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DA ILY FROM: AHMEDABAD , CHAND IGARH , DELH I , JA IPUR , KOLKATA , LUCKNOW, MUMBAI , NAGPUR , PUNE , VADODARA ● REG .NO . MCS/067/2018 - 20 RN I REGN . NO . 1543/57

FRIDAY, APRIL 9, 2021, MUMBAI, LATECITY, 16 PAGES `5.00, WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMJOURNALISM OF COURAGE

SINCE 1932

2 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,APRIL9,2021

Government of MaharashtraForest Department

Mumbai Mangrove Conservation Unit- MumbaiEmail- ID- [email protected]

Parent Portal : http://mahatenders.gov.in

E-Tender NoticeONLINE Tender Forms in B-1 Format, for the following work are

invited by the Divisional Forest Officer, Mumbai Mangrove ConservationUnit, Mumbai, 68/B, Kamgar Nagar, Kurla East, Mumbai 400024 from thecontractors registered with the Government of Maharashtra inAppropriate class of Tender Notice.

The blank tender documents should be downloaded fromGovernment web site http://mahatenders.gov.in from 08.04.2021 at10.00 am to 22.04.2021 at 03.00 pm. Blank Tender documents will not besold by this office; interested contractors have to download tenderdocuments from the web site. For any queries in this regard the interestedcontractors can contact on telephone no 022-25220097 during officehours.

In any assistance is required regarding e-Tendering (upload /download) please contact NIC Help Desk number : 1800 3070 2232

1) No changes are to be made by contractor in the tender documentspublished on the web site. If any changes made the tender documentswill be rejected & action accordingly will be taken against thecontractor. Information published on the government web site will befinal.

2) Right to reject any or all the tenders without assigning any reasonthere of is reserved.

Sd/-Divisional Forest Officer,

Mumbai Mangrove Conservation Unit,DGIPR-2021-22/52

Sr.No.

Name of Work EstimatedCost

EarnestMoney

Deposite(Rs.)

Time limitfor

completion

Cost ofBlank TenderForm (Non-Refundable)

1 2 3 4 5 61 Construction of

Weather Shedover ResidentBuilding Type I atRange forestofficer, WestMumbai, Borivali3 no buildings (6units) (TenderNotice No. 05)

Rs.17,81,079/-

Rs.17,811/-online

netbankingmode

2 Months(IncludingMonsoon)

Rs. 1000/-online netbankingmode

2 Construction ofWeather Shedover ResidentBuilding Type II atRange forestofficer, WestMumbai, Borivali1 buildings (2units) (TenderNotice No. 06)

Rs.4,40,297/-

Rs.4,403/-online

netbankingmode



3 Construction ofWeather Shedover OfficeBuilding at RangeForest Office atRange forestofficer, WestMumbai, Borivali(Tender NoticeNo. 07)

Rs.3,05,456/-

Rs.3,055/-online

netbankingmode



Lands & Estate Cell (Advertisement Cell), Bandra Kurla Complex,Bandra (East), Mumbai – 400 051. Tel. 022-26594128/26592115,

Fax : 91-022-26591264 E-Mail: [email protected]:- https://mmrda.maharashtra.gov.in

MUMBAI METROPOLITAN REGIONDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY(A Government of Maharashtra Undertaking)

Date : 09/04/2021Place: MumbaiNo. : MMRDA/L&E/BTS/ /2021

Sd/-Metropolitan Commissioner,

MMRDA

Name of Work : Request for Proposal for Appointment of an Agency forInstallation of BTS (Base Transceiver Station) equipment on poles on10 Flyovers, 12 Subways, 16 Foot over Bridges on Eastern &WesternExpress Highway and 36 Skywalks in Mumbai Metropolitan Regionfor five years contract period.

1) Cost of Blank Tender Form : Rs.10, 000/- + (18% GST)3) Earnest Money Deposit : Rs.20,00,000/-4) Bid documents download : 09/04/2021 (11.00 hrs.) to

10/05/2021 (17.00 hrs.)5) Last date of online submission : 10/05/2021 (17.00 hrs.)6) Contract Period : 05 YearsNote : The e-Tender can be downloaded from e-Tendering portalhttps://etendermmrda.maharashtra.gov.in. Any additional information,Corrigendum & help for uploading & downloading the e-tender, may beavailed by contacting MMRDA’s e-tendering service desk at the followingid: [email protected],gov.in or call us on022-26597445.

Fulrani

e-TENDER NOTIcE

Navi MumbaiMunicipal Transport

Engg. Department

E-Tender Notice Extn.-1Tender.NMMT/TM/ENGG/12/2020-21Tender Description : ''Selection of Agency/ SystemIntegrator for Setting up of Charging Station in NaviMumbai on PPP Basis Under Fame-II India Scheme''.

Which is available on Web sitehttps://organizations.maharashtra.nextprocure.in

Sd/-Transport Manager,

N.M.M.T.

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DA ILY FROM: AHMEDABAD , CHAND IGARH , DELH I , JA IPUR , KOLKATA , LUCKNOW, MUMBAI , NAGPUR , PUNE , VADODARA ● REG .NO . MCS/067/2018 - 20 RN I REGN . NO . 1543/57

FRIDAY, APRIL 9, 2021, MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES `5.00, WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMJOURNALISM OF COURAGE

SINCE 1932

` 95 per kilo

` 123 per kilo

` 152 per kilo

` 60 per Dozen

4.60%5.51%5.80%7.82%8.70%9.03%9.19%9.92%

41,49,41349,73,39852,30,64270,55,52078,47,62281,47,68982,87,84089,49,560

KeralaMP

KarnatakaWBUP

GujaratRajasthanMaharashtra

%Share Totaldosesgiven

Source:MinistryofHealthandFamilyWelfare

60%OF9CRCUMULATIVE DOSESGIVENSO FAR ARE IN8STATES

PMMEETSCMsTODISCUSSSECOND-SURGESTRATEGY

CBI probe:SC dismissesDeshmukh,Maharashtragovt pleas

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, APRIL8

THE SUPREME Court Thursdaydismissed petitions filed by theMahaVikasAghadigovernmentin Maharashtra and AnilDeshmukh challenging theBombay High Court order for a“preliminary inquiry” by theagency into corruption allega-tionslevelledagainsttheformerstate home minister by ex-Mumbai police commissionerParamBirSingh.Turning downDeshmukh's

objectionsthathewasnotheardbeforetheHighCourtpassedtheorder and that the allegationsagainsthimwere justhearsay, abench of Justices S K Kaul andHemantGuptasaid:“...weareoftheview that thenatureof alle-gations, the personas involvedand the seriousness of the alle-gationsdorequireanindepend-ent agency to enquire into thematter. It is a matter of publicconfidencegiventhefactualsce-nario. We may also add thatwhathasbeendirected isonlyapreliminaryenquiryalbeitbyanindependentagency.”Disagreeing with the con-

tentionof thestategovernmentcounsel, Senior Advocate AM

CONTINUEDONPAGE4

Ahealthworkerdisplaysanoticeabout theshortageof vaccinesupplyoutsideavaccinationcentre inMumbaionThursday.AP

KAUNAINSHERIFFM&LIZMATHEWNEWDELHI, APRIL8

EMPHASISINGTHATvaccinationis a long-term and continuousstrategy in the fight against thepandemic, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi Thursday di-rected all states to immediatelyfocus on aggressive testing andmicro-containmenttobreakthechainof transmissionof thesec-ondCovidwave.The PrimeMinister also ap-

pealed to states to achieve 100per cent vaccination of the 45-plus population in high-focusdistricts and called for a “vacci-nationutsav”betweenthebirthanniversaries of icons JyotibaPhule (April 11) and B RAmbedkar (April 14).“Whatwe have done is that

we jumped to vaccination (as astrategy) and have forgottentesting.Asthevaccinesarebeingproduced, they will be deliv-ered...earlier, wewon the fightwithoutthevaccine.Wewonthefightwhenwedidn'tevenknowif there would be vaccines.Today,wedon'tneed tocreateapanic in the public,” the PrimeMinister said during his onlineinteractionwithChiefMinisters.“FromDay1, I amseeing

CONTINUEDONPAGE4

AMITABHSINHAPUNE,APRIL8

ONWEDNESDAY,UnionHealthMinister Dr Harsh Vardhan sin-gled out non-BJP ruled states,particularly Maharashtra andChhattisgarh, for “politicising”

thepandemic,andberatedthemfor not doing enough to controlthespreadof coronaviruscases.While the Opposition-ruled

states are indeed among theworst affected —Maharashtra,Kerala,Delhi,Chhattisgarhstandout— datashowsthat there is

CONTINUEDONPAGE4

What Centre note blamingOpp states missed: Surgecuts across party lines

TABASSUMBARNAGARWALAMUMBAI, APRIL8

ADAYafteraheatedexchangeofwordsbetweenHealthMinisterDrHarsh Vardhan andMahara-shtraoverthelatter’sdemandformore vaccine stock, the Centre

Thursdayincreasedthestate’sal-location to 17.43 lakh doses --from 7.43 lakh it had been as-sured onApril 1. Kerala’s supplywas also scaled up, from4.74 to7.74lakhdoses.Thefreshstockisexpected inthenext fewdays.MaharashtraHealthMinister

RajeshTope,however,reiteratedthattheywouldneedat least40

lakh doses per week to run itsvaccination drive withouthitches.OnThursdayafternoon,Maharashtrahadaround12lakhdosesleft,whichitisexpectedtoexhaust in the next two days.“Even 17.43 lakh is inadequate.We don’t want to have a hand-to-mouthsituation,” saidTope.

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CMUddhavThackeraygetsvaccinatedonThursday. PTI

Centre okays more doses, ‘hand tomouth’ Maharashtra not in top 5

AnilDeshmukhresignedasstatehomeminister

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEMUMBAI, APRIL8

CHIEF MINISTER UddhavThackeray on Thursday urgedPrimeMinister NarendraModito address all political leadersand instruct them not to playpolitics in the fight against theCovid-19pandemic,saidastate-ment issuedbyhisoffice.Thackeray’s request toModi

came a day after Union HealthMinister Harsh Vardhan lashedout at Maharashtra and someother states, accusing them of“trying to divert attention fromtheirpoorvaccinationeffortsbyjust continuously shifting thegoalposts”.The BJP andMVAhave been

engaged in awar of words overthe vaccination shortage inMaharashtra over the last fewdays.Assuring the PM that the

state has increased testing to alargeextentandthatitwouldbefurtherincreased,Thackerayre-quested foradditional supplyofvaccines as well as oxygen andventilators fromother states.

CONTINUEDONPAGE4

Uddhav to PM:Urge leaders notto play politicsin Covid fight

SANTANUCHOWDHURYKOLKATA,APRIL8

THE POLITICAL battlefield inWestBengalisastar-studdedaf-fair this time, with names fromitsfilmandtelevisionindustriesarrayed on both sides of the di-vide.Nowtherift is alsoplayingout in the very home ofTollywood — the TollyganjAssemblyconstituencyinSouthKolkata thatvotesonApril 10.The TMC,which has assidu-

ouslycourtedstarsinitsclimbtopower, counts Tollyganj asamong its strongholds, havingwontheseat since2001.For the

last three elections, it has beenwonbytheparty'sAroopBiswas,theWestBengalPWDMinister.However, in the BJP corner

thistimeisanamewithasmuch star power —MP,Unionministerandpopular singer BabulSupriyo, counted bysome as among BJPchief minister candi-dates. The SanyuktaMorcha'scandidateisaname as at home inTollyganj: actor DebdootGhosh.TheBengalifilmindustry,with

its neo-realist stories,was onceconsidered solidly Left-aligned.

Duringhis timeaschiefminister,Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee kepttheInformationandBroadcastingportfoliotohimself.

TheTMC'soutreachtoTollywoodwasledbyits local strongmanBiswas. Over the years,actorsDev,MoonMoonSen, Shatabdi Roy,ChiranjeetChattopadhyay, MimiChakraborty, NusratJahan crossed over tothe party, with many of

them fielded as candidates toboth the Assembly andParliament.IntheTMC's10yearsof power, film stars have been a

constant presence in culturalevents of the state governmentas well as the party's annualMartyrs'Dayrallyon July21.ThistimetheTMChasfielded

popular actors SohamChakraborty,SayantikaBanerjee,Koushani Mukherjee, JuneMaliah,KanchanMullick,LovelyMaitra, Sayani Ghosh; singerAditiMunshiandfilmmakerRajChakraborty as its candidates.Samajwadi Party MP JayaBachchanhasbeencampaigningfor theparty.However, looking for recog-

nisablenamesinBengal, theBJPhas also gone about acquiringthesamefromTollywood.Many

have joined the BJP, and actorssuch as Payel Sarkar, SrabantiChatterjee, Yash Dasgupta,Papiya Adhikari, TanushreeChakraborty and Anjana BasuarecontestingonBJP tickets.Yesteryear Bollywood star

Mithun Chakrabarty joined theBJP amidst much fanfare onMarch 7, and has been cam-paigning for its star candidates.In July2019,aneworganisa-

tion called the Eastern IndiaMotion Pictures and CulturalConfederation, to represent theinterests of people working inTollywood,was launched in thepresence of West Bengal BJPpresidentDilipGhosh.TMCMLA

Biswas and his brother SwarupBiswas hold key positions inotherbodiessuchastheEasternIndia Motion PicturesAssociation and Federation ofCineTechniciansandWorkersofEastern India.Supriyo says he is confident

ofwinningTollyganjby"40,000-50,000 votes". "Aroop Biswasand his brother Swarup reignover the Bengali film industryand this constituency. Nothinghappens herewithout their ap-proval and consent. In the end,thepeoplearesuffering.Itisverysad. There is a need to provideclean drinking water to the

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PAGE1ANCHOR

BabulSupriyowithTollywoodstarsSrabantiChatterjee (left,BehalaWestnominee),PayelSarkar (BehalaEast). ShashiGhosh

Tollyganj: From box office to ballot box, where stars cross paths

HARISHDAMODARAN&HARIKISHANSHARMANEWDELHI, APRIL8

IN THEmidst of the AssemblyelectionsinWestBengalandon-going protests against theCentre'sfarmlaws,thecountry'slargestsellerof fertilisers, IndianFarmers Fertiliser Cooperative

(Iffco), has steeply raised pricesof nutrients.A 50-kg bag of di-ammo-

niumphosphate(DAP),themostwidely consumed fertiliser inIndia after urea, will cost farm-ersRs1,900,whichismorethan58%higherthantheexistingrateof Rs1,200/bag.Iffcohasalsosignificantlyin-

creased the maximum retail

pricesofotherpopularcomplexfertilisers with different NPKS(nitrogen, phosphorus, potashandsulphur)proportions.Theseinclude10:26:26 (fromRs1,175toRs1,775/bag),12:32:16(fromRs 1,185 to 1,800/bag) and20:20:0:13 (from Rs 925 to1,350/bag). The new prices areeffective fromApril1.

CONTINUEDONPAGE4

Despite protests, CJIcalls collegium meet,it ends in deadlockNoconsensusonnextsteps, sourcessaid

APURVAVISHWANATHNEWDELHI, APRIL8

DESPITE RESERVATIONS by atleasttwoofhiscolleagues,ChiefJustice of India SABobde calledameetingof theSupremeCourtcollegium Thursday to discussappointments to the top court.Thatmeeting,however,endedinadeadlockwith“noconsensus”on the future course of action,sources toldThe IndianExpress.Earlierintheday,CourtNo.2,

headedbyChief Justiceof India-designate N V Ramana did notsit.However, JusticeRamanaat-tended the collegiummeetingalthoughhedidnotattendcourt.If a consensus had emerged

on a name in the five-memberpanel, it would have been thefirst recommendationmade to

the government in CJI Bobde’s14-month-long tenure.The Collegium to recom-

mend judges to the SupremeCourt consists of five judges.ApartfromCJIBobdeandJusticeRamana, it includes JusticesRohintonNariman,UULalitandAMKhanwilkar.The Supreme Court is short

of fivejudgesandwithCJIBobdeCONTINUEDONPAGE4

ASADREHMANLUCKNOW,APRIL8

STATING THAT “the matter indisputepertainstohaveconnec-tion with our deep history”, aVaranasicourtThursdayorderedthe Director General ofArchaeologicalSurveyof Indiato“get a comprehensive archaeo-logical physical survey” done ofthe disputed Kashi VishwanathTemple-GyanvapiMosquecom-plexand“findoutastowhetherthe religious structure standingatpresent at thedisputedsite is

a superimposition, alterationoraddition or there is a structuraloverlappingof anykind,withor

CONTINUEDONPAGE4

DECISION2021WESTBENGAL

RITIKACHOPRANEWDELHI, APRIL8

NOCRITICISING the institute orthe government, no joiningprotestdemonstrationsthathurt“public order” or “decency,”curbsongoingtothecourtorthepress,nopolitics,nosigningjoint

petitions for redressal — theseareamongthekeyprovisionsofanewcodeofconductforfacultyat the Indian Institute ofManagement,Calcutta.Thedraftcode,circulatedlate

February by former directorAnjuSethonbehalfof theBoard,hasmet strong resistance fromthe faculty. Ina responsesigned

by over 60 teachers, they havearguedthatthecode,borrowingheavily from the Central CivilServices (Conduct) Rules, goesagainst theunderstandingof anacademic institution that is ex-pectedtopromotecriticalthink-ingandacademic freedom.It also infringes on their

CONTINUEDONPAGE4

GARGIVERMABASAGUDA,APRIL8

THE MISSING CoBRA jawan,Rakeshwar SinghManhas,whowastakencaptivebytheMaoistsonApril3afterabattlealongtheBijapur-Sukma border, was re-leased unconditionally to agroup of journalists, local lead-ersandsocialactivists,Thursdayevening. He was taken to theCRPFCamphospitalatBasagudaforaprimarymedicalcheck-up.Manhas was part of a 450-

oddteamwhichcameunderat-tack while retreating from ananti-Naxal operationonApril 3.Hewasdeclaredmissingby thepolice after a search and rescueoperationthenextday.Asmanyas 22 security personnel werekilled in theattack.In quarantine now,Manhas,

38, is not allowed to speakwith

anyone. He, however, had spo-ken with the journalists whowere part of the 11-membergroup thatwent inside the jun-gles togethimreleased.Accordingtomembersofthe

delegation,Manhasrecalledsuf-fering a shrapnel injury during

CONTINUEDONPAGE4

Chhattisgarh attack: 5days later, Maoistsfree CRPF commando

Fertiliser prices to now sting farmers,Iffco hikes nutrient cost by 45-58%

CJISABobde;CJI-designateNVRamana

Thedisputedcomplex inVaranasionThursday.AnandSingh

THEPLACESofWorship(SpecialProvisions)Act,1991,applies tothedis-putedcomplex inVaranasi.TheActmandates that thenatureof allplacesofwor-ship,except theone inAyodhyathatwasthenun-der litigation, shallbemaintainedas itwasonAugust15,1947,andthatnoencroachmentof anysuchplaceprior tothedatecanbechallengedincourts.

ShieldedbylawE●EX

PLAINED

IIM-C faculty face new code of conduct:no criticism, no protests, no petitions

AVISHEKGDASTIDARNEWDELHI, APRIL8

INDIA PLEDGING net zero car-bon emissions is not an “ab-solute requirement” and thatwas not his message to PrimeMinisterNarendraModi,UnitedStatesSpecialPresidentialEnvoyfor Climate John Kerry said onThursday. India, he added, was

alreadydoingallthethingstogetthere.“Do I think it (a net-zero tar-

get) could be? Yes. Am I sitting

here saying that’s what Indiasurelyhastodo?No,that’snotmymessage inmymeetingwiththePrimeMinister,” Kerry said in amedia interaction, adayafterhismeetingwithModi. He addedthatModi understood the chal-lenge of climate change, and"that’sbetterthanalotofnations”.Asked about the role of

youngclimateactivistsandhowCONTINUEDONPAGE4

Kerry says net-zero not US message,welcomes activism like Disha Ravi’s

Kashi Vishwanath vsGyanvapi Mosque:Court orders ASI tosurvey disputed site

RakeshwarSinghManhasattheCRPFhospital,Basaguda

Saysfindoutifexistingstructuresuperimposed;SunniWaqfBoardtomoveHC

USSpecialPresidentialEnvoyforClimateJohnKerry

FACULTYPROTEST

Keep focus on test and trace, let’snot jump the gunon vaccines: PM

Calls fora4-dayutsav forvaccinepush

BUSINESS AS USUAL

BYUNNY

THESECONDPAGE4 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,APRIL9,2021

CBI probeSinghvi,that“merelybecausetheHomeMinisterhasresignedafterthe impugnedorderwouldbe afactornottodirectenquirybyanindependentagency”, thebenchsaid:“Thetwopersonasheldpostof Home Minister andCommissionerofPoliceforalongperiodand the latterwouldbeapostofconfidenceoftheformer.”The apex court said it is “un-

able toaccept” the contentionofDeshmukh’s counsel, SeniorAdvocateKapilSibal,thatevenfordirecting apreliminary enquiry,he ismandatorily entitled to beheardinhisindividualcapacityal-though the state government, ofwhichhewasaminister,wasrep-resented.Deshmukhhad argued that

theHighCourtorderwouldaffectthe federal structure as the statehad alreadywithdrawngeneralconsenttoCBItoprobecasesinitsterritory. The bench said: “Youcan't say it affects the federalstructure. This does not happenevery day. Both (Singh andDeshmukh) havebeenheads ofinstitutionswheresomethinghasgonewrong.”Singhvi contended that the

statehadmuchtosayinthemat-terbutdidnotgetachancetofilea counter. JusticeKaul said: “Theallegations are very serious. Thetwo personas involved... werecloselyworkingtogethertilltheyfellapart,bothholdingaparticu-larposition. Thenshould theCBInotinvestigate?”JusticeKaul said: “This is not

yourenemywhohasmadetheseallegations”, but “almost yourright-handman”.JusticeGuptasaidDeshmukh

didnotresignwhenaprobecom-missionwas set up by the statebutdidsoonlyaftertheHCorder.Sibal contended that what

happened in theHighCourtwasa “completemockeryof justice”.But JusticeKaulobserved: “Factsareveryimportant...Hereisaveryseniorofficermakingallegationsabout a very senior Minister.”Justice Gupta asked: “Should asuspectbeheardbeforeprelimi-naryinquiry?”Sibalsaid:“I’mnotan accused...I’mnot even a sus-pect.”Sibal pointed out that there

wereallegations levelledagainstanotherminister,too,andadded,“all these have no evidentiaryvalueor supportingdocuments.Allof thisishearsay...”JusticeGuptathenreferredto

certainportionsof thejudgmentandsaidthat“highofficialsoftheState are involved in thematter.Whether it is A, B, C orD, that isthematterof investigation”.Atonepoint,Sibalalsosaidthe

probe could be from the HighCourt or the apex court but thebenchsaid,“Youcannotpickandchoosetheinvestigatingagency”.

India trialcoronavirus in the country,withseveralstatessayingtheyarerun-ningoutofsupplies.Abridgingtrialisaclinicaltrial

wheretheregulatorasksthefirmto enroll a small number of par-ticipants (around1,000) to onlyestablishthesafetyandimmuno-genicityofavaccine.Thebridgingtrial doesn'tneed to test theeffi-cacyofavaccine,whichisalreadyestablished in another clinicaltrial.SourcessaidJ&J'sbridgingtrial

will be similar to the trial beingconducted by Dr Reddy's forRussianvaccineSputnikVandtheonedoneby theSerumInstituteof India for the AstraZeneca-Oxfordvaccine.In India, J&J has tiedupwith

Biological E to expandmanufac-turing capabilities of its vaccinecandidate.InFebruary,theUSregulators

had issued Emergency UseAuthorization for theCovid vac-cine developed by J&J's JanssenPharmaceutical Companies. TheapprovalwasbasedondatafromthePhase3ensemblestudythatdemonstrated that the vaccine

was 85% effective in preventingsevere disease across all the re-gions studied -- and66% to 72%effectiveinpreventing"moderateto severe" Covid -- and that itshowedprotectionagainstCovid-relatedhospitalisationanddeath,beginning28daysafter vaccina-tion.

Centre notehardlyanystatethatcanclaimtobeinacomfortablesituation.Thespreadof thediseasehas

beenpolitics-agnostic.Karnataka,a BJP-ruled state, has the thirdhighestcaseloadinthecountry.Italso reported the third highestnumber of deaths, afterMaharashtra and Tamil Nadu.Incidentally, theBJP isAIADMK’sallywhichrulesTamilNadu.KarnatakaandUttarPradesh,

again ruled by the BJP, are nowamong the top five contributorsof new cases these days. Goa, aBJP-ruledstate,hashigherdeathspermillionpopulationthanevenMaharashtra.ThesameistrueofLadakh as well. HimachalPradesh faresworse thanKeralaonthissamemetric.Thereareseveralindicatorson

which BJP-ruled states are per-formingasbad,ifnotworse,thanstatesunderOpposition.HarshVardhan, for example,

pulledupChhattisgarh forbeing“heavily dependent” on rapidantigentests,andsuggestedthatit could have contributed to thehighnumberofdeaths.ButUttar Pradesh andBihar,

two stateswithhighest numberof tests, have also been relyingmostly on rapid antigen tests. InMaharashtraorTamilNadu, twostateswhichhavedone compa-rablenumberof tests,morethan80percenthavebeencarriedoutusingtheRT-PCRmethod.Harsh Vardhan also chided

Chhattisgarh for refusing to useCovaxin to inoculate its people.Butthereareatleast14statesthathavenotusedevenasingledoseof Covaxin. Most of these aresmaller states, but among themare BJP-ruled states like Goa,which, considering its size andpopulation,hasaveryhighnum-ber of cases as well as deaths.Himachal Pradesh has also notdeployedCovaxin.

Tollyganjpeople, especially in slumareas.TheTollyNullah(canal)needsim-mediatecleaning."Home toTechnicians Studio,

Indrapuri Studio and NewTheatres 1 studio whererenowned filmmakers SatyajitRay,Mrinal Sen, RitwikGhatakand later directors RituparnoGhosh,GoutamGhoshandoth-ers shot their films, Tollyganj isalsoastudyincontrasts.If themushrooming of film

studios here since beforeIndependence lends it a distinc-tivesheen, theconstituency isaswell known for the highly pol-luted Tolly nullah, popularlyknownasAdiGanga,thatdoesn'tjust run through the heart ofBengalicinemabutalsopastChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee'shouseinKalighat.Thecanalcon-tinues to receive untreatedsewage and waste, and theNationalGreenTribunal's inter-ventioninthepast fewyearshasbarelymadeanydifference.Whenthereishightideinthe

Hooghly river, the nullah over-flows,inundatingadjoiningareas.Amongtheworstaffectedaretheslumdwellers,wholivealongthecanal.Saysaresident, refusingtobenamed,"Thenullahisabreed-inggroundformosquitoes.Therehasneverbeenanyseriousworktocleanit."SittingMLABiswas contests

this,claimingtherehasbeenalotof development under theTrinamool, and dismissing thechallengeposedbySupriyo.Inthe2016Assemblypolls,Biswashadwon Tollyganj by 9,896 votes.Duringthe2019LokSabhapolls,when theBJPmademajor gainsinBengal, theTMCwasahead inthissegment.

"Fromroadsandelectricitytowater, all developmentworkshavebeendonebyChiefMinisterMamataBanerjee.Peoplecanseeit,”hesays.

Fertiliser pricesAn Iffco spokesperson said

thatthepricesofnon-ureafertilis-ersarealreadydecontrolled.Andthat the cooperative's action,which follows other fertilisercompanies revising rates up-wards sincemid-March, has "nolinkage to any political party orgovernment".Theabovehikesaremainlyon

account of international pricesregistering a sharp surge in thepast five-sixmonths.The landedprices of importedDAP in Indiaarenowatabout$540pertonne,as against less than $400 inOctober.Similarly,thepricesofin-termediates such as ammoniaand sulphur have goneup fromaround$280 and $85per tonneto $500 and $220per tonne, re-spectively.Evenureaandmuriateof potash prices have hardenedfrom$275and$230to$380and$280pertonne,respectively,overthisperiod.Thehighernutrientprices, in

turn, are a reflection of the re-newed bull cycle in farm com-modities.

IIM-C facultyConstitutionallyprotectedrightsandgoesagainst the ideaof con-sideringacademicinstitutionsdif-ferent fromgovernmentdepart-ments.Aside fromprohibiting criti-

cismof thegovernment and theinstitute,thecodeexpectsteach-ers toseekpriorapprovalof “thecompetent authority” topursueany academic interests outsidetheinstitute.It forbids themfrombeing"a

signatorytoanyjointrepresenta-tionaddressedto theauthoritiesforredressof anygrievance"andforwarding their plea for griev-anceredressaltoahigherauthor-ity"unlessthelowerauthorityhasrejected the claimor refused re-lief,orthedisposalofthematterisdelayed by more than threemonths.""No employee shall, except

withtheprevioussanctionofthecompetent authority, have re-course to anyCourt of Lawor tothePressforthevindicationofanyofficial actwhich has been thesubjectmatter of adverse criti-cismor an attack of defamatorycharacter,"thedraftstates.Thenthere is theexpectation

ofmaintainingpolitical neutral-

ityandnot takingpart inpoliticsorbeingassociatedwithanypartyor organization that participatesinpoliticalactivity.Participation in demonstra-

tionsthatcanbeconsidered"prej-udicialtotheinterestsofthesov-ereigntyandintegrityofIndia,thesecurityoftheState,friendlyrela-tionswith foreign States, publicorder, decency or morality orwhichinvolvescontemptofcourt,defamationor incitement toanyoffence"isano-goarea.Ironically, this code comes

shortly after the faculty ap-proached the government di-rectly against theirDirector andthe Board,which led to the for-mer’s resignation. BoardChairmanShri KrishnaKulkarnididnotrespondtoanemail."By reposing its immense

faithintheefficacyofCentralCivilService (Conduct) Rules as thefoundationalgoverningpolicyforanacademicinstitution,thedoc-umentappearstohaveturneditsbackonthejuridicalandpolitico-administrativewisdomembed-ded in the extant Indian institu-tionalframeworkthathasalwaysstood for the autonomyof aca-demicinstitutions,"thefeedbacksharedwith the sub-committeeof theBoardofGovernorsreads.Teachershavecitedtheexam-

ple of theMIT faculty recentlywriting an open letter to USCongressforarobustcoronavirusstimuluspackagehelpingtheeco-nomically vulnerable to endorsetheirpoint.

Collegium meetretiringonApril23,theprocessofappointmentneedstobeinitiatedforatleastsixjudges.Additionally,apart from CJI Bobde, JusticesAshok Bhushan, RohintonNarimanandNavinSinhawillre-tirethisyear.Thelastappointmentmadeto

the SCwas in September 2019andtheearliestvacancywascre-atedinNovember2019whenfor-merCJIRanjanGogoiretired.The IndianExpresshadearlier

reported thatat least two judgesof the SupremeCourt are learntto have expressed reservationsover theCJI’s decision to call thecollegium.TheyarguedthatsincethePresidentof India,onApril6,issuedwarrants of appointmentforthenextChief Justiceof India,itwouldnotbeproperforthein-cumbentCJItomakeanyrecom-mendations.JusticeRamanaissettotakeoathtoofficeonApril24.

ASI survey orderover,anyreligiousstructure”.

Fast Track Court Civil Judge(Senior Division) AshutoshTiwari’s order came less than amonth after the SupremeCourtsought theCentre’s responseona PIL challenging the constitu-tional validity of the Places ofWorship(SpecialProvisions)Act,1991whichmandates that thenatureofallplacesofworship,ex-cepttheoneinAyodhyathatwasthen under litigation, shall bemaintained as itwas onAugust15, 1947, and that no encroach-ment of any such place prior tothe date can be challenged incourts.TheActalsoappliestothedis-

putedKashiVishwanathTemple-GyanvapiMosque complex inVaranasi and KrishnaJanmabhoomi Temple-ShahiIdgahMosque inMathura. Eventhe Supreme Court, in itsNovember 2019 ruling on theRamJanmabhoomi-BabriMasjidtitle suitwhichwent in favouroftheHinduparties,hadunderlinedthattheActis“preservesnon-ret-rogressionasanessentialfeatureofoursecularvalues”.Ruling ona2019application

by lawyer-petitioner VijayShankarRastogi,whocalled it “arepresentative suitwherein theinterest of large number of per-sons, having faith inHindu reli-gion, areat stake”, judgeTiwari’sordernotedthat“thequestionastowhetherplaintiff’ssuitisbarredbysection4ofPlacesofWorship(SpecialProvisions)Act,1991andconsequently byorder 7Rule 11(d) of Code of Civil Procedure,1908…weredecidednegativelyby thepredecessor courtvide itsorder dated18/10/1997…orderwas challenged in revision, andtherevisionalcourtvideitsorderdated 23/09/1998 directed thiscourt to decide said issue afreshonlyaftertakingevidencesoftheparties”.He rejected the argument of

thedefendants–theMuslimpar-ties to the case – that since “amosquehasbeenenteredat thedisputed site in the revenuerecords, hence the same is notopen for challenge,” saying “it iswellsettledthatarevenueentryisnotconclusivepieceofevidence”.JudgeTiwariorderedthatthe

suitbelistedforfurtherordersonMay31.TheSunniCentralWaqfBoard

and the Anjuman IntejamiyaMasjid,whichhadobjectedtothepetition, said theywill approachahighercourtagainsttheorder.In his order, the judgenoted

that the plaintiff had said the“templeexistedsincetimeimme-

morial” and that KingVikramaditya reconstructed it2050yearsago,thatitwasrecon-structed during the reign ofEmperorAkbar.Theplaintiffsaidthat following anApril 18, 1669farmanfromEmperorAurangzeb,local officials “demolished thetemple of Swayambhu LordVishweshwar andconstructedamosquewith thehelpof the ru-ins”.Theplaintiffstatedthat“since

the Shivlingaof above said tem-ple is self-existing andnaturallyarisenfromdeepinsidetheearth,henceevenafterdemolition, theSwayambhu Shivlinga of LordVishweshwar continues to existalong thearghasurrounding theShivlinga at the very sameplacewhere itwasprior todemolitionof thetemple”.In itsorder, thecourt said the

DirectorGeneralofASIshallcon-stitutea5-membercommitteeofeminentpersonswhoareexpertsandwell-versedinthescienceofarchaeology, two out of whichshould preferably belong to theminoritycommunity.It directed that an expert be

appointedas anobserver for thecommittee; the committeeshould report to the observeraboutthesurveyworkdone;thatthe entire survey be pho-tographedandvideographed,andonitscompletion,thecommitteeshouldsubmititsreportoftheen-tiresurvey.Following theorder, plaintiff

VijayShankarRastogisaid:“ThisisahugewinfortheHindusidebe-cause theMuslim side arguedthatatthegroundlevelithasbeenamosque since the beginning.WhereastheHindusidesaidthata templewasdemolished andamosquebuilt.”He said the original petition

wasfiledin1991bythreepersonsandthathehadbeentheircoun-sel.UPSunniCentralWaqfBoard

chairman Zufar Farooqui said:“Ourunderstanding is clear thatthiscaseisbarredbythePlacesofWorship(SpecialProvisions)Act,1991.”

CommandotheattackonApril3,andrunningtoavoidcomingintheNaxal lineof fire, before fainting, possiblydue todehydrationandextremestimuli.Whenheopenedhiseyes,he was already in the Maoistcamp. For the next five days, hewouldwalk kilometres and betakenfromonecamptotheother,till the time hewas released infrontofvillagersandarmedNaxal

cadres,theysaid.Bijapur SP Kamalochan

Kashyapsaid,“Wearethankfultothe social activists and the jour-nalistswhohelpedingettinghimback.”ChhattisgarhChiefMinisterBhupeshBaghelalsothankedthejournalistsandsocialactivists.In far-away Jammu,

RakeshwarSingh’s four-year-olddaughterRaghviwaitedforherfa-thertocomeback.Therewascel-ebrationathisresidence.OnTuesday, theMaoists had

releasedapressnotedemandingthatthegovernmentissuealistofinterlocutors.While thegovern-mentwasstilldiscussing,ateamof seven journalists alongwithfour social activists leftWednesdayafternoontoreceivetheCoBRAjawan.RakeshwarSinghsaidhewas

notharmedincaptivity.

John Kerrygovernmentscansafeguardtheirrightsorencouragethem—inthecontextof thecaseofDishaRavi,whowasheldonseditionchargeslinkedtothefarmprotest—Kerrysaidhe"welcomesthatkindofac-tivism”.“Humanrightsarealwaysa critical issue to the UnitedStates... Youngpeoplehavebeenkeytopushingalotofadultstodowhatadultsaresupposedtodo...Ipersonallywelcomethatkindofactivism.”

Centre OKs dosesAnorderbytheUnionHealth

Ministry, accessedbyThe IndianExpress, shows that 350 lakhCovishielddosesaretobedistrib-uted in the comingdays --UttarPradeshwill receive 44.98 lakhdoses, Madhya Pradesh 33.76lakh, Karnataka 29.06 lakh,Haryana24lakh,WestBengal21lakh,Maharashtra17.43lakh,andGujarat15.57lakh.The worst-hit state,

Maharashtra isvaccinatingcloseto4lakhpeopledailyandhasim-munised the most number ofpeopleacrossthecountry(89.49lakh).Kerala,whichisalsoseeingasurge,isamongthebottomhalfintermsofsupplyasisRajasthan(3.83lakhnewdoses).Rajasthanincidentally has vaccinated thesecond-highest number of peo-ple(82.87lakh).TheOppositionhas been al-

legingthattheCentreisfavouringBJP-ruledstatesinvaccinesupply.On Thursday evening,

Vardhan tweeted that India has13 crore doses in total, of which9.1crorehadbeenused,2.4croreare in stockacross states, and1.5crore are in the pipeline andwould be transported soon."Where does question of short-agesarise?"AfterMaharashtraandRajast-

han, Gujarat (81.47 lakh), UttarPradesh (78.47 lakh) andWestBengal (70.55 lakh)have carriedout themost vaccinations. “TheCentre allocates vaccine stocksbasedondailyconsumption.ButbothMaharashtraandRajasthanhave received less supply,” aMaharashtrahealthofficialsaid.“Consideringourpopulation,

it (the supply) seems veryskewed. All these suppliesweretobedeliveredafterApril15.Mostdistrictswill haveno stock 10thonwards,”MaharashtraHealthSecretaryDr PradeepVyas said.OnWednesday,Maharashtrahadvaccinated 4.37 lakh people(among its highest daily num-bers), but officials saidnumbersfell on Thursday due to lack ofstock (the data wasn't in tillThursdaynight).Panvel andSatarahave com-

pletely halted immunisation,whileSangli,NaviMumbai,Tha-ne,Nashikwill stop fromFriday.InMumbai, several centreshavestoppedvaccination, andalmostallmighthavetohaltbySaturday.Navi Mumbai corporation

commissioner Abhijeet Bangarsaid, "Many people came andfoundnovaccines.Suchhaltwillnegativelyaffectourexercise." InMumbai, civic officials said cen-tres only immunised registeredrecipientsandwalk-inswerenot

allowed.TopeagainquestionedVardh-

an'schargethatMaharashtrawasnot covering thepriority groupsenough andhence contributingtotheCovid-19caseload,andthatits vaccine shortage complaintwasmeant to divert attentionfromthis."Ourhealthworkersareworkingtirelessly.Weareincreas-ing our beds daily, our testing,treatingandtracingarestrong,wehave raisedRT-PCR tests to 70%,every guideline of the Centre isfollowed... InUP, 10%of the testsare RT-PCR...We urgeminister(Vardhan) to cooperatewithus.This is not a political issue," hesaid.Maharashtra appreciated"help from the Centre" in han-dling Covid-19, "butwe are notgetting support to theextentwewant",Topeadded.ComparingMaharashtra to

Gujarat,theHealthMinistersaid,“They have 17,348 active Covidcases,wehave5 lakh. There aremoredeathsinMaharashtrathanGujarat. Their population is halfours, and we are vaccinatingmore, but Gujarat has so far re-ceived 1 crore doses andMaharashtra1.06crore."Whilehealthisastatesubject,

Tope noted, the immunisationdrive is being controlled by theCentreandstatescannotindivid-ually procure vaccines. He saidthatMaharashtrahasdemandedthat vaccinationbe extended topeople between 20-40 years ofage, and to allow HaffkinePharmaceuticals,Parel,tomanu-facturevaccines.NCP chief SharadPawar said

hehadalsospokentoVardhanonWednesdayabouttheshortageofvaccines. He said the HealthMinister had assured that theCentrewillstandbyMaharashtraandotherstatestotacklethesitu-ation.Topeasked theUnionHealth

MinistrytoalsoreleasedataoftheSample Registration Survey onperformance of stateswith re-spect toCovid-19, and to share adetailed report on genome se-quencing of samples tested inMaharashtra.

Uddhav to PMMaharashtra could improve

vaccination numbers further ifthe proposal sent by the stategovernmentonallowingHaffki-neInstitutetoproducethevacci-newasapprovedsoon,headded.Thackeray said the rise in

cases in Maharashtra wasmainly due to Gram Panchayatelections and wedding cere-monies.“Suddenly,anoutbreakofthevirusstartedinsomepartsof Vidarbha, infecting the sev-eralfamiliesinit.Whilethestatewasreturningtonormal,thein-fectionwasexacerbatedbymu-tationsinthevirus,”saidThack-eray, speaking in the videoconference meeting called byPMwithCMsof states.The CM also said that the

state has kept a target to vacci-nate about 1.77 crore people intheprioritygroupforwhichsup-ply40lakhvaccinesperweekisrequired.“Sofar,thestatehasre-ceived1.06 coredosesofwhich92-95 lakh doses have beengiven till today. At present,Maharashtrahasveryfewstocksand some centres are closed,”saidThackeray.“The Centre has said that

17.43lakhdoseswillbegivenaf-ter April 15. But it will hamperthe vaccination drive. So, thecomplete demand should begiven as per our demand,” saidChiefMinisterandreiteratedhisdemand of vaccinating all thepeopleabove theageof 25.He said the state is in dire

needofoxygen--1700-2500MTwill be required by the end ofApril.Also, thedailyuseofRem-desivir injectionswill go up to90,000 to1 lakhbyendof April,considering the rise in Covidcases.TheCentreshouldprovide1200moreventilators,headded.

FULLREPORTSONwww.indianexpress.com

FROMPAGEONE

politics.Idon'topenmymouth.Ibelievewehavetoservethecit-izens.... Thosewho are doingpoliticswill do it... However, allof us should come forward tochangethesituation...Wehavetofocusontesting...Vaccinationis a long-termand continuousprocess,”Modisaid.The meeting took place

amidaheatedface-offbetweenthe Centre andnon-BJP-ruledstates over vaccine doses. OnWednesday, Union HealthMinisterDrHarshVardhansin-gledoutmostly non-BJP-ruledstates,specificallyMaharashtraandChhattisgarh, andaccusedthemof “politicising” a publichealth issue and “spreadinglies”, andnot doing enough intermsof testing, infrastructure.DuringThursday'smeeting,

sources toldThe IndianExpress,Maharashtra Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray soughtModi'sinterventionin“restrain-ing”politicalpartiesfrommak-ingthepandemicapoliticaltooltotargetstategovernments.PunjabCMAmarinderSingh

asked the Centre to review itspolicysothatalladultsgetvac-cinated “as early as possible”while pointing out that the

surge in India ismainly due totheUKvariant.Chhattisgarh CMBhupesh

BaghelaskedtheCentretopro-vide adequate supplies ofRemdesivir and oxygen cylin-ders,andrampupvaccinesup-ply.West Bengal CMMamataBanerjee,whohadaccusedtheCentreofnotprovidingenoughvaccine doses for her statewhichisinthemiddleofanelec-tion,didnotattendthemeeting.ThePM,meanwhile, reiter-

ated the vaccination strategybased onprioritisation of vul-nerable groups. “Themost re-sourcefulcountriesalsohavesetcriteria. We are working to-wards achieving maximummanufacturing capacity...Whatever is available tous,wehavetoprioritise,”Modisaid.The Prime Minister also

stressed that doses are beingsuppliedwhilekeepingallstatesinmind.“Also,animportantas-pectisvaccinewastage...Itismyrequesttostatestoattempt100percent coverage of everyoneabove the age 45 years in thehighfocusdistricts,”hesaid.ThePMsuggested a “vacci-

nationutsav”.“Weshouldrunaspecial drive to vaccinate the

maximumeligiblebeneficiariesand achieve zerowastage... IhavealsotoldtheCentretosendasmanydosesaspossible.”Ondemandsfortheyouthto

bevaccinated,Modisaid:“...wewant to strengthen the youththroughvaccination, however,we should encourage them tofollowprotocols.”According to sources,

Thackeraysaidthatthestatehasbeenfollowingallthedirectivesby the Central Government.“Despitethis,somepoliticalpar-ties are now contemplatinglaunching an agitation againstthe stategovernment,”he said.TheBJPinMaharashtrahasbeencritical of state government'shandlingof thepandemic.Moditoldthestatestofocus

on testing. “We have to bringdown thepositivity rateunder5 per cent and our target is 70percentRTPCRtesting,”hesaid,adding that the “perimeter ofcontainment zones should bewell defined” not “vague”. Healso told the states to compiledataonmortality.OnThursday,meanwhile, a

day after Harsh Vardhan's re-marks, Maharashtra HealthMinister Rajesh Tope alleged

bias and claimed that his statehasreceivedadisproportionatenumber of doses compared toBJP-ruledstates.Harsh Vardhan posted on

Twitter before the meeting:“Let’sputanendtofearmonger-ing now! #COVID19Vaccinedoses:Totaladministered:9cr+;In stock/nearing delivery tostates:4.3cr+.Wheredoesques-tion of shortages arise?We'recontinuouslymonitoring&en-hancingsupply.”The Health Minister

tweeted: “Hue&crybycertainStatesaboutpartisanshipbytheUnionGovtis justafarce,anat-tempttohidetheirownincom-petence. Maharashtra andRajasthan are 2 of the top 3States based on allocation of#COVID19Vaccine doses. Botharenon-BJPgovernedStates.”He said that Maharashtra

had received the maximumdoses(1,06,19,190),followedbyGujarat (1,05,19,330) andRajasthan (1,04,95,860).However,whilethesethreeareamong the top-rankers in ad-ministering vaccinations,Maharashtracasenumbersfaroutnumber Gujarat andRajasthan.

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Month

Solar Non Solar

Weekdays Holidays &Sundays MU /

Month(Upto)

Weekdays Holidays &Sundays MU /

Month(Upto)Max

(MW) MU /Day Max(MW) MU /Day Max

(MW) MU /Day Max(MW) MU /Day

Apr-21 250 1.36 107 0.44 10 100 0.54 43 0.18 4May-21 281 2.09 169 0.51 50 219 1.63 131 0.39 39June-21 276 1.8 166 0.5 48 224 1.46 134 0.4 39July-21 220 1.65 147 0.44 45 230 1.72 153 0.46 47Aug-21 169 1.32 71 0.21 35 131 1.02 54 0.16 27Sep-21 188 1.36 0 0 35 162 1.17 0 0 30Oct-21

(1st – 15th) 75 0.6 75 0.625

75 0.6 75 0.624

Oct-21(16th – 31st) 150 1.14 100 0.76 250 1.26 100 0.76

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Bhatsa Colony, Bhatsanagar, Tal.- Shahapur, Dist.- ThanePhone No. : 02527-249594; E-mail : [email protected]

e-Tender Notice No. 1 for 2021-22ONLINE e-tenders in B-1 for belowmentioned work are invited by the Executive Engineer, Bhatsa Dam Management Division,

Bhatsanagar, Tal.- Shahapur, Dist.- Thane, Pin Code No.-421 603 from experienced and eligible contractors. Tender Documents areavailable for downloading from government web site https://mahatender.gov.in. Chief Engineer Water Resources Department, KonkanRegion, Mumbai reserves the right to reject any or all tenders without assigning any reason. The Tender with condition will not be accepted.

The e-tender notice for the above said work is available on the web site of1. https://mahatenders.gov.in

(If any change in tender notice are indicated on above web site)2. E-tender notice is available on notice board of Executive Engineer, Bhatsa Dam Management Division, Bhatsanagar Office.No. BDMD/AB-4/1241/2021 Sd/-Date : 03.04.2021 Executive Engineer,Office of the Executive Engineer Bhatsa Dam Management Division,Bhatsa Dam Management Division, BhatsanagarBhatsanagar DGIPR/2021-2022/63

Sr.No.

Name of Work Bid amount(Rs.)

Cost ofDocument (Rs.)

Period ofCompletion

Tender Saleand Download

TenderOpening

1 2 3 4 5 6 71 Construction of approach road to the Mumari

Dam top from murbicha pada with RCC BoxCulvert and C.D. works under Mumari project atVillage Sarangapuri, Tal.- Shahapur, Dist.- Thane.

Rs. 400.76lakh

Rs. 2,000/- +GST

24 Months(including

Rainy season)

09.04.202111.00 am to23.04.202118.00 pm

26.04.202111.00 am

GOVERNMENT OF MAHARASHTRAPUBLIC WORKS DIVISION MALEGAON

Recalled E-TENDER NOTICE NO 13 FOR 2020-2021 [ONLINE] [IInd Call]

ONLINE E-Tenders in B-1 form for the following work invited by ExecutiveEngineer P. W. Division Malegaon, Ravalgaon road, Malegaon Camp, Tal.Malegaon, Dist. Nashik Phone No. 02554-251912 for and on behalf of Governorof Maharashtra State from Capable and eligible P. W. Dept. Registered /Unregistered Contractor or International Contactor whose Sub Company orBranch Located in India, and also completes terms and conditions mentionedin tender document can participate in the tender process. Tender Notice andTender Documents are also available on our web sitehttps://mahatenders.gov.in. Right of Rejection of E-Tender / Cancellation of E-Tenders reserved by the Executive Engineer, P. W. Division, Malegaon.Conditional Tender will not be accepted.

E-Tender Notice including Total (01) One works below 1000.00 Lakh. Detailsof mentioned E-Tender Notice available on below web sites

1) www.mahapwd.com 2) https://mahatenders.gov.in

Note1. E-Tender Fee [non refundable] and Earnest Money will be accepted online

only.All eligible/ interested Contractors are required to be enrolled on portal

2. https://mahatenders.gov.in before down loading tender documents andparticipate in e-tendering

3. Post Qualification Crieteria is applicable for above worksPlease Note this to all Registered / Unregistered Contractors.

Sd/-Executive Engineer,

Public Works Division MalegaonDGIPR-2021-22/73

Tender Documents Sale Startand End Date Time

08.04.2021From 1105 Hrs To 17.04.2021

Upto 1700 Hrs

Mumbai: The police onWednesday booked 93 peopleforviolating therestrictionsputinplacebythestategovernmentin wake of a surge in Covid-19cases in the city. In all, 29 FIRswere registeredagainst 93peo-

ple. Of them, 34were arrested,49were served notices and therestremainuntraceable.SixteenFIRswere lodged against hotelsandnon-essential shops forop-erating despite curbs on theiroperations. The rest of the FIRs

were against lodged in connec-tion to incidents where morethan five persons were foundgathering in public places, notwearing masks and violatingquarantine rules.

ENS

LAXMANSINGH&TABASSUMBARNAGARWALAMUMBAI, APRIL8

WITH COVID-19 vaccine stockover, at least 25 of 120 privatevaccination centres inMumbaiwere shut on Thursday. ByFriday, thenumberswilldoubleandfromSaturday,Mumbaiwillbeforcedtocompletelystopvac-cinationsifstocksarenotreplen-ished, said officials, adding thatthe city is left with less than alakhdoses.Hospitals like Fortis, SL

Raheja, Breach Candy, SRCC,ParseeGeneral andHolyFamilyhospital turned away eligiblebeneficiariesonThursday.“Rightnow, vaccination centreshaveafew hundreds of doses left. Allwill exhaust their stock onFriday. Everyday,wehavebeenaskingthegovernmentformorestock.ThesituationhasbeenlikethissincetheinitialstockarrivedinJanuary.Wehavebeengettingstock thatwould lastus three tofour days only,” said AdditionalMunicipalCommissionerSureshKakani.In all, 56,909 people were

vaccinatedbetweenWednesdayeveningandThursday.Of them,56,514 were given Covishieldand 395 Covaxin.While 39,805were aged between 45 to 59years,12,986wereover60years,3,133werefrontlineworkersand985werehealthcareworkers.Thecivicbodywantstoscale

up to a lakh vaccinations dailybut has not received equivalentsupply, saidofficials.InMumbai,71privatehospi-

tals and 49 BMC and govern-mentvaccinecentresareautho-rised to vaccinate people. Atthese centres, around40,000 to50,000 people are vaccinateddaily.TillApril7,BMChadreceived

17.09 lakh vaccines and 15.80lakh people were vaccinated.Officials said they will reserve44,810shotsfortheseconddoseand use the remaining for firstdoses on Friday. The city has avaccinewastage rateof 1.02percent,muchlowerthanstateandnational average.“Sincethereisashortage,we

have to distribute vaccines on adailybasistohospitals.Wehavenotbeenabletoprovidestockfor

a week or 10 days till now. Thedaily exercisewastes a lot of re-sourcesandmanpower,”saidDrMangala Gomare, BMCExecutiveHealthOfficer.HiranandanihospitalCEODr

Sujit Chatterjee said they havestopped walk-in vaccinationsand reduced daily immunisa-tions from600 to300. InHinduSabhahospital,officialssaidtheyhavestocktillFriday.“Afterthat,we will inform the registeredbeneficiaries to stop coming,” adoctor said.In Dharavi andMahim, too,

vaccination centreswill remainshut on Friday. Official said theMahim centre, which usuallyrecordsagoodturnout,wasshutbyThursdayafternoon.People, meanwhile, started

crowding the Dharavi centrewhen news of shortage spread.

More than 500 people got theirjabs on Thursday – the centre'shighest single day count. So far,4,362 people have been vacci-natedat thecentre. “Ihadtoaskotherwardstodivertvaccinestous,” said Kiran Dighavkar,Assistant MunicipalCommissioner of G North(Dadar,Dharavi)ward.Mumbai Mayor Kishori

Pednekarsaid,“Intheabsenceofvaccines,wewillbe leftwithnooption but to stop the immuni-sationdrive.”Congress corporator Ravi

Raja said that in Sion hospital,duetoshortage,onlypeopletak-ing second doses were immu-nised.ShivSenacorporatorfromMankhurd, Vithhal Lokare, saidthey had requested local resi-dents not to visit vaccinationcentres for thenext fewdays.In Bandra, Bhabha hospital

has also started turning backpeople. “Bhabha hospital askedsome people onWednesday tocome back on Thursday.Whenthey came today, they weregiven tokensbut later sent backciting non-availability of vac-cines,”saidAsifZakaria,aBandraWest corporator. The HolyFamily hospital has completelysuspended the immunisationdrive.Meanwhile,BJPgroupleader

Prabhakar Shinde alleged thatvaccine shortage is the result ofimproper management. “It isBMC's failure. The state shouldreach out to the Union govern-ment for stock,”headded.


THE SAKINAKA police onThursday booked twomen forfleeing fromahotelwhere theywere undergoing mandatoryseven-day quarantine after ar-riving in the city fromDubai byflight.The FIR was registered on

April 8 on a complaint byChandrashekhar Kanyalkar, anofficial fromBMC's Lward. Thepoliceare looking for theduo.As per government rules, all

fliers coming from theMiddleEastandEuropehavetoquaran-tine themselves for seven daysin a hotel and another sevendaysathome.Kanyalkartoldthepolicethat

on April 7, he and his colleaguehadgonetoSevenOlivehotel inSakinaka to check on ImranSurve and Fahid Antule, whocame from Dubai by flight onApril 2. But they had ran away,followingwhichtheBMCofficialapproachedthepolice.“Wearealsoprobingtherole

ofthehotel.Ifwefindnegligenceon its part, we will file a caseagainst it too,” said ManishWalunj, Assistant MunicipalCommissionerof Lward.

Mumbai: Nine days after theMaharashtra IndustrialDevelopment Corporation(MIDC) lodged a complaint ontheransomwareattackthatdis-rupted the functioning of theirheadofficeand16otherregionaloffices, the cyber cell of theMumbai Crime Branch has as-certained that the cyber attackhad originated from one of theerstwhileSovietUnionstates.A senior IPS officer from the

Mumbai Crime Branch said, “Inourpreliminaryinvestigation, itappearedthataransomwareat-tack into theMIDC server wascarried out by someone basedeither in Kazakhstan or Russia.We are still trying to ascertaintheexactbase.”ENS

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEMUMBAI,APRIL8

WITHAspike inCovid-19 cases,ReliefandRehabilitationMinisterVijayWadettiwaronThursdayin-dicatedthatthestategovernmentis considering implementing re-strictions onMumbai suburbantraintravelonceagain.The closure of the suburban

network onMarch 23, last year,waseasedslowlylaterintheyearforafewcategoriesofcommuters.Since February 1, only those in-volvedinprovidingessentialserv-ices are allowed to board trainsfrom7am to 12pmand from4pm to 9 pm. In the remaininghours,allcommutersareallowed.Thesurgeincaseshadbeganmid-February.Theministersaidthegovern-

mentwasagainmullingwhethertoshutdownlocaltrainsentirelyorlimittheservicestoafewcate-goriesofcommuters.“Itisfactthattrains are very crowdedand thenumberofpatients isalsomulti-plying. So, we will considerwhethertoallowpeopletotravelin different time slots,”Wadettiwartoldmediapersons.Sources said that even those

notinvolvedinprovidingnon-es-sential servicesboardtrainsdur-ing peak hours, resulting incrowding.

Mumbai:High-level, multi-dis-ciplinaryhealth teamsfromtheCentrevisitedtheBKCCovid-19jumbo centre, H/eastwardwarroom, a few housing societiesand vaccination centres inMumbai to assess the currentsituation in thecity.Thecentralteamsaretasked

tocollaboratewithstateandlo-calhealthauthoritiesonfurthermeasurestobetakentocontain

theCovid19pandemic.The teamwill be inMumbai

for two to three days andworkwith local authorities.“The team appreciated our

policy of containment zones,micro-containment zones, sur-veillanceandfollow-upofCovid19 patients," Suresh Kakani,Additional MunicipalCommissioner, said.

ENS

LOCALTRAINS

Will considerwhether to allowpeople to travelin different timeslots: Minister

FIR against twofliers for fleeinghotel quarantine

Bank donates ambulanceMumbai: Dombivali NagariSahakariBankrecentlydonatedacardiac ambulance to theRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh,JanakalyanSamiti from its chari-table fund.Thebankalsodistrib-uted Rs 39 lakh to 85 organiza-tions working in the social,cultural,medical,educationalandsportssectors,thebanksaid.Inviewoftheincreasingnum-

ber of Covid-19 patients inDombivali,thebankhasprovidedtwooxygenmachinestotheAnitaPatientServiceCenter.ENS

Cyber attack originatedfromSoviet Union: Police

93 booked for Covid violations in city, 34 arrestedVACCINATIONDRIVE

No stock,many centres shutdown,more to follow today

AdesertedvaccinationcentreatBKCjumbofacilityonThursday. PradipDas

Central teams arrive in Mumbai


MAHARASHTRAWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

TABASSUMBARNAGARWALAMUMBAI, APRIL8

WITH SPIKE in Covid-19 casesacross the state, major cities inMaharashtra are facinga severeshortage of hospital beds. Ananalysis of bed availability ineight cities shows that vacancyfor oxygen, ventilator and ICUbeds isonlybetween3to18percent. Nagpur is the worst af-fected. OnThursday, it hadonlythreeventilatorbeds left.Even thoughmunicipal cor-

porationsareworkingovertimetoincreasebedcapacityinthesecities, the rising case loadmakepatientsfaceanuphilltaskinac-cessingbeds for treatment.Mumbai on Thursday had

16.9 per cent oxygen, ICU andventilatorsavailable,downfrom17.9percent.Pune'sbedvacancydippedfrom14.3to13.3percentand Nashik saw steepest dropinaday,from20to18.2percent.

Thirty teams from theCentral government visited 30worst-affected districts ofMaharashtra on Thursday tostudy the ground situation andmake recommendations. ThisincludesMumbai, Pune, Thane,Nagpur,Nashik,AurangabadandAhmednagarthathavethehigh-est loadof newcases.Nagpurhad4.4percentbeds

available on Wednesday, byThursday it dropped to 3.7 percent.Therewereonlythreeven-tilators, 31 ICUsand165oxygenbedsleft.Nagpurcorporationof-ficialsexpressedhelplessnessatthegrowingcases.Municipal Commissioner

RadhkrishnanB said in thepast10 days, cases from rural areashave grown from 25 to 40 per

cent. "Patients from rural areasare also getting admitted in thecity facilities.We are arrangingformore non-invasive ventila-tors,"hesaid.TheNagpurcorpo-rationwilladd450bedsinthreehospitals in10days.Nagpurofficials said evenas

theyareclosetoexhaustingtheir5,350-bedcapacity inhospitals,asmallsilver liningisthesteady

positivity rate in the city. "Insome hotspots, we are seeing adip. The number of hospitalisa-tion of patients aged above 60years has also reduced, whichmeansdeathswill also reduce,"a senior official from Nagpursaid. In Pune, corporationdash-board data shows there were102 ventilators vacant onWednesday, which reduced to62onThursday.Thane, too, sawa surge in ICU admissions, andnoted a drop from 48 to 28 va-cant ICUbeds inaday.Most cities in the state are

adding 50-100 beds every day,asper thedata.In Mumbai, 265 beds were

addedonWednesday.Currently,2,358 oxygen, ICUs and ventila-tors are vacant, maximumamong all cities. AdditionalMunicipalCommissionerSureshKakanisaidtheyplantoadd300ICU beds in Nair Hospital andjumbocentres.

FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

DWINDLINGNUMBERS

City Ventilatorbeds ICUbeds Oxygenbeds TotalVacancy%vacant/Total vacant/Total vacant/Total (ICU+venti+O2)

Mumbai 58 /1170 128/2056 2172/10725 16.9%Thane 172/226 28/571 262/2357 14.7%Nagpur 3/515 31/1523 165/3312 3.7%Pune 67/1001 337/1480 1054/8463 13.3%Nashik 67 /509 82/741 441/2174 18.2%Kolhapur 10/73 8/78 14/115 12%Solapur 16/76 110/176 139/308 47%Sangli 6/50 12/472 90/159 15.8%

Amid rising Covid cases, state facesbed shortage, Nagpurworst affected


AMIDREPORTSthatseveralvac-cinationcentresinthestatehavehaltedtheirimmunisationdrivedue to shortage of vaccines,LeaderofOppositioninthestateAssembly, Devendra Fadnavis,saidonThursdaythatonlythreestates – Maharashtra, Gujaratand Rajasthan – have receivedmorethanonecroredosesfromtheCentre.“The supply of vaccines is

basedonthestate'sdemandandhowmanypeople it is vaccinat-ing. Therefore, allegations thatthe Centre is discriminatingagainst theMVA government isbaseless.Where is the questionofpartypoliticsinsuchmatters...while Rajasthan is a Congress-ruledstate,MaharashtraisruledbyShivSena,NCPandCongress,”Fadnavis toldmediapersons.Alleging that lack of health

infrastructure has led to suffer-ing amongpeopledue to short-age of ventilators and hospitalbeds, he added: “Putting theblameontheCentrewillnot re-solve thecrisis.”“Maharashtra has received

1.06 crore vaccines, as per atweet fromDGIPRonApril 6.Ofthem, 91 lakh vaccines havebeen used. Itmeans 15 lakh arestill leftwiththegovernment.So,whyarevaccinationcentresde-liberately shutting down andspreadingfalsenews?”Fadnavisasked.Dismissing the charge that

the Modi governmrnt wasfavouring BJP-ruled states in al-location of vaccines, Fadnavissaid:“BJP-ruledUttarPradeshisthe biggest state and has re-ceived only 92 lakh vaccines.Even Haryana did not receivemanydoses in the first round.”“The stategovernment is in-

dulging inpoliticsovervaccinesto divert attention from its ad-ministrative failures... Its imagehas takenabeatingduetocourtdirectives against former homeminister Anil Deshmukh...,” headded.

Allegationsthat Centrediscriminatingagainst statebaseless, saysFadnavis


HOTELIERS ACROSS the stateprotested on Thursday againstthe government shutting downtheir in-dining service amid aspike inCovid-19cases.HotelassociationslikeFHRAI,

HRAWI, NRAI, AHAR and otherlocal associations held silentprotests under the banner ofUnited Hospitality Forum ofMaharashtra.Under the campaign

#MissionRoziRoti tohighlight the hospitality indus-try’s desperate bid for survival,lakhs of restaurant owners andstaffers stood outside theirestablishmentsholdingplacards.“Thehospitalityindustryde-

mands fair play and justice.Werequest the government to ei-ther allow us to continue regu-lar operations withmandatedSOPs or permanently shut usdown, rather than keep us halfalive and in a state of misery.Wheneverthereisariseincases,the hospitality industry is tar-geted and victimised,” saidSherryBhatia,presidentofHoteland Restaurant Association ofWestern India (HRAWI).“Throughoursilentprotests,

we are requesting the govern-ment to allow us resumework.Ifnot, itmusttakecareofourin-comes. The industry should get

a completewaiver on all statu-toryfeesandtaxesandestablish-ments should not be billed forwaterandelectricity for thedu-rationof thecurbs.”According to the new curbs,

takeaway, home delivery andparcelservicesareallowedfrom7am to 8pmbetweenMondayto Friday. On weekends, onlyhome delivery is allowed be-tween7amto8pm.However, followingprotests,

BMC had allowed delivery offood through online serviceprovidersfor24hourseverydayinMumbai.

Hospitality industryholds silent protestagainst new curbs

VISHWASWAGHMODEMUMBAI, APRIL8

A DAY after Sachin Waze, theMumbai Police officer arrestedin connection to the MukeshAmbani security scare case, ac-cused Shiv Sena Minister AnilParab of corruption, his partysought to convey that it wouldnot be rattled by such allega-tions.Sena leaders stamped out

Opposition talkof “another res-ignation” fromtheCabinet. Lastweek,NCP'sAnilDeshmukhhadresigned as the homeministerafter former Mumbai Policecommissioner Param Bir Singhaccusedhimofsettingextortiontargets for thepolice.Earlier, Senaminister Sanjay

Rathod had resigned after hewaslinkedtoawoman’ssuicide.“An arrested accused has

made accusations against theministerthroughaletter.Anyonemaywrite anythingbut it does-n’t mean that the minister

should resign,” said a Senaleader, adding that there is noquestionof Parabresigning.Theleaderfurthersaiditwas

clear fromWaze's allegationsthat the Opposition wanted totarget Chief Minister UddhavThackeray through Parab. Thetransportminister is known tobeclose toThackeray.“Peoplearewellawareof the

low-level politics being playedbyBJP,whichhasbeenforcedtositintheOppositiondespitehav-ing 105 legislators. BJP’s role intheallegationsisduetoitssheer

frustration of not being inpower,” the leader said.Waze, in a letter to the NIA

court, had alleged onWednesday thatParab toldhimto initiate talkswithaMumbai-based trust to get Rs 50 crore toclosean inquiry.He had also alleged that

Parab asked him to inquire intothelistof fraudulentcontractorsin the BMC and collect “at leastRs 2 crore” from around 50 ofthem.Another leader acknowl-

edged that the allegations havedented the party’s image, alongwith thatof theminister."Itmay be BJP’s intention to

tarnishSena’s leadership aheadof the BMC elections next year.

But theploywouldnotwork.”“BJPmaymakeitanelection

issue but the goodwork of thegovernmentwillhaveapositiveimpact on the people’s mind.Also, public memory is short.Theymay not remember theseallegations one year down theline,” the leaderadded.The leader further said that

Parab’smove, inwakeofWaze’saccusations–hesworehisinno-cence in the name of late partyfounder Balasaheb Thackeray –has gone downwell among thecadre.Shiv Sainiks are not rankled

by the allegations, the leaderadded.“IknowParabandheisatrue

ShivSainik.Hewillnever swearwrongly in the name ofBalasaheb Thackeray,” SanjayRaut, SenaMP and party’s chiefspokesperson told mediaper-sons.HeaddedthatdirtypoliticsisbeingplayedtodestabilisetheMahaVikasAghadigovernment,but such attempts would notsucceed.

Mumbai: The CBI on Thursdayapproached the NIA specialcourt seeking access to docu-ments as part of the investiga-tion in the Ambani bomb scarecase. The special court directedtheNIAto filea reply to thepleaonFriday.The CBI is conducting a pre-

liminary inquiry on the allega-

tionsmade by formerMumbaipolice chief Param Bir Singhagainst former homeministerAnilDeshmukhbasedontheor-ders of the BombayHigh CourtpassedonMonday.OnWednesday, the CBIwas

grantedpermissionbythecourtto questionWazewhile he is inthecustodyof theNIA. ENS

32.29 lakhTOTALPOSITIVECASESINMAHARASHTRAActiveCases 5,21,317NewCases 56,286TotalDeaths 57,028NewDeaths 376Quarantined 27.02lakh

Tested 2.13crore

4,91,980TOTALPOSITIVECASESINMUMBAINewCases 8,938TotalDeaths 11,881NewDeaths 25


THEDHULEpolicecrimebrancharrested a total of seven men,including four on Thursday,who were allegedly part of amob that attacked Dondaichapolice station onMarch 31 andescapedwith twomenaccusedof sexually harassing a minorgirl.The police had opened fire,

injuringtwomen,andwhentheduo was taken to hospital fortreatment another clash brokeoutbetweenlocalsandoneper-sonwaskilled.Chinmay Pandit,

SuperintendentofDhulePolice,confirmed the development,adding, "The situation now iscompletely peaceful. We ar-restedthreemenformurderandfourforpeltingstonesatthepo-lice station."Theviolencebeganwhenthe

police arrested three men, in-cluding two brothers, for sexu-ally harassing a minor girl onMarch30.Thatnight,inretaliation,over

75 people gathered outside theDondaicha police station andstartedhurlingstonesatthepo-

lice, injuringfivepersonnel.Themob took away two accused,whoarestill untraceable.The twomenwhowere in-

juredduringthefiringaresaidtobeoutof dangerandrecuperat-ing inhospital.However,whentheduowas

takentoacivilhospital, anotherclash took place between themob and local residents in sup-port of the victim. One person,identifiedasShahbazShah,(50)died in theclash.Shah suffered a head injury

afterbeingkicked,punchedandassaulted with bamboo sticks.The senior inspector and a sub-inspector of Dondaicha policestationwere transferred to thecontrol room after the incidentandcasewashandedovertothecrimebranch.Police inspector Shivaji

Budhwant of the local crimebranch said, "On April 3 we ar-rested Harshal Choudhary, 25,Harish Koli, 24, and BhushanChavan, 27 in themurder case.Moreaccusedarewanted.Allac-cusedwereinpolicecustodyandsent to jail on April 7. OnThursday we arrested four ac-cused for stonepelting.Wewillproduce them in a magistratecourtonFriday."

MOHAMEDTHAVERMUMBAI,APRIL8

ANENQUIRY against BMC con-tractors fromwhomsuspendedAPI Sachin Waze alleged ShivSena leader Anil Parab hadwanted him to extortmoney islikelytobeclosedbytheMumbaiPolicesoon,officialsourcessaid.Wazemade the allegations

against Parab in a letter he triedto submit before a special NIAcourt,andwhichuponthecourt’srefusaltotakeonrecordwentvi-ralminutes later.He alleged that Parab had

askedhimtocollectmoneyfromthe contractors whowere thesubjectof theenquiry.Inthelettercontainingallega-

tionsagainstParab,Wazesaidhehadbeguntheenquiryontheba-sisofan“anonymouscomplaint”but had not found anything in-criminating against the contrac-tors.An officer said that the

complaint against the BMC fourcontractorshadbeentakenupbytheCIU, thenheadedbyWaze."Allfourcontractorswererel-

atives of each other. The com-plaintagainstthemwasthatmin-utes before the BMC tenderwould close, theywould submittheir tender online," an officialsaid.

"Their tenderwould be lessthan the lowest bid andwouldwin the project. The amountquoted by themwould just beslightlylowerthanthelowestbid.This had led to suspicion thattherewas someone in the BMCwhowas leaking information tothem,"theofficialsaid.In his letter, referring to this

enquiry,Wazesaid,"InthemonthofJanuary2021,Parabjicalledmetohis residenceandaskedmetolookintoenquiryagainstfraudu-lentcontractorslistedintheBMC.Hetoldmetocollectat leastRs2crore from50 such contractors.The saidenquiry isongoingonananony-mous complaint. The saidenquirywas under preliminaryenquiry in the CIU and till mytransfer from the CIU, nothingincriminatingwasfound.”Inconnectionwithallegations

that Parab askedWaze to get Rs50 crore from a trust againstwhichanenquirywasbeingcon-ducted last year, aseniorofficialsaidthatsofartheyhave not found any majorenquirybeingconductedagainstthetrust.While the opposition sought

Parab's resignation followingthe letter, he alleged that hewas being defamed since hewas close to CM UddhavThackeray.

WAZE’SALLEGATIONSOFCORRUPTION

Low-level politics played by BJP,Parab won’t resign, says Sena

Police probe againstBMC contractors likelyto be closed soon

CBI seeks access to documents aspart of Ambani bomb scare case


THE NIA on Thursday ques-tionedformerpoliceofficerand“encounter specialist” PradeepSharmaforthesecondconsecu-tive day in connection to theMukesh Ambani security scarecase.Sharma, who is seen as the

mentor of suspendedMumbaiPolice officer SachinWaze – ar-rested in the case – was ques-tioned on several aspects thatcame to the fore duringWaze'sinterrogation.

“We questioned Sharma inconnectionwithwhatWazehadtold us during his interrogationregarding the Ambani terrorscare case and the death ofMansukhHiran,”saidanofficer.On Thursday, Sharma

reached the NIA office at 1 pmandwasallowedtoleavearound10pm.He was questioned for

around seven hours onWednesday.SourcessaidthatSharmahad

beenfrequentlycommunicatingwithWaze around the time aScorpio vehicle with gelatinsticks and a threat letter was

parkedoutside theAmbani res-idence on February 25 andthe death of Mansukh Hiran,who used the Scorpio, nextmonth.“He had also met Waze a

couple of times in his office.OncetheymetatinAndheri.Wequestioned Sharma in connec-tion to these issues,” the officer

said.Sharma, who is said to have

over 100 “encounters” to hisname, was dismissed from theMumbaiPolicein2008forhisal-legedlinkswiththeunderworld.Later, he was arrested in theLakhan Bhaiyya fake encountercasebutwasacquitted.In 2019, Sharma fought the

state Assembly elections on aShiv Sena ticket fromNallasopara.Besides Sharma, former

Mumbai Police commissionerParamBir Singhwas also ques-tionedby theNIA inconnectionto thecaseonWednesday.

Seven held for Dhuleviolence that led tofiring and murder

Mumbai: The Bombay HighCourt, observing that “eco-nomic offences are to beviewed seriously” while con-sidering bail pleas, onWednesday rejected bail toVijay Kothari, a businessmanand a prime accused in a fraudof overRs300crorepertainingto import remittancetovariouscompanies in Dubai and HongKong towards direct importsfromvarious banks.

Thecourtobserved that theinvestigation was still incom-plete and due to non-coopera-tion from Kothari, who wasbooked in 2019, his custodialinterrogationwas required.“It may be stated that eco-

nomic offences are to beviewed seriously, as they con-stitute class apart and need tobe visited with a differentapproach in thematter,” it said.

ENS

AnelderlymanbeingtakentoavaccinationcentreinMumbaionThursday.Deepak Joshi

Peoplequeueupforvaccinationoutside JumboCovid facility inMulundonThursday.Deepak Joshi

AMBANISECURITYSCARE

Pradeep Sharma quizzed again by NIA

AnilParab

HC rejects bail to businessmanbooked for fraud of Rs 300 crore

SharmawasdismissedfromtheMumbaiPolice in2008forhisunderworld ‘links’

“Anyonemaywriteanything, itdoesn’tmeantheministershouldresign,”saidaSenaleader

MAHARASHTRA 7WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,APRIL9,2021

MUMBAI SLUM IMPROVEMENT BOARDA REGIONAL UNIT OF

(MAHARASHTRA HOUSING AND AREA DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY)Tel. No. : 022-66405250; E-mail : [email protected]

e-TENDER NOTICE (for Unemployed Engineers Only)DIGITALLY Signed & unconditional online Tender in form 'B-1' (Percentage Rate) are invited by the Executive Engineer (East)

Division, Mumbai Slum Improvement Board (Unit of MHADA), Room No. 536, 4th Floor, Griha Nirman Bhavan, Bandra (East),Mumbai-400 051 from the unemployed Engineers registered with PWD/ MHADA/ Govt./ Semi Govt. in appropriate class in MumbaiSuburban District (East/West).

1. The Complete bidding process will be online (e-Tendering) in two bid system. All the notifications and detailed terms and conditionsregarding this tender notice hereafter will be published online on web site http://mahatenders.gov.in, MHADA Web site -http://mhada.maharashtra.gov.in

2. Bidding documents can be loaded on the web site http://mahatenders.gov.in, from Date 12.04.2021 at 10.05 to Date 26.04.2021upto 18.15.

3. The payment for Tender Form Fees and Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) must be made online.4. Technical Bids will be opened on 29.04.2021, 10.30 a.m. onward & Price bids will be opened on 30.04.2021, 10.30 a.m. onward at

the office of the Executive Engineer (East)/ MSIB, Room No. 536, 4th Floor, MHADA, Kalanagar, Bandra (East), Mumbai-400 051on web site http://mahatenders.gov.in.

5. Tenderer should submit original documents (those were uploaded during bid preparation) for verification at the time of Technical Bidopening.

6. Tenderer should submit information and scanned copies in PDF format in Technical Envelope as mentioned in Technical Offer.7. Tenderer should have valid Class-II/III Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) obtained from any certifying authority.8. The Executive Engineer (East)/ M.S.I.B., MHADA, Bandra (East), Mumbai-400 051, reserves the right to accept or reject any or all

tenders without assigning any reason.9. e-Tenderer shall refer detailed Tender Notice regarding Performance Security & other documents to be submitted.10. e-Tenderer should upload GST Registration Certificate.11. Tender called is based on SSR rate year 2017-18 without GST. GST will be paid on accepted contract value.12. In case of the rates quoted by lowest bidder less than estimated cost & L 1 bidder failed to submit Additional Performance Security

Deposit within 8 days, then Second lowest (L 2) bidder will be asked to submit the revised offer and if L 2's offer is at or below thatof the rate quoted by L 1 bidder then offer of 2nd Lowest bidder (L 2) will be accepted.

13. Guidelines regarding e-tendering system and submission of bids can be downloaded from web site http://mahatenders.gov.in, Helpsupport : 1800-307-02232; E-mail : [email protected]

MHADA - Leading Housing Authority in the Nation. Executive Engineer (East),CPRO/A/133 M.S.I.B. Board.

Sr. No. Stage Desc. Date of time period1 Publishing Date 12.04.2021, 10.002 Document sale start 12.04.2021, 10.053 Document sale end 26.04.2021, 18.154 Bid Submission start 12.04.2021, 10.055 Bid Submission end 26.04.2021, 18.156 Technical Bid Opening 29.04.2021, 10.30 a.m. onward7 Price Bid Opening 30.04.2021, 10.30 a.m. onward

e-Tender

No.

Name of Works EstimatedCostRs.

Security Deposit1% of

Estimated CostRs.

Registration(Class) of

Contractor

Tender Priceincluding

12% GST inRs.

Time limitfor

completionof work

1. Const. of Retaining Wall Behind House ofShobha Bhaskar Dahije, Panjrapole. (R/WFund)

1630593/- 17000/- (50%initially & 50%

through bill)

Class-V-A &Above

500 + 60 =560

9 Months(Includingmonsoon)

2. Const. of Retaining Wall Behind House ofPadmini Mahadev Salve, Panjrapole. (R/WFund)

1587683/- 16000/- (50%initially & 50%

through bill)

Class-V-A &Above

500 + 60 =560


3. Const. of Retaining Wall Behind House ofLata Gaikwad, Panjrapole. (R/W Fund)

1510444/- 16000/- (50%initially & 50%

through bill)

Class-V-A &Above

500 + 60 =560


4. Const. of Retaining Wall Behind House ofDevshala Shinde, Panjrapole. (R/W Fund)

1570518/- 16000/- (50%initially & 50%

through bill)

Class-V-A &Above

500 + 60 =560


5. Const. of Toilet Block for Ladies & Drain/Passage at Mahatma Phule Nagar 02,Mankhurd. (MLA Fund)

1373131/- 14000/- (50%initially & 50%

through bill)

Class-V-A &Above

500 + 60 =560


6. Const. of Balwadi Near Hashu Adwani Nagar,Navin Bharat Nagar, Vashinaka. (MLA Fund)

858207/- 9000/- (50%initially & 50%

through bill)

Class-V-A &Above

500 + 60 =560


7. Providing Sitting Arrangement near MatoshreeVidya Mandir, Mankhurd. (MLC Fund) (2ndCall)

514924/- 6000/- (50%initially & 50%

through bill)

Class-V-A &Above

500 + 60 =560


8. Providing Sitting Arrangement near JoharUrdu Highschool, Shivaji Nagar. (MLC Fund)(2nd Call)

514924/- 6000/- (50%initially & 50%

through bill)

Class-V-A &Above

500 + 60 =560


MUMBAI SLUM IMPROVEMENT BOARDA REGIONAL UNIT OF

(MAHARASHTRA HOUSING AND AREA DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY)Tel. No. : 022-66405250; E-mail : [email protected]

e-TENDER NOTICEDIGITALLY Signed & unconditional online e-Tender in form "B-1" (Percentage Rate) are invited by the Executive Engineer (East)

Division, Mumbai Slum Improvement Board, (Unit of MHADA), Room no. 536, 4th floor, Griha Nirman Bhavan, Bandra (East), Mumbai-400 051 from the contractors registered with PWD/MHADA/CPWD/CIDCO/MES/MJP/MIDC/Indian Railway/BPT/MCGM or any Govt./SemiGovt. organisation, in the corresponding appropriate class will also be eligible subject to production of the solvency certificate to theextent of 20% of the estimated cost put to tender.

1. The Complete bidding process will be online (e-Tendering) in two bid system. All the notifications and detailed terms andconditions regarding this tender notice hereafter will be published online on web site http://mahatenders.gov.in, MHADAWeb site - http://mhada.maharashtra.gov.in.

2. Bidding documents can be loaded on the web site http://mahatenders.gov.in, from Date 12.04.2021 at 10.05 to Date 26.04.2021up to 18.15.

3. The payment for Tender Form Fees and Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) must be made online.4. Technical Bids will be opened on 29.04.2021, 10.30 am onward & Price bids will be opened on 30.04.2021, 10.30 am onward at the

office of the Executive Engineer (East)/MSIB, Room no. 536, 4th Floor, MHADA, Kalanagar, Bandra (East), Mumbai-400 051 onweb site http://mahatenders.qov.in.

5. Tenderer should submit original documents (those were uploaded during bid preparation) for verification at the time of TechnicalBid opening.

6. Tenderer should submit information and scanned copies in pdf format in Technical Envelope as mentioned in Technical Offer.7. Tenderer should have valid class II/ Ill Digital Signature certificate (DSC) obtained from any certifying authority.8. The Executive Engineer (East) / M.S.I.B., MHADA, Bandra (East), Mumbai - 400 051, reserves the right to accept or reject any or all

tenders without assigning any reason.9. e-Tenderer shall refer detailed tender notice regarding Performance Security, other documents to be submitted.10. e-Tenderer should upload GST Registration Certificate.11. Tender called is based on SSR rate year 2017-18 without GST. GST will be paid on accepted contract value.12. In case of the rates quoted by lowest bidder less than estimated cost & L1 bidder failed to submit Additional Performance Security

Deposit within 8 days, then Second lowest (L2) bidder will be asked to submit the revised offer and if L2's offer is below than thatof the rate quoted by L1 bidder then offer of 2nd Lowest bidder (L2) will be accepted.

13. Guidelines regarding e-tendering system and submission of bids can be downloaded from web site http://mahatenders.gov.in,Help support : 1800-307-02232 E-Mail - [email protected].

MHADA - Leading Housing Authority in the Nation Executive Engineer (East),CPRO/A/134 M. S I B Board, Mumbai

Seq.No. Stage Dese. Date of time period1 Publishing Date 12.04.2021, 10.002 Document sale start 12.04.2021, 10.053 Document sale end 26.04.2021, 18.154 Bid Submission start 12.04.2021, 10.055 Bid Submission end 26.04.2021, 18.156 Technical Bid Opening 29.04.2021, 10.30 a.m. onwards7 Price Bid Opening 30.04.2021, 10.30 a.m. onwards

e-Tender

No.

Name of Works EstimatedCost Rs.

E.M.D.1% of

Estimatedcost Rs.

Security Deposit2% of Estimated

cost Rs.

Registration(Class) of

Contractor

Tender Priceincluding

12% GST inRs.

Time limitfor

completionof work

1 Const of Retaining Wall Behind Houseof Barku Nanavre, Panjrapole, Chembur(R/W Fund)

1544772/- 15448/- 32000/-(50% initially &

50% through bill)

Class-V-A &above

500 +60=560

9th Months(Includingmonsoon)

2 Const of Retaining Wall Behind Houseof Chandrakala Anand Kamble,Panjrapole (R/W Fund)

1622011/- 16220/- 34000/-(50% initially &

50% through bill)

Class-V-A &above

500 +60=560


3 Const of Retaining Wall Behind Houseof Prathamesh Maruti Postandle,Panjrapole (R/W Fund)

1501862/- 15019/- 32000/-(50% initially &

50% through bill)

Class-V-A &above

500 +60=560


4 Const of Retaining Wall Behind Houseof Durpata Akaram Mole, Panjrapole(R/W Fund)

1654623/- 16546/- 34000/-(50% initially &

50% through bill)

Class-V-A &above

500 +60=560


5 Const of Toilet Block for Gents &Drain/Passage at Mahatma Phule Nagar02, Mankhurd (MLA Fund)

1373131/- 13731/- 28000/-(50% initially &

50% through bill)

Class-VI &above

500 +60=560


6 Const of Shed for Vachnalay &Beautification Work Near Sainath SevaMandal Navin Bharat Nagar, Vashinaka.(MLA Fund)

1072759/- 10728/- 22000/-(50% initially &

50% through bill)

Class-VI &above

500 +60=560


7 P/F/ Ladikaran at Shree Ganesh ChayaHsg. Society Savarkar Nagar, Link RoadSakinaka, Kurla (W.) (BeautificationFund) (2nd call)

858207/- 8582/- 18000/-(50% initially &

50% through bill)

Class-VII &above

500 +60=560


8 P/F/ Ladikaran and Const of Passage atNetaji Nagar, Khadi No. 3, Kurla (W.)(Beautification Fund) (2nd call)

858207/- 8582/- 18000/-(50% initially &

50% through bill)

Class-VII &above

500 +60=560


9 P/F/ Ladikaran and Const of Passage atShivaji Nagar, Jarimari, Kurla (W.)(Beautification Fund) (2nd call)

858207/- 8582/- 18000/-(50% initially &

50% through bill)

Class-VII &above

500 +60=560


Government of IndiaDepartment of Atomic Energy

Directorate of Construction, Services & Estate ManagementCentralized Quantity Division

Pre-Qualification Cum Notice Inviting e-TenderNIT Nos. DCSEM/CQD/QSB/21-22/NIT/01 to 07 dt.07.04.2021

Chairman, G. B. Head, ESD-I/II and Head, H&CMS, DCSEM, DAE, V.S. Bhavan, Anushaktinagar,Mumbai-94 on behalf of the President of India invites online item rate tender (in two bid) throughe-tendering mode, from eligible contractors for following works as indicated in below given Table:

NITNo.

Name of Works EstimatedCost put to

tender

Completionperiod

Processingfee

1External repairs and painting of Ellora ABCDbuildings and other locations at Anushaktinagar,Mumbai

Rs.104.20Lakhs. 12 Months Rs.5900/-

2External repairs and painting of Ajanta ABCDbuildings and other locations at Anushaktinagar,Mumbai

Rs. 99.03Lakhs. 12 Months Rs.5843/-

3Development of surroundings and other alliedworks in the building under TTM-III & KMU ofAnushaktinagar, Mumbai.


4 Rejuvenation of garden areas of BARC Hospitalat Anushaktinagar, Mumbai


5Maintenance of garden areas at PTAA complex,V.S. Bhavan, Cultural Centre & newly constructedplay parks at Anushaktinagar, Mumbai


6Replacement of damaged pressed steel doorframe and door shutters of WC and bathroom ofMalayagiri & Udayagiri & other locations


7Cutting of grass in the areas around variousbuildings at Eaastern side of Anushaktinagar,Mumbai


Note: Tender Processing fee shall be in the form of e-payment.Detailed tender notice along with documents are available on website; www.tenderwizard.com/DAEfor free view and download from 09.04.2021 (11:00 hrs.) to 16.04.2021 (15:00 hrs.). Uploading ofpre-bid queries from 09.04.2021 (12:00 Hrs) to 19.04.2021(15:00 Hrs). Closing of online submissionof tenders up to 15:00 hrs on 22.04.2021. Submission hardcopies of Bid Declaration form up to 15:00hrs. 23.04.2021. Opening of online tender (technical bids) on 23.04.2021 at 15:30 hrs. Financialbids of qualified bidders shall be opened at a later date to be notified separately. Detailed NIT is alsoavailable on website www.dcsem.gov.in for view only. For further information, please contact on 022-25487334, 25487337 Fax: 022-25565362

OMKARGOKHALEMUMBAI,APRIL8

THE BOMBAY High Court onThursday laid down guidelinesanddirectives to be followedbytheprosecutionandcourts deal-ingwithcasesunderProtectionOfChildren from Sexual Offences(POCSO)Act.Theguidelines,issuedbyadi-

vision bench of Chief JusticeDipankarDattaandJusticeGirishSKulkarni,aremeantforeffectiveimplementation of the law forsexualoffencesagainstchildrentoensurethattherightoftheminorvictim/survivor to participate injudicialproceedingsisprotected.Referring to theprovisionsof

lawandtheneedforeffectivevic-timrepresentation,thebenchob-served, "It is clear that a robustmechanismrecognizingtheneedto protect children from the of-fencesfallingwithinthepurviewofthis(POCSO)legislationandthemethodandmannertodealjudi-ciallysuchoffences, isprescribedasapart of theadministrationofcriminal justice...there is also anentitlementofsuchpersons(vic-tim'sfamily/guardian/counsel)tobemadeawareofthefilingofap-plicationsandthehearingssched-uled on such applications at thevariousstagesoftheproceedings."The bench on Thursday

passedthejudgmentonaPILfiledby activist Arjun Malge, whoworkswith child victimsof sex-ualabuseandtheirfamiliesinthecity,complainingaboutlackofim-plementation of certain provi-sionsofPOCSOAct.Thestategovernmentsubmit-

ted that itwasnot adversarial tothe petition and the courtmaypassrelevantguidelines.In lightof thesubmissionsby

advocate SomasekharSundaresan forMalge, the court

said that in the event of applica-tionmadeonbehalfoftheprose-cutioninPOCSOcases,officeofthepublicprosecutorwill have to is-sueanoticeofhearingofsuchap-plication to child’sfamily/guardianor legal counselalongwith relevant documentsfor ‘effectiveparticipation’ of thevictimintheproceedings.It added that it shall be the

dutyofapoliceofficertoconfirmto the competent court aboutservice of such a notice to thechild’sfamilyandincasetheserv-iceofnoticewasnotpossible,thereasons for the same should beconveyedby theSpecial JuvenilePoliceUnit (SJPU) to the relevantcourtinwriting.TheHCsaidthattheappropri-

atecourt,beforehearingthepros-ecution’sapplication,mustascer-tain whether the notice wasservedtothechild’sfamily,andincaseitisnotissued,thecourtmaymake reasoned order to secure‘ends of justice,’ taking into ac-count any emerging circum-stances thatwill requirehearingapplication in absence of child’sfamilyorrepresentatives.“Intheevent,despiteissuance

of notice, the child’s family,guardianorlegalcounsel,doesnotattendthehearing,thecourtmayproceedwithout thepresenceofsuchnotice, or issue anotherno-tice, asmay be judicially deter-minedappropriate,”theHCnoted.The court said that theproceed-ings under the POCSOAct alsodealwithoffences of rapeundervariousprovisionsof section376of the IndianPenal Codeand thenotice to the victimshall also beissuedinsuchcasesasperrules.The court said that its ruling

shallbecirculatedtoallpresidingofficers of sessions courts in thestate, who shall forward it tocourtsdealingwithPOCSOcasesalongwithpoliceauthorities.

SADAFMODAKMUMBAI,APRIL8

ASESSIONS court in a recent or-derdismissedthecomplaintfiledbyaMumbaiPolicedeputycom-missioner of police againstRepublicTVanditseditorsforal-leged defamation on technicalgroundthatitwasfiledbythepo-liceofficialhimselfandnotpublicprosecutor,asrequiredbylaw.The complaint was filed in

FebruarybyAbhishekhTrimukhe,DCP, Zone IX, seeking that cog-nizancebe takenunder sectionsof defamation of the IPC againstRepublic TV editors ArnabGoswami and Samyabrata RayGoswamiandthecompany,ARGOutliersMedia,fortheircoverageon the death of actor SushantSinghRajputlastyear.Trimukhe in the complaint

had said the coverage claimedthat hewas trying to save actorRheaChakraborty,oneofthesus-pectsinthecase,statingthatitwasdonewiththeintenttotarnishhisreputationandcreate“unjustifiedrumours”.

AdditionalSessionsJudgeUMPadwadsaidasperSection199(2)oftheCodeofCriminalProcedure,thecomplaintinsuchcaseshastobemadebythepublicprosecutor.“...thepresentcomplaintoughttohave beenmade by the publicprosecutoralonewhichisnotthecase here...the complaint beingnot the onemade by the publicprosecutor cannotbeproceededwith further,” the court said,addingthattheDCPhastherem-edytomakeacomplaintbeforeacompetentmagistrate.According to the provision

mentionedby the court, certaincategory of persons, includingpublic servants, can approach asessions courtwith such a com-plaint after receiving sanctionfromthestate.Thesanctionhastobe received in the name of thepublic prosecutor approachingthecourt,whowouldthenbethecomplainant.In this case,while a govern-

ment sanctionwas received inOctober last year, it was in theDCP’s name and not that of thepublicprosecutor. The court saidwhiletheDCP,beingapublicser-

vant, fits intothecategoryofper-sonswho canapproach court asperSection199(2)oftheCrPC,thecomplainanthastobeprosecutorandnothim.The court said the complaint

was signedby theprosecutor intheendbut“meresigningacom-plaintwouldnotnecessarilymakeitssignatorythecomplainant”.“The complainant is not the

publicprosecutor.Hemerelyhasfiled the complaint of ShriTrimukhe,exactlysimilartowhattheprosecutorsdowhilefilingap-peals, revisions and other pro-ceedings on behalf of thestate/prosecution. The publicprosecutor thus is nothingmorethan amedium to file this com-plaint,” the court said. It addedthat as per procedure in suchcases,theDCPwouldbeawitnessandcannotbeacomplainant.“It is not that the aggrieved

public servant or the personagainstwhomthesaidoffence isalleged tohavebeencommittedhasnoforumtotakehisgrievancesto.Hehas the remedy tomakeacomplaintbefore the competentMagistrate,”thecourtsaid.


ASPECIALcourthasconvictedamanforrapinghisminordaugh-ter,whileobservingthatmerelybecause the incident had beenbrought to light by a socialworker working with an NGO,doesnotmeanthatitwasafalsecase, asallegedby theconvict.Themanwassentencedto10

years injailonTuesdayafterthecourt found him guilty underProtection of Children fromSexualOffencesAct. Thevictim,a15-year-oldgirl, had informedher friend about the incident in

2016. The friend in turn in-formed a local social worker,who approached the police,leading to theman'sarrest.The accused had alleged in

court thathehadadisputewiththe socialworker and thus,wasfalsely implicated in the case.“MerelyworkingforanNGOwillnot go to establish that she (so-cial worker) had instigated thevictim to lodge a false reportagainsttheaccused,herownfa-ther,” Special Judge Bharti Kalesaid inherorder.The girl was the daughter of

the accusedwith his first wife.Afterheseparatedfromhiswifeandmarriedagain,thegirl,along

withhissecond'swife'schildren,lived in the samehouse. The in-cidentoccurredwhentheentirefamily had gone to a relative'shouse leaving behind the ac-cused, whowas home due to aleg injury, and thegirl.The girl had deposed before

the court,whichhad also reliedon the testimony of her friendwhom she had confided in.“There is no substantive evi-denceonrecordtoshowthatthe(social worker) had any reasonto falsely implicate theaccused.Therefore, it cannotbe said thatsheinstigatedthevictimtolodgea false report against him,” thecourt said.

SANJANABHALERAOMUMBAI, APRIL8

AMASSIVEfirethatbrokeoutatavehicleaccessories,sparepartsand scrap market in Kurla onWednesday afternoon wasbroughtundercontrolat5.18amonThursday.According to the Mumbai

Fire Brigade, 15 structures thathad over 150 gallas (makeshiftshops as small as 12 sq feet)and godownswere completelygutted.The firebrokeoutat4.18pm

onWednesdayinthecongestedstretch that houses scrap yardand godowns of vehicle sparepartsonCSTKurla road.OnThursday,whiletheshops

on the CST roadwere open,MKMarket,wherethefirebrokeoutand isalmost200metres insidefrom the CST road, was closed.Thick soot had covered manystructures inside themarket.

POCSOCASES

HC issuesguidelines topolice, courts

Court dismisses defamation complaintagainst Republic TV filed by city cop

Man sentenced to 10 years in jailfor raping 15-year-old daughter

Kurla fire: 15structures gutted



EXPRESSNETWORK


DELHI SAW a sharp increase inthe number of Covid cases onThursday,as7,437peopletestedpositive. On Wednesday, thenumberoffreshcaseswas5,506.As many as 91,770 people

were testedover thecourseof aday,andtheday’spositivityrate,which has been climbingsteadily for the past month,stood at 8.1%. The city alsorecorded 24 deaths betweenWednesday and Thursdaymorning, thehighest in a singledaysinceDecember29.Thetotalcase fatality rate isnow1.6%.Delhi Health Minister

Satyendar Jain had saidWednesday that Delhi can sur-pass thepreviouspeakof cases,if the spread continues on itspresent trajectory. “Thewaythenumber of Covid-19 cases is in-creasing, it looks like it mightbreak the previous record,” hehad said. Delhi had reported8,593casesonNovember11lastyear, the highest for the city sofar.The Delhi government on

Thursday said therewere no is-sues regarding shortage of vac-cines as it had been receivingample amounts of it from theCentre.

Jain said thecapital receivedfreshdosesevenonWednesday,addingthatheishopefulthatde-mandsformoredosesthathavealreadybeenplacedwill alsobemet.“Vaccinationistakingplacesatisfactorily in Delhi.We havestock thatwill last five-six days.WereceivedvialsonWednesdayas well and have placed de-mands formorewhichwill alsobemet,” Jain told reporters.On Thursday, 83,437 people

— 72,267 first dose and 11,170seconddose—receivedtheshotin the national capital till 6 pm.The Delhi government is carry-ingoutround-the-clockvaccina-tion in itshospitals.On Wednesday, Union

HealthMinister Harsh Vardhanhit out at theMaharashtra gov-ernment over its claim that thestateisrunningshortofvaccines.

Vardhan also took onDelhi andPunjabforpoorcoverageofvac-cinationamongprioritygroups.WhenaskedaboutVardhan’s

remarks,Jainattributedthepoorcoverageamongfrontlinework-ers in Delhi to the performanceof Centre-run hospitals on thisfront. However, hewas quick toemphasisethatstatesshouldputupaunited front against Covid-19“insteadof quibbling”.“We can say that in Centre-

runhospitals,veryfewfrontlineworkers have been vaccinated.The issue isnot that coverageoffrontlineworkers in Delhi gov-ernment hospital is 75%, whichis30% inthecaseof centralgov-ernmenthospitals,whichiswhyDelhi’s numbers are low. Wedon’twanttoquibbleoverthesematters.Thisisnotanissueatall.We should rather focus on vac-cinatingmoreandmorepeople,”Jain said.He said the Centre appears

readytoallowschoolsandcom-munitycentrestobeusedasvac-cination sites, as suggested byDelhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal in a letter to PrimeMinisterNarendraModionApril5. “We have come to know thattheCentremightofficiallygiveago-ahead to theproposalof set-ting up sites in camp settings,”Jain said, expressingworryoverthe“rapidrise”inpositivecases.

New Delhi:A Delhi court hasframedmurderchargesagainstsixmeninthecaseof an85-year-oldwoman who choked to deathwhenherhousewastorcheddur-ing theriots inNortheastDelhi inFebruarylastyear.All the six accused—Varun

Kumar,ArunKumar,VishalSingh,Ravi Kumar, Prakash Chand andSureshSingh—havepleadednotguilty andwill face trial in thematter. According to thechargesheet,onFebruary25,whenthemobtorchedAkbariBegum’shouse,othermembersescapedtotheroofbutBegumcouldnot.Shesubsequentlydiedduetoasphyxiaandher charredbodywas foundonafoldingbed.ENS

Court frames chargesagainst 6 formurder of85-yr-old in Feb riots

Noida: InthewakeofrisingCovidcases, theNoida andGhaziabadadministrationshaveannouncedanightcurfewinthecities.Asperofficials,thecurfewwillbeinplacebetween10pmto5amtill April17.However,movementofessen-tialgoodsandserviceswillbeex-emptedfromtheorder.Thedecisionwastakenbythe

administrations after a reviewmeetingonthecurrentCovidsit-uation. The state governmentonWednesdayhadauthorisedDMsindistrictswithmorethan500ac-tivecasestodecideonthefurthercourseofaction.InGautamBuddhNagar,peo-

pleworking for the governmentincludingpolice,hospital,fireandother essential departmentswillhave to present their IDs uponchecking.Mediapersons,groceryshop owners, petrol pumpem-ployees,telecommunicationper-sonnel,bankworkers,ATMoper-ators and private institutionsinvolvedinessentialworkwillbeallowedtomoveif theycarryau-thentic identification.Thosetrav-ellingtowardsandfromairports,train or bus stationswill have toshowacopyof theirtickets.ENS

Night curfew inGhaziabad,Noida till Apr 17

Ahealthworker takesaswabsample fromawomaninDelhi.AmitMehra

PrimeMinisterNarendraModigetshis seconddoseofvaccine, inDelhionThursday.ANI

Delhi’sCovidgraphseessharpspikewithover7,000cases

402DAYSSINCEPANDEMICBEGAN

CASES:1,29,28,574TESTS: 252,677,379 | RECOVERIES: 11,851,393

ACTIVE CASES:9,10,319DEATHS: 1,66,862

APRIL8CASES DEATHS RECOVERIES TESTS1,26,789 685 59,258 12,37,781

STATESREPORTINGMAXIMUMCASESCASES(APRIL7) TOTAL

Maharashtra 59,907 3,173,261Chhattisgarh 10,310 396,579Karnataka 6,976 1,033,560

STATESREPORTINGMAXIMUMDEATHSDEATHS(APRIL7) TOTAL

Maharashtra 335 58,075Punjab 62 7,278Kerala 53 4,469

DataasonApril7,releasedbyUnionMinistryofHealthandFamilyWelfare, IndianCouncilofMedicalResearchandstategovernments.

TRACKING INDIA’SCOVIDCURVE

NUMBER OFDOSES(APRIL 8)

34,73,083Totalsofar:9,40,96,689


THE SUPREME Court onThursday rejected a prayeragainst possible deportation ofmembersof theRohingyacom-munity detained in Jammu, butsaid prescribed procedureshouldbe followedwhile send-ing themback toMyanmar.A bench headed by Chief

Justiceof IndiaSABobdenotedthat the Centre in its reply hadmade“twoseriousallegations”,which“relate to(i) thethreat tointernalsecurityof thecountry;and (ii) the agents and toutsproviding a safe passage intoIndiafor illegal immigrants,dueto the porous nature of thelandedborders”.The bench, also comprising

Justices A S Bopanna and VRamasubramanian, recalled thatthecourthadinOctober2018re-jectedasimilarplea in respectofthosedetainedinAssam,andsaid,“Therefore, it is not possible togranttheinterimreliefprayedfor.”“However,itismadeclearthat

theRohingyainJammu,onwhosebehalf thepresent application isfiled,shallnotbedeportedunlesstheprocedureprescribedforsuchdeportationisfollowed,”thecourtsaidinitsorder.Petitioner Mohammed

Salimullah – a Rohingya – hadsought release of the peoplefromhiscommunitydetainedinJammuandKashmirandadirec-tion to the Centre not to deportthem to Myanmar. He con-tended that they will be sub-jected togenocide if sentback.Appearing for Salimullah,

AdvocatePrashantBhushanhadearlier argued that rights underArticles 14 and 21 are available

to all personswhomay ormaynot be citizens. He contendedthattheprincipleofnon-refoule-ment – right not to be sent to aplacewhere theymay face per-secution – is part of the rightguaranteed under Article 21 oftheConstitution.HearguedthattheRohingyawerepersecutedinMyanmarevenwhenanelectedgovernmentwasinpower.Nowthattheelectedgovernmenthasbeen overthrown in amilitarycoup,thedangerisimminent,hesaid.The Centre, however, said

thatIndiaisnotasignatorytotheUnited Nations Convention ontheStatusofRefugees1951ortothe1967ProtocolrelatingtotheStatusof Refugeesand“that theprinciple of non-refoulement isapplicable only to contractingStates”.The court after hearing both

sides said: “It is... true that therightsguaranteedunderArticles14and21areavailabletoallper-sonswhomayormaynotbecit-izens.But therightnot tobede-ported is ancillary orconcomitant to the right to re-side or settle in any part of theterritoryof Indiaguaranteedun-derArticle19(1)(e).”Regarding the contention

raisedaboutthepresentstateofaffairs in Myanmar, the courtsaid: “We have to state that wecannot comment upon some-thing happening in anothercountry.”Appearing for the Centre,

Solicitor General TusharMehtahad said that the governmentwill follow the legal procedurebeforedeporting anyone. “Theyareillegalimmigrants.Weareal-ways in touch with Myanmarand if they confirm, they canbedeported,”hehadsaid.


AHEAD OF another round ofhigh-level military talks withChina, India on Thursday said itwouldliketoseedisengagementat remaining friction points ineastern Ladakh that could leadtorestorationofpeaceandtran-quillity along the frontier andprovide conditions for progressof overall bilateral ties.The 11th round of Corps

Commander talks is scheduledto start at 10.30 amon Friday attheChushulborderpointontheIndian side of the Line of ActualControl(LAC)ineasternLadakh.Sources said outstanding prob-lems, including inDepsang,HotSpringsandGogra,willbetakenupatthetalksbytheIndianside.The 10th round of military

talks tookplaceonFebruary20,twodays after thearmiesof thetwo countries concludedwith-drawal of troops andweaponsfromNorth and South banks ofPangong lake areas. The talkslasted foraround16hours.At a briefing on Thursday,

Ministry of External Affairs

spokesperson Arindam Bagchiunderlined the need for disen-gagement in remainingareas ineastern Ladakh. “Wewould liketo see disengagement in the re-mainingareaswhichwouldleadto de-escalation in easternLadakh and that would hope-fully leadtorestorationofpeaceandtranquillityandprovidecon-ditions forprogressof ourover-allbilateralrelationship,”hesaid.China,meanwhile,saiditbe-

lieved that India's proposal forrestoration of the status quo ofApril 2020 at eastern Ladakhshouldbediscussedinmeetingsbetweenthe twocountries.It also said there is no delay

inholdingtalkswithIndiatodis-cuss the disengagement oftroops from the remaining fric-tionpointsineasternLadakh.Ata briefing in Beijing, ChineseForeign Ministry spokesmanZhao Lijian denied any delay inholding the 11th round of talks.His response came whenpointedout that it is going tobeabouttwomonthssincethefirstdisengagementtookplaceandamonth since the 10th round oftalks on the disengagement oftroops.

ABHISHEKANGADRANCHI, APRIL8

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey andCongress MLA Pradeep Yadavnearly came to blows Thursdayaftera seatingargumentduringtheflagging-offofaspecialtrainfromJharkhand’sGoddaRailwayStation.Over200people,includ-ing the supporters of both lead-ers, had gathered at the newly-constructedstationfortheevent.Poreyahat MLA Pradeep

Yadav told The Indian Express: “Iwenttothespotwitharound25people...DuetoCovid-19,thead-ministration had planned thatonly peoplewhohad train tick-

ets would go to the platform.Dubey’ssupportershadpriorin-formationandtheyhadbookedtheirtickets... insidewesawout-siders seatedonourdesignatedchairs. I objected. Suddenly,Dubey confrontedme and ap-pearedbentonascuffle. I retali-atedverbally.Theadministrationcontrolled the situationand therest of the ceremony wentpeacefully,”Yadavsaid.Dubeyrubbishedtheallega-

tions. “One Sanjay Yadav, a for-merMadhupur Nagar Parishadmember, which comes undermyconstituency,wastermedasan outsider by Pradeep Yadavandaskedto leavewhenhehada valid ticket. I got angry and

asked whether he was a TTE.Thenhecametowardsme,plan-ningtobeatme,andthisiswhenthe ruckus started."When toldthatYadavhadstatedotherwise,Dubey said: “Everything is onvideo.”Thiswasa reference toavideo of the episode that wassharedwidelyonsocialmedia.The inauguration happened

on a day the Jharkhand govern-ment issued a circular banningall congregations except mar-riage functions and last rites inview of rising Covid-19 cases.Godda Deputy CommissionerBhor Singh Yadav did not re-spond to calls and texts askingwhy theeventwashelddespitetheban.

PRANAVMUKULNEWDELHI, APRIL8

TAKINGAseriousviewofthelat-estCovidsurge,NewZealandhasbarred the entry of travellersfromIndia, includingitsownna-tionals, for18daysstartingApril11.Themovetriggeredconcernsofarippleeffectinothernationswithseniorgovernmentofficialsin NewDelhi pointing out thatCovid-related decisions on airtravel by foreign governmentswas“not inourhands”.Themove by New Zealand

came after it recorded 23 newcasesatitsentrypointsThursday,ofwhich17were fromIndia, ac-cording to a Reuters report. Thesuspensionwill be in place tillApril 28, New Zealand PrimeMinister JacindaArdernsaid.Late Wednesday, Civil

AviationMinisterHardeepSinghPuri, tweeted: “With new caseson rise in some states, our fightagainst COVID19 is in a criticalstage.Whilewehave facilitatedmorethan7.5millionpeopleun-derVandeBharatMissionsofar;it is imperative that preventivemeasures are strictly imple-mented by all airports & air-lines.”Within its borders, New

Zealandhasvirtuallyeliminatedthe coronavirus,with no locallytransmitted cases reported inabout 40 days. But Reuters re-portedthatthecountryhasbeenreviewing its border settings asmorepeoplewith infectionsar-rived recently, amajority beingfromIndia.“If a country decides to sus-

pend flights from India, it iswithin its rights to do so.Whatis inourhands iscontrollingthe

spread here, including at air-ports. We have already an-nounced strictmeasures to en-sure that safety guidelines arefollowed here. So far, our travelcorridor arrangements are in-tact,” a senior Civil AviationMinistryofficial said.Currently,most of the coun-

tries to which flights operatefromIndiaareeitherrepatriationflightsor thoseoperatingunderan air bubble arrangement --India has air bubble arrange-mentswith27countriesinclud-ing the US, the UK, France,Germany, Japan, Russia, Qatar,and theUAE.India’s national carrier Air

India had last year come underfire fromHongKongauthoritiesfortransportingpassengerswhotestedpositiveuponarrival--theairlinefacedseveral15-daybans.According toHealthCanada,

betweenMarch 24 and April 5,nearly a third of internationalflights that landedwithpassen-gersthattestedpositiveuponar-rivalwere fromDelhi.

Covid surge: NewZealand bars entryof travellers fromIndia for 18 days

TheNewZealandactionis the first in the latestwavewhere infectionsareontheriseandvacci-nationeffortsare falter-ing. Theconcern is thatIndia’s inability to regu-late the infectionsamongoutgoing traffic couldlead toothercountriesfollowingsuitwithsimi-lar restrictions.

ThekeyconcernE●EX

PLAINED

AsksCentretofollowdueprocesswhilesendingthembacktoMyanmar

SC rejects pleaagainst deportationof Rohingyadetained in Jammu

India before China talks:Would like disengagementat remaining friction areas

BJP MP vs Cong MLA over seatingarrangement at Jharkhand train flag-off

Night curfewin parts ofKarnataka, J&K

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIANEWDELHI, APRIL8

THE WORLD HealthOrganizationhasrejectedSerumInstituteof India’sproposalseek-ing extension of the shelf life ofOxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19vaccine – Covishield – from sixto ninemonths, citing insuffi-cientdata, sources said.TheWHOhas also sought a

meetingwith Drugs ControllerGeneral of India to discuss thematter, theysaid.The move comes even as

India's drug regulator has ex-tended Covishield's shelf lifefromsixtoninemonthsfromitsmanufacturingdate.In a recent communique to

Pune-based SII, WHO has alsoasked the firmto formulate thedoseswith enough titer and/orimplement a higher specifica-tionat release so that themini-mum specification of dose isfulfilled throughout the shelflife.Shelf lifeisthelengthof time

forwhichanitemremainsfit foruse.DCGI, in a letter to SII in

February thisyear, said ithasnoobjection in respect of “exten-sion of shelf life of Covishieldvaccine”inmulti-doseglassvial(10 dose-5ml) from sixmonthstoninemonths.

SANTOSHSINGHPATNA, APRIL8

ONE BIHAR politician who hashogged much of the politicaldiscussion in the state of late isLok Janshakti Party (LJP) chiefand two-timeMP from Jamui,ChiragPaswan.Formuchof thelatterpartof

lastyearhewasapotentialchal-lenger to Bihar Chief MinisterNitishKumarand the JD(U).Paswan'sLJPdidmakeaseri-

ous dent into the vote base ofJD(U)andwasprimarilyrespon-sible for reducing the latter tothird-largest party in theAssembly polls with 43 seats –behind RJD's 75 and BJP's 74seats–butthepartyitselfended

witha loneMLA.On Tuesday, Nitish Kumar

took his sweet revenge, whenLJP's single MLA – Raj KumarSingh,whowonfromMatihani,Begusarai–joinedJD(U).TheLJPnow has no member in eitherstate Legislative Council or theAssembly.While Chirag was seen as

fancying his chances of being a

BJP ally at the expense of JD(U)before the Assembly polls,Nitishseemstohavedrawnlev-elswithLJP.Therehas still beenno reac-

tion fromChirag on thisweek'sdevelopment,butwhatcouldbemore discomforting is BJP put-ting LJP onwhatmany see as a"long-holdbutton".It was speculated that LJP

had walked out of NDA inBihar before the state electionswith tacit consent fromthesaf-fron party – LJP put upcandidates against all 110seats JD(U) contested and ononly five seats against "friendlyfoe"BJP.WhileNitishreturnedasCM,

ChiragkeptwaitingforBJP'scalltobecomeaUnionminister–af-

terall,PrimeMinisterNarendraModi held LJP patriarch andChirag's late father, Ram VilasPswan, inhighesteem.ButasNitishmanagedtore-

assert his position in state poli-tics,Chirag'sentryat theCentreis gettingdelayed.The BJP, it appears, does not

want to displease Nitish. EventheRajyaSabhaseatvacatedbyhisfather'sdeathwenttoseniorBJP leader and former BihardeputyCMSushilKumarModi.Chirag, however, appears to

know how to play the game ofwaiting.If andwhen BJP gets an up-

per handoverNitish and JD(U),Chirag's politics can automati-cally revive and reboot. Or soseems tobehis gameplan.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEBENGALURU,JAMMU,APRIL8

AMIDAsurgeinCovid-19cases,the Karnataka governmentThursday announced a nightcurfew for 10 days beginningApril 10 in several parts of thestate."Nightcurfewfrom10pmto5 amevery day fromApril 10to April 20 will be imposed inBengaluru,Mysore,Mangalore,Kalaburagi, Bidar, Tumkur andUdupi-Manipal,'' ChiefMinisterBSYediyurappasaid."Wewillseetheeffectiveness

of the night curfew and decideonextendingitfurther.Essentialserviceswill function. This is ona trial basis and people shouldsupport it,'' he said.Karnataka has seen over

5,000 Covid-19 cases over thelast few dayswith themajorityof theminBengaluru.Meanwhile, the Jammu and

Kashmiradministrationalsode-cided to impose night curfewfromApril 10 in urban areas ofeight districts that have seen aspike in cases. “Directed the di-visional administration to im-poseCoronacurfewfrom10pmto 6 am in urban areas of eightdistricts affected by the recent#COVID spike,’’ LieutenantGovernorManojSinhatweeted.These districts are Jammu,

Udhampur, Kathua, Srinagar,Baramulla, Budgam, AnantnagandKupwara.

WHO rejects SIIproposal to raiseCovishield shelflife to 9 months


PRIMEMINISTERNarendraModion Thursday said Seychelles iscentral to India's vision ofSecurityandGrowthforAllintheRegion (SAGAR), after handingovera fastpatrolvessel tothe is-landnationatavirtualevent.The Prime Minister also

jointly inaugurated withSeychelles President WavelRamkalawanasolarpowerplant,acourtbuildingand10commu-nitydevelopmentprojects.The patrol vessel as well as

the three other projects werepart of India's development as-sistance to the strategically lo-cated islandnation.“IndiaandSeychellessharea

strong and vital partnership intheIndianoceanneighborhood.SeychellesiscentraltoIndia'svi-sion of 'SAGAR' – Security andGrowth for All in the Region,"

Modisaid.Referringtothehand-ing over of the patrol vessel, hesaid India is committed tostrengthening themaritime se-curityof Seychelles.ModialsosaidthatIndiawas

able to supply essential medi-cinesand50,000dosesof 'Madein India' vaccines to Seychellesduringtimesofneed.“Seychelleswas the first African country toreceive the 'Made in India'COVID-19vaccines,”hesaid.He added: “...today we are

handingoveraonemegawattso-larpowerplant in theSeychellesbuiltwithIndia'sassistance.”

PMModionThursday. PTI

Seychelles central toIndia’s SAGAR vision: PM

ChiragPaswan,NitishKumar

Nitish has his revenge, gets lone LJP MP into JD(U)

CORONAVIRUSDASHBOARD

THEOXFORD-AstraZeneca vaccine—and its IndianversionCovishield fromSerum Institute of India—is basedonan adenovirus vector. Thatmeans ittakesasafeversionofavirus,andaddsin the information from part of apathogen,sothat thebodycreatesan-tibodiesagainstthispartofthe pathogen. In theCovid-19 vaccine, the in-formation it carries isabout the SAR-CoV-2spike protein. The idea isthatwhentherealvirusat-tacks, the antibodieswillrecogniseandtargetit.Obviously, the spikes

developed as a result ofvaccination are not thesameas the spikesof thereal coronavirus. Buthowsimilar arethey?Forthefirsttime,newresearchhas compared images of proteinspikes— thoseon the surfaceof cellsexposed to the Oxford-AstraZenecavaccine, and the protein spike ofSARS-CoV-2. The images show that

the spikes are highly similar, the re-searchers have reported in the jour-nalACSCentralScience.Thissupportsthemodified adenovirus used in thevaccineasaleadingplatformtocom-batCovid-19, theysaid.In the study, scientists from the

University of Oxford andthe University ofSouthamptonworkedto-gethertocharacterisethespikesmanufactured bythe cells presentedwiththe Oxford-AstraZenecavaccine. They exposed arange of cells in vitro tothevaccine.Usingan im-aging technique knownas cryoEM, they tookthousands of images

which they then combined to buildupaclearpictureof theresultingpro-teinspikeson thecells.Chemical analysis revealed that

theybearahighresemblancetothosesurrounding theSARS-CoV-2spikes.

Source:Universityof Southampton

PAPERCLIP

NEWRESEARCH

ONWEDNESDAY, the rupee fell sharply by105 paise— its biggest single session fall in20months—tocloseat a five-month lowof74.47 against the US dollar amid concernsover Covid-19 and the RBI’s newly an-nouncedprogrammetobuybondsworthRs1lakhcrorethisquarter.Thesefactorscomeon top of a strengthening dollar against theeuro, which is resulting in a relativeweak-nessof the rupee.

Whereistherupeeheaded?Afterpeakingataround77againsttheUS

dollar onApril 21 last year, the rupee startedappreciatingandreached72.27onMarch23thisyear.Themoveto77hadbeenprecededbyasharprally in thedollar indexbefore theCovid-19pandemic hit the global economy;since then, thegradualappreciationwasun-derpinnedby a fall in the dollar index, and astrong flowof foreigndirect investment andforeign portfolio investment. FPI inflows inFY21amountedtoover$35billion.SinceMarch23,therupeehasbeendepre-

ciatingamidconcernsoverCovidandtheRBIpolicyannouncement.Manycurrencytradersand analysts argue thatWednesday sharp,abruptfallcannotbea“falsesignal”;theyex-pecttherupeetoheadbacktolevelsof77-78overthenextfewmonths.Nitesh Sharma, founder and director of

Routeforex Solutions Pvt Ltd said, “Rupee isexpected to depreciate gradually to levels of76.5 to 77 in three to fourmonths as risingCovidnumbershavedampenedmarketsen-timentandithasalsobeenimpactedbyRBI’sprogramme to buy government securitiesworthRs1lakhcrorethisquarter.”Thenewlyannouncedprogramme,called

G-SAP, is being read as a sort of quantitativeeasingpolicyinwhichtheRBItriestosupportthe government’s elevated borrowing pro-gramme through infusion of liquidity. This,alongwitharisingdollar, iscreatinggrounds

fortherupeetodepreciatefurther.“AmidtheCovidscareandinflationinch-

ing up, the RBI has taken a very liberal viewandassuredanaccommodativestanceandislookingtokeeptheyieldsstableevenastheyareinchingupintheUS.WhileIseetherupee(stabilising) around levels of 74-74.5 againstthedollar, theweakness in the rupeewill bedeterminedbystrengthinthedollarwhichisgaining…ItwillalsodependuponbondyieldsinUS, inflowof dollarsandhowFDIbehavesamid the pandemic affect,” said MadanSabnavis,chiefeconomistatCareRatings.Thedollar,whichwastradingat1.233toa

euro in early January 2021, is currently trad-ing at 1.186 to a euro, a gain of 3.8%. SinceMarch 1, the dollar has gained close to 1.6%againsttheeuro.SugandhaSachdeva,vicepresident–com-

modity and currency research at ReligareBroking,saidCovid-19trendshavecreatedanatmosphere of lingering uncertainty, posingrisks to an already fragile state of recovery.“Besides, theRBI hasmaintained status-quoonpolicyratesforthefifthconsecutivemeet-ing, amid thepressuresarising fromthesec-ondwaveoftheviruswhicharelikelytocrimpdemandandhurtdomestic currency…(Therupee)lookspoisedtowitnessfurtherdepre-ciationinthecomingdays,evenassustainedportfolioinflowsarestillunderpinningthelo-calunit,”Sachdevasaid.

WilltheRBIintervene?Thegeneral feelingamongexperts is that

theRBImaynotinterveneif thedepreciationisgradual,butmaydosoifthereisabigvolatil-ity. “Sincewethinkthatexportswill rise,RBIwillbecomfortablewithanydepreciationandwouldnotstepin.Whiletheymaystepinforhigh volatility, theywould not step in for agradualdecline,”saidSabnavis.

Howcantherupeedepreciationimpactyou?Depreciation intherupee impactsallex-

penditure in dollar terms— imports, foreigneducation, travel, investmentsabroad,med-ical treatmentetc. On theotherhand, if youareanexporteroranNRIsendingmoneybackhome,depreciationwouldfetchyoumoreru-peesperdollar.EDUCATIONABROAD: Suppose your

daughter plans to go for a higher educationin the US for a coursewith an annual fee ofUS$ 50,000. A 5% depreciation in the rupeefrom72.5to76.125wouldraiseyourcost foroneyearfromRs36.26lakhtoRs38.06lakh—a jumpof Rs1.8 lakh—while a10%depreci-ationwouldraiseayear’sfeetoRs39.87lakh.Besides the fee, the cost of living toowill behigherwiththerupeedepreciation.In 2019-20, resident Indians remitted

$4.99billion,undertheliberalisedremittancescheme,forthepurposeofstudyabroad,be-

sides$6.95billion for travel. The total remit-tance under LRS for the year 2019-20amountedto$18.76billion—17timesthere-mittanceof $1.09billion in2013-14.FUEL COST: A depreciating rupee in-

creases the cost of crude import, which ac-counts for almost 20% of India’s imports. Arise incostof cruderaises fuelpricesand in-flation.That, inturn, leadstoariseininterestrates,which increasesourborrowingcost.

Whatshouldyoudo?Experts say individuals should cover for

volatilityriskfortheirplannedexpendituresin foreign currency. And there are severalwaystodoit.For individuals sending their children

abroadforstudiesin5-10years,theycanstartinvestingininternationalfundsthatinvestinglobalmarketsthroughfeederfundsorfundof funds.While an Indian investors invest inrupees in the fund of funds offered by fundhouses in India, themoney gets invested indollartermsatthecurrentexchangerateinaglobal fund. Even if the rupee depreciatesfrom74to85infiveyears,thisfundwill fullyprotect the education cost against the cur-rencydepreciationrisk.On the other hand, if one has tomake a

significant expenditure in foreign currencyin 4-5months, he or shehasmore thanoneoption. “Create a deposit account in the USandtransferthefundabroad.Or,goforacur-rency hedge in the exchange and that willcover you against the currency volatility,”Sharmasaid.

Howwill thehedgework?Supposeyouhavetomakea$50,000pay-

ment in theUS in July, andyou think the ru-pee isgoingtodepreciate from74nowto77in July. Here is howyou can hedge yourselfagainst that risk.

■As of today your cost at 74 to a dollarwouldbeRs37 lakh.

■ If you buy a future contract worth$50,000,maturing in July at the rate of 74.5,youpayRs37.25 lakh.

■If inDecember,rupeedepreciatesto$77,youcansquareoffandearnaprofitofRs1.25lakh.

■Now,when youmake the payment of$50,000inUS,youwillpayattherateof77toadollar,butyournetoutgowouldbeRs37.25lakhasyouhadhedgedthemovementfrom74.5to77.

9WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

KABIRFIRAQUE&MEHRGILLNEWDELHI,CHANDIGARH,APRIL8

NEWLY PUBLISHED results of an interna-tional experiment hint at the possibility ofnewphysicsgoverningthelawsofnature,sci-entists say. The results of the experiment,whichstudiedasubatomicparticlecalledthemuon, donotmatch thepredictions of theStandardModel,onwhichallparticlephysicsisbased,andinsteadreconfirmadiscrepancythathadbeendetectedinanexperiment20yearspreviously. Inotherwords, thephysicswe knowcannot alone explain the resultsmeasured. The studyhasbeenpublished inthejournalPhysicalReviewLetters.

WhatistheStandardModel?TheStandardModel is a rigorous theory

that predicts the behaviour of the buildingblocksoftheuniverse.Itlaysouttherulesforsixtypesofquarks,sixleptons,theHiggsbo-son, three fundamental forces, andhowthe

subatomicparticlesbehaveunder the influ-enceofelectromagneticforces.Themuonisoneoftheleptons. It issimi-

lar to theelectron,but200 times larger, andmuchmoreunstable,survivingforafractionofasecond.Theexperiment,calledMuong–2(gminus two), was conducted at the USDepartment of Energy’s Fermi NationalAcceleratorLaboratory(Fermilab).

Whatwasthisexperimentabout?It measured a quantity relating to the

muon, followingupaprevious experimentatBrookhavenNationalLaboratory,undertheUSDepartmentofEnergy.Concludedin2001,the Brookhaven experiment cameupwithresultsthatdidnotidenticallymatchpredic-tionsbytheStandardModel.TheMuong–2experimentmeasuredthis

quantitywith greater accuracy. It sought tofindoutwhetherthediscrepancywouldper-sist, orwhether the new resultswould becloser topredictions. As it turnedout, therewasadiscrepancyagain,althoughsmaller.

Whatquantitywasmeasured?Itiscalledtheg–factor,ameasurethatde-

rives from themagnetic properties of themuon.Becausethemuonisunstable, scien-tists study the effect it leaves behindon itssurroundings.Muonsact as if theyhavea tiny internal

magnet.Inastrongmagneticfield,thedirec-tionof thismagnet“wobbles”—justliketheaxis of a spinning top. The rate atwhich themuonwobbles is describedby theg-factor,thequantitythatwasmeasured.Thisvalueisknowntobecloseto2,soscientistsmeasurethedeviationfrom2.Hencethenameg–2.Theg-factor canbecalculatedprecisely

usingtheStandardModel.Intheg–2exper-iment,scientistsmeasureditwithhigh-pre-cision instruments.Theygeneratedmuonsandgotthemtocirculate ina largemagnet.Themuonsalsointeractedwitha“quantumfoam” of subatomic particles “popping inandoutofexistence”,asFermilabdescribedit. These interactionsaffect thevalueof theg-factor, causing the muons to wobble

slightly faster or slightly slower. Just howmuch this deviationwill be (this is calledanomalousmagneticmoment), too,canbecalculatedwith the StandardModel. But ifthe quantum foam contains additionalforcesorparticlesthatarenotaccountedforby the StandardModel, thatwould tweaktheg-factor further.

Whatwerethefindings?The results, while diverging from the

StandardModel prediction, strongly agreewiththeBrookhavenresults,Fermilabsaid.The accepted theoretical values for the

muonare:g-factor:2.00233183620anomalous magnetic moment:

0.00116591810Thenewexperimentalresults(combined

fromtheBrookhavenandFermilab results)announcedonWednesdayare:g-factor:2.00233184122anomalous magnetic moment:

0.00116592061.

Whatdoesthismean?The results fromBrookhaven, and now

Fermilab, hint at the existenceof unknowninteractions between themuon and themagnetic field— interactions that could in-volvenewparticles or forces. It is, however,notthelastthewordinopeninguptheroadtonewphysics.To claim a discovery, scientists require

results that diverge from the StandardModel by 5 standarddeviations. The com-bined results from Fermilab andBrookhavendivergeby4.2standarddevia-tions.While thismay not be enough, it isveryunlikely tobe a fluke—that chance isabout 1 in 40,000, the Argonne NationalLaboratory, alsounder theUSDepartmentof Energy, said inapress release.“This isstrongevidencethatthemuonis

sensitivetosomethingthatisnotinourbesttheory,” Renee Fatemi, a physicist at theUniversity of Kentuckyand the simulationsmanager fortheMuong-2experiment, saidinastatementreleasedbyFermilab.

How to navigate rupee fallThecurrency fell sharplyby105paiseagainst thedollaronWednesday.Withthetrendexpectedtocontinue,howdoes itaffectyourcostsathomeandabroad,andhowshouldyoumanageyour funds?

ARUNSHARMAJAMMU,APRIL8

ATRADITIONofacenturyandahalfissettobebroken in Jammu and Kashmir, with only“sensitiverecords”beingtakenfromJammutoSrinagarthissummer,unlikeinpreviousyearswhen the entire administration and recordswouldbeshiftedduring“DurbarMove”.

The traditionDurbarMoveisabi-annualshiftingofthe

Civil Secretariat andotherofficesof thestategovernmentfromJammutoSrinagarinsum-mer, andvice versa inwinter. This is doneasJammu&Kashmirhastwocapitals:KashmirduringsummerandJammuduringwinter.InJammu,officesshutonthelastFridayand

SaturdayofAprilandreopeninSrinagaronthefirstMondayafteragapofaweek.InKashmir,offices shutonthe last FridayandSaturdayofOctober, to reopen in Jammu on the firstMondayafteraweek’sgap,inNovember.

The reasonswhyDurbarMove is a tradition started 149

years ago started by the erstwhile Dograrulerswhohailed from Jammu,buthadex-pandedtheirboundariestoKashmirinclud-ingwhatisnowPakistan-occupiedKashmir,andLadakh.Jammu,KashmirandLadakhareverydif-

ferent fromoneanothergeographically, lin-guistically and culturally, and in those dayswere poorly connected by road. It is gener-ally understood that the DurbarMovewasstarted to take the administration to thedoorstep of the people of Kashmirwhich iscloser to Ladakh. During summer, rulingfromKashmir also helped in ensuring ade-quate supplies to Ladakh,which is closer toKashmir than Jammu, before the wintersnowfallwouldcutoff Ladakh.The practice also enabled greater inter-

action and bonding among the people ofJammu,KashmirandLadakh .

The effortUntil2019,theadministrationusedtoen-

gage hundreds of trucks and buses for car-rying office records and officials from onecapital city to another. For safe transporta-tion, theJammu&Kashmirpoliceandpara-

military forces would dominate the entireJammu-Srinagar national highway. Apartfromtheexpensesincurredonhiringtrucksand buses, themoving staff also used to bepaid TA and DA, besides arrangements fortheir accommodation.

The criticismVoices of protest started during the late

1980s, over the amount ofmoney and timespentontheexercise.However, thepracticealsoenjoyedpublicsupport.Inthelate1980s,the then government of Chief Minister DrFarooqAbdullahhaddecidedtobifurcatetheSecretariat by permanently keeping somedepartments in Kashmir and some inJammu, but Jammu observed a bandh fornearly 45 days in protesting, leading to thegovernmentwithdrawing itsdecision.In recentyears,manycriticised thegov-

ernment for spending nearly Rs 200 croreon this exercise every yearwhen it did nothave enough funds even topay salary to itsemployees.Last year, the Jammu & Kashmir High

Courtobservedthattherewasnolegaljusti-ficationorconstitutionalbasisfortheDarbar

Move tradition. Pointing out that the prac-tice has resulted inwastage of tremendousamount of time, efforts and energyon inef-ficient and unnecessary activity, a DivisionBench comprising then Chief Justice GitaMittal and Justice Rajnesh Oswal observedthatvaluableresourcesofthestate(financialand physical) cannot be diverted to com-pletelynon-essentialusagewhentheUnionTerritory inunable toprovideevenbasices-sentials to itspeople.Thecourtrecommendedthatincasethe

practicewasrationalised, theresourcesandtimesavedcouldbeutilisedtowardsthewel-fareanddevelopmentof theUT; themoneysaved could also be used to address Covid-relatedissueslikefoodshortage,unemploy-mentandhealthcare.

What nowThe UT government has decided to

switchtoe-governance,willallofficerecordsconverted into digital format. As a result,while the Secretariat employees and someofficeswillmovefromJammutoSrinagarasusualthisyear,onlysensitiverecordswillbeshifted fromoneplace toanother.

@ieExplained#ExpressExplainedIf there are questions of current or contemporary relevance that youwould likeexplained, pleasewrite to [email protected] EXPLAINED

THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,APRIL9,2021

TheslidebeganonMarch23,andtherupeeremainsundervariouspressures.

Artist’s conceptionof themysteryofthemagneticmomentof themuon.DaniZemba,PennsylvaniaStateUniversity

Graphicdepictionof theprocessof creatingproteinspikesoncells.Universityof Southampton

First look: in cells exposed toOxford vaccine, spikes muchlike the coronavirus’s own

Muon g–2: landmark study challenges rulebook of particle physics

ChAdOx1nCoV-19vaccine

Infection

Mammaliancell

Expression

Spikeprotein

FACS EM/ET LC-MS

INDIAACTIVECASES 910,319

Note: TheApril 7 figure in this graph isbasedon thegovernmentupdateonApril 8

Mar29 Apr07LAST 10 DAYS

1100,000

800,000

500,000

INDIATOTALCASES12,928,574

Source:Ministry of Health & FamilyWelfare, updated at 11 pmonApril 8

WORLDTOTALCASES133,344,006

Source:Ministry of Health & FamilyWelfare, updated at 11 pmonApril 8

910,319

540,720

EXPLAINED YOURMONEY

Sandeep Singh &SunnyVerma

THISWORDMEANS: DURBARMOVE

When J&Kmoves from one capital to another

10WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THE BENCHMARKAllahabadHighCourt’squashingofNSAordersunderlinesfailureof institutional safeguards—andhowtosecure them

WHENALAW is used to curtail individual freedoms in a constitutionaldemocracy, crucial checks andbalancesmust kick in to draw the redlines thatprotectagainststatearbitrariness.This isespeciallysowhenthestatewieldsalawasharshastheNationalSecurityAct,whichgives

itpowerstoarrestwithoutformalchargeortrial.InUttarPradesh,overthelastthreeyears,this newspaper has investigated and found, out of the 120habeas corpus petitions thatcamebeforeitundertheNSA,morethanhalfof themcitingcowslaughterandcommunalincidents, thepreventivedetentionsof94 individualswerestruckdownbytheAllahabadHigh Court. Behind those statistics lies a story of the disturbing failure of systemic safe-guards, of constitutional protections not kicking inwhenandwhere they shouldhave—whilequashingNSAordersacross32districts,andcallingforthereleaseof thepetitioners,thecourt'sordersshowedthattherewerecut-and-pastepoliceFIRs inmultiple locations,“nonapplicationofmind”bythedistrictmagistrates,denialofdueprocesstotheaccusedandrepeateduseof the lawtoblockbail. There isadismalpatternhere.At thesametime,however, thepushbackbytheAllahabadHCalsoframestheoneimportantcheckthatdidwork—thatdidcometotherescueof theindividualagainstthetransgressingstate.In askingquestions, inpointing to thequestionsnot askedby thedetainingauthori-

ties, thehighcourtwasupholding, in letterandspirit, constitutionalguaranteesandthepromisemade by the higher judiciary— that preventive detention underNSAmust bestrictlyconstruedkeepinginmindthe“delicatebalancebetweensocialsecurityandcit-izen freedom”.TheSupremeCourthascalled for “meticulouscompliancewith thepro-ceduralsafeguards”.Incaseaftercase,andespeciallyinthoserelatedtocowslaughterandcommunalincidents—issuesthathaveoftenbeenpoliticallyweaponisedtotargetmem-bers of theminority community in the state— the balancewas abandoned, and avail-ablesafeguardsgiventhego-by.“…slaughteringandconsumptionofbeefpersecannotattracttheprovisionsof theNationalSecurityAct…Itwouldbeanoffenceunderthepro-visionsof theCowSlaughterAct”,theHCobservedinthedetentionofShahidQureshi,onApril4,2019.Howwastheactadisturbanceofpublicorder, there is “noreferenceofpe-titionerbeinginvolvedinanyseriousoranyanti-nationalactivity”, itsaidinanothercase.Theoverallmessageunderlinedby theAllahabadHighCourt—“the individual liberty

grantedtothepetitionerbytheConstitutionof Indiacannotbetakenawaywithoutproperapplicationofmind”—mustbeheeded.Bythedistrictmagistrateswhopassedorders inamechanicalmanner,insomecasesonlyonthebasisofpolicereports,inothersshowingsignsofbeingswayedbypoliticalpressures.Thecourtordersshouldalsobereadcarefullybythestategovernment.Thepeople’smandatecastsaresponsibilitytomaketheinstitutionalsafe-guardsstrongerandbetter, itdoesnotgiveanygovernmentthelicencetobypassthem.

RBI’S BALANCING ACTItmaintainsstatusquoonrates, announcesmeasures tosupportbondmarket. Itmustbemindfulof inflation

INLINEWITHexpectations, theMonetaryPolicyCommittee (MPC)of theReserveBankof India (RBI) votedunanimously in its first policymeetingof the current fi-nancialyeartoleavethebenchmarkpolicyreporateunchanged.Thecommitteealsodecidedtomaintainitsaccommodativestanceuntil“theprospectsoftherecovery

arewellsecured”.ConsideringthatthesecondwaveofCOVID-19infectionshascreatedsig-nificantuncertaintyovertheeconomictrajectorygoingforward,evenasretail inflationisexpectedtoremainelevated inthenear future, theMPC,byshifting froma“time-based”toa“state-based” forwardguidance,hasgiven itselfmoreroomformanoeuvre.Alongside, the RBI governor, ShaktikantaDas, announced a slewofmeasures aimed

at easing financial conditions and loweringborrowing costs. Das announcedaG-sec ac-quisition programme (G-SAP) throughwhich the central bankwill purchase Rs 1 lakhcroreofgovernmentsecuritiesinthefirstquarterof thecurrentfinancialyear,expandingontheexistingtoolkitformanaginglong-termyields.Theprogramme,whichismeanttosignalthecentralbank’sintentionofsupportingthebondmarket,willhelpcalmthemar-kets, and bring down the termpremium. By laying outwhat is essentially a calendar oftheRBI’soperations in thesecondarymarket, itprovidesgreaterclarity tomarketpartic-ipantswho areworried about the government’smassive borrowing programme. Bondyieldshave fallenpost theannouncement. But, evenas the central bankcontinues to at-tachprimacytogrowthconsiderations,andrightlyso, itmustbemindfulof theinflation-arypressuresintheeconomy.Theriseinglobalcommodityprices,coupledwiththepos-sibilityofdisruptions insupplychains, leadingtoasituationof inflationsustainingabovetheupperthresholdoftheinflationtargetingframeworkalongsideweakgrowth,couldonlycomplicatematters for thecentralbank.Balancingmultipleobjectiveswillbedifficult.On the growth front, the central bank has retained its earlier projection of 10.5 per

cent for thecurrent financialyear,which is farmoreconservative thanthe InternationalMonetary Fund’s recent assessment,whichpegs growth at 12.5 per cent. However, therisks to the economic recoveryhave increased considerably in recentweeks. The sharpsurgeinCOVID-19cases,andtheimpositionof localisedrestrictions,couldadverselyaf-fect economicactivity. Supply sidedisruptions, aswell as subdueddemandcoulddelaytheeconomy’sreturntonormalcy.Theprimaryobjectiveofpolicyshouldbetodramat-ically scaleupthevaccinationdrive tocovera larger sectionof thepopulation.

THE CURTAIN RISESEffortlessly, the IPLovershadowsmuchelse incricket.

Andnoone’scomplaining

ASTHE14THeditionof the IPL isall set torollout inapandemicyear, a tweetfromPakistan’sageless starShahidAfridi capturedthe journeyof this tour-namenttoabehemoththatovershadowsmuchelseincricket.Afriditweetedhis“surprise”and“sadness”thatSouthAfricanplayersleftmid-wayinase-

riesagainstPakistanto join the IPL juggernaut. It felt likeanoutdatedsentiment; therestofthecricketingworlddroppedtheraisedeyebrowsafewyearsago.(Nearly)everyonelovesthe IPL:Thefans, theadministrators,marketers,broadcasters, corporates,andplayers.In the recently concluded series against India, England’s rotation policy cameunder

scrutiny.Theyhadrestedkeyplayers in theTest seriesprimarilyduetobio-bubbleeffectsonmentalhealthandalsotobeavailableforthewhite-ballgames.SomeintheEnglishme-diaandtheirformerplayersevenframeditasatusslebetweenEoinMorgan,thecaptainofthewhite-ball team,and JoeRoot, theTestcaptain,butnotmanysuggestedthat theplay-ersplayTestsandlimited-oversgamesinIndiaandrestfortheIPL.Everyoneintheecosys-tembenefits fromthepremierT20tournamentof theworld.Andnoone’scomplaining.It’sagreattournament,fromthequalityofcrickettothewayit’sbroadcasted,branded,

and loyally followed. It is streamed in a number of languages and has unique contentwiththelikesofDug-out,acricket-strategy-and-techniquefocusedpanel.Theloyaltyoffans is unparalleled,withhumorousmemes across languages to serioushandwringingover the fate of teams. The brandworld doesn’t have to try to create loyalty anymore;only tomonetarily tap it. The IPL ishere tostay, andentertain.

Partition’s long shadow

Sanjib Baruah

AmbikaVishwanath

Immigrationhasbeenarecurring themeinAssam’spolitics,will continuetobesoafterpolls

WORLD ACCORDING TO WOMENDiversevoices in foreignpolicymeanbetterdecisionsathomeandabroad

“ALLWARFAREISthewayofdeception”,saidSunTzu,thegreatChinesemilitarystrategist.Deception plays a role inmodern electoralstrategiesaswell.If immigrationdoesnotap-pear to be a live political issue in the currentelection inAssam,most of the credit shouldgo to a successful campaign of strategic de-ception. The ruling partywon the past twoelectionsinthestatebystakingitsclaimasthechampion of local interests against the dan-gerfromimmigration.Butthistime,asamat-terof strategiccalculation, thepartydecidedtoplaycoyabouttheCitizenshipAmendmentAct (CAA)—acriticalandcontroversialpieceof legislationonthesubject—andtheClause6 committee’s report, a proposal to providelocalpeoplewithconstitutionalsafeguardstomitigatetheadverseimpactoftheCAA,whichhasapparentlybeenshelvedfornow.However,bothnationalandstate-levelBJP

leadersralliedaroundonecoremessage,de-pictingAIUDFleaderBadruddinAjmalasthecentralvillainofthepiece.ACongress-AIUDFalliance government, they darkly hint, willleadtoarise in“infiltration”.Considering that immigration from

across the Partition’s eastern border hasbeen a recurring theme in the politics ofAssam, itmaybeuseful to takea long-termviewof thephenomenon.Inworldhistoricalterms,thebirthofIndia

and Pakistan as separate countries, and thesubsequentbreak-upofPakistanandthebirthof Bangladesh,were the result of the emer-gence of the nation-state as the newglobalnormofpoliticalorganisation.Butasthinkerssuch asHannahArendt havewarnedus, theformation of new states is almost always arefugee-generating process. Indeed, theLeague of Nations— the predecessor of theUnitedNations—tookituponitselftomanagetheminority issuescreatedinthisprocess.That therearemigration flowsacross the

Partition’s border even after seven decadeswouldn’t surprise many historians. ThePartitionwasnotaconclusiveone-timeevent,ithasbeenaprotractedandlong-drawn-outaffair. It has followed twodifferent trajecto-ries in the east and in thewest. Themore orless complete “exchangeof population” that

occurredinPunjabduringPartition—andthebrutal violence that accompanied it—didn’thappen in the east. TheHindupopulationofpre-PartitioneasternBengalwasabout28percent of the population. It dropped to onlyabout22percent in1951.The Nehru-Liaquat Pact of March 1950

wasbynomeansanad-hocresponsetoama-jor outbreak of Hindu-Muslimviolence. Thetwocountriesborrowedfrominternationallyavailablemodelsofmanagingminorityissuesinnewlycraftednation-states.Theysoughttocreate a bilateral institutional framework torestore confidence amongminorities inEastPakistan, AssamandWest Bengal. The goalwastomaintainthedemographicstatusquoofthetwopost-Partitionstates.Theeffortwashardly an unmitigated failure, as it is some-times implied. After all, in the following twodecades, the Hindu population of EastPakistandecreasedbyonly3.6percent(from22percent in1951to18.4percent in1970).But things began to change dramatically

with theBangladeshLiberationWarof 1971.ThePakistanimilitary regimeof the time, asBangladeshi scholarMeghnaGuhathakurtaputsit,viewedtheLiberationWarasanIndianconspiracyandtreatedBengalifreedomfight-ers as if they were Indian infiltrators.Consequently, the repressivebacklashof thePakistanistatefelluponalmost90percentofBangladesh’sHinduhouseholds. And as themilitarycampaignagainstBengaliresistanceintensified,“thepercentageofHindurefugeesfleeing into India increasedmanifold in rela-tiontoMuslimrefugees.”In August 1971, according to an estimate

shecites,therewere6,71,000Hindurefugeesand 5,41,000 Muslim refugees in India.Scholars such as Zillur RahmanKhan agreewith thisgeneral assessment.Of the9.7mil-lion refugeeswhomigrated to India in 1971,hesays,70percentwereHindus.ManyoftheHindu refugees of 1971,writes Bangladeshicommentator Sarwar JahanChoudhury, are“suspectedtohavestayedbackinWestBengal,Tripura,andBarakvalley.”Considering India’s support for the

Bangladeshiindependence,itisironicthattheregion’s Hindupopulation continued to de-

clineafterBangladeshbecameanindepend-entcountry.Thechangedpolitical landscapefollowing the murder of Sheikh MujiburRahman,andtheembraceof Islamaspartofitsofficialnationalidentitybymilitaryregimesof Ziaur Rahman (1975–1981) andHussainMuhammadErshad(1981–1990),clearlydid-n’thelp.TheproportionofHinduscamedownto12per cent in1981and9per cent in2011.However,emigrationtoIndianeednotbetheonlyexplanation for thedeclineof thecoun-try’sHindupopulation.Viewed from the perspective of

Bangladesh’s Hinduminority, the CAA is agamechanger.Thegoalofmaintainingthede-mographic status quo of the post-Partitionstateshasnowbeenabandoned.TheCAAisawelcomemattoHindus:ImmigrationtoIndiawill nowonwards be seen as homecoming.YearsbeforetheadoptionoftheCAA,MeghnaGuhathakurtawrotethatwhileinsecurityandrejection ledmanyHindu Bangladeshis tochoosethepathofsilentmigrationtoIndia,itwas“oftenlookeduponbyBangladeshielitesand champions of Bangladeshi nationalismasaformofopportunismonthepartofHindufamilies”. Itwasusedasanargument to jus-tify discrimination against them in employ-mentandeducationonthepretext that theycouldn’t be trusted to serve the country ifgiven those opportunities. This situation isonlylikelytogetworsewiththeCAA.Even though the CAA currently has

December31,2014asthecut-offdate,itishardto imagine that a future Indian government,especially of the current ideological persua-sion,willhavethepoliticalinclinationtoclosethedoorsonHinduunauthorisedimmigrantswhohaveentered—orwill enter—Indiaaf-terthatdate.Likethepreviouscut-offdateofMarch25,1971,whichwassupersededbytheCAA, thiscut-offdatewillprobablyalsohavetobeabandonedinfuture.Migrationwillprobablycontinuetoan-

imate and shape the politics of Assam inprofound and unpredictable ways for theforeseeable future.

Thewriter isProfessorofPoliticalStudiesatBardCollege,NewYork

ONMARCH31, theWorld Economic Forumreleased itsannualGenderGapReport2021.Indiahadslipped28spots to rank140outofthe156countriescovered.Theindexisbasedon four dimensions,where political partici-pationmaintains the largest gap globally,worse than the 2019 edition of the report.Within the 156 countries covered, womenholdonly26per centof parliamentary seatsand22percentofministerialpositions.Indiain someways reflects this widening gap,wherethenumberofministersdeclinedfrom23.1 per cent in 2019 to 9.1 per cent in 2021.Thenumberofwomen inParliament standslowat14.4percent.In a timewhen 104 countries still have

lawspreventingwomenfromcertaintypesofjobs, and over 600millionwomen live incountrieswheredomesticviolenceisnotpun-ishable,agenderedapproachhastobemain-streamedintobroaderpolicyobjectives.Thismeansgoingbeyondconventionalconsider-ationsofdevelopmentassistanceanddomes-ticpoliciestoincludecoreareasofforeignpol-icy, economics, finance, trade and security.This alsomeans that alongwith increasingrepresentation,womenandmarginalisedsec-tionsofsocietyneedtohaveavoicetoprovidealternativeperspectivestopolicymaking.A feminist foreign policy as a political

framework explores this very realm, first in-troducedandadvocatedbySweden in2014.Feminist approaches to international affairscanbetracedbacktothe1980s.Inmanywaysthis translated to a bottom-updevelopmentapproach, especially with a donor-based

mindset that benefitted the recipient, albeitoftenwithcaveats.Whilethisslowlychangedinthe1990s,coreareasofsecurityanddiplo-macywere still the domain ofmen, and re-mainso.Therealisationthatitisnotonlynec-essarytoincludewomeninpeacebuildingandpeacekeepingbut thewidergamutof diplo-macyandforeignandsecuritypolicyisgrow-ing,withdataindicatingthattheinclusionofdiversevoicesmakesforabetterbasketofop-tionsindecisionmakingandisnolongersim-plyavirtuousstandardtofollow.SinceSwedenembarkedonthispath,sev-

eral other countries — Canada, France,Germanyand,more recently,Mexico—haveforged their own, adopting either a feministforeignpolicy or a gendered approach to as-pectsof policymaking.However, thecurrentconversationaroundafeminist/genderedfor-eign policy is still largely in small circles inNorthAmericaandEurope.Greaterdiversityinthinkingwillallowforaglobalpolicytobetai-loredandthusoperationalised inawiderge-ography,accountingforvastlydivergentsocialnormsandpractices,andlivedhistories.Asanon-permanentmemberoftheUNSC

and recently elected to theUNCommissionontheStatusofWomenforafouryearterminSeptember2020, Indiahasakey role toplay.Genderconsiderations in India’s foreignpol-icyarenotnew.Thoughlocatedlargelyunderthe development assistance paradigm andpeacekeeping,thesehavebeenincrediblysuc-cessful. From2007when Indiadeployed thefirst ever female unit to the UNMission inLibya to supporting gender empowerment

programmesthroughSAARC,IBSA,IORAandothermultilateralfora,ourprogrammeshavebeentargetedatmakingwomentheenginesforinclusiveandsustainablegrowth.Manyofour overseas programmes in partner coun-tries have a gender component, as seen inAfghanistan,LesothoandCambodia.Athome,2015sawagenderbudgetexercisewithintheMEAtowardsdevelopmentassistance.Whatisneededisamoreformaldesigned

approachthatgoesbeyondapurelydevelop-mentmodel towider access, representationand decisionmaking. TheWEF report andothersimilarindicesisacalltodobetteronthedomesticfront;nomatterhow“feminist”ourforeignandsecuritypolicymightbe,withoutbalanceathomeitwillnotlast.In September 2020, India’s Permanent

Representative to the United Nations,AmbassadorTNTrimurti saidourelectiontotheCSWwasa “ringing endorsement of ourcommitmenttopromotegenderequalityandwomen’s empowerment in all our endeav-ours”.Wemustnowgofurthertosensitiseandshapeglobaldiscussionsaroundgendermain-streaming. Our gender-based foreign assis-tanceneeds to bebroadened anddeepenedand equallymatchedwith lower barriers toparticipationinpolitics,diplomacy,thebureau-cracy,military and other spaces of decisionmaking. Indoingthis, Indiacaneasilyclaimanewuniquefeminist foreignpolicyaddingtoandsmartlyshapingtheglobalconversation.

Thewriter isco-founderanddirector,TheKuberneinInitiative

Even though the CAAcurrently has December 31,2014 as the cut-off date, it ishard to imagine that a futureIndian government,especially of the currentideological persuasion, willhave the political inclinationto close the doors on Hinduunauthorised immigrantswho have entered — or willenter — India after that date.Like the previous cut-offdate of March 25, 1971, whichwas superseded by the CAA,this cut-off date willprobably also have to beabandoned in future.

Gender considerations inIndia’s foreign policy are notnew, and though they havebeen largely under thedevelopment assistanceparadigm and peacekeeping,these have been incrediblysuccessful. What is needed,however, is a more formaldesigned approach that goesbeyond a purelydevelopment model to wideraccess, representation anddecision making. The WEFreport and other similarindices is a call to do betteron the domestic front; nomatter how ‘feminist’ ourforeign and security policymight be, without balance athome it will not last.

FOUNDED BY

RAMNATH GOENKA

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

§ §

THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,APRIL9,2021WORDLYWISE

Forme, the IPL is a great platform to learnanddevelop as a cricketer.

— Jasprit BumrahTHEEDITORIALPAGE

CJI PROTESTSTHE CHIEF JUSTICE of India, Y. V.Chandrachud has protested to the govern-ment against a circular sent by the LawMinister, Shiv Shankar, to state chiefminis-tersonthepostingofstatehighcourtjudgestootherstates.AccordingtosourcesclosetotheSupremeCourt, JusticeChandrachudre-ceived a copy of the controversial circularasking chief justices to obtain consent inwriting from additional judges to be trans-ferred to any high court. The sources ex-plainedthatthelawministerhadissuedthecircular without any reference to the ChiefJustice of India. Therewas no consultationwith him, they said. Lawministry sources

were reluctant to talk about the circularwhich isbeing interpretedasa threat to theindependent judiciary.

LEFT’S FEARSTHE MARXISTS BELIEVE that the PrimeMinisterIndiraGandhiiswaitingfortherightmomenttodismisstheWestBengalgovern-ment. The PM’s reported directive to herpartymen inWest Bengal to continue theiragitation as well as her remarks about thelaw and order situation in Kerala haveheightenedtheMarxists’fear.Thereareindi-cationsthattheBJPmightsupportanymoveby the Centre to dislodge theMarxist gov-ernment inKerala.

PRESS NATIONALISATIONNATIONALISATIONOFTHEtopeightnewspa-perhousesinthecountry“toreducetheholdof big business on the press” has been sug-gested by a study conducted by the IndianInstituteofPublicAdministration.Ownershipandcontroldoesnot restwithin the industryandpresentmanagementhas strong vestedinterest outside thenewspaper industry, thestudyobserves.

FORCES IN KABULSOURCESINKABULhaveclaimedthataround20,000 Soviet Union troops have arrived inAfghanistanamidheavyairtransportactivityraisingtotaltroopstrengthto1,00,000.

APRIL 9, 1981, FORTYYEARSAGO

11THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,APRIL9,2021 WHATTHEOTHERSSAY

“The chance of a severe reaction is probably no higher than 0.0001%. That isno comfort to those who are affected, but when it comes to public policy,statistical perspective matters. A very small number is not zero, but nor is it areason to refuse vaccination.” —THEGUARDIANTHE IDEASPAGE


States must do more tosynergise their efforts bylaunching coordinatedoperations, thereby denyingMaoists any space formanoeuvrability. Theseefforts need to besupplemented by well-crafted developmentschemes. Properimplementation and timelydisbursal of benefits add tothe credibility of thegovernment policies. It isalso important to segregatethe population from theinsurgents bothoperationally andideologically.

ONEWONDERShowoneof themostpow-erful men in the world, dealing with nu-merous important decisions at any givenpoint of time, still finds time to share apiece of his life’s collected wisdomwithchildren. He has, in the truest sense, beenaguideandamentor,givingboostershotsof confidence, year after year, to studentspreparing for exams.Pariksha Pe Charcha has become a

breathof freshairforstudents.Withevery-onearoundtheminadeepfrenzyaboutex-ams, results, and a career, PrimeMinisterNarendraModicomesacrossasamanwitha senseof balanceand farsightedness. Thelifelessonshedistilsforchildrencomefromhis livedexperiences.Be it the PM’smemory hack of involv-

ing, internalising, associatingandvisualis-ingalessonthanjusttryingtomemoriseit,or his formula for parents to not only stayyoung but also reduce the generation gap— these are things he has observed in hisvast experience of living all across India. Itseemssimplebut is actually the result of alifetimespentobservinghumanbehaviour.ThewayModiisabletoobserveroutinein-teractionsandbringoutsuchinsightfulles-sons fromthemisextraordinary.DuringParikshaPeCharcha2021, inor-

der toallay the fearof a student regardingdifficult subjects or questions during ex-ams, PMModi took a leaf out of his ownbook.Hesaidinsteadofrunningawayfromtough topics,why not take themhead-onfirst thing in themorning?Aschiefminis-ter of Gujarat and now as primeminister,he applies the same principle to his dailyroutine,hesaid.Anythingthatrequiresex-tra effort or seems complicated, he picksup first thing in themorningwith a freshmind.What he finds easy and has amar-ginalscopeoferror,heleavesfor later.Thisgoes against our usual instinct of pickingupwhat is easy first and thenmoving onto difficult parts. But it could be becausewe are instinctively scared to deal withhard tasks and aremore likely to procras-tinateor sit on themindefinitely.Theexampleshequotesgiveaninsight

intoamanwhohasrisentothetop,butonlyafter going through his fair share of strug-gles and disappointments and eventuallyfinding away through. This is the reason

thereisaninstantconnectpeoplefeelwithhim as he dissects human behaviour andmotivationsatadeeper level.Take, for instance, his answer when a

seemingly distressed parent from PunjabaskedPMModihowtoensurethatkidsdowhat is expected of themwithout havingto run behind him. This is, in fact, a com-mon refrain among parents, often leadingto childrenwithdrawing into their shell oractingout inawaythatbewildersparents.But the PM’s reply to the question gaveenoughfoodforthoughttoparentsregard-ingwhere theproblememanates from.Insteadof realisingachild’suniquepo-

tential,parentstrytoboxthemintopre-ex-isting societal norms and structures. Herightlypointedout thatwetendtoneglectanextremelyimportantstep—trainingthemind towards self-motivated action.Trainingcannot takeplace in isolation. It ispart of a child’s daily experience at home.By introducing children to the benefits ofinculcatingahabit increativewaysinsteadof constant nagging, parents can lay theground formoulding theirmind in a cer-tainway. This opensup thepossibility of achildfeelingmotivatedenoughtomakeitapartofhisroutine.Thiswouldnotonlysaveparents’ energy but also create a positive,moreopenenvironmentforchildrentoen-gagewithparentswithoutfeelingstressedor threatened.Often,tohavesuchinsightsintoachild’s

mind, onehas tobeachildpsychologistorsomeone who has children of his or herown. But PMModi does not belong to ei-therof thesetwocategories.Yet,hisknowl-edge is not derived from books, but isearned through a lifetime of lived experi-ence, especially from his pre-CM days,whenhetravelledextensivelyallacrosshisstate and the country. His discernment ofhuman behaviour is reflective of havingspentaconsiderableamountoftimestudy-ing families closely.Despiteholdingthehighestofficeinthe

countryandenjoyingwide-scalepopular-ity that is achieved once in a century, PMModi does not indulge in impracticalgrandstandingorcomplicatedjargon.Evenafter being at the centre of themost pow-erful circle of people, he has a rare abilitytothink likeapersonwho’sapartof everyfamily in India.His core remains rooted in ground re-

alities. His voice is the voice of a commonman. His values are reflective of the bestvalues of any average Indian family. Hispractical knowledge emanates from theearthywisdom that forms the bedrock ofIndiancivilisation.

Thewriter isUnionMinisterofWomenandChildDevelopment, andMinisterofTextiles

THE KILLING OF 22 security personnel byMaoists in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarhservesasagrimreminderthatleft-winginsur-gencycontinuestobeoneofthebiggestinter-nal security threats for the country. Initial re-ports suggest that security forces inChhattisgarhhad launchedamassive opera-tiononApril4,aftertherewereintelligencere-ports about thepresenceof topMaoist com-manderHidmaalongwith 60-70Maoists inandaroundTekulugudamHillinBijapur.Astheforces reached the top of the hill andwerecombing through the intended “target”(TekulugudamHill), they cameunder heavyfire.Itwasthentheforcesrealisedthattheyhadwalkedintoatrap.Theinitialassessmentindi-cates that therewere around 300Maoists,whichincludedmenandwomenbelongingtothelocaltribalmilitia.In the past few years, Maoist violence

seemed tohave beenon adownward spiral.Thegovernmenthas, in fact, had somemajorsuccessesintheformofarrestsandsurrenderof importantMaoist leaders.Thefiguresasso-ciatedwith thekey indicatorsof violence likethenumberof incidentsalsosupportthecon-tention that “insurgency is on thedownwardspiral”.However,someexpertsbelievedthatitwas too early to sound the last post and cau-tioned that this drop could be the result of a“tacticalwithdrawal” by theMaoists, some-thingwhichtheyhavedoneinthepastaswell.Theattackshouldthusserveasawake-upcallto thosewho had begun to get complacentabouttheMaoistthreat.ItappearsthatMaoistscontinuetoholdontotheirkeystrengthswhichinclude: (i) a robust andefficient intelligencenetwork;(ii)thedevolutionofauthoritytolo-calcommanders;(iii)anabilitytoquicklyread-justtheirstrategy;(iv)extensivesupportfromlocaltribesandtheabilitytoorganisethemintoatribalmilitiaforshort-termtacticalpurposesand(v)dominationof thelocal landscape.Thisbringsustothemostimportantques-

tionaboutthenatureoftheCounterinsurgency(hereafterCOIN)strategy,whichgovernmentsbothinthestatesandattheCentreareadopt-ingorshouldadopt.Debatesabouttheutilityofdifferent COINmodels in the Indian scenariohavecontinuedsinceIndiabegandealingwithits first full-blown insurgency inNagaland inthe1950s.One school believes that given theMaoist insurgencyposturing itself as a “peo-ple’swar”,themandateisforapeople-centricapproachof “winningheartsandminds” thatis built on the notions of competitive state-buildingtoaddresseconomicandgovernancedeficiencies.The other school argues that an enemy-

centricapproachpredicatedonkineticoper-ationsisbestsuitedfortheMaoistinsurgency,where the fear of the population secedingfromIndiaisremote.Thesuccessof theerst-whilestateofAndhraPradeshincurbingtheMaoistproblemisoftenattributedtothisen-emy-centricapproach.However, there is ro-bustscholarlyworkavailablethatshowsthattheAndhragovernmentbaseditsCOINstrat-egyona judiciousmixof theenemy-centricandpopulation-centricapproaches.Thesuc-cessesachievedbytheGreyhounds,Andhra’selite special forces, could only be consoli-

datedthroughtherobustimplementationofshort-gestation-perioddevelopmentalworksintheMaoist-affectedruralareas.Moreover,the erstwhile state is also the first state tohaveacomprehensivesurrender-cum-reha-bilitationpolicy.Afterthe2014guidelinesofthecentralgov-

ernmentwerebroughtout,manystateshavecraftedattractivesurrenderandrehabilitationpolicies. Odisha, for one, seems to haveachievedfairsuccessinitssurrenderpolicybutthiswaspossible only after successful kineticoperationsagainstMaoists. It is fairtosaythata surrender and rehabilitation policy onlyworkswhen there is sustainedmilitarypres-sureontheMaoists.Anotherimportantquestioniswhetherthe

governmentshouldkeeptheoptionoftalkingtoMaoists open. Debates about negotiatingwith insurgents and terrorists are oftenmetwithangerand,at times,disgust,at thepossi-bilityof sittingacrossa table fromindividualswhowereresponsibleforsomehorrificviolentacts. TheUSgovernmenthad to share a tablewiththeTaliban,whichplayedhosttoalQaedaasthelatterpreparedtokillthousandsofinno-centAmericans.Thewillingnesstotalktorebelgroups seems to incentivise insurgents andmaydemonstratethatviolencepays.Yet,timeandagain,governmentsfacethedistastefulre-ality of engagingwith groups that havebeeninvolvedinviolentattacksagainsttheir forcesandcitizens.History is repletewithexamplesthatshowthegoalofendingterroristviolenceor bringing an end to civilwar invariably in-volves negotiatingwith the enemy, even theworstones.AndMaoistsmaynotfallunderthe“worst” category, as successive governmentshavelabelledthemas“misguided”youth.Eventhe present central government’s surrenderpolicy guidelines are aimedat bringing these“misguided”youthintothemainstream.In the last decade or so, insurgency-af-

fectedstateshavestartedtoundertakeseriouseffortstodefeattheMaoistinsurgency.Mostofthese states have raised special forces on thelinesofGreyhounds, andarebeinggiven rig-oroustrainingin“counter-guerrilla”tacticsandjunglewarfare.AMaoistguerrillacanonlybe

countered by a state guerrilla. The operatingenvironment of these special forces has todemonstratetheemploymentofsuperiortac-ticstodefeattheinsurgents,somethingwhichat times seems lacking. Besides, theMaoistshavemastered the art of exploiting the greyzoneareas. The junglesaroundthe interstateborders have always been thepreferredhid-ingspacesfortheMaoists.Soonafterdecimat-ingthetopstateCongressleadershipinDarbhain Chhattisgarh in 2013, the assault groupmoved to theChhattisgarh-Odishaborder toavoid any kind of kinetic response from theChhattisgarh police. Statesmust domore tosynergise their efforts by launching coordi-natedoperations,therebydenyingMaoistsanyspaceformanoeuvrability.Theseeffortsneedtobesupplementedbywell-crafteddevelop-ment schemes. Proper implementation andtimely disbursal of benefits add to the credi-bilityof thegovernmentpolicies. It isalsoim-portant to segregate thepopulation fromtheinsurgents both operationally and ideologi-cally. The hawks and the doves need to beviewedandtreateddifferently.Indiancounterinsurgencyhastoworkwith

adualobjectiveofdefeatingtheinsurgentsmil-itarily and fully quell the insurgent impulses.Thiswillneedinstitutionaloverhauls.Thecon-flict over thedistributionof resources canbemendedwitheconomicdevelopment,butthebigger challengewouldbe to create a systemwherethetribalpopulationfeelsthatthegov-ernment is representative, not repressive.Openingnegotiationchannelsandpolicieslikesurrender and rehabilitation can give such arepresentativesensetotherebelsthatthegov-ernmentcaresforthemifthey(rebels)arewill-ing toshuntheviolentpath. Lastly, theasym-metryinthedistributionofpowercannotsolelybeironedoutbyjusteconomicpolicies,itiscrit-ically important tocreatea systemwhere thedistributionof power is not controlledby thetraditionalelite.

ThewriterisaseniorIPSofficeroftheMadhyaPradeshcadreandaPhDscholarinSecurity

StudiesatPrincetonUniversity.Viewsarepersonal

SOUND ADVICETHISREFERSTOthearticle, 'Anopaquebond' (IE,April8).Heartiestcongratu-lations for publishing this beautifullyworded and outstanding article.Coming from a former Chief ElectionCommissioner—who is not at all im-pressed by the play of politics — therecommendations made are of eye-catching significance!

FaliNariman,Delhi

BRAVE NEW WORLDTHISREFERStotheeditorial, 'Oldfriends,newworld’ (IE,April4). India’stieswithRussiahavebeenhistoricallystrong,butoflatethereareissuesonwhichthetwodonotseeeyetoeye.TheRussianforeignminister'svisittobothIndiaandPakistanissymbolicofthechangingdynamicsofaworldwhich is in flux. Consequently,nonationisapariahnowastherearenopermanent foes and friends. This is thetime to treadwith caution. Long termgainsandsafeguardingofcoreinterestsshouldbetheguidingfactorsininterna-tionaldiplomacy.

VijaiPant,Hempur

DOUBLE STANDARDTHISREFERS TO the report, 'Vehicle onroad 'public place,maskmandatory forlone occupant: Delhi HC' (IE, April 8).Whilepassingtheorder,JusticePrathibaMSinghunderscored thepoint that theword“publicplace”hastobecontextual-ized amid the COVID-19 pandemic.However, the examples of opening thecarwindows for ventilation ormakingpurchase at a traffic signal, etc has ex-pandedthe“definitionofcontact”,whichhasbeenpromulgatedbytheMinistryofHealth andFamilyWelfare.Until a con-traryviewisexpressedbyanyotherhighcourtortheSC,thejudgmentholdsgoodfortheentirecountry.Now,juxtaposethiswith imagesof political leadersholdingelectionralliesinviolationoftheElection

Commission'sdirectiveofCOVID-appro-priatebehavior.Onecan'tblamethepub-licif theyhavebecomecynical.

LRMurmu,Delhi

WRONG MINDSETTHIS REFERS TO the report, 'Pak rightspanel accuses PM of ignorance overraperemarks'(IE,April8).TheremarksmadebythePrimeMinisterofPakistanhit directly in face of feminist move-mentsacrosstheworldanddepictsthemindset which prevails even amongtop leaders and representatives.Wearing a veil, he remarked, is essen-tial to control evil temptationsandnotwearing it amounts to obscenity lead-ingtolasciviousdesiresandthustosex-ualassaults.Whensuchcommentsaremadebytheleaderofacountry,wecanimagine its impact on the people gov-erned.Insteadofbreakingtheshacklesof patriarchy, it reinforces the confi-dence of people indulging in heinouscrimes like rapes. ThePakistanhumanrights commission has rightly con-demnedtheseremarksanddemandedanapology.

Sarachana,Delhi

LETTERS TO THEEDITOR

IFDELHIisaquestion,it isthis:Howdoesonegovern amegacity of 20+million people?Thereislittleinhistorytoturntoforananswertothisquestion.Thelargestcityregionsoftheworld—Tokyo-Yokohama,forexample—aresimilar in scale butnot inmakeor structure.Wehavenoprecedenceofmega-citiesthatarebig but not powerful, expandingwith en-trenchedinequalities.Onthebestofdays,thecity feels like aperfect (dust) storm. It is intothis storm that the recently passed amend-menttotheGNCTofDelhiAct,whichdefinesthe Lieutenant Governor (LG) as“Government” over the electedAssembly oftheGovernmentofDelhi,haswadedin.Capitalcitiesgloballymustholdboththe

urbanandthenational—besimultaneouslythelocal,theregionalandthecentral.Amidstsuchuncertainty,wemustturntoprinciple,notquickfixes.CapitalcitiessuchasMexicoCity orManila offer amaximworth follow-ing: Decentralise, democratise, deepen.Move past nation, city, and district towardand neighbourhood. Scalewhere needed –differentlyforinfrastructurenetworkscom-paredtohealth,forexample.Letthegovern-ment connect across these scales andstitchtogether a patchwork recognisable to citi-zensasareflectionof incremental improve-ments in their everyday lives. Take govern-ment closer topeople so that the inevitablefailures andmissteps can be accounted for,

learnt from,moved past. It is not technicalwizardry or powerful institutions thatDilliwallasseek—itissuccessandfailurethatfeels intimate, involved and present; thatfeels, to borrow a word from theConstitution, democratic. Rajpath cannot,shouldnot,dominate Janpath.TheAmendmentdoespreciselytheoppo-

site.Whereitshoulddemocratise,itcaptures,preventing theAssembly frommakingcom-mittees.Where it should let go, it centralises,insistingonpresence even inday-to-day ad-ministration.Where the complexity of ourchallengesrequiresspreadingandsharingre-sponsibility,itseekstoproblemsolvethroughaccumulating authority.Where it should ex-pand accountability, it evades it. This is gov-ernmentbyitself,of itself, foritself.ThattheAmendmentviolatesa2018five-

judgeSupremeCourtorderisclear.InGNCTDvsUnionof India, theBenchhadheldunam-biguously thatArticle239and itsprovisions,which laydownthegovernance structureoftheNCTofDelhi,hadtoberead in the“spiritofcitizenryparticipationinthegovernanceofademocraticpolitythatisrepublicaninchar-acter”. The Bench held clearly that “theLieutenantGovernorhasnotbeenentrustedwith any independent decision-makingpower”;thatthefactthatthedecisionsoftheCouncilofMinisters“mustbecommunicatedto the Lieutenant Governor [did] notmean

that the concurrence of the LieutenantGovernor is required”; clarified that “thewords‘anymatter’[didnot]necessarilyneedtobeconstruedtomean‘everymatter’”;andthatevenwhenincaseofdifferenceof opin-ion with the Council of Ministers, the LGwouldhavetomeet“thestandardsofconsti-tutional trust andmorality, the principle ofcollaborative federalism and constitutionalbalance[and]respectforarepresentativegov-ernment”. Therewas, to put it simply, neveranyambiguityabouteithertheroleordefini-tionofthe“Government”intheGNCTofDelhiAct.TherewasnodoubtabouttheAssemblyastherepresentationofthepeopleandthelo-cusofgovernance.Wehavelongmisrecognisedtheproblem

inDelhi’s governanceboth as a capital and amegacity.From,totakeoneexample,thecre-ation of the [also unelected] DelhiDevelopmentAuthority to“manage”thecityand insulate it from themessiness of demo-craticpoliticswhilemakingourMasterPlans,wehave long sought to retreat to the techni-cal,thecentralised,theinstitutionalratherthanthepolitical, the local and thepublic. Yet thecomplexityofmega-citygovernancedemandsmore,notless,democracy.Itdemandsthemu-nicipality,notthedevelopmentalauthority. Itdemands theAssembly, not theOffice of theLG. Evenas a capital, it demands recognitionfor itself outside thenation.Nogreat capital

cityhasbeenotherwise.TheintentbehindthisAmendmentisnot

the efficiency of government in Delhi.Defending theAmendment in this newspa-per,GKishanReddy, theMinisterof State forHomeAffairs,firstinvokedefficiencybut,nearthe end of the piece,warned us against therisk of “incremental encroachments” by theDelhi Assembly onmatters of police, publicorder,andland.Thiswouldhave,hesays,“se-vere ramifications for Delhi” (‘EndingAmbiguityinDelhi,’ IE,March31).Thisriskis,ofcourse,utterlyfictionalsincethethreesub-jectsareexplicitlybeyondtheboundsof leg-islation by theAssembly. Yet let us ask,whyshould theybe? If the citizensofDelhihadamoredirectsayonland,policeandpublicor-der,wouldtheresultnotbetheexpansionofourdemocracy and thepossibility of a fairerfight foramoreinclusivecity?Theaccumulationofpowerinafewinsti-

tutions is not about a desire for good gover-nance. It isasignof fearingthatwhichistrulydemocraticinallitscontestations.ThisfearliesattheheartofthisAmendment—afearfeltbya state against the public, a fearwielded asthreatbyaCentreunwillingtoyieldcontrol,afearofaCapitalthatisnotjustashowpieceforthenationbuthascitizensof itsown.

Thewriter isanurbanresearcherwith IIHS.Viewsarepersonal

GNCTDActamendmentspeaksofstate’sfearvis-à-visitscitizens

Choosing Rajpath over Janpath

IDEASONLINE

ONLY IN THE EXPRESS

●●REVISITTHECHANDNICHOWKREDEVELOPMENTPROJECT:TIKENDERSINGHPANWARANDANJALIOJHA

●●MENTALHEALTHSUPPORTFORKIDS IS

ESSENTIAL:BLESSONSAMUEL

www.indianexpress.com

Smriti Zubin Irani

Sajid Farid Shapoo

CR Sasikumar

Takingonleft-wingextremismrequires, simultaneously,coordinatedtacticalandmilitaryresponsefromstates,dialogueanddevelopment

Layers of counter-insurgencyThelife lessonshedistils forchildrenin‘ParikshaPeCharcha’comefromhis

livedexperiences

From PMto students

GautamBhan


EXPRESSNETWORKWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

OMKARGOKHALEMUMBAI, APRIL8

THE BOMBAY High Court onThursday allowed former StateBankof India(SBI)chairmanOmPrakash Bhatt, summoned bythe Central Bureau ofInvestigation(CBI)forinterroga-tion over loans to fugitive busi-nessman Vijay Mallya for hisKingfisher Airlines, to travelabroad.The court, however, asked

Bhatttokeepthecentralagencyinformedof his traveldates andrelevantdetails.A division bench of Justice S

S Shinde and Justice ManishPitale on April 8 passed a judg-mentonwritpleabyBhatt,whowas aggrieved by travel restric-tions imposedonhim.Senior Counsel Prasad

DhakephalkarforBhatthadtoldthe court that his client waswrongly detained at theMumbai airport in September2018by immigrationofficials.Dhakephalkar said the peti-

tionerwas “constrained” to file

thepleasincehedidnotwishtotry to travelabroadwithoutanyclarity, anticipating that hemightbefurtherdetainedattheairport, whichwould harm hisreputation.Bhatt submitted that on

February 19, 2018, he had re-ceived a letter from CBI specialinvestigation team (SIT), askinghimtobepresent in itsDelhiof-ficeforprobeinconnectionwithoffences registered againstMallya,thenownerofKingfisherAirlines.TheCBIhadsummonedhimpertainingtoloandisbursedto the airlines during Bhatt’stenureastheSBIchairman.Bhattsaidhehadappearedbeforethe

CBI onMarch 29, 2018, and an-swered their questions andthereafter, hewas never calledfor furtherquestioning.Bhattaddedthathehadthen

travelledabroadonbusinessandpersonalpurposes,andreturnedtoIndia.Hesaidthatheisnotanaccused in the case concerningtheairlinesorinanyothercrim-inal case.The court noted that CBI did

not evenargue that if Bhattwaspermitted to leave the country,it would be detrimental to thesecurityor integrityof India.It also observed that the CBI

did not make submissions onany recoverydue fromthepeti-

tioner.The bench held, “There can

be no doubt that the petitionerneeds to co-operate with CBI.But, it cannot be said that CBIwas entitled to impose restric-tions to prevent the petitionerfromtravellingabroad.Thewritpetitiondeserves tobeallowed,although certain conditionsneedtobe imposedonthepeti-tioner in the interestof justice.”The court added, “If any in-

criminatingmaterial isfoundbythe CBI to proceed against thepetitioner in accordance withlaw, the instant judgment andorderwill not come in thewayof theagency.”

LAXMANSINGHMUMBAI, APRIL8

MAHARASHTRARECYCLESonlyabout1percentof total e-wastegenerated in the state, showsdata from the MaharashtraPollutionControlBoard(MPCB).The state generates 10 lakhtonnes of e-waste annually, butonly 975.25 tonnes of itwas re-cycled while 11,015.49 tonneswasdismantledbutyettobere-cycled in the formal sector.MPCB officials said they are

in the process of enhancing e-waste recycling.Data of e-waste generation

for2019-20wasalsosharedwiththe Central Pollution ControlBoard (CPCB).E-waste or electronic waste

includesTVappliances,comput-ers,phones, laptops,etc.Expertshave raised concerns over thepoor record in recycling of e-waste, despiteMaharashtra be-ing the topproducer of e-wastein thecountry.According to officials, im-

proper handling or recycling ofe-wastewill causeseriousenvi-ronmental issues if dumped inlandfillsordumpinggrounds.On Thursday, a virtual town

hallwasheldbyenvironmentalorganisation WaatavaranFoundationtoaddressthegrow-ingwastemanagement crisis inMaharashtrasystematicallyandscientifically. The townhallwasattendedbywastemanagement

experts,membersofcivilsocietyalongwithgovernmentofficials.“We are in the process of

bringing the informal sector intheambitof theformalsectortoenhance e-waste recycling. It isalso amajor recommendationfromourend tobeadded to theState Climate Action Plan,” saidNandkumar Gurav, RegionalOfficer (Headquarter),MPCB.Headded that this is the lat-

est available data on e-waste,and it has been sharedwith theCPCB.As per the MPCB report of

2019-20, total municipal solidwastegeneratedacrossthestatewas 84 lakh tonnes with dailygenerationof 22,945 tonnes.Of thedailywastegenerated,

98.7%was being collected and15,980 tonnesor70%wasbeingscientifically treated.Maharashtra has annually gen-erated the highest quantity ofwaste among all states for thepast fiveyears.Satish Sinha, Associate

Director,ToxicsLinkwarnedthatat themoment 90 percent of e-wastewashandledbytheinfor-mal sector, which is illegal, andnoonehas thisdata.“There is an urgent need for

apolicythatwillensurethattheinformal sector recycling e-wasteisalignedandcontributesto thevaluechain,”hesaid.The state has 261 e-waste

producers, while there are only9 e-waste recyclers and 90 dis-mantlers in the state, shows

MPCBdata.Apartfromthis,thestatepro-

duced 10 lakh tonne hazardouswaste mainly from industriesand4.4lakhtonneplasticwaste.Asperthedata,thereare7116in-dustries generating hazardouswaste.Of thetotalwastegenerated,

63 percent was recycledwhile37percentgoestodumpingsiteswithoutproper treatment.MPCB officials claimed that

the total figure for waste beingscientificallytreatedhastouched80% in2021.“We are finding it very diffi-

cult to audit waste generationandneedacommonplatformtoaddressthis,andthisisakeyrec-ommendationfromMPCBtobeincluded in the State ClimateActionPlan,” saidGurav.ManishaMhaiskar,Principal

Secretary, MaharashtraEnvironment and ClimateChange Department, Govt ofMaharashtra, addressing thetownhallsaidthatalltherecom-mendations received at theevent will be put together as aclimate action agenda and sub-mittedbeforetheChiefMinisterUddhav Thackeray andEnvironmentMinister AadityaThackeray on June 5, which isWorldEnvironmentDay."Theadministrationfromthe

towns and cities should engagewith the community.We havesufficient funds aswell as plansand now all we need is will forimplementation,” shesaid.

Maharashtra recycles only 1%of e-waste it generates: MPCB

KINGFISHERAIRLINESLOANCASE

HC gives foreign travel nod to ex-SBI chairman

KAUNAINSHERIFFMNEWDELHI, APRIL8

IN A significant developmentthatcouldrampuptheavailabil-ity of vaccines in India, USpharma giant Johnson &Johnson, theonlymanufacturerwithasingle-doseCovid-19vac-cine, has communicated to theIndianregulatorthatitwillsoonbegin bridging clinical trials inthecountry.Topgovernmentsourcestold

The Indian Express that J&J willsoon conduct the trials, whichcould pave theway for its vac-cine to be marketed in India.“Johnson & Johnson has sent aletter to the CDSCO (CentralDrugs Standard ControlOrganisation)thattheywillveryshortly apply for permission toconductclinicalbridgingtrialsinIndia,” thesources said.Indiaislookingtorampupits

vaccine doses amidst high de-mandduetothesecondsurgeofcoronavirusinthecountry,withseveral states saying they arerunningoutof supplies.A bridging trial is a clinical

trialwheretheregulatorasksthefirmtoenroll a smallnumberofparticipants (around 1,000) toonlyestablishthesafetyandim-munogenicity of a vaccine. Thebridgingtrialdoesn'tneedtotestthe efficacy of a vaccine, whichisalreadyestablishedinanotherclinical trial.Sources said J&J's bridging

trialwillbesimilartothetrialbe-ingconductedbyDrReddy's forRussian vaccine Sputnik V andthe one done by the SerumInstitute of India for theAstraZeneca-Oxfordvaccine.In India, J&J has tiedupwith

BiologicalEtoexpandmanufac-turing capabilities of its vaccinecandidate.

InFebruary,theUSregulatorshad issued Emergency UseAuthorizationfortheCovidvac-cine developed by J&J's JanssenPharmaceuticalCompanies.TheapprovalwasbasedondatafromthePhase3ensemblestudythatdemonstrated that the vaccinewas 85% effective in preventingsevere disease across all the re-gions studied -- and 66% to 72%effective inpreventing "moder-atetosevere"Covid--andthatitshowed protection againstCovid-related hospitalisationanddeath,beginning28daysaf-tervaccination.The company started deliv-

eringthesingle-shotvaccineto-wardstheendofMarch,withtheUS announcing a roadmap toimmuniseitsentireadultpopu-lation.J&J isusing itsAdVacvaccine

platform ,whichwas also usedto develop and manufactureJanssen’s EuropeanCommission-approved EbolavaccineanddevelopitsZika,RSV,andHIV investigational vaccinecandidates. Janssen’sAdVacvec-tors are based on a geneticallymodifiedadenovirusthatcannolonger replicate in humans andcausedisease.On Thursday, Union Health

Minister Dr Harsh Vardhanstressed that the government is“continuouslymonitoring andenhancing supply” of vaccinesand that at least 2.4 crore dosesare available. Before PrimeMinisterNarendraModi'smeet-ing with chief ministers, hetweeted:“Let’sputanendtofearmongering now!#COVID19Vaccine doses: Totaladministered: 9 cr+; Instock/nearingdeliverytostates:4.3 cr+.Where does question ofshortagesarise?”

FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

Johnson & Johnson setto begin India trial of itssingle-shot vaccine soon

ThecourtaskedBhatttokeepCBI informedofhis traveldetails


THE SUPREME Court onThursday said it will lay downtherules forappointmentof re-tired judgesasadhoc judges inHighCourts to tacklependencybut clarified that it should notbe a reason to not make regu-lar appointments.“We want to lay down the

circumstances in which an adhoc judgesappointmenthas tobe initiated,” said Chief JusticeS A Bobde, heading a three-judge bench with Justices S KKaulandSuryaKant, seekingtolink it to the number of pend-ing cases.The bench said that if the

pendency in a High Court un-der a specific branch such ascriminal appeal increases be-yondacertainpoint,whichhastobescientificallydetermined,the Chief Justice may initiateappointmentof anadhoc judgeto deal with that particular ju-risdictionor subject but addedthat itwillhearsuggestionsbe-fore laying down the rules.“Everyone has agreed that

there must be some principleforactivating theprocessof ap-pointment of ad hoc Judges. Ithas to be based on pen-dency...What we want yoursuggestions on is what is thelevel of pendency beyondwhich process should be initi-ated and what shall be thetenure. So we can provide abenchmark so CJs can bealerted...We need to come upwith something scientific toprevent arbitrariness. It willhavetobedecidedwhat judgesto be appointed and what willbe the tenure,” said the CJI.SeniorAdvocateVikasSingh

said that no CJ has the right tosuggest unless he makes rec-ommendations for all the va-cancies. “It can’t be used as atool.”“You are right in principle

that the method of appoint-mentshouldnotbeused in lieuof appointment of regularjudges. This is not to state thathe will stop recommendingregular judges. That’s why wewant to keep the SupremeCourt Collegium in loop,” theCJI responded.

SC: Will laydown rules forappointment ofex-judges to adhoc posts in HCs

SWEETYKUMARIHOWRAH,APRIL8

BAURIA ANDDhulagarh are 15kmandaworld apart. BothpartofHowrahdistrict,Bauria ispartofUluberiaPurbaAssemblycon-stituencywhileDhulagarhispartofSankrailseat.WhileBauriaisamodel for religious amity,Dhulagarh, thesiteof acommu-nalclashin2016,stillnursesdeepscars.Shapedbytheirexperiences,

the voters of Bauria andDhulagarh have very differentexpectationsof theelections.

BauriaThe 400 sqft Samadhi Baba

Ashram in Bauria ismandir forsome; mazar for the others.Locals say the centuries oldshrineisthefinalrestingplaceofa fakir calledSyedBabaAbidAliby Muslims and NityanandGoswami Mahato Maharaj byHindus.“On Friday, there are more

Muslims in this room and onMondays, there are moreHindus. That's the only differ-encehere.Wehaven'tputevenacurtain between the Shivalingaand the tomb because that'sthe way it has been for cen-turies," saidShyamalBabu,are-tiredbankemployeewhomain-tains the shrine with his wifeSeema.“Religion cannot be an

agenda for people in Bauria tovote.We have seen supportersand even candidateswho fightover'JaiShriRamand'JoyBangla'come here and take blessings.Peoplewillonlyvoteforbasicde-velopmentandemploymentop-portunities," saidSeema.Located amere 40 km from

Kolkata,Bauriahasforlongbeendemanding basic facilities such

as clean drinking water, goodhigh schools and a multispe-cialtyhospital.“Peopleherearenotbothered

about whether you appeaseMuslimsor supportHindus.Wehaveotherdemands. Bauriahasno proper hospital and peoplehave to be rushed to Kolkata,"said Archana Rai, who grewup in Bauria, but now lives inKolkata.Babu Khurai, a fisherman,

says his vote is for anyonewhocan guarantee a job for his son."My son is a graduate but does-n't have a proper job. Since thelockdown,hehasalsobeenfish-ingwithme. But this is not thefuture I want for him," he saidwhilecleaninghisboat.Muslimsmake up nearly 40

per cent of the population inUluberia Purba constituency, ofwhich Bauria is a part. BothPrimeMinister NarendraModiand Chief Minister MamataBanerjee have addressed ralliesin Uluberia in recent times, as-suringpeopleof development.The Trinamool has fielded

former footballer Bidesh Bosefrom here, a choice that hasn'tgone downwell with a sectionof the party, who see him as an'outsider'."TheHindu-Muslimdivideis

createdso thatpeopledon'tno-tice the development done bytheTMC.Iambankingonthede-velopmentworkoftheparty,"hesaid. The sittingMLA, Idrish Aliof theTMC,hadwoninabyelec-tion in2019.TheBJPhas fieldedPratyush

Mondal,whocallshimselfa"sonofthesoil"."TheTMChasalwaysfieldedminoritiesfromhere;it'sthe first time that they havefieldedaHindu.Since Iamfromhere, Iknowtheissuesthelocalsface,"saidMondal,whohadlostthe2019bypoll toAli.

DhulagarhOn December 13 and 14,

2016, rioters had attacked andlootedshopsandhousesoflocalsandsetthemonfirefollowinganaltercation over a procession tomark the birth anniversary ofProphetMuhammad.Ontheba-

sisofFIRsfiledbybothsides,over60 people were arrested. Thestate government had an-nounced a compensation of Rs35,000forthevictimsandsaiditwas not a communal incidentbuta 'criminal'one.Five years later, one of

themost polarised elections inrecent times have revivedpainful memories of that vio-lence.Grocery shop owner Bablu

Mannan says his vote is for"peacemorethananythingelse"."When the riots happened,

my family and I had tomove inwith relatives for over amonth.My shop stayed shut for threemonths. I will only vote for aparty that assuresme that I canstay in peace under theirregime,"hesaid.Mannan's neighbour

Somnath Debnath joins in andsays, "Whatwesawin2016wasafalloutofappeasementpolitics.I doubt if peoplewill be able tovotewithout fear."It'sevidentthatinDhulagarh,

somememories and fault linesarehere tostay."A political party has driven

awedgeamongpeoplehereandunfortunately, that divide willstayunlessthefocusturnstode-velopment," says MohammadAmiruddin, a resident.In Sankrail, the TMC has

fielded actor Priya Paul anddropped five-time MLA SitalKumar Sardar. Angry, Sardarjoined the BJP, which, however,fieldedPrabhakarPandit."AllvoteswillgototheBJP--

MinoritiesandHindusbothhaveunderstood the politics of theTMC," saidPandit.TMC'sPaulsays,"Iwill install

a pipeline for safe, clean drink-ingwater topeople.My focus isondevelopment,therestwillfol-low," shesaid.

TheSamadhiBabaAshraminBauriawhereHindusandMuslimspraytogether;Dhulagarh(left)whichwashitbyacommunal flare-upfiveyearsago. SweetyKumari

Ahead of election, when religiondivides, unites: A tale of 2 towns

MamataBanerjeeatarallyinKolkata. PTI

Kolkata: The ElectionCommission of India hassentanoticetoBJPleaderSuvendu Adhikari for al-legedly violating theModel Code of Conductthrough a speech hemade at a NandigramrallyonMarch29.According to the

ElectionCommission,theyreceivedacomplaintfromCPIMLpolitburomemberKavita Krishnan,who al-legedAdhikari haddeliv-eredahatespeech.Anau-thenticatedtranscriptwasalso received from theChiefElectoralOfficer,saidtheCommission.ENS

ECNOTICE TOSUVENDUFOR‘HATESPEECH’

ENS&PTIDOMJUR,KOLKATA,APRIL8

A DAY after the ElectionCommission servedher anoticefor allegedly violating theModelCodeof Conduct (MCC)withherappeallastweektominorityvot-ers not to divide their votes be-tween political parties, WestBengal CMMamataBanerjee onThursdaysaidshewouldcontinueto raise her voice against any at-tempttodividevotersoncommu-nal lines. She said the ElectionCommissionmayserve10show-causenoticesonherbutthatwillnotchangeherstance.“Whyisthatnocomplainthas

beenfiledagainstNarendraModi,who talks about Hindu andMuslim (votebanks) everyday?Howmanycomplaintshavebeenlodgedagainstthosewhohadut-teredtheword'miniPakistan'dur-ing theNandigramcampaigns,”askedtheTMCsupremo,whoad-dressedfourrallies. “You(EC)canissue10show-causenoticestomebutmyreplywillbethesame.IwillalwaysspeakagainstanydivisionofHinduandMuslimvotes.”

Repolling inhooghlyMeanwhile, the Election

CommissiononThursdayorderedrepollingatoneboothinJangiparainHooghlyfollowingcomplaintsby political parties allegingthattheTMChadengagedagentswho had accompanied and as-sistedvoters tocast theirvotes infavour of the TMC, an ECofficialsaid.

Whynocomplaintagainst thosewhotalkHindu,Muslim:Mamata

Kolkata: Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath onThursdaysaidthat“anti-Romeosquads”will be formed inWestBengaloncetheBJPformsagov-ernment in thestate.Addressingapublicmeeting

in Hooghly district, Adityanathsaid Bengal is no longer safe forwomen under the MamataBanerjeegovernment.“Anti-romeosquadisnotre-

quired in Bengal aswomen aresafe here. It is required in UP aswomenneedprotection there,”saidTMCMPSougataRoy.

ENS

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIADINHATA,MEKLIGANJ,APRIL8

CLAIMING THAT a wave wasblowing in favour of the BJP, theparty’s national president, J PNadda, on Thursday criticisedBengal Chief MinisterMamataBanerjee for raking up the “in-sider-outsider”debateeverynowandthen,sayingthatitreflectsher“frustration”, having sensed im-minentdefeat.Exuding confidence that his

partywouldwin the Assemblypolls with over 200 seats in its

kitty,NaddasaidthiselectionwasallaboutputtinganendtoTMC’s“cut-money(bribery)culture”.“Weareconfidentof bagging

morethan200seats (in the294-member Assembly). Awave isblowinginfavouroftheBJP,anditis so strong that theTMCwill getwashed away.Wecondemn theinsider-outsider debate byMamataBanerjee.Thisisasignofher desperation sensing immi-nentdefeat,” he told reporters atDinhataduringaroadshow.Naddaconductedthreeroad-

showsduringthedayinDinhata,AlipurduarandMekliganj.

BJPpresident JPNaddaataroadshowinDinhata. PTI

Yogi promises‘anti-Romeosquads’ in Bengal

Insider-outsider debate reflectsMamata’s frustration: Nadda

BASHAARATMASOODSRINAGAR,APRIL8

TWOWEEKS after questioningPDPleaderandformerchiefmin-ister Mehbooba Mufti, theEnforcementDirectorate(ED)onThursdaysummonedhermotherGulshanAraforquestioning.GulshanAra,who liveswith

Mufti at her Srinagar residence,hasbeenaskedtopresentherselfon April 15. “Yes, she has beensummoned,”Mufticonfirmed.EDofficials on Thursday visitedFairview, Mufti's residence inSrinagar, and served anotice onhermother,askinghertopresent

herself beforeagencyofficialsonApril15atitsofficeinSrinagar.TheEDhadquestionedMufti

forseveralhoursatitsSrinagarof-ficeonMarch25.Afterherques-tioning,Mufti had told reportersthat she was asked questionsabout the sale of their ancestralland in SouthKashmir. She hadcalleditanattempttosilencetheoppositionbytheBJP-ledgovern-mentat theCentre. ThePDPsaidthelatestsummonsisasequeltotheonesenttoMuftiinanattemptto silenceher. “This is part of theplan to silence her and stop her[Mufti] from voicing the senti-ments of the people,” PDPspokesmanSuhailBukharisaid.

ED summons Mehbooba’smother to quiz her on April 15

KANCHANVASDEVCHANDIGARH,APRIL8

TWODAYS before it starts themegaexerciseofprocuringnearly130lakhtonnesofwheatcrop,thePunjab government Thursdayagreed to implement the directbank transfer ofMSP to farmers,bypassing the arhtiyas, from thecurrent season saying itwas leftwith “no choice” but to imple-menttheschemeasCentresaiditwill not lift the grains if thenewsystemwasnotfollowed.Themove is bound to create

ripples among the farmers, thearhtiyas and thepolitical class intheagrarianstate,wherethecom-missionagentshavetraditionallybeen carrying out procurementfor government agencies. ChiefMinister Amarinder Singh had

earlierwritten to theCentreurg-ing it to let Punjab carry onwiththe old systemof procurementandpaymentthrougharhtiyas.Inameetingwith the commissionagents, hehad refused to imple-ment thenewsystemthat seeks

tobypassthearhtiyas.However, a five-member

PunjabdelegationthatmetUnionMinister PiyushGoyal had to re-turn empty handed ThursdaywiththeCentrerefusingtobudgeontheissueofdirectbenefittrans-

fer(DBT)tofarmers.State Finance Minister

Manpreet Singh Badal,who ledthe delegation, told The IndianExpress,“Hetoldustogobackandfollow the system.He toldus ei-therwefollowthenewsystemortheywouldnotprocureourcrop.Hesaidtheywillnotbudge.”Besides Badal, Punjab Food

Minister Bharat BhushanAshu,PWDMinisterVijay Inder SinglaandMandiBoardChairmanSLaalSinghattendedthemeeting.StateFood Secretary KAP Sinha andsenior officials fromUnion FoodandAgricultureMinistrieswerealsopresent.Punjab procureswheat and

paddyattheMSPforcentralpoolundertheNationalFoodSecurityAct(NFSA).Currently,paymenttofarmersinPunjabisdonethrougharthiyas.

HARYANAARHTIYASONSTRIKE AGAINSTDBTChandigarh:OnadayPunjabagreed to implement theCentre’s mandated instruc-tion on direct bank transferofMSPto farmersbypassingthearhtiyas,thecommissionagents in neighbouringHaryanawent on strike de-manding that payments bemade through them as hadbeen done earlier. The an-nouncement was made by

Haryana State Anaj MandiArhtiyasAssociation.Thegovernmentclaimed

thatthestrikeimpactedonly20-25percentofthemandis.CMManohar Lal Khattar

said all the arhtiyas whosecommissions and labourwages arepending since thelastprocurementseasonwillgetaninterestonthedelayedpayment. ENS

Punjab govt to implement DBT for farmers

ALEXANDRAJAFFE,AAMERMADHANI&MICHAELBALSAMOWASHINGTON,APRIL8

US PRESIDENT Joe Biden, in hisfirstguncontrolmeasuressincetakingoffice, announced ahalf-dozen executive actionsThursdayaimedataddressingaproliferation of gun violenceacross the nation that he calledan “epidemic and an interna-tionalembarrassment.”

“The idea that we have somanypeople dying ever singleday from gun violence inAmerica is a blemish on ourcharacter as a nation,” Bidensaid during remarks at theWhiteHouse.Familymemberswhosechil-

dren were killed at the SandyHook,Connecticut, schoolmas-sacrein2012andtheshootingatMarjoryStonemanDouglasHighSchool in Parkland, Florida, in2018attendedthehearing.But Thursday’s announce-

ment underscores the limita-tionsofBiden’sexecutivepowertoactonguns.Hisorderstightenregulationsonhomemadegunsand providemore resources forgun-violence prevention. Butmuchmoreneeds tobedone tostopgunviolence,hesaid.AP


THEWORLDWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

MEANWHILE

POMPEOTO JOIN FOXNEWSMEDIAFormerUSSecretaryofStateMikePompeowill joinFoxNewsMediaasacontributor,thenewsnetworkcontrolledbymediabaronRupertMurdochsaidonThursday.PompeowillofferhisanalysisacrossallFoxNewsplatforms, includingitsbusinessnet-work,thecompanysaid.HewillmakehisfirstappearanceonFriday’sFOX&Friends.

EGYPT

ActingMuslimBrotherhoodleadersentencedtolifeinprisonANEGYPTIAN court sen-tencedMahmoud Ezzat,the former acting leaderof the MuslimBrotherhood, to life inprison on Thursday,months after hewas de-tained in a Cairo apart-ment. Security forces ar-restedEzzatlastAugustina raid in Cairo’s FifthSettlement district, thelatest blow to a move-ment that has been thetarget of a crackdownsince it was forced frompowerin2013.Ezzatwassentenced on charges ofincitingviolenceandsup-plying firearms duringclashes outside theBrotherhood’sheadquar-tersbetweenitssupport-ers and opponents in2013, a judicial sourcesaid. REUTERS

MahmoudEzzat

TOPOFTHEWORLD

ISRAEL

IsraeltotellICCitdoesn’trecognisecourt’sauthorityISRAEL WILL tell theInternational CriminalCourt itdoesnot recognisetheauthorityofthetribunal,whichisplanningtoinves-tigatepossiblewar crimesinthePalestinianterritories,PrimeMinister BenjaminNetanyahu said onThursday.Netanyahu,aftermeetingwithseniorminis-ters andgovernment offi-cialsaheadofaFridaydead-line to respond to an ICCnotificationletter,saidIsraelwouldnot cooperatewiththe inquiry,but itwill senda response. Israel is not aparty to theRomeStatutethatestablishedtheICCandthereforenotapartytothecourt. REUTERS

USA

AncientNativeAmericansitedefacedANANCIENTsiteofcarvedboulders and rock forma-tions in a Georgia forestthat has longbeen sacredto Native Americans hasbeen vandalised withpaint and deep scratches,theUSForestServicesaid.The boulders are part oftheTrackRockGap site inthe Chattahoochee-OconeeNationalForests,aprotected area wheremorethan100figurecarv-ings known as petro-glyphs were made onsoapstone boulders byNative Americans in pre-colonialtimes,theservicesaid. NYT

NORIMITSUONISHIPARIS,APRIL8

WHEN SANDRA Mullerlaunched France’s #MeToo so-cial media campaign in 2017,tensof thousandsofwomenre-sponded to her calls to “ExposeYourPig,”or#balancetonporc.”But the backlash was over-

whelming. Some of the mostprominentwomenin thecoun-try, led by Catherine Deneuve,denounced themovement in aletter that came to defineFrance’s initial response to#MeToo. In 2019, Muller lost adefamation case against a for-mertelevisionexecutiveshehad

exposedonTwitter,withFranceappearingimmunetothelargerglobal forces challenging thedominanceofmen.Last week, Muller won her

appeal. although therewere nonew facts, a powerful ruling bythe appeals court underscoredhowthingshavechanged in thepast twoyears.“Before the ruling, I thought

therewerestirrings,”Mullersaidin a phone interview fromNewYork,whereshenowlives.“Now,Ihavetheimpressionthatthere’sbeena leap forward.”Since the beginning of the

year, a series of powerful menfrom some of France’s mostprominentfields—politics,sports,

the newsmedia, academia andthe arts—have faceddirect andpublicaccusationsofsexualabuseinareversal frommostlyyearsofsilence. At the same time, con-frontedwith these high-profilecasesandashiftinpublicopinion,Frenchlawmakersarehurryingtoset15astheageofsexualconsent—onlythreeyearsafter rejectingsuchalaw.The recent accusations have

notonly ledtoofficial investiga-tions, the loss of positions forsome powerful men and out-right banishment from publiclifeforothers.Theyhavealsore-sulted in a rethinking of Frenchmasculinityandofthearchetypeof Frenchmen as irresistible se-

ducers — as part of a broaderquestioning of many aspects ofFrench society and amid a con-

servativebacklashagainst ideasongender,raceandpostcolonial-ism supposedly imported from

Americanuniversities.“Things are moving so fast

thatsometimesmyheadspins,”saidCarolineDeHaas,afeministactivist who in 2018 founded#NousToutes, a group againstsexual violence. She describedherself as “superoptimistic.”HaassaidthatFrancewasgo-

ingthroughadelayedreactionto#MeTooaftera“maturation”pe-riod duringwhichmany Frenchbegantounderstandthesocialdi-mensionsbehindsexualviolenceandtheconceptof consent.Thatwas especially so, Haas

said,afterthetestimonyinthepastyearofAdèleHaenel,thefirsthigh-profile actress to speakout overabuse, andof VanessaSpringora,

whosememoir, “Consent,”docu-mentedher abusebypedophilewriterGabrielMatzneff.“Thestartof2021hasbeena

sort of aftershock,” Haas said.“What’s very clear is that, todayinFrance,wedon’tatallhavethesame reaction thatwe did four,five years ago to testimonies ofsexual violence against well-knownpeople.”Last month, Pierre Ménès,

oneofFrance’smostfamoustel-evision sports journalists, wassuspended indefinitely by hisemployer after the release of adocumentarythatexposedsex-ism in sports journalism, “I’mNotaSlut, I’ma Journalist.”Justafewyearsago, fewcriti-

cisedhimforbehaviourthattheynowdon’t daredefend inpublic,includingforciblykissingwomenonthemouthontelevisionand,infrontofastudioaudiencein2016,lifting the skirt of a female jour-nalist—MariePortolano,thepro-ducerof thedocumentary.“The world’s changed, it’s

#MeToo, you can’t do anythinganymore,youcan’tsayanythinganymore,”Ménèssaidinatelevi-sion interview after the docu-mentary’s release. He said hedidn’t remember the skirt inci-dent,addingthathewasn’tfeel-ing like himself at the time be-causeof aphysical illness.Thelistofotherpowerfulmen

islongandgettinglonger. NYT

WHEN THE MOVEMENT KICKED OFF IN THE COUNTRY IN 2017, BACKLASH AGAINST THOSE WHO RAISED ACCUSATIONS WAS OVERWHELMING

Powerful men fall, one after another, in France’s delayed #MeToo

The journalistSandraMuller inParis in2019.Lastweek, shewonherappeal inadefamationcase filedbyaformerTVexecutiveshehadexposedonTwitter.AP

REUTERSAPRIL8

ANTI-COUPDEMONSTRATORSinMyanmar fought back withhandmade guns and firebombsagainstacrackdownbysecurityforcesinatowninthenorthwestbut at least 11 of the protesterswerekilled,domesticmedia re-portedonThursday.Initially, six truckloads of

troops were deployed to quellprotesters in the town of Taze,the Myanmar Now andIrrawaddy news outlets said.Whentheprotestersfoughtbackwith handmade guns, knivesand firebombs, fivemore truck-loadsof troopswerebrought in.Fighting continued into

Thursdaymorning and at least11 protesters were killed andabout 20wounded, themediasaid. Therewas noword of anycasualtiesamongthesoldiers.Thatwouldtakethetollofcivil-

ianskilledbysecurityforcestoover600since the juntaseizedpowerfromtheelected government ofAungSanSuuKyionFeb.1,accord-ing to theAssistanceAssociationforPoliticalPrisoners(AAPP).Taze isnear the townof Kale,

where12peoplewerekilled inasimilarclashbetweentroopsandprotestersonWednesday,accord-ingtonewsmediaandwitnesses.Security forces fired live rounds,grenades, andmachine-gunsonprotesterswhoweredemandingtherestorationofSuuKyi’sgovern-ment,AAPPsaid.“Taze, Kale have many

huntersinthejungle,”saidHeinMin Hteik, a resident of the re-gion and a youth activist. “Theyhave handmade firearms. Andnow they came out with theirweapons in order toprotect thelocals,whilethepeoplewereun-derattackby the junta.”

11killedasMyanmarprotestersfight troopswithhandmadeguns

REUTERSAPRIL8

AUSTRALIA AND thePhilippines limited use ofAstraZeneca’sCovid-19vaccineon Thursday, while the AfricaUniondroppedplanstobuytheshot, dealing further blows tothecompany’shopes todelivera vaccine for theworld.Thevaccine—developedwith

OxfordUniversityandconsidereda frontrunner in the global vac-cine race—hasbeenplaguedbysafetyconcernsandsupplyprob-lems since Phase III trial resultswere published in December,withIndonesiathelatestcountryforced to seek doses fromothervaccinedevelopers.The Philippines suspended

theuseof AstraZeneca shots forpeople below 60 after Europe’sregulator said onWednesday itfound rare cases of blood clotsamongsomeadultrecipientsal-thoughthevaccine’sadvantagesstill outweighed its risks.Australia recommended

people under 50 should getPfizer’sCovid-19vaccineinpref-erencetoAstraZeneca’s,apolicyshift that it warnedwould holdup its inoculationcampaign.The AfricanUnion is explor-

ing options with Johnson &Johnson having dropped plansto buy AstraZeneca’s vaccinefromIndia’sSerumInstitute,thehead of the Africa Centres forDisease Control and Preventiontold reporters.Italy joined France, the

Netherlands,Germanyandothersin recommending aminimumageforrecipientsofAstraZeneca’sshot onWednesday andBritain

saidpeople under 30 should getan alternative. SouthKorea alsosuspendeduse of the vaccine inpeopleunder60,whileapprovingJohnson&Johnson’sshot.AstraZeneca has said it is

working with the British andEuropeanregulatorsto listpossi-ble brain blood clots as “an ex-tremelyrarepotentialside-effect”.South Africa also paused

AstraZeneca vaccinations lastmonth because of a small trialshowingtheshotofferedminimalprotectionagainstmildtomoder-ateillnesscausedbythedominantlocalcoronavirusvariant.

ASSOCIATEDPRESSLONDON,APRIL8

BRITAIN’SCOVID-19vaccinationprogramme is beginning tobreakthelinkbetweeninfectionand serious illness or death, ac-cordingtothelatestresultsfroman ongoing study of the pan-demic inEngland.Researchers at Imperial

College London found thatCovid-19 infections droppedabout60% inMarchasnationallockdownmeasuresslowedthespread of the virus. People 65andolderwere least likely tobeinfectedastheybenefitedmostfrom the vaccination pro-gramme, which initially fo-cusedonolder people.Thestudyalsofoundthatthe

relationshipbetweeninfectionsand deaths is diverging, “sug-gestingthatinfectionsmayhaveresulted in fewer hospitalisa-tions and deaths since the startofwidespreadvaccination”.But researchers also urged

caution, saying that infectionrateslevelledoffattheendofthestudyperiodasthegovernmentbegan toease thenational lock-down and children returned toschool. The next step in liftingEngland'sthirdnationallockdownisscheduledforApril12.

AmbassadorKyawZwarMinnstandsoutsidetheMyanmarEmbassy inLondononThursdayafterhewas lockedoutof thebuilding.Reuters

Myanmar ambassador to UKsays he is locked out of embassyASSOCIATEDPRESSLONDON,APRIL8

MYANMAR’S AMBASSADOR tothe UK, who has criticised themilitarycoupinhiscountry,sayshe has been locked out of hisLondonofficebycolleagues.KyawZwarMinnsaidhewas

barredfromenteringtheembassyonWednesdayeveningbydiplo-matsloyaltothemilitaryregime.Lastmonth, the ambassador

calledforthereleaseofMyanmar’sdemocratic leader,AungSanSuuKyi,whowasdetainedwhen themilitaryseizedpoweronFeb.1.Sincethecoup,Myanmarse-

curity forces have killed nearly600protestersandbystandersintheir crackdownonopposition.A statement read on Kyaw

ZwarMinn’s behalf outside theembassy on Thursday said theembassyhadbeen“seizedbythemilitary attache yesterdayevening. The ambassador hasbeen lockedout since then.”“There has been a coup in

Myanmar in February and now

the same situation in centralLondon,” the statement said.“This isunacceptableanddisre-spectfulnotonlytothepeopleofMyanmar but it is also clearlydisrespectfultoallofdemocraticsociety in theUK”British Foreign Secretary

Dominic Raab condemned the“bullyingactionsoftheMyanmarmilitaryregime,”andpraisedtheambassador’s “courage.”But it was unclear what, if

anything,theUKcoulddoaboutthe move. The British govern-mentsaidithadbeennotifiedbyMyanmarauthoritiesthatKyawZwarMinn had been removedfromhispost.

UKforeignsecyslams‘bullyingactions’oftheMyanmarjunta

Covid cases inBritain drop 60%due to vaccines,lockdown: study

UKPMBorisJohnsonduringavisittoamarketinTruro,England,asitpreparestoreopenMondaywhentheUKfurthereasesCovidcurbs.AP

BYRONKAYESYDNEY,APRIL8

AUSTRALIAWILL scrap exemp-tions for judges and politiciansfrom sexual harassment laws,PrimeMinisterScottMorrisonsaidonThursday, as his governmentstruggles to contain a backlashover allegationsofmistreatmentoffemalelawmakersandstaff.Under broad changes aimed

at empowering complainants inworkplace gender-related dis-putes,employerswillberequiredto take a proactive approach to

stopping gender discrimination,while complainants get a longerperiod of time to lodge com-plaints,Morrisonsaid.Earlylastyear,Australia’ssex

discrimination commissionercalled for broad changes toworkplace laws including re-moving exemptions for publicsector employers and peoplewhohirevolunteers. AP

AMYFORLITI,STEVEKARNOWSKI&TAMMYWEBBERMINNEAPOLIS,APRIL8

GEORGEFLOYDdiedof a lackofoxygenfrombeingpinnedtothepavement with a knee on hisneck, amedical expert testifiedat former Officer DerekChauvin’smurdertrialThursday,emphatically rejecting the de-fence theory that Floyd’s druguseandunderlyinghealthprob-

lemswerewhatkilledhim.“Ahealthypersonsubjectedto

whatMr. Floydwas subjected towould have died as a result ofwhat hewas subjected to,” saidprosecutionwitnessDr.MartinTobin,alungandcriticalcarespe-cialist at theEdwardHines Jr. VAHospital and LoyolaUniversity’s

medicalschoolinChicago.Using easy-to-understand

language to explain a host ofmedicalconcepts,Tobintoldthejury that Floyd’s breathingwastoo shallow to take in enoughoxygenwhileChauvinandotherofficers pinned down the 46-year-oldBlackmanonhisstom-ach last May with his handscuffed behind him and his facejammedagainst thepavement.Thelackofoxygenresultedin

braindamageandcausedhishearttostop,thewitnesssaid. AP

THEOXFORD-ASTRAZENECAvaccineisoneofthecheapestCovidvaccinesdevelopedsofar.ItdoesnotrequirestorageatextremelycoldconditionslikethePfizerandModernajabs,makingiteasiertoberolledoutinpoorercountriesandhard-to-reachlocations.IthasalsobeenproventobehighlyeffectiveinpreventingseriouscasesofCovid-19.However,concernsabouttherarebloodclotshaveresultedinaroundadozencountriessuspendingitsuseduringvar-iousperiodsoftime.Expertsworrythatthiscouldleadtoafurtherslowingdownoftheglobalvaccinationeffortwhichhasalreadyfacedset-backsduetofactorsincludingnon-availabilityofdosesandmisinformation.

BlowtoglobalvaccinationeffortsE●EX

PLAINED

AstraZeneca woesgrow as Australia,Philippines, Africarestrict use of jabs

GUNVIOLENCEAN ‘EPIDEMIC, INTERNATIONALEMBARRASSMENT’

Biden moves to tighten some guncontrols, says much more needed

USPresidentJoeBiden

George Floyd died due to a lackof oxygen, expert tells US court

ProsecutionwitnessDrMartinTobin

Australia to scrap harassment lawexemption for judges, politicians

Pak parliamentary panelendorses 2-yr jail term forcriticising armed forces

SAJJADHUSSAINISLAMABAD,APRIL8

A PAKISTANI parliamentarypanelhasendorsedacontrover-sial law to criminalise any criti-cismor ridicule of the powerfularmed forces with a two-yearimprisonment or fine up toRs50,000orboth.The legislationwas adopted

by the National AssemblyStandingCommitteeonInterioronWednesday despite sharp

criticismbytheOppositionpar-ties which called it contrary tofundamental rights.TheBill,whichaimstoamend

thePakistanPenalCode(PPC),wasintroduced fordiscussionby theruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf(PTI)lawmakerAmjadAliKhan.Inorder tobecomea law, the

Bill stillneedstobepassedbytheNationalAssemblyandtheSenate,the lower and upper houses ofParliament.While governmentenjoysmajorityinNA,OppositioncontrolstheSenate. PTI

AustraliaPMScottMorrison

Nepal: Housemembership offour ministersannulled

Northern Irelandleaders call forcalm afterviolence escalates

YUBARAJGHIMIREKATHMANDU,APRIL8

FOURMINISTERSinNepalPrimeMinister K P Sharma Oli’sCabinet have been disqualifiedasmembersofParliament aftertheydefectedtotheCommunistParty of Nepal-UnifiedMarxistLeninist.AgniSapkota,Speakerof the

Houseof Representatives, ruledthat the four ministers — TopBahadur Rayamajhi, GauriShankar Choudhary, PrabhuShahandLekhrajBhatta—stooddisqualified asHousemembersbecause they have ceased to bemembers of the NepalCommunist Party (MaoistCentre),whichwasthepartyun-derwhich they contested elec-tions in2018.The other Maoist-turned-

UML-leader, Home MinisterRamBahadur Thapa Badal, alsohas his fate hanging in the bal-ance as a letter from theMaoistCentre seeking his disqualifica-tion is pending before theChairmanof theUpperHouse.Theseministerschosetocon-

tinueinOli’sCabinetevenaftertheNepalCommunist Party, formedwiththemergerofUMLandNCPMaoists, splitandreturnedtobe-ingtwoseparateparties.

PETERMORRISON&JILLLAWLESSBELFAST,APRIL8

AUTHORITIES IN NorthernIreland sought to restore calmThursday after Protestant andCatholicyouthsinBelfasthurledbricks, fireworks and gasolinebombsatpolice andeachother.It was the worst mayhem in aweekofstreetviolenceinthere-gion, where Britain’s exit fromthe European Union has unset-tledanuneasypoliticalbalance.Crowds including childrenas

youngas12or13clashedacrossaconcrete “peace wall” in westBelfastthatseparatesaBritishloy-alist Protestant neighbourhoodfroman IrishnationalistCatholicarea.Policefiredrubberbulletsatthe crowd, andnearbya citybuswashijackedandsetonfire.Northern Ireland has seen

sporadicoutbreaksofstreetvio-lencesincethe1998GoodFridaypeace accord ended “theTroubles”—decadesofCatholic-Protestant bloodshed over thestatus of the region in whichmore than3,000peopledied.ButPoliceServiceofNorthern

IrelandAssistantChief ConstableJonathanRoberts saidWednes-day’smayhem“wasatascalewehavenotseeninrecentyears.”AP

II have changed my namefrom MercantAmiruddin Badruddin toMerchant AmiruddinBadruddin as perAffidavit.

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H E A L T H & F I T N E S S

TThhee IInnddiiaann EXPRESS

E-Tender Notice (First Extention)ONLINE bids are invited for following Work. Tender forms may be purchasedonline by the Bidder, having relevant experience.

Schedule of E-Tender :

Sd/-Dy. Commissioner

Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation

Sr.No.

VVCMCStage Vendor Stage Start Date

& TimeEnd Date& Time

1 Release ofTender - 06.04.2021 -

2 - Tender Download 06.04.2021 22.04.2021,03.00 pm

3 Online TenderSubmission 06.04.2021 22.04.2021,

03.00 pm

4Technical

Proposal OpenDate

- 23.04.2021,3.05 pm onwards -

5 Web site https://mahatenders.gov.in

Sr.No.

Tender InvitingAuthority

Name of Work TenderFormFee

(Rs.)

Approximatevalue of Work

EarnestMoneyDeposit(EMD)

1

The MunicipalCommissioner,Vasai Virar City

MunicipalCorporation

SUPPLY,ERACTION AND

COMMISSIONINGOF ONE NO. OF

SHREDDERMACHINE FORVASAI VIRAR

CITY MUNICIPALCORPORATION

10,000/-+18%GST

Rs.95 Lakhs.(Inclusive of

GST)1%

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CALENDAR14 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,APRIL9,2021

CROSSWORD4399

ACROSS1 Acloudof smokewehear tocausedismay(5)

4 Assemble forprayer (7)8 Examinethemoney I left(3)

9 Letterprovidingareference (9)10 The lateconverted into thequick?(7)

11 Beastof burdengoingroundbyadeepgorge(5)

13 Whereracketsmaybeexposed(6)

15 Fearof amischievouschild?(6)

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19 Itmayserve to letus inperhaps (7)

21 Thestoryonetells (9)23 Itsalways found inanArcticenvironment (3)

24 Antipathyemanating fromthegallery (7)

25 AcceptsaneweditionofKeats(5)

DOWN1 Antiquechair that’sbrokentaken intoaccount(7)

2 Accommodation for toppeople? (9)

3 Cruel fluctuation inmoney(5)

4 Depressionafteranattackperhaps (6)

5 Unofficialnewsof anescape(7)

6 Creaturehavingpointed littlefeet (3)

7 Limitsdefined inwords (5)12 It’sa rigidrule (9)14 Partof a lock thatholdswater(7)

16 FireLesperhapsandgetothersto takeover the job(7)

17 Emptyarticle fromacountry(6)

18 Itwon’t stopyoureading forlong(5)

20 Not inclinedtobuild (5)22 Loveof games?(3)

ARIES(Mar21-Apr20)Boththeprofessionalandbusiness regionsofyourchartare

lookingprofoundlyunstable.Theonlycertainconsequenceis thatwhere there ischange,there liesopportunity. Seize itwhileyoucan, for thesameoffermightnotcomeroundagain,at leastnotuntilyourdesireshavealtered.

TAURUS(Apr21-May21)Yourmindandemotionsarebuzzingwithenergy. Life is fullof

potential forendings,butalsofornewbeginnings.Sometimesthiswillbedifficult,sometimeseasy.Doyourself afavourand lookat theunderlyingpurposeof evenapparentlychanceevents.

GEMINI (May22- June21)Intensity inrelationshipswillbematchedbyasenseof insecurityand

anticipation in finances.Psychologistshave longnotedtheconnectionsbetweenmoneyanddesire, andyouwillbe tryingtobalanceyourneedforemotional stimulationwithyour longing formaterial security.

CANCER(June22- July23)Thisdoesn't look likeagoodmoment forcompromise.Thisisn't tosaythatyou

shouldn't try,but thatyoureffortswillprobably fallonstonyground. It's farbetter tostateyourcaseashonestlyasyoucan,andgiveothersafairhearing.

LEO(July24-Aug23)Watchoutatwork—andinalldealingswithpeople inauthority. Such

ambitiousandpompouspeopleare likely tobeincreasingly irrational, eventhoughthey imaginetheyarebeing incredibly reasonable.Don't rise toprovocation, foryou'llbewalkingstraight intoa trap.

VIRGO(Aug24-Sept23)It is timetodredgeyourpsychologicalandemotionaldepths forevery

single forgottentalentandcreativegift. Therehavebeenfewmomentsasgoodas thisforcreativeself-expression, soindulgeyourselfwhileyoucan.Anddon't let routinedutiesstand inyourway.

LIBRA(Sept24-Oct23)Your finances couldbe in turmoil, yourfamily life drivenbyradical change. The

very least that you can expectis that someone closewill puton an emotional display andflounce out.Will you run afterthem?Well, you'll have totake a good, long look at thesituation, andmake a cool andcalculateddecision.

SCORPIO(Oct24-Nov22)Mercury, rulingyourintellect,nowlinksupwithPluto, theplanetwhich

signifiesyourdeepest instincts.Thebest thatcanbehopedforisa flashof enlightenment; theworst, thatyou'llmistakeyourpersonaldesires foruniversaltruthandenduponthewrongtrack.

SAGITTARIUS(Nov23-Dec22)Abusinessassociation, jointfinancialarrangementor

intenselypersonalmatterhasbeenfraughtwithdifficulties. Ifthesearebrought into theopen,everyonewillknowwheretheystandandallwillbewell. If youcancreateharmonynowthen it should last foralongtime.

CAPRICORN(Dec23- Jan20)If anything, today'ssocialandemotionalpatternsaremoredramatic,

revolutionaryandunpredictable thanyesterday's.Itwillbearare individualindeedwhogets throughthedaywithoutat leastoneintriguingencounter.There isnothingtosayexceptexpecttheunexpected.

AQUARIUS(Jan21-Feb19)The gulf betweenwhat is said andwhat is not is sogreat that any real

understanding seemsimpossible. The only truthseems to be the oldmysticalparadox that nothing is true. Itcould nowbe time to let afriend into a secret, bytheway.

PISCES(Feb20-Mar20)It'sbecauseof yourdeepand intuitiveunderstandingofthetrulybizarre

natureof reality thatyou're inabetterpositionthanmostpeople. In fact, if youcare tostart implementinga fewofyourdreamsyoucoulddoverynicely indeed.

SUDOKU4436

DifficultyLevel2sInstructionsTosolveaSudokupuzzle,everydigitfrom1to9mustappear ineachofthenineverticalcolumns, ineachoftheninehorizontalrowsandineachofthenineboxes.

DifficultyLevel1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy;3s=Medium;4s=Hard;5s=VeryHard;6s=Genius S

OLU

TIONSUDOKU4435

Givenbelowarefour jumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemtotherespectivesquaresbelow.Selecttheletters intheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtogettheanswerforthegivenquip.Hewhoeatswithmost____ishewholeastrequires__.-Xenophon(8,.,5)

SOLUTION:MELEE,SARAN,CONSUL,PUMICEAnswer:Hewhoeatswithmostpleasureishewholeastrequiressauce.-Xenophon

LMEEE CLONUS

NAARS EIMCPU

SolutionsCrossword4398: Across:1Coathanger,8Tiffs,9Resolve,10Archers,11India,12Stripe,14Geneva,17Enemy,19Trample,21Curling,22Early,23Resistance.Down:2Officer,3Taste,4Arrest,5Gasfire,6Riled,7Separately,8Transience,13Physics,15Empiric,16Stages,18Error,20Arena.

JUMBLEDWORDS

OVERTHEHEDGE byMichael Fry&TLewis

CALVIN&HOBBES byBillWatterson

MARVIN byTomArmstrong

DAYTODAY BYPETERVIDAL

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Note:Gold,silverratesatDelhispotmarket;goldper10g,silverper1kg;Crudeoil (Indianbasket)asonApril7,2021

PRABHARAGHAVANNEWDELHI,APRIL8

INTERNATIONALCONCERNSofAstraZeneca’sCovidvaccinebeinglinkedtoararebloodclothaveput the governmentonalert.India’stopcommitteeforpost-immunisation adversereactions iswidening its re-viewofdatarelatedtosideef-fects following vaccinationwithCovishieldandCovaxintounderstandwhethertherearesimilarredflags.Thedevelopment follows

the European MedicinesAuthority’s (EMA’s)directionsonWednesdaytolist“unusual”bloodclots (thrombosis)withabnormallylowbloodplatelets(thrombocytopenia) as “veryrare” side effects of theAstraZeneca vaccine. EMA’ssafetycommittee(PRAC)foundthat these rare typesof bloodclotsoccurredin“unusual”siteslikeveins in thebrain (CVST),abdomen(SVT)and inthear-teries,togetherwithlowlevelsof bloodplateletsand, “some-times”,bleeding.A similar reviewof those

vaccinatedintheUKprompteditsregulator(MHRA)toreviserecommendationsonthisvac-cine,which, in India, ismadebySerumInstituteofIndiaun-derthebrand“Covishield”.“Indian regulatorsmust

nowprovidedataonanysim-ilar adverse events noted inIndia,” said Public HealthFoundationof IndiapresidentDrSrinathReddy. InIndia, theNational committee forAdverse Event FollowingImmunization (AEFI) is nowexpanding its reviewof ad-verse reactions reportedaftervaccinationof prioritygroupsto cover around19,500mildcases,accordingtosources.Thelatest reviewwill revisit casesofthrombocytopeniafoundinanearlier reviewof over400seriousandsevereAEFIs.This review isexpected to

continue until nextweek, asource said on condition ofanonymity. “Wehave takenalead fromwhat theEMAandUK MHRA are saying,” thesourcetoldTheIndianExpress.“Wewould like to see if thereis a similar kind of concern(withthevaccinesusedinourprogramme),”thepersonsaid,adding that the reviewwill“specifically” focus onbloodclotissues“inthevaccines”.“Inthepreliminaryreview,

instancesof thrombocytope-niawere found in somepeo-ple,” said the source, addingthat these caseswere “veryfew”intheseriousandsevereAEFI cases reviewed earlier.“Causal linkage (of thesethrombocytopeniacases)withthe vaccine is beingworkedout...Everything isbeingdoneinastrictlyscientificmanner,”thepersonadded.Decisions likewhether to

publish similar advisories to

thatoftheUKMHRAandEMAwillbe takenafter thereview.“Ifanadvisoryhastobegiven,itwillbegiven,”thesourcesaid.However,thisissuealsohas

tobeapproached“carefully”soas tonotcausealarmin India,where amajority of the vac-cines stocked for immunisa-tionareCovishield,thepersonsaid.“Intheseothercountries,therearemoreoptionslikethePfizer-BioNTechvaccine, so itismucheasiertoofferalterna-tives,”thepersonsaid.SIIdeclinedtocommenton

the development, whilequeries to Bharat Biotech,which makes Covaxin, re-mainedunansweredbypresstimeonThursday.Sofar,India’sreviewshave

not foundany cause for con-cern with Covishield orCovaxin. Evenwhile aroundfivepeople,undertheageof70,haddiedinthecountryduetomyocardial infarction (heartattack) after vaccination, thegovernmenthaddeterminedthesedeaths“werenotrelatedtothevaccine,”statedaMarch24reportbyPRACthatstudiedinternationalAEFIdata.“Given thatmoredosesof

Covishieldhavebeenadmin-isteredinIndiathanthosewiththeAstraZenecavaccineintheEUorUK,itisunfortunatethatthe government has chosennot to sharedetails of seriousAEFIandhassofardeniedanycasesthatmayraisethepossi-bility of similar rare adverseevents in India,much less in-vestigate them,” saidMaliniAisola,co-convenorofpatientactivist groupAll IndiaDrugActionNetwork(AIDAN).“There are strong indica-

tionsthattheevidencegather-ingatthedistrict levelmaybeweak and inadequatewhichcan undermine review athigher level by theNationalAEFIcommittee.Inmanycasesof death, postmortemshavenot beendone and there is atendencyoflocalauthoritiestoimmediately dismiss anycausallinktothevaccineevenbeforedistrict investigationsarecomplete,”shesaid.Thegovernmenthassofar

publishedfindingsfor13hos-pitalisationsanddeaths,whichsuggests a “huge” backlog ofAEFIcasesthatthecommitteeistoreview,accordingtoAisola.The informationprovided inthepublicdomainrepresents“only a fraction” of the hun-dreds of severe and seriousAEFIsreportedsofaranddoes-n’t give a clear picture ofwhethertherearepotentialis-sues related to the vaccinesusedinthecountry’svaccina-tionprogramme,sheadded.

Full report onwww.indianexpress.com

COVIDWATCHVACCINATION

GEORGEMATHEWMUMBAI,APRIL8

ATAtimewhenthecountryiswit-nessing the secondwave of theCovidpandemic, insurancecom-panieshavesettledonly54percentoftheclaimsreceivedfromthecus-tomers who have taken CovidhealthinsuranceasofMarch2021.Of total claimsof Rs14,608croreunder theCovidhealth insuranceschemes,insurershavesettledonlyclaimsworthRs7,900crore,whichis54percentof amountclaimedbyinsuredpeople.On topof this,while9,96,804

peoplemadeclaimsasofMarch2021,insurershaveonlysettledtheclaimsof8,55,250people,leavingout1,41,554peoplewhoareyettoget themoney from insurancecompanies, according to figuresavailable with the GeneralInsuranceCouncil.Thisdelayisde-spiteinsuranceregulatorIrdaiad-visingallgeneralandhealthinsur-ers to decide on settlement ofhealthinsurancepoliciespertain-ingtoCovid-19withintwohours.“Amajor chunkof the insur-

ance claims is cashless and set-tledbytheinsurancecompanyonthedaythepatientisdischarged.If1.41lakhpatientswhoseclaimsareyettogetthemoneyfromthe

insurancecompany,that’ssome-thing that insurance regulatorIrdaishouldlookintoandissueanadvisory,” saidan insurancesec-torofficial.Acommoncomplaintfrom customers is that insurersdrastically cut down the claimamount on some flimsy reasonsand many of them, includingpublic sector firms, refuse to re-imbursemoneytopolicyholders.However, insurers said manyclaims are inflated bills, whichdon’t comeunder the termsandconditionsof thepolicy.

Asmanyas66.37per cent oftotalclaimsundertheCovidhealthinsurance policies are from fivestates,withMaharashtraaccount-ing for themaximumnumberofclaims.OftotalclaimsofRs14,608croreunder theCovidhealth in-suranceschemesasonMarch31,2021,claimsworthRs9,744crorehave come fromMaharashtra,Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil NaduandDelhi.Maharashtra toppedthe claims list with 3.58 lakhclaims for Rs4,345.39 crore, fol-lowedbyGujarat(1.30lakhclaims

forRs1,922crore)andKarnataka(75,938claimsfor1,136crore).Decisions on cashless treat-

mentwill have to be communi-cated to thehospitalwithin twohoursfromthetimeofthereceiptof authorisation request and thelast necessary requirement.However,figuresrevealthatagoodnumberofcustomersareyettogetthemoney frominsurersdespitetheadvisoryof Irdai about reim-bursementintwohours.During the11monthsended

February2021,insurancefirmsre-ported a 13per cent increase inhealth insurance premium in-cometoRs52,886crore.Ofthis,re-tail customers accounted for Rs22,909 crore and grouppoliciesamountedtoRs25,540crore.The insurance regulator had,

onMarch 20, said general andhealthinsurancecompaniescan-not reject claimsbasedon “pre-sumptions andconjectures” andhavetospecifythereasonforde-nialorrejectionofclaimsbyrefer-ring to the correspondingpolicyconditions.Inacircularaddressedtotheinsurers,theregulatorsaid,“Claims shall be processed in atransparent, seamless and effi-cient manner within the pre-scribedtimelines.”

Full report onwww.indianexpress.com

FIVESTATESACCOUNTFOR66%OFCOVIDINSURANCECLAIMSOF`14,680CR

Top panel widensCovishield, Covaxinreview to look forpossible red flagsGovtonalertfollowingAstraZenecavaccinebeinglinkedtorarebloodclots

Ambani toappeal SebipenaltyENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,APRIL8

RELIANCEINDUSTRIESchairmanandmanagingdirectorMukeshAmbaniwill appeal against thefineimposedbymarketregulatorSebioverallegedirregularitiesinatwo-decade-oldshareissueinthecompany,thefirmsaid.RIL had issued debentures

withconvertiblewarrantsin1994andallottedequitysharesagainstthewarrantsin2000.“Sebihadis-sued a show-cause notice inFebruary2011 to thenpromoterandpromotergroup(asintheyear2000) alleging violation” oftakeoverregulations,thecompanysaidinastockexchangefiling.

SHRI AMARNATHJI SHRINE BOARDChaitanya Ashram, Talab Tillo, Jammu

Tele: 0191-2555662, Telefax: 0191-2503399

NOTICE INVITING TENDERFOR PROVIDING SHUTTLE SERVICES DURING YATRA 20211. Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) invites sealed tenders, in

Two-Bids format, from Reputed and Registered AviationCompanies, having a minimum Fleet of Three Airworthy LightHelicopters, Endorsed on its NSOP, for Flight Operations in theAir Space of J&K, in the Srinagar – Neelgrath – Srinagar andSrinagar – Pahalgam - Srinagar Sector, purely on Leave andLicense basis, for the Yatra period during Yatra 2021.

2. For further details about the Tender, please refer to our websitewww.shriamarnathjishrine.com.

Sd/-Addl. Chief Executive Officer

No. SASB/NIT/2021/25Dated: 07.04.2021 SASB-70

OFFICE OF THE ADDITIONAL CHIEFENGINEER, (PROJECT) PHED CHURU (RAJ.)

Tel. 01562-251415, e-mail- [email protected]. 9488-9529 Date:- 30.03.2021

NOTICE INVITING TENDERS FOR WORKSOnline tenders are hereby invited on behalf of the Hon’ble Governor of Rajasthan for thefollowing works from eligible enlisted Contractor/Firm as per Rules. Details of this tendernotification and pre-qualification criteria can also be seen in NIT exhibited on websitewww.dipr.rajasthan.gov.in, http://sppp.rajasthan.gov.in, & http://eproc.rajasthan.gov.in. Tenders are to be submitted online electronic format on web sitehttp://eproc.rajasthan.gov.in. RISL Charges, and tender fee shall be submitted throughe-GRAS only in respective budget head. Date & time for online submission Up to20.04.2021 (18:00 hrs)

SAVE WATER - SAVE LIFE Sd/-(Ashok Kumar Gupta)

DIPR/C/3688/2021 Additional Chief Engineer (Project), PHED, Churu

NIT No Work Description EstimatedCost

ACE CHU/46/2020-21

Operation and maintenance of Various Pump Houses and Sourcesof Urban Water Supply Scheme Churu on Private Contract BasisUnder ESCO MODEL UBN No: PHE2021WLOB12195

Rs. 832.51Lacs

ACE CHU/47/2020-21

Operation and Maintenance of Rising main Pipe lines, Pump housesand operated clusters under Aapni yojna Package WS-03 (ChuruBissau Project) PHED Region (Project) Churu, Under ESCO Modelcum O&M Contract UBN No. PHE2021WLOB12196

Rs. 881.68Lacs

COVID INSURANCECLAIMSSTATE CLAIMS AMOUNT SETTLED AMOUNTHaryana 29,104 453.89 25,768 273.78AndhraPradesh 30,197 495.05 24,901 242.34UttarPradesh 33,653 589.55 28,855 344.04WestBengal 38,021 716.36 34,113 403.41Telangana 52,122 1,114.28 44,477 553.54Delhi 57,184 1,022.50 50,170 621.58TamilNadu 75,364 1,319.04 65,780 656.85Karnataka 75,938 1,136.36 65,904 594.57Gujarat 1,30,349 1,922.43 1,15,268 1,026.19Maharashtra 3,58,115 4,345.39 3,02,250 2,365.91Total 9,96,804 14,680.8 8,55,250 7,900.66*Claims innumbersandamount in`crore

Insurerssettle54%ofCovidclaims,1.4Lcasesstillhanging

ENSECONOMICBUREAUMUMBAI,APRIL8

AFTEROUTFLOWSinthelasteightconsecutivemonths, equitymu-tualfundssawnetinflows(invest-mentsexceeding redemption)ofRs 9,115 crore in March 2021.However,debtfundssawnetout-flows of Rs 52,528 crore due toyear-endfactors.Amongequity funds, sectoral

funds and equity-linked savingschemes(ELSS)popularlyknownastax-savingmutualfundsgotin-flows of Rs 2,009 crore and Rs1,552crore, respectively, accord-ingtodatareleasedbyAssociationofMutual Funds in India (Amfi).Mid-cap fundsgotRs1,502croreduring themonth and Flexi capfundsreceivedRs1,386crore.Significantly,investorsstepped

uptheirinvestmentsthroughsys-

tematic investment plans (SIP),whichareprimarilyusedtoinvestin equity funds. InvestmentsthroughSIPwent up toRs 9,182crore inMarch compared to Rs7,528croreinFebruary2021.

SUNNYVERMANEWDELHI,APRIL8

THE FINANCEMinistry has re-quested the Union Home andHealthMinistriestoenableCovid-19vaccinationon“prioritybasis”to bank staff and NationalPayments Corporation of India(NPCI) employees regardless ofage,whoareonthe“frontlineanddealingwithcustomersandcriti-cal infrastructure for seamlessbanking andpayment system.”Thiswillhelpbankemployeesgetvaccinationregardlessofage.“Thiswill goa longway inas-

suring themabout the safety ofthemselvesandtheirfamiliesandwillboosttheirmoraleincontinu-ingtoprovidetheirbestservicestotheircustomers,”theDepartmentof Financial Services (DFS) in theFinanceMinistrysaidinaletteronWednesday to the Ministry ofHome Affairs and Ministry ofHealthandFamilyWelfare.The Department noted the

crucialeffortsofbankersoverthepastoneyearinensuringthatbankbranches remainopenand func-tional,andprovidingthecompletesuiteof banking services to theircustomers. TheDFShighlightedthecriticalroleplayedbytheNPCIstaffinensuringthattheelectronicand digital payment channelswereoperationalseamlessly.Thiswasdespiteissuesonmo-

bilityofbankstafftotheirplaceofworkandissuesinadheringtoso-cial distancingnorms andotherprecautions. “The effort of bankstaffwasevenmoreimportantinviewof the disbursal andwith-drawalof benefits transferredbythegovernment tobeneficiariesunder Pradhan Mantri GaribKalyanYojana,”itsaid.In separate letters to the

FinanceMinistry, IndianBanks’Association(IBA),HDFCBankandNPCIhadsought inclusionof thebankstaffinthevaccinationprior-ity list. Asof now,healthcareandfrontlineworkers arepart of theprioritylistandareallowedvacci-nationregardlessofage.Thegov-ernmenthas also allowedvacci-nationofeveryoneabove45yearsof age as the secondCovidwavehasgrippedthecountry.TheIndianBanks’Association

(IBA)wrotetotheFinanceMinistryonFebruary1, requesting inclu-sionof bankers in thepriority listof freevaccinations. “Thematterwasdiscussed in themeetingofmanagingcommitteeof IBAheldon15 January,wherein a strongconsensuswasarrivedforrequest-ingthegovernmenttoincludethebankemployeesintheprioritylistfor freevaccinations,” IBA said initslettertotheDFS.Of the total staff of 13.5 lakh,

around600employees of state-ownedbanks, privatebanks, for-eignbanks,paymentsbanks,andsmallfinancebankshavelosttheirlives during the pandemic as ofDecember31,2020,IBAsaidinitslettertoFinanceMinistry.“…bankemployees toohave

beenbravingalloddsanddeliver-ingbankingservicestocustomersacrossthecountryduringthepan-demic,”HDFCBanksaidinits let-tertotheDFSonApril5.

Vaccinate withage no bar: FinMinputs in a word forbank, NPCI staffRequestsHome,HealthMinistriesto inoculateon ‘prioritybasis’

Spend big, danger lurks:Yellen to major economiesAGENCIESWASHINGTON/NEWDELHI,APRIL8

US TREASURY Secretary JanetYellen,inastatementtothesteer-ing committees of the Inter-nationalMonetaryFund(IMF)andWorldBankThursday,warnedoftheriskofapermanentdivergenceintheglobaleconomyinthewakeof theCovidcrisis.Sheurgedma-joreconomiestoinjectsignificantnewfiscal support tosecurearo-bustrecovery.US Federal Reserve Chair

JeromePowell,whilespeakingataneconomicforumduringthevir-tual IMF andWorldBankmeet-ings,notedalikelyriseinpricesthis

yearislikelytobetemporary.Meanwhile, speaking at the

PlenaryMeeting of the Interna-tionalMonetary and FinancialCommittee of the Board ofGovernors of the IMF at the vir-tual Spring Meetings 2021,Finance Minister NirmalaSitharamansaidensuringuniver-sal availability of Covid vaccinesandendingthepandemicshouldbepriority.REUTERS&PTI

REUTERSNEWDELHI,APRIL8

TESLAINCisscoutingforlocationstoopenshowroomsinthreecitiesaheadofitsplannedentryintothecountry,sourcessaid.Thecarmaker in January reg-

isteredacompanyinIndia,whereitisexpectedtoimportandselltheModel3sedanbyasearlyasmid-2021. Theworld’smost valuableautomakerbymarket capitalisa-tion is looking for commercialproperties as large as 20,000-

30,000 square feet each toopenshowroomsandservicecentresinNew Delhi, Mumbai andBengaluru,threesourcessaid.Tesladidnot respond toa re-

questforcomment.

AMONGEQUITYfunds,sectoralfundsandequity-linkedsavingschemes(ELSS),popularlyknownastax-savingmutualfunds,gotinflowsofRs2,009croreandRs1,552crore,respectively,accord-ingtodatareleasedbyAssociationofMutualFundsinIndia

Sectoralfunds,ELSSgainE●EX

PLAINED

Equity MFs seenet inflows for 1sttime in 8 months

Thisreviewisexpectedtocontinueuntilnextweek,saidasource

■ In separate letters totheFinanceMinistry,the IBA,HDFCBankandNPCIhadsoughtinclusionof thebankstaff invaccinationpriority list

LETTERSTOMINISTRY

Cloud of uncertainty for consumer discretionary servicessuch as airlines, which likely to have declined 30 per centamid social distancing and cut in travel budgets

‘India Inc to post 15-17%revenue growth in Q4 FY21’After eight quarters of either decline or single-digit growth,corporate revenue grew in high double-digits of 15-17% intheMarch quarter of FY21, says a Crisil Ratings report

Source:CrisilRatings/PTI

55-60% : 15-17%revenue

growth to `6.9 lakh crore inQ4of FY21 are based on ananalysis of 300companies,which account for 55-60%ofthemarket capitalisation(excluding financialservices and oil companies)of theNSE

REASONS:■ Lowbase of theyear-ago quarter■ Higher government capex■ Higher realisations

50%of the recovery iscontributed by

automobiles, IT services andconstruction

‘Tesla scouts forshowroom space’

TeslaCEOElonMusk.Reutersfile

BRIEFLYG-SAPbuyingMumbai:TheRBI Thursdaysaidthefirstpurchaseofgov-ernmentsecuritiesworthRs25,000croreundertheG-secAcquisitionProgrammewillbedoneonApril15.

ADBloanNew Delhi: The AsianDevelopmentBanksaidithasokayeda$484-million loanto improve connectivity intheChennai-KanyakumariIndustrialCorridor.

GhaziabadbondsNewDelhi:Thecountry’sfirstgreen bonds, issued byGhaziabadMunicipalCorpo-ration, were listed onThursdayontheBSE.PTI

FinanceMinisterNirmalaSitharamansaidensuringuniversalavailabilityof vaccinesshouldbepriority

SANDIPGAPRIL8

IN THE frantic build-up to the state polls inKerala,MSDhonimadeanunobtrusiveentryintoadiscussiontableofsolemnpoliticalan-alysts.Atelevisionanchorcasuallypredictedan unfancied Congress leader to perform aDhoni-likeheist towhichapartlybemusedanalystquipped:“Let’sseewhatDhonicoulddointhisyear’sIPL.”TherewereotherIPLal-lusions too.Anew-fangledpoliticalparty inKeralagoesbythenameTwenty20.Thoughits founders insist itwas not inspired by IPLortheshortestformatof thegame,ithasnotprevented their adversaries from often re-minding them that: “Elections are not likeIPL, it’s Test cricket.”Thestate,unlikeitsneighbours, is largely

immune to IPL-frenzy. Apart from SanjuSamson,ithaslittlestakestoo.Yet,theleaguehassubconsciouslyintrudedintothepsychethat references and metaphors are quitecommonandfrequent,emphasisingthatIPL,evenwhereit’snotmadlyfollowedordeeplyentrenched,has seepedseamlessly into thepopular culture.Some distance away, in Maharashtra,

where COVID-19 cases are mounting, thegovernmentbelievesthatthecaseswillsub-sideas soonas the IPLbegins. Theyare con-vincedthatmorepeoplewillstayindoorsinthe evening, thus reducing the chances ofvirus transmission. There needn’t be nightcurfews. Thegames inMumbai, thehotbedof therecentwave,needn’tbeshiftedeither.Theassumptionsarenotbereftof logicorev-idenceeither, as there indeedwasa relativeslumpinthenumberofcasesduringthelastIPLseason.MorepeoplewatchedIPLgames

in theUAE than ever before— 405millionsviewers (24 per cent increase from 2019),that ishalf of theIndians,accordingtoBARCviewershipdata.Thus, while IPL may well not be the

opiumofthemassesyet,alongwiththepan-demic,deathandtaxes, ittoohasbecomeaninevitabilityofourtimes.Notjustforthetwomonths that it plays out on the televisionscreen,butbeyondthat.Notjustasatoolforentertainmentorasacommercial forcebutadefinedcultural, social construct. Be it therealm of trolls ormemes, sphere of moviesor songs, platform of fiction or shows onYouTube,theleaguehasnotjustbargedintothecommonIndian’spsyche, ithasblendedintohis sensibilities.

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It was always bound to be, says JamesAstill, former Delhi correspondent of theEconomist and the author of 'The GreatTamasha', a story of cricket becomingIndianised. “Cricket in India was a religionevenbefore IPLcame.Cricketersandcrickethadclosetieswithpoliticiansandbusiness-men, ithadalsotieswiththeBollywood. IPLbroughtall these ingredientstogetherandagreatpackagewasborn. Itwas justamatterof time before they combined to form partof the popular culture. It’s an irresistiblecombo,”heexplains.It gave birth towhat he calls the “casual

audience.”Thosewhowatchcricketforpurefun, likewatchingacommercialmovie. “It’slikeafamilyoccasion,thetelevisionisalwayswhen the game is on. Initially, I was suspi-cious of the franchise model, whether itwouldtaketimetoseepin,butIPLbecameapartof theculture inaquick time. It created

anewaudience,a largercross-sectionof so-ciety,andthusbroughtaculturalshiftinhowthe sport is consumed in the country,” hesays.Inevitably,theIPLstreamedintothepub-

lic imaginationwith asmuchaspace as theformat itself. One of the more popularepisodesofthelong-runningTVshowTaarakMehtaKaOoltahChashma - it's beenonairsince 2008 - happens to have an IPL story-

line. The 'alwayshappy' residentsof agatedcommunityinsuburbanMumbaigetdividedinto teams ledby the tele-series' twopopu-lar female characters. The Daya Daredevilsvs Babita Blasters front yard game inGokuldhamPremierLeaguehasaCSKvsMIfeel toit.PunjabisingerSidhuMooseWala'ssong'HoTVutteraheinIPLdekhdi'(YoukeepwatchingIPLonTV)isasortof lamenttohisbelovedbut this timearound it canconnectto themanyhome-bound IPL fans.In 2013, just months before the fixing

scandal shook the IPL, Rajiv Rajendrawrote

a crim-cric novel of a similar trope namedTheLeague—abillion-dollar cricket leaguein a fictitious island called Palmyra and runbyafilthyrichArabsheikcalledAbdelRafteralRafter.Non-fictionworkstoohavesprungup. “There is a sudden surge in readership,sowestockalotofbooksonIPL.Evencricketbooks, unrelated to IPL, would sell,” says PJoseph, a second-hand book-seller inKottayam,asleepy townincentralKerala.

Ayear later, Tamildirectorexplored thecricket-league theme in the movie Jeeva,wherea sidelinedmiddle-class youngsternearlyquits cricket becauseof politics be-fore he gets a chance break to play fran-chise cricket (called CPL) and then breaksinto the national team.Themovie’sdirector, Suseenthiran,had

then said that the movie was inspired bythe alleged politics in cricket boards aswell as the IPL’s knack of spinning rags toriches story every other year.Songs and shows too sprouted, like

Kaathal Cricketil VizhinthiruchuWicketu(loosely translated as wicket has fallen inlove’scricketgame)fromthemovieUnnaipolOruvan, while overseas cricketers likeDwayne Bravo sang and shook his legs in acouple of movies (Yendi from ChithiramPesuthadi2).Severalmash-upstoohave in-undated the web, mostly featuring CSKfavourite MS Dhoni; three local singers—Velmurugan, Ve Madhan Kumar, Srinath

Pichai—penned,composedandsangatrib-ute titledThalaivarSong.Even in not-so-IPL-frenzied Kerala, cer-

tain IPLcontexts resonate inmoviesand lifealike.LikeareferenceofSSreesanthisnotfarawaywhen it comes tomocking crybabies.OrareferencetoDhoni,whenitcomestotheguywho runs awaywith the bounty at thelast moment. Sometimes, there are grimyanti-heroeswho have heavily invested in amurky cricket franchise, or the super-copgettinganSOSfromacricketer,whoisthreat-ened bymatch-fixers of a shady league, or

the cricket-crazy father telling his son thathewouldonedayplay in the IPL.Or thesta-ple: “Malingamandai vechu Ishant Sharmamaathiri potite irukku, dei paar (With thecurls of Malinga, you are bowling likeIshant!)There are the cheekypolitical trade-offs

too. Before the 2016 polls in the state,Sreesanth,whowasaBJPcandidate,hadre-ferred to one of the party talismans as“Sachin Tendulkar of Kerala BJP”, to whichnotedwriterNSMadhavan retorted: “ThenpeoplewillbecomeHarbhajans.”Therefer-encewas obvious—Harbhajan Singh slap-pingSreesanth,whobrokedown,duringanIPLmatch.

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Thencamethegame-changerintheformofthefirst-everIndianisedweb-series,InsideEdgeSeason1in2017.Ablendofback-roomdrama,behind-the-doorgames,andthebig,badworld of fixing and betting, themoviewasthe"perfectstorm.“Therewassomuchof interesting information that makes forgreat drama in thatworld of 'cricketmeet-ing entertainment' that it was very easy toweave anice sharp show,” its creator KaranAnshumansaidduring the launch.Television ads too have spun cricket

into their storylines during the IPL — likeLenskart on the comedy of run-out errorsduring a game. So had Swiggy and Bingoduring the last IPL. ToAstill, thesearemoretangible signsof the IPL invading intopub-lic consciousness, seamlessly and un-forced. “NowIPL inhabits themindsof au-dience for not just two months, but evenbeyond it. It hasbecomepart ofwhat con-stitutes their consciousness. That is thereal success,” he says.However, it’s still largely a "metropoli-

tan fantasy" as Tamil writer R AbilashChandran reflects. “The influence of IPL isobvious inmemes, trolls andmaybe a lineinasongora joke inamovie.But it’smostlyconfined tometrosandthose thathave IPLfranchises.At least inTamilNadu, ithasnotquite travelled to the villages or othertownstoreallycall IPLapartofpopularcul-ture,” he points out.But there is scope, he says. “Like if T

Natarajan continues to performwell, therewouldbemorefanfareforIPLinTamilNadu’srural corners,” he says. The rural landscape,then,wouldbe IPL’s final frontier.

Only way to stop MI: Catchthem on off-day, avoidmistakes, paper over cracksVISHALMENONAPRIL8

STICKINGTOtheirformulaofpuntingondo-mestictalentandnotsplurgingonexpensiveoverseas recruits,Mumbai Indians (MI)hadclinchedtheir fifth IPL title lastyear.Likemost seasons,MI also gave thena-

tional team two stars, Suryakumar Yadavand Ishan Kishan, who went to live up totheir IPL hype while wearing India blues.An intimidating line-up that has RohitSharma, Quinton de Kock, Kieron Pollard,Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah and TrentBoult at its core, thechampionside reapedthebenefitsof having therightmanfor theright job.Though, form books in T20 cricket

comewithadisclaimer, notmanyarebet-ting againstMI captain Rohit Sharma lift-ing the trophy for the sixth time.What theseven challengers canhope is to catch thechampion side on their off-day. Here’slooking at the Achilles' Heel of the sevenchallengers.

DELHICAPITALSShreyas Iyer void

Despitetheir implosionagainstMumbaiIndians in the 2020 final, Delhi Capitals areby far the second best team in this tourna-ment. However, they arewithout last sea-son’s captain and their top scorer ShreyasIyer, who is nursing a shoulder injury.Rishabh Pantwill take charge of this team,but Iyer’s absencewill be felt. They can pa-peroverthiscrackbypromotingall-rounderMarcus Stoinis as an opener with ShikharDhawan. If Ajinkya Rahane and ShimronHetmeyer step it up, Delhi, with their bal-ancedattack,canhopetowintheirfirst-everIPL title.

SUNRISERSHYDERABADNo lower-order finisher

TheDavidWarner captained teamhavemadeittotheplayoffs ineveryeditionsince2015.Theteam’sbanehasbeentheirmisfir-inglowermiddle-order,whichlacksthefire-powerofMumbaiIndians.PriyamGarg,VijayShankar,AbhishekSharmaandAbdulSamadaretalented individuals.However, they lacktheexperienceandskilltohandlepressureofbig-ticketmatches.

CHENNAISUPERKINGSOld guards lackmatch time

Suresh Raina’s return gives the squad awealthof experience, buthecouldbe rusty.Meanwhile, Faf du Plessis, following his in-ternational retirement, has featured in just

three Pakistan Super League games. Thereare questionmarks over their captainMSDhoniaswell,whohasnotplayedanycom-petitive cricket since CSK’s tepid exit fromthegroupstage lastyear.

RAJASTHANROYALSMissing injured Archer

Fast bowler Jofra Archer was the lonebright spot for the Royals in IPL 2020. Hepicked20scalpsfrom14games.Butthatdid-n’tstoptheRoyalsfromfinishingthelastsea-sonatthebottomofthetable. Inhisabsence,they have South African all-rounder ChrisMorris and Bangladesh’s wily left-armseamerMustafizur Rahman. Together, theyareincisiveandprovidethisteamwithcred-ibleoptions fordeathbowling.However,ontheirown, theydon’tquitepossessArcher’smatch-winningability.

ROYALCHALLENGERSBANGALOREDeath bowling, a problem area

Virat Kohli's teamhave awell-roundedbowling attack comprising WashingtonSundar,YuzvendraChahal,NavdeepSainiandMohammedSiraj.Onthefaceofit,RCB’sbowl-ingattackseemstohaveallthebasescovered.Notquite.Having let goofMorris at theauc-tion earlier this year, RCBdon’t have a skilfulbowler at the death. Theywould be hopingthatKyle Jamieson, theirbig-ticketbuy,givesthemthecontrolatthefagendoftheinnings.

KOLKATAKNIGHTRIDERSSunil Narine conundrum

In 2017, Kolkata Knight Riders proppedupSunilNarineintheroleofapinch-hittingopener.Narine'spromotiongaveKolkatabat-tingflexibilityanddepth.Thingscametothefore during the last season, when Narinefailedtoprovidehisteamwithstartshewasknownfor.Evenhisbowlinghasgoneoff theboil.TheadditionofBangladeshall-rounderShakib-al-HasanandmysteryspinnerVarunChakravarthy, gives them ample options inthespindepartment.

PUNJABKINGSWhobeyond the Fab 4

UnlikeMumbaiIndianswhohaveaposseof heavy-duty big-hitters from Nos 1-7,PunjabKingsareessentiallyatopheavyside,bankingontheirFabFour—captainKLRahul,Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle andNicholasPooran—toscorebulkoftheirruns.IfPunjabharbour hopes of goingdeep in the tourna-ment, they need batsmen beyond the topfourtostepup.TheywouldhopethatMoisesHenriques, DawidMalan, Fabian Allen andShahrukhKhanwouldclick.

Vol. LXVNo.83Printed for theproprietors, The IndianExpress (P) LtdbyMsVaidehiThakaratThe IndianExpressPress, PlotNo.EL-208,TTC IndustrialArea,Mahape,NaviMumbai -400710andpublished fromMafatlalCentre,7th floor,RamnathGoenkaMarg,NarimanPoint,Mumbai400021.Editorial&Administrativeoffices:MafatlalCentre,7th floor,RamnathGoenkaMarg,NarimanPoint,Mumbai400021.Phone:22022627/67440000. Fax:022-22835726.Chairmanof theBoard:ViveckGoenka,Chief Editor:RajKamal Jha, Editor:UnniRajen

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From dancer tosailor: Nethra’sjourney to Tokyo

ANDREWAMSANNEWDELHI, APRIL8

NETHRAKUMANANisasailorwithanartis-ticflair.The22-year-oldengineeringstudent

from Chennai, who be-came the first Indianwoman sailor to earn aberthfortheOlympicsonWednesday, is a traineddancer,singer,andprofi-cientpainteraswell.The second-year BE

mechanical engineeringstudentetchedhernameinthehistorybooksby earning the elusive ticket thanks to herexploits in the Laser Radial race at theMussanahOpenChampionshipinOman,anAsian and African qualifier. On Thursday,Nethra finished second behind EmmaCharlotteJeanneSavelonoftheNetherlands.ShehadallbutsealedtheOlympicspotadayearlierbecauseofpointsearned inpreviousroundsandthemedalwasanaddedbonus.Although Nethra was disappointed in

missing out on the goldmedal, shewas re-lieved.“Icouldhavedonebetterandchased(Emma)herbutI lostoutduetosomeerrorsthat I could not rectify. I am really happyaboutearninganOlympicberth. I hope thisinspiresotheryoungwomentotakeupsail-ing,”Nethra toldThe IndianExpress.Itwas amemorable competition for the

wholeIndiansailingcontingentasthreeoth-ersqualifiedfortheTokyoOlympics:VishnuSaravanan(LaserStandardClass)andthepairofGanapathyChengappaandVarunThakkar(49er Class). Nethra,whohas been trainingin Spain for the last year and a half, devel-oped an interest in the sport during a sum-mercampinschool.Thesoft-spokenathletehadtriedherhandatvarioussportsliketen-nis,basketballandcyclingbeforefindinghertruelove,sailing.TotakeupsailingseriouslyshehadtogiveuponBharatanatyamclasses.“I still think Bharatanatyam has taught

me a lot. Discipline, hardwork and dedica-tion are things I have learnt from the danceformandsomething thathelpsmeeven to-day,” said Nethrawho trained for six yearsunder renownedguruAlarmelValli.

Online lessonsDuringhertrainingstints,Nethraisoften

shuttlingfromChennaitoSpainwhileman-agingher college lessonsonline. “She trainsinEuropeforamonthandcomesbackhometo stay a couple of months before headingback,” said father VCKumanan,who runs asoftwarecompany.“It’samatterofgreatjoythatnotonlyher

buttheothersfromtheIndianteamhavealsoqualified. Even though we knew Nethrawould pull it off, Iwas still tense till the lastmoment. As soon as she qualified I was re-lievedandglad,”Nethra’s fatheradded.