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

FRIDAY, MAY 7, 2021, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES `6.00 (`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

MANOJCGNEWDELHI,MAY6

AN IIT graduatewho stumbledintopoliticstotakeupthelegacyof his legendary fatherChaudhary Charan Singh, AjitSinghwould go on to become aconsummate politician whomovedeffortlessly from theBJPto the Congress, and from theSocialists to Communists — asthe situation demanded — tokeeptheRashtriyaLokDal(RLD)relevant above and beyond itselectoral strength.On Thursday, the RLD

supremo,whohadhandedover

the baton to his son JayantChaudhary, passed away inGurgaon due to Covid-19 com-plications, at theageof 82.While never rising to the

heights of Charan Singh, whoservedbrieflyasprimeminister,theaffableandever-smilingAjitSingh ensured that the RLD re-mained a key contender inHindi-beltpolitics—retainingitsfertile support base amongfarmers, cutting across regions.As recently as February, partiesseeking to tap into the farmeranger against the Centre wereknockingatRLDdoors.However,Singhwasoftenac-

cusedofusinghisastutenessand

deal-making skills more forshort-term political survival.And of not allowing ideologicalrigidities to come in theway ashe sought out partners in hislong-nursed dream of a thirdfront.The RLD supremo remained

constrained in this due to hislimitations as a leader, particu-larly when compared to his fa-ther, with his electoral appealnot growing beyondWesternUttarPradeshand,more specif-ically, theMuslim and Jat com-munitiesof the region.Over theyears, Samajwadi Party chiefMulayam Singh Yadav got thebetterofhimandemergedasthe

undisputedsocialistleaderoftheHindibelt.Analumnusof IIT-Kharagpur

and Illinois Institute ofTechnology, Chicago, Singhwasworking intheUSwhenCharanSingh took ill in the early 1980sand suffered a paralytic stroke.With his father hospitalised,Singhreturnedandtookovertheleadershipof theLokDal (as thepartywasknownatthetime) inthemid-1980s,andneverlookedback.InJuly1986,hewaselectedto the Rajya Sabha. Less than ayear later, after Charan Singh'sdeath, Singh took over as presi-dentof theLokDal (A).Singh’s old colleague and

senior JD(U) leaderKCTyagi re-members him as an accidentalpolitician.“AjitSinghwasnotin-terested inenteringpolitics.Butbecause of the unexpected de-miseof his father,hehadto... fillthevacuum.”Around 1988, as several

JanatafactionsincludingtheLokDal (A) merged to form theJanataDal,AjitSinghbecameitspresident.ChandraShekharwasbelievedtohavehelpedhimbe-comethepresidenttocounterVP Singh. However, Singh soonshifted loyalties and joinedhands with V P Singh — in thefirstof hismanysomersaults.In 1989, the Janata Dal won

the Assembly elections in UttarPradesh, and Singhwas toutedtobethechiefministerwithVPSingh'ssupport.However,atthisstage, Mulayam Singh Yadav—whowas to takeoverasDeputyCM— unexpectedly threw hishat in the ring. After much be-hind-the-scenesdramaandpo-litical lobbying, Yadav trumpedSingh in a secret political ballot.SinghcouldnevercatchonwiththeSPchiefafterthatinthestate.WhenVPSinghbecame the

PM after the 1989 elections, hepicked Ajit Singh as IndustryMinister.WithhisfootprintinUPconfined,Singhwouldfromthen

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PAGE1ANCHOR The accidental politician who mastered the art of sharp turns

JOURNALISM OF COURAGESINCE 1932

THEWORLD

USCOVID OUTLOOKREACHESMOSTHOPEFULPOINT YETPOST-BREXIT ROW:FRANCE, BRITAINSENDPATROLBOATSTO JERSEY PAGE 14

THEEDITORIAL PAGE

NEEDANATIONALCOVIDACTIONPLANBYPRATAPBHANUMEHTAPAGE10

Centre sendsteam to WestBengal, asksfor a reportin 48 hours

DEEPTIMANTIWARYNEWDELHI,MAY6

THE HOME Ministry onThursday despatched a teamoffour senior officials to WestBengalonafact-findingexerciseontheviolencethathasfollowedtheAssemblyelectionvictoryoftheTrinamoolCongress.“The team left thismorning

and is likely to begin itswork inKolkatashortly.Ithasbeengiven48hourstocomebackwithare-port,” a HomeMinistry officialsaid.Sourcessaidtheteam,which

is headed by an additional sec-retary-rankofficial,willmeettopofficials of the West BengalPolice, apart from the chief sec-retary and other officers in theadministration.Theteamwillalsovisitsome

places fromwhere violencehasbeenreportedsinceSunday,andspeak to affected families, thesources said.TheHomeMinistryhadwrit-

ten to the state government onWednesday, accusing it of nottakingstepstostemtheviolence,and askedwhy a report soughtby ithadnotbeenreceived.HomeMinistry sources said

the letterhadbeensent toWestBengal Chief Secretary AlapanBandopadhyay, reminding himof theMinistry’sMay3 letter, inwhichhehadbeenaskedtotakeimmediate measures to checkthepost-pollviolence.Theletterhad also asked for a detailed

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Health infrafully exposed,oxygen notonly issue:HC to Delhi:

SOFIAHSANNEWDELHI,MAY6

THEDELHIHighCourtThursdaysaid medical infrastructure inthe national capital has been“completelyexposed”whenputtothetestduringthepandemic,and rejected the Delhi govern-ment’s submission that oxygensupplywas theonly issue ailingitshealthsector.Thecourtsaidthesystemhas

failedbecausepeopledonotde-mandenoughandelectgovern-ments without asking for ac-countability. “Now you are alsobehavinglikeanostrichwiththehead in the sand,” the divisionbench of Justices Vipin Sanghiand Rekha Palli told the Delhigovernment, adding it had ear-lier given a similar response totheCentre.Inseveralhearingsondiffer-

entmattersrelatedtoCovidoverthe last two weeks, the HighCourt has repeatedly pulled upthe central and Delhi govern-ments on a range of issues —fromlackofoxygentonon-avail-abilityof beds.OnThursday, the court's ob-

servations came on a petitionfroma52-year-oldCovidpatient

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MURDERREMARK:MADRASHIGHCOURT’SCENSUREOFEC

HC’s intentwasstrictercompliance…oralobservationsnotpartof judicial recordsonoquestionof expunging:SC

Dissenting EC had offered to quit; pollbody contradicts itself on media gag

ANANTHAKRISHNANGNEWDELHI,MAY6

DAYS AFTER it said it wouldstrike a balance, the SupremeCourt did so Thursday. “Harsh,”and“inappropriate,”washowitdescribed the Madras HighCourt’sremarksthattheElectionCommission of India (ECI)“should be put on murdercharges”for“notstoppingpolit-icalparties”fromviolatingCovidprotocol during their campaignrallies lastmonth.The apex court also under-

linedtheneed“for judges toex-ercisecaution inoff-the-cuff re-marks in open court”. But thebench of Justices D YChandrachud andMR Shah re-jected the ECI’s prayer to directthemedianot to report oral ob-servationsbut onlywhat is partof the judicial records saying:“The freedomof speechandex-pression guaranteed by theConstitution extends to report-ing the proceedings of judicialinstitutionsaswell”.“Balancing the rights” of the

two constitutional bodies, theHC and ECI, the bench said the

former’s “anguish”must beun-derstood in the light of the factthat it “was facedwith a situa-tion of rising cases of Covid- 19and, as a Constitutional Court,was entrustedwith protectingthe life and liberty of citizens”.ThejudgmentsaidthattheHC’soral observationswere not partof any judicial recordandhencethequestionofexpungingthemdoesnotarise.It added that the court’s ob-

servations“wereharsh”and“themetaphor inappropriate”. If theHC, indeed, made the remarks,

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RITIKACHOPRANEWDELHI,MAY6

THE DISSENTING ElectionCommissionerhadofferedtore-sign as “punishment” if theMadras High Court (HC) so de-sired. This was among the keypoints the Commissioner hadmade inhis affidavit, The IndianExpresshas learned.In his affidavit, he is said to

have stated that the court’s oralobservations — on the Election

Commission’sroleinconductingelections during the secondCovidwave—had demoralised

theEC’s rankand file.Urging the court tonot pun-

ish the institution but the indi-vidual, he is said to have re-quested the court to withdrawitsoralobservationsorholdhimpersonally accountable. For thelatter,heofferedtotakepersonalresponsibilityandresign.Butthisaffidavitwasrejected

bytheElectionCommissionandnever filedwith the HC nor at-tached with its Special LeavePetition in the Supreme Court

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SCstrikesbalance:HC remarkswereharsh; freespeech, opencourt key tocitizens’ right to know

PRABHARAGHAVAN&AANCHALMAGAZINENEWDELHI,MAY6

INAmovethatcouldpotentiallyhelp increase production ofCovid-19 vaccines around theworld, the United States onWednesdayannounced its sup-port for waiving intellectualproperty (IP) protections forthesevaccines.Subsequently, the European

Union (EU) agreed to discusssuch awaiver, after having op-posed the proposal made byIndiaandSouthAfrica lastyear.A waiver on IP protections

would mean pharmaceuticalfirmsandvaccinemakersacrosstheworldcanlearnhowtomakethese vaccines without fear oflawsuits from companies thatoriginallydevelopedthem.However, such awaiver can

onlybe enforced if the final pro-posal, whichwill have to be re-worked through discussions, isaccepted by allmembers of theWorldTradeOrganisation(WTO).

“Countries such as Canada,South Korea, and Bangladeshhave all evinced interest in pro-ducing Covid vaccines if theyhave a patent waiver, so weshould utilise whatever globalcapacity is there,” PublicHealth

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Here, nurses are doctors, ward boysare nurses, families are ward boysUPCovidcurvewill shape India’s—The IndianExpress follows itacrosssmall towns

DIPANKARGHOSEMUZAFFARNAGAR,MAY6

AT10.45 inthemorning,next tothegatewithanirongrill,anam-bulance is parkedwith its dooropen.Inside,theCovidpatientislying on his back, an oxygenmask onhis face. Next to him ishis wife, her hand clasping his.Forfiveminutes,thereissilence,thenshoutsoutside.“Wherewillwe take him?” asks a familymember angrily. “What canwedo if there is no space,” a nurseresponds. She turns to the pa-

tient’s wife: “Just don’t let himfall asleep.”It’sareplayoffamiliarscenes

outside Covid isolation wardsacross the country since earlyApril when the second wavestartedwreakinghavoc.Butthen,this is the district hospital ofMuzaffarnagar,inUttarPradesh,astatewhichhasthefourthhigh-estactivecaseloadinthecountrywithover2.6 lakhcases.UP has recordedmore than

7.82lakhinfectionssinceApril1,whichis55percentof thecoun-try'sentirecaseload.And,nearly40 per cent of its death toll of14,151 has been recorded afterApril 1, with high caseloads insmaller towns like Gorakhpur,Bareilly,MoradabadandMeerut.WithMaharashtrastartingto

level off, how the Covid curveplaysoutinUPwilldefineitsna-tional spread. To get a sense ofthis,TheIndianExpresshassetoffon a journey, beginning withMuzaffarnagar inwesternUPtotrack the secondwave in India'smost populous state even asnext-door New Delhi fights abruisingbattle.On April 29, Muzaffarnagar

had 4,719 active cases and anoverall cumulative toll of 163deaths. OnMay 6, it had 4,664active cases — the districtrecorded21deathsonThursdayalone, taking the total to193.Outside thedistrict hospital,

the ambulance staffer, RahulKumar, pulls aside the patient’s

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EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEMUMBAI,MAY6

THE COVID curve in his city onits way down, BrihanmumbaiMunicipal Corporation (BMC)Commissioner Iqbal SinghChahal said that the “Mumbaimodel” could work in othercitiesandstatesonlyif therewashonestyabouttheseverityofthecoronavirusproblem."Twomonths back I used to

get calls frommy colleagues inthegovernmentof India, askingwhy only Maharashtra hasCovid. And theywould laugh atus. If someone is laughing at us,how do I sharemymodel withthem?... When calamity hits,there is no time to learn, don’thave the cushion time to copythosemodels,"hesaidattheIdeaExchange interactionwith TheIndian Express newsroom

Thursday. (A detailed transcriptwill bepublishedMay10.)He said he had attended a

meetingofDelhigovernmentandCentral officials onWednesdaynight, hours after the SupremeCourt told them to “draw fromthe(Mumbai)experience.”

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ASADREHMANLUCKNOW,MAY6

CLOSE TO midnight onWednesday, the Lucknow ad-ministration filedanFIRagainsta city hospital accusing it ofspreading "false rumours" overshortage of oxygen. OnThursday, thehospital adminis-tration, which had put up a no-ticeonMay3askingrelatives totakeawaypatientsas itwas fac-ing oxygen shortage, said itwouldmovetheAllahabadHighCourtover theFIR.

Sun Hospital, located inLucknow's Gomti Nagar area,was declared a Covid facilityaround amonth ago. OnMay3,the 45-bed hospital had 38 pa-tients, with the hospital claim-ing all were on oxygen supportat the time. On Thursday, it had28 Covid patients, with 20 onoxygensupport.The FIR, filed at 11.30 pmon

Wednesday,cameadayaftertheAllahabadHigh Court, during ahearing,calleddeathsduetolackofoxygena"genocide"andmen-tioned the notice put up by

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AWAIVERonIPprotec-tionswouldmeanvac-cinemakersaroundtheworldcanproducethemwithout facing legalac-tionfromcompaniesthatoriginallydevelopedthem.However, suchawaivercanbeenforcedonlyafter theproposal isdebatedat theWTO.

Somedistanceto travel still

Singhat thefarmers’mahapanchayat inBaghpat inFebruary,amonghis lastpublicappearances. Express/File

RelativesofCovidpatientsqueueuptorefilloxygencylinders inMuzaffarnagar.PraveenKhanna

AttheMuzaffarnagardistricthospital.PraveenKhanna

ANEXPRESS SERIES

PART-1

UTTARPRADESH

COVID IN THECOUNTRYSIDE

Lucknow

MUZAFFARNAGAR

1,492APRIL15

4,664MAY6

ACTIVE CASES

US backs IP rightswaiver for Covidvaccines, EU saysready to discuss

DISTRICTMUZAFFARNAGAR

Oxygen notice: Lucknowhospital slapped withFIR, says will move HC

Chahalat thesession

BUSINESS AS USUAL

BYUNNY

CECSushilChandra (left)andECRajivKumar.Express

A J I T S I N G H 1939-2021

BMC chief: If someonelaughs at us, how do Ishare Mumbai modelI toldDelhinohospital shouldbeforcedtoaddbedsovernight:Chahal

New Delhi

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DecodingtheSupremeCourt’sMarathaquotaverdictNEWEPISODEEVERYDAY

Todayonthe3Thingspodcast,wetalkaboutthereasonswhytheapexcourtdecidedtostrikedownthelaw,andtheimplicationsthatitwillhaveforOBCsandthestates.

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Dissenting ECagainst theMadrasHighCourt’s“murder-charges”remark.ThedissentingCommissioner

is also said to have told his col-leaguethatseniorofficialshadnotevencaredtoacknowledgehisin-putsandthathefeltmarginalised.AfterSunilArora’sretirement

asChief ElectionCommissioner(CEC)onApril12,thethree-mem-ber Commission has SushilChandraasCECandRajivKumarasElectionCommissioner.TheIndianExpresshadfirstre-

portedWednesday that thepollpanel’s plea in theMadrasHighCourt to gag themedia fromre-portingoralobservationsofjudgesand its SLP in the topcourtwerenotunanimouslyapprovedbytheCommission.Sosharpwasthedifferencein

opinionbetween the two com-missionersonthismatterthatthedissentingmemberhadwantedtoputhisviewsonrecordinasep-arateaffidavit.OnWednesday, thisnewspa-

perhadalsoreportedthatthedis-sentingCommissionerhadsepa-ratelyadvisedagainstcallingforagagonthemediabuthisfeedbackwas ignored. Reacting to the re-port, the Commission issued astatement saying that it was"unanimous thatbeforeHon'bleSupremeCourt there shouldnotbe any prayer for restriction onmediareporting."However, the EC's Special

Leave Petition (SLP) contradictsthis. In the SLP, theCommissionsaid itwas aggrievedby theoralobservations of theHigh Courtandalsoby the court nothavingaddressedthemeritsofitsmiscel-laneousapplication. In the latter,theEChad,indeed,soughtrestric-tionsonmedia reporting theex-changebetweenthejudgeandthelawyersinopencourt.

IP rights waiverFoundationof India(PHFI)presi-dentProfKSrinathReddytoldTheIndianExpress.Thediscussionon thewaiver

stemsfromabroaderproposalbyIndiaandSouthAfrica, seekingawaiveroncertainconditionsoftheTrade Related Aspects ofIntellectual Property Rights(TRIPS)agreement.The twocountrieshadorigi-

nally asked theTRIPSCouncil torecommendawaiveron the im-plementation,application,anden-forcementof four sectionsof theagreement. However, thesewaivershadbeensoughtoncopy-right-relatedrights,industrialde-signs,patents,andtheprotectionof undisclosed information thatcould impede timely access notonly toCovid-19vaccines, but toaffordablediagnostics, therapeu-tics,andothermedicalproducts.TheUSandEUareamongthe

major countries that have op-posedthisproposalduringdiscus-sionsattheWTOsofar.But with US President Joe

Biden comingunder increasingpressure toback IndiaandSouthAfrica’smove,UnitedStatesTradeRepresentative (USTR)KatherineTai onWednesday announcedthatthecountrywould“actively”participateintext-basednegotia-tionsattheWTOforthispurpose.“TheAdministrationbelieves

strongly in intellectual propertyprotections,butinserviceofend-ing this pandemic, supports thewaiver of those protections forCovid-19 vaccines,” Tai said in astatement.However, the text-basedne-

gotiations “will take time”, giventheconsensus-basednatureoftheWTOandthe “complexityof theissuesinvolved”,shesaid.EuropeanCommissionpresi-

dentUrsulavonderLeyensaidonThursdaythatBrusselswasreadyto“discuss”thisproposal,AFPre-ported. “TheEuropeanUnion isalsoreadytodiscussanyproposalthataddressedthecrisis inanef-fective andpragmaticmanner,”she said in anonline conferencecitedbythenewsagency.Minister for Commerce and

Industry Piyush Goyal said onThursday:“Wewelcome(the)USgovernment supporting this ini-tiativeandjoining120othercoun-triesworking towardsaffordableCovid-19vaccines.”Inarelease,theMinistrysaid:

“Wearehopeful thatwithacon-sensusbasedapproach,thewaivercan be approved quickly at theWTO.Thewaiverisanimportantstepforenablingrapidscalingupofmanufactureandtimelyavail-abilityofaffordableCovid-19vac-cinesandessentialmedicalprod-ucts.”Trade expert Prof Biswajit

DharofJNU'sCentreforEconomicStudies and Planning said theUSTR’sdecisionwas“significant”,since this is the first USAdministrationthathastacitlyac-ceptedtheadverseimplicationsofintellectual property rights onpublichealth.ProfDharadded, “Twoissues

will be extremely important forthewaiver towork out as pro-posed. One, the duration of thewaivershouldbereasonable,andtwo,thereshouldnotbeanylim-itingconditionsattachedonpro-ducerswho seek to take advan-tageofthewaiver.”AWTOexpertsaidthecruxof

the final text is likely to be dis-cussed in an informal modeamongdevelopedcountries liketheUS,EU,andJapan,alongwithsomedeveloping countries, in-cludingIndia.Whilepublichealthactivists,

officials,andexpertshavesaidthelatest developments couldopenuptheproductionofthesepoten-tiallylife-savingjabs,somemem-bersof theindustryhavepointedout that the issue ismuchmorecomplex.The International Federation

ofPharmaceuticalManufacturers&Associations (IFPMA) termedthe move “disappointing”. Awaiver is “the simple but thewronganswer towhat is a com-plexproblem,”theglobalpharmalobbygroup said. Itwas likely todistractfromthe“realchallenges”inscalingupproductionanddis-tributionof Covid-19vaccines—tradebarriers,bottlenecksinsup-plychains,scarcityofrawmateri-als and ingredients in the supplychain, and anunwillingness byrichcountriestosharedoseswithpoorones—IFPMAsaid.

UP wavebrother.“Youstaycalm,don’tan-tagonise them. Let me talk tothem,”hesays.Then,hewalksuptothenurse.

“Thepatient’soxygenisverylow,77.Oxygen is there in theambu-lance.Butitwillnotlastmorethana fewhours.What should I do?”he asks. Thenurse, nowcalmer,asks,“IsthereaCovid-positivere-port?”Wherethefamilyhascomefrom,Almaspur, there isno test-ing. “This is a caseof Covid,” saysKumar. Thenursewalksback in-side, shutting the gates. Kumarturnstothebrother:“Wehavetowear themdown.Don’tworry, I

willnotaban-donyou.”Kumar is

26,withathincloth facemask thatslipsoften.Heis a govern-ment healthworker, anEMT(EmergencyMedicalTechnician)

whooperatestheambulancewithadriver.HehasnoPPEkit,nosani-tiser,nogloves,noprotection.“Thesedays,whenwe finda

patientwith fever anddroppingoxygen,weknowit’sCovid.Ican’tleavethemdying.Thisambulanceisn’t even fromhere. Iwas calledfromMorna,30kmaway,”Kumarsays.Kumar’sparentshavebegged

him to stay home. “I earn Rs12,500amonth.Thatisimportantformy family. Theypray forme.Thisisthebalancesheetofmylife,”hesays.About100mtotherightisan

opengatethatleadstothewards,making amockery of thewordisolation.ThereareCovidandsus-pectedCovidpatientseverywhere—even in the children’s and thematernityward.Nexttoeachisatleast one family member,untestedforCovid.DharmendraSingh,35,sayshe

will not leavehismother’s side.“It’sabattle,”hesays.“Thedoctorsare trying their best, as are thenurses and theward boys. Buttheyare sooverworked. So if thefamilymembers leave, youcan-not be sure theywill get care. Ievenbuyher biscuits fromout-side.Keepherspiritsup,checkheroxygen.”It’s past noon, and thework-

load in the hospital is such thatdoctors are overworked, nurseshavebecomedoctors,wardboyshavebecomenurses,andthefam-ilieshavebecomewardstaff.Singhhasnosymptomsthusfar,andhismask ishangingaroundhischin.“Therearesomanypeopleinsidethisroom,atleast20patientsand30 familymembers. It is hot andsuffocating.Ihaven’tevenstoppedto think if I have Covid. If mymother lives, I’ll thinkaboutmy-self,”hesays.In another room, thereareat

least20patients, onedoctor andtwo nurses. The doctor enters,checksonapatient, steps out towrite a prescription,moves on.“Weneed the families here be-causewecan’t handle thenum-bers.Weneedhands to listen toinstructions,”hesays.DrMahavir Lal Faujdar, Chief

MedicalOfficer,Muzaffarnagar,says theadministration is tryingitsbest.“Wehaveonemedicalcol-legeinthedistrict,whichhas300beds, ofwhich197areoccupied.

Wealsohavethreeprivatehospi-talswith50beds each, all occu-pied.Thedistricthospitalisforiso-lation,andhasanisolationward,”hesays.Officials say that the district

hasatotalof120ICUbedsand42ventilators.The isolationward, Faujdar

says,ismeanttohave20bedsbut“peoplearemore,sothereare10-15more”.“Patientswhohavelowoxygen saturation, but maybedon’thaveatest,weisolatethem.Wegive themoxygen fromcon-centrators, and if they have co-morbidities,wetreatthose.WedoaCTchestscan,andif thatshowsCovidaswell, and the saturationis very low,we send them to alevel-3hospital,”hesays.But these are the fortunate

ones. At the entrance toMuzaffarnagartown,6kmaway,outside the ITI building,which isdoublingupasaoxygenrefillingunit, there is a crowdof close to200people,tiredandangry.Nextto eachoneof them is anemptyoxygencylinder, lineduponeaf-teranother.Everydayforthepastweek,peoplehavebeenliningupsince early in themorning. It’s alongwaitforthegatestoopen.NazimMohammedhasbeen

comingat5ameveryday.Today,hewas late and is behind in thequeue. “Mymother is at BharatHospital,andtheydon’thaveoxy-gen.Youhave tobringyourown.Everyday,Icomehereandwaitforhours.Yesterday, Igot itat11pm,afterwaiting16hours.Thereisno-bodytohelp,”hesays.“It’s 11 am today, and they

haven’t even started.Whatwillhappentomymother?Thisistheonly oxygen refilling plant inMuzaffarnagar,” he says, tears inhis eyes.He calls out to apolice-man: “Sir, pleasedosomething.”Thepoliceman,JabarSingh,dialsanumber on his cell phone, andshows it to the crowd. “See, noone’sanswering,”hesays.Bynow,there are 168 cylinders in thequeue—and168liveshanginginthebalance.

Team to Bengalreportonthesituationinthestate.“Sofarthereporthasnotbeen

received.According tomedia re-ports, violence continues. Thismeans effectivemeasures havenot been taken so far,” a Home

Ministryofficialsaid,quotingfromthe letter.WestBengal hasbeenaskedtotakeallmeasuresneces-sarytostoptheviolence, theoffi-cialsaid.“Theletterhasalsosaidthatif

thesituationreportisnotreceivedat once, it will be viewed seri-ously,”theofficialadded.TheTMC's thumpingvictory

in the Assembly elections onSundayhavebeenfollowedbyre-portsofwidespreadviolence,withmanyBJPofficesandworkersbe-ing allegedly targeted by TMCworkers.Therehavealsobeenre-ports of TMC leaders being tar-getedbytheBJP.Atleast14peoplehavebeenreporteddeadinthevi-olencesofar.Inher first action after being

sworninasChiefMinisterforthethird time,MamataBanerjeeonWednesdaytransferred30topof-ficers,includingDGPPNirajnayan,andwarned that violenceof anykindwillnotbetolerated.Followingameetingwithtop

officials, the ChiefMinister saidthat“inefficiencies”hadcreptintotheadministrationduringthelongelection process when theElectionCommissionhadcontrol,andsaid thatviolencewasbeingreportedfromtheareaswheretheBJPhadwon.InWednesday's administra-

tiveshake-up,29 IPSofficersandone IASofficerwere transferred.DGPNirajnayanwasmadeDG,Fire Services, andADG(LawandOrder) JagmohanwasmovedasDG,CivilDefence.Banerjee brought back

Virendra as DGP and JavedShamimasADG(LawandOrder),both of whomhad been trans-ferredby theECduring theelec-tionperiod.Banerjeeappealedtoallpolit-

icalpartiestomaintainpeaceandharmony.“Bengaldoesnottoler-ateunrest,neitherdoI.Startingto-day,Iwilltacklethelawandorder,”shesaid.s

HC to Delhi govtwhourgentlyrequiresanICUbed.Earlier, senioradvocateRahul

Mehra,whorepresentstheDelhigovernment,submittedthatinfra-structureisstrugglingforvariousreasonsand requested the courttonot say that theexisting infra-structure is in “shambles” as “itgivesadifferentconnotation”.

“The infrastructure is there tosupport everything. But the lackof oxygen...what can infrastruc-ture do?” he said.However, thecourtsaid:“No,no,don’tsayonlyoxygen,asifyouhaveeverythingelse.Isthatwhatyouaresaying?”WhenMehrasaid15,000beds

are in thepipeline, the court re-sponded: “Pipeline is pipeline.Theyarenotthere.”WhenMehrasubmittedthathospitalswerere-ducing beds because of lack ofoxygen, the court remindedhimof theobservation itmade to theCentralGovernment counsel onMay4.“Whenyoudefendthispo-sition,thenwearenotrisingabovepolitics,”saidthecourt.Thecourtthenreferredtothe

incidentof a lawyer’sbrother-in-lawpassingawayforlackofanICUbedwhilehispetitionwasbeingheard.“WhenMr(Amit)Sharma’sbrother-in-lawpassedaway,weall felt that the State has failed.What answer dowegive to thefamily?”thebenchsaid.Sayingthatheonlywantedto

statethereasonsbehindtheinfra-structurefailure,Mehrawithdrewthe statementandapologised tothecourt.Thecourtsaidthe“reasonsare

thatpeopleofthiscountryarenotdemandingenough.Theyelect agovernmentwithoutinsistingthatthey fulfill their promises...Becausewedonotplan.What isour planned expenditure onhealth?”Onthepleaseekingabed,the

courtwas told by the patient'scounsel that his SP02 level hasfallenbelow42but thehospitalwhere he is admitted does nothaveanICUbed.ObservingthatArticle21ofthe

Constitutionguaranteestherighttolifeandliberty,thebenchsaiditcannot turn thepetitioner awaybymerelytellinghimthatthestatedoesnothavetheinfrastructure.

BMC chief“ItoldtheDelhigovernmentthatno hospital should be forced toaddbeds.TheSOScallsfromhos-pitalsarebecausetheyareforcedto increase oxygenated bedsovernight,which is not supple-mentedwith oxygen storage,”Chahalsaid.Mumbai’s oxygenproblems

were “history” now, he added,becauseof optimumutilisation

of available oxygen, seamlessdistribution and creation ofbuffer stock, coupledwith theBMC'sabilitytopull togetheritsexisting resources.Chahal said he had also

reached out to Delhi, includingofficials he had worked withduringpostingsattheCentre,toensuretherewerenooxygenis-sues.“Isentoutmessagestotopbureaucrats--CabinetSecretaryRajiv Gauba, Home SecretaryandHealth Secretary, eight toppoliticiansofthestate, includingtheCM,DeputyCM."Praising Gauba, who was

Chahal’s boss when bothwereintheUnionHomeMinistry,theCommissionersaidhewasquicktorespond.Askedwhethertherehad been any issues because oftheCentre-statetussle,asbeingseeninDelhi,Chahalsaidhehadnothadsuchproblems.According to the

Commissioner,hissuggestiontothe Centre was import of oxy-gen. “The turnaround time foroxygen supply from the allo-catedunitinHaldiaiseightdays,which was not feasible. I sug-gested(totheCabinetSecretary)oxygenfromRelianceindustriesin Jamnagar, which is just 16hours away fromMumbai. By1pm that that day, 125 metrictonnes of oxygenwas allocatedtous fromJamnagar.”The BMC head also praised

Chief Minister UddhavThackeray for giving him a“tremendous free hand" andsaid: “I must tell you that I amvery lucky in many ways.Virtually, Icantakeanydecision.Thatisthekindof freehand(theCM) has givenme,which is notavailable to my colleagues inmanycitiesof thecountry.”Chahal, who took charge as

Commissioner inMay last yearwhen theMumbai Covid situa-tionwas fast deteriorating, saidthecreationofwardwarrooms,dashboardsforbeds,banningoflabs from handing over Covidtestreportstopositivepatients ,andthedecisionnottodisman-tle jumbo Covid facilities afterthe firstwavewereall crucial inhandling the secondwave. Hesaidthesystemwason“autopi-lot”now.

Oxygen noticeSunHospital.Refutingpolice allegationsof

spreadingrumours,SunHospital'sAkhileshPandeysaid,“Iwanttheadministration to comeand talkto caregivers aboutwhat hap-penedonMay3.Iamfilingawritpetition in the AllahabadHighCourt challenging the action."WhilePandeysaidhewasaman-agerwiththehospital,policesaidhewasoneofthedirectors.Pandeyalso claimed that the

Sub-DivisionalMagistrate(Sadar)PrafulTripathihadputpressureonhim. "Ihaveavideowith theau-dioofSDMsahibmakingmewritethings in return for helpingme.Now,theyhaveissuedanoticetome,"Pandeysaid.He saidhewas approaching

thecourtforanticipatorybailandtoseekafairinvestigationintotheissue.While the SDMcouldnot be

contacted,hehadearlierclaimedtohaveconductedapreliminaryinquiryandfoundthatagainst20Covidpatientsonoxygensupport,the hospital had eight jumbocylinders filledwithoxygen, andtwoB-typeoxygencylindersandconcentrators.Thecomplaintby thedistrict

administrationreads,“Despiteor-ders fromLucknowdistrict ad-ministrationandgovernmentfornotspreadingrumoursofOxygenshortage, anoticewascirculatedon social media asking (care-givers)ofpatientstowithdrawpa-tientsonoxygensupportfromthehospital.”However, Pandey said, the

hospitalneedstomaintainaback-up. "Despite requests, nooneas-suredmeabout oxygen supply.Theadministrationkeptsayingno

when asked about oxygen. TheDrug Inspector toldmehowhecould givemeoxygen cylinderswhen therewas none availableanywhereinLucknow.IissuedthenoticebecauseIdidn’twantany-one todie atmyhospital, and toensure that if someonecouldgoelsewhere, theycouldhavedoneso.”Onthebasisoftheadministra-

tion's complaint, the FIR waslodgedagainstthehospital,nam-ingPandey, at theVibhutiKhandPoliceStation.Officials saidothernameswillbeaddedfollowingtheprobe. “Fornow,wehave lodgeda case against Akhilesh Pandey.Wehavebeen toldAkhilesh is apartnerandthereisanotherdirec-tor,” said Vibhuti Khand SHOChandraShekharSingh.TheFIRhasbeenlodgedunder

Sections of the DisasterManagementAct andEpidemicDiseasesActandIPCSections188(disobediencetoorderdulyprom-ulgatedbypublicservant)and269(negligentact likely to spread in-fection of disease dangerous tolife).AtahearingonCovid-19issues

on May 4, the Allahabad HighCourthadsaiddeathsofpatientsdueto lackofoxygensupply“isacriminal act andnot less than agenocidebythosewhohavebeenentrustedthetasktoensurecon-tinuousprocurementandsupplychainof the liquidmedical oxy-gen”.The court had also asked

Meerut and Lucknow districtmagistrates to verify news ofdeathsof patients in the ICUof anew trauma centre at MeerutMedical College and reports oftwohospitals,oneeachinMeerutand Lucknow (Sun Hospital),telling relatives to takeawaypa-tientsduetoshortageofoxygen.Earlier, hearing a PIL on the

Covid situation, theHigh Courthad said “those in powermustshuntheattitudeof‘mywayornoway’andshouldwelcomesugges-tions fromall thequarters”.Thiscame days after Chief MinisterYogiAdityanathwarnedofactionagainsthospitals if they "falsely"reportedoxygenshortage.

Ajit Singhon servemany stints as Unionminister, under different gov-ernmentsof differenthues.In the early 1990s, he split

the Janata Dal and floated theJanataDal(A),beforejoiningtheCongress headed by P VNarasimha Rao after his partywaswipedoutinUPinthe1991Assembly elections. In 1995, hewasmadeUnionFoodMinister.In 1996, Singh entered the LokSabha for the third time, butsoon quit the Congress and hisLok Sabha membership. Hecameback to theHouse the fol-lowingyear inaby-election.In 1999, Singh formed the

RLD.While, at the time, he ac-cused the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led BJP government of turningthe Kargil war into an electionissue, two years later, he joinedthe NDA and became anAgricultureMinister.In 2009, a year after voting

against theManmohan Singh-led UPA I government in a no-confidence motion, Singhflipped again and joined theUPA.Subsequently,heheld firstthe Chemicals and Fertilizersand then the Civil AviationMinistry.Havingheldonto itsbaseall

these years, the RLD finallybuckledunder theoverwhelm-ing rise of NarendraModi-ledBJP inUP.However, lately, in a twist of

fate that Ajit Singhwould haveappreciated, theRLDwasbeingtalkedof asanalternativeagainin western UP, amidst farmerangerover thenewagriculturallaws by the Centre. JayantChaudhary held a series of ral-liesacrossthestateontheissue,sharing the stagewith, amongothers, Congress general secre-taryPriyankaGandhi.

SC’s balance: HC remarks harsh; freespeech, open court key to right to knowit “didnot seek toattribute cul-pability for the Covid-19 pan-demic in the country to theEC.What instead itwouldhave in-tendedtodowastourgetheECtoensurestrictercomplianceofCOVID-19relatedprotocolsdur-ingelections”,saidtheSC.The bench added: “Having

said that,wemust emphasizetheneed for judges to exercisecaution inoff-the-cuff remarksinopencourt,whichmaybesus-ceptibletomisinterpretation”.Writingforthebench,Justice

Chandrachud underlined theimportanceof judicial languageandsaid:“Language,bothontheBenchand in judgments,mustcomportwithjudicialpropriety.Languageisanimportantinstru-mentofajudicialprocesswhichissensitivetoconstitutionalval-ues. Judicial language is awin-dowtoaconsciencesensitivetoconstitutionalethos.Bereftofitsunderstatedbalance, languagerisks losing its symbolismas aprotectorofhumandignity”.Turningdown theECI’s re-

quest todirect themedia to re-frain fromreportingoralobser-vations, thecourtsaidit“standsas a staunchproponent of thefreedomof themedia to reportcourt proceedings. Thiswebe-lieveisintegraltothefreedomofspeechandexpressionof thosewhospeak,ofthosewhowishto

hearandtobeheardandaboveall, in holding the judiciary ac-countable to the valueswhichjustifyitsexistenceasaconstitu-tionalinstitution”.Therulingalsodweltonthe

importanceofanopencourtsys-tem.“Courtsmustbeopenbothin

thephysical andmetaphoricalsense. Save and except for in-cameraproceedingsinanexcep-tional categoryof cases, suchascases involving child sexualabuseormatrimonialproceed-ingsbearingonmattersofmar-ital privacy, our legal system isfounded on the principle thatopenaccesstocourtsisessentialto safeguardvaluable constitu-tional freedoms”, it saidaddingthis “requires that informationrelating to a court proceedingmust be available in thepublicdomain”.“Citizens”, said the court

“havearighttoknowaboutwhattranspires in thecourseof judi-cialproceedings...Argumentsad-dressedbeforethecourt,there-sponseofopposingcounselandissues raised by the court aremattersonwhichcitizenshavea legitimate right to be in-formed”.“Anopencourtproceeding”

also “ensures that the judicialprocess is subject to publicscrutiny”which in turn “is cru-

cialtomaintainingtransparencyandaccountability” and“trans-parency in the functioning ofdemocraticinstitutionsiscrucialto establish thepublic‘s faith inthem”. Also, it “ensures thatjudges act in accordancewithlawandwithprobity”.“Citizens are entitled to en-

sure that courts remain true totheirremittobeacheckonarbi-traryexercisesofpower.Theabil-ityofcitizenstodosobearsadi-rect correlation to theseamlessavailabilityofinformationaboutwhathappens inacourtduringthe course of proceedings.Therein lies the importance offreedomof themedia to com-ment on andwrite about pro-ceedings”,saidthebench.The judgmentalso touched

uponthemedia’sevolutionfromprint andelectronic formsandnowto thedigital andsaid thatin the fast changingworld oftechnology, “itwoulddousnogood toprevent thenewformsofmedia fromreportingonourwork”.Itaddedthat“acceptanceofanewrealityisthesurestwayofadaptingtoit.Ourpubliccon-stitutionalinstitutionsmustfindbetter responses than to com-plain”.Onthesignificanceoforalob-

servationsduringahearing, theSCrulingsaid they“donotcon-stituteajudgmentorbindingde-

cision”but“areatbesttentativepoints of view, onwhich rivalperspectivesofpartiesinconflictenablethejudgetodecideonanultimateoutcome”.“Thisexchangeofviews,per-

spectivesandformulationsisbutapartof evolving towardsa so-lutionwhichaccordswithjusticeaccordingtolaw.AnexchangeofviewsfromtheBenchisintrinsicto aprocess of openand trans-parentjudging.Therevealingofajudges‘mindenablesopposingparties topersuadeher to theirpointsofview.If thisexpressionwere to be discouraged theprocess of judging would beclosed”,itsaid.TheSCfurthersaidthatwhile

thereisadutytopreservethein-dependenceofthejudiciaryandtoallow freedomof expressionofthejudgesincourt,thepowerofjudgesmustnotbeunbridledandjudicialrestraintmustbeex-ercised,beforeusingstrongandscathinglanguagetocriticizeanyindividualorinstitution.Tracingthehistoryofmedia

coverageofcourtproceedings,itsaidthat“incolonialIndia,espe-cially sedition trials,were alsosites of political contestationwherecolonialbrutalityandin-dignitywere laidbare” and re-ferredtothefirstseditiontrialofLokmanyaBalgangadharTilak.

FROMPAGEONE

New Delhi

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,MAY6

DELHI CHIEF Minister ArvindKejriwal asked hospitals to in-crease the number of beds re-served for Covid patients as thecity got 730metric tonnes (MT)of oxygenonWednesday.Several hospitals, including

Delhi government-runGTBandRGSShospitals,hadreducedthenumber of beds for Covid pa-tientsastheyreportedareducedoxygensupply.“Manyhospitalshadreduced

bedsduringthistimebecauseofoxygen shortage. Our effort hasto be increase, not reduce beds,otherwise itwill result inchaos.Irequestallhospitalstoincreasetheir beds again ad I amhoping

wewillget700MToxygendaily.Manyprivatehospitals hadalsotold us they can earmarkmorebedsif theygetasetregularsup-ply. This could mean around2,000moreoxygenbeds. Ihopethese hospitals will now aug-menttheirfacilitiessomorepeo-plecanbesaved,” theCMsaid.The Delhi government and

theCentrehavebeenlockedinabitterbattleintheHighCourtandSupreme Court over the pastweeksascityhospitalsreeledun-derashortageofmedicaloxygen.While the Delhi governmentflaggedsupplyasthemainissue,theCentresaidDelhiwasunableto effectively transport and dis-tributetheoxygenallocatedtoit.AAP MLA Raghav Chadha,

whohasbeencoordinatingoxy-gensupplytohospitals,however,

said out of the 730MT oxygensuppliedonWednesday,250MTwasdoneasa“one-timetempo-rary arrangement”. “730MT ofoxygen was supplied by theCentreforthefirsttime,ofwhich250MTwasmadeavailableasa

one-time temporary arrange-ment... TheCentre shouldmakethis supply permanent, ratherthan a one-time arrangement.Since oxygen supply increased,SOS calls also decreased.Whilewe used to get around 40-50

calls daily, we received only 16SOScallsyesterday.”Givingdetailsoftheone-time

arrangementof 250MT, Chadhasaid, “Trucks thatwere to go tosomeother statesweredivertedtoDelhi.Thisishowtheytriedful-fillingtheoxygendemandof976MT.Idon’twishtoputanybodyinthewrong light, butonlywish toproject a clear picture in front ofthepeople of Delhiwithutmosttransparency. The250MToutof730MTdeliveredtousyesterday—meaningapproximately35%—was not from defined and de-claredsourcesorplants,”hesaid.He also said Delhi’s oxygen

demandwas976MT,keepinginmindtherequirementofhospi-tals,nursinghomesandtempo-rary facilities.TheCM,meanwhile, said the

government isworkingtosetupanother9,000oxygenbedsinfa-cilities such as the Radha SoamiBeasCentre inChhattarpurnowthat it has adequate supply. “Ipromise you, no onewill die forlack of oxygen if we get 700MTdaily,”saidKejriwal.He also appealed to the

Centretoensurethecitycontin-ues to get 700MT oxygen dailytoensurethatoperationsinhos-pitals and Covid centres runsmoothly. “I thank the Centre,High Court and Supreme Courtfor this. It is because of their ef-forts that we havemanaged tocontrol the situation. But thissupply should not just be for aday.Till thesecondwaveabates,we need 700MTdaily. I hope itdoesn’t happen thatweget400MTtomorrow,”hesaid.

3THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,MAY7,2021

THECITYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

Delhi gettingmore oxygen, says CM, askshospitals to increase beds for Covid patients

AttheShehnaibanquethallCovid facility.AbhinavSaha

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,MAY6

THE SUPREME Court Thursdayflaggedwarnings about an im-pendingthirdwaveoftheCovid-19pandemicandstressedontheneedtocompletevaccinationandcreatebufferstocksofoxygen.A bench of Justices D Y

ChandrachudandMRShahalsocalledupontheCentre toensureDelhicontinuestoget700metrictonnes (MT) of liquidmedicaloxygen(LMO)andreiteratedtheneed to re-examine the currentformula for supplying oxygen,whichisbasedonthenumberofICUandnon-ICUbeds.ThecourtwastoldDelhihadbeensupplied730MToxygenonWednesday.“We understand everybody

whodiesarenotdyingduetolackof oxygen. But can it be deniedthatoxygen isnotacritical com-ponent?”,thebenchaskedwhilehearing a plea by the Centreagainst the contempt notice is-sued to its officers by the DelhiHighCourt in thematterof LMOsupplytoDelhi.SolicitorGeneral(SG) TusharMehta submittedthat supplies had to be divertedfromotherstatestomeetthecap-ital's demands. “Wemay enterstage three. If we prepare today,we may be able to handle it.Whatever stockshavebeenpro-cured need to be sent to hospi-tals...,”saidJusticeChandrachud.He added the third surge,

which, as per experts “is aroundthecorner”,wouldaffectchildren.

“Sowhenachildgoestohospital,amotherand fatherwill go too,”hesaid,adding, “that iswhyvac-cinationwill have to be over forthis group of people.Wemustplan for this scientifically andmakearrangements”.ThehearingalsosawtheDelhi

governmentandCentresparoveroxygen supplies to the capital,withtheCentresayinganexpertgroup, comprising Niti Aayogmember V K Paul and AIIMSDirectorRandeepGuleriaamongothers, had opined that the de-mandfor700MTwasunrealistic,and demanded an oxygen auditto have a realistic assessment ofthe needs of various states. SGMehta,appearing for theCentre,said the audit committee willlook at the actual demand foroxygen, how it is being distrib-utedandproblemsbeingfacedbyDelhi in accessing the supply.Appearing for theDelhi govern-ment,advocateRahulMehrasaidof theaudit, “All ourdoctorsandofficers are trying to help in thiscrisis. If even one suchperson ismadeapart of the committee, itwill be an injustice to a person’slife”.But theSGrepeatedthede-mandforanaudit,andsaidthereis a “systemic failure” contribut-ingtotheshortageinthecapital.Thecourtalsocalleduponthe

Centreandstatestoutilisethe1.5lakh doctorswho have finishedtheirmedicalcoursesandawait-ing theNEET exam, saying,“Thecurrentcropof doctorsarecom-pletelyfatiguedandattheendoftheir tether.”

Regd. & head Office : 87, M.G. Road,Fort, Mumbai-400 001

CIN No. : L66000MH1919GOI000526IRDAI Reg. No. 190

APPLICATIONS are invited forEnterprise Risk Management (ERM)Consultants of repute and expertiseto update/ refresh various ERMactivities and create dashboard insystem/ tool covering top risks, Lineof Business and Key BusinessDepartments with required triggers.Details of the EOI are available on ourweb site i.e. : www.newindia.co.in.Last date of submission : on or before02.00 P.M. of 17.05.2021.

Col S Rajagopalan (Retd)

05-11-1934- 03-05-2021

Fraternity of Army Educational Corps express-

es profound grief on the sad demise of Col S

Rajagopalan (Retd). He will always be

remembered for his selfless and dedicated

service to the Corps. We pray to the Almighty

to bless eternal peace to the departed soul

and give strength to the bereaved family.

Maj Gen Devesh Gaur

Addl DG AE & Col Comdt

and All Ranks of Army Educational Corps

OBITUARY

Third Covid waveimpending, finishvaccination: SC

0-50 Good

ANANDVIHARModerate

0 500

145AQIPM:2.5

SIRIFORTModerate

0 500

SHADIPURModerate

0 500 500

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

DWARKA- SECTOR8Moderate

0

125AQIPM:10

157AQIPM:10

154AQIPM:10

FORECAST:May7Partlycloudysky

S K Y WA T C H

MAX:380.7°Cbelownormal

MIN:250.2°Cabovenormal

New Delhi

4THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,MAY7,2021

THECITYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

ASHNABUTANINEWDELHI,MAY6

OVER THE past several weeks,theRajpathstretchthathasIndiaGate as the backdrop has wit-nessed drastic changes as theambitiousCentralVistaredevel-opment project takes shape.Trenchesdugonthesidesof theroadandredroadblockershavereplaced the iconic chain linkfence and lamp posts. The pathleading up to the RashtrapatiBhavantooisfencedwithyellowboards set up by the CentralPublic Works Department(CPWD), which read:

‘Development/ Redevelopmentof CentralVistaAvenue’.Officials from HCP Design,

Planning andManagement, thearchitectural consultant of theCentral Vista project, have saidthe original design elements ofthe areawill be kept intact to alarge extent after work is com-plete.WhenTheIndianExpressvis-

itedonThursdayafternoon,bar-ringafewconstructionworkers,Rajpath wore a deserted look.Officials fromtheCentralPublicWorksDepartment(CPWD)saidthey are trying tomeet the ini-tial deadlines despite fewerworkers showingup in thepast

fewdays.Against the backdrop of a

Covid-inducedlockdown,work-erssaidtheyhavebeenissuede-passes and are being paid dailywages since the lockdown.Sanjay(27),acontractualworkerwith MTNL, said he has beencomingeverydaysothathehassome savings in case they arebarredfromworkinginthenearfuture. Themen travel to workandbackhomeinarented two-wheeler.“Earlier, there were eight of

us. But now only four of us cancometoworkinavehicle.Whenthe others tried to come, wewere issued a challan so they

don’t come any more,” saidSanjay,wholivesinBhattiMineswith his family of five. He said

theywill have to sustain on themeagre amount his wife earnsfrom tailoringwork, in case his

workstops.Thefourmendugatrenchto

bury existing underground

wiresfurtherunderground,say-ing this was being done sincesewerageworkwill begin soonand some public amenitiesmightbeunderground.AccordingtoaCPWDofficial,

diggingof anundergroundpas-sageway isabout tobegin.The redevelopment at

Rajpath, under Phase I of theproject, is aimedatmaking thearea pedestrian friendly andproviding better amenities forvisitors and tourists. This in-cludes refurbishing the lawns,creating underpasses atJanpath and C Hexagon cross-ingwithRajpath,buildingwidewalkwaysor footpathsparallel

to theavenue,andconstructinglow-levelbridgesat12selectedlocations.Other amenities include toi-

lets, drinking water facilities,vending areas, parking spaces,signages, lighting and CCTVcameras.More treeswill also line the

lawn, with the plan envisagingincreasing green cover from3,50,000 sqmts to 3,90,000 sqmts.AlsounderPhase1,asewer-agetreatmentplantwillbesetupforrecyclingofwastewateralongwith rainwater harvesting sys-temsandwatersupplysystems.

(INPUTSFROMANANYATIWARI)

TRYING TO MEET INITIAL DEADLINE DESPITE FEWER WORKERS: CPWD

Digging work at Rajpath as Central Vista redevelopment takes shape

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,MAY6

THE DELHI government hascappedchargesleviedbyprivateambulance services in the citybetweenRs1,500-Rs4,000uptoa distance of 10 kilometres,while referring toongoing ratesas “exorbitant” in itsorder.Warning of strict action

against violators, ChiefMinisterArvind Kejriwal in a tweet onThursdaysaid,“IthascometoournoticethatprivateambulancesinDelhiarecharging illegitimately.To avoid thispractise,Delhi gov-ernment has cappedmaximumprices that private ambulanceservicescanchange.Strictactionswill be taken against thosewhoviolatetheorder.”An order by the Centralised

Accident and Trauma Services(CATS)hassetcapsonchargesbyPrivate Transport Ambulances(PTA), Basic Life SupportAmbulances (BLS), andAdvanced Life SupportAmbulances (ALS).The maximum charge for

PTAhasbeenset atRs1,500per

call for up to 10 kilometres, fol-lowed by Rs 100 per extra kilo-metre, theorder stated.For the BLS category, the

chargeshavebeen cappedat Rs2,000 per call for up to 10 kilo-metres followed by Rs 100 perextra kilometre, and themaxi-mum charge of ATS is Rs 4,000for up to 10 kilometres and Rs100perextrakilometre,itadded.The maximum charges for

eachof these categories is to in-cludeallservicessuchasoxygen,all ambulance equipment, PPEkit, gloves, mask, shield, saniti-sation, driver, emergencymed-ical techniciananddoctor.“It has come to notice that

someprivateambulancedrivers,service providers, are chargingexorbitant rates in Delhi duringthe Covid-19 pandemic fortransportingpatientswhich isamatterofseriousconcern,”readtheorder.Accordingtotheorder,viola-

tionsmay result in cancellationof thedriving licenceof theam-bulance driver, cancellation oftheambulance registrationcer-tificate, and impounding of theambulance.

Delhi govt caps pvtambulance chargesat Rs 1,500-4,000

NeedmoretimetosubmitclassXmarks:GovttoCBSENewDelhi:Withschoolsasked to submit marksfor Class X students tothe CBSE in less than amonth, and Delhi reel-ing under the currentCovid crisis, the educa-tion department haswritten to the boardasking that the timelinefor this process be re-viewed.

DJB:NoplanstocutsupplytohospitalsNewDelhi:Despitea“se-vere shortage” of wateraffecting many parts ofDelhi, theDelhi JalBoard(DJB)Thursdaysaidithasnoplanstorestrictorcutwater supply to Covidhospitalsorotherhealth-care facilities.

NursingofficerarrestedNew Delhi: The DelhiPolice has arrested twomen including a nursingofficer from FortisHospital for allegedlyselling imported remde-sivirinjectionsatahigherprice in thecity. ENS

BRIEFLY

Total VacantHOSPITAL BEDS 22,058 1,777ICU BEDS 5,569 24

Dailycases Recoveries Deaths TestsMay5 20,960 19,209 311 79,491May6 19,133 20,028 335 78,780Total 90,629* 11,64,008 18,398 1,75,97,532

CORONAVIRUSIN THECAPITAL *T

otalactivecases

TOTAL CASES

12,73,035VACCINATIONSIN LAST24HRS

68,205

Court: Give 12 seizedO2 concentrators tojudicial officers, cops

Quarantinefor travellersfrom AP,Telangana

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,MAY6

ADELHIcourtonWednesdayor-deredthereleaseof twelveoxy-gen concentrators seized byDelhi Police for use among po-liceofficers, judicialofficersandtheir familymembers.The order was passed by

MetropolitanMagistrate AnujBahal, whowas hearing an ap-plication filed by the police forreleaseof 12oxygenconcentra-tors seizedonMay4.Twopersons,VinayAgarwal

andAkashVashist,were appre-hendedand themachinesweredeposited atDwarkapolice sta-tion.TheInvestigationOfficer(IO)hadtoldthecourt thatmanypo-lice officerswere suffering fromCovid-19 and they needed it tosavetheir lives.Thecourtsaidnouseful purposewould be solvedbykeepingtheseoxygenconcen-tratorsat thepolicemalkhanaatDwarkapolicestation.“It is pertinent to mention

thatjudicialofficers,duetotheirnatureofwork,arealsoexposedto deadly coronavirus. A largenumber of judicial officers andtheir families in Delhi are in-fectedwithCovid-19andunfor-tunately twomembers of theDelhi judiciary, namely familyjudgeKovaiVenugopalandmet-

ropolitan magistrate DwarkaKamran Khan, have lost theirlivesduetotheCovidinfection,”thecourt said.The order further stated, “In

thebesthealthinterestofpoliceofficers,judicialofficersandtheirfamily members, this courtdeemsit fit toreleaseandput toimmediate use the 12 oxygenconcentratorsseizedinthepres-ent FIR formedication of policeofficers,judicialofficersandtheirfamilymembers.”Of the 12 oxygen concentra-

tors, twomachines will be re-leasedtoDCPDwarkaforinfectedpolice officials. “Three oxygenconcentrators be released to theofficeofprincipaldistrictandses-sionsjudge(HQ),TizHazari.Twowill be released to office of theprincipal district and sessionsjudge,Dwarka,”theorderstated.“Threeoxygenconcentrators

willgototheofficeof theprinci-pal district and sessions judge,Saket, and two to Covid HealthCentreatDelhiJudicialAcademy,Dwarka,”directedBahal.

WorkunderwayontheCentralVistaredevelopmentproject.AmitMehra

TheCMhaswarnedofstrictactionagainstviolators.AmitMehra

At gurdwara oxygen langar, manyCovid patients get a breath of lifeJIGNASASINHA&AMILBHATNAGARNEWDELHI,MAY6

AWOMANinherearlyfortiessatinachairoutsidetheIndirapuramgurdwara,holdinghermaskcon-nected to anoxygen cylinder. Asshe struggled to breathe, twomembers of her family rubbedher back. “Ma, open your eyes.Breathe.Youwillbefine,”hersonsaid. After awhile, thewomancollapsed.As the family tookheraway ina car, a gurdwaravolun-teermurmured,“Waheguru”.The “oxygen langar” at the

gurdwarawassetuptwoweeksagobyKhalsaHelpInternationaland Gurdwara Sri Guru SinghSabha. Beds,with oxygen cylin-ders, concentrators, andmasks,havebeenlaidoutinalargetentequippedwithfansandcoolers.Therearealsochairs, incase thebedsareoccupied.“Wehave 25-30 beds at the

gurdwara.Morethan70patientscomehereeveryday.Wedon’tsaynotoanyone,”saidGurpreetSinghRummy, president of the gurd-wara committee and foundingmemberofKhalsaHelp.“Wehavealso received donations fromsomestates.Butitisdifficulttogetoxygencylinders,”headded.Mostofthosewhocomehere

are indesperateneedof oxygen,butareunabletofindaplaceinahospital.Manywait at the gurd-warawhiletheirfamilieslookforabed.Somepatientsreturnhomeastheybegintofeelbetter, someothersareunabletosurvive.“The doors of our gurdwara

areopen toeveryone.Manypa-

tients come when their SPO2levelhasfallenconsiderably,andthey are at a critical stage.Patients are free to use the oxy-gensupplyuntil theyfeelbetter.By God’s grace, we have ade-quatesupplyofoxygen,buteventhenweareunabletosavesomepatients,”Rummysaid.FormanylikeAmit(47),ares-

identofLoni,theoxygenlangaratthegurdwarahasbeenalifesaver.He spoke of howhis father, VedPrakash (75), had developed ahigh fever and complained ofbreathlessness on Saturday. Thefamily had takenhim to at leastsixhospitals,buthadbeenforcedtobringhimbackhomeafterfail-ingtofindabed.“Westartedhistreatment at home.We tried toget aCovid test done, but failed.Threedaysago,myfather’soxy-genleveldroppedto60%,andwetookhimtoaprivatehospital inNoida,” said Amit, who workswithaprivate firminGurgaon.

OnWednesday, the privatehospitaldischargedAmit’sfather.On Thursdaymorning, his oxy-gen level dropped again. Thistime, the family brought him tothe gurdwara. “Wewere scepti-cal because the beds are in theopenunderatent;thereisnoACormedicalequipment...ButIwaswrong.Myfather is recovering...His oxygen level is now75%. Hestill has difficulty breathing buthe is able to eat and talk now.Volunteers give him food andmedicineson time.WehavegothimtestedforCovidhere,andareawaitingtheresult,”Amitsaid.Officials said despite the

availabilityofoxygen,at least10patients face severe complica-tions at the langar every day onaverage.Volunteersat thegurd-wara said many patients arebroughtwhen they are alreadycritical, inneedofventilatorsup-port.Whensomeseverelyillpa-tients stop responding, they are

rushed to one of the four CovidhospitalsinIndirapuramforlast-minuteeffortsat resuscitation.On theblocked roadoutside

thegurdwara,onwhichthetenthas been erected, patients sit inchairs,wearingmaskswithnoz-zles connected to oxygen cylin-ders.Recently,thegurdwaraalsoset up a central oxygen supplysystem, like inhospitals.“We source cylinders from

Haridwar, Haryana, and otherplaces.Wesendourvehiclewher-everweneedto.Oureffortistonotrefuseanyone.Alotofpeoplearedoing sewaaswell. Our first pri-orityistosavelives.Onceapatientarrives,ittakeslessthanaminutetosetthesupplyup,”Rummysaid.Laxmi (50), a resident of

Sangam Vihar, brought hermother-in-lawRajkumari(70)tothelangaraftershesawapostonFacebookabout theservices.Rajkumari, who lives with

her four sons in Delhi, lost herelder daughter, Sumita (47), toCovid-related complications inAligarh lastweek after the fam-ilyfailedtogetherahospitalbed.“Her (Rajkumari’s) oxygen levelcrashed to 35% onWednesdaynight... Shewashavingseizures,vomiting... Around 4 am (onThursday), we came here. It’sbeen seven hours, and her oxy-genlevelis51%now.Wehadlostall hope... but the people herehelpedus,” Laxmisaid.Gurdwarastaff—mostlyvol-

unteersfromtheNCR—helpun-loadcylinders,seatpatientsandkeep track of the oxygen stock.The gurdwara has four ambu-lances andahearse van, andof-fers its services for free.

Atthegurdwara in Indirapuram. PremNathPandey

FACILITYHAS500BEDS

ASHNABUTANINEWDELHI, MAY 6

AROUND 500 labourers worktirelessly to complete the con-structionof an ICUfacilitywith500 beds at Ramlila Maidan,which will be linked to LokNayak Hospital. Officials said70% of the work is completedand it should be ready in a fewmore days.As Delhi continues to grap-

ple with a high case load andshortage of hospital beds andoxygen, the Delhi governmenthad announced last week that1,000 ICUbedswill comeup ingrounds near Lok Nayak andGTBhospitals.On April 29, Chief Minister

Arvind Kejriwal and HealthMinisterSatyendar Jainhadvis-ited the facility. After the visit,Jain had tweeted, “Reviewedthe progress of the ongoingwork in the500 ICUbeds facil-ity of LNJP Hospital. In thesetesting times, our engineersand workers are working dayand night to make the facilityavailable by 5thMay.”Delhi,whichsawnewcases

in a day crossing the 28,000mark inApril, hasseenareduc-tion in cases over the past fewdays. On Thursday, the city re-ported 19,133 cases and 335deaths. The positivity rate,which was consistently over30% last week, dipped to 24%.

Over 78,000 tests were con-ducted in the city, over 64,000

ofwhichwere RT-PCR tests.Over 27.7 lakh people have

got one shot of the vaccine sofar inDelhi,while7.7 lakhhavegot both doses.The facility at Ramlila

Maidan comprises twohangars,which can accommo-date 250 patients each. Thehangars—30metreswide and135 metres long — have steelframes,whicharecoveredwithwhite tarpaulin sheets.AnofficialofDeepaliDesigns

and Exhibits, the company

working on the project, said akitchen is being constructedoutsideandliquidmedicaloxy-gen tankswill be set up behindthe facility. Amortuary is beingconstructedinsidethepremisesaswell. Twelvewashrooms arebeing constructed around thetwohangars.The official said the same

construction company had setup theDRDO facility inDhaulaKuan and they are following asimilar layout here.One of the two hangars is

nearing completion as thewalls and ceilings are ready.The first hangar is likely to beopen to patients sooner thanthe other, said the official. Headded, “Construction workshould be completed in thenext 3-4 days.”Atpresent, thereare22,052

beds earmarked for Covid pa-tients in the city. Of these, only1,774 are available, as per theDelhi government’s DelhiCorona app. Out of the 5,569ICU beds, only 24 are vacant,the app says. However, severalpeople have complained thattheappisnotaccurateandhos-pitals where beds are shownvacant are not admitting anypatients.Another 500 ICU bed facil-

ity is being constructed nearGTBHospital. Jain tweetedthatconstruction of both facilitieswillprovideconsiderable reliefto serious Covid patients.

RamlilaMaidan ICU facility: 70%work done, to be ready in a fewdays

Thefacilitycomprises twohangars,whichcanaccommodate250patientseach.AbhinavSaha

Thecourtsaidnousefulpurposewouldbesolvedbykeepingtheseoxygenconcentratorsat thepolicemalkhana

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,MAY6

IN LIGHT of reports of a “viru-lent variant” of Covid-19 inAndhraPradeshandTelangana,theDelhigovernmentThursdaysaid persons travelling fromthese states to the capital willhave to undergo “mandatorygovernment institutionalquar-antine”or“paidquarantine” for14daysat facilities identifiedbytheDistrictMagistrate.However, those who have

receivedbothdosesof vaccina-tionandhaveanegativeRT-PCRreport not older than 72 hours,would be allowed home quar-antine for sevendays.“A virulent variant of Covid-

19isreportedtohavebeenfoundrecently in the States of AndhraPradesh and Telangana and thisnew strain of Covid-19 has ashorter incubation periodwithhigh transmission rate and theprogressofdiseaseismuchmorerapidinthisstrainand,therefore,additional precautionarymeas-ures in respect of the personscomingfromtheStateofAndhraPradeshandTelanganatoNCTofDelhi through Airlines/ Trains/Buses/Cars/Trucks or any othermode of transportation are re-quiredtobetakeninpublicinter-est with the objective that thisnew virulent strain of Covid-19should not enter and transmitintotheterritoryofNCTofDelhi,”theDelhiDisasterManagementAuthority said in an orderThursday.

4 arrestedfor blackmarketingof oxygenequipment

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,MAY6

THEDELHI Police said Thursdaytheyhadseizedthe largestnum-berofoxygenconcentratorsinthecity so far after they raided arestaurant inSouthDelhi’s LodhiColonyonWednesday.Fourmenwere arrested from Nege JuRestaurant and Bar after policefound419oxygen concentratorsfrom the restaurant aswell as awarehouseinChattarpur.Atul Kumar Thakur, DCP

(Southdistrict), said theaccused,including the manager of therestaurant, are involved in blackmarketingoftheequipment.Theyrunoperations from the restau-rant. The oxygen concentratorsaresoldatRs70,000each.“During area patrollingwe

found Nege Ju open and thereweresomemeninside.Ourteamsearched the place and found amanreceivingordersfromapor-talnamed ‘XpectEverything’.Hewassellingoxygenconcentratorsand masks. We also found 32unitsofoxygenconcentratorsin-sidetherestaurant,”saidtheDCP.Police arrested restaurant

manager Hitesh Prakash (32)alongwiththreeothers–GauravSingh, Satish Sethi and VikrantSingh. “During verification,wefoundtherestaurantisownedbyNavneetKalra,”saidtheDCP.Kalra was unavailable for a

comment.

New Delhi

New Delhi

THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,MAY7,2021

EXPRESSNETWORK6

ARUNJANARDHANANCHENNAI,MARCH6

FOURDAYS after registering anemphatic win in the assemblyelections, DMK chief MK Stalinwill be sworn in as Tamil Naduchief minister on Friday at RajBhavanhere.Thiswillbethesixthtimethe

chief minister will be from theDMK since 1967, when partyfounderCNAnnaduraiwasfirstelectedtothepost.Stalin’sfatherM Karunanidhi held the postthereafter.OnThursday, Raj Bhavan re-

leased a statementwith the listof ministers to be appointed inthe new government. It saidGovernorBanwarilalPurohitap-provedthelistsentbychiefmin-

ister-elect Stalin. Interestingly,Stalin's son Udhayanidhi doesnot figure in the list.A senior DMK leader said

Udhayanidhimaybeaccommo-datedlater.“Therearemanydis-trictswithout representation inthecabinet.Entiredelta, includ-ing Thanjavur, Tiruvarur,Nagapattinam andMayiladuthurai,hasnominister.Thatwas one of the reasons fornot considering Udhayanidhi,”the leader said.The oath-taking ceremony

will be carried out following allCovidprotocols.In the 34-member cabinet,

Stalinwill holdHomeportfolio.DMK veterans Duraimurugan(Water Resources), K N Nehru(Municipal Administration), IPeriyasamy (Co-operation), K

Ponmudi (Higher Education)and Stalin’s close aide E V Velu(PWD)willbeamongtheseniorcabinetmembers.

While P Geetha Jeevanwillbe the onlywoman in the cabi-net,SenthilBalaji,popularleaderfromKarurwhowas also a for-

mer AIADMK minister andSasikala supporter before join-ing theDMK,will get Electricityand Excise portfolios. FormerChennai city mayor MaSubamanian,onceconsideredasStalin's closest aide, will getHealthportfolio.Palanivel Thiagarajanwill be

the newFinanceminister. Fromapolitical family inMadurai, hedidhisMBA inFinance fromtheSloan School ofManagement atMIT.AnbilMaheshPoyyamozhi,who is considered close toUdhayanidhi,willgetEducation.Ahead of the swearing-in

ceremony, the DMK campwasalso busy with discussions onpriorities of the new govern-ment.At the topof the list is theCovidsituation.Officials have already been

toldtostartoperationstoexploitmaximumresourcesinthestateforoxygensupply.“Availingoxy-genfromseveralcentralgovern-ment establishments in TamilNadu...andallprivatesteelplantsare the first priority. The distri-bution of remdesivir to individ-ual patients is restricted inChennaialone.Itwillsoonbede-centralised,”saidatopsourceinDMKcoordinatingthetransitionprocess.The leader said a complete

lockdownormorecurbsarebe-ingconsidered.The new regime is also con-

sidering changes in the top bu-reaucracy. A source said ChiefSecretary Rajeev Ranjanwill bereplacedwithVIraiAnbu,asen-ior bureaucrat sidelined by theAIADMKregime.

TheWestBengalAssemblyconvenedfor theoath-takingceremonyonThursday.Around140MLAs—mostof themfromAssemblyconstituenciesofKolkata,North-andSouth-24Parganas,PurbaandPaschimMedinipur,Howrah,HooghlyandJhargramdistricts—tookoathonThursday.Theprocesswill continueuntil Saturday. ParthaPaul

TamilNaduCM-electMKStalinwithsonUdhayanidhiStalinafterDMK’svictory intheAssemblyelection. PTI

DELHICONFIDENTIAL

KEEPING UP SUSPENSETHE SUSPENSE over whowill lead the BJP government inAssamis intensifying,with the top leadershipgivingno indi-cation onwhen itwould take a decision.While chief minis-tersordesignatedchiefministers inotherstateshavestarteddiscussingministerialberthsandportfolioallocation, theBJPleadershiphasnotyetcalledaParliamentaryboardmeeting,which is to send observers for electing leaders to lead theparty/government in Assemblies. On Thursday, party presi-dent J PNadda,who returned fromWest Bengal,metUnionHomeMinisterAmitShahbutmanypartyleadersinsistedthatit was to discuss the situation in violence-hit Bengal.Meanwhile, inAssambothSarbanandSonowalandHimantaBiswa Sarma— the twomain contenders for the top post—areeagerlywaitingtohear fromthenational leadership.

RETURN GIFTITALIANAMBASSADOR to IndiaVincenzode Luca switchedon anoxygenplant at ITBPReferralHospital, GreaterNoida,onThursday.Theplantwill supplyoxygentomore than100bedsatatimetoCovid-19patientsadmittedatthecentre. Inaway, this was a return gift from Italy for the services ITBPrenderedduringthefirstwave,andtheambassadoracknowl-edged asmuch. Speaking on the occasion, de Luca remem-bered the assistance provided by ITBP personnel when 17Italiancoronavirus-positivetouristsweretakencareofbytheforceat itsChhawla facility in2020.

ASSESSING RISKWithfarmersprotestingagainstBJPlegislatorsandpartyfunc-tionaries inPunjabandHaryana, thepartyhas startedbrac-ingfortheirimpactonitsnationalleaders. Itappearsthatthissensehas got theHomeMinistryunderAmit Shahgranting‘Z’ category security to newly appointed BJP vice-presidentandRSSprachaarak,SaudanSingh,whois in-chargeofpartyaffairsinPunjabandHaryana.Singhhasearlierbeeninchargeof Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha andwas known totravel to remote parts of theseMaoist-affected stateswith-outanysecurity.ButtheMHA'sassessmenttoprovideZ-cat-egory security by CRPF to Singh seems to indicate the gov-ernment'sassessmentthatthefarmers'protestsarenotgoingtoendanytimesoon.Singh’ssecurity isvalidonly inPunjab,HaryanaandDelhi.

LIZMATHEW&MANOJCGNEWDELHI,MAY6

POLITICALleaderscuttingacrossparty lines have expressed con-cern over the Supreme Court'sinterpretation of the 102ndConstitutionalamendmentinitsorder onWednesday strikingdown theMaharashtra govern-ment'squotaforMarathas.WiththeCourtinterpretingittomeanthat only the President (that is,theCentre)candecidethelistofSocially and EconomicallyBackward Classes (SEBCs), theparties have sought a review soas toretain thestates'powers inthis regard.“All statesshouldask forare-

viewof this judgment. It'swrongtotakeawaytherightsofstatesindeciding their own backwardcommunities.TheSupremeCourtshould set up a special Bench tolook into a review,” BJP leaderGaneshSingh,thechairmanoftheParliamentary Committee onWelfare of Other BackwardClasses,toldTheIndianExpress.In amajority verdict, a five-

judge Constitution Bench de-claredWednesdaythatonlythePresidentcandecideonterminga community SEBC for the pur-posesofreservation.Whileitup-heldthe102ndamendmentthat

gave special powers to theNational Commission onBackwardClasses(NCBC), itsaidstatescanonlymakesuggestionsfor inclusion of a community intheSEBC list.Interestingly, at the time the

102nd Constitutional amend-mentBillwaspassed,in2018,theModigovernmentandBJPhadin-sistedthatitwouldnottakeawayanypowersofthestate.InMarch,when the Supreme Court hadsoughtresponsesfromstategov-ernments on the question of in-terpretationofthe102ndamend-ment, senior BJP leaderBhupender Yadav had repeatedthis to The Indian Express, sayingthechangewasmeantjusttogive“specialpowers”totheNCBCandnottotakeawaypowersofstates.OnThursday,Yadav,whoheadedthe Select Committee on theConstitutional amendment Bill,said he was studying theSupremeCourtorder.In its report to the Rajya

SabhaonJuly19,2017,theSelectCommittee had said, “ThisConstitutionalamendmentdoesnotaffectoralter inanywaythepresent powers or functions ofthe State Backward ClassesCommissions, and theirpowersfor exclusion or inclusion ofbackward classes in the StateBackward Classes list shall re-

mainunchanged."KCTyagi,aseniorleaderofBJP

allyJD(U),saidtheSCordercouldspread “anarchy”. “Anumber ofstateshavegivenreservationsbe-yond50%.Peoplearealreadyen-joying the benefits. At this time,suchadecision could spreadan-archy... In thispandemic time,nopartyorgroupcanholddharnaorprotests,sotheCentreshouldan-nounceanothermechanismtogoaroundit...,”hesaid.TheJD(U)hasalwayssupportedstatesdecidingwhich communities should beaddedtotheSEBClist.TheMaharashtragovernment

had passed the Bill giving 16%reservation toMarathas in jobsandeducation,byincludingthemas an SEBC, in November 2018.This took the total quota in thestateabovethe50%ceilingsetbythe Court in its 1992 IndraSawhney(Mandal) judgment.WiththeCongresspartof the

ruling coalition inMaharashtra,senior leaderMVeerappaMoilyadmitted there couldhavebeensome lapses onpart of the stategovernment. “You need to con-duct a socio-economic educa-tional surveyandprove fromthedata and statistics that they (thecommunityforwhichreservationissought)comewithinthecriteriaandarebackward.Sounlesssomecriteriaislaiddown...straightaway

passing a legislation is not goingtohelp.Ithinktheyhavenotgonethroughthat,”hesaid.Moily, a former Union law

minister, added that while theMandal Commission and nowthe Supreme Court favour quo-tas to be capped at 50%, thiscould be exceeded in "excep-tionalcases". "Youhavetomakeanexceptional case andpass anAct in the Assembly... that itshouldbe included in theNinthSchedule of the Constitution.TamilNaduhasdone that."Askedaboutwhat theCentre

shoulddonow,Moily said itwillhavetoaskMaharashtratopassalaw,andthentakenecessarystepstoincludeitintheNinthSchedule."The Centre can always do thatprovideddataiscollectedthrougha socio-economic educationalsurvey,”hesaid,advisingthestatetoconductsuchasurvey.CPI general secretaryDRaja

questionedthecriteriatocapquo-tasat50%,whilearguingreserva-tion is a state matter. “TheSupremeCourttalksaboutequal-ity. Inthatcase,whyis itnottalk-ingaboutrighttoeducation,rightto employmentor right tohous-ing?... You talk about equalitywhen1%ofcorporatehousesowntheentirewealthofthiscountry?WhathashappenedtotheIndianwelfarestate?"Rajasaid.

APURVAVISHWANATHNEWDELHI,MAY6

IN RULING that the power toidentify Socially andEconomicallyBackwardClasses(SEBC) lies exclusivelywith theCentral government and notstates, theSupremeCourt intheMarathaquotaverdicthasvirtu-allyreplicatedtheConstitutionalmodelprescribedforScheduledCastesandScheduledTribes.IncaseoftheSC/STquota,the

President notifies the commu-nityconcerned,inasinglelistan-nexed to the Constitution, andpowers to amend it are vestedwithParliament.In the caseof reservation for

OBCs,however,thereisaCentrallist, enacted under theNationalBackward Classes CommissionAct, 1993, for Central govern-ment jobs, and separate statelists for quota in state govern-mentjobsandeducationalinsti-tutions. For example, in Punjab,the Central list contains 68groupsandthestate listhas71.The five-judge Constitution

Bench ruling in the Marathaquota case applies the SC/STrules for SEBCswhile interpret-ing the 102nd Constitutionalamendment. The 2018 amend-mentgivesconstitutionalstatustotheNationalBackwardClassesCommission, and the Presidentthepowers tonotifySEBCs.“Thissequituristheonlyrea-

sonwhychangewasenvisionedin the first place by Parliament,sitting in its constituent capac-ity, no less, which is to alter theentire regime by ensuring thatthe final say in the matter ofidentification of SEBCs wouldfollowthesamepatternasexists,inrelationtothemostbackwardclassesamongallcitizens(i.e.theSCs and STs, through Articles338,338A,341and342),”JusticeRavindraBhatwroteinhisopin-ionwhich formed themajority

viewonthisaspect.“The rationale for the

amendment... isthatParliamenthad the experience of about 71years’ working of theConstitution and the systemwith respect tomatters regard-ing identification of the mostbackward classes of communi-ties, i.e. SCsandSTs,” themajor-ityviewheld.The Court ruled this despite

theAttorneyGeneral’sstrenuousarguments that the intention ofParliamentwas not to diminishthepowersofstates.“...the102ndAmendmentwas notmeant tolimitthisconstitutionalobligationofstates,butrathertostreamlinethemethod of identification ofsocially and educationally back-wardclassofcitizens,forthepur-poseofcentralemployment,andcentrally funded and sponsoredschemes, institutions and facili-ties,” Attorney General K KVenugopalargued.However, the Court held,

“Suchaninterpretationamountsto saying that Parliamentwentto great lengths by defining, forthe first time, the term SEBC inthe Constitution, and providedforonenotificationunderArticle342A issued by the President,whichwould'specifythesociallyand educationally backwardclasseswhich shall for the pur-poses of this Constitution bedeemed to be socially and edu-cationally backward classes inrelation to that State or Unionterritory',andthen,restrictedthewidth of the term 'deemed forpurposesof thisConstitution'bygiving primacy to the term'CentralList'.Suchaninterpreta-tionrestrictsthespecificationofacommunityasbackward,inre-lation to thatStateorUnion ter-ritory, only for purposes of theCentral List, i.e., for purposes ofcentral government employ-mentandCentral Institutions.”

FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,MAY6

AFTER EIGHT years, India andtheEuropeanUnionaresettore-sumenegotiations for an ambi-tious and comprehensive freetradeagreement.Anannounce-mentonthe formal resumptionis expected to bemade at a vir-tual summit between PrimeMinisterNarendraModiandtopleadership of the 27-nationgroupingonSaturday.OfficialsourcesintheEUalso

said the free trade agreementpackagewill include an invest-ment protection pact aswell asaframeworkongeographicalin-dication.Launched in June 2007, the

FTAtalksbetweenIndiaandtheEU hit a roadblock inMay 2013when the two sides failed tobridge substantial gaps on cru-cial issues, including tariff, datasecurity status for the IT sectorandmarketaccess.IndiaandtheEUwillagreeto

resume the negotiations at thevirtual summit between PrimeMinister Modi and top leader-ship of the bloc, sources saidThursday.The two sides are also likely

toannounceaconnectivitypart-nership at the summit that isaimed at boosting cooperationinsectors likerailway,maritimeandaviationaswellasinthedig-ital domain to bring people ofthe two sides closer to eachother, sources said.Prime Minister Modi was

scheduled to visit Portugal forthe India-EU summit but itwascalled off because of the coron-aviruscrisis.Bothsides thende-cided to hold the deliberationsvirtually.A strategically important

grouping for India, the EU as awhole was country’s largesttrading partner in 2018. India'sbilateral trade with the EU in2018-19 stood at $15.6 billionwithexportsvaluedat$57.17bil-lion and imports worth $58.42billion.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEKOLKATA,MAY6

THE CONVOY of VMuraleedharan, MoS, MinistryofExternalAffairs,wasattackedandhisvehicle ransackedwhilehewasvisitingWestMidnaporedistricttomeetBJPworkers,whohadallegedlycomeunderattackby supporters of the ruling theTrinamool Congress. Armedwith sticks, the attackerspeltedhis carwithbricksandstones.Even as the Unionminister

escaped unhurt in WestMidnapore, a four-memberteam of the Union Homemin-istryarrived inWestBengalandheldmeetingswiththeDGPandchief secretary.Sporadic incidents of vio-

lence continued, including oneinCoochBehar’sDinhatawhichleft Trinamool leader Udayan

Guhawith abroken lefthand.Reacting to theattackonthe

Unionminister’s vehicle, ChiefMinisterMamataBanerjeesaid,“While political gatherings areprohibitedinthestateduetotheCovid19situation,somecentralministersarecominghere.Theyare going to villages, provoking

people. They are trying to fo-ment riots. I will request themnot to disturb peace by fanningcommunaltensions.Thisishap-pening in placeswhere the BJPhaswon.”Shealsoannouncedacompensation of Rs 2 lakh eachfor families of those killed inpost-poll violence.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,MAY6

DAYS AFTER the CPM-led LDFcreated history in Kerala by re-tainingpowerinthestateforthefirst time since 1977 and ChiefMinister Pinarayi Vijayan cameinforall-roundpraisewithmanycalling him the architect of thevictory, the CPM’smouthpieceonThursdaydisagreedwiththeassessmentthatthevictorywassolelybecauseof the“personal-ity and role” of Vijayan and ar-gued that it was the result of“both individual and collectiveefforts”.Former CPM general secre-

tary Prakash Karat in the edito-rial in 'People’s Democracy'wrote that there is an effort “bysectionsof themedia and somepolitical commentators to re-duce this historic victory solelyto the personality and role ofPinarayiVijayan”.“According to them, it is the

emergenceofa'supremeleader'or 'strong man' that was themain reason for the electoralsuccess of the LDF. They claimthat one man dominates thegovernment and party. There isno doubt that Pinarayi Vijayan,aschiefminister,setanewstan-dard inprovidingpoliticalguid-ance to policy-making...,” hewrote.“Nevertheless, the victory is

theresultofbothindividualandcollective efforts. As far as theCPI(M) and the LDF are con-cerned, the incomingministrywillcontinuethetraditionofcol-lectivework and individual re-sponsibility.”

RAVIKBHATTACHARYA&HARIKISHANSHARMAKOLKATA,NEWDELHI,MAY6

WEST BENGAL Chief MinisterMamataBanerjeeThursdaysaidshe has written to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, re-questinghimtoadvisetheUnionAgricultureMinistry to releasefunds under the PM-Kisanschemeto farmers in thestate.This came days after Union

AgricultureMinister NarendraSingh Tomarwrote to the chiefminister, asking her to directstateofficialstotakeswiftactionto facilitate transfer of the fundinto the accounts of eligiblefarmers inBengal.Thescheme,underwhichRs

6,000 is directly deposited intothe accounts of the farmers inthree equal installments a year,figuredprominentlyintherecentassembly election campaign,with the BJP and TMC accusingeachotherofblockingthefunds.BJP leaders, including the

PrimeMinister,hadallegedthatthe TMC government blockedthe funds in Bengal, and prom-isedpayment of Rs 18,000– in-cludingarrears–toeacheligiblefarmer in Bengal if elected topower. The TMC said the stategovernment had already donethe needful, and accused theCentreof delaying the funds.“I havewritten to the Prime

Minister. I hope the fundsunderPM-Kisanschemewillbereleasedsoon.TheysaidRs18,000willbegiventothefarmers.Fivemonthsago,we uploaded the names oftherecipientsonthecentralgov-ernment portal and made allarrangements,”BanerjeesaidatapressconferenceThursday.In her letter to the Prime

Minister, shewrote: “Out of the21.79lakhfarmerswhoregisteredfortheschemeaspertheletteroftheUnionAgricultureMinister

sent last November, 14.91 lakhdata have been updated on theportal,whichwereduly verifiedand ofwhich 9.84 lakh data areready for PFMS [Public FinanceManagementSystem].”A source in the Union

Agriculture Ministry told TheIndian Express that the WestBengal government wantsmoney to be released to it in-stead of the beneficiaries’ ac-counts, which is against theguidelines of PM-Kisan. Underthe scheme, themoney is to bedeposited into the accounts oftheeligiblefarmersonlythroughDBT. Theofficial said theCentrewill release the fundswhen thestategovernmentcompletestheprocessasper theguidelines.Banerjee's statement follows

aletterUnionAgricultureMinisterNarendra Singh Tomarwrote toheradayaftertheassemblyelec-tion results were announced.Congratulatingheronthevictory,Tomarwrote, “I have requestedto youearlier several times thatabout 69 lakh farmers of thestatehavebeendeprivedofPM-Kisan....”TheCentrehadlaunchedthe

PM-Kisan scheme in 2018-19,which theWest Bengal govern-menthadrefused toaccept.“OnlyfarmersofWestBengal

are deprived of this schemeacrossIndia,therefore,Iagainre-quest you direct the state gov-ernment officials to take swiftaction as per the guidelines ofthescheme,”Tomarwrote.

Stalin takes oath today, son not in first list of ministers

Collective effortbehind Keralawin, not justPinarayi: CPMmouthpiece

WestBengalCMBanerjee;UnionministerTomar

In ruling, apexcourt goes bySC, ST rules

MARATHAQUOTAORDER

BJP toCong, parties say can’ttake awaypowers of states

Union minister convoy attacked asBengal post-poll violence continues

After 8 years, Indiaand EU to resumefree trade pact talks

Release funds underPM-Kisan scheme,Mamata tells PMAskstateofficials to facilitatepayments to farmers,writesTomar

UnionMinisterVMuralidharanvisitsBJPworkersatPanchkhurivillage inWestMidnapurdistrict, Thursday.PTI

New Delhi

7THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,MAY7,2021

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

SECONDSURGE

Moreseverecasesasnumbershigh;severitynot linkedtomutants:Nimhansexpert

UK, doublemutant variantsnowmajor strains in KarnatakaJOHNSONTABENGALURU,MAY6

THEGENOMEsequencingoftheCovid 19 virus in circulation inKarnataka in the secondwavesince March has revealed thatthedoublemutantMaharashtrastrain (B.1.617) and UK variant(B.1.1.7)havevirtuallyobliteratedtheprevious straindominant inthestate (B.1.36.29).This has been revealed in a

study by the Department ofVirology at Nimhans -- one ofthe10 labs in thecountrycarry-ing out genome sequencing ofcoronavirus strains. "The rapiddisplacementofB.1.36.29bytheUK andMaharashtra variants issuggestive of higher infectivity.The higher infectivity of the UKvariant isknownbut ithas tobeestablishedforB.1.617,''saidProfV Ravi, former head of neurovi-rologyatNimhanswhoiswork-ingonCovid19genomicsat thelab.However, the virologist

added, there was no evidenceyet to indicate that any strain ismore severe than the other. "Interms of clinical behaviour, thevirus is the same.Weare seeingmore severe cases because weareseeingfivetimesthenumberof cases seen earlier. The sever-ity has nothing to dowithmu-tants. There is absolutely no ev-

idence,'' Ravi said.TheNimhansstudy,whichis

yet to be published, found theB.1.617 strain in 36 of the 69(52%)positivesamplescollectedbetweenMarch and end-April,andB.1.1.7 in19of them(27.5%).In contrast, the study says, fromDecember 2020 to earlyMarch2021, the dominant variant inKarnatakawas B.1.36.29,whichhas been in circulation sinceMarch2020"In Delhi and Punjab theUK

variant is a problem and inMaharashtraand16otherstatesthe B.1.617 double mutant hasbecome a problem," Ravi said,adding there are "about 34 dif-ferent lineages" in circulationand stressing the need to in-

creasethesamplesizeandscopeof thegenomestudy.According to the Nimhans

study,whichwassharedbyRaviduringarecenttalk,theUKvari-antandtheMaharashtradoublemutant were in communitytransmissioninBengalurubytheendofMarch;"50percentofse-quences in south Bengaluru inthe last week of March (were)theMaharashtravariant'', itsaid.Karnataka is seeing a Covid-

19 surge since endMarch. OnMay 5, it sawover 50,000 casesand346deaths,withBengaluruaccounting for nearly half ofeach. From outside the capital,185deathswererecorded--thehighest in thesecondwave.The previously dominant

strain in Karnataka, B.1.36.29emerged during the lockdownlastyear.ByendFebruary2021,itwasprevalentin20-30%ofcases,asper theNimhansstudy.Ravi said the second wave

would affect all the states and athirdwavewould come later intheyear."Mypredictionisthatitwill be between October andDecember. We are in it for thelonghaul unlesswe change ourbehaviour and unless our lead-ers change their behaviour... Allvariants or no variants do notmake a difference if you wearmasks. They do not penetratemasks."The scientist cautioned that

children could be hit theworstin the third wave. "We are im-munising the elderly, middleaged and the youngbut there isnovaccineforchildren.Theviruswill always find a susceptiblehost," Ravi said, adding that hehas been advising the govern-ment tosetuppaediatric ICUs.AnearlierNimhansstudyon

the molecular profiles of theSARS Cov-2 virus circulating inKarnataka inMarch-May 2020was published in PLOSOne -- apeer-reviewed open access sci-entific journal. The study wasuniqueinitsuseofgenomedataand epidemiological informa-tion to assess the nature of thevirus responsible for the earlyspread.

PatientsataCovidcarecentre inBengaluruonThursday.PTI

HC to Goa: Donot allow entrywithout Covidnegative reportfrom May 10

New Covid-19strains spreadingfast amongyouth: Andhra

Hospital bed scam:Searches atBengaluru corpCOVID war rooms

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEHYDERABADMAY6

CORONAVIRUS STRAINSB.1.617andB.1whicharethemajorvari-antsidentifiedfrompositivesam-plesinAndhraPradesh,TelanganaandKarnataka inApril, are veryinfectiousandarealsospreadingrapidlyintheyoungeragegroupsapartfromtheadults,astatementfromtheAndhraPradeshgovern-mentsaidThursday.B.1.617isadoublemutantthat

gets its name from twonotablemutationsfoundinothervariantsthat appeared together for thefirst time in this new strain andwas first detected in westernIndia.The genome sequencing of

positive samples was done atCCMBHyderabad, and Andhragovernment has been sending250samplestoCCMBforgenomesequencingeverymonth.The statement said the

N440K strain (B.1.36) was de-tected in June-July 2020 fromsamples of south AP, Telanganaand Karnataka. This strain wasprevalentinDecember2020andJanuary and February 2021 anddropped down drastically inMarch.“B.1.617andB.1arethemajor

strains identified fromthesam-plesofsouthIndiafromthepos-itives of the April month data,which is very infectious and isalso spreading in the youngerage groups apart from theadults," thestatement said.

OMKARGOKHALEMUMBAI,MAY6

MAINTAININGTHATothercivicbodies in Maharashtra shouldreplicateBMC'smodelforCovid-19managementinMumbai,theBombayHighCourtonThursdaysaid itwas “high time” that pri-vate hospitals consider havingtheirownoxygenplantstomeetdaily consumptiondemands.The court also said that the

Centreandstatemusttakestrictmeasurestocurbblack-market-ing and profiteering by MNCsthat aremaking profits by sell-ing anti-viral drugs for higherprices to “exploit” Covid-19 pa-tientsindireneed.Further,itsaidthat to curb the profiteering,medicalpractitionersshouldnotinsistinprescribingdrugsof for-eign companies to treat Covid-19, if those manufactured inIndia werewidely available forcheaperpriceandcouldbeusedasalternativedrugs.The HC suggested that the

state can consider takingmeas-ures, includingimposingacom-

plete lockdownforalimitedpe-riod in districts reporting sub-stantial rise incases.A division bench of Chief

Justice Dipankar Datta andJustice Girish S Kulkarni washearing a PIL filed byMumbai-basedlawyerSnehaMarjadiandsocial activist Nilesh Navlakha,seeking propermanagement ofCovid-19 treatment inMaharashtraandswiftpenalac-tionagainstblackmarketers.Advocate General Ashutosh

Kumbhakoni, appearing for thestate, said that fromApril 21 toMay 9, the Centre has allocated8.09 lakh vials of Remdesivirdrug toMaharashtra and sevenprivatemanufacturing compa-niesareexpectedtomakethesevials available every day. Thestate,however,hadreceivedonly3.5 lakhvials tillMay4.He added that while the

state's requirementwas 51,000vialseachday,itwasgettingonly35,000daily.“Supplyislessthandemand.Weareusingthestockjudiciously, but companiesshould comply,” Kumbhakonisaid.

ANURADHAMASCARENHASPUNE,MAY6

THECENTREconfirmed that theSARS-CoV2variant B.1.617 (dou-blemutant)couldbethecausebe-hind the surge, and nowa newstudy at the Indian Council ofMedical Research-NationalInstitute of Virology ICMR -NIVhasalsoflaggeditspathogenicpo-tential.Syriangoldenhamstersinthe

laboratoryinfectedwiththisvari-ant showed maximum bodyweight loss andhigher viral loadas against those whowere in-fected with the B.1 lineage(D614G)of thevirus.Increasedseverityof B.1.617.1

infectioninhamsterswasdemon-stratedbythehigherbodyweightreduction, lung viral load andmoreseverechangesinthelungsascomparedtothatofB.1(thefirstvariant of SARS CoV-2, D614G),whichhadbecomedominantandis prevalent worldwide sinceMarch 2020, according to thestudy titled “SARSCoV-2variantB.1.617.1 is highly pathogenic inhamstersthanB.1variant”,postedonMay5inbioRxivpre-print.DrPragyaDYadav,scientist‘E’

and group leader, MaximumContainment Facility, IndianCouncil of Medical Research-NationalInstituteofVirology,whoisthefirstauthorofthepaper,saidtheB.1.617varianthaseightaminoacidchangesinthespikeregion.

However, the evolution ofmultiple sub-lineages withinB.1.617lineageisamajorconcern.“Sub-lineages B.1.617.1, B.1.617.2andB.1.617.3have adifferent setofuniquesubstitutionsanddele-tions. The predominant lineagearetheB.1.617.1andB.1.617.3,andthese are characterised by thepresence of L452R, E484Q andP681Raminoacidchanges,whiletheB.1.617.2lackstheE484Qmu-tation,”DrPriyaAbraham,oneoftheauthorsandDirectorofICMR-NIV,said.Scientistsinvestigatedtheviral

loadandpathogenic potential ofB.1.617.1 in Syrian golden ham-sters.Whattheydidwastocom-paretwogroupsofSyriangoldenhamsters(nineeach)thatwerein-oculated intranasallywith SARSCoV-2 isolates, B.1 (D614G) andB.1.617.1respectively.Theanimalsweremonitored

daily for the clinical signs andbodyweight. The necropsy (ex-aminationofanimalsafterdeath)of threehamsters eachwasper-formedon3,5-and7-dayspost-infection.Throatswab,nasalwashandorgan samples (lungs, nasalturbinate,trachea)werecollectedand screenedusing SARS-CoV-2specificReal-timeRT-PCR.Hamsters infected with

B.1.617.1demonstratedincreasedbodyweightlosscomparedtotheB.1variant.Thehighestviral loadwas observed innasal turbinateandlungspecimensofanimalsin-fectedwithB.1.167.1on thirddaypostinfection.

ICMR-NIV: Emergentvariant raises Covidseverity in hamsters

MAYURAJANWALKARPANAJI,MAY6

THE HIGH Court of Bombay atGoa on Thursday directed thestategovernmenttoensurethatno one is allowed to enter thestatewithout a Covid-19 nega-tive certificate fromMay10on-wards.The interim order was

passed on Thursday when thedivision bench of Justice M SSonak and JusticeM S Jawalkarwashearingabunchofpetitionsurging the court to direct thestate government to take stepsto tackle the rising number ofCovid-19 cases in the state in-cluding enforcing a lockdown,testingthosearrivinginthestateandmakinginformationregard-ing hospital bed availability ac-cessibleonline.Thecourtalsosaid,“…wesee

no justification in the State ofGoanotinsistinguponanegativ-itycertificatefrompersonswhoseek entry into Goa at this cru-cial juncturewhenreports indi-cate that the positivity rate inGoa isashighas52%.”This,thecourtsaid,shouldbe

effected from May 10 so thattravellersintransitarenotincon-venienced.The PILs were filed by the

South Goa AdvocatesAssociation, activists ArmandoGonsalves, Shruti ChaturvediandRoshanMathias.Thecourtalsoaskedthestate

government to file an affidavitdetailing the steps it had takenforaugmentationofthemedicalinfrastructurebyMarch10.

SriLankabanstravellersfromIndiaimmediatelyColombo:SriLankaonThursdayannouncedthatallarrivalsfromIndia will be banned with im-mediateeffectduetotherecordrise in Covid-19 cases in theneighbouring country. Severalcountries like the UK, the UAE,AustraliaandSingaporehaveal-ready banned travellers fromIndia as well as other SouthAsian countries. The CivilAviationAuthorityonThursdaysaid that travellers from Indiawill not be allowed to disem-bark inSri Lanka. PTI

Ex-UnionministerPonRadhakrishnaninfectedwithCovidMadurai:FormerUnionministerand BJP leader PonRadhakrishnan,whohasbeenin-oculated against Covid-19, hastested positive for coronavirusand admitted to a governmenthospital here on Thursday. HewasadmittedtotheGovernmentRajaji Hospitalwithmild symp-toms.“Itestedpositiveforcoron-avirus infectionwhen I under-went a test yesterday. Doctorssaid I havemild symptoms,” theformerunionministerofstateforfinanceandshippingsaid. PTI

Bangladeshsends10,000vialsofremdesivirtoIndiaDhaka:BangladeshonThursdayhanded over 10,000 vials of an-tiviral injection remdesivir toIndiaaspartof itsmedicalassis-tanceamiddeterioratingCovid-19situationintheneighbouringcountry. These10,000injectionsmanufactured locallyweresentasmedical assistance on behalfof the people of Bangladesh attheinstructionofPrimeMinisterSheikhHasina for the Covid-af-fectedpeopleof India,accordingtoanofficial statement. PTI

USurgescitizensnottotraveltoIndiaWashington: The US hasreissueditstraveladvisoryonIndia,urgingitscitizensnottotraveltothecountrydue to anunprecedentedsurgeintheCovid-19casesthere. India is strugglingwithasecondwaveof thepandemicwithmorethan3,00,000dailynewcoron-avirus cases being re-ported in the past fewdays, and hospitals arereelingunderashortageofmedicaloxygenandbeds.“DonottraveltoIndiaduetoCOVID-19. Exercise in-creased caution due tocrimeand terrorism,” theStateDepartment saidonWednesday in its latesttraveladvisory. PTI

INBRIEF

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICELUCKNOW,MAY6

EVENAS the daily deaths fromCovid-19remainedabove350forthreestraightdays,UttarPradeshChief Minister Yogi AdityanathThursdaysaidthepolicyof“test-ing, trackingandtreatment”hasgiven “satisfactory results” andcited“adecline”innewcasesde-spitedailytestingremainingbe-tween2lakhand2.5 lakh.At least 353 people died of

Covid-19sinceWednesday, tak-ing the overall toll to 14,501, outofwhichover2,263deathswerereported in the last seven days.Thenewpositivecasesinthepast24hoursdropped to26,750, ac-cording to the bulletin. In thesame period, 28,902 recovered,bringingdowntheactivecasesto2,59,844. The active caseswerehighestonApril30at3,10,783.Thedecline in active cases is

being attributed to the highnumberof tests, curbs andvac-cinations.

AVISHEKGDASTIDARNEWDELHI,MAY6

WITHTHEnumber of reservedtrainpassengersfallingtojustfivelakhadayfromaround20lakhadayamonthago,Railwaysatvar-iouszonesonThursdaydiscontin-ued several regular trains, espe-cially long-distance ones, tillfurthernotice in light of surge inCovid cases and also because oflowoccupancy.In Delhi, Northern Railway

cancelled 28 trains, to and fromtheCapital,includingRajdhanistoChennaiandBilaspur, aShatabditoChandigarh,Kathgodam,Kalka;Duronto to Jammuand the like.Zones likeCentral, Southernandotherothersdidthesameandwillcontinuouslyrationalisethenum-ber of trains they are running,

based on latest position of de-mand,officialssaid.TheCentralRailwayshascan-

celled23passenger trains. TheseincludeNagpur-KolhapurspecialuptoJune29,theCSMT-Kolhapurspecial up to July 1, the CSMT-

PunespecialuptoJune30.The assessment in themin-

istry is that people are just nottravellinglongdistanceenoughtocontinuerunningthelow-patron-agetrains.Sources said several states

havealsowrittentotheRailwaystodiscontinuetheunreservedcat-egory trains, suchas theMEMUsandDEMUs running inter-city,whichthezoneshavebeenaskedto do. Based on a request fromWest Bengal, suburban serviceswere suspended in view of theCovidsurge.However,topofficialstoldThe

IndianExpress that this is not tobe viewedas a precursor to sus-pending train operations. “Sinceoccupancy is low,peopleare justnottravelling,itisdecidedtotem-porarilydiscontinueanumberoftrainswith lowoccupancy look-ingat the latestpositionofbook-ings,” said a senior RailwayMinistryofficial.Theministry said thiswas a

regularexercise.“Cancellationandrestorationisanannualdynamicprocess.... Some regular trains

with lower occupancies are dis-continuedwhile some Specialswithsustaineddemandaremadepermanent.Cancellationofsometrainsinpresenttimesshouldalsobe seen only in that context,” aRailwayministryspokesmansaid.Sourcessaidthatthereissofar

noplantosuspendlong-distancetrainoperations.Key officials said routes on

which the regular trains havebeen discontinued for the timebeing do have other trains tocater to any passengerwantingto travel. Ministry officials TheIndian Express spoke tomain-tained that trainswill continueto run as per demand. “Routeslike Bihar and Uttar Pradeshfrom Delhi continue to havetrains including additional spe-cial trains,” said a seniorNorthernRailwayofficial.

Trainsparkedatarailwayyard inHowrah. PTI

AtemporaryCovid-19hospitalbeingsetupinagovernmentcollegeauditorium inGurugramonThursday.PTI

Occupancy dips, Rlys cancels several trains

HC: High time privatehospitals have theirown oxygen plants

431DAYSSINCEPANDEMICBEGAN

TRACKING THE SECOND SURGE

NEWCASES: 3,96,507ACTIVE CASES:36,43,671TOTAL VACCINATION: 16,25,13,339

DAILY DEATHS3,773

TOTALDEATHS2,33,941

WEEKLY CFR1.30%

OVERALL CFR1.44%

TESTS TODAY: 19,21,457 | TOTAL TESTS: 29,86,96,666

WEEKLY POSITIVITY: 22.03% | OVERALL POSITIVITY: 7.19%

STATESREPORTINGMOSTCASES

STATE NEW ACTIVE WEEKLY TOTALCASES CASES POSITIVITY VACCINATION

■Maharashtra 62,194 6,39,075 21.85% 1,67,81,719

■Karnataka 49,058 5,17,091 27.45% 1,01,11,482

■Kerala 42,464 3,91,206 26.12% 75,94,821

■UttarPradesh 26,622 2,59,844 12.20% 1,31,75,325

■TamilNadu 24,898 1,31,468 14.55% 62,49,242

STATESREPORTINGMOSTDEATHS

STATE TODAY’S TOTAL WEEKLY OVERALLDEATHS DEATHS CFR CFR

■Maharashtra 873 75,721 1.26% 1.85%

■UttarPradesh 350 14,501 1.08% 1.48%

■Delhi 335 18,398 1.52% 1.92%

■Karnataka 328 17,216 1.38% 1.38%

■Chhattisgarh 212 9,950 1.57% 1.64%

Note:DataasonMay6;vaccinationnumbersasofMay5.Deaths includethosefrompreviousdays.

VARINDERBHATIACHANDIGARH,MAY6

ACTIVE CASES in the secondCovidwave inHaryana are pro-jected to cross 1.5 lakh byMay15, IIT scientists have warned.The state onThursday recordedits highest single-day positivityrate at 29.92 per cent since thebeginning of the pandemic.Haryanahasalreadyseena ten-fold rise in active cases in littleover amonth sinceApril 1, cou-pledwithasharpfall inrecoveryrate.All this has forced the ruling

dispensationtoscramble its topbureaucratsandministersacrossdistricts to ramp up prepared-

ness tocurtail thesurge.The state’s cumulative posi-

tivityratejumpedfrom4.67percent on April 1 to 7.33 per centonMay5.On Thursday (May 6),

Haryana’scumulativepositivityrate stood at 7.48 per cent. Thestate also reported 177 Coviddeaths in the last 24 hours tak-ingthetotalnumberofCovidfa-talities to5,137 till date.During the last more than

onemonth(April1 toMay6), atleast1,973peoplehavediedduetoCovid-19 inHaryana.While the fatalities were

3,164 on April 1, they rose to5,137onMay6.Similarly,thedailynewcases

surged significantly from 1,609

to 15,416 (9.58 times increase)onMay5, and14,840onMay6.Active cases too increased from10,362onApril1 toawhopping1.13lakh(over10timesincrease)as onMay 5. The number of ac-tive Covid-19 cases reached1,15,842 on Thursday (May 6)evening.Although thenumberof pa-

tients recovering daily had alsobeen increasing, but the recov-ery rate dipped from 95.37 percent from 78.82 per cent, be-cause of the number of newcases being far more than thenumberof recoveredones.All this while, Gurgaon and

Faridabad have consistently re-mained theworst affected dis-tricts inHaryana.

Haryana sees 10-fold risein active cases in a month

Bengaluru:Thepolicecarriedoutsearchesatthecitycorporation’sCovidwar rooms and collecteddata amid allegations of a scamin booking hospital beds forCovid-19patients.The development came two

days after BJPMP Tejasvi Suryaalleged that hospitals here“blocked”beds in fakenamestomakemoney,atatimeCovid-19caseswere rising inKarnataka.“Searches were conducted

onWednesday at eight zonalwar rooms... Lots of data hasbeen collected,” the city policesaidinastatement. Eightteamswerescrutinisingallthedatacol-lected from the zones. Actionwill be takenbasedon thedata,theysaid. PTI

UP: Deaths stayabove 350, CMsays ‘satisfactoryresults’ fromgovt strategy

New Delhi

8THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,MAY7,2021

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

SECONDSURGE

IRAMSIDDIQUEBHOPAL,MAY6

ASENIORgovernmentdoctorre-signedfromherpostandanotherthreatenedtoquitallegingmisbe-haviourbythedistrictadministra-tion. The citywith 12,017 activecases has thehighest Covid caseloadinthestate,anditshealthin-frastructure is creakingwith asurge in the secondwave of thepandemic.The twogovernmentdoctors

are: District Health OfficerPurnima Gadaria andMedicalOfficer RS Tomar of theCommunity Health Centre inIndore’sManpurtown.After sendingher resignation

toHealth Commissioner AkashTripathi,Gadaria,whoearlierheldadditional charge as the ChiefMedical and Health Officer ofIndore, alleged that DistrictCollectorManish Singhmisbe-havedinpublic.“It does not go down well

whenyouareshoutedatpublicly,and causes mental stress.Especiallywhenyouareputtinginalotofhardwork.Iamahealthofficer and I havedonemyworkwith all earnestness,” Gadariasaid. “Thewayhepublicly scolds—aapnithallehai,nikammehaiaurfree ki tankha le rahe hai—youcan’t say all this… it is unaccept-able. Hismeetings are not twoway, but oneway communica-tion,”sheclaimed.Repeated calls and textmes-

sagestoDistrictCollectorManishSinghwerenotanswered.HealthCommissioner Akash TripathisaidhehadnotacceptedGadaria’sresignation.TheemployeesofWomenand

ChildWelfareDepartment have

also separately petitioned theChiefMinisterthattheywouldnotbe able to work with ManishSinghsinceheresortstoindecentlanguage andmisuses his posi-tion. In thepetition, they threat-enedtostopcomingtoworkfromFriday if the governmentdidnottakeactionagainsthim.PurnimaGadaria,whohelda

press conference in Indore onThursdaysaid,“Wehavejustonedemand that until CollectorIndore,Manish Singh is not re-moved, none of uswill resumework. Everyday someoneor theotherhastogetembarrassedwithhiscomments...”Whereas,Dr.MadhavHasani,

Vice President of MP MedicalOfficers’Associationclarifiedthataround4,000staffincludingdoc-tors,nursesandotherparamed-icalstaffarenotgoingonstrike,hesaidmuch likeDrGadaria, theywouldsubmitmassresignations.Whenasked if theirdecision

will affect the patients, he said,“Theywillbeaffectedbutwearenot doing this for some unful-filledannouncements, it’saboutour esteem and if there is onepersonwhoistimeandagainof-fending people and changinghimwill improvesituation,thenthe government though thinkabout it.”Tomar, on his part, blamed

Sub-Divisional MagistrateAbhilash Sharma. He com-plainedtothecity’sChiefMedicalHealthOfficer that Mishrausedindecentlanguage.“...Idomyjobwith all earnestness. But today,things have gone beyond mymental and physical tolerancelevel and I cannotoffermyserv-ices anymore.” SDMAbhilashMishra did not respond to callsandtextmessages.

2 senior govt docsin Indore quit,blame bureaucrats

Kerala, RajasthanMP go lockdownway; Goa considers

SC: Need to be ready for thirdwave, create oxygen stock

UP govt settingup oximeters,thermal scannersfor cows

Centre moves SC againstHC order to raise oxygensupply for Karnataka

Single-dose vaccineSputnik Lightauthorised in RussiaEXPRESSNEWSSERVICEPUNE,MAY6

RUSSIAHAS approved a single-dose version of the Sputnik VCovid-19vaccine, itsdeveloperssaidThursday.The Sputnik Light vaccine

demonstrated 79.4 per cent ef-ficacycomparedto91.6percentfor the two-shotSputnikV.The datawas taken 28 days

afteritwasadministeredaspartofRussia’smassvaccinationpro-grambetweenDecember5andApril 15, said theRussianDirectInvestment Fund (RDIF), whichhelped finance it.RDIFCEOKirillDmitrievtold

a virtualmedia conference thatitsefficacy ishigher than thatofmanytwo-dosevaccines.Russia's state-runGamaleya

National Research Center ofEpidemiologyandMicrobiologysaidSputnikLighthasprovenef-fectiveagainst all newstrainsofthe coronavirus. It said no seri-

ous adverse events were regis-teredaftervaccinationwith it.A single dose of the vaccine

costs under $10. The one-shotregimenallowsfortheimmuniza-tionofa largernumberofpeopleinashortertimeframe,itsaid.Alexander Gintsburg,

DirectoroftheGamaleyaCenter,said: “Sputnik Lightwill help toprevent the spread of coron-avirusthroughthefasterimmu-nization of larger populationgroups, as well as supportinghigh immunity levels in thosewhohavealreadybeeninfectedpreviously."The global efficacy study of

Sputnik Light was launched onFebruary 21 by the GamaleyacentreandRDIF.ThePhaseIIIclinicalstudyin-

volving 7,000 people was con-ducted inmultiplecountries in-cluding Russia, the UAE, Ghanaand others. As of May 5, morethan 20million people globallyhave received their first shot ofSputnikV.

Covid-positiveAsaramshifted toJodhpurhospitalJodhpur: Self-styled godmanAsaram, jailed for sexually as-saultingaminorgirl,wasshiftedtoahospital in Jodhpurafterhecomplained of breathlessnesslate on Wednesday. RajshreeBehra, Superintendent ofMahatma Gandhi hospital inJodhpur, said Asaram wasbrought to the hospital around11 pm.“When hewas brought,his oxygen saturation was 92percent,nowhe ismaintaininghis oxygen saturation at 96,”Behra said. ENS

CurfewinthreeUttarakhanddistrictsextendedDehradun: In view of the freshsurge in Covid-19 cases, curfewhas been extended in the threeheavy caseload districts ofDehradun, Udham SinghNagarandHaridwarinUttarakhandtillMay 10. TheDMs of Dehradun,Haridwar and Udham SinghNagararedirectedtoenforcethecurfew throughout the districtfromMay6toMay10(till5am),Chief Secretary, Om Prakash,said.Thecurfew,whichwasim-posed in the last week of April,was toendonThursday. PTI

ActorSripradadiesofCovidcomplicationsMumbai: ActorSriprada,who acted in Hindi andBhojpuri movies, dieddue to Covid-19 compli-cations. Shewas 54. Thenews of her demisewasshared by Cine And TVArtistes’ Association(CINTAA) on its officialTwitter handle. “Shedied due to Covid-19complications onSaturday,” CINTAAGeneral Secretary AmitBehlsaid.Sripadastartedher career in 1978 with“Purana Purush” andwas known for appear-ing inpopular filmssuchas “Dharam Sankat”,“Sholay Aur Toofan”amongothers. PTI

INBRIEF

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,MAY6

WITH THE country reporting arecord4.12 lakhnewCovid-19 inthepast24hours,PrimeMinisterNarendraModi on Thursday re-viewedthesituationatameetingattendedbyseniorministers.“Hewasgivenadetailedpic-

tureontheCovidoutbreakinvar-ious states anddistricts. Hewasinformed about the 12 stateswhichhavemorethan1 lakhac-tive cases. The PMwas also ap-prised of the districtswith highdisease burden,” the PrimeMinister's Office said in a state-mentafterthemeeting.Themeetingwasattendedby

DefenceMinister Rajnath Singh,Home Minister Amit Shah,Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman, Health MinisterHarsh Vardhan, and RailwayMinisterPiyushGoyal.“The PMnoted that an advi-

sorywassenttothestatestoiden-tifydistrictsofconcernwherecasepositivityis10%ormore&bedoc-cupancy ismore than60%onei-

ther oxygen supported or ICUbeds,”thestatementsaid.ItsaidthatthePrimeMinister

wasalsobriefedabouttheramp-ingupofhealthcareinfrastructureby the states. “The PMdirectedthat states should be givenhelpandguidanceaboutleadingindi-cators to rampuphealthcare in-frastructure,”thePMOsaid.OnThursday, India’s total ac-

tive caseload reached35,66,398;andarecord3,980deathswerere-portedinthelast24hours.Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh,

Delhi,Karnataka,Kerala,Haryana,WestBengal,TamilNadu,AndhraPradesh andRajasthan reported72.19 per cent of the newcases.Maharashtra reported thehigh-estdailynewcasecountof57,640.ItwasfollowedbyKarnatakawith50,112 while Kerala reported41,953newcases,thehealthmin-istrysaid.

PMNarendraModi

ABHISHEKANGADRANCHI,MAY6

HOURS AFTER PrimeMinisterNarendraModi spoke tohimonthe Covid situation in his state,JharkhandChiefMinisterHemantSorenThursdaynightclaimedthePrimeMinister did not listen tohimduringtheconversationoverthe phone and that itwas just a“monologue”fromhim.According to sources, the

PrimeMinister also spoke to thechief ministers of Telangana,AndhraPradeshandOdishaabouttheCovid-relatedsituationintheirstates. He also spoke to LGs ofPuducherry and Jammu andKashmir,sourcesadded.Whiledetailsoftheseinterac-

tions could not be ascertained,ChiefMinister Soren tweeted atnight: “Adarniya PradhanMantrijijinephonekiya.Unhone

sirf apnemannkibaatki. Behtarhota agarwokaamki baat karteaur kaam ki baat sunte(RespectedPrimeMinistercalled.He just spokewhatwas on hismind. Itwouldhavebeenbetterhad he spoken on issues of im-portance and listened to theotherside).”“The Jharkhand CM's angst

waspalpable,”saidsourcesclosetoCM.“PMModididnotaskany-thingontheconditionofthestateandonresourcesandwhatallthestateneeded. The statehasbeenstruggling to get the requiredmedicines. He justwent on andon. This led the CM towrite thistweet,” thesourcesaid.

The chief minister has beencritical of the Centre in the pastoverhandlingofseveralissues,in-cludingmigrantworkers.SourcessaidthiscouldbethereasonwhyJharkhandmayhave beenover-lookedintheCentre'sannounce-ments.OnMay3,thecentralgovern-

mentdecidedtoprocureorsetupadditional Pressure SwingAdsorptionmedicaloxygengen-erationplantsinpublichealthfa-cilities at 581 sites across thecountry“toensuresmoothavail-ability of medical oxygen”.Sources said Jharkhand is not inthelist.Soren’s tweet came in for

sharpcriticismfromBJP leaders.AssamBJPleaderHimantaBiswaSarma said the “disrespectful”tweet “denigrated” the CM’s of-ficeandwasaninsulttothepeo-pleof the state since thePMhadcalledtounderstandtheirplight.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,MAY6

THE CENTRE on Thursday ap-proached the Supreme Courtseeking a stay on theKarnatakaHighCourt’sorderaskingittoin-crease the daily allocation ofLiquidMedicalOxygen(LMO)forthe state from the present 962metrictonnes(MT)to1,200MT.Solicitor General Tushar

Mehtamentionedthepleabeforea bench headed by Justice D YChandrachud. The court said itwill have to go through the caserecordsfirst.In itsplea, theCentresaid the

“HighCourtfailedtoconsidertherationalebehindallocationofcer-tain amounts of oxygen to eachState and purely on the basis ofpurported shortage in the city ofBangalore, passed directionswhich, if fulfilled,willhaveacas-cadingeffectandresult intheto-tal collapse of the system in itsfightagainstthesecondwave...”

Itpointedoutthat“theentirenationisfeelingtheeffectsof thesecondwave (of the pandemic)andinsuchasituationitisimper-ativethatlimitedresourcesavail-able at the disposal of the entirenation (in this case, oxygen sup-ply), be put to itsmost judicioususe, keeping inmind the overallsituationinthecountry.Thereby,passing directions in the natureandmanner the Hon’ble HighCourt has done vide the im-pugned order dated 05.05.2021,would ultimately lead tomis-management of resources andcreate a further chaotic environ-mentinanalreadyoverburdenedsystem”.The government stated that

“allhandsonthedeckhavehelpedrampup thedaily productionofLMOtoabout9 times and trans-portation of unprecedentedamounts of LMOhas been gal-vanised...However,unlessration-ally distributed and optimallyused,anyamountofLMO,willbeinadequate...”

KAMALDEEPSINGHBRARAMRITSAR,MAY6

AMRITSARDISTRICThasrecorded283Covid-19deathsinthemonthof April, if the Punjab HealthDepartmentistobebelieved.While this official figure in-

cludesbothruralandurbanareasof thedistrict, the twomain cre-matoriums inAmritsar cityhaveseen an alarming rise in crema-tions in April which points to amuchhigherdeathrate.Those incharge of affairs at

Shivpuri cremationgroundnearDurgianaTemple andcremationground Shahidan nearGurudwara BabaDeep Singh inthe city say that the total crema-tions have been over 1,000 inApril.Thesetwocremationgrounds

areused for cremationof bodiesofthecitypopulation,whileeveryvillage in thedistrict has its owncremationground.In fact, Shivpuri cremation

ground isnowconstructingnewplatforms for cremations in the

wakeof increasingdeaths in thecity.TheManager at Shivpuri cre-

mationgroung,RameshChanderSharma, said, "Weareconstruct-inganewplatformasnumberofdeadbodieshas increasedmanytimes. In normal times, 10 to 12deadbodieswerecrematedeveryday. But nowwe are crematingaround25to30deadbodieseveryday."According to Ramesh, total

791deadbodieswere crematedonlyattheShivpuri inthemonthofApril.166ofthesedeathswereofficialCovid-19deaths.Officially,reasonsof625deathswereotherthanCovid-19."Otherwise,around300non-

Coviddeadbodies are crematedeverymonth.ButinthemonthofAprilonly,600non-Covidbodieswere cremated," said Ramesh,questioning how non-Coviddeathscoulddoubleupsuddenly.

Workersbuildplatformstotackle thespacecrunchatcrematoria, inAmritsarThursday.RanaSimranjit Singh

Big rise in cremations cast doubton Amritsar’s official count

PM spoke his mann ki baat, didnot listen, says Jharkhand CM

HemantSoren

4.12 lakh newcases in 24 hrs, PMholds reviewmeet; speakswith CMs

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,MAY6

THE SUPREME Court onThursday flagged warningsabout an impending thirdwaveof Covid-19 and stressed theneedforcompletingvaccination,and for creating buffer stock ofoxygen.A bench of Justices D Y

ChandrachudandMRShahalsocalledupontheCentretoensurethat Delhi continues to get 700MetricTonnesof LiquidMedicalOxygen(LMO)andreiteratedtheneed tohavea relookat thecur-rent formula for supplying oxy-gen,whichisbasedonthenum-berof ICUandnon-ICUbeds.“Weknowpeopledie,andwe

understandeverybodywhodiesarenotdyingdue to lackof oxy-gen. But can it be denied thatoxygen is not a critical compo-

nent,”thecourtbenchsaidwhilehearing a plea by the Centreagainst the contempt notice is-sued to its officers by the DelhiHighCourt inthematterof LMOsupplytoDelhi.Solicitor General Tushar

Mehta,appearingfortheCentre,submittedthatsupplieshadtobediverted from other states tomeetDelhi’sdemands.“Wemay enter stage three

[thirdwave]andifweprepareto-daywemaybeable tohandle it.Whateverstocksprocuredneedsto be sent to hospitals. It’s notaboutallocatingittothestatebutalso the logistics to see that it isdistributed to hospitals,” JusticeChandrachudsaid.Hesaid the thirdwaveof the

pandemic, which according toexperts “is around the corner”,wouldaffect children. “Sowhenachildgoestohospital,amotherand father will go, too,” Justice

Chandrachud said. “That iswhyvaccinationwill have to be overforthisgroupofpeople.Weneedtoplanforthisinascientificwayandmakearrangements.”The hearing also saw the

DelhigovernmentandtheCentresparoveroxygensupplies to thenational capital, with the Centesayingthatanexpertgroupcom-prisingNiti Aayogmember V KPaula and AIIMS director DrRandeepGuleraia,amongothers,hadsaidthatthedemandfor700MTwas unrealistic and pressedits demand for an oxygen auditto have a realistic assessment oftheneedsof variousstates.Solicitor GeneralMehta said

theaudit committeewill lookatthe actual demand for oxygen,how it is being distributed fromsuppliers,andproblemsfacedbyDelhi inaccessingthesupply.

FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEBHOPA, JAIPUR,PANAJI,THIRUVANANTHAPURAMMAY6

WITH CASES on a steady high,multiple states called for or ex-tended lockdowns and curbs onThursday,withKerala announc-inganine-daylockdown,startingSaturdaymorning, andMadhyaPradesh extending the curfewuntilMay15.The Rajasthan government

announcedastrictlockdownbe-tweenMay 10 and 24, andGoaChief Minister Pramod Sawantsaid a decision on enforcing alockdown in the state will betaken in another two or threedays.In Bhopal,MPChiefMinister

Shivraj Singh Chouhan urgedpeople to follow public curfewand announced free treatmentforthepoorforCovid-19throughAyushmanBharatScheme.Inthenew scheme, the governmentwill tieupwithprivatehospitalsfor a package to treat people forfree.Emphasisingtheneedtogetthe situation under control,Chouhan also urged people tostop allwedding functions, call-ingthemsuper-spreaderevents,andsaidMGNREGAworkshouldbe stopped in villages reportingpositivecases.“Jeevanmein shaadi hoti hai,

Jeevan nahi rahega toh shaadi kiskaamki (therewill beweddingsin one’s life, but howwill mar-riages take place if there is nolife),” Chouhan said, urgingpeo-pletoputastoponweddingsandpostpone themunless they areheld virtually. He said hewould

participateinsuchweddingsvir-tuallyandgivehisblessings.The Kerala government an-

nounced that essential services,agricultural, NREGS and similarlivelihoodactivitieswouldbeper-mitted, but all state and Centralgovernmentoffices,exceptthosein essential services, would re-main closed during the lock-down,whichwouldendonMay16midnight.OnThursday,Keralareported

over42,000newcases,thehigh-est ever daily tally, taking activecaseloadto3.90lakh.Thegovern-menthasdirectedalldistrictcol-lectors to ensurewelfare ofmi-grantworkers inthestate.In Rajasthan,weddings have

beenprohibitedtillMay31andallprogrammes associated withweddings are alsoprohibited tillendofthemonth. Now,weddingswill be permitted only if they’reheldathomeoratthecourt.Goa CMSawant said restric-

tions imposedby the stateweretougher this time,whileDeputyCMChandrakantKavlekarsaidallMLAs seemed to be on boardwitheffectinga lockdown in thestate that is currently under "re-strictions".

Workerscarryoxygencylinders fromaplantatSawaiMansinghhospital, Jaipur.Rohit JainParas

ThedesertedBadiChauparareainJaipur.

ADITIRAJAVADODARA,MAY6

THEVADODARAdistrictadmin-istration has set up temporaryopencremationgroundsinthreevillages to conduct cremationsof Covid-19 positive and sus-pecteddeaths faster.The District DevelopmentOfficer (DDO) said that the ad-ministration has set up tempo-rary crematoriums in govern-mentlandsatKotali,Ankhol,andPiparyavillages.At one suchopen cremation

ground in Pipariya, five pyreswere functional early onThursday when The IndianExpress visited the spot. Heavilyguarded by police, entry hasbeen restricted to ambulancesbringing in the bodies and ac-companyingrelatives.Policeof-ficers on duty said they were“underorders”topreventaccessto any other persons. At Kotaliand Ankhol, the cremationgroundshaveabout threepyres

each.DDOKiranZaverisaid,“There

are 1000-bed Covid-19 govern-ment facilities each at Dhirajhospital and Parul hospital,Pioneer Institute and DhavalbaAyurvedic institute.Deaths alsohappen at other hospitals as farasDabhoitaluka...Theneedwasfelt to havemultiple cremationgroundstoeasetheloadanden-sure a faster process. ThePipariya cremation ground ishelping manage deaths fromParul andDhiraj hospitals... Theoriginal crematorium is locatedinside a village and sowe havetakenintoconsiderationthesen-timentsof thepeople...”As per theVadodara admin-

istration,theofficialCovid-19tollsinceMarch2020isat435,with11deathsonThursday.Thesedonot includethedeathsofCovid-19 positive patients, who havebeen found to have died due topre-existingcomorbidityaswellas deaths of suspected patientsandthosefromotherpartsofthestateorcountry.

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIALUCKNOW,MAY6

AMID THE surge in coronaviruscases, theUttar Pradeshgovern-mentisprovidingoximetersandthermal scanners for cowshousedinthestate’sgaushalas’.A recent press release from

ChiefMinisterYogiAdityanath’soffice also said the stategovern-ment has issued instructions tosetuphelpdesksineverydistrictfor thewelfare of cows, takingforward its cow protectionagenda.The government has issued

instructions that all cowshedsmuststrictlyfollowtheCovid-19protocol, and made wearingmasks and frequent thermalscreeningmandatorythere.It is providing thermal scan-

nersandoximeters,apparentlytodetectearlysymptomsinanimalsof Covid-19, which authoritiessaidThursdayhadkilled353peo-ple in the state over the past 24hours.Therearereportsofhospitals

turning away patients and longwaitsatcrematoriumsatseveralplacesinthestateasitbattlesthesecondwaveof thepandemic.The press release on cow-

shedssaidthe ‘gaushalas’willbeequippedwith all themedicalequipmentsuchasoximetersandthermal scanners for cows andotheranimalsaswell.“In viewof the currentCovid

situation,atotalof700helpdesksforthewelfareofcowshavebeenset up across the districts of thestate.Withthis,51oximetersand341 thermal scanners have alsobeen provided to ensure betteranimalcareandtesting,” itsaid.Thestatementsaidstraycows

inlargenumbersarebeinggivenshelter at the 'gaushalas' due totheeffortsof thechiefminister.

‘High number of deaths’:Open cremation groundsset up in 3 Gujarat villages

New Delhi

EXPRESSNETWORK 9WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,MAY7,2021

Recovery & Legal Section, Circle Office, 3rd Floor, Luv-Kush Tower, Exhibition Road, Patna-800001Ph.: 0612-2320180, E-mail: npacopat@canarabank.com

E-Auction Sale Notice for Sale of immovable assets under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcementof Security Interest Act, 2002 read with provision to Rule 8 (6) of the Security Interest (Enforcement) Rules, 2002.Notice is hereby given to the public in general and in particular to the Borrower(s) and Guarantor(s) that the below described immovable propertymortgaged/hypothecated/Pledged/charged to the Secured Creditor, the Constructive/Physical Possession of which has been taken by theAuthorised Officer of Canara Bank, will be sold on "As is where is”, “As is what is" and "Whatever there is" on 14.06.2021.Details are as under:

Authorized Officer(Canara Bank)

Date : 05.05.2021Place : Patna

Sl.No.

Name/Address/Contact No./A/c No. & IFSC

Code of the Branch

Name and Address of theBorrower(s)/Guarantor(s)/

Mortgagor(s)

Outstandingin Rs.

Details of Property Reserve Price(in Rs)EMD

Bid Multiplier1. Bikramganj Branch,

Surya Complex, AraRoad, Bikramganj,Dist.-Rohtas,Bihar-802212

Mob: 8210998534A/c No.

8359296000001IFSC Code:

CNRB0008359

Borrower/ Mortgagor: M/s MaaAkshamini Traders, Prop.: SriPankaj Kr. Singh, S/o Sri RamChhabila Singh, Mahadev Market,Arra Road, Bikramganj, Dist.-Rohtas-802212.Guarantor: Smt. Bina Kunwar,W/o Ram Chhabila Singh, ShyamTakij, Sasaram Road, Bikramganj,Dist.-Rohtas-802212.

Rs.14,06,013/-as on

30.04.2021+ interest &other cost tillrealization.

EMT of land and building in the nameof Sri Pankaj Kumar Singh, S/o SriRam Chhabila Singh, Khata No.2, PlotNo.457, Thana-526, Mouza-Dharopur,Thana+Anchal-Bikramganj, Dist.-Rohtas, Total Area-3.90 Dicimal/1.25Katha (As per deed no.4377 dated06/06/2015). Boundary: North-BudhuSingh, South-Budhu Singh, East-PlotNo.458 & 459, West-Rasta.

`14,05,000/-`1,40,500/-`10,000/-

2. Sasaram Branch,First Floor, RajLakhan Complex,Sasaram, Rohtas,GT Road-821115Mob: 8698667128

A/c No.8359296000001IFSC Code:

CNRB0008359

Borrower: M/s Shiv MiniRice Mill, Prop.-Vinod Kumar,S/o Mr. Shiv Ram Singh,Moh-Gamhariya, Sasaram,Rohtas-821115 andGuarantor 1: Mr. Sheojee SinghS/o Late Mr. Kuldeep Singh,Vill-Gamhariya, P.O-Mokar, PS-Agrer, Sasaram, Rohtas-821115.Guarantor 2: Mr. Dinesh Singh

Rs.1,15,09,155/-

as on30.04.2021+ interest &other cost tillrealization.

EMT of land and building in the nameof Sri Shiv Jee Singh S/o Late KuldeepSingh, Khata No.-5, Plot No.-140,Thana-163, Mauza-Gamhariya, PO-Mokar, Sasaram, Dist.-Rohtas-821115,Total Area-80 Decimal. Boundary:North-Nij (Vacant Land), South-Road,East-Ramjee Singh (Vacant Land),West-Sita Ram Singh (Vacant Land)

`66,42,000/-`6,64,200/-`10,000/-

S/o Mr. Sheojee Singh, Vill-Gamhariya, P.O-Mokar, PS-Agrer, Sasaram, Rohtas-821115.Last Date of EMD 09.06.2021 at 4.00 P.M. For Detailed terms and conditions of the sale, please refer to the link

provided in www.canarabank.com

PROPERTY FOR E-AUCTION NOTICE

BASHAARATMASOODSRINAGAR,MAY6

JUSTFOURdaysafter they tookup arms, three Al-Badr mili-tants were killed in a gunfightin south Kashmir’s Shopian onThursdaymorning. Their asso-ciate surrendered.Thepolicesaidtheslainmil-

itants spurned their appeals tosurrender.The standoff began

Wednesdaynightwhena jointteam of J&K Police, Army andparamilitary forces cordonedoff Kanigam village in southKashmir's Shopian.“During the search opera-

tionthey(militants)weregivenan opportunity to surrender.Familymembersof thetrappedterroristswerealsocalledtotheencounter site tomotivate andpersuade them to surrender,"thepolicesaid inarelease. "Dueto the great efforts and utmostpatience of police, securityforces and repeated surrenderappeals with the help of theirfamily members, one of thetrappedterroristTausif Ahmadultimately surrendered andlaid down his arms before thejoint security forces. He lateralso appealed to his trappedcompanions to surrender.However, they turned downthesurrenderofferandfired in-discriminately on the jointsearch party whichwas retali-ated leading to an encounter.”The police have identified

the slain militants as DanishMir andMohamadUmer Bhat,both residents of KhajaporaShopian, and Zahid BashirReshi, a resident of RebanShopian.Policesourcessaid themil-

itants had joined themilitant

ranks just thisweek.While thepoliceweresilent

about theweaponsseized fromthemilitants, thearmyclaimedto have found four pistols onthem.“One terrorist surrendered

and three were killed. All fourwererecent recruits,” theArmysaid in a statement.Avideo fromtheencounter

site showstheArmysending intwo civilians inside the shedwherethemilitantswereholedup. In the video, the civilianscanbe seen talking to themili-tants, one of whom says he isreadytosurrender. In thevideo,themilitantssaytheyhaveonlypistolswith them.The video has raised the

question of why more effortswere not made to capture themilitants who were recent re-cruits and armed with pistols.It has also raised questionsabout thesafetyof thecivilianswhowent in to negotiate.TheArmy,however, said the

civilians volunteered to go in-side to persuade the militantsto surrender. “He was theowner of the shed where they(militants)were hiding and hevolunteered togo inside,” ade-fence spokesperson told TheIndianExpress. “As farascaptur-ingthemalive isconcerned, themilitantswerenot onlyhavingpistols but also hand grenadeswhich they threw at the jointteamof forces.”Police said that the

Inspector General of Police(IGP) Kashmir Vijay Kumar"congratulated the joint teamof forces for showing patienceand professionalism" duringthe encounter.

ARUNSHARMAJAMMU,MAY6

THE JAMMU and Kashmir ad-ministrationThursdaycarriedouta reshuffle at the top rungof po-liceadministration,shiftingninesenior IPS officers includingDirector-General of Prisons VKSingh who was appointedCommandant General of theHomeGuards, CivilDefenceandtheStateDisasterResponseForce.The post of Commandant

General of HG/CD/SDRF is de-claredequivalentinrankandsta-tus to thatofDGtill the time it isheld byVKSingh, read anorderissuedbytheHomeDepartment.Though the order indicated

thatthereshufflewascarriedbe-cause of the promotion of sev-eral police officers to the gradeof DG andADG, Singh’s shiftingfromhisoldpost cameadayaf-ter 77-year-old MohammadAshraf Sehrai, a prominentHurriyatleaderandchairmanofTehreek-e-Hurriyat, died in de-tention in Jammu.The separatist Kashmiri

leader was detained under thePublic Safety Act and he wasshifted to Jammuhospital fromUdhampur jail on Tuesdayevening. According to govern-mentofficials,hetestedpositiveforCovid-19posthumously.His death was widely con-

doled by bothmainstream andseparatist politicians across theUT, who called him an honestpolitician.Sehrai’s sonMujahid Sehrai

hadaccusedtheadministrationof delaying his treatment.Mujahid said: “During ourphone calls in the past, he hadsaidthatwasnotgettingpropertreatment.”

3newmilitantrecruits killedin Shopian

Day afterseparatist’sdeath, J&KPrisonsDG shifted

YOGESHNAIKMUMBAI,MAY6

AN AIR ambulance belongingto Jet Serve Aviation headingfrom Bagdogra to Mumbaimadeanemergency landingatChhatrapati Shivaji MaharajInternational Airport after awheelof theC90aircraft felloffatNagpurairport,where ithadhalted for refuelling soon aftertake-off.The Beechcraft VT-JIL air-

craft was carrying two crewmembers, apatient,his relativeand a doctor on board. It leftNagpur around 5.15 pm afterrefuelling and subsequentlylost itswheel. The fallenwheelwas noticed by a CISF stafferwho raised the alarm and in-formedairport authorities andthe Air Traffic Controller. TheATC subsequently raised a dis-tress call and a decision wasmade to make an emergency

landingof theplaneatMumbaiairport."We were really worried.

The pilot was told how to do abelly landingandwas jittery.ByGod’s grace, everything wentwell. Theoperationwentonforthree hours,” Director Generalof Civil Aviation Arun Kumartold The Indian Express.A belly landing or gear-up

landingoccurswhenanaircraftlands without its landing gearfully extended anduses its un-derside, or belly, as its primarylanding device.The pilot of the aircraft,

Keshari Singh said that he re-alised thewheelhad fallenandhad to burn a lot of fuel beforehe landed. "Ididabelly landing.I don’t knowwhether there isdamage to the runway. I amthankful that all are safe,” hesaid."The airport’s emergency

response team, including thefireandrescueresponders, fol-

low-me vehicles, CentralIndustrial SecurityForce,med-ical team among many otherswere activated instantly andwereonstandbytoprovide im-mediate assistance to ensuresafe evacuation of the passen-gers. As a precautionarymeas-ure, CSMIA also foamed RWY27 in order to prevent the air-craft fromcatching fire.Allpas-sengers were evacuated safelyandflightsoperating inandoutof CSMIAremainonschedule,"anMIAL spokesperson said.The patient was sent to

Nanavati hospital.Nagpur Police

CommissionerAmiteshKumarsaid, “TheCISFpersonnelat thewatchtower in Nagpur alertedtheairportauthoritiesafter thewheel fell off. The wheel hasbeen recovered. The aircrafthad come from Bagdogra at4.30 pm andwaited in Nagpuronly for refuelling, andat left at5.15 pm.”

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEVADODARA,MAY6

THE NARMADA police havebooked Bhavesh Kukadiya, 39,whowas arrested by VadodarapoliceinJanuarythisyearfor“cre-ating fake Covid-19hospitalisa-tiondocumentstoclaimmedicalinsurance of Rs 2.5 lakh”, for al-leged culpable homicide notamounting to murder after itcame to light that Kukadiya hadbeenrunningaprivatehospitalatRajpipla in Narmada with nobonafidemedicaldegree.TheprobeintoKukadiya'scre-

dentials, following his arrest bythe Vadodara police, had theNarmadapolicestumbleuponhisfakemedical degrees aswell asfilesof200patientstreatedathishospital since2018,ofwhom 37personsdied.InanFIRlodgedattheRajpipla

police station on Wednesdayevening, policenamedKukadiyaasanaccusedintheallegeddeathof37patients.Kukadiyahasbeenbookedunder Sections 304 and308of the IndianPenal Code forculpable homicide not amount-ing tomurder and indulging in awillful act that couldpose threattothelifeofpeopleorcausedeath.SP, Narmada, Himkar Singh,

said thedistrictpolicewaited forover two months for com-plainants to come forward after

the news of Kukadiya being aquackbecamepublic.Singhsaid,“Wegotintimation

fromDeputy Commissioner ofPolice,ZoneIII,Vadodara, follow-ing his arrest in the insurancescaminJanuarythisyear.Thepo-lice also verified his credentialswhen he claimed that he hadcompletedhisMBBS fromauni-versity inKyrgyzstan. Thepolicewrotetotheuniversityandfoundthathehadneverstudiedthere.”Singh said some of these

deaths in Kukadiya’s hospitalswere in2019,whileamajorityofthem were in 2020 after theCovid-19outbreak.“Wewillques-tionhimabout thepossibility ofhavingtreatedCovid-19patients.Wealsosuspectthatmorepeoplecouldhavediedbutnotregisteredat the municipality’s deathrecordsbureau if theywouldnotneed the death certificate. Thenumber 37 is only of those pa-tientswhohave sought a deathcertificate,”Singhsaid.Kukadiya is currently in

Vadodara Central Jail in judicialcustody in the fake insurancecase.OnJanuary23,Panigatepo-lice in Vadodara arrestedKukadiya and his dentist wifeSejal—whowastheclaimant inthe case of the fake insuranceclaimofCovid-19hospitalisationfor an amount of Rs 2.5 lakh.Kukadiyahadtoldpolicethathewasageneralphysician.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICELUCKNOW,MAY6

SUPPORTERSOF the victoriouszilapanchayatmemberwentonarampage inGorakhpur's ChauriChauratownonThursdayandsetfiretoapolicepostaftertheassis-tant returning officer (ARO) al-legedly gave thewinning certifi-catetoanothercandidate.AROVirendraKumarhasbeen

booked for cheating, forgery andfraud by police on a complaintfrom Returning Officer SunilKumar. Police have arrested 18people and lodged four separateFIRs in connectionwith thevan-dalismandarsonbythesupport-ers of Kodai Sahni, thewinningcandidate.“AfterKodaiSahniwonthezila

panchayatmemberelectionfromwardno.61,hewasnotgiventhewinning certificate. Instead, theARO have the certificate to an-other candidate RameshKumarwho lost to Sahni by 600 votes.This angered Sahni's supporterswhowentonarampage.TheysettheNayaBazaarpoliceoutpostonfire,vandalisedaPACbusandsix

motorcycles, and looted the be-longingsofpoliceofficialspostedattheoutpost,”saidCircleOfficer(ChauriChaura)KuldeepTewari.Officialssaidthesituationwas

broughtundercontrolafterSahnigotthewinningcertificate.“FourcasesundervariousIPC

sectionshavebeenlodgedagainst60namedand500unidentifiedpersons in connectionwith thevandalism. Based on CCTVfootage,wehavearrested18peo-ple and are looking for others,”saidtheCircleOfficer.Accordingtopolice,Returning

Officer Sunil Kumar filed a com-plaintwiththepoliceagainstAROVirendraKumar.“WehavelodgedacaseagainstVirendraKumarfornot giving thecertificate tothe winningcandidate”saidtheofficer.SSP Dinesh PKumar saidstrict actionwould betaken againstthoseinvolvedin arson andsabotage.

0124SBML03703

Rs.23,03,450/-

1. Mr/Mrs Navin Nandkishor Sonava2. Mr/Mrs Geeta Bai W/o Nandkishore Chhepa3. Mr/Mrs Monika Chhipa W/o Neevan Chhipa4. Mr/Mrs. Nandkishor Chhepa

20-04-2021

Date: 05-05-2021Place: Mandsaur

AccountNo

Total LoanOutstanding(in INR)

Name of the Borrowersand Co-Borrowers

Total LoanOutstanding

As On

Description of the SecuredAsset: All that piece and parcel of property bearing HouseNo. 8,WardNo. 30, Raywal Gali KhanpuraMandsaure Dist. Mandsaur, MP. Pin 458001.Boundaries: East: House of Rafik Nilgar, West: Rasta Gali, South: House of Banshilal,North :Gali House of Mohnlal Ji

For Vistaar Financial Services Pvt Ltd.,Authorized Officer

DEMAND NOTICENOTICE UNDER SECTION 13(2) OF THE SECURITISATIONAND

RECONSTRUCTION OF FINANCIALASSETSAND ENFORCEMENT OF SECURITYINTERESTACT, 2002

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Air ambulance makes emergencylanding at Mumbai airport

TheBeechcraftVT-JILaircraftwascarryingtwocrewmembers,apatient,his relativeandadoctoronboard. It leftNagpuraround5.15pmafterrefuellingandsubsequently lost itswheel.ThefallenwheelwasnoticedbyaCISFstafferwhoraisedthealarmandinformedairportauthoritiesandtheAirTrafficController.

NOTICEIn view of certain complaints received against the NNDagents Mr. Tarun Kumar Srivastava which is underexamination. The account holders are advised not toremit any amount to the NND agent Mr. Tarun KumarSrivastava with immediate effect without writtenpermission/ clearance/ confirmation from the Bank inthis regard. Authorised OfficerPlace : Arrah

PANCHAYATPOLLS:POLLOFFICIALBOOKED

Arson in UP townas wrong candidatedeclared winner

Man booked forrunning hospitalwithout degree

Tripura’s two big tribalparties merge, ‘GreaterTipraland’ main goal nowAgarthala:Amonthafter formerTripuraCongressleader Pradyot Kishore Manikya-led TiprahaIndigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA)swept the state tribal council elections in alliancewith the Indigenous People’s Front of Twipra(INPT), theoldestsurvivingtribalpoliticalpartyofthe state, the latter merged with TIPRA tostrengthen“thansa”,orunity.Announcingthemergeratapressconferencein

thestate capital onThursday, PradyotKishore saidthemovewas“post-pollunification”.Hesaid:“TheoldestpoliticalpartyofTripurahasjoinedusforourcombinedgoalofGreaterTipraland...”DEBRAJDEB

37patientsdeadathis ‘hospital’ in3yrs,Kukadiyabookedforculpablehomicide

New Delhi

10WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

QUOTA, UNQUOTASCstrikesdownMarathareservation, challengespoliticalleadership tore-framebackwardnessquestion—andanswer

THE FIVE-JUDGE CONSTITUTION Bench order that struck down theMaharashtraStateReservationforSociallyandEducationallyBackwardClasses(SEBC)Act, 2018, providing reservation for theMaratha community inpub-lic education and employment, has significant political and legal implica-

tions.TheSupremeCourtrefusedtorevisitthe1992 IndraSawhney judgment,whichhadruled that thequantumof reservation shouldnotexceed50per cent, unless compelledby“extraordinarycircumstances”.TheCourthasheldthatthe2018Actviolatestheprin-cipleof equalityandbyexceeding theceilingof 50percent, goesagainstArticles14and15(right toequalityandprotectionagainstdiscrimination)of the IndianConstitution.Maharashtra’s2018lawwastheoutcomeofaprolongedpoliticalcampaignbythenu-

mericallysignificantandpoliticallydominantMarathacommunity.Atleastthreenationalcommissionsandthreestatecommissionshaverejecteditsdemandforreservationinthepast.Ithasbeenrevivedasapoliticalissueinrecentyears,withpartiescompetingtoprom-isequotastothegroup,whichcontinuestodominate instatepolitics, runningof cooper-ativesandeducationalinstitutionsandownershipof land.ButreservationinMaharashtrahadalreadyreachedthe50percentbarsetbyIndraSawhney,andinclusionoftheMarathas,estimated tobeabout35per centof the statepopulation,within theexistingOBCquotawas fraughtwith the risk of turning other beneficiary groups restive. Hence, a separatequotawas constituted,with the JusticeGaikwadCommission advocating theMarathas’claim to social and educational backwardness. The apex court has now rejected theCommission’sargumentthatextraordinarycircumstancesexistedforaMarathaquota—the Court said the data collected and presented by the (Justice Gaikwad) Commission“proves that theMarathas arenot socially andeducationallybackward”. Byall accounts,theCommission’srecommendationsmayhavemadeamorepersuasivecaseforpropor-tional representation rather than social justice. Going ahead, theMaharashtra govern-mentshouldlistentothestate’stopbureaucratswhohavereportedlyadvisedtheleader-ship to undertake a fresh study to support theMaratha claim for backward status andaffirmativeaction, if itwishestopursuequotas for thecommunity.This also brings amoment of reckoning for various other communities, for instance

thePatidars inGujarat,who, in thewakeof adeepeningdistressduetostructural trans-formations in the economy, have beenmobilising for quotas. The Constitution has en-visaged reservation as an instrument to addresshistorical injustice anddiscrimination.Waysmustbefound,however, toaddressotherkindsofdisenfranchisementanddisad-vantageaswell. Intheend,aresolutiontothegrowingclamourtobedeclaredbackwardmayonly lie in thegovernmentaddressingsupplyside issues ineducationandemploy-ment. Fornow, aproblematicpart of theSCverdictneeds tobe reviewed—threeof thefive judgeswere of the view that only the Presidentwill have the power to identify thebackward classes in a state or UT. The question, who is backward, andwho gets howmuch,isanimportantone.Theanswercanonlybefoundwiththeparticipationofstates.

THE OTHER VIRUSWithcommunaldog-whistle,BJPMPTejasviSuryamakesvirus’sjobeasier.ThisislastthingBengaluruneedsasitbattlesCovid

THE SARS-COV-2’S SECOND surge is beginning to tell on Bengaluru, now thecitywith the highest daily caseload of Covid infections (over 20,000 cases adayforoveraweek).Inthismountingcrisis,BJPMPTejasviSuryahasunearthedanallegedscamintheallocationofhospitalbedsforCovidpatients.Hisscrutiny

extends tohisownparty that runsboth theKarnatakagovernmentand thecitymunici-pal corporation inchargeofCovidmanagement.Unfortunately, Surya’swhistle-blowingalso involvesabrazenlycommunaldogwhistle. Inavideoreleasedby theMP’s team,heisseenaggressivelyquestioningofficersinaBBMPwarroom—butbypickingon17Muslimemployees, whose names he reads out, in the 200-odd staff manning the facility. TwopartyMLAs,whoaccompaniedhiminthispieceofpoliticaltheatre,goontoaskif thewarroomwas“amadrasa”ora“HajBhavan”.Thisnastybitofprofilinghasledtosocialmediaparanoiaabout“terrorists” inCovidrelief,andaviciouscampaignagainstaseasonedbu-reaucratof theminoritycommunity.Eveninpeacetime,anMP,sworntoupholdtheConstitution,crossesaredlineifhepub-

liclytargetscitizensonthebasisof theirfaith. Inthismomentofcrisis,whenhealthwork-ersandfrontlineworkersofallreligionsandidentitiesarebattlingtocontainthepandemic,acommunalagendademeans their serviceanderodespublic trust. It risksderailing thecrucialworkof containingCovid, and triggeringawitch-hunt—asevident in thecrimi-nalisationof theTablighi Jamaat lastyear.Adivisive response to thesecondwavemighthelpSuryamomentarily toobscure the failuresof thestateandcentralgovernments,orthepaucityofoxygensuppliesthatrecentlyledto23deathsinKarnataka.Butpittingcit-izenagainst citizenonlymakes the jobof theviruseasier.In themidstof state failuresand immensesuffering, a lifeline forordinarycitizenshas

been the kindness of strangers. In Bengaluru itself, volunteers fromvarious faiths havepitchedintocremateorburytheCoviddeadwhentheirownco-religionistsshrankinfear.Eachofthemisanassetforthemetropolisasitstaresdownthevirus—andanexampleforTejasviSurya,whomustrefrainfromcommunalisingapublichealthemergency.Ifhedoes-n’tdesistonhisown,hispartymustpersuadehimto.

COALITION POLITICIANAjitSinghadvocated interestsof hisbase,wielded influence, ineraof intensifyingcompetition forpowerandresources

AT THEBEGINNINGof his political career, over 35 years ago, Ajit SinghwassimplythesonofChaudharyCharanSingh,oneofthemostprominentpeas-antleadersfromthenorthinindependentIndia.But,whenhepassedawayonThursdayat 82, fromCovid-19, hehad, to agreat extent, carvedaniche

forhimself bothasa Jat leader fromwesternUttarPradeshaswellasacompellingpres-enceat theCentre,particularly in theeraof coalitionpolitics.Charan Singh’s greatest strengthwas thatwhile hewas a leader of the Jats, particu-

larly inUP,hisarticulationofpoliticswasbroader,encompassingthe ideaof the“kisan”,across communities. By the time Ajit Singhwas ready to take on his father'smantle inthelate1980s,thechurninpoliticsbroughtaboutbyMandalhadwroughtlargechanges.VPSinghcametoprominence ina timewhencaste, not class, becametheprimaryaxisaroundwhichpoliticswasconducted.Despite this changedscenario—evenbecauseofit—AjitSinghmanagedtousehisstrongbutgeographicallylimitedpolitical influencetoadvocate for the rightsof peasants.SinghwaselectedtotheLokSabhaseveraltimesandthepartyhefounded,Rashtriya

LokDal, continues tohaveaninfluence inWestUP,especiallyamongJats.HeservedasaUnionministerunder fourprimeministers fromthreedifferentpolitical dispensations.In the last fewyears, theBJP juggernautdiminishedhis influence inUP, but couldnevereradicate it. Singhmanaged toadvocate for the interestsof his corebaseata timewhencoalitionpoliticshad increased thecompetition forbothpowerandresources steeply.

Pratap BhanuMehta

Shih-chungChen

Weneedtemporaryreconciliation,anationalactionplan. Initiativemustcomefromprimeminister

THE TAIWAN MODELIt hashadsuccessesonCovid-19. Itneeds tobepartofWHOmechanisms

AS DEATHAND suffering knock on each ofourdoors, ourpolitics requiresa temporaryinjectionof idealism.Inapolitical landscapemarked by communalism, polarisation,petulance,authoritarianism,aggression,anycall for idealism will invite the response“Whatareyousmoking?”Buttheblunttruthisthis: If ourpoliticscontinuesasusualoverthenext fewmonths, thedevastationtoourliveswillbeimmeasurable.Covidisexploit-ing every social faultline, worming away inglee,asweturnoneachothermorethanweuniteagainst thevirus.There is palpable and justifiable anger

against the sheer callousness and incompe-tenceonwhatthecentralgovernmentunderthe leadership of the primeminister has in-flicteduponus.But thepoliticalhard truth isthat national elections are three years away.Asmuchas Imightwantone, an immediatechangeingovernmentisnotourquickoreasyroadtoredemption.Despitewaningpopular-ity,thehardcoresupportersoftheBJParestilldugin.Theyarenotamajoritybutstillasize-ablenumber. Their response to criticismhasbeentodoubledownwithevenmoreaggres-sion.On the flip side, theBJPmust recognisethat no fight against Covid can nowworkwithout the cooperation of every politicalparty. This is partly because theOppositioncontrolskeystates.ButitisalsobecauseifthefightaboutCovidbecomesa fightoverpetu-lant one-upmanship aswe are, for example,seeing betweenDelhi Government and theCentre, thenwearedoomed.It is a cliché that itwouldbe ideal to “de-

politicise”thefightagainstCovid.Onehastobecarefulabouthowtheterm“depoliticised”isused. It shouldnotbeusedasanexcuse tosilence criticism, or demands for accounta-bility, or public expressions of anger. Theseare necessary tools in crafting a better re-sponse tocrisis. If nothingelse, theyprovideinformation and create pressure.“Depoliticised”simplymeanscreatingstruc-tures of decision-makingwhere the incen-tives to cooperate are strengthened andachieving results becomesmore importantthanembarrassingopponents;atangiblever-ificationof resultsbecomesmoreimportantthan perceptionmanagement. In times of

warandforeignpolicycrisis,suchbipartisan-shipisnotunusual.Thereisreasontodeployit inthecontextofoneof India’smostsignif-icantcrisessince Independence.Soheremightbesomesimpleobjectives

that could allow some semblance of unity,public purpose and resolve in the fightagainst Covid. The first is the creation ofsomethinglikeanationalactionplanforthenexttwotothreeyears,withtangibleandre-alistic targets on everything from vaccina-tionprocurement andpricing, toprepared-ness for futurewaves. The important thingisthattheplanmustbemadeandownedbyall the state chief ministers and the centralgovernment together. So that the nationalstrategyis,asfaraspossible,aconsensusdoc-ument. This documentmust also take harddecisions about financial allocations andbuildingupthepublichealthinfrastructure.The second is a recognition that in the

shorttomediumruntherewillbeconsider-ablescarcityandrationing, fromvaccinestoother supplies. It is important that the ra-tioning be done fairly, according to princi-ples thatmake sense from a public healthpointofview.Themoresuchrationingdeci-sionsarecollectivedecisions, themorecon-fidence in their fairness. In timesof scarcity,youalsoneedcoordinationandtrusttoadaptas situationschange.The third is the activation of parliamen-

tary select committees as tools of accounta-bility.Thisisnotatimetosuspendparliamen-taryactivity,butdeployitinwaysthatproduceaccountability throughformalchannels. Theveryfactthatthebureaucracyorthescientificestablishmentcanbeasked toughquestionsbymembersofdifferentpoliticalpartiesmaychangethe incentivesonhowinformation isputout.Allowingaparliamentarycommitteeto askwhy the ICMRwas so slow in sharingdata, for example, isnot abad thing; and thefact that theyknowtheyarenowansweringonlytotheexecutivewillincreaseconfidenceinthesystem.Weknowparliamentarycom-mitteeshave,outsidetheglareofpolitics,doneabetter jobof flaggingsomanyissues.Fourth,forthetimebeing,depoliticisethe

bureaucracy.Again, the fact thatbureaucratswillbeanswerable todifferentCMsandpar-

liament, rather than serve onemaster, willhelpinthis.Theinsidiouspracticeofbureau-cratsnowhavingtobelikepublicspokesper-sonsforthecentralgovernmenthasdestroyedthe credibility of the bureaucracy but alsomade interstate coordinationmore difficult.Fifth,itwouldhelpif,forthetimebeingatleast,therewas a commitment to prioritising thepandemic.Idon’tmeanthatinjustanadmin-istrativesense.Frontlineworkersarebattlingthis crisis. I alsomean inapsychological andpoliticalsense,wherewecanconveythatthedeath and suffering aroundus is not just anafterthought tackedonto theusualpatholo-gies of politics. Thiswill require an almostheroic forbearance. The usual ingredients ofpolitics—communalism,ambition,venality—will still be around for parties to playwithwhenthisisover.Thepointistodemonstratethatthedifferentsinewsofpowerarepullinginonedirection,at leastonthepandemic.It is remarkable that even the United

States, which used to be recalcitrant ongranting IPRwaivers, is seriouslymoving inthatdirection.WhenitcomestoCovid,glob-ally, there is a recognition that we need tomove fromnationalismto treatingCovidasaglobalpublichealthissue. Itwillbeironiciftheworldmoves in thatdirection, but Indiainternally remains trapped inacompetitiveacrimonious free for all, as if Covidwas an-other pretext to fight. No part of India canwin unless the whole of India wins.Vasudhaiva kutumbakam for theworld, butMatsyaNyayaathome,wherethebiggerfisheatsthesmallerfish,isnotexactlyacoherentmoraloutlook.I know this hope for coming together

rather than fallingapart on thepandemic isa forlornhope; but the alternative isworse.The initiative fora temporaryreconciliationwill have to come from the PrimeMinister.This can be his opportunity to do the rightthing.ButtheOppositionalsohasaninterestin Indiasucceedingonthepandemic. It alsoknowsthatitishardtopredictwhatthetidesofdeath,destructionanddistresswillsweepup in theirwake.

Thewriter iscontributingeditor,TheIndianExpress

THETHREATTHATemerging infectious dis-eases pose to global health and economyneverceases.AsofMarch2021,anovel formof pneumonia that first emerged inWuhan,China,in2019,andisclassifiedascoronavirusdisease 2019 (Covid-19), has causedmorethan150millioncasesandmorethan3.1mil-lion deathsworldwide. The disease has hadan enormousmedical, economic, and socialimpact around theworld, and significantlythreatenedglobaleffortstoachievetheUnitedNationsSustainableDevelopmentGoals.DuetoitsproximitytoChina,Taiwanwas

expected tobeoneof thecountriesmost se-verelyaffectedbytheepidemic.Butgiven itsexperience of fighting the 2003 SARS out-break,Taiwandidnotignorethealarms,piec-ingtogetherevolvingofficialandunofficialac-counts to form a picture of the emergingdisease that implied a scope and severityworsethanwhattheglobalpublicperceptionsuggested.Authoritiesusedthis informationtolaunchenhancedmonitoringinDecember2019, andhave tirelessly implementedpub-lic health containment measures sinceTaiwan’s first casewas detected in January2020.AsofApril30,2021,therehadbeen1,128confirmed cases, including 12 deaths, inTaiwan. Life andworkhavecontinuedmuchasnormalforthemajorityof thepopulation.After dealingwith SARS, Taiwan estab-

lishedanationwideinfectiousdiseasehealth-care network,which provides the legal au-thority for transferring patientswith highlycontagious diseases to designated facilities.

This has helped protect health systems andhealth professionals from being over-whelmed, and allowedmost non-Covid-19healthservicestocontinue.Byactingearlyandeffectively,Taiwanalso

mitigated the economic impact of Covid-19.Tomaintainessentialinternational,social,eco-nomic, and trade activities, Taiwan imple-mentedflexibleadjustmentsforrelatedquar-antinemeasuresforvesselsandaircraftsothatfisheries, offshorewind farms, andair trans-port industries could continue operations.Furthermore, public trust and cooperationwith the government’s response have beenkeytosuccessfullycontainingCovid-19.Infor-mulatingdiseasecontrolregulations,thegov-ernmenthasadheredtotheprinciplesofrea-sonable response,minimumdamage, andgradual adoption. It alsomaintains the bal-ancebetweenpeople’srighttoknowandper-sonalprivacyandfreedom,activelyrespond-ing to people’s wishes by upholding theprinciple of fairness at the same time as pri-oritising the protection of disadvantagedgroups, including migrant workers.Throughout,Taiwanhasemphasisedtherightto health and associated protections andstrongoppositiontohumanrightsabuses.Covid-19’s impact has been harshest

amongalreadyvulnerableandhigh-riskcom-munities,aswellasthoselackingqualityhealthcare services and thoseunable tohandle theadverseconsequencesofcontainmentmeas-ures. Taiwanwill do its utmost toworkwiththeWorldHealth Organization and global

health leaders toensure thatallpeopleenjoyliving andworking conditions that are con-ducive to goodhealth.Wewill alsomonitorhealthinequitiestoadvocatemoreeffectivelyforuniversalaccesstoqualityhealthservices.Taiwan’s response to Covid-19 has been

oneoftheworld’ssuccessstories.IthasprovenyetagainthatTaiwancannotremainoutsidetheglobalhealthnetwork.Taiwanplaysanin-dispensableroleintheglobalmonitoringandearlywarning systems thatdetect the threatof emerging infectious diseases, and theTaiwanmodelhasprovenconsistentlycapa-bleofcontainingCovid-19.Beingabletocom-prehensivelyparticipate inandcontributetointernationalCovid-19supplychainsystems,aswellasglobaldiagnostics,vaccine,andther-apeutics platforms,would allow Taiwan toworkwiththerestof theworld.WeurgeWHOand relatedparties to ac-

knowledgeTaiwan’slongstandingcontribu-tionstotheinternationalcommunityin pub-lichealth,diseaseprevention,andthehumanright to health, and to include Taiwan inWHOanditsmeetings,mechanisms,andac-tivities. Taiwanwill continue toworkwiththe restof theworld toensure thatall enjoythe fundamental human right to health asstipulatedintheWHOconstitution.Echoingthe mantra of the United Nations’ 2030Sustainable Development Goals, no oneshouldbe leftbehind.

Thewriter isministerofhealthandwelfare,RepublicofChina(Taiwan)

It is a cliché that it would beideal to ‘depoliticise’ thefight against Covid. One hasto be careful about how theterm ‘depoliticised’ is used. Itshould not be used as anexcuse to silence criticism, ordemands for accountability,or public expressions ofanger. These are necessarytools in crafting a betterresponse to crisis. If nothingelse, they provideinformation and createpressure. ‘Depoliticised’simply means creatingstructures of decision-making where the incentivesto cooperate arestrengthened and achievingresults becomes moreimportant thanembarrassing opponents; atangible verification ofresults becomes moreimportant than perceptionmanagement.

After dealing with SARS,Taiwan established anationwide infectiousdisease healthcare network,which provides the legalauthority for transferringpatients with highlycontagious diseases todesignated facilities. Thishas helped protect healthsystems and healthprofessionals from beingoverwhelmed, and allowedmost non-Covid-19 healthservices to continue.

FOUNDED BY

RAMNATH GOENKA

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

§ §

THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,MAY7,2021WORDLYWISE

The norms andnotions ofwhat ‘just is’ isn’talways ‘justice’.— AmandaGormanTHEEDITORIALPAGE

NUCLEAR POWERPM INDIRA GANDHI told newsmen inGeneva that though India intended to sticktoherpolicyofusingnuclearenergyonlyforpeaceful purposes, it had tobeprepared forPakistan’sactions.OntheUSdecisiontoarmPakistanwitharms,shesaiditwasboundtoincrease tension in the region although itwouldnotbe fair todenyPakistan its legiti-mate defence requirements. To a questionabout the Reagan administration’s definitetilt towards Pakistan, she said, “We havefaced this tilt formany years. Andwe havesurvivedit”.ButshehopedthattheUSwouldface up to global realities and not framestrategies thatupset regionalpeace.

BANGALORE IN TURMOILTHE ARMYWAS alerted after public sectorworkerswentonarampageinBangalorefol-lowing the arrest of their fasting leaders.Police burst tear gas asmobs set fire to 14busesoftheBangaloreTransportService.Themobalso attempted to set fire to three postofficesbutwere thwarted in time.Apandalsetupfor the inaugurationof abusstandbyCM Gundu Rao was burnt down, and thefunctionhadtobecancelled.

ASSAM PRESS FREEDOMTHE GAUHATI HIGH Court struck downClause (C) of the Section 2 of the AssamSpecialPowers(Press)Act,declaringitasun-

constitutional.Thecourtalsosquashednoti-fications of the Assam government askingnewspapers to submit all content slated forpublicationtotheDirectorateof InformationandPublic relations for scrutiny.

CUTLERY FRAUDSILVERWARE AMOUNTING TO Rs twomil-lion, said to belong to an erstwhile princelyfamily, has been shipped out of India, al-legedly after undervaluing it grossly. Thematterwhich has come to the notice of thehigher-ups in the Punjab government hasbeen referred to the Centre for further in-quiry.Theaestheticallydesignedsilverwarereportedlyweighed500kg.

MAY 7, 1981, FORTYYEARSAGO

An idealism injection

New Delhi

11THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,MAY7,2021

WHATTHEOTHERSSAY“Pakistan may yet again be standing at a crossroads where the pandemic isconcerned. The slightest loosening of SOP protocols could send us hurling in thedirection where India finds itself today.” —DAWNTHE IDEASPAGE

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

We have the arsenal toovercome the presentchallenge in the form ofvaccines, dedicated medicaland scientific personnel andthe resilience to tide over thelogistical issues. Let’s not getcowed down by the enormityof the challenge. The damagecan be minimised andprecious human lives can besaved if we don’t fall into the‘diffidence’ syndrome. I amsure the Union governmentunder the leadership of thePM and the stategovernments under theleadership of their respectivechief ministers areconstantly reviewing theevolving situation andcalibrating their responses.

WITHANimpressivevictoryintheintenselycontestedWest Bengal Assembly electionsthatdefiedmostpollpredictions,theAll-IndiaTrinamoolCongressunderMamataBanerjeehasassumedpowerinthestateforthethirdtime.Winning213of the 292West BengalVidhanSabhaforwhichelectionswereheld,thepartygarnered47.94percentofthestate’svoteshare.WhilesupportfortheTrinamoolCongresswasspreadacrossgeographicalre-gions, includingthosethathadvotedfortheBJP in2019,and identities, themassivesup-port ofwomenvoters proved critical in se-curing the party’s victory. Early post-pollanalysishaspointed toasubstantial gendergapinelectoralpreferencesthatwillconsol-idate the salienceofwomenvoters forbothpoliticalpartiesandelectionanalysts.TheWest Bengal electionoutcomealso

needstobeconsidered inthecontextof theotherrecentelectionsinIndiawherewomenemergedasadistinctelectoralconstituency.Women’svoteswerecrucialfortheBJP’svic-toriesintheseelections, leadingPMModitocredit his party’swin to the “silent voters”.Thepopularityofwelfaristschemeshasbeenoffered as the key factor in explainingwomen’ssupportfortheBJPandtheTMC.Such electoral stakes have also trans-

formedcash transfer schemes into sites offierceinter-partyandCentre-statecompe-tition. The vast range of conditional cashtransfer schemes targeting women andyoung girl-students offered by the TMCgovernment, however, established it as aclear favourite among its beneficiaries. Inparticular,MamataBanerjee’s direct asso-ciationwith the conception, naming, im-plementation, and propagation of theschemes reinforcedherpopularityamongwomenandgirls in thestate.Despite charges of localised corruption

inthedistributionofwelfare,Banerjeeheldon to her existing support base amongwomen; enhancing it through the admin-istrativeoutreach initiativesof hergovern-ment such as “Duare Sarkar” (governmentatthedoorstep),and“DidikeBolo”(TellDidi),whichappears tohave succeeded in coun-teringanti-incumbencysentimentsamongthe general electorate andwomen in par-ticular. Importantly, theelectionmanifestopromisednew initiatives suchasuniversalbasic income for thewomen guardians ofeveryhousehold,workingwomen-hostels,widow-pensions, etc. which deepenedwomen’ssupport for theparty.While thewelfarist infrastructureof the

Trinamool Congress government hasemerged as a frequently-cited factor in ex-plainingwomen’ssupportfortheparty,oth-erssuchasthesymbolicappealofBanerjee’sself-fashioningasabenevolentDidiandthestrong visibility of women leaders in theTrinamool Congress have proved to beequally crucial in delivering adecisive elec-

toralmandatefortheparty.Banerjee’sstatusasasinglewomanprofessingtotalcommit-menttopoliticalactivism,hercultivatedim-ageof a “street-fighter” yet caring leader ofthepeoplewithanausterelifestyle,heremo-tion-ladenanti-elitepoliticalrhetoric,andtheabsenceofmalementorshave consistentlygarneredherelectoraldividends.Ontheeveoftheelections,facingperhaps

thetoughestchallengeinherpoliticalcareerposedbyanascendantBJP,Banerjee,inasso-ciationwiththepoliticalconsultancyIndianPolitical ActionCommittee (I-PAC), under-tooka strategic refashioningof herpoliticalpersona. Her rebranding as “Banglar nijermeye” (Bengal’s owndaughter) presentedBanerjeeas an iconof nativist Bengali prideagainst theNewDelhi-based leaders of theBJP.Appealinginparticulartowomenvoters,thisrebrandingalsohighlightedhervulner-abilityandneedforprotectioninthecontextofpersonalattacksonher leadershipbyheropponents.Theelementofvulnerabilitywasfurther accentuated byher public appear-ances in awheelchair after she sustained aleginjuryinanaccidentduringthecampaign.The third factor that has ensured

women’ssupportistheparty’smobilisationofwomenvotersandpromotionofwomenas candidates. TheTrinamool Congresshashadaconsistentrecordoffieldingwomenascandidatesonascalehigherthanthenationalaverage—a record it hasmaintained in the2021elections,with tickets to50womeninits candidate list. As authorsGillesVerniersandMayaMirchandanihavearguedintheirrecentstudyongenderrepresentationintheTrinamoolCongress,theparty’spolicyofpro-motingwomenascandidatesislocatedinitsstrategic recognition of thewinnability ofwomen candidates instead of ideationalcommitmentstogenderparity.Thisisborneoutbytheavailablestatisticsonwomencan-didates in the2021elections.Out of the49women candidates (Sarala Murmu, theTrinamool Congress candidate fromHabibpurdefected to theBJP), 33havewonthe elections of whom 16 have been re-elected. Inadditiontofieldingmorewomencandidates, theparty also launched specialwomen’s fronts (Bongo Jononi/MotherBengal) aimedatmobilisingwomenvotersinfavourofthestategovernmentandagainstthe policies of the central government.Womensupportersofthepartywereconsis-tently placed in the front row inMamataBanerjee’s public rallies, and shewould fre-quently address themas “mothers and sis-ters”duringherspeeches.Banerjeealsoheldmassivewomen-ledralliesinprotestagainstpricerise,whicharebeinginterpretedashav-ing influencedtheparty’selectoralvictoriesinBJPstrongholdsinNorthBengal.The results of the 2021Assembly elec-

tion in West Bengal will mark a majormethodological transition inconventionalelectionanalysisintermsofcenteringgen-der as a critical variable. It remains to beseenwhether the salience of women vot-erswill influencepoliticalpartiestounder-takearegenderingof theirrespectiveinsti-tutional cultures, but it is undeniable thatthe“silentvoters”havedeliveredaresound-inglyclearelectoralmandate.

ThewriterisaPhDCandidateatDublinCityUniversityundertheEUMarieSklodowska-

CurieGlobalIndiaFellowship

WEAREINthemidstofaCovid-19tidalwave;averyroughstormthatisrockingourlivesinashockinglydisastrousmanner. It is a tempestwedidn’tanticipate.Itisacyclonethatthreat-ens our existence. These are extraordinarytimes.Thisisatimeofprofoundcrisisofamag-nitudeandcomplexitythathasnotbeenexpe-riencedinthelastonehundredyears.Suchmo-ments require a radical departure from acomplacent, business-as-usual approach.Wehave to fight this tough battle together. Allhandshavetobeondeck.The focus should be clear andwemust

work towards the commongoal of overcom-ingthegargantuancrisisthatthewilyvirushasbroughtintoourlives.Failureisnotanoption.Anynation’scapacitytodealwithacrisisis

contingentonitsabilitytopoolitsphysicalandpsychologicalresourcestomaximiseitsenergytowin thebattle.Weneed steelydetermina-tioninthefaceofthecrisis.Wehadweatheredthe first phase of the battle quitewell.Wequickly got down to rampingup theproduc-tionofPPEkits,ventilators,sanitisersand,evenmoresignificantly,theproductionofvaccines.Wetapped intoour latentcapabilitiesandre-sources and, as Team India,we forgedahead.Wedemonstratedtotheworldthatwecareforpeople all over theglobe inkeepingwithourtraditionalworld viewof the entireworld asone big family encapsulated in the ancientIndian saying of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”.We shared vaccineswith those countries inneedasagestureofgoodwillandfriendship.Itisthisspiritofworkingtogetherandcaringforeachother that has suffusedour actions. It isheartening that this small but significant ac-tionofourcountryisbeingreciprocatednowbymanycountries that are supportingus in thissecondphaseofourwar.Wemustretainthisspiritaswecombatthe

virus,whichisdeeplydisruptingourlivesinitsdeadlier form in the secondphase. This isnotthetimefordespondency.This isnotthetimetoquibbleorbickerordither, toblameorrant,tolosehopeoroursenseofbalance.Theenemywearepittedagainst is invis-

ible, inscrutable, rapidlymutating and dis-tressinglydebilitating.Wemustdevisestrate-gies to counter it effectively as thegovernment,ledbyPrimeMinisterNarendraModi, is consistently doing.Marshalling re-sourcestoaugmentoxygensupplies,expand-ingthecapacityofhospitalstohandletheun-precedentedsurge,seekingpartnershipswithstategovernments,publicsectorenterprises,industry leaders, corporate houses and civilsociety organisations, the government isworking relentlessly to providemedical at-tentiontothosewhoneeditmost.Thedarknightwearepassingthroughwill

certainly pass. The question is: Howdowemaintain a steady course despite the tidalwaveslashingusonallsides.Astheadagegoes,“Whenthegoinggetstough,thetoughgetgo-ing”.Arewetoughenough?Doweallowneg-ative emotions to overwhelm us or dowebravelypushforwardtogetherasateamdoingwhateverisfeasibleinthisdifficultsituation?ItistheindomitableIndianspiritthatmust

cometothefore.Itisourresilientattitudethathas seen us through the first phase. It is thesamespirit,butwithredoubledvigour,whichshould seeus through in this infinitelymorechallenging phase.We should applaud ourfront-linewarriors—doctors,nursesandalltheparamedical staff —whocontinue towage awarwithtenacityandsingle-mindeddevotion.Weshouldharnessourconsiderablecollectivestrengthtorampuptheproductionanddistri-butionofmedicaloxygenandessentialdrugs.Itisremarkablehowthecountryisgearing

upunitedly. For example, the Steel Authorityof India has reportedly increasedproductionofliquidmedicaloxygen(LMO)from500met-rictonnesinthesecondweekofApriltoabout1,100metric tonnes per day and the IndianRailwayshastransported1,585metrictonnesofLMOon27OxygenExpresstrains.However,wearefacedwithachallengethat

is riddledwithunimaginablecomplexity.Wehave tonavigate this turbulent environmentwith grit and alacrity.Wemust steer clear ofdysfunctional, distractingdiscourses andex-aggeratedordistortednarratives.Wehavethearsenaltoovercomethepres-

entchallengeintheformofvaccines,dedicatedmedical and scientific personnel and the re-silience to tide over the logistical issues. Let’snot get coweddownby the enormity of thechallenge.Thedamagecanbeminimisedandprecioushumanlivescanbesavedifwedon’tfall into the “diffidence” syndrome. I amsuretheUniongovernmentundertheleadershipofthePMand the state governmentsunder theleadershipof their respective chiefministersareconstantlyreviewingtheevolvingsituationandcalibratingtheirresponses.Wemustrecog-nise that this is a national health emergencythat requires a truly national response,withgovernments and other organs of the statecomingtogethertomitigatethehardshipandhavocthatthepandemicisunleashing.This is the time to build on our core

strengthsratherthanrecountourdeficiencies.Weshouldavoidfinger-pointingandengaginginablamegame.Weshouldpoolourwisdomandexpertise,listentotheexpertsandthepeo-pleonthegroundbravelygrapplingwithharsh

realities.Wemust recognise that thegovern-mentsbothattheCentreandthestatesaresin-cerelytryingtomeasureuptothetaskathand.Leteachoneofusputourshouldertothewheellikemanyorganisationsaredoingalready.It is natural for each oneof us to become

emotionallyupsetwhenourfriendsandrela-tivessufferorpassaway.But,then,letusnotbegrippedbyfearandanger,beswampedbyim-agesthatbreedpessimismandfrustration.Weshould realise thatwehave in our collectiveconsciousnessan indomitableability toover-come extreme hardships.We have recentmemories of successfully “flattening” and“bending” the curve a fewmonths ago. Thatshouldemboldenus. Theexperienceof othercountries that haveweathered a similar up-surge cangiveus the inspiration to look for alightattheendof thetunnel.Theseare testing times.Asper theTelugu

calendar,wehadjustbidfarewellto“shaarvari”(thedarknight)onApril13andwelcomedthenewyear, “plava” (boat).Weshould continueto rowtheboat through thedarkpassageweare currently sailing in and reach the shoresafelysoon.Whenthedarknessseemstobeenveloping

us, let us rememberGurudevRabindranathTagore’sfamoussong,JibonJokhonShukayeJayfromtheGeetanjaliandpray that: “When theheart is hardandparchedup, comeuponmewith a shower ofmercy/When grace is lostfromlife,comewithaburstofsong/Whentu-multuousworkraises itsdinonallsidesshut-tingmeoutfrombeyond,cometome,mylordofsilence,withthypeaceandrest”.When the journey seems exhausting,

please recall our ancient Indian exhortation,echoedbySwamiVivekananda,“Arise,awakeandstopnottillyourgoalisreached”.Wehavetobeprepared for furtherwaves

ofthepandemic.Weshouldbealert,agileandonourguard.Eachcitizenmustfollowthepre-cautionarymeasuresofmasking,physicaldis-tanceof twometres and implementing sani-taryandhygienicpractices.Wemustvaccinateourselvessothatweandallaroundusaresafe.

Thewriter isVicePresidentof India

ONAPRIL30,SuperGalaxy,ahugeUSmilitaryplane, landed inDelhi, bringingoxygencylin-ders, hospital equipment andCovid test kits.MoreflightswithaidmaterialareonthewaytoIndia.And,therebyhangsatale.Fourdays is a shortperiod in the realmof

politicsanddiplomacy,butwhatadifferenceitcanmake.OnApril22,EdwardPrice,theUSstatede-

partment spokesman,was asked at a pressbriefingabout“thehorriblesurge”inthecoro-navirusinfectionsinIndiaandwhytheUSwasnotliftingthebanonexportsof rawmaterialsforvaccineproduction.Heutterednowordofsympathy,whileofferingalongexplanationastowhyitwas“intheinterestsoftherestoftheworld to seeAmericans vaccinated”. A stormof protests and criticismerupted in India; in-fluentialmembersof theUSpoliticalandcor-porate establishment implored their govern-menttochangeitsposition.Fourdayslater,onApril26,amuch-chastenedPricespokeabouttheimportanceofthe“GlobalComprehensiveStrategicPartnership”withIndia,providingde-tailsofhowtheadministrationplannedtohelpIndiaaddresstheterriblepandemic.President Joe Biden’s “America is back”

mantra —which, for a moment, soundedmore like Trump’s “America First”— re-as-sumed a liberal and humanitarian patina,thus indicatingWashington’s right instinctsfor enlightened global leadership. In a tele-phone conversation with PrimeMinisterModi,BidenacknowledgedIndia’sassistance

to theUS in theearlyphaseof thepandemicand expressed his determination to standwith India in timesof herneed.After intensive inter-agency consulta-

tions in recent days, the US governmentcameupwith a positive response to India’srequirements.Thepackageofassistancehasseveral elements:First,theUSDefenceProductionAct’spro-

visionsarebeingreconsidered.Theauthori-tieshaveagreedtoapprovethesupplyof fil-ters needed for the manufacture of theCovishieldvaccine.Second, it is estimated that the USwill

have 60 million surplus doses of theAstraZenecavaccinebyJune,whichitwillnotuseathome.SubjecttoclearancebytheFDA,this will be released for use by other coun-tries.Whether someof themwill be sent toIndia isnotclearyet.Third, a comprehensive plan has been

prepared for the supply of oxygen-relatedequipment, including generation systems,cylinders and setting up of field hospitalswithoxygenbeds.Four,aspecialfocusisonsteppingupcom-

mercial supplies of therapeutics, especiallyremdesivir. Immediate shipment of 1,00,000vials byGilead Sciences has been arranged,withanother2,00,000vials tobemadeavail-ablebyend-May.Five,theUSDevelopmentCorporationwill

fundtheIndianvaccinefirmBioEtoexpanditsmanufacturingcapacity.Thisiscoveredunder

theQuad’sVaxPartnership,enablingIndiaandtheother threepartners (US, Japan,Australia)toproduceanddistributeatleast1billiondosesbyend-2022.ItisnoteworthythatthePentagonhasbeen

actively involved in helping India. DefenceSecretary LlyodAustin observed that thede-partmentofdefencehasbeendirectedtouseitsresources toprovide frontlinehealthworkerswithneededmaterials.Whatisof immediateimpactistherobust

engagement of corporate,mostly Big Tech,America.Google,MicrosoftandApple—aswellas others—Amazon, Proctor &Gamble andmore—are coming forward to commit theirresources. It’s amixof altruismandpragma-tism:UStechhaslarge,valuableinvestmentsinIndia,especiallyBangalore,whichneedprotec-tion.TheUS-IndiaStrategicPartnershipForumishelpingwith12ISOcontainersforthetrans-portofoxygentoIndia.TheUS-IndiaBusinessCouncil has appealed to itsmembers toofferassistance. On April 27, Secretary of StateAntonyBlinkenconvenedaZoommeetingofbusiness leaders. An Indian participant re-portedthat“amassiveeffortanddollars”havebeeninvestedinsupplyingassistanceurgently.It is easy to see behind America’s turn

around the benign hand of the Indian dias-pora,backedbyfriendlyAmericanpublicfig-ures and proactive diplomacy by India.Pramila Jayapal, the Congresswomanwhoriled theModi government for her criticismof the human rights situation, raised her

voice,stressingthatitwasboththerightandnecessary thing toassist India.Evenafter thehavocwreakedby the sec-

ondwavebecameclear,therewasadisturbing“stonysilence” inWashington,saidanexpert.TheUS should realise that the lingering anti-Americansentiment(whichhasalonglegacy)hasnotdisappeared.Itwouldbeunwisetoun-derestimateitsstrength.Fortunately,theIndia-USpartnership isnowsomulti-faceted, deepandrobustthatitcanwithstandminorturbu-lence.Theeaseandcandourwithwhichcom-munications occurred fromtheUSPresidentdowntohisDeputySecretaryofStateandtheirIndian counterparts, showcased thevibranceofbilateralties.India-USrelationsareinagoodplacenow.

Theyaresettodeepenfurther.Whenitcomestohealth-relatedcooperation,theUSneedstointernalise thathelping India is reallyhelpingtheworld. Vaccines produced in India aremeantnotonlyforIndiansbutforthepeopleofAfrica,AsiaandLatinAmerica. That iswhyallinfluential figures inWashingtonshouldsup-port the initiativebyIndiaandSouthAfricatoseeka temporary IPRwaiverunder theTRIPSagreement.Manyarealreadydoingsoenthu-siastically--fortheyknowthatthisisapoten-tialgame-changer.LetthemagicofhowIndiahelpedAfricavanquishtheHIV/AIDSmenaceberecreated.

Thewriter isDistinguishedFellow,GatewayHouseanda formerambassador

PromaRayChaudhury

MVenkaiahNaidu

Secondwaveof thepandemichasbeendevastating.This isnotthetimetoquibbleorbickerordither, toblameorrant, to losehopeoroursenseofbalance

All hands on deck Her vote forMamata

TMC’spromotionofwomencandidates,welfareschemesandBanerjee’s imageofacaringstreetfighter

consolidatedsupport

Rajiv Bhatia

India, US, four days in CovidAmerica’sturnaroundunderlinesIndia-UStiesthataresettodeepenfurther

CR Sasikumar

CLARITY ON QUOTATHIS REFERS TO the report, ‘SC throwsoutMarathaquotalaw,cites50percentreservation cap’ (IE,May 6). In strikingdown the separate reservationgiven toMaharashtra’sMarathacommunity,theSupremeCourthasunderscoredtheim-portanceof adhering to the50per centlimit on total reservation, aswell as theneedtojustifyanyexcessbyshowingtheexistenceofexceptionalcircumstances.

SSPaul,Nadia

AN ANACHRONISMTHIS REFERS TO the editorial, ‘TheNapoleon barometer’ (IE,May 06). BycallingNapoleona “reactionary liberal”theeditorialmakestheclassicalmistakeof framing thedebate inMarxist inter-pretationof history. In fact, judginghis-torical persons byusingmodern yard-sticksisnothingbutintellectuallaziness.Nohistorical figurecanreachperfectionif judged by today’s standards andNapoleonisnotanexception.Lettheem-perorlieinpeace.

HNBhagwat,Chiplun

UNDERMINED ECTHISREFERSTOtheeditorial, ‘ECdimin-ished’ (IE,May 5). Theworld’s biggestdemocracyseemstobeoncoursetobe-cominganautocracy.Allthepoliticalpar-tiesthathaveruledthecountryfromtimeto time contributed to this Stygianprocess. Now,majoritarianpolitics has

completed andhastened this task. As aresult, enforcement and investigativeagenciesareafraidtofunctionindepend-entlyandfearlessly.Theautonomyevenof the constitutional bodies anddemo-craticinstitutionsisbeingcompromised.Unfortunately,theoppositionpartiesarebusycuttingthegroundfromundereachother’sfeetinsteadofjoiningforcestorisetotheoccasion.

TarsemSinghMahilpur

THISREFERSTOtheeditorial, ‘ECdimin-ished’ (IE,May5). Freepress is an indis-pensableelementofourdemocracy.TheSupremeCourthasaptlyemphasisedontheneedforafreeandunfetteredpressinthe country, to strengthenaccountabil-ityandtoensuretransparency.

VarunDas,Zirakpur

LETTERS TO THEEDITOR

IDEASONLINE

ONLY IN THE EXPRESS

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ELECTEDTHISTIMETELLSUS:AKSHICHAWLA

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www.indianexpress.com

New Delhi

MOHAMEDTHAVERMUMBAI,MAY6

THEBOMBAYHighCourt benchof JusticesSSShindeandManishPitale on Thursday granted theMaharashtra government per-mission to send a team toHyderabad to record the state-mentofseniorIPSofficerRashmiShukla inconnectionwithanFIRregisteredbyMumbaiPolice.TheFIR relates to alleged leaking ofsensitive documents related topolicepostingsinMaharashtra.The state also assured the

courtthattheywillnotbearrest-

ing Shukla till the next hearing.TheHC furthergrantedpermis-sion to the state government tovideo record the questioning ofthe IPSofficeratHyderabad.Senior counsel Mahesh

Jethmalani,representingShukla,expressed the apprehension ofherarrestbythestateandthere-fore sought interimprotection.Senior counsel Darius

Khambatta,whorepresentedthestate government, informed thecourt that theywouldnot be ar-resting Shukla before the nextcourtdate.Further,Khambattain-formedthat if itwasnotconven-ient for Shukla to comedown toMumbaitoappearbeforethecy-berpolice, they could sendapo-lice teamtoHyderabadtorecordher statementunder section160of theCriminalProcedureCode.Jethmalanitoldthecourtthat

Shukla would cooperate in theinvestigation andhadnoobjec-tion to her statement beingvideo recorded. He, however,challenged Khambatta’s standthat Shukla should not be ac-companied by otherswhile herstatementwas being recorded.Jethmalani said as per law herlawyerwouldbepresent.AteamfromMumbaiPoliceis

likely to go toHyderabad in thecomingweek to record Shukla'sstatementaftergivingherpriorin-timation.TheHCpostedthenexthearinginthecaseforJune14.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEBILASPUR,MAY6

NINEPEOPLEhavediedoverthepastthreedaysafterconsumingahomeopathysyrupasanalco-hol substitute in a village inChhattisgarh's Bilaspur district.Sevenotherswhohadalsocon-sumedthesyrupwere inacriti-cal condition, according to dis-trict authorities.TheBilaspurdistrictadminis-

tration has set up a medicalcamp in Kormi village, 10 kmfrom the district headquarters,to ascertain if more people hadconsumed the medicine andwere questioning the doctorwhosoldthemedicinetothevil-lagers.While four people died in

theirhomesTuesdaynight, fourothers died onWednesday andone person died on Thursday,police said.Familymembers did not re-

port the first two deaths to thepolice,suspectingthattheydiedof Covid. Thepolice reached thevillage aftermore people, whohad consumed the same syrupmixedwithwater,startedfallingill anddying.“Prima facie, it appears that

the deceased had consumedDrosera-30, a homeopathysyrupwithabout91percental-coholcontent, inexcessasasub-stitute for liquor,” Bilaspur SP

PrashantAgrawal said. “Thevil-lagerswouldtakesyrups fromahomeopathic practitionerwhosold a 450ml bottle of Drosera-30tosomepeopleatRs400.Wehave registered a case and arequestioning thedoctor.”Asperpreliminary investiga-

tion,KamleshDhuri (35),AkshyaDhuri (25), Rajesh Dhuri (33),DipakDhuri(32)andSamruDhuri(35)hadconsumedthemedicineonTuesdaynight,followingwhichtheir conditiondeterioratedandfourofthemdiedbylatenight.OnWednesday,DipakDhurialsodiedafter complainingof loss of eye-sightandnausea.On being alerted, a police

team reached the villageWednesdayevening,andshiftedother villagers who had con-sumed the syrup andwere in acritical condition to differenthospitals in Bilaspur. Of them,Khemchand Dhuri (41),RamdayalDhuri(40)andKailashDhuri (50) died during treat-ment onWednesday night. OnThursday, Gowardhan Dhuri(22)died inhospital.Sevenotherswereundergo-

ingtreatment,aseniorpoliceof-ficial said. “We have recordedtheirstatements,andallof themconfessedofdrinkingmorethan50mlof thesyrupmixed inwa-ter. We are investigating if thedoctortoldthemtheycouldcon-sume the syrup as replacementforalcohol,”hesaid.

BASHAARATMASOODSRINAGAR,MAY6

PROMINENTSEPARATIST leaderMohammadAshraf Sehraiwasburied in adiscreet ceremonyathis ancestral village inKupwarawithfamilymemberssayingthattheJammuandKashmir(J&K)po-lice did not allow the burial atSrinagar’smartyrs’cemetery.The separatist leader, who

was in jail, breathedhis last in ahospital in Jammu onWednesday afternoon.He livedin Srinagar for over threedecades. Amid a huge contin-gent of security forces, only

Sehrai’s familymembers wereallowedtoattendtheceremony—held inTekiporavillage.Quoting InspectorGeneral of

PoliceKashmirVijayKumar, J&KPolice tweeted: “Burial of sepa-ratist leader later Ashraf Sehraicompleted asperCovidprotocolinpresenceoffamilymembersathisnativeplace.”Sehrai’s family said they

wanted to bury him inmartyrsgraveyardbutpolicedidnotallowthem. “Theyevenwarned that ifweresist, theywill take thebodyandburyitatMachil(ontheLineofControl),”saidafamilymember.

EXPRESSNETWORK12 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,MAY7,2021

GOVERNMENT OF JAMMU & KASHMIROFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER

FLOOD SPILL CHANNEL DIVISION NARBALInvitation for Bids (Notice Inviting tenders)E-NIT No.02 of 2021-22, dated: 29.04.2021.

For and on behalf of the Lt. Governor, J&K State, e-tenders (In Two cover system) are invited on item rate basis from approved and eligi-ble AAY Class Contractors/Firms/Companies/Joint Ventures for the following works:

1. The complete bidding documents can be seen/downloaded from the departmental website www.jktenders.gov.in and also departmentalwebsite ifckashmir.com as per schedule of dates given below:

2. A pre-bid meeting will be held to clarify issues and to answer questions on any matter that may be raised at that stage by the bidders.3. (a) Bidders from outside UT: Bids must be accompanied with tender document fee (non-transferable/ non-refundable) in the shape

of demand draft drawn in favour of Executive Engineer Flood Spill Channel Division Narbal (Tender Inviting Authority/Bid Inviting Officer)(b) Bidders from Local entities: Bids must be accompanied with tender document fee (non-transferable/ non-refundable) inthe shapeof e-Challan/treasury Challan/receipt in favour of Executive Engineer Flood Spill Channel Division Narbal (Tender Inviting Authority/BidInviting Officer) deposited in Head of Account Rev- 0702.

4. The bidder shall furnish bid security declaration in lieu of Earnest Money on the prescribed format provided in bidding document on judi-cial paper with e-stamp of Rs. 1000/- as per the circular issued by the Finance Department.

5. The bids shall be summarily rejected if the original financial instruments towards the cost of document & Bid declaration are not receivedwithin stipulated time in the office of Chief Engineer Kashmir, Irrigation & FC Department Srinagar, (Tender Receiving Authority/BidOpening Officer)

6. Key construction material to be used and arranged by the contractor for execution of work is given below:a) CEMENT: 43 Grade OPC conforming to IS: 8112-2013 (Latest Version) as required in the work, from Reputed manufacturers of

cement approvedas currently displayed on cement information system online portal of the Ministry of Industry, Government of India,and holding licence to use ISI certification mark for their product. However final selection shall be based on design mix and approvalof the Department.

b) STEEL OF ALL SORTS: Fe-500 Conforming to IS: 1786-2008 (Latest Version) from primary producers such as SAIL, TATA TISCO,JINDAL PANTHER or RINL only as approved by the Ministry of Steel, Govt. of India

c) STRUCTURAL STEEL OF: Grade E250 Conforming to IS: 2062-2011 (Latest Version) from primary producers such as SAIL, TATA,JINDAL or RINL only as approved by the Ministry of Steel, Govt. of India

7. Further details can be seen in bidding document available on website www.jktenders.gov.in8. Subsequent Corrigendum/Addendum if any shall be published on above website.9. The authority reserves the right to cancel any or all bids without assigning any reason Sd/-

Executive Engineer,Flood Spill Channel Division, Narbal.

NO: FSCDN/CS/680-712Dated: 29/ 04/2021 DIPK-1357

01 Date of issue of Tender Notice 29.04.2021

02 Date of downloading of bidding documents 30.04.2021 from 10.00 AM

03 Date, Time & Venue of Pre-bid meeting 18.05.2021 at 12.00 PM in the office of Chief Engineer, I&F.C. Kashmirat Silk factory road Rajbagh Srinagar-190008.

04 Bid submission start date 21.05.2021 from 10.00 AM

05 Bid Submission end date 31.05.2021 up to 04.00 PM

06 Date & time of opening Technical Bids (on line) 03.06.2021 at11.00 AM in the office of the Chief Engineer, I & FCDepartment Kashmir

07 Date & time of opening Financial Bids (on line) To be notified after technical bid evaluation

PPEERRSSOONNAALL

Classifieds

II,, SumanRatheeW/oAshokKumarR/o-RZ-76,MaheshGarden,Najafgarh, NewDelhi-72 have changedmyname toSumanKadian. 0040570698-2

II,, ParyantDuaS/oB.D. DuaR/o55-B, JhangApartment, Sector-13, Rohini, Delhi-110085, havechangedmyminor son’s namefromArpanDuaaged13 years(DOB15.08.2007) toAaryaveerDua forever. 0070740070-1

II,, AnnuD/oAshokKumarR/oRZ-76,MaheshGarden,Najafgarh, NewDelhi-72 havechangedmyname toAnnuKadian. 0040570698-1

II PralhadPawar S/oSh.Murlidhar Sadashiv PawarR/oA-4, Sutlej Block, OfficersMess,Air Force StationAdampur,Jalandhar, Punjab-144102(presently atNewDelhi) havechangedmyname toPralhadMurlidhar Pawar for allpurposes. 0040570694-1

I, SantoshKumari LalWife ofLate ExSgt TarsemLalResident ofHouseno 125,Sector -15, Faridabad-121007,HaryanahavechangedmynameFromSantoshKumari LalTo Santoshkumari for allfuture reference. 0070740062-1

I AshokeDeoramSonavaneS/oDevramBhivaSonawaneR/oE-56, IndiraNagar, BirlaCollegeRoad,NearAkashGangaBldg,KalyanWest, Thane,Maharashtra-421301, havechangedmyname toAshokDevramSonawane

0070740074-1

My clients Mr.Mohammad IshakKhan S/o Mr. Yusuf Khan and Mrs.Raunak W/o Mohammad IshakKhan .R / o House No .A -1 ,Pu lPrahladpur SouthDelhi-110044. havesevered all relationship from his sonSabir Khan and his wife Farida alsodebarred & disowned him/her from allhis moveable & immoveable propertydue to the i r m isconduc t anddisobedience. If anyone deals withhim/her in any manner whatsoevershall be doing at his/her/their own riskand responsibility. My clients will notbe responsible for their act in anymanner.

PUBLIC NOTICE

Ravinder Nagar (Advocate)Enroll.No-P-3591-2014Ch.NO-115 Faridabad

UPSC returns govt list for probableDGP, wants two more to be addedYOGESHNAIKMUMBAI,MAY6

THE APPOINTMENT ofMaharashtra’sdirectorgeneralofpolicewill likely takea fewmoreweeksifnotmonthsastheUnionPublicServiceCommission(UPSC)has returned the government’sslateofnames,askingittoaddtwomore to the12alreadyon it, andalsosendtheannual confidentialreports(ACR)ofall.Thenames,senttotheUPSCon

March 18,were returned in thefirstweekof Aprilwith thecom-mission asking for two morenamesandtheACRsofall14,offi-cialsourcessaid.The list includesthenamesof

Sanjay Pandey,who at presentholds the additional charge ofMaharashtra DGP, DGP (Anti-Corruption)RajnishSeth,MumbaiPolice Commissioner HemantNagraleandothers.

Thegovernmentisnowlikelytoadd thenamesof Jaijeet Singhand SadanandDate of the 1990batch to the list, sources toldTheIndianExpress.BesidestheACRs,theUPSChas

alsoaskedthestatehomedepart-ment to provide details of anypendinginquiriesagainsttheoffi-cers. Pandey, the seniormost IPSofficer in the state, is currentlyholding the additional chargeofMaharashtraDGP.SoonafterstateDGPSubodh Jaiswal left for cen-traldeputation,thepostwasgiventoNagrale, but noproposalwassent to theUPSC for ratification.The Cabinet committee for ap-pointmentshadcleared Jaiswal’stransferonDecember30,lastyear,andhetookoverastheDG(CentralIndustrial Security Force) onJanuary8.InMarch,aftertheAmbaniter-

ror scare case exploded on theMumbaiPolice–withthearrestofassistant inspector SachinWaze

andculminating in former com-missionerParamBirSinghaccus-ing former homeminister AnilDeshmukhof corruption, forcinghimtoresign–ParamBirSingh’ssubsequenttransferasDG(HomeGuards) triggeredanother roundof changes in Mumbai andMaharashtraPolice.First,whileNagralewasmade

theMumbaiPolicecommissioner,Sethwasgivenadditional chargeofMaharashtraDGP.OnApril 10,Pandey,whohadcomplainedofbeing supercededandsidelined,washandedover the additionalchargeoftheDGP.Though amonthhas passed

since it received the letter, thehomedepartmentisyettosenditsreplytotheUPSC.Fromthelistofofficers sent, UPSCwill select apanel of three.Among them, thestatehas toselectoneasDGP.Tillthen,Pandeywillcontinuetoholdthe additional charge ofMaharashtraDGP.

Sehrai buried in ancestralvillage; kin say cops did notallow burial in Srinagar

MohammadAshrafSehrai

CHHATTISGARH

9dieafterdrinkingalcohol-basedhomeopathysyrup

STRANDED:AttheSealdahrailwaystationonFridayafter theWestBengalgovernmentsuspendedlocal trainservices inthestateamidrisingCovid-19cases. ParthaPaul

OMKARGOKHALEMUMBAI,MAY6

THE BOMBAY High Court onThursdaygrantedbailtoVikramBhave,oneof theaccused in the2013murder case of rationalistNarendraDabholkar.Bhave (37), currently lodged

at the Yerwada Central Jail inPune,willbereleasedaftersub-mitting a personal bond of Rs 1lakhandsureties.The court refused to accede

toCBI’srequestseekingastayonthe bail order.While imposingconditions, it said that Bhave

cannot leave the jurisdiction ofthe trial court. He will have tovisitthepolicestationandattendeveryproceedingduring trial.According to the CBI, Sachin

Andure and Sharad Kalaskar –alsoarrestedinthecase–hadal-legedlyopenedfireatDabholkaron August 20, 2013, when hewas on amorningwalk on V RShinde bridge nearOmkareshwar temple inPune.Bhave is accused of helping

the alleged sharpshooters inconductingarecceof theareainAugust2013–nearly15daysbe-foreDabholkar’smurder. BhavewasarrestedonMay25,2019.

Accordingtotheprobe,Bhave–aconvict inthe2008Thaneau-ditoriumblastcase,whowaslaterreleasedonbailbytheHCin2013–hadhelpedtheassailants iden-tifyDabholkaratthecrimespot.A division bench of Justice S

S Shinde and Justice ManishPitale passed the order whilehearing two appeals filed byBhave through advocatesSubhash Jha, GhanshyamUpadhyay, VirendraIchalkaranjikarandHareKrishnaMishra,challengingJanuaryandSeptember 2020 orders of thePunesessionscourt thathadre-jectedhisbailpleas.

Dabholkar murder case: Bombay HCgrants bail to accused Vikram Bhave

HC nod to state govt tosend a team to Hyderabadto record Shukla statement

New Delhi

WHEN SOMEONE is infected withSARS-CoV-2, theirbodyproducesan-tibodies against the virus. Scientistshave now come up with the mostcompletepictureyetiscomingintofo-cus of how these antibodieswork toneutralisethepartofthevirusrespon-sibleforcausinginfection.Researchersat The University of Texas at Austin(UTexas) describe the finding in thejournalScience.Previous research focused on one

group of antibodies that target themostobviouspartof thecoronavirus'sspike protein, called the receptor-binding domain (RBD). Because theRBD is the part of the spike that at-tachesdirectlytohumancellsanden-ables the virus to infect them, it wasassumedtobeaprimarytargetof theimmune system. But, testing bloodplasmasamplesfromfourpeoplewhorecovered from SARS-CoV-2 infec-tions,theresearchersfoundthatmostof theantibodiescirculat-ing in the blood—on av-erage,about84%—targetareas of the viral spikeproteinoutsidetheRBD—and, apparently, for goodreason.“Wefoundtheseanti-

bodies are painting theentire spike, both the arcand the stalk of the spikeprotein,which looksabitlike anumbrella. The im-munesystemseestheen-tirespikeandtriestoneutraliseit,”re-searcher Greg Ippolito, a molecularbioscientist, said in a statement fromUTexas.Many of these non-RBD-directed

antibodies act as a potent weaponagainstthevirusbytargetingaregion

inapartof thespikeproteinlocatedinwhatwouldbetheumbrella'scanopy

called theN-terminaldo-main (NTD). These anti-bodiesneutralisethevirusin cell cultures andwereshowntoprevent a lethalmouse-adaptedversionofthe virus from infectingmice.The NTD is also a part

of the viral spike proteinthat mutates frequently,especially in several vari-ants of concern. This sug-gests that one reason

thesevariantsaresoeffectiveatevad-ing our immune systems is that theycanmutate around one of themostcommonandpotenttypesofantibodyinourarsenals.

Source:Universityof TexasatAustin

PAPERCLIP

NEWRESEARCH

AANCHALMAGAZINE&PRABHARAGHAVANNEWDELHI,MAY6

THEUNITEDStatesonWednesdayannouncedsupportforwaivingintellectualpropertypro-tection forCovid-19vaccines, sayingextraor-dinary circumstances call for extraordinarymeasures.UnitedStatesTradeRepresentativeKatherine Tai said theUSwill pursue “text-basednegotiations”onthewaiverattheWorldTradeOrganization(WTO).Text-basednegotiations involvenegotia-

tors exchanging textswith their preferredwordingand then thrashingout a consensuson theworking—a fairly long-drawnaffair.Negotiations are expected in amixof virtualandin-personmeetings.They“will taketimegiventheconsensus-basednatureoftheinsti-tution and the complexity of the issues in-volved”,Taisaid.All164WTOmembersmustagreeonthe

draft, and any onemember can veto it. TheEuropeanUnion,whichhadearlier opposedthewaiver,hasnowstateditsintenttodiscusstheUS-backedproposal.

WhatdoestheIPwaivermean?TheIPwaivermightopenupspaceforpro-

ductionofCovidvaccineswithemergencyuseauthorisations (EUA)—such as thosedevel-oped by Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca,Novavax, Johnson & Johnson and BharatBiotech—ona largerscale inmiddle-incomecountries.Most production is currently con-centrated inhigh-incomecountries;produc-tion bymiddle-income countries has beenhappening through licensing or technologytransferagreements.Rampingupproductioncapacitieswillbealengthyprocess—areasonbeing cited by pharmaceutical companiesagainstthemove.Mostanalystsexpectthistotakeatleastafewmonths;itislikelytheagree-mentwillbetargetedbytheWTO’snextmin-isterialconferenceinend-November.TheUSsupportforanIPwaiverstemsfrom

aproposalbyIndiaandSouthAfricaintheWTOlastyear.Thatproposalhad,however,calledforawaiveronall Covid interventions, includingtestingdiagnosticsandnoveltherapeutics.ExpertssaidtheIPwaiverproposalshould

include other interventions going forward.Amidthepandemic,the“widestpossible”ac-cess to these interventions is limitedbypro-duction capacity aswell as thepropensity ofhigh-incomecountriestoacquire“mostofthesupplies”, PublicHealth Foundationof IndiapresidentProfKSrinathReddysaid.Countriesincluding Canada, South Korea, and

Bangladesh have shown interest inmakingCovidvaccinesif theycangetapatentwaiver,ProfReddysaid.

Whatarethedeterrentsforthewaiver?InajointlettertoUSPresidentJoeBidenin

March, pharma companies including PfizerandAstraZenecahadopposed theproposedwaiver— saying eliminating IP protectionswould“underminetheglobalresponsetothepandemic”, including the ongoing efforts totacklenewvariants.Itcouldalsocreateconfu-sion that couldpotentiallyunderminepublicconfidenceinvaccinesafetyandcreateabar-riertoinformationsharing,theyhadsaid.And,“most importantly, eliminating protectionswouldnotspeedupproduction.”MicrosoftfounderBillGateshasexpressed

reservations against tweaking IP rules andsharingCovid-19vaccine technologies. “Thethingthat'sholdingthingsback,inthiscase,isnot intellectual property. It's not like there'ssomeidlevaccinefactory,withregulatoryap-proval, thatmakesmagically safe vaccines,”Gates said in a recent interviewtoSkyNews.His justification for not sharing vaccine techwithdevelopingcountriesis“thatitwouldnotbefeasibleforacompanytomovevaccinestoadevelopingnation”.GatesmentionedIndia,andsaidthatevenif thetransferweretohap-pen,itisbecauseof“ourgrantsandexpertise”.Theargumentthatthesecountriesdonot

havethecapacitytospeedilyproducevaccinesgoes against earliermoves towards apatentsregimeforgenericdrugs.Expertssaidthesamereasoningcanbeusednowfortheproductionof vaccines. “Theywill question the capacity

andquality.Butanumberofcompaniesfromdifferentcountrieshavesaidtheyarereadytoproduce, andquality canalwaysbeassessed.Between1972 and2005, India had adoptedprocesspatentingratherthanproductpatent-ing, and built up a huge generic industry. Ifwesterncompaniesareinterestedincontract-ingIndiancompaniesformanufacturingtheirvaccines in India, thenhowcan they sayyoudo not have the quality to produce on yourown?”ProfReddysaid.

WhatwastheearlierproposalfromIndiaandSouthAfrica?InOctober2020,IndiaandSouthAfricahad

askedtheWTOtowaivecertainconditionsofthe Trade Related Aspects of IntellectualPropertyRights(TRIPS)Agreementthatcouldimpede timely access to affordablemedicalproducts to combat Covid-19. The countrieshadasked theTRIPSCouncil to recommend,“as early aspossible”, awaiver on the imple-mentation, application and enforcement offour sections in the secondpart of the agree-ment.Thesesections—1,4,5,and7—pertaintocopyrightandrelated rights, industrial de-signs, patents, and the protection of undis-closedinformation.Theproposalhadsaidthatdevelopingcountries“especially”,mayfacein-stitutional and legal difficultieswhenusingflexibilitiesavailableintheTRIPSAgreement.

WhatarepatentsandIPrights?Apatentrepresentsapowerfulintellectual

property right, and is anexclusivemonopolygrantedbyagovernment toan inventor foralimited,pre-specifiedtime. Itprovidesanen-

forceable legal right to prevent others fromcopying the invention. Patents canbe eitherprocesspatentsorproductpatents.Aproductpatentensuresthattherightsto

thefinalproductisprotected,andanyoneotherthanthepatentholdercanberestrainedfrommanufacturing it during a specified period,even if theyweretouseadifferentprocess.Aprocesspatentenablesanypersonotherthanthepatentholdertomanufacturethepatentedproductbymodifyingcertainprocessesinthemanufacturingexercise.Indiamoved fromproduct patenting to

processpatentinginthe1970s,whichenabledIndia to become a significant producer ofgenericdrugsatglobalscale,andallowedcom-panies like Cipla to provideAfricawith anti-HIVdrugsinthe1990s.Butduetoobligationsarisingoutof theTRIPSAgreement, IndiahadtoamendthePatentsAct in2005,andswitchtoaproductpatentsregimeacrossthepharma,chemicals,andbiotechsectors.

Besidespatents,whataretheotherroadblockstoscalingupproduction?The International Federation of

PharmaceuticalManufacturers&Associations(IFPMA)haspointedtoother“realchallenges”in scaling upproduction anddistribution ofCovid-19vaccines.Theseincludetradebarriers,bottlenecks in supply chains, scarcity of rawmaterialsandingredientsinthesupplychain,andtheunwillingnessofrichcountriestosharedoseswithpoorernations.The scarcity of rawmaterials has been a

growingissueforrampingupproduction;sev-eralmanufacturershavebeenrelyingonspe-cific suppliers, and alternatives are limited.Also,countriesliketheUShadblockedexportsofcriticalrawmaterialsusedintheproductionof someCovid-19vaccinesusing regulationsliketheAmericanDefenceProductionAct.ThisledtoadelayintheproductionofCovid

vaccinesbysomecompaniesinIndia.MahimaDatla,managingdirectorofBiologicalE,whichismakingtheJ&Jvaccine in India,hadsaidUSsuppliershavetoldglobalclientstheymaynotbeabletofulfiltheirordersbecauseof theAct,accordingtoareportintheFinancialTimes.Vaccinemakers suchasAdar Poonawalla

of Serum Institute of India (SII) had said thattheuseoftheDPAhadblockedexportsofplas-ticbags, filters, andcertainmediaused in theproductionof its versionof theNovavaxvac-cine.OnApril25,theWhiteHousesaidtheUShad identified sourcesof “specific rawmate-rial”thatwere“urgently”requiredfortheman-ufacture of Covishield, SII’s version of theAstraZenecavaccine,andtheywouldbe“im-mediately”madeavailableforIndia.

13WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

ONWEDNESDAY,theReserveBankofIndia’sdecisiontostepuppurchaseof governmentsecurities under the government securitiesacquisition programme (G-SAP) led to theyieldonthebenchmark10-yearbondfallingbelow6%.

Howhavebondyieldsmovedrecently?The yield on the 10-year benchmark

5.85%,2030bondfellby0.62%andclosedat5.978%onWednesday,from6.01%theprevi-ousday. It closedunder6% for the first timesinceFebruary12. InApril, theRBI launchedG-SAPunderwhichitsaid itwouldbuyRs1

lakh croreworthof bonds in theApril-Junequarter. It has so far boughtRs25,000 croreworthofgovernmentsecurities(G-secs).The10-year bondhas declined 15 basis pointsfrom6.15%inthelastonemonth.Movements in yields,whichdependon

trends in interest rates, can result in capitalgains or losses for investors. If an individualholds abondcarrying ayield of 6%, a rise inbondyieldsinthemarketwillbringthepriceofthebonddown.Ontheotherhand,adropinbondyieldbelow6%wouldbenefitthein-vestorasthepriceof thebondwill rise,gen-eratingcapitalgains.“G-SAPhasengenderedasofteningbiasinG-secyieldswhichhascon-tinuedsincethen,”RBIGovernorShaktikantaDas saidwhile announcing a fresh set ofmeasures to tackle the impact of the pan-demiconWednesday.

Whyarebondyieldssoftening?Thefall inbondyields in Indiacouldalso

beduetoasharpdeclineinUSTreasuryyieldsortheeconomicuncertaintycausedbyCovid-19.“ButthemostimportantdriverofthebondmarketwasRBIinterventions.Theannounce-

mentofabond-buyingprogramme–G-SAP—at the start of themonthplayeda crucialrole in turning themarket sentiment,” saidPankajPathak,FundManager-FixedIncome,QuantumMutualFund.HesaidtheRBIcontinuedtosendstrong

yieldsignalsbycancellinganddevolvinggov-ernment debt auctions. In the lastmonthalone,theRBIcancelledmorethanRs30,000worthofdebtauctions.Althoughpartofthisamountwasoffsetbyavailingthegreen-shoeoption (option to accept bids formore thanthenotifiedamountofdebtauction)inothersecurities,thedecisiontobuyRs35,000croreworthofbondsinMaywouldhelpthemar-ketabsorbaportionof theRs1.16 lakhcroremarketborrowingsbythegovernmentdur-ingthemonth.

What’stheimpactonmarketsandinvestors?Expertssaythestructuredpurchasepro-

grammehascalmedinvestors’nervesandre-ducedthespreadbetweenthereporateandthe10-yeargovernmentbondyield.Adeclinein yield is alsobetter for the equitymarkets

becausemoneystartsflowingoutofdebtin-vestments to equity investments. “Thatmeans as bond yields go down, the equitymarketstendtooutperformbyabiggermar-ginandasbondyieldsgoupequitymarketstend to falter. If you look at thepast 5 yearssincelate2012,thebenchmark10-yearyieldsare downby almost (- 17%) andhave beenmovingconsistentlydownward,despiteoc-casionalhiccups.Atthesametime,theNiftyis upbynearly 82%,” according to aMotilalOswalreport.Itsaystheyieldonbondsisnormallyused

astherisk-freeratewhencalculatingthecostofcapital.Whenbondyieldsgoup,thecostofcapitalgoesup.“Thatmeansthatfuturecashflows get discounted at a higher rate. Thiscompresses the valuations of these stocks.ThatisoneofthereasonsthatwhenevertheinterestratesarecutbytheRBI,itispositiveforstocks,” itsays.Whenbondyieldsgoup,itisasignalthat

corporateswillhave topayahigher interestcostondebt.Asdebtservicingcostsgohigher,the risk of bankruptcy anddefault also in-creasesandthistypicallymakesmid-capand

highlyleveragedcompaniesvulnerable.“Themarkets have also viewed these

measures(Wednesday’sRBImeasures)pos-itivelywith theBSESensex rising,while thebondmarkets have seen additional buyingreflected by decline in G-Sec yields,” saidMadan Sabnavis, Chief Economist, CareRatings.

WhyistheRBIkeenonkeepingyieldsincheck?TheRBI has been aiming to keep yields

lower as that reduces borrowing costs forthe governmentwhile preventing any up-wardmovementinlendingratesinthemar-ket. A rise in bond yieldswill put pressureon interest rates in the banking systemwhichwillleadtoahikeinlendingrates.TheRBIwants to keep interest rates steady tokick-start investments.Theyieldhad fallen to a lowof 5.74%on

July10lastyearasaresultofaseriesof inter-est rate cuts.However, yields subsequentlyrose and touched a high of 6.15%. If yieldscome down, the RBIwill be able to bringdownthecostofgovernmentborrowingfor

2021-22,whichissetatRs12.05lakhcrore.

Whereareyieldsheaded?Analysts saypotential changes in theUS

monetary policy direction and Fed bondyieldsarethebiggestriskfactorsfortheIndianbondmarketin2021.“Notwithstandingthisrisk,bondyieldsmayremaininatightrangeinnear future supportedbyRBI’s bondpur-chases.Overthemediumterm,inflationandpotentialmonetarypolicynormalisationwillplayamoreimportantroleinshapingthein-terest rate trajectory.Weexpectmarket in-terestratestomovehighergraduallyoverthenext 1-2 years,” said Pathak of QuantumMutualFund.During the “taper tantrum” episode of

2013, when then US Fed chairman BenBernankehintedat reducing theamountofbondpurchases, Indian bondyields spikedandthevalueoftherupeecollapsedwithinafewmonths, he said. India’smacropositionand external accounts are inmuch bettershapethanin2013.Nevertheless,Indianmar-ketswillnotbeimmunetoanysuchshocksintheglobalsphere.

IP waiver for Covid vaccinesSIMPLYPUTQUESTION&ANSWER

TheUSwillpursuenegotiationsatWTOtowaive intellectualpropertyprotectionforCovidvaccines.Thiscanallowlarge-scaleproductioninmiddle-incomecountries,butthereareargumentsagainst themove.

AASHISHARYANNEWDELHI,MAY6

AN INDEPENDENT oversight board ofFacebookonWednesdayheld that the plat-formhadrightlyrestrictedformerUSPresidentDonald Trump fromaccessing his page andpostingcontentonitaftertheCapitolHillvio-lence.TrumphadbeenbannedindefinitelybyFacebookonJanuary7.

Whatdidtheoversightboardsay?Althoughtheindependentoversightboard

upheldFacebook’smove,italsosaidFacebookmustreviewthemattertodetermineandjus-tify“proportionateresponsethatisconsistentwith the rules that are applied tootherusersofitsplatform”.TheboardfoundtwoFacebookposts byTrumphadviolated Facebook’s and

Instagram’scommunitystandardsandguide-lines.Trumphadpostedthatpeoplewhohadengaged in violence in theCapitolHillwere“greatpatriots”,whowere“veryspecial”,andtheywould “remember” that day forever.These words, the board said, violatedFacebook’s rule that prohibits praise or sup-portofpeopleengagedinviolenceinreal life.“TheBoard found that, inmaintaining an

unfoundednarrativeofelectoralfraudandper-sistentcallstoaction,Mr.Trumpcreatedanen-vironmentwhereaseriousriskofviolencewaspossible.AtthetimeofMr.Trump’sposts,therewas a clear, immediate risk of harmandhiswordsofsupportforthoseinvolvedintheriotslegitimizedtheirviolentactions,” itruled.

Whataretherulesforpoliticiansandstateheadsonsocialmediaplatforms?Whileallsocialmediaplatformshavedif-

ferentrules,acommonunderstandingisthatnearlyallpoliticiansandstateheadswithcon-siderablefollowinggetmorerelaxationsthanordinaryusers.AlthoughFacebookandTwitterbothhold

politiciansrunningforpublicofficeorincum-bentpoliticiansholdingapublicofficeaccount-ablefortheirposts,theseplatformsalsoallowpoliticianstopostcontentthatotherordinaryusersmaynotbeabletogetawaywith.For example, despite Brazilian President

Jair Bolsonaro posting on Facebook that theindigenouspeopleofthecountrywere“evolv-ingandbecomingmorehuman”,hecontinuestoremainactiveandpostontheplatform.Similarly,inIndia,despiteTwitterflagging

downpostsof leaders frommainstreampar-ties,includingtheBJP,forviolenceanddissem-inating fakenews, they remain active on theplatformandarepostingregularly.

Willtheoversightboarddecisionsetaprecedent?Although theoversight boardhas agreed

with Facebook’s decision, it has also said thepunishmentmetedout to Trumpwasunfairandthattheplatformmustjustifyitsdecisionagainafterreviewingit.Experts, however, believe that it is un-

likelytosetaprecedentsincetheseplatformsdonothaveuniformpoliciestodealwiththistricky issue. For example, in India, Twitterhad come under fire from the central gov-ernment for its delayed response in takingdownpoststhatthelatterhadclaimedcouldlead toviolence.Althoughtheplatformshaveaskedexperts

forinputsfromsubjectexpertsonhowtobet-terhandlethissituation,itislikelytotakethemsome timebefore they finalise a strict policyfordealingwithsuchissues.

Reading Facebook board decision on Trump ban

@ieExplained#ExpressExplainedIf there are questions of current or contemporary relevance that youwould likeexplained, pleasewrite to explained@indianexpress.comE EXPLAINED

THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,MAY7,2021

Ananalysisofbloodplasmasamples fromrecoveredpeopleshowsthatmostof theantibodies targetareasof theviral spikeproteinoutsidetheRBD(green).UniversityofTexasatAustin

FirstconsignmentofCovishieldvaccines leavesSerumInstitute .ExpressArchive

EXPLAINED YOURMONEY

CORONAVIRUSDASHBOARD

INDIAACTIVECASES 3,566,398

Note: TheMay5 figure in this graph isbasedon thegovernmentupdateonMay6

Apr26 May05LAST 10 DAYS

4,500,000

3,500,000

2,500,000

INDIATOTALCASES21,077,410

Source:Ministry of Health & FamilyWelfare, updated at 11 pmonMay6

WORLDTOTALCASES155,425,409

Source:Ministry of Health & FamilyWelfare, updated at 11 pmonMay6

2,882,204

3,566,398

a-NTDmAbs

a-RBDmAbs

a-S2mAbs

How immune system blanketscoronavirus with antibodies

GeorgeMathew&SunnyVerma

WhyRBIwantsmoderate bond yields, andwhat itmeans for investors

New Delhi

14THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,MAY7,2021

THEWORLDWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

UGANDA

EX-REBELCOMMANDERGETS 25YRS IN JAILThe International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday sentenced a former Ugandanchild soldier who became a commander of the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army to 25 yearsin prison for crimes including rape, sexual enslavement, child abduction, torture andmurder. Dominic Ongwen was convicted in February of 61 out of 70 alleged crimes.

USA

Starshipmakes1stsafelandingSPACEXACHIEVEDthefirstsuccessfultouchdownofitsprototype Starship rocketduringthelatesttestflightofthenext-generationlaunchvehicle in south Texas onWednesday, after fourpre-vious landing attemptsendedinexplosions.There-susableheavy-liftlaunchve-hicleisexpectedtocarryas-tronauts and cargo to themoonandMars.REUTERS

TOPOFTHEWORLD

AFGHANISTAN

Ex-anchorshotdeadinKandaharGUNMEN KILLED formerAfghanTVpresenterNimatRawan on Thursday as hewastravellinginthecityofKandahar,aprovincialoffi-cialsaid,addingtofearsforpressfreedominthecoun-try. The gunmen fledwithRawan’sphone. AP

HONGKONG

10moremonthsin jail forWongPROMINENTHONGKongdemocracy activist JoshuaWongwill face another 10monthsinjailforparticipat-ing in anunauthorised as-semblyon June4, 2020, tomark the1989 crackdownonprotestersinandaroundBeijing'sTiananmenSquare.Wong,24,isalreadyinjailonother illegal assembly con-victions. REUTERS

TheStarshipcomes infor landing.Reuters

JULIEBOSMAN&SARAHMERVOSHMAY6

AFTERWEEKS of coronaviruspatients flooding emergencyrooms in Michigan, the worstCovid-19hotspotintheUS,hos-pitalisationsare finally falling.On some recent days, entire

states, includingWisconsin andWestVirginia,havereportedzeronewcoronavirusdeaths—abriefbut promising respite from theonslaughtof thepastyear.AndinNewYorkandChicago,

officialsencouragedbytherecentprogresshaveconfidentlyvowedto fully reopen in the comingweeks, conjuring images of a vi-brantsummerofconcerts,sport-ing events and packed restau-rantsrevvingcitiesbacktolife.Americans have entered a

new, hopeful phase of the pan-demic.Buoyedbyasensethatthecoronavirusiswaning,inpartbe-causeofvaccinations,morepeo-pleareshruggingoffmasks,ven-turing into restaurants andreturning to their prepandemicroutines.Mayors, governors andother local officials — once thebearers of grimnews about thevirus’stollandstrictrulesforbusi-nesses—havejoinedinthenew-foundoptimism, rapidly loosen-

ingrestrictions.Publichealthexpertsremain

cautious,butsaidthatwhiletheystill expect significant local andregional surges in the comingweeks, they do not think theywill be as widespread or reachpastpeaks.“We’re clearly turning the

corner,”saidMichaelOsterholm,director of the Center forInfectiousDiseaseResearchandPolicy at the University ofMinnesota. NYT

MARKLANDLER&STEPHENCASTLELONDON,MAY6

ANUGLY spat over post-Brexitfishing rights has erupted into astranger-than-fictionmaritimestandoff between Britain andFrance, as naval ships frombothcountriesconvergedonThursdayin the waters off the island ofJersey, where dozens of Frenchfishingboatswerethreateningtoblockadeaport.PrimeMinisterBorisJohnson

dispatchedtwoBritishNavyves-sels, the HMS Tamar and theHMS Severn, on Wednesday

evening as a “precautionarymeasure,”accordingtohisoffice.

OnThursday,FrancedeployedtwonavalpatrolboatsnearJersey,about 14miles off the coast ofFrance to “ensure the safety ofnavigation”aswellasthe“safetyof human life at sea” in case thesituationdeteriorated.Thenavaldeploymentsesca-

lated a dispute that has sim-mered for weeks, after Frenchfishing crews accused the localauthoritiesinJerseyof imposingburdensomenewrequirementstoallowthemtocontinuetofishinJersey’scoastalwaters,follow-ing Britain’s split with theEuropeanUnioninJanuary.NYT

RENJUJOSESYDNEY,MAY6

AUSTRALIAN OFFICIALS rein-statedsocialdistancingmeasuresin Sydney asNewZealand par-tiallysuspendedthepair’s“travelbubble” onThursday, amid fearsanIndianvariantcaseofCovid-19couldspurasignificantoutbreak.The swift actionwas takena

dayafter a50-year-oldmanbe-came the first reported localtransmissioncase inNewSouthWales state in more than a

month,withthesourceofhisin-fectionbafflinghealthofficials.Furthertestingdeterminedthe

manwas infectedwithavariantfirstdetectedinIndiaandgenomicsequencinghadlinkedthecasetoa returned traveller fromtheUS,NSWChief HealthOfficer KerryChantsaidonThursday,buttherewasnocleartransmissionpathbe-tween the twopeople. “Wecan’tfind anydirect linkbetweenourcases...sowe'reconcernedthereisanother person that is as yetunidentified that infected ourcase,”Chantsaid. REUTERS

DAVIDKIRTONBEIJING,MAY6

CHINA CONDEMNED onThursdayajointstatementbyG7foreignministers that expressedsupport for Chinese-claimedTaiwanandcastBeijingasabully,sayingitwasagrossinterferenceinChina’s internalaffairs.G7foreignministerssaidina

communique after a LondonsummitthatChinawasguiltyofhuman rights abuses andof us-ing“coerciveeconomicpolicies”,which theG7woulduse collec-tiveefforts tostop.Inanunusualstep,theG7also

saidtheysupportedTaiwan'spar-ticipation in World HealthOrganization forums and theWorldHealthAssembly-andex-pressedconcernabout“anyuni-lateralactionsthatcouldescalatetensions” intheTaiwanStrait.In Beijing, Chinese Foreign

Ministry spokesman WangWenbin condemned the state-mentsaying itmade“groundlessaccusations”thatwereagrossin-terference inChina’s internal af-fairs.“This isthewantondestruc-tionof thenormsof internationalrelations,”hesaid.TheG7asagroupshouldtake

concreteactiontoboosttheglobaleconomicrecoveryinsteadofdis-ruptingit,headded.WangalsoattackedG7coun-

tries for hoardingCovid-19 vac-cinesandhavinga“wishy-washy”stance towards helping othercountries. REUTERS

THEUShasreissued its traveladvisoryonIndia,urgingitscit-izensnottotraveltothecoun-trydue toanunprecedentedsurge in the Covid-19 casesthere. “Donot travel to Indiadue toCovid-19. Exercise in-creasedcautionduetocrimeand terrorism,” the StateDepartment said onWednesday in its latest traveladvisorythatlookedidenticalto theone issuedonApril28.Both the travel advisoryhasbeenmarked'Level4'whichisthehighestwarninglevel.PTI

U.S. REISSUESADVISORYURGINGAGAINST INDIATRAVEL

Mystery case of Indianvariant in Australia spursreturn of restrictions

SignsofhopeareappearingacrossAmerica. LosAngelesCountymadeheadlineswiththenewsthatithadreportedzeronewdeathsontwoconsecutivedays thisweek.NYT

‘Turning thecorner’: UScoronavirusoutlookat itsmosthopeful point yet

Beijing silent on space rocketdebris amid rising concernsBeijing: China on Thursday de-clinedtocommentonreportsthatthe debris of its LongMarch 5Brocket,whichlastweeklaunchedthecoremoduleof the country’sspace station, is set to re-enterEarth’satmospherethisweekend,amidconcernsitcouldcausedam-ageif itcrashesincivilianareas.While Foreign Ministry

spokesmanWangWenbinpar-riedquestionsaboutthereportsthattheUSdefencedepartmentwas tracking the falling rocketdebris, official media here

quoted Chinese experts as say-ingthat thepartsof thedisinte-gratedrocketwouldfall ininter-nationalwaters.ThePentagonsaidTuesdayit

was tracking a large Chineserocket that is out of control andset to re-enter Earth’s atmos-pherethisweekend.Whilemostspace debris burn up in the at-mosphere,the22-tonnerocket’ssizehaspromptedconcernthatlarge parts could re-enter andcausedamage if theyhit inhab-itedareas. PTI

ChinagovtspokesmanWangWenbin

G7 foreignministers expresssupport forTaiwan; Chinaslams statement

CROSSWORD4423

ACROSS1There’snotasinglewomanamongst them(5)4Readsomethingaloudoracted itout (7)8Pitch intoasailor (3)9Press fastener? (9)10 It’sveryhardtobethe firstmantotakeonaworker (7)11Emily isout to findanEnglishmanabroad(5)13ShowaroundVenice (6)15Tastedpeculiarandexpressedanopinion(6)18Firearmpart (5)19Steps takenbytravellers(7)21 Itholds liquidof course(4,5)23 Individual in themoney(3)24Possibly reunite thosewhofollow(7)25Leftportwithcargo(5)

DOWN1Thestrengthof thecurrent?(7)2Talentedgroupof relatives(9)3Apie’s turnedbrown(5)4Postedanorder toheadquarters (6)5Stays toendorseanumberinsomearmour (7)6A law-breaking instrument(3)7Withoutoccupation(5)12Timberwhichmaybeputtostrikinguse?(9)14Reduceeachdamagedpen(7)16Pickoutscatteredcinders(7)17Agirlfriend isblazing (6)18Aprose formthatprovidesaproblem(5)20Delia’sperfect form(5)22 Inshort, lastmonthwasabitof apainful time(3)

ARIES(Mar21-Apr20)It's timeforaspotofshopping,especiallyif you'respendingotherpeople's

money! It'sactuallyanimportantmoment tochoosebetweenfinancial securityandaventurewhichcouldbearisk.Butdon'tbehasty, for theremightstillbe furtherdetailswaiting tocometo light.

TAURUS(Apr21-May21)Apartnerhasasmuchwill-powerasyou, if notmore.So, ifyoushould feel

inclinedtoenter intoa trialofstrengthyouwillhavetorealisethat,howeverwellyouhavedoneso far, youcouldriskeverythingyouhavegained.Afewsimplesafe-guardsshoulddothetrick.

GEMINI (May22- June21)Don'texpecttobeletoff thehooktoday,ortomorrowforthatmatter.Doyourself a

favourandputrumoursandsuspicionstooneside,concentratingonthehereandnow,andwhatyoucandotoimprovetheworldforeveryone.Youcanonlygain ifpeopleseeyouputtingothers first.

CANCER(June22- July23)Childrenandyoungerrelationsdemandextra time,butyoumayhave

difficultykeepingall theemotionalballs in theairat thesamemoment,especially if friendsalsorequireyoursupportandsustenance.Youmighthavetomakesomedifficult choices—andsoon.

LEO(July24-Aug23)You'vegotsomebright financialideas, sowiththerightadviceyou

coulddoverywell indeed.Theonethingyoumust realise isthatpartnersareessential tothe fulfilmentof yourplans.Plus,don't takeriskswithyouremotional securityor throwawaygoodwill justwhenyouneed itmost.

VIRGO(Aug24-Sep23)Youmaynowbetemptedto join inthe fray,butbeforeyoudabble in

partners'disputesandargumentsbetweencolleagues,bewarnedthatyoumayhavetotakesomeflakof yourown.However, if othersarehonest,they'll admit tobenefiting fromyourbreadthof vision.

LIBRA(Sep24-Oct23)It'snotwhatyouwant thatmatters,butwhatyoucanafford. Faceupto

thosehardquestions, likewhatyou'reworking for,what's it allworth,andareyoubeingpaidenough? If theanswer to thelast is 'no',dosomethingaboutit!Therearemanywaystoincreaseyour incomeandcutyourspending.

SCORPIO(Oct24-Nov23)Youmaywellimaginethatyouwerecompletelyrightabout the

pastandareutterlycorrectabout the future.Confidence isonething,acomplete lackofself-doubt isanother, and itcouldbeusefulnowtoquestionyouremotionalpriorities.Youdon'twant toblunder intoabrick-wall.

SAGITTARIUS(Nov24-Dec22)About theonly thingyoucando isbeasphilanthropicandcharitableasyoucan

—andprovideavaluableback-upforotherpeople.Putunstintingeffort into improvingthequalityof life forpartners, andyou'll avoidcertainpitfallsarisingoutofyourpastactions.

CAPRICORN(Dec23- Jan20)Childrenoryoungerrelationsshouldtakeprideofplace infamilymatters. For

yourownbenefityoushouldtakea leaf outof theirbookandresolve tobestillmoreyouthfulandyoungatheart in the future.Afterall, you'reasyoungasyoufeel—intheory.

AQUARIUS(Jan21-Feb19)Aprofessionalbattleisabout tobe joined.Evenfor thoseofyounotatwork,a

long-termambition isnowcomingtoa turning-point,andyouwillhavetodecidewhether tooptoutor re-doubleyourefforts.Acommunityprojectwill soonpaydividends.

PISCES(Feb20-Mar20)What isdifficult forotherpeoplecouldbedecidedlyfavourable foryou.

However, if youshouldthink it ispossible tocash inonanyoneelse'smisfortune,there'sachancethatyoucouldendupsharingit. Stick towhatsuitsyoubest—sincerityand integrity.

SUDOKU4464

DifficultyLevel2sInstructionsTosolveaSudokupuzzle,everydigitfrom1to9mustappear ineachofthenineverticalcolumns, ineachoftheninehorizontalrowsandineachofthenineboxes.

DifficultyLevel1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy;3s=Medium;4s=Hard;5s=VeryHard;6s=Genius S

OLU

TIONSUDOKU4463

Givenbelowarefour jumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemtotherespectivesquaresbelow.Selecttheletters intheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtogettheanswerforthegivenquip.I read_______allthewaythrough-SamuelGoldwyn(4,2,2)

SOLUTION:EXTRA,DIVOT,SEXTET,POTFULAnswer:Ireadpartofitallthewaythrough-SamuelGoldwyn

TAXER EESXTT

DTVIO LOTUFP

SolutionsCrossword4422:Across:1Alienation,8Lower,9Mission,10Cheeses,11Lisle,12Answer,14Prompt,17Delta,19Enthuse,21Erudite,22Pilot,23Signetring.Down:2Lawless,3Earns,4Almost,5Insular,6Nails,7Investment,8Lockandkey,13Erasing,15Maudlin,16Serene,18Louts,20Toper.

JUMBLEDWORDS

OVERTHEHEDGE byMichael Fry&TLewis

CALVIN&HOBBES byBillWatterson

MARVIN byTomArmstrong

DAYTODAY BYPETERVIDAL

Thorny issue for the regionFISHINGHASlongbeenacontentiousissuebe-tweenBritainandothersintheregion,andtheis-suehadatonepointthreatenedtoderailthepost-BrexittradepactbetweentheUKandEU.TheUKhaslongcomplainedthatfishingcrewsfromotherpartsofEuropeare

takingtoomuchfishfromBritishwaters.Between1950-1970,tensionsbe-tweentheUKandIcelandhadshotupoverthefish-

ingissue,leadingtotheUKsending37Navyvesselstopro-tectitstrawlers.Thereiscon-cernthatsuchincidentscarrytheriskofaccidentalescalation.

Row escalates: France, UK send Navy vessels to Jersey

ARUNJANARDHANANCHENNAI,MAY6

FORMERMALDIVES presidentMohamedNasheed,who is cur-rently the country’s Speaker ofParliament,sustainedinjuriesinabombblastnearhis residenceonThursdaynight.AhmedMahloof,Minister of

Youth and CommunityEmpowerment inMaldives, saidtheywereyet toascertaindetailsofhisinjuries.TalkingtoTheIndianExpress,Mahloofsaidtheincidentwasreportedaround8.30pm(lo-caltimes).“He was about to leave his

home. The explosionhappenedwhilehewaswalkingtowardshiscar. It isanarrowstreetwherehelives sohehadtowalka fewme-terstoreachthecar.Itwasreport-edly amotorbike that exploded.Hewasaccompaniedbyhisbody-guardsandoneof themwasalsoinjured,”hesaid.“Iamdeeplywor-ried.Anactofterrorism...Iamsurethisgovernmentwilltakestrictac-tion against perpetrators,”Mahloofadded.President IbrahimMohamed

SolihvisitedNasheedat thehos-pital. “Speaker of ParliamentPresidentMohamedNasheed iscurrently receiving treatment at

ADKHospital inMalé for injuriessustained followinganexplosionoutsidehisresidencetonight.Weare treating thismatterwithut-mostseriousnessandtheinvesti-gation is currently underway,” astatementfromSolihsaid.Accordingtosources,Nasheed

has sustainedmany superficialwounds,andadeepcutonhisarm.Hisvitalssignsaregoodandthereseemstobenoseriousinjurytohisinternalorgans.“Stronglycondemntheattack

on Speaker of Parliament,President@MohamedNasheedthisevening.Cowardlyattackslikethesehavenoplaceinoursociety.MythoughtsandprayersarewithPresidentNasheedandothersin-juredinthisattack,aswellastheirfamilies,”AbdullaShahid, foreignministerofMaldives,tweeted.IndianExternalAffairsMinister

S Jaishankar tweeted: “DeeplyconcernedattheattackonSpeakerMohamedNasheed.Wishhimaspeedyrecovery.Knowthathewillneverbeintimidated.”

Former Maldivespresident Nasheedinjured in bomb blast

MohamedNasheed

New Delhi

15SENSEX: 48,949.76 ▲ 272.21 (0.56%) NIFTY: 14,724.80 ▲ 106.95 (0.73%) NIKKEI: 29,331.37 ▲ 518.74 HANG SENG: 28,637.46 ▲ 219.48 FTSE: 7,044.01 ▲ 4.71 DAX: 15,155.61 ▼ 15.17

THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,MAY7,2021

ECONOMYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

Internationalmarketdatatill1900IST

GOLD`46,680

RUPEE`73.78

OIL$68.35

SILVER`69,511

Note:Gold, silverratesatDelhi spotmarket;goldper10g, silverper1kg;Crudeoil (Indianbasket)asonMay5,2021

ENSECONOMICBUREAUMUMBAI,MAY6

A TECHNICAL group on socialstock exchanges (SSEs), consti-tuted by the Securities andExchange Board of India (Sebi),has recommended that politicalandreligiousorganisations,tradeorganisationsaswellascorporatefoundations should not be al-lowedtoraisefundsthroughSSEs.“Corporate foundations, po-

liticalorreligiousorganizations/activities, professional or tradeassociations, infrastructure andhousing companies (except af-fordablehousing)willnotbeper-mitted on SSE,” said the techni-calgroupreportreleasedbySebionThursday.Sebisetupthetechnicalgroup

in September under the chair-manshipofHarshBhanwala,for-merchairmanofNABARD.The technical group report

said both For Profit Enterprise(FPE) and Not for Profit

Organisation (NPO)will be eligi-ble to tap theSSE if they are ableto show their primary goals aresocial intentandimpact.SSEareengagedinatleastone

of the15broadeligibleactivities.They target underserved or lessprivilegedpopulation segmentsor regions; and should have atleast 67 per cent of its activitiesqualifying as eligible activities tothetargetpopulation.

ThepanelhasrecommendeddifferentmodesoffundraisingforNPOs and FPEs. For NPOs it hasrecommended fundraisingthrough“equity,zerocouponzeroprincipalbond,developmentim-pact bonds, social impact fundwith100percentgrants-in grantsout provision, anddonations byinvestorsthroughmutualfunds”.For FPEs it has recommendedfundraisingthroughequity,debt,

development impact bonds, andsocialventurefunds.The report said that entities

listedonSSEwillhavetodisclosetheirsocialimpactreportonanan-nual basis covering aspects suchas “strategic intentandplanning,approach,impactscorecard”.Thereporthasalsomadealist

ofeligibleactivitiesthatsocialen-terprises can engage in such aseradicatinghunger,povertymal-nutritionandinequality;trainingtopromoteruralsports;promot-inggenderequalitybyempower-ment of women and LGBTQIA+communities;slumareadevelop-ment/ affordable housing;forestandwildlife conservation; pro-moting livelihoods for rural andurbanpoor; promotionof finan-cial inclusionamongothers.TheexpertpanelhassaidFPEs,

whichwish to list their equity ordebt, will first have to demon-strate their track record throughsocial performance. Thiswill al-low investors to gain an insightintotheFPE’sactivities.

SEBI TECHNICALGROUPREPORT

AASHISHARYANNEWDELHI,MAY6

THEDEPARTMENTof Teleco-mmunicationsonTuesdayal-lowed private telcos BhartiAirtel, Reliance Jio Infocommand Vi (formerly VodafoneIdea) and well as state-runtelcoMahanagar TelephoneNigamLimited(MTNL)tostarttrialsfor5Gtechnologyaswellas its applications in varioussectors.Thetrialswilllastfor6monthsfornow.

Whyarethetrialsfor5Gtechnologyimportantfortelcos?5Gor fifthgen-

eration is the latestupgrade in thelong-term evolu-tionmobilebroad-band networks. 5G mainlyworksin3bands,namelylow,midandhigh-frequencyspec-trum—allofwhichhavetheirusesandlimitations.Thetele-commarketinIndiaisleftwithonlythreeprivatetelcos,withtheresthavingsurrenderedtothe low returns on invest-ments over the years. Apartfromtheprivate telecommu-nication companies, the twostate-run companies,MTNLand Bharat Sanchar NigamLimitedhavealsosurvivedbutaremakinglosses.In order to increase their

average revenueperuser, it ispertinentfortelcostostartof-feringthenew5Gtechnologyas soon as possible. For that,however,theywillhavetocon-duct trials in a variety of cir-

cumstances,includinginsemi-urbanand rural areas,which

remains an un-tappedmarket forthem. Apart fromthe telcos, it is alsoimportant that thegovernment bereadytorolloutthenewtechnologyas

soonaspossible.

Whatwill5GtrialsinIndiaentailfornow?In the initial phase, these

trialswill be for6months, in-cludinga2-monthperiod forprocurementandsettingupofthe equipment. In these 6months,telcoswillberequiredtotesttheirsetupinurbanar-eas, semi-urbanareasaswellasruralareas.Duringthisperiod,thetel-

coswill beprovidedwithex-perimental spectrum invari-ous bands, such as themid-bandof 3.2GHz to 3.67GHz, the millimeter waveband of 24.25 GHz to 28.5GHz,andothers.

Full report onwww.indianexpress.com

SECTORWATCHTELECOMMUNICATIONS

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,MAY6

INONEof the steepest increasesince daily price revision wasstarted, petrol priceonThursdaywashikedby25paiseperlitreanddieselby30paiseasoilcompaniesraised rates for the third straightday topasson toconsumers theincreaseininternationaloilprices.Petrol price inDelhiwas in-

creased toRs90.99per litre fromRs90.74whiledieselrateswentuptoRs81.42alitrefromRs81.12,ac-cording toapricenotificationbystate-ownedfuelretailers.InMumbai, the petrol price

was hiked to Rs 97.34 a litre onThursday from Rs 97.12, whilediesel rateswere increased toRs88.49fromRs88.19,thepriceno-tificationshowed.Rateshavebeenincreasedacross thecountryand

varyfromstatetostatedependingonthelocalincidenceoftaxation.In threedays, petrolpricehas

increasedby59paiseperlitreanddiesel by69paise—neutralisingmost of the reduction that camebetweenMarch24andApril15.

Microsoft pledges to let EU users keep data inside blocPlay Store developers to share typeof data collected by app: GoogleNewDelhi:Google on ThursdaysaiddevelopersonPlayStorewillhave to share details of the typeof data collected and stored bytheirappandexplainhowthein-formationisused,amoveaimedat enabling users getmore con-trolovertheirdata.

Googlewillsharethenewpol-icy requirements and resources,including detailed guidance onappprivacypolicies in the thirdquarter this year, anddeveloperscanstartdeclaringinformationinGooglePlayConsoleinthefourthquarterof2021,ablogpostsaid.PTI

REUTERSSTOCKHOLM,MAY6

MICROSOFTWILLallowcommer-cialandpublicsectorcustomersintheEuropeanUniontoprocessandstoredataintheregion,agrowingdemandfromsomeclients.The companywill complete

the implementation of all engi-neeringworkneeded toexecute

theplanby the endof next yearanditwillapplytoallitscorecloudservices—Azure,Microsoft 365,andDynamics365, thecompany

saidonThursday.Microsoftwill consultwith

customers and regulators aboutthisplaninthecomingmonths,in-cluding adjustments that areneeded inuniquecircumstanceslike cybersecurity, its presidentBrad Smith said in a statement.Microsoftcurrentlyoperatesdat-acentersin13Europeancountries,includingFrance,Germany,IrelandandSweden.

DIPR/ 1487 /TENDER/2021

POOMPUHAR SHIPPING CORPORATION LIMITED(A Government of Tamilnadu Enterprise)

692, Anna Salai, IVth Floor, Nandanam, Chennai - 600 035, IndiaTelephone No: 044-24330505 / 807, Fax: 91-44-24344593 / 24330807,

E-mail : pscship@gmail.com CIN: U63090TN1974PLC006596

GLOBAL TENDERNOTICE INVITING TENDER FOR SPOT TERM TIME CHARTERING OF ONE SELF-TRIMMING GEARLESS(OR WITH GEARS CONSIDERED AS GEARLESS) SUPRAMAX / HANDYMAX VESSEL WITH DEAD WEIGHTCAPACITY OF ABOUT 40000 TO 55000 MTSealed tenders are invited from the Ship owners /disponent owners for the following specification:

Sl.No. Tender Number Lay Days Period

Last datefor issue ofTender book

Tenderclosing date& Time

TenderOpening

date & Time1 TENDER NO.

H/OP/SPSUP (or)HAND/151/001/2021-22

01.06.2021to

15.06.2021

3 months+/- 10 dayschoption

24.05.2021upto

12.00 hours

24.05.2021at

15.00 hours

24.05.2021at

15.30 hoursProspective bidders are advised to refer our website www.tamilship.com and www.tn.tenders.gov.infor specific important details. The conditions/ requirement mentioned in the website shall be met outby the bidders. This advertisement is an invitation for bid only. The details given in the website arecomprehensive. Further, all communications will be updated through our website only.

GENERAL MANAGER (OPNS)

Government of RajasthanLocal Self Government Department

(Directorate of Local Bodies, Rajasthan, Jaipur)G-3, Rajmahal Residency, Near Civil Lines,

Railway Crossing, JaipurTel No.: +91 141 2222469 Fax No.: +91 141 2222403

Web site : www.urban.lsg.rajasthan.gov.inNo: F 55 ( ) PA/CE/DLB/Corona/oxygenplant/2021/98199 Date 05.05.2021

Expression of Interest (EoI)There an urgent need of oxygen plants due to COVID-19 in the State ofRajasthan. Single stage one envelop unconditional proposal are invited onbehalf of Governor of Rajsthan by Director cum Special Secretary, LSG forprocurement, installation, commissioning and testing of oxygen plant within twomonths on turnkey basis (supply, installation, civil/ Mechanical/ Electrical work)with one year O&M and two years warrantee as defect liability period atdesignated places in 59 towns of the State.

Interested bidder (manufacturer/Authorised Dealer/ Supplier/Agent) can submittheir proposal through mail on dlbrajasthan@gmail.com latest by 08.05.2021at 5.00 PM. Other detail of Request for Proposal (RFP) can be seen/downloadfrom www.sppp.rajasthan.gov.in and official websitewww.urban.lsg.rajasthan.gov.in

Sd/-(Deepak Nandi)

Director cum Special Secretary

TAMIL NADU GENERATION AND DISTRIBUTION CORPORATION LTD.

Sl. No Tender Inviting Authority Specification No. Total1 SE/P&A/NCTPS 04, 05 22 CE/Mech/Coal Coal (SHIP) - 80 13 SE/P&A/MTPS 01 1

4 SE/Transmission-IV T-2185, T.2186 2For details of works/Procurement/Due date of submission/opening, viewingand downloading of e-tenders, please visit websites: www.tangedco.org.in,www.tangedco.gov.in, www.tantransco.org.in, www.tnebnet.org,www.tenders.tn.gov.in, https://tntenders.gov.in/nicgep/app

NOTICE INVITING TENDERS (E-TENDERING PROCESS)

DIPR/1490/Tender/2021

TAMIL NADU TRANSMISSION CORPORATION LTD.

“CORPORATEFOUNDATIONS,politicalorreligiousorganisations/activities,professionalortradeassociations,infrastructureandhousingcompanies (exceptaffordablehousing)willnotbepermittedonSSE,”saidthetechnicalgroupreport releasedbySebionThursday.

CORPORATE FOUNDATIONSNOTPERMITTED TOO

‘Political, religious,tradebodiesnotallowedonsocialbourses’

Thetrialswill last6months fornow. File

What is 5G trial &why is it importantfor Indian telcos?

Theplanwillapplytoallitscorecloudservices—Azure,Microsoft365,andDynamics365

CURRENTRATES

PETROL ▲ 25paise■Delhi ■Mumbai

`90.99 `97.34

DIESEL ▲ 30paise`81.42 `88.49

Petrol, diesel priceshiked for third day

REUTERSWASHINGTON,MAY6

THENEWchair of theUS securi-ties regulator on Thursday toldlawmakers theagency is consid-eringnewtradingrulesasitlooksto addressproblemshighlightedbythisyear’sGameStopCorpsagaandthemeltdownofprivatefundArchegosCapital.Gary Gensler, sworn in last

monthaschairoftheSecuritiesandExchangeCommission, appearedbeforeHouseof Representatives

FinancialServicesCommittee.Genslersaidinpreparedtesti-

mony thatnewtrading rulesbe-ing considered include: greaterdisclosure of “short-selling,” astrategy that hedge funds andother big investors use to bet astockwill fall; increasing trans-parency around securities lend-ing,whichunderpins short-sell-ing; andnewreporting rules forthe “total return” equity swapsthatfelledArchegos.Democrats are pressing

GenslertotakeatoughstanceonWallStreetafterGamestop’sfiercerally in January, fed by bullishposts on Reddit, and theMarch

implosion of New York-basedfamily officeArchegos, exposedgapsintheSEC’srules.“Itiscriticalforourcopsonthe

block at the SEC to protect in-vestors and ensure ourmarketsare transparent and fair,” saidRepresentativeMaxineWaters,theDemocraticchairof thecom-mittee. Gensler also said he hasaskedSEC staff todraft a requestforpublic input intohowtradingappsenticeretailcustomersusinggame-likefeaturessuchaspoints,rewards and competitions— atacticknownas“gamification.”

Reviewing short-selling norms: US SEC chairPOSTGAMESTOP,ARCHEGOS INCIDENTS

SecuritiesandExchangeCommission is theUS’marketsregulator.Reuters file

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,MAY6

THEMINISTRYofCivilAviationonThursdaycalledforpriorityvacci-nation of air traffic controllers,cockpitandcabincrewmembersorairlines,andmissioncriticalandpassenger-facingstaff.Thisispartoftheguidelinesis-

sued to facilitate expeditiousCovid-19vaccinationof aviationpersonnel working in govern-ment aswell as private entities.Theministryalsosaidadedicatedvaccination facilitywill beestab-lishedbyairportoperatorsattheirrespective premises to facilitatetheinoculationdriveofstaffers.At last count, nearly one in

every fiveair trafficcontrollersatDelhi’s Indira GandhiInternational Airportwas out ofaction,eitherdirectlyorindirectlyaffected byCovid-19, The Indian

ExpresshadreportedonMay3.Earlierthisweek,agroupofAir

Indiapilotshadthreatenedtostopflyingif theywerenotvaccinatedurgently,followingwhichthena-tional carrier announced that allits employeeswill be vaccinatedby May-end. In a statementThursday, low-cost carrierGoAir

said it has already rolled out thevaccination programme for itsemployeesandwasaimingtovac-cinate a bulk of them by themonth’s end. IndiGohad earlierannounceditwouldhaveallofitsemployeesinoculated.The guidelines issuedby the

ministry noted that an operatorshould immediately contact thestategovernmentsorprivateserv-iceproviders,whicharewillingtosetupCovid-19vaccination cen-tres at the airports. There canbemore thanone serviceprovidersatanyairportdependingonnum-ber of personnelworking in theaviationecosystem,itstated.Thecostpervaccinationdose

canbedecidedbytheairportop-eratorwith the service providerand itwill be same for aviationpersonnel, the ministry said,addingthatthefocusofmajorair-ports could be on tying upwithprivateserviceproviders.

REUTERSLONDON/BENGALURU,MAY6

SHARES OF Covid-19 vaccinemakersplungedonThursdayaf-terUSPresidentJoeBidenbackedaproposedwaiverforintellectualpropertyrightsevenasthephar-maceuticalindustry,analystsandexperts doubted its impact, say-ing the real problem is a lack ofrawmaterialsandknow-how.Pfizer Inc, Moderna Inc,

Johnson& JohnsonandNovavaxInc, all involved in themakingofCovid-19 vaccines, fell between1.0percentandalmost2percent.Germany’s Curevac, which hassoughtnodforitsjab,fellupto15per cent,while China’s CanSinoBiologics Inc , a single-dose vac-cinemaker, fell16percent.The Biden administration

movedrewapplausefrompatentactivists and theWorld HealthOrganizationas it could increaseavailability of vaccines topoorernations.However,implementingsuch amove could be a lengthyprocess as all 164World TradeOrganizationmember countriesarerequiredtoconsent.Meanwhile, the dollar fell

and a gauge of global equitiesedged higher on Thursday. OnWall Street, the Dow rose 0.43

per cent, the S&P 500 gained0.23percentandtheNasdaqfell0.2percent.

COVID-19 IMPACT

‘Secondwave to hit energydemand in Apr-Jun quarter’Restrictions following the secondCovidwavewould impactenergy demandgrowth recovery in the first quarter of thisfiscal, India Ratings andResearch (Ind-Ra) said

Increasingpower price trend:The short-termpower price atIndianEnergy Exchangecontinued its improving trendon a y-o-y basis,with averagemonthly prices at:■ `2.46/kWh inMarch2020■ `4.07/unit inMarch2021■ `3.7/kWh in April 2021

118.6billion units:Electricitygeneration inMarch, rising23.5%on a yearly basis,with:■ 29.2%growth in thermalgeneration■ 7.8% in hydro generation Source: Ind-Ra/PTI

11.9billion units:Electricitygeneration from renewablesources inMarch, up 10.1%

Y-o-y demand tobehigher:Lockdowns due to risingCovid-19 cases across statescould impact energy demandgrowth recovery inQ1FY22,but all-India energy demand islikely to be higher on a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis due tothe lowbase effect as thecountrywas under a stricterlockdownduring the sameperiod in 2020

Geneva/Frankfurt:Drugman-ufacturerssaidThursdayUSPresidentJoeBiden’ssupportforwaivingpatentsofCovidvaccinescoulddisruptafrag-ilesupplychainandthatrichcountries should insteadsharemoregenerously. TheInternational Federation ofPharmaceuticalManufact-urersandAssociationssaidawaiver would encouragenew manufacturers wholackedessential know-howandoversight. REUTERS

Brussels:Germany rejectedtheideaof IPrightsforCovidvaccines, citingcapacityandquality standards. Switz-erland said themove raisesquestions,addingitwouldex-aminetheUSrequestanditsconsequenceson theSwissposition. REUTERS

Drug cos warn ofsupply chain hit

Germany rejects;Swiss to examine

Norms issued for expeditiousvaccination of aviation personnel

Theguidelinesareforaviationpersonnelworkingingovernmentaswellasprivateentities. File

Peoplerestafter receivingaCovid-19vaccineatasportcentre, inStip,NorthMacedonia.Thepharmaindustryhascriticisedtheproposal towaive IPrightsonvaccines. Reuters

Global pharma fallson Biden support tovaccine IP waiver

BRIEFLYIMFforecastrevisitWashington: InternationalMonetary Fund (IMF)spokesmanGerryRice saidThursdaytherecentjumpinCovid-19 cases in IndiaposeddownsideriskstotheFund’sAprilforecastfor12.5per cent growth in India’seconomic output in fiscalyears2021and2022,and itwillrevisitthatforecastititsfresh World EconomicOutlookinJuly. REUTERS

GDPforecastsNewDelhi: Fitch Solutionsforecast India’s FY22 realGDPgrowthat9.5percent,whileCredit Suisse sharplycut its projection to around8.5-9 per cent, citing a100-150basispointlossduetodisruptionscausedbythesecondCovidwave.

GranttostatesNew Delhi: The FinanceMinistry released the sec-ondmonthly instalment ofrevenue deficit grant of Rs9,871croreto17states.

‘India-EUFTA’NewDelhi:Aftereightyears,IndiaandtheEuropeanUni-on(EU)aresettoresumene-gotiations for an ambitiousand comprehensive freetrade agreement (FTA),which is likely to be an-nouncedatavirtualsummitbetween Prime MinisterNarendraModiand the topEUleadership.

HondaplantNewDelhi:HondaCarsIndiaon Thursday said it is ad-vancingmaintenanceshut-downatitsRajasthan-basedmanufacturing plant byaround ten days. The pro-ductionwill behalted fromMay7tillMay18.

SBIservicesNew Delhi: State Bank ofIndia’s (SBI) digital serviceswill be affected on Fridayevening due to scheduledup-gradation of its digitalbankingplatforms. PTI

New Delhi

MAHENDERSINGHMANRALNEWDELHI,MAY6

ADAYafter a 23-year-old former junior na-tionalchampionwasbeatentodeathduringabrawlattheChhatrasalStadiumparkingarea,

Delhi police said one ofthe injured, SonuMahalalleged that two-timeOlympicmedalist SushilKumarwas involved intheincident.Raids are being con-

ductedbytheDelhiPoliceon the outskirts of Delhi

andHaryanatonabwrestlerSushil,whoisab-sconding.AdditionalDCP(North-Westdistrict)DrGuriqbalSinghSidhusaid,“Wehaverecor-dedthestatementof oneof thevictims,SonuMahal,whomadeallegations against SushilKumar.WeareconductingraidstonabSushilKumar.Duringinvestigation,wehavefoundsofarthattheassailantscamefromoutside.”On Tuesday, Sagar Rana,whohad com-

petedinthe97-kgGreco-Romancategory,wasbeatentodeathinaclashinvolvingtwogroups.Ranawasa former juniornational championand is part of the seniornational camp. “Wehavefoundduringinvestigationthataquarrelhad allegedly taken place between SushilKumar,Ajay,PrinceDalal,Sonu,Sagar,Amitandothersintheparkingareaofthestadium,”Sidhusaid.Sourcessaidthatduringtheinvestigation,policealso foundarecordedvideoof the inci-dentfromthemobilephoneofaccusedPrinceDalal, inwhichfacesofalltheattackerscanbeseenwhenSagarandotherswerebeingbeatenup. “Dalalwasarrested fromthespotandweseizedhis cellphone, twodoublebarrel gunsalongwithsevenlivecartridgesof12borefromhis possession. After investigation,wehavefound that the gunswere registered in thename of one resident of Ashoda village inHaryana’sJhajjar,”policesourcessaid.Policehave recovered five cars, including

twoSUVsfromthespot.Oneof themisregis-tered in thenameof Gurugram-based com-pany.AnotherisregisteredinthenameofoneHaryana-basedcriminal,MohitAshoda,whoisacloseaideofonegangsterNaveenBali,po-licesourcessaid.Bali is running thegangafter thegangster

NeerajBawanawasarrested.“Princeisathird-yearstudentofRohtakuniversityandalsoas-sociatedwithBali.Duringinvestigation,severalCCTV cameraswere scanned, but the areawheretheincidenttookplacewasnotcoveredbyanyofthem.AfterscanningcameraslocatedjustoutsidetheChhatrasalstadium,itcametolightthataround10-15musclemenwerepres-entwhentheincidenttookplaceintheprem-isesofthestadium.They,however,abscondedbeforethearrivalofpolice,”policesourcessaid.Investigationhas revealed Sagar andhis

friendswerestayinginahouselinkedtoSushilnearthestadiumandhadbeenaskedtovacaterecently. “In the initial probe, it has comeoutthat…SushilPehelwanandhisaidescommit-tedthiscrime…,”readstheFIRinthecasereg-isteredon thebasis of a PCRcall and filedbyAssistantSub-InspectorJitendraSingh.

DEVENDRAPANDEYMUMBAI,MAY6

AS SOON he reached his home at Vartej inBhavnagar district, Gujarat, medium-pacerChetanSakariyashowered,worehisPPEkitand rushed to a nearby hospital where hisfather Kanjibhai has been admitted aftertestingpositive forCovid-19.Sakariyahadgot a call lastweek thathis

fatherhadtestedpositiveandwasadmittedtothehospital. “IwasluckybecauseIhadre-ceived my part payment from RajasthanRoyals a fewdaysago. I straight away trans-ferredmoney back home, and that is help-ingmyfamilythemostinmytoughesttime,"Sakariya,whorepresentedRajasthanRoyalsin IPL toldThe IndianExpress.IPLwaspostponedonTuesdayafterCovid-

19casesstartedtooccurinvariousIPLteams.For domestic players like Sakariya, un-

capped and without a central contract,moneyfromtheIPL isasourceof livelihood."People are saying stop IPL. Iwant to tell

themsomething, Iamtheonlybreadearnerinmyfamily.Cricketistheonlysourceofmyearnings. I can give better treatment tomyfather because of themoney I earned fromIPL.Hadthistournamentnothappenedforamonth, itwouldhavebeentougherforme. Icomefromapoorfamily,myfatherallhislifedrove tempo and because of IPLmywholelifewasabouttochange,"saysSakariya,whowaspicked forRs1.20croresat theauction.Sincehe reachedhome, his daily sched-

ulehasrevolvedaroundhospitalvisits.From9amto2pm, he sits on a bench at thehos-pital.Sakariyaisespeciallyworriedashisfa-ther is adiabeticpatient.Afewmonthsago,onthedayhebecame

acrorepatiattheIPL2021auction,hehadoneregret. Justmonths before that, he had losthis younger brother,who hewas very close

to.HesaysthattheunexpectedwindfallofRs1.20 crorewill changehis life buthe feels anemptinessinsideduetohisbrother’sdemise.Sakariya impressed at the IPL with his

skill andcomposure.He tooksevenwicketsand says he never expected to be the firstchoice forhis teamwith thenewball.

“Sanjubhai(SanjuSamson)cameandtoldmethatthemanagementisseeinga highpo-tentialinme,sobeready,youwillbeplaying.Icouldn'tsleepthatnight,thoughtskeptpop-pingonhowIwouldbowl,howIwillgetmywicket, aisa daloon, kewaise daloon (whatkindofdeliveryshould Ibowl),”herecalls.HespoketohiscoachRajendraGoelbackin

Bhavnagar,whoadvisedhimtotakeiteasy.OndebutagainstPunjabKings,Sakariyafinishedwith3for31thatincludedwicketsofKLRahulandMayankAgarwal.However,it'sthewicketofChennaiSuperKings'sMSDhonithathewillrememberforalongtimeinhis life."Becauseeveryone knowshowbig a player he is andhowhetakesawaythegameindeathovers, Iamhappythat I gothimearlyanddidn't givehimthatchanceahead,"hesays.Heremembersafterthegameagainstthe

Mumbai Indians,herushedto takeanauto-graphofRohitSharma.TheMumbaicaptainlauded him and said he is on a right track.

Prior to the tournament, he had worriesabouthowtheoverseasplayerswillrelatetohimandotherdomesticplayersbuthiswor-ries fadedawayafter justoneteambondingsession. “It felt likehome, really,”hesays.Occasionally,complaintscamefromhome.

"Theyusedtocallandsay,whyareyoulosing.Startwinning. It feels bad. Howcould I tellthemthatthepressurehereissohigh?Thereisnomarginoferror.Buttheysayingnaakmatkataoyaar,"(don’t loseface!),”hesaysshyly.Likemost IPL players, Sakariya is hop-

ing that the remainder of the season hap-penssoon.Apart fromnameand fame, themoney earned will change lives. A newhouse iswhat theSakariya familyneeds. "Iam the only member in my communitywhohasearnedsomuch.Mymotherdoes-n't know how many zeros are there incrores.Our first priority is to seemy fatherbackandthenbuild thathome.For that, IPLshould happen.”

SHAHIDJUDGEMUMBAI,MAY6

IN THE fewweeks that the Indian PremierLeague(IPL)managedtoholdmatches,there

wasenoughscope for il-legalbettingelementstomakeanappearance.Justdays before the seasoncametoaprematureend,the Board of Control forCricket in India’s (BCCI)Anti-Corruption Unit,

during a groupmatch between RajasthanRoyals andSunrisersHyderabadat theArunJaitleyStadiuminNewDelhi,nabbedtwoin-dividualscaughtpitch-siding,orcourt-siding.One accusedwas allegedly amember of thehousekeeping staff and the other a healthworker–bothhadapprovedaccreditationandwere reportedly hired bybookies to pass onmatchinformationviamobilephone.Thoughpitch-sidingdoesn’t necessarily

countas ‘match fixing’ asnoneof theactionisrigged,itisaside-effectofcompetitivebet-tingthatsportsorganisershavebeenaimingtoquell.

What ispitchorcourt-siding?It is having somebody placed inside a

sportsvenuepassingon immediatematch-relatedupdatestoabookie,whocanusethatinformation to change the odds and acceptorrejectbets.Thefewsecondsof lag it takestobeairedontelevisiongivesthemthewin-dowof opportunity.

Howdoes itwork?Whensportingactiontakesplace,thereis

adelayinthatactionbeingairedontelevisionor updatedonanonlineplatform. Thedelaycanbeanywherearound10secondstoafewminutes. Therefore a personwatching livefrom inside the venue sees the actual actioninreal time.Thepitchorcourt-sider thenre-

laysthatinformationimmediatelytoabookie.Ina2015article,theBBCquotedSteveHigh,

theCEOofSportingDatalimited—acompanywhosewebsitedescribesitasafirm“offeringawiderangeofproductsandconsultancyserv-ices for theonlinegamingandwagering sec-tor”—as saying: “wehadanautomated sys-temwhereby the point datawould come inand thenwewould cancel any bets thatwehadinthemarketthatwedeemedwereatthewrongprice. And thenwewouldplace betsstraightbackintothemarketthatwedeemedwerenowthecorrectprice.”High added that there were around 75

court-sidersplacedalongCentreCourtatthe2013Wimbledon finals.

Since it isnotdirectlymatchfixing, is itillegal?Not in all countries. According to

OnlineBetting.Org.UK, court-siding is not il-legalintheUK,norinNewZealand.Howevertickets tomostsportingeventshave itmen-tionedthat is illegal inthe ‘termsandcondi-tions’section.Thereforeanindividualcaughthas breached a condition of entry at thevenueandcanbeevictedandbanned.In India, betting in general is banned,

therefore, any act of pitch-sidingwould beconsidered illegal.

Howdopitch-siderssendtheirmessages?At the 2014 Australian Open, a 22-year-

old BritishmanDaniel Dobson became thefirst court-sider to be caught. He had a de-vice stitched onto the inside of his pants,whichwas connected to hismobile phone.Based on who won the point in a rally,Dobsonwould press a specific button andthe informationwould reach the SportingData – his alleged employers – in the UK inmilliseconds.According toOnlineBetting.Org.Uk, “it’s

beenknownforpeople towearheadsetsun-derneathwigs that allowthemtocommuni-catewithpeopleattheotherendofatelephonebutwiththeheadpiecehiddenfromview.”

Is itonlybookies thatusecourt-sidingtotheiradvantage?No, therehavebeencaseswherepunters

placetheirownbetsfrominsideavenue–se-

cretly,sincecourt-sidingisamongthe‘illegal’activitiesmentionedonthebackof tickets.

TheBBChadproducedashowcalled“CanYouBeatTheBookies?”It featuredaSussex residentnamed ‘Joe,’

whowould travel theworld towatch tennismatchesandplacebetsinstantly.Intennis,eachpoint is registeredonce thechairumpire logsit onto the electronic device theyhavewiththem.Oncethepointresultisplacedonthede-vice, it is transmitted toonline live scoreplat-forms.WhatJoewoulddowastraveltogener-ally remote tournamentswhichhave little tonolivestreamingoptions,andsitinformatcheswhere the chair umpire is generally slowathandlingthescoringdevice.Itwouldgivehimenoughtimetoplacehisbetandmakemoney.Inoneparticularmatch inRomania, thechairumpirehadmanagedtolockhimselfoutofthedevice, andwouldneed toenter apinbeforeeachandeverypoint.ItgaveJoeplentyoftimetoplacehis bets.He claimedheearnedoverGBP300,000throughbetsin2018alone.

Areorganiserstryingtocurbcourt-siding?Yes.TheTennis IntegrityUnit(TIU)sends

a security team tomonitor crowds at stadiaduring ATP Tourmatches, and sometimesevenatChallengerevents.Theirtaskistokeepaneyeoutforsuspiciousactivity–afanexces-sivelyusingamobilephoneand/orlaptop,forexample, duringamatch. The teamthen in-vestigates thesituationandmaybantheac-cusedfromattendingfuturetennisevents.Last year, the TIU found unranked

Spanish player Gerard Joseph PlateroRodriguezguiltyofcourt-sidingataFuturesevent in Pittsburgh in July 2019. He wasbannedforfouryearsandfinedUSD15,000.TheTIUalsofoundformerWorldNo440

UkrainianplayerStanislavPoplavskyyguiltyofcourt-sidingatmultiplematchesbetween2015and2019.OnDecember1,2020,hewasissuedafineofUSD10,000andalifetimebanfromcompeting inprofessional tennis.

THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAYMAY7,2021

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

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MIHIRVASAVDANEWDELHI,MAY6

STARINGOUTof thewindowof his roomontheninthfloorofahotelalongsideTokyoBay,Ismail Baigdescribes the sceneonaTuesdayevening. “The streets are eerily empty, ab-solutelynoone.Oneortwocarspassbyduringthe day. There is a tall building in the back-ground,butnooneisgoinginorcomingout.It’sveryquietoutside,”Baig,India’srowingcoach,says.Inlessthan80days,roughly10,000ath-letes frommore than 200 countries are ex-pected to descend upon the Japanese capi-taltocompeteintheOlympicGames.Buttheusualhypeandenergythatgripthehostcityhave been replaced by rules, restrictions,more rulesandmorerestrictions.TheIndianrowingteam, inTokyoforthe

Olympic qualifying tournament that beganonWednesday, is gettingaglimpseofwhattheGamescould look like in July-August.LastWednesday, the organisers of the

TokyoOlympicsreleasedaplaybookthatde-tailed the protocols each participant willhave to follow before, during and after theGames. Those guidelines are being trialledthisweekduring the rowingqualifiers.Teamshavebeen instructedwhen to en-

ter(May1)andleave(May8)Tokyo.Theyhavebeentoldwhentoeatandwheretotalk.Exceptformealsandtravellingtothecompetition,atno point can they step out of their rooms.Sightseeingandshoppingareoutoftheques-tion.“Thereisn’talotof freedom.Ifweviolateanyrule,wewillbedisqualified,”Baigsays.It is frustrating,headmits.Buthealsoun-

derstandsthejustification.“Eventsallovertheworld are getting cancelled. Even in thesetoughtimes,theyareorganisingatournamentwithpeoplefromsomanycountries. It isourdutytohelpthembyfollowingtherules.”On Saturday, when a bunch of athletes

gatheredtooclosetoeachothernearthe3m

springboardduringtheDivingWorldCupatthe Tokyo Aquatics Centre, the announcer‘scolded’themforviolatingsocialdistancingnorms, according toReuters.

ToughmeasuresAlotofrules–likeCovid-19testsbeforede-

parture andafter arrival, daily testingduringcompetition,wearingmasksandusingsanitis-ers–aresimilartowhathavebecomestandardpracticesatmosttournamentsacrosstheworld.Inadditiontothosemeasures,eachmemberofthetravellingcontingentfortherowingquali-fiers had todownload the Japanese govern-ment’strack-and-tracemobileapp.“Theyhadgivenusspecific formsinrela-

tion to our Covid tests. Sowehad to submitthose,alongwithsomedeclarations,andpro-videthemthedetailsofourstay.Theofficersattheairportensuredeachpersonhaddown-loadedtheappandhadenabledthelocationservices,”Baigsays.“Ittookalmostfivehours

for theentire teamtofinishtheprocess.”At the hotel, the rules are stricter. Each

country has been allotted an entire floor topreventrowersfrommixingwitheachother,andeverypersonhasbeengivenanindivid-ual room. Teammembers have been re-frained from going into each other’s roomsandevenspeakingwithoneanother.“The only time we can step out of our

roomistoeat.Wehavebeengivenfixedtim-ingsforeachmeal.Thereisindividualsittingfor everyone. Theonly timewecan removethemaskinsidethehoteliswhileeating.Butwearenotallowedto talk,”Baig says.So, the20-minutebusdrive fromtheho-

tel to thecompetitionvenue is theonly timeBaiggetstopassoninstructionstohisrowers.“I have to keep everything crisp and to-the-point.Wedonothaveanytimeforsmalltalk.Themomentwe enter the bus, I start givinginstructions to the rowers soby the timewereachthevenue,weareprepared,”hesays.

ForBaig,thechallengehasbeentokeepthenine-memberteamfocusedonthetaskathanddespite the strict protocols in Tokyo, and thedistractionsbeforereachingthere.Theteam’sparticipationinthetournamentwasdoubtfuluntillastweekbecauseofthetravelrestrictionsfollowingthesurgeincasesinIndia.Theongoing lockdown inDelhi added to

theuncertainty as theRowingFederationofIndiafoundittoughtodelivervisadocumentstotheembassy.Butthatwasjustthebeginningof thelogisticalchallenges.Thepre-departureCovid-19formshadtobeinaspecifiedformat,differentfromtheonesinIndia.SecuringseatsonaflighttoTokyowaseventougher,giventherestrictions,andoncethatwasmanaged,theywereunabletocarrytheirownoarsbecauseofairline rules.With rentedoars andafter a tu-multuousbuild-up,therowershopetosecurespotsintheGames,inthepenultimateOlympicqualifyingevent.RowerswhofinishinthetopfiveinsinglescullandinthetopthreeindoublescullwillmakeittotheGames.No Indian rowerhasmade thecut so far

butBaig ishopefulofbreakingtheduckthisweek. “I feel confident about our chances.It’ll be nice if we can seal our qualificationshere sowecan return in July andhope thatTokyowillbealotmorebuzzingthanit isatthemoment.”

Rowersprepare for theraceat theOlympicqualifyingevent inTokyo.WorldRowing

Atqualifiers inTokyo, IndianrowersgetanexperienceofwhattheOlympicscould looklike

What is pitch-siding & how it helps bookies, punters

A glimpse into the GamesTheonly timewecanstepout of ourroom is to eat.Wehavebeengivenfixed timings foreachmeal. The onlytimewecan remove themaskinside thehotel iswhile eating.Butweare not allowed to talk.”

ISMAILBAIGCOACH, INDIAROWINGTEAM

Cricket istheonlysourceofmyearnings. IcangivebettertreatmenttomyfatherbecauseofthemoneyIearnedfromIPL.Hadthistournamentnothappenedforamonth, itwouldhavebeentougherforme.”

CHETANSAKARIYAMEDIUMPACER, RAJASTHANROYALS

Days after mother’s death,Veda loses sister to Covid

Chelsea beatMadrid, set upall-English CLfinal vs Man City

ASSOCIATEDPRESSLONDON,MAY6

CHELSEA'S DECISION to fire a club legendsuddenlydoesn't seemsocallousafterall.While FrankLampard's namehashardly

beenforgottenbytheChelseafans-therewerechantsoutsideStamfordBridgebeforekickoffonWednesday-newmanagerThomasTuchelisquicklycreatinghisownlegacyafterleadingtheLondonclubintotheChampionsLeaguefi-nalagainstManchesterCity.Chelseaevenmaderecord13-timeEuropeanCupchampionRealMadrid look ordinary as goals from TimoWerner andMasonMount sealed a 2-0 vic-torythatoustedMadrid3-1onaggregate.Perhaps the stragglers leaving the bars

near Stamford Bridge could hear the roarTuchel let out on the field inside the emptystadium long after his players haddepartedthe field. Itwill certainly have beenheard inthe Chelsea boardroom by the directorswhosedecisiontodismissLampardinJanuaryandhireTuchelnowseemsvindicated."I amvery grateful and thankful to have

this opportunity," said Tuchel, who'd beendismissed by Paris Saint-Germain inDecemberdespiteleadingtheFrenchclubtolastyear'sChampionsLeaguefinal."Youcannever be aheadof plan as amanager andasaplayer - itdoesnotexist."Unlike last season's final -whenTuchel's

PSGlosttoBayernMunich-fansaresettobeallowedinfor thefinal,whichwillbeplayedinTurkeyonMay30.

VISHALMENONNEWDELHI,MAY6

INDIANWOMEN team’s swashbucklingmiddle-order batter Veda Krishnamurthy’selder sister passed away Thursday eveninginChikmagalurduetocomplicationsrelatedtoCovid-19,twoweeksafterhermotherhadalsosuccumbedto thevirus.Veda’ssisterVatsalaShivakumar,42,was

hospitalisedlastmonthafterherRT-PCRtestreturnedpositive.“It is with great sadness that last night

my family had to say goodbye toMy AkkaMy family, my world hasbeen rocked to its core.Appreciate all themessagesand prayers. My thoughtswitheveryonegoingthroughthesedevastatingtimes.Holdyour loved ones tight andstay safe,”Veda tweeted.According to Veda’s

childhood coach Irfan Sait,Vatsala’s demise, comingclosely on the heels of hermotherCheluvamabaDevi’sdeath has “completely broken” the 28-year-old.In fact, Vatsalahadamajor role toplay in

Vedamaking it big as an international crick-eter.“AfterVatsala’shusbandpassedawayin2003 ina roadaccident, sheand12-year-oldVeda migrated from Chikmagalur toBengalurutofuelheryoungersibling’scrick-etingaspirations,”SaittoldTheIndianExpress.In Bengaluru, Vatsala got her sister en-

rolled at Karnataka Institute of Cricket inShivaji Nagar. Under the tutelage of Sait,Vedahonedherskillsandprogressedtorep-resent India’swomen’steamattheinterna-tional level.

“Vatsala’s presence gave her (Veda)strength.Sherealisedthepotentialinhersis-ter, and shifted to Bengaluru because backthen, therewere hardly any opportunitiesfor an upcoming woman cricketer at herhometown in Chikmagalur. WithoutVatsala’sefforts,Indianwomen’steamwouldnothavehadaplayerofVeda’s calibre,” Saitexplained.Saitconcededthathewasoverwhelmed

with emotions after his condolence call toVedaonThursdayafternoon.“When I called her today, she only said,

‘Nothing is making any sense to me any-more.’ I pray toGod that she finds the inner

strength to come to termswiththis loss,”heconcluded.Veda has gone through

helloverthelastfortnight.Butthat has not prevented herfrom reaching out to otherson socialmedia during thesegrimtimesandhelpingthemintheirquest toprocureoxy-gen supplies, ventilators andhospitalbeds.Earlier, when hermother

had passed away, Veda hadtweeted:"AppreciateallthemessagesIhavereceivedaboutthelossofmyAmma.Asyoucan imaginemy family is lost without her.Wenowprayformysister. Ihavetestedneg-ative&appreciateifyoucanrespectourpri-vacy.Mythoughts&prayersgoout to thosegoing throughthesame!!"Makingher debut in 2011, Vedahas fea-

tured in48ODIs and76T20Is for India, andwasan integralpartof the teamthatplayedin the finalof the2017Women’sWorldCupagainst England at Lord’s. Veda is alsoamongst theselectgroupofwomen’scrick-eters from India who have participated infranchisecricketabroad.

Back from IPL, Sakariya at hospital for Covid positive father

WRESTLER TESTS POSITIVE FORCOVIDAn Indian wrestler tested positive for Covid-19 before competitionbegan at the World Olympic Qualifiers in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Thursday.The wrestler has been quarantined. Meanwhile, Sumit Malik was stillin contention to qualify for the Tokyo Games but it was all over forAmit Dhankar and Satywart Kadiyan, who were ousted. ENS

Tennishasseenanumberof casesofcourt-siding. File

NewDelhi:Delhipolice ison theout-look for another pitch-sider whomanagedtogivetheBoardofControlfor Cricket in India’s anti-corruptionunit (ACU) a slip after he was con-frontedforallegedlypassinginforma-tion to bookies. The person had ahousekeeping accreditation card onhim. Two phones were recoveredfromhimbyACUofficials during thegame between Chennai Super KingsandSunrisersHyderabadattheArunJaitley Stadium. According to aDelhiPolicesource,thepersonwasmakinglongcalls to suspectedbookies. ENS

Another pitch sider onDelhi police radar

CHELSEA2 REALMADRID0TimoWerner28’MasonMount85’

*Aggregate3-1

Injured victim ofdeadly brawlsays Sushilinvolved: Police

New Delhi