PAGE 5PAGE 3 PAGE 6 PAGE 8

State govt con-cerned aboutsafety andwelfare of sani-tary workers: JaiRam

Haryana ChiefSecretary laudsSkill Dev Depttfor preparinggood qualitymasks

WWW.YUGMARG.COM

REGD NO. CHD/0061/2006-08 | RNI NO. 61323/95

Wednesday,April 22, 2020

CHANDIGARH, VOL. XXV, NO. 81, PAGES 8, RS. 2 YOUR REGION, YOUR PAPER

FOLLOW US ON

Over 1.8 lakh mttonnes wheatprocured in HryCHANDIGARH: In a state-ment issued here, Mr. San-jeev Kaushal, AdditionalChief Secretary, Agricul-ture & Farmers’ Welfareand Cooperation Depart-ment stated that1,81,973.28 Metric Tonnesof Wheat was procuredfrom 16546 farmers in theProcurement Centres ofHaryana. With this theprogressive total of2,83,888.97 Metric Tonnesof Wheat has been pro-cured from 25,559 farmersin the State in the last twodays. He also added thattoday 23,934.26 MetricTonnes of Mustard wasprocured from 8318 farm-ers in the 163 Procure-ment Centres of the Stateand progressive total of1,49,975.55 MetricTonnes of mustard hasbeen procured from55,391 farmers.

Humon-gous mon-ey adds ex-tra pressureon you inIPL: YuvrajSingh

25 Ruby Hall Clinic staffers testpositive forCOVID-19 inPune

AGENCYWASHINGTON D.C,.APRIL 21

US President Donald Trumpon Monday (local time) saidthat he will sign an executiveorder to temporarily suspendimmigration into the UnitedStates amid the coronaviruspandemic.

"In light of the attackfrom the Invisible Enemy, aswell as the need to protect thejobs of our GREATAmericanCitizens, I will be signing anExecutive Order to temporar-ily suspend immigration into

the United States!" Trumpsaid on Twitter.

The order would mark anextraordinary use of execu-tive power by Trump, who,just hours earlier, spokeabout the ability of certainstates to begin reopeningtheir economies despite thethreat of the virus, The Hillreported. The suspension ofall immigration would serveas an extension on the travelrestrictions that the Trumpadministration has alreadyimposed on most of Europe,China, Canada, Mexico, Iranand South Korea. Trump has

spent much of his presidencypushing to restrict immigra-tion into the States. Last year,he also pushed for construc-tion of a wall on the US-Mexico border, implementedpolicies that limited migrantsfrom applying for asylum andoverseen the separation offamilies who cross into thecountry illegally.

Democratic officials onlate Monday accused Trumpof using the pandemic as jus-tification to cater to his basewith the hardline immigra-tion policy, the media report-ed further.

Trump to temporarily suspend immigration into US

AGENCYPATIALA, APRIL 21

Five people, including adoctor, tested positive forcoronavirus in Rajpurablock of this district onMonday night. With this, thetotal number of positive cas-es in the district has reached31.

Civil Surgeon HarishMalhotra said all five posi-tive cases were of Anaj Man-di area of Rajpura. He saidall were contacts of the ear-

lier positive cases of thearea.

He said, "Out of 19 sam-ples, five tested positive. Wehave already contained thearea and there is no need topanic."

Of the five, one isdaughter-in-law of the Ra-jpura woman who had testedpositive while three arefriends of already positivepatient, the health depart-ment said. Malhotra said adoctor also tested positivefor coronavirus.

AGENCYBHOPAL, APRIL 21

Madhya Pradesh Chief Min-ister Shivraj Singh Chouhanon Tuesday held a meetingwith his newly formed statecabinet here.

The single-member cabi-net was expanded earlier to-day at a ceremony in Bhopal.

Narottam Mishra, KamalPatel, Meena Singh, TulsiSilawat and Govind SinghRajput on Tuesday took oath

as state ministers almost amonth after Shivraj SinghChouhan was sworn-in as theChief Minister of MadhyaPradesh.

"In view of the Coronacrisis, we have decided tokeep the cabinet small, but itwill be expanded once thelockdown is over, there is asmall but balanced cabinet.An attempt has been made togive representation to everysection of the society," saidChouhan. "Narottam Mishra

has been given the charge ofBhopal-Ujjain Division; Tul-si Silawat has been given thecharge of Indore-Sagar Divi-sion; Kamal Patel (Jabalpur-Narmadapuram Division);Govind Singh Rajput (Cham-bal-Gwalior Division) andMeena Singh has been giventhe charge of Shahdol-RewaDivision," he added. sSilawatand Rajput come from the Jy-otiraditya Scindia camp andwere ministers in the KamalNath government.

Shivraj holds meeting withnewly formed cabinet

BUREAUCHANDIGARH, APRIL 21:

Punjab Chief Minister Cap-tain Amarinder Singh onTuesday suggested to theCentre a 3-pronged strategyto bail out the states from theCOVID crisis, including a 3-month special financial pack-age and extension to the 15thFinance Commission till Oc-tober 2021 for submission ofits final report.

Citing the collapse in rev-enues as a result of the lock-down of business and indus-try, as well as the increasedessential health and relief ex-penditure, the Chief Minister,in a letter to Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, urged him toask the Fifteenth FinanceCommission to review its in-terim report for 2020-21 inthe context of the much lowerrevenue share for the states

compared with what was ex-pected from the earlier projec-tions which assumed 7 per-cent growth of GDP.

Noting that a zero growthscenario in GDP for India wasnot unlikely, he said that someanalysts were projecting evennegative growth. Given thelikelihood of very lowgrowth, which was expectedto cause the revenue shortfallto last for the whole year,Captain Amarinder requestedthe Prime Minister to directthe Fifteenth Finance Com-mission to defer the submis-sion of its full report to Octo-ber, 2021, when they will bebetter able to make a realisticassessment of the likelygrowth of the economy overthe next five years.

“Nothing would be worsethan getting committed to afive year revenue sharing pro-jection based on unrealistical-ly high growth projections,”he warned, suggesting that theFinance Commission couldmake another Interim reportfor 2021-22, Observing thatthe 40-day national lockdowntill May 3, 2020 was perhapsnecessary to curb the spreadof COVID-19, CaptainAmarinder said, however, thatit has resulted in massive eco-nomic disruption.

Capt suggests strategyto PM to bail out states

from COVID

Step to prevent Covid-19

Kedarnath toreopen as perscheduleGOPESHWAR: The sa-cred portals of Kedarnathwill be reopened for devo-tees as per the originalschedule on April 29, atemple committee officialsaid on Tuesday.After the date for openingof Badrinath was deferredto May 15 on Monday be-cause of the novel coron-avirus pandemic it wasbeing speculated that theopening of Kedarnathmay also be rescheduled.However, the chief priestof the Himalayan temple,Bhima Shankar Ling, an-nounced, after discussingwith temple committee of-ficials here, that its gateswill be reopened for devo-tees at 6.10 am on April29 as per the originalschedule, media inchargeof the temple committeeHarish Gaud said.

Chandigarh BJPdonates 6000sanitizers forMC WorkersCHANDIGARH: BJPChandigarh led by itspresident Arun Sood to-day donated a truck ofover 6000 sanitizers to-wards the entire brigadeof sanitation workersthrough Chandigarh Mu-nicipal Corporation. Hehanded over the consign-ment to Mayor Raj BalaMalik in the presence ofMC Commissioner KamalKishore Yadav and SeniorDeputy Mayor Ravi Kant.These sanitizers will safe-guard more than 5200contractual and non con-tractual sanitation workersalong with door to doorgarbage pickers.

Doctor, 4 others testpositive in Patiala

Police booksJamia studentsunder UAPANEW DELHI: Delhi Policehas booked Jamia stu-dents Meeran Haider andSafoora Zargar under theUnlawful Activities (Pre-vention) Act (UAPA) in acase related to communalviolence in northeast Del-hi over the Citizenship(Amendment) Act, said alawyer.

700 recovered in last 24 hours, percentage stands at 17.48AGENCYNEW DELHI, APRIL 21

A total of 3,252 people have beencured of coronavirus in India so far, in-cluding 705 patients who were dis-charged on Monday, taking the recov-ery percentage to 17.48 per cent, thegovernment informed on Tuesday.

A total of 1,336 new cases of coro-navirus have been identified which hastaken the total number of the con-firmed cases to 18,601 in the country,said Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary,

Union Health and FamilyWelfare Ministry on Tues-day.

Addressing a press con-ference here, Agarwal said,"With 1,336 new cases,there are 18995 positivecases in India till now. Sofar, 3252 people have re-covered including 705 peo-ple who recovered yester-day. This takes our recovery percent-age to 17.48 per cent," Agarwal said.

The Ministry has issued detailed

guidelines to all the statesthat while focusing onCOVID-19, all other serv-ices need to be provided.

"We have issued de-tailed guidelines to allstates that while we focuson COVID-19, all otherservices need to be provid-ed, be it for dialysis,HIV/cancer treatments etc.

At the same time required infectionmanagement prevention should be inplace," he said.

Rapid test kits under scannerICMR asks states notto use kits for 2 days

AGENCYNEW DELHI, APR 21

Amid complaints about faultyrapid test kits, the Indian Councilof Medical Research on Tuesdayadvised states not to use them forthe next two days, saying it willissue an advisory after their teamscarry out field validation of theseequipment.

At the daily governmentbriefing on the coronavirus situa-tion in the country, ICMR's DrRaman R Gangakhedkar wasasked about the faulty rapid test-ing kits.

"We have received complaintfrom a state yesterday and so fardiscussed with three states. Toomuch variations have been report-ed in results of rapid test kits andRT-PCR kits. We advise states notto use them for the next two days,he said.

These kits will be tested andvalidated in the field by our

teams. We will issue a clear-cutadvisory in two day. If problemsare detected in batches, we willtell the companies for replace-ment," he said.

He said that a total of4,49,810 samples for COVID-19infection have been tested tillTuesday of which 35,852 weredone on Monday.

As many as 29,776 sampleshave been tested in 201 labs underthe ICMR network, and 6,076 at86 private laboratories, he said.

The Chairman of the 4th Em-powered Group (to tackleCOVID-19) said that the govern-ment has created a portal with themaster database of healthcare pro-fessionals and volunteers.

Rajasthanstops testsJAIPUR: Rajasthan HealthMinister Raghu Sharma saidthat the state has stoppedconducting rapid tests forCOVID-19 as the accuracy ofkits from Indian Council ofMedical Research (ICMR) is"questionable". "We had re-ceived rapid testing kits fromICMR and it was used in Ra-jasthan. We formed a commit-tee of the head of our Microbi-ology Department and head ofour Medicine Department tosee if these tests are effective.Its accuracy was supposed tobe 90 per cent, but it turnedout to be 5.4 per cent," Shar-ma said. "We did not leaveany procedural loophole. Wekept in mind ICMR guidelinesfor testing.

AGENCYSHIMLA, APRIL 21

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur saidhere today that State Governmenthas decided to provide various con-cessions to industrial, commercialincluding tourism sector,agriculture and otherelectricity consumers inthe State due to outbreakof COVID-19 in thecountry.

Jai Ram Thakur saidthat the payment of elec-tricity bills raised in themonth of March for theconsumption of Febru-ary 2020 and for themonth April, 2020 forthe consumption ofMarch, 2020 had beenextended upto 30thApril, 2020 without levy of late pay-ment surcharge. He said that bills forthe consumption of electricity ofApril would be raised in May andwill be payable upto 31st May, 2020without any late payment surcharge.

Chief Minister said that the pay-ment of demand charges in respectof industrial, commercial and agri-culture consumers for electricityconsumption of April, 2020 would

be billed in May, 2020 and for theconsumption of May, 2020 to bebilled in June, 2020 has been de-ferred till 30th June, 2020 and thesecharges would be recovered in threeequal instalments during the monthsof July, August and September,

2020.Jai Ram Thakur

said that a rebate ofone percent subject tomaximum of Rs.10,000 will be avail-able for industrial,commercial and agri-culture consumerswho will pay the billson or before 31stMay, 2020 for theconsumption of April,2020 will be billed inMay, 2020 and pay-ment of bill on or be-

fore due date for consumption ofMay, 2020 will be billed in June,2020.

Chief Minister said that Hi-machal Pradesh State ElectricityBoard Limited will ensure continu-ity of power supply to all consumersand no disconnection will be madetill 31st May, 2020 due to non-re-covery of electricity bills and latepayment surcharge.

HP govt extendselectricity concessions

to consumers

YUGMARG, CHANDIGARH, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2020

NEWSPAGE2

BRIEFNEWS

CHANDIGARH : Airtel has decided to pay the basic income for April for employees of its distribution partners and retail franchisee network to help them tide over the unprecedented situation arising out of the ongoing lockdown to contain the spread of Covid-19. In a letter addressed to distribution partners, Manu Sood, Hub CEO- Upper North, Bharti Airtel said it is “acutely sensitive that this sudden lockdown has also reduced your (distribution partners) operations and returns during April. In order to help you tide over this tough time, we plan to extend a onetime support for the month of April. This is done with an endeavour to ensure that your FSE (field service executive) and other frontline colleagues get their basic income."

Airtel to pay April salaries of staff employed by distributors, retail franchisees

Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time

to understand more, so that we may fear less.

Marie Curie

CHANDIGARH:?In response to the increase in the viewing needs of their customers, Dish TV India, India’s leading DTH Company, has rolled out a variety of short format, snackable original content on its OTT platform, Watcho. Over the past one month, the platform has witnessed a 50% surge in content consumption, leading to a steep hike in their subscriber base and adding 1 million new subscribers in a month bringing it up to 3.0 Million. Watcho has also seen a spike in the time spent by viewers on the platform during March 2020. This sudden increase can be attributed to the recently added new and fresh content on the platform and the overall surge in consumption of content during the ongoing lockdown. Additionally, amidst the lockdown period, Watcho’s streaming bandwidth has been better optimized to reduce network load on the internet by reducing the native resolution of the app to 480p without compromising on the quality.

Dish TV India’s OTT Platform Watcho sees record surge in Content Viewership

RNI NO. 61323/95 | Printed and Published by Gaurav Goel for Yugmarg Prakashan from 28/1, Industrial Area Phase-II, Chandigarh and printed at Yugmarg Publications,

Kurali Road, Khanpur, Kharar Distt. Mohali (PB), Editor Chander Trikha, Ph.:(off) 0172-5002721, 2972414. E-mail: yugmarg@gmail.com

Postal Code No. G/CHD/0186/2016-2018

SHIMLA: Morepen Laboratories Ltd. is all set to be a frontrunner in India’s fight against Novel Corona Virus Disease (popularly referred to as COVID’19). The company has launched a wide range of essential products being required to combat the growing menace of COVID’19 and to prevent further spread of this disease in the country. These include non-contact Infrared Thermometers, alcohol-based Hand Sanitizers, Hand Wash, Hand Rubs and Face Masks, all under its umbrella brand – Dr. Morepen.The Company has also received license to manufacture Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) from State Drug Controller (HP) last week for its Baddi plant in Himachal Pradesh and is working towards commercializing the production of HCQ in both API as well as tablets form. HCQ is a prescription based drug commonly being recommended to Corona patients under treatment for the disease.

Company gets license to manufactureHydroxychloroquine (HCQ)

AGENCY (IPHRC) of Organisation of NEW DELHI, APR 21 Islamic Cooperation (OIC) urged

India to take "urgent steps" to Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar protect the rights of its minority Abbas Naqvi on Tuesday said that Muslim community and stop the India is heaven for minorities and incidents of "Islamophobia" in the Muslims and asserted that their country.social, religious and economic rights "1/2 #OIC-IPHRC condemns are secured in the country. t h e u n r e l e n t i n g v i c i o u s "India is heaven for minorities and #Islamophobic campaign in Muslims. Their social, religious and #India maligning Muslims for economic rights are secured in India spread of #COVID-19 as well as than any other country. If someone is their negative profiling in media saying this out of a prejudiced mindset subjecting them to discrimination then they must look at the ground & violence with impunity," OIC-reality of this country and accept it... IPHRC tweeted.Secularism and harmony is not "2/2 #OIC-IPHRC urges the political fashion but a passion," Naqvi #Indian Govt to take urgent steps said at a press conference here. to stop the growing tide of

"We are doing our work. Modi ji #Islamophobia in India and protect talks about the interest and well being the rights of its persecuted

country including minorities are said.of 130 crore people of India. Those #Muslim minority as per its

happy. Those who are trying to The minister's remark came who can't see this, it is their obligations under int"l HR law," it

vitiate the atmosphere cannot be after Independent Permanent problem. All sections of the said in another tweet.

friends of Indian Muslims," he Human Rights Commission

Morepen Labs takes up the Covid battle CHANDIGARH, APRIL 21 : Morepen Laboratories Ltd. is all set to be a frontrunner in India’s fight against Novel Corona Virus Disease (popularly referred to as COVID’19). The company has launched a wide range of essential products being required to combat the growing menace of COVID’19 and to prevent further spread of this disease in the country. T h e s e i n c l u d e n o n - c o n t a c t I n f r a r e d Thermometers, alcohol-based Hand Sanitizers, Hand Wash, Hand Rubs and Face Masks, all under its umbrella brand – Dr. Morepen.The Company has also received license to manufacture Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) from State Drug Controller (HP) last week for its Baddi plant in Himachal Pradesh and is working towards commercializing the production of HCQ in both API as well as tablets form. HCQ is a prescription based drug commonly being recommended to Corona patients under treatment for the disease. India is taking a lead in supplying HCQ to the rest of the world including USA. India is the largest producer of HCQ and will continue to retain its leadership position in this time of crisis.

CHANDIGARH:As part of its stakeholder wellness strategy, TECNO, the global premium smartphone brand, through its #FINDTHENEWYOU campaign, creatively connects, engages, entertains, and motivates its customers,employees and channel partners amid the nationwide lockdown imposed by the government to fight COVID-19 pandemic. The activities that have been rolled out as part of the campaign – Hack-sploring, #FindTheNewYou contest and TECNO RAKSHAKS –https://www.tecno-mobile.in/tecnorakshaks/ enable people to creatively utilize their time and break the monotony of work from home. At the same time, it allows them to find a collective purpose to help assistthe governmentto combat the pandemic. Commenting on these initiatives, Mr. Arijeet Talapatra, CEO, TRANSSION INDIA said, “This pandemic has deprived us of our regular normal routine, however it is important for us to abide by Government rules, and keep ourselves engaged in different ways. People are staying at home, trying to cope with this unprecedented situation. With the digital initiatives like #FindTheNewYou challenge.

#FINDTHENEWYOU: Tecno’s Digital Drive Creatively Connects People

CHANDIGARH: Following the launch of Academy Award Winning titles such as Parasite, Joker and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Amazon Prime Video today announced the exclusive India digital premiere of multi-award winning film Little Women. Directed and written by Greta Gerwig, the film is an adaptation of the classic, coming-of-age novel by Louisa May Alcott. Set in an era post the American Civil War, the period-drama follows the story of four sisters who choose to live life on their own terms. The film received a phenomenal box office response as well as critical acclaim and multiple award nominations including across BAFTA, Academy Awards, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards. Prime Members in India can now enjoy the Little Women starting 26th April, 2020. In Greta Gerwig’s 2019 adaptation of Little Women, the movie centers on Jo March, who reflects back and forth on her life, telling the beloved story of the March sisters - four young women, each determined to live life on her own terms.

Amazon Prime Video to exclusively stream of Little Women

NEW DELHI: Seven labourers, who were trying to cross Delhi's Jheel Khurd border on bicycles in an attempt to return to their village in Bihar amid the ongoing lockdown, were intercepted by the police on Monday night. The labourers were staying at a rented accommodation in Gadda colony in Sultanpur village in South Delhi's Fatehpur Beri, they said.

"When intercepted by police, the labourers said they are residents of Madhubani, Bihar and wanted to go back to their village since they had no work here due to lockdown," said Atul Kumar T h a k u r , D e p u t y Commissioner of Police (South).When asked if they were facing any difficulty here, they stated they were getting food. However, as they did

not have any work due to lockdown, they wanted to go home, he said.They were counselled by the police and were dropped to their rented accommodation and the beat staff has been briefed to keep a watch on them, he added. Last Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had extended the lockdown till May 3, saying it is very necessary to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in the country. The country has been under lockdown since March 24.

Seven labourers on way to Bihar intercepted by police

CHANDIGARH: In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tata Motors has extended the warranty for its commercial vehicles customers worldwide. The company is also working to the best of its capabilities to extend technical support to keep the vehicles running in these challenging times. As part of the service extensions for the commercial vehicle customers, Tata Motors is also offering the following benefits for its customers in India: Two-month extension for free services previously scheduled during the period of national lockdown.Two-month extension of the warranty period for all those with a warranty expiry during the period of national lockdown. Extension of Tata Suraksha AMC for all those with an expiry during the period of national lockdown. One-month validity extension of all active contracts in Tata Motors Suraksha. One-month extension for customers to avail the AMC service, previously scheduled during the period of national lockdown.

Tata Motors extends warranty for its customers worldwide

India heaven for Muslims, theirrights are secured: Abbas Naqvi

Indian citizens stranded in US can't be evacuated amid lockdown: SC

AGENCY the US. They cannot be brought NEW DELHI, APR 21 back. US government is

extending visas. Let's wait for The Supreme Court on Tuesday, some time," the court said.while hearing a petition seeking Petitioner and advocate evacuation of Indian citizens Vibha Dutta Makhija said stranded in the United States, that there is no guarantee of said that they cannot be brought visas getting extended as back amid the coronavirus t h e a p p l i c a t i o n f o r lockdown. extension of visas costs

A three-judge bench headed around 500 dollars. The apex by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul court said that it cannot control said that the Indian citizens the decision of a foreign stranded in the US cannot be government and added that the brought no matter how much we Indian government can request want. "Assistance is being given the US government not to create to them. They are spread across problems in the visa extensions.

SC refuses to entertain PIL seeking reduction of non-coronavirus treatments at hospitals

AGENCY by the Central government. The petition NEW DELHI, APR 21 sought directions to all public and

private hospitals/nursing homes, etc to The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused collect all medical treatment bills due to to entertain public interest litigation be payable by a patient in strict (PIL) seeking directions for reducing adherence with directions issued by the non-coronavirus related medical UOI with respect to reduction in non-treatments at all public and private coronavirus related medical treatments.hospitals. A three-judge bench headed The plea also sought directions to by Justice NV Ramana refused to grant ad-interim stay in all pending entertain the petition filed by Kolkata- medical bills, pending payment by any based lawyer Sourjya Das (petitioner in patient at any public or private hospital person) yesterday. or nursing home, at present, till action is

The PIL sought directions to the taken by the respondents in compliance UOI, and other authorities concerned to with the order(s) passed by this court.urgently issue orders to all public and The petition also sought appropriate private hospitals and laboratories, etc to orders and/or direction to issue as it relax/reduce non-COVID treatment in would afford complete relief to strict adherence with directions issued members of the public.

Uttar Pradesh records total 1,294 COVID-19 casesAGENCY being undertaken in the northern LUCKNOW, APR 21 state. “Pool testing is also going

on in the state. It is usually done Uttar Pradesh has reported a total where chances of coronavirus of 1,294 COVID-19 cases, out cases are low such as the area of which 1,134 are active cases, outside containment zones, he an official said on Tuesday. said.

Briefing reporters here, Pooling of samples involves Principal Secretary (medical testing them in batches and when and health) Amit Mohan pooled sample tests positive, Prasad said 44 districts of the then individual samples are state have active coronavirus assessed. Pool testing reduces cases. "Till now, 1,294 the number of test kits used, and COVID-19 cases have been therefore, increases testing reported from the state, of capacity.which 1,134 are active cases. Pool testing is being done at cases are presently in 44 districts exercise is going on in the state These have been reported King George's Medical of the state, he said. through surveillance, testing, from 53 districts of the state. University (KGMU), Lucknow. Prasad said 140 patients lockdown, quarantine and However, nine out of these 53 Other laboratories in the state have been discharged. treatment . The official also districts have zero active cases should also undertake pool He said containment stated that pool testing' was now. In other words, the active testing," Prasad added.

78 more COVID-19 cases in Delhi, tally in city reaches 2081

AGENCY protocol set by the Central government for NEW DELHI, APR 21 dealing with asymptomatic COVID-19 cases.

"Rapid testing was also started in some areas 78 more COVID-19 cases have been reported in Delhi yesterday. Around 74 people were from the national capital, taking the total number tested in the Nabi Karim area yesterday, all of of coronavirus cases in w h o m t e s t e d the city to 2,081, Delhi negative. We are Hea l th Min i s t e r also going to start Satyendar Jain said on rapid testing in Tuesday. some other areas of

H e s a i d 2 6 t h e n a t i o n a l p a t i e n t s a r e i n capital," Jain said.intensive care units "As far as the (ICU) while five accuracy of rapid o t h e r s a r e o n testing kit goes, ventilators. only experts can

"There are a total a n s w e r t h a t of 2,081 positive cases question. But it in Delhi, out of these must have some 78 cases were found yesterday. These 78 cases impact, which is why the Central government were found out of the 1,397 samples tested has given us rapid testing kits for testing," he yesterday," Jain told reporters here. He said that added. Jain said that one case has also been the Delhi government is working as per the reported in Rashtrapati Bhavan.

E-mails for facilitating faster tax refund can't be misconstrued as harassment: CBDTAGENCY taxpayers are requested through these NEW DELHI, APR 21 emails to provide the status update so that

while issuing the refund, these amounts are The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) not held back and their refunds are released on Tuesday said that its email seeking forthwith," it added. The CBDT said that clarification from all those who are entitled such communications are just a request for to get tax refund but also have outstanding seeking an update response from the tax to pay cannot be misconstrued as assessee for the proposed adjustment of a harassment. refund with the outstanding demand.

"These computer-generated emails In order to provide a hassle-free tax have been sent to almost 1.72 lakh assessees environment to the start-ups, a consolidated which include all classes of taxpayers - from circular dated August 30, 2019, was issued individual to HUF to firms, big or small by the CBDT, which apart from laying companies including start-ups and therefore down the modalities for assessment of start-to say that start-ups are being singled out and ups, also stipulated that the outstanding harassed is a total misrepresentation of income tax demands relating to additions facts," the CBDT said in a statement. made under Section 56(2)(viib) would not

The board was responding to some be pursued.observations being circulated on social are "completely unfounded" and are a auto-generated u/s 245 of the I-T Act in "Any other income tax demand for such media alleging that the Income Tax "misrepresentation of facts". refund cases where there is any outstanding start-ups would also not be pursued unless Department is pursuing recovery "These emails are part of the faceless demand payable by the assessee," the CBDT the demand was confirmed by ITAT. proceedings and using arm-twisting communication which protects public said. Furthermore, a start-up cell was also methods by adjusting the outstanding money by ensuring that refunds are not "In case the outstanding demand has constituted to redress grievances of start-ups demands of the start-ups. released without adjusting against already been paid by the taxpayer or it has and address other tax-related issues of such

The CBDT said that these observations outstanding demand if any. These emails are been stayed by the higher tax authorities, the concerns," the CBDT said.

PUBLIC NOTICEWe Kuldeep Singh S/o Late Jagmail Singh and Manjit Kaur W/o Kuldeep Singh R/o 107 Block C, Street number 5, Officer Colony Mangwal Distt Sangrur declare that Our son Amritpal Singh and his wife Sandeep Kaur D/o Late Surjit Singh R/o Kartarpura Sangrur and their son are out of our control. We Disinherited them from our Moveable and Immoveable property anybody dealing with them his/her own risk. We and our family members are not responsible.

63372

NEWS BRIEFS

3HARYANAUnnat Bharat torejuvenateenvironmentSHIV KUMAR SHARMANEW DELHI: The National Executive ofUnnat Bharat Organization Trust took anunanimous decision today, restructuringthe trust's international wing for environ-ment, education, health programmesglobally. On this occasion, National Pres-

ident Bharat Premnominated VicePresident Dr. HariRam Gupta, andSelection Commit-tee members Dr.Manvendra Singh,Dr. Satyendra Ya-dav, Shiv RatanAggarwal and Ad-

vocate Shyam Batra under the leader-ship of the above Wing's Protector Advo-cate K. N. Singh.Bharat Prem said that all these celebri-ties are well known in their respectiveworld. India will achieve a new status ofthe policies of Prime Minister NarendraModi ji at the national and internationallevel under the leadership of KN Singh.Advocate Singh is also the director ofWorld Mass Communication, and a pa-tron of many other institutions. He said itis hoped that such learned people willmake a big contribution to replace Indiaon the world stage. National Executive ofthe Trust will be announced soon.

Human life is adornedwith benevolence:Muni PiyushKARNAL: On Tuesday, food was distrib-uted on behalf of Shri Atma ManoharJain Aradhana Mandir to nearly 2.500people on the instruction of Piyush MuniJi Maharaj. On this occasion Girish Aro-ra, Administrator of Haryana Urban De-velopment Authority and Subhash Chan-dra, Executive Vice Chairman ofHaryana Sanitation Mission were presentand appreciated this noble work.Piyush Muni Ji Maharaj said in his mes-sage that living without benevolence isworse than death. Philanthropy is thetrue life. In the absence of benevolence,the person does not respect anyone fromthe heart and nobody wants him. Every-thing from good people is only for others.Philanthropy earns virtue and makingothers suffer leads to sin. Girish Arora, inhis message, stressed the need for thecooperation of the government as well associal institutions in the face of global epi-demics, and appealed for his full contribu-tion to make the world coronated.

Do not delay inhelping theneedy: SukhijaGURMEET KASHYAPKARNAL: People in the Vikas Colony ofKarnal were facing development prob-lems due to City Karnal due to lockdown,Migrant laborers were also facing theproblem of food supply to the local needyand physically challenged families. So-cial activist Jasvir Rana raised this issuein front of senior BJP leader AshokSukhija. Taking immediate action on this,BJP leader Ashok Sukhija arrived to dis-tribute ration in the development colony.He said that such needy families are be-ing helped as much as possible, youthteams are in equal touch with them tohelp these families.A list was prepared by identifying thefamilies of the needy. Then a list of fooditems was prepared for these familiesand food was distributed under the su-pervision of social worker Jasvir Rana.On this occasion, along with Dr. VickyRana, Deepak Gupta, Chandrapal, Hari-om Sharma, Dilbag, Suresh Sharma,Sanyam Bhatia, Tinku Miglani, the foodproblem was solved by giving food kits tosuch families one by one. Happy withthis commendable work done by BJPleader Ashok Sukhija, the people ofVikas Colony and the entire youth teamon behalf of needy and physically chal-lenged families thanked them.

Health dept holdscheck-up of MCemployeesMAIN PALINDRI: Lakhs of people have beenlockeddown in the country due to coron-avirus. Municipality employees are en-gaged in lockdown to serve the publicwhether cleaning system or using sani-tiser spray. Giving this information, Mu-nicipal Secretary Ravindra Kumar saidthat the employees are working day andnight. Considering their health, MunicipalSecretary Ravindra Kumar had demand-ed from the Health Department thatthese employees be checked up. In viewof that, the Health Department employ-ees today checked the municipal employ-ees and the Health Department was in-structed to take precautions because anyepidemic spreads through contact with aninfected person, and it grows in number.To break this chain we have to avoid con-gestion. People should get out of thehouse only for any urgent work. Peoplewere instructed to take care, avoid over-crowding, use a mask and sanitiser.

Keep distance toprotect from Corona: GargROHIT LAMSARTARAORI: Social worker Sushil Gargsaid that the Prime Minister of the coun-try is doing commendable work to over-come the infection of Corona virus. Alongwith the administration, the police is alsoproviding security to the people on thestreets to end the epidemic like Corona.He said that in order to avoid coron-aviruses, we not only have to be carefulbut also need to make other peopleaware. He appealed to the people to stayin their houses and said that a distanceof at least one meter should be main-tained. Social worker Sushil Garg saidthat the lockdown situation has beenfixed by the Prime Minister of the coun-try, Narendra Modi, till May 3.

YUGMARG, CHANDIGARH, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2020

Online fraud in name of liquor home deliveryKARNAL: There is a complete ban on sale of liquor in the state during lockdown. Yetsome people are indulging in fraud by deceiving the general public in the name of homedelivery of liquor. They get the money transferred to their accounts in online fraud andlater people neither get liquor nor their money back.In this regard, Superintendent of Police Surendra Singh Bhoria said that during the lock-down till May 3, only some essential services have been exempted from the administra-tion. During the lockdown, a large number of online gangs who defrauded about homedelivery of some non-essential items have become active. Those people who havemade a way of cheating home delivery of alcohol. The Karnal Police is keeping a closewatch on such cases with the help of the cyber crime team. No such home delivery orsales services are allowed by the administration, he said.

BUREAU CHANDIGARH, APRIL 21

Haryana Chief Secretary, Mrs. Kesh-ni Anand Arora has appreciated theinitiative and efforts of Skill Devel-opment and Industrial Training De-partment, Haryana for preparing goodquality cotton cloth Masks for distrib-uting at nominal price to the districtadministration and NGOs.

Giving this information here to-day, Mr. Rakesh Gupta, Director Gen-eral of the Department said that a col-lection of various designs of masksprepared by Craft Instructors of vari-ous ITIs was presented to the ChiefSecretary in her office today. She im-mediately took the decision to pro-cure required masks for employees ofCivil Secretariat

Mr. Rakesh Gupta said that therewere 172 Government ITIs in State ofHaryana, out of which, apparel sectorrelated trades are running in around90 Govt ITIs. Every year, around3100 trainees are admitted in theseone year duration trades. After com-pleting the courses, the candidate ei-ther starts his/her own work or gets ajob in apparel sector establishments.

Upon spread of COVID-19, de-mand of face masks increased sud-denly. The surgical face masks avail-able in market are costly and for onetime use. Since health authorities pre-scribe surgical masks for use by pa-tients only and a normal cotton clothmasks for a healthy person to keephim/her protected from the infection.

Further, the Prime Minister too in hisaddress to the Nation suggested theuse of homemade Cloth masks for ahealthy citizen to protect him/herfrom COVID-19, therefore the de-partment took the decision to initiatemass production of masks in GovtITIs and also to offer its infrastructureto self Help Groups for makingmasks.

He said that the idea of Depart-ment was also approved by ChiefSecretary in meeting held earlier withACS and PS of various departments.Accordingly, the Department of Skilldevelopment and Industrial Training,Haryana offered the use of its SewingMachines for use by SHGs as pertheir requirement. Apart from this, themembers of SHGs also startedpreparing the masks on their own ma-chines and till date more than 11.50Lakh masks have been prepared byvarious SHGs in the different districtsin the State.

In order to utilise the capacity ofITIs for preparing masks in relevanttrades, detail instructions have beenissued as per which every instructorof apparel sector trade has been givena target of preparing minimum 50masks per day and 1000 masks up to30th April. In addition to this, all tradeinstructors have been also instructedto involve their pass out trainees tostart making masks at their homes andstart distributing prepared masks tothe needy persons and families intheir colonies/villages. If any traineewants to come ITI and prepare masksusing the ITI cloth, then an amount ofRs. 2.5 per mask will be given to her.This campaign has been started from15th April and till yesterday morethan 40,000 masks have been official-ly reported to be prepared in ITIs andby Trainees.

Mr. Gupta further informed thatthe Principals of the ITIs have beeninstructed to to ensure compliance ofthe prescribed norms of social dis-tancing by all staff and trainees in in-stitute and to sanitise the machines,trade workshop regularly. He said thatit should be ensured that every in-structor wearied masks while prepar-ing masks and sanitize both hands be-fore starting work.

The sample of mask has to be gotpassed from Local Hospital and cot-ton cloth is to be used. Single layer ormulti layer cloth masks can be made depending upon thequality of cloth, so that masks passthe quality test.

CS lauds Skill Dev Deptt forpreparing good quality masks

BUREAU CHANDIGARH, APRIL 21

Haryana Cooperation Minister, Dr. BanwariLal today assured the farmers regarding thesale of crop and said that the state governmentwill buy every single grain of farmers' pro-duce. He said that the farmers don’t need toworry about the sale of crops. He urged thefarmers to wear masks and maintain socialdistancing in the market due to the COVID-19 pandemic for hassle-free and safe sale ofcrop.

Dr. Banwari Lal said this while monitor-ing the wheat and mustard procurement invarious mandis of Rewari today.

While closely reviewing the procurementprocess, gunny bags, sanitization and socialdistancing, lifting of purchased products etche instructed the officers present to ensureproper arrangements. Cooperation Ministervisited Bithwana, Garhi Bolani, Tankri, Ban-ipur Chowk, Bawal Grain Mandi and re-viewed the procurement system and calledupon the farmers to maintain social distanc-ing.

Dr. Banwari Lal said that Haryana ChiefMinister Mr. Manohar Lal and Union Minis-ter Rao Inderjit Singh were monitoring theprocurement taking place in the mandis them-selves every day. The Cooperation Ministersaid that in the time of global crisis due to pan-demic like COVID-19 pandemic, the stategovernment was committed to purchase farm-ers' crops. He said that the Prime Minister, Mr.Narendra Modi has urged to maintain socialdistancing to prevent the spread of novel co-rona virus. To ensure the implementation ofsocial distancing norms the government hasarranged additional mandis to make the

process of crop purchase smooth so that farm-ers can preserve their produce convenientlywhile maintaining social distancing. Dr Ban-wari Lal said that the labourers, arthiyas,workers and farmers working in the mandisdeserved to be congratulated in this hour ofcrisis. He added that during the ongoing na-tionwide lockdown, the movement of agricul-tural implements was allowed so that nofarmer suffered.

The Cooperation Minister said to thefarmers, labourers and arthiyas present thatthe arrangements have been made in mandisto ensure they maintain social distancing,wear face masks, keep their hands cleanwhenever they get time. Dr. Banwari Lal saidthat together we have to defeat Novel Coronavirus and also buy the farmers produce, bothtasks are important.

He instructed the officers present, thatthey should maintain smooth procurementsystem, for which the government would becooperative. On the call of the minister, thefarmers have voluntarily contributed to theCorona Relief Fund. Farmers, Harkesh KumarPavati contributed Rs 51,000, Naresh KumarBawal Rs. 31,000, Master Shivnarayan Rs.13,100, Brahaprakash Chanduwas Rs. 11,000,Hemant Kumar Bawal Rs. 11,000, ChairmanAmar Singh Mahlawat Rs. 11,000, UdaySingh Bawal Rs. 11,000, DharamvirAlawalpur Rs. 11,000, Hiralal Panwar,Paramjit Bawal, Ishwar Singh Chanija, AbhaySingh Suthana, Rajesh Kumar, Ishwar Pran-pura Rs 5100 each, Mirsingh Ranasi Majrihanded over a cheque of Rs 2,100 for theCorona Relief Fund to Cooperation Ministerat Bawal Mandi. Cooperation Minister con-gratulated all the farmers for this pious workand urged other farmers to also contribute.

Farmers need not to panicover wheat procurement,

assures Banwari Lal

ROHIT LAMSARTARAORI, APRIL 21

Children of Brain Gym Taraori madebeautiful paintings while staying at homeon the occasion of the Earth Day today.The programme was organsied by theBrain Gym organization of Taraori inHaryana through the social media. Whenall the parents and staff members saw thepaintings made by the children of BrainGYM Taraori they all appreciated thepaintings made by the children. Childrenof Brain Gym Taraori, who cared forlockdown resolved to save the environ-ment by staying at home. Taking a goodinitiative, Brain Gym Taraori made apledge to keep the earth green to protectit from the contaminated environment

through social media.Renu Gupta, Director of Brain Gym,

Taraori said that the earth is our preciousheritage, so if the future is to be saved, theearth and its heritage will have to besaved. She said that this dream will not befulfilled by making the pledge on just asingle day, but we all have to make seri-ous efforts 365 days a year to save theearth and environment simultaneously.

Only then the future generations willbe able to get fresh and clean water andair on this earth. She also threw light onthe importance of the Earth Day to theschool children and said that water, airand essential elements are only a gift ofnature. This land is not a gift to us fromour ancestors and we must preserve it allcost.

Earth is our preciousheritage: Renu Gupta

Shabnam Begum distributes300 masks to workers

MAIN PAL KASHYAPINDRI, APRIL 21

People have been locked down in the entire country due toCoronavirus. They have been instructed to stay at home and notto go out for unnec-essary work due towhich people work-ing daily are alsofacing a lot of prob-lems. In view ofthis, many religioussocial organisationsare helping the poorlaborers. In this re-gard, Muslim socie-ty has also extendedits hand to help thepoor. In the villageKhedi Jatan, Shabnam Begum from the Muslim society hadprepared masks before and distributed them among the people,and today 300 masks were prepared and distributed to the brickkiln labourers.

She appealed to the workers to take precautions to avoidthis epidemic. Sshe appealed to the people to keep distance be-cause this epidemic spreads through contact with each other. Soit is very important to break this chain. She said that our gov-ernment and administration are working hard day and night inview of people's lives and it is our duty to cooperate fully withthe government and administration in this hour of crisis, so thatwe can win this war against the epidemic

Nishant Yadav gets specialhonor on Civil Services Day

SHIV KUMAR SHARMAKARNAL, APRIL 21

IAS Nishant Yadav, Deputy Commissioner Karnal was award-ed a special honor on the occasion of National Civil ServiceDay by Anti Corrup-tion Foundation of In-dia. On this specialoccasion, NationalPresident of Anti Cor-ruption Foundation ofIndia Narendra Aroraand National DirectorRinka Cheema Rawarpresented a mementoto IAS Nishant Yadav at the Deputy Commissioner Office,Karnal. On this occasion, Narendra Arora said that on April 21,National Civil Service Day is celebrated all over India. On thisday, officers of the All India Service are awarded for their bestservice. He said that IAS Nishant Yadav is a young, honest, du-tiful officer. He is leading the battle against Corona due towhich Chief Minister Haryana Manohar Lal also issued a let-ter of appreciation to Nishant Yadav.

Arora said that the purpose of Civil Service Day is to re-dedicate and re-commit ourselves to the citizens by the mem-bers of the Indian Administrative Service, State AdministrativeService. He said that the Anti Corruption Foundation of Indiais working to promote duty of duty through which honest offi-cers of administration and police are honored with the Duty Of-ficers Award.

VIVEK KUMAR RANAGHARAUNDA, APRIL 21

MLA Harvinder Kalyan took a meet-ing of officials and businessmen inthe market committee office today toresolve the problems of farmers andtraders. The MLA discussed with of-ficials all aspects of mandi arrange-ments. Along with this, the MLA alsotook stock of the situation of mandisand dharmakantas with the officialsand met the farmers and labor. Farm-ers and workers also put their prob-lems before the MLA. The MLA as-sured the farmers and laborers thatthey would not be allowed to face any

problem in the market. Each andevery grain of the farmers' crop willbe purchased. He appealed to the peo-ple to follow the instructions of thegovernment and maintain social dis-tance.

As soon as the government start-ed buying wheat on Monday, somefarmers reached the market withoutany message. Due to poor practices inthe mandi, wheat weighing was notproper which created an atmosphereof chaos. MLA Harvindra Kalyan ar-rived at the New Grain Market onTuesday to fix mandi arrangementswhere he held a meeting with SDMGaurav Kumar, DSP Ramdutt, market

committee chairman Ramesh Bairagi,market committee secretary Chan-draprakash, market association headSushil Kumar and other businessmenat the market committee office. Afterthe meeting, the MLA took stock ofthe situation in the Dharmakantas andinstructed the committee officials tofix the problem at the earliest. MLAKalyan immediately instructed thesecretary of the market committee,Chandraprakash, that the problems ofthe traders should be resolved quick-ly. Secretary Chandraprakash saidthat the problem of traders will be re-solved.

MLA Kalyan holds meetingwith officials, traders

SHIV KUMAR SHARMAKARNAL, APRIL 21

Priyanka Kathpal, Presidentof Shri Radha KrishnaBranch of the Bharat VikasParishad, said that the mem-bers of the branch have beencontributing immensely to thepeople in the time of coronaepidemic for the last ten days.Apart from this, some womenof Bank Colony also providedration to 5100 needy familiesthrough the branch. Conser-vator Gaurav Khurana saidthat the branch would markthe needy family of ward

number 10 daily and then ra-tion in the presence of Coun-cilor Veer Vikram.

In ward number-9, a sim-ilar needy families are beinggiven ration food in the pres-ence of Councilor MeghaBhandari through Bharti.Pramod Nagpal said that he

gave ration to 31 in-need fam-ilies in other areas includingRam Nagar and the campaignfor this service is being takenforward. On this occasion,Sheenu Khurana WomenChief, Anil Arora, ManojKathpal, Pramod Nagpal etc.were also present.

BVP playing important rolein lockdown: Kathpal

SHIV KUMAR SHARMAKARNAL, APRIL 21

Sarpanch Sandeep Kumar, on behalf of Gram Pan-chayat Kutel, received a cheque of Rs 31 lakhfrom Haryana Corona Relief Fund and Gram Pan-chayat Guniana from Sarpanch Sonia Devi on be-half of Gram Panchayat Kutel after reaching theDeputy Commissioner Office located in the localsmall secretariat. A cheque of Rs 50 thousand wasgiven to the Deputy Commissioner Nishant Ku-mar Yadav for donation to the Karnal Corona Re-lief Fund. Apart from these, members of the socialorganisation JCI together handed over a cheque of

Rs 1 lakh to the Deputy Commissioner. PrincipalMohit Kumar, patron Shaile Chaudhary, formerhead Harsimran Singh, Pravesh Gaba and VikasBathla were present on behalf of the institution.

On this occasion, the Deputy Commissionercalled upon the social organisations to motivateothers to donate to the Corona Relief Fund. All thedonors are thanked by the district administration.He also informed that any person who wants tocontribute in this initiative in the name of CoronaRelief Fund, can do so in account number-4137000100112736, IFSC Code-PUNB 0413branch through Punjab National Bank, KunjpuraRoad, Karnal.

Social organisations urgedto support Relief Fund

BUREAUKARNAL, APRIL 21

On Tuesday, in the Ad-ditional Deputy Com-missioner Office of theMini Secretariat, the op-erators of various busi-ness establishments ofGharaunda jointly pro-vided 51000 masks tothe district administra-tion, Karnal. Additional DeputyCommissioner Anish Yadavthanked everyone for providing themasks and said that the district ad-ministration has made it mandatoryto wear masks in the district to pre-

vent the corona virus.The public is constantly being

made aware of this by the adminis-tration and masks are being distrib-uted to those who do not wearmasks. He also appealed to the op-

erators of the business estab-lishments supplying essentialcommodities under Kovid-19to make the public aware ofthis and to provide masks totheir subordinate employeesand also take special care of so-cial distancing. He also saidthat the services of at least em-ployees should be availed dueto virus prevention. On this oc-casion Sushil Jain, Director of

Veer Overseas, Satish Goyal, Di-rector of Shri Jagdamba Agrico Ex-port, Anil Garg, Director of AromaAgrotech and Director Pankaj Goy-al, Director of Shri Ganesh Agro-tack were present.

Admin provides 51,000 masks to people

Editorial

The International Mone-tary Fund has projecteda global recession in its

April 14 World EconomicOutlook, saying that theCovid-19 crisis is like no oth-er and that the world economyis set to experience its worstrecession since the Great De-pression, outpacing the con-traction during the global fi-nancial crisis a decade before.Assuming that the pandemicstays for the first half of 2020and fades in the second andwith the gradual unwinding ofcontainment efforts — lock-downs and social distancing— global economic growth isanticipated to contract sharplyat -3 per cent, above 6 percent-age points than the Januaryforecast. Helped by supportivepolicies for economic normal-ization, the world economycould rebound to grow 5.8 percent in 2021 under these set-tings. Corresponding projec-tions for Indian growth are 1.9per cent in 2020-21, returningto 7.4 per cent in 2021-22.

Incidentally, this is themost optimistic scenario. It issubject to large margins of er-ror that could arise from ex-ceptional uncertainties on thepandemic’s evolution, inwhich vaccine and therapeuticinnovations also play a role;other uncertainties include theintensity and efficacy of con-tainment efforts, the extent ofsupply disruptions and pro-ductivity losses, tightening inglobal financial market condi-tions, shifts in spending pat-terns and behavioural changes(people avoiding crowdedplaces), confidence effects and

volatile commodity prices.That is a lot! Pandemic disrup-tions are assumed to be con-centrated in the April-Junequarter for the world as awhole. But what if the pan-demic extends beyond June?The possibility exists, and theIMF says that risks to this se-vere outlook incline down-wards: for a 50 per cent longerduration of the pandemic andcontainment efforts (beyondApril-June), world growthcould shrink 3 per cent belowthe above. Next, if a second,milder outbreak recurs in2021, or a third — in a worse-case scenario — protractedpandemic and an outbreak re-cur in 2021, the world reces-sion could be extremely se-vere, up to 8 per cent lowerthan -3 per cent. This is a lot ofbad news to absorb. Let us

hope that innovations in vac-cine or effective medical treat-ment against the virus liftmankind out of such a depres-sion. Historically, pandemicshave taken a severe toll onpopulations and economies. Ifwe look back at the closestanalogue, the 1918 flu epi-demic, which was also prima-rily fought through social dis-tancing, came in three wavesover 1918-20 and recessionfollowed. Recent studies shedlight on its economic effects:one study for 43 countries dur-ing 1918-20 estimates thatGDP and consumption fell by6 and 8 per cent, respectively,for a typical country; anotherfor the United States of Amer-ica found that the flu de-pressed the economy, whilecontainment measures did not(by lowering death rates in

places where they were im-posed early and more strictly).However, the 1918 flu had ahigh mortality rate amongstyoung adults — the workingpopulation. The world, too, isa lot different now due to pub-lic health and communicationadvancements, global supplychains, prominent share ofservices, amongst other fac-tors. Economic decisions andepidemics do interact though,explaining the recessionaryoutcome forecast by all invarying degrees, including theIMF. Epidemiology modelshave also been employed bysome economists to reveal thatcutting back on consumptionand work (optimal contain-ment measures of social dis-tancing, locking down) lowersthe epidemic’s severity but thesame decisions cause a sharp,

sustained drop in aggregateoutput — the size of the reces-sion. Scars by way of job loss-es and business bankruptcieslinger on further. These meanpermanent output declines.

These effects are not sur-prising. Signs of economic in-juries due to Covid-19 haveappeared worldwide, but mostnotably in China, from wherethe virus originated and whoseworst quarter was January-March unlike the rest of theworld. Chinese industrial out-put, retail sales, and fixed assetinvestment show a dramaticdrop in January and February.Other countries will soon dis-play similar trends. Economicdeterioration is visible in Indiatoo. Few lead indicators arecurrently available but thereare some. For example, Marchexports dropped by 34.5 percent, the steepest in a quartercentury; wholesale inflationfell to just 1 per cent; the rateof unemployment, estimatedby the private firm, CMIE,shot up threefold to 24 per centin the first week of April fromover a month ago, and theComposite PMI decreased to50.6 points from 57.6 in Feb-ruary. Anecdotal evidencefrom newspaper reportsabounds. Several surveysshow large income declines,especially those of the infor-mally employed, the urbansize of whom is roughly 70million and are chiefly en-gaged as casual labour, con-struction workers, serviceproviders like deliveries, driv-ers, domestic workers, dailyearners such as hawkers, pettytraders and so on.

4NO GREAT ARTIST EVER SEES THINGS AS

THEY REALLYARE. IF HE DID, HE WOULDCEASE TO BE AN ARTIST.

OSCAR WILDE

PAINTING IS AN INFINITELY MINUTE PART OFMY PERSONALITY.

SALVADOR DALI

STARS TALKSSeemaa Singh, As-

trologer and VastuExpert known for her

accurate predictions ofwinning BJP minister Kir-

ron Kher, aswell win-ning of Pun-jab electionsby Congress.She has de-livered manylectures on

astrology in India as wellas abroad. Followed by in-ternational conferencesand T.V. shows on variousChannels.ARIES:-Your positiveoutlook will impress oth-ers. You'll soon have anew and better public im-age.

Lucky Color:-OrangeLucky Number:-11

TAURUS:-You need tocontrol your emotionsand get rid ofyour fear asearly as pos-sible.

LuckyColor:-

Peach LuckyNum-ber:-1

GEMINI:-Make an ef-fort to findout more aboutthe investmentscheme that captures yourinterest.

Lucky Color:-RedLucky Number:-6

CANCER:-Argumentsand confrontation couldmark your day if you donot control your tongue.

Lucky Color:-Ma-roon

Lucky Num-ber:-7

L E O : - Y o uwill find thatyou are ableto clear up anumber ofsmall but im-

portant pend-ing jobs today.Lucky Color:-

LavenderLucky Number:-6

VIRGO:-Help others -but don't get involved inmatters that don't concernyou.

Lucky Color:-TurquoiseLucky Number:-7

LIBRA:-Unnecessary ten-sion could leave you up-set. Expenditure rises butrise in income takes careof your bills.

Lucky Color:-CreamLucky Number:-3

SCORPIO:-Believe it ornot, someone around youis watching you veryclosely and considers youa role model. Lucky Color:-Chocolate

Lucky Number:-18SAGITTARIUS:-Be care-ful of what you consume.Avoid roadside food.Money gains will not beup to your expectations.

Lucky Color:- Indigo Lucky Number:-22

C A P R I C O R N : - Yo u rswift action will motivateyou.

To achieve success -change your ideas withtime.Lucky Color:-Baby Pink

Lucky Number:-2A Q U A R I U S : - Y o u rcharming behaviour willattract attention.

Monetary gains will befrom various sources.

Lucky Color:-LightGrey

Lucky Number:-17PISCES:-Today youshould do things that youhave missed recently orfollow issues that youhave avoided.

Lucky Color:- VioletLucky Number:-4

A world put on the mat

Finally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stepped in tostem the tide of Islamophobia sweeping the country in thebackground of the spread of pandemic Covid-19 and ap-

pealed the countrymen to be united in the fight to defeat thevirus. Covid-19 does not see race, religion, colour, caste, creed,language or border before striking, Mr Modi’s said on Sunday,adding that people's response and conduct should attach pri-macy to unity and brotherhood. “We are in this together,” hesaid. That the Prime Minister is forced to make an appeal notto approach a pandemic from the religious angle makes one sadbut not surprised. The appeal has come after litany of incidentswhich cast a slur on the country’s secular face, starting from theinnuendos aimed at the Tablighi meeting in New Delhi as theprime source of the spread of the virus at the daily press brief-ing by the Union ministry of health.

It has been criticised for the frequent reference to the eventwhile critics point out that the aggressive tracing and testing ofthe event attendees have resulted in the skewed figures. Therewere reports of Tablighis being thrashed at many places. Whilea report from Ahmedabad in Gujarat said a government hospi-tal there had separate wards for Hindus and Muslims, officialsof a cancer hospital in Meerut in Uttar Pradesh had the gall toput out an advertisement saying new Muslims patients wouldbe admitted only if they and their attendants produce a Covid-negative certificate.

This was in violation of the National Human Rights Com-mission’s charter of patient rights which clearly instructed thehospitals that every patient has the right to receive treatmentwithout any discrimination based on his or her illnesses or con-ditions, including HIV status or other health condition, reli-gion, caste, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, linguisticor geographical or social origins. Television channels in nocountry other than ours would have the temerity to come upwith a coinage ‘Covid jihad’. The developments have not goneunnoticed by the international community. A US congression-al panel regretted the hospital segregation while the Organisa-tion of Islamic Countries, never friendly with India which hoststhe second largest Muslim population in the world, grabbed theopportunity and lectured us on the need to treat people of allfaiths equally. For the record, the Prime Minister has alwayscondemned violence. But his response would often come toolate and it would carry too little message for the people whowould have acted on it. It defies logic that Mr Modi, who tookto politics very early in his life and travelled the length andbreadth of India, fails to recognise the fragile nature of its so-cial fabric, and that it would be tough to repair it once damaged.This nation, and humanity, have one enemy, and that is a virus.Our fight is against it and not against one another. The PrimeMinister should ensure that the nations gets the right messageat the right time.

Call for united fightagainst virus too late

The lockdown in India isdue to end on May 3 butthings will not be the

same on May 4 or in daysahead. Schools are scheduledto reopen in June but parentswill not send their children, soit’s unclear what happens tothe school year or schoolingin general. We are not a coun-try equipped for virtual class-rooms, and there is somethingabout playing together andmingling that is an essentialpart of the school experience.

Denmark opened itsschools last week, with chil-dren seated on desks six feetapart. This is not possible inmost schools in India, whichare basic rooms often withouteven seating arrangements.Danish children were told notto play, but without supervi-sion will that be possible?Children are children and thepresence of others will triggerexcitement and desire to en-gage. How many parents willtake a chance with the lives oftheir children, given the ab-sence of any guarantee thatthe child will not be infectedwhile in school? I don’t thinkthat number will be insubstan-tial. And what happens when,as is likely and perhaps in-evitable, one child is infected?Does the school again shutdown, or just carry on, hopingfor the best? There are no realanswers to these problems.We can only try and see whatto do and how to best bringabout normality. The Danishgovernment is brave to try anddo something pioneering.

Workplaces also will be dif-ferent when people go back.The policies of companies aregenerally managed by humanresources departments. Theirusual work is to see tosalaries, promotions and in-crements, disputes at theworkplace, sexual harassmentcases and recruitment. Theyhave no experience in han-dling the sort of things thatwill be required to be lookedat from May. For example,should employees be made totravel on work? Can companydrivers be allowed and whocarries the liability if the driv-er is infected or the employeebeing driven?

Workplaces themselveswill need to be reconfiguredin ways that most do not havethe capacity to do. Shop floorsand assembly lines haveevolved over decades to en-sure maximum efficiency, notto prevent transmission ofcontagion. How will they re-sume work while ensuring

some safety for workers?These again are difficult

questions that have no an-swers because nobody hashad to answer them ever.There is no uniformity inworkplaces and offices, andso each company and each or-ganisation much frame itsown rules and regulations,which many don’t have thecapacity to do. Real expertisein legal liability, in safety andin disease prevention is need-ed. HR departments have noexperience in this, nor do anyothers. Writer SalmanRushdie once described Indiaas a mob. Even if this was saidin humour, it is true to a largeextent. Very large gatheringsdefine our lives from religiousspaces to political rallies toeven the everyday bazaar.What happens to these onMay 4, and what happens tous as a society when we sud-denly are shut off from theways in which we have livedour lives?

On May 4, we mightsee a whole new world

China rejects Trump’s demand to allow USteam to Wuhan to probe coronavirus

China on Monday firmlyrejected US PresidentDonald Trump’s de-

mand to allow an Americanteam into Wuhan to investi-gate the origins of the novelcoronavirus, saying it wasalso a "victim and not a cul-prit" of the covid-19.

Describing the novelcoronavirus as a plague,Trump on Sunday said that heis not happy with Chinawhere the pandemic emergedin December last year inWuhan, the capital of centralChina's Hubei province.

"We spoke to them (Chi-nese) a long time ago aboutgoing in. We want to go in.We want to see what's goingon. And we weren't exactly

invited, I can tell you that,"Trump told reporters. The UShas launched an investigationinto whether the deadly virus"escaped" from the WuhanInstitute of Virology.

Reacting to Trump's com-ments, Chinese Foreign Min-istry spokesman GengShuang told a media briefinghere that "the virus is thecommon enemy for allmankind".

"It may appear at anytimeanywhere in the world. Likeany other country, China is at-tacked by this virus. China isa victim instead of the culprit.We are not co-worker for thisvirus," he said in a hard-hit-ting response to Trump’s planto send a US probe team. As

the covid-19 death toll in UScrossed 41,000 and the totalinfections more than 764,000,highest in the world, Trumpand several US politicianspressed for action againstChina for not sharing enoughdetails of the virus early on,when it first emerged inWuhan.The overall death tollin China as of Sunday stoodat 4,632 after its recent revi-sion of figures of fatalities inWuhan by 50%.

Geng said, "since the out-break of the epidemic, Chinahas been acting in an open,transparent and responsiblemanner with the most thor-ough and strong measures tostop the spread of the covid-19".

Hypertensive patients areat the highest risk ofbecoming dangerously

sick or dying due to coron-avirus, experts have warned.Even as the medical fraternityrushes to put in place effectiveand credible treatment proto-cols to curb the global pan-demic, some recent studieshave suggested that ACE in-hibitors and ARBs commonlyused to treat blood pressurecould aggravate the symptomsof COVID-19 infection.Clearing the air on the matter,global public health expertsand medical practitioners frompremier institutions across thecountry have emphaticallystated that it is too early todraw such conclusions andnon-adherence to treatmentcould be dangerous.

Dr Yash Paul Sharma,Professor and Head, Depart-ment of Cardiology, PGIMER,Chandigarh, said people withhypertension are indeed at ahigher risk of catching thecoronavirus.

Citing a recent systematicreview and meta-analysis thatappeared in the InternationalJournal of Infectious Diseasesthat assessed the prevalence ofco-morbidities in COVID-19infected patients, Dr Sharmaobserved that hypertensive pa-tients with the underlying dis-ease were more at risk in se-vere cases as compared tonon-severe patients. He addedthat Covid-19 patients had fa-tality rate of 8.4%, 13.2%,9.2%, 8% and 7.6% in those

with hypertension, cardiovas-cular diseases, diabetes,chronic respiratory diseasesand cancer, respectively. “Assuch, avoiding blood pressuremedications is a big risk thatwe in India cannot afford tohave as our healthcare systemsare already stretched becauseof the COVID-19 spread,” hestressed. Dr. Sonu Goel, Pro-fessor, Department of Com-munity Medicine and Schoolof Public Health, PGIMER,Chandigarh highlighted theneed of monitoring other riskfactors such as tobacco use.

Dr Tom Frieden, Presidentand CEO, Resolve to Save

Lives, an initiative of VitalStrategies said that evidencefrom around the world showsthat people with hypertensionshould not forego their regularmedicines.

“As we respond to theCOVID-19 pandemic, weneed to protect and providecare for the most vulnerableamong us, including peopleliving with cardiovascular dis-ease and other chronic dis-eases.

People with hypertensionand other chronic disease aremore likely to become serious-ly ill and die from the virus.That’s why it’s more urgent

than ever that people in Indiaand around the world can ac-cess the medication they need,either through telemedicine,multiple month prescriptionsor other safe methods,” DrFrieden added.

The World Health Organi-sation (WHO) and the Centersfor Disease Control and Pre-vention (CDC) have issuedspecial warnings to safeguardthose with chronic health con-ditions. A recent report in theChina Daily stated that 50 per-cent of the 170 patients, whodied in Wuhan in January, hadhypertension or other NCDs.Although such claims are yet

to be clinically substantiated, aWHO-China joint mission onthe COVID-19 outbreak hasrevealed similar findings. Topdoctors from Wuhan, theground zero of COVID-19have also corroborated that al-most 50% of those dying fromthe disease were hypertensive.

In India, where at least a30% of the people have highblood pressure, non-compli-ance with the prescribed treat-ment for hypertension, willfurther strain the healthcaresystems already stretched tofull capacity by the ongoingpandemic. Prof Suneela Garg,National President Elect, Indi-an Association of Preventiveand Social Medicine, said,“Globally there are firm proto-cols in place that have beentested and are followed to treathypertension. These dependon the age of the person, dura-tion of being hypertensive andexistence of co-morbidities, toname some.

The current guideline be-ing followed by physiciansand practitioners across theglobe is to continue hyperten-sive medications even whilebeing treated for coronavirus-led infection.” Dr Garg, who isalso the Professor and Head,Community Medicine ofMaulana Azad Medical Col-lege & Associated Hospitalsadded, “Hypertensive personsare best advised, in addition totheir blood pressure medica-tion, to follow non-pharmaco-logical approaches such astaking up yoga, stress manage-

ment and low calorie intake tokeep their blood pressure lev-els under check.”

Well-known Thiruvanan-thapuram-based cardiologist,Dr Tiny Nair said, “Fiveprominent societies, includingEuropean Society of Hyper-tension (ESH), European So-ciety of Cardiology Council ofHypertension, HypertensionCanada, the Renal AssociationUK, and Canadian Cardiovas-cular Society have independ-ently announced that there isno data to withhold the impor-tant medicines for patients ofhypertension in the back-ground of emergence ofCOVID.”

Dr. Nair who heads thecardiology department at thereputed PRS Hospital in Ker-ala’s capital, added, “For thosemillions of people of hyper-tension, controlled on thesemedicines, stopping BP drugson unfounded fear might cre-ate a far more dangerous situ-ation than COVID itself.” ShriAshim Sanyal, COO of Delhi-based Consumer VOICE thatworks for consumer rights andwelfare, said there is no reasonfor panic buying in the countryas the government has repeat-edly assured that there will beno shortage of essential sup-plies, including medicines, inthe country.

“However, hypertensivepatients can avoid frequentvisits to the pharmacy and thusunwittingly expose them-selves to the coronavirus in-fection.

Do not avoid blood pressure medicinesduring the ongoing pandemic

YUGMARG, CHANDIGARH, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2020

Denmark opened its schools last week, withchildren seated on desks six feet apart. This isnot possible in most schools in India, whichare basic rooms often without even seatingarrangements. Danish children were told notto play, but without supervision will that bepossible? Children are children and thepresence of others will trigger excitement anddesire to engage.

NEWS AT AGLANCE

Adityanath's father crematedDEHRADUN: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's father Anand SinghBisht was cremated on Tuesday on the banks of the Ganga at Phoolchatti inUttarakhand's Pauri Garhwal district. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra SinghRawat laid a wreath on the body before it was consigned to flames at the ghat,around 16 km from Rishikesh. "The loss of a social worker like Bisht will be feltacutely by the people of the state and his contribution to the society will beremembered forever," he said. On Monday, Adityanath had said that he will notattend the funeral as he needed to be in UP for the fight against COVID-19. Bisht,89, died at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi on Monday,officials said. He was admitted to the hospital after his health deteriorated. He wasundergoing treatment at the gastroenterology department, they said.

Electricitydepartment sendselectricity bills toconsumers onlinePANKAJ KATNAUNA: In the midst of the Coronaepidemic crisis, the State ElectricityDepartment has issued electricity billson an average basis to consumersonline. Consumers will also have topay these bills online. RakeshKaushal, Assistant Engineer, PowerSub-division, Mahatpur, told that theelectricity consumers will have to visitthe website of Himachal Pradesh StateElectricity Board to check theirelectricity bills. From where consumerscan download their electricity bill andsubmit it online. Apart from this,consumers can also pay through NetBanking, Paytm, GooglePay,PhonePe, State Bank of India andHPSEBL Mobile App etc. He said thatconsumers of electricity sub-divisionMahatpur can see their bills on thedepartment's website. Consumers candownload their bill from the websiteand submit it online by 30 April. Hesaid that the consumers whose mobilenumbers are registered with theElectricity Department have beeninformed by the message.

Raghubir Singhdonates Rs 11,000 to DC

JOGINDER DEV ARYABANGANA: Major Raghubir Singh,Deputy Director of the Sainik WelfareDepartment of village Talmehra ofPanmeet Talmehra, Sub DivisionalBangana today handed over a chequeof Rs. 11000 to District CollectorSandeep to deal with the globalepidemic. He was also handed overRs. 2100 by a woman Kesari Devi wifeof late Khushi Ram Ronkhar Janodod.

Lockdown breaksbackbone of smallentrepreneurs: Dr. VikramNALAGARH: State President ofHimachal Printers Association, Dr.Vikram Jindal said that micro mediumand small scale industry has come to avery pathetic condition due tolockdown.These industries, which hasbeen suffering from recession for threeyears, have been passing through

worst phase.Future ofindustrialists andthe employeesworking is in abad shape. Torevive theindustries, theCentral and StateGovernments are

expected to pay attention to theproblems of industrialists and resolvethem. Dr. Jindal said that peopleassociated with printing business arenot getting raw material in the market.Most paper mills are closed. Until thepaper mills run, the printing industry willcontinue to struggle with the problem ofraw materials. Chemical and othermaterials suppliers to the printingindustry are not yet allowed to work.Because of which it has becomeimpossible to run the industry. Dr.Jindal has demanded from the stategovernment that the salary generatedby employees during the lock-downperiod should be given through ESS.The economic condition of industrieshas become much weaker than before.Public transport service should bestarted for the arrival of employees inthe industrial sector. The governmentshould announce an economicpackage for industries. Withdrawal ofelectricity charges on industries forthree months. On running the industry,50% capital subsidy should be givenon the industries which need newmachinery. All tax fees levied onindustries should be extended for threemonths without interest. Industrialistsshould not be forced to pay theemployees who are not coming into theindustry intentionally.

70-year-old womanfalls on barbed wirein Rajouri, rescuedRAJOURI: A 70-year-old woman wasrescued by the police official after shefell down on barbed wire near a checkpost here. The mishap occurred whenthe old lady identified as Kamla Deviwas on her way back to her village.She sustained an injury on her knee. "Ifell down on the wire. The police mancame and rescued me. He also calledthe doctor for the first aid. I am finenow," she said while speaking to. " Ihave bandaged her wound on theknee. It was good that the policecalled me. I am thankful that police ishelping the citizens apart from fightingcoronavirus battle for us," the doctorwho treated Devi said. India hasreported 1,336 more COVID-19 casestaking the count of coronavirus casesin the country to 18,601 in last 24hours, said the Ministry of Health andFamily Welfare on Tuesday. Out ofthese, 14,759 patients are activecases and 3,252 cases have beencured or discharged and migrated. Asmany as 590 deaths have beenreported till now.

YUGMARG, CHANDIGARH, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2020

State govt concerned about safety andwelfare of sanitary workers: Jai Ram

AGENCYSHIMLA, APR 21

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakursaid that the sanitary workerswere playing a major role inensuring proper sanitation andhygiene in wake of the coronapandemic and thus helping theState in its fight against thisvirus effectively. He wasaddressing the sanitaryworkers of Shimla MunicipalCorporation at Oak Over heretoday.

Jai Ram Thakur said thatthe State Government wasconcerned about the safety andwelfare of the sanitary workersand would provide them allnecessary safety equipmentssuch as masks, gloves, etc.

Chief Minister said that incase of the death of frontlineworkers such as doctors,nurses, police personnel, Ashaworkers, Anganwadi andsanitation workers engaged inproviding essential services inthe fight against COVID-19,

the State Government wouldprovide Rs. 50 lakh ex-gratiato the next of their kin.

Education Minister SureshBhardwaj, UrbanDevelopment Minister SarveenChaudhary, Mayor ShimlaMunicipal Corporation SatyaKaundal, Deputy MayorShailender Chauhan,Commissioner MC ShimlaPankaj Rai, JointCommissioner Ajeet Bhardwajwere present on the occasionamong others.

Urges Om Birla to providesupport to Himachali'sstranded in Rajasthan

SHIMLA: Chief MinisterJai Ram Thakur has urgedthe Speaker, Lok Sabha andMember of Parliament fromRajasthan Om Birla tointervene in the matterregarding students ofHimachal Pradesh strandedin Kota and other parts of theRajasthan. In a letter writtento the Speaker Lok Sabha,Chief Minister said that inwake of corona pandemic,thousands of peopleincluding students andlabourers were stranded indifferent parts of the countrydue to imposition oflockdown. He said thathundreds of studentsbelonging to HimachalPradesh were undergoingvarious coaching courses atKota in Rajasthan and theState Government wasreceiving SOS calls fromtheir parents.

‘Himachal successfullyimplementing PMGKY’SHIMLA, APR 21

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur saidhere today that Pradhan MantriGarib Kalyan Yojna was beingimplemented in the Stateeffectively in the wake of coronapandemic and targeted groups havereceived much needed relief.

Chief Minister said thatGovernment of India has giveninsurance cover of Rs. 50 lakh tothe health personnel engaged incombating COVID-19. He said thatthe State Government has decidedto give ex-gratia of Rs. 50 lakh toall the frontline workers of otherdepartments engaged directly infighting COVID-19. He said thatGovernment of India will depositRs. 2000 in the bank accounts of868915 farmers identified underKisan Samman Nidhi Yojna, byspending an amount of Rs. 173crore. Jai Ram Thakur said thatRs. 500 as ex-gratia was beingcredited every month for next threemonths into the accounts of womenaccount holders under PradhanMantri Jan-Dhan Yojna. He saidunder this, so far 590306beneficiaries have been benefittedby providing Rs. 29.5 crore. ChiefMinister said that all thebeneficiaries of Pradhan MantriUjjwala Yojna were being givenone gas cylinder free of cost eachmonth for three months. He said

that out of 135840 beneficiaries ofPradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojna,transfer had been initiated in favourof 130116 beneficiaries out of these36557 bookings were received and34654 refills were done.

DINESH AGARWALSHIMLA, APR 21

Agriculture Minister Dr.Ram Lal Markanda said thatkeeping in view the spread ofcorona pandemic in thecountry, a MobileApplication "Kisan Rath"has been developed by theCentre Government. He saidthat the Kisan Rath is “Kisanka apna Vahan” and wouldfacilitate farmers and tradersin identifying right mode oftransportation for movementof their farm produce.

Minister has appealedthe farmers of the state todownload Kisan Rath for

transportation of theirproduce. He said that theapplication also offerssupport in Hindi language,so it can be easily accessedby farmers and traders andcan be downloaded fromGoogle Play Store. Themobile application wouldalso help in giving boost to

Inter-mandi and Inter-Statetrade of agriculture andhorticulture produce in thestate.

Dr. Ram Lal Markandasaid that the mobile app willfacilitate transportation byon boarding 5 lakh trucksand 20 thousand tractorsthrough the online service.These networks will beeasily accessible to farmersand traders from one place toanother.

Minister said that thisapplication will also reducewastage and contribute tobetter pricing of perishablecommodities. The MobileApplication would facilitate

farmers and traderssearching for transportvehicles for Primary andSecondary transportation formovement of Agricultureand Horticulture produce.Primary transportationwould include movementfrom farms to mandis, FPOCollection Centre andWarehouses etc. SecondaryTransportation wouldinclude movement frommandis to Intra-state andInter-state mandis,Processing units, Railwaystation, Warehouses andWholesalers etc. The appalso offers transport serviceswith refrigerated vans.

HP Agriculture Minister appeals farmersto download Kisan Rath mobile app

Corona warriors keep distancefrom family members

JOGINDRA DEV ARYABANGANA, APR 21

Corona has to be defeated,life is to be saved. Keepingthis thinking, doctors andmedical workers arefighting to save lives byputting their lives at stake.The fear of viruses is alsoovershadowing their duty.In such a situation, it isdifficult to stay away fromfamily. Meanwhile, such apicture is going viral,which anyone will getemotional by seeing.According to theinformation, Dr. Atul Ranais engaged in the service of

patients day and night inthe Civil Hospital,

Bangana. Although there isno corona infected patientin Civil Hospital, but as aprecaution, Dr. Atul Rana,after checking up patientswho are going for routinecheckup, when they reachhome to eat food in theafternoon, take all theprecautions that thisglobal. There areinstructions to followduring the epidemic. Dr.Atul Rana says that afterseeing the patients,whenever they get time togo home, neither can theyhug her four-year-old sonnor he is allowed to comenear.. There is always a

risk of gettinginfected,said Kanika Rana,wife of Dr. Atul Rana isalso a doctor. It is said thatit takes one to two hours tosanitize oneself afterreaching home afterdelivering servicesthroughout the day. Theysay that they are ready towork under anycircumstances which is inthe interest of service tothe country. He said thatthe medical staff wouldhave no doubt be able todefeat Corona. People justneed to follow thelockdown and takeprecautions.

Every efforts being taken to reachration to needy: SDM Prashant

SHANTI GAUTAMBADDI, APR 21

In view of the threat ofCorona virus, every possibleeffort is being made to reachfood to the needy people inBBN of Solan district. Thisinformation was given bySub Divisional OfficerNalagarh Prashant Desta. Hesaid that according to theinstructions of the stategovernment and districtadministration, planned workis being done in thisdirection. He said that afterthe occurrence of coronavirus infection in the area,keeping in mind the safety ofthe common people by the

district administration, wherethe Municipal CouncilNalagarh, Municipal CouncilBaddi and 41 GramPanchayats under Baddi-B a r o t i w a l a - N a l a g a r hDevelopment Authority werecompletely sealed.Quarantine zone in the areahas also been notified.According to the order ofDistrict Collector KCChaman, he has beenremoved from CantonmentZone after two weeks ofhealth test. He said that inorder to reach the needy andpoor people at the sub-divisional level, not onlyvarious instructions are beingensured, but prompt

assistance is also being madewith the support of dedicatedofficers and employees.Deshta said that 5,37614packets, 10,744 ration kitshave been made available tothe needy and poor people inNalagarh subdivision so far,the same 60 people haveambulance facility, 343facilities of medicines, 2,05spray of 765 liter sodiumhydrochloride. He said that ina kit by the administration,about 10 kg flour, 05 kg rice,03 kg pulses, 01 liter mustardoil, one packet salt, one packMagistrate Mix seasoning, isprovided a packet ofdetergent, bath soap, soap,clothes.

Farmers can strengthen theireconomy by beekeeping: Suresh

JYOTI SYALGAGRET, APR 21

The farmer works hard in the fieldsthroughout the year, and gets frustratedwhen he does not get a fair price in themarket after suffering various disasters.But if a farming for which there is lesstolerance and higher profits, theeconomic condition of the farmer canimprove. Beekeeping is also an optionthat our farmers, by choosing, areearning their livelihood in Bagwan,District Una. In the same sequence,Suresh Sharma of Barahpur villageunder Gagret assembly constituency isalso a farmer who took the year 2019from Horticulture Department. Withtraining, he started the business ofsilence from his home. Suresh Sharma,

today, has started reaching 35 boxeswith the help of horticulture departmentwith just 25 boxes.

HP govt capable to fight coronaepidemic: Sumit Sharma

PANKAJ KATNAUNA, APR 21

In a statement issued here, state BJP media co-incharge SumitSharma has described the Jairam government as fully capableand empowered to fight the corona epidemic. Sumit said thatif the doctors, para-medical staff, sweepers and policepersonnel die due to corona in a severe crisis, then the Jairamgovernment has done exemplary work by announcing a grantof Rs 50 lakh to the victim's family. Approving MNREGAworkers in rural areas to work withcertain rules is a commendable stepfor the poor. This will createemployment for the needy. He saidthat Himachal has incurred arevenue loss of about 400 crores dueto Corona Emergency. Significantly,only 10 percent of total revenue hasbeen received in the month of April.Even under such adverse economicconditions, the Jairam governmenthas succeeded in creating a smoothsystem with efficient management. Sumit said that while theJairam government is trying to deal with the epidemic in thiscrisis, on the other hand, the Opposition is only interested inmaking political statements about Himachal's students andpeople trapped in outside states. He said that the behavior ofthe opposition till now has been irresponsible, which iscompletely indecent. In this disaster, it would have been betterif the opposition would have given any concrete suggestionsand support to the state government for prevention of theepidemic rather than demands.

People asked tomaintain social distance

while taking ration

PREETI RANAUNA, APR 21

The students of NCC of Bhatoli College in UshaSharma Depot in village Jhalera falling under UnaAssembly constituency were performing their dutiesas instructed by the administration. The people whotook ration in the depot, ordered to maintain socialdistance and use masks. And the same person isallowed to take ration in the depot shop. NCCvolunteers appealed to the ration taker to follow theinstructions given by the district administration.

Health workers, scavengersplaying big role to fight corona

PREETI RANASANTOSHGARH, APR 21

In the Corona epidemic,health workers, government,administration, police,scavengers and mediapersonnel are all in frontline,doing their ownresponsibility to preventprevent the coronavirus.Navjyoti Youth WelfareSociety PresidentSantoshgarh, Nehru YuvaKendra, Una's formervolunteer Naveen Maheshhas made a different thinkingfor corona warriors throughhard earned money, throughthe police post of MunicipalCouncil Santoshgarh, alongwith the Municipal CouncilDispensary. In the morning,by distributing tea biscuits,fruit fruit, fruit juice, juicesas well as kheer to thepolicemen who are doingstrict duty in the havoc of theCorona epidemic, theyprovide selfless services with

about 100 policemen andprovide medical services tothe medical staff. Rationshave also been distributed toabout 35 needy families bySatish Kumar Malhi and VicePresident Ravikant, ChiefAdvisor of Navjyoti Society.are doing. In the city,cleanliness workers are alsobeing provided refreshments

to beat the dirt and coronavirus at stake. With this resultit is decided that if Corona isdefeated in India, thecontribution of true serviceof doctors, police, scavengersand social workers likeNaveen Mahesh and SatishKumar will surely be writtenon the golden pages ofhistory.

Urges people tocontribute generously

towards COVID-19 FundSHIMLA: Chief Minister JaiRam Thakur said that StateGovernment had established H.P.SDMA COVID-19 State DisasterResponse Fund on 24th March,2020 to fight the COVID-19pandemic effectively in the State.He said that people of the Statehad generously contributedtowards this Fund and total Rs.20,16,64,000 has been collectedin this Fund till 21stApril, 2020.Jai Ram Thakur thanked thepeople for contribution towardsthis Fund and said that the moneycollected would go a long way inhelping the people of the State,during the COVID-19 pandemic.Chief Minister further made afervent appeal to the peopleespecially affluent sections of thesociety to liberally donate towardsthis Fund which would be a realservice towards the humanity.

Lyallpur KhalsaCollege studentsshine in GNDU exams

HARPREET SINGH LEHALJALANDHAR: Students of LyallpurKhalsa College Jalandhar performedexcellently in Guru Nanak DevUniversity exams. In a press release,the Principal of the College Dr.Gurpinder Singh Samra informed thatSarbjeet Kaur, a student has bagged1st position in the B.Voc. (PrintingTechnology)-V Semester by getting367 marks out of 400, whereas Jyotiand Baby bagged 2nd and 3rdposition by getting 359 and 356 marksrespectively in the same class. Dr.Samra while congratulating thestudents prayed to the almighty fortheir success. He said that suchstudents make the college feel proudand bring laurels to the college. Hereiterated his commitment to supportthem in all their efforts. The Presidentof the College Governing CouncilSardarni Balbir Kaur congratulated thestudent and wished them success inlife and she also congratulated Dr.Manohar Singh, Head, Department ofComputer Science & IT and theteachers of the concerned department.

Against violence ondoctors, medical staffIMA declares black daytomorrow: Dr. DahiyaJALANDHAR: Dr. Navjot S. DahiyaPresident Indian Medical AssociationPunjab and its other Membersdemand a special Central Law againstviolence on Doctors , nurses, healthcare workers and Hospitals by an ordi-nance. Dr. Navjot Dahiya told thatSeveral violent incidents later , Stigma

and social boycottare everywhere.Hesaid that harassmentby administration isnothing but violenceby the State. Ourpatience and restraintare signs of strength.Our legitimate needs

for safe workplaces have to be met.Abuse and Violence should stopimmediately. He said that all doctorsand hospitals to light a candle asprotest and vigil. 9 pm Wednesday22.04.2020.Let not our white becomered Let the Doctors be safe, Let theHospitals be safe, Enact Central law byOrdinance Safety and Dignity ourdemand. Dr. Navjot Dahiya said that Ifthe Government fails to enact CentralLaw on violence against Doctors andHospitals even after White Alert.IMAdeclares Black Day on Thursday23.04.2020.

West Bengal receives firstset of COVID-19 rapid testkits from ICMRNEW DELHI: Health Department ofWest Bengal on Tuesday said it hasreceived the first set of rapid test kitsfrom Indian Council of MedicalResearch (ICMR). This comes daysafter the department levelledallegations against the top medicalbody for supplying defective COVID-19 test kits. The department said that78 rapid tests were conducted onMonday and two positive cases havebeen found. "In our continuousendeavour to ramp up #Covid19testing, upon receiving the first set of#RapidTestKits from ICMR day beforeyesterday, 78 #rapidtests were carriedout yesterday- 64 in Howrah & 14 inKolkata.

NEWS AT AGLANCE

YUGMARG, CHANDIGARH, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2020

6

Delhi-Ghaziabad border sealed to curb coronavirusspreadGHAZIABAD: The border between Delhi and Ghaziabad has been sealed as a measure tocontain the spread of coronavirus. The decision was taken after six people who had comefrom Delhi tested positive for coronavirus, said Ajay Shankar Pandey, Ghaziabad DistrictMagistrate (DM), in an order issued on April 20. The said order is being issued under theNational Disaster Act 2005, he added. Traffic movement between Delhi-Ghaziabad iscompletely prohibited, only those rendering essential services and people holding validpasses are being allowed, Long queues of vehicles were seen at the Delhi-Ghaziabadborder on Tuesday morning.

25 Ruby Hall Clinic staffers testpositive for COVID-19 in Pune

AGENCYPUNE, APR 21

Twenty-Five hospital staffmembers including 19 nurses,three clinical assistants andthree support staff have testedpositive for COVID-19 inRuby Hall Clinic, Pune, saidBomi Bhote, Chief ExecutiveOfficer (CEO) of the clinic.

In a statement, Bhote hasclarified that all the staffmembers who have been testedpositive are asymptomatic andstable. Not a single patient hasgot infected, he added.

Ruby Hall Clinic isscreening every patient, visitorand staff, said Bhote. "Actingwith speed, scale and a clear-minded determination, thehospital is screening everypatient, visitor and staff alikesince the past one month andhas taken a proactive approachin the time of crisis," saidBhote in a statement.

"It began with one oddcase of a staff coming from thered-zoned Kasarwadi areawhich prompted us toimmediately swing into action.Our goal became to maximisethe detection of bothsymptomatic and

asymptomatic individuals. Atpresent after screening nearly1000 staff members we have25 positive cases at thehospital, all of whom areasymptomatic and absolutely

stable," he added.Bhote has asserted that so

far not a single person has goneon any breathing supportsystem let alone aventilator."This highlights that

the virus lurks at large amidstus -- even without obviousvisible symptoms. These caseshave now been isolated frompotential contacts to furtherbreak the chain of spread, headded. "Our collective,coordinated andcomprehensive approach hasensured that not a singlepatient has gotten infected. Atthe moment, 19 nurses, threesupport staff and three clinicalassistants have beenquarantined in an isolationfacility as a precautionarymeasure and all their primarycontacts have been traced andtested." said Bhote.

"As a precautionarymeasure, we have alsodedicated an entire buildingwithin the hospital only forpotential COVID-19 cases. Asalways, Ruby Hall Cliniccontinues to maintain thehighest standards for effectiveinfection control at every turn -- be it rigorous disinfecting, thestringent use of PPEs andproactive screening," he added.

So far, Maharashtra hasreported 4,666 positiveCOVID-19 cases, according tothe Ministry of Health andFamily Welfare.

28 more COVID-19 cases in AgraAGRA: 28 more COVID-19 cases have been reported fromAgra on Tuesday, with this the total number of coronaviruscases in the district has reached 295, said District MagistratePrabhu Narain Singh. "Of the 28 new cases, 14 people havebeen traced as contacts of existing COVID-19 patients," saidSingh. As per the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, thetotal number of coronavirus cases in Uttar Pradesh stands at1184, of which 140 have recovered/migrated and 14 deathshave been reported.

52 fresh cases ofCovid-19 in RajasthanAGENCYJAIPUR, APR 21

Rajasthan recorded 52 freshcoronavirus cases on Tuesday,taking the state's virus tally to 1,628,an official said. The state has so farseen 25 deaths due to the virus, withJaipur accounting for 13 deaths. "52fresh cases have been reported innine districts of the state, including34 in Jaipur," Additional ChiefSecretary (Health) Rohit KumarSingh said. He said test results of thebacklog 4000 samples sent to aprivate lab in Delhi have startedcoming and these are being capturedin the report. Hence, number ofpositive cases is expected to risetoday and tomorrow. Singh said ofthe 52 fresh cases, 34 were reportedfrom Jaipur; five in Jodhpur; four inBhilwara; two from Tonk, Dausaand Jaisalmer and one each in SwaiMadhopur, Nagaur and Jhunjhunu.

A total of 1,628 cases of thevirus have been reported in the stateso far. He said so far 302 patientshave tested negative for theinfection after treatment, of which97 have been discharged fromhospitals. The total number ofCOVID-19 cases in Rajasthanincludes two Italian citizens and 61people brought from Iran to Armyhealth centres in Jodhpur andJaisalmer. The entire state is underlockdown since March 22 and amassive survey and screening isunderway to track the peopleinfected with the virus.

Jharkhand totalrises to 45

RANCHI/BOKARO: Fourmore persons tested positive forCOVID-19 in Jharkhand onMonday, taking the number ofcases to 45 in the state, a seniorhealth department official said.Principal Secretary (Health)Nitin Madan Kulkarni said oneperson each from Ranchi, Bokaroand Hazaribag districts testedpositive for COVID-19. Later inthe evening, Deoghar DistrictDeputy Commissioner NancySahay said a man from Gamahriavillage in Sarvan block alsocontracted the deadly virus. "Heis asymptomatic and hiscondition is stable," she said,adding, this is the first case ofcoronavirus reported fromDeoghar district.

For pregnant health worker, duty comes firstAGENCYRAIPUR, APR 21

In a Naxal-affected area ofChhattisgarh, a healthworker, who is nine monthspregnant, has been workingtirelessly to ensure peopleremain indoors and stayprotected from thecoronavirus.

Santoshi Manikpuri (38),who was given the title of'champion of change lastmonth by the Kondagaondistrict administration, is anauxiliary nurse midwife(ANM).

Since she is heavilypregnant, she could havetaken leave and decided torest at home at this stage, butshe opted to join her peers inthe challenging battle againstCOVID-19.

She is posted at the Healthand Wellness Center (HWC)

in Kerawahi village of theinsurgency-hit Kondagaondistrict in Bastar divisionsince the last five years.

"There are very fewinstances in life where youget the opportunity to servepeople at a crucial time. Icould have taken leave. But,I listened to the call of mysoul that I should fulfil myduty as a health worker,Santoshi told PTI

over phone.The ANM and two other

staff members from HWCnot only handle patients inthe OPD, but after finishingtheir work, they go tovillages to make peopleaware about socialdistancing and personnelhygiene.

"Being a senior ANM, itis my responsibility to be onduty. Officials had asked me

to take leave if I need, but Iwant to work till I can, saidSantoshi, whose delivery isdue next month.

"We are continuouslymonitoring the situation inour area and have askedpeople to inform whenanyone comes from otherstates or abroad," she said.

So far, members from 50families, mostly migrantworkers, who returned herefrom the other coronavirus-affected states, werequarantined at their homesand they have completedtheir observation period, shesaid. "We also hold meetingsof 'mitanins' (communityhealth workers), who arehelping in the awarenessdrive and inform us aboutsick people, to keep theminformed about thegovernment's guidelines inthis regard," she said.

In her endeavour,Santoshi has receivedsupport from her husbandwho is taking care of theirfour-year-old daughter athome. "My husband alsosupported me in my decisionand allowed me to work,saying he will take care ofour daughter," she said.

Asked if she felt she wasrisking her health as well asof the unborn child, she said,I take care of myself byfollowing all hygieneprotocols and precautionarymeasures." HailingSantoshi's enthusiasm,Kondagaon CollectorNeelkanth Tikam said it isher passion which gives herextra energy to work for thewell-being of people.

"The ground healthworkers are playing a crucialrole in the battle againstcoronavirus," Tikam said.

President Kovind, PM Modi laudbureaucrats on Civil Services Day

NEW DELHI, APR 21

President Ram Nath Kovindand Prime Minister NarendraModi on Tuesday laudedcivil servants on the occasionof Civil Services Day.

Kovind said that civilservices have played a keyrole in implementingpolicies and programs forpublic welfare.

"On Civil Services Day,greetings to all civil servants,past and present, and theirfamilies. Our civil serviceshave played a key role inimplementing policies andprograms for public welfare,"the President tweeted.

"In the present times too,

the steel frame of ourcountry, the civil service, hasshown its strength andresolve in handling COVID-19 situation, with sensitivityand professionalism.Confident that our civilservices will continue toserve in the best traditions of

public service," the Presidentsaid in another tweet.

Prime Minister Modialso appreciated the effortsof civil servants incombating COVID-19.

"Today, on CivilServices Day I conveygreetings to all Civil

Servants and their families. Iappreciate their efforts inensuring India successfullydefeats COVID-19. They areworking round the clock,assisting those in need andensuring everyone ishealthy," he tweeted.

The Prime Minister alsoshared his speech from CivilServices Day in 2018.

"On Civil Services Day,tributes to the great SardarPatel, who envisioned ouradministrative frameworkand emphasised on buildinga system that is progress-oriented and compassionate.Sharing my speech fromCivil Services Day in 2018,"the Prime Minister tweeted.

Pawar condemns Palgharlynching incident

MUMBAI, APR 21

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chiefSharad Pawar has condemned the recentincident of mob lynching inMaharashtra's Palghar in which threepeople were beaten to death onsuspicion of being thieves.

"Whatever happened in Palgharshould not have happened, it isunfortunate and condemnable. Policeacted quickly on them and arrested over100 people involved in the incident onthe same night," said Pawar. "Somepeople are talking and raising questionabout law and order situation of theState even when the incident occurreddue to some roumours...this is not good.We make such comments in normaltimes but this is not the time to do so.We all collectively need focus on fightagainst corona," he added. He continued

saying that Chief Minister UddhavThackeray also spoke about the incidentand he is doing whatever can be done inthis matter. Palgarh Police on Sundayarrested 110 people including ninejuveniles, in connection with thelynching of three persons by thevillagers, suspecting them as thieves.While 101 people have been remandedin police custody till April 30, nineothers have been sent to a juvenilehome.

Police inspector dies of coronavirus in MPINDORE, APR 21

A police inspector died due tocoronavirus in Madhya Pradesh'sIndore district on Tuesday, anofficial said.

Last week also, a police officerdied here after suffering from thedisease.

In the latest case, the inspector,who was posted at a police station inUjjain and also suffered from highblood pressure, was initially treatedat a hospital there for four days afterhe contracted the disease.

"After his health conditionturned grim, he was rushed to theIndore-based private Aurobindohospital 10 days ago.

Despite all efforts by doctors, hecould not be saved," Ujjain'sAdditional Superintendent of PoliceRupesh Kumar Dwivedi said.

The patient had breathing

problems and was on ventilatorsupport for 48 hours before he died,Aurobindo Hospital's Dr VinodBhandari said.

The victim is survived by wife,who is a tehsildar (revenue officer)in neighbouring Dhar district, andtwo daughters.

He is suspected to havecontracted the disease whilemanning the Ambar Colony inUjjain which is a containment zone,

another official said.Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister

Shivraj Singh Chouhan expressedgrief over the police officer's death.

"My humble tribute toNeelganga police station inchargewho laid down his life on the altar ofduty fighting COVID- 19. May Godgive refuge to his noble soul andstrength to his bereaved family. Weare all with his family in grief, hetweeted.

Earlier, an inspector from apolice station in Indore died at aprivate hospital here on Saturdaynight.

According to a health official, herecovered from COVID-19 aftertreatment, and doctors suspectedthat he died due to 'pulmonaryembolism' caused by blood clots.

But, there is a possibility that hesuffered from pulmonary embolismdue to coronavirus, the official said.

Prohibitory orders issued inBengaluru to enforce lockdownBENGALURU, APR 21

Bengaluru Police andadministration has issuedprohibitory orders in the city,with exemptions to essentialand emergency services, toenforce the COVID-19lockdown. "In exercise of thepowers conferred underSection 144 (1) Code ofCriminal Procedure, I,Bhaskar Rao, IPS,Commissioner of Police andAdditional DistrictMagistrate, Bengaluru cityhereby issue a prohibitoryorder within the limits ofBengaluru city commissioneron midnight of April 20,2020, to midnight May 3,

2020," the order issued onMonday said.

Section 144 of the CrPCpertains to the powerconferred to a DistrictMagistrate, a sub-divisionalMagistrate or any otherExecutive Magistrate to issueorders in urgent cases of anuisance of apprehendeddanger. "As per the guidelinesof the Ministry of HomeAffairs, Government of Indiaon the measures forcontainment of COVID-19epidemic, it is imperative totake stringent measures in thejurisdiction of Commissionerof Bengaluru city to preventthe spread of the disease," theorder said. As per the order,

the offices of the Governmentof India, its autonomous andsubordinate offices andpublic corporations shallremain closed with theexception of defence, centralarmed police force, treasury,public utilities, disastermanagement, powergeneration, and post office,etc. Offices to the stategovernment, theirautonomous bodies,corporation, etc shall alsoremain closed except police,home guard, civil defence,fire and emergency services,electricity, water, sanitationand Mandis operated byAgriculture Produce MarketCommittee, etc, it added.

Please send us home, say 220Indians stranded in Japan

NEW DELHI, APR 21

A research scholar waiting tomeet his newborn baby, agraduate worried about thejob offer in Bangalore and apregnant woman whose four-day work trip now stretchesinterminably are among the atleast 220 Indians stranded inJapan and getting increasinglydesperate to return home.Stuck in a foreign land asCOVID-19 tightens its gripon many countries, dwindlingfinancial resources andexpired medical insurancesare adding to their tensions.The group of 220 Indians,including 92 dependants,have collectively reached outto the Indian Embassy inTokyo asking to be evacuatedto India, which has beenunder lockdown since Prime

Minister Narendra Modi'sannouncement on March 24.In a signed letter, the strandedIndians have also assured thatthey will quarantinethemselves when back andcooperate with authorities.Japan's partial lockdown isalso a source of worry withsome saying they live inconstant fear of gettinginfected with the coronavirusthat has infected more than2.4 million people andclaimed over 1,70,000 lives.Rahul Joe, a research scholar

at the University of Hokkaidotill his contract expired lastmonth, was all set to moveback to Ahmedabad to bewith his pregnant wife. Thedate was set and the ticketsbooked. We were blessedwith a baby girl two daysback and I don't know whenwill I able to see my baby forthe first time. My medicalinsurance expired with mycontract and now I am scaredthat if I fall ill I will have nomeans to get myself treated,"Joe told PTI over the phonefrom Tokyo. With the numberof cases rising in Japan, thecountry on April 16 expandedthe state of emergency to theentire nation in an attempt toprevent the new coronavirusfrom spreading further andstraining the healthcaresystem.

NEWS AT AGLANCE

YUGMARG, CHANDIGARH, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2020

7

Awareness video on COVID-19 by MCM uses powerof poetry to spread hopeCHANDIGARH (ISHA UPADHYAY): In these chaotic times, poetry is more of a necessity than achoice in sustaining the human element in us. Resorting to the power of poetry to vindicate the survivalinstinct in us humans and sow the seeds of hope, faith, gratitude, and compassion in these trying times,Mehr Chand Mahajan DAV College for Women came up with a novel initiative- a video anthology of self-composed poetry by Principal, faculty and students. To help flowers of hope blossom in hearts where fearand hopelessness resides currently, this unique initiative was completed under the aegis of the Ek BharatShreshtha Bharat (EBSB) team of the college. The poetical delight that the video is, comprises of poetryby 6 faculty members and 2 students. An avid poet, Principal Dr. Nisha Bhargava, through her poetry urgeshumans to introspect as to how this catastrophe befell upon us and to remember the lessons learnt duringand from this crisis. While providing sound pragmatic advice on maintaining a healthy diet, the poem byDr. Bhargava also speaks of enhancing mental agility during this crisis by turning to spiritualism.

GAURAV GOELCHANDIGARH, APR 21

Pointing to the alarming re-source gap between thestate’s anticipated receiptand committed expenditure,Punjab Chief Minister Cap-tain Amarinder Singh onTuesday demanding interimcompensation to the tune ofRs 3000 crore for the monthof April on account of theCOVID-19 national disas-ter, along with immediaterelease of Rs 4400 crore ofpending GST arrears.

In a letter to UnionHome Minister Amit Shah,the Chief Minister alsoasked for expediting the re-lease of the state’s GST ar-rears of Rs 4400 crore forthe last four months, to helpthe state overcome its re-source constraint. Citing thelockdown that had substan-tial fiscal consequences forall states, CaptainAmarinder said the Govern-ment of India should com-pensate Punjab for its loss of

revenue due to COVID-19.While the Rs 3000 crore forApril was an estimate, hesaid “detailed assessment ofloss and requirement offunds for relief and rehabil-itation will be submitted indue course.” However, hestressed, “the Governmentof India should provide in-terim assistance so that thefight against COVID-19 isnot allowed to weaken inany way.” Punjab, said theChief Minister, was facing a

huge stress on State excheq-uer on account of the re-quired health and reliefmeasures that are being con-tinuously scaled up, “withhardly any revenue receiptsaccruing to the state duringthese days due to near com-plete shutdown of trade,business and industry.” Thestate government had madea provision of revenue re-ceipts of Rs. 3360 crore forthe month of April 2020 inthe State Budget 2020-21.

These included: GST- Rs1322 crore; VAT on Petrole-um products - Rs. 465 crore;State Excise Revenue -Rs.521 crore, Motor VehicleTax- Rs. 198 crore; Electric-ity Duty- Rs. 243 crore,Stamp duty- Rs.219 crore,and Non-tax revenue-Rs.392 crore. However,Captain Amarinder ob-served that these receiptsare expected to declinesharply as most economicactivities in the State remainclosed on account of theLockdown. The receipts onaccount of SGST, IGST,VAT, Excise, Stamp Dutyand Motor Vehicle Taxes arealmost negligible and the re-duced electricity consump-tion has resulted in a drop of60% of the expected rev-enue from electricity dutyduring April 2020, he noted.In addition, said the ChiefMinister, the GST compen-sation of approximately Rs4,400 crore for the last fourmonths - from December,2019 to March, 2020 - was

also pending for disburse-ment by the Union Govern-ment.

On the other hand, hepointed out, the committedexpenditure of the state i.e.,Debt servicing, pensions,salaries, relief measures forCOVID-19, health care andinfrastructure etc., is bud-geted at Rs 7,301 crore forthe month of April 2020, re-sulting in the huge resourcegap between the anticipatedreceipts and committed ex-penditure.

Pointing to the criticalfiscal situation of the state,the Chief Minister alsosought the Centre’s permis-sion to allow sale of liquor,in a phased manner, to mopup VAT and Excise revenue.The Ministry of Home, GoI,should “allow the state totake a conscious decision toallow the sale of liquor incertain areas in a phasedmanner with strict socialdistancing and other meas-ures to prevent COVID-19,”he said.

Amarinder writes to Shah, seeksRs 3000 cr as interim compensation

AGENCYCHANDIGARH, APR 21

The industrial units whichwant to start operations sub-ject to compliance of Stan-dard Operating Procedurementioned under guidelinesissued by Department ofHome affairs & Justice Gov-ernment of Punjab last weekcan apply online on Industriesand Commerce Department'ssite and start operations.

This was disclosed by thestate Industries Minister Sun-der Sham Arora here today. Adedicated link https://pbindustries.gov.in/static/covidIndustryPermission hasbeen created to facilitate theoperationalization during cur-few period, said Arora addingthe concerned General Man-agers of District IndustriesCentres have been authorizedby respective Deputy Com-missioners to issue the per-missions.

It may be recalled in ac-cordance with the guidelinesissued by Ministry of Home,Government of India on15.4.2020, subsequent orderswere issued by Department ofHome affairs & Justice Gov-ernment of Punjab on18.4.2020 allowing certain

Industrial units to functionsubject to compliance ofStandard Operating Proce-dure mentioned under theaforesaid guidelines.

The provision of permis-sion for construction activi-ties to be granted by GeneralManager, District IndustriesCentre, wherever authorizedby Deputy Commissioners isalso available through thisportal. The provision of SMSalert to investor at the time ofsubmission and approval ofapplication has also beenmade in the above portal.

Online facility shall re-duce the time in obtaining therequired permissions and alsodispense with the physicalvisits to offices for obtainingsuch permissions, the Minis-ter added.

Industry units eligibleunder new relaxationscan apply online: Arora

Humanity first of JamayateAhmadiya sanitized city todefeat corona

VERMAQADIAN: Sanitation was carried out inthe entire city today under theleadership of Rafique Baig, NationalChairman of Charitable NGO HumanityFirst Jamayate Ahmadiyya, in whichmotive of sanitizing all the streets andmarkets was kept . Giving informationon the occasion, Chairman RafiqueBaig said that where the organizationhas provided food to about 30,000people in the country there in the stateof Punjab , 650 people have beenprovided relief in . He told that todaysanitization has been sprinkled in theentire city by Humanity First to keeppeople away from terrible diseases likecorona. After prayer the program ofsanitization was commenced from theoffice of Majlis Khudamul AhmadiyahBharat ,and later informing the press,Chairman Rafiq Baig said that peopleaffected due to Lock Down duringthese days must be taken care of.They have been sitting in their homessince the last one and half monthsRation is being distributed tohelp them.

Also demands release of 4 months' pending GST arrears

Pyara Singh distributesmask, soaps to laborers

MAMOON RASHID MALERKOTLA: Social worker PyaraSingh distributed masks and soaps toFCI laborers today at FCI depot no 1,speaking to media he said that heobserves labor working hard in thetough situation so he decided to dosomething for them so he made 150masks at home and bought soaps forthe labors today, Gurmail Singh depotManager appreciated pyara singh andsaid that he is doing very well for thepoor, Mohd Anwar a laborer whilespeaking to media thanked pyara Singhfor giving them masks and soaps.

MLA provideshydroxychloroquine tabletsfor police personnel

DALJEET AJNOHAHOSHIARPUR: Today at SSP officeHoshiarpur, Dr. Raj Kumar, MLAChabbewal, paid Homage to ACP AnilKohli who gave his life in fighting theCorona from front. While payingtributes, he said tha he personallybelieve and highly appreciate that allthe police personnel have played anexceptionally outstanding role incurbing the community spread ofCovid-19 in whole country as well asPunjab. Through an appreciation letterto SSP Gaurav Garg IPS, Dr. Rajcongratulated him that in his ableguidance, warriors of HoshiarpurPolice, are maintaining the curfew verystrictly in the district. It is also a keymeasure resulting in no positive casereported in our city for more than afortnight. As a gesture ofacknowledgement and appreciate theirrelentless efforts and to add a bit totheir safety, Dr. Raj gaveHydrochloroquinine tablets for policepersonnel, if anyone needs it. Thoughhe requested to dispense this medicineto the police officials on duty undersupervision of specialist/ Doctorsconsidering its side effects in fewcases. Dr. Raj said that It is a smallgesture for assuring of my support andgratitude Police department in thistough time. SP Manjeet Kaur, DSPRakesh Kumar and DSP SatinderChaddha with other police officerswere present there. On this occasion,Dr. Raj Kumar also provided galvs andsanitizers to protect the policepersonnel.

SARWAN QADIAN, APR 21

Whereas the District Ad-ministration is constantlyissuing instructions to thepeople to stay in theirhomes , wash hands,adopt social distancingand cleanliness aroundthem, to protect againstthe terrible disease likeKovid 19.

At the same time, theGujjar community isfeeding their cattle withtheir milk animals fromthe piles of dirt collectedfrom the city. Now, howfar will social distancingand cleaning hands re-peatedly prove to be ef-fective? Through thesemilk animals, the dirt willgo be eaten by animalsand they may be suffer-

ing from terrible diseaseas the animals are takingthe feed in the herds andthrough them the diseasecan also enter the humanbody.

Now the thing to seeis that the District collec-tor Mohammad Ishfaqhas already issued in-structions to Gujjars not

to bring their animals tothe city but the said peo-ple got the cattle feed onthe pile of hawks in thecity by blowing the in-structions of the DistrictCollector in air.

The question arises,why they need to dothis? In this regard, whena woman named Salimarelated to a Gujjar clanwas talked about, shesaid that her animals arenot getting fodder, whichis why they have beenbrought here. She also in-formed that they are notbeing taken care of byany department.

Due to lack of fodder, animalsare being fed on hares: Salima

DALJEET AJNOHAHOSHIARPUR, APR 21

Deputy Commissioner SmtApneet Riyait told that in thelast 21 days no positive caserelated to corona virus hasbeen reported in the district,which is good news for thedistrict.

He thanked the residentsof the district and said thatthe way home support hasbeen done in the past, itshould be supported nowalso so that the war againstCorona can be won with sol-idarity.

He has also appealed tothe home quarantined peopleto support the administrationin this delicate time. He ex-pressed the hope that as soonas no positive case has beenrevealed for the last 21 days,according to that, the districtwill be declared corona freesoon.

Deputy Commissionersaid that so far 6 positivecases have been reported inthe district, out of which

three patients have recov-ered and gone to their home.He said that two patients arestill in the Isolation ward,but their condition is betterand they will be sent home ifthey recover soon.

He said that only one pa-tient died in the district dueto corona virus. He said thata person from Itli belongingto the district who was un-dergoing treatment in Amrit-sar itself, who has recoveredand has gone to his villageKhanoor, Hoshiarpur. Prais-ing the health workers, SmtApneet Riyait said that due

to the dutifulness played bythem, we have been able tostop the virus from spread-ing. He also praised the offi-cers and staff working on thefront line with the districtpolice.

He said that the villagesof the district have played aleading role in preventingthe spread of corona virus,due to which 1403 villageshave adopted self-exile. Hesaid that in this critical peri-od, villages have played animportant role in the waragainst Corona by support-ing the administration.

No need to panic: DC dells residents

KULJEET SINGHJANDIALA GURU, APR 21

Sahil Arora son of TalwinderSingh, who returned from theUK last month , came to testpositive after which 13 mem-bers of the family were underquarantine in their house for14 days. The team of doctors arrivedand tested him on the spotwith a rapid kit. In this testeveryone's negative reportcame. On this occasion, Dr.

Nirmal Singh gave the sug-gestion that people shouldstay in homes to protectagainst Covid 19 and wearmasks if they come out ifneeded. Clean the hands withsoap or sanitizer along withthe cradle of social distance.

Dr. Harjit Singh,Kawardeep Singh Thind,Ranjodh Singh, PritpalSingh, Lovepreet Kaur,Lakhwinder Singh andAmandeep Singh were pres-ent on the occasion .

Tests of 13 family members underquarentine found negative

BJYM president distributesration to 60 needy families

VERMAQADIAN, APR 21

As per the instructions of the district administrationfor the help of the needy families president of BJYMGurjeet Kumar who is always leading in social serv-ice and Vice president Gulshan Verma joined the waragainst horrific diseases like Kovid 19 by distribut-ing food material to 60 needy families \ , Gurjit Ku-

mar said thathe has givend o n a t i o n smany times inhis life, but insuch condi-tions, if he isable to help aneedy family,then he willconsider him-self lucky.

He saidthat the only the person who sees true happiness inothers happiness is accepted in the court of God. Hesaid that the ration has already been distributed byhim to the needy families. But after the 14 april dueto extension of lock down he is distributing the ra-tion again as the ration provided the families have al-ready been finished. We also have a responsibility tosupport them and motivate people to stay in theirhomes so that they can protect themselves. Generalsecretary Ashwani Verma was also present with himon the occasion.

KULBHUSHAN GARGGIDDERBAHA, APR 21

Cotton growers in Muktsardistrict are profusely thankingthe district administration foropening two cotton factoriesin Malout where farmers cannow sell their previous sea-son's cotton stock at a goodmargin.

The factories were openedfollowing constant talks withthe officials of CCI (CottonCorporation of India) for twoweeks. Earlier farmers wereforced to sell their produce ata throwaway price of Rs3000-4000 per quintal to pri-vate traders and now with theopening of two factories for ashort period they can sell thesame for Rs 5300-5400 perquintal. Senior officials underthe supervision of Deputy

Commissioner M. K. Aravin-da Kumar took keen interestin solving the problem.

"It took more than twoweeks to resolve this issue asconstant talks were held withthe senior officials of the CCIwho now got two factoriesopened in Malout," said Dis-trict Mandi Officer KulbirSingh Matta. He informedthat a number of farmers hadnot sold their previous year's

stock due to a variety of rea-sons. "We had been gettingcomplaints in this regard on adaily basis and farmers gotanxious in view of the curfewimposed amid Covid-19,"Matta said.

He said that two factories-S.R. Cotton Mill, AboharRoad in Malout and KrishnaCotton Factory are nowopened for the next 15-20days where cotton growerscan sell their produce to ob-tain government price. TheDMO said that it was Her-culean task in view of the cur-few and fear of the spread ofthe virus.

"But with the help of thesenior officials we handled allthe issues like issuing of pass-es, arrangement of labour andclearance from the CCI,"Matta said.

Efforts of district Admn bears fruits, twocotton factories opened to purchase cotton

300 masks made by ITIgirls presented toNagar council

BARNALA: As manny as 300 maskshand-crafted by ITI girls from - Barnalawere presented to E.O Manjit Singh ofNagar Nagar council. Disclosing thishere today the President ofSuryavanshi Khatri Sabha SakhwinderBhandari, General Secretary PatwariRajesh Bhutani, Major Singh said thatthere are 300 handmade masksmade under instructors Sarbjit Kaur,Karamjit Kaur, vimla devi girls. E.Osaid that these masks are provided tothe employees and those involved inthe cleaning campaign. The event wasthanked by the staff including SupdttHarpreet Singh.

KULJEET SINGH JANDIALA GURU, APR 21

Even though governmentclaimed to help every poor andneedy, but it is not true inBhangawan village. There aremany poor and needy peoplein the village Bhangawan whodid not get ration and wheat atsubsidised rate.

Hardev Singh son of Su-lakhan Singh, resident of thesame village, said that heworks hard as a labourer. Buttill now due to lockdown,nohelp has been provided fromgovernmet side. He is livingin the house and he used toearn daily by working daily.

Due to this, the condition ofour economy has broken.When we went to the depotholder to get wheat, he alsosent back home saying that ourname is not in the list. We alsotold Sukhjinder Singh, thehusband of sarpanch Paramjit

Kaur, but we did not get thewheat. Member Panchayat ofthe same village Sarabjit Kaursaid that there are many poorand needy people in our vil-lage who are not getting wheatbecause of the name being cutwithout investigation.

Poor people deprived of wheat in Bhangawan village

"It took more than twoweeks to resolve this issueas constant talks wereheld with the seniorofficials of the CCI whonow got two factoriesopened in Malout," saidDistrict Mandi OfficerKulbir Singh Matta.

KULWINDER BHATIANANGAL, APR 21

Nangal in village Niku Nan-gal's adjoining hills of shiva-lik, lots of small and largetrees were cuted down.

In this concern local resi-dent Harpreet Rana said thatfrom the 22nd march the veryfirst day of lockdown theyblock the way of the villagewith his villagers, but from22nd march to 21st Apriltrees was cuted down bymany sources, which effectsthe environment.

He said that these trees werecuted down without any govt.

permission. All the outsiderswere banned in the village ofwhich they took the benefit.In this concern, block officialrajiv said that due to lockdown people cut woods forthe fuel but we have calledthe department officials andthey check the no. of trees. He said that in this case waskepted as offender will bepunished.

Illegally 'Khair' trees cut down in Nangal

He said that these trees werecuted down without anygovt. permission. All theoutsiders were banned in thevillage of which they tookthe benefit.

SHO Arshpreet Kaurshared recovery from

corona on social mediaANKUSH SHARMALUDHIANA, APR 21Police Station Basti Jodhw-al's SHO. Arshpreet Kaur,who earlier tested positive forcorona virus while on duty atBahadurke Road Sabzi Man-di and is now undergoingtreatment at a private hospitalin Ludhiana, shared her re-covery live on social media.Earlier, many people, includ-ing the police, were worriedabout the health of the saidsub-inspector. During liveArshpreet Kaur said that Pun-jab Police is playing a greatrole against the war of Coro-na. SHO Has urged the citi-zens to use self-restraint andsupport the administration toend the battle of Corona.SHO Said that her health isconstantly improving.

Van mittras to look after73 lakh saplings: Bajwa

CHANDIGARH, APR 21

The Rural Development and Panchayats departmenthas initiated the process of taking over of 73 Lakhsamplings planted across state on the occasion of the550th Prakash Purb of Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji and

have engaged 21000 MNRE-GA workers as 'Van Mittars'which would be now lookingafter them.

Disclosing this here today,Mr. Tript Rajinder Singh Ba-jwa Rural Development andPanchayat Minister said thatthis has been primarily doneto engage MNREGA workersconstructively in these press-

ing times thereby ensuring a fixed remuneration to them.

La Liga, Spanish FA agree training restart protocol

NEW DELHI: Former Sri Lanka skipper and current Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) president Kumar Sangakkara on Tuesday condoled the demise of people who lost their lives during last year's Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka. He also said that all Sri Lankans stand together with the people who lost their loved ones."All Sri Lankans stand together shoulder to shoulder and heart to heart with all who are grieving loved ones lost. We will not forget and we share the pain. We all wait for questions to be answered fully. For closure," Sangakkara tweeted.On April 21, 2019, multiple blasts ripped through Sri Lanka when the Christian community was celebrating Easter Sunday. The explosions rattled churches and high-end hotels across the country, killing 258 people and injuring over 500. The island nation was put under a state of emergency for a period of four months from April to August.Easter marks the resurrection of Jesus Christ following his crucifixion on Good Friday.

MADRID: La Liga and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) have agreed a return to training protocol for professional players in the country after the coronavirus outbreak, the Spanish National Sports Council (CSD) has announced. Spain's top division has been suspended since March 12 due to the COVID-19 outbreak which has so far killed more than 20,800 people, the third-highest number of deaths in the world after the United States and Italy."This decision remains controlled by the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic and by the decisions adopted by the Ministry of Health," the CSD said in a statement.La Liga clubs will train again "when health conditions allow it, and by following strict health protocols," it added. According to local media reports La Liga has already outlined a proposition which includes testing players as well as a progression from individual training to sessions with whole squads. League chief Javier Tebas last week said play could restart as early as next month, although a fortnight extension of the nationwide lockdown until May 9 announced on Saturday appears to have scuppered those plans.

PAGE8

TALKSSHORT

Humongous money adds extra pressure on you in IPL: Yuvraj SinghNandre Burger eager to deliver in 2021 seasonCAPE TOWN: South African franchise cricket team, Cape Cobras' pacer Nandre Burger is eager to prove himself when the cricket action eventually gets underway in the 2020/2021 season.The left-arm fast bowler, who was signed by the Cobras at the start of last season, was elated after joining the franchise but regretted not being able to deliver match-winning performances. "My high for the season was, making my debut against my old team (Lions). For me another high was getting to represent the Cobras and becoming a part of the culture," Sport24.co.za quoted Burger as saying. “My low obviously would be that we didn't perform too well last season. I am disappointed that I couldn't provide or perform in match-winning performances more often, I feel that I had a below-standard goal setting season," he added.

SPORTSYUGMARG, CHANDIGARH, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2020

AGENCY The swashbuckling all-rounder NEW DELHI, APR 21 explained that IPL gave many

cricketers a livelihood who never Former Indian all-rounder Yuvraj played for India.Singh on Monday said that "IPL gives players livelihood, humongous money in the Indian players can run their families, they Premier League (IPL) adds more can give education to their children. performance pressure on the player. IPL has done a lot of good as well," Yuvraj, who was one of the most he said. On the other hand, Kaif said expensive players to be sold in the that players get distracted by money IPL auction, said, "When you do not and fame involved in the game perform after getting a mammoth these days due to the IPL.money everyone criticises you." "A lot of players come in and

batsman Mohammad Kaif."No one likes when you are they become distracted. They hire At the 2014 IPL auction, Royal given this amount of money. their own managers, get big deals

Challengers Bangalore bought Pressure does come on to you as and then they become distracted. Yuvraj for an all-time high price of people start saying he is getting this Their focus becomes haywire. I Rs 14 crore. In 2015, the Delhi amount of money, but still he is not think IPL has changed a lot when I Daredevils bought him for Rs 16 performing. In our country, saw myself being auctioned, I was crore, making him the most negative news sells," Yuvraj not able to understand it. Cricket expensive player ever to be sold in revealed this during an Instagram has changed a lot from 2008," Kaif the IPL.Live session with former Indian said.

MADRID: Rafael Nadal expressed his frustration that tennis players remain unable to practise due to the coronavirus pandemic, while Roger Federer revealed he was happy with his recovery from knee surgery.The Spanish government has extended the country's state of alarm until May 9, with the entire population confined to their homes except a small number working in specific sectors, leaving Nadal perplexed as to why he can't train."It's true I don't understand very well because we cannot play tennis when many people are going to work and even more so in our sport, where we keep at a large and safe distance and we play on opposite sides of the court," world number two Nadal said during an Instagram Live. "But I understand that we are in a very critical situation, that the government is dealing with something unprecedented and I also understand that the last thing they think of is who can train and who cannot train.

We will not forget: Sangakkara onlast year's Easter bombings

Nadal frustrated by tennis lockdown, Federer happy with surgery recovery

AGENCYMELBOURNE, APR 21

Cricket Australia's (CA) chief executive Kevin Roberts on Tuesday said that the cricket boards of both Australia and India are determined to go ahead with the Test series between the two countries later this year.

Roberts also said that the series could be played behind closed doors and even added that there is a possibility of playing a five-match Test series.

"At this point, we won't rule anything out in terms of the Indian series. Along with the BCCI, the Indian players and their support staff, we want to stage a series that inspires the cricket world, whether or not there are people at the venue or not sitting in the stands," ESPNCricinfo quoted Roberts as saying.

"So we'll explore all viable fans and creative ways are being inspires the cricket world through any crowds due to the COVID-19 options, many of which wouldn't thought of to go ahead with the out next summer," Roberts said. pandemic. During the 2018-19 have been contemplated until now. series. "That's our focus. And we are series, India managed to defeat We are in a different world where "What we are working on is planning for that and trying Australia in Australia for the first all of a sudden we're being grateful our partnership with the BCCI. everything we can to make that time in a Test series.for what we have rather than Whether that be about the pursuit happen," he added. Australia, at that time were lament about things that we don't," of five-Test series in the future or India and Australia are without the services of David he added. whether it be about finding the scheduled to play a four-match Warner and Steve Smith.

Roberts also said that the most creative ways to ensure that Test series later this year, and it is However, the series later this cricket series between India and together we can deliver an being speculated that the series year promises to be a mouth-Australia will be a spectacle for the international Test series that might end up taking place without watering prospect.

LONDON, APR 21: Novak Djokovic has reiterated he is against taking an anti-coronavirus vaccination if it becomes mandatory to travel once the pandemic subsides, but says he's open to changing his mind. The top-ranked Djokovic said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press on Tuesday, ''Personally I am opposed to the vaccination against COVID-19 in order to be able to travel. But if it becomes compulsory, I will have to make a decision whether to do it or not. This is my current feeling, and I don't know if it will change, but it really influences my profession.A vaccine hasn't been made yet, but some such as Amelie Mauresmo have said the world tennis tours shouldn't restart until there is one.Djokovic caused a stir in a live Facebook chat with fellow Serb players on Sunday when he said that if a vaccination was compulsory when the tours resume then he wouldn't want to be forced by someone to take it. In his statement on Tuesday, Djokovic said many tennis players and other athletes have asked him for his opinion on this situation. I have expressed my views because I have the right to and I also feel responsible to highlight certain essential topics that are concerning the tennis world," he said. Djokovic and his wife Jelena advocate natural healing and not vaccinations, and said that like the rest of the world, he was a bit confused."

CA thinking of going ahead with IndiaAustralia series behind closed doors

Young golfer Arjun Bhati raises Rs 3.30 Lakh for relief fund

AGENCY After the establishment of the NEW DELHI, APR 21 Prime Minister's Citizen

Assistance and Relief in Young Indian golfer Arjun Bhati Emergency Situations (PM-on Tuesday announced that he CARES) Fund by Prime has donated Rs 3,30,000 to PM- Minister Modi, several CARES fund by selling off his sportspersons have come torn shoes with which he won the forward to contribute and help the J u n i o r G o l f W o r l d country combat COVID-19.Championship in 2018. Among them is Indian cricketer The Indian golfer had earlier Suresh Raina who had pledged donated Rs 4.30 Lakh after giving Rs 31 lakhs to PM-CARES away his 102 trophies to help the Fund.country in its fight against the Indian shuttler PV Sindhu, BCCI coronavirus. president Sourav Ganguly, and "The severed shoes with which I wrestler Bajrang Punia have also won the trophy in the US at Jr contributed their bit for the cause. GOLF WORLD CH.SHIP- Meanwhile, according to the 2018- were taken by Uncle Ministry of Health and Family Vanish Pradhan ji for Rs Welfare, India's total number of 3,30,000-, and I donated the coronavirus cases has spiked to money to PMCARES- Whether 18,601, of which 14,759 patients we live or not, my country should are active cases and 3,252 cases stay, everyone has to be saved have been recovered/ migrated from Corona @narendramodi Jai and 590 deaths have been Hind," Arjun tweeted in Hindi. reported till now.

No one likes when you are given this amount of money. Pressure does come on to you as people start saying he is getting this amount of money, but still he is not performing.

SAI officials addressed by Abhinav in a special online session

AGENCY nature of sport is that more will fail understanding of where performance NEW DELHI, APR 21 than succeed. It is important that is built. Results at a competition

athletes have backup plans in case cannot be the only denominator Olympic gold medallist Abhinav their sports career doesn't work out," when planning for an Olympic Bindra on Monday addressed a special Bindra said in a statement. Games or an Asian Games," he session for the newly-appointed Bindra shared some other tips like added. Kamath said: "There should Assistant Directors at the Sports the impor tance of s t r ik ing be a deep engagement with the Authority of India (SAI) and other relationships with experts and process and to understand not just senior officials. coaches. He suggested that they results but objectives and results

The shooter was joined by should undertake a one or two day connected with the objectives that Nandan Kamath, lawyer and workshop with the experts to you are seeking." Bindra also stressed managing t rus tee GoSports understand processes. on the need to build a strong talent Foundation. Addressing the newly- "It is important to strike identification and nurturing appointed Assistant Directors, Bindra relationships with the experts and programme.said that as sports administrators, they coaches that various federations "Getting foundations right is need to work towards creating an have," Bindra said. important, a lot of work on that has al ternate ski l l development "An expert can give a larger already been started with the Khelo where performance is built and what programme for athletes to ensure their overview of the various elements that India programme and also emphasis are the various elements that go into well-being in the long run. "We need go into sporting performance and placed on junior programme of performance and then you will start to to look after athletes because the very that's where you will understand different sports," he said.h a v e a b e t t e r a n d d e e p e r

Coronavirus pandemic: Djokovic may reconsider his

anti-vaccination stand

Corruption has damaged Pak cricket as much as Lahore attack on Lankan team: Abbas

KARACHI: Pakistan batting great "It is the right thing to do for the damaging to our cricket over the Zaheer Abbas says the PCB has been Pakistan board because for too long, years," he reasoned. Abbas said a "soft" in dealing with corruption in we have been soft while dealing with legislation to criminalise fixing should country's cricket which, according to corruption cases and these have led to have been pushed by the board much him, has been as damaging for the a string of scandals which badly earlier as it would have prevented game here as the 2009 attack on the damaged our image and also hurt our recent cases of spot-fixing. "In the end Sri Lankan team. The former cricket's progress," Abbas said. it is Pakistan cricket which suffered as captain was giving his views on the "If the militant attack on the Sri we lost good players and more Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) Lankan team bus dealt a big blow to importantly we sent out the wrong r ecen t move , a sk ing the Pakistan cricket as we were forced to message to cricketers and even those government to criminalise fixing in play away from home, these who try to lure, entice and corrupt sports. corruption scandals have not been less players," he said.

MADRID: Valencia has confirmed its first team players will accept pay cuts to limit the economic damage felt by the club from the coronavirus pandemic. After weeks of negotiations, Valencia announced the club will also apply for the Spanish government's furlough scheme (ERTE), which allows employers to reduce working hours and pay in exceptional circumstances. "The club is particularly grateful for the solidarity of the first team who, by reducing their wages, will help the club protect all its workers and their families in such difficult circumstances," said the club in a statement.

Valencia players agree to coronavirus pay cuts