ˇ0 ˜ 1 ˇ ++0!2!23ˇ˛ +! +ˆ42 !˚#$˙%&$˚ˇ$ ’˙ˆ’$##$˚ ˙ˆ ˆ › uploads › 2020...

12
A massive controversy has erupted over whether or not India is in the third stage of coronavirus outbreak, ie community transmission. While a study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) cited instances where COVID-19 patients had no established contact with some- one who picked up the disease from abroad, the Centre denied it was a case of community spread. Community transmission is stage 3 of an outbreak, con- sidered dangerous as positive cases start rising exponential- ly making tracing of the con- tacts nearly impossible. The World Health Organisation (WHO), which had also first said that India was in the third stage of the dis- ease, on Friday almost retract- ed its statement and said India was at cluster outbreak stage. The Centre also differed with Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh who on Friday raised the fear of the possibility of community trans- mission in his State and announced extension of lock- down. Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Health Ministry, said community transmissions of coronavirus have not begun yet in the country, the rate of the infec- tion is still low and that there was no need to panic. He cited results of all sam- ples tested on Thursday which included 2 per cent positive results for Covid-19 out of 16,002 tests. Speaking at a Press con- ference here he said, “At least 16,002 samples were tested on Thursday, of which only 320 tested positive for Covid-19. Only 2 per cent cases test- ed positive. Based on the sam- ples collected, we can say that the infection rate is not high, although it is dynamic.” W hatever may be the fate of the countrywide coro- navirus lockdown, whether extended or ending on April 14, India’s education institu- tions are expected to remain closed till June end. Sources in the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) said edu- cational institutions will remain under the “compulso- ry lockdown” at least till June- end as a precautionary step to stem the Covid spread. “Tens of thousands of chil- dren go to schools every day. We need to take precaution,” he said, adding, a committee has already been formed to discuss how to adjust academic session of higher learning. Against this background, the HRD Ministry on Friday sought suggestions from edu- cationists as to how to improve upon and make reliable online system of education that can facilitate students to continue with their session indoors dur- ing the corona scare. Ideally the norm is to have 210/220 working days of sec- ondary schools every year. That is being worked out. We are also looking into how to prepare a calendar giving much less gap between test and to March 2021 annual exami- nation. In any case, most of the schools have begun their online platforms and impart- ing education as per the new academic session,” explained a senior HRD Ministry official. While the HRD has already held a couple of meet- ing in this regard, the final decision will be taken after all the stakeholders — CBSE, ICSE, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sanghathan, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, NCERT and State education boards sit across the board.“While the HRD Ministry has already constituted a UGC-led com- mittee to discuss on the acad- emic session of higher learn- ing, the academic session of the schools will be decided in due course,” he said. “Several States are of the opinion that they will not open the schools given the pandemic scare across the country. A report submitted to “concerned authorities” has also advised that in the pyra- mid structure to open the var- ious sectors post lockdown, schools and educational insti- tutions are at the bottom P rime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to announce on Sunday the decision on continuation of lockdown after his interaction with Chief Ministers on Saturday. Modi has already hinted that the three-week long coun- try-wide clampdown may not be enough to contain spread of coronavirus cases. The Central Government feels that it may take another three weeks or more to assess the actual curve of coronavirus in the country. Sources said the Government has viewed the positive impact of an early lockdown and hopes that a minimum of another month would be needed to help flat- ten the curve of coronavirus, Modi will be holding a video conference meeting with all Chief Ministers on Saturday, his second after the lockdown, following which a decision will be taken on whether or not the nationwide lockdown will be extended beyond April 14. I n the biggest single-day spike in coronavirus cases in Delhi, the national capital on Friday saw 183 fresh cases raising the total number of cases to 903, with two deaths being report- ed in a day. Of the total cases, 584 are related to the religious congregation that took place in Nizamuddin area in March. 269 cases are related with for- eign travel history. In its bid to curb the spread of coronavirus across the national Capital, the Delhi Government on Friday includ- ed five more hotspots in its list after a few Covid-19 cases linked to Tablighi Jamaat were found in these areas. According to officials, the newly added hotspots areas are B Block in Jahangirpuri, Nabi Karim, Chandni Mahal and Street number 19 to 22 in Zakir Nagar area. In Delhi now there are 30 hotspots after these five hotspots were includ- ed on Friday and five on Thursday. Earlier, on April 8, the Delhi Government released initial list of 20 hotspots but the Government had also subse- quently identified five more hotspots as more cases emerged on Thursday. The official said the hotspots are barricaded in a kilometre radius with motive to stop the spread of coronavirus in the adjoining localities. “After the barricading or sealing of the hotspots, the res- idents are put under surveil- lance to check if any kind of symptoms (sore throat, fever, dry cough, headache, weak- ness) related to Covid-19 are found among them in the area,” said the official. T he coronavirus situation continued to be grim in Maharashtra on Friday, as 13 more persons died taking the total Covid-19 deaths to 110 and 210 more persons tested positive for the pandemic. Maharashtra, which is the worst coronavirus-affected State in terms of deaths and infected cases, recorded 13 deaths — of which 10 were reported from Mumbai. Pune, Panvel and Virar-Vasai record- ed one death each. Of those whose deaths were reported on Friday, six deceased were above the age of 60 years, while five deceased were aged between 40 and 50 years. The remaining two were aged below 40 years. Eighty five persons of the 11 deceased were suffering from diabetes, blood pres- sure, asthma and heart disease. The State health authori- ties have strong reason to be worried, as 210 more infected cases were reported on Friday, taking the total number of positive cases in the State to a staggering 1,574. Such has been the spread that as many as 696 infected cases have been reported in the last four days. Of the total fresh infected cases, Mumbai accounted for a maximum of 132 cases. With the latest cases, the total num- ber of positive cases mounted to 1,008. D espite 21-day lockdown which entered the 17th day on Friday, the deadly coro- navirus is rapidly finding new areas in the country with pos- itive cases crossing 7,600, and taking 246 lives. More than 30 States and Union territories in the country are now hit by coronavirus. Friday saw India recording more than 800 cases in a day for the second time. According to figures collected from States till 11 pm, the day saw addition of 869 cases. While Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Rajasthan and Kerala were among the some of the worst-hit region, now the virus is spreading its tentacles far and wide, and that too, rapidly. There has been sudden spurt in cases in Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, West oBengal and Jharkhand, etc, in the past two days, leaving the State Governments in a jitter. Assam too reported first death on Friday. Districts like Hyderabad, Kasaragod, Indore (MP), Pune, Chennai and New Delhi have reported more than 40 per cent of the total cases and the rest from other districts, which had so far reported far less numbers. Gujarat reported 113 new Covid-19 positive cases adding to the number of positive cases to 378, which includes 33 dis- charge and 19 deaths. Areas like Ahmedabad, Patan and Vadodara have emerged new hotspots with 55, 9 and 37 more cases respectively on Friday. Tamil Nadu reported 77 new cases taking the total tally in the State to 911, said Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary CS Shanmugam, while Mumbai continue to be worst hit with 218 Covid-19 positive cases and 10 deaths. Total positive cases in the city have risen to 993 with death toll at 64, as per the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The first corona death of Assam, also the first in the northeastern region, was reported from Hailakandi dis- trict in its southern part. After one death, of the total 33 positive cases in five northeastern States — Assam has 28 cases followed by Manipur (2), Mizoram (1), Arunachal Pradesh (1) and Tripura (1). Tamil Nadu has reported 863 Covid-19 cases, the second second-highest number in the country, 21 recoveries and eight Covid-19 deaths while the desert State, Rajasthan which is being recommended for its Bhilwara model of contain- ment, has 520 Covid-19 patients, 51 were added on Friday. More cases trickled in from Jodhpur, Bansawra and Jaipur. Increasing number of cases from Bhopal and Indore in Madhya Pradesh too has become a cause of worry to the State Government. Kerala is the fifth most affected State in the country with 455 patients of coronavirus. Jammu & Kashmir, which had a few cases initially, is wit- nessing sharp rise in the cases at 166 cases of the coronavirus disease till date in the Union territory. Out of which, eight people have been cured and eight others have died. Punjab has recorded 151 cases, including 21 cases on Friday, of the respiratory illness till date. Eight patients of Covid-19 have died and four have been sent home in this northern State. H undreds of millions of people around the world will spend the Easter holiday at home as lockdown measures intensify to combat the coron- avirus, a pandemic with a glob- al death toll rapidly approach- ing 1,00,000. Governments have forced businesses to close and limited the movement of half the world’s population, halting eco- nomic activity and prompting the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to warn that the world faces its worst downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Related reports on P8, 9 C ovid19 hotspot Indore has reported second death of a physician in 48 hours as anoth- er doctor Om Prakash Chauhan, who was tested positive, has died in Indore on Friday. The deceased was admitted to Aurobindo Hospital in the city and was a private practitioner. With his demise, the num- ber of deaths due to covid19 in Indore has surged to 27. On Thursday, a 62-year-old private practitioner Dr Shatughan Panjwani also from Indore had died during treatment at Autobindo hospital. Dr Panjwani’s last rites were performed by the admin- istration but his three sons studying in Australia could not attend his cremation and watched it on the video call. A video of Dr Panjwani had also went viral in which the physician had rubbished rumours about him. The video was shot by him reportedly after he was said to be contracted the dis- ease and exhibited corona symptoms. T he district police have booked 64 foreign nation- als returned from Hazrat Nizamuddin Tablighi Jamaat. Hiding in different parts of the State capital, they have been charged with visa viola- tions. Bhopal IG Upendra Jain said that the foreign nation- als linked to Tablighi Jamaat are nationals of Indonesia, Myanmar and Ivory Coast. In the state capital Talaiya, Shyamla Hills, Aishbagh, Piplani and Mangalwara police have booked these for- eign nationals who were residing at Mosques under these police stations areas. Earlier CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan raised concern of spreading Coronavirus by people in the state who belong to Talblighi Jamaat and have attended Delhi Markaz in Nizammudin and failed to report their visit increasing chances of spreading infec- tion.The nationals were booked under Foreigners Act 1946 and Passport Act. The state police forces to take action against those foreign- ers who had come to India on tourist visa and participated the Tablighi Jamaat congre- gation. Apart from these 64 for- eign nationals, 10 Indian linked to Tablighi Jamaat were also booked along with 13 people who have helped them in staying and providing other facilities. The first case was regis- tered on Thursday after for- eign nationals linked to Tablighi Jamaat were found in Ismalpura Mosque under Talaiya police station area. Later in the investigation Mangalwara, Shyamla Hills, Aishbagh and Piplani police registered cases against these foreign nationals linked to Tablighi Jamaat. The booked persons were also charged with violation of prohibitory orders (section 144 of the CrPC) under sec- tion 188 of the IPC. RNI Regn. No. MPENG/2004/13703, Regd. No. L-2/BPLON/41/2006-2008

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Page 1: ˇ0 ˜ 1 ˇ ++0!2!23ˇ˛ +! +ˆ42 !˚#$˙%&$˚ˇ$ ’˙ˆ’$##$˚ ˙ˆ ˆ › uploads › 2020 › epaper › ...tutions are at the bottom ... Districts like Hyderabad, Kasaragod,

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Amassive controversy haserupted over whether or

not India is in the third stageof coronavirus outbreak, iecommunity transmission.

While a study by the IndianCouncil of Medical Research(ICMR) cited instances whereCOVID-19 patients had noestablished contact with some-one who picked up the diseasefrom abroad, the Centre deniedit was a case of communityspread.

Community transmissionis stage 3 of an outbreak, con-sidered dangerous as positivecases start rising exponential-ly making tracing of the con-tacts nearly impossible.

The World HealthOrganisation (WHO), whichhad also first said that Indiawas in the third stage of the dis-ease, on Friday almost retract-ed its statement and said Indiawas at cluster outbreak stage.

The Centre also differedwith Punjab Chief MinisterAmarinder Singh who on

Friday raised the fear of thepossibility of community trans-mission in his State andannounced extension of lock-down.

Lav Agarwal, JointSecretary, Union HealthMinistry, said communitytransmissions of coronavirushave not begun yet in thecountry, the rate of the infec-tion is still low and that therewas no need to panic.

He cited results of all sam-ples tested on Thursday whichincluded 2 per cent positiveresults for Covid-19 out of16,002 tests.

Speaking at a Press con-ference here he said, “At least16,002 samples were tested onThursday, of which only 320tested positive for Covid-19.

Only 2 per cent cases test-ed positive. Based on the sam-ples collected, we can say thatthe infection rate is not high,although it is dynamic.”

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Whatever may be the fateof the countrywide coro-

navirus lockdown, whetherextended or ending on April14, India’s education institu-tions are expected to remainclosed till June end.

Sources in the Ministry ofHuman ResourceDevelopment (HRD) said edu-cational institutions willremain under the “compulso-ry lockdown” at least till June-end as a precautionary step tostem the Covid spread.

“Tens of thousands of chil-dren go to schools every day.We need to take precaution,” hesaid, adding, a committee hasalready been formed to discusshow to adjust academic sessionof higher learning.

Against this background,the HRD Ministry on Fridaysought suggestions from edu-cationists as to how to improveupon and make reliable onlinesystem of education that canfacilitate students to continuewith their session indoors dur-ing the corona scare.

Ideally the norm is to have210/220 working days of sec-

ondary schools every year.That is being worked out. Weare also looking into how toprepare a calendar givingmuch less gap between test andto March 2021 annual exami-nation. In any case, most of theschools have begun theironline platforms and impart-ing education as per the newacademic session,” explained asenior HRD Ministry official.

While the HRD hasalready held a couple of meet-ing in this regard, the finaldecision will be taken after allthe stakeholders — CBSE,ICSE, Kendriya VidyalayaSanghathan, JawaharNavodaya Vidyalaya, NCERT

and State education boards sitacross the board.“While theHRD Ministry has alreadyconstituted a UGC-led com-mittee to discuss on the acad-emic session of higher learn-ing, the academic session of theschools will be decided in duecourse,” he said.

“Several States are of theopinion that they will notopen the schools given thepandemic scare across thecountry. A report submitted to“concerned authorities” hasalso advised that in the pyra-mid structure to open the var-ious sectors post lockdown,schools and educational insti-tutions are at the bottom

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Prime Minister NarendraModi is likely to announce

on Sunday the decision oncontinuation of lockdown afterhis interaction with ChiefMinisters on Saturday.

Modi has already hintedthat the three-week long coun-try-wide clampdown may notbe enough to contain spread ofcoronavirus cases.

The Central Governmentfeels that it may take anotherthree weeks or more to assessthe actual curve of coronavirusin the country. Sources said theGovernment has viewed thepositive impact of an earlylockdown and hopes that aminimum of another monthwould be needed to help flat-ten the curve of coronavirus,

Modi will be holding avideo conference meeting withall Chief Ministers on Saturday,his second after the lockdown,following which a decision willbe taken on whether or not thenationwide lockdown will beextended beyond April 14.

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In the biggest single-day spikein coronavirus cases in Delhi,

the national capital on Fridaysaw 183 fresh cases raising thetotal number of cases to 903,with two deaths being report-ed in a day. Of the total cases,584 are related to the religiouscongregation that took place inNizamuddin area in March.269 cases are related with for-eign travel history.

In its bid to curb the spreadof coronavirus across thenational Capital, the DelhiGovernment on Friday includ-ed five more hotspots in its listafter a few Covid-19 caseslinked to Tablighi Jamaat werefound in these areas.

According to officials, thenewly added hotspots areasare B Block in Jahangirpuri,Nabi Karim, Chandni Mahal

and Street number 19 to 22 inZakir Nagar area. In Delhinow there are 30 hotspots afterthese five hotspots were includ-ed on Friday and five onThursday. Earlier, on April 8,the Delhi Government releasedinitial list of 20 hotspots but theGovernment had also subse-quently identified five morehotspots as more cases emergedon Thursday.

The official said thehotspots are barricaded in akilometre radius with motive tostop the spread of coronavirusin the adjoining localities.

“After the barricading orsealing of the hotspots, the res-idents are put under surveil-lance to check if any kind ofsymptoms (sore throat, fever,dry cough, headache, weak-ness) related to Covid-19 arefound among them in the area,”said the official.

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The coronavirus situationcontinued to be grim in

Maharashtra on Friday, as 13more persons died taking thetotal Covid-19 deaths to 110and 210 more persons testedpositive for the pandemic.

Maharashtra, which is theworst coronavirus-affectedState in terms of deaths andinfected cases, recorded 13deaths — of which 10 werereported from Mumbai. Pune,Panvel and Virar-Vasai record-ed one death each.

Of those whose deathswere reported on Friday, sixdeceased were above the age of60 years, while five deceasedwere aged between 40 and 50years. The remaining two were

aged below 40 years.Eighty five persons of the

11 deceased were sufferingfrom diabetes, blood pres-sure, asthma and heart disease.

The State health authori-ties have strong reason to beworried, as 210 more infectedcases were reported on Friday,taking the total number ofpositive cases in the State to a

staggering 1,574. Such hasbeen the spread that as manyas 696 infected cases havebeen reported in the last fourdays.

Of the total fresh infectedcases, Mumbai accounted fora maximum of 132 cases. Withthe latest cases, the total num-ber of positive cases mountedto 1,008.

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Despite 21-day lockdownwhich entered the 17th

day on Friday, the deadly coro-navirus is rapidly finding newareas in the country with pos-itive cases crossing 7,600, and

taking 246 lives. More than 30States and Union territories inthe country are now hit bycoronavirus.

Friday saw India recordingmore than 800 cases in a dayfor the second time. Accordingto figures collected from States

till 11 pm, the day saw additionof 869 cases.

While Maharashtra, TamilNadu, Delhi, Rajasthan andKerala were among the some ofthe worst-hit region, now thevirus is spreading its tentaclesfar and wide, and that too,

rapidly.There has been sudden

spurt in cases in Gujarat,Jammu & Kashmir,Chhattisgarh, Bihar, WestoBengal and Jharkhand, etc, inthe past two days, leaving theState Governments in a jitter.Assam too reported first deathon Friday.

Districts like Hyderabad,Kasaragod, Indore (MP), Pune,Chennai and New Delhi havereported more than 40 percent of the total cases and therest from other districts, whichhad so far reported far lessnumbers.

Gujarat reported 113 newCovid-19 positive cases addingto the number of positive casesto 378, which includes 33 dis-charge and 19 deaths. Areaslike Ahmedabad, Patan andVadodara have emerged newhotspots with 55, 9 and 37more cases respectively onFriday.

Tamil Nadu reported 77new cases taking the total tallyin the State to 911, said TamilNadu Chief Secretary CSShanmugam, while Mumbaicontinue to be worst hit with218 Covid-19 positive casesand 10 deaths. Total positivecases in the city have risen to993 with death toll at 64, as perthe Brihanmumbai Municipal

Corporation (BMC).The first corona death of

Assam, also the first in thenortheastern region, wasreported from Hailakandi dis-trict in its southern part.

After one death, of thetotal 33 positive cases in fivenortheastern States — Assamhas 28 cases followed byManipur (2), Mizoram (1),Arunachal Pradesh (1) andTripura (1).

Tamil Nadu has reported863 Covid-19 cases, the secondsecond-highest number in thecountry, 21 recoveries andeight Covid-19 deaths while thedesert State, Rajasthan which isbeing recommended for itsBhilwara model of contain-ment, has 520 Covid-19patients, 51 were added onFriday. More cases trickled infrom Jodhpur, Bansawra andJaipur.

Increasing number of casesfrom Bhopal and Indore inMadhya Pradesh too hasbecome a cause of worry to theState Government. Kerala isthe fifth most affected State inthe country with 455 patientsof coronavirus.

Jammu & Kashmir, whichhad a few cases initially, is wit-nessing sharp rise in the casesat 166 cases of the coronavirusdisease till date in the Union

territory. Out of which, eightpeople have been cured andeight others have died. Punjab

has recorded 151 cases,including 21 cases on Friday, ofthe respiratory illness till date.Eight patients of Covid-19 havedied and four have been senthome in this northern State.

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Hundreds of millions ofpeople around the world

will spend the Easter holiday athome as lockdown measuresintensify to combat the coron-avirus, a pandemic with a glob-al death toll rapidly approach-ing 1,00,000.

Governments have forcedbusinesses to close and limitedthe movement of half theworld’s population, halting eco-nomic activity and promptingthe International MonetaryFund (IMF) to warn that theworld faces its worst downturnsince the Great Depression ofthe 1930s.

Related reports on P8, 9

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Covid19 hotspot Indore hasreported second death of a

physician in 48 hours as anoth-er doctor Om Prakash Chauhan,who was tested positive, has diedin Indore on Friday. Thedeceased was admitted toAurobindo Hospital in the cityand was a private practitioner.

With his demise, the num-ber of deaths due to covid19 inIndore has surged to 27. OnThursday, a 62-year-old privatepractitioner Dr ShatughanPanjwani also from Indorehad died during treatment atAutobindo hospital.

Dr Panjwani’s last riteswere performed by the admin-istration but his three sonsstudying in Australia could notattend his cremation andwatched it on the video call.

A video of Dr Panjwanihad also went viral in whichthe physician had rubbishedrumours about him.

The video was shot byhim reportedly after he wassaid to be contracted the dis-ease and exhibited coronasymptoms.

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The district police havebooked 64 foreign nation-

als returned from HazratNizamuddin Tablighi Jamaat.Hiding in different parts ofthe State capital, they havebeen charged with visa viola-tions.

Bhopal IG Upendra Jainsaid that the foreign nation-als linked to Tablighi Jamaatare nationals of Indonesia,Myanmar and Ivory Coast.

In the state capital Talaiya,Shyamla Hills, Aishbagh,Piplani and Mangalwarapolice have booked these for-eign nationals who wereresiding at Mosques underthese police stations areas.

Earlier CM Shivraj SinghChouhan raised concern ofspreading Coronavirus bypeople in the state who belongto Talblighi Jamaat and haveattended Delhi Markaz inNizammudin and failed toreport their visit increasingchances of spreading infec-tion.The nationals were

booked under Foreigners Act1946 and Passport Act. Thestate police forces to takeaction against those foreign-ers who had come to India ontourist visa and participatedthe Tablighi Jamaat congre-gation.

Apart from these 64 for-eign nationals, 10 Indianlinked to Tablighi Jamaat werealso booked along with 13people who have helped themin staying and providing otherfacilities.

The first case was regis-tered on Thursday after for-eign nationals linked toTablighi Jamaat were found inIsmalpura Mosque underTalaiya police station area.

Later in the investigationMangalwara, Shyamla Hills,Aishbagh and Piplani policeregistered cases against theseforeign nationals linked toTablighi Jamaat.

The booked persons werealso charged with violation ofprohibitory orders (section144 of the CrPC) under sec-tion 188 of the IPC.

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Chief Minister Shivraj SinghChouhan has said that

there is a situation of lockdownin the state due to Corona cri-sis. Many places have also beensealed. In such a situation,banks must provide HomeAccess Service to the public forcash requirement.

Account holders should beprovided facility to withdrawfunds of various governmentschemes in the village itself.Banks must ensure availabilityof cash in ATMs. Digital pay-ment must be encouraged. Forthis purpose, banks shouldensure branch-wise and village-wise micro planning.

The Chief Minister wasaddressing a meeting of StateLevel Advisory Committee ofbanks in Mantralaya onThursday. The meeting wasattended by the Chief SecretaryShri Iqbal Singh Bains, Field

General Manager of CentralBank of India, Convener of theState Level Bankers CommitteeSD Mahurkar and other con-cerned officials. The ChiefMinister directed that all pro-tective measures such as masks,sanitizers, gloves etc. should betaken in the banks.

Adequate distance shouldbe kept between the bankemployee and the customer atthe time of transaction. Allbankers should take full care oftheir health. A small number ofcustomers should be admittedat a time in adherence to socialdistancing in bank branches.

The Chief Minister sug-gested that in larger cities, a fewbanks have more branches inthe same area. Therefore onebranch can be kept functionalby combining branches. Hesaid that crowd can be reducedby making more counters.

The Chief Minister direct-ed that local police should also

be arranged along with thesecurity personnel of the bankto control the number of cus-tomers in the branches of thebank and to avoid crowd. TheCollector of the district con-cerned must ensure this. Hesaid that many bankers travelfrom the cities to the villageand vice-versa. This increasesthe risk of infection. He saidthat it should be stopped inview of the Corona crisis.

The Chief Minister saidthat in view of the lockdown,banking services should beensured through banking cor-respondents and kiosks.

Banking services shouldalso be provided throughmobile vans, ATMs andthrough post offices andGramin Dak Sevaks also inrural areas. It was informedthat a micro plan is being pre-pared for every villagethrough10 thousand 343 B.C.to visit the villages.

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The youth of the city is try-ing new ways to fight

COVID 19. Using the technol-ogy as a boon, the youngstershave created MohallaWhatsapp Groups 'Volunteersin Action' COVID 19.

The initiative is taken byyouth led group AnshHappiness Society, Bhopal. Thepurpose of the groups is to helppeople in their respective areas.

The help is for the elderly,for pregnant women, by an ill-person, anybody who has anymental health condition, orneeds help for child manage-ment, getting medications,food, other necessities.

Any volunteer can assist or

arrange and provide for theneeded resources, will thenhelp at a neighbourhood level.Mohsin Khan, informed thatthe volunteers have gonethrough a process in Phase 1,wherein they provided their

information. A group of volunteers who

have permission from the DistrictAdministration can come andcollect the resources and deliverto the needed safely.

He further said that aGoogle Form link will be cir-

culated in the public. Throughthe means of this form, anyindividual in need of any helpor support can share andrequest for help by filling theform.

Through this, the aim is to

form a group of local volun-teers who shall be taught andtrained through virtual plat-forms to support and managethis crisis at a community level.

Till now various MohallaWhatsapp Groups have beenset up to help the needy.

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Chief Minister ShivrajSingh Chouhan has said

that best remedial activitiesmust be undertaken in theState to protect againstCorona.

Arrangements to ensurebest treatment to Coronapatients must be made. Thosewho show signs of coronamust be tested immediately.

Hotspots identified in theinfected districts must betotal sealed and supply ofessential commodities, milk,medicines etc. should beensured through the districtadministration.

Chief Minister Chouhanwas reviewing the situationand arrangements in the statethrough video conferencingwith senior of f icials inMantralaya.

The Chief Minister

directed that the hot-spotareas of 15 Corona-affecteddistricts in the state should betotal sealed. Corona affectedBhopal, Indore and Ujjainhave already been sealed.

Supplies of essential com-modities, medicines, milk etc.in hot-spot areas will beensured through the districtadministration.

Traffic in these areas willbe completely restricted. TheChief Minister directed that itshould be ensured that supplychain is not affected any-where.

It was told in the meetingthat most of the Coronapatients of the state are recov-ering and returning home.Today,

16 Corona patients fromIndore have been dischargedafter recovery and 10 morepatients will be discharged aday later.

A total of 46 areas of 15districts of the state havebeen declared hot spots. Herecases of Corona infectionhave been detected.

Eight areas of Jabalpurdistrict, 6 of Gwalior district,5 of Khargone district, one ofMorena, one of Shivpuri, 5 ofBarwani, one of Betul, two ofVidisha, one of Sheopur, fiveof Chhindwara,

one of Raisen, three ofHoshangabad, 2 of Khandwa,one of Dhar and 4 areas ofDewas district have beendeclared hot spots.Instructions have been givento seal all these areas.

Additional ChiefSecretar y Health ShriMohammad Suleman saidthat the number of Corona-virus patients in the state hasrisen to 397, out of which 24people have died. The num-ber of infected patients is

221 in Indore, 98 in Bhopal,11 in Ujjain and 12 each inMorena, Khargone andBarwani.

These districts are moreinfected with Corona. ChiefSecretary Iqbal Singh Bainsinformed that the Corona-virus capacity of the statehas increased to 1050 perday. Sufficient testing kits areavailable.

Adequate number of PPEkits are also being made avail-able.

The Chief Ministerdirected that arrangementsfor treatment of common dis-eases have been made onlineby doctors from all over thecountry through telemedi-cine.

Collectors in all districtsshould provide benefits ofthese services to the peopleand local doctors should alsobe linked to it.

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Electronic goods worth lakhsof rupees were stolen from a

mobile shop at Barkheda underGovindpura police station areaon Thursday.Police said the vic-tim Harnaam Singh lodged acomplaint regarding of bur-glary of mobile phones from his

mobile shop at Barkheda whichwas targeted in the evening onThursday.

In his complaint the victimstated that he owns a mobileshop which is closed due to lock-

down imposed in the State cap-ital and in the evening onThursday he was informed by alocal that locks of shop were bro-ken and valuables were burgled.

On the receipt of the infor-mation victim when to check hisshop and later lodged com-plaint with Govindpura police.

The shop was not having anyCCTV camera and the nearby

installed CCTV cameras whichwould be investigated in the fur-ther investigation. The police sus-pects that habitual offenders of thearea are involved in the burglaryand have targeted the shop.

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Abrupt changes in the Statehave settled for the past

two days as rainfall and thun-dery activities have faded awayand temperatures have statedsoaring.

Met department told thatthere is a possibility of increasein day temperatures by 2 to 3degrees Celsius during thenext 4-5 days in the state. Theweather will be mainly dry forthe next 5- 6 days and increase

the temperature in all the dis-tricts is likely to be wit-nessed.In southwesternMadhya Pradesh likeKhandwa, Mandla, Seoni,Ujjain, Umaria, by April 15,the temperature can reacharound 40 degrees.

The remaining major dis-tricts like Indore, Bhopal,Sagar, Jabalpur, Gwalior arealso expected to reach tem-peratures around 38 degrees.

After two days due tochange in system there is pos-sibility of light rain with thun-derstorms and speedy winds ineast Madhya Pradesh duringcompletely dry weather.

Light rains are expected inTikamgarh, Sagar, Satna,Panna, Damoh, Chhatarpur,Rewa, Datia, Gwalior, Vidishaand Bhopal after three days

while around April 14, lightrain in Singrauli, Umaria,Shahdol is expected. The statecapital recorded day temper-ature at 37.4 degree Celsiuswhile night temperature wasrecorded at 22.1 degreeCelsius.

The highest day temper-ature of the state was record-ed at 41.1 degree Celsius inKhandwa.

Among the nearby regionsof the state capitalHoshangabad was the hottestplaces by recording day tem-perature at 40.5 degree Celsiusand Raisen recorded day tem-perature at 38.4 degree Celsius.

The forecast claims thatGwalior, Datia, Bhind, Morenadistricts are likely to witnesslight rainfall and light thundershowers in the next 24 hours.

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Taking noble initiative byVehicle Factory Jabalpur, a

500 litre Water Bowser vehiclecustomized to modern needswas handed to MunicipalCorporation CommissionerAshish Kumar.

On the initiative of theMunicipal Corporation thevehicle was designed and madeto fit by Vehicle FactoryJabalpur for the needs in thepresent scenario of infection.

Apart from the vehiclehand washing and sanitizingmachines were also made avail-able to the corporation whichcould be used without touch-ing the machine, which will

prove beneficial at the time ofspeedily spreading infectionafter coming in contact withobjects used by infected person.The machine would not onlybenefit the employees of themunicipal corporation but alsothe outsourced employeesworking in the municipal cor-poration during this period.

Similarly, in the first phaseof water Bowser vehicle, inten-sive work of sanitization hasbeen started in all the hotspots identified in and aroundthe city.

Today, the vehicles andmachines which were beingsanitized were sent to the areasafter inspection by AshishKumar, and the automatic san-

itizing machine was installed atthe corporation headquarters.

During this Kumar saidthat all government hospitals,government offices, are beingsenitised on daily basis. Thework of sanitation at all the res-idential places is going on a warfooting level and for this allpossible resources are used inthe work.

Kumar informed that forthis, along with special vehiclesand machinery resources, morethan 300 people are deployedby corporation who are

visiting door to door car-rying spray machines to sani-tize citizens and all foggingmachines, power spraymachines are also used.

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The youngsters are takingdifferent initiatives to

spread awareness aboutCOVID 19 and current situa-tion. Himanshu Dixit, studentof NLIU, Bhopal have chosensocial media to spread legalawareness about lockdown andcurfew, due to COVID 19.

He has posted a 15 minutevideo on his Facebook handle,wherein he describes every-thing. He said, "I have madethis 15 min video(educativepurpose) which explains andremoves all short of dilemmaabout Curfew, Janta Curfew,Shutdown, Lockdown, 144Order and more."

These terminologies areused quite frequently thesedays by everyone but peopledon't know the actual meaningof these terms.

What are the legal conse-quences attached to the viola-tion of these Shutdown Orders?How a common man be pun-ished, if violates any sort oforders?

"I have explained every-thing w.r.t these issues in thevideo, considering a laymanviewer in the mind", he said.

Talking about, why hechose this and who are his tar-get audience, he said,

"These days, many journalshave been used freely by theinstitutions all across theglobe. Thus, I thought to utilisethis golden research opportu-nity and research somethingwhich has a nexus with PublicGood."

"Further, I have receivedmultiple calls from my relatives,friends, juniors and otherscontinuously asking about thedifference between CURFEWORDER, S.144 ORDER,LOCKDOWN interalia. Theywere also enthuastic to knowthe "Aftermath of violatingloackdown," he added.

Youth take differentinitiatives to spreadawareness aboutCovid pandemic

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In view of corona crisis,Governor Lalji Tandon, who

will turn 85 on this April 12will not celebrate his birthdaythis year. The Governor hassaid that in this hour of crisis,social distancing has to be fol-lowed in letter and spirit.

Therefore, no social eventor other event should be orga-nized. He has again appealedto the people of the State todonate to the Prime Ministerand Chief Minister’s Fund forCorona care.

It may be noted that LaljiTandon has decided to take 30percent less of his salary as aState Governor for one year.

He has deposited Rs 10 lakhin the Prime Minister CoronaCare Fund and Rs 10 lakh inthe Chief Minister’s CoronaRelief Fund.

Governor Tandon hascalled upon the citizens togreet and encourage Coronawarriors and their families atevery opportunity for brave-ly carrying out security,health, self-care and commu-nication services in this hourof crisis.

The Governor said thatwhenever the Corona warriorscome to their street, colonies,display your sentimentstowards them by clapping,ringing bells or blowingconches for them.

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Employees of NHDC Limitedhave donated One Day

Salary to PM CARES Fund,amounting Rs 14,35,093 to fightCOVID -19 pandemic. NHDCLimited had already contributedRs 10 Crore in PM CARESFund to fight COVID -19 pan-demic. In addition to above,NHDC is also extending help-ing hand to the people ofProject/Office surroundingareas .

NHDC Limited is a JointVenture of NHPC Limited &Govt. Of Madhya Pradesh,which is the largest Hydropowerproducing company in the stateof Madhya Pradesh.

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During the lockdown situa-tion due to COVID-19,

Banking kiosks are operated byAISECT, extending their servicesto the citizens even during thecoronavirus across the city.

It is to be noted that finan-cial services come in the list ofessential services of theGovernment. Due to this,banking kiosks operated byAISECT are also runningfinancial services in variousrural, semi-rural and urbanareas of the city.

The kiosks are open to thepublic from 7 am to 7 pm.Direct benefit transfer moneyof various governmentschemes has also come intothe Jan Dhan accounts oper-ated under it and more than Rs1 lakh transactions are takingplace daily, which involvestransactions of about 25crores.

In addition to the kiosks,AISECT is also making effortsto provide direct financial ser-vices to households in thesedifficult times, so that peoplewill have least trouble andavoid coronavirus to get max-

imum financial service bene-fits. In this, a vehicle has beenconverted into a customerservice point, providing finan-cial services to homes andstreet neighborhoods.

In addition to providingfinancial services, banking

kiosks are following and fol-lowing the government'sinstructions with special care,in which sanitization andsocial distancing are special.

Apart from this, variousmeasures are being taken toavoid corona virus infection at

the kiosks, including the use ofmasks and gloves, sanitisationof kiosk points and machines,disinfection, maintaining aminimum distance of 1 metersin the kiosk.

It is to be noted that thereare around 3000 banking

kiosks of AISECT across thecountry. Along with this, var-ious banking kiosks ofAISECT are also cooperatingin relief work under whichration and food items arebeing distributed to the needypeople.

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Amidst apprehensions thatPunjab has entered the

community transmission stageof the coronavirus outbreak,the State Government onFriday declared to extend thecurfew in the state till May 1.

Punjab was the first state inthe country to announce cur-few in the wake of coronascare on March 23, and nowhas become the second State,after Orissa, to extend thesame.

Orissa Government, a daybefore, decided to extend ongo-ing lockdown till April 30 anddeclared schools and othereducational institutions willremain closed till June 17. TheCentral Government is alsoconsidering the proposals byseveral states to continue therestrictions beyond April 14,when the ongoing nationwide21-day lockdown is slated toend.

Community transmissionis the third of the four stages ofthe spread of an infectious

disease. The first is travel his-tory, the second is local trans-mission, the third is commu-nity transmission, and thefourth is epidemic. The deci-sion was taken during thevideo-conference meeting ofthe Council of Ministers tocheck the community spread ofthe pandemic and to preventovercrowding at the mandis inthe light of the ensuing wheatharvesting and procurementseason.

“Given the seriousness ofthe situation arising out of#Covid19, Cabinet has decid-ed to extend lockdown andcurfew till 1st May. These aredifficult times and I appeal toall to #StayHomeStaySafe andstrictly observe health safe-guards as you have done so far,for which I am thankful,” tweet-ed the Chief Minister from hisofficial Twitter handle.

“I will convey the decisionof extending the lockdown tothe Prime Minister NarendraModi at his conference with theChief Minister on Saturday,”said the Chief Minister.

Notably, the state has wit-nessed a spike in the numberof coronavirus cases in thepast few days, pushing thetotal count to 151 with 11deaths till Friday evening. OnFriday, the state reported 21fresh cases against 24 on

Thursday.The fact that several cases

being reported have no travelhistory or direct contact withthe COVID positive patientshas become a cause of concernfor the authorities who arenow apprehending communi-ty spread of the deadly virus.

The same was apprehend-ed by the Chief Minister dur-ing his video conferencing withthe media pointing that most ofthe 27 positive cases reportedin Punjab on Thursday, whichis the maximum daily increasefor the state, were those of sec-ondary transmission.

“Most of the 27 positivecases reported on Thursday arecases of secondary transmis-sion…This is as an indicationof the state moving into thestage of community transmis-sion.

The situation could seri-ously worsen in the comingweeks,” he said adding that thecurfew restrictions were essen-tial so that the state's medicalinfrastructure is not burdenedbeyond its capabilities.

There was general con-sensus in the medical commu-nity that the lockdown curbswould only delay the spread ofthe disease, he said, hoping thatsome medication or cure wouldbe found soon.

“The number of positive

COVID-19 cases will increaseas is happening across theworld and even in India. Howcan Punjab be isolated from it?We have contained the pan-demic to some level as com-pared to other states.

But this will spread. Wehave kept our contingency planready and lockdown is one ofthe methods to cut social con-tacts,” he said.

He pointed that around1.40 lakhs NRIs and foreignreturnees, including from thosecountries where the virus hadspread, have returned toPunjab.

“They are the primaryones. Now, with 27 positivecases of secondary transmis-sion, we have entered the stageof community transmission.That is a serious cause ofworry. That is why we have toseriously consider extendingthe lockdown,” he said.

The Chief Minister furtheradded that 651 people havecome to the State from theTablighi Jamaat’s congregationsin Delhi’s Nizamuddin area,which emerged as the biggestCOVID-19 hotspots in thecountry.

Of them, 636 have beentraced and 15 remain untraced.“Of them, 27 have found pos-itive including 10 contacts ofthese TJ Nizamuddin atten-

dees,” he added.Quoting stud-ies that have projected a spikein COVID-19 cases later in theyear, the Chief Minister alsocited studies including one byChandigarh’s Post GraduateInstitute of Medical Educationand Research that projectCOVID-19 cases could spikeby mid-September when 58percent of its population wouldbe infected.

In Punjab, he said, it hadbeen projected that 87 percentof the population would beinfected by the disease. “Ifthese figures are right, these arefrightening. Predictions byhealth experts about the spreadof the pandemic are horren-dous.

So, we have to do what wecan and lockdown is one ofsuch measures,” he said addingthat currently the numberswere low in Punjab comparedwith most other states, it can-not remain isolated as the pan-demic spreads further.

“In these circumstances,no government could afford toease the restrictions…We haveto check the spread of theinfections.

The state’s preparationswould be aligned to these pro-jections,” he said.· Rs 15,000crore announced by Centrefor the nation’s health infra-structure is “insufficient”

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As many as 2.19 lakh peopleof Chandigarh have so far

been screened for the symp-toms of Coronavirus during theongoing door to door surveystarted by the UTAdministration.To combat thespread of Coronavirus in thecity, the Administration hasdecided to screen the entirepopulation of Chandigarh forsymptoms of the highly conta-gious virus.

The union territory ofChandigarh has an estimatedpopulation of 12 lakh.

Punjab Governor and UTAdministrator VP SinghBadnore on Friday directedthat outlying areas in periph-ery and colonies should begiven priority in the door todoor screening. During thedaily review meeting at UTSecretariat here, he also direct-ed that the idle buses of CTUcould be utilized for the pur-pose.

Badnore stressed that allofficials going for screeningmust maintain hygiene andwear proper safety gears.While conducting this screen-ing, they should also advise theresidents to maintain properhygiene and social distancing,he added.

He has also directed theUT officers to intensify theefforts to screen entire popu-lation of the city in short time.

So far, the city has report-ed 19 positive COVID-19 casestill Friday evening. Out ofthese cases, seven have alreadyrecovered and discharged fromthe hospitals.After the meeting,UT Adviser Manoj Parida saidthat till Friday, 219,000 personshave already been screened inthe city.

The remaining will bedone through teams movingfrom door to door, said Paridawhile requesting the city resi-dents to cooperate with the UTteams conducting the survey.

Parida said that the teamscarrying the door to door sur-vey will be carrying an identi-

ty card. The residents arerequested to given true detailsabout sickness, symptoms, for-eign visits, he added.

The Adviser also informedthat Government of India hasbanned all social or religiousgatherings and processionsduring the festivals coming upin April 2020.Meanwhile, theUT Administration has pre-pared an “Integrated CovidManagement Plan” for the city,which was prepared in consul-tation with the doctors ofPGIMER, GMSH-16 andGMCH-32 to deal with anyemergency situation arisingout of surge in the cases ofCOVID-19. Under the plan,the Administration has pro-posed three levels of accom-modation for COVID-19 pos-itive and suspected cases in thecity.

Estimating Chandigarh’spopulation as 12 lakh and apeak of Coronavirus pandem-ic in the future, the plan isbeing prepared contemplatingdifferent scenarios of contin-gencies of COVID spreadingamong the denizens. A sum ofRs 1.53 crores has so far beenreceived in Chandigarh FightsCOVID Fund.

UNDER LOCKDOWN,PEOPLE AR EHIGH ONHOPE, FIND PU RESEARCHSURVEY

“A majority of Indians arehigh on optimism and hopedespite a life-altering disrup-tion caused by the nation-wide lockdown to fight theCoronavirus pandemic,”revealed an online researchsurvey conducted byPsychology Department ofPanjab University.

“An overwhelming major-ity of respondents i.e. 96 per-cent have reported a positiveemotional and mental health,which is the silver lining to thebleak public mood since thevirus outbreak in the country,”said Prof Seema Vinayak,chairperson, PsychologyDepartment of Panjab

University.Psychologist ProfSeema carried out the onlineresearch investigation betweenApril 6 and 9. The survey wasresponded by over 400 peopleof diverse age groups and socialstrata, having the internetaccess, in over dozen statesacross the nation that has beenunder an unprecedented lock-down since March 25.

“A new sense of familybonding has acted as a cushionfor stress, anxiety and feararising out of uncertainty, andalso upped the happiness quo-tient of members,” said ProfSeema.

Much of the positive out-look among people, accordingto the survey, is a prolongedperiod of togetherness forcedupon the families by the cur-few-like stay-at-home norms.

Interestingly, elderlyrespondents, who generallyexperienced loneliness in nor-mal times due to busy lives ofyounger family members,reported a significant surge intheir emotional well-beingowing to a greater interper-sonal interactions in homes.The lockdown appears to haveoffset the empty nest syn-drome in many cases, she said.

At least two-thirds ofrespondents reported thatenjoying nature , yoga , med-itation and physical exercise inthe confines of home helpedthem cope with the stressors ofan unabated pandemic and anopen-ended lockdown.

Impact on livelihood,uncertainty on academic andprofessional lives, continuedraging of Coronavirus and lossof social life emerged as thetop-of- the-mind worriesamong respondents.

Yet, most are high on hopeabout the post-lockdownfuture. Trust in the govern-ment’s steps to deal with thevirus outbreak, a likely inven-tion of vaccine, greater focuson health care and increasedawareness about hygiene werementioned as bright spots bythree-fourths of respondents,she added.

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To bring the state’s privatehospitals under the

umbrella of COVID-19 battle,Punjab Cabinet on Fridayapproved the Punjab ClinicalEstablishment (Registrationand Regulation) Ordinance2020.

The ordinance was neces-sary for the private hospitals tojoin the battle against COVID-19, said the Chief MinisterCapt Amarinder Singh, whowas authorized by the Cabinetto approve the final draft of theBill after its legal vetting.

Capt Amarinder said thatit was important to activate allresources, in the larger interestof the state, in light of the cur-rent battle, which threatens tobe a long-drawn one.

The Ordinance will pro-vide for registration and regu-lation of clinical establishmentsin a professional manner toensure compliance of clinicalstandards and protocols andtransparency in the function-ing of these establishments forfair and proper delivery ofhealth services to the commonman.

There would be no undueinterference in day-to-dayfunctioning of these establish-ments, as per the proposed leg-islation, which will, to beginwith, be applicable to all clin-ical establishments of 50 bedsand above as in the case ofHaryana.

It is proposed that thePunjab Health Council may beheaded by an expert or profes-sional of national reputeinstead of a bureaucrat, with atleast two other professionals asmembers.

CABINET SUB-COM-MITTEE ON FISCAL MAN-AGEMENT TO BE EXPAND-ED TO DECIDE ON EXPEN-DITURE CUTS

Cabinet has authorized theChief Minister to nominatefour additional members onthe Cabinet Sub-committee onFiscal Management for broad-based discussion and decisionon expenditure cuts needed totackle the COVID-19 crisis.

Reviewing the state’s fiscalsituation amid the COVID cri-sis, the Cabinet also asked var-ious departments to send theirproposals for expenditure cutsby Monday and it was decidedthat the Cabinet Sub-commit-tee will meet on Tuesday to dis-cuss the same.

The Chief Minister, whoheads the Cabinet Sub-com-mittee, underlined the need togenerate resources for theCOVID-19 battle, and alsosuggested expansion of thesub-committee to make thediscussions more broad-based.

Finance Minister ManpreetBadal informed the meetingthat Rs 30,000 crore of revenueearned through the upcomingprocurement operations wouldbe infused into the state’s econ-omy which would help instrengthening the COVID-19battle of the state.

PUNJAB PREPONESSCHOOL SUMMER VACA-TIONS — FROM APR 11TILL MAY 10

Punjab Cabinet has decid-ed to pre-pone the summervacations of both governmentand private schools in the Stateto cope up the study losses dueto lockdown imposed to avertcoronavirus.

Announcing this, the stateEducation Minister Vijay InderSingla said that now, themonth’s summer vacations willstart from April 11 till May 10.

“Parents are worried aboutloss of study of their wards dur-ing curfew and decision ofpreponing the vacations wouldgive relief to them. All privateschools should also have tostart the vacations from April11 eriod as per their require-ment,” he said.

CLASSES V, VIII’sREMAINING PAPERS CAN-CELLED, PSEB TO DECLARERESULT BASED ON EXAMSGIVEN

The Cabinet also decidedto promote Class V and VIIIstudents of Punjab SchoolEducation Board (PSEB) basedon the examinations given bythem before the imposition ofcurfew in the state.

“PSEB has conducted threeexaminations of Class V beforeimposition of curfew and nowthe Cabinet has decided to can-cel the remaining two papers,”said the Education Minister.

The Minister said that inthe case of Class VIII, thepractical examinations werepending but now the Boardwould declare the results with-out conducting any furtherexaminations for both theclasses.

CAPT TO REQUESTMONTEK AHLUWALIA TOHEAD HIGH-POWEREDTASK FORCE TO STEERPUNJAB IN POST-CORONASCENARIO

Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh will requestthe Planning Commission ofIndia’s former deputy chairmanDr Montek Singh Ahluwalia tohead a high-powered task forceto advise in steering Punjab inthe post-Corona scenario.

The assertion came afterthe Cabinet approved estab-lishment of a high-poweredcommittee to suggest a roadmap for State’s economicrevival in post-COVID eraonce the crisis softens andnormal working is restored.

The Cabinet, on the ChiefMinister’s proposal, also decid-ed to set up a multi-disciplinarytask force to formulate an exitstrategy for gradual relaxationof curfew or lockdown.

The task force, with about15 members representing trade,business, industry, agriculture,civil society and healthcareprofessionals, will submit itsreport within 10 days.

The Chief Minister hasbeen authorized to decide onthe composition of the taskforce.

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Chief Minister HemantSoren today said that in the

difficult times, the role of MPs,MLAs and other people's rep-resentatives is very important.Holding a video conferencingwith 65 MLAs and three MPsof the State here on Friday theCM said that said that publicrepresentatives are directly con-nected with the villagers, theyremain aware of their griev-ances, difficulties and prob-lems.

“At this time we all have tounite and give relief to the peo-ple of the State. It is the duty ofpublic representatives that theyshould play their role in ensur-ing that the people get the fullbenefit of the work being doneby the government,” he added.

Soren said that a largenumber of labourers ofJharkhand are stranded due tolockdown in various states ofthe country. The state govern-ment is taking all possiblesteps to provide relief to thesemigrant laborers.

Soon, the government willprovide support money to thetrapped workers outside theState through DBT in theirbank accounts. He said thatdepartmental officials havebeen directed in this regard todevelop such a mechanism assoon as possible to take all thedetails of these migrant labour-ers and provide them thefunds.The CM held detaileddiscussions with all the MPs

and MLAs regarding theprogress of relief operations intheir areas. He also learned howeffectively relief operations arebeing carried out. All the MPsand MLAs informed the CMabout the work being done intheir respective areas. Besides,they shared their experiencesand how to deal with theCorona infection and also putnecessary suggestions beforethe Chief Minister.

The CM told them in detailabout all the schemes related tothe relief work being run by thegovernment. He asked all MPsand MLAs to ensure that thegeneral public gets the benefitof all the schemes of the gov-ernment during the lockdownperiod.

“Ensure that people getthe benefits of Chief MinisterDal Bhat Yojana, Chief MinisterDidi Kitchen Scheme, foodarrangements in police sta-tions. Also ensure that there isno problem in getting rationfrom PDS shops.

Regularly observe rationlifting and ration distributionand inform the government ofany irregularities or problems.People's representatives shouldmonitor all these on their own.In this hour of calamity, if anyration dealer indulges in anyirregularity, then legal actionshould be taken immediately.

People's representativesthemselves go to ration shopsand arrange ration distributionso that people do not face anydifficulty. File a complaint for

anyone who tries to do blackmarketing,” he said.

The CM said that the dis-trict administration along withthe local MPs and MLAsshould organize a meeting withall the public representatives tofacilitate coordination in bring-ing the government's plans tothe ground. He said that due tolack of coordination at times,things start to get messy. Ensurethat there is no communicationgap, he said.

Soren said in his address,“We need to be mentally pre-pared to deal with infection likeCOVID-19. In this battle ofcorona infection, it is veryimportant to have the coordi-nation of the people of the Stateand the people's representa-tives. Along with the State gov-ernment, everyone will have toplay an important role in thisfight.”

The CM said, “Your sug-gestions of today are veryimportant, all departments ofthe State government will takenecessary steps to implementthem. As soon as we got theinformation about the coronainfection, we started takingnecessary action.

In view of the coronainfection, social distancing wasadopted. Every precautionarystep has been taken at the gov-ernment level to prevent infec-tion. Compliance with theseprecautionary measures canonly get us out of this dire sit-uation. All people have to beconfident.

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The State Government hasdrafted its proposed exit

policy for the current lockdownas per which the lockdownwill continue in all districts ofthe state till April 30. This andother aspects of the proposedexit policy and measures tocontain the spread of COVID-19 were discussed in a high levelmeeting chaired by chief min-ister Trivendra Singh Rawat onFriday. The proposed exit pol-icy for the lockdown will besubmitted to the Centre.

As per the proposed exitpolicy, during the lockdownperiod all government and pri-vate offices, shops and com-mercial establishments willremain closed, except thosetasked with the provisioning ofessential services and com-modities. However, certainrelaxations will be granted forresidents of Category A district-those that have not reported asingle positive COVID-19 casein the fortnight prior to April14.

Districts that have report-ed even a single COVID-19case in the fortnight precedingApril 14 will be placed inCategory B. Hotspots identifiedwithin districts will be subjectto stricter regulation, includingabsolute ban on movement etc,considered necessary for con-tainment of COVID-19.

Local administration willensure delivery of essentialcommodities at the doorstep ofresidents in such localities.

Section 144 will be in force inthe entire state till April 30 pro-hibiting assembly of more thanfive persons. Strict implemen-tation of social distancing pol-icy will be in force and wearingof masks will be made com-pulsory in all public places tillMay 31.

Further, no Indo-Nepaland interstate movement will bepermitted upto April 30 byany mode- air, rail or road.Inter-state and intra-statemovement of cargo transportvehicles will be permitted 24 x7 in consonance with MHAguidelines on the subject.

While no inter-district andintra-district movement exceptcargo will be permitted inCategory B districts, the per-mission for inter-district andintra-district movement canbe considered by district mag-istrate in Category A districts.

No movement of vehicleswill be permitted except cargobetween Category A and Bdistricts. Industrial, construc-tion and mining activities willbe permitted in all districtsexcept in COVID-19 hotspotsby the district magistrate aftera review of the prevalent healthscenario and risks involved inthe area of operation of theactivity.

The DM will obtain anundertaking from theowner/management that on-site accommodation with prop-er safeguards pertaining tosocial distancing, hygiene etchave been ensured. Care shouldbe taken to ensure that no per-

son serving a quarantine peri-od is engaged in any capacity inany industrial, construction ormining activity and an under-taking to this effect will be givenby the employer to the DM.

All efforts should be madeto facilitate smooth operation ofindustries engaged in the man-ufacture of pharmaceuticals,medical devices, agro prod-ucts and other essential com-modities.

However, under no cir-cumstances will importation oflabour from outside the state orfrom a Category B district beallowed. Stamp and registrationactivity will be permitted in alldistricts in a regulated mannerwith strict adherence to handand respiratory hygiene, socialdistancing norms and elec-tronic transfer for stamp pur-chases and payment of fees.

Hotels, lodges, home-stays,dharmshalas, hostels, malls,cinema halls, multiplexes, gyms,restaurants, bars, religious insti-tutions etc shall remain closedthroughout the state.

However, no hotel, lodge,home-stay, hostel, dharmshalaor any other establishmenthousing tourists, migrants,stranded individuals, workersand staff during the period oflockdown shall evict any of theresidents without clear per-mission of the DM.

Agriculture including hor-ticulture, bee-keeping, animalhusbandry, dairy, fisheries andallied activities will be permit-ted in the entire state except inCOVID-19 hotspots.

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For second consecutive dayon Friday, no new case of

Coronavirus (COVID-19) wasfound in Uttarakhand.

The health department hadreported four patients of thedisease on Wednesday andafter that no case has beenreported till 5 pm onFriday.Addressing media per-sons on Friday, the additionalsecretary, medical health and

family welfare department,Yugal Kishore Pant said thatthat reports of 101 suspectedpatients of the disease werereceived by the department till5 pm on Friday and all of themwere found negative for the dis-ease.

He said that reports of 333samples are still awaited. Pantadded that a total of 1688 swabsamples of suspected patientshave so far been taken forCOVID-19 test. On Friday,

samples of 157 suspectedpatients was taken and sent tothe lab for test.

Pant informed that 3770people under institutional quar-antine and 263 suspectedpatients in hospital isolation.The figure of institutional quar-antined people witnessed aconsiderable increase in last 24hours, he quipped. A total of40413 people are in home quar-antine in different parts of thestatte.

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In a sharp dig at Pakistan,which finally announced its

contribution of three milliondollars to the South AsianAssociation of Regional Co-operation(SAARC)EmergencyCovid-19 Fund but maintainedthat it should be administeredthrough the SAARCSecretariat, India on Fridaysaid the degree of seriousnessof each nation can be gaugedtheir behaviour. New Delhiresponse came as Pakistan istrying to negate India’s effortsto jointly fight the pandemic inSouth Asian region.

In fact, Pakistan also didnot take part in the SAARCtrade video conference onWednesday and later pledgedthe contribution of three billiondollars. In response to querieson Pakistan promising to poolin this amount proposed to beused through the SAARCSecretariat in accordance withthe SAARC Charter, ministryof external affairs spokespersonAnurag Srivastava said "It is foreach SAARC Member State todecide on the timing, mannerand implementation of their

SAARC COVID-19Emergency Response Fundcommitments.”

He also said “Where Indiais concerned, the commitmentmade by the Prime Minister istoday in an advanced stage ofimplementation. Assistance inmaterial and services has beenextended to Afghanistan,Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives,Nepal and Sri Lanka. TheseSAARC countries have alsomade early commitments tothe Fund. The degree of seri-ousness of each nation can begauged by their behavior."

The response came in thebackdrop of India trying tomove at a fast pace to jointlyfight the coronavirus pandem-ic in the South Asian regionand Pakistan trying to under-mine New Delhi’s efforts in thisregard by making effort tobring the coronavirus-relatedinteractions under the formalSAARC umbrella by seeking toinvolve its secretariat. Thisattempt is to get free hand toblock India's initiatives.

Red flagging this develop-ment, government sources hadsaid here on Thursday theactivities undertaken by the

SSARC countries in the recentdays after Prime MinisterNarendra Modi held videoconference with heads of all thestates of this association wereunder extraordinary circum-stances to deal with challenge.These endeavours were movingin a result-oriented manner

without being bound by anyprocedural formalities whichcould prove to be constraints.

Sources said Pakistan'sefforts to bring COVID-19related interactions under theformal SAARC umbrella wasan attempt to get free hand toblock all initiatives and pro-

posals by India by using theSAARC charter provisions andrules of procedure includingapplication of principle of con-sensus for the drafting of agen-da, outcome document, con-currence of all member statesfor each and every thing everystep of the way.

Sources said keeping con-trol of the activities thatemerged from Modi's videoconference of March 15 hashelped India move much fasterand without any hindrances.India had described these activ-ities as being stand-alone andoutside the "SAARC calendar

of approved activities", theysaid.

"We regard the presentactivities as events under extra-ordinary Covid-19 circum-stances focussed only to joint-ly dealing with the challenge inthe SAARC region in a result-oriented way, without being

bound by any procedural for-malities that could prove to beconstraints," a source said.Pakistan on Wednesday did nottake part in SAARC trade offi-cials discussion saying suchactivities could only be effectiveif spearheaded by the SAARCSecretariat.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi on Friday stressed

the need for jointly fightingcoronavirus pandemic. Thisassertion came hours afterIsraeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu thankedIndia for rushing a five-toncargo of medicines, includinganti-malarial drug hydroxy-chloroquine. Modi said inresponse “we have to jointlyfight this pandemic."

The medicines reachedIsrael, where over 10,000COVID-19 cases have beenreported including 79 deaths,on Tuesday. In a tweet onThursday, Netanyahu wrote:"Thank you, my dear friend@narendramodi, PrimeMinister of India, for sendingChloroquine to Israel. All thecitizens of Israel thank you!"

In his response, Modiwrote: "We have to jointlyfight this pandemic. India isready to do whatever is possi-ble to help our friends. Prayingfor the well-being and goodhealth of the people of Israel.@netanyahu."

The Israeli PrimeMinister had requested thesupply of hydroxychloroquineduring a phone call to Modion April 3. Moreover, lastmonth, he had urged Modi toapprove and allow the exportof masks and pharmaceuticalsto Israel.

India, one of the world'slargest manufacturers ofhydroxychloroquine, earlierthis week had said it willallow limited exports of theanti-malaria drug to "nationsthat have been badly affected"by the pandemic. The devel-opment came after USPresident Donald Trump cau-tioned India of “retaliation” if

it did not lift the curbs on theexport of the drug. The banwas imposed on March 25.More than 30 countries arenow looking up to India forthis drug which Trumpclaims will be the “gamechanger” in battling coron-avirus.

Following India’s deci-sion to lift restriction onimport, Trump onWednesday thanked Modiand said India's help duringthis crisis will not be forgot-ten. "Extraordinary timesrequire even closer coopera-tion between friends. Thankyou India and the Indianpeople for the decision on

HCQ. Will not be forgotten!Thank you Prime Minister@NarendraModi for yourstrong leadership in helpingnot just India, but humanity,in this fight!" Trump tweeted.

In his address to thenation on Wednesday, BrazilPresident Jair Bolsonaro, whoattended this year's RepublicDay in Delhi as the chiefguest, also thanked Modi for"timely help". Modi said inresponse and said in a tweet"the India-Brazil partnershipis stronger than ever in thesechallenging times. India iscommitted to contribute tohumanity's fight against thispandemic."

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Taking cue from the Stateslike Haryana, Uttar Pradesh

and Assam which have pro-hibited the use and spitting ofsmokeless products in publicplaces amid Coronavirus out-break, the Union HealthMinistry on Friday urged allthe States to invoke appropri-ate laws to prevent the infec-tious disease.

It cited the Indian Councilof Medical Research (ICMR)appeal too asking the peoplenot to consume and spit smoke-less tobacco in public places.

According to the ICMR,the harmful effects of tobaccouse are well established and

accepted globally. Also the roleof tobacco use/spitting in pub-lic place in spreading infectiousdiseases like Coronavirus.Chewing of smokeless tobaccoproducts (gutkha, zarda, khai-ni and other chewing tobaccoproducts and paan masala) andareca nut (supari) increasesthe production of saliva fol-lowed by a very strong urge tospit.

Spitting in public placesincreases the dangers of spreadof Coronavirus/Covid-19.

The Ministry said that theState Governments have thenecessary authority under theEpidemic Diseases Act,1897,the Disaster Management Act,2005 and the Indian Penal

Code 1860 to deal withCoronavirus/Covid-19.

In fact, several StateGovernments have alreadyinvoked relevant provisions ofthe Indian Penal Code 1860and other laws to prohibit thesale, use and spitting of chew-ing tobacco, to check the spreadof Coronavirus/Covid-19 andother infectious diseases.

States like Bihar,Jharkhand, Telangana, UttarPradesh, Uttarkhand,Maharashtra, Haryana,Nagaland and Assam havealready issued orders on theban of use of smokeless tobac-co products and spitting inpublic places during theCOVID epidemic.

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With a tigress in a US zoofound Coronavirus pos-

itive, India has decided to con-duct testing on wildlife and petsas preventive steps to fight thedeadly virus.

The move has also come aday after the World HealthOrganisation officials saidthey’re investigating severalcases where pets, and even atiger, appear to have beeninfected with the coronavirusby their human caretakers.

Sources said that the UnionEnvironment Ministry in con-sultation with the Union HealthMinistry and the IndianCouncil of Medical Research(ICMR) has asked the IndianCouncil of AgriculturalResearch (ICAR) to conduct

testing on them.The sources said that

three institutes of the ICARhave been selected for con-ducting Covid testing onwildlife samples.

These institutes are theIndian Veterinary ResearchInstitute in Izatnagar, theNational Institute of HighSecurity Animal Diseases inBhopal and National ResearchCentre on Equines in Hisar.

After the tigress in BronxZoo in New York tested pos-itive for Covid-19 last week,the Government has put onhigh alert the zoos and tigerreserves across the country.

Last month, a pet cat wasalso infected with the novelcoronavirus in Belgium. Theanimals are believed to havecontracted the virus from the

people they live with.According to the World

Organisation for AnimalHealth, cats and ferrets are themost susceptible species forCovid-19.

However, there is nostudy as such which can saythat pets can transmit thevirus to humans.

“We’re aware of two dogsthat have been infected inHong Kong, a cat in Belgium

and we’ve heardrecently thereports of a tigerat the BronxZoo,” Dr. MariaVan Kerkhove,the WHO’s tech-nical lead on theoutbreak, saidduring a pressconference on

Wednesday. “There are sev-eral groups that are conduct-ing investigations in animalsto really understand how petsare infected,” she said.

One study conducted oncats in Wuhan found that thepets could be infected withthe coronavirus, Kerkhovesaid. She added that worldofficials don’t believe that theanimals are playing a role intransmission to humans,

although humans can infectanimals.

Kerkhove said the WHOis working closely with theUnited Nations’ Food andAgriculture Organization andthe World Organization forAnimal Health to look morein-depth at the coronavirus inanimals.

It’s “really important weremain respectful and kind”to the animals that are likelyto be co-infected withhumans, Dr. Mike Ryan, exec-utive director of the WHO’shealth emergencies program,said on Wednesday.

In the meantime, washingyour hands before and afterinteracting with a pet—sameas you would with a fellowhuman—is the safest thing todo, say the experts.

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As the country awaits therapid anti-bodies kits,

which the Government saidwill be made available by April8, the Indian Council ofMedical Research (ICMR) in itsbid to ramp up the testingcapacity has approved the useof diagnostic machines used fortesting drug-resistant tuber-culosis for conducting coron-avirus tests.

The ICMR has validated‘TruenatTM beta CoV teston TruelabTM workstation’and has recommended it as ascreening test, the apex healthresearch body said on Friday.

Issuing a guidance on theuse of Truenat beta CoV, theICMR said throat/nasal swabswill be collected in the viraltransport medium (VTM)with virus lysis buffer pro-vided along with the kit.

“Earlier studies haveshown that virus lysis bufferneutralizes Nipah and H1N1viruses. The results of stabil-ity of viral RNA after neu-tralization of SARS-CoV-2 byvirus lysis buffer are awaitedfrom ICMR-NIV, Pune.”

“Till such time, Truenatbeta CoV test should only beperformed with all biosafetyprecautions in BSL-2 or BSL-3 setups at laboratories,” itsaid.

The revised guidelineswill be issued once the resultsfrom ICMR-NIV, Pune areavailable, it said.

A few days back, theGovernment had allowedrapid antibody testing in Indiaand has also issued guidelinesin this regard. The expertsbelieve that it will help theagencies to enhance screeningand identifying capabilities.

India has already pur-chased around 5 lakh testingkits from the United States,China and South Korea.However, sources in theMinistry said, these kits areyet to arrive in the country.

To ensure speedy detec-

tion of Coronavirus cases,those residing in COVID-19hotspots or areas which havereported large numbers ofcases, the rapid antibody test-ing was planned.

Presently, the governmentuses the polymerase chainreaction (PCR) tests to detectthe Coronavirus from samplesof throat or nasal swab of peo-ple with symptoms or high-risk individuals who mighthave come in contact withpositive patients.

The rapid testing kits arequicker to get early results.They use blood samples ofsuspected patients and nor-mally takes around 15-30minutes to give the result.

Lav Agar wal, JointSecretary in the Union HealthMinistry said, at the dailypress briefing here, "Thereare 146 government labs and67 private labs now. Earlier, weconducted 5,000-6,000 testsper day, but on Thursday,16,002 tests were done. We aremaking 2.5 labs operationalper day.”

He also allayed fears of ashortage of hydroxychloro-quine (HCQ) drug."We havea domestic requirement of 1crore hydroxychloroquinetablets while we have 3.28crore hcq tablets availablenow," he maintained.

Manoj Murhekar,Director, National Instituteof Epidemiology, who wasalso present at the press con-ference, told the media, "Atotal of 144,910 samples weretested till 9 p.m. on Thursdayfrom 103,792 suspectedpatients, of which 5,075returned positive. We con-ducted 16,002 tests in singleday. It (number of tests perday) has increased substan-tially."

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Union Home Minister AmitShah reviewed the Pak-

Bangladesh border situationwith the top brass of the BorderSecurity Force (BSF) onThursday and instructed themto monitor the sensitive areasto prevent any possible infil-tration. He also directed theBSF to conduct awareness onCovid-19 pandemic to the peo-ple living in the border areas.

“Home Minister reviewedborder guarding arrangements,at India - Pakistan and India -

Bangladesh borders, with BSFCommand and SectorHeadquarters through video-conferencing yesterday. Shahdirected that vigil on bordermay be intensified, especiallyalong the unfenced area, toensure that no cross bordermovement is allowed” saidHome Ministry in statement.

The Home Minister furtherdirected that farmers in the bor-der areas must be educatedabout COVID-19 and the pre-ventive measures to be taken toprevent its spread in these areas.Also, in coordination withDistrict administration, BSF

must ensure that the people donot venture across the borderfence inadvertently,” said MHA.

Shah also directed the BSFtop brass to engage in sanitationefforts, providing face masks,soaps, hand wash, apart fromproviding daily ration, portablewater and medicine at theremote villages in the borderareas. In the videoconferencemeeting with control room andcommand offices, MoS G.Kishan Reddy, Nityanad Rai,Home Secretary AK Bhalla,Secretary Border ManagementNN Sinha and BSF Chief SSDeswal were also present.

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Congress President SoniaGandhi on Friday urged

the State unit party chiefs andworkers to do their best in solv-ing the problems faced by thecitizens, particularly the poorand migrants, during the coro-na pandemic lockdown.

Sonia through video con-ferencing said that already theeconomy of the country were intatters and the current COVID19 scare will make things worsehence be prepared.

On their part, Congressleader in Lok Sabha AdhirRanjan Chowdhury wrote toPrime Minister Narendra Modiasking him to help ferry thestranded migrant labourers backto their respective states, whileParty general secretary PriyankaGandhi Vadra wrote to UttarPradesh Chief Minister YogiAdityanath seeking an increasein the coronavirus testing in thestate.

During this PCC meet,Sonia said that this is a time ofgreat crisis for the country andall of us and in such circum-stances such a meeting is beingheld for the first time.

“The country is fighting tostop the Corona epidemic. Inthis fight we are fully ready toplay our role. You all know thatCongress officials in every state, Our workers have beenengaged in serving the coun-trymen for many weeks," shestated.

Sonia continued with herpoint and said, “You must haveknown that I and formerPresident Rahul Gandhi alsogave some suggestions by writ-ing letters to the Prime Minister.Our hope is that the government

plans to meet this challenge.Most The poor, farmers andlaborers are suffering more andmore pain. “

Sonia also talked about thecountry’s economy. “Our econ-omy is going to have a lot of bur-den due to the lockdown.Already the economy was in cri-sis – it seems that now more dif-ficulties will increase. We haveto prepare for these situations. Inpublic misery, the public Willhave to support and will have tomake every effort to removetheir problems," she mentioned.

During this period, Soniaalso asked the state Congresspresidents to know the conditionof their states.

Chowdhury sought PM'sintervention in movement ofstranded migrant labourers backto their respective states.

"Sir, may I suggest yourgood office to arrange ferryingthese people to their homes orat least nearest point from wheretheir respective States wouldassure them safe return tohome," he wrote in his letter.

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhuryalso added that he would rec-ommend using special 'COVIDprotection Trains' for this pur-pose.

Priyanka demanded thatfacilities for testing and treat-ment of COVID-19 and to con-trol the spread of the pandem-ic be ramped up in the state. Shecited the example of SouthKorea to argue that screeningshould be increased to containthe virus.

“South Korea has a popula-tion of 6 crore. The countryscreened six persons per 1000people and successfully pre-vented the spread of the virus,”she said in her letter citing theexample of Congress ruled

Rajasthan where in Bhilwara 24lakh people were screened in justnine days for the virus to iden-tify those infected.

“Uttar Pradesh is home to23 crore people but only 7,000people have been screened. Thisnumber is very less for a statelike Uttar Pradesh,” she said.

The Congress leader saidauthorities should conduct test-ing on mild to moderate highrisk cases and treat them on awar footing.

Priyanka noted that reportsare coming about communitytransmission of the disease fromsome parts of the state. She saidurban areas are badly affectedand reports have emerged thatpeople are hiding their disease.

She said that measuresshould be taken to instil confi-dence in the people and encour-age them to come up for testing.She also said the governmentshould improve sanitation facil-ities and distribute free ration tothe poor.

“The Government shouldensure distribution of masks andhand sanatiser among the peo-ple and apprise the public ofwhere they can get masks andsanitiser,” she added.

She further said that theopposition is with the govern-ment in this fight against thepandemic. “Coronavirus doesnot see any religion or caste andaffects everyone. In this battle,there is a need to take steps bykeeping our political ideologiesaway and help bring peopletogether and create a fear-freeatmosphere,” she said.

Uttar Pradesh is the coun-try’s most populous state. Thestate has reported nearly 450positive coronavirus cases. Fourpeople have lost their lives so farin the State.

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The Sashastra Seema Bal(SSB), the lead intelligence

agency along India’s frontierswith Nepal and Bhutan, hasalerted the Government andsecurity agencies about sus-pected coronavirus positiveIndian Muslim nationals, work-ing in Islamic countries, beingpushed from Nepal to India tospread the pandemic.

Jalim Mukhiya, a hardenedcriminal, backed by somePakistani nationals, is trying tofacilitate the infiltration ofCovid-19 positive suspects, itsaid in a letter to the Bihar gov-ernment.

The SSB has alerted all itsunits along the Nepal border fol-lowing an intelligence input andalso informed its Nepalese coun-terpart, the Armed Police Force.

As things stand, Bihar is wit-nessing an alarming surge in thenumber of corona positive cases.The districts of Siwan, Nawadaand Begusarai have already beenlocked down completely.

In a letter to the DistrictMagistrate and Superintendantof Police of West Champarandistrict of Bihar on April 3, theSSB said, “Input received fromvery reliable sources that oneperson namely Jalim Mukhiya,

resident of village Jagannathpur,Post Janki Tola under police sta-tion Serwa of district Parsa(Nepal) is planning to spreadCorona pandemic in India.”

“He (Mukhiya) is alsoinvolved in smuggling of Armsand FICN from Nepal to India.Further, he has taken the respon-sibility to cross Indian Muslimnationals working in differentMuslim countries during lock-down,” reads the SSB alert.

The SSB intelligence furthersaid, “As per source around 200Indian Muslim nationals (work-ing in Muslim countries) alongwith 05 to 06 Pakistani nation-als have arrived in Nepal viaKathmandu and presently resid-ing in mosque/madrassas atvillage Chandanbasra andKhairwa in Nepal. As persources 40 to 50 more suspect-ed Indian Muslim nationalswill arrive today and more like-ly to be arriving in coming days.As per sources, these nationalswere consuming Paracetamoltabletsfor lowering tempera-ture on the way and they maybe corona positive.”

Bihar DGP GupteshwarPandey said a curfew like situ-ation is prevailing in the threedistricts. People are not allowedto move from one house toanother, he said.

The SSB is the designatedborder guarding force thatsecures the 2,450 km borderswith Nepal and Bhutan.

The SSB has tightened itsvigil on the border to checkinfiltration of such Covid-infected jehadis during theongoing lockdown. The bordershave been sealed in view of thealert, SSB officials added.

Bihar Additional ChiefSecretary (Home), AmirSubhani, said the police andUnion Home Ministry had beeninformed. "SSB did not saypeople have infiltrated fromNepal, they have only stated thatthere is a possibility. We havealerted police and Union HomeMinistry has been informed.Nobody will be allowed to enterfrom our borders," he told anews agency on Friday.

"All our units all along the1,751-km-long Nepal borderwere already on alert sincecross-border movement wasstopped due to the ongoinglockdown enforced in thecountry to contain the spreadof COVID-19," a seniorSashastra Seema Bal officialsaid adding, "With this newmodus operandi being detect-ed and intelligence generated,we have asked all the units tobe cautious."

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Food Minister Ram VilasPaswan on Friday

announced a life insurancecover of up to �35 lakh per per-son to over 1 lakh FCI officialsand labourers in case they suc-cumb to coronavirus after sixmonths of performing duty

from the day of lockdown onMarch 24.

State-owned FoodCorporation of India (FCI) isthe Centre's nodal agency thatis engaged in procurement offoodgrains at a minimum sup-port price (MSP) directly fromfarmers and distributes thesame at a subsidised rate to

over 81 crore ration card hold-ers in the country.

Currently, there is a provi-sion to provide compensationto family members of FCI offi-cials in case of death due to ter-rorist attack, bomb blast, mobviolence and natural disasters.However, regular and contrac-tual labourers are not included.

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With the number of personstesting positive for coron-

avirus inching towards the fourdigit mark, it is expected that theGovernment of Tamil Naduwould recommend the exten-sion of the lock down in the Stateat least by a fortnight. KShanmugham, Chief Secretary,who briefed the media lateFriday evening said that numberof COVID 19 patients in TamilNadu reached 911.

“On Friday, there were 77persons who tested positive forcorona virus in the State. Awoman from Thoothukudi dis-trict succumbed to coronavirus on Friday taking thenumber of fatalities to nine,”said Shanmugham. He saidthe council of ministers which

will meet on Saturday eveningis likely to take the next moveabout extending the lock downin the State.

The expert committee con-stituted by the Government ofTamil Nadu that include med-ical professionals and heads ofvarious departments recom-mended that the lock-downperiod be extended by at leasta fortnight in the backdrop ofthe ever increasing number ofcorona virus patients in theState. Sources in Secretariat toldthat a decision on extendingthe lock down period would betaken in the cabinet meetingscheduled for Saturdayevening.

Friday saw the members ofthe expert committee confer-ring with Chief MinisterEdappadi Palaniswami at FortSaint George for more than twohours where they explainedtheir findings. Dr PrabhdeepKaur of the National Instituteof Epidemiology, told journal-ists after the two-hour longmeeting that the committeebriefed the chief minister abouttheir observations.

“The meeting in which 17

members participated went onfor two hours. The membersexpressed their views to thegovernment. Dr SowmyaSwaminathan, Chief Scientist,WHO, also participatedthrough video conferencingfrom Geneva and expressed herviews,” said Dr Kaur. She saidthe members were unanimousin their suggestion that the lockdown should be extended by afortnight and tests be done onthe contacts of the COVID-19patients.

“Whatever steps are beingtaken, there has been anincrease in the number ofcorona cases. Hence we rec-ommended extension of thelockdown by 14 days, beyondApril 14”, said Dr Kaur whoalso said that the Governmentof Tamil Nadu was doingeverything which it could doto check the spreading of thepandemic.

There has been demandfrom the main opposition partythe DMK that the lock downperiod be extended by 30 daysfrom April 15, when the closedown announced by the Centrecomes to an end.

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Each day of this season ofCovid-19 disease is filled

with anxiety and concern. Onecan feel even the rationalistsand atheists looking towardsheaven and praying for divineintervention to finish off thecoronavirus once and forever.

Though the news comingout from official sources is thatof the ever increasing numberof persons tested positive forcoronavirus, there are somereports percolating from smalltowns and villages in bothTamil Nadu and Kerala whichhave elements of fun as well ashumor associated with them.

Police in Tamil Nadu andPuducherry are in the look- outfor a Delhi-born youth whomanaged to give a slip to thehospital authorities inVillupuram. The man had beenquarantined following initialresults that he tested positivefor the pandemic. But he man-aged to escape from the quar-antine ward and got himselfmerged into the crowd.

The law enforcing agencywas caught between the deviland deep sea syndrome. Theyouth’s details have to be keptsecret and his photograph couldnot be published because of therules governing the protectionof the identity of the “victim”.Though the police seems tohave released his picture in thesocial media, it is yet to reachthe population. Meanwhile thedistrict administration has con-stituted three to four specialinvestigation teams to nab theyouth who is believed to havecome to Puducherry via TamilNadu for attending an interviewin a private company. The factthat he travelled with personswho were on their way backfrom the Tablighi Jamaat con-gregation has given a twist tothe fun packed episode.

The authorities are insearch of a person, whose pic-ture and identity is yet to beestablished, a la the Jackal, pro-

fessional executioner who is thecentral character in ‘Day of theJackal’ authored by FrederickForsyth. No photographs ofthe Jackal, hired to execute thethen French strong manCharles Degaule, were availableto the team entrusted with theresponsibility to guard thePresident. Whether the policeforces in TN and Puducherrywould be able to catch hold ofthe Delhi youth is the majorquestion being discussed inthis part of the world. One neednot be surprised if theKollywood dream factoriescome out with an action packedfilm centering over the hunt forthe modern day Corona Jackal.

An equally interesting inci-dent has been reported fromKozhikode in Kerala wherelovers who eloped to get mar-ried much against the wish ofthe girl’s parents ending up inpolice station on charges of vio-lation of the lock-down rules!The Hindu girl and the Muslimboy fell in love and decided totie the nuptial knots muchagainst the anguish of the girl’sparents. Following a complaintfrom the parents that theirdaughter has gone missing theThamarassery Police took intocustody the Laila and Majnu.When they were producedbefore the first class judicialmagistrate court inThamarassery, the girl told thejudge that she has come of herhouse on her own to live withthe man she was in love with.The court ordered the release ofthe couple as it found thatboth of them were adults.

But the police re-arrestedthem under another provision!This time the court has no othergo except ruling that the cou-ple had violated the KeralaEpidemic Disease OrdinanceAct and had come out duringthe government-imposed lockdown to get married.Elopement is not an emer-gency and they had violated thelock-down provisions. Both ofthem have been booked and arein custody!

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Union Minister BabulSupriyo has accused the

Bengal Government of hidingthe actual number of corona-related deaths.

Close on the heels ofBengal BJP president DilipGhosh and its national leaderAmit Malavya slammingMamata Banerjee for feedinguntrue facts regarding the coro-na deaths Supriyo said that theChief Minister had actuallycreated a firewall so that thereal reports do not come out ofthe Government closet.

He said at least six morepeople — than what was beingprojected by the Government-— had died in Bengal.

The Minister on Fridaysaid that “a firewall has beencreated by Mamata Banerjee” tostop the facts from coming outshowing how at least 6 moredeaths — than actually men-tioned by the StateGovernment — had occurredin Bengal.]

The records of KolkataMunicipal Corporation (KMC)point towards the real facts theUnion Minister said addinghow the six people were cre-mated at Dhapa cremationground which is far from theglare of the media.

The same allegations wereearlier brought by Ghosh whosaid that the Government wasplaying with the lives of thepeople by not following theactual guidelines provided fordisposing of the bodies ofcorona victims. “As the bodiesare not sealed — because theyhave not been officially ear-marked as corona deaths — thepeople are bringing them asany other normal body puttingthe whole society at risk,”Ghosh earlier said.

Malavya too wondered asto “What is Mamata Banerjeehiding?” even as he tweeted“Hospital administrationsacross Bengal are under pres-sure from Mamata Banerjee,who is also the Health Minister,to underplay Covid relatedcases by discouraging tests andthwarting doctors from writingCorona as a reason for deaths,despite positive reports, inDeath Certificates.”

Bengal Chief SecretaryRajiva Sinha however refuted

the allegations saying the num-ber of corona victims is actu-ally determined by the desig-nated “audit committee or acommittee of experts.”

He said, “the policy is thatwhere there is co-morbidity weare not including it as a coro-na infected death.” He also saidthat the KMC has no authori-ty to ascertain the cause of thedeath. “KMC cannot ascertainthe cause of death,” he saidinsisting “I will reiterate that thenumber of deaths in Bengal tillnow continues to be five.”

The row erupted a lastweek when a committee ofexperts in a press briefingcounted the number of deadpatients with corona infectionsto 7. However two hours laterat a subsequent media confer-ence the Chief Secretary issued“some clarifications.” He said

that 4 out of the reported 7deaths were “actually due toCo-morbidity — like kidneyand other ailments — reasons”adding “it is not clear whetherthey died due to the viralattack.”

Meanwhile even as sourcesin the Government said that theauthorities had identified 8-10hotspots in the State and wereactually planning a completelockdown in those areas all theofficials of a nationalised bankwere sent to home quarantineafter the mother of the manag-er of that branch was diagnosedwith corona positive onThursday night. “The branchhas been sealed for fumigationand the staff have been quar-antined,” sources said.

Regarding the notifiedhotspots a senior official said“no one will be allowed to enter

or exit from those areas and thepolice personnel will be post-ed. Administration will supplyessential commodities in theseareas.”

Elsewhere India’s first phar-maceutical company BengalChemicals which earlier offeredto produce hydroxichloroquinehave been given the license tomanufacture the much soughtafter medicine, HealthDepartment sources saidadding however that the com-pany has asked for supply ofraw materials.

“We have requested thecentral government to makeavailable the raw materials sothat we can start manufactur-ing the drugs by the nextweek,” a senior official saidadding “we have a capability ofproducing 2 crore tablets in amonth’s time… if need be wecan produce even morebecause we have the expertiseto manufacture that drug.”

Bengal Chemicals, compa-ny was set up by noted chemist,educationist, historian, indus-trialist, philanthropist andnationalist Acharya Sir PrafullaChandra Ray who establishedthe first Indian research schoolin chemistry to be regarded asthe father of chemical sciencein India.

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Senior IPS officer andPrincipal Secretary (Home)

Amitabh Gupta on Fridayfound himself in deep trouble,as an embarrassed UddhavThackeray Government senthim on ‘compulsory leave’ forallowing the scam-taintedWadhawan brothers and theirfamily members to travel fromKhandala to Mahabaleshwaron Wednesday during theongoing lockdown period.

On a day when theOpposition BJP made an issueand demanded the resigna-

tion of State Home MinisterAmit Deshmukh over the “safepassage” given by Gupta toWadhwan family members,Deshmukh announced that thePrincipal Secretary (Home) on“compulsory leave” pendingan inquiry to be initiatedagainst the latter.

“As per discussion withCM (Uddhav Thackeray),Amitabh Gupta, has been senton compulsory leave withimmediate effect, till the pend-ing of enquiry, which will beinitiated against him,”Deshmukh tweeted earlier inthe day.

Later talking to media per-sons, Deshmukh said: “Apartfrom sending Mr Gupta oncompulsory leave, we haveasked senior IAS officer andAdditional chief Secretary(Finance) Additional ChiefSecretary Manoj Sonic to con-duct an inquiry into the misuseof office allegedly indulged byMr Gupta. Similarly, we haveregistered an offence undersections 188, 269, 270, 34 ofIPC and section 51 (B)ofDisaster Management Act andsection 11 of MaharashtraCovid-19 Regulations”.

Twenty three members ofWadhawan were detained bythe police at Panchgani onThursday night while travellingin five cars from Khandala toanother hill station ofMahabaleswar in Satara district

of western Maharashtra. Theywere carrying with them a “Towhomsoever it may concern”issued to them by Gupta on hispersonal head, permitting theWadhawans and others to crossfrom Khandala in Pune toMahabaleshwar in Satara.

“This is to just inform youthat following are well knownto me as they are my familyfriends and travelling fromKhandala to Mahabaleshwarfor family emergency… Henceyou are here by informedthrough this letter to co-oper-ate with them to reach theirdestination,” Gupta’s letter read.

Gupta’s letter listed theregistration numbers of all thefive vehicles and the names ofall the family members, friends,and others who were planningto travel in each of the vehicles

for the unspecified ‘familyemergency’.

The Wadhawan brothersare linked to the Yes Bank andPunjab and Maharashtra Co-operative Bank scams. Thelarge family owns the troubledentities - HDIL real estatedevelopment company andDHFL financial managementcompany.

After the letter issued byGupta went viral on social onThursday night, former chiefminister and leader of theOpposition in the StateAssembly Devendra Fadnavisof the BJP made an issue of the“safe passage” given to theWadhawan. “No lockdownsfor mighty & rich inMaharashtra? One can spendholidays in Mahabaleshwarwith official permission from

police. It is not possible that asenior IPS officer would dosuch gross mistake knowingthe consequences on his own,”Fadnavis tweeted.

Former BJP MP KiritSomaya also upped the ante, bysaying: “The WadhawanBrothers who are on Bail inDHFL/Yes Bank Fraud Caseare given VVIP treatment/pass-es by Maharashtra governmentto travel from Mumbai toMahabaleshwar in convoy,”

He sent a letter toMaharashtra Governor BhagatSingh Koshyari seeking aninvestigation into the incident.He lodged a complaint againstPrincipal Home SrecreraryAmitabh Gupta with theMulund police.

Meanwhile, rubbishing theallegations made by Somaiya,

NCP chief spokespersonNawab Malik said that Somaiyahas been talking a lot about theWadhawan issue.

“We must all rememberthat Somaiya is known for hisfrivolous statements and wasdenied a candidature of hisparty for the same. One mustnot pay attention to his irre-sponsible, unsubstantiatedtalks. IPS and IAS officerscome under the ambit of thePMO. If the Central govern-ment wishes to take actionagainst Amitabh Gupta, theyare free to do so. We will wel-come the same, Malik said.

In a related development,the CBI issued a statementsaying: “On 09.04.2020, aninformation was received byCBI that both the accusedwere located in District Satara

and lodged at a GovernmentInstitutional Quarantine Centreat Panchgani.

Thereafter, an email hasbeen immediately sent to DMand SP of DistrictSatara(Maharashtra) for notreleasing them without NOCfrom CBI or order of the Courtand taking other necessarysteps to prevent the accusedpersons from absconding”

The CBI had registered acase (RC 219 2020 E0004, EO-I, CBI, New Delhi) on March7, 2020, in which KapilWadhawan, DheerajWadhawan, Rana Kapoor (thethen MD & CEO of Yes Bank)and others were accused. Bothaccused Kapil and DheerajWadhawan were abscondingsince beginning of the investi-gation.

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Indian Army on Fridaylaunched ‘punitive fire

assaults’ on Pakistani positionsacross the line of control oppo-site keran sector in Kupwara dis-trict inflicting heavy damages.

According to groundreports, Pakistan army resort-ed to ‘unprovoked’ ceasefireviolation in Keran sector ofNorth Kashmir’s Kupwara dis-trict. Hitting back, Indiantroops retaliated effectively andstrongly.

Srinagar-based DefenceSpokesman, Col Rajesh Kaliasaid, “Indian troops carried outprecision targeting of gunareas, terrorist launch padsand ammunition dump acrossthe line of control. Col Kaliasaid, in the retaliatory firing,reports of heavy damages onenemy side were reported. Fivesoldiers including three paracommandos of Indian armyhad earlier laid down their livesin a hand-to-hand combat onApril 5 while eliminating fiveterrorists in Keran sector.

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Four members of a familyhailing from Tikri area of

Udhampur, who lost theirmother due to coronavirus onlate Wednesday night, testedpositive on Friday taking thetotal number of positive casesin Jammu&Kashmir to 207.

The total number of posi-tive cases have jumped from106 to 207 in last five daysacross Jammu&Kashmir. Thetotal number of active cases inJ&K stood at 197.

On Friday, 23 fresh cases ofcovid-19 were detected, 16from Kashmir valley and sevenfrom Jammu region.

Out of 207 cases, Srinagardistrict has reported maxi-mum number of 51 cases inKashmir region whileUdhampur district has report-ed maximum number of 17cases across Jammu division.Jammu district has reported sixcases so far. One death each hasbeen reported from Srinagar,Baramulla, Bandipora andUdhampur district.

Meanwhile, with freshspike in positive cases, the waragainst the coronavirus isentering a crucial phase.

On ground zero, the gov-ernment agencies havelaunched door to door screen-ing of suspected cases andaggressive tracing of contactpersons of positive cases acrossareas already declared as ‘red-zones’.

In a interview to a nation-al news agency in Jammu, LtGovernor GC Murmu Fridaysaid, “so far 1900 people havebeen identified here who werepresent in Nizamuddin’sMarkaz. We traced themthrough their phone numbers&they cooperated with us.They are being tested & havebeen kept in isolation. Thework is underway in a pro-active manner”.

Spokesman of the

Jammu&Kashmir GovernmentRohit Kansal tweeted, “Today’spositives include 7 members ofa religious congregation whowere traced, and isolated on27th March. Just proves thatdetermined tracking works.Appeal please cooperate”.

Since majority of cases inJammu division have beenreported from Udhampur,Deputy Commissioner DrPiyush Singla Friday said,“Complete lockdown inUdhampur town and adjacentareas to continue. He said fourareas have been declared 4 redzones in the district and gen-eral public has been advised towear masks in red zone”.

Speaking to a news agency,Lt Gov GC Murmu also said,“Restrictions will continue inthe 34 red zones that we haveidentified in Jammu andKashmir, even after April 14.There will be selective restric-tions, movement and social dis-tancing in these zones.Planning for this is under-way”.

Referring to availability ofmasks and PPE’s for health careworkers, Lt Gov Murmu said,“We have 17,000 N95masks,13,000 PersonalProtective Equipment (PPEs)kits, and 200 ventilators. Wewill soon have 80,000 rapidtesting kits which will be usedin red zones identified here, forearly detection of #COVID19:Jammu&Kashmir”.

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Suggesting a phased with-drawal, CPI (M) general

secretary Sitaram Yechury onFriday said that mere extend-ing the lockdown will not helpmuch and urged the Centre tofund the States to concentrateon purchasing medical equip-ment, PPEs and conductingmore tests.

He also urged the Centre towithdraw the suspension ofMPLAD funds and said thatthis decision would hit thelocal level activities of the MPs

in tackling the Covid-19 pan-demic.

Yechury convened a virtu-al press conference taking ques-tions from media throughemail. “A lockdown will be nec-essary and it will be necessaryin order to use that period toincrease testing, equip ourhealth workers and that is whatshould have been done. We areinto third week of lockdownand unfortunately, that is notbeing done. Mere extending thelockdown will increase theeconomic misery of people.The spread has to be con-tained through identifying, iso-

lating and sealing areas. That iswhy we argue for phased with-drawal,” said Yechury.

He reiterated giving morefunds to States to buy PersonalProtection Equipments (PPE)to healthcare professionals. “IfGovernment can write off Rs7.78 lakh crore corporate loandefaults, Centre must give morefunds to States and one timeloan waiver to farmers. Thereno dearth of money in Centre,”said Yechury.

He said theCentre shouldhave used the MPLAD fundsfor effective fight againstCovid-19.

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Aday before Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s crucial

meet with Chief Ministers,the Prime Minister’s Office(PMO) on Friday held a meet-ing with officials of the 11Empowered Groups to tacklethe challenges emerging as aresult of spread of COVID-19.

The officers’ group underthe chairmanship of PKMishra, Principal Secretaryto PM, reviewed mainly onsupply chain and logisticsmanagement for availability ofnecessary items, efforts under-taken for the benefit of stake-holders involved and steps toassist farmers harvest theirproduce while maintainingsocial distancing.

The review also focusedon the confidence buildingmeasures and expressed satis-faction on the adherence to thestates on maintaining the pro-tocols suggested by Ministry ofHome Affairs. As per statis-tics as many as 1,45,916 sam-ples have been tested, saidPMO in a statement.

“It was informed that allChief Secretaries of Stateswere issued instructions toarrange for shelter for the vul-nerable groups like migrantsand homeless. Also, Centre isin constant touch with Statesand District level monitoringis being undertaken. The pro-duction of PPEs is beingramped up and capacitybuilding for healthcare per-sonnel is being ensured. NGOsand Civil Society groups arealso being mobilized. PrincipalSecretary suggested that coor-dination with NGOs at districtlevel be done to avoid overlapsand ensure efficacious utiliza-tion of resources.

“The progress of roll out ofwelfare measures through theeconomic relief package underPM Garib Kalyan Yojana wasalso reviewed. PrincipalSecretary underlined that datasanctity was important toensure that the benefits reachout to all the intended bene-ficiaries,” said the statement,adding that review also feltthat the enhancement of roll-out of Aarogya Sethu Appfurther.

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Guwahati/Silchar: Assamreported its first death due tonovel coronavirus on Fridayeven as the five samples ofState’s existing 28 positive casestested negative in the lastchecks, Health MinisterHimanta Biswa Sarma said.

The first corona death ofAssam, also the first in thenortheastern region, wasreported from Hailakandi dis-trict in its southern part.

“Faijul Haque Barbhyan,65, from Hailakandi districtdied at the Silchar MedicalCollege and Hospital (SMCH)early on Friday due to COVID-19. My deep condolences andprayers for the bereaved fami-ly,” Sarma said in a tweet.

Barbhyan’s swab samplehad tested positive on Tuesdayand he was immediately admit-ted to the SMCH. He had trav-el history to Saudi Arabia. Hereturned to his home recentlyvia Delhi.

According to Silchar hos-pital’s officials, the condition ofthe patient, a former employ-ee of Madrassa Education, hadturned critical on Thursdayand was admitted in theIntensive Care Unit.

Hailakandi district’sDeputy Commissioner KeerthiJalli told the media that afterthe performance of “namaz-e-janaza” (Muslim ritual beforeburial) Barbhyan’s body with anairtight three-layered plasticbag was disinfected and takento a burial ground 10 km fromthe Hailakandi city and buriedthere in the presence of hisclose relatives and a MuslimImam.

After one death, of thetotal 33 positive cases in fivenortheastern states -- Assam(28), Manipur (2), Mizoram(1), Arunachal Pradesh (1)and Tripura (1) -- 28 took partin a Tablighi Jamaat meet inDelhi last month.

A Manipuri woman and aMizoram man tested positivelast month after they returnedfrom the United Kingdom andthe Netherlands respectively.

IANS

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Does it seem like a déjà vu? InDecember 1849, cholera wasdetected in Beylik of Tunis(now Tunisia). Ahmad I ibnMustafa (1805-55), a progres-

sive ruler, left the capital city of Tunis ter-rified. He moved to a gardened villa of thethen Prime Minister Mustapha Khaznadarin Carthage along with a personal retinueand armed guards. From his new campoffice, he deployed Italian doctors fromnizam jadid (new European-style Army ofTunisia) for treatment in temporary hospi-tals set up in the barracks. Daily statisticsof the infection, deaths and recovery werecompiled, which along with instructions ofhygiene, were printed in Italian and Arabiclanguage. These were distributed in themosques and churches for the edificationof the people.

Then came the inflection point duringthe Mawlid al-nabi (the Prophet’s Birthday),which fell on January 27, 1850. Ahmad I ibnMustafa was in dilemma regarding the cel-ebratory congregations and the advisabili-ty of his joining them in view of the out-break. Ultimately, he sent a communiqué,ordering the celebrations to be held as usualand for oil to be sent to the minarets. Theevent was held; canons fired; and two vers-es of the Quran were read to “comfort thepeople in times of difficulty.”

Within days, the epidemic was ragingthe Muslim quarters, and before long, theentire city of Tunis was in the grip of cholera.Muhammed Sharif, a notable figure ofTunis, passed away on February 6, whichwas followed by the death of several of hisfamily members and those who had comein contact with him. This incident has beendescribed by Nancy Elizabeth Gallagher inher insightful book, Medicine and power inTunisia, 1780-1900 (1983, CUP).

The worst was yet to come. The epi-demic polarised public opinion in Tunis.Many blamed the European doctors, byextension, their line of treatment. Severaldoctors were abused and manhandled.Ahmad I ibn Mustafa, advised by his per-sonal Italian physician, Abraham Lumbroso,put himself in medical isolation. Hisextreme measures annoyed some of hisMinisters. One day, a Group of Ministerspolitely told him that precaution by meansof quarantine was nowhere to be found inIslam and is an invention of Christendom,whose knowledge of diseases and medicineis inferior to Islam.

The debate over the propriety of quar-antine took a theological turn. PrimeMinister Khaznadar, a critic of Europeanmedicine, condemned the quarantine anddeclared that Muslims, who died of cholera,were martyrs. Bin Dayaf, Ahmad I ibnMustafa’s personal secretary, opined thatself-preservation by quarantine was legaland no religious text disapproved of it. Thetwo reached out to a certain cleric. TayyibAl-Riyahi, son and expected successor

Ibrahim al-Riyahi, Imam ofGreat Mosque of Tunis, issueda fatwa that victims of cholerawere martyrs by citing theHadith of Muwatta (the Malikilaw book) because they died ofinternal wounds. ThenKhazandar and Bin Dayaf wentto Mufti Muhammed binSalama, who ruled that victimsof cholera were not martyrs. Atthis point, Bin Dayaf ended hisdiscussion by observing thatwhatever be the reality, even“alims (scholars of Islam) die ofcholera.”

Combating communicablediseases has often been vitiatedby theological considerationsand confrontations in the past.It took almost four centuries forthe Ottoman Empire to have aquarantine policy. SultanMahmud II, advised by hisAustrian doctor, Anton Lagos,and impressed by the treatise ofHamdan Bin El-MehrumOsman Hoca, finally adoptedquarantine as a measure tocombat plague in 1838 even asthe disease had bedevilled theOttoman Empire at least sincethe mid-15th century. Nodoubt, had there been menlike Idris-i Bitlisi, an Ottomanstatesman, and IsameddinAhmed bin MustafaTasköprüzade, a prominentjudge way back in the 16th cen-tury who advocated a rational

approach, there would be prece-dence. There were prominentmedical doctors like Osman binSuleyman Penah (d.1817) in thereign of Selim III, too. Theyadvocated that quarantine andprecautions against plague andepidemic would signify betray-al of Muslim’s trust in divine fate(tevekkul).

Birsen Bulmus, in his emi-nently readable, Plague,Quarantines and the Geopoliticsof the Ottoman Empire (2012),traces the history of health andmedical policies against plagueand allied epidemics in theTurkish reign. Bulmus exhibitshow it was not only Muslimdivines and physicians whodoubted quarantines/precau-tions but in reality, whateverkills a Christian also kills aMuslim. Whatever cures aHindu, cures a Muslim as well.Physiology is more egalitarianthan theology.

The holy city of Mecca wasaffected by cholera in 1831,which recurred almost annual-ly during the pilgrimage. Itsinvasion was particularly seri-ous in 1865, when almost athird of the pilgrims reported-ly perished. It was the mostdominant issue at theInternational SanitaryConference at Constantinople(Istanbul) in 1866. A six-mem-ber committee, comprising

Arabs and Europeans, drew upa report to regulate the mar-itime traffic for Hajj pilgrimagein 1867.

Thus, if Saudi Arabia hasnow put Mecca and Medinaunder lockdown and is contem-plating on deferring the annu-al Hajj scheduled for July 28-August 2 due to the COVID-19outbreak, it is only becausethey know their history better.Mosques are likewise closed tocongregations in India. TheUlema has appealed theMuslims to tender namaz athome, including on Friday.

However, the irresponsiblebehaviour of a section of thecommunity in India is puttingits collective safety againstCOVID-19 at great risk. TheTablighi Jamat’s grand event atNizamuddin Markaz Masjidbetween March 13 and 15 hasled to a huge spike inCoronavirus cases. Thoughthere was no lockdown in Indiaat the time of the conference,the Delhi Government hadalready prohibited all types ofgathering above 200 people bythen. They continued to holdback more than 2,000 partici-pants in a six-floor dormitorylong after the event had ended.The management refused tobuckle even after receivingnotice from the Delhi Police. Ittook 36 hours to evacuate 2,361

people from the premises to putthem into hospitals and quaran-tine centres.

The misinformation cam-paign over Tik Tok, targettingimpressionable young boysfrom the Muslim community tothrow caution to the wind, issinister. Those paying heed tosuch evil counsel will jeopardisetheir own health before they risksomeone else’s. If Muslims hadreally been depending upon thedivine will for health instead ofmodern medicine all theseyears, the hospitals in Delhiwould not have a large percent-age of them. Nor would thesuper speciality hospitals inIndia receive a large number of“medical tourists” fromAfghanistan, Iran and CentralAsia, among others. Muslims,like anyone else, wear woollenclothes when it is winter andshed them in springtime. Whypass on all responsibility toAllah in the COVID season?

As Ahmad I ibn Mustafahad said in 1850 cholera season,“If divine decree and fate arriveand I die with the disease, I fearI would say, ‘if only I hadobserved quarantine, this wouldnot have happened’ because ofmy belief that everything comesfrom Allah.”

(The writer is an indepen-dent researcher based in NewDelhi. Views are personal)

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Sir — Brazilian President Jair MBolsonaro referred to theRamayana on Hanuman Jayantiwhile asking Prime MinisterNarendra Modi for help in battlingthe shortage of medical suppliesdue to the onslaught of COVID-19. Bolsonaro was quoted as say-ing, “Like Lord Hanuman broughtthe holy medicine from theHimalayas to save the life of LordRam’s brother Lakshman... Indiaand Brazil will overcome thisglobal crisis by joining forces...”

The Brazilian President’srequest is, however, not unexpect-ed as it is commensurate with theglobal role India is playing amidthe Coronavirus crisis. India hasemerged like a messiah as theworld fights COVID-19, withmore than 30 countries request-ing Modi to export hydroxy-chloroquine. Although India ishelping the SAARC nations withsupplies, exporting the medicinetouted to be the “game changer”to 30 other nations does notseem like a good idea, especiallywith numbers increasing manifoldin our own country.

Gaurav Agarwal Guwahati

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Sir — This refers to the report,“Odisha 1st State to extend Covidlockdown by 16 days till April 30”(April 10). In a wake-up call to thefight against the deadly NovelCoronavirus, the OdishaGovernment’s mandate to extendthe lockdown period in the State

till April 30 is welcome. In orderto obliterate the COVID-19 pan-demic, it is crucial to disintegratethe chain of transmission of thisinfectious disease. This can bedone effectively only when peo-ple are completely confined phys-ically to their homes.

With an escalating number ofpositive Coronavirus cases, theextension of an absolute lockdown

in the entire nation has becomeimperative. Extension is impor-tant since in a highly populatedcountry like India, the spread ofthe virus, once out of hands, willbe uncontrollable. TheGovernment must ensure that thebasic means of livelihood is nothampered due to the lockdown.

Tushar AnandPatna

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Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Tiger gets it” (April 8). Newsreports that a tigress at the BronxZoo in New York tested positivefor the Novel Coronavirus hascome as a surprising develop-ment. Wildlife enthusiasts, peo-ple, the medical fraternity andveterinarians are all puzzled.Apart from the four-year-oldMalayan tiger named Nadia, sixother tigers and lions have alsofallen ill. They are believed tohave been inflected by a zooemployee, who hasn’t yet shownsymptoms. The zoo has beenclosed for the public.

Now that the first case hasbeen confirmed, the inhabitants ofthe zoo must undergo a thoroughprognosis. The finding under-scores the need for scientific stud-ies about the chances of transmis-sion of the virus in animals. Thesusceptibility of different animalspecies to the virus, too, must bestudied. A new challenge now con-fronts veterinary science.

Venu GSKollam

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The complete lockdown of the country withinthree-four hours of the announcement regard-ing it in a televised address by Prime Minister

Narendra Modi and the plight of migrant workersaround the country, forced to trudge back to theirhometowns, thousands of kilometres away, hungry,thirsty and tired, reflect that India was not preparedfor the impending disaster. This is despite the factthat the danger had been looming over us since theoutbreak of the Coronavirus in China months ago.

An overconfident Government had not thoughtit prudent to devise a plan for the efficient manage-ment of the pandemic that has brought developedcountries, with better healthcare systems thanours, to their knees.

The Government was ill-prepared to handle adisaster, the likes of which this world has not seenafter the 1918 Spanish fever which infected nearly500 million people worldwide and killed an estimat-ed 30-50 million.

Obviously, the plans that were devised by theCentre under the provisions of the DisasterManagement Act, 2005, did not foresee such a hugecalamity and the humanitarian crisis emerging outof it. Disaster management concentrates on mak-ing arrangements to diminish the impact of a calami-ty. Failure to make such an arrangement couldprompt large-scale human casualties, loss of incometo the masses and losses to India Inc, which in turn,prove disastrous for the economy.

Hence, plans relating to disaster managementshould pursue the nature of disaster vis-a-vis its man-agement. The Government mainly functions basedon the enactments made by the legislature. Hence,all the programmes, conceived plans and guidelineswould be within the framework of the legislationsmade in the said regard.

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)decided to observe the ’90s as the InternationalDecade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR).It initiated a global campaign towards creating socio-economic strategies for countries during natural dis-asters. Now, due to the UNGA’s efforts, many coun-tries around the world have disaster related legisla-tions. Pursuant to the same, in 1999 the IndianGovernment, too, set up a High Powered Committee(HPC) on disaster management.

Thereafter, a series of catastrophic natural dis-asters such as the Gujarat earthquake in 2001 andthe tsunami in 2004, led to the enactment of theDisaster Management Act, 2005. Though it was thefirst step in the right direction, the entire legislationwas drafted with a myopic view. The definition of“disaster” under Section 2(d) of the Act defines dis-aster as a catastrophic, mishap, calamity or graveoccurrence in any area, arising from natural or man-made causes or by accident/negligence whichresults in substantial loss of life or human sufferingor damage to property or degradation of the envi-ronment and is of such nature or magnitude that itis beyond the coping capacity of the community ofthe affected area.

A reading of the aforesaid definition shows thatthe same has been drafted keeping in mind disas-ters such as tsunamis, cyclones, earthquakes, indus-trial or fire accidents and so on, vis-a-vis specifiedareas. It did not visualise a situation wherein a dis-aster may be caused because of cross-border viralcontaminations spreading throughout the country.The use of the words “any area” in the definition of“disaster” is very confined. It relates to only a par-ticular area within the country wherein such a nat-

ural disaster occurs. On the whole, thematter of public health has been unableto find any space in the legislation.

The Act also provides for establish-ment of a number of statutory bodies suchas the National Disaster ManagementAuthority (NDMA), the State DisasterManagement Authorities (SDMAs), advi-sory committees, executive committeesand sub-committees under theGovernment. The establishment of somany committees and authorities does notseem to have a strong logical foundation.There are such overlapping duties foundamong various authorities in the Act thatthey are bound to confuse people. Further,the coordination among these bodiesappears to be very cumbersome.

Though Section 3 of the Act contem-plates establishment of the NDMA withthe Prime Minister as its Chairperson andother members, not exceeding nine,being nominated by him/her, no qualifi-cation has been specified for the members.This should have been done because it isan authority at the national level, dealingwith an issue of national importance. Inthe context of the political scenario of ourcountry, the appointments to the nation-al authority can be strongly influenced bypolitical motives, which defeats the wholepurpose.

Section 6 of the Act contemplates thepowers of the national authority and it isempowered to formulate policies, plansand guidelines in relation to disaster man-agement. However, these would be in con-sonance with the definition of “disaster”contained in Section 2(d) of the Act, whichis quite narrow.

Obviously the entire Act would beimplemented in the backdrop of the def-inition of “disaster” contained in Section2(d). Therefore, all the plans would beshort-sighted, confined only to disasters

of a particular nature which relate to par-ticular areas.

Our lack of preparedness to meet apandemic like the Coronavirus requiresan amendment to the definition of “dis-aster” as contained in the Act, so as toenable the Government to formulateplans and policies in consonance with it.

At present, we are witnessing an exo-dus of migratory workers from the cities,deprivation of livelihood of daily-wageearners, break in supply chains, hardshipin distribution of essential commodity tothose who live Below the Poverty Line(BPL), hospital management/facilitiesand so on.

We have to devise plans in such amanner that they minimise the adverseeffects of a disaster as enormous as theCoronavirus outbreak.

Anticipating a disaster is one aspectand post-disaster management is anoth-er. In order to anticipate a disaster and toformulate a policy, the definition alsoshould include such disasters which mayaffect the whole country and not just beconfined to the extent of those disasterswhich are limited to a specific area. If suchan amendment is brought in, a suitableplan would be formulated by the compe-tent authorities under the Act.

Section 42 of the Act empowered theCentral Government to constitute aNational Institute of Disaster Management(NIDM), the main function of which is todevelop, undertake research and docu-mentation in relation to disaster manage-ment.

The NIDM also conducts pro-grammes and formulates comprehensivehuman resource development plans cov-ering all aspects of disaster management.But as stated earlier, the entire actionwould be directed against only thoseaspects which can be termed as a “disas-

ter” in accordance with Section 2(d) of theAct.

Section 35 contemplates measures tobe taken by the Government in relationto disaster management. The CentralGovernment shall coordinate with all theMinistries, State Governments, the nation-al and State authorities. Though Section35 empowers the Central Government totake measures, in the light of the narrowdefinition of disaster, it would be very dif-ficult to visualise a situation that has arisenright now.

No disaster can be ever dealt witheffectively only through administrative set-up, alienating the community as a whole.But unfortunately, the Act entirely ignoresthis very important aspect. The Act isimplemented entirely through theGovernment system.

Now the Government has to bring ina suitable amendment to the 2005 Act toeffectively deal with such situations as pre-sented by the Coronavirus pandemic.More particularly the definition of “dis-aster” under Section 2(d) has to beamended so as to bring into its fold calami-ties/disasters like the one which thecountry is facing now in order for theGovernment to be able to effectively han-dle the present calamity.

Unfortunately, the DisasterManagement (Amendment) Bill, 2016moved by Mullappally Ramachandran forthe amendment to the DisasterManagement Act, 2005 also does not con-template any amendment to the definitionof “disaster.” It only proposes an amend-ment to Section 11 and Section 35 whichrelate to preparation of plans and stipu-lating guidelines. But the same would befutile unless the definition is amended.

(The writer is an Advocate at theTelangana and Andhra Pradesh HighCourts)

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On March 28, the FederalMinister for Science andTechnology Fawad Chaudhry

posted a tweet in which he asked whyPakistani universities were silent whenelsewhere in the world they were pro-ducing research to help governmentsaddress the impact of the COVID-19pandemic. A valid query. Even thoughmost of the replies that this tweetreceived were from the usual trolls who,even in times like these are falling overeach other to shout out inarticulaterants, his question received some sanereplies too.

For example, a few respondentsimmediately asked how the Minister

could criticise his country’s universitiesin this context when the Governmentthat he is part of forked out millions ofrupees to an already wealthy madrasain Khyber Pakhtunkhwa? Then therewere those who asked how much hisGovernment invests in the researchcapabilities of the country’s universities.

These, too, are valid queries. Butthe problem is much deeper. Whiledoing research for my fifth book in2019, I came across a news item pub-lished in the June 1967 issue of the nowdefunct Pakistani English daily MorningNews. The report was about a group ofcollege students from Lahore, who hadbuilt a small car from scrap metalpieces. They had also built the engineof the car from scratch. In the very nextedition of the same newspaper was aninterview of another group of students,this time belonging to Karachi’s NEDUniversity of Engineering andTechnology. They said they were excit-ed about the manner in which the stu-dents from Lahore had built the carbecause they, too, were in the processof building something similar. It was-

n’t a car but an unmanned rocket, whichthey planned to pitch to Pakistan’s“space programme.”

According to an essay in theFebruary 2019 issue of the Swiss aca-demic journal Environmental Science &Policy, Pakistan was one of the first 10countries in the world to formulate aspace programme. The programme waslaunched by the Ayub Khan regime in1961. It was headed by the theoreticalphysicist Abdus Salam. The pro-gramme, however, ran into trouble dueto economic and political instabilityfrom 1970 onwards.

Till the mid-1970s, theGovernment and students of science inPakistan were genuinely driven by theurge to remove the country’s “ThirdWorld” tag with the aid of science. Atleast this is what one of the NED stu-dents interviewed by Morning Newstold the paper. In 1977 when I was just10 years old, I remember a much oldercousin of mine, who was studying biol-ogy at Karachi University. He told myparents that he and his team were work-ing closely (through written correspon-

dence) with the American epidemiol-ogist Donald Henderson, to developvaccines against viruses that werelargely found in humid regions such asPakistan. Henderson, as we laterlearned, was the man who had initiat-ed a robust plan in 1968 to eradicate thedeadly smallpox virus that had haunt-ed the human race for centuries.

Even though an anti-smallpoxvaccine had been developed in the UKin the 18th century, its more effectivevariations were still unavailable tomost people. Due to Henderson’sefforts, backed by the World HealthOrganisation (WHO), by 1974, over 90per cent of the world’s population hadbeen vaccinated. In 1975, WHOdeclared that the virus had been com-pletely eradicated. I was also pleasant-ly surprised to note that newspapersand children’s magazines, both Englishand Urdu, used to have pages dedicat-ed to science. Some of these pages were,in fact, edited by scientists. PTV usedto telecast a weekly show on the scienceshosted by the late educationist LaiqAhmad. The show lasted from 1965 till

1977. Fast forward to today: On March27 this year, while Twitter trends inmost European countries were aboutpossible vaccines against the elusiveCoronavirus, the leading Twitter trendin Pakistan was #Dajjal. So what hap-pened?

Even in the most scientifically-advanced societies, there are groups ofpeople who consider science to be aconspiracy against their theologicalbeliefs. But they hardly ever manage toenter and disrupt the focus of the sci-entific order in developed countries. Butthey did in Pakistan. The country’s oncepromising scientific order was invad-ed and then littered with pseudoscien-tific hogwash.

The outspoken Pakistani physicistProfessor Pervez Hoodbhoy’s 1991book Religious Orthodoxy and theBattle for Rationality demonstrateshow this happened. He writes that theGovernment of Pakistan, during thereactionary General Zia dictatorship inthe 1980s, pumped in millions ofrupees to organise “Islamic science con-ferences” in which not-very-credible

“scientists” from various Muslim coun-tries spent days showcasing how ener-gy could be derived from djinns andhow one could “measure the velocity ofheaven.” But Pakistan wasn’t the onlycountry that let go of the universalistidea of science to create a nonsensicalversion of an “indigenous science.” TheBritish-Pakistani author ZiauddinSardar writes in his 2005 bookDesperately Seeking Paradise that, till thelate 1970s, Muslim societies wereinspired by scientific breakthroughs inthe West and also by seminal works inastronomy, chemistry, biology andphysics of ancient Muslim scientists.

But from 1976, according to Sardar,the Saudi monarchy began to investmillions of petro-dollars in a differentkind of so-called “Islamic science”that had nothing to do with the influ-ential works of past Muslims.

The “Islamic science” that thesepetro-dollars pushed did not require ascientist to work hard in a lab to inventor discover things. Instead scientistswere to spend all their time in “prov-ing” that Muslims already knew every-

thing because everything scientistscreate or discover was already men-tioned in the Muslim sacred texts. Butthe fact is, this too was not an originalidea. Hindu nationalists writers werefirst to claim that their sacred texts con-tained “scientific truths.” Mohan Roy’sVedic Physics: Scientific Origin ofHinduism is one example. This emergedlong before some Muslims got into thesame meaningless act.

My cousin gave up his research inthe early 1980s due to a lack of supportfrom the Government and the univer-sity. In 1980, he was once asked by agroup of younger students to “not wastetime trying to discover somethingwhich was already mentioned in theholy book.”

He responded by saying that in thebook, the Almighty encourages peopleto discover the mysteries of His creationand that these could only be discoveredthrough scientific research.

The reaction to his response could-n’t have been good, because the verynext year he migrated to Denmark.

(Courtesy: Dawn)

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The worldwide number offatalities from the novel

coronavirus pandemic rose to1,01,483 on Friday.

More than 1,675,005declared cases have been reg-istered in 210 countries and ter-ritories. Of these cases, at least3,71,866 are now consideredrecovered.

USA: The coronavirus pan-demic has claimed over 18,009lives and infected over 4,60,000people in the US, devastatingthe country’s economy andrendering a record 16 millionworkers jobless in just threeweeks. Of this, the New Yorkmetropolitan area, comprisingthe adjoining New Jersey andConnecticut, alone account formore than 9,000 and 2,20,000cases respectively.

Globally, over 1.5 millionpeople have been infected sofar by the coronavirus and thefatalities stands at nearly95,000. The United Statesaccounts for nearly 30 per centof the all the COVID-19 posi-tive cases and over 17 per centof all fatalities.

In New York City, which isconsidered the financial capi-tal of the world and has one ofthe best health facilities, morethan 800 deaths were reportedin one day alone, taking thefatalities to a record 7,067.

UK: The British Governmentsaid the UK has recorded 980new deaths of people with thecoronavirus, an increase from881 deaths reported in theprevious 24 hours and thehighest daily total to date.Health Secretary Matt Hancocksays that as of Friday, 8,958patients have died in hospitalafter testing positive for thecoronavirus in the UK. Britain’sdeath toll has passed the dailypeaks recorded in Italy andSpain, the two European coun-tries with the highest numberof Covid-19 deaths.

British Prime MinisterBoris Johnson, 55, spent threenights in the intensive care unitat St. Thomas’ Hospital inLondon after his COVID-19symptoms worsened. He wasmoved back to a regular wardon Thursday evening, and hisoffice said he was in “the earlyphase of his recovery.”

ITALY: Pressure on Italy’s hos-pitals fighting the coronaviruspandemic continued to easeFriday with 108 fewer intensivecare cases and 157 fewer hos-pital admissions in the last 24hours. But the number ofdeaths and new cases contin-ued to grow even at a restrainedpace: 570 people died in theperiod, up 3% to 18,849, whilethe number of cases grew by3,951 to 147,577.

SPAIN: Spain has recorded itslowest daily death toll from thenew coronavirus in 17 days,with 605 people dying, theGovernment said on Friday.

The update raised the over-all number of fatalities to 15,843in Spain, which has suffered oneof the worst outbreaks ofCovid-19 in the world, andwhere the total number of con-firmed cases now stands at1,57,022. The figures showedthe death rate slowing to fourpercent, down from just underfour percent on Thursday inline with a trend which beganon March 25 when it stood atover 27 per cent.

IRELAND: The IrishGovernment has extended thelockdown in the country bythree weeks until May 5 as ittries to keep a lid on the coro-navirus pandemic. The current

lockdown was due to expire onSunday, but the country’s pre-mier, Leo Varadkar, said thegovernment was accepting therecommendations of expertsthat it was necessary to “per-severe” with the lockdown. Hesaid the Government is “plan-ning carefully” about how tobring about an end to thecountry’s lockdown so life canreturn to normal. The truth, hesaid, is that “nobody knows forcertain” when life will be nor-mal again “or how our lives willbe different when it comes.”

GREECE: Greece has extend-ed its lockdown on allpreschools, schools and uni-versities until May 10 at least.The measure was first imposedMarch 10. Also Friday, Greekauthorities said a total 21 peo-ple have tested positive forCOVID-19 in a majority-Romaneighborhood of the centralcity of Larissa. The neighbor-hood of some 3,500 people wasquarantined Thursday, with aban on anyone entering orleaving it.

Authorities are also carry-ing out tests in Roma settle-ments in neighboring regions,and have closed down all streetmarkets in the broader area fortwo weeks as many of theinfected people were marketvendors.

ISRAEL: Israel’s figureheadpresident has apologised forhosting his daughter forPassover dinner, despiteGovernment instructions forpeople to spend the holiday athome due to coronavirus restric-tions. Early Friday, PresidentReuven Rivlin’s office confirmedhis daughter spent the tradi-tional Passover dinner, or Seder,with him on Wednesday nightand planned to remain with himfor the week-long holiday. It saidhis daughter had tested negativefor the coronavirus before join-ing him.

But after an uproar on socialmedia, Rivlin said he had readthe “tough comments” directedat him, understood the criticismand apologised. He said thatsince his wife died last year, hehas relied on family members toassist him with “personal needs,”as well as professional dutieswhen his office is unstaffed onholidays and weekends.

TURKEY: More than 1,000people have died from thenovel coronavirus in Turkey,according to the health minis-ter on Friday, as 4,747 newcases were recorded. FahrettinKoca shared the latest figuresin an image on Twitter, show-ing 98 more people had died inthe last 24 hours, pushing thetotal death toll to 1,006.

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New York is buryingunclaimed bodies at a

rapid pace to clear space in thecity’s morgues, where mortalremains of coronavirus patientsare piling up, according to amedia report.

A report in The New YorkTimes said every Thursday wasburial day on Hart Island, thefinal resting place off the Bronxfor New York City’s unclaimeddead. “But as with many things,coronavirus has changed allthat,” it said.

Burials are now being done

five days a week at Hart Island,with roughly 25 bodies loweredinto trenches each day, accord-ing to a city official.

“That is as many burials aswould typically be done in a

week before the virus hit,” thereport said.

Drone footage and imagesof burial crews in freshly dugmuddy trenches burying bodyafter body in bare woodenboxes are circulating in socialmedia. New York is the epi-centre of the COVID-19 pan-demic in the US and is seeingrecord number of deaths due tothe virus.

The state recorded thehighest single day death toll forthe third consecutive day onThursday as 799 people dieddue to the deadly viral infec-tion. So far more than 7,000

people have died in the statefrom Covid-19, several timesmore than the total number ofpeople killed in the devastating9/11 terror attacks.

The NYT report quoted acity official as saying that theonly people being buried at theisland for now are those forwhom the city has been unableto contact next of kin for sometime. “We understand extenu-ating circumstances,” the offi-cial said, noting that bodies thathave not been claimed becausetheir families are under quar-antine or on lockdown or forsome other reason will not be

buried on Hart Island.The report said the city’s

morgues used to have adequatespace to hold unclaimed bod-ies for 30 to 60 days before theywere buried on Hart island. Butnow, with the pace of the coro-navirus death toll increasing,the city is moving to burymore of those people to clearspace in the morgues.

“Because we didn’t havepressure on the system, we did-n’t have to move them quick-ly,” the official said, adding, “Weare now burying people whohave been sitting with us forquite some time.”

The official said it is pos-sible that the burial of theunclaimed bodies of Covid-19victims has already begun,because people have beendying of the virus for weeks.

“We know that if it didn’thappen yesterday, it’s only amatter of days until people areburied because of the timethat has passed,” the official saidon Friday morning, referring tovictims of the disease.

Contract workers are nowdoing the burials, rather than the Rikers Island inmateswho normally do them, theofficial said.

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Criminal organisations inItaly are distributing food

and ordering interest-free lend-ing to the needy to try toextend their influence, Italiananti-mafia author RobertoSaviano has warned.

Italy’s mafia groups arealso poised to snatch up strug-gling businesses as the country— which is in crisis over thedeadly coronavirus pandemic— awaits European funding to boost its battered economy,he said.

“If Europe doesn’t inter-vene soon the multiplication ofmafioso money that’s already inGermany, France, Spain,Holland, Belgium will be unre-strained,” Saviano told jour-nalists on Thursday. Saviano,best known for his non-fictionbook “Gomorrah” about south-ern Italy’s Camorra clan, is anexpert on mafia groups andhow they have successfullyexpanded beyond drugs andother illegal activity to wormtheir way into otherwise legit-imate businesses and sectorsacross the world.

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The UK on Friday expressedits gratitude to the Indian

Government as a first batch of3 million paracetamol packetsis all set to arrive in Britainwithin 48 hours after NewDelhi lifted its export ban amidthe coronavirus pandemic.

Lord Tariq Ahmad, theMinister of State for SouthAsia and the Commonwealthin the Foreign andCommonwealth Office (FCO),said the shipment is symbolicof the cooperative way bothcountries have been workingthrough this unprecedentedglobal crisis.

“The UK and India con-tinue to work in close partner-ship to respond to the Covid-19 threat. My sincere thanks on behalf of the UKGovernment to India forapproving this important ship-ment,” Ahmad said.

The shipment, set to arriveon a plane by Sunday, will coin-cide with a series of charterflights laid on by the UK gov-

ernment to ferry thousands ofBritish residents stranded inIndia’s coronavirus lockdown.

“We have been workingvery closely with the Indianauthorities, here at the IndianHigh Commission in London, the Ministry ofExternal Affairs (MEA), and atstate level in India to put inplace all the necessary require-ments for British nationalswanting to return to the UK,”Ahmad said.

“The sheer logistics of thisexercise involves every indi-vidual who has registered on toour central database being sentdetailed information aboutbooking their seat on the flightsas well as local support forthem to be able to get to the air-ports in the particular states,given the lockdown and cur-fews in place,” he said.

The travellers are set to beflown out from Goa, Mumbai,Delhi, Amritsar, Ahmedabad,Thiruvananthapuram viaKochi, Hyderabad, Kolkata andChennai via Bengaluru over thecoming week.

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President Xi Jinping onFriday called for tighter

supervision of safety measuresat workplaces as China gears upto resume work and productionin a big way after over twomonths of battle against thecoronavirus pandemic.

Xi asked officials tostrengthen monitoring and lawenforcement of productionsafety even as coronavirus casesbegan to rise again in Chinafollowing the return of Chinesenationals from abroad in bignumbers. “Authorities should

firmly hold the bottom line ofworkplace safety,” Xi was quot-ed as saying by the state-runXinhua news agency on Friday.

Noting that the countryhad made progress in work-place safety last year with thenumber of accidents declining,Xi said there remained manyrisks and much work is yet tobe done.

Workplace safety must notbe regarded as a trivial matteror treated with formalism orbureaucracy, Xi said.

In view of the main fea-tures and outstanding problemsin workplace safety, Xi said

efforts should be made toimprove the responsibility sys-tem, ensure strict rectificationof problems found, andstrengthen risk prevention andcontrol so that hidden dangerscould be fundamentally elim-inated and major accidentseffectively curbed.

Premier Li Keqiang, whoheaded the leading officialsgroup to control COVID-19also said officials must not letup on workplace safety at atime when the country is in acritical period of coordinatingepidemic control and workresumption.

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Moscow’s hospitals andambulance service are

working at peak capacity aftera sharp rise in those hospi-talised with serious coron-avirus complications, a seniorcity official said on Friday.

The densely populated cap-ital with more than 12 millionresidents has the largest out-break in Russia, with 7,822 con-firmed coronavirus cases out of a national total of almost12,000.

The number in Moscow’shospitals has doubled sincelast week and more than 85 percent of these patients havepneumonia, deputy mayorAnastasia Rakova was quoted

as saying on the city virus taskforce’s Telegram account.

Moscow is not sendingpeople with mild symptoms tohospitals. Those who test pos-itive are monitored throughonline video consultations.

“Along with the growingnumbers of people who areseriously ill, pressure has grownsharply on the capital’s healthservice. Our inpatient facilitiesand ambulance service are nowworking at their limits,” Rakovasaid. Moscow has been undera lockdown since March 30with residents only allowed toleave their homes for essentialwork, to buy food and medi-cine or to walk dogs within aradius of 100 metres. Drivingprivate cars is permitted, how-

ever.Meanwhile, Mayor Sergei

Sobyanin warned that the epi-demic was not even close to itspeak. “I can tell you for sure:there hasn’t been any peak yet.We are more in the foothills ofthis peak, not even in the mid-dle,” Sobyanin, who is also thehead of a taskforce coordinat-ing regional responses, toldthe RIA Novosti news agency.

He said Russia had gainedtime with its anti-virus mea-sures and was two to fourweeks behind on the curvecompared with countries suf-fering major epidemics.

“We have that time lag sowe can prepare better for theblow that is coming our way,”the mayor said.

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Pakistan on Friday furtherextended ban on domestic

and international flight opera-tions up to April 21 as thecountry stepped up efforts tocontain the spread of the novelcoronavirus, which has infect-ed 4,695 people in the country,authorities said.

According to the Ministryof National Health Service, sofar 54,706 tests have been con-ducted, including 2,478 in thelast 24 hours. While 727 people have recovered so far, 66 died and 45 are in crit-ical condition.

Punjab registered the high-est number of 2,287 infec-tions, followed by Sindh at1,214, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa(KP) 620, Balochistan 219,Gilgit-Baltistan 215, Islamabad107 and Pakistan-occupiedKashmir (PoK) 33.

Earlier in the day, PrimeMinister Imran Khan visitedPeshawar to see the efforts ofthe Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa gov-ernment to contain the spreadof the disease.

He visited HayatabadMedical Complex in Peshawarand was briefed about the sit-uation in the province.

Khan expressed satisfac-tion over the steps being takenby the provincial Government.

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Amid the nationwide coro-navirus lockdown, pre-

monsoon sowing of kharifcrops has begun across thecountry with paddy acreage 27per cent higher at 32.58 lakhhectare so far as compared tolast season.

As per the latest data by theMinistry of Agriculture, farm-ers have sown paddy in 32.58lakh hectare as on Friday, up 27per cent, from 23.81 lakhhectare in the correspondingperiod of last year. Total areaplanted under all kharif cropshas increased to 48.76 lakh

hectare so far this season asagainst 37.12 lakh hectare insame period last year.

The Ministry of Agriculturehas asked NAFED to export50,000 metric tonnes (MT)wheat to Afghanistan and40,000 MT wheat to Lebanonontheir specific demand underG2G arrangement.

The sowing area has beenreported mainly from West

Bengal (11.25 lakh hectare),Telangana (7.45 lakh hectare),Odisha (3.13 lakh hectare),Assam (2.73 lakh hectare),Karnataka (1.64 lakh hectare)and Chhattisgarh (1.50 lakhhectare). The sowing will pickup with the onset of south-westmonsoon (June-September),which delivers about 70 per centof the country’s annual rainfall.Paddy is the main kharif cropbesides pulses and oilseeds.Kharif season starts from Juneand ends in September.

Some other States are alsoon the list including TamilNadu (1.30 lakh hectare), Bihar(1.22 lakh hectare),

Maharashtra (0.65 lakhhectare), Madhya Pradesh (0.59lakh hectare), Gujarat (0.54lakhhectare) and Kerala (0.46 lakhhectare), the ministry said.

Area sown to pulses hasincreased to 3.97 lakh hectarefrom 3.01 lakh hectare in thesaid period. Of which, green-gram has been planted in 2.59lakh hectare and black gram in1.23 lakh hectare and otherpulses in 0.15 lakh hectare so far.Similarly, area under coarsecereals has increased to 5.54 lakhhectare so far in the currentkharif season of this year from4.33 lakh hectare a year-ago. Ofwhich, maize has been planted

in 2.81 lakh hectare and bajra in2.51 lakh hectare in the saidperiod. In case of oilseeds too,the sowing area has increased to6.66 lakh hectare from 5.97lakh hectare in the said period.Of which, groundnut has beensown in 4.08 lakh hectare, whilethat of sesamum in 2.13 lakhhectare in the said period.

The ministry has circulat-ed the SOP (StandardOperating Procedure) related tocrop harvesting and threshingduring Kharif 2020 to the Statesto protect health of farmers andfarm workers and to contain thespread of Coronavirus out-break. According to the min-

istry, during Rabi season 202,0NAFED has procured 1,07,814MT Pulses (Gram: 1,06,170MT) and Oilseeds on MSPtotaling of Rs. 526.84 crore. Thishas benefitted 75,984 farmers.India had a good crop of wheat,in surplus of its own demand.

The wheat producingStates have reported 26-33%harvesting against the totalsown area.To contain thespread of COVID-19, theGovernment has advised farm-ers to maintain social distanc-ing during sowing of kharifcrops besides wearing facemasks and using hand sanitiz-er to avoid any infection.

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The OPEC oil cartel andnations, including Russia,

have agreed to boost oil pricesby cutting as much as 10 mil-lion barrels a day in produc-tion. Even more countries,including the US, were dis-cussing Friday their own cutsin what would be an unprece-dented global pact to stabilisethe market.

The agreement betweenOPEC and partner countriesaims to cut 10 million barrelsper day until July, then an 8million barrels per day cutthrough the end of the year,and 6 million a day for 16months beginning in 2021.

Mexico had initiallyblocked the deal but its presi-dent, Andres Manuel LopezObrador, said on Friday he hadagreed with US PresidentDonald Trump that the US willcompensate what Mexico can-

not add to the proposed cuts.That paves the way for

cuts that experts estimate couldreach 15 million barrels a dayin all — about 15% of worldproduction. Such a movewould be unprecedented bothin its size and the number ofparticipating countries, manyof whom have long been bitterrivals in the energy industry.

The price of crude is downby over 50 per cent since thestart of the year and while thathelps consumers and energy-hungry businesses, it is belowthe cost of production formany countries and companies.

That has strained the bud-gets of oil-producing nations,many of which are developingeconomies, and it has pushedprivate companies in the UStoward bankruptcy.

Analysts warn even theseproposed cuts may not beenough to offset the loss indemand over the longer term,

as the coronavirus pandemichas decimated demand forenergy around the world.

“COVID-19 is an unseenbeast that seems to be impact-ing everything in its path,”OPEC Secretary-GeneralMohammed Barkindo said atthe start of the meeting, accord-ing to a statement.

“There is a grizzly shadowhanging over all of us. We donot want this shadow to enve-lope us. It will have a crushingand long-term impact on theentire industry.”

Mexico had balked at cut-ting its output by the request-ed 4,00,000 barrels a day.

Obrador saidMexico will insteadcut its oil produc-tion by 1,00,000barrels per dayfrom its currentlevel of 1.7 millionbarrels a day. The USwill add a cut of

2,50,000 barrels per day towhat it has already agreed.

More nations were expect-ed to add to the effort, withSaudi Arabia chairing a Groupof 20 virtual meeting of ener-gy Ministers on Friday to dis-cuss the oversupply in themarket.

The meeting is expected tobring onboard a wider numberof countries, including the US.Saudi media quoted EnergyMinister Prince Abdulaziz binSalman as saying in his open-

ing remarks that the pandem-ic means it is more vital thanever that reliable and affordableenergy supplies are available.

The oil market was alreadyoversupplied when Russia andOPEC failed to agree on outputcuts in early March. Analystssay Russia refused to backeven a moderate cut because itwould have only served tohelp US energy companies thatwere pumping at full capacity.Stalling would hurt Americanshale-oil producers and protect

market share.Russia’s move

enraged Saudi, whichnot only said it wouldnot cut production onits own but said it wouldincrease output insteadand reduce its sellingprices in what becameeffectively a global pricingwar.

In the time since,prices have collapsed as the

coronavirus and the COVID-19 illness it causes have large-ly halted global travel.International benchmark Brentcrude traded Friday over $31 abarrel while the US benchmarkWest Texas crude traded under$23.

In Russia relies on oil as themain source of income and theprice collapse caused the rubleto crash. That boosted the costof imports and sped up infla-tion. In his opening remarks atthe start of Thursday’s call,Russian Energy MinisterAlexander Novak emphasizedthe need for “all oil-producingcountries to pool efforts tochange the situation of a sig-nificant global oversupply”. Hesaid global demand had fallenby 10-15 millions barrels a day.

“We believe it necessary toincrease the number of coun-tries that could join efforts tohelp stabilise the situation,” hesaid, welcoming Norway,

Canada, Indonesia and othersthat hadn’t been part of the so-called OPEC+ talks.

Analysts, however, warn theproposed 10 million barrel perday cut for May and June willnot be enough to offset plum-meting demand for oil globally,and runs the risk of coming toolate as storage capacity for oilnears its maximum.

Even if North Americanproducers took 5 million bar-rels a day off the market, therecould still be an excess supplyof 5-10 million barrels per day.

Research firm RystadEnergy estimates the imbalancefor April is 27.4 million barrelsper day. The firm says globalstorage of crude is already

close to being filled to the brim,estimating that on average 79per cent of the world’s oil stor-age capacity is already full.

Around 7.4 billion barrelsof crude and products are instorage, including 1.3 billioncurrently on board tankers atsea. Chris Midgley, global headof analytics for S&P GlobalPlatts, said the proposed cutsare unlikely to have any sig-nificant impact on April supply,and thus run the risk of gettingclose to exhausting all availablestorage in May.

However, a cut of 10-15million barrels per day isenough to prop up oil prices andhelps to reduce strain on crudestorage facilities, analysts said.

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New Delhi: IndiGo CEORonojoy Dutta on Friday saidthe company will carry outdeep cleaning of aircraft morefrequently, stop in-flight mealservice for a brief period andfill maximum 50 per centcapacity in airport buses as pre-cautionary measures once thecoronavirus lockdown is overand commercial passengerflights are permitted again.

In an email to employees,Dutta said in current situation,singular focus is on maintainingcash flow and not on growthand profitability. “We are exam-ining all our fixed costs andlooking for ways to minimisethem,” he said.” IndiGo’s planpost lockdown will be to first

start the flight services slowlyand gradually ramp up thecapacity, he said in the email,which has been accessed by PTI.

“We have always been verysafety conscious and now wemust be health conscious aswell. With this in mind, we arelooking at changing many ofour operating procedures. Thenew set of procedures have notbeen finalised yet. “But we willdeep clean our aircraft morefrequently, we will be discon-tinuing meal service for a briefperiod and we will run ourcoaches at a maximum load of50 per cent capacity. We will becoming out with the new set ofoperating procedures verysoon,” Dutta said. PTI

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Amid high volatility ininternational markets,

India, world’s third largest oilconsumer, on Friday pitchedfor a stable oil market that pro-vides reasonable price for pro-ducers and affordable rate forconsumers.

Speaking at the extraordi-nary meeting of energy min-isters of G20 nations, OilMinister DharmendraPradhan asserted that Indiawill remain the engine ofworld energy demand growth.

“In terms of the ongoingenergy market fluctuations,Minister stated that India hasalways advocated for a stableoil market, which is reasonable

for producers and affordablefor consumers,” an officialstatement said.

The G20 EnergyMinisters’ focused on waysand means to ensure stableenergy markets, which areaffected due to demand reduc-tion as result of the Covid-19pandemic and the ongoingsurplus production relatedmatters. Participating in themeeting through video link,Pradhan highlighted the deci-sion to provide 80.3 millionpoor families free LPG cylin-ders, as part of a USD 23 bil-lion relief package to dealwith the fallout of Covid-19.

He emphasised that Indiawas and will continue to be theglobal energy demand centre.

The Minister also under-scored Government’s efforts tofill in strategic reserves usinglow oil price regime.Appreciating the collectiveefforts of OPEC and OPEC-plus countries to balance thesupply-side factors which isimperative for long-term sus-tainability, he however urgedthat oil prices should be tar-geted to affordable levels toallow for a consumption-leddemand recovery.

The G20 Energy Ministers’meeting will be adopting ajoint statement, which interalia, proposes to establish a taskforce to advise the G20 EnergyMinisters on the next steps, andagreed to remain engaged inthe coming days. The G20group of leading worldeconomies had called an extra-ordinary energy ministers’meeting to discuss OPEC-ledplans for a global crude oil pro-duction cut accord aimed atshoring up prices that have inthe last one month halved.

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Petrol pump operators onFriday said per pump sales

have fallen to less than one-tenth, leading to heavy losses inestablishment and employeecost due to the Coronaviruspandemic. The All IndiaPetroleum Dealers Association(AIPDA), which claims to rep-resent the bulk of about 64,000petrol pump operators in thecountry, sought a financial reliefpackage from the oil companiesto help business run.

In a letter to the marketingheads of three state-owned oilfirms, AIPDA president AjayBansal said in line with nation-al duty, petrol pump operatorshave been running outlets rightthrough the nationwide lock-down imposed to check the

spread of coronavirus.But sales have slumped as

most vehicles have gone off theroad. Per retail outlet sales havefallen from a national average of170 kilolitres per month toabout 15 kl now, he said.

“Our trade is totally depen-dent on sales as we get marginon per litre basis. This meansthat less you sell the more youlose,” he wrote adding the deal-er margin came to Rs 27,500per month at 170 kl per monthsale basis. Despite operatingwith fewer staff, petrol pumpshave to fixed charges to pay -electric metre charges, staffsalary, bank charges, stampingcharges, etc which do notreduce in the same proportionas sales reduction, renderingheavy losses to the dealers, hesaid.

“The dealers have paidMarch 2020 salary to the staffas per the Government adviceand wish to continue doing thesame but for how long? Wewould be suffering heavy loss-es till sales return to normal,”he said seeking a financialrelief package for petrol pumpoperators. He wanted losses tobe compensated by increasingdealers commission immedi-

ately. Also, oil companiesshould provide subsidy on elec-tricity and staff salaries.

Petrol and diesel sales haveslumped over 66 per cent inApril as the nationwide lock-down halted economic activi-ty and travel. In March, thatsaw travel restrictions beingplaced in the second half of themonth, diesel sales contractedby 24.23 per cent to 5.65 mil-lion tonnes. This is the biggestfall in diesel consumption thecountry has recorded as mosttrucks went off road and rail-ways stopped plying trains.

Petrol sales dropped 16.37per cent to 2.15 million tonnesin March as the 21-day nation-wide lockdown enforced toprevent the spread of COVID-19 took most cars and two-wheelers off the road.

New Delhi: The Delhi Policehas been distributing relieffood materials to needy per-sons in various areas in Delhiin association with#50MealPackChallenge, ayouth-driven campaign aimedat providing support to theunderprivileged, poor, migrantworkers and daily wagers in theform of food grains and dryration. Distribution drives arebeing carried out since April 1,2020, while adhering to socialdistancing norms and precau-tionary measures.

Over 15,000 kgs of relieffood material has been receivedfrom the #50MealPackChallenge

campaign and further materialis being received through theNational AgriculturalCooperative MarketingFederation of India Ltd. The dryration was picked up at sourceand distributed by dedicatedteams of Delhi Armed Policeofficers under the supervision ofsenior officers of Delhi ArmedPolice, Delhi. The breakup of thestuff distributed is as under:

* Atta 5400 KG* Rice 5700 KG* Pulses(Daal) 2120 KG* Edible Oil 1040 Ltr* Salt 1040 KG* Spices 240 Pkt* Dettol Soap 40 Pcs

New Delhi: Housing & Urban DevelopmentCorporation Ltd. has con-tributed Rs 50 crore from CSRfunds and Rs 0.28 crore fromvoluntary contribution of oneday salary by employees to PM-CARES fund, for promotinghealthcare and relief activities in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic.

HUDCO has pledged tosupport Government’s effortsin dealing with the challengesemerging from this unprece-dented situation.

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German Chancellor AngelaMerkel on Friday called a

coronavirus economic rescuedeal agreed by the EU “animportant milestone” and saidit should be implemented assoon as possible.

EU finance ministers onThursday agreed a 500-bil-lion-euro rescue deal forEuropean countries hit hard bythe epidemic.

The accord “marks animportant milestone towards ajoint reaction and Europeansolidarity in the CoronaPandemic”, Merkel was quotedas saying in a tweet by herspokesman Steffen Seibert.

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Christians around the worldobserved a Good Friday

like no other, at home watch-ing livestreams instead of atchurch, as pressure mountedon Governments to restartsome industries and fend offfurther economic devastationfrom the coronavirus.

Politicians and publichealth officials warned thepublic against letting the viruscome roaring back by relaxingsocial distancing over theEaster holiday weekend, andthey urged Christians to cele-brate the holiday safely athome. Authorities resorted tousing roadblocks and othermeans to discourage travel.

In Italy, officials used heli-copters, drones and stepped-uppolice checks to make sure peo-ple don’t slip out of their homesover the holiday. On Thursdayalone, police stopped some3,00,000 people around Italy toensure they had permission totravel. About 10,000 were givensummonses. Some churchesheld virtual services online,while others arranged prayersat drive-in theatres.

In locked-down Paris, fire-scarred Notre Dame Cathedralcame back to life briefly, daysbefore the first anniversary ofthe April 15 inferno that rav-aged it. Good Friday obser-vances led by the archbishopwere broadcast live from thenearly empty, closed-to-the-

public cathedral.In addition to the lives

lost, the pandemic hasslammed economies aroundthe world. The head of theInternational Monetary Fundwarned that the global econo-my is headed for the worstrecession since the Depression.

In Europe, the 19 countriesthat use the euro currencyovercame weeks of bitter divi-sions to agree on spending$550 billion to cushion therecession caused by the virus.

Mario Centeno, who headsthe eurozone finance ministers’group, called the package“totally unprecedented...Tonight Europe has shown itcan deliver when the will isthere”. As weeks of lockdowns

were extended in nation afternation, Governments werepressed to ease restrictions onkey businesses and industries.

After a two-week freeze onall nonessential economicactivity, Spain decided to allowfactories and construction sitesto resume work on Monday,while schools, most shops andoffices will remain closed.Spanish authorities said theytrust that the move won’t causea significant surge in infections.

“We wouldn’t be adoptingthem otherwise,” said MariaJose Sierra of Spain’s healthemergency centre. In Italy, theindustrial lobbies in regionsrepresenting 45 per cent of thecountry’s economic outputurged the Government to ease

its two-week lockdown on allnonessential manufacturing,

saying the country “risks defin-itively shutting down its own

motor, and every day that pass-es the risk grows not to be ableto restart it”.

Malaysia’s Prime Ministerannounced a two-week exten-sion to the country’s lockdown but said selected eco-nomic sectors can reopen inphases while following stricthygiene rules.

In the Kenyan capital ofNairobi, people desperate forfood stampeded, pushingthrough a gate at a districtoffice in the Kibera slum. Police fired tear gas, injuringseveral people.

In Japan, the world’s third-largest economy, many havecriticised Prime MinisterShinzo Abe as being too slowto act against the pandemic.

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Duesseldorf: Hundreds ofChristians in the German cityDuesseldorf found a creativeway to celebrate Good Fridaywhile respecting social dis-tancing rules imposed to slowthe coronavirus, comingtogether for a “drive-in” serviceon a massive car park. Mostworshippers followed the mass— conducted on a small stageby a skeleton crew of Catholicand evangelical clergy — frombehind the windscreen.

But a few keen heads couldbe seen poking out of open roofsinto the spring sunshine, whileother members of the congre-gation lowered the tops of theirconvertibles to perch on thebacks of the seats. From com-pact city runarounds to flashySUVs and even the odd scoot-er, the vehicles of the faithfullined up side-by-side in parkingspaces usually reserved forvisitors at the Duesseldorf con-vention grounds. AFP

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These days being on groundis a wonderful thing,

IndiGo. Flying would not bethe smart choice, what sayGoAir? These are words fromfull service carrier Vistara,which was soon joined byAirAsia India, SpiceJet andDelhi airport on Twitter.Amidst planes remaininggrounded and gloom in theaviation sector due to thecoronavirus pandemic, air-lines, led by IndiGo, on Fridaytook to the microblogging sitewith humorous exchanges.

It all started with the coun-try’s largest airline IndiGo

tweeting, “Hey @airvistara,not #flyinghigher these dayswe heard?”

Pat came the response fromVistara saying no and adding,“@IndiGo6E, these days beingon-ground is a wonderfulthing.” To its query “flyingwould not be the smart choice,what say @goairlinesindia?”,GoAir replied saying stayinghome is the safe feeling.

“We can hardly wait tilleveryone takes to the skies, cozat the moment it is not like#NowEveryoneCanFly right@AirAsiaIndian?,” the airlinesaid. Continuing the chain ofreactions, AirAsia India tweet-ed saying absolutely, staying at

home is the “Red Hot Spicything to do”.

Asking ‘isn’t that right?’,the budget carrier taggedSpiceJet, which said, “good toknow our thoughts match,like our colours!”. “Been awhile since this bird flew outof her cage. But we’re happycreating a safer tomorrow,today! Right @DelhiAirport?,”SpiceJet tweeted.

Tagging all the four air-lines, Delhi airport said the“Indian skies will be colouredwith you soon but for now,thanks for giving us a reasonto smile!” “Together in theskies, and together on groundtoo!,” the airport said.

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When a script writerfor documentar yfilms decides to step

into the world of art andpaintings, you can be surethere will be something tosavour. Well, Simran KSLamba, an artist who unveileda small suite of works atTriveni Art Gallery in March,is one such. His works havebeen made with mixed mediaand a rare one called tar.According to Simran, “‘Mixedmedia art’, as a term, has beenexhaustively used to describea variety of works in the cur-rent day and age with thealignment of any two separatemedia on the same base. Oftenit is due to the careful exam-ination of the oeuvre of mostsuch practitioners overdecades that throws light onthe complexities of theirvision and articulates theirexpression.”

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It is the expression ofthese latent complexities, themulti-faceted use of a singu-lar media plane to bind cogentconcepts and the creation ofan inherent intangible sense ofwonder that separates thehighly feted serious practi-tioners from the chaff.

Simran’s oeuvre, spanningover a decade and a half, withhis primary medium, tar, andits lucid execution in thisstudy of form and figures,brings to fore industrial ele-ments and waste material.These are being given a sec-ond lease of life to highlightveritable figurative forma-tions hiding behind denselayers of alternative mediasuch as encaustic wax and juteand are highlighted throughhis chosen mode of expression— tar — in paintings suchAutumn Evening.

In its full splendour radi-ance, this is a painting that isboth reflective as well as riv-etting for the resonance that ithas with the viewer. It speaksof seasons, time and the truththat it is the balance of natureand an inner harmony that weseek to strive that keeps us inthe scheme of things. The ele-ments of man and dog inminiature format create anincandescent echo of truth,beauty and love. To look atAutumn Evening is to know

that a tree is a sanctuary, anda harbinger of serenity andsolace as much as it is aboutshelter and service to theworld through all seasons andtimes.

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In this study of form andfragmentation through tar, inpaintings such as BurntInnards and Thread Bare,Simran highlights the depic-tion of form as fractured, andin isolation, with either a sin-gular figure or couples ema-nating from the canvasses infragments. Each fragment rep-resents the whole figure in

terms of placement and struc-ture, and yet is dissonant in itsbeing. Space is allocatedaround each single piece ofburnt digital print paper(encased in encaustic waxand tar) to remind the view-er of its inherent isolation.Eventually, all the pieces cometogether to create an exposi-tion of multi-layered forma-tions of isolated figures andcouples.

In his paintings such asThe Reach, Simran createsexaggerated visages of humanbeings with the simultaneousapplication of tar residue andheat with fluidic water impres-sions to form the subject’s pri-mary visages. With impres-sions of human palms andforearms being cast in tarand copper dust, a complexinterweaving of literal andthematic motifs has beendone. It signif ies themetaphorical ‘reach’ of theirinner souls as it wafts towardsthe top of the dry pastelsmeared canvas. It is beingdeliberately made to emanatefrom the subjects’ headsreaching skywards.

�������������������Coal tar over a canvas is

fascinating. It becomes thesource for the completion ofthe objective because Simrancouldn’t have envisioned whatthat would be like without theideation of colour tones thatcould be adjacent to black. Hecouldn’t have painted fromlooking at a reflective, shinyscreen. He needed to see thescale of his sensibilities. It wasas if he had to witness ablocking of already-paintedimagery alongside its coal tar— or altered deciphering.

Painting for Simran is arediscovering experience as itgoes beyond the mere act ofpainting. It’s a process thataccumulates and builds upinto a momentum that mustreach a crescendo of cohesivecadences. Painting thenbecomes for him more aboutusing such devices and detailsthat are incorporated into apersonal aesthetic environ-ment. He could not have envi-sioned paintings and envi-ronments without the materi-ality of his elements and thatis why in practice and in hisown sensitivity, he standsalone and apart.

�� What would you say aboutCaptain Marvel?

I like the fact that my characterwas a superhuman before she was asuperhero the most. She is known forher real skills, power and confidenceand is very capable as a human beingbefore she’s able to shoot stuff out ofher hands. I love how she’s flawed andyet what a great risk-taker she is. Iadore how the audience sees some-one in her who might not alwaysmake the right judgement call but yetemerge victorious too. Many a times,I think, action heroes and super-heroes are always made to appear likethe most perfect beings. And that theyalways make the right call but I thinkit’s also important for people towatch people make mistakes and thenatone for them. She teaches that withbrilliance.

��Your character was like a land-mark role in the biggest feministfilm of MCU...

There was a scene where twomale characters were talking aboutmy character and they called me a“woman” and I realised that in thepast, if I would have read a script writ-ten by a man, it would have been“girl”. And I had to take a step backand go “Oh gosh, I’m 28 years old andI’m used to being referred to as a girl.”Those little things and big things

come from this script being passedthrough the hands of women andbeing written by them. They’re justsmall things but I realised it changed

the way I viewed myself.

�� Tell us something about yourtraining and getting into the fight-

ing choreography. Is that somethingyou were familiar with?

No. I was definitely not familiarwith anything like that. I was not an

athletic in any way, which is why Itook nine months to learn how towork and walk and act like an athlete.It was a lot more than I had thought.It was an hour and a half of practiceevery day that included really hardcardio and weightlifting. Then, threemonths before filming, the fightingtraining was added too. Well, that’swhen it got really challenging for mebecause I didn’t know how to punchor kick or be on wires or fly or pho-ton blast or even ask. It just really hitme hard. But I surely did not want tolook like a fool in the film. So I’m verygrateful to the stunt team that theytaught me everything so well.

��What would you want the audi-ence to take away from this film?

They don’t have to take away any-thing. I just feel like it’s up to themto decide. There’s so much in this film.It has a lot of different aspects and I’mreally proud of them. So I think if I’mlucky enough to have them in the seatand watch the film, I’m curious tohear what they have to say.

�� Tell us something about yourcharacter and how you felt playingher.

There is a thorough line high-lighting the incredible women that wehave in the Air Force. But the otherthing for me that I love is that she isincredible in breaking barriers anddoing amazing things even before shehad super powers. That is an impor-tant fact to this too. It’s not like thesepowers were the thing that made herremarkable. They just highlightedwhat was already in her in a morepowerful way.

��How did you feel while playingCaptain Marvel? Was there anynervousness?

Oh! I never felt nervous. I foundthe character so inspiring that when-ever I was nervous or scared, I felt like

I can turn to her and remind myself,“No! I got this.” I could connect to herso well and that feels really great. I feellike I have the same awe over her thata lot of her fans do.

��Were you nervous the first dayyou walked onto the set as CarolDenvers? How did you ease into thecharacter?

I jumped in head-first. The firstthree days of shooting were on themoving train so it was mostly phys-ical. I had been in pretty heavy train-ing for nine months. These scenesgave me some time to get a feel forthe suit before we actually got intodialogue.

��Was there an instant connectionbetween you and your co-starLashana Lynch?

I am an introvert but I’m alsosuper open while working. I don’thold back at any times and she does-n’t either. So it was really an interest-ing experience. The two of us did achemistry read together and it vibedpretty well from the beginning.Lashana is smart and really special soit was easy to connect with her. Wewere spending so much time togeth-er and hanging around that wedeveloped a real bond.

(The film premiered on StarMovies.)

The Coronavirus has silencedBroadway. But it could not

silence two of its rising stars.Samantha Pauly and BrittneyMack, who play two wives ofHenry VIII in the musical Six,have turned their disappoint-ment at having their musical onhold by doing what they do best— singing for an audience, thisone on social media.

“It’s partly making sure thatI am still vocalising and singingevery day and doing some-thing. But it’s also kind of keep-ing me sane,” Pauly says.

The daily songs are just oneway that theatre folk have passedthe time since Broadway wentdark. Playwrights like LaurenGunderson and Young Jean Leeare offering online tutorials,performers are doing fundrais-ers and choreographers arebreaking down dances online.

The cast of Come FromAway did a video to say thankyou to medical personnel. Thecast of Beautiful gathered for anonline version of You’ve Got aFriend. Andrew Lloyd Webberhas serenaded Twitter withtunes on his piano. And the castof Hamilton reunited — albeitremotely — to performAlexander Hamilton. Someshows have pivoted to becom-ing audiobooks.

Broadway theatres abrupt-ly shut on March 12, knockingout all shows on the GreatWhite Way but also 16 that werestill scheduled to open, includ-ing Diana, Mrs. Doubtfire andCompany. The news was espe-cially crushing for the cast andcrew of Six since they learnedabout the shutdown hoursbefore they were officially goingto open.

“It’s like you’re at the

Olympics and you’re right thereat the finish line and you trippedover something you don’t evensee,” says Mack.

So each day, Pauly andMack in their respective apart-ments — one on RooseveltIsland, the other in Harlem —make Instagram videos of them-selves singing favourite songs orones that have been requested byfans.

Pauly started the push,singing everything fromBeautiful by Christina Aguilerato songs from rival musicals likeMean Girls and Beetlejuice. Mackfollowed, throwing her big voiceinto the ring, offering gospelsongs to tunes from classicshows like State Fair.

Pauly and Mack keep intouch with their fellow actors onWhatsApp and wait for whentheir voices will once again berequested on Broadway. Bothare confident Six, a rollicking,pro-woman show, will be back.

“I think, as artists, we arealways very hopeful and weknow the power of theatre andmusic, which is another reasonthat I’ve just been making thesevideos,” Pauly says. “I thinkthat’s what kind of kept me fromspiraling out of control andcrying on my couch.”

Some shows scheduled toopen this spring have aban-doned plans to open at all,including Hangmen and arevival of Edward Albee’s Who’sAfraid of Virginia Woolf? Others— like revivals of Caroline orChange and Birthday Candles —have been moved to the fall.

There has been help fromseveral quarters — Broadway’sunions and producers haveagreed on emergency relief toprovide Broadway employees

with pay and health insurancefor a few weeks. The Actors’Fund has distributed $2.8 mil-lion to thousands of workers andThe American Theatre Wing isspearheading a $250,000 fundfor workers and giving $1,000each to over 80 regional theatres.

“There are still a lot ofartists that are very scared andworried about money, especial-ly from shows that won’t becoming back,” says Pauly.

Broadway producers —anxious to reopen an industrythat grossed $1.8 billion last sea-son — said that theatres willreopen June 7.

Pauly has enough savedfor a few months of rent butworries she may have to leavethe city if the shutdown dragson past June. She was relievedto hear the new estimatedreturn date — “There’s light atthe end of the tunnel.”

If Six was about to official-ly say hello, another show wasabout to say goodbye. A Soldier’sPlay had just three more perfor-mances left in its three-monthrun when Broadway shut down.

“I’m just glad we had achance to really almost com-plete our run,” said one of itsstars, Blair Underwood. “I justfeel bad for the performers andthe productions coming upthat are just coming intorehearsal. You know that thatfuture is kind of uncertain rightnow.”

Mack and Pauly say havingtheir loved ones around tookthe sting out of the disappoint-ment. But both are more thaneager to get back to work. “It’llbe exciting to get back and turnthe lights back on Broadway,”said Mack.

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JUNK FOOD NOT GOOD���7�)�������7���������� �����������)���� �8 �8� ��)� ���� ����8C���, *����� ���� �������� ��� ������ �)������� C�5������ �����7�)�������� �� $ ��� �)������� *�����;9' <�<9

It’s easy to get confused aboutwhich foods are healthy andwhich aren’t. You generallywant to avoid certain foods if

you want to lose weight and preventchronic illnesses.

Good health is the necessity ofliving a healthy life for every one ofus which needs to maintain ahealthy diet and healthy habitsthroughout the life. However, thecustom of eating junk food in manyis increasing day by day and mak-ing our future sad and diseasedespecially our future generations.

Parents should be very con-scious towards the eating habits oftheir kids and children because inthe childhood they never know anddecide their good or bad so it is par-ents who are fully responsible for thegood or bad eating habits amongtheir kids.

They should train their kidsabout eating habits from child-hood and make them clear about thedifferences between healthy andjunk foods.

Generally, junk foods look soattractive and yummy for the peo-ple of every age group. However, itis very true that they are so coarsefrom inside. What they look fromoutside never become from inside.Junk foods are never consideredhealthy to the health, they have beenproved unhealthy in all ways. Junkfoods are unfit to the health and onewho practice to eat junk foods callsso many disorders to his/her health.

It may cause heart diseases, can-cer, early ageing, high blood pres-sure, bone problems, diabetes, men-tal disorders, liver disorders, diges-tive system problems, constipation,

diarrhoea, heart attack, prostateand breast cancer, osteoporosis,and so many health disorders.

According to the research, it isfound that puberty is the mostsensitive age during which oneshould practice healthy eating habitsbecause during this age there aremany changes occur in the body toprepare one to enter to the adult agegroup.

Junk foods are called fast foods.As the name says they are easy toprepare and can be consumed veryquickly. They are low in nutrition-al value and have fat, salt etc.

in it that cause ill effect on con-sumer’s health. Junk food has highcalories and a lack nutritional value.Junk food contains sugar in highquantity, transfat, polyunsaturatedfat salt and numerous food additivesuch as monosodium glutamate(MSG) etc.

and lack healthy nutrients thatare required by body like protein,vitamin and fiber etc. They are pop-ular because it requires a very sim-ple process to manufacture and toconsume. It is also popular becausetheir taste and has a long shelf lifewhich may not require refrigeration.The junk food advertising alsoplays important role in its popular-ity. It should be avoided at all costbecause it lacks energy and impor-tant nutrients required by the bodyand also has many health effects too.

Eliminating the temptation forjunk food and developing the aware-ness for health fitness like going togym regularly and banning junkfoods in schools can be helping inavoid the junk food and also shift-ing to the healthy foods can help in

avoiding it.There are different mar-keting strategies that junk foodcompanies follow to promote it.Many of the companies like subway,McDonald’s etc.

offer loyalty programs. This isthe most important way how theyadvertise it. It is based on the fre-quency you buy it and based on thatyou get a gift after some frequentvisits like get a free meal etc.

Another strategy they use istermed as Collectibles. With thisthey get customer particularly thatchildren watch and enjoy. What theydo is they find movies , cartoons and

when parents buy kids meal, theyprovide a free gift as a result peopledo come back to collect all the col-lectibles. They also use societalmarketing.

Junk foods like pizzas, chips,sandwiches etc contain high quan-tity of saturated fats. They fats arenot easy to digest as a result of thatit gets accumulated as a result of thatpeople gain weight which results inover weight leading to obesity. Allthis could trigger many problemsrelated to heart and high blood pres-sure etc.

Fast foods contain salt in more

quantity as required by the body. Saltresults in increase of blood pressure.Too much salt is not good for bodyas result of people might suffer fromhypertension. Sodas and biscuits etc.contain sugar.

Everyone likes sweet taste butsugar has its own disadvantages liketoo much sugar rots the teeth andcould trigger a lot of tooth problemslike ache etc.

Excessive amount of sugarincrease the sugar content in thebody and as a result of that peoplecould suffer from diabetes.

I personally feel that it contains

sugar , salt and fat that is needed butin contrast to that it contains inexcess quantity as a result of thatpeople suffer from it.It affects thehealth in all ways of the people ofany age group, weight and healthcondition. Junk foods are consideredas high in calories however one whoeat end up easily getting exhaustedand need more food frequently.

Junk food does not provideappropriate level of energy thus theeater develop tendencies of cravingmore food frequently. What wegenerally acquire from the junkfoods are unhealthy fats and nothealthy ingredients thus we feel lackof oxygen which causes poor brainfunctioning.

We absorb much cholesterolfrom such type of foods which caus-es plaque formation in the arteriesand creates problems for the heartto pump normal amount of blood.That’s why we feel high level fatigue.High level of bad cholesteroldestroys our liver and put moreweight at the same time.

Processed and junk foods arethe means of rapid and unhealthyweight gain and negatively impactthe whole body throughout thelife. It makes able a person to gainexcessive weight which is called asobesity.

Junk foods tastes good andlooks good however do not fulfil thehealthy calorie requirement of thebody.

Some of the foods like frenchfries, fried foods, pizza, burgers,candy, soft drinks, baked goods, icecream, cookies, etc are the exampleof high-sugar and high-fat contain-ing foods.

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The Polish goalkeeper ofJuventus FC Wojciech

Szczesny praised his teammateCristiano Ronaldo as thePortuguese “is obsessed withwinning and he thinks just aboutwork, even at trainings”.

On Friday the Pole was askedby the Polish TV Eleven Sports tocompare Cristiano Ronaldo toSzczesny’s compatriot RobertLewandowski from BayernMunich.

“I think Cristiano is morefocused on work. There are jokesbefore and during the training.

He is a machine. Lewandowski isa little more relaxed. I don’tcompare who works more, butwho is obsessed with this work.It’s definitely Cristiano,” said theJuventus custodian.

“Cristiano has an egoist faceon the pitch and I think that facemakes him one of the best play-ers in football history. It some-times makes him look frustrat-ed and thus looks selfish. It’s justan obsession with winning, anobsession with being the best andrequiring others to help him. Itwould be unhealthy if there weresix, seven or ten people with sucha character in the dressing room,but one that pushes others to bebetter is positive,” addedSzczesny.

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Australian pace bowling starPat Cummins says he is pre-pared to play in the Indian

Premier League behind closeddoors as it would restore a degreeof “normality” into daily life dur-ing the coronavirus pandemic.

The 26-year-old ICC Test play-er of the year — he took 59 wick-ets in 12 Tests — told the BBC thatit would mean fans could at leastwatch some live sport at home.

The IPL season was post-poned from March 29 until April15 because of the pandemic,although the expectation is thetournament will be either delayedagain or even cancelled should thelockdown in India be extended.

Another problem forCummins and his compatriots isthere are restrictions on Australianstravelling overseas.

The two-month tournament— Cummins is contracted to theKolkata Knight Riders — is ahuge revenue earner.

The T20 competition is esti-mated to generate more than $11billion for the Indian economy andinvolves cricket’s top internation-al stars like England's Ben Stokes,Australia’s David Warner andIndian captain Virat Kohli.

“Of course — whatever it takesto try and get cricket up and playthose big events safely,” saidCummins in answer to whether hewould welcome playing in front of

empty stands.“The first priority is safety but

the second one is getting back tonormality.

“It’s finding that balance. If thatunfortunately means no crowds fora while then that’s that but hope-fully people can watch at home ontelevision.”

Cummins’s outstanding 2019was recognised on Wednesdaywhen he was named one of the fivecricketers of the year by Wisden.

“The first I heard about it wasa couple of months ago,” he said.

“The award is held in highregard in Australia, I remember mydad and grandad talking about it.

“It caught me off guard to getit but I feel very honoured andprivileged to win it. I had to keepit quiet, I hadn’t told anyone.”

He was the pick of theAustralian attack as they retainedthe Ashes taking 29 wickets in thefive Test series which ended in a 2-2 draw.

“I have so many favouritemoments from the Ashes series,”he said.

“There was a plan years inadvance, I was in good form andfitness.

“To have a good series per-sonally is great.

“It’s the one big event youreally look forward to, and I’mproud to get through five Tests.”

Cummins, when asked to

select his best memories of theseries, shied away from personalachievements to the collectiveone.

“In terms of moments, thetwo wins — the first win atEdgbaston, starting the first Testmatch with a win,” he said.

“Then obviously retainingthe Ashes at Manchester late inday five would be anothermoment.”

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All India Football Federation is in discus-sion with world body FIFA to retain the

original age criteria of the participating play-ers and finalise new dates for the U-17Women’s World Cup, AIFF president PrafulPatel said on Friday.

The Under-17 Women’s World Cup,which was scheduled to be held in India inNovember, was postponed by football’s gov-

erning body (FIFA) last week due to theworsening of the COVID-19 pandemicacross the globe.

Patel said the Local OrganisingCommittee (LOC) is working in close col-laboration with FIFA to finalise the dates inthe “earliest possible timeline”.

“I am happy to share that we are work-ing with #FIFA to choose a new and earli-est possible timeline to host the U-17Women’s World Cup. The LOC and FIFA areworking in close collaboration to finalise newdates keeping health and safety a priority,”Patel wrote on his Twitter handle.

“We are also in discussions with #FIFAto keep the age criteria of U-17 Women’sWorld Cup the same as originally planned,so that all the players who have been work-ing very hard to prepare for the tournament,do not miss an opportunity to play due tothe postponement,” Patel added.

The women’s age group showpiece eventwas to be held at five venues in the country—Kolkata,Guwahati, Bhubaneswar,Ahmedabad and Navi Mumbai — fromNovember 2-21.

������� England cricket team chief AshleyGiles has forecast a significant delay to the homeseries against the West Indies in June shouldthe coronavirus relent sufficiently to allow thethree Tests to go ahead.

The county championship, comprisingfour-day matches, was due to start on Sundaybut English cricket is shut down until at leastMay 28, with the expectation of further post-ponements.

England are meant to play a three-Testseries against the West Indies in June, with theopening match at The Oval starting on June4.

But England team director Giles toldreporters in a conference call on Thursday:“The deadline of May 28 still stands but it’s look-ing less and less likely that we’re going to be outthere in June.

“We have to look at alternatives.”Following the visit of the West Indies,

England are meant to play home series againstPakistan, Australia and Ireland as well.

“We are looking at scenarios where we canpush those matches back as far as possible with-out losing any cricket,” said Giles.

“Whether eventually games start falling offthe calendar right now we don’t know.

“If we can’t get it all, it’s really importantwe work in partnership with all the other boardsto fulfil those fixtures but with a priority onkeeping people safe.”

SQUAD MATCH IDEAMeanwhile the former England spinner

said an intra-squad match similar to the oneAustralia played before last year’s Ashes couldserve as a warm-up fixture for his side if theseason can get underway.

With Britain currently in lockdown, play-ers cannot go straight from their homes intothe international arena.

“From a playing point of view certainly, Ithink we’ll need to play a couple of warm-upgames,” Giles said.

“They could be behind closed doors, theycould be among England players — none of usreally know until we get there.”

Following last year’s one-day World Cupin England, the Australians played a three-day12-a-side match at Southampton as their solewarm-up fixture for the Ashes.

Giles, asked about an intra-squad match,replied: “If we had to, I think that would be adecent way around a problem if we weren’t play-ing cricket more broadly. I think we could dothat.” Giles added he was also open to the pos-sibility of England’s Test and one-day teamsplaying at the same time if that was the best wayto fulfil fixtures in a shortened season.

“We have got enough depth where we cansplit our resources but we haven’t got that far,”he said. AFP

��/������ Former Australian captainMichael Clarke feels Virat Kohli’s fetish forbig hundreds is similar to the iconic SachinTendulkar, who was the “hardest to get out”with a technique which “didn’t have a weak-ness”.

Clarke said he can’t recall a batsman ascomplete as Sachin during his playing days.

“Probably technically the best batsman(Tendulkar) I ever saw. The hardest batsmanto get out. I think Sachin, technically, didn’thave a weakness. Part of you hoped that hemade a mistake,” Clarke told the Big sportsBreakfast radio show.

He then went on heap praise on Kohli,calling him the best batsman across all for-mats among the current lot.

“I think right now the best batsmanacross all three formats. His one day and T20records are phenomenal and he’s also founda way to dominate Test cricket.

“What Kohli and Tendulkar have in com-mon is they love making big hundreds,” hesaid. PTI

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Pakistan Test captainAzhar Ali has backed

head coach-cum-chiefselector Misbah-ul-Haq’ssuggestion that the coro-navirus-affected WorldTest Championshipshould be extended in thewake of the global pan-demic.

He believes cricket-ing action should returnto action in future “evenit is behind closed doors”but without compromis-ing on the health of theplayers.

“If, hopefully, in thenear future cricket is pos-sible and the health of

people is not compro-mised, I’m sure everycricketer will say weshould get cricket backon, even if it is behindclosed doors,” Ali said ina video conference withreporters.

“There is no sport onTV right now that peoplecan watch. They will behappy to get sport backon TV. People’s health ismore important, but if wecan get sport going with-out imperilling that, I’d

support it.”Ali is confident that

world body ICC will dothe needful.

“I’m sure the ICCwill look at this. The TestChampionship was a longcompetition anyway, so Idon’t think it would be abig deal to extend it if theseries cannot be held intime; I’d support extend-ing the Test champi-onship,” he added.

Azhar’s statementcame after Misbah calledfor an extension of theWorld Test C’ship as andwhen cricket resumes inorder to provide a fairand equal playing field toall teams.

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As the coronavirusspreads in Japan, the

chief executive of the TokyoGames on Friday said hecan’t guarantee the post-poned Olympics will bestaged next year — evenwith a 16-month delay.

Japanese PrimeMinister Shinzo Abe issuedan emergency declarationthis week to battle the virus,putting the country underrestrictions after it seemedit had avoided the spread.

“I don’t think anyonewould be able to sayif it is going to bepossible to get itunder control bynext July or not,”

Tokyo organizing commit-tee CEO Toshiro Muto said,speaking through an inter-preter at a news conferenceconducted remotely.

“We’re certainly are notin a position to give you a

clear answer.”The Olympics were

postponed last month witha new opening set for July23, 2021, followed by theParalympics on August 24.

Abe has been criticizedfor being slow to act againstthe coronavirus. Oppositionpolitical leaders have sug-gested he downplayed theseverity of the virus andhave said it may have beentied to wanting to hold theOlympics this year.

“We have made thedecision to postpone the

games by one year,”Muto added.

“So this meansthat all we can do iswork hard to pre-pare for the games.

We sincerely hope thatcome next year mankindwill manage to overcomethe coronavirus crisis.”Muto was asked if there arealternative plans to 2021.

“Rather than thinkabout alternatives plans, weshould put in all of oureffort,” he said.

“Mankind should bringtogether all of its technolo-gy and wisdom to workhard so they can develop-ment treatments, medicinesand vaccines.”

Japan has reportedabout 5,000 cases and 100deaths. The country hasthe world’s oldest popula-tion, and COVID-19 can beespecially serious for theelderly.

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Brazilian football greatRonaldo has said that for-

mer England captain and hisReal Madrid teammate DavidBeckham is one of the bestplayers of all time.

Ronaldo and Beckhamwere both part of the famousGalacticos’ team between2003 until 2007.

“One of the firstpeople that I ever sawwas you,” Beckhamsaid to Ronaldo overInstagram Live. “Whenyou walked into thechanging room it made mecomfortable to be in the

club.”Ronaldo replied, saying:

“Man, you are amazing. Forme, you are one of the best ofall time in the centre.

“The way you wouldtouch the ball, the way youcould get the ball wherever

you want, and without look-ing at me. I should thankyou for the many balls you

gave to me,” said theace striker.

W h i l eBeckham moved tothe SantiagoBernabeu in 2003,

Ronaldo joinedthem one year earli-er from Inter Milan.

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FC Barcelona superstar footballer Lionel Messi hasdenied reports of him moving to Italian giants

Inter Milan.The Argentina forward also denied rumours of

a possible transfer to his former Argentinian sideNewell’s Old Boys.

“What they said about Newell’s Old Boys a fewweeks ago is also false, thank God no one believedthem,” Messi said in an Instagram post.

He also distanced himself from a rumour thatsaid he had paid the bail money to allow the releaseof Brazilian star Ronaldinho from a Paraguay jail.

Messi shared a tweet from a football news por-tal and singled out the Inter move and Ronaldinhobail money reports as ‘Lie No 1’ and ‘Lie No 2’ onInstagram.

Ronaldinho was released from jail and has beenplaced under house arrest in Paraguay. TheBrazilian football great and his brother, Roberto Assis,have been held at a prison in Asuncion since March6 for using fake passports.

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FIFA president GianniInfantino on Friday said

that “no match” is worth“risking a single human life”and that world football’sgoverning body would beable to help financiallynational federations duringthe coronavirus pandemic.The majority of top footballleagues and internationalcompetitions have been sus-pended due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Infantino insisted thatgames would not resumeuntil it was safe.

“Our first priority, ourprinciple, the one we willuse for our competitions

and encourage everyone tofollow is that health comesfirst,” he said in a video mes-sage.

“I cannot stress thisenough. No match, no com-petition, no league is worthrisking a single human life.”

The GermanBundesliga reportedly couldrestart behind closed doorsin May, with players alreadyback in training, while otherleagues could also resume inthe summer.

“It would be more thanirresponsible to force com-petitions to resume if thingsare not 100% safe,” addedInfantino.

“If we have to wait a lit-tle longer we must do so. It’s

better to wait a little bitlonger than to take anyrisks.”

Infantino said thatnational football associa-tions which are strugglingfinancially would receivehelp from FIFA’s emergencyrelief fund.

FIFA last week post-poned all internationalmatches scheduled for June.“We are today in a verystrong financial situation,”Infantino said.

“But our reserves arenot FIFA’s money. It is foot-ball’s money. So when foot-ball is in need, we mustthink what we can do tohelp... It is our responsibil-ity and our duty.”

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Race walker K T Irfan has no complaintsregrading the postponement of the Olympics

to next year due to the COVID-19 pandemicas he says it will give him more time to preparefor the Tokyo Games.

The 30-year-old Irfan qualified for his sec-ond Olympics after finishing fourth in the 20km race walk event in the Asian Race WalkingChampionship last year.

“It’s good that it (Tokyo Games) got post-poned. We can take this as a base to train moreand get closer to win a medal. Race Walking isa technical event, so I will get time to focus onit more, this will help us do better next year,”Irfan said.

Asked about his target in the TokyoOlympics, he said, “My main aim is to win amedal. In Rio Olympics, I had injured myself,in London also I had chance of winning a medal.

Irfan finished 10th in the 2012 LondonOlympics with a national record time of 1 hour20 minute 21 seconds. He did not qualify for2016 Olympics.

“If I work harder there ischance of getting a medal. I havementally prepared myself andam strong with the aim ofwinning a medal,” said Irfan.

The country is under a21-day lockdown and justlike any other athlete, Irfanis confined to his hostel at theSAI Centre in Bengaluru asnobody can train outside.

“There was a good place totrain outside the campus whereI used to train. But we aren’tallowed to go outside the campusbecause of the lockdown,” said theathlete from Kerala.

“We have been asked to trainalone and not in groups. We doskipping etc in the room, andsometimes go out in the campusto practice the walk. Fornow this is what we aredoing,” he said.

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India’s last round of homematches in the FIH Pro

League next month was can-celled on Friday after the NewZealand men’s hockey teamcalled off its Asian leg of theevent due to the travel restric-tions imposed in the wake ofCOVID-19 pandemic.

India were scheduled tohost New Zealand for the two-leg tie on May 23 and 24 inBhubaneswar.

New Zealand, in fact, havealso cancelled its trip to China.

“Following the New Zealandgovernment’s travel restrictionsand government lockdownwhich we find ourselves in atpresent, combined with themedical advice of our team doc-tors and in the interests of thehealth, safety and well-being ofour players and support staff, thedecision has been made by

Hockey New Zealand to cancelour tour of India (Men) andChina (Women) at this presenttime,” HNZ chief executive IanFrancis said.

New Zealand made thedecision after the InternationalHockey Federation (FIH) hint-ed of extending the suspensionof Pro League matches till July-August due to the COVID-19pandemic.

The FIH, in fact, had sus-pended the Pro League twiceearlier due to the pandemic.

India made an impressivedebut in the second edition ofthe FIH Pro League, currentlyplaced fourth in the standingsafter three ties againstNetherlands, world championsBelgium and Australia.

New Zealand, on the otherhand, are at the sixth spot.Both sides have recorded twovictories each in the competitionso far.

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CUMMINS UP FOR PLAYING IPL BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

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Australian cricket team’s lowkey aggression against India

during the 2018-19 Test serieswas more about winning backfans rather than protect theirIPL contracts, said pace spear-head Pat Cummins, rejectingformer skipper Michael Clarke’scontentious claims.

The India series was onlythe second Test series after theball tampering controversy thatled to Steve Smith and DavidWarner’s suspensions and anoverall criticism of their win atall cost mentality.

“I think probably a biggerfactor was six months beforeleading into that Indian series

the media and everyone com-mentating on the Aussie crick-et team were pretty clear in theirdirection in the way they want-ed the Aussies team to go andthat was playing a little bit lessaggressively out on the field,”Cummins told BBC.

However he didn’t rule outthat some players might haveharboured thoughts aboutClarke’s assumption that they“sucked up to” Indian skipperVirat Kohli in fear of losing outon IPL pay-checks.

“I’d say that would havebeen a bigger factor than tryingto win or lose friends out on thecricket field. But you neverknow, that might have been afactor for some players.”

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