HOME Ministry onThursday despatched a teamoffour senior officials to WestBengalonafact-findingexerciseontheviolencethathasfollowedtheAssemblyelectionvictoryoftheTrinamoolCongress.“The team left thismorning
and is likely to begin itswork inKolkatashortly.Ithasbeengiven48hourstocomebackwithare-port,” a HomeMinistry officialsaid.Sourcessaidtheteam,which
is headed by an additional sec-retary-rankofficial,willmeettopofficials of the West BengalPolice, apart from the chief sec-retary and other officers in theadministration.Theteamwillalsovisitsome
places fromwhere violencehasbeenreportedsinceSunday,andspeak to affected families, thesources said.TheHomeMinistryhadwrit-
ten to the state government onWednesday, accusing it of nottakingstepstostemtheviolence,and askedwhy a report soughtby ithadnotbeenreceived.HomeMinistry sources said
the letterhadbeensent toWestBengal Chief Secretary AlapanBandopadhyay, reminding himof theMinistry’sMay3 letter, inwhichhehadbeenaskedtotakeimmediate measures to checkthepost-pollviolence.Theletterhad also asked for a detailed
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Health infrafully exposed,oxygen notonly issue:HC to Delhi:
SOFIAHSANNEWDELHI,MAY6
THEDELHIHighCourtThursdaysaid medical infrastructure inthe national capital has been“completelyexposed”whenputtothetestduringthepandemic,and rejected the Delhi govern-ment’s submission that oxygensupplywas theonly issue ailingitshealthsector.Thecourtsaidthesystemhas
failedbecausepeopledonotde-mandenoughandelectgovern-ments without asking for ac-countability. “Now you are alsobehavinglikeanostrichwiththehead in the sand,” the divisionbench of Justices Vipin Sanghiand Rekha Palli told the Delhigovernment, adding it had ear-lier given a similar response totheCentre.Inseveralhearingsondiffer-
entmattersrelatedtoCovidoverthe last two weeks, the HighCourt has repeatedly pulled upthe central and Delhi govern-ments on a range of issues —fromlackofoxygentonon-avail-abilityof beds.OnThursday, the court's ob-
servations came on a petitionfroma52-year-oldCovidpatient
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MURDERREMARK:MADRASHIGHCOURT’SCENSUREOFEC
HC’s intentwasstrictercompliance…oralobservationsnotpartof judicial recordsonoquestionof expunging:SC
Dissenting EC had offered to quit; pollbody contradicts itself on media gag
ANANTHAKRISHNANGNEWDELHI,MAY6
DAYS AFTER it said it wouldstrike a balance, the SupremeCourt did so Thursday. “Harsh,”and“inappropriate,”washowitdescribed the Madras HighCourt’sremarksthattheElectionCommission of India (ECI)“should be put on murdercharges”for“notstoppingpolit-icalparties”fromviolatingCovidprotocol during their campaignrallies lastmonth.The apex court also under-
linedtheneed“for judges toex-ercisecaution inoff-the-cuff re-marks in open court”. But thebench of Justices D YChandrachud andMR Shah re-jected the ECI’s prayer to directthemedianot to report oral ob-servationsbut onlywhat is partof the judicial records saying:“The freedomof speechandex-pression guaranteed by theConstitution extends to report-ing the proceedings of judicialinstitutionsaswell”.“Balancing the rights” of the
two constitutional bodies, theHC and ECI, the bench said the
former’s “anguish”must beun-derstood in the light of the factthat it “was facedwith a situa-tion of rising cases of Covid- 19and, as a Constitutional Court,was entrustedwith protectingthe life and liberty of citizens”.ThejudgmentsaidthattheHC’soral observationswere not partof any judicial recordandhencethequestionofexpungingthemdoesnotarise.It added that the court’s ob-
servations“wereharsh”and“themetaphor inappropriate”. If theHC, indeed, made the remarks,
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RITIKACHOPRANEWDELHI,MAY6
THE DISSENTING ElectionCommissionerhadofferedtore-sign as “punishment” if theMadras High Court (HC) so de-sired. This was among the keypoints the Commissioner hadmade inhis affidavit, The IndianExpresshas learned.In his affidavit, he is said to
have stated that the court’s oralobservations — on the Election
Commission’sroleinconductingelections during the secondCovidwave—had demoralised
theEC’s rankand file.Urging the court tonot pun-
ish the institution but the indi-vidual, he is said to have re-quested the court to withdrawitsoralobservationsorholdhimpersonally accountable. For thelatter,heofferedtotakepersonalresponsibilityandresign.Butthisaffidavitwasrejected
bytheElectionCommissionandnever filedwith the HC nor at-tached with its Special LeavePetition in the Supreme Court
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SCstrikesbalance:HC remarkswereharsh; freespeech, opencourt key tocitizens’ right to know
PRABHARAGHAVAN&AANCHALMAGAZINENEWDELHI,MAY6
INAmovethatcouldpotentiallyhelp increase production ofCovid-19 vaccines around theworld, the United States onWednesdayannounced its sup-port for waiving intellectualproperty (IP) protections forthesevaccines.Subsequently, the European
Union (EU) agreed to discusssuch awaiver, after having op-posed the proposal made byIndiaandSouthAfrica lastyear.A waiver on IP protections
would mean pharmaceuticalfirmsandvaccinemakersacrosstheworldcanlearnhowtomakethese vaccines without fear oflawsuits from companies thatoriginallydevelopedthem.However, such awaiver can
onlybe enforced if the final pro-posal, whichwill have to be re-worked through discussions, isaccepted by allmembers of theWorldTradeOrganisation(WTO).
“Countries such as Canada,South Korea, and Bangladeshhave all evinced interest in pro-ducing Covid vaccines if theyhave a patent waiver, so weshould utilise whatever globalcapacity is there,” PublicHealth
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Here, nurses are doctors, ward boysare nurses, families are ward boysUPCovidcurvewill shape India’s—The IndianExpress follows itacrosssmall towns
DIPANKARGHOSEMUZAFFARNAGAR,MAY6
AT10.45 inthemorning,next tothegatewithanirongrill,anam-bulance is parkedwith its dooropen.Inside,theCovidpatientislying on his back, an oxygenmask onhis face. Next to him ishis wife, her hand clasping his.Forfiveminutes,thereissilence,thenshoutsoutside.“Wherewillwe take him?” asks a familymember angrily. “What canwedo if there is no space,” a nurseresponds. She turns to the pa-
tient’s wife: “Just don’t let himfall asleep.”It’sareplayoffamiliarscenes
outside Covid isolation wardsacross the country since earlyApril when the second wavestartedwreakinghavoc.Butthen,this is the district hospital ofMuzaffarnagar,inUttarPradesh,astatewhichhasthefourthhigh-estactivecaseloadinthecountrywithover2.6 lakhcases.UP has recordedmore than
7.82lakhinfectionssinceApril1,whichis55percentof thecoun-try'sentirecaseload.And,nearly40 per cent of its death toll of14,151 has been recorded afterApril 1, with high caseloads insmaller towns like Gorakhpur,Bareilly,MoradabadandMeerut.WithMaharashtrastartingto
level off, how the Covid curveplaysoutinUPwilldefineitsna-tional spread. To get a sense ofthis,TheIndianExpresshassetoffon a journey, beginning withMuzaffarnagar inwesternUPtotrack the secondwave in India'smost populous state even asnext-door New Delhi fights abruisingbattle.On April 29, Muzaffarnagar
had 4,719 active cases and anoverall cumulative toll of 163deaths. OnMay 6, it had 4,664active cases — the districtrecorded21deathsonThursdayalone, taking the total to193.Outside thedistrict hospital,
the ambulance staffer, RahulKumar, pulls aside the patient’s
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EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEMUMBAI,MAY6
THE COVID curve in his city onits way down, BrihanmumbaiMunicipal Corporation (BMC)Commissioner Iqbal SinghChahal said that the “Mumbaimodel” could work in othercitiesandstatesonlyif therewashonestyabouttheseverityofthecoronavirusproblem."Twomonths back I used to
get calls frommy colleagues inthegovernmentof India, askingwhy only Maharashtra hasCovid. And theywould laugh atus. If someone is laughing at us,how do I sharemymodel withthem?... When calamity hits,there is no time to learn, don’thave the cushion time to copythosemodels,"hesaidattheIdeaExchange interactionwith TheIndian Express newsroom
Thursday. (A detailed transcriptwill bepublishedMay10.)He said he had attended a
meetingofDelhigovernmentandCentral officials onWednesdaynight, hours after the SupremeCourt told them to “draw fromthe(Mumbai)experience.”
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ASADREHMANLUCKNOW,MAY6
CLOSE TO midnight onWednesday, the Lucknow ad-ministration filedanFIRagainsta city hospital accusing it ofspreading "false rumours" overshortage of oxygen. OnThursday, thehospital adminis-tration, which had put up a no-ticeonMay3askingrelatives totakeawaypatientsas itwas fac-ing oxygen shortage, said itwouldmovetheAllahabadHighCourtover theFIR.
Sun Hospital, located inLucknow's Gomti Nagar area,was declared a Covid facilityaround amonth ago. OnMay3,the 45-bed hospital had 38 pa-tients, with the hospital claim-ing all were on oxygen supportat the time. On Thursday, it had28 Covid patients, with 20 onoxygensupport.The FIR, filed at 11.30 pmon
Wednesday,cameadayaftertheAllahabadHigh Court, during ahearing,calleddeathsduetolackofoxygena"genocide"andmen-tioned the notice put up by
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AWAIVERonIPprotec-tionswouldmeanvac-cinemakersaroundtheworldcanproducethemwithout facing legalac-tionfromcompaniesthatoriginallydevelopedthem.However, suchawaivercanbeenforcedonlyafter theproposal isdebatedat theWTO.
Somedistanceto travel still
Singhat thefarmers’mahapanchayat inBaghpat inFebruary,amonghis lastpublicappearances. Express/File
RelativesofCovidpatientsqueueuptorefilloxygencylinders inMuzaffarnagar.PraveenKhanna
AttheMuzaffarnagardistricthospital.PraveenKhanna
ANEXPRESS SERIES
PART-1
UTTARPRADESH
COVID IN THECOUNTRYSIDE
Lucknow
MUZAFFARNAGAR
1,492APRIL15
4,664MAY6
ACTIVE CASES
US backs IP rightswaiver for Covidvaccines, EU saysready to discuss
DISTRICTMUZAFFARNAGAR
Oxygen notice: Lucknowhospital slapped withFIR, says will move HC
Chahalat thesession
BUSINESS AS USUAL
BYUNNY
CECSushilChandra (left)andECRajivKumar.Express
A J I T S I N G H 1939-2021
BMC chief: If someonelaughs at us, how do Ishare Mumbai modelI toldDelhinohospital shouldbeforcedtoaddbedsovernight:Chahal
New Delhi
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DecodingtheSupremeCourt’sMarathaquotaverdictNEWEPISODEEVERYDAY
Todayonthe3Thingspodcast,wetalkaboutthereasonswhytheapexcourtdecidedtostrikedownthelaw,andtheimplicationsthatitwillhaveforOBCsandthestates.
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Dissenting ECagainst theMadrasHighCourt’s“murder-charges”remark.ThedissentingCommissioner
is also said to have told his col-leaguethatseniorofficialshadnotevencaredtoacknowledgehisin-putsandthathefeltmarginalised.AfterSunilArora’sretirement
asChief ElectionCommissioner(CEC)onApril12,thethree-mem-ber Commission has SushilChandraasCECandRajivKumarasElectionCommissioner.TheIndianExpresshadfirstre-
portedWednesday that thepollpanel’s plea in theMadrasHighCourt to gag themedia fromre-portingoralobservationsofjudgesand its SLP in the topcourtwerenotunanimouslyapprovedbytheCommission.Sosharpwasthedifferencein
opinionbetween the two com-missionersonthismatterthatthedissentingmemberhadwantedtoputhisviewsonrecordinasep-arateaffidavit.OnWednesday, thisnewspa-
perhadalsoreportedthatthedis-sentingCommissionerhadsepa-ratelyadvisedagainstcallingforagagonthemediabuthisfeedbackwas ignored. Reacting to the re-port, the Commission issued astatement saying that it was"unanimous thatbeforeHon'bleSupremeCourt there shouldnotbe any prayer for restriction onmediareporting."However, the EC's Special
Leave Petition (SLP) contradictsthis. In the SLP, theCommissionsaid itwas aggrievedby theoralobservations of theHigh Courtandalsoby the court nothavingaddressedthemeritsofitsmiscel-laneousapplication. In the latter,theEChad,indeed,soughtrestric-tionsonmedia reporting theex-changebetweenthejudgeandthelawyersinopencourt.
IP rights waiverFoundationof India(PHFI)presi-dentProfKSrinathReddytoldTheIndianExpress.Thediscussionon thewaiver
stemsfromabroaderproposalbyIndiaandSouthAfrica, seekingawaiveroncertainconditionsoftheTrade Related Aspects ofIntellectual Property Rights(TRIPS)agreement.The twocountrieshadorigi-
nally asked theTRIPSCouncil torecommendawaiveron the im-plementation,application,anden-forcementof four sectionsof theagreement. However, thesewaivershadbeensoughtoncopy-right-relatedrights,industrialde-signs,patents,andtheprotectionof undisclosed information thatcould impede timely access notonly toCovid-19vaccines, but toaffordablediagnostics, therapeu-tics,andothermedicalproducts.TheUSandEUareamongthe
major countries that have op-posedthisproposalduringdiscus-sionsattheWTOsofar.But with US President Joe
Biden comingunder increasingpressure toback IndiaandSouthAfrica’smove,UnitedStatesTradeRepresentative (USTR)KatherineTai onWednesday announcedthatthecountrywould“actively”participateintext-basednegotia-tionsattheWTOforthispurpose.“TheAdministrationbelieves
strongly in intellectual propertyprotections,butinserviceofend-ing this pandemic, supports thewaiver of those protections forCovid-19 vaccines,” Tai said in astatement.However, the text-basedne-
gotiations “will take time”, giventheconsensus-basednatureoftheWTOandthe “complexityof theissuesinvolved”,shesaid.EuropeanCommissionpresi-
dentUrsulavonderLeyensaidonThursdaythatBrusselswasreadyto“discuss”thisproposal,AFPre-ported. “TheEuropeanUnion isalsoreadytodiscussanyproposalthataddressedthecrisis inanef-fective andpragmaticmanner,”she said in anonline conferencecitedbythenewsagency.Minister for Commerce and
Industry Piyush Goyal said onThursday:“Wewelcome(the)USgovernment supporting this ini-tiativeandjoining120othercoun-triesworking towardsaffordableCovid-19vaccines.”Inarelease,theMinistrysaid:
“Wearehopeful thatwithacon-sensusbasedapproach,thewaivercan be approved quickly at theWTO.Thewaiverisanimportantstepforenablingrapidscalingupofmanufactureandtimelyavail-abilityofaffordableCovid-19vac-cinesandessentialmedicalprod-ucts.”Trade expert Prof Biswajit
DharofJNU'sCentreforEconomicStudies and Planning said theUSTR’sdecisionwas“significant”,since this is the first USAdministrationthathastacitlyac-ceptedtheadverseimplicationsofintellectual property rights onpublichealth.ProfDharadded, “Twoissues
will be extremely important forthewaiver towork out as pro-posed. One, the duration of thewaivershouldbereasonable,andtwo,thereshouldnotbeanylim-itingconditionsattachedonpro-ducerswho seek to take advan-tageofthewaiver.”AWTOexpertsaidthecruxof
the final text is likely to be dis-cussed in an informal modeamongdevelopedcountries liketheUS,EU,andJapan,alongwithsomedeveloping countries, in-cludingIndia.Whilepublichealthactivists,
officials,andexpertshavesaidthelatest developments couldopenuptheproductionofthesepoten-tiallylife-savingjabs,somemem-bersof theindustryhavepointedout that the issue ismuchmorecomplex.The International Federation
ofPharmaceuticalManufacturers&Associations (IFPMA) termedthe move “disappointing”. Awaiver is “the simple but thewronganswer towhat is a com-plexproblem,”theglobalpharmalobbygroup said. Itwas likely todistractfromthe“realchallenges”inscalingupproductionanddis-tributionof Covid-19vaccines—tradebarriers,bottlenecksinsup-plychains,scarcityofrawmateri-als and ingredients in the supplychain, and anunwillingness byrichcountriestosharedoseswithpoorones—IFPMAsaid.
UP wavebrother.“Youstaycalm,don’tan-tagonise them. Let me talk tothem,”hesays.Then,hewalksuptothenurse.
“Thepatient’soxygenisverylow,77.Oxygen is there in theambu-lance.Butitwillnotlastmorethana fewhours.What should I do?”he asks. Thenurse, nowcalmer,asks,“IsthereaCovid-positivere-port?”Wherethefamilyhascomefrom,Almaspur, there isno test-ing. “This is a caseof Covid,” saysKumar. Thenursewalksback in-side, shutting the gates. Kumarturnstothebrother:“Wehavetowear themdown.Don’tworry, I
willnotaban-donyou.”Kumar is
26,withathincloth facemask thatslipsoften.Heis a govern-ment healthworker, anEMT(EmergencyMedicalTechnician)
whooperatestheambulancewithadriver.HehasnoPPEkit,nosani-tiser,nogloves,noprotection.“Thesedays,whenwe finda
patientwith fever anddroppingoxygen,weknowit’sCovid.Ican’tleavethemdying.Thisambulanceisn’t even fromhere. Iwas calledfromMorna,30kmaway,”Kumarsays.Kumar’sparentshavebegged
him to stay home. “I earn Rs12,500amonth.Thatisimportantformy family. Theypray forme.Thisisthebalancesheetofmylife,”hesays.About100mtotherightisan
opengatethatleadstothewards,making amockery of thewordisolation.ThereareCovidandsus-pectedCovidpatientseverywhere—even in the children’s and thematernityward.Nexttoeachisatleast one family member,untestedforCovid.DharmendraSingh,35,sayshe
will not leavehismother’s side.“It’sabattle,”hesays.“Thedoctorsare trying their best, as are thenurses and theward boys. Buttheyare sooverworked. So if thefamilymembers leave, youcan-not be sure theywill get care. Ievenbuyher biscuits fromout-side.Keepherspiritsup,checkheroxygen.”It’s past noon, and thework-
load in the hospital is such thatdoctors are overworked, nurseshavebecomedoctors,wardboyshavebecomenurses,andthefam-ilieshavebecomewardstaff.Singhhasnosymptomsthusfar,andhismask ishangingaroundhischin.“Therearesomanypeopleinsidethisroom,atleast20patientsand30 familymembers. It is hot andsuffocating.Ihaven’tevenstoppedto think if I have Covid. If mymother lives, I’ll thinkaboutmy-self,”hesays.In another room, thereareat
least20patients, onedoctor andtwo nurses. The doctor enters,checksonapatient, steps out towrite a prescription,moves on.“Weneed the families here be-causewecan’t handle thenum-bers.Weneedhands to listen toinstructions,”hesays.DrMahavir Lal Faujdar, Chief
MedicalOfficer,Muzaffarnagar,says theadministration is tryingitsbest.“Wehaveonemedicalcol-legeinthedistrict,whichhas300beds, ofwhich197areoccupied.
Wealsohavethreeprivatehospi-talswith50beds each, all occu-pied.Thedistricthospitalisforiso-lation,andhasanisolationward,”hesays.Officials say that the district
hasatotalof120ICUbedsand42ventilators.The isolationward, Faujdar
says,ismeanttohave20bedsbut“peoplearemore,sothereare10-15more”.“Patientswhohavelowoxygen saturation, but maybedon’thaveatest,weisolatethem.Wegive themoxygen fromcon-centrators, and if they have co-morbidities,wetreatthose.WedoaCTchestscan,andif thatshowsCovidaswell, and the saturationis very low,we send them to alevel-3hospital,”hesays.But these are the fortunate
ones. At the entrance toMuzaffarnagartown,6kmaway,outside the ITI building,which isdoublingupasaoxygenrefillingunit, there is a crowdof close to200people,tiredandangry.Nextto eachoneof them is anemptyoxygencylinder, lineduponeaf-teranother.Everydayforthepastweek,peoplehavebeenliningupsince early in themorning. It’s alongwaitforthegatestoopen.NazimMohammedhasbeen
comingat5ameveryday.Today,hewas late and is behind in thequeue. “Mymother is at BharatHospital,andtheydon’thaveoxy-gen.Youhave tobringyourown.Everyday,Icomehereandwaitforhours.Yesterday, Igot itat11pm,afterwaiting16hours.Thereisno-bodytohelp,”hesays.“It’s 11 am today, and they
haven’t even started.Whatwillhappentomymother?Thisistheonly oxygen refilling plant inMuzaffarnagar,” he says, tears inhis eyes.He calls out to apolice-man: “Sir, pleasedosomething.”Thepoliceman,JabarSingh,dialsanumber on his cell phone, andshows it to the crowd. “See, noone’sanswering,”hesays.Bynow,there are 168 cylinders in thequeue—and168liveshanginginthebalance.
Team to Bengalreportonthesituationinthestate.“Sofarthereporthasnotbeen
received.According tomedia re-ports, violence continues. Thismeans effectivemeasures havenot been taken so far,” a Home
Ministryofficialsaid,quotingfromthe letter.WestBengal hasbeenaskedtotakeallmeasuresneces-sarytostoptheviolence, theoffi-cialsaid.“Theletterhasalsosaidthatif
thesituationreportisnotreceivedat once, it will be viewed seri-ously,”theofficialadded.TheTMC's thumpingvictory
in the Assembly elections onSundayhavebeenfollowedbyre-portsofwidespreadviolence,withmanyBJPofficesandworkersbe-ing allegedly targeted by TMCworkers.Therehavealsobeenre-ports of TMC leaders being tar-getedbytheBJP.Atleast14peoplehavebeenreporteddeadinthevi-olencesofar.Inher first action after being
sworninasChiefMinisterforthethird time,MamataBanerjeeonWednesdaytransferred30topof-ficers,includingDGPPNirajnayan,andwarned that violenceof anykindwillnotbetolerated.Followingameetingwithtop
officials, the ChiefMinister saidthat“inefficiencies”hadcreptintotheadministrationduringthelongelection process when theElectionCommissionhadcontrol,andsaid thatviolencewasbeingreportedfromtheareaswheretheBJPhadwon.InWednesday's administra-
tiveshake-up,29 IPSofficersandone IASofficerwere transferred.DGPNirajnayanwasmadeDG,Fire Services, andADG(LawandOrder) JagmohanwasmovedasDG,CivilDefence.Banerjee brought back
Virendra as DGP and JavedShamimasADG(LawandOrder),both of whomhad been trans-ferredby theECduring theelec-tionperiod.Banerjeeappealedtoallpolit-
icalpartiestomaintainpeaceandharmony.“Bengaldoesnottoler-ateunrest,neitherdoI.Startingto-day,Iwilltacklethelawandorder,”shesaid.s
HC to Delhi govtwhourgentlyrequiresanICUbed.Earlier, senioradvocateRahul
Mehra,whorepresentstheDelhigovernment,submittedthatinfra-structureisstrugglingforvariousreasonsand requested the courttonot say that theexisting infra-structure is in “shambles” as “itgivesadifferentconnotation”.
“The infrastructure is there tosupport everything. But the lackof oxygen...what can infrastruc-ture do?” he said.However, thecourtsaid:“No,no,don’tsayonlyoxygen,asifyouhaveeverythingelse.Isthatwhatyouaresaying?”WhenMehrasaid15,000beds
are in thepipeline, the court re-sponded: “Pipeline is pipeline.Theyarenotthere.”WhenMehrasubmittedthathospitalswerere-ducing beds because of lack ofoxygen, the court remindedhimof theobservation itmade to theCentralGovernment counsel onMay4.“Whenyoudefendthispo-sition,thenwearenotrisingabovepolitics,”saidthecourt.Thecourtthenreferredtothe
incidentof a lawyer’sbrother-in-lawpassingawayforlackofanICUbedwhilehispetitionwasbeingheard.“WhenMr(Amit)Sharma’sbrother-in-lawpassedaway,weall felt that the State has failed.What answer dowegive to thefamily?”thebenchsaid.Sayingthatheonlywantedto
statethereasonsbehindtheinfra-structurefailure,Mehrawithdrewthe statementandapologised tothecourt.Thecourtsaidthe“reasonsare
thatpeopleofthiscountryarenotdemandingenough.Theyelect agovernmentwithoutinsistingthatthey fulfill their promises...Becausewedonotplan.What isour planned expenditure onhealth?”Onthepleaseekingabed,the
courtwas told by the patient'scounsel that his SP02 level hasfallenbelow42but thehospitalwhere he is admitted does nothaveanICUbed.ObservingthatArticle21ofthe
Constitutionguaranteestherighttolifeandliberty,thebenchsaiditcannot turn thepetitioner awaybymerelytellinghimthatthestatedoesnothavetheinfrastructure.
BMC chief“ItoldtheDelhigovernmentthatno hospital should be forced toaddbeds.TheSOScallsfromhos-pitalsarebecausetheyareforcedto increase oxygenated bedsovernight,which is not supple-mentedwith oxygen storage,”Chahalsaid.Mumbai’s oxygenproblems
were “history” now, he added,becauseof optimumutilisation
of available oxygen, seamlessdistribution and creation ofbuffer stock, coupledwith theBMC'sabilitytopull togetheritsexisting resources.Chahal said he had also
reached out to Delhi, includingofficials he had worked withduringpostingsattheCentre,toensuretherewerenooxygenis-sues.“Isentoutmessagestotopbureaucrats--CabinetSecretaryRajiv Gauba, Home SecretaryandHealth Secretary, eight toppoliticiansofthestate, includingtheCM,DeputyCM."Praising Gauba, who was
Chahal’s boss when bothwereintheUnionHomeMinistry,theCommissionersaidhewasquicktorespond.Askedwhethertherehad been any issues because oftheCentre-statetussle,asbeingseeninDelhi,Chahalsaidhehadnothadsuchproblems.According to the
Commissioner,hissuggestiontothe Centre was import of oxy-gen. “The turnaround time foroxygen supply from the allo-catedunitinHaldiaiseightdays,which was not feasible. I sug-gested(totheCabinetSecretary)oxygenfromRelianceindustriesin Jamnagar, which is just 16hours away fromMumbai. By1pm that that day, 125 metrictonnes of oxygenwas allocatedtous fromJamnagar.”The BMC head also praised
Chief Minister UddhavThackeray for giving him a“tremendous free hand" andsaid: “I must tell you that I amvery lucky in many ways.Virtually, Icantakeanydecision.Thatisthekindof freehand(theCM) has givenme,which is notavailable to my colleagues inmanycitiesof thecountry.”Chahal, who took charge as
Commissioner inMay last yearwhen theMumbai Covid situa-tionwas fast deteriorating, saidthecreationofwardwarrooms,dashboardsforbeds,banningoflabs from handing over Covidtestreportstopositivepatients ,andthedecisionnottodisman-tle jumbo Covid facilities afterthe firstwavewereall crucial inhandling the secondwave. Hesaidthesystemwason“autopi-lot”now.
Oxygen noticeSunHospital.Refutingpolice allegationsof
spreadingrumours,SunHospital'sAkhileshPandeysaid,“Iwanttheadministration to comeand talkto caregivers aboutwhat hap-penedonMay3.Iamfilingawritpetition in the AllahabadHighCourt challenging the action."WhilePandeysaidhewasaman-agerwiththehospital,policesaidhewasoneofthedirectors.Pandeyalso claimed that the
Sub-DivisionalMagistrate(Sadar)PrafulTripathihadputpressureonhim. "Ihaveavideowith theau-dioofSDMsahibmakingmewritethings in return for helpingme.Now,theyhaveissuedanoticetome,"Pandeysaid.He saidhewas approaching
thecourtforanticipatorybailandtoseekafairinvestigationintotheissue.While the SDMcouldnot be
contacted,hehadearlierclaimedtohaveconductedapreliminaryinquiryandfoundthatagainst20Covidpatientsonoxygensupport,the hospital had eight jumbocylinders filledwithoxygen, andtwoB-typeoxygencylindersandconcentrators.Thecomplaintby thedistrict
administrationreads,“Despiteor-ders fromLucknowdistrict ad-ministrationandgovernmentfornotspreadingrumoursofOxygenshortage, anoticewascirculatedon social media asking (care-givers)ofpatientstowithdrawpa-tientsonoxygensupportfromthehospital.”However, Pandey said, the
hospitalneedstomaintainaback-up. "Despite requests, nooneas-suredmeabout oxygen supply.Theadministrationkeptsayingno
when asked about oxygen. TheDrug Inspector toldmehowhecould givemeoxygen cylinderswhen therewas none availableanywhereinLucknow.IissuedthenoticebecauseIdidn’twantany-one todie atmyhospital, and toensure that if someonecouldgoelsewhere, theycouldhavedoneso.”Onthebasisoftheadministra-
tion's complaint, the FIR waslodgedagainstthehospital,nam-ingPandey, at theVibhutiKhandPoliceStation.Officials saidothernameswillbeaddedfollowingtheprobe. “Fornow,wehave lodgeda case against Akhilesh Pandey.Wehavebeen toldAkhilesh is apartnerandthereisanotherdirec-tor,” said Vibhuti Khand SHOChandraShekharSingh.TheFIRhasbeenlodgedunder
Sections of the DisasterManagementAct andEpidemicDiseasesActandIPCSections188(disobediencetoorderdulyprom-ulgatedbypublicservant)and269(negligentact likely to spread in-fection of disease dangerous tolife).AtahearingonCovid-19issues
on May 4, the Allahabad HighCourthadsaiddeathsofpatientsdueto lackofoxygensupply“isacriminal act andnot less than agenocidebythosewhohavebeenentrustedthetasktoensurecon-tinuousprocurementandsupplychainof the liquidmedical oxy-gen”.The court had also asked
Meerut and Lucknow districtmagistrates to verify news ofdeathsof patients in the ICUof anew trauma centre at MeerutMedical College and reports oftwohospitals,oneeachinMeerutand Lucknow (Sun Hospital),telling relatives to takeawaypa-tientsduetoshortageofoxygen.Earlier, hearing a PIL on the
Covid situation, theHigh Courthad said “those in powermustshuntheattitudeof‘mywayornoway’andshouldwelcomesugges-tions fromall thequarters”.Thiscame days after Chief MinisterYogiAdityanathwarnedofactionagainsthospitals if they "falsely"reportedoxygenshortage.
Ajit Singhon servemany stints as Unionminister, under different gov-ernmentsof differenthues.In the early 1990s, he split
the Janata Dal and floated theJanataDal(A),beforejoiningtheCongress headed by P VNarasimha Rao after his partywaswipedoutinUPinthe1991Assembly elections. In 1995, hewasmadeUnionFoodMinister.In 1996, Singh entered the LokSabha for the third time, butsoon quit the Congress and hisLok Sabha membership. Hecameback to theHouse the fol-lowingyear inaby-election.In 1999, Singh formed the
RLD.While, at the time, he ac-cused the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led BJP government of turningthe Kargil war into an electionissue, two years later, he joinedthe NDA and became anAgricultureMinister.In 2009, a year after voting
against theManmohan Singh-led UPA I government in a no-confidence motion, Singhflipped again and joined theUPA.Subsequently,heheld firstthe Chemicals and Fertilizersand then the Civil AviationMinistry.Havingheldonto itsbaseall
these years, the RLD finallybuckledunder theoverwhelm-ing rise of NarendraModi-ledBJP inUP.However, lately, in a twist of
fate that Ajit Singhwould haveappreciated, theRLDwasbeingtalkedof asanalternativeagainin western UP, amidst farmerangerover thenewagriculturallaws by the Centre. JayantChaudhary held a series of ral-liesacrossthestateontheissue,sharing the stagewith, amongothers, Congress general secre-taryPriyankaGandhi.
SC’s balance: HC remarks harsh; freespeech, open court key to right to knowit “didnot seek toattribute cul-pability for the Covid-19 pan-demic in the country to theEC.What instead itwouldhave in-tendedtodowastourgetheECtoensurestrictercomplianceofCOVID-19relatedprotocolsdur-ingelections”,saidtheSC.The bench added: “Having
said that,wemust emphasizetheneed for judges to exercisecaution inoff-the-cuff remarksinopencourt,whichmaybesus-ceptibletomisinterpretation”.Writingforthebench,Justice
Chandrachud underlined theimportanceof judicial languageandsaid:“Language,bothontheBenchand in judgments,mustcomportwithjudicialpropriety.Languageisanimportantinstru-mentofajudicialprocesswhichissensitivetoconstitutionalval-ues. Judicial language is awin-dowtoaconsciencesensitivetoconstitutionalethos.Bereftofitsunderstatedbalance, languagerisks losing its symbolismas aprotectorofhumandignity”.Turningdown theECI’s re-
quest todirect themedia to re-frain fromreportingoralobser-vations, thecourtsaidit“standsas a staunchproponent of thefreedomof themedia to reportcourt proceedings. Thiswebe-lieveisintegraltothefreedomofspeechandexpressionof thosewhospeak,ofthosewhowishto
hearandtobeheardandaboveall, in holding the judiciary ac-countable to the valueswhichjustifyitsexistenceasaconstitu-tionalinstitution”.Therulingalsodweltonthe
importanceofanopencourtsys-tem.“Courtsmustbeopenbothin
thephysical andmetaphoricalsense. Save and except for in-cameraproceedingsinanexcep-tional categoryof cases, suchascases involving child sexualabuseormatrimonialproceed-ingsbearingonmattersofmar-ital privacy, our legal system isfounded on the principle thatopenaccesstocourtsisessentialto safeguardvaluable constitu-tional freedoms”, it saidaddingthis “requires that informationrelating to a court proceedingmust be available in thepublicdomain”.“Citizens”, said the court
“havearighttoknowaboutwhattranspires in thecourseof judi-cialproceedings...Argumentsad-dressedbeforethecourt,there-sponseofopposingcounselandissues raised by the court aremattersonwhichcitizenshavea legitimate right to be in-formed”.“Anopencourtproceeding”
also “ensures that the judicialprocess is subject to publicscrutiny”which in turn “is cru-
cialtomaintainingtransparencyandaccountability” and“trans-parency in the functioning ofdemocraticinstitutionsiscrucialto establish thepublic‘s faith inthem”. Also, it “ensures thatjudges act in accordancewithlawandwithprobity”.“Citizens are entitled to en-
sure that courts remain true totheirremittobeacheckonarbi-traryexercisesofpower.Theabil-ityofcitizenstodosobearsadi-rect correlation to theseamlessavailabilityofinformationaboutwhathappens inacourtduringthe course of proceedings.Therein lies the importance offreedomof themedia to com-ment on andwrite about pro-ceedings”,saidthebench.The judgmentalso touched
uponthemedia’sevolutionfromprint andelectronic formsandnowto thedigital andsaid thatin the fast changingworld oftechnology, “itwoulddousnogood toprevent thenewformsofmedia fromreportingonourwork”.Itaddedthat“acceptanceofanewrealityisthesurestwayofadaptingtoit.Ourpubliccon-stitutionalinstitutionsmustfindbetter responses than to com-plain”.Onthesignificanceoforalob-
servationsduringahearing, theSCrulingsaid they“donotcon-stituteajudgmentorbindingde-
cision”but“areatbesttentativepoints of view, onwhich rivalperspectivesofpartiesinconflictenablethejudgetodecideonanultimateoutcome”.“Thisexchangeofviews,per-
spectivesandformulationsisbutapartof evolving towardsa so-lutionwhichaccordswithjusticeaccordingtolaw.AnexchangeofviewsfromtheBenchisintrinsicto aprocess of openand trans-parentjudging.Therevealingofajudges‘mindenablesopposingparties topersuadeher to theirpointsofview.If thisexpressionwere to be discouraged theprocess of judging would beclosed”,itsaid.TheSCfurthersaidthatwhile
thereisadutytopreservethein-dependenceofthejudiciaryandtoallow freedomof expressionofthejudgesincourt,thepowerofjudgesmustnotbeunbridledandjudicialrestraintmustbeex-ercised,beforeusingstrongandscathinglanguagetocriticizeanyindividualorinstitution.Tracingthehistoryofmedia
coverageofcourtproceedings,itsaidthat“incolonialIndia,espe-cially sedition trials,were alsosites of political contestationwherecolonialbrutalityandin-dignitywere laidbare” and re-ferredtothefirstseditiontrialofLokmanyaBalgangadharTilak.
FROMPAGEONE
New Delhi
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,MAY6
DELHI CHIEF Minister ArvindKejriwal asked hospitals to in-crease the number of beds re-served for Covid patients as thecity got 730metric tonnes (MT)of oxygenonWednesday.Several hospitals, including
Delhi government-runGTBandRGSShospitals,hadreducedthenumber of beds for Covid pa-tientsastheyreportedareducedoxygensupply.“Manyhospitalshadreduced
bedsduringthistimebecauseofoxygen shortage. Our effort hasto be increase, not reduce beds,otherwise itwill result inchaos.Irequestallhospitalstoincreasetheir beds again ad I amhoping
wewillget700MToxygendaily.Manyprivatehospitals hadalsotold us they can earmarkmorebedsif theygetasetregularsup-ply. This could mean around2,000moreoxygenbeds. Ihopethese hospitals will now aug-menttheirfacilitiessomorepeo-plecanbesaved,” theCMsaid.The Delhi government and
theCentrehavebeenlockedinabitterbattleintheHighCourtandSupreme Court over the pastweeksascityhospitalsreeledun-derashortageofmedicaloxygen.While the Delhi governmentflaggedsupplyasthemainissue,theCentresaidDelhiwasunableto effectively transport and dis-tributetheoxygenallocatedtoit.AAP MLA Raghav Chadha,
whohasbeencoordinatingoxy-gensupplytohospitals,however,
said out of the 730MT oxygensuppliedonWednesday,250MTwasdoneasa“one-timetempo-rary arrangement”. “730MT ofoxygen was supplied by theCentreforthefirsttime,ofwhich250MTwasmadeavailableasa
one-time temporary arrange-ment... TheCentre shouldmakethis supply permanent, ratherthan a one-time arrangement.Since oxygen supply increased,SOS calls also decreased.Whilewe used to get around 40-50
calls daily, we received only 16SOScallsyesterday.”Givingdetailsoftheone-time
arrangementof 250MT, Chadhasaid, “Trucks thatwere to go tosomeother statesweredivertedtoDelhi.Thisishowtheytriedful-fillingtheoxygendemandof976MT.Idon’twishtoputanybodyinthewrong light, butonlywish toproject a clear picture in front ofthepeople of Delhiwithutmosttransparency. The250MToutof730MTdeliveredtousyesterday—meaningapproximately35%—was not from defined and de-claredsourcesorplants,”hesaid.He also said Delhi’s oxygen
demandwas976MT,keepinginmindtherequirementofhospi-tals,nursinghomesandtempo-rary facilities.TheCM,meanwhile, said the
government isworkingtosetupanother9,000oxygenbedsinfa-cilities such as the Radha SoamiBeasCentre inChhattarpurnowthat it has adequate supply. “Ipromise you, no onewill die forlack of oxygen if we get 700MTdaily,”saidKejriwal.He also appealed to the
Centretoensurethecitycontin-ues to get 700MT oxygen dailytoensurethatoperationsinhos-pitals and Covid centres runsmoothly. “I thank the Centre,High Court and Supreme Courtfor this. It is because of their ef-forts that we havemanaged tocontrol the situation. But thissupply should not just be for aday.Till thesecondwaveabates,we need 700MTdaily. I hope itdoesn’t happen thatweget400MTtomorrow,”hesaid.
3THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,MAY7,2021
THECITYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
Delhi gettingmore oxygen, says CM, askshospitals to increase beds for Covid patients
AttheShehnaibanquethallCovid facility.AbhinavSaha
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,MAY6
THE SUPREME Court Thursdayflaggedwarnings about an im-pendingthirdwaveoftheCovid-19pandemicandstressedontheneedtocompletevaccinationandcreatebufferstocksofoxygen.A bench of Justices D Y
ChandrachudandMRShahalsocalledupontheCentre toensureDelhicontinuestoget700metrictonnes (MT) of liquidmedicaloxygen(LMO)andreiteratedtheneed to re-examine the currentformula for supplying oxygen,whichisbasedonthenumberofICUandnon-ICUbeds.ThecourtwastoldDelhihadbeensupplied730MToxygenonWednesday.“We understand everybody
whodiesarenotdyingduetolackof oxygen. But can it be deniedthatoxygen isnotacritical com-ponent?”,thebenchaskedwhilehearing a plea by the Centreagainst the contempt notice is-sued to its officers by the DelhiHighCourt in thematterof LMOsupplytoDelhi.SolicitorGeneral(SG) TusharMehta submittedthat supplies had to be divertedfromotherstatestomeetthecap-ital's demands. “Wemay enterstage three. If we prepare today,we may be able to handle it.Whatever stockshavebeenpro-cured need to be sent to hospi-tals...,”saidJusticeChandrachud.He added the third surge,
which, as per experts “is aroundthecorner”,wouldaffectchildren.
“Sowhenachildgoestohospital,amotherand fatherwill go too,”hesaid,adding, “that iswhyvac-cinationwill have to be over forthis group of people.Wemustplan for this scientifically andmakearrangements”.ThehearingalsosawtheDelhi
governmentandCentresparoveroxygen supplies to the capital,withtheCentresayinganexpertgroup, comprising Niti Aayogmember V K Paul and AIIMSDirectorRandeepGuleriaamongothers, had opined that the de-mandfor700MTwasunrealistic,and demanded an oxygen auditto have a realistic assessment ofthe needs of various states. SGMehta,appearing for theCentre,said the audit committee willlook at the actual demand foroxygen, how it is being distrib-utedandproblemsbeingfacedbyDelhi in accessing the supply.Appearing for theDelhi govern-ment,advocateRahulMehrasaidof theaudit, “All ourdoctorsandofficers are trying to help in thiscrisis. If even one suchperson ismadeapart of the committee, itwill be an injustice to a person’slife”.But theSGrepeatedthede-mandforanaudit,andsaidthereis a “systemic failure” contribut-ingtotheshortageinthecapital.Thecourtalsocalleduponthe
Centreandstatestoutilisethe1.5lakh doctorswho have finishedtheirmedicalcoursesandawait-ing theNEET exam, saying,“Thecurrentcropof doctorsarecom-pletelyfatiguedandattheendoftheir tether.”
Regd. & head Office : 87, M.G. Road,Fort, Mumbai-400 001
CIN No. : L66000MH1919GOI000526IRDAI Reg. No. 190
APPLICATIONS are invited forEnterprise Risk Management (ERM)Consultants of repute and expertiseto update/ refresh various ERMactivities and create dashboard insystem/ tool covering top risks, Lineof Business and Key BusinessDepartments with required triggers.Details of the EOI are available on ourweb site i.e. : www.newindia.co.in.Last date of submission : on or before02.00 P.M. of 17.05.2021.
Col S Rajagopalan (Retd)
05-11-1934- 03-05-2021
Fraternity of Army Educational Corps express-
es profound grief on the sad demise of Col S
Rajagopalan (Retd). He will always be
remembered for his selfless and dedicated
service to the Corps. We pray to the Almighty
to bless eternal peace to the departed soul
and give strength to the bereaved family.
Maj Gen Devesh Gaur
Addl DG AE & Col Comdt
and All Ranks of Army Educational Corps
OBITUARY
Third Covid waveimpending, finishvaccination: SC
0-50 Good
ANANDVIHARModerate
0 500
145AQIPM:2.5
SIRIFORTModerate
0 500
SHADIPURModerate
0 500 500
51-100 Satisfactory 101-200 Moderate 201-300 Poor 301-400 VeryPoor 401-500 Severe
DWARKA- SECTOR8Moderate
0
125AQIPM:10
157AQIPM:10
154AQIPM:10
FORECAST:May7Partlycloudysky
S K Y WA T C H
MAX:380.7°Cbelownormal
MIN:250.2°Cabovenormal
New Delhi
4THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,MAY7,2021
THECITYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
ASHNABUTANINEWDELHI,MAY6
OVER THE past several weeks,theRajpathstretchthathasIndiaGate as the backdrop has wit-nessed drastic changes as theambitiousCentralVistaredevel-opment project takes shape.Trenchesdugonthesidesof theroadandredroadblockershavereplaced the iconic chain linkfence and lamp posts. The pathleading up to the RashtrapatiBhavantooisfencedwithyellowboards set up by the CentralPublic Works Department(CPWD), which read:
‘Development/ Redevelopmentof CentralVistaAvenue’.Officials from HCP Design,
Planning andManagement, thearchitectural consultant of theCentral Vista project, have saidthe original design elements ofthe areawill be kept intact to alarge extent after work is com-plete.WhenTheIndianExpressvis-
itedonThursdayafternoon,bar-ringafewconstructionworkers,Rajpath wore a deserted look.Officials fromtheCentralPublicWorksDepartment(CPWD)saidthey are trying tomeet the ini-tial deadlines despite fewerworkers showingup in thepast
fewdays.Against the backdrop of a
Covid-inducedlockdown,work-erssaidtheyhavebeenissuede-passes and are being paid dailywages since the lockdown.Sanjay(27),acontractualworkerwith MTNL, said he has beencomingeverydaysothathehassome savings in case they arebarredfromworkinginthenearfuture. Themen travel to workandbackhomeinarented two-wheeler.“Earlier, there were eight of
us. But now only four of us cancometoworkinavehicle.Whenthe others tried to come, wewere issued a challan so they
don’t come any more,” saidSanjay,wholivesinBhattiMineswith his family of five. He said
theywill have to sustain on themeagre amount his wife earnsfrom tailoringwork, in case his
workstops.Thefourmendugatrenchto
bury existing underground
wiresfurtherunderground,say-ing this was being done sincesewerageworkwill begin soonand some public amenitiesmightbeunderground.AccordingtoaCPWDofficial,
diggingof anundergroundpas-sageway isabout tobegin.The redevelopment at
Rajpath, under Phase I of theproject, is aimedatmaking thearea pedestrian friendly andproviding better amenities forvisitors and tourists. This in-cludes refurbishing the lawns,creating underpasses atJanpath and C Hexagon cross-ingwithRajpath,buildingwidewalkwaysor footpathsparallel
to theavenue,andconstructinglow-levelbridgesat12selectedlocations.Other amenities include toi-
lets, drinking water facilities,vending areas, parking spaces,signages, lighting and CCTVcameras.More treeswill also line the
lawn, with the plan envisagingincreasing green cover from3,50,000 sqmts to 3,90,000 sqmts.AlsounderPhase1,asewer-agetreatmentplantwillbesetupforrecyclingofwastewateralongwith rainwater harvesting sys-temsandwatersupplysystems.
(INPUTSFROMANANYATIWARI)
TRYING TO MEET INITIAL DEADLINE DESPITE FEWER WORKERS: CPWD
Digging work at Rajpath as Central Vista redevelopment takes shape
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,MAY6
THE DELHI government hascappedchargesleviedbyprivateambulance services in the citybetweenRs1,500-Rs4,000uptoa distance of 10 kilometres,while referring toongoing ratesas “exorbitant” in itsorder.Warning of strict action
against violators, ChiefMinisterArvind Kejriwal in a tweet onThursdaysaid,“IthascometoournoticethatprivateambulancesinDelhiarecharging illegitimately.To avoid thispractise,Delhi gov-ernment has cappedmaximumprices that private ambulanceservicescanchange.Strictactionswill be taken against thosewhoviolatetheorder.”An order by the Centralised
Accident and Trauma Services(CATS)hassetcapsonchargesbyPrivate Transport Ambulances(PTA), Basic Life SupportAmbulances (BLS), andAdvanced Life SupportAmbulances (ALS).The maximum charge for
PTAhasbeenset atRs1,500per
call for up to 10 kilometres, fol-lowed by Rs 100 per extra kilo-metre, theorder stated.For the BLS category, the
chargeshavebeen cappedat Rs2,000 per call for up to 10 kilo-metres followed by Rs 100 perextra kilometre, and themaxi-mum charge of ATS is Rs 4,000for up to 10 kilometres and Rs100perextrakilometre,itadded.The maximum charges for
eachof these categories is to in-cludeallservicessuchasoxygen,all ambulance equipment, PPEkit, gloves, mask, shield, saniti-sation, driver, emergencymed-ical techniciananddoctor.“It has come to notice that
someprivateambulancedrivers,service providers, are chargingexorbitant rates in Delhi duringthe Covid-19 pandemic fortransportingpatientswhich isamatterofseriousconcern,”readtheorder.Accordingtotheorder,viola-
tionsmay result in cancellationof thedriving licenceof theam-bulance driver, cancellation oftheambulance registrationcer-tificate, and impounding of theambulance.
Delhi govt caps pvtambulance chargesat Rs 1,500-4,000
NeedmoretimetosubmitclassXmarks:GovttoCBSENewDelhi:Withschoolsasked to submit marksfor Class X students tothe CBSE in less than amonth, and Delhi reel-ing under the currentCovid crisis, the educa-tion department haswritten to the boardasking that the timelinefor this process be re-viewed.
DJB:NoplanstocutsupplytohospitalsNewDelhi:Despitea“se-vere shortage” of wateraffecting many parts ofDelhi, theDelhi JalBoard(DJB)Thursdaysaidithasnoplanstorestrictorcutwater supply to Covidhospitalsorotherhealth-care facilities.
NursingofficerarrestedNew Delhi: The DelhiPolice has arrested twomen including a nursingofficer from FortisHospital for allegedlyselling imported remde-sivirinjectionsatahigherprice in thecity. ENS
BRIEFLY
Total VacantHOSPITAL BEDS 22,058 1,777ICU BEDS 5,569 24
Dailycases Recoveries Deaths TestsMay5 20,960 19,209 311 79,491May6 19,133 20,028 335 78,780Total 90,629* 11,64,008 18,398 1,75,97,532
CORONAVIRUSIN THECAPITAL *T
otalactivecases
TOTAL CASES
12,73,035VACCINATIONSIN LAST24HRS
68,205
Court: Give 12 seizedO2 concentrators tojudicial officers, cops
Quarantinefor travellersfrom AP,Telangana
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,MAY6
ADELHIcourtonWednesdayor-deredthereleaseof twelveoxy-gen concentrators seized byDelhi Police for use among po-liceofficers, judicialofficersandtheir familymembers.The order was passed by
MetropolitanMagistrate AnujBahal, whowas hearing an ap-plication filed by the police forreleaseof 12oxygenconcentra-tors seizedonMay4.Twopersons,VinayAgarwal
andAkashVashist,were appre-hendedand themachinesweredeposited atDwarkapolice sta-tion.TheInvestigationOfficer(IO)hadtoldthecourt thatmanypo-lice officerswere suffering fromCovid-19 and they needed it tosavetheir lives.Thecourtsaidnouseful purposewould be solvedbykeepingtheseoxygenconcen-tratorsat thepolicemalkhanaatDwarkapolicestation.“It is pertinent to mention
thatjudicialofficers,duetotheirnatureofwork,arealsoexposedto deadly coronavirus. A largenumber of judicial officers andtheir families in Delhi are in-fectedwithCovid-19andunfor-tunately twomembers of theDelhi judiciary, namely familyjudgeKovaiVenugopalandmet-
ropolitan magistrate DwarkaKamran Khan, have lost theirlivesduetotheCovidinfection,”thecourt said.The order further stated, “In
thebesthealthinterestofpoliceofficers,judicialofficersandtheirfamily members, this courtdeemsit fit toreleaseandput toimmediate use the 12 oxygenconcentratorsseizedinthepres-ent FIR formedication of policeofficers,judicialofficersandtheirfamilymembers.”Of the 12 oxygen concentra-
tors, twomachines will be re-leasedtoDCPDwarkaforinfectedpolice officials. “Three oxygenconcentrators be released to theofficeofprincipaldistrictandses-sionsjudge(HQ),TizHazari.Twowill be released to office of theprincipal district and sessionsjudge,Dwarka,”theorderstated.“Threeoxygenconcentrators
willgototheofficeof theprinci-pal district and sessions judge,Saket, and two to Covid HealthCentreatDelhiJudicialAcademy,Dwarka,”directedBahal.
WorkunderwayontheCentralVistaredevelopmentproject.AmitMehra
TheCMhaswarnedofstrictactionagainstviolators.AmitMehra
At gurdwara oxygen langar, manyCovid patients get a breath of lifeJIGNASASINHA&AMILBHATNAGARNEWDELHI,MAY6
AWOMANinherearlyfortiessatinachairoutsidetheIndirapuramgurdwara,holdinghermaskcon-nected to anoxygen cylinder. Asshe struggled to breathe, twomembers of her family rubbedher back. “Ma, open your eyes.Breathe.Youwillbefine,”hersonsaid. After awhile, thewomancollapsed.As the family tookheraway ina car, a gurdwaravolun-teermurmured,“Waheguru”.The “oxygen langar” at the
gurdwarawassetuptwoweeksagobyKhalsaHelpInternationaland Gurdwara Sri Guru SinghSabha. Beds,with oxygen cylin-ders, concentrators, andmasks,havebeenlaidoutinalargetentequippedwithfansandcoolers.Therearealsochairs, incase thebedsareoccupied.“Wehave 25-30 beds at the
gurdwara.Morethan70patientscomehereeveryday.Wedon’tsaynotoanyone,”saidGurpreetSinghRummy, president of the gurd-wara committee and foundingmemberofKhalsaHelp.“Wehavealso received donations fromsomestates.Butitisdifficulttogetoxygencylinders,”headded.Mostofthosewhocomehere
are indesperateneedof oxygen,butareunabletofindaplaceinahospital.Manywait at the gurd-warawhiletheirfamilieslookforabed.Somepatientsreturnhomeastheybegintofeelbetter, someothersareunabletosurvive.“The doors of our gurdwara
areopen toeveryone.Manypa-
tients come when their SPO2levelhasfallenconsiderably,andthey are at a critical stage.Patients are free to use the oxy-gensupplyuntil theyfeelbetter.By God’s grace, we have ade-quatesupplyofoxygen,buteventhenweareunabletosavesomepatients,”Rummysaid.FormanylikeAmit(47),ares-
identofLoni,theoxygenlangaratthegurdwarahasbeenalifesaver.He spoke of howhis father, VedPrakash (75), had developed ahigh fever and complained ofbreathlessness on Saturday. Thefamily had takenhim to at leastsixhospitals,buthadbeenforcedtobringhimbackhomeafterfail-ingtofindabed.“Westartedhistreatment at home.We tried toget aCovid test done, but failed.Threedaysago,myfather’soxy-genleveldroppedto60%,andwetookhimtoaprivatehospital inNoida,” said Amit, who workswithaprivate firminGurgaon.
OnWednesday, the privatehospitaldischargedAmit’sfather.On Thursdaymorning, his oxy-gen level dropped again. Thistime, the family brought him tothe gurdwara. “Wewere scepti-cal because the beds are in theopenunderatent;thereisnoACormedicalequipment...ButIwaswrong.Myfather is recovering...His oxygen level is now75%. Hestill has difficulty breathing buthe is able to eat and talk now.Volunteers give him food andmedicineson time.WehavegothimtestedforCovidhere,andareawaitingtheresult,”Amitsaid.Officials said despite the
availabilityofoxygen,at least10patients face severe complica-tions at the langar every day onaverage.Volunteersat thegurd-wara said many patients arebroughtwhen they are alreadycritical, inneedofventilatorsup-port.Whensomeseverelyillpa-tients stop responding, they are
rushed to one of the four CovidhospitalsinIndirapuramforlast-minuteeffortsat resuscitation.On theblocked roadoutside
thegurdwara,onwhichthetenthas been erected, patients sit inchairs,wearingmaskswithnoz-zles connected to oxygen cylin-ders.Recently,thegurdwaraalsoset up a central oxygen supplysystem, like inhospitals.“We source cylinders from
Haridwar, Haryana, and otherplaces.Wesendourvehiclewher-everweneedto.Oureffortistonotrefuseanyone.Alotofpeoplearedoing sewaaswell. Our first pri-orityistosavelives.Onceapatientarrives,ittakeslessthanaminutetosetthesupplyup,”Rummysaid.Laxmi (50), a resident of
Sangam Vihar, brought hermother-in-lawRajkumari(70)tothelangaraftershesawapostonFacebookabout theservices.Rajkumari, who lives with
her four sons in Delhi, lost herelder daughter, Sumita (47), toCovid-related complications inAligarh lastweek after the fam-ilyfailedtogetherahospitalbed.“Her (Rajkumari’s) oxygen levelcrashed to 35% onWednesdaynight... Shewashavingseizures,vomiting... Around 4 am (onThursday), we came here. It’sbeen seven hours, and her oxy-genlevelis51%now.Wehadlostall hope... but the people herehelpedus,” Laxmisaid.Gurdwarastaff—mostlyvol-
unteersfromtheNCR—helpun-loadcylinders,seatpatientsandkeep track of the oxygen stock.The gurdwara has four ambu-lances andahearse van, andof-fers its services for free.
Atthegurdwara in Indirapuram. PremNathPandey
FACILITYHAS500BEDS
ASHNABUTANINEWDELHI, MAY 6
AROUND 500 labourers worktirelessly to complete the con-structionof an ICUfacilitywith500 beds at Ramlila Maidan,which will be linked to LokNayak Hospital. Officials said70% of the work is completedand it should be ready in a fewmore days.As Delhi continues to grap-
ple with a high case load andshortage of hospital beds andoxygen, the Delhi governmenthad announced last week that1,000 ICUbedswill comeup ingrounds near Lok Nayak andGTBhospitals.On April 29, Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal and HealthMinisterSatyendar Jainhadvis-ited the facility. After the visit,Jain had tweeted, “Reviewedthe progress of the ongoingwork in the500 ICUbeds facil-ity of LNJP Hospital. In thesetesting times, our engineersand workers are working dayand night to make the facilityavailable by 5thMay.”Delhi,whichsawnewcases
in a day crossing the 28,000mark inApril, hasseenareduc-tion in cases over the past fewdays. On Thursday, the city re-ported 19,133 cases and 335deaths. The positivity rate,which was consistently over30% last week, dipped to 24%.
Over 78,000 tests were con-ducted in the city, over 64,000
ofwhichwere RT-PCR tests.Over 27.7 lakh people have
got one shot of the vaccine sofar inDelhi,while7.7 lakhhavegot both doses.The facility at Ramlila
Maidan comprises twohangars,which can accommo-date 250 patients each. Thehangars—30metreswide and135 metres long — have steelframes,whicharecoveredwithwhite tarpaulin sheets.AnofficialofDeepaliDesigns
and Exhibits, the company
working on the project, said akitchen is being constructedoutsideandliquidmedicaloxy-gen tankswill be set up behindthe facility. Amortuary is beingconstructedinsidethepremisesaswell. Twelvewashrooms arebeing constructed around thetwohangars.The official said the same
construction company had setup theDRDO facility inDhaulaKuan and they are following asimilar layout here.One of the two hangars is
nearing completion as thewalls and ceilings are ready.The first hangar is likely to beopen to patients sooner thanthe other, said the official. Headded, “Construction workshould be completed in thenext 3-4 days.”Atpresent, thereare22,052
beds earmarked for Covid pa-tients in the city. Of these, only1,774 are available, as per theDelhi government’s DelhiCorona app. Out of the 5,569ICU beds, only 24 are vacant,the app says. However, severalpeople have complained thattheappisnotaccurateandhos-pitals where beds are shownvacant are not admitting anypatients.Another 500 ICU bed facil-
ity is being constructed nearGTBHospital. Jain tweetedthatconstruction of both facilitieswillprovideconsiderable reliefto serious Covid patients.
RamlilaMaidan ICU facility: 70%work done, to be ready in a fewdays
Thefacilitycomprises twohangars,whichcanaccommodate250patientseach.AbhinavSaha
Thecourtsaidnousefulpurposewouldbesolvedbykeepingtheseoxygenconcentratorsat thepolicemalkhana
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,MAY6
IN LIGHT of reports of a “viru-lent variant” of Covid-19 inAndhraPradeshandTelangana,theDelhigovernmentThursdaysaid persons travelling fromthese states to the capital willhave to undergo “mandatorygovernment institutionalquar-antine”or“paidquarantine” for14daysat facilities identifiedbytheDistrictMagistrate.However, those who have
receivedbothdosesof vaccina-tionandhaveanegativeRT-PCRreport not older than 72 hours,would be allowed home quar-antine for sevendays.“A virulent variant of Covid-
19isreportedtohavebeenfoundrecently in the States of AndhraPradesh and Telangana and thisnew strain of Covid-19 has ashorter incubation periodwithhigh transmission rate and theprogressofdiseaseismuchmorerapidinthisstrainand,therefore,additional precautionarymeas-ures in respect of the personscomingfromtheStateofAndhraPradeshandTelanganatoNCTofDelhi through Airlines/ Trains/Buses/Cars/Trucks or any othermode of transportation are re-quiredtobetakeninpublicinter-est with the objective that thisnew virulent strain of Covid-19should not enter and transmitintotheterritoryofNCTofDelhi,”theDelhiDisasterManagementAuthority said in an orderThursday.
4 arrestedfor blackmarketingof oxygenequipment
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,MAY6
THEDELHI Police said Thursdaytheyhadseizedthe largestnum-berofoxygenconcentratorsinthecity so far after they raided arestaurant inSouthDelhi’s LodhiColonyonWednesday.Fourmenwere arrested from Nege JuRestaurant and Bar after policefound419oxygen concentratorsfrom the restaurant aswell as awarehouseinChattarpur.Atul Kumar Thakur, DCP
(Southdistrict), said theaccused,including the manager of therestaurant, are involved in blackmarketingoftheequipment.Theyrunoperations from the restau-rant. The oxygen concentratorsaresoldatRs70,000each.“During area patrollingwe
found Nege Ju open and thereweresomemeninside.Ourteamsearched the place and found amanreceivingordersfromapor-talnamed ‘XpectEverything’.Hewassellingoxygenconcentratorsand masks. We also found 32unitsofoxygenconcentratorsin-sidetherestaurant,”saidtheDCP.Police arrested restaurant
manager Hitesh Prakash (32)alongwiththreeothers–GauravSingh, Satish Sethi and VikrantSingh. “During verification,wefoundtherestaurantisownedbyNavneetKalra,”saidtheDCP.Kalra was unavailable for a
comment.
New Delhi
THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,MAY7,2021
EXPRESSNETWORK6
ARUNJANARDHANANCHENNAI,MARCH6
FOURDAYS after registering anemphatic win in the assemblyelections, DMK chief MK Stalinwill be sworn in as Tamil Naduchief minister on Friday at RajBhavanhere.Thiswillbethesixthtimethe
chief minister will be from theDMK since 1967, when partyfounderCNAnnaduraiwasfirstelectedtothepost.Stalin’sfatherM Karunanidhi held the postthereafter.OnThursday, Raj Bhavan re-
leased a statementwith the listof ministers to be appointed inthe new government. It saidGovernorBanwarilalPurohitap-provedthelistsentbychiefmin-
ister-elect Stalin. Interestingly,Stalin's son Udhayanidhi doesnot figure in the list.A senior DMK leader said
Udhayanidhimaybeaccommo-datedlater.“Therearemanydis-trictswithout representation inthecabinet.Entiredelta, includ-ing Thanjavur, Tiruvarur,Nagapattinam andMayiladuthurai,hasnominister.Thatwas one of the reasons fornot considering Udhayanidhi,”the leader said.The oath-taking ceremony
will be carried out following allCovidprotocols.In the 34-member cabinet,
Stalinwill holdHomeportfolio.DMK veterans Duraimurugan(Water Resources), K N Nehru(Municipal Administration), IPeriyasamy (Co-operation), K
Ponmudi (Higher Education)and Stalin’s close aide E V Velu(PWD)willbeamongtheseniorcabinetmembers.
While P Geetha Jeevanwillbe the onlywoman in the cabi-net,SenthilBalaji,popularleaderfromKarurwhowas also a for-
mer AIADMK minister andSasikala supporter before join-ing theDMK,will get Electricityand Excise portfolios. FormerChennai city mayor MaSubamanian,onceconsideredasStalin's closest aide, will getHealthportfolio.Palanivel Thiagarajanwill be
the newFinanceminister. Fromapolitical family inMadurai, hedidhisMBA inFinance fromtheSloan School ofManagement atMIT.AnbilMaheshPoyyamozhi,who is considered close toUdhayanidhi,willgetEducation.Ahead of the swearing-in
ceremony, the DMK campwasalso busy with discussions onpriorities of the new govern-ment.At the topof the list is theCovidsituation.Officials have already been
toldtostartoperationstoexploitmaximumresourcesinthestateforoxygensupply.“Availingoxy-genfromseveralcentralgovern-ment establishments in TamilNadu...andallprivatesteelplantsare the first priority. The distri-bution of remdesivir to individ-ual patients is restricted inChennaialone.Itwillsoonbede-centralised,”saidatopsourceinDMKcoordinatingthetransitionprocess.The leader said a complete
lockdownormorecurbsarebe-ingconsidered.The new regime is also con-
sidering changes in the top bu-reaucracy. A source said ChiefSecretary Rajeev Ranjanwill bereplacedwithVIraiAnbu,asen-ior bureaucrat sidelined by theAIADMKregime.
TheWestBengalAssemblyconvenedfor theoath-takingceremonyonThursday.Around140MLAs—mostof themfromAssemblyconstituenciesofKolkata,North-andSouth-24Parganas,PurbaandPaschimMedinipur,Howrah,HooghlyandJhargramdistricts—tookoathonThursday.Theprocesswill continueuntil Saturday. ParthaPaul
TamilNaduCM-electMKStalinwithsonUdhayanidhiStalinafterDMK’svictory intheAssemblyelection. PTI
DELHICONFIDENTIAL
KEEPING UP SUSPENSETHE SUSPENSE over whowill lead the BJP government inAssamis intensifying,with the top leadershipgivingno indi-cation onwhen itwould take a decision.While chief minis-tersordesignatedchiefministers inotherstateshavestarteddiscussingministerialberthsandportfolioallocation, theBJPleadershiphasnotyetcalledaParliamentaryboardmeeting,which is to send observers for electing leaders to lead theparty/government in Assemblies. On Thursday, party presi-dent J PNadda,who returned fromWest Bengal,metUnionHomeMinisterAmitShahbutmanypartyleadersinsistedthatit was to discuss the situation in violence-hit Bengal.Meanwhile, inAssambothSarbanandSonowalandHimantaBiswa Sarma— the twomain contenders for the top post—areeagerlywaitingtohear fromthenational leadership.
RETURN GIFTITALIANAMBASSADOR to IndiaVincenzode Luca switchedon anoxygenplant at ITBPReferralHospital, GreaterNoida,onThursday.Theplantwill supplyoxygentomore than100bedsatatimetoCovid-19patientsadmittedatthecentre. Inaway, this was a return gift from Italy for the services ITBPrenderedduringthefirstwave,andtheambassadoracknowl-edged asmuch. Speaking on the occasion, de Luca remem-bered the assistance provided by ITBP personnel when 17Italiancoronavirus-positivetouristsweretakencareofbytheforceat itsChhawla facility in2020.
ASSESSING RISKWithfarmersprotestingagainstBJPlegislatorsandpartyfunc-tionaries inPunjabandHaryana, thepartyhas startedbrac-ingfortheirimpactonitsnationalleaders. Itappearsthatthissensehas got theHomeMinistryunderAmit Shahgranting‘Z’ category security to newly appointed BJP vice-presidentandRSSprachaarak,SaudanSingh,whois in-chargeofpartyaffairsinPunjabandHaryana.Singhhasearlierbeeninchargeof Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha andwas known totravel to remote parts of theseMaoist-affected stateswith-outanysecurity.ButtheMHA'sassessmenttoprovideZ-cat-egory security by CRPF to Singh seems to indicate the gov-ernment'sassessmentthatthefarmers'protestsarenotgoingtoendanytimesoon.Singh’ssecurity isvalidonly inPunjab,HaryanaandDelhi.
LIZMATHEW&MANOJCGNEWDELHI,MAY6
POLITICALleaderscuttingacrossparty lines have expressed con-cern over the Supreme Court'sinterpretation of the 102ndConstitutionalamendmentinitsorder onWednesday strikingdown theMaharashtra govern-ment'squotaforMarathas.WiththeCourtinterpretingittomeanthat only the President (that is,theCentre)candecidethelistofSocially and EconomicallyBackward Classes (SEBCs), theparties have sought a review soas toretain thestates'powers inthis regard.“All statesshouldask forare-
viewof this judgment. It'swrongtotakeawaytherightsofstatesindeciding their own backwardcommunities.TheSupremeCourtshould set up a special Bench tolook into a review,” BJP leaderGaneshSingh,thechairmanoftheParliamentary Committee onWelfare of Other BackwardClasses,toldTheIndianExpress.In amajority verdict, a five-
judge Constitution Bench de-claredWednesdaythatonlythePresidentcandecideonterminga community SEBC for the pur-posesofreservation.Whileitup-heldthe102ndamendmentthat
gave special powers to theNational Commission onBackwardClasses(NCBC), itsaidstatescanonlymakesuggestionsfor inclusion of a community intheSEBC list.Interestingly, at the time the
102nd Constitutional amend-mentBillwaspassed,in2018,theModigovernmentandBJPhadin-sistedthatitwouldnottakeawayanypowersofthestate.InMarch,when the Supreme Court hadsoughtresponsesfromstategov-ernments on the question of in-terpretationofthe102ndamend-ment, senior BJP leaderBhupender Yadav had repeatedthis to The Indian Express, sayingthechangewasmeantjusttogive“specialpowers”totheNCBCandnottotakeawaypowersofstates.OnThursday,Yadav,whoheadedthe Select Committee on theConstitutional amendment Bill,said he was studying theSupremeCourtorder.In its report to the Rajya
SabhaonJuly19,2017,theSelectCommittee had said, “ThisConstitutionalamendmentdoesnotaffectoralter inanywaythepresent powers or functions ofthe State Backward ClassesCommissions, and theirpowersfor exclusion or inclusion ofbackward classes in the StateBackward Classes list shall re-
mainunchanged."KCTyagi,aseniorleaderofBJP
allyJD(U),saidtheSCordercouldspread “anarchy”. “Anumber ofstateshavegivenreservationsbe-yond50%.Peoplearealreadyen-joying the benefits. At this time,suchadecision could spreadan-archy... In thispandemic time,nopartyorgroupcanholddharnaorprotests,sotheCentreshouldan-nounceanothermechanismtogoaroundit...,”hesaid.TheJD(U)hasalwayssupportedstatesdecidingwhich communities should beaddedtotheSEBClist.TheMaharashtragovernment
had passed the Bill giving 16%reservation toMarathas in jobsandeducation,byincludingthemas an SEBC, in November 2018.This took the total quota in thestateabovethe50%ceilingsetbythe Court in its 1992 IndraSawhney(Mandal) judgment.WiththeCongresspartof the
ruling coalition inMaharashtra,senior leaderMVeerappaMoilyadmitted there couldhavebeensome lapses onpart of the stategovernment. “You need to con-duct a socio-economic educa-tional surveyandprove fromthedata and statistics that they (thecommunityforwhichreservationissought)comewithinthecriteriaandarebackward.Sounlesssomecriteriaislaiddown...straightaway
passing a legislation is not goingtohelp.Ithinktheyhavenotgonethroughthat,”hesaid.Moily, a former Union law
minister, added that while theMandal Commission and nowthe Supreme Court favour quo-tas to be capped at 50%, thiscould be exceeded in "excep-tionalcases". "Youhavetomakeanexceptional case andpass anAct in the Assembly... that itshouldbe included in theNinthSchedule of the Constitution.TamilNaduhasdone that."Askedaboutwhat theCentre
shoulddonow,Moily said itwillhavetoaskMaharashtratopassalaw,andthentakenecessarystepstoincludeitintheNinthSchedule."The Centre can always do thatprovideddataiscollectedthrougha socio-economic educationalsurvey,”hesaid,advisingthestatetoconductsuchasurvey.CPI general secretaryDRaja
questionedthecriteriatocapquo-tasat50%,whilearguingreserva-tion is a state matter. “TheSupremeCourttalksaboutequal-ity. Inthatcase,whyis itnottalk-ingaboutrighttoeducation,rightto employmentor right tohous-ing?... You talk about equalitywhen1%ofcorporatehousesowntheentirewealthofthiscountry?WhathashappenedtotheIndianwelfarestate?"Rajasaid.
APURVAVISHWANATHNEWDELHI,MAY6
IN RULING that the power toidentify Socially andEconomicallyBackwardClasses(SEBC) lies exclusivelywith theCentral government and notstates, theSupremeCourt intheMarathaquotaverdicthasvirtu-allyreplicatedtheConstitutionalmodelprescribedforScheduledCastesandScheduledTribes.IncaseoftheSC/STquota,the
President notifies the commu-nityconcerned,inasinglelistan-nexed to the Constitution, andpowers to amend it are vestedwithParliament.In the caseof reservation for
OBCs,however,thereisaCentrallist, enacted under theNationalBackward Classes CommissionAct, 1993, for Central govern-ment jobs, and separate statelists for quota in state govern-mentjobsandeducationalinsti-tutions. For example, in Punjab,the Central list contains 68groupsandthestate listhas71.The five-judge Constitution
Bench ruling in the Marathaquota case applies the SC/STrules for SEBCswhile interpret-ing the 102nd Constitutionalamendment. The 2018 amend-mentgivesconstitutionalstatustotheNationalBackwardClassesCommission, and the Presidentthepowers tonotifySEBCs.“Thissequituristheonlyrea-
sonwhychangewasenvisionedin the first place by Parliament,sitting in its constituent capac-ity, no less, which is to alter theentire regime by ensuring thatthe final say in the matter ofidentification of SEBCs wouldfollowthesamepatternasexists,inrelationtothemostbackwardclassesamongallcitizens(i.e.theSCs and STs, through Articles338,338A,341and342),”JusticeRavindraBhatwroteinhisopin-ionwhich formed themajority
viewonthisaspect.“The rationale for the
amendment... isthatParliamenthad the experience of about 71years’ working of theConstitution and the systemwith respect tomatters regard-ing identification of the mostbackward classes of communi-ties, i.e. SCsandSTs,” themajor-ityviewheld.The Court ruled this despite
theAttorneyGeneral’sstrenuousarguments that the intention ofParliamentwas not to diminishthepowersofstates.“...the102ndAmendmentwas notmeant tolimitthisconstitutionalobligationofstates,butrathertostreamlinethemethod of identification ofsocially and educationally back-wardclassofcitizens,forthepur-poseofcentralemployment,andcentrally funded and sponsoredschemes, institutions and facili-ties,” Attorney General K KVenugopalargued.However, the Court held,
“Suchaninterpretationamountsto saying that Parliamentwentto great lengths by defining, forthe first time, the term SEBC inthe Constitution, and providedforonenotificationunderArticle342A issued by the President,whichwould'specifythesociallyand educationally backwardclasseswhich shall for the pur-poses of this Constitution bedeemed to be socially and edu-cationally backward classes inrelation to that State or Unionterritory',andthen,restrictedthewidth of the term 'deemed forpurposesof thisConstitution'bygiving primacy to the term'CentralList'.Suchaninterpreta-tionrestrictsthespecificationofacommunityasbackward,inre-lation to thatStateorUnion ter-ritory, only for purposes of theCentral List, i.e., for purposes ofcentral government employ-mentandCentral Institutions.”
FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,MAY6
AFTER EIGHT years, India andtheEuropeanUnionaresettore-sumenegotiations for an ambi-tious and comprehensive freetradeagreement.Anannounce-mentonthe formal resumptionis expected to bemade at a vir-tual summit between PrimeMinisterNarendraModiandtopleadership of the 27-nationgroupingonSaturday.OfficialsourcesintheEUalso
said the free trade agreementpackagewill include an invest-ment protection pact aswell asaframeworkongeographicalin-dication.Launched in June 2007, the
FTAtalksbetweenIndiaandtheEU hit a roadblock inMay 2013when the two sides failed tobridge substantial gaps on cru-cial issues, including tariff, datasecurity status for the IT sectorandmarketaccess.IndiaandtheEUwillagreeto
resume the negotiations at thevirtual summit between PrimeMinister Modi and top leader-ship of the bloc, sources saidThursday.The two sides are also likely
toannounceaconnectivitypart-nership at the summit that isaimed at boosting cooperationinsectors likerailway,maritimeandaviationaswellasinthedig-ital domain to bring people ofthe two sides closer to eachother, sources said.Prime Minister Modi was
scheduled to visit Portugal forthe India-EU summit but itwascalled off because of the coron-aviruscrisis.Bothsides thende-cided to hold the deliberationsvirtually.A strategically important
grouping for India, the EU as awhole was country’s largesttrading partner in 2018. India'sbilateral trade with the EU in2018-19 stood at $15.6 billionwithexportsvaluedat$57.17bil-lion and imports worth $58.42billion.
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEKOLKATA,MAY6
THE CONVOY of VMuraleedharan, MoS, MinistryofExternalAffairs,wasattackedandhisvehicle ransackedwhilehewasvisitingWestMidnaporedistricttomeetBJPworkers,whohadallegedlycomeunderattackby supporters of the ruling theTrinamool Congress. Armedwith sticks, the attackerspeltedhis carwithbricksandstones.Even as the Unionminister
escaped unhurt in WestMidnapore, a four-memberteam of the Union Homemin-istryarrived inWestBengalandheldmeetingswiththeDGPandchief secretary.Sporadic incidents of vio-
lence continued, including oneinCoochBehar’sDinhatawhichleft Trinamool leader Udayan
Guhawith abroken lefthand.Reacting to theattackonthe
Unionminister’s vehicle, ChiefMinisterMamataBanerjeesaid,“While political gatherings areprohibitedinthestateduetotheCovid19situation,somecentralministersarecominghere.Theyare going to villages, provoking
people. They are trying to fo-ment riots. I will request themnot to disturb peace by fanningcommunaltensions.Thisishap-pening in placeswhere the BJPhaswon.”Shealsoannouncedacompensation of Rs 2 lakh eachfor families of those killed inpost-poll violence.
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,MAY6
DAYS AFTER the CPM-led LDFcreated history in Kerala by re-tainingpowerinthestateforthefirst time since 1977 and ChiefMinister Pinarayi Vijayan cameinforall-roundpraisewithmanycalling him the architect of thevictory, the CPM’smouthpieceonThursdaydisagreedwiththeassessmentthatthevictorywassolelybecauseof the“personal-ity and role” of Vijayan and ar-gued that it was the result of“both individual and collectiveefforts”.Former CPM general secre-
tary Prakash Karat in the edito-rial in 'People’s Democracy'wrote that there is an effort “bysectionsof themedia and somepolitical commentators to re-duce this historic victory solelyto the personality and role ofPinarayiVijayan”.“According to them, it is the
emergenceofa'supremeleader'or 'strong man' that was themain reason for the electoralsuccess of the LDF. They claimthat one man dominates thegovernment and party. There isno doubt that Pinarayi Vijayan,aschiefminister,setanewstan-dard inprovidingpoliticalguid-ance to policy-making...,” hewrote.“Nevertheless, the victory is
theresultofbothindividualandcollective efforts. As far as theCPI(M) and the LDF are con-cerned, the incomingministrywillcontinuethetraditionofcol-lectivework and individual re-sponsibility.”
RAVIKBHATTACHARYA&HARIKISHANSHARMAKOLKATA,NEWDELHI,MAY6
WEST BENGAL Chief MinisterMamataBanerjeeThursdaysaidshe has written to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, re-questinghimtoadvisetheUnionAgricultureMinistry to releasefunds under the PM-Kisanschemeto farmers in thestate.This came days after Union
AgricultureMinister NarendraSingh Tomarwrote to the chiefminister, asking her to directstateofficialstotakeswiftactionto facilitate transfer of the fundinto the accounts of eligiblefarmers inBengal.Thescheme,underwhichRs
6,000 is directly deposited intothe accounts of the farmers inthree equal installments a year,figuredprominentlyintherecentassembly election campaign,with the BJP and TMC accusingeachotherofblockingthefunds.BJP leaders, including the
PrimeMinister,hadallegedthatthe TMC government blockedthe funds in Bengal, and prom-isedpayment of Rs 18,000– in-cludingarrears–toeacheligiblefarmer in Bengal if elected topower. The TMC said the stategovernment had already donethe needful, and accused theCentreof delaying the funds.“I havewritten to the Prime
Minister. I hope the fundsunderPM-Kisanschemewillbereleasedsoon.TheysaidRs18,000willbegiventothefarmers.Fivemonthsago,we uploaded the names oftherecipientsonthecentralgov-ernment portal and made allarrangements,”BanerjeesaidatapressconferenceThursday.In her letter to the Prime
Minister, shewrote: “Out of the21.79lakhfarmerswhoregisteredfortheschemeaspertheletteroftheUnionAgricultureMinister
sent last November, 14.91 lakhdata have been updated on theportal,whichwereduly verifiedand ofwhich 9.84 lakh data areready for PFMS [Public FinanceManagementSystem].”A source in the Union
Agriculture Ministry told TheIndian Express that the WestBengal government wantsmoney to be released to it in-stead of the beneficiaries’ ac-counts, which is against theguidelines of PM-Kisan. Underthe scheme, themoney is to bedeposited into the accounts oftheeligiblefarmersonlythroughDBT. Theofficial said theCentrewill release the fundswhen thestategovernmentcompletestheprocessasper theguidelines.Banerjee's statement follows
aletterUnionAgricultureMinisterNarendra Singh Tomarwrote toheradayaftertheassemblyelec-tion results were announced.Congratulatingheronthevictory,Tomarwrote, “I have requestedto youearlier several times thatabout 69 lakh farmers of thestatehavebeendeprivedofPM-Kisan....”TheCentrehadlaunchedthe
PM-Kisan scheme in 2018-19,which theWest Bengal govern-menthadrefused toaccept.“OnlyfarmersofWestBengal
are deprived of this schemeacrossIndia,therefore,Iagainre-quest you direct the state gov-ernment officials to take swiftaction as per the guidelines ofthescheme,”Tomarwrote.
Stalin takes oath today, son not in first list of ministers
Collective effortbehind Keralawin, not justPinarayi: CPMmouthpiece
WestBengalCMBanerjee;UnionministerTomar
In ruling, apexcourt goes bySC, ST rules
MARATHAQUOTAORDER
BJP toCong, parties say can’ttake awaypowers of states
Union minister convoy attacked asBengal post-poll violence continues
After 8 years, Indiaand EU to resumefree trade pact talks
Release funds underPM-Kisan scheme,Mamata tells PMAskstateofficials to facilitatepayments to farmers,writesTomar
UnionMinisterVMuralidharanvisitsBJPworkersatPanchkhurivillage inWestMidnapurdistrict, Thursday.PTI
New Delhi
7THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,MAY7,2021
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
SECONDSURGE
Moreseverecasesasnumbershigh;severitynot linkedtomutants:Nimhansexpert
UK, doublemutant variantsnowmajor strains in KarnatakaJOHNSONTABENGALURU,MAY6
THEGENOMEsequencingoftheCovid 19 virus in circulation inKarnataka in the secondwavesince March has revealed thatthedoublemutantMaharashtrastrain (B.1.617) and UK variant(B.1.1.7)havevirtuallyobliteratedtheprevious straindominant inthestate (B.1.36.29).This has been revealed in a
study by the Department ofVirology at Nimhans -- one ofthe10 labs in thecountrycarry-ing out genome sequencing ofcoronavirus strains. "The rapiddisplacementofB.1.36.29bytheUK andMaharashtra variants issuggestive of higher infectivity.The higher infectivity of the UKvariant isknownbut ithas tobeestablishedforB.1.617,''saidProfV Ravi, former head of neurovi-rologyatNimhanswhoiswork-ingonCovid19genomicsat thelab.However, the virologist
added, there was no evidenceyet to indicate that any strain ismore severe than the other. "Interms of clinical behaviour, thevirus is the same.Weare seeingmore severe cases because weareseeingfivetimesthenumberof cases seen earlier. The sever-ity has nothing to dowithmu-tants. There is absolutely no ev-
idence,'' Ravi said.TheNimhansstudy,whichis
yet to be published, found theB.1.617 strain in 36 of the 69(52%)positivesamplescollectedbetweenMarch and end-April,andB.1.1.7 in19of them(27.5%).In contrast, the study says, fromDecember 2020 to earlyMarch2021, the dominant variant inKarnatakawas B.1.36.29,whichhas been in circulation sinceMarch2020"In Delhi and Punjab theUK
variant is a problem and inMaharashtraand16otherstatesthe B.1.617 double mutant hasbecome a problem," Ravi said,adding there are "about 34 dif-ferent lineages" in circulationand stressing the need to in-
creasethesamplesizeandscopeof thegenomestudy.According to the Nimhans
study,whichwassharedbyRaviduringarecenttalk,theUKvari-antandtheMaharashtradoublemutant were in communitytransmissioninBengalurubytheendofMarch;"50percentofse-quences in south Bengaluru inthe last week of March (were)theMaharashtravariant'', itsaid.Karnataka is seeing a Covid-
19 surge since endMarch. OnMay 5, it sawover 50,000 casesand346deaths,withBengaluruaccounting for nearly half ofeach. From outside the capital,185deathswererecorded--thehighest in thesecondwave.The previously dominant
strain in Karnataka, B.1.36.29emerged during the lockdownlastyear.ByendFebruary2021,itwasprevalentin20-30%ofcases,asper theNimhansstudy.Ravi said the second wave
would affect all the states and athirdwavewould come later intheyear."Mypredictionisthatitwill be between October andDecember. We are in it for thelonghaul unlesswe change ourbehaviour and unless our lead-ers change their behaviour... Allvariants or no variants do notmake a difference if you wearmasks. They do not penetratemasks."The scientist cautioned that
children could be hit theworstin the third wave. "We are im-munising the elderly, middleaged and the youngbut there isnovaccineforchildren.Theviruswill always find a susceptiblehost," Ravi said, adding that hehas been advising the govern-ment tosetuppaediatric ICUs.AnearlierNimhansstudyon
the molecular profiles of theSARS Cov-2 virus circulating inKarnataka inMarch-May 2020was published in PLOSOne -- apeer-reviewed open access sci-entific journal. The study wasuniqueinitsuseofgenomedataand epidemiological informa-tion to assess the nature of thevirus responsible for the earlyspread.
PatientsataCovidcarecentre inBengaluruonThursday.PTI
HC to Goa: Donot allow entrywithout Covidnegative reportfrom May 10
New Covid-19strains spreadingfast amongyouth: Andhra
Hospital bed scam:Searches atBengaluru corpCOVID war rooms
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEHYDERABADMAY6
CORONAVIRUS STRAINSB.1.617andB.1whicharethemajorvari-antsidentifiedfrompositivesam-plesinAndhraPradesh,TelanganaandKarnataka inApril, are veryinfectiousandarealsospreadingrapidlyintheyoungeragegroupsapartfromtheadults,astatementfromtheAndhraPradeshgovern-mentsaidThursday.B.1.617isadoublemutantthat
gets its name from twonotablemutationsfoundinothervariantsthat appeared together for thefirst time in this new strain andwas first detected in westernIndia.The genome sequencing of
positive samples was done atCCMBHyderabad, and Andhragovernment has been sending250samplestoCCMBforgenomesequencingeverymonth.The statement said the
N440K strain (B.1.36) was de-tected in June-July 2020 fromsamples of south AP, Telanganaand Karnataka. This strain wasprevalentinDecember2020andJanuary and February 2021 anddropped down drastically inMarch.“B.1.617andB.1arethemajor
strains identified fromthesam-plesofsouthIndiafromthepos-itives of the April month data,which is very infectious and isalso spreading in the youngerage groups apart from theadults," thestatement said.
OMKARGOKHALEMUMBAI,MAY6
MAINTAININGTHATothercivicbodies in Maharashtra shouldreplicateBMC'smodelforCovid-19managementinMumbai,theBombayHighCourtonThursdaysaid itwas “high time” that pri-vate hospitals consider havingtheirownoxygenplantstomeetdaily consumptiondemands.The court also said that the
Centreandstatemusttakestrictmeasurestocurbblack-market-ing and profiteering by MNCsthat aremaking profits by sell-ing anti-viral drugs for higherprices to “exploit” Covid-19 pa-tientsindireneed.Further,itsaidthat to curb the profiteering,medicalpractitionersshouldnotinsistinprescribingdrugsof for-eign companies to treat Covid-19, if those manufactured inIndia werewidely available forcheaperpriceandcouldbeusedasalternativedrugs.The HC suggested that the
state can consider takingmeas-ures, includingimposingacom-
plete lockdownforalimitedpe-riod in districts reporting sub-stantial rise incases.A division bench of Chief
Justice Dipankar Datta andJustice Girish S Kulkarni washearing a PIL filed byMumbai-basedlawyerSnehaMarjadiandsocial activist Nilesh Navlakha,seeking propermanagement ofCovid-19 treatment inMaharashtraandswiftpenalac-tionagainstblackmarketers.Advocate General Ashutosh
Kumbhakoni, appearing for thestate, said that fromApril 21 toMay 9, the Centre has allocated8.09 lakh vials of Remdesivirdrug toMaharashtra and sevenprivatemanufacturing compa-niesareexpectedtomakethesevials available every day. Thestate,however,hadreceivedonly3.5 lakhvials tillMay4.He added that while the
state's requirementwas 51,000vialseachday,itwasgettingonly35,000daily.“Supplyislessthandemand.Weareusingthestockjudiciously, but companiesshould comply,” Kumbhakonisaid.
ANURADHAMASCARENHASPUNE,MAY6
THECENTREconfirmed that theSARS-CoV2variant B.1.617 (dou-blemutant)couldbethecausebe-hind the surge, and nowa newstudy at the Indian Council ofMedical Research-NationalInstitute of Virology ICMR -NIVhasalsoflaggeditspathogenicpo-tential.Syriangoldenhamstersinthe
laboratoryinfectedwiththisvari-ant showed maximum bodyweight loss andhigher viral loadas against those whowere in-fected with the B.1 lineage(D614G)of thevirus.Increasedseverityof B.1.617.1
infectioninhamsterswasdemon-stratedbythehigherbodyweightreduction, lung viral load andmoreseverechangesinthelungsascomparedtothatofB.1(thefirstvariant of SARS CoV-2, D614G),whichhadbecomedominantandis prevalent worldwide sinceMarch 2020, according to thestudy titled “SARSCoV-2variantB.1.617.1 is highly pathogenic inhamstersthanB.1variant”,postedonMay5inbioRxivpre-print.DrPragyaDYadav,scientist‘E’
and group leader, MaximumContainment Facility, IndianCouncil of Medical Research-NationalInstituteofVirology,whoisthefirstauthorofthepaper,saidtheB.1.617varianthaseightaminoacidchangesinthespikeregion.
However, the evolution ofmultiple sub-lineages withinB.1.617lineageisamajorconcern.“Sub-lineages B.1.617.1, B.1.617.2andB.1.617.3have adifferent setofuniquesubstitutionsanddele-tions. The predominant lineagearetheB.1.617.1andB.1.617.3,andthese are characterised by thepresence of L452R, E484Q andP681Raminoacidchanges,whiletheB.1.617.2lackstheE484Qmu-tation,”DrPriyaAbraham,oneoftheauthorsandDirectorofICMR-NIV,said.Scientistsinvestigatedtheviral
loadandpathogenic potential ofB.1.617.1 in Syrian golden ham-sters.Whattheydidwastocom-paretwogroupsofSyriangoldenhamsters(nineeach)thatwerein-oculated intranasallywith SARSCoV-2 isolates, B.1 (D614G) andB.1.617.1respectively.Theanimalsweremonitored
daily for the clinical signs andbodyweight. The necropsy (ex-aminationofanimalsafterdeath)of threehamsters eachwasper-formedon3,5-and7-dayspost-infection.Throatswab,nasalwashandorgan samples (lungs, nasalturbinate,trachea)werecollectedand screenedusing SARS-CoV-2specificReal-timeRT-PCR.Hamsters infected with
B.1.617.1demonstratedincreasedbodyweightlosscomparedtotheB.1variant.Thehighestviral loadwas observed innasal turbinateandlungspecimensofanimalsin-fectedwithB.1.167.1on thirddaypostinfection.
ICMR-NIV: Emergentvariant raises Covidseverity in hamsters
MAYURAJANWALKARPANAJI,MAY6
THE HIGH Court of Bombay atGoa on Thursday directed thestategovernmenttoensurethatno one is allowed to enter thestatewithout a Covid-19 nega-tive certificate fromMay10on-wards.The interim order was
passed on Thursday when thedivision bench of Justice M SSonak and JusticeM S Jawalkarwashearingabunchofpetitionsurging the court to direct thestate government to take stepsto tackle the rising number ofCovid-19 cases in the state in-cluding enforcing a lockdown,testingthosearrivinginthestateandmakinginformationregard-ing hospital bed availability ac-cessibleonline.Thecourtalsosaid,“…wesee
no justification in the State ofGoanotinsistinguponanegativ-itycertificatefrompersonswhoseek entry into Goa at this cru-cial juncturewhenreports indi-cate that the positivity rate inGoa isashighas52%.”This,thecourtsaid,shouldbe
effected from May 10 so thattravellersintransitarenotincon-venienced.The PILs were filed by the
South Goa AdvocatesAssociation, activists ArmandoGonsalves, Shruti ChaturvediandRoshanMathias.Thecourtalsoaskedthestate
government to file an affidavitdetailing the steps it had takenforaugmentationofthemedicalinfrastructurebyMarch10.
SriLankabanstravellersfromIndiaimmediatelyColombo:SriLankaonThursdayannouncedthatallarrivalsfromIndia will be banned with im-mediateeffectduetotherecordrise in Covid-19 cases in theneighbouring country. Severalcountries like the UK, the UAE,AustraliaandSingaporehaveal-ready banned travellers fromIndia as well as other SouthAsian countries. The CivilAviationAuthorityonThursdaysaid that travellers from Indiawill not be allowed to disem-bark inSri Lanka. PTI
Ex-UnionministerPonRadhakrishnaninfectedwithCovidMadurai:FormerUnionministerand BJP leader PonRadhakrishnan,whohasbeenin-oculated against Covid-19, hastested positive for coronavirusand admitted to a governmenthospital here on Thursday. HewasadmittedtotheGovernmentRajaji Hospitalwithmild symp-toms.“Itestedpositiveforcoron-avirus infectionwhen I under-went a test yesterday. Doctorssaid I havemild symptoms,” theformerunionministerofstateforfinanceandshippingsaid. PTI
Bangladeshsends10,000vialsofremdesivirtoIndiaDhaka:BangladeshonThursdayhanded over 10,000 vials of an-tiviral injection remdesivir toIndiaaspartof itsmedicalassis-tanceamiddeterioratingCovid-19situationintheneighbouringcountry. These10,000injectionsmanufactured locallyweresentasmedical assistance on behalfof the people of Bangladesh attheinstructionofPrimeMinisterSheikhHasina for the Covid-af-fectedpeopleof India,accordingtoanofficial statement. PTI
USurgescitizensnottotraveltoIndiaWashington: The US hasreissueditstraveladvisoryonIndia,urgingitscitizensnottotraveltothecountrydue to anunprecedentedsurgeintheCovid-19casesthere. India is strugglingwithasecondwaveof thepandemicwithmorethan3,00,000dailynewcoron-avirus cases being re-ported in the past fewdays, and hospitals arereelingunderashortageofmedicaloxygenandbeds.“DonottraveltoIndiaduetoCOVID-19. Exercise in-creased caution due tocrimeand terrorism,” theStateDepartment saidonWednesday in its latesttraveladvisory. PTI
INBRIEF
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICELUCKNOW,MAY6
EVENAS the daily deaths fromCovid-19remainedabove350forthreestraightdays,UttarPradeshChief Minister Yogi AdityanathThursdaysaidthepolicyof“test-ing, trackingandtreatment”hasgiven “satisfactory results” andcited“adecline”innewcasesde-spitedailytestingremainingbe-tween2lakhand2.5 lakh.At least 353 people died of
Covid-19sinceWednesday, tak-ing the overall toll to 14,501, outofwhichover2,263deathswerereported in the last seven days.Thenewpositivecasesinthepast24hoursdropped to26,750, ac-cording to the bulletin. In thesame period, 28,902 recovered,bringingdowntheactivecasesto2,59,844. The active caseswerehighestonApril30at3,10,783.Thedecline in active cases is
being attributed to the highnumberof tests, curbs andvac-cinations.
AVISHEKGDASTIDARNEWDELHI,MAY6
WITHTHEnumber of reservedtrainpassengersfallingtojustfivelakhadayfromaround20lakhadayamonthago,Railwaysatvar-iouszonesonThursdaydiscontin-ued several regular trains, espe-cially long-distance ones, tillfurthernotice in light of surge inCovid cases and also because oflowoccupancy.In Delhi, Northern Railway
cancelled 28 trains, to and fromtheCapital,includingRajdhanistoChennaiandBilaspur, aShatabditoChandigarh,Kathgodam,Kalka;Duronto to Jammuand the like.Zones likeCentral, Southernandotherothersdidthesameandwillcontinuouslyrationalisethenum-ber of trains they are running,
based on latest position of de-mand,officialssaid.TheCentralRailwayshascan-
celled23passenger trains. TheseincludeNagpur-KolhapurspecialuptoJune29,theCSMT-Kolhapurspecial up to July 1, the CSMT-
PunespecialuptoJune30.The assessment in themin-
istry is that people are just nottravellinglongdistanceenoughtocontinuerunningthelow-patron-agetrains.Sources said several states
havealsowrittentotheRailwaystodiscontinuetheunreservedcat-egory trains, suchas theMEMUsandDEMUs running inter-city,whichthezoneshavebeenaskedto do. Based on a request fromWest Bengal, suburban serviceswere suspended in view of theCovidsurge.However,topofficialstoldThe
IndianExpress that this is not tobe viewedas a precursor to sus-pending train operations. “Sinceoccupancy is low,peopleare justnottravelling,itisdecidedtotem-porarilydiscontinueanumberoftrainswith lowoccupancy look-ingat the latestpositionofbook-ings,” said a senior RailwayMinistryofficial.Theministry said thiswas a
regularexercise.“Cancellationandrestorationisanannualdynamicprocess.... Some regular trains
with lower occupancies are dis-continuedwhile some Specialswithsustaineddemandaremadepermanent.Cancellationofsometrainsinpresenttimesshouldalsobe seen only in that context,” aRailwayministryspokesmansaid.Sourcessaidthatthereissofar
noplantosuspendlong-distancetrainoperations.Key officials said routes on
which the regular trains havebeen discontinued for the timebeing do have other trains tocater to any passengerwantingto travel. Ministry officials TheIndian Express spoke tomain-tained that trainswill continueto run as per demand. “Routeslike Bihar and Uttar Pradeshfrom Delhi continue to havetrains including additional spe-cial trains,” said a seniorNorthernRailwayofficial.
Trainsparkedatarailwayyard inHowrah. PTI
AtemporaryCovid-19hospitalbeingsetupinagovernmentcollegeauditorium inGurugramonThursday.PTI
Occupancy dips, Rlys cancels several trains
HC: High time privatehospitals have theirown oxygen plants
431DAYSSINCEPANDEMICBEGAN
TRACKING THE SECOND SURGE
NEWCASES: 3,96,507ACTIVE CASES:36,43,671TOTAL VACCINATION: 16,25,13,339
DAILY DEATHS3,773
TOTALDEATHS2,33,941
WEEKLY CFR1.30%
OVERALL CFR1.44%
TESTS TODAY: 19,21,457 | TOTAL TESTS: 29,86,96,666
WEEKLY POSITIVITY: 22.03% | OVERALL POSITIVITY: 7.19%
STATESREPORTINGMOSTCASES
STATE NEW ACTIVE WEEKLY TOTALCASES CASES POSITIVITY VACCINATION
■Maharashtra 62,194 6,39,075 21.85% 1,67,81,719
■Karnataka 49,058 5,17,091 27.45% 1,01,11,482
■Kerala 42,464 3,91,206 26.12% 75,94,821
■UttarPradesh 26,622 2,59,844 12.20% 1,31,75,325
■TamilNadu 24,898 1,31,468 14.55% 62,49,242
STATESREPORTINGMOSTDEATHS
STATE TODAY’S TOTAL WEEKLY OVERALLDEATHS DEATHS CFR CFR
■Maharashtra 873 75,721 1.26% 1.85%
■UttarPradesh 350 14,501 1.08% 1.48%
■Delhi 335 18,398 1.52% 1.92%
■Karnataka 328 17,216 1.38% 1.38%
■Chhattisgarh 212 9,950 1.57% 1.64%
Note:DataasonMay6;vaccinationnumbersasofMay5.Deaths includethosefrompreviousdays.
VARINDERBHATIACHANDIGARH,MAY6
ACTIVE CASES in the secondCovidwave inHaryana are pro-jected to cross 1.5 lakh byMay15, IIT scientists have warned.The state onThursday recordedits highest single-day positivityrate at 29.92 per cent since thebeginning of the pandemic.Haryanahasalreadyseena ten-fold rise in active cases in littleover amonth sinceApril 1, cou-pledwithasharpfall inrecoveryrate.All this has forced the ruling
dispensationtoscramble its topbureaucratsandministersacrossdistricts to ramp up prepared-
ness tocurtail thesurge.The state’s cumulative posi-
tivityratejumpedfrom4.67percent on April 1 to 7.33 per centonMay5.On Thursday (May 6),
Haryana’scumulativepositivityrate stood at 7.48 per cent. Thestate also reported 177 Coviddeaths in the last 24 hours tak-ingthetotalnumberofCovidfa-talities to5,137 till date.During the last more than
onemonth(April1 toMay6), atleast1,973peoplehavediedduetoCovid-19 inHaryana.While the fatalities were
3,164 on April 1, they rose to5,137onMay6.Similarly,thedailynewcases
surged significantly from 1,609
to 15,416 (9.58 times increase)onMay5, and14,840onMay6.Active cases too increased from10,362onApril1 toawhopping1.13lakh(over10timesincrease)as onMay 5. The number of ac-tive Covid-19 cases reached1,15,842 on Thursday (May 6)evening.Although thenumberof pa-
tients recovering daily had alsobeen increasing, but the recov-ery rate dipped from 95.37 percent from 78.82 per cent, be-cause of the number of newcases being far more than thenumberof recoveredones.All this while, Gurgaon and
Faridabad have consistently re-mained theworst affected dis-tricts inHaryana.
Haryana sees 10-fold risein active cases in a month
Bengaluru:Thepolicecarriedoutsearchesatthecitycorporation’sCovidwar rooms and collecteddata amid allegations of a scamin booking hospital beds forCovid-19patients.The development came two
days after BJPMP Tejasvi Suryaalleged that hospitals here“blocked”beds in fakenamestomakemoney,atatimeCovid-19caseswere rising inKarnataka.“Searches were conducted
onWednesday at eight zonalwar rooms... Lots of data hasbeen collected,” the city policesaidinastatement. Eightteamswerescrutinisingallthedatacol-lected from the zones. Actionwill be takenbasedon thedata,theysaid. PTI
UP: Deaths stayabove 350, CMsays ‘satisfactoryresults’ fromgovt strategy
New Delhi
8THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,MAY7,2021
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
SECONDSURGE
IRAMSIDDIQUEBHOPAL,MAY6
ASENIORgovernmentdoctorre-signedfromherpostandanotherthreatenedtoquitallegingmisbe-haviourbythedistrictadministra-tion. The citywith 12,017 activecases has thehighest Covid caseloadinthestate,anditshealthin-frastructure is creakingwith asurge in the secondwave of thepandemic.The twogovernmentdoctors
are: District Health OfficerPurnima Gadaria andMedicalOfficer RS Tomar of theCommunity Health Centre inIndore’sManpurtown.After sendingher resignation
toHealth Commissioner AkashTripathi,Gadaria,whoearlierheldadditional charge as the ChiefMedical and Health Officer ofIndore, alleged that DistrictCollectorManish Singhmisbe-havedinpublic.“It does not go down well
whenyouareshoutedatpublicly,and causes mental stress.Especiallywhenyouareputtinginalotofhardwork.Iamahealthofficer and I havedonemyworkwith all earnestness,” Gadariasaid. “Thewayhepublicly scolds—aapnithallehai,nikammehaiaurfree ki tankha le rahe hai—youcan’t say all this… it is unaccept-able. Hismeetings are not twoway, but oneway communica-tion,”sheclaimed.Repeated calls and textmes-
sagestoDistrictCollectorManishSinghwerenotanswered.HealthCommissioner Akash TripathisaidhehadnotacceptedGadaria’sresignation.TheemployeesofWomenand
ChildWelfareDepartment have
also separately petitioned theChiefMinisterthattheywouldnotbe able to work with ManishSinghsinceheresortstoindecentlanguage andmisuses his posi-tion. In thepetition, they threat-enedtostopcomingtoworkfromFriday if the governmentdidnottakeactionagainsthim.PurnimaGadaria,whohelda
press conference in Indore onThursdaysaid,“Wehavejustonedemand that until CollectorIndore,Manish Singh is not re-moved, none of uswill resumework. Everyday someoneor theotherhastogetembarrassedwithhiscomments...”Whereas,Dr.MadhavHasani,
Vice President of MP MedicalOfficers’Associationclarifiedthataround4,000staffincludingdoc-tors,nursesandotherparamed-icalstaffarenotgoingonstrike,hesaidmuch likeDrGadaria, theywouldsubmitmassresignations.Whenasked if theirdecision
will affect the patients, he said,“Theywillbeaffectedbutwearenot doing this for some unful-filledannouncements, it’saboutour esteem and if there is onepersonwhoistimeandagainof-fending people and changinghimwill improvesituation,thenthe government though thinkabout it.”Tomar, on his part, blamed
Sub-Divisional MagistrateAbhilash Sharma. He com-plainedtothecity’sChiefMedicalHealthOfficer that Mishrausedindecentlanguage.“...Idomyjobwith all earnestness. But today,things have gone beyond mymental and physical tolerancelevel and I cannotoffermyserv-ices anymore.” SDMAbhilashMishra did not respond to callsandtextmessages.
2 senior govt docsin Indore quit,blame bureaucrats
Kerala, RajasthanMP go lockdownway; Goa considers
SC: Need to be ready for thirdwave, create oxygen stock
UP govt settingup oximeters,thermal scannersfor cows
Centre moves SC againstHC order to raise oxygensupply for Karnataka
Single-dose vaccineSputnik Lightauthorised in RussiaEXPRESSNEWSSERVICEPUNE,MAY6
RUSSIAHAS approved a single-dose version of the Sputnik VCovid-19vaccine, itsdeveloperssaidThursday.The Sputnik Light vaccine
demonstrated 79.4 per cent ef-ficacycomparedto91.6percentfor the two-shotSputnikV.The datawas taken 28 days
afteritwasadministeredaspartofRussia’smassvaccinationpro-grambetweenDecember5andApril 15, said theRussianDirectInvestment Fund (RDIF), whichhelped finance it.RDIFCEOKirillDmitrievtold
a virtualmedia conference thatitsefficacy ishigher than thatofmanytwo-dosevaccines.Russia's state-runGamaleya
National Research Center ofEpidemiologyandMicrobiologysaidSputnikLighthasprovenef-fectiveagainst all newstrainsofthe coronavirus. It said no seri-
ous adverse events were regis-teredaftervaccinationwith it.A single dose of the vaccine
costs under $10. The one-shotregimenallowsfortheimmuniza-tionofa largernumberofpeopleinashortertimeframe,itsaid.Alexander Gintsburg,
DirectoroftheGamaleyaCenter,said: “Sputnik Lightwill help toprevent the spread of coron-avirusthroughthefasterimmu-nization of larger populationgroups, as well as supportinghigh immunity levels in thosewhohavealreadybeeninfectedpreviously."The global efficacy study of
Sputnik Light was launched onFebruary 21 by the GamaleyacentreandRDIF.ThePhaseIIIclinicalstudyin-
volving 7,000 people was con-ducted inmultiplecountries in-cluding Russia, the UAE, Ghanaand others. As of May 5, morethan 20million people globallyhave received their first shot ofSputnikV.
Covid-positiveAsaramshifted toJodhpurhospitalJodhpur: Self-styled godmanAsaram, jailed for sexually as-saultingaminorgirl,wasshiftedtoahospital in Jodhpurafterhecomplained of breathlessnesslate on Wednesday. RajshreeBehra, Superintendent ofMahatma Gandhi hospital inJodhpur, said Asaram wasbrought to the hospital around11 pm.“When hewas brought,his oxygen saturation was 92percent,nowhe ismaintaininghis oxygen saturation at 96,”Behra said. ENS
CurfewinthreeUttarakhanddistrictsextendedDehradun: In view of the freshsurge in Covid-19 cases, curfewhas been extended in the threeheavy caseload districts ofDehradun, Udham SinghNagarandHaridwarinUttarakhandtillMay 10. TheDMs of Dehradun,Haridwar and Udham SinghNagararedirectedtoenforcethecurfew throughout the districtfromMay6toMay10(till5am),Chief Secretary, Om Prakash,said.Thecurfew,whichwasim-posed in the last week of April,was toendonThursday. PTI
ActorSripradadiesofCovidcomplicationsMumbai: ActorSriprada,who acted in Hindi andBhojpuri movies, dieddue to Covid-19 compli-cations. Shewas 54. Thenews of her demisewasshared by Cine And TVArtistes’ Association(CINTAA) on its officialTwitter handle. “Shedied due to Covid-19complications onSaturday,” CINTAAGeneral Secretary AmitBehlsaid.Sripadastartedher career in 1978 with“Purana Purush” andwas known for appear-ing inpopular filmssuchas “Dharam Sankat”,“Sholay Aur Toofan”amongothers. PTI
INBRIEF
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,MAY6
WITH THE country reporting arecord4.12 lakhnewCovid-19 inthepast24hours,PrimeMinisterNarendraModi on Thursday re-viewedthesituationatameetingattendedbyseniorministers.“Hewasgivenadetailedpic-
tureontheCovidoutbreakinvar-ious states anddistricts. Hewasinformed about the 12 stateswhichhavemorethan1 lakhac-tive cases. The PMwas also ap-prised of the districtswith highdisease burden,” the PrimeMinister's Office said in a state-mentafterthemeeting.Themeetingwasattendedby
DefenceMinister Rajnath Singh,Home Minister Amit Shah,Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman, Health MinisterHarsh Vardhan, and RailwayMinisterPiyushGoyal.“The PMnoted that an advi-
sorywassenttothestatestoiden-tifydistrictsofconcernwherecasepositivityis10%ormore&bedoc-cupancy ismore than60%onei-
ther oxygen supported or ICUbeds,”thestatementsaid.ItsaidthatthePrimeMinister
wasalsobriefedabouttheramp-ingupofhealthcareinfrastructureby the states. “The PMdirectedthat states should be givenhelpandguidanceaboutleadingindi-cators to rampuphealthcare in-frastructure,”thePMOsaid.OnThursday, India’s total ac-
tive caseload reached35,66,398;andarecord3,980deathswerere-portedinthelast24hours.Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh,
Delhi,Karnataka,Kerala,Haryana,WestBengal,TamilNadu,AndhraPradesh andRajasthan reported72.19 per cent of the newcases.Maharashtra reported thehigh-estdailynewcasecountof57,640.ItwasfollowedbyKarnatakawith50,112 while Kerala reported41,953newcases,thehealthmin-istrysaid.
PMNarendraModi
ABHISHEKANGADRANCHI,MAY6
HOURS AFTER PrimeMinisterNarendraModi spoke tohimonthe Covid situation in his state,JharkhandChiefMinisterHemantSorenThursdaynightclaimedthePrimeMinister did not listen tohimduringtheconversationoverthe phone and that itwas just a“monologue”fromhim.According to sources, the
PrimeMinister also spoke to thechief ministers of Telangana,AndhraPradeshandOdishaabouttheCovid-relatedsituationintheirstates. He also spoke to LGs ofPuducherry and Jammu andKashmir,sourcesadded.Whiledetailsoftheseinterac-
tions could not be ascertained,ChiefMinister Soren tweeted atnight: “Adarniya PradhanMantrijijinephonekiya.Unhone
sirf apnemannkibaatki. Behtarhota agarwokaamki baat karteaur kaam ki baat sunte(RespectedPrimeMinistercalled.He just spokewhatwas on hismind. Itwouldhavebeenbetterhad he spoken on issues of im-portance and listened to theotherside).”“The Jharkhand CM's angst
waspalpable,”saidsourcesclosetoCM.“PMModididnotaskany-thingontheconditionofthestateandonresourcesandwhatallthestateneeded. The statehasbeenstruggling to get the requiredmedicines. He justwent on andon. This led the CM towrite thistweet,” thesourcesaid.
The chief minister has beencritical of the Centre in the pastoverhandlingofseveralissues,in-cludingmigrantworkers.SourcessaidthiscouldbethereasonwhyJharkhandmayhave beenover-lookedintheCentre'sannounce-ments.OnMay3,thecentralgovern-
mentdecidedtoprocureorsetupadditional Pressure SwingAdsorptionmedicaloxygengen-erationplantsinpublichealthfa-cilities at 581 sites across thecountry“toensuresmoothavail-ability of medical oxygen”.Sources said Jharkhand is not inthelist.Soren’s tweet came in for
sharpcriticismfromBJP leaders.AssamBJPleaderHimantaBiswaSarma said the “disrespectful”tweet “denigrated” the CM’s of-ficeandwasaninsulttothepeo-pleof the state since thePMhadcalledtounderstandtheirplight.
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,MAY6
THE CENTRE on Thursday ap-proached the Supreme Courtseeking a stay on theKarnatakaHighCourt’sorderaskingittoin-crease the daily allocation ofLiquidMedicalOxygen(LMO)forthe state from the present 962metrictonnes(MT)to1,200MT.Solicitor General Tushar
Mehtamentionedthepleabeforea bench headed by Justice D YChandrachud. The court said itwill have to go through the caserecordsfirst.In itsplea, theCentresaid the
“HighCourtfailedtoconsidertherationalebehindallocationofcer-tain amounts of oxygen to eachState and purely on the basis ofpurported shortage in the city ofBangalore, passed directionswhich, if fulfilled,willhaveacas-cadingeffectandresult intheto-tal collapse of the system in itsfightagainstthesecondwave...”
Itpointedoutthat“theentirenationisfeelingtheeffectsof thesecondwave (of the pandemic)andinsuchasituationitisimper-ativethatlimitedresourcesavail-able at the disposal of the entirenation (in this case, oxygen sup-ply), be put to itsmost judicioususe, keeping inmind the overallsituationinthecountry.Thereby,passing directions in the natureandmanner the Hon’ble HighCourt has done vide the im-pugned order dated 05.05.2021,would ultimately lead tomis-management of resources andcreate a further chaotic environ-mentinanalreadyoverburdenedsystem”.The government stated that
“allhandsonthedeckhavehelpedrampup thedaily productionofLMOtoabout9 times and trans-portation of unprecedentedamounts of LMOhas been gal-vanised...However,unlessration-ally distributed and optimallyused,anyamountofLMO,willbeinadequate...”
KAMALDEEPSINGHBRARAMRITSAR,MAY6
AMRITSARDISTRICThasrecorded283Covid-19deathsinthemonthof April, if the Punjab HealthDepartmentistobebelieved.While this official figure in-
cludesbothruralandurbanareasof thedistrict, the twomain cre-matoriums inAmritsar cityhaveseen an alarming rise in crema-tions in April which points to amuchhigherdeathrate.Those incharge of affairs at
Shivpuri cremationgroundnearDurgianaTemple andcremationground Shahidan nearGurudwara BabaDeep Singh inthe city say that the total crema-tions have been over 1,000 inApril.Thesetwocremationgrounds
areused for cremationof bodiesofthecitypopulation,whileeveryvillage in thedistrict has its owncremationground.In fact, Shivpuri cremation
ground isnowconstructingnewplatforms for cremations in the
wakeof increasingdeaths in thecity.TheManager at Shivpuri cre-
mationgroung,RameshChanderSharma, said, "Weareconstruct-inganewplatformasnumberofdeadbodieshas increasedmanytimes. In normal times, 10 to 12deadbodieswerecrematedeveryday. But nowwe are crematingaround25to30deadbodieseveryday."According to Ramesh, total
791deadbodieswere crematedonlyattheShivpuri inthemonthofApril.166ofthesedeathswereofficialCovid-19deaths.Officially,reasonsof625deathswereotherthanCovid-19."Otherwise,around300non-
Coviddeadbodies are crematedeverymonth.ButinthemonthofAprilonly,600non-Covidbodieswere cremated," said Ramesh,questioning how non-Coviddeathscoulddoubleupsuddenly.
Workersbuildplatformstotackle thespacecrunchatcrematoria, inAmritsarThursday.RanaSimranjit Singh
Big rise in cremations cast doubton Amritsar’s official count
PM spoke his mann ki baat, didnot listen, says Jharkhand CM
HemantSoren
4.12 lakh newcases in 24 hrs, PMholds reviewmeet; speakswith CMs
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,MAY6
THE SUPREME Court onThursday flagged warningsabout an impending thirdwaveof Covid-19 and stressed theneedforcompletingvaccination,and for creating buffer stock ofoxygen.A bench of Justices D Y
ChandrachudandMRShahalsocalledupontheCentretoensurethat Delhi continues to get 700MetricTonnesof LiquidMedicalOxygen(LMO)andreiteratedtheneed tohavea relookat thecur-rent formula for supplying oxy-gen,whichisbasedonthenum-berof ICUandnon-ICUbeds.“Weknowpeopledie,andwe
understandeverybodywhodiesarenotdyingdue to lackof oxy-gen. But can it be denied thatoxygen is not a critical compo-
nent,”thecourtbenchsaidwhilehearing a plea by the Centreagainst the contempt notice is-sued to its officers by the DelhiHighCourt inthematterof LMOsupplytoDelhi.Solicitor General Tushar
Mehta,appearingfortheCentre,submittedthatsupplieshadtobediverted from other states tomeetDelhi’sdemands.“Wemay enter stage three
[thirdwave]andifweprepareto-daywemaybeable tohandle it.Whateverstocksprocuredneedsto be sent to hospitals. It’s notaboutallocatingittothestatebutalso the logistics to see that it isdistributed to hospitals,” JusticeChandrachudsaid.Hesaid the thirdwaveof the
pandemic, which according toexperts “is around the corner”,wouldaffect children. “Sowhenachildgoestohospital,amotherand father will go, too,” Justice
Chandrachud said. “That iswhyvaccinationwill have to be overforthisgroupofpeople.Weneedtoplanforthisinascientificwayandmakearrangements.”The hearing also saw the
DelhigovernmentandtheCentresparoveroxygensupplies to thenational capital, with the Centesayingthatanexpertgroupcom-prisingNiti Aayogmember V KPaula and AIIMS director DrRandeepGuleraia,amongothers,hadsaidthatthedemandfor700MTwas unrealistic and pressedits demand for an oxygen auditto have a realistic assessment oftheneedsof variousstates.Solicitor GeneralMehta said
theaudit committeewill lookatthe actual demand for oxygen,how it is being distributed fromsuppliers,andproblemsfacedbyDelhi inaccessingthesupply.
FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEBHOPA, JAIPUR,PANAJI,THIRUVANANTHAPURAMMAY6
WITH CASES on a steady high,multiple states called for or ex-tended lockdowns and curbs onThursday,withKerala announc-inganine-daylockdown,startingSaturdaymorning, andMadhyaPradesh extending the curfewuntilMay15.The Rajasthan government
announcedastrictlockdownbe-tweenMay 10 and 24, andGoaChief Minister Pramod Sawantsaid a decision on enforcing alockdown in the state will betaken in another two or threedays.In Bhopal,MPChiefMinister
Shivraj Singh Chouhan urgedpeople to follow public curfewand announced free treatmentforthepoorforCovid-19throughAyushmanBharatScheme.Inthenew scheme, the governmentwill tieupwithprivatehospitalsfor a package to treat people forfree.Emphasisingtheneedtogetthe situation under control,Chouhan also urged people tostop allwedding functions, call-ingthemsuper-spreaderevents,andsaidMGNREGAworkshouldbe stopped in villages reportingpositivecases.“Jeevanmein shaadi hoti hai,
Jeevan nahi rahega toh shaadi kiskaamki (therewill beweddingsin one’s life, but howwill mar-riages take place if there is nolife),” Chouhan said, urgingpeo-pletoputastoponweddingsandpostpone themunless they areheld virtually. He said hewould
participateinsuchweddingsvir-tuallyandgivehisblessings.The Kerala government an-
nounced that essential services,agricultural, NREGS and similarlivelihoodactivitieswouldbeper-mitted, but all state and Centralgovernmentoffices,exceptthosein essential services, would re-main closed during the lock-down,whichwouldendonMay16midnight.OnThursday,Keralareported
over42,000newcases,thehigh-est ever daily tally, taking activecaseloadto3.90lakh.Thegovern-menthasdirectedalldistrictcol-lectors to ensurewelfare ofmi-grantworkers inthestate.In Rajasthan,weddings have
beenprohibitedtillMay31andallprogrammes associated withweddings are alsoprohibited tillendofthemonth. Now,weddingswill be permitted only if they’reheldathomeoratthecourt.Goa CMSawant said restric-
tions imposedby the stateweretougher this time,whileDeputyCMChandrakantKavlekarsaidallMLAs seemed to be on boardwitheffectinga lockdown in thestate that is currently under "re-strictions".
Workerscarryoxygencylinders fromaplantatSawaiMansinghhospital, Jaipur.Rohit JainParas
ThedesertedBadiChauparareainJaipur.
ADITIRAJAVADODARA,MAY6
THEVADODARAdistrictadmin-istration has set up temporaryopencremationgroundsinthreevillages to conduct cremationsof Covid-19 positive and sus-pecteddeaths faster.The District DevelopmentOfficer (DDO) said that the ad-ministration has set up tempo-rary crematoriums in govern-mentlandsatKotali,Ankhol,andPiparyavillages.At one suchopen cremation
ground in Pipariya, five pyreswere functional early onThursday when The IndianExpress visited the spot. Heavilyguarded by police, entry hasbeen restricted to ambulancesbringing in the bodies and ac-companyingrelatives.Policeof-ficers on duty said they were“underorders”topreventaccessto any other persons. At Kotaliand Ankhol, the cremationgroundshaveabout threepyres
each.DDOKiranZaverisaid,“There
are 1000-bed Covid-19 govern-ment facilities each at Dhirajhospital and Parul hospital,Pioneer Institute and DhavalbaAyurvedic institute.Deaths alsohappen at other hospitals as farasDabhoitaluka...Theneedwasfelt to havemultiple cremationgroundstoeasetheloadanden-sure a faster process. ThePipariya cremation ground ishelping manage deaths fromParul andDhiraj hospitals... Theoriginal crematorium is locatedinside a village and sowe havetakenintoconsiderationthesen-timentsof thepeople...”As per theVadodara admin-
istration,theofficialCovid-19tollsinceMarch2020isat435,with11deathsonThursday.Thesedonot includethedeathsofCovid-19 positive patients, who havebeen found to have died due topre-existingcomorbidityaswellas deaths of suspected patientsandthosefromotherpartsofthestateorcountry.
PRESSTRUSTOFINDIALUCKNOW,MAY6
AMID THE surge in coronaviruscases, theUttar Pradeshgovern-mentisprovidingoximetersandthermal scanners for cowshousedinthestate’sgaushalas’.A recent press release from
ChiefMinisterYogiAdityanath’soffice also said the stategovern-ment has issued instructions tosetuphelpdesksineverydistrictfor thewelfare of cows, takingforward its cow protectionagenda.The government has issued
instructions that all cowshedsmuststrictlyfollowtheCovid-19protocol, and made wearingmasks and frequent thermalscreeningmandatorythere.It is providing thermal scan-
nersandoximeters,apparentlytodetectearlysymptomsinanimalsof Covid-19, which authoritiessaidThursdayhadkilled353peo-ple in the state over the past 24hours.Therearereportsofhospitals
turning away patients and longwaitsatcrematoriumsatseveralplacesinthestateasitbattlesthesecondwaveof thepandemic.The press release on cow-
shedssaidthe ‘gaushalas’willbeequippedwith all themedicalequipmentsuchasoximetersandthermal scanners for cows andotheranimalsaswell.“In viewof the currentCovid
situation,atotalof700helpdesksforthewelfareofcowshavebeenset up across the districts of thestate.Withthis,51oximetersand341 thermal scanners have alsobeen provided to ensure betteranimalcareandtesting,” itsaid.Thestatementsaidstraycows
inlargenumbersarebeinggivenshelter at the 'gaushalas' due totheeffortsof thechiefminister.
‘High number of deaths’:Open cremation groundsset up in 3 Gujarat villages
New Delhi
EXPRESSNETWORK 9WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,MAY7,2021
Recovery & Legal Section, Circle Office, 3rd Floor, Luv-Kush Tower, Exhibition Road, Patna-800001Ph.: 0612-2320180, E-mail: [email protected]
E-Auction Sale Notice for Sale of immovable assets under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcementof Security Interest Act, 2002 read with provision to Rule 8 (6) of the Security Interest (Enforcement) Rules, 2002.Notice is hereby given to the public in general and in particular to the Borrower(s) and Guarantor(s) that the below described immovable propertymortgaged/hypothecated/Pledged/charged to the Secured Creditor, the Constructive/Physical Possession of which has been taken by theAuthorised Officer of Canara Bank, will be sold on "As is where is”, “As is what is" and "Whatever there is" on 14.06.2021.Details are as under:
Authorized Officer(Canara Bank)
Date : 05.05.2021Place : Patna
Sl.No.
Name/Address/Contact No./A/c No. & IFSC
Code of the Branch
Name and Address of theBorrower(s)/Guarantor(s)/
Mortgagor(s)
Outstandingin Rs.
Details of Property Reserve Price(in Rs)EMD
Bid Multiplier1. Bikramganj Branch,
Surya Complex, AraRoad, Bikramganj,Dist.-Rohtas,Bihar-802212
Mob: 8210998534A/c No.
8359296000001IFSC Code:
CNRB0008359
Borrower/ Mortgagor: M/s MaaAkshamini Traders, Prop.: SriPankaj Kr. Singh, S/o Sri RamChhabila Singh, Mahadev Market,Arra Road, Bikramganj, Dist.-Rohtas-802212.Guarantor: Smt. Bina Kunwar,W/o Ram Chhabila Singh, ShyamTakij, Sasaram Road, Bikramganj,Dist.-Rohtas-802212.
Rs.14,06,013/-as on
30.04.2021+ interest &other cost tillrealization.
EMT of land and building in the nameof Sri Pankaj Kumar Singh, S/o SriRam Chhabila Singh, Khata No.2, PlotNo.457, Thana-526, Mouza-Dharopur,Thana+Anchal-Bikramganj, Dist.-Rohtas, Total Area-3.90 Dicimal/1.25Katha (As per deed no.4377 dated06/06/2015). Boundary: North-BudhuSingh, South-Budhu Singh, East-PlotNo.458 & 459, West-Rasta.
`14,05,000/-`1,40,500/-`10,000/-
2. Sasaram Branch,First Floor, RajLakhan Complex,Sasaram, Rohtas,GT Road-821115Mob: 8698667128
A/c No.8359296000001IFSC Code:
CNRB0008359
Borrower: M/s Shiv MiniRice Mill, Prop.-Vinod Kumar,S/o Mr. Shiv Ram Singh,Moh-Gamhariya, Sasaram,Rohtas-821115 andGuarantor 1: Mr. Sheojee SinghS/o Late Mr. Kuldeep Singh,Vill-Gamhariya, P.O-Mokar, PS-Agrer, Sasaram, Rohtas-821115.Guarantor 2: Mr. Dinesh Singh
Rs.1,15,09,155/-
as on30.04.2021+ interest &other cost tillrealization.
EMT of land and building in the nameof Sri Shiv Jee Singh S/o Late KuldeepSingh, Khata No.-5, Plot No.-140,Thana-163, Mauza-Gamhariya, PO-Mokar, Sasaram, Dist.-Rohtas-821115,Total Area-80 Decimal. Boundary:North-Nij (Vacant Land), South-Road,East-Ramjee Singh (Vacant Land),West-Sita Ram Singh (Vacant Land)
`66,42,000/-`6,64,200/-`10,000/-
S/o Mr. Sheojee Singh, Vill-Gamhariya, P.O-Mokar, PS-Agrer, Sasaram, Rohtas-821115.Last Date of EMD 09.06.2021 at 4.00 P.M. For Detailed terms and conditions of the sale, please refer to the link
provided in www.canarabank.com
PROPERTY FOR E-AUCTION NOTICE
BASHAARATMASOODSRINAGAR,MAY6
JUSTFOURdaysafter they tookup arms, three Al-Badr mili-tants were killed in a gunfightin south Kashmir’s Shopian onThursdaymorning. Their asso-ciate surrendered.Thepolicesaidtheslainmil-
itants spurned their appeals tosurrender.The standoff began
Wednesdaynightwhena jointteam of J&K Police, Army andparamilitary forces cordonedoff Kanigam village in southKashmir's Shopian.“During the search opera-
tionthey(militants)weregivenan opportunity to surrender.Familymembersof thetrappedterroristswerealsocalledtotheencounter site tomotivate andpersuade them to surrender,"thepolicesaid inarelease. "Dueto the great efforts and utmostpatience of police, securityforces and repeated surrenderappeals with the help of theirfamily members, one of thetrappedterroristTausif Ahmadultimately surrendered andlaid down his arms before thejoint security forces. He lateralso appealed to his trappedcompanions to surrender.However, they turned downthesurrenderofferandfired in-discriminately on the jointsearch party whichwas retali-ated leading to an encounter.”The police have identified
the slain militants as DanishMir andMohamadUmer Bhat,both residents of KhajaporaShopian, and Zahid BashirReshi, a resident of RebanShopian.Policesourcessaid themil-
itants had joined themilitant
ranks just thisweek.While thepoliceweresilent
about theweaponsseized fromthemilitants, thearmyclaimedto have found four pistols onthem.“One terrorist surrendered
and three were killed. All fourwererecent recruits,” theArmysaid in a statement.Avideo fromtheencounter
site showstheArmysending intwo civilians inside the shedwherethemilitantswereholedup. In the video, the civilianscanbe seen talking to themili-tants, one of whom says he isreadytosurrender. In thevideo,themilitantssaytheyhaveonlypistolswith them.The video has raised the
question of why more effortswere not made to capture themilitants who were recent re-cruits and armed with pistols.It has also raised questionsabout thesafetyof thecivilianswhowent in to negotiate.TheArmy,however, said the
civilians volunteered to go in-side to persuade the militantsto surrender. “He was theowner of the shed where they(militants)were hiding and hevolunteered togo inside,” ade-fence spokesperson told TheIndianExpress. “As farascaptur-ingthemalive isconcerned, themilitantswerenot onlyhavingpistols but also hand grenadeswhich they threw at the jointteamof forces.”Police said that the
Inspector General of Police(IGP) Kashmir Vijay Kumar"congratulated the joint teamof forces for showing patienceand professionalism" duringthe encounter.
ARUNSHARMAJAMMU,MAY6
THE JAMMU and Kashmir ad-ministrationThursdaycarriedouta reshuffle at the top rungof po-liceadministration,shiftingninesenior IPS officers includingDirector-General of Prisons VKSingh who was appointedCommandant General of theHomeGuards, CivilDefenceandtheStateDisasterResponseForce.The post of Commandant
General of HG/CD/SDRF is de-claredequivalentinrankandsta-tus to thatofDGtill the time it isheld byVKSingh, read anorderissuedbytheHomeDepartment.Though the order indicated
thatthereshufflewascarriedbe-cause of the promotion of sev-eral police officers to the gradeof DG andADG, Singh’s shiftingfromhisoldpost cameadayaf-ter 77-year-old MohammadAshraf Sehrai, a prominentHurriyatleaderandchairmanofTehreek-e-Hurriyat, died in de-tention in Jammu.The separatist Kashmiri
leader was detained under thePublic Safety Act and he wasshifted to Jammuhospital fromUdhampur jail on Tuesdayevening. According to govern-mentofficials,hetestedpositiveforCovid-19posthumously.His death was widely con-
doled by bothmainstream andseparatist politicians across theUT, who called him an honestpolitician.Sehrai’s sonMujahid Sehrai
hadaccusedtheadministrationof delaying his treatment.Mujahid said: “During ourphone calls in the past, he hadsaidthatwasnotgettingpropertreatment.”
3newmilitantrecruits killedin Shopian
Day afterseparatist’sdeath, J&KPrisonsDG shifted
YOGESHNAIKMUMBAI,MAY6
AN AIR ambulance belongingto Jet Serve Aviation headingfrom Bagdogra to Mumbaimadeanemergency landingatChhatrapati Shivaji MaharajInternational Airport after awheelof theC90aircraft felloffatNagpurairport,where ithadhalted for refuelling soon aftertake-off.The Beechcraft VT-JIL air-
craft was carrying two crewmembers, apatient,his relativeand a doctor on board. It leftNagpur around 5.15 pm afterrefuelling and subsequentlylost itswheel. The fallenwheelwas noticed by a CISF stafferwho raised the alarm and in-formedairport authorities andthe Air Traffic Controller. TheATC subsequently raised a dis-tress call and a decision wasmade to make an emergency
landingof theplaneatMumbaiairport."We were really worried.
The pilot was told how to do abelly landingandwas jittery.ByGod’s grace, everything wentwell. Theoperationwentonforthree hours,” Director Generalof Civil Aviation Arun Kumartold The Indian Express.A belly landing or gear-up
landingoccurswhenanaircraftlands without its landing gearfully extended anduses its un-derside, or belly, as its primarylanding device.The pilot of the aircraft,
Keshari Singh said that he re-alised thewheelhad fallenandhad to burn a lot of fuel beforehe landed. "Ididabelly landing.I don’t knowwhether there isdamage to the runway. I amthankful that all are safe,” hesaid."The airport’s emergency
response team, including thefireandrescueresponders, fol-
low-me vehicles, CentralIndustrial SecurityForce,med-ical team among many otherswere activated instantly andwereonstandbytoprovide im-mediate assistance to ensuresafe evacuation of the passen-gers. As a precautionarymeas-ure, CSMIA also foamed RWY27 in order to prevent the air-craft fromcatching fire.Allpas-sengers were evacuated safelyandflightsoperating inandoutof CSMIAremainonschedule,"anMIAL spokesperson said.The patient was sent to
Nanavati hospital.Nagpur Police
CommissionerAmiteshKumarsaid, “TheCISFpersonnelat thewatchtower in Nagpur alertedtheairportauthoritiesafter thewheel fell off. The wheel hasbeen recovered. The aircrafthad come from Bagdogra at4.30 pm andwaited in Nagpuronly for refuelling, andat left at5.15 pm.”
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEVADODARA,MAY6
THE NARMADA police havebooked Bhavesh Kukadiya, 39,whowas arrested by VadodarapoliceinJanuarythisyearfor“cre-ating fake Covid-19hospitalisa-tiondocumentstoclaimmedicalinsurance of Rs 2.5 lakh”, for al-leged culpable homicide notamounting to murder after itcame to light that Kukadiya hadbeenrunningaprivatehospitalatRajpipla in Narmada with nobonafidemedicaldegree.TheprobeintoKukadiya'scre-
dentials, following his arrest bythe Vadodara police, had theNarmadapolicestumbleuponhisfakemedical degrees aswell asfilesof200patientstreatedathishospital since2018,ofwhom 37personsdied.InanFIRlodgedattheRajpipla
police station on Wednesdayevening, policenamedKukadiyaasanaccusedintheallegeddeathof37patients.Kukadiyahasbeenbookedunder Sections 304 and308of the IndianPenal Code forculpable homicide not amount-ing tomurder and indulging in awillful act that couldpose threattothelifeofpeopleorcausedeath.SP, Narmada, Himkar Singh,
said thedistrictpolicewaited forover two months for com-plainants to come forward after
the news of Kukadiya being aquackbecamepublic.Singhsaid,“Wegotintimation
fromDeputy Commissioner ofPolice,ZoneIII,Vadodara, follow-ing his arrest in the insurancescaminJanuarythisyear.Thepo-lice also verified his credentialswhen he claimed that he hadcompletedhisMBBS fromauni-versity inKyrgyzstan. Thepolicewrotetotheuniversityandfoundthathehadneverstudiedthere.”Singh said some of these
deaths in Kukadiya’s hospitalswere in2019,whileamajorityofthem were in 2020 after theCovid-19outbreak.“Wewillques-tionhimabout thepossibility ofhavingtreatedCovid-19patients.Wealsosuspectthatmorepeoplecouldhavediedbutnotregisteredat the municipality’s deathrecordsbureau if theywouldnotneed the death certificate. Thenumber 37 is only of those pa-tientswhohave sought a deathcertificate,”Singhsaid.Kukadiya is currently in
Vadodara Central Jail in judicialcustody in the fake insurancecase.OnJanuary23,Panigatepo-lice in Vadodara arrestedKukadiya and his dentist wifeSejal—whowastheclaimant inthe case of the fake insuranceclaimofCovid-19hospitalisationfor an amount of Rs 2.5 lakh.Kukadiyahadtoldpolicethathewasageneralphysician.
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICELUCKNOW,MAY6
SUPPORTERSOF the victoriouszilapanchayatmemberwentonarampage inGorakhpur's ChauriChauratownonThursdayandsetfiretoapolicepostaftertheassis-tant returning officer (ARO) al-legedly gave thewinning certifi-catetoanothercandidate.AROVirendraKumarhasbeen
booked for cheating, forgery andfraud by police on a complaintfrom Returning Officer SunilKumar. Police have arrested 18people and lodged four separateFIRs in connectionwith thevan-dalismandarsonbythesupport-ers of Kodai Sahni, thewinningcandidate.“AfterKodaiSahniwonthezila
panchayatmemberelectionfromwardno.61,hewasnotgiventhewinning certificate. Instead, theARO have the certificate to an-other candidate RameshKumarwho lost to Sahni by 600 votes.This angered Sahni's supporterswhowentonarampage.TheysettheNayaBazaarpoliceoutpostonfire,vandalisedaPACbusandsix
motorcycles, and looted the be-longingsofpoliceofficialspostedattheoutpost,”saidCircleOfficer(ChauriChaura)KuldeepTewari.Officialssaidthesituationwas
broughtundercontrolafterSahnigotthewinningcertificate.“FourcasesundervariousIPC
sectionshavebeenlodgedagainst60namedand500unidentifiedpersons in connectionwith thevandalism. Based on CCTVfootage,wehavearrested18peo-ple and are looking for others,”saidtheCircleOfficer.Accordingtopolice,Returning
Officer Sunil Kumar filed a com-plaintwiththepoliceagainstAROVirendraKumar.“WehavelodgedacaseagainstVirendraKumarfornot giving thecertificate tothe winningcandidate”saidtheofficer.SSP Dinesh PKumar saidstrict actionwould betaken againstthoseinvolvedin arson andsabotage.
0124SBML03703
Rs.23,03,450/-
1. Mr/Mrs Navin Nandkishor Sonava2. Mr/Mrs Geeta Bai W/o Nandkishore Chhepa3. Mr/Mrs Monika Chhipa W/o Neevan Chhipa4. Mr/Mrs. Nandkishor Chhepa
20-04-2021
Date: 05-05-2021Place: Mandsaur
AccountNo
Total LoanOutstanding(in INR)
Name of the Borrowersand Co-Borrowers
Total LoanOutstanding
As On
Description of the SecuredAsset: All that piece and parcel of property bearing HouseNo. 8,WardNo. 30, Raywal Gali KhanpuraMandsaure Dist. Mandsaur, MP. Pin 458001.Boundaries: East: House of Rafik Nilgar, West: Rasta Gali, South: House of Banshilal,North :Gali House of Mohnlal Ji
For Vistaar Financial Services Pvt Ltd.,Authorized Officer
DEMAND NOTICENOTICE UNDER SECTION 13(2) OF THE SECURITISATIONAND
RECONSTRUCTION OF FINANCIALASSETSAND ENFORCEMENT OF SECURITYINTERESTACT, 2002
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Air ambulance makes emergencylanding at Mumbai airport
TheBeechcraftVT-JILaircraftwascarryingtwocrewmembers,apatient,his relativeandadoctoronboard. It leftNagpuraround5.15pmafterrefuellingandsubsequently lost itswheel.ThefallenwheelwasnoticedbyaCISFstafferwhoraisedthealarmandinformedairportauthoritiesandtheAirTrafficController.
NOTICEIn view of certain complaints received against the NNDagents Mr. Tarun Kumar Srivastava which is underexamination. The account holders are advised not toremit any amount to the NND agent Mr. Tarun KumarSrivastava with immediate effect without writtenpermission/ clearance/ confirmation from the Bank inthis regard. Authorised OfficerPlace : Arrah
PANCHAYATPOLLS:POLLOFFICIALBOOKED
Arson in UP townas wrong candidatedeclared winner
Man booked forrunning hospitalwithout degree
Tripura’s two big tribalparties merge, ‘GreaterTipraland’ main goal nowAgarthala:Amonthafter formerTripuraCongressleader Pradyot Kishore Manikya-led TiprahaIndigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA)swept the state tribal council elections in alliancewith the Indigenous People’s Front of Twipra(INPT), theoldestsurvivingtribalpoliticalpartyofthe state, the latter merged with TIPRA tostrengthen“thansa”,orunity.Announcingthemergeratapressconferencein
thestate capital onThursday, PradyotKishore saidthemovewas“post-pollunification”.Hesaid:“TheoldestpoliticalpartyofTripurahasjoinedusforourcombinedgoalofGreaterTipraland...”DEBRAJDEB
37patientsdeadathis ‘hospital’ in3yrs,Kukadiyabookedforculpablehomicide
New Delhi
10WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
QUOTA, UNQUOTASCstrikesdownMarathareservation, challengespoliticalleadership tore-framebackwardnessquestion—andanswer
THE FIVE-JUDGE CONSTITUTION Bench order that struck down theMaharashtraStateReservationforSociallyandEducationallyBackwardClasses(SEBC)Act, 2018, providing reservation for theMaratha community inpub-lic education and employment, has significant political and legal implica-
tions.TheSupremeCourtrefusedtorevisitthe1992 IndraSawhney judgment,whichhadruled that thequantumof reservation shouldnotexceed50per cent, unless compelledby“extraordinarycircumstances”.TheCourthasheldthatthe2018Actviolatestheprin-cipleof equalityandbyexceeding theceilingof 50percent, goesagainstArticles14and15(right toequalityandprotectionagainstdiscrimination)of the IndianConstitution.Maharashtra’s2018lawwastheoutcomeofaprolongedpoliticalcampaignbythenu-
mericallysignificantandpoliticallydominantMarathacommunity.Atleastthreenationalcommissionsandthreestatecommissionshaverejecteditsdemandforreservationinthepast.Ithasbeenrevivedasapoliticalissueinrecentyears,withpartiescompetingtoprom-isequotastothegroup,whichcontinuestodominate instatepolitics, runningof cooper-ativesandeducationalinstitutionsandownershipof land.ButreservationinMaharashtrahadalreadyreachedthe50percentbarsetbyIndraSawhney,andinclusionoftheMarathas,estimated tobeabout35per centof the statepopulation,within theexistingOBCquotawas fraughtwith the risk of turning other beneficiary groups restive. Hence, a separatequotawas constituted,with the JusticeGaikwadCommission advocating theMarathas’claim to social and educational backwardness. The apex court has now rejected theCommission’sargumentthatextraordinarycircumstancesexistedforaMarathaquota—the Court said the data collected and presented by the (Justice Gaikwad) Commission“proves that theMarathas arenot socially andeducationallybackward”. Byall accounts,theCommission’srecommendationsmayhavemadeamorepersuasivecaseforpropor-tional representation rather than social justice. Going ahead, theMaharashtra govern-mentshouldlistentothestate’stopbureaucratswhohavereportedlyadvisedtheleader-ship to undertake a fresh study to support theMaratha claim for backward status andaffirmativeaction, if itwishestopursuequotas for thecommunity.This also brings amoment of reckoning for various other communities, for instance
thePatidars inGujarat,who, in thewakeof adeepeningdistressduetostructural trans-formations in the economy, have beenmobilising for quotas. The Constitution has en-visaged reservation as an instrument to addresshistorical injustice anddiscrimination.Waysmustbefound,however, toaddressotherkindsofdisenfranchisementanddisad-vantageaswell. Intheend,aresolutiontothegrowingclamourtobedeclaredbackwardmayonly lie in thegovernmentaddressingsupplyside issues ineducationandemploy-ment. Fornow, aproblematicpart of theSCverdictneeds tobe reviewed—threeof thefive judgeswere of the view that only the Presidentwill have the power to identify thebackward classes in a state or UT. The question, who is backward, andwho gets howmuch,isanimportantone.Theanswercanonlybefoundwiththeparticipationofstates.
THE OTHER VIRUSWithcommunaldog-whistle,BJPMPTejasviSuryamakesvirus’sjobeasier.ThisislastthingBengaluruneedsasitbattlesCovid
THE SARS-COV-2’S SECOND surge is beginning to tell on Bengaluru, now thecitywith the highest daily caseload of Covid infections (over 20,000 cases adayforoveraweek).Inthismountingcrisis,BJPMPTejasviSuryahasunearthedanallegedscamintheallocationofhospitalbedsforCovidpatients.Hisscrutiny
extends tohisownparty that runsboth theKarnatakagovernmentand thecitymunici-pal corporation inchargeofCovidmanagement.Unfortunately, Surya’swhistle-blowingalso involvesabrazenlycommunaldogwhistle. Inavideoreleasedby theMP’s team,heisseenaggressivelyquestioningofficersinaBBMPwarroom—butbypickingon17Muslimemployees, whose names he reads out, in the 200-odd staff manning the facility. TwopartyMLAs,whoaccompaniedhiminthispieceofpoliticaltheatre,goontoaskif thewarroomwas“amadrasa”ora“HajBhavan”.Thisnastybitofprofilinghasledtosocialmediaparanoiaabout“terrorists” inCovidrelief,andaviciouscampaignagainstaseasonedbu-reaucratof theminoritycommunity.Eveninpeacetime,anMP,sworntoupholdtheConstitution,crossesaredlineifhepub-
liclytargetscitizensonthebasisof theirfaith. Inthismomentofcrisis,whenhealthwork-ersandfrontlineworkersofallreligionsandidentitiesarebattlingtocontainthepandemic,acommunalagendademeans their serviceanderodespublic trust. It risksderailing thecrucialworkof containingCovid, and triggeringawitch-hunt—asevident in thecrimi-nalisationof theTablighi Jamaat lastyear.Adivisive response to thesecondwavemighthelpSuryamomentarily toobscure the failuresof thestateandcentralgovernments,orthepaucityofoxygensuppliesthatrecentlyledto23deathsinKarnataka.Butpittingcit-izenagainst citizenonlymakes the jobof theviruseasier.In themidstof state failuresand immensesuffering, a lifeline forordinarycitizenshas
been the kindness of strangers. In Bengaluru itself, volunteers fromvarious faiths havepitchedintocremateorburytheCoviddeadwhentheirownco-religionistsshrankinfear.Eachofthemisanassetforthemetropolisasitstaresdownthevirus—andanexampleforTejasviSurya,whomustrefrainfromcommunalisingapublichealthemergency.Ifhedoes-n’tdesistonhisown,hispartymustpersuadehimto.
COALITION POLITICIANAjitSinghadvocated interestsof hisbase,wielded influence, ineraof intensifyingcompetition forpowerandresources
AT THEBEGINNINGof his political career, over 35 years ago, Ajit SinghwassimplythesonofChaudharyCharanSingh,oneofthemostprominentpeas-antleadersfromthenorthinindependentIndia.But,whenhepassedawayonThursdayat 82, fromCovid-19, hehad, to agreat extent, carvedaniche
forhimself bothasa Jat leader fromwesternUttarPradeshaswellasacompellingpres-enceat theCentre,particularly in theeraof coalitionpolitics.Charan Singh’s greatest strengthwas thatwhile hewas a leader of the Jats, particu-
larly inUP,hisarticulationofpoliticswasbroader,encompassingthe ideaof the“kisan”,across communities. By the time Ajit Singhwas ready to take on his father'smantle inthelate1980s,thechurninpoliticsbroughtaboutbyMandalhadwroughtlargechanges.VPSinghcametoprominence ina timewhencaste, not class, becametheprimaryaxisaroundwhichpoliticswasconducted.Despite this changedscenario—evenbecauseofit—AjitSinghmanagedtousehisstrongbutgeographicallylimitedpolitical influencetoadvocate for the rightsof peasants.SinghwaselectedtotheLokSabhaseveraltimesandthepartyhefounded,Rashtriya
LokDal, continues tohaveaninfluence inWestUP,especiallyamongJats.HeservedasaUnionministerunder fourprimeministers fromthreedifferentpolitical dispensations.In the last fewyears, theBJP juggernautdiminishedhis influence inUP, but couldnevereradicate it. Singhmanaged toadvocate for the interestsof his corebaseata timewhencoalitionpoliticshad increased thecompetition forbothpowerandresources steeply.
Pratap BhanuMehta
Shih-chungChen
Weneedtemporaryreconciliation,anationalactionplan. Initiativemustcomefromprimeminister
THE TAIWAN MODELIt hashadsuccessesonCovid-19. Itneeds tobepartofWHOmechanisms
AS DEATHAND suffering knock on each ofourdoors, ourpolitics requiresa temporaryinjectionof idealism.Inapolitical landscapemarked by communalism, polarisation,petulance,authoritarianism,aggression,anycall for idealism will invite the response“Whatareyousmoking?”Buttheblunttruthisthis: If ourpoliticscontinuesasusualoverthenext fewmonths, thedevastationtoourliveswillbeimmeasurable.Covidisexploit-ing every social faultline, worming away inglee,asweturnoneachothermorethanweuniteagainst thevirus.There is palpable and justifiable anger
against the sheer callousness and incompe-tenceonwhatthecentralgovernmentunderthe leadership of the primeminister has in-flicteduponus.But thepoliticalhard truth isthat national elections are three years away.Asmuchas Imightwantone, an immediatechangeingovernmentisnotourquickoreasyroadtoredemption.Despitewaningpopular-ity,thehardcoresupportersoftheBJParestilldugin.Theyarenotamajoritybutstillasize-ablenumber. Their response to criticismhasbeentodoubledownwithevenmoreaggres-sion.On the flip side, theBJPmust recognisethat no fight against Covid can nowworkwithout the cooperation of every politicalparty. This is partly because theOppositioncontrolskeystates.ButitisalsobecauseifthefightaboutCovidbecomesa fightoverpetu-lant one-upmanship aswe are, for example,seeing betweenDelhi Government and theCentre, thenwearedoomed.It is a cliché that itwouldbe ideal to “de-
politicise”thefightagainstCovid.Onehastobecarefulabouthowtheterm“depoliticised”isused. It shouldnotbeusedasanexcuse tosilence criticism, or demands for accounta-bility, or public expressions of anger. Theseare necessary tools in crafting a better re-sponse tocrisis. If nothingelse, theyprovideinformation and create pressure.“Depoliticised”simplymeanscreatingstruc-tures of decision-makingwhere the incen-tives to cooperate are strengthened andachieving results becomesmore importantthanembarrassingopponents;atangiblever-ificationof resultsbecomesmoreimportantthan perceptionmanagement. In times of
warandforeignpolicycrisis,suchbipartisan-shipisnotunusual.Thereisreasontodeployit inthecontextofoneof India’smostsignif-icantcrisessince Independence.Soheremightbesomesimpleobjectives
that could allow some semblance of unity,public purpose and resolve in the fightagainst Covid. The first is the creation ofsomethinglikeanationalactionplanforthenexttwotothreeyears,withtangibleandre-alistic targets on everything from vaccina-tionprocurement andpricing, toprepared-ness for futurewaves. The important thingisthattheplanmustbemadeandownedbyall the state chief ministers and the centralgovernment together. So that the nationalstrategyis,asfaraspossible,aconsensusdoc-ument. This documentmust also take harddecisions about financial allocations andbuildingupthepublichealthinfrastructure.The second is a recognition that in the
shorttomediumruntherewillbeconsider-ablescarcityandrationing, fromvaccinestoother supplies. It is important that the ra-tioning be done fairly, according to princi-ples thatmake sense from a public healthpointofview.Themoresuchrationingdeci-sionsarecollectivedecisions, themorecon-fidence in their fairness. In timesof scarcity,youalsoneedcoordinationandtrusttoadaptas situationschange.The third is the activation of parliamen-
tary select committees as tools of accounta-bility.Thisisnotatimetosuspendparliamen-taryactivity,butdeployitinwaysthatproduceaccountability throughformalchannels. Theveryfactthatthebureaucracyorthescientificestablishmentcanbeasked toughquestionsbymembersofdifferentpoliticalpartiesmaychangethe incentivesonhowinformation isputout.Allowingaparliamentarycommitteeto askwhy the ICMRwas so slow in sharingdata, for example, isnot abad thing; and thefact that theyknowtheyarenowansweringonlytotheexecutivewillincreaseconfidenceinthesystem.Weknowparliamentarycom-mitteeshave,outsidetheglareofpolitics,doneabetter jobof flaggingsomanyissues.Fourth,forthetimebeing,depoliticisethe
bureaucracy.Again, the fact thatbureaucratswillbeanswerable todifferentCMsandpar-
liament, rather than serve onemaster, willhelpinthis.Theinsidiouspracticeofbureau-cratsnowhavingtobelikepublicspokesper-sonsforthecentralgovernmenthasdestroyedthe credibility of the bureaucracy but alsomade interstate coordinationmore difficult.Fifth,itwouldhelpif,forthetimebeingatleast,therewas a commitment to prioritising thepandemic.Idon’tmeanthatinjustanadmin-istrativesense.Frontlineworkersarebattlingthis crisis. I alsomean inapsychological andpoliticalsense,wherewecanconveythatthedeath and suffering aroundus is not just anafterthought tackedonto theusualpatholo-gies of politics. Thiswill require an almostheroic forbearance. The usual ingredients ofpolitics—communalism,ambition,venality—will still be around for parties to playwithwhenthisisover.Thepointistodemonstratethatthedifferentsinewsofpowerarepullinginonedirection,at leastonthepandemic.It is remarkable that even the United
States, which used to be recalcitrant ongranting IPRwaivers, is seriouslymoving inthatdirection.WhenitcomestoCovid,glob-ally, there is a recognition that we need tomove fromnationalismto treatingCovidasaglobalpublichealthissue. Itwillbeironiciftheworldmoves in thatdirection, but Indiainternally remains trapped inacompetitiveacrimonious free for all, as if Covidwas an-other pretext to fight. No part of India canwin unless the whole of India wins.Vasudhaiva kutumbakam for theworld, butMatsyaNyayaathome,wherethebiggerfisheatsthesmallerfish,isnotexactlyacoherentmoraloutlook.I know this hope for coming together
rather than fallingapart on thepandemic isa forlornhope; but the alternative isworse.The initiative fora temporaryreconciliationwill have to come from the PrimeMinister.This can be his opportunity to do the rightthing.ButtheOppositionalsohasaninterestin Indiasucceedingonthepandemic. It alsoknowsthatitishardtopredictwhatthetidesofdeath,destructionanddistresswillsweepup in theirwake.
Thewriter iscontributingeditor,TheIndianExpress
THETHREATTHATemerging infectious dis-eases pose to global health and economyneverceases.AsofMarch2021,anovel formof pneumonia that first emerged inWuhan,China,in2019,andisclassifiedascoronavirusdisease 2019 (Covid-19), has causedmorethan150millioncasesandmorethan3.1mil-lion deathsworldwide. The disease has hadan enormousmedical, economic, and socialimpact around theworld, and significantlythreatenedglobaleffortstoachievetheUnitedNationsSustainableDevelopmentGoals.DuetoitsproximitytoChina,Taiwanwas
expected tobeoneof thecountriesmost se-verelyaffectedbytheepidemic.Butgiven itsexperience of fighting the 2003 SARS out-break,Taiwandidnotignorethealarms,piec-ingtogetherevolvingofficialandunofficialac-counts to form a picture of the emergingdisease that implied a scope and severityworsethanwhattheglobalpublicperceptionsuggested.Authoritiesusedthis informationtolaunchenhancedmonitoringinDecember2019, andhave tirelessly implementedpub-lic health containment measures sinceTaiwan’s first casewas detected in January2020.AsofApril30,2021,therehadbeen1,128confirmed cases, including 12 deaths, inTaiwan. Life andworkhavecontinuedmuchasnormalforthemajorityof thepopulation.After dealingwith SARS, Taiwan estab-
lishedanationwideinfectiousdiseasehealth-care network,which provides the legal au-thority for transferring patientswith highlycontagious diseases to designated facilities.
This has helped protect health systems andhealth professionals from being over-whelmed, and allowedmost non-Covid-19healthservicestocontinue.Byactingearlyandeffectively,Taiwanalso
mitigated the economic impact of Covid-19.Tomaintainessentialinternational,social,eco-nomic, and trade activities, Taiwan imple-mentedflexibleadjustmentsforrelatedquar-antinemeasuresforvesselsandaircraftsothatfisheries, offshorewind farms, andair trans-port industries could continue operations.Furthermore, public trust and cooperationwith the government’s response have beenkeytosuccessfullycontainingCovid-19.Infor-mulatingdiseasecontrolregulations,thegov-ernmenthasadheredtotheprinciplesofrea-sonable response,minimumdamage, andgradual adoption. It alsomaintains the bal-ancebetweenpeople’srighttoknowandper-sonalprivacyandfreedom,activelyrespond-ing to people’s wishes by upholding theprinciple of fairness at the same time as pri-oritising the protection of disadvantagedgroups, including migrant workers.Throughout,Taiwanhasemphasisedtherightto health and associated protections andstrongoppositiontohumanrightsabuses.Covid-19’s impact has been harshest
amongalreadyvulnerableandhigh-riskcom-munities,aswellasthoselackingqualityhealthcare services and thoseunable tohandle theadverseconsequencesofcontainmentmeas-ures. Taiwanwill do its utmost toworkwiththeWorldHealth Organization and global
health leaders toensure thatallpeopleenjoyliving andworking conditions that are con-ducive to goodhealth.Wewill alsomonitorhealthinequitiestoadvocatemoreeffectivelyforuniversalaccesstoqualityhealthservices.Taiwan’s response to Covid-19 has been
oneoftheworld’ssuccessstories.IthasprovenyetagainthatTaiwancannotremainoutsidetheglobalhealthnetwork.Taiwanplaysanin-dispensableroleintheglobalmonitoringandearlywarning systems thatdetect the threatof emerging infectious diseases, and theTaiwanmodelhasprovenconsistentlycapa-bleofcontainingCovid-19.Beingabletocom-prehensivelyparticipate inandcontributetointernationalCovid-19supplychainsystems,aswellasglobaldiagnostics,vaccine,andther-apeutics platforms,would allow Taiwan toworkwiththerestof theworld.WeurgeWHOand relatedparties to ac-
knowledgeTaiwan’slongstandingcontribu-tionstotheinternationalcommunityin pub-lichealth,diseaseprevention,andthehumanright to health, and to include Taiwan inWHOanditsmeetings,mechanisms,andac-tivities. Taiwanwill continue toworkwiththe restof theworld toensure thatall enjoythe fundamental human right to health asstipulatedintheWHOconstitution.Echoingthe mantra of the United Nations’ 2030Sustainable Development Goals, no oneshouldbe leftbehind.
Thewriter isministerofhealthandwelfare,RepublicofChina(Taiwan)
It is a cliché that it would beideal to ‘depoliticise’ thefight against Covid. One hasto be careful about how theterm ‘depoliticised’ is used. Itshould not be used as anexcuse to silence criticism, ordemands for accountability,or public expressions ofanger. These are necessarytools in crafting a betterresponse to crisis. If nothingelse, they provideinformation and createpressure. ‘Depoliticised’simply means creatingstructures of decision-making where the incentivesto cooperate arestrengthened and achievingresults becomes moreimportant thanembarrassing opponents; atangible verification ofresults becomes moreimportant than perceptionmanagement.
After dealing with SARS,Taiwan established anationwide infectiousdisease healthcare network,which provides the legalauthority for transferringpatients with highlycontagious diseases todesignated facilities. Thishas helped protect healthsystems and healthprofessionals from beingoverwhelmed, and allowedmost non-Covid-19 healthservices to continue.
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,FRIDAY,MAY7,2021WORDLYWISE
The norms andnotions ofwhat ‘just is’ isn’talways ‘justice’.— AmandaGormanTHEEDITORIALPAGE
NUCLEAR POWERPM INDIRA GANDHI told newsmen inGeneva that though India intended to sticktoherpolicyofusingnuclearenergyonlyforpeaceful purposes, it had tobeprepared forPakistan’sactions.OntheUSdecisiontoarmPakistanwitharms,shesaiditwasboundtoincrease tension in the region although itwouldnotbe fair todenyPakistan its legiti-mate defence requirements. To a questionabout the Reagan administration’s definitetilt towards Pakistan, she said, “We havefaced this tilt formany years. Andwe havesurvivedit”.ButshehopedthattheUSwouldface up to global realities and not framestrategies thatupset regionalpeace.
BANGALORE IN TURMOILTHE ARMYWAS alerted after public sectorworkerswentonarampageinBangalorefol-lowing the arrest of their fasting leaders.Police burst tear gas asmobs set fire to 14busesoftheBangaloreTransportService.Themobalso attempted to set fire to three postofficesbutwere thwarted in time.Apandalsetupfor the inaugurationof abusstandbyCM Gundu Rao was burnt down, and thefunctionhadtobecancelled.
ASSAM PRESS FREEDOMTHE GAUHATI HIGH Court struck downClause (C) of the Section 2 of the AssamSpecialPowers(Press)Act,declaringitasun-
constitutional.Thecourtalsosquashednoti-fications of the Assam government askingnewspapers to submit all content slated forpublicationtotheDirectorateof InformationandPublic relations for scrutiny.
CUTLERY FRAUDSILVERWARE AMOUNTING TO Rs twomil-lion, said to belong to an erstwhile princelyfamily, has been shipped out of India, al-legedly after undervaluing it grossly. Thematterwhich has come to the notice of thehigher-ups in the Punjab government hasbeen referred to the Centre for further in-quiry.Theaestheticallydesignedsilverwarereportedlyweighed500kg.
MAY 7, 1981, FORTYYEARSAGO
An idealism injection
New Delhi
11THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,MAY7,2021
WHATTHEOTHERSSAY“Pakistan may yet again be standing at a crossroads where the pandemic isconcerned. The slightest loosening of SOP protocols could send us hurling in thedirection where India finds itself today.” —DAWNTHE IDEASPAGE
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
We have the arsenal toovercome the presentchallenge in the form ofvaccines, dedicated medicaland scientific personnel andthe resilience to tide over thelogistical issues. Let’s not getcowed down by the enormityof the challenge. The damagecan be minimised andprecious human lives can besaved if we don’t fall into the‘diffidence’ syndrome. I amsure the Union governmentunder the leadership of thePM and the stategovernments under theleadership of their respectivechief ministers areconstantly reviewing theevolving situation andcalibrating their responses.
WITHANimpressivevictoryintheintenselycontestedWest Bengal Assembly electionsthatdefiedmostpollpredictions,theAll-IndiaTrinamoolCongressunderMamataBanerjeehasassumedpowerinthestateforthethirdtime.Winning213of the 292West BengalVidhanSabhaforwhichelectionswereheld,thepartygarnered47.94percentofthestate’svoteshare.WhilesupportfortheTrinamoolCongresswasspreadacrossgeographicalre-gions, includingthosethathadvotedfortheBJP in2019,and identities, themassivesup-port ofwomenvoters proved critical in se-curing the party’s victory. Early post-pollanalysishaspointed toasubstantial gendergapinelectoralpreferencesthatwillconsol-idate the salienceofwomenvoters forbothpoliticalpartiesandelectionanalysts.TheWest Bengal electionoutcomealso
needstobeconsidered inthecontextof theotherrecentelectionsinIndiawherewomenemergedasadistinctelectoralconstituency.Women’svoteswerecrucialfortheBJP’svic-toriesintheseelections, leadingPMModitocredit his party’swin to the “silent voters”.Thepopularityofwelfaristschemeshasbeenoffered as the key factor in explainingwomen’ssupportfortheBJPandtheTMC.Such electoral stakes have also trans-
formedcash transfer schemes into sites offierceinter-partyandCentre-statecompe-tition. The vast range of conditional cashtransfer schemes targeting women andyoung girl-students offered by the TMCgovernment, however, established it as aclear favourite among its beneficiaries. Inparticular,MamataBanerjee’s direct asso-ciationwith the conception, naming, im-plementation, and propagation of theschemes reinforcedherpopularityamongwomenandgirls in thestate.Despite charges of localised corruption
inthedistributionofwelfare,Banerjeeheldon to her existing support base amongwomen; enhancing it through the admin-istrativeoutreach initiativesof hergovern-ment such as “Duare Sarkar” (governmentatthedoorstep),and“DidikeBolo”(TellDidi),whichappears tohave succeeded in coun-teringanti-incumbencysentimentsamongthe general electorate andwomen in par-ticular. Importantly, theelectionmanifestopromisednew initiatives suchasuniversalbasic income for thewomen guardians ofeveryhousehold,workingwomen-hostels,widow-pensions, etc. which deepenedwomen’ssupport for theparty.While thewelfarist infrastructureof the
Trinamool Congress government hasemerged as a frequently-cited factor in ex-plainingwomen’ssupportfortheparty,oth-erssuchasthesymbolicappealofBanerjee’sself-fashioningasabenevolentDidiandthestrong visibility of women leaders in theTrinamool Congress have proved to beequally crucial in delivering adecisive elec-
toralmandatefortheparty.Banerjee’sstatusasasinglewomanprofessingtotalcommit-menttopoliticalactivism,hercultivatedim-ageof a “street-fighter” yet caring leader ofthepeoplewithanausterelifestyle,heremo-tion-ladenanti-elitepoliticalrhetoric,andtheabsenceofmalementorshave consistentlygarneredherelectoraldividends.Ontheeveoftheelections,facingperhaps
thetoughestchallengeinherpoliticalcareerposedbyanascendantBJP,Banerjee,inasso-ciationwiththepoliticalconsultancyIndianPolitical ActionCommittee (I-PAC), under-tooka strategic refashioningof herpoliticalpersona. Her rebranding as “Banglar nijermeye” (Bengal’s owndaughter) presentedBanerjeeas an iconof nativist Bengali prideagainst theNewDelhi-based leaders of theBJP.Appealinginparticulartowomenvoters,thisrebrandingalsohighlightedhervulner-abilityandneedforprotectioninthecontextofpersonalattacksonher leadershipbyheropponents.Theelementofvulnerabilitywasfurther accentuated byher public appear-ances in awheelchair after she sustained aleginjuryinanaccidentduringthecampaign.The third factor that has ensured
women’ssupportistheparty’smobilisationofwomenvotersandpromotionofwomenas candidates. TheTrinamool Congresshashadaconsistentrecordoffieldingwomenascandidatesonascalehigherthanthenationalaverage—a record it hasmaintained in the2021elections,with tickets to50womeninits candidate list. As authorsGillesVerniersandMayaMirchandanihavearguedintheirrecentstudyongenderrepresentationintheTrinamoolCongress,theparty’spolicyofpro-motingwomenascandidatesislocatedinitsstrategic recognition of thewinnability ofwomen candidates instead of ideationalcommitmentstogenderparity.Thisisborneoutbytheavailablestatisticsonwomencan-didates in the2021elections.Out of the49women candidates (Sarala Murmu, theTrinamool Congress candidate fromHabibpurdefected to theBJP), 33havewonthe elections of whom 16 have been re-elected. Inadditiontofieldingmorewomencandidates, theparty also launched specialwomen’s fronts (Bongo Jononi/MotherBengal) aimedatmobilisingwomenvotersinfavourofthestategovernmentandagainstthe policies of the central government.Womensupportersofthepartywereconsis-tently placed in the front row inMamataBanerjee’s public rallies, and shewould fre-quently address themas “mothers and sis-ters”duringherspeeches.Banerjeealsoheldmassivewomen-ledralliesinprotestagainstpricerise,whicharebeinginterpretedashav-ing influencedtheparty’selectoralvictoriesinBJPstrongholdsinNorthBengal.The results of the 2021Assembly elec-
tion in West Bengal will mark a majormethodological transition inconventionalelectionanalysisintermsofcenteringgen-der as a critical variable. It remains to beseenwhether the salience of women vot-erswill influencepoliticalpartiestounder-takearegenderingof theirrespectiveinsti-tutional cultures, but it is undeniable thatthe“silentvoters”havedeliveredaresound-inglyclearelectoralmandate.
ThewriterisaPhDCandidateatDublinCityUniversityundertheEUMarieSklodowska-
CurieGlobalIndiaFellowship
WEAREINthemidstofaCovid-19tidalwave;averyroughstormthatisrockingourlivesinashockinglydisastrousmanner. It is a tempestwedidn’tanticipate.Itisacyclonethatthreat-ens our existence. These are extraordinarytimes.Thisisatimeofprofoundcrisisofamag-nitudeandcomplexitythathasnotbeenexpe-riencedinthelastonehundredyears.Suchmo-ments require a radical departure from acomplacent, business-as-usual approach.Wehave to fight this tough battle together. Allhandshavetobeondeck.The focus should be clear andwemust
work towards the commongoal of overcom-ingthegargantuancrisisthatthewilyvirushasbroughtintoourlives.Failureisnotanoption.Anynation’scapacitytodealwithacrisisis
contingentonitsabilitytopoolitsphysicalandpsychologicalresourcestomaximiseitsenergytowin thebattle.Weneed steelydetermina-tioninthefaceofthecrisis.Wehadweatheredthe first phase of the battle quitewell.Wequickly got down to rampingup theproduc-tionofPPEkits,ventilators,sanitisersand,evenmoresignificantly,theproductionofvaccines.Wetapped intoour latentcapabilitiesandre-sources and, as Team India,we forgedahead.Wedemonstratedtotheworldthatwecareforpeople all over theglobe inkeepingwithourtraditionalworld viewof the entireworld asone big family encapsulated in the ancientIndian saying of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”.We shared vaccineswith those countries inneedasagestureofgoodwillandfriendship.Itisthisspiritofworkingtogetherandcaringforeachother that has suffusedour actions. It isheartening that this small but significant ac-tionofourcountryisbeingreciprocatednowbymanycountries that are supportingus in thissecondphaseofourwar.Wemustretainthisspiritaswecombatthe
virus,whichisdeeplydisruptingourlivesinitsdeadlier form in the secondphase. This isnotthetimefordespondency.This isnotthetimetoquibbleorbickerordither, toblameorrant,tolosehopeoroursenseofbalance.Theenemywearepittedagainst is invis-
ible, inscrutable, rapidlymutating and dis-tressinglydebilitating.Wemustdevisestrate-gies to counter it effectively as thegovernment,ledbyPrimeMinisterNarendraModi, is consistently doing.Marshalling re-sourcestoaugmentoxygensupplies,expand-ingthecapacityofhospitalstohandletheun-precedentedsurge,seekingpartnershipswithstategovernments,publicsectorenterprises,industry leaders, corporate houses and civilsociety organisations, the government isworking relentlessly to providemedical at-tentiontothosewhoneeditmost.Thedarknightwearepassingthroughwill
certainly pass. The question is: Howdowemaintain a steady course despite the tidalwaveslashingusonallsides.Astheadagegoes,“Whenthegoinggetstough,thetoughgetgo-ing”.Arewetoughenough?Doweallowneg-ative emotions to overwhelm us or dowebravelypushforwardtogetherasateamdoingwhateverisfeasibleinthisdifficultsituation?ItistheindomitableIndianspiritthatmust
cometothefore.Itisourresilientattitudethathas seen us through the first phase. It is thesamespirit,butwithredoubledvigour,whichshould seeus through in this infinitelymorechallenging phase.We should applaud ourfront-linewarriors—doctors,nursesandalltheparamedical staff —whocontinue towage awarwithtenacityandsingle-mindeddevotion.Weshouldharnessourconsiderablecollectivestrengthtorampuptheproductionanddistri-butionofmedicaloxygenandessentialdrugs.Itisremarkablehowthecountryisgearing
upunitedly. For example, the Steel Authorityof India has reportedly increasedproductionofliquidmedicaloxygen(LMO)from500met-rictonnesinthesecondweekofApriltoabout1,100metric tonnes per day and the IndianRailwayshastransported1,585metrictonnesofLMOon27OxygenExpresstrains.However,wearefacedwithachallengethat
is riddledwithunimaginablecomplexity.Wehave tonavigate this turbulent environmentwith grit and alacrity.Wemust steer clear ofdysfunctional, distractingdiscourses andex-aggeratedordistortednarratives.Wehavethearsenaltoovercomethepres-
entchallengeintheformofvaccines,dedicatedmedical and scientific personnel and the re-silience to tide over the logistical issues. Let’snot get coweddownby the enormity of thechallenge.Thedamagecanbeminimisedandprecioushumanlivescanbesavedifwedon’tfall into the “diffidence” syndrome. I amsuretheUniongovernmentundertheleadershipofthePMand the state governmentsunder theleadershipof their respective chiefministersareconstantlyreviewingtheevolvingsituationandcalibratingtheirresponses.Wemustrecog-nise that this is a national health emergencythat requires a truly national response,withgovernments and other organs of the statecomingtogethertomitigatethehardshipandhavocthatthepandemicisunleashing.This is the time to build on our core
strengthsratherthanrecountourdeficiencies.Weshouldavoidfinger-pointingandengaginginablamegame.Weshouldpoolourwisdomandexpertise,listentotheexpertsandthepeo-pleonthegroundbravelygrapplingwithharsh
realities.Wemust recognise that thegovern-mentsbothattheCentreandthestatesaresin-cerelytryingtomeasureuptothetaskathand.Leteachoneofusputourshouldertothewheellikemanyorganisationsaredoingalready.It is natural for each oneof us to become
emotionallyupsetwhenourfriendsandrela-tivessufferorpassaway.But,then,letusnotbegrippedbyfearandanger,beswampedbyim-agesthatbreedpessimismandfrustration.Weshould realise thatwehave in our collectiveconsciousnessan indomitableability toover-come extreme hardships.We have recentmemories of successfully “flattening” and“bending” the curve a fewmonths ago. Thatshouldemboldenus. Theexperienceof othercountries that haveweathered a similar up-surge cangiveus the inspiration to look for alightattheendof thetunnel.Theseare testing times.Asper theTelugu
calendar,wehadjustbidfarewellto“shaarvari”(thedarknight)onApril13andwelcomedthenewyear, “plava” (boat).Weshould continueto rowtheboat through thedarkpassageweare currently sailing in and reach the shoresafelysoon.Whenthedarknessseemstobeenveloping
us, let us rememberGurudevRabindranathTagore’sfamoussong,JibonJokhonShukayeJayfromtheGeetanjaliandpray that: “When theheart is hardandparchedup, comeuponmewith a shower ofmercy/When grace is lostfromlife,comewithaburstofsong/Whentu-multuousworkraises itsdinonallsidesshut-tingmeoutfrombeyond,cometome,mylordofsilence,withthypeaceandrest”.When the journey seems exhausting,
please recall our ancient Indian exhortation,echoedbySwamiVivekananda,“Arise,awakeandstopnottillyourgoalisreached”.Wehavetobeprepared for furtherwaves
ofthepandemic.Weshouldbealert,agileandonourguard.Eachcitizenmustfollowthepre-cautionarymeasuresofmasking,physicaldis-tanceof twometres and implementing sani-taryandhygienicpractices.Wemustvaccinateourselvessothatweandallaroundusaresafe.
Thewriter isVicePresidentof India
ONAPRIL30,SuperGalaxy,ahugeUSmilitaryplane, landed inDelhi, bringingoxygencylin-ders, hospital equipment andCovid test kits.MoreflightswithaidmaterialareonthewaytoIndia.And,therebyhangsatale.Fourdays is a shortperiod in the realmof
politicsanddiplomacy,butwhatadifferenceitcanmake.OnApril22,EdwardPrice,theUSstatede-
partment spokesman,was asked at a pressbriefingabout“thehorriblesurge”inthecoro-navirusinfectionsinIndiaandwhytheUSwasnotliftingthebanonexportsof rawmaterialsforvaccineproduction.Heutterednowordofsympathy,whileofferingalongexplanationastowhyitwas“intheinterestsoftherestoftheworld to seeAmericans vaccinated”. A stormof protests and criticismerupted in India; in-fluentialmembersof theUSpoliticalandcor-porate establishment implored their govern-menttochangeitsposition.Fourdayslater,onApril26,amuch-chastenedPricespokeabouttheimportanceofthe“GlobalComprehensiveStrategicPartnership”withIndia,providingde-tailsofhowtheadministrationplannedtohelpIndiaaddresstheterriblepandemic.President Joe Biden’s “America is back”
mantra —which, for a moment, soundedmore like Trump’s “America First”— re-as-sumed a liberal and humanitarian patina,thus indicatingWashington’s right instinctsfor enlightened global leadership. In a tele-phone conversation with PrimeMinisterModi,BidenacknowledgedIndia’sassistance
to theUS in theearlyphaseof thepandemicand expressed his determination to standwith India in timesof herneed.After intensive inter-agency consulta-
tions in recent days, the US governmentcameupwith a positive response to India’srequirements.Thepackageofassistancehasseveral elements:First,theUSDefenceProductionAct’spro-
visionsarebeingreconsidered.Theauthori-tieshaveagreedtoapprovethesupplyof fil-ters needed for the manufacture of theCovishieldvaccine.Second, it is estimated that the USwill
have 60 million surplus doses of theAstraZenecavaccinebyJune,whichitwillnotuseathome.SubjecttoclearancebytheFDA,this will be released for use by other coun-tries.Whether someof themwill be sent toIndia isnotclearyet.Third, a comprehensive plan has been
prepared for the supply of oxygen-relatedequipment, including generation systems,cylinders and setting up of field hospitalswithoxygenbeds.Four,aspecialfocusisonsteppingupcom-
mercial supplies of therapeutics, especiallyremdesivir. Immediate shipment of 1,00,000vials byGilead Sciences has been arranged,withanother2,00,000vials tobemadeavail-ablebyend-May.Five,theUSDevelopmentCorporationwill
fundtheIndianvaccinefirmBioEtoexpanditsmanufacturingcapacity.Thisiscoveredunder
theQuad’sVaxPartnership,enablingIndiaandtheother threepartners (US, Japan,Australia)toproduceanddistributeatleast1billiondosesbyend-2022.ItisnoteworthythatthePentagonhasbeen
actively involved in helping India. DefenceSecretary LlyodAustin observed that thede-partmentofdefencehasbeendirectedtouseitsresources toprovide frontlinehealthworkerswithneededmaterials.Whatisof immediateimpactistherobust
engagement of corporate,mostly Big Tech,America.Google,MicrosoftandApple—aswellas others—Amazon, Proctor &Gamble andmore—are coming forward to commit theirresources. It’s amixof altruismandpragma-tism:UStechhaslarge,valuableinvestmentsinIndia,especiallyBangalore,whichneedprotec-tion.TheUS-IndiaStrategicPartnershipForumishelpingwith12ISOcontainersforthetrans-portofoxygentoIndia.TheUS-IndiaBusinessCouncil has appealed to itsmembers toofferassistance. On April 27, Secretary of StateAntonyBlinkenconvenedaZoommeetingofbusiness leaders. An Indian participant re-portedthat“amassiveeffortanddollars”havebeeninvestedinsupplyingassistanceurgently.It is easy to see behind America’s turn
around the benign hand of the Indian dias-pora,backedbyfriendlyAmericanpublicfig-ures and proactive diplomacy by India.Pramila Jayapal, the Congresswomanwhoriled theModi government for her criticismof the human rights situation, raised her
voice,stressingthatitwasboththerightandnecessary thing toassist India.Evenafter thehavocwreakedby the sec-
ondwavebecameclear,therewasadisturbing“stonysilence” inWashington,saidanexpert.TheUS should realise that the lingering anti-Americansentiment(whichhasalonglegacy)hasnotdisappeared.Itwouldbeunwisetoun-derestimateitsstrength.Fortunately,theIndia-USpartnership isnowsomulti-faceted, deepandrobustthatitcanwithstandminorturbu-lence.Theeaseandcandourwithwhichcom-munications occurred fromtheUSPresidentdowntohisDeputySecretaryofStateandtheirIndian counterparts, showcased thevibranceofbilateralties.India-USrelationsareinagoodplacenow.
Theyaresettodeepenfurther.Whenitcomestohealth-relatedcooperation,theUSneedstointernalise thathelping India is reallyhelpingtheworld. Vaccines produced in India aremeantnotonlyforIndiansbutforthepeopleofAfrica,AsiaandLatinAmerica. That iswhyallinfluential figures inWashingtonshouldsup-port the initiativebyIndiaandSouthAfricatoseeka temporary IPRwaiverunder theTRIPSagreement.Manyarealreadydoingsoenthu-siastically--fortheyknowthatthisisapoten-tialgame-changer.LetthemagicofhowIndiahelpedAfricavanquishtheHIV/AIDSmenaceberecreated.
Thewriter isDistinguishedFellow,GatewayHouseanda formerambassador
PromaRayChaudhury
MVenkaiahNaidu
Secondwaveof thepandemichasbeendevastating.This isnotthetimetoquibbleorbickerordither, toblameorrant, to losehopeoroursenseofbalance
All hands on deck Her vote forMamata
TMC’spromotionofwomencandidates,welfareschemesandBanerjee’s imageofacaringstreetfighter
consolidatedsupport
Rajiv Bhatia
India, US, four days in CovidAmerica’sturnaroundunderlinesIndia-UStiesthataresettodeepenfurther
CR Sasikumar
CLARITY ON QUOTATHIS REFERS TO the report, ‘SC throwsoutMarathaquotalaw,cites50percentreservation cap’ (IE,May 6). In strikingdown the separate reservationgiven toMaharashtra’sMarathacommunity,theSupremeCourthasunderscoredtheim-portanceof adhering to the50per centlimit on total reservation, aswell as theneedtojustifyanyexcessbyshowingtheexistenceofexceptionalcircumstances.
SSPaul,Nadia
AN ANACHRONISMTHIS REFERS TO the editorial, ‘TheNapoleon barometer’ (IE,May 06). BycallingNapoleona “reactionary liberal”theeditorialmakestheclassicalmistakeof framing thedebate inMarxist inter-pretationof history. In fact, judginghis-torical persons byusingmodern yard-sticksisnothingbutintellectuallaziness.Nohistorical figurecanreachperfectionif judged by today’s standards andNapoleonisnotanexception.Lettheem-perorlieinpeace.
HNBhagwat,Chiplun
UNDERMINED ECTHISREFERSTOtheeditorial, ‘ECdimin-ished’ (IE,May 5). Theworld’s biggestdemocracyseemstobeoncoursetobe-cominganautocracy.Allthepoliticalpar-tiesthathaveruledthecountryfromtimeto time contributed to this Stygianprocess. Now,majoritarianpolitics has
completed andhastened this task. As aresult, enforcement and investigativeagenciesareafraidtofunctionindepend-entlyandfearlessly.Theautonomyevenof the constitutional bodies anddemo-craticinstitutionsisbeingcompromised.Unfortunately,theoppositionpartiesarebusycuttingthegroundfromundereachother’sfeetinsteadofjoiningforcestorisetotheoccasion.
TarsemSinghMahilpur
THISREFERSTOtheeditorial, ‘ECdimin-ished’ (IE,May5). Freepress is an indis-pensableelementofourdemocracy.TheSupremeCourthasaptlyemphasisedontheneedforafreeandunfetteredpressinthe country, to strengthenaccountabil-ityandtoensuretransparency.
VarunDas,Zirakpur
LETTERS TO THEEDITOR
IDEASONLINE
ONLY IN THE EXPRESS
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ELECTEDTHISTIMETELLSUS:AKSHICHAWLA
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www.indianexpress.com
New Delhi
MOHAMEDTHAVERMUMBAI,MAY6
THEBOMBAYHighCourt benchof JusticesSSShindeandManishPitale on Thursday granted theMaharashtra government per-mission to send a team toHyderabad to record the state-mentofseniorIPSofficerRashmiShukla inconnectionwithanFIRregisteredbyMumbaiPolice.TheFIR relates to alleged leaking ofsensitive documents related topolicepostingsinMaharashtra.The state also assured the
courtthattheywillnotbearrest-
ing Shukla till the next hearing.TheHC furthergrantedpermis-sion to the state government tovideo record the questioning ofthe IPSofficeratHyderabad.Senior counsel Mahesh
Jethmalani,representingShukla,expressed the apprehension ofherarrestbythestateandthere-fore sought interimprotection.Senior counsel Darius
Khambatta,whorepresentedthestate government, informed thecourt that theywouldnot be ar-resting Shukla before the nextcourtdate.Further,Khambattain-formedthat if itwasnotconven-ient for Shukla to comedown toMumbaitoappearbeforethecy-berpolice, they could sendapo-lice teamtoHyderabadtorecordher statementunder section160of theCriminalProcedureCode.Jethmalanitoldthecourtthat
Shukla would cooperate in theinvestigation andhadnoobjec-tion to her statement beingvideo recorded. He, however,challenged Khambatta’s standthat Shukla should not be ac-companied by otherswhile herstatementwas being recorded.Jethmalani said as per law herlawyerwouldbepresent.AteamfromMumbaiPoliceis
likely to go toHyderabad in thecomingweek to record Shukla'sstatementaftergivingherpriorin-timation.TheHCpostedthenexthearinginthecaseforJune14.
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEBILASPUR,MAY6
NINEPEOPLEhavediedoverthepastthreedaysafterconsumingahomeopathysyrupasanalco-hol substitute in a village inChhattisgarh's Bilaspur district.Sevenotherswhohadalsocon-sumedthesyrupwere inacriti-cal condition, according to dis-trict authorities.TheBilaspurdistrictadminis-
tration has set up a medicalcamp in Kormi village, 10 kmfrom the district headquarters,to ascertain if more people hadconsumed the medicine andwere questioning the doctorwhosoldthemedicinetothevil-lagers.While four people died in
theirhomesTuesdaynight, fourothers died onWednesday andone person died on Thursday,police said.Familymembers did not re-
port the first two deaths to thepolice,suspectingthattheydiedof Covid. Thepolice reached thevillage aftermore people, whohad consumed the same syrupmixedwithwater,startedfallingill anddying.“Prima facie, it appears that
the deceased had consumedDrosera-30, a homeopathysyrupwithabout91percental-coholcontent, inexcessasasub-stitute for liquor,” Bilaspur SP
PrashantAgrawal said. “Thevil-lagerswouldtakesyrups fromahomeopathic practitionerwhosold a 450ml bottle of Drosera-30tosomepeopleatRs400.Wehave registered a case and arequestioning thedoctor.”Asperpreliminary investiga-
tion,KamleshDhuri (35),AkshyaDhuri (25), Rajesh Dhuri (33),DipakDhuri(32)andSamruDhuri(35)hadconsumedthemedicineonTuesdaynight,followingwhichtheir conditiondeterioratedandfourofthemdiedbylatenight.OnWednesday,DipakDhurialsodiedafter complainingof loss of eye-sightandnausea.On being alerted, a police
team reached the villageWednesdayevening,andshiftedother villagers who had con-sumed the syrup andwere in acritical condition to differenthospitals in Bilaspur. Of them,Khemchand Dhuri (41),RamdayalDhuri(40)andKailashDhuri (50) died during treat-ment onWednesday night. OnThursday, Gowardhan Dhuri(22)died inhospital.Sevenotherswereundergo-
ingtreatment,aseniorpoliceof-ficial said. “We have recordedtheirstatements,andallof themconfessedofdrinkingmorethan50mlof thesyrupmixed inwa-ter. We are investigating if thedoctortoldthemtheycouldcon-sume the syrup as replacementforalcohol,”hesaid.
BASHAARATMASOODSRINAGAR,MAY6
PROMINENTSEPARATIST leaderMohammadAshraf Sehraiwasburied in adiscreet ceremonyathis ancestral village inKupwarawithfamilymemberssayingthattheJammuandKashmir(J&K)po-lice did not allow the burial atSrinagar’smartyrs’cemetery.The separatist leader, who
was in jail, breathedhis last in ahospital in Jammu onWednesday afternoon.He livedin Srinagar for over threedecades. Amid a huge contin-gent of security forces, only
Sehrai’s familymembers wereallowedtoattendtheceremony—held inTekiporavillage.Quoting InspectorGeneral of
PoliceKashmirVijayKumar, J&KPolice tweeted: “Burial of sepa-ratist leader later Ashraf Sehraicompleted asperCovidprotocolinpresenceoffamilymembersathisnativeplace.”Sehrai’s family said they
wanted to bury him inmartyrsgraveyardbutpolicedidnotallowthem. “Theyevenwarned that ifweresist, theywill take thebodyandburyitatMachil(ontheLineofControl),”saidafamilymember.
EXPRESSNETWORK12 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,MAY7,2021
GOVERNMENT OF JAMMU & KASHMIROFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER
FLOOD SPILL CHANNEL DIVISION NARBALInvitation for Bids (Notice Inviting tenders)E-NIT No.02 of 2021-22, dated: 29.04.2021.
For and on behalf of the Lt. Governor, J&K State, e-tenders (In Two cover system) are invited on item rate basis from approved and eligi-ble AAY Class Contractors/Firms/Companies/Joint Ventures for the following works:
1. The complete bidding documents can be seen/downloaded from the departmental website www.jktenders.gov.in and also departmentalwebsite ifckashmir.com as per schedule of dates given below:
2. A pre-bid meeting will be held to clarify issues and to answer questions on any matter that may be raised at that stage by the bidders.3. (a) Bidders from outside UT: Bids must be accompanied with tender document fee (non-transferable/ non-refundable) in the shape
of demand draft drawn in favour of Executive Engineer Flood Spill Channel Division Narbal (Tender Inviting Authority/Bid Inviting Officer)(b) Bidders from Local entities: Bids must be accompanied with tender document fee (non-transferable/ non-refundable) inthe shapeof e-Challan/treasury Challan/receipt in favour of Executive Engineer Flood Spill Channel Division Narbal (Tender Inviting Authority/BidInviting Officer) deposited in Head of Account Rev- 0702.
4. The bidder shall furnish bid security declaration in lieu of Earnest Money on the prescribed format provided in bidding document on judi-cial paper with e-stamp of Rs. 1000/- as per the circular issued by the Finance Department.
5. The bids shall be summarily rejected if the original financial instruments towards the cost of document & Bid declaration are not receivedwithin stipulated time in the office of Chief Engineer Kashmir, Irrigation & FC Department Srinagar, (Tender Receiving Authority/BidOpening Officer)
6. Key construction material to be used and arranged by the contractor for execution of work is given below:a) CEMENT: 43 Grade OPC conforming to IS: 8112-2013 (Latest Version) as required in the work, from Reputed manufacturers of
cement approvedas currently displayed on cement information system online portal of the Ministry of Industry, Government of India,and holding licence to use ISI certification mark for their product. However final selection shall be based on design mix and approvalof the Department.
b) STEEL OF ALL SORTS: Fe-500 Conforming to IS: 1786-2008 (Latest Version) from primary producers such as SAIL, TATA TISCO,JINDAL PANTHER or RINL only as approved by the Ministry of Steel, Govt. of India
c) STRUCTURAL STEEL OF: Grade E250 Conforming to IS: 2062-2011 (Latest Version) from primary producers such as SAIL, TATA,JINDAL or RINL only as approved by the Ministry of Steel, Govt. of India
7. Further details can be seen in bidding document available on website www.jktenders.gov.in8. Subsequent Corrigendum/Addendum if any shall be published on above website.9. The authority reserves the right to cancel any or all bids without assigning any reason Sd/-
Executive Engineer,Flood Spill Channel Division, Narbal.
NO: FSCDN/CS/680-712Dated: 29/ 04/2021 DIPK-1357
01 Date of issue of Tender Notice 29.04.2021
02 Date of downloading of bidding documents 30.04.2021 from 10.00 AM
03 Date, Time & Venue of Pre-bid meeting 18.05.2021 at 12.00 PM in the office of Chief Engineer, I&F.C. Kashmirat Silk factory road Rajbagh Srinagar-190008.
04 Bid submission start date 21.05.2021 from 10.00 AM
05 Bid Submission end date 31.05.2021 up to 04.00 PM
06 Date & time of opening Technical Bids (on line) 03.06.2021 at11.00 AM in the office of the Chief Engineer, I & FCDepartment Kashmir
07 Date & time of opening Financial Bids (on line) To be notified after technical bid evaluation
PPEERRSSOONNAALL
Classifieds
II,, SumanRatheeW/oAshokKumarR/o-RZ-76,MaheshGarden,Najafgarh, NewDelhi-72 have changedmyname toSumanKadian. 0040570698-2
II,, ParyantDuaS/oB.D. DuaR/o55-B, JhangApartment, Sector-13, Rohini, Delhi-110085, havechangedmyminor son’s namefromArpanDuaaged13 years(DOB15.08.2007) toAaryaveerDua forever. 0070740070-1
II,, AnnuD/oAshokKumarR/oRZ-76,MaheshGarden,Najafgarh, NewDelhi-72 havechangedmyname toAnnuKadian. 0040570698-1
II PralhadPawar S/oSh.Murlidhar Sadashiv PawarR/oA-4, Sutlej Block, OfficersMess,Air Force StationAdampur,Jalandhar, Punjab-144102(presently atNewDelhi) havechangedmyname toPralhadMurlidhar Pawar for allpurposes. 0040570694-1
I, SantoshKumari LalWife ofLate ExSgt TarsemLalResident ofHouseno 125,Sector -15, Faridabad-121007,HaryanahavechangedmynameFromSantoshKumari LalTo Santoshkumari for allfuture reference. 0070740062-1
I AshokeDeoramSonavaneS/oDevramBhivaSonawaneR/oE-56, IndiraNagar, BirlaCollegeRoad,NearAkashGangaBldg,KalyanWest, Thane,Maharashtra-421301, havechangedmyname toAshokDevramSonawane
0070740074-1
My clients Mr.Mohammad IshakKhan S/o Mr. Yusuf Khan and Mrs.Raunak W/o Mohammad IshakKhan .R / o House No .A -1 ,Pu lPrahladpur SouthDelhi-110044. havesevered all relationship from his sonSabir Khan and his wife Farida alsodebarred & disowned him/her from allhis moveable & immoveable propertydue to the i r m isconduc t anddisobedience. If anyone deals withhim/her in any manner whatsoevershall be doing at his/her/their own riskand responsibility. My clients will notbe responsible for their act in anymanner.
PUBLIC NOTICE
Ravinder Nagar (Advocate)Enroll.No-P-3591-2014Ch.NO-115 Faridabad
UPSC returns govt list for probableDGP, wants two more to be addedYOGESHNAIKMUMBAI,MAY6
THE APPOINTMENT ofMaharashtra’sdirectorgeneralofpolicewill likely takea fewmoreweeksifnotmonthsastheUnionPublicServiceCommission(UPSC)has returned the government’sslateofnames,askingittoaddtwomore to the12alreadyon it, andalsosendtheannual confidentialreports(ACR)ofall.Thenames,senttotheUPSCon
March 18,were returned in thefirstweekof Aprilwith thecom-mission asking for two morenamesandtheACRsofall14,offi-cialsourcessaid.The list includesthenamesof
Sanjay Pandey,who at presentholds the additional charge ofMaharashtra DGP, DGP (Anti-Corruption)RajnishSeth,MumbaiPolice Commissioner HemantNagraleandothers.
Thegovernmentisnowlikelytoadd thenamesof Jaijeet Singhand SadanandDate of the 1990batch to the list, sources toldTheIndianExpress.BesidestheACRs,theUPSChas
alsoaskedthestatehomedepart-ment to provide details of anypendinginquiriesagainsttheoffi-cers. Pandey, the seniormost IPSofficer in the state, is currentlyholding the additional chargeofMaharashtraDGP.SoonafterstateDGPSubodh Jaiswal left for cen-traldeputation,thepostwasgiventoNagrale, but noproposalwassent to theUPSC for ratification.The Cabinet committee for ap-pointmentshadcleared Jaiswal’stransferonDecember30,lastyear,andhetookoverastheDG(CentralIndustrial Security Force) onJanuary8.InMarch,aftertheAmbaniter-
ror scare case exploded on theMumbaiPolice–withthearrestofassistant inspector SachinWaze
andculminating in former com-missionerParamBirSinghaccus-ing former homeminister AnilDeshmukhof corruption, forcinghimtoresign–ParamBirSingh’ssubsequenttransferasDG(HomeGuards) triggeredanother roundof changes in Mumbai andMaharashtraPolice.First,whileNagralewasmade
theMumbaiPolicecommissioner,Sethwasgivenadditional chargeofMaharashtraDGP.OnApril 10,Pandey,whohadcomplainedofbeing supercededandsidelined,washandedover the additionalchargeoftheDGP.Though amonthhas passed
since it received the letter, thehomedepartmentisyettosenditsreplytotheUPSC.Fromthelistofofficers sent, UPSCwill select apanel of three.Among them, thestatehas toselectoneasDGP.Tillthen,Pandeywillcontinuetoholdthe additional charge ofMaharashtraDGP.
Sehrai buried in ancestralvillage; kin say cops did notallow burial in Srinagar
MohammadAshrafSehrai
CHHATTISGARH
9dieafterdrinkingalcohol-basedhomeopathysyrup
STRANDED:AttheSealdahrailwaystationonFridayafter theWestBengalgovernmentsuspendedlocal trainservices inthestateamidrisingCovid-19cases. ParthaPaul
OMKARGOKHALEMUMBAI,MAY6
THE BOMBAY High Court onThursdaygrantedbailtoVikramBhave,oneof theaccused in the2013murder case of rationalistNarendraDabholkar.Bhave (37), currently lodged
at the Yerwada Central Jail inPune,willbereleasedaftersub-mitting a personal bond of Rs 1lakhandsureties.The court refused to accede
toCBI’srequestseekingastayonthe bail order.While imposingconditions, it said that Bhave
cannot leave the jurisdiction ofthe trial court. He will have tovisitthepolicestationandattendeveryproceedingduring trial.According to the CBI, Sachin
Andure and Sharad Kalaskar –alsoarrestedinthecase–hadal-legedlyopenedfireatDabholkaron August 20, 2013, when hewas on amorningwalk on V RShinde bridge nearOmkareshwar temple inPune.Bhave is accused of helping
the alleged sharpshooters inconductingarecceof theareainAugust2013–nearly15daysbe-foreDabholkar’smurder. BhavewasarrestedonMay25,2019.
Accordingtotheprobe,Bhave–aconvict inthe2008Thaneau-ditoriumblastcase,whowaslaterreleasedonbailbytheHCin2013–hadhelpedtheassailants iden-tifyDabholkaratthecrimespot.A division bench of Justice S
S Shinde and Justice ManishPitale passed the order whilehearing two appeals filed byBhave through advocatesSubhash Jha, GhanshyamUpadhyay, VirendraIchalkaranjikarandHareKrishnaMishra,challengingJanuaryandSeptember 2020 orders of thePunesessionscourt thathadre-jectedhisbailpleas.
Dabholkar murder case: Bombay HCgrants bail to accused Vikram Bhave
HC nod to state govt tosend a team to Hyderabadto record Shukla statement
New Delhi
WHEN SOMEONE is infected withSARS-CoV-2, theirbodyproducesan-tibodies against the virus. Scientistshave now come up with the mostcompletepictureyetiscomingintofo-cus of how these antibodieswork toneutralisethepartofthevirusrespon-sibleforcausinginfection.Researchersat The University of Texas at Austin(UTexas) describe the finding in thejournalScience.Previous research focused on one
group of antibodies that target themostobviouspartof thecoronavirus'sspike protein, called the receptor-binding domain (RBD). Because theRBD is the part of the spike that at-tachesdirectlytohumancellsanden-ables the virus to infect them, it wasassumedtobeaprimarytargetof theimmune system. But, testing bloodplasmasamplesfromfourpeoplewhorecovered from SARS-CoV-2 infec-tions,theresearchersfoundthatmostof theantibodiescirculat-ing in the blood—on av-erage,about84%—targetareas of the viral spikeproteinoutsidetheRBD—and, apparently, for goodreason.“Wefoundtheseanti-
bodies are painting theentire spike, both the arcand the stalk of the spikeprotein,which looksabitlike anumbrella. The im-munesystemseestheen-tirespikeandtriestoneutraliseit,”re-searcher Greg Ippolito, a molecularbioscientist, said in a statement fromUTexas.Many of these non-RBD-directed
antibodies act as a potent weaponagainstthevirusbytargetingaregion
inapartof thespikeproteinlocatedinwhatwouldbetheumbrella'scanopy
called theN-terminaldo-main (NTD). These anti-bodiesneutralisethevirusin cell cultures andwereshowntoprevent a lethalmouse-adaptedversionofthe virus from infectingmice.The NTD is also a part
of the viral spike proteinthat mutates frequently,especially in several vari-ants of concern. This sug-gests that one reason
thesevariantsaresoeffectiveatevad-ing our immune systems is that theycanmutate around one of themostcommonandpotenttypesofantibodyinourarsenals.
Source:Universityof TexasatAustin
PAPERCLIP
NEWRESEARCH
AANCHALMAGAZINE&PRABHARAGHAVANNEWDELHI,MAY6
THEUNITEDStatesonWednesdayannouncedsupportforwaivingintellectualpropertypro-tection forCovid-19vaccines, sayingextraor-dinary circumstances call for extraordinarymeasures.UnitedStatesTradeRepresentativeKatherine Tai said theUSwill pursue “text-basednegotiations”onthewaiverattheWorldTradeOrganization(WTO).Text-basednegotiations involvenegotia-
tors exchanging textswith their preferredwordingand then thrashingout a consensuson theworking—a fairly long-drawnaffair.Negotiations are expected in amixof virtualandin-personmeetings.They“will taketimegiventheconsensus-basednatureoftheinsti-tution and the complexity of the issues in-volved”,Taisaid.All164WTOmembersmustagreeonthe
draft, and any onemember can veto it. TheEuropeanUnion,whichhadearlier opposedthewaiver,hasnowstateditsintenttodiscusstheUS-backedproposal.
WhatdoestheIPwaivermean?TheIPwaivermightopenupspaceforpro-
ductionofCovidvaccineswithemergencyuseauthorisations (EUA)—such as thosedevel-oped by Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca,Novavax, Johnson & Johnson and BharatBiotech—ona largerscale inmiddle-incomecountries.Most production is currently con-centrated inhigh-incomecountries;produc-tion bymiddle-income countries has beenhappening through licensing or technologytransferagreements.Rampingupproductioncapacitieswillbealengthyprocess—areasonbeing cited by pharmaceutical companiesagainstthemove.Mostanalystsexpectthistotakeatleastafewmonths;itislikelytheagree-mentwillbetargetedbytheWTO’snextmin-isterialconferenceinend-November.TheUSsupportforanIPwaiverstemsfrom
aproposalbyIndiaandSouthAfricaintheWTOlastyear.Thatproposalhad,however,calledforawaiveronall Covid interventions, includingtestingdiagnosticsandnoveltherapeutics.ExpertssaidtheIPwaiverproposalshould
include other interventions going forward.Amidthepandemic,the“widestpossible”ac-cess to these interventions is limitedbypro-duction capacity aswell as thepropensity ofhigh-incomecountriestoacquire“mostofthesupplies”, PublicHealth Foundationof IndiapresidentProfKSrinathReddysaid.Countriesincluding Canada, South Korea, and
Bangladesh have shown interest inmakingCovidvaccinesif theycangetapatentwaiver,ProfReddysaid.
Whatarethedeterrentsforthewaiver?InajointlettertoUSPresidentJoeBidenin
March, pharma companies including PfizerandAstraZenecahadopposed theproposedwaiver— saying eliminating IP protectionswould“underminetheglobalresponsetothepandemic”, including the ongoing efforts totacklenewvariants.Itcouldalsocreateconfu-sion that couldpotentiallyunderminepublicconfidenceinvaccinesafetyandcreateabar-riertoinformationsharing,theyhadsaid.And,“most importantly, eliminating protectionswouldnotspeedupproduction.”MicrosoftfounderBillGateshasexpressed
reservations against tweaking IP rules andsharingCovid-19vaccine technologies. “Thethingthat'sholdingthingsback,inthiscase,isnot intellectual property. It's not like there'ssomeidlevaccinefactory,withregulatoryap-proval, thatmakesmagically safe vaccines,”Gates said in a recent interviewtoSkyNews.His justification for not sharing vaccine techwithdevelopingcountriesis“thatitwouldnotbefeasibleforacompanytomovevaccinestoadevelopingnation”.GatesmentionedIndia,andsaidthatevenif thetransferweretohap-pen,itisbecauseof“ourgrantsandexpertise”.Theargumentthatthesecountriesdonot
havethecapacitytospeedilyproducevaccinesgoes against earliermoves towards apatentsregimeforgenericdrugs.Expertssaidthesamereasoningcanbeusednowfortheproductionof vaccines. “Theywill question the capacity
andquality.Butanumberofcompaniesfromdifferentcountrieshavesaidtheyarereadytoproduce, andquality canalwaysbeassessed.Between1972 and2005, India had adoptedprocesspatentingratherthanproductpatent-ing, and built up a huge generic industry. Ifwesterncompaniesareinterestedincontract-ingIndiancompaniesformanufacturingtheirvaccines in India, thenhowcan they sayyoudo not have the quality to produce on yourown?”ProfReddysaid.
WhatwastheearlierproposalfromIndiaandSouthAfrica?InOctober2020,IndiaandSouthAfricahad
askedtheWTOtowaivecertainconditionsofthe Trade Related Aspects of IntellectualPropertyRights(TRIPS)Agreementthatcouldimpede timely access to affordablemedicalproducts to combat Covid-19. The countrieshadasked theTRIPSCouncil to recommend,“as early aspossible”, awaiver on the imple-mentation, application and enforcement offour sections in the secondpart of the agree-ment.Thesesections—1,4,5,and7—pertaintocopyrightandrelated rights, industrial de-signs, patents, and the protection of undis-closedinformation.Theproposalhadsaidthatdevelopingcountries“especially”,mayfacein-stitutional and legal difficultieswhenusingflexibilitiesavailableintheTRIPSAgreement.
WhatarepatentsandIPrights?Apatentrepresentsapowerfulintellectual
property right, and is anexclusivemonopolygrantedbyagovernment toan inventor foralimited,pre-specifiedtime. Itprovidesanen-
forceable legal right to prevent others fromcopying the invention. Patents canbe eitherprocesspatentsorproductpatents.Aproductpatentensuresthattherightsto
thefinalproductisprotected,andanyoneotherthanthepatentholdercanberestrainedfrommanufacturing it during a specified period,even if theyweretouseadifferentprocess.Aprocesspatentenablesanypersonotherthanthepatentholdertomanufacturethepatentedproductbymodifyingcertainprocessesinthemanufacturingexercise.Indiamoved fromproduct patenting to
processpatentinginthe1970s,whichenabledIndia to become a significant producer ofgenericdrugsatglobalscale,andallowedcom-panies like Cipla to provideAfricawith anti-HIVdrugsinthe1990s.Butduetoobligationsarisingoutof theTRIPSAgreement, IndiahadtoamendthePatentsAct in2005,andswitchtoaproductpatentsregimeacrossthepharma,chemicals,andbiotechsectors.
Besidespatents,whataretheotherroadblockstoscalingupproduction?The International Federation of
PharmaceuticalManufacturers&Associations(IFPMA)haspointedtoother“realchallenges”in scaling upproduction anddistribution ofCovid-19vaccines.Theseincludetradebarriers,bottlenecks in supply chains, scarcity of rawmaterialsandingredientsinthesupplychain,andtheunwillingnessofrichcountriestosharedoseswithpoorernations.The scarcity of rawmaterials has been a
growingissueforrampingupproduction;sev-eralmanufacturershavebeenrelyingonspe-cific suppliers, and alternatives are limited.Also,countriesliketheUShadblockedexportsofcriticalrawmaterialsusedintheproductionof someCovid-19vaccinesusing regulationsliketheAmericanDefenceProductionAct.ThisledtoadelayintheproductionofCovid
vaccinesbysomecompaniesinIndia.MahimaDatla,managingdirectorofBiologicalE,whichismakingtheJ&Jvaccine in India,hadsaidUSsuppliershavetoldglobalclientstheymaynotbeabletofulfiltheirordersbecauseof theAct,accordingtoareportintheFinancialTimes.Vaccinemakers suchasAdar Poonawalla
of Serum Institute of India (SII) had said thattheuseoftheDPAhadblockedexportsofplas-ticbags, filters, andcertainmediaused in theproductionof its versionof theNovavaxvac-cine.OnApril25,theWhiteHousesaidtheUShad identified sourcesof “specific rawmate-rial”thatwere“urgently”requiredfortheman-ufacture of Covishield, SII’s version of theAstraZenecavaccine,andtheywouldbe“im-mediately”madeavailableforIndia.
13WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
ONWEDNESDAY,theReserveBankofIndia’sdecisiontostepuppurchaseof governmentsecurities under the government securitiesacquisition programme (G-SAP) led to theyieldonthebenchmark10-yearbondfallingbelow6%.
Howhavebondyieldsmovedrecently?The yield on the 10-year benchmark
5.85%,2030bondfellby0.62%andclosedat5.978%onWednesday,from6.01%theprevi-ousday. It closedunder6% for the first timesinceFebruary12. InApril, theRBI launchedG-SAPunderwhichitsaid itwouldbuyRs1
lakh croreworthof bonds in theApril-Junequarter. It has so far boughtRs25,000 croreworthofgovernmentsecurities(G-secs).The10-year bondhas declined 15 basis pointsfrom6.15%inthelastonemonth.Movements in yields,whichdependon
trends in interest rates, can result in capitalgains or losses for investors. If an individualholds abondcarrying ayield of 6%, a rise inbondyieldsinthemarketwillbringthepriceofthebonddown.Ontheotherhand,adropinbondyieldbelow6%wouldbenefitthein-vestorasthepriceof thebondwill rise,gen-eratingcapitalgains.“G-SAPhasengenderedasofteningbiasinG-secyieldswhichhascon-tinuedsincethen,”RBIGovernorShaktikantaDas saidwhile announcing a fresh set ofmeasures to tackle the impact of the pan-demiconWednesday.
Whyarebondyieldssoftening?Thefall inbondyields in Indiacouldalso
beduetoasharpdeclineinUSTreasuryyieldsortheeconomicuncertaintycausedbyCovid-19.“ButthemostimportantdriverofthebondmarketwasRBIinterventions.Theannounce-
mentofabond-buyingprogramme–G-SAP—at the start of themonthplayeda crucialrole in turning themarket sentiment,” saidPankajPathak,FundManager-FixedIncome,QuantumMutualFund.HesaidtheRBIcontinuedtosendstrong
yieldsignalsbycancellinganddevolvinggov-ernment debt auctions. In the lastmonthalone,theRBIcancelledmorethanRs30,000worthofdebtauctions.Althoughpartofthisamountwasoffsetbyavailingthegreen-shoeoption (option to accept bids formore thanthenotifiedamountofdebtauction)inothersecurities,thedecisiontobuyRs35,000croreworthofbondsinMaywouldhelpthemar-ketabsorbaportionof theRs1.16 lakhcroremarketborrowingsbythegovernmentdur-ingthemonth.
What’stheimpactonmarketsandinvestors?Expertssaythestructuredpurchasepro-
grammehascalmedinvestors’nervesandre-ducedthespreadbetweenthereporateandthe10-yeargovernmentbondyield.Adeclinein yield is alsobetter for the equitymarkets
becausemoneystartsflowingoutofdebtin-vestments to equity investments. “Thatmeans as bond yields go down, the equitymarketstendtooutperformbyabiggermar-ginandasbondyieldsgoupequitymarketstend to falter. If you look at thepast 5 yearssincelate2012,thebenchmark10-yearyieldsare downby almost (- 17%) andhave beenmovingconsistentlydownward,despiteoc-casionalhiccups.Atthesametime,theNiftyis upbynearly 82%,” according to aMotilalOswalreport.Itsaystheyieldonbondsisnormallyused
astherisk-freeratewhencalculatingthecostofcapital.Whenbondyieldsgoup,thecostofcapitalgoesup.“Thatmeansthatfuturecashflows get discounted at a higher rate. Thiscompresses the valuations of these stocks.ThatisoneofthereasonsthatwhenevertheinterestratesarecutbytheRBI,itispositiveforstocks,” itsays.Whenbondyieldsgoup,itisasignalthat
corporateswillhave topayahigher interestcostondebt.Asdebtservicingcostsgohigher,the risk of bankruptcy anddefault also in-creasesandthistypicallymakesmid-capand
highlyleveragedcompaniesvulnerable.“Themarkets have also viewed these
measures(Wednesday’sRBImeasures)pos-itivelywith theBSESensex rising,while thebondmarkets have seen additional buyingreflected by decline in G-Sec yields,” saidMadan Sabnavis, Chief Economist, CareRatings.
WhyistheRBIkeenonkeepingyieldsincheck?TheRBI has been aiming to keep yields
lower as that reduces borrowing costs forthe governmentwhile preventing any up-wardmovementinlendingratesinthemar-ket. A rise in bond yieldswill put pressureon interest rates in the banking systemwhichwillleadtoahikeinlendingrates.TheRBIwants to keep interest rates steady tokick-start investments.Theyieldhad fallen to a lowof 5.74%on
July10lastyearasaresultofaseriesof inter-est rate cuts.However, yields subsequentlyrose and touched a high of 6.15%. If yieldscome down, the RBIwill be able to bringdownthecostofgovernmentborrowingfor
2021-22,whichissetatRs12.05lakhcrore.
Whereareyieldsheaded?Analysts saypotential changes in theUS
monetary policy direction and Fed bondyieldsarethebiggestriskfactorsfortheIndianbondmarketin2021.“Notwithstandingthisrisk,bondyieldsmayremaininatightrangeinnear future supportedbyRBI’s bondpur-chases.Overthemediumterm,inflationandpotentialmonetarypolicynormalisationwillplayamoreimportantroleinshapingthein-terest rate trajectory.Weexpectmarket in-terestratestomovehighergraduallyoverthenext 1-2 years,” said Pathak of QuantumMutualFund.During the “taper tantrum” episode of
2013, when then US Fed chairman BenBernankehintedat reducing theamountofbondpurchases, Indian bondyields spikedandthevalueoftherupeecollapsedwithinafewmonths, he said. India’smacropositionand external accounts are inmuch bettershapethanin2013.Nevertheless,Indianmar-ketswillnotbeimmunetoanysuchshocksintheglobalsphere.
IP waiver for Covid vaccinesSIMPLYPUTQUESTION&ANSWER
TheUSwillpursuenegotiationsatWTOtowaive intellectualpropertyprotectionforCovidvaccines.Thiscanallowlarge-scaleproductioninmiddle-incomecountries,butthereareargumentsagainst themove.
AASHISHARYANNEWDELHI,MAY6
AN INDEPENDENT oversight board ofFacebookonWednesdayheld that the plat-formhadrightlyrestrictedformerUSPresidentDonald Trump fromaccessing his page andpostingcontentonitaftertheCapitolHillvio-lence.TrumphadbeenbannedindefinitelybyFacebookonJanuary7.
Whatdidtheoversightboardsay?Althoughtheindependentoversightboard
upheldFacebook’smove,italsosaidFacebookmustreviewthemattertodetermineandjus-tify“proportionateresponsethatisconsistentwith the rules that are applied tootherusersofitsplatform”.TheboardfoundtwoFacebookposts byTrumphadviolated Facebook’s and
Instagram’scommunitystandardsandguide-lines.Trumphadpostedthatpeoplewhohadengaged in violence in theCapitolHillwere“greatpatriots”,whowere“veryspecial”,andtheywould “remember” that day forever.These words, the board said, violatedFacebook’s rule that prohibits praise or sup-portofpeopleengagedinviolenceinreal life.“TheBoard found that, inmaintaining an
unfoundednarrativeofelectoralfraudandper-sistentcallstoaction,Mr.Trumpcreatedanen-vironmentwhereaseriousriskofviolencewaspossible.AtthetimeofMr.Trump’sposts,therewas a clear, immediate risk of harmandhiswordsofsupportforthoseinvolvedintheriotslegitimizedtheirviolentactions,” itruled.
Whataretherulesforpoliticiansandstateheadsonsocialmediaplatforms?Whileallsocialmediaplatformshavedif-
ferentrules,acommonunderstandingisthatnearlyallpoliticiansandstateheadswithcon-siderablefollowinggetmorerelaxationsthanordinaryusers.AlthoughFacebookandTwitterbothhold
politiciansrunningforpublicofficeorincum-bentpoliticiansholdingapublicofficeaccount-ablefortheirposts,theseplatformsalsoallowpoliticianstopostcontentthatotherordinaryusersmaynotbeabletogetawaywith.For example, despite Brazilian President
Jair Bolsonaro posting on Facebook that theindigenouspeopleofthecountrywere“evolv-ingandbecomingmorehuman”,hecontinuestoremainactiveandpostontheplatform.Similarly,inIndia,despiteTwitterflagging
downpostsof leaders frommainstreampar-ties,includingtheBJP,forviolenceanddissem-inating fakenews, they remain active on theplatformandarepostingregularly.
Willtheoversightboarddecisionsetaprecedent?Although theoversight boardhas agreed
with Facebook’s decision, it has also said thepunishmentmetedout to Trumpwasunfairandthattheplatformmustjustifyitsdecisionagainafterreviewingit.Experts, however, believe that it is un-
likelytosetaprecedentsincetheseplatformsdonothaveuniformpoliciestodealwiththistricky issue. For example, in India, Twitterhad come under fire from the central gov-ernment for its delayed response in takingdownpoststhatthelatterhadclaimedcouldlead toviolence.Althoughtheplatformshaveaskedexperts
forinputsfromsubjectexpertsonhowtobet-terhandlethissituation,itislikelytotakethemsome timebefore they finalise a strict policyfordealingwithsuchissues.
Reading Facebook board decision on Trump ban
@ieExplained#ExpressExplainedIf there are questions of current or contemporary relevance that youwould likeexplained, pleasewrite to [email protected] EXPLAINED
THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,MAY7,2021
Ananalysisofbloodplasmasamples fromrecoveredpeopleshowsthatmostof theantibodies targetareasof theviral spikeproteinoutsidetheRBD(green).UniversityofTexasatAustin
FirstconsignmentofCovishieldvaccines leavesSerumInstitute .ExpressArchive
EXPLAINED YOURMONEY
CORONAVIRUSDASHBOARD
INDIAACTIVECASES 3,566,398
Note: TheMay5 figure in this graph isbasedon thegovernmentupdateonMay6
Apr26 May05LAST 10 DAYS
4,500,000
3,500,000
2,500,000
INDIATOTALCASES21,077,410
Source:Ministry of Health & FamilyWelfare, updated at 11 pmonMay6
WORLDTOTALCASES155,425,409
Source:Ministry of Health & FamilyWelfare, updated at 11 pmonMay6
2,882,204
3,566,398
a-NTDmAbs
a-RBDmAbs
a-S2mAbs
How immune system blanketscoronavirus with antibodies
GeorgeMathew&SunnyVerma
WhyRBIwantsmoderate bond yields, andwhat itmeans for investors
New Delhi
14THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,MAY7,2021
THEWORLDWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
UGANDA
EX-REBELCOMMANDERGETS 25YRS IN JAILThe International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday sentenced a former Ugandanchild soldier who became a commander of the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army to 25 yearsin prison for crimes including rape, sexual enslavement, child abduction, torture andmurder. Dominic Ongwen was convicted in February of 61 out of 70 alleged crimes.
USA
Starshipmakes1stsafelandingSPACEXACHIEVEDthefirstsuccessfultouchdownofitsprototype Starship rocketduringthelatesttestflightofthenext-generationlaunchvehicle in south Texas onWednesday, after fourpre-vious landing attemptsendedinexplosions.There-susableheavy-liftlaunchve-hicleisexpectedtocarryas-tronauts and cargo to themoonandMars.REUTERS
TOPOFTHEWORLD
AFGHANISTAN
Ex-anchorshotdeadinKandaharGUNMEN KILLED formerAfghanTVpresenterNimatRawan on Thursday as hewastravellinginthecityofKandahar,aprovincialoffi-cialsaid,addingtofearsforpressfreedominthecoun-try. The gunmen fledwithRawan’sphone. AP
HONGKONG
10moremonthsin jail forWongPROMINENTHONGKongdemocracy activist JoshuaWongwill face another 10monthsinjailforparticipat-ing in anunauthorised as-semblyon June4, 2020, tomark the1989 crackdownonprotestersinandaroundBeijing'sTiananmenSquare.Wong,24,isalreadyinjailonother illegal assembly con-victions. REUTERS
TheStarshipcomes infor landing.Reuters
JULIEBOSMAN&SARAHMERVOSHMAY6
AFTERWEEKS of coronaviruspatients flooding emergencyrooms in Michigan, the worstCovid-19hotspotintheUS,hos-pitalisationsare finally falling.On some recent days, entire
states, includingWisconsin andWestVirginia,havereportedzeronewcoronavirusdeaths—abriefbut promising respite from theonslaughtof thepastyear.AndinNewYorkandChicago,
officialsencouragedbytherecentprogresshaveconfidentlyvowedto fully reopen in the comingweeks, conjuring images of a vi-brantsummerofconcerts,sport-ing events and packed restau-rantsrevvingcitiesbacktolife.Americans have entered a
new, hopeful phase of the pan-demic.Buoyedbyasensethatthecoronavirusiswaning,inpartbe-causeofvaccinations,morepeo-pleareshruggingoffmasks,ven-turing into restaurants andreturning to their prepandemicroutines.Mayors, governors andother local officials — once thebearers of grimnews about thevirus’stollandstrictrulesforbusi-nesses—havejoinedinthenew-foundoptimism, rapidly loosen-
ingrestrictions.Publichealthexpertsremain
cautious,butsaidthatwhiletheystill expect significant local andregional surges in the comingweeks, they do not think theywill be as widespread or reachpastpeaks.“We’re clearly turning the
corner,”saidMichaelOsterholm,director of the Center forInfectiousDiseaseResearchandPolicy at the University ofMinnesota. NYT
MARKLANDLER&STEPHENCASTLELONDON,MAY6
ANUGLY spat over post-Brexitfishing rights has erupted into astranger-than-fictionmaritimestandoff between Britain andFrance, as naval ships frombothcountriesconvergedonThursdayin the waters off the island ofJersey, where dozens of Frenchfishingboatswerethreateningtoblockadeaport.PrimeMinisterBorisJohnson
dispatchedtwoBritishNavyves-sels, the HMS Tamar and theHMS Severn, on Wednesday
evening as a “precautionarymeasure,”accordingtohisoffice.
OnThursday,FrancedeployedtwonavalpatrolboatsnearJersey,about 14miles off the coast ofFrance to “ensure the safety ofnavigation”aswellasthe“safetyof human life at sea” in case thesituationdeteriorated.Thenavaldeploymentsesca-
lated a dispute that has sim-mered for weeks, after Frenchfishing crews accused the localauthoritiesinJerseyof imposingburdensomenewrequirementstoallowthemtocontinuetofishinJersey’scoastalwaters,follow-ing Britain’s split with theEuropeanUnioninJanuary.NYT
RENJUJOSESYDNEY,MAY6
AUSTRALIAN OFFICIALS rein-statedsocialdistancingmeasuresin Sydney asNewZealand par-tiallysuspendedthepair’s“travelbubble” onThursday, amid fearsanIndianvariantcaseofCovid-19couldspurasignificantoutbreak.The swift actionwas takena
dayafter a50-year-oldmanbe-came the first reported localtransmissioncase inNewSouthWales state in more than a
month,withthesourceofhisin-fectionbafflinghealthofficials.Furthertestingdeterminedthe
manwas infectedwithavariantfirstdetectedinIndiaandgenomicsequencinghadlinkedthecasetoa returned traveller fromtheUS,NSWChief HealthOfficer KerryChantsaidonThursday,buttherewasnocleartransmissionpathbe-tween the twopeople. “Wecan’tfind anydirect linkbetweenourcases...sowe'reconcernedthereisanother person that is as yetunidentified that infected ourcase,”Chantsaid. REUTERS
DAVIDKIRTONBEIJING,MAY6
CHINA CONDEMNED onThursdayajointstatementbyG7foreignministers that expressedsupport for Chinese-claimedTaiwanandcastBeijingasabully,sayingitwasagrossinterferenceinChina’s internalaffairs.G7foreignministerssaidina
communique after a LondonsummitthatChinawasguiltyofhuman rights abuses andof us-ing“coerciveeconomicpolicies”,which theG7woulduse collec-tiveefforts tostop.Inanunusualstep,theG7also
saidtheysupportedTaiwan'spar-ticipation in World HealthOrganization forums and theWorldHealthAssembly-andex-pressedconcernabout“anyuni-lateralactionsthatcouldescalatetensions” intheTaiwanStrait.In Beijing, Chinese Foreign
Ministry spokesman WangWenbin condemned the state-mentsaying itmade“groundlessaccusations”thatwereagrossin-terference inChina’s internal af-fairs.“This isthewantondestruc-tionof thenormsof internationalrelations,”hesaid.TheG7asagroupshouldtake
concreteactiontoboosttheglobaleconomicrecoveryinsteadofdis-ruptingit,headded.WangalsoattackedG7coun-
tries for hoardingCovid-19 vac-cinesandhavinga“wishy-washy”stance towards helping othercountries. REUTERS
THEUShasreissued its traveladvisoryonIndia,urgingitscit-izensnottotraveltothecoun-trydue toanunprecedentedsurge in the Covid-19 casesthere. “Donot travel to Indiadue toCovid-19. Exercise in-creasedcautionduetocrimeand terrorism,” the StateDepartment said onWednesday in its latest traveladvisorythatlookedidenticalto theone issuedonApril28.Both the travel advisoryhasbeenmarked'Level4'whichisthehighestwarninglevel.PTI
U.S. REISSUESADVISORYURGINGAGAINST INDIATRAVEL
Mystery case of Indianvariant in Australia spursreturn of restrictions
SignsofhopeareappearingacrossAmerica. LosAngelesCountymadeheadlineswiththenewsthatithadreportedzeronewdeathsontwoconsecutivedays thisweek.NYT
‘Turning thecorner’: UScoronavirusoutlookat itsmosthopeful point yet
Beijing silent on space rocketdebris amid rising concernsBeijing: China on Thursday de-clinedtocommentonreportsthatthe debris of its LongMarch 5Brocket,whichlastweeklaunchedthecoremoduleof the country’sspace station, is set to re-enterEarth’satmospherethisweekend,amidconcernsitcouldcausedam-ageif itcrashesincivilianareas.While Foreign Ministry
spokesmanWangWenbinpar-riedquestionsaboutthereportsthattheUSdefencedepartmentwas tracking the falling rocketdebris, official media here
quoted Chinese experts as say-ingthat thepartsof thedisinte-gratedrocketwouldfall ininter-nationalwaters.ThePentagonsaidTuesdayit
was tracking a large Chineserocket that is out of control andset to re-enter Earth’s atmos-pherethisweekend.Whilemostspace debris burn up in the at-mosphere,the22-tonnerocket’ssizehaspromptedconcernthatlarge parts could re-enter andcausedamage if theyhit inhab-itedareas. PTI
ChinagovtspokesmanWangWenbin
G7 foreignministers expresssupport forTaiwan; Chinaslams statement
CROSSWORD4423
ACROSS1There’snotasinglewomanamongst them(5)4Readsomethingaloudoracted itout (7)8Pitch intoasailor (3)9Press fastener? (9)10 It’sveryhardtobethe firstmantotakeonaworker (7)11Emily isout to findanEnglishmanabroad(5)13ShowaroundVenice (6)15Tastedpeculiarandexpressedanopinion(6)18Firearmpart (5)19Steps takenbytravellers(7)21 Itholds liquidof course(4,5)23 Individual in themoney(3)24Possibly reunite thosewhofollow(7)25Leftportwithcargo(5)
DOWN1Thestrengthof thecurrent?(7)2Talentedgroupof relatives(9)3Apie’s turnedbrown(5)4Postedanorder toheadquarters (6)5Stays toendorseanumberinsomearmour (7)6A law-breaking instrument(3)7Withoutoccupation(5)12Timberwhichmaybeputtostrikinguse?(9)14Reduceeachdamagedpen(7)16Pickoutscatteredcinders(7)17Agirlfriend isblazing (6)18Aprose formthatprovidesaproblem(5)20Delia’sperfect form(5)22 Inshort, lastmonthwasabitof apainful time(3)
ARIES(Mar21-Apr20)It's timeforaspotofshopping,especiallyif you'respendingotherpeople's
money! It'sactuallyanimportantmoment tochoosebetweenfinancial securityandaventurewhichcouldbearisk.Butdon'tbehasty, for theremightstillbe furtherdetailswaiting tocometo light.
TAURUS(Apr21-May21)Apartnerhasasmuchwill-powerasyou, if notmore.So, ifyoushould feel
inclinedtoenter intoa trialofstrengthyouwillhavetorealisethat,howeverwellyouhavedoneso far, youcouldriskeverythingyouhavegained.Afewsimplesafe-guardsshoulddothetrick.
GEMINI (May22- June21)Don'texpecttobeletoff thehooktoday,ortomorrowforthatmatter.Doyourself a
favourandputrumoursandsuspicionstooneside,concentratingonthehereandnow,andwhatyoucandotoimprovetheworldforeveryone.Youcanonlygain ifpeopleseeyouputtingothers first.
CANCER(June22- July23)Childrenandyoungerrelationsdemandextra time,butyoumayhave
difficultykeepingall theemotionalballs in theairat thesamemoment,especially if friendsalsorequireyoursupportandsustenance.Youmighthavetomakesomedifficult choices—andsoon.
LEO(July24-Aug23)You'vegotsomebright financialideas, sowiththerightadviceyou
coulddoverywell indeed.Theonethingyoumust realise isthatpartnersareessential tothe fulfilmentof yourplans.Plus,don't takeriskswithyouremotional securityor throwawaygoodwill justwhenyouneed itmost.
VIRGO(Aug24-Sep23)Youmaynowbetemptedto join inthe fray,butbeforeyoudabble in
partners'disputesandargumentsbetweencolleagues,bewarnedthatyoumayhavetotakesomeflakof yourown.However, if othersarehonest,they'll admit tobenefiting fromyourbreadthof vision.
LIBRA(Sep24-Oct23)It'snotwhatyouwant thatmatters,butwhatyoucanafford. Faceupto
thosehardquestions, likewhatyou'reworking for,what's it allworth,andareyoubeingpaidenough? If theanswer to thelast is 'no',dosomethingaboutit!Therearemanywaystoincreaseyour incomeandcutyourspending.
SCORPIO(Oct24-Nov23)Youmaywellimaginethatyouwerecompletelyrightabout the
pastandareutterlycorrectabout the future.Confidence isonething,acomplete lackofself-doubt isanother, and itcouldbeusefulnowtoquestionyouremotionalpriorities.Youdon'twant toblunder intoabrick-wall.
SAGITTARIUS(Nov24-Dec22)About theonly thingyoucando isbeasphilanthropicandcharitableasyoucan
—andprovideavaluableback-upforotherpeople.Putunstintingeffort into improvingthequalityof life forpartners, andyou'll avoidcertainpitfallsarisingoutofyourpastactions.
CAPRICORN(Dec23- Jan20)Childrenoryoungerrelationsshouldtakeprideofplace infamilymatters. For
yourownbenefityoushouldtakea leaf outof theirbookandresolve tobestillmoreyouthfulandyoungatheart in the future.Afterall, you'reasyoungasyoufeel—intheory.
AQUARIUS(Jan21-Feb19)Aprofessionalbattleisabout tobe joined.Evenfor thoseofyounotatwork,a
long-termambition isnowcomingtoa turning-point,andyouwillhavetodecidewhether tooptoutor re-doubleyourefforts.Acommunityprojectwill soonpaydividends.
PISCES(Feb20-Mar20)What isdifficult forotherpeoplecouldbedecidedlyfavourable foryou.
However, if youshouldthink it ispossible tocash inonanyoneelse'smisfortune,there'sachancethatyoucouldendupsharingit. Stick towhatsuitsyoubest—sincerityand integrity.
SUDOKU4464
DifficultyLevel2sInstructionsTosolveaSudokupuzzle,everydigitfrom1to9mustappear ineachofthenineverticalcolumns, ineachoftheninehorizontalrowsandineachofthenineboxes.
DifficultyLevel1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy;3s=Medium;4s=Hard;5s=VeryHard;6s=Genius S
OLU
TIONSUDOKU4463
Givenbelowarefour jumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemtotherespectivesquaresbelow.Selecttheletters intheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtogettheanswerforthegivenquip.I read_______allthewaythrough-SamuelGoldwyn(4,2,2)
SOLUTION:EXTRA,DIVOT,SEXTET,POTFULAnswer:Ireadpartofitallthewaythrough-SamuelGoldwyn
TAXER EESXTT
DTVIO LOTUFP
SolutionsCrossword4422:Across:1Alienation,8Lower,9Mission,10Cheeses,11Lisle,12Answer,14Prompt,17Delta,19Enthuse,21Erudite,22Pilot,23Signetring.Down:2Lawless,3Earns,4Almost,5Insular,6Nails,7Investment,8Lockandkey,13Erasing,15Maudlin,16Serene,18Louts,20Toper.
JUMBLEDWORDS
OVERTHEHEDGE byMichael Fry&TLewis
CALVIN&HOBBES byBillWatterson
MARVIN byTomArmstrong
DAYTODAY BYPETERVIDAL
Thorny issue for the regionFISHINGHASlongbeenacontentiousissuebe-tweenBritainandothersintheregion,andtheis-suehadatonepointthreatenedtoderailthepost-BrexittradepactbetweentheUKandEU.TheUKhaslongcomplainedthatfishingcrewsfromotherpartsofEuropeare
takingtoomuchfishfromBritishwaters.Between1950-1970,tensionsbe-tweentheUKandIcelandhadshotupoverthefish-
ingissue,leadingtotheUKsending37Navyvesselstopro-tectitstrawlers.Thereiscon-cernthatsuchincidentscarrytheriskofaccidentalescalation.
Row escalates: France, UK send Navy vessels to Jersey
ARUNJANARDHANANCHENNAI,MAY6
FORMERMALDIVES presidentMohamedNasheed,who is cur-rently the country’s Speaker ofParliament,sustainedinjuriesinabombblastnearhis residenceonThursdaynight.AhmedMahloof,Minister of
Youth and CommunityEmpowerment inMaldives, saidtheywereyet toascertaindetailsofhisinjuries.TalkingtoTheIndianExpress,Mahloofsaidtheincidentwasreportedaround8.30pm(lo-caltimes).“He was about to leave his
home. The explosionhappenedwhilehewaswalkingtowardshiscar. It isanarrowstreetwherehelives sohehadtowalka fewme-terstoreachthecar.Itwasreport-edly amotorbike that exploded.Hewasaccompaniedbyhisbody-guardsandoneof themwasalsoinjured,”hesaid.“Iamdeeplywor-ried.Anactofterrorism...Iamsurethisgovernmentwilltakestrictac-tion against perpetrators,”Mahloofadded.President IbrahimMohamed
SolihvisitedNasheedat thehos-pital. “Speaker of ParliamentPresidentMohamedNasheed iscurrently receiving treatment at
ADKHospital inMalé for injuriessustained followinganexplosionoutsidehisresidencetonight.Weare treating thismatterwithut-mostseriousnessandtheinvesti-gation is currently underway,” astatementfromSolihsaid.Accordingtosources,Nasheed
has sustainedmany superficialwounds,andadeepcutonhisarm.Hisvitalssignsaregoodandthereseemstobenoseriousinjurytohisinternalorgans.“Stronglycondemntheattack
on Speaker of Parliament,President@MohamedNasheedthisevening.Cowardlyattackslikethesehavenoplaceinoursociety.MythoughtsandprayersarewithPresidentNasheedandothersin-juredinthisattack,aswellastheirfamilies,”AbdullaShahid, foreignministerofMaldives,tweeted.IndianExternalAffairsMinister
S Jaishankar tweeted: “DeeplyconcernedattheattackonSpeakerMohamedNasheed.Wishhimaspeedyrecovery.Knowthathewillneverbeintimidated.”
Former Maldivespresident Nasheedinjured in bomb blast
MohamedNasheed
New Delhi
15SENSEX: 48,949.76 ▲ 272.21 (0.56%) NIFTY: 14,724.80 ▲ 106.95 (0.73%) NIKKEI: 29,331.37 ▲ 518.74 HANG SENG: 28,637.46 ▲ 219.48 FTSE: 7,044.01 ▲ 4.71 DAX: 15,155.61 ▼ 15.17
THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,MAY7,2021
ECONOMYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
Internationalmarketdatatill1900IST
GOLD`46,680
RUPEE`73.78
OIL$68.35
SILVER`69,511
Note:Gold, silverratesatDelhi spotmarket;goldper10g, silverper1kg;Crudeoil (Indianbasket)asonMay5,2021
ENSECONOMICBUREAUMUMBAI,MAY6
A TECHNICAL group on socialstock exchanges (SSEs), consti-tuted by the Securities andExchange Board of India (Sebi),has recommended that politicalandreligiousorganisations,tradeorganisationsaswellascorporatefoundations should not be al-lowedtoraisefundsthroughSSEs.“Corporate foundations, po-
liticalorreligiousorganizations/activities, professional or tradeassociations, infrastructure andhousing companies (except af-fordablehousing)willnotbeper-mitted on SSE,” said the techni-calgroupreportreleasedbySebionThursday.Sebisetupthetechnicalgroup
in September under the chair-manshipofHarshBhanwala,for-merchairmanofNABARD.The technical group report
said both For Profit Enterprise(FPE) and Not for Profit
Organisation (NPO)will be eligi-ble to tap theSSE if they are ableto show their primary goals aresocial intentandimpact.SSEareengagedinatleastone
of the15broadeligibleactivities.They target underserved or lessprivilegedpopulation segmentsor regions; and should have atleast 67 per cent of its activitiesqualifying as eligible activities tothetargetpopulation.
ThepanelhasrecommendeddifferentmodesoffundraisingforNPOs and FPEs. For NPOs it hasrecommended fundraisingthrough“equity,zerocouponzeroprincipalbond,developmentim-pact bonds, social impact fundwith100percentgrants-in grantsout provision, anddonations byinvestorsthroughmutualfunds”.For FPEs it has recommendedfundraisingthroughequity,debt,
development impact bonds, andsocialventurefunds.The report said that entities
listedonSSEwillhavetodisclosetheirsocialimpactreportonanan-nual basis covering aspects suchas “strategic intentandplanning,approach,impactscorecard”.Thereporthasalsomadealist
ofeligibleactivitiesthatsocialen-terprises can engage in such aseradicatinghunger,povertymal-nutritionandinequality;trainingtopromoteruralsports;promot-inggenderequalitybyempower-ment of women and LGBTQIA+communities;slumareadevelop-ment/ affordable housing;forestandwildlife conservation; pro-moting livelihoods for rural andurbanpoor; promotionof finan-cial inclusionamongothers.TheexpertpanelhassaidFPEs,
whichwish to list their equity ordebt, will first have to demon-strate their track record throughsocial performance. Thiswill al-low investors to gain an insightintotheFPE’sactivities.
SEBI TECHNICALGROUPREPORT
AASHISHARYANNEWDELHI,MAY6
THEDEPARTMENTof Teleco-mmunicationsonTuesdayal-lowed private telcos BhartiAirtel, Reliance Jio Infocommand Vi (formerly VodafoneIdea) and well as state-runtelcoMahanagar TelephoneNigamLimited(MTNL)tostarttrialsfor5Gtechnologyaswellas its applications in varioussectors.Thetrialswilllastfor6monthsfornow.
Whyarethetrialsfor5Gtechnologyimportantfortelcos?5Gor fifthgen-
eration is the latestupgrade in thelong-term evolu-tionmobilebroad-band networks. 5G mainlyworksin3bands,namelylow,midandhigh-frequencyspec-trum—allofwhichhavetheirusesandlimitations.Thetele-commarketinIndiaisleftwithonlythreeprivatetelcos,withtheresthavingsurrenderedtothe low returns on invest-ments over the years. Apartfromtheprivate telecommu-nication companies, the twostate-run companies,MTNLand Bharat Sanchar NigamLimitedhavealsosurvivedbutaremakinglosses.In order to increase their
average revenueperuser, it ispertinentfortelcostostartof-feringthenew5Gtechnologyas soon as possible. For that,however,theywillhavetocon-duct trials in a variety of cir-
cumstances,includinginsemi-urbanand rural areas,which
remains an un-tappedmarket forthem. Apart fromthe telcos, it is alsoimportant that thegovernment bereadytorolloutthenewtechnologyas
soonaspossible.
Whatwill5GtrialsinIndiaentailfornow?In the initial phase, these
trialswill be for6months, in-cludinga2-monthperiod forprocurementandsettingupofthe equipment. In these 6months,telcoswillberequiredtotesttheirsetupinurbanar-eas, semi-urbanareasaswellasruralareas.Duringthisperiod,thetel-
coswill beprovidedwithex-perimental spectrum invari-ous bands, such as themid-bandof 3.2GHz to 3.67GHz, the millimeter waveband of 24.25 GHz to 28.5GHz,andothers.
Full report onwww.indianexpress.com
SECTORWATCHTELECOMMUNICATIONS
ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,MAY6
INONEof the steepest increasesince daily price revision wasstarted, petrol priceonThursdaywashikedby25paiseperlitreanddieselby30paiseasoilcompaniesraised rates for the third straightday topasson toconsumers theincreaseininternationaloilprices.Petrol price inDelhiwas in-
creased toRs90.99per litre fromRs90.74whiledieselrateswentuptoRs81.42alitrefromRs81.12,ac-cording toapricenotificationbystate-ownedfuelretailers.InMumbai, the petrol price
was hiked to Rs 97.34 a litre onThursday from Rs 97.12, whilediesel rateswere increased toRs88.49fromRs88.19,thepriceno-tificationshowed.Rateshavebeenincreasedacross thecountryand
varyfromstatetostatedependingonthelocalincidenceoftaxation.In threedays, petrolpricehas
increasedby59paiseperlitreanddiesel by69paise—neutralisingmost of the reduction that camebetweenMarch24andApril15.
Microsoft pledges to let EU users keep data inside blocPlay Store developers to share typeof data collected by app: GoogleNewDelhi:Google on ThursdaysaiddevelopersonPlayStorewillhave to share details of the typeof data collected and stored bytheirappandexplainhowthein-formationisused,amoveaimedat enabling users getmore con-trolovertheirdata.
Googlewillsharethenewpol-icy requirements and resources,including detailed guidance onappprivacypolicies in the thirdquarter this year, anddeveloperscanstartdeclaringinformationinGooglePlayConsoleinthefourthquarterof2021,ablogpostsaid.PTI
REUTERSSTOCKHOLM,MAY6
MICROSOFTWILLallowcommer-cialandpublicsectorcustomersintheEuropeanUniontoprocessandstoredataintheregion,agrowingdemandfromsomeclients.The companywill complete
the implementation of all engi-neeringworkneeded toexecute
theplanby the endof next yearanditwillapplytoallitscorecloudservices—Azure,Microsoft 365,andDynamics365, thecompany
saidonThursday.Microsoftwill consultwith
customers and regulators aboutthisplaninthecomingmonths,in-cluding adjustments that areneeded inuniquecircumstanceslike cybersecurity, its presidentBrad Smith said in a statement.Microsoftcurrentlyoperatesdat-acentersin13Europeancountries,includingFrance,Germany,IrelandandSweden.
DIPR/ 1487 /TENDER/2021
POOMPUHAR SHIPPING CORPORATION LIMITED(A Government of Tamilnadu Enterprise)
692, Anna Salai, IVth Floor, Nandanam, Chennai - 600 035, IndiaTelephone No: 044-24330505 / 807, Fax: 91-44-24344593 / 24330807,
E-mail : [email protected] CIN: U63090TN1974PLC006596
GLOBAL TENDERNOTICE INVITING TENDER FOR SPOT TERM TIME CHARTERING OF ONE SELF-TRIMMING GEARLESS(OR WITH GEARS CONSIDERED AS GEARLESS) SUPRAMAX / HANDYMAX VESSEL WITH DEAD WEIGHTCAPACITY OF ABOUT 40000 TO 55000 MTSealed tenders are invited from the Ship owners /disponent owners for the following specification:
Sl.No. Tender Number Lay Days Period
Last datefor issue ofTender book
Tenderclosing date& Time
TenderOpening
date & Time1 TENDER NO.
H/OP/SPSUP (or)HAND/151/001/2021-22
01.06.2021to
15.06.2021
3 months+/- 10 dayschoption
24.05.2021upto
12.00 hours
24.05.2021at
15.00 hours
24.05.2021at
15.30 hoursProspective bidders are advised to refer our website www.tamilship.com and www.tn.tenders.gov.infor specific important details. The conditions/ requirement mentioned in the website shall be met outby the bidders. This advertisement is an invitation for bid only. The details given in the website arecomprehensive. Further, all communications will be updated through our website only.
GENERAL MANAGER (OPNS)
Government of RajasthanLocal Self Government Department
(Directorate of Local Bodies, Rajasthan, Jaipur)G-3, Rajmahal Residency, Near Civil Lines,
Railway Crossing, JaipurTel No.: +91 141 2222469 Fax No.: +91 141 2222403
Web site : www.urban.lsg.rajasthan.gov.inNo: F 55 ( ) PA/CE/DLB/Corona/oxygenplant/2021/98199 Date 05.05.2021
Expression of Interest (EoI)There an urgent need of oxygen plants due to COVID-19 in the State ofRajasthan. Single stage one envelop unconditional proposal are invited onbehalf of Governor of Rajsthan by Director cum Special Secretary, LSG forprocurement, installation, commissioning and testing of oxygen plant within twomonths on turnkey basis (supply, installation, civil/ Mechanical/ Electrical work)with one year O&M and two years warrantee as defect liability period atdesignated places in 59 towns of the State.
Interested bidder (manufacturer/Authorised Dealer/ Supplier/Agent) can submittheir proposal through mail on [email protected] latest by 08.05.2021at 5.00 PM. Other detail of Request for Proposal (RFP) can be seen/downloadfrom www.sppp.rajasthan.gov.in and official websitewww.urban.lsg.rajasthan.gov.in
Sd/-(Deepak Nandi)
Director cum Special Secretary
TAMIL NADU GENERATION AND DISTRIBUTION CORPORATION LTD.
Sl. No Tender Inviting Authority Specification No. Total1 SE/P&A/NCTPS 04, 05 22 CE/Mech/Coal Coal (SHIP) - 80 13 SE/P&A/MTPS 01 1
4 SE/Transmission-IV T-2185, T.2186 2For details of works/Procurement/Due date of submission/opening, viewingand downloading of e-tenders, please visit websites: www.tangedco.org.in,www.tangedco.gov.in, www.tantransco.org.in, www.tnebnet.org,www.tenders.tn.gov.in, https://tntenders.gov.in/nicgep/app
NOTICE INVITING TENDERS (E-TENDERING PROCESS)
DIPR/1490/Tender/2021
TAMIL NADU TRANSMISSION CORPORATION LTD.
“CORPORATEFOUNDATIONS,politicalorreligiousorganisations/activities,professionalortradeassociations,infrastructureandhousingcompanies (exceptaffordablehousing)willnotbepermittedonSSE,”saidthetechnicalgroupreport releasedbySebionThursday.
CORPORATE FOUNDATIONSNOTPERMITTED TOO
‘Political, religious,tradebodiesnotallowedonsocialbourses’
Thetrialswill last6months fornow. File
What is 5G trial &why is it importantfor Indian telcos?
Theplanwillapplytoallitscorecloudservices—Azure,Microsoft365,andDynamics365
CURRENTRATES
PETROL ▲ 25paise■Delhi ■Mumbai
`90.99 `97.34
DIESEL ▲ 30paise`81.42 `88.49
Petrol, diesel priceshiked for third day
REUTERSWASHINGTON,MAY6
THENEWchair of theUS securi-ties regulator on Thursday toldlawmakers theagency is consid-eringnewtradingrulesasitlooksto addressproblemshighlightedbythisyear’sGameStopCorpsagaandthemeltdownofprivatefundArchegosCapital.Gary Gensler, sworn in last
monthaschairoftheSecuritiesandExchangeCommission, appearedbeforeHouseof Representatives
FinancialServicesCommittee.Genslersaidinpreparedtesti-
mony thatnewtrading rulesbe-ing considered include: greaterdisclosure of “short-selling,” astrategy that hedge funds andother big investors use to bet astockwill fall; increasing trans-parency around securities lend-ing,whichunderpins short-sell-ing; andnewreporting rules forthe “total return” equity swapsthatfelledArchegos.Democrats are pressing
GenslertotakeatoughstanceonWallStreetafterGamestop’sfiercerally in January, fed by bullishposts on Reddit, and theMarch
implosion of New York-basedfamily officeArchegos, exposedgapsintheSEC’srules.“Itiscriticalforourcopsonthe
block at the SEC to protect in-vestors and ensure ourmarketsare transparent and fair,” saidRepresentativeMaxineWaters,theDemocraticchairof thecom-mittee. Gensler also said he hasaskedSEC staff todraft a requestforpublic input intohowtradingappsenticeretailcustomersusinggame-likefeaturessuchaspoints,rewards and competitions— atacticknownas“gamification.”
Reviewing short-selling norms: US SEC chairPOSTGAMESTOP,ARCHEGOS INCIDENTS
SecuritiesandExchangeCommission is theUS’marketsregulator.Reuters file
ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,MAY6
THEMINISTRYofCivilAviationonThursdaycalledforpriorityvacci-nation of air traffic controllers,cockpitandcabincrewmembersorairlines,andmissioncriticalandpassenger-facingstaff.Thisispartoftheguidelinesis-
sued to facilitate expeditiousCovid-19vaccinationof aviationpersonnel working in govern-ment aswell as private entities.Theministryalsosaidadedicatedvaccination facilitywill beestab-lishedbyairportoperatorsattheirrespective premises to facilitatetheinoculationdriveofstaffers.At last count, nearly one in
every fiveair trafficcontrollersatDelhi’s Indira GandhiInternational Airportwas out ofaction,eitherdirectlyorindirectlyaffected byCovid-19, The Indian
ExpresshadreportedonMay3.Earlierthisweek,agroupofAir
Indiapilotshadthreatenedtostopflyingif theywerenotvaccinatedurgently,followingwhichthena-tional carrier announced that allits employeeswill be vaccinatedby May-end. In a statementThursday, low-cost carrierGoAir
said it has already rolled out thevaccination programme for itsemployeesandwasaimingtovac-cinate a bulk of them by themonth’s end. IndiGohad earlierannounceditwouldhaveallofitsemployeesinoculated.The guidelines issuedby the
ministry noted that an operatorshould immediately contact thestategovernmentsorprivateserv-iceproviders,whicharewillingtosetupCovid-19vaccination cen-tres at the airports. There canbemore thanone serviceprovidersatanyairportdependingonnum-ber of personnelworking in theaviationecosystem,itstated.Thecostpervaccinationdose
canbedecidedbytheairportop-eratorwith the service providerand itwill be same for aviationpersonnel, the ministry said,addingthatthefocusofmajorair-ports could be on tying upwithprivateserviceproviders.
REUTERSLONDON/BENGALURU,MAY6
SHARES OF Covid-19 vaccinemakersplungedonThursdayaf-terUSPresidentJoeBidenbackedaproposedwaiverforintellectualpropertyrightsevenasthephar-maceuticalindustry,analystsandexperts doubted its impact, say-ing the real problem is a lack ofrawmaterialsandknow-how.Pfizer Inc, Moderna Inc,
Johnson& JohnsonandNovavaxInc, all involved in themakingofCovid-19 vaccines, fell between1.0percentandalmost2percent.Germany’s Curevac, which hassoughtnodforitsjab,fellupto15per cent,while China’s CanSinoBiologics Inc , a single-dose vac-cinemaker, fell16percent.The Biden administration
movedrewapplausefrompatentactivists and theWorld HealthOrganizationas it could increaseavailability of vaccines topoorernations.However,implementingsuch amove could be a lengthyprocess as all 164World TradeOrganizationmember countriesarerequiredtoconsent.Meanwhile, the dollar fell
and a gauge of global equitiesedged higher on Thursday. OnWall Street, the Dow rose 0.43
per cent, the S&P 500 gained0.23percentandtheNasdaqfell0.2percent.
COVID-19 IMPACT
‘Secondwave to hit energydemand in Apr-Jun quarter’Restrictions following the secondCovidwavewould impactenergy demandgrowth recovery in the first quarter of thisfiscal, India Ratings andResearch (Ind-Ra) said
Increasingpower price trend:The short-termpower price atIndianEnergy Exchangecontinued its improving trendon a y-o-y basis,with averagemonthly prices at:■ `2.46/kWh inMarch2020■ `4.07/unit inMarch2021■ `3.7/kWh in April 2021
118.6billion units:Electricitygeneration inMarch, rising23.5%on a yearly basis,with:■ 29.2%growth in thermalgeneration■ 7.8% in hydro generation Source: Ind-Ra/PTI
11.9billion units:Electricitygeneration from renewablesources inMarch, up 10.1%
Y-o-y demand tobehigher:Lockdowns due to risingCovid-19 cases across statescould impact energy demandgrowth recovery inQ1FY22,but all-India energy demand islikely to be higher on a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis due tothe lowbase effect as thecountrywas under a stricterlockdownduring the sameperiod in 2020
Geneva/Frankfurt:Drugman-ufacturerssaidThursdayUSPresidentJoeBiden’ssupportforwaivingpatentsofCovidvaccinescoulddisruptafrag-ilesupplychainandthatrichcountries should insteadsharemoregenerously. TheInternational Federation ofPharmaceuticalManufact-urersandAssociationssaidawaiver would encouragenew manufacturers wholackedessential know-howandoversight. REUTERS
Brussels:Germany rejectedtheideaof IPrightsforCovidvaccines, citingcapacityandquality standards. Switz-erland said themove raisesquestions,addingitwouldex-aminetheUSrequestanditsconsequenceson theSwissposition. REUTERS
Drug cos warn ofsupply chain hit
Germany rejects;Swiss to examine
Norms issued for expeditiousvaccination of aviation personnel
Theguidelinesareforaviationpersonnelworkingingovernmentaswellasprivateentities. File
Peoplerestafter receivingaCovid-19vaccineatasportcentre, inStip,NorthMacedonia.Thepharmaindustryhascriticisedtheproposal towaive IPrightsonvaccines. Reuters
Global pharma fallson Biden support tovaccine IP waiver
BRIEFLYIMFforecastrevisitWashington: InternationalMonetary Fund (IMF)spokesmanGerryRice saidThursdaytherecentjumpinCovid-19 cases in IndiaposeddownsideriskstotheFund’sAprilforecastfor12.5per cent growth in India’seconomic output in fiscalyears2021and2022,and itwillrevisitthatforecastititsfresh World EconomicOutlookinJuly. REUTERS
GDPforecastsNewDelhi: Fitch Solutionsforecast India’s FY22 realGDPgrowthat9.5percent,whileCredit Suisse sharplycut its projection to around8.5-9 per cent, citing a100-150basispointlossduetodisruptionscausedbythesecondCovidwave.
GranttostatesNew Delhi: The FinanceMinistry released the sec-ondmonthly instalment ofrevenue deficit grant of Rs9,871croreto17states.
‘India-EUFTA’NewDelhi:Aftereightyears,IndiaandtheEuropeanUni-on(EU)aresettoresumene-gotiations for an ambitiousand comprehensive freetrade agreement (FTA),which is likely to be an-nouncedatavirtualsummitbetween Prime MinisterNarendraModiand the topEUleadership.
HondaplantNewDelhi:HondaCarsIndiaon Thursday said it is ad-vancingmaintenanceshut-downatitsRajasthan-basedmanufacturing plant byaround ten days. The pro-ductionwill behalted fromMay7tillMay18.
SBIservicesNew Delhi: State Bank ofIndia’s (SBI) digital serviceswill be affected on Fridayevening due to scheduledup-gradation of its digitalbankingplatforms. PTI
New Delhi
MAHENDERSINGHMANRALNEWDELHI,MAY6
ADAYafter a 23-year-old former junior na-tionalchampionwasbeatentodeathduringabrawlattheChhatrasalStadiumparkingarea,
Delhi police said one ofthe injured, SonuMahalalleged that two-timeOlympicmedalist SushilKumarwas involved intheincident.Raids are being con-
ductedbytheDelhiPoliceon the outskirts of Delhi
andHaryanatonabwrestlerSushil,whoisab-sconding.AdditionalDCP(North-Westdistrict)DrGuriqbalSinghSidhusaid,“Wehaverecor-dedthestatementof oneof thevictims,SonuMahal,whomadeallegations against SushilKumar.WeareconductingraidstonabSushilKumar.Duringinvestigation,wehavefoundsofarthattheassailantscamefromoutside.”On Tuesday, Sagar Rana,whohad com-
petedinthe97-kgGreco-Romancategory,wasbeatentodeathinaclashinvolvingtwogroups.Ranawasa former juniornational championand is part of the seniornational camp. “Wehavefoundduringinvestigationthataquarrelhad allegedly taken place between SushilKumar,Ajay,PrinceDalal,Sonu,Sagar,Amitandothersintheparkingareaofthestadium,”Sidhusaid.Sourcessaidthatduringtheinvestigation,policealso foundarecordedvideoof the inci-dentfromthemobilephoneofaccusedPrinceDalal, inwhichfacesofalltheattackerscanbeseenwhenSagarandotherswerebeingbeatenup. “Dalalwasarrested fromthespotandweseizedhis cellphone, twodoublebarrel gunsalongwithsevenlivecartridgesof12borefromhis possession. After investigation,wehavefound that the gunswere registered in thename of one resident of Ashoda village inHaryana’sJhajjar,”policesourcessaid.Policehave recovered five cars, including
twoSUVsfromthespot.Oneof themisregis-tered in thenameof Gurugram-based com-pany.AnotherisregisteredinthenameofoneHaryana-basedcriminal,MohitAshoda,whoisacloseaideofonegangsterNaveenBali,po-licesourcessaid.Bali is running thegangafter thegangster
NeerajBawanawasarrested.“Princeisathird-yearstudentofRohtakuniversityandalsoas-sociatedwithBali.Duringinvestigation,severalCCTV cameraswere scanned, but the areawheretheincidenttookplacewasnotcoveredbyanyofthem.AfterscanningcameraslocatedjustoutsidetheChhatrasalstadium,itcametolightthataround10-15musclemenwerepres-entwhentheincidenttookplaceintheprem-isesofthestadium.They,however,abscondedbeforethearrivalofpolice,”policesourcessaid.Investigationhas revealed Sagar andhis
friendswerestayinginahouselinkedtoSushilnearthestadiumandhadbeenaskedtovacaterecently. “In the initial probe, it has comeoutthat…SushilPehelwanandhisaidescommit-tedthiscrime…,”readstheFIRinthecasereg-isteredon thebasis of a PCRcall and filedbyAssistantSub-InspectorJitendraSingh.
DEVENDRAPANDEYMUMBAI,MAY6
AS SOON he reached his home at Vartej inBhavnagar district, Gujarat, medium-pacerChetanSakariyashowered,worehisPPEkitand rushed to a nearby hospital where hisfather Kanjibhai has been admitted aftertestingpositive forCovid-19.Sakariyahadgot a call lastweek thathis
fatherhadtestedpositiveandwasadmittedtothehospital. “IwasluckybecauseIhadre-ceived my part payment from RajasthanRoyals a fewdaysago. I straight away trans-ferredmoney back home, and that is help-ingmyfamilythemostinmytoughesttime,"Sakariya,whorepresentedRajasthanRoyalsin IPL toldThe IndianExpress.IPLwaspostponedonTuesdayafterCovid-
19casesstartedtooccurinvariousIPLteams.For domestic players like Sakariya, un-
capped and without a central contract,moneyfromtheIPL isasourceof livelihood."People are saying stop IPL. Iwant to tell
themsomething, Iamtheonlybreadearnerinmyfamily.Cricketistheonlysourceofmyearnings. I can give better treatment tomyfather because of themoney I earned fromIPL.Hadthistournamentnothappenedforamonth, itwouldhavebeentougherforme. Icomefromapoorfamily,myfatherallhislifedrove tempo and because of IPLmywholelifewasabouttochange,"saysSakariya,whowaspicked forRs1.20croresat theauction.Sincehe reachedhome, his daily sched-
ulehasrevolvedaroundhospitalvisits.From9amto2pm, he sits on a bench at thehos-pital.Sakariyaisespeciallyworriedashisfa-ther is adiabeticpatient.Afewmonthsago,onthedayhebecame
acrorepatiattheIPL2021auction,hehadoneregret. Justmonths before that, he had losthis younger brother,who hewas very close
to.HesaysthattheunexpectedwindfallofRs1.20 crorewill changehis life buthe feels anemptinessinsideduetohisbrother’sdemise.Sakariya impressed at the IPL with his
skill andcomposure.He tooksevenwicketsand says he never expected to be the firstchoice forhis teamwith thenewball.
“Sanjubhai(SanjuSamson)cameandtoldmethatthemanagementisseeinga highpo-tentialinme,sobeready,youwillbeplaying.Icouldn'tsleepthatnight,thoughtskeptpop-pingonhowIwouldbowl,howIwillgetmywicket, aisa daloon, kewaise daloon (whatkindofdeliveryshould Ibowl),”herecalls.HespoketohiscoachRajendraGoelbackin
Bhavnagar,whoadvisedhimtotakeiteasy.OndebutagainstPunjabKings,Sakariyafinishedwith3for31thatincludedwicketsofKLRahulandMayankAgarwal.However,it'sthewicketofChennaiSuperKings'sMSDhonithathewillrememberforalongtimeinhis life."Becauseeveryone knowshowbig a player he is andhowhetakesawaythegameindeathovers, Iamhappythat I gothimearlyanddidn't givehimthatchanceahead,"hesays.Heremembersafterthegameagainstthe
Mumbai Indians,herushedto takeanauto-graphofRohitSharma.TheMumbaicaptainlauded him and said he is on a right track.
Prior to the tournament, he had worriesabouthowtheoverseasplayerswillrelatetohimandotherdomesticplayersbuthiswor-ries fadedawayafter justoneteambondingsession. “It felt likehome, really,”hesays.Occasionally,complaintscamefromhome.
"Theyusedtocallandsay,whyareyoulosing.Startwinning. It feels bad. Howcould I tellthemthatthepressurehereissohigh?Thereisnomarginoferror.Buttheysayingnaakmatkataoyaar,"(don’t loseface!),”hesaysshyly.Likemost IPL players, Sakariya is hop-
ing that the remainder of the season hap-penssoon.Apart fromnameand fame, themoney earned will change lives. A newhouse iswhat theSakariya familyneeds. "Iam the only member in my communitywhohasearnedsomuch.Mymotherdoes-n't know how many zeros are there incrores.Our first priority is to seemy fatherbackandthenbuild thathome.For that, IPLshould happen.”
SHAHIDJUDGEMUMBAI,MAY6
IN THE fewweeks that the Indian PremierLeague(IPL)managedtoholdmatches,there
wasenoughscope for il-legalbettingelementstomakeanappearance.Justdays before the seasoncametoaprematureend,the Board of Control forCricket in India’s (BCCI)Anti-Corruption Unit,
during a groupmatch between RajasthanRoyals andSunrisersHyderabadat theArunJaitleyStadiuminNewDelhi,nabbedtwoin-dividualscaughtpitch-siding,orcourt-siding.One accusedwas allegedly amember of thehousekeeping staff and the other a healthworker–bothhadapprovedaccreditationandwere reportedly hired bybookies to pass onmatchinformationviamobilephone.Thoughpitch-sidingdoesn’t necessarily
countas ‘match fixing’ asnoneof theactionisrigged,itisaside-effectofcompetitivebet-tingthatsportsorganisershavebeenaimingtoquell.
What ispitchorcourt-siding?It is having somebody placed inside a
sportsvenuepassingon immediatematch-relatedupdatestoabookie,whocanusethatinformation to change the odds and acceptorrejectbets.Thefewsecondsof lag it takestobeairedontelevisiongivesthemthewin-dowof opportunity.
Howdoes itwork?Whensportingactiontakesplace,thereis
adelayinthatactionbeingairedontelevisionor updatedonanonlineplatform. Thedelaycanbeanywherearound10secondstoafewminutes. Therefore a personwatching livefrom inside the venue sees the actual actioninreal time.Thepitchorcourt-sider thenre-
laysthatinformationimmediatelytoabookie.Ina2015article,theBBCquotedSteveHigh,
theCEOofSportingDatalimited—acompanywhosewebsitedescribesitasafirm“offeringawiderangeofproductsandconsultancyserv-ices for theonlinegamingandwagering sec-tor”—as saying: “wehadanautomated sys-temwhereby the point datawould come inand thenwewould cancel any bets thatwehadinthemarketthatwedeemedwereatthewrongprice. And thenwewouldplace betsstraightbackintothemarketthatwedeemedwerenowthecorrectprice.”High added that there were around 75
court-sidersplacedalongCentreCourtatthe2013Wimbledon finals.
Since it isnotdirectlymatchfixing, is itillegal?Not in all countries. According to
OnlineBetting.Org.UK, court-siding is not il-legalintheUK,norinNewZealand.Howevertickets tomostsportingeventshave itmen-tionedthat is illegal inthe ‘termsandcondi-tions’section.Thereforeanindividualcaughthas breached a condition of entry at thevenueandcanbeevictedandbanned.In India, betting in general is banned,
therefore, any act of pitch-sidingwould beconsidered illegal.
Howdopitch-siderssendtheirmessages?At the 2014 Australian Open, a 22-year-
old BritishmanDaniel Dobson became thefirst court-sider to be caught. He had a de-vice stitched onto the inside of his pants,whichwas connected to hismobile phone.Based on who won the point in a rally,Dobsonwould press a specific button andthe informationwould reach the SportingData – his alleged employers – in the UK inmilliseconds.According toOnlineBetting.Org.Uk, “it’s
beenknownforpeople towearheadsetsun-derneathwigs that allowthemtocommuni-catewithpeopleattheotherendofatelephonebutwiththeheadpiecehiddenfromview.”
Is itonlybookies thatusecourt-sidingtotheiradvantage?No, therehavebeencaseswherepunters
placetheirownbetsfrominsideavenue–se-
cretly,sincecourt-sidingisamongthe‘illegal’activitiesmentionedonthebackof tickets.
TheBBChadproducedashowcalled“CanYouBeatTheBookies?”It featuredaSussex residentnamed ‘Joe,’
whowould travel theworld towatch tennismatchesandplacebetsinstantly.Intennis,eachpoint is registeredonce thechairumpire logsit onto the electronic device theyhavewiththem.Oncethepointresultisplacedonthede-vice, it is transmitted toonline live scoreplat-forms.WhatJoewoulddowastraveltogener-ally remote tournamentswhichhave little tonolivestreamingoptions,andsitinformatcheswhere the chair umpire is generally slowathandlingthescoringdevice.Itwouldgivehimenoughtimetoplacehisbetandmakemoney.Inoneparticularmatch inRomania, thechairumpirehadmanagedtolockhimselfoutofthedevice, andwouldneed toenter apinbeforeeachandeverypoint.ItgaveJoeplentyoftimetoplacehis bets.He claimedheearnedoverGBP300,000throughbetsin2018alone.
Areorganiserstryingtocurbcourt-siding?Yes.TheTennis IntegrityUnit(TIU)sends
a security team tomonitor crowds at stadiaduring ATP Tourmatches, and sometimesevenatChallengerevents.Theirtaskistokeepaneyeoutforsuspiciousactivity–afanexces-sivelyusingamobilephoneand/orlaptop,forexample, duringamatch. The teamthen in-vestigates thesituationandmaybantheac-cusedfromattendingfuturetennisevents.Last year, the TIU found unranked
Spanish player Gerard Joseph PlateroRodriguezguiltyofcourt-sidingataFuturesevent in Pittsburgh in July 2019. He wasbannedforfouryearsandfinedUSD15,000.TheTIUalsofoundformerWorldNo440
UkrainianplayerStanislavPoplavskyyguiltyofcourt-sidingatmultiplematchesbetween2015and2019.OnDecember1,2020,hewasissuedafineofUSD10,000andalifetimebanfromcompeting inprofessional tennis.
THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAYMAY7,2021
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
SPORT16
VolLXXXIXNo.152Regd.No.DL-21046/03-05R.N.I.No.506/57. PrintedandPublishedbyR.C.Malhotraonbehalf of The IndianExpress (P) LimitedandPrintedatThe IndianExpress (P) LimitedPress,A-8, Sector-7,Noida -201301andDBCorpLtd,DainikBhaskarVillageUnanTola,NearDanapurCantt, ShivylyaRoad,Post
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MIHIRVASAVDANEWDELHI,MAY6
STARINGOUTof thewindowof his roomontheninthfloorofahotelalongsideTokyoBay,Ismail Baigdescribes the sceneonaTuesdayevening. “The streets are eerily empty, ab-solutelynoone.Oneortwocarspassbyduringthe day. There is a tall building in the back-ground,butnooneisgoinginorcomingout.It’sveryquietoutside,”Baig,India’srowingcoach,says.Inlessthan80days,roughly10,000ath-letes frommore than 200 countries are ex-pected to descend upon the Japanese capi-taltocompeteintheOlympicGames.Buttheusualhypeandenergythatgripthehostcityhave been replaced by rules, restrictions,more rulesandmorerestrictions.TheIndianrowingteam, inTokyoforthe
Olympic qualifying tournament that beganonWednesday, is gettingaglimpseofwhattheGamescould look like in July-August.LastWednesday, the organisers of the
TokyoOlympicsreleasedaplaybookthatde-tailed the protocols each participant willhave to follow before, during and after theGames. Those guidelines are being trialledthisweekduring the rowingqualifiers.Teamshavebeen instructedwhen to en-
ter(May1)andleave(May8)Tokyo.Theyhavebeentoldwhentoeatandwheretotalk.Exceptformealsandtravellingtothecompetition,atno point can they step out of their rooms.Sightseeingandshoppingareoutoftheques-tion.“Thereisn’talotof freedom.Ifweviolateanyrule,wewillbedisqualified,”Baigsays.It is frustrating,headmits.Buthealsoun-
derstandsthejustification.“Eventsallovertheworld are getting cancelled. Even in thesetoughtimes,theyareorganisingatournamentwithpeoplefromsomanycountries. It isourdutytohelpthembyfollowingtherules.”On Saturday, when a bunch of athletes
gatheredtooclosetoeachothernearthe3m
springboardduringtheDivingWorldCupatthe Tokyo Aquatics Centre, the announcer‘scolded’themforviolatingsocialdistancingnorms, according toReuters.
ToughmeasuresAlotofrules–likeCovid-19testsbeforede-
parture andafter arrival, daily testingduringcompetition,wearingmasksandusingsanitis-ers–aresimilartowhathavebecomestandardpracticesatmosttournamentsacrosstheworld.Inadditiontothosemeasures,eachmemberofthetravellingcontingentfortherowingquali-fiers had todownload the Japanese govern-ment’strack-and-tracemobileapp.“Theyhadgivenusspecific formsinrela-
tion to our Covid tests. Sowehad to submitthose,alongwithsomedeclarations,andpro-videthemthedetailsofourstay.Theofficersattheairportensuredeachpersonhaddown-loadedtheappandhadenabledthelocationservices,”Baigsays.“Ittookalmostfivehours
for theentire teamtofinishtheprocess.”At the hotel, the rules are stricter. Each
country has been allotted an entire floor topreventrowersfrommixingwitheachother,andeverypersonhasbeengivenanindivid-ual room. Teammembers have been re-frained from going into each other’s roomsandevenspeakingwithoneanother.“The only time we can step out of our
roomistoeat.Wehavebeengivenfixedtim-ingsforeachmeal.Thereisindividualsittingfor everyone. Theonly timewecan removethemaskinsidethehoteliswhileeating.Butwearenotallowedto talk,”Baig says.So, the20-minutebusdrive fromtheho-
tel to thecompetitionvenue is theonly timeBaiggetstopassoninstructionstohisrowers.“I have to keep everything crisp and to-the-point.Wedonothaveanytimeforsmalltalk.Themomentwe enter the bus, I start givinginstructions to the rowers soby the timewereachthevenue,weareprepared,”hesays.
ForBaig,thechallengehasbeentokeepthenine-memberteamfocusedonthetaskathanddespite the strict protocols in Tokyo, and thedistractionsbeforereachingthere.Theteam’sparticipationinthetournamentwasdoubtfuluntillastweekbecauseofthetravelrestrictionsfollowingthesurgeincasesinIndia.Theongoing lockdown inDelhi added to
theuncertainty as theRowingFederationofIndiafoundittoughtodelivervisadocumentstotheembassy.Butthatwasjustthebeginningof thelogisticalchallenges.Thepre-departureCovid-19formshadtobeinaspecifiedformat,differentfromtheonesinIndia.SecuringseatsonaflighttoTokyowaseventougher,giventherestrictions,andoncethatwasmanaged,theywereunabletocarrytheirownoarsbecauseofairline rules.With rentedoars andafter a tu-multuousbuild-up,therowershopetosecurespotsintheGames,inthepenultimateOlympicqualifyingevent.RowerswhofinishinthetopfiveinsinglescullandinthetopthreeindoublescullwillmakeittotheGames.No Indian rowerhasmade thecut so far
butBaig ishopefulofbreakingtheduckthisweek. “I feel confident about our chances.It’ll be nice if we can seal our qualificationshere sowecan return in July andhope thatTokyowillbealotmorebuzzingthanit isatthemoment.”
Rowersprepare for theraceat theOlympicqualifyingevent inTokyo.WorldRowing
Atqualifiers inTokyo, IndianrowersgetanexperienceofwhattheOlympicscould looklike
What is pitch-siding & how it helps bookies, punters
A glimpse into the GamesTheonly timewecanstepout of ourroom is to eat.Wehavebeengivenfixed timings foreachmeal. The onlytimewecan remove themaskinside thehotel iswhile eating.Butweare not allowed to talk.”
ISMAILBAIGCOACH, INDIAROWINGTEAM
Cricket istheonlysourceofmyearnings. IcangivebettertreatmenttomyfatherbecauseofthemoneyIearnedfromIPL.Hadthistournamentnothappenedforamonth, itwouldhavebeentougherforme.”
CHETANSAKARIYAMEDIUMPACER, RAJASTHANROYALS
Days after mother’s death,Veda loses sister to Covid
Chelsea beatMadrid, set upall-English CLfinal vs Man City
ASSOCIATEDPRESSLONDON,MAY6
CHELSEA'S DECISION to fire a club legendsuddenlydoesn't seemsocallousafterall.While FrankLampard's namehashardly
beenforgottenbytheChelseafans-therewerechantsoutsideStamfordBridgebeforekickoffonWednesday-newmanagerThomasTuchelisquicklycreatinghisownlegacyafterleadingtheLondonclubintotheChampionsLeaguefi-nalagainstManchesterCity.Chelseaevenmaderecord13-timeEuropeanCupchampionRealMadrid look ordinary as goals from TimoWerner andMasonMount sealed a 2-0 vic-torythatoustedMadrid3-1onaggregate.Perhaps the stragglers leaving the bars
near Stamford Bridge could hear the roarTuchel let out on the field inside the emptystadium long after his players haddepartedthe field. Itwill certainly have beenheard inthe Chelsea boardroom by the directorswhosedecisiontodismissLampardinJanuaryandhireTuchelnowseemsvindicated."I amvery grateful and thankful to have
this opportunity," said Tuchel, who'd beendismissed by Paris Saint-Germain inDecemberdespiteleadingtheFrenchclubtolastyear'sChampionsLeaguefinal."Youcannever be aheadof plan as amanager andasaplayer - itdoesnotexist."Unlike last season's final -whenTuchel's
PSGlosttoBayernMunich-fansaresettobeallowedinfor thefinal,whichwillbeplayedinTurkeyonMay30.
VISHALMENONNEWDELHI,MAY6
INDIANWOMEN team’s swashbucklingmiddle-order batter Veda Krishnamurthy’selder sister passed away Thursday eveninginChikmagalurduetocomplicationsrelatedtoCovid-19,twoweeksafterhermotherhadalsosuccumbedto thevirus.Veda’ssisterVatsalaShivakumar,42,was
hospitalisedlastmonthafterherRT-PCRtestreturnedpositive.“It is with great sadness that last night
my family had to say goodbye toMy AkkaMy family, my world hasbeen rocked to its core.Appreciate all themessagesand prayers. My thoughtswitheveryonegoingthroughthesedevastatingtimes.Holdyour loved ones tight andstay safe,”Veda tweeted.According to Veda’s
childhood coach Irfan Sait,Vatsala’s demise, comingclosely on the heels of hermotherCheluvamabaDevi’sdeath has “completely broken” the 28-year-old.In fact, Vatsalahadamajor role toplay in
Vedamaking it big as an international crick-eter.“AfterVatsala’shusbandpassedawayin2003 ina roadaccident, sheand12-year-oldVeda migrated from Chikmagalur toBengalurutofuelheryoungersibling’scrick-etingaspirations,”SaittoldTheIndianExpress.In Bengaluru, Vatsala got her sister en-
rolled at Karnataka Institute of Cricket inShivaji Nagar. Under the tutelage of Sait,Vedahonedherskillsandprogressedtorep-resent India’swomen’steamattheinterna-tional level.
“Vatsala’s presence gave her (Veda)strength.Sherealisedthepotentialinhersis-ter, and shifted to Bengaluru because backthen, therewere hardly any opportunitiesfor an upcoming woman cricketer at herhometown in Chikmagalur. WithoutVatsala’sefforts,Indianwomen’steamwouldnothavehadaplayerofVeda’s calibre,” Saitexplained.Saitconcededthathewasoverwhelmed
with emotions after his condolence call toVedaonThursdayafternoon.“When I called her today, she only said,
‘Nothing is making any sense to me any-more.’ I pray toGod that she finds the inner
strength to come to termswiththis loss,”heconcluded.Veda has gone through
helloverthelastfortnight.Butthat has not prevented herfrom reaching out to otherson socialmedia during thesegrimtimesandhelpingthemintheirquest toprocureoxy-gen supplies, ventilators andhospitalbeds.Earlier, when hermother
had passed away, Veda hadtweeted:"AppreciateallthemessagesIhavereceivedaboutthelossofmyAmma.Asyoucan imaginemy family is lost without her.Wenowprayformysister. Ihavetestedneg-ative&appreciateifyoucanrespectourpri-vacy.Mythoughts&prayersgoout to thosegoing throughthesame!!"Makingher debut in 2011, Vedahas fea-
tured in48ODIs and76T20Is for India, andwasan integralpartof the teamthatplayedin the finalof the2017Women’sWorldCupagainst England at Lord’s. Veda is alsoamongst theselectgroupofwomen’scrick-eters from India who have participated infranchisecricketabroad.
Back from IPL, Sakariya at hospital for Covid positive father
WRESTLER TESTS POSITIVE FORCOVIDAn Indian wrestler tested positive for Covid-19 before competitionbegan at the World Olympic Qualifiers in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Thursday.The wrestler has been quarantined. Meanwhile, Sumit Malik was stillin contention to qualify for the Tokyo Games but it was all over forAmit Dhankar and Satywart Kadiyan, who were ousted. ENS
Tennishasseenanumberof casesofcourt-siding. File
NewDelhi:Delhipolice ison theout-look for another pitch-sider whomanagedtogivetheBoardofControlfor Cricket in India’s anti-corruptionunit (ACU) a slip after he was con-frontedforallegedlypassinginforma-tion to bookies. The person had ahousekeeping accreditation card onhim. Two phones were recoveredfromhimbyACUofficials during thegame between Chennai Super KingsandSunrisersHyderabadattheArunJaitley Stadium. According to aDelhiPolicesource,thepersonwasmakinglongcalls to suspectedbookies. ENS
Another pitch sider onDelhi police radar
CHELSEA2 REALMADRID0TimoWerner28’MasonMount85’
*Aggregate3-1
Injured victim ofdeadly brawlsays Sushilinvolved: Police
New Delhi