JOURNALISM OF COURAGE SINCE 1932

Dear friends & fellow members,

Government/Municipal Hospitals, a lot of members have come forward. the below mentioned Government/Municipal Hospitals on one hand & their empanelled vendors on the other to ensure that the right & much needed equipment & consumables were delivered to these hospitals. List of hospitals facilitated by the Chamber: Hospital Type Description (* in process) Cost/Value B.Y.L. Nair Hospital Consumable *3 Ply Surgical Mask `12.8 lakhs PPE kits Equipment *ICU Beds JJ Hospital Consumable 3 Ply Surgical Mask & Face Shields `17.1 lakhs Sanitizer Equipment Mobile Digital X-ray Kasturba Hospital Consumable 3 Ply Surgical Mask & Face Shields `15.4 lakhs Sanitizer Equipment Auto Bio Chemistry Analyzer *Coagulometer KEM Hospital Consumable PPE kits `2.8 lakhs Sion Hospital Consumable PPE kits `2.8 lakhs NMMC Vashi Hospital Consumable 3 Ply Surgical Mask & Face Shields `10.9 lakhs PPE kits Sanitizer Equipment *Video Laryngoscope Total ` Lakhs (approx.) `61.8 lakhs

As the COVID-19 cases are only increasing, we would once again request our esteemed members to continue contributing in every possible way. NEFT Details: : Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry Bank Name : State Bank of India Bank Address : Horniman Circle, Mumbai Main Branch, Mumbai Samachar Marg,Fort Account Type : Current Account Account No. : 10996680930 IFSC Code : SBIN0000300 In order to continue serving our members, Bombay Chamber has been regularly uploading its website with information on

Government/other Regulatory Authorities on COVID-19, including relating to employment. On behalf of the Bombay Chamber team, I wish you and your families a stay safe during the lock-in. Warm Regards, V. S. Parthasarathy President-Bombay Chamber of Commerce & Industry President-Mobility Service Sector, Mahindra Group & Member of the Group Executive Board, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd MCS/204/2020-22RNINO.MAHENG2002/21899 Howto be Both As celebrations begin for Satyajit Ray’scentenaryyear, contemporaries remember the breadth of the auteur’s MUMBAI,LATECITY eye genius. Firstup, atribute to MAY24,2020 the women in his films — 16PAGES,`5.00 THESUNDAY feminists with agency,sexual EXPRESSMAGAZINE and intellectual freedom in DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM an unequal world

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Centre says Aarogya REVIEW AT XIV CORPS HQ apppassporttofly, LACheatsup, some states disagree Maharashtragovtnot keen on domestic Armychief flightstoand from Mumbai as of now PRANAVMUKUL& takesstock GARGIVERMA NEWDELHI,RAIPUR,MAY23

WITH JUSTaday to go forre- Chinese intrusions at 3places in Ladakh; sumption of domestic flights, tents, monitoring equipment visible Civil Aviation MinisterHardeep Singh Puri Saturdaysaid there Domestic flightstoresume wasnoneedfor states to quar- from May25. Express SUSHANTSINGH antine incoming travellers if pas- NEWDELHI,MAY23 sengers had AarogyaSetuap- proval, and did notshowany gaye hain, tohmain samajhta WITH TENSIONS mounting symptoms of Covid-19. hoon quarantine ki zaroorat hi along the Line of Actual Control At aFacebook Live session on nahi honi chahiye (I can onlysay following the Pangong Tsoclash Saturday, Puri said, “Main sirf that if youhavethe AarogyaSetu and detection of Chinese intru- yahi keh saktahoon ki aapke pass app, do notshow sions at three places in the AarogyaSetuapp hai aur aapne CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Galwan riverarea, Armychief apne aap ko test karvayahai aur General MM Naravane landed aapke paas symptoms nahi hain RELATEDREPORT, P4 Fridayatthe XIV Corps head- aur test mein aap negativepaaye quarters in Leh to reviewthe sit- General MMNaravane uation in eastern Ladakh. The Armychief’s visit to the corpsheadquarters came aday the night of May5-6. Chinese in- TRACKING INDIA’S COVID CURVE BRACING FOR ASURGE afterthe MinistryofExternal trusions, sources said, have been Affairs hit backatBeijing over the detected at three places in the LOCKDOWN Beds arebeing put up at the collegehall (above)and canteen foyeratMumbai’s St Xavier’s Collegeinanticipation of alarge LACdevelopments, saying “it is Galwan area, well inside Indian DAY CASES: RECOVERED:51,783 |DEATHS:3,720 TESTS:28,34,798 | DOUBLINGRATE:13.07** number of Covid patientsinMumbai. Maharashtrasaw asurge of 2,940 newcases on Friday. Ganesh Shirsekar the Chinese side that has re- territory. 60 1,25,101 centlyundertakenactivity hin- Therehavebeen five meet- dering India’s normal patrolling ings between local militarycom- patterns” and “weare deeply manders of the twosides so far, committed to ensuring India’s but the situation along nearly 80 Glaring gaps in number of testing sovereignty and security”. km of frontageremains unre- SUNDAY Indian and Chinese troops solved. STORY came to blows on the banksof Sources said Chinese soldiers labs marks next Covid challenge the Pangong Tso, alakewhichis have crossedthe LACatthree KEYSTATES TOTAL SURGEIN 7-DAYAVG. DOUBLING PAGE 9 partlyunder Indian control, on CONTINUEDONPAGE2 TOWATCH CASES 24HRS GROWTH* RATE** TESTREPORTS plications when mostofthe new ■ Maharashtra 44,582 2,940 6.28% 11.46 cases areasymptomatic and de- More is FROMTHEFIELD cisions on isolation needtobe ■ Gujarat 13,273 363 4.23% 17.02 the Civil Hospital worse than HOSPITALINVENTORY takenasmigrantspour in. ■ Delhi 12,910 591 4.74% 15.18 Over two-thirds of the 630 answer ■ Tamil Nadu 14,753 786 5.55% 12.97 AN EXPRESSSERIES districts—nationwide thereare dungeon, says Gujarat HC ■ Bihar 2,310 323 12.18% 5.91 736districts—that have at least KARISHMAMEHROTRA one case, have no Covid lab AS TESTINGramps up, in the state, "as good as adun- 4.42% ■ West Bengal 3,332 135 16.28 NEWDELHI,MAY23 within their boundaries. Only morelabs especiallyin SOHINIGHOSH geon, maybeevenworse". *Compounded Daily Growth Rate over last7days**Calculated over 7-daygrowth 250 districtshaveatesting facil- districtswhereCovid is Good News AHMEDABAD,MAY23 So far, the Civil Hospital has CONCERN CAUTION AGLIMMER AS THE novelcoronavirus ity —ofthese, government labs spreadingwill speedup seen 377Covid deaths, whichac- widens itsreachacross the coun- carry the mostload, theyare in reporting, cut response Amid apandemic,the THE GUJARATHigh Courtcame counted for45% of the total BIHAR: Continues ASSAM: Small JHARKHAND: Has parenthood journey of to add largecase numbers as of now, so faravoided the try, an analysis of hospital inven- 238 districts; private labs are time and help in manage- down heavilyonthe stategov- deaths in the state. numbers; fastest but has been migrant-induced tory shows aglaring gapintest- available in only50districts. ment of people in quar- ayoung couple —from ernment fortrying to "artificially While hearing severalcon- growthrate among growing rapidly in surgeseeninBihar, ing facilities in districtsthat are About half of the country’s antine or isolation. Labs the initial fearsand control” the Covid situation in tentions raisedaspartofaPublic the major states. the last few days. Odisha,Chhattisgarh. recording newcases. labs areconcentrated in five mayneedtobeembed- uncertainties to a the stateand calledthe Civil InterestLitigation on COVID19- Basedondaily databyCentre, ICMR, stategovernments This is delaying reporting of states: Tamil Nadu (67), dedindistrict hospitals. bundle of joy Hospital in Ahmedabad,the related issues, abenchofJustices results, whichhas significant im- CONTINUEDONPAGE2 main government Covid facility CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Rerouted special train from Maharashtra govt plans gradual AIIMS former HoD, Medicine, Mumbai adds 2days, 5states reopening of schools from June 15 dies of Covid ` 108 per kilo By Saturdayevening, officials food or water. identifiedmunicipal corporation IRAMSIDDIQUE& said, the train had crossed The passengers said they SANDEEPASHAR areas in Mumbai, Pune, Thane, ASTHASAXENA AVISHEKGDASTIDAR Gomoh in Jharkhand, still 600 came to knowofthe diverted MUMBAI,MAY23 Nagpur and 15 other cities as be- NEWDELHI,MAY23 ` 136 per kilo MUMBAI,NEWDELHI,MAY23 km away from itsdestination, routeonlyaround 6amon ing in the redzone. From May22 with the estimated arrivalnow Saturdayafter cellphone net- AT THE epicentreofcoronavirus onwards, curbs have nowbeen DR JITENDRA Nath Pande (78), APACKED Railway schedule “sometime on Sundaymorning”. workssent messages welcom- infections in India, Maharashtra considerablyeasedinthe re- the former head of the medicine ` 168 per kilo since May1—2,600Shramik The train, whichleftMumbai ing them to Odisha. “When the is planning to reopen itsschools maining areas of the state, all of department at AIIMS and astal- trains, around 80% bound forUP at 7.20 pm on May21and wasto train reachedRourkela, we be- from June 15 onwards. State's whichhavenow been labelled wart in the field of pulmonology, ` 50 per Dozen and Bihar —led to abizarre situ- reachGorakhpur by May22 ganpanicking and got offatthe School Education Minister as "non-red"zones. In an inter- dieddue to coronavirus at his res- ation whereamigrant special evening “in normal timetable station to speak to the driver,” Varsha Gaikwad has indicated viewtoThe Indian Express idence in Siddhartha Enclave on from Mumbai, whichwas to time”, is carrying itsfull capacity said Santosh Gawde, 26. that the return to school will be CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Saturday. Afterretiring from the reachGorakhpur within 24 of 1,600passengers. Severalof “The driverasked us to talk to gradual and phase-wise with country’s premier medical insti- Aarogya Setu: hours on Fridayevening, was them lashedout at the decision the administration. Ibegan look- schoolsinnon-redareas reopen- tutein2003, Dr Pande had taken rerouted via Odisha, adding two to reroutethe train without their ing forcontact numbers on the ing first. School Education Minister FULLINTERVIEW up the mantle of director and The Safest App days and five states to the origi- knowledge,and said theyhad Internetinmymobile and called In the fourth phase of the Varsha Gaikwad PAGE 6 professor of the pulmonology nal journey. been leftinthe lurch with no CONTINUEDONPAGE2 lockdown, Maharashtrahas CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Indian docs spearhead UK’s Covid battle despite losses 43 per cent of NHS doctors Indians; Indians constitute43.3 per Of the deathsinminority high death rate from Covid-19 cent of the NHS workforceof ethnic groups, the analysis found among the BAME community is 63 per cent of 200health workers 150,000doctors. And though the that the largest numbers were worrying and raises serious risksthis time areenormous, among Indian (492 deaths) and questions whichdemand an- dead areBlack, Asian, Minority Ethnic theyhavesoldiered on. BlackCaribbean (460 deaths) swers”. EID-UL-FITR Anew analysis of NHS data groups. He said, “94per cent of the Rayat, grieving forcousin of Covid deaths from March 1to Of the 203 healthworkers doctors who have diedare from KAMALPREETKAUR Dr ManjeetSingh Riyat, the first April 21 —authored by Dr Robert who have diedinthe UK so far, the BAME community and 63 LONDON,MAY23 Sikh consultant foraccident and Aldridgeofthe UCL Instituteof 63 per cent were BAME, of which per cent of all healthcarework- emergency (A&E) at the Royal Health Informatics and Dr Delan 67 per cent were born outside erswho have diedare from the “HEALINGWILL take averylong DerbyHospital, who diedof Devakumar of the UCL Institute the UK. BAME community”. time because we all aregrieving Covid-19onApril 20. forGlobal Health, it waspub- Dr Onkar Sahota,ageneral Dr Chaand Nagpaul, Chair of in isolation. We were unable to Like52-year-old Riyat, hun- lishedinWellcome Open practitioner and Chair of London the Council of British Medical saygoodbyesand could notat- dredsofBlack, Asian, Minority Research —found that the like- Assembly’s Health Committee Association, asked for“appropri- tend the funeral. Memories of Ethnic (BAME) staffofthe lihood of deathfromCovid-19is who representsthe Punjabi- aterisk assessments” giventhe playing golf and walking dogs National Health Service (NHS) “significantlyhigher” among density areas around Southall, staggering number of deaths with him, our childhood together, have been in the frontline of BAME groups than the general has calledupon the government amongBAME doctors and keep flashing before my eyes.” Britain’s battle againstthe pan- NHS workers at ahospital in Liverpool. Reuters file population. The analysis factored to setupapublic enquiry, point- healthcareworkers. That wasDrSukhbir Singh demic. dataonage,region, ethnicity. ingthatthe “disproportionately CONTINUEDONPAGE2 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 2 THE SECOND PAGE THE SUNDAY EXPRESS,MAY24,2020

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CARING FOR BIRDS COVID-19 Listentothe Sandip RoyShowwhere DURING LOCKDOWN FIGHTERS Dr Pratima Murthy(NIMHANS) talks Forsakeofbirds, two From beggar boyto about the rise of mental health problems SCANTHISQRCODETO migrantsdidn't return protector of Kerala’s during this pandemic DOWNLOADTHEAPP to village homeless FROMPAGEONE

Maharashtra International AirportLimited (Jharkhand) and Gaya (Bihar). Road Surgery in Grays,Essex, in (MIAL), whichmanages CSMIA. It would enter UP at 1985 and worked thereuntil schools ChhattisgarhChief Minister LAC tensions mount, Army chief takes stock Mughalsarai, and reach 2017,after whichhecontinued Bhupesh Baghel Saturdaysaid Gorakhpur aftercovering adis- locum work across Thurrock she spokeofplans forrunning in alettertoPuri that passen- tance of 2,400km. and Basildon. classes in shifts,shortening gers be sent for14days to paid places —atHot Springs and in from the Chinese–technically, by Indians in areas close to the The firstfour months of this Officials in Delhi said the Dr Poornima Nair from the school hours, banning morning quarantine or government-run twolocations 15-20 km to the thetwosidesarenot inafaceoff. LAC. year,according to official data, Goods Marshalling Canpore 1981 batchofthe Frank assemblies and sporting activ- facilities. Punjab Chief Minister north-west, Patrolling Point 14 Movement of additional Another viewlinksittoa witnessed170 Chinese trans- (GMC) yard in Kanpur,the key AnthonyPublic School, Delhi, ities. "Maintaining social dis- Amarinder Singh toosaid those (PP-14) and PP-15. troops as partof“creation of re- moreassertive China whichis gressions, including 130in converging point on the route, breathedher lastonMay 12 af- tancing is the key. The option coming to the stateincluding At eachofthese places, serves” and “contingency plan- intruding intoasector likeHot Ladakh. Therewereonly110 is “full to the brim”. teralong battle with Covid-19 of pairingstudentswith odd via domestic flights, trains and around 800-1000Chinese sol- ning”have alsobeeninitiatedby Springswheretheperceptionof suchtransgressions in Ladakh “Around 34 running lines at NorthTees Hospital. She was roll numbers and calling them buses, would have to undergo diers have crossedovertothe the Army, sources said. theLAChasnotbeenindispute. duringthesameperiodin2019. carrying hugetraffic from five aGPatthe Station View in the firstshiftand the ones compulsoryquarantine for14 Indian side of the LAC, sources Distance is being main- Mostofficials agree that the But in 2019,the year when directions in ashortspan of Medical Centre, Bishop with even roll numbers in the days.Travellers showing Covid said, at distances of around 2-3 tainedbythe Indian side to situationattheLACis“unprece- Prime MinisterNarendraModi time has choked the network,” Auckland, Durham. second shiftisbeing consid- symptoms will be sent to insti- km. Tentshavebeen pitchedby avoid fracas likethe one on the dented”inrecentmemory, with andChinesePresidentXiJinping said an official. “She felt no pain and my fa- ered.Another option is to call a tutional quarantine for14days, the Chinese soldiers in the area, nightof May5-6atPangongTso, tensions running very high. metatBishkek and Officials said the congestion ther waswith her in her final batchofclass studentsevery but those without symptoms along with afleetofheavy vehi- whichled to injuries on both Theyalsosuggestthatasolution Mahabalipuram, therewere wasalso causedbydelays “in moments. Thank youfor all alternateday," she said. "Atall would be allowedhome quar- cles and monitoring equip- sides, sources said, adding that to thecrisiswillhave to befound 663Chinese transgressions, up boarding aftervarious proto- your thoughtsand prayers,” costphysical distance will have antine. ment. Chinese helicopter this should avertany “inadver- soon since “the changeinthe from 404in2018. This included cols by source states” and “in postedVarun on Poornima’s to be maintained. Onlyone stu- Five other states –Kerala, movement close to the LAChas tent escalation”. status quobythe Chinese is not a75per cent spikeinthe west- freeing up rakesatdestinations Facebook pagethe dayshe dent will be permitted on one Telangana, AndhraPradesh, also been monitored by the The motivesfor Chinese in- acceptable”. ern sector and a55per cent rise by stateauthorities”. Theysaid died. desk," she added. Karnataka and Assam, and the Indian side. cursionsintoIndianterritoryare Official datashowtherehas in the eastern sector. the trains will nowberun at Scroll down alittle and Of the opinion that contin- Union TerritoryofJammu and Sources said Indian soldiers still notclear.One viewamong been amarkedincrease in the Nearly three-quartersof the “slowerspeeds than allowed” there’s unmissable sign of love uedschool closures will have Kashmir,havealso decidedto inequalnumbershave beende- official circles is that it is trig- number of Chinese transgres- transgressions, datasince 2015 in severalsections to ease the forlife. Apictureof detrimental impact on pupil quarantine passengers upon ployedinthe area, separatedby geredbylocal factors suchas sionsalongtheLACinLadakhin show, have takenplace in the situation. “Sumptuous crispymurukkus. progress, Gaikwad said that the arrival. adistance of 300-500metres creation of moreinfrastructure the western sector. western sector of the LAC. Speaking to The Indian Mummy’s special recipe!!” government wasformulating Manystatesincluding Express, Anil Mishra, Divisional and aseries of colourful ethnic newstandardoperating proce- Chhattisgarh, Kerala and Railway Manager (Dhanbad), jewellery, neckpieces and dan- dures (SOPs) forschools to Rajasthan, have been demand- said that “around 13 trains glers pop up. lowerthe risk of infection for ing that theybeconsulted be- Gaps in Covid testing map mark next challenge were rerouted through Gomoh, It wasmorethan justtrib- studentsand teachers when fore the Centretakes decisions Dhanbad, Singrauli and other utes for44-year-old theyreturn to school. But as far on commencement of trans- Maharashtra(66), Karnataka ples aday from across seven areas”. Anujkumar Kuttikkottu as schools in Mumbai, other portoperations. On Saturday, (53), AndhraPradesh (52), and STATUSREPORT nearbydistrictsthat aretrans- “Wegavefood, water, Pavithran, anurse at Boston redzones areconcerned, the PinarayiVijayan, Chief Gujarat (39). portedtohisinstitutionwithina chocolates and cakes to the Hospital in Lincolnshire. The ministerindicated that "things Minister, Kerala, wroteto The states seeingarecent New Total No.of Testing fewhours. passengers,” he said. local Kerala Samajtook respon- neededtoimprove further be- Railway MinisterPiyush Goyal surge in cases -- precipitatedby cases this cases as testing samples With acurrent capacity of WITH ABHISHEK ANGAD IN sibility of conducting the final fore theyplan reopening of saying the stateshouldbein- themigrantinflux--have fewer month of May23 facilities per lakh 500samplesaday,theestablish- RANCHI service as his friend Jerry schools." formedinadvance about spe- testinglabsintheirstates:Uttar population ment is procuring morema- Varghese’s fundraiser reached While schools in cial trains being sent. Pointing Pradesh (28), Odisha (17), and Bihar 1785 2177 15 56 chines to increase capacity. £47,000. Maharashtraare required to out that Kerala wasnot in- Bihar (15). Chhattisgarh134 1727188 “Today, the stateiscomfortable Indian doctors “During the unprecedented teachfor 48 hours in aweek, formedabout the special train Almostallnewlabsaddedin Jharkhand 201308 3133 as farasour labs go.But tomor- Covid crisis, Anuj worked day Gaikwad indicated that the on May22fromMumbai to May(194out of 281) have been row, if thenumberjumpssignif- On whysomanyIndian and and night when he contracted number of hours will come Thiruvananthapuram, he said addedtothe country’s hotspot Madhya Pradesh 3609 6170 20 178 icantly, then certainlythings PIO medics were succumbing this illness,” Varghese said. down significantlywith her de- notsharing details of passen- states:Karnataka,Maharashtra, Odisha 1064 1189 17 270 could begin to fall short. That is to Covid-19inthe UK, British Anuj diedonApril 27.The partment planning to reduce gers and their local address TamilNadu,Delhi,Gujarat,West Uttar Pradesh 3601573528107 always the case. Because that Association of Physicians of fundraiser wasset up to help school timing by half to begin would pose amajor hurdle for Bengal, and Telangana. would be an issue, day-by-day Indian Origin (BAPIO) founding with Anuj’s funeral costs as with. the state’s mitigation work Meanwhile, the newstates West Bengal 2574 333234132 we areincreasingourfacilities.” president and paediatrician Dr well as to supporthis wife, againstCovid-19. that have begun to see some of Singhreiteratedthatbeyond Ramesh Mehtatold TheSunday Sandya, also astudent nurse, Aarogya app Baghel toowrote to Goyal the fastestgrowing case num- heavy,mostlyimported, lab Express:“Thereare about and their twochildren. anysymptoms and arefound asking forall passenger details bers -- Bihar,Odisha, and Uttar lessthan50),three-fourths(161) 579ICMR-approvedtestinglabs equipment, trainedpersonnel 65,000doctors of Indian-origin On April 17,“kind, generous negative in atest, then thereis to be shared with the state. Pradesh--onlysaw 26newlabs don’t have atesting facility. thatcanprovideresultsforsam- arekey. working forNHS. We arethe and gentle soul” VivekSharma no needfor quarantine). Why On Thursday, the Centre addedthis month. Of the 187districtswith 10 ples -- 407are government- An April ICMR advisoryde- backbone. Since moreBAME losthis lifetocoronavirus. He quarantine?” had announceddomestic com- Testing infrastructureis casesorfewer, morethan80per ownedand 180are privately- lineated facility requirements people areworking in frontline wasanoccupational therapist “Wehaveclarifiedthat if mercial flight operations, spread thin: In the 126districts cent (154 districts) do nothave owned. Over the pastmonth, suchasRNA extraction, real- services, theyare likesoldiers at Medway Community anyone has the AarogyaSetu whichweregroundedfor two with morethan 100cases each, anyfacility fortesting samples. ICMR has roughlydoubledthe timePCRmachines,deepfreez- who face the bullets first. Of 32 Healthcare, Kent. app, it’s likeapassport, why months, will resume Monday, athird(47 districts) have no lab Meanwhile, India is steadily number of functioning labs, ers to storethe samples, and doctors who have losttheir Consultant paediatrician Dr should anybody want any May25. The next day, the civil at all. Of the 99 districtswith increasing itstesting -- the total adding 281labs to the list. personalprotective equipment. lives, onlytwo were White.” Rajesh KalraiyaofQueen’s quarantine,” Puri said. aviation ministryissuedaset morethan 50 cases (but less number of samples has grown When contacted,Prabhat ICMR also requires at leastone The firstIndian NHS worker Hospital, Romford, diedof Confusion, however, reigns of standardoperating proce- than 100), half (54) don’t have twice since the beginning of Singh,AIIMSDirector,Patna,told medicalmicrobiologistandfour to die of Covid-19was East Covid-19onApril 15.Hewas with manystatesrequiring dures (SOPs) to be followedby anylabs.Andofthe218districts Maytoanaverage of over1lakh The Indian Express that his lab to six technicians who have ex- Bourne District General working as locum in Romford passengers to quarantine passengers, airlines and airport with morethan 10 cases (but testsdaily. Thereare currently isconductingroughly300sam- perience in molecular virology. Hospital pharmacistPooja when he fell ill. His 40-year- themselvesfor twoweeks. operators. Sharma (33) on March 26. It long spell at NHS earnedhim Meanwhile, the The SOPs issuedbythe civil wasadouble tragedyfor the hugerespect. Maharashtragovernment has aviation ministryfor passen- manded'elaboratedetails' However, it appears that as on enough capacity forlab testing, Rerouted train family—she and her father The same day, Croydon GP indicated that it does notwish gers, state: “On arrivalattheir about the flightsand passen- date, it is as good as adungeon. whichwas being providedfree the Gorakhpur control room to Sudhir Sharma, aHeathrow Dr Krishan Arora, 57,and radi- to allowdomestic flightstoar- destination, the travelling pas- gers aboardthem be shared Maybeevenworse than adun- of cost. “…the Statehas de- tell them that the train had lost immigration officer,diedwith ology supportworkerAmrik rive or departfromairports in sengers will have to adhereto with the states, and said pas- geon. " cidedtoconduct testing in gov- itsaway. That’s when we came 24 hours of eachother. BamotraofKing George’s the stateasofnow and would suchhealth protocols as are sengers should be informed The HC pulledupernment labs so that patients to knowabout the diversion,” Her brother Aman told me- Hospital in Goodmayesalso permit onlymedical emer- prescribed by the destination about the mandatoryquaran- Additional Chief Secretary can avoid unnecessaryexpen- Gawde said. dia persons: “My sisterwas the died, leaving behind grieving gency flightsortransfer of state/UT.” tine period at the time of book- PankajKumar,SecretaryMilind diture. Private laboratories “Wegot our lastfood superstarofour family. She had families. repatriated international pas- With justaday to go,air- ing itself. Torwane and Principal shall be allowedtoperform the packet,ofkhichdi, and abottle an irresistible laughter,sense BAPIO founding president sengers, whichare permitted lines expressedanguish at the The Chhattisgarhgovern- Secretary, Health and Family tests, if and when, the capacity of waterinNagpur on Friday of humour and good nature”. Dr Mehta, who is also mourn- in the MinistryofHome Affairs lackofcoordination between ment has already issuedguide- WelfareJayanti Ravi, who had of Government labs is ex- evening. We finallygot some Herchildhood friend Amarjit ing the loss of his friend and guidelines forphase 4ofthe the Centreand states. lines to districtsregarding train been placedincharge of the hausted.” puri and sabzi, and abottle of Aujla remembers her “conta- colleague Dr Kalraiya, doesn’t lockdown. Responding to aquestion on and air travels, whichman- Civil Hospital, and asked if the Thereare 19 government water, at Gomoh afterawhole gious laughter” and “random denythat besides other con- Sources said the govern- whyairlines weren't informing dates quarantining of all ar- stateHealth Minister(Nitin laboratories in the statecon- dayhad passed,” said Manoj calls that brightenedup” the tributing factors to the morbid- ment has conveyedto passengers if their destination rivals by the authorities. “For Patel) and Chief Secretary(Anil ducting the RT¬PCR test for Kumar,another passenger. day. ity rate among the PIOs, Indians Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statewould requirethem to be the passengers coming in Mukim) had “anyidea” about Covid patients. So far, 1,78,068 Zonal railway officials told The firstPIO doctor to die of find it difficult to say‘no’ even International Airport(CSMIA) quarantined, asenior executive flights, theyneedtoregisterat the problems facedbypatients samples have been tested. The Indian Express that the Covid-19inthe UK wasDr when the going gets tough. authorities to initiate“mini- at alow-costairline said, the government's portalaswell and staff. Directing the stategovern- system is currentlyrunning JitendraRathod. He wasaheart “For some, it’s moral obligation, mum possible domestic flights “Airlines cannottakeresponsi- afterbooking tickets. At the Linking high mortality rates ment to immediatelyprocure moretrains that it can handle surgeon at University Hospital forothers it maybefear of los- from MaharashtrafromMay bility.Justliketheycannotand Raipur airport, the Raipur to lackofventilators, the court testing kitssoastoenable even on routes to eastern UP and Wales, Cardiff, wherehehad ing their jobs.” 25th whichare purelyemer- don't take responsibility for Municipal Commissioner has said, "Is the stategovernment private laboratories in private Bihar to clear the migrant rush. spent 25 years. Dr Rathod, 62, The risksremain, but the gent in nature" stating that it visa rules. It is nottheir domain been asked to setupmultiple awareofthe hardfact that the hospitals to carry out the tests “When we run timetabled wasself-isolating due to apre- fight goes on. will assistinthese operations. of expertise, and theycannot kiosksfor primaryscreening patientsatthe Civil Hospital at government rates, the court trains, the matter is different. existing health condition but The Mumbai International be expected to be on topof afterwhichthe passengers will aredying because of lackofad- questionedthe stategovern- Here, we arerunning 80 per diedofcomplications caused AIIMS Airportauthorities had con- multiple changing local re- be sent to isolation centers or equatenumber of ventilators? ment's action as intendedto cent of the trains to UP and by Covid-19. department at Delhi’s Sitaram veyedtothe government that quirementsnot directlyrelated quarantine centers, depending Howdoes the stategovern- "artificiallycontrol the dataqua Bihar.Thereweresome con- Joseph Varkey,the bereaved Bhartia Hospital. around 27,500passengers are to the operation of airlines.” on symptoms,” asenior gov- ment proposetotackle this the number of cases in the gestion issues, but we have husband of Philomina Cherian, “Dr Pande wasunder home expected to arrive and depart In his letter to Puri, ernment official told TheIndian problem of ventilators?" StateofGujarat". sortedthem out,” Railway a62-year-old nurse at John careand seemedtoberecover- dailyatthe airportfromMay ChhattisgarhChief Minister Express. The courtdirected the state The courtobserved,"The Boardchairman VKYadavsaid. Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, re- ing. The cause of death is sus- 25, notcounting the security, Baghel wroteabout the lackof (WITH INPUTS FROM ENS government to issue anotifica- argument that ‘morenumber “As all the trains were con- gretsnot being able to bid her a pected to be cardiac arrest. airportand airlines staff. Citing clarityonthe domestic flights MUMBAI, CHANDIGARH, tion making it mandatoryfor of testswhichlead to 70%ofthe verging to one route, some net- final farewell on April 30. Deepestcondolences to his fam- the "shortnotice", the govern- resumption. “It has come to our KERALA) all multispeciality,private and population testing positive for work congestion is experi- Philomina, originallyfrom ilyand everyone who will miss ment has told the airportman- notice through different media corporatehospitals in Covid, therebyleading to fear encedonNorth Central Kerala, had bought ahouse him dearly,” the hospital said. agement that under the exist- that the Civil Aviation Ministry Ahmedabad city and outskirts psychosis’ should notbea Railway &WestCentral thereand plannedtoretire Dr Pande had authored hun- ing lockdown, the commuteof has decidedtoresume domes- to reserve50per cent of its ground to refuse or restrict the Railway zones,” the Rail soon. dredsofpapers on respiratory passengers to and from the air- ticflightservicesfromMay 25 Gujarat HC bedsfor Covid. testing". Ministrytweeted.Anofficial “It wasreallydifficult to see medicine,was arecipient of sev- port, and the non-availability and no separatestandardop- JBPardiwala and Ilesh Vora The benchalso pulledup The courtasked stateau- from Western Railway said her go likethis,” he said. A eral prestigious awards, and was of public transportinMumbai, erating procedure(SOP) has gave severaldirections to the the government over itstesting thorities to keep atab through rerouting of trains would con- mother of three, Philomina the personal doctor to President Pune and other municipal cor- been issuedfor passengers stategovernment on improv- protocol afterthe stategovern- the testing centres of all those tinue over the next twotothree served the NHS for40years. RamNath Kovind. porations till May31would who will be travelling,” he said. ing treatment and facilities for ment told the courtthat it who have tested positive and days until the line cleared up. At 80 and still working, Dr Dr Randeep Guleria, AIIMS poses difficult challenges. Observing that further Covid patients. would play“gatekeeper” and "mayenforce isolation at home In this case, officials said the Mohinder Singh Dhatt of director,described Dr Pande’s "Their commuting will be a spread of coronavirus infection Comparing the situationto decide when private laborato- (as faraspossible)" or at aquar- train wastocross Bhusawalin Slough wasone of the longest death as apersonal loss. “He big challengeaspublic trans- could notbeaverted if domes- “sinking of the Titanic”, the ries could starttesting samples antine facility,and onlyincase Maharashtra, move to Itarsi in serving GPs in Berkshire. He joinedAIIMS as an undergradu- portand private taxis areoff tic flight services areresumed benchsaid, “It is very distress- forcoronavirus. of symptoms maybeconsid- MP,enter UP via Jhansi, and diedonApril 28 aftercontract- ateand stayed with the institute and to startnormallyatsuch at the time when thereisa ing and painful to note that the In areportsubmitted before ered forhospital admission. pass Kanpur before reaching ing Covid. His daughter,Dr till retirement. Ihaveknown him shortnotice without proper spikeincorona positive cases conditionprevailing as on date the court, the stategovernment The HC also said it had been Gorakhpur —adistance of Mini Dhatt, also ageneral prac- as asenior when Ijoinedthe de- planning will disruptlockdown in the country, Baghel said the in the Civil Hospital, is pa- said, “...it has been observed brought to itsnotice that there 1,750 km. titioner,saidher father worked partment in 1992 and worked restrictions and passengers civil aviation ministryshould thetic... We areverysorry to that in manyinstances, unnec- wasnodearth of kitsbut they Instead, theysaid, the train for54years in the NHS. under him until his retirement. I will be put to severe inconven- resume operating flightsonly statethat the Civil Hospital essarytesting is being done by weren’t being put to effective wasdivertedfromBhusawalto Septuagenarian Dr Kamlesh have also known him since my ience, besides disrupting state under effective measures and Ahmedabad… appears to be in private laboratories and there- use since theyrequired prior Nagpur,and onward to Kumar Masson, who gave 47 childhood because he wasmy machinery's fight againstepi- guidelines to curb the spread of an extremelybad shape. As we fore,the Statehas decided to do approval of the stateauthori- Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh), years to the health service in father's student. Forme, it's a demic," the government said in the virus. said earlier,the Civil Hospital is gatekeeping forprivate labs,” ties. Rourkela (Odisha), Asansol the UK, diedofCovid on April great personal loss,” he told The an e-mail to Mumbai In his letter,Baghel also de- meant to treat patients. adding that the statehas (WestBengal), Gomoh 16.DrMasson foundedMilton Indian Express. WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM THE SUNDAY EXPRESS,MAY24,2020 3 * ADVERTORIAL

Garnering over 10 crore users in just 50 days, Aarogya Setu app, launched This app cures your Corona woes by the Government of India, is arguably the most complete undertaking that provides users with all the relevant information regarding COVID-19 ■ ABHISHEK PATHAK they can be jailed for six months for not com- date it? So far it is not backed by any law," been built with privacy as plying with this regulation. Food delivery he told the newspaper. its core principle and the processing of con- NDIA IS currently observing asteep rise in start-ups such as Zomato and Swiggy have Cyber experts are of opinion that since tact tracing and risk assessment is done in day-to-day corona cases,with the also made it compulsory for all its staff. Aarogya Setu stores location data and re- an "anonymised manner".After auser reg- biggest spikes breaching the daily aver- Thecontact tracing app has garnered rave quires constant access to the phone's Blue- isters,the app assigns aunique Iage of approx. 3000-4000 positive cases. "anonymised" device ID.All interactions reviews from the users while there are also tooth, it is invasive from asecurity and pri- Currently,with no cure in sight and vaccine some controversies surrounding the app.The vacy viewpoint. Theapp builders have with the government server from the mobile being ayear away,Indians are looking to take foremost being the datasecurity and privacy however reiterated time and again that that at device are done through this ID only and preventive measures,including the use of a concerns of the users,the other being it made no point does the app reveal auser's identity. no personal information is exchanged af- contact tracing app –Aarogya Setu. compulsory by the government. In an inter- As per the government, the app has ter registration. Last month, the Government of India launched Aarogya Setu app built by the National Informatics Centre,MEITY,toprevent the spread of coronavirusinthe country.Lit- erally,meaning ‘bridge to health’ in Sanskrit, the app works using a phone's Bluetooth and location data.Theapp lets users know if they have been near aperson infected with COVID-19 by scanning the pan- India database of known cases of in- fection. Your personal data like name,phone number etc. are not re- vealed publicly while the app also collects information such as your gender,travel history and smoking habits.Based on the answers of the user,the app also warns him if he is manifesting any underlying symp- toms of COVID-19, and accordingly alerts the government officials.Ifthe self-testing feature hints towards a positive case,the information is re- layed to the government server.The app is suitable for those conversant in any of the eleven languages pro- vided (including English and Hindi). It lets the user know if he is at a“high risk or “safe.” If you've met someone in the last two weeks who has tested posi- tive for COVID-19, the app calcu- lates your risk of infection based on how recent it wasand proximity and recommends preventive measures. Theapp’sUImainly carries out four keyfunctions –telling the current status of the user’slocality,deter- mining the risk of the user getting infected with COVID-19, providing the user with local and national up- dates on COVID-19 cases.While launching the app last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the citizens to download the app and use it to stay guarded from the novel coronavirus.The government has made it view with TheIndian Ex- mandatory for government and private sec- press newspaper,former tor employees to download it. It’salso been Supreme Court judge BN made mandatory for people travelling in Srikrishna said the drive to trains or living in containment zones.In makepeople use the app Noida, the app has been made compulsory was"utterly illegal.”“Un- for all residents by the government,saying derwhat law do you man-

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THE SUNDAY EXPRESS,MAY24,2020 4 THE OUTBREAK Mumbai

BMC HELPLINE 1916 Govtlistschallengesinstarting Large number of distress calls over flightsfromMumbai,otherairports unavailability of ambulance: BMC data As per govt, commutetoand from the airport, non-availability of public transport morethan 2,000 calls that the to Covid-19. Apartfromthese flected in the data. The BMC LAXMANSINGH BMC call centrereceivesdaily queries, the helpline also an- helpline has received21,309 in Mumbai, Pune and other municipal corporations will pose difficulties MUMBAI,MAY23 areinconnection with ambu- swered queries related to food calls related to inquiries over lance services, bed availability, supplyfor the needy,travel-re- bed availability in hospitals in tions/check-up fortheir fitness has statedthat till MIAL plans and Sena MP SanjayRaut, Chief AN ANALYSIS of the call dataon doctors' guidance and other lated information in the city and these 29 days.For both ambu- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE leveltoresume work at airport, fine-tunes the airportoperations, SecretaryAjoyMehtaand other itsCovid-19helpline by the queries suchascivic com- civic complaints. lance requirement and bed MUMBAI,MAY23 dailycommuteetc. "It is also not it should initiateminimum pos- senior officials. Brihanmumbai Municipal plaintsand travel information. "The shortage of ambu- availability,disastermanage- clear from whichpartofcities sible domestic flightsfrom Sources said the stategovern- Corporation has shown that The helpline receivesanaver- lances has hit people hardas ment cell employees, who han- THEMAHARASHTRA govern- theywill commuteand whether MaharashtrafromMay 25, which ment will also demand more amid the outbreak,citizens ageofabout 2,400calls per day, theystruggle to getitontime. dle the helpline, on adailyaver- ment has told Mumbai it falls in containment zone which arepurelynecessarylikeinterna- Shramik Special trains fortrans- have made alarge number of and has, in 29 days,received Manytimes theyhavetowait age, get1,125 calls. Since the International AirportLimited have total movement restric- tional transfer passengers from portation of migrant workers to distress calls over non-avail- 69,404calls. five to six hours as the demand beginning of the outbreak, (MIAL), whichmanages CSMIA, tions," the government said in an these cities, medical emergencies, their states. The issue will be ability of ambulance services The dataalso shows that the has increased. Also, absence of manypeople have alleged that that under the existing lockdown, e-mail to MIAL. students, and cases on compas- takenupwith the Centreagain, across the city.The helpline re- BMC call centrehas receiveda autorickshaws and taxis has put their familymembers diedas the commuteofpassengers to It has further asked MIAL "to sionategrounds only. the source added. ceivesabout 400calls daily maximum of 32,642 distress alot of load on ambulances to theydid notget an ambulance and from the airportand non- plan dailyoperations in detail and Chief MinisterUddhav Meanwhile, Thackeray inter- from those in needofambu- calls related to ambulance re- carry patientstohospitals even on time. availability of public transportin furnish information to the state Thackeray and NCPchief Sharad acted with health officials and lances forferrying either sus- quirement and bed availability if theyare stable," an official Bandracorporator Asif Mumbai, Pune and other munic- Government on above points Pawarheld areviewmeeting on stafffromBMC. Thackeray said a pected patientsorconfirmed in hospitals, during this time from the BMC said. Zakeria of the Congress said he ipal corporations till May31 making specific requests ... While Saturdaytodiscuss the COVID- fullyequippedcontrol room is Covid-19patientstohospitals period. The civic body had, on The gapbetween demand got alot of calls on notreceiving would poses difficult challenges making requests,please bear in 19 situation in Maharashtra. The being setupfor proper manage- from home. April 24,launchedthe helpline and availability of bedsacross ambulance services in case of in resuming domestic flight op- mind that local authorities and stategovernment is likely to re- ment of the medical services and According to the civic data, 1916 to address queries related hospitals in the city is also re- an emergency. erations. resources areverymuchstrained questthe Union government to facilities. In the monsoon, there The stategovernmenthassaid due to existing Covid-19situation. startafew local train services for will be patientswith monsoon that it is notyet clear whether Stategovernment will provide transportation of health work- related diseases suchasdengue SRA allows MIAL has worked out require- youall possible assistance for ers to deal with the shortage of and leptospirosis and theymay KEM hospital doctor tries to courier ment of staff, including ground smooth startofthese operations staffinMumbai hospitals. The needimmediatelytreatment. pre-monsoon staff--technicaland non-techni- in aphasedmanner," it added. meeting wasalso attendedby The civic body should be pre- masks, sanitiser to son in US, gets duped cal, their availability,health condi- The government, however, NCPministerJayant Patil, Shiv pared forit, he added. work at 107 said. Acase on chargesofcheating and cheating by SAGARRAJPUT impersonation wasregisteredonMay 20, police slum projects GOVIND GURU TRIBAL UNIVERSITY MUMBAI,MAY23 added. According to police, the complainant, aresi- dentof NapeanSeaRoadinsouthMumbai,hadcon- Collectorate Campus, BANSWARA-327001 (RAJASTHAN) DIESEL LOCOMOTIVE WORKS ,VARANASI -221004 A60-YEAR-OLDdoctoremployed tacted acourier firm earlier this month forsending Website :www.ggtu.ac.in, email:[email protected] -02962-246222 Corrigendum with the KEM hospital wasal- masks, hand sanitisers, hand gloves, and medicines NEERAJTIWARI No. :Estt./VC Appt. /GGTU/2020/ 2637 DATED :23/05/2020 No.: Sale_TB_2020 Date: 22.05.2020 legedly dupedofRs1.27lakh by a to his son who worksinthe USA.As he had received MUMBAI,MAY23 Advertisement for the Post of Vice-Chancellor Corrigendum notices for tender no Sale_TB_2020. Term : Closing courier firm while trying to ship somemessagesonWhatsAppquestioningthecred- Date: Existing: 11.05.2020 Revised: Closing Date: 27.05.2020 All hand sanitisers, hand gloves, face ibility of the company, the complainant had looked THE SLUM Rehabilitation Applications are invited for the post of Vice-Chancellor, other terms and conditions of tenderremain unchanged. masks, and medicines to his son up itscustomer carenumber on Google. Authority (SRA) has approved in the USAamid the coronavirus "I contactedthe company's officials on the num- pre-monsoon repairs and works Govind Guru Tribal University,Banswara (Rajasthan) on P.R.O./DLW/S-06 S.M.M./HQ pandemic, Malabar Hill police beronMay 8and told them that Iwant to courier on 107slum projectsinthe city. /diesellocoworks "Website :- www.dlw.indianrailways.gov.in" behalf of the Chairman, Search Committee. The candidates certain things to my son in the USA,"hesaid, in his Earlier this week,the SRA also is- are advised to apply in the prescribed application format by statement to police. suedtransitpassesto developers' post and email to [email protected] so as to reach Thecustomercareexecutive reportedlytoldhim staffand workers. that he had to makeanadvance payment forthe "Due to the coronavirus out- the office of the undersigned on or before 13th June, 2020 up shipment,followingwhichcompanyofficialswould break,thewholecountrywasun- to 5.00 PM. Details of advertisement and prescribed collect the goods from him. der alockdown and notasingle application format (Standard Format for C.V.) should be An officer from Malabar Hill police station said industrywas functional. But to downloaded from the Govind Guru Tribal University, thattheimpostersreportedlycalledthedoctorfrom give aboosttothe real estate in- adifferent number and asked him to transfer Rs dustryand makesureconstruc- Banswara Website www.ggtu.ac.in / 48,101 throughGooglePay, adigitalwalletplatform, tion sites don't sufferlosses dur- www.rajbhawan.rajasthan.gov.in. as an advance. "Atfirstherefusedtomakeany ad- ing monsoon, the Authority is vance payment, but later the doctor transferredRs cooperating with developers and REGISTRAR 48,101 to anumberprovidedto letting them complete their pre- him,"theofficialsaid.However, monsoonwork,"DeepakKapoor, the courier companyofficials CEO of SRA,said. He also tweeted contactedhimagainandasked thatwitharound17 days were left him to deposit another Rs forthe monsoon to reachthe city 29,101as"therewas some andrepairsandworkswerebeing problem in depositing the allowedtoavoid anymishap. amount" initially. The com- "In all, 107SRA schemes had plainant said around 3pm on appliedfor pre-monsoon repairs May9another Rs 49,996 was andworkspermission.Inarecord withdrawnfromhisaccountin twoweeks, we have granted ap- nineseparatetransaction.After provals to all 107schemes. Nota apreliminaryinquiry, acase single case is pending. Work has wasregisteredonMay 20. been startedbymostdevelopers on these schemes," Kapoor said. On April 26, the authority had is- The Indian EXPRESS suedcircularallowingdevelopers to carry out pre-monsoon works following Covid guidelines. BUSINESS POULTRY

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''IMPORTANT'' Whilst care is taken prior to acceptance of advertising copy,itisnot possibleto verify its contents. The Indian Express (P.) Limited cannot be held responsible for such contents, nor for any loss or damage incurred as aresult of transactions with companies,associations or individuals advertising in its newspapers or Publications. We thereforerecommend that readers make necessary inquiries before sending any monies or entering into any agreements with advertisers or otherwise acting on an advertisement in any manner whatsoever. CENTRAL UNIVERSITY OF KASHMIR GOVERNMENT OF INDIA Green Campus, Ganderbal-191201 (J&K) MINISTRYOFHUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT EXTENSION IN LAST DATE DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION The last date forsubmission of online Application Forms Appointment of Vice-ChancellorofCentral University of Rajasthan in respect of various non-teaching posts advertised vide The Vice-Chancellor,being the academic as well as Notification No.03of2020 dated 27.04.2020, is hereby administrative head, is expected to be : extended till 31st May, 2020. •Aperson possessing the highest levelofcompetence, integrity, The detailed notification and the online application form morals and institutional commitment. are available on University website: www.cukashmir.ac.in. •Adistinguished academician, with aminimum of 10 years’ of No. 03 of 2020 (N/T) Sd/- experience as Professor in aUniversity or 10 years’ of experience in Dated: 20 .05.2020 Registrar (I/c) areputed research and/or academic administrative organisation with proof of having demonstrated academic leadership. Government of Jharkhand •Preferablynot morethan65years ofage as on the closing date Jharkhand Rural Health Mission Society of receipt of applications of this advertisement. Department of Health, Salary and ServiceConditions Medical Education &Family Welfare Namkum, Ranchi •The post carries apay of Rs.2,10,000/- (Fixed) per month with Very Urgent e-Procurement Notice under COVID-19 Special Allowance of Rs.11,250/-and other usual allowances. Tender Notice No.: IDSP/164/2020 –155 (IDSP) Date: 23-05-2020 •The terms and conditions of the services will be those as set Mission Director,Jharkhand Rural Health Mission Society,Department of Health &Family Welfare, Govt. of Jharkhand, forth in theAct,Statutes and Ordinances of the University. Namkum, Ranchi, invites e-Tender from eligible bidders for entering into rate contract for supply of Surgical &Nitrile gloves Blank tender documentswith detailed conditions can be obtained through website http://jharkhandtenders.gov.in and bid should Procedurefor appointment be submitted through e-procurement system only.Hard copies of technical bid and financial bid will not be entertained except Sample, Tender Fee &Earnest Money Deposit (EMD). •Appointment will be made from apanel of names recommended Sr. Particulars Details by aCommittee constituted under the provisions of Central No. Universities Act, 2009. 1 Name of the work Rate contract for Supply of Surgical &Nitrile gloves (1,00,000 •The advertisement and the format of application areavailable on pair each) the websites http://mhrd.gov.in and http://www.curaj.ac.in/ 2 Date of Publication of Tender on website 24-05-2020 •The applications in the prescribed proforma should reach within 3 Date /time for receipt of bids on website Upto 01-06-2020 by 3.00 p.m. 30 days from the dateofthe publicationofthisadvertisement,by 4 Date/Time for opening of Technical bid through website 02-06-2020 at 11.00 a.m. Registered/Speed Post to: 5 Email ID for clarifications [email protected] Deputy Secretary (Central Universities), 6 Tender Document Fee (Non-refundable) Rs. 5,000/- (Rs. Five thousand only) Department of Higher Education, Ministry of HRD, 7 Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) Rs. 50,000/- (Rs. Fifty thousand only) Room No.213, ‘C’ Wing,Shastri Bhawan, NewDelhi-110001 Note: The specified dates and time may change due to abrupt declaration of holidays or any other unforeseen circumstances. “Application for the post of Vice Chancellor,Central University of The same shall be informed through web-portal as and when required. Sd/- Rajasthan”, should be super-scribed on the envelope. Mission Director This Department is not responsible forpostal delay. JRHMS WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM THE SUNDAY EXPRESS,MAY24,2020 5

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This Eid help the Poor in Need

Faced with unprecedented challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Muslim community adopts aunique way of celebrating Eid-al-Fitr that is fulfilling for them as well as rewarding for the weaker sections of society

HE word, Eid al-Fitr stirs alot of moon, the festival is celebrated for one to place,Muslims around the world are ob- choices that we need to makeatthe mo- emotion in the Muslim commu- three days across the globe.Aspecial serving the holy month of Ramadan in a ment to celebrate Eid. Theneed of the nity.But what does it mean ex- prayer is offered on the day of Eid and new type of environment. Forinstance, hour is to help the economically weaker T actly? Literally,the word trans- fasting is forbidden. On contrary,itiscus- many of the typical Ramadan's rituals and sections of society in fulfilling their daily latesto“Festival of Breaking the Fast”. tomary to have ahearty breakfast before traditions have been curtailed this year to needs.Muslims should donate as much as This unique religious festival begins at the people head to perform the special con- limit the spread of the highly contagious possible as ‘Fitr and Zakat’ to help poor start of the month of Shawwal —the gregational Eid prayer. COVID-19 disease.Generally,people fast families survive and live without this fear- tenth month of the lunar Islamic calendar Before performing the special ‘Eid during daylight hours,congregate for ful uncertainty of COVID-19. Donations —and signals the end of the month-long, prayer’, it is obligatory to donate money prayers and share meals as acommunity can include foods,food grains,dry rations, dawn-to-sunset fasting of Ramadan and to the poor and the needy as an act of during this holy month. They have their and other essential items etc.Thepriority can, typically,last for between one to charity called as ‘Zakat-ul-Fitr’. No call to suhoor (pre-dawn meal) and iftar (break- should be to extend the hand to the work- three days.Ramadan is atime to reflect prayer is given for this special ‘Eid prayer’. ing the fast after sunset) together,how- ing-class people and help in whatever spiritually,build communally,and aid This prayer is followed by asermon and ever,the pandemic has altered all this and ways possible. those in need.Theprolonged fasting dur- then asupplication asking for the now people are observing these rituals in- No doubt, the festival should be cele- ing the holy month of Ramadan isn't just almighty’sforgiveness,mercy,peace and dividually or with family at home. brated but we should also takecare of the about food –italso includes abstaining blessings for all living beings across the Things are difficult, indeed, but the cur- government guidelines of social distancing, from taking medications,drinking any liq- world.This religious festival calls upon the rent situation could help put things in per- avoiding overcrowded places,self-isolation uids (including water) and smoking. The Muslim community worldwide to forgive spective during atime of spiritual reflec- etc. It is true that with mosques being holy month is very relevant as it is the time and forget any differences,orhostilities, tion. Forinstance,during Ramadan, the closed, families separated due to the lock- during which Prophet Muhammad re- that might have emerged during the year. Muslims practice the tradition of ZakatAl- down, Muslims will find it difficult to pray ceived the initial revelations of the Quran Thesermon instructs Muslims to perform Fitr.While Zakat involves parting with 2.5 and break the fast together —animpor- —the holy book for the Muslims —at all the rituals of Eid with dedication.After per cent of money saved in ayear to help tant part of Eid-al-Fitr.Nevertheless,itisa around 610AD in Mecca. the ‘Eid Prayer’, Muslims visit their friends, the poor and the needy,Fitr involves the time for celebration and it should be done in Theiconic festival kicks off with full fer- relatives,and acquaintances or hold large Prophet Muhammad. As per scholars, more different than what it has always distribution of around 2.5 kgs of staple away that benefits the poor and needy in vour across the world at sunset on the celebrations at their homes.They also offer Prophet Muhammad is said to have vis- been traditionally.With the imposition of food to the poor to help them celebrate our society so that it is not just arelief to night of the first sighting of the crescent D’uaa —orprayers —atthe gravesite of ited the gravesite of his mother and was the lockdown and tight restrictions in Eid.This idea syncs perfectly well with the them but also afulfilling experience for us. moon. If the moon is not observed imme- their loved ones so they attain peace in moved to tears as he diately after the 29th day of the previous their heavenly abode. prayed for forgiveness of lunar month, then the festival is cele- According to Muslim scholars,Muslims her sins. brated the following day.Depending on visit the gravesites of their family mem- However,this year’s the country and the first sighting of the bers to honour the tradition as upheld by Eid-al-Fitr will be alot

This year,the Eid-al-Fitr will be alot moredifferent than what it has always been traditionally. With the imposition of lockdown, Muslims around the world are observing the holy month of Ramadan in anew type of environment.

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Toll climbs to 949 INTERVIEW: VARSHA GAIKWAD, SCHOOL EDUCATION MINISTER Raut meets Governor, says in Mumbai, 2,608 ‘Schoolhourswillbeshortened,only CM, Koshyari new cases in state like ‘father &son’ onestudentwillbepermittedperdesk’ EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE CORONACOUNT MUMBAI,MAY23 MUMBAI,MAY23 Maharashtra, India’s worst-hit sons. We arerunning an hour- mitted inside school complexes. that the children of migrants SHIV SENAleader and MP Sanjay MUMBAI RECORDED 1,749fresh 47,190 1,577 coronavirus state, is keen to reopen long televisedshowonDD Teachers who have cold, cough who have travelledbacktotheir Raut metthe Governor at Raj cases of coronavirus on Saturday, CASES DEATHS schools gradually from June 15 on- Sahyadri, Balbharti has also de- or fever will be giventhe dayoff. native villages within the state BhavanSaturdayand said rela- justtwo less than the reported 13,404 RECOVERED wards. State’s School Education signedcustomisede-learning so- Therewill be astrict hand hy- can be accommodated in local tionship between Bhagat Singh cases on Friday, whichwas the Minister Varsha Gaikwad speaks lutions, schools have switched giene routine forstudents. Toilets schoolsinthat area. Amorechal- Koshyari and Chief Minister highestsingle-daycount. As 3,48,026 samples have been to Sandeep Ashar on theplans, online. But one thing’s forsure. will be cleanedtwice daily. lenging response would UddhavThackeray are“cordial”, manyas40deaths were also tested as on May23 safetymeasures and newSOPs. E-learning cannotentirelyre- Classes will be disinfected every be forchildren of migrantsfrom like“father-son duo”. recordedinthe city,taking the Excerpts: place classroom experience. day. We’realso examining the other states. While both sides have called toll to 949. Young kids, especially, find it dif- option of holding outdoor classes We plan to map all suchcases the meeting a“courtesy visit”, Overall, in the state, 2,608 health bulletin, 14 deaths were What is your plan regarding ficult to grasp lessons online. But wherever possible. The feasibil- too. School managementswill be Raut’s call on Koshyari comes a fresh cases were recorded, adrop recordedinPune, twoinSolapur, the reopening of schools? we areplanning to appoint ity of identifying spaces within asked to makesurethat they dayafter the Governor raisedob- of morethan 300since the pre- and one eachinVasai-Virar, We’reexamining the option teachers to followupregularly educational complexestosepa- continue to receive education, ei- jections to the recommendation vious day. The total number of Satara, Thane and Nandedcity. of graduallyreopening schools with the parentstocheckhow rate and nurse students, teachers ther by wayofonline classes or by Higher and Technical positive cases in the statehas Of the 60 patientswho died from June 15 onwards, but alot theyare coping with it. We’realso and staffwho fall sickwill be ex- by their accommodation in EducationMinisterUdaySamant nowgone up to 47,190. on Saturday, 41 were men and 19 will depend on the clearance exchanging noteswith other plored.The Diwali vacation cal- schoolsintheirrespective states. to theUGCto cancelthefinalyear The statealso recorded60 women. As manyas29were from the Union Home Ministry. I’mawarethatany states. ender maybeshortenedtomake examsingraduatecourses.Earlier, deaths, three less than the pre- aged above 60, 24 were from the The reopening can be done in a up forlosttime. The lockdown has impacted Thackeray had also skippeda vious day, taking the total num- agegroup of 40 to 59 and seven phasedmanner.Schools outside announcementregarding Will reopening makechildren both the schedule and paper high-levelmeeting calledbythe berofdeaths in the stateto1,577. were aged below40. Of the total, containment zones in non-red thereopeningofschools vulnerable? Howdoyou convince parents assessment work of SSC and Governor to reviewthe Covid-19 To date, 13,404patientshave 36 patients(60 per cent) had zones can open first. Fornon-red maymeetsome Incidence among children to send their children to HSC boardexams. Students situation in the state. recoveredand been discharged high-risk co-morbidities suchas zones in Vidharbha, the proposal resistance.It’snot has so farbeen lowerascom- school? arenow worriedabout “The relations between the from various hospitals in the diabetes, hypertension and heart is to reopen schools from June 26 unexpected.That’swhy paredto adults, but we do notin- I’m awarethat anyannounce- collegeadmissions. What are Governor and the chief minister state. disease. onwards. But we will firsttake weareplanningtoinvolve tend to take anychances. The ment regarding the reopening of the plans? arecordialandtheyhaveloveand Currently, 4,85,623 people Of 3,48,026 laboratorysam- severalsteps to maintain asafe plan is to reopen the schools schools maymeetsome resist- The futureofmorethan 16 respect foreachother.Their rela- areinhome quarantine and ples, 2,98,696 have tested nega- environment forthe students parentsandteachersin slowlyinamanner that lowers ance. It’s notunexpected.That’s lakh children who appeared for tionship is likeafather-son duo 33,545 areininstitutional quar- tive and 47,190 have tested pos- when theyreturn to school. thedecision-making the risk forthe children and the whyweare planning to involve their SSC exams, and another 12 and it will remain likethat. There antine. According to the state itive forthe virus until Saturday. While schools have switchedto process” teachers. We areformulating parentsand teachers in the deci- lakh, who sat forthe HSC exams, arenodifferences between the e-learning in the big cities, our newSOPs forschools. Schools sion-makingprocess. is at stake. Despitefacing several two,” Raut told mediapersons. bigger concern at the moment is will have to followstrict hygiene Next week,I’ll be holding an issues, our teachers and my de- Raut also downplayed continuity of education of poor ately. We won’t reopen any guidelines and social distancing interaction with the parentsto partment’s staffare doing their Samant’s letter stating the minis- District authorities children from rural and tribal ar- school before undertaking a will have to be maintainedatall hear their suggestions and objec- best to announce the resultsas terhas nottaken adecision in the easwho do nothaveaccess to a proper disinfection in even those cost. tions to the idea. We mayeven quicklyaspossible.We’veal- matter yet. “Samant has ex- smartphone or live in areas with- that arenot being usedfor Covid- conduct asnap survey. lowedteachers to travel foras- pressedhis opinion and has not gear up as stranded out internetconnectivity. 19 measures. What will apostCovid school Attendance to school might not sessment-related work. takenthe decision. Governor,asa Classroom lessons arevital for look like? be compulsorytostart with. Moderators have also been per- chancellor of the universities, has them. What about schools in Maintaining aphysical dis- mitted to carry answer papers expressedhis view,”hesaid. people return from Mumbai, other redzones? tance between studentsatall Howdoyou pull back home. On Friday, Koshyari wroteto But some of the campuses are Theymay have to wait longer. times will be key. We’redis- children who have gone back Normally, HSC resultscome Thackeray asking him to resolve being usedasCovid-19 We’recloselymonitoring the sit- cussing running of classes in two to their native places? Howdo out by the end of May, while the the issue of conducting the final red to non-red zones quarantine facilities? uation but the situation needs to shifts or calling one batchofstu- youminimise dropouts? SSC resultsare out by June 10 or year exams in the largerinterest We’recompiling alistofall improveagreat deal before we dentseveryalternateday.School We’ll needtobemoreprag- so. Our effortswill be to ensure of students.TermingSamant’slet- linked to afamilythat returned suchcampuses. The district can plan the reopening of schools hours will be shortened. Only matic. Noteveryone who has that the resultsare out by the terasviolationof UGCguidelines, SADAFMODAK from Mumbai in April. In neigh- Collectors and Chief Executive in Mumbai. While the schools re- one student will be permitted to gone to their native place will re- thirdweek of June. Our aim is to the Governor stated he wasnot MUMBAI,MAY21 bouring Ratnagiri, Collector Officers of zilla parishads are main closed, our teachers aredo- sit on one desk.Therewill be no turn immediately. So we arein- complete the FYJC admission apprisedbySamant before rec- LaxminarayanMishrasaidnearly helping us with it. Obviously, ing their best to makesurethe morning assemblies or sporting stead planning tie-ups with the process, whichisonline, ommending to cancel the exam- FROM SETTINGupvillage-level 40,000peoplehadreturnedtothe theycan’t be put to use immedi- studentsdonot miss out on les- activities. Parentswon’t be per- local administrations to ensure by Julyend. ination to the UGC. committees to arranging home- district since March.The district quarantine facilities in fields, dis- has recorded135 positive cases. trict administrations in non-red “Initially, people would ques- zones aregearing up forchal- tion whyoutsiders should be al- In Palghar, towns &shops open but demand still under lockdown lenges as those strandedinred lowedfromMumbai and Pune zones return home. since therewereconcerns that stateborder.Theindustrialtown- begin regular services, my busi- According to him, with the mon- addedtotheir stocklist, gaily moneyinthe hands of very poor At present, deputy police theycould be infected and it KAVITHAIYER ship of Boisar wore adeserted ness is crippled,” Bhagat says.He sooncoming,demandwilldryup printed masksfor Rs 20 apiece. adivasi families. commissioners in cities and dis- would lead to an outbreak.We DAHANU/PALGHAR,MAY23 look,with muchofits migrant plansto continuepurchasingfrom completely in June. He says he is “That’s the onlything selling,” he “Thefishermenhave returned trict collectors in rural areas are beganpersuading people that population having left, while elsewhere, but that renders his facing ashortage of labourers at says.AWarli adivasi, his family- early.Others who areseasonal granting permission forintra- those returning have nowhereto ON JUSTthe second daysince Palghar town, having enjoyed goods costlier,and he expects hisSriAdityanathCementAgency, ownedland is onlyasmall safety labourers at brickkilns have also statetraveltostrandedstudents, go but return home. Forthe first shoppingandunrestrictedmove- brisk sales on Friday, the weekly therewill be no buyers. “People withsixorsevenofhisusualdaily netand Ladkyaand his son de- returnedearly,sowecan expect pilgrims as well as migrant work- fewdays,weevenhavetoarrange mentof peoplewere permittedin market day, retreated behind arestrugglingto eat,obviouslyno- wage workershavingreturnedto pend on the shop fortheir liveli- them to run out of savings in the ers, exceptthose from contain- food, ration and waterfor them. non-municipalcorporationareas, downedshutters as shoppers body’s going to buy newunder- BiharandUttarPradeshearly this hood.“Theschoolsbeingshuthas coming months. That’s when we ment zones. Now, we have seen that neigh- the reality dawnedonshop own- stayed away on Saturday. wearunlessit’sanabsoluteneces- month. Shah expectstohaveto hitmebadly, nouniformsaleswill could see some moredistress,” Districts, including Ratnagiri, bours arewarming up to them af- ers, traders, mechanics, tailors, In Palghar city,Nagendra sity,” he adds. waituntil2021beforemakingany take place.We’rejuststayingopen she says.Conversely, 250 to 300 Sindhudurgand Parbhani, have terafew days and help them with hawkersandgigeconomyprofes- Bhagat is aroadside vendor of un- Bhagatdoesnotknowthatthe fresh profits. to catchwhatever little business workerswholeftTalasarifortheir recordedCovid-19cases among groceries and food by leaving it at sionals, suchasplumbers and dergarments. He has takenaloan men’s innerwear market has In Dahanu, KPatel of is available,” he says.Heishope- native place have also leftbehind those returning from Mumbai their door till the quarantine pe- electricians, that the road to nor- to restartbusiness with some shown poor performance since Geetanjali Associates is getting ful of selling afew knee-length some jobs forlocal residents, she and Pune in April and May. riod is over,” said Police Patil malcy afterthe lockdown will be newgoods he procured with dif- latelastyear,asign of shrinking labourers to unload atruckofce- skirts as theyare popular during adds. In March,asrestrictionsbe- Shakil Deshmukh from avillage along one, especiallyintribal- ficulty from traders passing disposable incomes, but he ac- ment bags that has justarrived. the monsoon. At MGNREGAsites and else- gantobeimposedinthe statebe- in Buldhana, whichhas 39 posi- dominatedPalghardistrictwhere through the region. Backatwork knowledgedthatbusinesswasal- “Wehaveafew orders, but our The border taluka town of where, women arehardatwork. fore alockdown, some working tive cases. seasonal unemployment and since Friday, Bhagat expectsfur- readydownbefore thelockdown. trade is limited to local home re- Talasari, however, will resume Shobha MohiteofSiddhivinayak in cities returnedtotheir villages. In some villages, shutting landlessness arecommon. ther deep losses before things “Now I’m justsitting all day, nota pairs,localminorconstructionre- economic activities onlyon Small Savings Group in Ashagad Local residentshad then down of shops and marketsafter In Dahanu town, while shops startlooking up, at leastuntil the single customer,” he says. quirements. Onlyabsolutelyes- Monday. Thetownwasputunder villagenear Dahanu reopened takentobarricading entrypoints apositive case is detected also selling sweets,friedsnacks,gar- resumption of local train service, The absence of demand cuts sential worksare being afew additional days’lockdown theirbreakfastsnacksoutlet,dish- to villages. adds to the resistance by local res- ments, construction material, alifelineforhis business and that across sectors. In Palghar,young undertakennow,andthoseorders as acautionarymeasureafter 30- ing out poha and vadas, with a District officials said the ad- idents. Superintendent Harssh hardwareand electrical goods of lakhs of other small traders in Sharay Shah,whorunsthefamily will disappear in June,” he says. oddlocalresidentsweretracedas small bottle of sanitiser at the de- ministration was“better-pre- Poddar said as the cases beganin- were all open, business wasslug- the suburbs. businessof sellingcementandre- InGanjadvillagenearDahanu, contactsoftraders and workers, livery counter.“Justwatching pared”now to handle the resist- creasing, manyshowedhostility gishonSaturday. InTalasaritown, “I usuallybuy my goods from inforcementmaterialforconcrete, LadkyaRohankar has been atai- who tested positive in Vapi, everybody using sanitiser fright- ance shown by villageresidents, towardsthose returning from shops remain under an extended Dadar,riding the train backand says cementretailisnowdoomed lor since the early 1980s, slowly Gujarat.TehsildarSwatiGhongde ens me,” she says,“but we’re including towardsstrandedmi- cities, including putting up barri- lockdown aftersome local resi- forth.Infact,manyotherswhosell untilDiwali.“Weare seeingabout establishing alittle shop from says worksunder the employ- hopeful that food is something grant workers returning afterlos- cades at the entryofvillages. dentswerefound to be contacts low-pricedgarmentsinDadar 30percentof normalbusinessfor whereheretails school uniform, ment guarantee scheme areun- that will bring people to the ing their livelihood in cities. Beed, whichhad notrecordeda of Covid-19patientsacross the alsouselocaltrains.Sountiltrains this time of the year,” he says. colourful skirts,sarees and, just derwayeverywhere, to put some stores.” While manyhavetravelled single case till April and had only with permission, workers five cases till lastweek,now has strandedwithout moneyorwork 26 cases. FISHERFOLK HIT ROUGH WEATHER VIDARBHA HIGHEST have also walked on foot or “Wespoketoresidentswho hitchedrides in trucks to return thought that putting up barri- Enrollment under NREGA home, in some cases without cades wasthe waytostopthe dis- ‘Never seen such difficult times in 45 years’ requisitepermission from ease. We persuadedthem that it the authorities. wasillegal to do so and those re- to avail the PMMSY, it will first picks up amid reverse District collectors along with turning were being medically MAYURAJANWALKAR have to go through the rigours of police superintendentshaveset checkedand put in institutional MUMBAI,MAY23 procedures, that maytakeupto migration, lockdown up committees in eachvillage or home quarantine as required,” five months. The scheme will im- calledgramsuraksha dal or gram Poddar said. He said no FIRs were AT THE Koldongri fish market in Local fishermen plementedinatwo-prongedway scheme(EGS)inMarch andApril. niyantran samiti. These comprise registeredinsuchcases as it Andheri(East)thisweek,amid- rowbackhome –CentralSectorSchemeinwhich SHUBHANGIKHAPRE Thelocalgrampanchayatsandru- the sarpanch, the police patil or would provecounter-productive dle-aged fisherwoman triedto from Thane theCentrewillhave a100percent MUMBAI,MAY23 raladministrationwere busywith civilianpolicerepresentativesand forthe lawand order of avillage convince acustomer to buy two creek aftertheir shareandtheCentrallySponsored the pandemic and the necessary members of the tantamukti but committees were directedto lotsof freshprawnsinsteadof one day’s catch. Scheme (CSS) in whichthe bur- ATOTALof 3.82lakhworkers,the initiative to mobilise people for samiti, whichisanalternative dis- keep an eyeout forsuchactsby and promisedagood price. Amit Chakravarty den will be borne by the Centre highestinthestate,have enrolled work underMGNREGAworkonly puteredressal forum, along with local residentsand violations by Manda Maushi (aunt), as she is andstateina60:40arrangement. under the Mahatma Gandhi startedmid-April,”asourceinthe some other local residents. those directedto remain in quar- fondlycalledbythe other fisher- Forthe CSS, three heads will have National RuralEmployment EGSsaid.Officialshave attributed Officials said since the juris- antine, including alerting district women in the market,located Reshma Shaikh, ayounger trawlers ashore. to becreatedandapprovedby the GuaranteeAct(MGNREGA)inthe the increase in enrollment to the diction of asingle police station authorities if someone snuckinto verycloseto atrafficjunction,says fisherwoman, who travels from Purse Seine Fishermen finance department, presented backwardVidarbharegiontillthe reverse migration from cities. extendedtoasmanyas60vil- avillagewithout apass. theyhaveonlyafew moredays of Madhislandto Andherito sellher WelfareAssociation chairman before the assemblyand it would thirdweek of May, dataobtained While the highestnumber of lages, the committees were made Afamilyofconstruction business. “AtaJune mahina aala ki catch, supports afamilyoffour. GaneshNakhwafeelsthePradhan take four to five months to obtain fromthestategovernmentstated. labourers were enrolledunder in-charge of ensuring that quar- workers, who travelledfrom sagla bandh (OnceJunearrives, “Monsoonisalmosthere.Nowfor Mantri MatsyaSampada Yojana all clearances, an official said. Though demand forjob among MGNREGAfromthe11 districtsof antine wasfollowedbythose re- Bhiwandi to their villagein everything will be closed),” three months I’ll have to sit at (PMMSY)underwhichtheCentre He, however, addedthat al- the rural poor in the region is Vidarbha region, atotal of 76,651 turning. The committees were Ratnagiri by walking or hitching she says. home.NotthatIwantto butwhat made an allocation of Rs 20,050 though fishing activity mayhave muchhigher, Vidarbha has fared workershave beenenrolledinthe also directed to makealistof rides earlier this month, said they Forthose who take their option do Ihave? Iamselling croreforfisheriesandaquaculture beenhitamidthelockdown,with better than Marathwada, also a coastalKonkanregion(excluding places within the village, includ- reportedtolocal authorities seafood seriously, the market is whatever little Ican and hoping recentlymay justbeold wine in a reducedwater pollution, it has backwardregion, where71,322 the twodistrictsofMumbai City ing schools and community cen- themselves. “Afterwewere openthreedays aweekisamuch- that this moneyand our savings newbottle. “I am still awaiting a been agood time forfish breed- workers have gotjobs under the and Mumbai Suburbs). The re- tres, to setupquarantine facilities. checkedand showednosymp- neededservice.Whilenooneen- will somehowhelp us tide over loanunderthethreeyearold(Blue ing and fish seeding that, he said, employment guarantee scheme. sponseinfive districtsoftheNorth “Eachvillage-levelcommittee toms, we were kept in aschool for forces or monitors distancing the next three months,” she says. Revolution) scheme. Who de- wouldensurethereisnoshortage Atotal of 6.01lakh workers Maharashtraregion, meanwhile, is responsible forthose entering, 14 days,and food wasalso pro- norms, even in one of the busiest The economic relief package signedthe newscheme? Do they of seafood in the marketsinthe have beenregisteredunderMGN- wasmoderateat54,708, with including ensuring that quaran- videdtous. We arenow backin suburbs of Mumbai, the city with announcedbytheCentreforfish- evenhave knowledge of whatcan months ahead. REGAinthestatetillmid-May, the higher demand forjobs in tribal tine is followedand also to see our homes,” afamilymember the highestnumber of Covid-19 eries means nothing to the reallyhelpfishermenatatimelike DamodarTandel,presidentof datastated. belts.Inthefive prosperoussugar that thereisnodiscontent among said. casesinIndia,buyersself-regulate, woman in the yellowsaree, cov- this,” he laments. Nakhwahas Akhil MaharashtraMachcimar While enrollment under belt districtsofWestern residents,” said SindhudurgPolice In Kalamb taluka of Beed, everysooftenredefining‘safedis- ering her face with agreen cloth nowtaken50fishermenonboard Kriti Samiti, however, said the MGNREGAbetween March and Maharashtra, enrollment has Superintendent Dikshit Gedam. committee member Anant tance’ as it suitsthem. mask.“Is anymoneygoing to and startedreaching consumers stategovernment hastime and June, the pre-monsoon period, is been the lowest at 16,082. He addedthat the district had fur- Waghmaresaid over 400people Thereare men and women, come intoour bank accounts? If directlythrough e-commerce again announcedrelief packages generallyhigher across the state, “In the wake of Covid-19, in- ther been dividedin30zones, had returnedfromMumbai and wearing face masks, some wear- not, then the scheme is of no use platforms. “Wehavedone this on fordistressedfarmers will now absence of drought and an ex- terstate migrantsare returning looselybasedondivisions made Pune since March 17 to date. ingfaceshieldsandeveryonetak- to us,” Shaikh says. ourownandwe have beenableto have to do the same forits fisher- tendedlockdown had meant a fromurbanto ruralareas.Keeping during the elections formainte- “People have been reading about ingextracaretoensuretheydon’t Twocyclonic storms lastyear send 50 tonnes of fish directlyto men.“WhathappenedtotheBlue poor response forthe scheme till this trend in mind, clear instruc- nance of lawand order. the rise in number of cases in brush pasteachother.Unlikea kept fishermen offthe sea for consumers,” said Nakhwa. Revolution scheme? We haven’t mid-April. On April 4, therewere tions have been giventoenrol all Gedam also said apolice ve- Mumbai and assume that every- quintessential fish market,the about 60-65 days,almosthalving The statefisheries commis- receivedapennyunder it. We are 19,409 workers and 3,393 short- those who aredemanding jobs,” hicle in eachzone patrolledeach one travelling from thereisin- Koldongri crowdofbuyers was their catch. While therewereno sioner had lastmonth estimated sourcing ration supplies forpoor listedworks under the scheme. StateMinisterfor Employment villagemultiple times aday and fected.Since arrangementsare thin and the market rather quiet. curbsonfishing even during the the actual loss of fish production fisherman through our society. Thenumbers,however, soaredto Guarantee and Horticulture, interacted with local residents made forthem out in the fields In 45 years that she has been sell- lockdown afterApril 15,logistical over March,April and Maytobe What have fishermen got in all 1.40lakhworkersand23,026jobs Sandipan Bhumre, said. The EGS over issues theywerefacing. away from residential areas, local ing fish at the market,Manda problems and closureofmajor 80 per cent of the expected pro- theseyearsfromthestategovern- across the statebyApril 23. department estimates the work- Sindhudurghas recorded10 residentsare less apprehensive,” Maushi says therehasn’t been a marketsinMumbai had dented duction. ment? It will have to think of us “Covid-19had itsimpact on forcewillfurtherincreasefurther positive casessofar, includingone Waghmaresaid. time morerestless. businessforcingmanytopulltheir Stategovernmentofficialssaid now.” the employment guarantee betweenmid-Mayandend-June. WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM THE SUNDAY EXPRESS,MAY24,2020 EXPRESS NETWORK 7

Mumbai man held Amphan brings down trees, experts say poor planning TISS withholds results after threat to director Kanak Das said, “It is one of over 70 students who ‘blow up’ UP CM SANTANUCHOWDHURY& of the largest banyantrees in the RAVIKBHATTACHARYA world. Even during cyclones Fani KOLKATA,MAY23 and Bulbul, no major damage are yet to clear dues EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE wasdone to it. But this time, it MUMBAI,MAY23 THE GREEN BanyanTreein has been severely damaged. stitutecannotaffordtowaive off Howrah’s Shibpur has buffeted Thereare other rare trees which ABHAGORADIA close to acrore on ayearly basis.” THE STATEAnti-Terrorism Squad at leasttwo recent cyclones – have been uprootedinthe gar- MUMBAI,MAY23 In astatement released on Saturdayarresteda25-year- Fani and Bulbul. But aday after den. We aretrying to see if the Saturday, the students’ union al- old man forallegedly threaten- Amphan battered Kolkataand tree can be healed,” said Das, AT LEAST70second-year stu- leged lackoftransparency in ad- ing to “blowup” Uttar Pradesh other parts of West Bengal on adding that the tree had lostits dentsenrolledinpost-graduate ditional chargesbeing leviedon Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath. May20, authorities took stock main trunk to twocyclones, in courses at the Tata Instituteof students. Studentsclaim dining The ATSidentifiedthe sus- and found that 41 prop rootsand 1864 and 1867. Social Sciences (TISS), who were hall fees have been increasedat pect as Kamran Khan and said he 30 branches of the 270-year-old Himadri Shekhar Debnath, to graduatethis year,now find the lastminute, and three days wasarrestedfromMHADA tree laystrewnall over or were former additional director of the themselvesinaspot. The man- afterthe resultsweretobede- ColonyinChunabhatti. damaged. Botanical Survey of India and for- agement has withheld the re- clared,onMay 19. According to police, in the The same morning, several mer director of the Indian sultsofthose who have not Further,the members said early hours of Friday, Khan sent a tree-linedavenues of Kolkata— According to the KolkataMunicipal Corporation, over 5,000trees were uprooted. Express Botanic Garden, blamedpoor cleared their dues. In an earlier that the Students’ Union 2019- WhatsApp messagetothe social Park Street,Beadon Street, tree management forthe crisis. communication, the administra- 20 has also been arbitrarilydis- media helpline deskatLucknow Central Avenue and Southern “Thereisnoproper pruning tion had asked the studentsto solvedbythe administration. A police headquarters, following Avenue —had turnedintoa ciallyinKolkataand the Blaming wrong selection of Sundarbans mangroves, critical mechanism. If the trees had been clear the dues. Fourth semester mail by the dean of student af- whichhesaid Adityanath wasa graveyardoffallen trees suchas Sunderbans, whichwereamong plantsand poor urban planning to the unique ecology of the re- prunedbeforethe season of cy- resultsweredeclared on May19. fairs said the union needs to “threat to acommunity and he peepal, Ashoka and banyan, the worstaffected. forthe loss, Duttasaid, “Thereare gion and whichworkasabuffer clones and rains, the damage Severalstudentsaswell as hand over charge before May25. wasgoing to kill him with a some of whichwereclose to a “Thereisless than 2per cent underground waterlines, elec- to cyclones and storms covers, could have been minimised. the students’ union has opposed Dissolving the union amid unre- bomb”. centuryold. green coverinKolkata. Out of trical wires, cable lines, gaslines too, were damaged. BeforeDurga Puja everyyear,we the move.The union earlier de- solvedpending issues and un- Police filedanFIR under rel- According to the Kolkata about 5lakh trees in the city,over and sewage lines. So the trees Talking about the damagein see branches of trees being cut mandedthe administration certainty regarding the future evant sections of the Indian Municipal Corporation (KMC), as 5,000 have fallen. That maynot planted on pavementscould not Sunderbans, Chief Minister unscientifically, mostlyalong the waiveoff outstanding fees of academic course will affect the Penal Code and the IT Act. Amphan hit the city with wind be abig number,but some of the have had astrong base. Besides, MamataBanerjee said, side facing the road. That dis- graduating studentswho areun- largerstudent body directly, said “Taking note of the serious- speeds of 130kmphand more, trees that fell were very old and the selectionofspecies wasnot “Mangroves were destroyed in turbs the balance of the tree,” able to pay. Alistwith names of the statement.The union’s re- ness of the threat, the Uttar over 5,000 trees were uprooted. had alarge canopy. The Great right. Top-heavy trees like hugenumbers. Their restoration said Debnath. over 70 studentswas shared questtoextend the duration of Pradesh Special Task Force(STF) While severalfell on houses, the BanyanTree, forinstance, was banyan, Ashoka, neem, royal and planting is very important. Bonani Kakkar,Founder with the authorities. Majority of Students’ Union 2019-20 has not startedtracing the location of the others layacross roads, blocking spread over 4.67acres. It will poinciana, copper pod, peepal Onlymangroves can save President of the NGOPUBLIC, the studentswho were unable to metwith aresponse yet. caller,following whichhewas trafficand snapping electricity, take about 10 to 15 years to get etcwereusedtoline avenues. Sundarbans.” whichdeals with environmen- paythe fees belonged to SC, ST “The resultsofsecond se- located at Chunabhatti in telephone and broadband cables. backsome of the green cover Also, since proper distance was Talking about the damageto talissues, says that as Kolkatare- and OBC categories with alow mesterstudentswill be declared Mumbai,” said an official on con- Experts nowsay it will take that waslostinthe cyclone,” said notmaintainedbetween trees, the Great BanyanTree, whichis builds itsgreen cover, it musten- familyincome that has been fur- in June, and theyhavealso been dition of anonymity. at least10to15years to bring Kolkata-basedenvironmentalist their rootsnever went toodeep.” spread across 4.67acres in surethat big trees arenot ther hitdue to the lockdown, the party to the election process that Police said the Kalachowkie backthe lostgreen space, espe- Subhas Dutta. Besides Kolkata, the Howrah’s Indian Botanic Garden, planted in small lanes. union representative stated in ledtothe formation of students unit of the ATSwas deployedand the mail to TISS director Shalini union. Even if our academic year the caller wasarrested. “He has Bharat. However, dean of stu- is over,theirs is not. We wish to been handedovertothe UP STF. dent affairs Asha Banu, through continue working in our capacity The caller will be producedbe- Large remdesivir clinical trial in US shows new promise an email to the union said, forsecond semesterstudents,” fore the courtfor transit remand “Seeking relaxation in the name said student union president on Sundayand then he shall be ing boardmade the recommen- by the biopharma company Covid-19disease. tinue to improvepatient out- of Covid is highlyunfair.The in- BhattaRam. takentoUP,”anofficer said. ABANTIKAGHOSH dation to unblind the resultsto Gilead Sciences Inc., has been In an earlier, truncated study comes in Covid-19.” NEWDELHI,MAY23 the trial team members from the previouslytestedinhumans publishedinThe Lancet medical Meanwhile, India reporteda MAHARASHTRA NIAID, who subsequentlyde- with Ebola virus disease, and has journal, Chinese researchers had newhigh of 6,654fresh cases on 2,600 more ATRIAL fundedbythe National cidedtomakethe resultspublic. shown promise as adrugagainst reportedtheycould notfind any Saturdaymorning, taking the to- Coaching faculty tops CET for 6th time InstituteofAllergy and “Giventhe strength of the re- Middle EastRespiratory “statisticallysignificant clinical talnumber of cases to 1,25,101. Shramik Specials Infectious Diseases (NIAID) in sultsabout remdesivir,these Syndrome (MERS) and Severe benefits” of the drug. Therewere137 deaths, taking waytoMBA and MMS courses in the United States has found that findings were deemedtobeof AcuteRespiratorySyndrome The NEJM study flagged the the toll to 3,720. ABHAGORADIA government colleges and insti- in 10 days: Rlys the broad-spectrum investiga- immediateimportance forthe (SARS), both of which, likeCovid- high mortality despiteuse of Health SecretaryPreeti MUMBAI,MAY23 tutes, increasedthis year as com- tional antiviral drug remdesivir careofpatientsstill participat- 19,are causedbycoronaviruses. remdesivir. Sudan had areviewmeeting pared to the last, the perform- can speeduprecovery in Covid- ing in the trial as well as forthose The drug is under testing for “These preliminaryfindings with senior stateand municipal AFACULTY member of acoach- ance of studentshas seen a AVISHEKGDASTIDAR 19 patientsrequiring oxygen outside the trial who might ben- specific treatment of Covid-19, supportthe use of remdesivir officials from the 11 municipal ing institute, Shashank Prabhu drastic drop. NEWDELHI,MAY23 therapy. efit from treatmentwith remde- and is seen as one of the most forpatientswho arehospi- areas whichhavehigh case load from Dombivli(East), Mumbai, While lastyear,20students The resultsofthe trial were sivir,” the researchers reported promising therapies againstthe talisedwith Covid-19and re- of Covid-19. These municipal ar- secured the firstrank in the state had obtainedmarksin the range THE RAILWAYS has planned considered encouraging enough in The NewEngland Journal of disease. Six major trials or stud- quiresupplemental oxygen eas areinMaharashtra, Tamil common entrance test (CET), of 151 to 175out of 200, this year, 2,600Shramik Specials forthe to warrant publication even as Medicine on Friday. ies involving remdesivir arecur- therapy. However, givenhigh Nadu, Gujarat, Delhi, Madhya with 99.99 percentile. This is the onlyfour studentssecured next 10 days afterrunning asim- the trial wasongoing. The estimates of mortality by rentlyunder way, including the mortality despitethe use of Pradesh, West Bengal, and sixth time he has toppedthe marks in this bracket.Those se- ilarnumberover23days.Railway “Preliminaryresultsofthe 14 days were 7.1% with remde- WorldHealth Organisation's remdesivir,itisclear that treat- Rajasthan, and account for70 exam. curing marks in the bracket of BoardChairman VKYadavsaid trial suggestthat a10-daycourse sivir and 11.9% with placebo. (WHO's) Solidarity Trial, under ment with an antiviral drug per cent of India’s active case “Since the CET cell doesn’t re- 123to150 also nearly halvedas the services will continue as long of remdesivir wassuperior to The National Instituteof whichitislikelytobeusedin alone is notlikelytobesuffi- load. lease itsquestion papers or an- compared to lastyear,from677 as migrantsneedthem. “Wewill placebo in the treatment of hos- Allergy and Infectious Diseases Indian patientsaswell. cient,” the researchers said. It waspointed out that test- swer sets,Iappear forthe exam studentsto392. Studentssecur- continue to run the Shramik pitalisedpatientswith Covid-19. is partofthe National Institutes Earlier this month, the US “Futurestrategies”, theysaid, ing needs to steppedupinsome to getafeel of the questions and ing marks in the bracket of 101 Specials as long as migrantsneed This benefit wasseen in the of Health (NIH), an agency of the Food and Drug Administration “should evaluateantiviral agents municipal areas to ensureearly that helps me while Iamcoach- to 125reducedfrom5,013 to them,” Yadavsaid on Saturdayat number of days to recovery... US Department of Health and (FDA) authorisedemergency use in combination with other ther- detection of cases, timelyclini- ing students,” he said. 3,924. Resultsfor MBA/MMS CET the government’s official media Even though the trial wasongo- Human Services. of remdesivir fortreatment of apeutic approaches or combina- cal management, and areduc- Even as the number of stu- 2020 were announcedbythe briefing on the issue of migrants. ing, the dataand safetymonitor- Remdesivir,manufactured adultsand children with severe tions of antiviral agentstocon- tion in fatality rate. dentstaking the CET,the gate- stateCET cell on Saturday. Thesetrainshave transported around 36 lakh migrantstotheir homestatessofar. Asimilarnum- berisexpected to be movedover HC: Gujarat should pay or Rlys the next 10 days on boardtrains bound for16destination states, including Assam, UP,Bihar,West must waive migrants’ fare Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Odisha, Rajasthan and others. said in the report. Railways haskept rakesready EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Thereportstatedthatgovern- at itsdivisions forintra-state AHMEDABAD,MAY23 mentsofOdisha, Uttar Pradesh movement of the stranded. “We and Tamil Nadu have agreedto have issuedinstructions to run THEGUJARAThighcourthassaid deposit travelling chargeswith trains formovement within the thatthestategovernmentshould the Railways. statesaswell,uponrequestsfrom bear the fare of the migrantsre- Meanwhile, asurvey con- states,” Yadavsaid. turning to their home states, or ductedby thelabourdepartment, Another 200mail or express the Railways should provide a acopyofwhichwas annexedto trains will be introducedonJune waiver. the report, has shown that half of 1andsourcesindicatedthatserv- Thiscomesafterthestategov- the migrantsinGujarat arebased ices mayresume next month, ernment told the courtonFriday in and around Surat. adding to the congestion on that since severalmigrantshad Achild looksout of the door The reportput the total num- routes. Of the 2,600trains so far, come to the stateontheir own, of atrain at Lucknow’s Char berofmigrantsinGujarat at 22.5 nearly 80percenthave goneto UP provisions of the Inter-state Bagh station on Saturday. lakh,“priorto thembeingallowed (1,246)andBihar(804),andmost MigrantWorkmen(Regulationof Vishal Srivastav to return to their native states”. of the trains begantheir journey Employment and Conditionsof “Total number of inter-state from Gujarat, Railways said. Service)Act1979thatcovereddis- migrant workers from other Railways has addeda“dash- placementallowanceandjourney teredmigrant workers under the states, in and around Surat (i.e. board” in itsinternal softwareto chargesdid notapplytothem. said Act. Thereare 7,512workers South Gujarat) is approximately monitor the movement of Shra- Thestategovernmentsaidthis registeredundertheAct.Basedon 11.5lakh…Totalnumberof inter- miktrainsandorderedofficersto inareportfiledbeforethecourtin the available data, thereare statemigrant workers, in the rest be present in train control offices connectionwithseveralpetitions around 22.5 lakh migrant work- of the state: approximately11 round-the-clocktomanagethem. by advocateAnandYagnikwhich ers across the state. Mostofthem lakh,”saidthereport,citingasur- An Indian Express analysis arebeingheardaspartofapublic have come on their ownand pro- veybythe labour department. earlier found that around 50 per interestlitigation related to the visions forpayment of travelling The reportalso said that by cent of Shramik trains took mi- managementof theCovid-19out- allowance and displacement al- May31, only1.5 lakh migrant grantsfromredzonesto areasun- break in the state. lowance as required by Sections workerswouldbeleftinSurat,“of der green and orangecategories. “The provisions of the 14 and15 of theInterstate Migrant which1,15,000 have already re- FULLREPORTON Interstate Migrant Workers Act Workers Act, 1979 is notapplica- sumedworkinvarious factories www.indianexpress.com 1979 areapplicable to the regis- bleto them,”thegovernmenthad and industries”. WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THESUNDAY EXPRESS,MAY24,2020 Crude Wa tch OIL ENDS WITH WEEKLYGAINS NewYork: Global oil prices end the week with gains, with the benchmark Brent gaining gained 8per cent and the US We st Texas Intermediate rising 13 per cent,even as some analysts said they 8 ECONOMY REUTERS mayhavecome too far,too fast.

RISE IN COVID-19 CASES HINDERING OVERSEAS PASSENGER FLIGHT OPERATIONS Statescompete to bring in sweeping Hopefulofstartinggoodpercentageof changes to labour laws, ‘competition to attract capital’, say analysts internationalopsbeforeAug-Sept:Puri AANCHALMAGAZINE STATE-WISECHANGESTOWORKHOURS NEWDELHI,MAY23 State Establishments Maximum Maximum Time weekly daily period March 23. regularflightsfromIndia.Butfrom WITH AT least10states moving workhours workhours (months) PRANAVMUKUL Asenior governmentofficial, ourend,wewillexercisethehigh- to amend their labour laws ahead Gujarat Allfactories From48hrs From9hrs 3 NEWDELHI,MAY23 Govtsworldover on condition of anonymity,said estcaution,” the officialsaid, of restarting economic activities to72hrs to12hrs thattheCivilAviationMinistryhas addingthat the Ministrywasalso postthe COVID-19lockdown, an HP Allfactories From48hrs From9hrs 3 EVENAStheCentrehintedatare- lookingtoprevent been monitoring the situation in taking lessons from the Vande overhaul in the central labour to72hrs hrsto12hrs sumption of almostall interna- countriesliketheUS,theUK,Italy, Bharat repatriation mission. laws is being seen in the offing. It Rajasthan Somefactories# From48hrs From9hrs 3 tional commercial passenger secondwave the UAE, Singapore,Thailand,etc Theofficialsaidthatanumber is learnt that moststatesare ex- to72hrs hrsto12hrs flightsbeforeAugust-September, to assesswhetheritwillbesafeto of factors neededtobetakeninto pected to move towardsex- Haryana Allfactories NotspecifiedFrom9hrs 2 officialsintheCivilAviationMinis- INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL is considered to be one of the resumecommercialoperationsto account,includingwhetheritwill tendedworking hours and are hrsto12hrs UP Allfactories From48hrs From9hrs 3** tryhavealludedtothepossibility chief sources of the virus spread and giventhat many thesedestinations. besafeforairlinecrew to beinlay- likelytofollowthe model of sus- to72hrs hrsto12hrs of theriseinnumberof COVID-19 countries arestill working on flattening the curveof Anumber of European coun- over at ahotel in an overseas des- pension of labour laws likeUttar Uttarakhand Somefactories* Maximum6Twoshifts 3 casesinIndiaactingasahindrance number of COVID-19-positive cases, restriction on tries including France, Germany, tinationand whether it will be Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, daysof of12hrseach inthecountry’splanto allowover- international travel is among the biggesttools at the Italy, Belgium, etcare likelytobe- safetobring passengers in large with the Centreaccordingthe workaweek seas flight operations. disposal of governmentstocontain the outbreak,orto ginrelaxationof travelrestrictions numbers from thoselocations to requisitebacking forthe changes MP Allfactories Notspecified Notspecified 3 On Saturday, Union Civil prevent asecond wave. nextmonth,butsomenationslike India. following whichitwill move to- Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Giventhis, governmentsare expected to exercise Canada arestill adhering to strict Inthethirdphaseof theVande wardsanoverhaulofcentral Note:#All factories distributing essential goods and manufacturing essential goods Puri saidthat India willtry to extreme caution while opening up their borders fornon- arrivalprotocols.Singapore,which Bharat mission, whichwill com- labour laws as well. and food; *All factories and continuous process industriesthat areallowed to function restartagoodpercentageofinter- essential travel. bannedshort-termvisitandtran- mence from June 13,the govern- Ablanket suspension of by government;**TheUttar Pradesh notificationwas withdrawn national passenger flights before sit passengers,isalso expected to menthasalsoropedinprivate air- labour laws,ashas been in the AugustorSeptember,oreven “gradually” liftthe restrictions on lines in addition to Air India to fly caseof UP,however, maynot find the Union Labour Ministrywill affiliated BharatiyaMazdoor ahead of that. transiting passengers from next Indian citizens wanting to come favour,withthe Centre leaningto- also give itscommentsonthe Sangh (BMS) has also instructed “Iamfullyhopefulthatbefore erations,”Puri said duringa September,myresponse is why month. backtoIndia.Inthesecondphase, wardsputting caveatsinorder to Ordinance. itsstate unitstoopposethe uni- AugustorSeptember,wewilltry FacebookLivesession. “I can’t put notearlier depending on whatis “With number of cases spik- whichstarted on May16, around protect the rightsofbonded On May15, however, the UP lateral withdrawal of labour laws. to startagoodpercentageofinter- adateonit(restarting interna- the situation,”hesaid. ing in India,weare also consider- 32,000citizensareexpectedto be labour,children and women. government, in acommunication Former Labour Secretary nationalcivil aviation operations, tional flights).But if somebody The government had banned ing the possibility that some of flown backonmorethan 160 While UP and MP have optedfor to the Allahabad High Courtfol- Shankar Aggarwal said many if notcomplete international op- says can it be done by Augustor allinternational flightsfrom these countriesmay notallow flights from 47 countries. asuspension of labourlawsfor lowing anotice forapublic inter- labour laws arearchaic and leave 1,000 days,asmanyasten states estlitigation,withdrew itsearlier scope forharassment at the —including Rajasthan, Punjab, order regarding extension of daily hands of labour inspectors or re- BRIEFLY Odisha, Maharashtra, Himachal working hours in industrial units quiremultiple levels of approvals Pradesh, MP,Haryana,Assam and to 12 hours from 8hours. forthose runningmanufacturing Gujarat —haveallowedextension Gujarat has also announced units. “Manufacturing unitsre- ‘Govtlookingat Amid lockdown, gasoutput 2.16bcm:Gasoutputin 2.5mntonnes: of working hours to 12 through the intent to followsuitwith a quirenoobjection certificates dedicated April,18.6percentlowerthan India’scrudeoilproductionin issuance of orders under the 1,200-dayexemption of labour fromvariousdepartments. Bribes falls by one-fifthinApril 2.65billioncubicmetres(bcm) April,fallingby6.35percent Factories Actduring the ongoing laws fornew industrialunits,with aretakenbylabour inspectors NCLTbenches’ productioninApril2019 lockdown againstthe COVID-19 the statealso having sent the and violation of some of the pro- India’s natural gasproduction dropped by almostone- 1.7mntonnes:Crude pandemic. Ordinance forthe President’s ap- visions have imprisonment as NewDelhi: In viewofahuge fifthinAprildue to lowerofftake by industries during the 15.3%: Declinein oiloutputofONGCinApril, While states likeMPhave proval following commentsfrom punishment. These areexcep- backlogofcasesattheNCLT, nationwide coronavirus lockdown, datafromthe Oil productionbythecountry’stop fallingmarginally takenamorenuancedapproach, the Union Labour Ministry. tional circumstances, smaller the government will start Ministry showed producerOilandNaturalGas othersuchasUPandGujarathave While asection of expertsis unitsare already at the brink of identifying benches to Corporation(ONGC)last REASONSFORLOWCRUDE optedfor abroader,moresweep- viewing these changes as acom- closuredue to arisk of shortage specificallydeal with insol- month,at1.72bcm PRODUCTIONBYONGC ing relaxation of the labour laws, petitionbystatestoattractcapital of inputsfromChina and lackof vency and Companies Act- ■ ClosureofwellsinWestern leaving drafting loopholes that afterthelockdown, manysee the consumption demand. States related matters, aseniorof- 10%: FallinoutputofOil Offshoreduetolessofftakeby could see potential legal chal- blanket suspensionoflabour laws should be allowedtomove for- ficial said.Inthis regard,the IndiaLtd(OIL)inApril,at GAIL lenges in the days ahead. as arushedmove withoutdetails ward with their labour reforms,” ministry will startwiththe 202.05millioncubicmetres ■ Movementsrestrictionfor Madhya Pradesh has ex- and leaving it ambiguous and he said. NCLT benchesofDelhi and fieldoperationsinonshorefields empted employers from some open to litigation. “In Madhya Labouris aconcurrentsubject, Mumbai, wheremorethan REASONSFORLOWGAS obligations under various labour Pradesh’s order,thereisclarity as with both the Centreand states halfofthe country’sincor- OUTPUTBYOIL 615,000tonnes: laws likeFactories Act, Madhya to which clauses would be appli- having powers to enact laws. poratedfirmsareregistered, ■ LossofpotentialinDeohal, Crudeoilproducedbyprivate Pradesh Industrial RelationsAct cable and clauses whichwon’t Wherethereisany conflict be- KVRMurty,joint secretary AssamduetopresenceofCO2 companies,likeCairn,falling and IndustrialDisputes Act, and apply. UttarPradesh’s Ordinance tween acentral lawand astate in the MinistryofCorporate inproductionstream 19.2percent ContractLabour Actfor aperiod mentions that provisions of lawonthe same subject, the cen- Affairs, said while address- ■ Lessgasofftakeby of 1,000 days,i.e. nearly 3years. Factories Actand Building and tral lawisexpectedtoprevail.If ing an webinar by industry consumers Source: Oil Ministry/PTI This givesemployers the freedom Other Construction Workers Act some of the laws that states have bodyASSOCHAM. to hire and fire,and contractors relating to safetyand security of movedtosuspend have acorre- notneeding alicence to supply theworkersshall remain applica- sponding act in the central do- 490,560 tonnes: OilproducedbyCairn’s Rajasthan 30%: Decline in production by refineries in April, at 18.9 labour of up to 49 persons. ble. Anyprovision can besafetyor main, the suspension is open to Exportersneed fields, showing fall of 19.2% milliontonnes The statehas also exempted security relatedevenifit’s related legal challenge. toidentifyniche newfactories under the Factories to lighting or temperaturecontrol Both the Centreand states Act, 1948 from inspection by the at the unit. But details aremiss- have separatemachinerytoen- mkts:Prabhu Labour Department and permit- ing. The order is ill-conceived, forcethe labour laws,including tedthe flexibility to conduct third misplacedand lacksclarity,” said the Contract Labour (Regulation NewDelhi: Former Union Essel Infra defaulted on bonds: Franklin Templeton MF party inspections at will. It has KR ShyamSundar,labour econo- &Abolition) Act, 1970 andthe MinisterSureshPrabhu has bond. Templetonhas notyet sold also issuedanOrdinance to the mistand professor of Human corresponding Rules. The en- exhorteddomestic ex- ENSECONOMICBUREAU The fund house said four of itsfixed income the collateral. It has appointed a Madhya Pradesh Labour Welfare Resources Management at XLRI. forcement in the CentralSphere porters to identify niche MUMBAI,MAY23 legal counsel to maximiserecov- Fund Act, 1982, exempting all Trade unions have opposed is donethrough the officers of the markets andkey products schemes have invested in zeroper cent Essel Infra eryvalue in EIL bonds. newlyestablishedfactories from thechanges beingmade in labour Central Industrial Relations forshipments at atime FRANKLIN TEMPLETONMutual Series 1and zeroper cent Essel InfraSeries 2, The fund housedecided to filing annual returns and paying laws.Ten centraltrade unions — Machinery(CIRM). The country- when the global marketis Fund on Fridaysaid Essel whichmatured on May22, 2020 closedownsixcreditriskschemes Rs 80 per labourer per year to the including Indian National Trade wide networkofDeputy Chief goingthroughaseverecrisis Infraprojects Ltd (EIL) has de- inAprildueto heavyredemptions. Madhya Pradesh Labour Welfare Union Congress(INTUC), All India Labour Commissioners (Central) due to COVID-19. “Thereisa faulted on debt issuedbyEIL. Credit risk schemes and several Boardfor the next 1,000days. Trade Union Congress (AITUC), under the Chief Labour needtoidentify niche mar- The fund housesaid four of its other debt fundswitnessedout- UPhas givena3-yearexemp- CentreofIndianTrade Unions Commissioner (Central) is man- kets andkey productsforex- fixedincomeschemes—Franklin “Atmaturity,the issuer was Subhash Chandraand corporate flows duringthemonthof Aprilas tion to allfactories and establish- (CITU) —registered an initial dated to settle the ports which is the needof India Dynamic Accrual Fund, unableto meetthematurityobli- guarantee. Thereisnoimpact on the Franklin Templetonfiasco mentsengagedin manufacturing complaint with the International complaints/claims under rule thehour,”hesaidinavirtual FranklinIndiaCreditRisk,Franklin gation. These NCDs arecurrently NAVofthe schemes in compari- promptedworriedinvestors to from all labour laws,exceptprovi- Labour Organisation (ILO) on May 25(2)(v)(a)&(b). interaction with the IndiaShortTermIncomePlanand valuedat15per cent of value af- son to that of May21,”Templeton pulloutfundsfromriskyschemes. sions of BondedLabour System 14,termingthese movesas“an The respective stategovern- Federation of Indian Export FranklinIndiaLow DurationFund tertakingan85per cent hair cut. said in anote to investors. Credit risk schemes of various (Abolition) Actand thoserelating attackonhuman and labour mentsare entrustedwith imple- Organisations (FIEO) mem- —haveinvestedinzeroper cent The NCDs arebackedbyapledge Thereisnoimpact on netas- fund houseswitnessedoutflows to employmentofchildrenand rights”, asking forILO’s interven- menting labour laws and under- bers on Friday. Essel InfraSeries 1and zeroper of listedshares of Zee Entertain- setvalue (NAV)asthe value of of Rs 19,238 croreinApril after women. The Ordinancehas been tionon“theextremelyprecarious takinginspections in the state cent Essel InfraSeries 2, which ment, DishTV, unlistedshares of shares held as collateral is greater Templetonabruptlydecidedto sent by the statefor the and regressive moves” forthe sphereindependently“forproper Sharmanamed matured on May22, 2020. EIL, personal guarantee of than the current valuation of the wind down six credit schemes. President’sassent, prior to which workingclassinthecountry.RSS- implementation of the Acts”. VodacomSouth Q4: Avenue Future actions will depend on ‘UK planning to require ‘Boris Johnson AfricaMD-CEO Supermart net plans to scale NewDelhi: Vodacom Group employers to pay 20-30% has namedBalesh Sharma profit rises how COVID crisis pans out: FM back Huawei as the managing director of furloughed wage cost’ andCEOofitsnewly-carved 42% to `271 cr role in UK’s out standalone South PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA ‘Extend loans —the centrepiece of itsattempts African operating company NewDelhi: Avenue Supermarts NEWDELHI,MAY23 REUTERS to cushion the coronavirus hit to 5G network’ —Vodacom South Africa. Ltd, whichowns retail chain D- to all eligible LONDON,MAY23 the economy—byfour months Vodacom, majority owned Mart,onSaturdayposted41.60 ADAY aftertheRBIprojectedeco- borrowers’ on May12, but told employers by Vodafone (60.5 per cent per cent rise in consolidated net nomic contractioninFY21, Fina- THE UNITEDKingdom has theywould have to help to meet ADITIKHANNA stake), has operations in profit at Rs 271.28 crorefor the nceMinisterNirmalaSitharaman NewDelhi: Finance Minister drawnupplans to requireem- itscostfromAugust. LONDON,MAY23 SouthAfrica, Tanzania, quarterendedMarch 31,2020. on Saturdaysaid future fiscalpol- NirmalaSitharaman on ployers to cover20per centto30 “TheTreasuryhas drawnup Mozambique and Kenya, The companyhad anet profit icy actions to stimulatethe econ- Saturdaysaid banks have per cent of furloughedemploy- plans thatwould requireem- UKPRIMEMinisterBorisJohnson among others. PTI of Rs 191.57 croreinJanuary- omywilldependonhowthepan- been asked to extend loans ees’ wagesfromAugusttoreduce ployers to coverbetween 20 and plans to reduce Chinese telecom March ayear ago, AvenueSuper- demic pans out.The government automaticallytoeligiblebor- the vast burdenofthe coron- 30 per cent of people’s wages,” giant Huawei’s involvement in martssaidinaBSEfiling.Revenue hasalreadyannouncedaRs20.97 rowerswithoutfearof 3Cs— avirus crisis on government fi- The Times said.“Theywould also Britain’s 5G networkinthe wake ‘Teslaseeks fromoperationswasup23.59per lakh croreeconomic package, CBI, CVCand CAG. She said nances, TheTimes newspaper re- be required to coverthe costof of the coronavirus outbreak,ac- nodtobuild centtoRs6,255.93croreinQ4un- whichincludesReserveBank’sRs clear instructions have been ported. employer’s national insurance cording to aBritish mediareport derreviewasagainstRs5,061.65 8.01 lakh croreworthofliquidity In aconversation with BJP giventopublic sectorbanks The United Kingdom ex- contributions,onaverage 5per on Saturday. The Daily Telegraph newModel3’ croreinthe year-agoperiod. PTI measures tillMay 17. leaderNalin Kohli,Finance and financialinstitutions on tendedits job retention scheme cent of wages.” said Johnson has instructed offi- Sitharamansaidmakinga“re- MinisterNirmala Fridaythat theyshould not cials to draw up plans that would Beijing: Tesla Incisseeking alistic assessment” of economic Sitharaman said thereisno be scared to extend loans as see China’s involvement in the Chinese government ap- Export reforms: growth wouldbedifficult at this clarity on when the 100percentguaranteeisbe- Car rental firm Hertz files for UK’s upgradedtelecom network proval to build model 3ve- point of time as thereisnoclarity pandemic would retreat. File ing givenbythe Centre. PTI scaleddowntozeroby2023. hicles in the country Ministers meet onwhenthepandemicwouldre- He still wantsarelationship equipped with lithium iron treat. “I’m notclosing the door at US bankruptcy protection withChinabuttheHuaweidealis phosphate (LFP) batteries, a stakeholders all. Iwant to keep getting inputs Lastweek,the FM had an- wastomakeavailable moreliq- Zealandwerenot includedinthe going to be significantlyscaled documentonthewebsite of from industry, implement what nouncedaneconomic packages uidity in the economyand revive REUTERS US proceedings, Hertz said. back. Officials have been in- theMinistryofIndustryand NewDelhi: Severalunionminis- we have announcedanddepend- five tranches,whichincludedaRs demand, Sitharamansaid. NEWYORK,MAY23 Thefirm,whoselargest share- structedto comeupwithaplanto Information Technology ters,includingPiyushGoyal,Nitin ing on howthingspan out we 3.70lakh croresupportfor “The packagewas designed holder is billionaireinvestorCarl reduce Huawei’s involvement as showed. Reuters exclusively Gadkari and NarendraSingh have to respond accordingly.We MSMEs,Rs75,000croreforNBFCs keepinginmindthatwe arefacing THE MORE than acenturyold car Icahnwithanearly 39 percent quicklyaspossible, the newspa- reportedinFebruarythat Tomar,onSaturday interacted areonly2-month old in this year, andRs90,000croreforPowerdis- asituation which is exceptional rentalfirmHertzGlobalHoldings ownership stake, is reeling from per quotedawell-placedsource Tesla is in advancedtalksto withstakeholdersof somekeyin- we have 10 months to go,” tribution companies, free food- and thereforewhether the con- Incfiledforbankruptcyprotection governmentorders restricting as saying. use LFP batteries from CATL dustrieslikefoodprocessing,ma- Sitharamansaidinaconversation grains to migrant workers, in- traction is goingtobethis much on Fridayafter itsbusiness was travelandrequiringcitizensto re- He has takenagreat many thatcontainnocobalt -one rine and auto parts. with BJPleaderNalin Kohli. creasedallocationfor MGNREGS, or that much, we didn’t have the decimated during the pandemic main home. Alarge portion of soundings from his ownMPs on of the mostexpensive met- Besides commerce minister The ReserveBank of India taxrelief to certain sections and luxury of datatoguess-estimat- and talkswith creditors failed to Hertz’s revenue comes from car thisissueandsharestheirserious alsinelectricvehiclebatter- Goyal, MSME ministerGadkari (RBI)Fridayhadsaidtheimpactof Rs 15,000 croreallocatedtothe ing them. result in muchneededrelief. rentals at airports,which have all concerns.Thedealwasstruckbe- ies-incarsmadeatitsChina and agricultureministerTomar, COVID-19ismoreseverethanan- healthcaresector to deal with the “However, thespirit of that Hertz’sboardearlierintheday but evaporated as potentialcus- fore the pandemic hit but coron- plant. The document does MinisterofAnimal Husbandry, ticipated and the GDP growth pandemic. thought has been kept in mind approved thecompany seeking tomers eschewplanetravel. avirus has changed everything, notshowthe name of the Dairying and Fisheries Giriraj during FY21islikelytoremain in Thepackagewasdoneincon- that we have to nowlook at com- Chapter11protection in aUS Withnearly $19billionof debt thesourcesaid.Themove follows batterymaker.Tesla did not Singh and Food Processing thenegative territory. Itprojected sultationwitheconomists,acade- plete contraction and if we have bankruptcycourtinDelaware,ac- and roughly38,000 employees atough stance takenbythe US immediately respondto the MinisterHarsimrat Kaur Badal somepick-upingrowthimpulses micians, ex-bankers, ex-finance to stimulatethe economykeep- cording to courtrecords. Itsinter- worldwide, Hertz is among the againstChina over spying con- development. REUTERS alsotook partinthe virtual inter- fromsecondhalf (October-March) ministryofficials and industry, ing that in mind what is that we nationaloperatingregionsinclud- largest companies to be undone cernsrelatedto itsinvolvementin action. PTI of 2020-21onwards. Sitharaman said,addingthe idea have to do,” she said. ing Europe, Australia and New by the pandemic. the 5G network. PTI WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THESUNDAY EXPRESS,MAY24,2020 9 SUNDAY STORY

With restrictions on movement, thecouple would spend all With no cabsorautos, Mamatawent forcheck-ups with Kailash on hisbike. “I droveveryslowlytoavoid jerks. We were stoppedatbarricades, but 15APRIL their time at home. The window wasafavouritespot 28APRIL fortunately,the policemen sawher and letusgo,” says Kailash;(right)atthe diagnosticcentre, thecouple maintained asafedistance from others

OURSAFTERtheC-section, as the newmother slowly came around, her bua’s voice rang through her H drug-inducedstupor — “Lockdown aa gaya,Lockdown aa gaya”. And abundle thrustintoher arms: her Good News baby, herfirstborn. “My bua, who stayed in hospital with me, justcame up with the anickname for the babyfor fun —Lockdown,” laughs While Covid-19has forced arewriteofalmostevery calendar, some plansstayed MamataDudi, 25, speaking on the phone from her in-laws’home in Rajasthan’s on course. Foroveramonth and ahalf of thelockdown,RENUKA PURI& Nagaur district, whereshe is recovering af- ANKITA DWIVEDI JOHRI chronicledthe parenthood journeyofMamataDudi and terthe delivery on May6. In thisseason of apandemic and all the Kailash Bajya: the bikerides to the clinic, the complications, asudden 400-km trip associateduncertainties,atleastonething had gone to plan –Mamatawas nowthe to Rajasthan, ahappyending —and anew phase mother of ababyboy. With Covid and the accompanying na- P HOTOGRAPHS:RENUKA PURI tionwide lockdown forcing arewriteofal- mostevery calendar,what couldn’thave Afteralong day, Mamatawould stand by the windowinthe waited wasthe arrivalofnewborns. In 26APRIL evenings to make calls, comb her hair or justhavetea Nagaurdistrict alone, whereMamata’s child wasborn, 10,322 births were regis- tered between March 1and May20. Across the world, severalexpectant par- His mother,who wasslated to come went to her doctor with the results, there entshavebeen spending anxious mo- to Delhi in April to helpwith the delivery, wasmorebad news:“The fatty livercondi- mentsabout welcoming their babies into had to cancel her visit. tionhadimproved.Butnow, thedoctorsaid, the world, in what areextraordinarytimes. Mamatagrewanxious too. She had the umbilical cordhad loopedaround the Foroveramonth and ahalf, from the thought she would hireahelp, but had to baby’s neck. AC-section wasinevitable. I start of April to now, The Sunday Express put the idea on hold.“Of course, Iwas knewIwould needhelp to take careofher chronicledthis journey, through photo- scared.Wecouldn’t move outofthe afterthedelivery.Weneededwomenwith graphs and phone calls, of MamataDudi house. Mai har din puja karnelagi. Agar experiencearound,” says Kailash. and her husband Kailash Bajya—the ex- zyada dar lagta, tohdhyan lagati (I started Theybegan to exploretheir options. citement, the apprehensions, an un- praying everyday.IfIfelt tooanxious, I Mamatadidn’t want to go to her parents’ planned400-km journeytoRajasthan, till would meditate),” she says. home in Nagaurbecause her mother had the time theyheldlittle “Lockdown” in The couple’s unease gave waytofear been unwell. She wasalso unsureabout their arms. Their storysofar: when theyhad to step out of the house for going to Kailash’s home as she feared peo- Mamata’s check-ups. “On April 10,we ple might “mockher”. “The firstdelivery ■ ■ ■ went out forthe firsttime since the lock- is usuallyatyourparental home… that is down. Therewerenocabsorautos. We the norm in our village. But we had noop- In Augustlastyear,two years after went to theRKPuram hospital on his bike. tion.Ihad to take her to my parents’ home Mamataand Kailash married, amatch Both of us wore masks. Ialso wrappedmy in Nagaur,”says Kailash. arranged by their families, she conceived. dupatta tightlyaround my face. It wasn’t The firsthurdle wastoget apass to “It wasn’t planned,” laughs Kailash, 30, comfortable,” says Mamata. cross the Delhi-Haryana border,which acivilian employeeofthe Indian Air Force. “I droveveryslowlytoavoid jerks. We had been shut on May1.“I reachedout to “But Ihad aplan in place forthe next nine were stoppedatbarricades, but fortu- the SDM office, the local police station, months —anormal delivery forMamata nately, thepolicemen sawher and letus and filledout the application form on- at agovernment hospital, with my mother go,” adds Kailash. line… Ialso messaged the Chief Minister in Delhi to help us out”. Afterone suchtrip, around mid-April, on Twitter.Ittook me an entireday but Ifi- Therewerefew surprises in thefirst theyhad some bad news:Mamatawas nallymanaged apass,” says Kailash. twotrimesters, but since March 24,when diagnosedwith “fatty liver”, and the doc- At home, Mamatabegan preparing for the Prime Ministerannouncedthe first torsaid therecould be complications in the journey—packing traditional clothes phase of the Covid-19lockdown, their the delivery.Now,itwas Kailash’s turn to she would have towear at her in-laws’ and plans beganunravelling. feel scared. food forthe journey. Almostevery moment came with its “If therewerecompli- “Of course,Iwas Kailash then had to shareofanxieties: the restrictions on cations,the doctor said arrangeforataxi.“Mostof travel, having to visit hospitals and diag- she would have to be scared. We couldn’t them were notwilling to nostic centres, the lackofhelp at home. shiftedtoSafdarjung moveout of the house. go or demandedhuge “In Augustlastyear,overtea one Hospital, whichalso had sums. An ambulance evening, she told me she waspregnant,” aCovid-19ward. Ididn’t My family couldn’t would have been the smiles Kailash. Ihad been working for want that to go there,” visit.Istarted praying safest, buttheyasked for sevenyears, IearnedRs40,000 every says Kailash. everyday. Zyada dar Rs 20,000.Finally, we month, and soon Iwas going to getgov- Worse, the lockdown managed to getataxi,” ernment accommodationtoo. The timing had nowbeen extended lagta, toh dhyanlagati says Kailash. wasperfect,” he says. till May3,and allplans to (IfIfelt too anxious, I On May2,at3.15am, “Wewereveryhappy,”addsMamata,a bring his mother or any theyset off. graduatewithaBEddegreefromRajasthan. other relativetoDelhihad would meditate)” In Nagaur, Kailash’s Till her second trimester, mostofthe is- come to naught. brother fixedanappoint- sues that came up were routine. “She had On their wayhome, the couple came ment forthe same evening at amaternity very bad morning sickness. Everymorn- up with aplan —that theywould control clinic on the outskirts of the district. “My ing, when shemade my lunch dabba,the Mamata’s condition through dietand ex- pass wasvalid onlyfor aday,soIhad to re- smellofchhaunk (tempering) made her ercise, and then getafamilymember over turn to Delhi the same evening. But before nauseous. But she insistedoncooking. Her afterMay 3. that, Itook Mamatatothe clinic, where haemoglobin wasalittle low, so whilere- “Ye zyadatel, masala khati thi (She liked theyexaminedher and said she would turninghome from work,Igot hergrapes, oily, spicy food) .Ichanged allthat. Ipre- needaC-section. But nowIwas comfort- oranges and bananas to eat,” he says. pared adietchartfor her—roti-chai for able with the idea. We were home,there The couple also went to great lengths breakfast,almonds, banana afterthat, wasfamilyaround her,” he says. to choose the right hospital “for anormal khichdi forlunch, and doodh-roti fordin- Despiteher initialapprehensions, delivery”. “It wasour firstchild, and I ner.Ialso removedthe malai from the Mamatatoo wasnow relieved. “Itne log wanted to do everything right. To select a milk,” says Kailash, as Mamata quips, the, Delhimein hum akelethe (Therewere hospital forthe delivery,Ispoketoevery- “Ghee bhi nahi khaane diya (He didn’t even so manypeople. In Delhi, we were alone). one Iknew—friends, relatives, colleagues. letmehaveghee). That’s mandatorydur- My bua also came down. Ifelt safe. Of Mostprivate hospitals insistonC-sections ingpregnancy.” course, Kailash had to leave,” she says. to earn moremoney. Ididn’t want that. He also decidedhis wife neededmore We finalisedagovernment maternity exercise. Since during the daytherewere ■ ■ ■ hospital in RKPuram. Even asenior at my restrictions on movement in their neigh- office deliveredher babythere,” he says. bourhood, the couple beganwakingupat Now, with the babyinher arms, Mamatadid her bit too. “Weusedto 5amand going foraquick walk in the Mamata is undergoing ‘jaapa’, a40-day live in asmall one-room house in Palam park. Back home, wherethe couple usu- mandatoryperiod of ‘rest’ fornew moth- and Ididn’t have ahelpathome. Idid all allydivided their chores, he pulledback. “I ers that comes withseveral restrictions. household chores to stay active.Ialso lether do everything — jhadu-pocha, bar- “I am notallowedtotalkmuchoruse the downloadedthe Mylo app (tohelp “mil- tan,washing clothes. Iwould sit close by phone. ButIamhappier than in Delhi. I lennial moms raise happy&healthyfam- to ensureshe wassafe,” he says. have so muchhelp here. Everyevening, I ilies”), and also logged on to YouTubeand Butthechangeofroutineathomesoon do avideo call with Kailash… that’s all I other websites to clearmydoubtsand begantowear Mamataout. She realised am allowed,” she says. questions,” she says. that hers would neverbea“normal preg- The fear of the virus too, she says,has While Kailash would accompanyher nancy” —there wasnofreedom to eat, to receded. “In the city, there is ahigher forcheck-ups on Saturdays,for those on move aroundorbewithfamily. chance of contracting the virus.Iam in a weekdays,she would take the bus from R “I had to be home the entireday.Idid- village now, the threat is muchlesser,” KPuram to Palam. n’t even go out to buygroceries forfear of she says. By March,asMamataenteredherthird contracting the virus. Iwould stand by the Still, she hasarule foranybody who trimester, the couple movedintoagovern- windowtomakecalls to familyand carries the baby: “Theywill have to sani- ment quarterinWestDelhi’s Mayapuri. friends, comb my hairorjusthavetea. tise their hands.That’s theonlyprecau- “Thatiswhenthe firstpositive Covid- That wasmyonlypastime,” she says. tion Iamtaking,”she says. 19 caseinDelhiwasreported,and then the “I would also join Mamatafor teaat Backinthe Capital, Kailash is still wait- numbers begantorise…,” recalls Kailash. the window at 5pm. Soon, it became arit- ing to meet his first-born.“Mamatahas Then,onMarch 22, thePrime Minister ual. Wohhamararelaxareaban gaya (It be- namedhim Reyansh, the firstray of sun- announcedthe JanataCurfew,followed came our space to relax),” says Kailash. light. She found it on the Internet,” he says. by the firstphaseofthe lockdown on In the lastweek of April, Mamatawent But this time he isn’t planninganything. March 24.“Honestly, even then,Iwasn’t Afterher delivery on May6,Mamataisnow undergoing a40-dayperiod of rest fornew mothers. “I am foranother ultrasoundscanatanearby di- “Mostofmyplans didn’t work out.Now,I scared,but that wasthe firsttime we re- 15MAY happierthan in Delhi. Therewas ahigher chanceofcontractingthe virus in thecity,”she says. agnosticcentre,maintainingasafedistance will go to Nagauronlywhen the lockdown alisedall our plans maynot work,” he says. from patientsasshe queued up. When she is liftedcompletely,”headds. WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 10 OPINION THE SUNDAYEXPRESS,MAY24,2020

Across Fifth THEAISLE COLUMN TAVLEENSINGH Spend,borrow,monetize Twitter@tavleen_singh

LAST WEEK, Ihad analysed the spawnedahumanitarian crisis of gar- In fighting the pandemic, Prime Rs 22,00,000 crore. Rs 20-lakh crorestimulus packagean- gantuan proportions. MinisterModi adoptedthe path fol- nouncedbythe Prime MinisteronMay Post Lockdown 1.0, everydecision of lowedbyChina, Italy, Spain, Franceand ALAST CHANCE 12.Inthe pastweek,the details an- the government has proved questionable Britain. First, alockdown. Then testing, Nothing to nouncedbythe Finance Ministerinfive in terms of the outcomes. At the firstop- tracing, isolating and treating the in- If, as the year progresses, the bor- PCHIDAMBARAM tranches have been dissected by analysts portunity —onthe eveofLockdown 3.0 fected persons. Additions were made to rowing/fiscal deficit reaches alevel that and economists.The unanimous conclu- —the PrimeMinisterwithdrew from na- the medical and health infrastructure. is uncomfortable —inthe sense there celebrate Website:pchidambaram.in sion is that the fiscal stimulus part of the tional TVand cleverlypassedthe buck to The resultsofthese measures aremixed. areother consequences—we mustnot Twitter@Pchidambaram_IN packagewas in therange of 0.8 to 1.3per the stategovernments. We have astate likeSikkimwithzero hesitatetomonetize partofthe fiscal cent of GDP.With adetailedbreak-up, I Butthe control of the economyisnot cases and astate likeMaharashtrathat deficit, that is printmoney. Manycoun- WHATAterribleyear ithas been forIndia. placedthe size of the fiscal stimulusat in thehands of the stategovernments. accountsfor 35 percent of allinfections. tries did that in 2008/2009 and saved And, forNarendraModi. Next week Rs 1,86,650 croreequivalent to 0.91per TheCentral government is nowlikean It is clear that the virus does nothavea their economies from adeepand pro- marks theend of thefirstyear of his sec- cent of GDP.Noone in the government imperial power. All authority hasbeen definedpath and itsspread dependson longedrecession. ond term as Prime Minister, and it would has contradictedmynumbers. takenoverbythe PMO. The states have manyyet-unknown factors. The alternative is toohorrendous to be no exaggeration to saythat it has been been lefttobeg the Centrefor funds, in- YetMrModi refuses to followthe contemplate. Arecession will mean the worstyear of hislong political career. cluding their legitimateand constitu- path adoptedbymostcountries to greater unemployment (it is already at Tryand thinkofone shining moment, ORIGINAL SIN tional entitlements. The ostensible ‘help’ counter the economic consequences of 24 percent), alongerwait forjob-seek- one dazzling achievement and youwill BeforeIgo forward, Iwish to draw at- extended—liquidity to discoms, higher thepandemic. The model advocated by ing youth, lowerwages andincomes, less probably end up agreeingthattherehave tentionto theeconomicsituationof India borrowing limit —are so loadedwithrid- almostall economists is fiscal stimulus. consumption, moremorbidity and more notbeen any. Before sitting down to write when Covid-19hit the country. We had ers that no stategovernmentwould be That means onlyone thing: spend more. poverty. this pieceItriedtoestablish exactlywhen witnessedseven successive quarters of able to fulfill the pre-conditions and avail The ExpenditureBudget for2020-21es- The defining imageofIndia in 2020 things startedtogo bad andcame up with declining GDP growth. It wasunprece- of the moneyinthe current fiscal year. timated the expenditureatRs30,42,230 will be themigrant worker, ahardwork- Augustlastyear,when Arun Jaitleydied. dented.OnMarch 11,WHO declared crore. Whether it would have been ing person supporting oneself and one’s Suddenly, the priorities and the imageof COVID-19asapandemic. Our attention enough in aslowing down economyisa familyand justabove thepoverty line, the government changed dramatically. wasturnedawayfromthe direeconomic THE DREADED mootquestion, but thereisnodoubt it who, reducedtobeing without work/job, From an agenda of economic priori- situation. Now, the government will ‘R’ WORD would notbeenough whenthe econ- without cash, without ashelter and ties, we movedtoanagenda that seemed Mr Modi refuses to follow blamethe pandemic, although the truthis omyishurtling toward negative territory. without food, wasforcedtotrudgehun- designedtotakeIndia towardsbecom- that the origin of the economic crisis was Whichleads to invoking the dreaded We needanew Budget.The assump- dredsofkilometres, sometimes with ing aHindu Rashtra. It did nottakelong the path adopted by most the government’s misguidedpolicies. ‘R’ word —Recession. India has notsuf- tions made on February1are no longer children, desperatetogo backtohis forMuslimstonoticethat there wasan countries to counter the The initialdecision to lockdown was ferednegative GDP growth in the last40 relevant. The government mustpresent ‘home’, even if it meant reaching exercise underwaytomakethem ac- economic consequences of unavoidable because, in March,the only years. That distinction could go the Modi aNew Budget on June 1, 2020. The total home onlytodie. knowledge that their position in the ‘new knownantidote tothe rapid spread of government, whichwill blame the pan- expendituremustbein the order of The Modi government has one last India’ wouldbelower than that of the pandemic. Themodel the viruswas ‘social distancing’,which demic, but the original sinner wasthe Rs 40,00,000 crore. The present sources chance. It mustget offits horsenamed Hindus. In Augustlastyear,the special advocated by almost all meantalockdown. In the absence of an Modi government. It is notnecessary to of revenue (tax, non-tax, capital receipts) ‘Ostrich’ and Spend, Borrowand status of our onlyMuslim-majority state economists is fiscal stimulus. alternative strategy,the government recall the numerous sins of omission maybeexpected to yield only Monetize. Otherwise, the peoplewill wasaltered by the removalofArticle 370. That means only one thing: went from one lockdown to another. and commission since that fateful Rs 18,00,000crore. Forthe rest,wemust neverforgetorforgivethe Modi govern- Jammu &Kashmirlostits status as astate Eachsuccessive lockdown has yielded dayonNovember 8, 2016 (D for borrow. Theborrowing will go up from ment forsetting India’seconomyback andwas broken into adivided Union ter- spend more diminishing returns. Besides, it has Demonetisationday). the BE of Rs 7,96,337 croreto by at leastadecade. ritory. Jaitleywas alive but his health was toopoor forhim to be able to offeradvice or caution. If he had been able to,Ibelieve that Kashmiris would nothavebeen hu- miliated the waytheyhavebeen. BENCH MARK History As someonewho has reported on our 8-hour work days, Kashmir problem formorethan 40 years, inside Chairpersonofthe RajyaSabhaVenkaiah HEADLINE Ipersonallybelieve that Article 370had to TRACK NaiduandLokSabhaSpeakerOmBirlamet go,sooner rather than later,because it to discusswhetherthecustomaryopening SEEMA CHISHTI had givenjihadistsecessionists in the COOMIKAPOOR of Parliament forthe Monsoon Session in and howwegot there Valleythe false hope thatKashmirwill the lastweek of Julyisfeasible. Opposition [email protected] one daybecome an independentIslamic MPs and the media have already started Republic. But, Iwouldhavebeen happier making enquiries. Beforethe next session to see Article370 removedwith the sup- begins,the24 parliamentarystandingcom- The British brought in the system of in- portofpolitical leaders in Kashmir who mittees have to firstsubmit their reports. dentured labour in 1819 via theBengal have been on India’s side. Instead, what PKS’SCLOUT The discussion centered on the modalities RegulationsVII,whichrenderedworkmen Kashmir got wasthe jackbootand abru- PKMISHRA and Ajit Dovalare considered forarrangingatechnicalplatformforthe30 liableto criminalpenaltiesforbreachofcon- tallockdown. The consequences have thetwomostpowerfulbureaucratsinDelhi, MPs from eachcommitteetointeract and tract and desertion.This setofActscontin- been awful.Omar Abdullah tweetedlast and both have Cabinet rank status in Modi submit recommendations. Some MPs are uedtill1865,whenspecialpolicewere used week that Kashmir is nowinastate of be- 2.0.When Mishra(PKM) took over from stuckinfar-flungdistricts.Withplanesnow to stop workers from leaving. ing in alockdown within alockdown. NripendraMisraasPrincipalSecretaryto flying, thishurdle could perhaps be over- Over 150yearslater,amid apandemic Jihadists continue to strikeasmuchterror the PM, it wasassumedthathewould au- come.Buttheproblemof MPsmaintaining and an economic crisis that has rendered as theydid before despiteattemptsto tomaticallywield the mostclout in Modi’s asafedistance will be achallenge. In afull severaljobless,asstategovernmentssuchas control them by imposing the longest secretariat.But the recent allocation of re- House,theparliamentarybenchesareover- Gujarat, UP,Madhya Pradesh and others Internetshutdown in history. porting authority forportfolios in govern- crowdedwith MPs sitting cheek-by-jowl, bringin‘labourreforms’that,insomecases, The man who initiatedthe passagein ment suggests that powerequations may sincetheHousewasoriginallydesignedfor have suspendedalmostall existing labour Parliament of the lawtoremove Article be changing. Former cabinetsecretaryPK smaller numbers. laws,the historical backgroundofsome of 370was theHome Minister.And, it soon Sinha (PKS), who wasappointed Principal these laws provide auseful context. became clear that he wastoreplace Adviser to the PM in September,has been Forinstance, the ‘eight-hour working Jaitleyasthe face of Modi’s government. entrustedwith all economic and energy PAPER TIGER day’ —anidea that is oftenattributed to with the building up of tempofor freedom Emergency thatled to her downfall. Amit Shah has anaturalbelligerence that ministries. PKM handles mainlyappoint- MaharashtraChief SecretaryAjoyMehtais RobertOwen,amillowner-cum-Fabianso- and Independence of India. The1990sandtheNew EconomicPolicy does notworkwell in public life, but it mentsand promotions, the cabinet secre- probably the mostpowerful man in the cialistinLancashire, who is said to have Somuchsothatinterlinkedeventsdur- brought anew waveofideas intodomi- seemedtobe part of the newimagethat tariat and anti-corruption unit.Bothmen state. Chief MinisterUddhav Thackerayas- come up with it in 1817 —iscloselycon- ing 1917 to 1947 makeitveryhardtodis- nance and ‘contract labour’ greatlydimin- the Prime Ministerwanted to createfor areinModi’s favoured mould forbureau- sumesthatthepostofchief secretaryissim- nectedto ideasaboutlabourrightsinIndia. tinguishbetween“apurelyeconomicstrug- ishedthe poweroforganisedtrade unions. hissecond term. So, it wasalso lefttothe crats,low- keyandloyal.WithAmitShahas ilar to that of aCEO of acompanyand his Though it mayseemodd now, agood deal gleand apurelypolitical struggle”. Says Amit Basole of the Centrefor Home Ministertoinitiatethe mostcon- Home Minister, Dovalhas losthis original role is that of ahands-offchairperson. of pressureonthe British government in Says tradeunionistJSMajumdar,editor SustainableEmployment at Azim Premji troversial and discriminatorylaw that has turf, as well as RA&W.But he is the report- Thackeray rarely visitstheMantralaya,and Indiawas at theurging of British cotton of the monthly TheWorking Class,“The University in Bengaluru, “A lotoflawshad ever been passedbyIndia’s Parliament. ing authority forDefence and External shows upatthechief minister’sofficialres- manufacturers, who did notwantIndian InternationalLabourOrganisation(ILO)was remainedonpaper and were beginning to The Citizenship Amendment Act(CAA). Affairswhichgiveshimenormousroomto idence,Varsha,onlywhenhemakesavideo textilestohavealead over them with very establishedin1919and justayear later, be seen as arbitrary. Thelawswerenot Had this lawnot had aprelude in manoeuvre in back-channel diplomacy. recording fortelevision. Mehtahas been longworkingdays,often16 hourslong,with India got itsfirstcentraltrade union with wrong, but therewas somedegree of ha- whichthe Home Ministerwanderedthe granted twoextensions since retirement women and children also employed! LalaLajpatRaiatitshead.Hundredsoftrade rassment and small businesses did feel sti- land makingspeeches in whichheused and hopes foranunprecedentedthird. He But the firstversion of the Factories Act unions,severalunregistered,followedsuit. fled,andthisstartedpoisoning ideas about the word ‘termite’todescribethose DOUBLE SPEAK has worked earlier withGopinath Munde, cameinonlyaftertheCrowntookcharge,in Afterthefirstattempt by theBritishto con- labour laws themselves.” BangladeshiMuslimswho have entered Afterthe discovery of amajor Covid-19 Sharad Pawar, andDevendraFadnavis,and 1881.Subsequent improvementswere trol Unions through the Trade Union Actin The21st centuryand theemergenceof India illegally, CAAmay have been less spikeamong followers of the Tablighi knows howtokeephispoliticalbossescon- foundnecessaryasthefirstonesatisfiedno 1926, theyintroducedthe Trade Disputes the gig economy, with inequality and divisive.His useofthisuglywordsenta JamaatwhostayedattheJamaatheadquar- tent. The removalofthe dynamic Mumbai one, neither workers nor owners. Actin1928tocontrol strikes. BhagatSingh asymmetryinthepowerequationcoming messagetoIndian Muslims that theyun- ters in Nizamuddin basti, the Home municipalcommissionerPraveenPardeshi, But it wasthe 20th Centurythat ush- and his associates in 1928 threw abombin to the fore again afterthe 2008 recession, derstood well. When theylinked CAAto Ministryand TV went ballistic. Media re- isattributedto him.Mehtaperhapsviewed eredinbigstrikes,actionsandanawareness theCentralLegislative Assemblyprotesting have againsteeredtheconversation to the the Home Minister’s promise that it ports claimedthe police had launcheda Pardeshi,whohassinceproceededonleave, of work,rightsand remunerations. thisandgave thecallfor‘InquilabZindabad’. precariousness of working lives. would be followedbyanexercise to major manhunt forthe “absconding’’ as competition. The Chief Secretary’s clout Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s arrest andsedi- So the trade union and the national libera- The drive by certain statestotakea makeaNational RegisterofCitizens, Maulana Saad, leader of the orthodox can be judgedbythe fact that thoughthe tion trial in 1908 sparkedaseries of events tion movement were joinedatthe hip.” “lawholiday” forthree years has metwith Muslims understood that citizenship Muslim sect. The Tablighi Jamaatwas CM cleared PWDMinisterAshok Chavan’s in then Bombay, starting with anumber of Therightsofworkersto eight-hourdays, some pushback. wasbeing weaponized.Public protests served a36-question notice, and, subse- choice as secretary, it waschangedafter Greaves, Cotton &Comill workers putting guaranteeof minimumwagesandtheright Says ChinmayTumbe,migration followed, that culminated in Delhi ex- quently, therewas araidonthe Maulana’s Mehta’s intervention. downtheirtoolsandwalkingoutonJuly13, to organise were derivedfromatrinityof scholar at IIM Ahmedabad, “The debateon ploding in afrenzy of communal vio- farmhouse in Shamli, UP,the mostobvious despitealot of tough measures by the laws —the Industrial Disputes Act, the minimum wage laws across the worldis lence even as the President of the United location to find him. But therehas been no British government. This wasnot to stop MinimumWagesAct,andtheFactoriesAct on the levelofthe minimum wages, not States wasdining at astate banquetin attempt to take himintocustodyand,signif- KILL WITH KINDNESS and by July23, lakhs of workers joined in. —that came intoforce even before the their existence. Unfortunatethat in India, Rashtrapati Bhawan. icantly, thecasesregisteredagainst hisout- The rule banningadultsover65years MahatmaGandhi’smovementwithin- Constitution wasformalised. These laws some states areattempting to wooinvest- By the time the pandemic arrived, fitcan be tried as non-cognisable offences, from walking in parks even afterlock- digofarmers in Champaran and the role it went on to informthe Constitution and ment by scrapping this lawinits entirety.” communal tensions were so high that amounting to carelessness, if the authori- down relaxations makes little sense. playedinthefreedomstruggleisknown.But breathelifeintotheDirective Principlestoo, Delhi-basedlabour economistProf BharatiyaJanataParty spokesmen and tiessodesire.Itwouldappearthatonehand Doctors routinelyprescribefresh air and equallysignificantwastheAhmedabadmill whichmentionsthe promise of adecent Praveen Jha says,“Noweventhe mostel- social media trolls triedtoblame the pan- of the government is working at crosspur- exercise as the best medicine forall workers’ striketowhichherushedimme- living wage through aminimumwage. ementaryprovisions forlabour arepro- demic on Muslims. On topofthis has poseswiththeother.Asectionof theestab- lifestyle diseases whichusuallystrikein diatelyafter securing awin in Champaran Theideathatlabourhadrights,andthat posedtobesuspended forabout three come ahumanitarian crisis that has lishment believesthat the Tablighi Jamaat laterlife. Instead of corona, wherethe withthe Champaran Agrarian Billin1918. toomediated through trade unions, had years, all in the name of attracting invest- shown the whole worldthat the majority is amajor assetfor India. The sect, which mortality rate is in anycase relatively low Fastsfollowedand despiteastrong un- their heyday before opening up and ‘infor- ments, boosting growth etc, even though of the Indian workforceismade of people preaches the purestform of Islam as prac- in India, farmorepeoplethan the yearly der-current within the Congress, which malisation’ of the Indian economyin1991. thereispowerful evidence and strong the- so poor that theyhavebeentreated as if tisedatthe timeofthe Prophet, has never averageare likelytodie of stroke,diabetes, frownedupon workers’ actions and was SADange, BTRanadive,Datta Samant, oreticalargumentsthatsuchassumptions theywerenot human. It hasalso shown advocated terrorismorthe path of jihad. heartattackand other ailmentsbecause largely pro-industrialist, the working- PRamamurthy, Dattopant Thengadi came arefallacious.” that the seriesoflockdowns we have Nordoes it interfereinacountry’s politics. of thesupposedly“helpful’’ ban.Amore class movement wasonlytointensify from different political stables but owed Says Majumdar,“Thechallengefortrade been subjected to have been so badly The Jamaathas aformidable following of meaningful rule would be to segregatethe with the impetus that the Russian theirhefttotheirinfluenceamongworkers. unions is big and it is two-fold forinformal plannedthat the purpose theywere manymillions in 170countries and is well elderly from rubbing shoulders with pos- Revolution gave after1917. Theintermeshingof politicsandlabour workers and the migrants—those in and meant to serve has been defeated. respected in several important Islamic sible Covid-19spreadersbyreserving spe- So strong wasthe connection between activitieswas clearly visible when Indira out of work,and thoseinand out of towns. As the lockdowns begintobe lifted, countries. To take action againstMaulana cial spaces forthem in hospitals and in- securing workers’rightsand calls forfree- Gandhiwas halted in hertracksbythe All Theirs is ashifting world. We needtobe theywill reveal an economic crisis of grim Saadwouldonlystrengthenthehandof the sisting on separatequeuesfor the elderly dom that labour analysts sayofthattime India Railwaymen Federation notletting there,bothatthevillage-level,athomeand proportions. If the poorestofour citizens small splinter faction in Pakistan. forrailtickets and other essential supplies. that the trade union movement coincided trainsrunontime,eventuallyleadingto the at work,and in the cities, too.” have sufferedthe most, the richesthave also seen their businesses badlydam- aged.Those in the middle, who survive from what theycan earn from small busi- nesses and from jobs in various service industries, have been reducedtoastate Outof The economicpandemic of penury. ThePrimeMinistertriedinhis latestaddress to the nation to revive the MYMIND dream of the 21st century being India’s centuryand promisedreformsthat MEGHNADDESAI knewwhat to do and did it fast.Many and filledthe gaps of theglobal supply tion,plusanother10%ofpublicbureaucrats creasetheGDPby aquarterevenwithaver- would makethis dream areality. ‘strong’ leaders —ofBrazil, Russia, Iran — chains. Charities and neighbourhood and politicians. No plan generatedenough ageproductivity.Threequartersof women The pandemic giveshim asecond have donebadly. groups have wrought miracles. growth to absorb the growing population. do notworkaspaid labour.Theycan work chance to achieve thisold goal. But,he IT HAS been notlikeacrickettestbut more Everywhere, the surprisehas been Thepandemic will departinthree or Those shramiks who areout of jobs fromhomegiventhepowerofdigitaltech- mustreturn to the road that leads to agolf tournament. Alarge number of na- about the uncertainty surrounding scien- four months. But in eachcountry, it has whether atithi or notwerenever the sub- nology,anextrabonusaddingto household ‘parivartan’and ‘vikas’. The road he has tional leaders areplaying over the same18 tificadviceandtheconfusingways inwhich highlightedtheweakspotsintheeconomy. jectof anydebateinany Plan.Theignorance health and welfare. takeninthis firstyear of his second term holes. If youcan sink ahole in fewerthan different governmentshaveadoptedtest- No surprise that the poor,the elderly,the about theirnumbers, theirregion of origin, When the lockdown is over,bring the will lead nottoaHindu Rashtra, as most the required four holes, youare under par ing, tracing, and social distancing. People ethnic minorities, the dailywageworker the natureoftheir employment in official workers backtotheirjobs but with free rail of his supporters on social media be- and winning. The game is notoveryet but have been amazingly patient, willing to andwomenhave bornethebulkof theeco- economicpolicy-makingcirclesshouldnot and bus travel. lieve,but to morehatred and violence. we knowwhois underparandwhoisover. obey ordersatenormouscosttothemselves nomic pain as income growth rateshave surpriseanyone.Planningandgrowthwere Startnow and build low-rent accom- When the lockdowns arelifted, we are The laggards areEuropeans, ledbythe aswasshownby theatithishramikmillions gone negative.Forgetgrowth ratesofeven nevermeant forthem.Lockdownfor peo- modationfor them before theyreturn. likelytodiscover acountrywith abro- UnitedKingdom(howdidjust5,000of their in India. Many areenthusingthat theState 4%;incomewillgo downforawhile before ple who have no homestolock and no way Encouragelocal industries or work from keneconomyand apolitical atmosphere ancestors ever manage to ruleIndia?), and hascomeback.Butithasbeenshowntobe itcomesup.India’sweakspotwasfoundby to feed themselveswithout daily work home to harness women’senergy. The so poisonedthat it could be as lethal as of coursetheUnitedStatesof Americaisbe- grosslyinadequate. What has been superb the millions of workers in the informal ur- raisesserious issues of Democratic Justice. shramik has waited long enough. Theyde- Covid-19. cominggreat(numberone in mortality) as is the voluntary effortsofmillions at help- baneconomy.Seventy yearsofplanning The Great Sudden Stop allows the op- servebetter. Other Asian countries have Therereallyisverylittle to celebrate DonaldTrumppromisedhewouldmakeit. ingeachotherandbearingthecostsof State concentrated on creating aprotected for- portunitytochangeall that. If India could usedtheirlabour forcewell. Indiahas to on this anniversaryofthe firstyear of Hong Kong,SouthKorea, Singapore,Japan inefficiencypatiently. MSMEshave adapted mal sector for10% of workers with protec- employits labour forcefully, it could in- learn to value itspeople. NarendraModi’s second term in office. WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 11 THESUNDAY EXPRESS,MAY24,2020 THE OUTBREAK TheWorld

PANDEMIC WATCH BrazilnowbiggestCovidhotspotafterUS Reports over 330,000Covid-19cases; ManyLatin American nations see recordinfections, deaths For first time since AGENCIES RIODEJANEIRO,MAY23 pandemic, China BRAZIL BECAME the worldNo2 In Sydney. Reuters/File hotspotfor coronavirus cases on reports no new Friday, secondonlytothe United States, afteritconfirmedthat AUSTRALIA 330,890 peoplehad been in- coronavirus cases fected by the virus, overtaking Govtasks Russia, the HealthMinistrysaid. Brazil also has recordedmore REUTERS youngerpeople than 21,000 deaths, thoughex- SHANGHAI,MAY23 togettested perts believe the true numbers arehigher. CHINARECORDED no newcon- Sydney: Australia’s most Asurgingcoronavirus is rav- firmedCOVID-19cases on the populous statesaidon aging parts of LatinAmerica, set- mainland forMay 22, the first Saturdayitrecordedjust ting records forcases and deaths time it had seen no dailyrise in three newcases thepre- Fridayinsome countriesinthe the number of cases since the vious dayand urged world’s mostunequal region pandemic beganinthe central younger peopletoget even as the pandemic’s march city of Wuhan latelastyear. In Beijing on Saturday. AP testedas it prepares to fur- slows in muchofEurope, Asia The National Health ther loosen restrictions on and the United States. Commission (NHC) said in a pubs and restaurants. Latin America’s twolargest statement on Saturdaythat this New South Wales (NSW), nations —Mexico and Brazil— compared to four newcases on whichincludes Sydney, is reportedrecordnumbers of in- the previous day. It said, how- home to nearly half fections and deaths almostdaily ever,there were twonew sus- Australia’s roughly7,100 this week,fuelingcriticism of pected cases: an importedone coronavirus cases and their presidents, who have slow- Open and occupiedgravesatVila Formosa cemetery,Brazil'sbiggest, in Sao Paulo. Reuters in Shanghai and locallytransmit- Boostahead plans to letpubs and walkedshutdowns in an attempt tedcase in the northeastern ofnextsteps restaurants hostupto50 to limit economic damage. province of Jilin. seated patrons from June The virus “does notforgive,” city,aerial videoshowedrowsof business shutdowns and quar- unproven remedy chloroquine, health advisers take the lead on New asymptomatic cases of 1, from 10 now. That has Uber driverBruno Almeida de open plots at the Formosa antines. and tussles with experienced the crisis but kept insisting the coronavirusfell to 28 from 35 THE REPORTofnonew prompted health officials Mello said at the burial of his Cemetery as it rushedtokeepup Even in countries where public health officials. Mexico’s strong familybonds and aday earlier,the NHC said. cases being flagged will to remind people to main- grandmother Vandelma Rosa, withdemand. casesare rising, manygovern- Since the outbreak began, work ethic would pullit through. China has seen asharp fall in likelybeaboosterto tain social distancing 66,inRio de Janeiro. “It does not Experts said the surging mentssay theyneedtofocuson Bolsonarohas losttwo health Mexico reportedits highest locallytransmitted casessince China’s leadership, as it measuresand increase choose race or if youare richor deaths across Latin America jobsthatare vanishing as quickly ministers,after pressuring them one-daydeath toll so far, with March as major restrictions on comes afterakeymeetin testing to preventa“sec- poor,blackorwhite. It’s acruel showed the limitsofgovern- as the virus spreads. to promotethe early use of anti- 479new fatalities Friday, up people movement helpeditto whichleadershailed the ond wave” of infections. disease.” ment action in aregion where Far-right President Jair malarialdrugs likechloroquine from theprevious high take control of the epidemic. country’s success in tack- De Mello said his grand- millions have informal jobs and Bolsonarohas been widelycrit- and hydroxychloroquine.Several Wednesdayof424.Italso re- However, it had continuedto ling the virus. However, mother’s death certificatereads manypolice forces areweak or icisedfor hishandling of the out- high-profile publichealth ex- ported2,960 newcases, capping see an influx of importedcases, withWuhanstillundergo- “suspected of COVID-19,” but the corruptand unable to enforce re- break and is at the center tooofa perts have also left. Manyhave aweek in whichdailyconfirmed mainlyinvolvingChinesenation- ing mass testing and new GERMANY hospitaldidn’t have thetests strictions. Infections also rose deepening politicalcrisis. been replacedbysoldiers. infections have hit close to that alsreturning from abroad, while local outbreaksreporteda necessarytoconfirm it. That and intensive-careunitswere The former armycaptain has Mexican President Andrés number.However, the Health newclusters of infectionsinthe fewdays ago, experts said Merkeldefends means her death wasnot swampedinPeru,Chile and seen his poll ratings drop, hurt Manuel López Obrador contin- Department acknowledgesthat northeastern border provinces of vigilance againstnew coronavirus counted in the official toll. Ecuador,countries laudedfor by his opposition to social dis- uedtotravelthe countryafter its the real number is probably sev- Jilin and Heilongjiang have waves will continue. restrictions In Sao Paulo, the worsthit imposing early and aggressive tancingmeasures, supportofthe firstconfirmedcase.Helet his eral times higher. emergedinrecent weeks. Berlin: German White House Chancellor Angela Merkel Gaza reportsfirst virus-related ‘Essential’: Trump demands states is defending her country's coronavirus restrictions questions US and calling on her compa- deathamid fears of outbreak allow places of worship to reopen triotstokeeprespecting death toll as social distancingrules. Gaza's health caresystemis Germanystarted loosen- ASSOCIATEDPRESS fraying under the weightofan it nears 1lakh PETERBAKER ing itsrestrictions on GAZACITY,MAY23 Israeli-Egyptian blockade, inter- WASHINGTON,MAY23 April 20 and sincethen nal Palestinian division and re- has at leastpartlyre- THE CROWDED Gaza Strip peated wars and skirmishes be- THENEWYORKTIMES PRESIDENTDONALD Trump openedmanysectors. At recordedits firstdeath from the tween Israel and Palestinian NEWYORK,MAY23 maynot consider church essen- the sametime, it has seen coronavirus on Saturday, offi- militant groups. tial to his personal life, but it frequent protests against cials said,amid fears an out- Home to 2million people, AS THE number of United States maybeto hispolitical future. curbs.Merkelsaid in her break could paralyze the terri- the Gaza Strip has onlyalittle deaths from the pandemic ap- And so he wadedintothe cul- weeklyvideo message tory's already overstretched over 60 ventilators and achronic proaches 100,000,President turewarsonFridaybydemand- Saturdaythat the meas- health care system. At aschool in Gaza. Reuters/File shortage of medication. Trumpand members of his ad- ing that states allowplaces of ures were necessary, and The Palestinian health min- Since mid-March,Hamas has ministration have been question- worship to reopen “right away” thatofficials mustcon- istrysaidthe deceasedwas a77- enforcedmandatoryquarantin- ing the official coronavirus toll. and threatening to overrule any tinue to justify whysome year-old woman who had un- 55. Allofthe infected have been ingathotels, clinics and schools Even as mostexperts saythat thatdefy him. restrictions can't be lifted derlying healthproblems. in designated quarantine and forall residentsreturning via the numbers areprobablyanun- Marching intothe White while ensuringthat they Gaza's authorities, ledby isolation facilities hosting re- Israel and Egypt. With the recent dercount, WhiteHouse meet- House briefing room fora At aprotest callingfor liftingofcurbs in California. AP areproportionate. the militant group Hamas,re- turnees from abroad. There spikeofcases, Hamas said it's ings have turnedtoquestioning hastilycalledannouncement, ported35confirmed newcases were no reports of community closing Gaza's borders forall ar- whether the toll is inflated by the Trumpdeclaredplacesofwor- SPAIN this week,bringing the total to transmission of the virus. rivals until the end of June. inclusionofpeople who died ship “essential” operations that William PBarr, astrong advo- Far-right while infected by the coron- should hold services in person cateofreligious rights, has been FRANCENODFOR avirus,but of other conditions. this weekend regardless of state threatening legal action against RELIGIOUSSERVICES protestsagainst Trumptold reporters on quarantine orders stemming California. Outrage grows over Boris aide’s Fridaythat he acceptedthe cur- from the coronavirus pandemic Churches,synagogues and lockdown rent death toll but that the fig- thathas killed nearly 96,000 mosques already areallowedto ■France is allowing ures couldbe“lowerthan” the people in the United States. operateinmorethan half of the religious services to Madrid: Thousands of 260-mile trip during lockdown official count, whichisnow “The governors needtodo states,althoughmanyremain resume starting Saturday cars and motor-bikes above 95,000.DrDeborah LBirx, the right thing and allowthese under social distancing instruc- afteralegal challengeto honking horns and wav- last year and the Brexit campaign Labour Party,who added the WhiteHouse’s coronavirus very important, essential places tions, and individual institu- the government's ban ing Spanish flags drovein MARKLANDLER& that resulted in Britain’s depar- thathehad “breachedthe lock- response coordinator,has said of faith to open rightnow forthis tionshaveopted to remain on suchgatherings procession through STEPHENCASTLE turefromthe European Union. down rules.” thatAmerica has taken“avery weekend,” Trumpsaid, reading closedfor safety. Madrid on Saturdayas LONDON,MAY23 But the reports that Leaders of twoother opposi- liberal approach” to what counts from aprepared text before leav- While Trumpdemanded ■ Religious leaders partofanationwide Cummings had driventohis par- tion parties, the Liberal as aCovid-19death. ing afterjustabout aminute that churches and other worship welcomedthe decision protestcalledbythe far- LONDON —Prime MinisterBoris ents’ house in Durham in April Democratsand Scottish National Moststatisticians and public without taking questions. houses reopen this weekend, but said it will take time right Voxparty against Johnsonfacedatorrentof callson when the governmentwas urg- Party, demanded thatheresign health experts saythe deathtoll “If they don’t do it, Iwill over- Deborah LBirx, the WhiteHouse to put the necessary the country’s lockdown. Saturdaytodismiss his mostin- ing people to stay home —par- or be fired. is probablyfar higher than what ride the governors. In America, pandemic coordinator, offered safetymeasures in place Spain, whichimposed fluential adviser,Dominic ticularly thosewithsymptoms Confronted by reporters is publiclyknown, because early we needmoreprayer, notless.” moremeasured advice. one of Europe’s toughest Cummings, afterreportsthat of the virus—setoff apolitical outside his home on Saturday, Covid-19deathswereprobably The WhiteHouse could not “Maybetheycan’t go this ■ To prevent further lockdowns on March 14, Cummingshadvisitedrelativesin tempest, withcritics accusing Cummings said, “I behavedrea- misclassifiedand peopleare dy- explain what powerthe presi- week if there’shigh number of spread of the virus, has startedtoeaserestric- northernEnglandwhilehewasill him of flouting the rules that ap- sonablyand legally.”Asked ing in their homes and in nurs- dent actuallyhas to override Covid cases,” she told reporters visitors to places of tions, but Madrid and withthecoronavirus—aviolation plytoeverybody else. whether his decisionhad been ing homes without being tested. the governors, and legal experts afterthe president leftthe brief- worship mustwear Barcelona have remained of Britain’slockdown rules. “TheBritish peopledonot “a good look,”hereplied: “Who Therisingnumberof UScoro- said he did nothavesuchau- ing room. masks, wash their hands in lockdown forlonger Johnson appeared deter- expect theretobeone rule for cares about good looks? It’s a navirus deaths comes as inter- thority,but he could take states “Maybetheywait another upon entering, and keep because of more severe minedto stand by Cummings, an them and another rule for question of doing the right views showthat Americans be- to courtonreligious freedom week.But thereisaway to social adistance of at leastone coronavirus outbreaks. enigmatic figure who helped Dominic Cummings,” said a thing. It is notabout what you lieve Washington has notbeen grounds, whichcould be time distance, likeyou arehere, in metrefromothers mastermind his election victory spokesman forthe opposition guysthink.” NYT rising to meetthe challenge. consuming. AttorneyGeneral places of worship.” NYT

OTHER TOP GLOBAL STORIES Death toll in Karachi plane crash now 97, two survived: Pak army

ered and twopassengers sur- conference. “Wewill trythat the PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA vivedthe crash. reportiscompletedinthree Plane jolted thrice before KARACHI,MAY23 Armyspokesman Major months”. General Babar Iftikhar Chief Executive Officer of PIA it crashed, says survivor NINETY-SEVEN people, includ- tweeted,“Rescue operation in Arshad Malik said that 21 bodies ing three children, were killed progressby ArmySearch &Rescue have been handedovertothe We fastenedseat belts. While and twopassengers miracu- Team,Armytroops,Rangers&so- families. Other 76 bodies were be- SAJJADHUSSAIN landing, the plane jolted three louslysurvivedafierycrash cialwelfareorgs.97 bodiesrecov- ing identifiedafter DNAmatch- ISLAMABAD,KARACHI,MAY23 times. Then it came on the run- when aPakistanInternational ered.2passengerssurvived.25af- ing. He said the plane's blackbox wayand wasonitforabrief time. Airlines plane with 99 travellers fected houses cleared,their wasalso found and handedover THE PIA plane wasflying very Then Idon't knowwhat hap- on boardplunged intoadensely residentsaccommodatedat vari- to the investigation board. "smoothly" but while attempt- pened, that the pilotadroitlylifted populatedresidential area near ousplaceswithassistanceof Civil Sindh HealthMinisterAzra ing to land, it "jolted"thrice and the plane offthe ground," Zubair, the airporthere, theArmysaid Administration.” Pechhusaidthatauthoritieshave then the pilot"adroitlylifted" the who is being treated forburns in on Saturday. He said that residentsofthe startedtaking DNAsamples but aircraftoff the ground, onlyto ahospital in Karachi, said. Flight PK-8303 from Lahore 25 affected houses have been it maytakeupto21days to match crash momentslater,recounts "The pilotthen flewthe plane crashedatthe Jinnah Garden area shiftedtodifferent places. the samples. Muhammad Zubair,one of just for10or15 minutes.Then he near Model ColonyinMalir on Aviation MinisterGhulam She said that 68 men, 26 twopassengers who miracu- again announcedthat the plane Fridayafternoon,minutes before SarwarKhansaid that the crash women and three children were louslysurvivedthe fierycrash. waslanding. When this an- itslanding in Karachi's Jinnah inquirywould be completedas among the deceased. "The plane wascoming very nouncement wasmade, Ilooked International Airport. Elevenpeo- soon as possible. Sindh government smoothly, 8303 of PIA.Myseat down and it appeared to me that ple on the ground were injured. “I will personallysupervise spokesman Murtaza Wahab was 8F.When it wasreaching we were (flying) overthe Malir The PakistanArmy, leading the whole process and we will not said that 16 people were injured JinnahInternational Airport, the Cantonment... Then when it was the rescue and relief efforts, spareanybody if held responsible on the ground but none of them People carry coffins of victims during afuneral in Karachi on Saturday. Reuters pilotannouncedthat 'weare about to land,suddenly…(it said 97 bodies have been recov- forthe crash,” he said at apress fatally. landing, fasten your seat belts'. crashed)," he said. PTI WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THESUNDAY EXPRESS,MAY24,2020 12 EXPRESS ADDA

On government’s strategy to deal with the economic impact of COVID-19 We arefighting awar againstcoron- avirusbut we arealsofacinganeconomic war. Some of the stategovernments do not have moneytopay salaries.Eventhe rev- enueofthe central government has dropped. The banking system is also fac- ing abig crisis. The MSMEs, migrant labourers, farmers,everyone is in aprob- lem. This is acrucial time forthe Indian economy, in fact forthe worldeconomy. In thissituation,weneedtofinalise apolicy where we needtofirstconsiderthe prob- lemsofthe poor, of gaon, gareeb, mazdoor and kisan.Ihave been told by the hoteland restaurant associations thatone croreand fiftylakh waiters work in thisfield. Even wellness centres, salons have fiftylakh workers —ofwhich50per cent are women. So everyone is in aproblem.The government’s vision is that we needtocre- atemoreliquidity in the market,and in- crease purchasing power. That is the rea- son the government has deposited money intothe accountsofthe poor,35crore peo- ple,inthe Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana. The government opened up the food stock forthe poor.Weare nowsupplying wheat andrice on alarge scale to them through stategovernments on averyreasonable rate. At the same time,due to thelock- down, the situation is very complicated and challenging. Nowthat the lockdown is in the fourth stage, we have liberalised manythings. Firstofall, the countryneeds to understand the artofliving with coron- avirus.Weneedtostopthe spread of coro- Union MinisterofRoad Transport&Highways and MSMENitin Gadkari at TheIndianExpress e-Adda on May18 navirus,wedon’thaveany vaccine, so for the time being we needtoplan everything. The government’s plan nowistopump 20 lakh crores with different schemes. Secondly, we needtolaunchinfrastructure work immediatelyand we needmaximum public, private and foreign investment in ‘I am confident migrant labourers infrastructure, roads, railways,aviation, and even the powersector.These arethe big infrastructure projectsthat we needto finance. By increasing liquidity in the mar- ket we will createmoreemploymentpo- tentialand at the sametimeweneedtoac- will return but we need to create celeratethe wheelsofthe economy. The government is giving packages to different stakeholders. In the coal industry, we are openingthe mines forthe public-private sector and alot of reforms have already been takenbythe government. Thegov- confidence in their minds’ ernment is committedtothe ease of (do- ing) business and at the same time, we needtomakeeconomic reforms. Firstper- form, then reform and then transform. That In an e-Adda hosted by The Indian Express,Nitin Gadkari, Union MinisterofRoad, Transport&Highways and MSME, is the mission forthe government. Alot of things have openedupfor the international spokeonclearance of dues to MSMEs,how to getdemand back in the marketand restarting industry investor.Indefence and other fields, this decision has already been taken. Hundred per cent FDI has been allowed in infrastruc- On bankslending to MSMEs ture. We need to bring in reforms in agri- culture too. We have an importofnine bil- We arenow givingpermission to dis- liondollars of edible oil and our farmers’ trict cooperative banks, urbancooperative production per acrefor soyabean is only banksand NBFC forfinancingMSMEs. The four-and-a-half quintal. The averageper banksare nowgiving loans and 75 per cent VOICE BANK acreinBrazil is about 26-27, and in the US of the loan is secured.Sothereisnorisk. it is 30 quintal because of GM seeds. We The role of NBFCs in givingautoand other SUDARSHANVENU, JOINTMANAGING government to do soisdecidedby have adifference of opinion in the country loans has been good but because of theILFS DIRECTOR,TVSMOTOR different committees, the bank system, on GM seeds but we need moreresearch. problem, theystoppedautofinance and Youhavegiven support to the MSME RBI, finance ministry; they have Self-sustainable —that is very important. that wasone of the reasons the auto sec- sectorthrough policy measures that collectively giventhe package. ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, that is the consent. torfaced alot of problems. So nowthe gov- include immediateliquidity.How can ■ ■ ■ ernment has decidedtohelp NBFCs. In the MSMEs accessthis financing? Maharashtra, these urbancooperative Would it be through banks? Do RAJEEVSETHI, FOUNDER-CHAIRMAN, On howthe global mood bankshavedepositsofmorethan three NBFCs have arole? Since the ASIANHERITAGEFOUNDATION towardsChinaspells lakh fiftythousand croreinsmall towns.I governmentisgiving guarantee, Whileyou areplanning freight opportunity forIndia already have an idea of howtoget foreign would it be at an affordable rate? corridors in the countryside,can we investmentsinNBFCs.The countryneeds The interestratewill be the same. notinclude asmall pagdandi forrural We needtoreduceimports and in- foreign investments. In Bangladesh, the Theywill getadditional 20 per cent tourism?Secondly, howcan we make crease exports.This is ablessing in disguise theyare going to spend.Circulationof waytheydevelopedabank cultureisasuc- working capital without collateral and daily-wage earnersorcottage-level forall of us. Youalready knowthe state- money is very important, it is going to ac- cess story. We needtosupportpeople (in no feewill be charged. We need to artisans beneficiariesofschemes that ment from the prime ministerofJapan that celerate the wheelsofthe economy. But small sectors). Theyare honest, theyare strengthen NBFCs as the mostavail- youhaverepositioned? thoseJapanese who have investmentsin the government also has itslimitations. We paying their moneybackand thereisno able resource fortaking loan for Wheneverthereisapossibilityof China can shipout.The Japanese govern- have giveneverything to peopleand we problem.Sowehavetomakefunds avail- MSMEs. In the automobile industry, public-private investment, the govern- mentisgiving themaspecial packagefor aretrying howtoconvert this intoaneco- abletothem. NBFCs aredoing well; theyare creat- ment shouldnot invest.Iconstructed that. This is the mood of thewhole world nomic success story. Our villageindustry turnoverwas ing jobs and amarket. It is important the Mumbai-PuneExpressway, community. From theUStoeverybody 88,000 croreuptothe end of March and to increase the purchasing powerand Worli-Bandraceiling project and 55 else, theywant to shift manyindustries, On pending payments we have decided to makeitfivelakhcrore we aretrying through all ways —pub- flyoversinMumbaiwithout govern- theydon’twant to deal with China. The in the next twoyears. We have hugepo- lic-private investment, banks, NBFC. ment money. Iraisedthe capital from Chinese economyisone of the mostpow- to MSMEs tential, and we needtoplan on howtocre- ReserveBank can also supportbanks the market.Wearemakingsome roads erful economies in the world, so this is the One of the majorproblems with atemoreemploymentinrural, tribal, agri- and createmorecapital in the market. depending on the economic viability. time forIndia. We have both skilledman- MSMEs is that theyare notgetting their Gadkari wasinconversation cultureand forest areas. We canalso trytoget FDI. We arealsomaking roadsfromthe powerand rawmaterialhere. Theway in payment. This problem is notjustwith with The Indian Express Political Actually, we have changed the defini- ■ ■ ■ Budget.Inthe Northeast, we arespend- whichweare developing India is ahuge Bharat sarkar,its ministries andundertak- Editor Ravish Tiwari (top) tion of MSMEs. Nowwehavemerged ingone lakhcroreonroad construction, opportunity forall industries. Firstofall, ings but also with the stategovernments, and National Business Editor manufacturing and service as one sector. KKRATHI, MANAGINGDIRECTOR, forwhich we have developed the upgradation of technology,and secondly itsministries and their undertakings and Anil Sasi We arenow thinkingofincreasinginvest- INDIANIVESHFUNDMANAGERSPVTLTD NHIDCL. All roads arenot specialhigh- the mostimportant thingisthatwecan the private industry. All this capital is the ment, particularly formediumindustries, Youhad announcedthe vehicle ways,thereisplace forbackwardareas, take foreign capital —FDI —inour different working capital of small MSMEs. So now and take theturnoverfrom100 croreto scrappage policy twoyearsago but it tribaldistricts,borderdistricts. Near the industries, particularly infrastructure. the central government has takenadeci- 200crore and investment from 20 croreto has still notcome intoeffect. What Rajasthan border, we aremaking 17 Forthe firsttime we arefacingthis kind sion that whatever is the liability of differ- 50 crore. We needtomakemoreindustrial arethe reasons forits delay? airportswhere theroads will also be of crisis.Iinteract with manypeople, they ent ministries and public undertakings of clusters. Noweveryone wantstogo to The policy has been finalisedbymy usedasairstrips. We arealsomakinga arenervous,thereisfrustration and nega- the central government, within 45 days Gurgaon, Noida,Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, ministry but we needapprovals from newroad from Dehradun, linking Char tivity.Firstofall,with the helpofall stake- theywill give all paymentstothe MSMEs. From the US to Chennai and Hyderabad. We needdecen- different departmentsand the cabinet. Dham. The all-weather road will lead to holders, including the media, we needto Secondly, Ihavealready written to all chief tralisation of industry. Recently, IapproachedSIAM(Society of moretourists,alsocreatingemploy- createpositivity in the minds of the peo- ministers and stategovernments to take everybodyelse,they Indian Automobile Manufacturers),asI ment. We arealsoconnecting ple. Self-confidenceisequally important. immediatedecisions. Ihaverequestedall On restarting industries and needafinancialpackage fortax rebates. PithoragarhwithMansarovar. We will face and win this warand go ahead major industry owners to issuepayments all want to shift their If amanufacturer scraps itsvehicles and ■ ■ ■ and makeIndiaaneconomicsuperpower. to MSMEs. Take theexample of the auto- the issue of migrant labour issues certificates,then we should offer We needtogiveapositive messagetoall mobile industry. This is an industrythat industries from The impression in the minds of people some discount. It willbeahuge advan- MAHESHMUNJAL, stakeholders because withoutthat confi- probablyhas the mostemployment po- is that all our industries,and our MSMEs, tage forthe automobile sector. We have CHAIRMANANDMANAGINGDIRECTOR, dence we cannot fight the war. tential in the country,ithas aturnover China. They don’t aredependentonmigrant labour.This is recentlyincreasedthe depth of Kandla MAJESTICAUTOLIMITED of Rs 4,50,000croreand 1,45,000croreex- notcorrect. It is around 10 percent, 15 portand JNPT port. The portwill see the Iwas manufacturing bicycle spokes On howtoget demand back port. When Irequestedall of them, they want to deal with per cent, 20 percent,and industry-to-in- world’s old vehicles. The aluminium, but the landing costwas lowerfor said firstwewill issue the payment if there dustryvolume is different. Firstofall,in- copper,steel, rubber,plastic will be someone importing them from in the market is abalance. So nowthis is aproblem and China. This is the dustrycan startwith 30 to 40 percent recycled. Pollution willalsoreduce and China. We should compareour When youpumpmoneyintothe econ- Idon’t have anyhesitation to acceptit. We workforce. Theydefinitely needmigrant demand forvehicles will increase.Itwill costing with the Chinese companies’ omy, it is going to createdemand. We have arenow trying to find asolution but thisis timefor India. We labourers. Youare correct, thereisalot of reduce the priceofautomobiles, which costing to attract industries. already restructured six lakh MSMEs upto atime whenweare notable to take any frustrationamong the migrant labourers, willhelp enhance exports. Iwill give youanexample. Earlier, March 31 and we have adecision to action againstanybody.Now most have both skilled theyhavestarted walking from ■ ■ ■ ceramic tilesweremade in Morbi but increase the debt upto December 31.Soby people aregiving moneytothe MSMEs on Mumbai to Patna. Theyall come to Delhi, the marketshiftedtoChina. The this wayout, at leastmyexpectation is that apriority basis. The SAMADHAN portalis manpowerand raw Gurgaon and Mumbai because of employ- PRAMODKAPOOR, manufacturers inMorbi changed their 25 lakh MSMEs will be restructured.Again there. If anyone is notgetting their pay- ment. Aurkoi khushi se nahi aaya hai, maj- FOUNDER-PUBLISHER,ROLIBOOKS technology and minimisedthe cost forthe restructuring, we have made apro- ment, he can come to the portal and we material available booriseaayahai (theycome because of Instead of giving such acomplicated aftergreater production. Nowwe vision forafund of Rs 10,000 crore, which can find away out.This is aproblem, it’s their compulsions). We needtocreatecon- assistance, whycouldn’t the have stoppedgetting tilesfromChina. willcombine with other funds to createa the reason theydon’t have working capi- here. Theway in fidenceinthem. Iamconfidentthatwhen governmentcut the interestrates or We aregoingtopublish abook on fund of Rs 50,000crorefor equity infusion. taland working capital is likeoxygenfor we start industries, theywill come back give us income taxholiday? three years of exportand import. We We have extendedthe EPF supportupto an ICU patient. So todaythis is one of the which we are but we needtoincrease confidence in their Thereare alot of companies fighting will see howwecan offerIndian August2020.The EPF contribution is issues but by giving additional20per cent mind. Ifeel in due course of time when the forsurvival. If we needtorestructure alternativestowhat is importedfrom reducedto10percent forthree months... working capital without collateral or any developing India is a atmospherewill change, theywill them, we needtofinance them. By China; we couldalso increase the this is going to be helpfultothe industry feetothe industry, Ifeel that therewill be come back. increasing the working capital, we are importduty on it. Youshould also and when industryisgoingtoget the some advantage. We’reexpectingthat huge opportunityfor helping them. Howitiseasier forthe keep the costs competitive. money, whentheir limitsare increasedand governmentswill payMSMEs as early Forlonger text, log onto working capital is increased,ultimately as possible. all industries www.indianexpress.com MAY 24, 2020 | WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM | PAGE 13 THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE

SPOTLIGHT, PAGE 14 BOOKS, PAGE 15 Great Expectations ● Historian Peter Frankopan on whythis pandemic reveals adangerous lack of Actor SoumitraChatterjee on the special global cooperation bond he shared with Satyajit Ray ● Twopoets on the strange new rhythms of aworld out of gear

As celebrations begin for Satyajit Ray’s ‘Ray’sartistry, centenary year, filmmaking contemporaries remember the breadth tookmybreath of the auteur’s genius. away’ First up, atribute to the women in his films —feminists with agency,sexual and intellectual freedom in an unequal world

Sharmila Ta gore

DON’T KNOWwhy,asweapproach Manikda’s 100th birthday, my mind keeps going backtothe daywhen Ela Bhatt (social activist) told me about his passing. Perhaps, it is the lock- Idown effect. At the time, Iwas stand- THROUGH THEIR EYES ing at the foyerofourhouse in Pataudi and al- Astill from Pather Panchali though Iwas getting regular updates on his failing health,her wordscaught meunawares. The rest of the daywas ablur.Later,when I wasalone in my room, it finallyhit me that I The intimate image will neversee him again. That when Ivisit his of India that Ray’s home, it wouldn’t be Manikda whowould open the door and say, “Come in, Rinku. Tell films presented to me all about Bombay!” His chair next to the RY

windowwherehesat surroundedwith his LE the world books, paintbrushes and music would be AL TG

empty. Itwasbothsurreal and heartbreaking. AR Martin Scorsese It’sbeen nowover60yearssinceManikda HI EL made his firstfilm, and almost30years since /D SH

his passing, yethis films continue to be apart HO IN THE relatively shorthistory of cin-

HOWTOBE IG of ourdiscourse,ourconsciousness, seen and ema, Satyajit Rayisone of the names MA

admiredinother countries and cultures. This NE that we all need to know,whose films is atributenot onlytothe artistic meritsofhis we all need to see.And to revisit, asIdo films but also to theessential humanismof pretty frequently. Ray, which livesonacrosstime and space. Forthoseofushereinthe West,the Manikda’s legacy ismanifold but what Iad- Apu trilogy—Pather Panchali (1955), mirethe mostare the array of complex Aparajito (1956)and Apur Sansar women characters he depicted in his films. (1959) —was amilestone. We were Raydid notdenyhis women the right of used to seeing India on screen but choice. His women had agency.Theywerepri- through apurelycolonial perspective, maryprotagonists in their ownright, which whichobviouslymeant that the prin- wasn’t the norm in those days.His under- cipalcharacters were Westerners and standing and portrayal of women were not BOTH the “extras”, the people who provided contrived. This, perhaps, can be understood the local colour and the background in the contextofthe twostrongwomeninhis detail, were Indians. We had no idea life—his mother,asingle parentwho brought whether the stories were happening himup,andhiswife, whowasaconstant com- with aman she barelyknows.She is over- sis of conscience. She is notapologetic about in Gujarat, Kashmir,WestBengalor panionand critic through his creative pursuits. whelmedbyher situation. Then we sense her her passion. This in itself wasadramatic de- Maharashtra—itwas just “India”. Outofall of Ray’s screen women, Sarbajaya resolve as she comes to terms with her new parturefromamajority of the filmsthatwere JeanRenoir’s film The River (PatherPanchali,1955) comesto mind imme- beginning. Apur Sansar,among other things, beingmadeat the time.Ray giftedhiswomen (1951), on whichRay helpedwith lo- diately, awoman battered by the ravagesof articulates this wonderful sense of love and protagonists the liberty whichdefiedthe cation scouting,was adifferent kind poverty, stoicallybearingwhat fate hurls at hope. Sixty years on, the romance of the film cliché that the male desireisvisual while the of experience, afilmmade from a her. This wasthe eraofMother India (1957), has notfaded. woman’s is sensory. deep love forIndiaand forBengali Pyaasa (1957) and Mughal-e-Azam (1960) in My next film Devi (1960)isthe storyofa As researcher WritajaSamsal says,while culture.But all the major characters Hindi cinema —all considered epitomes of feudal patriarch’s obsessive conviction that contemporarysocietywasunabletofathoma (withthe exception of Melanie, iconic womencharacters.Or,RitwikGhatak’s his daughter-in-lawisthe goddess incarnate. separateexistenceforwomenotherthaninre- played by RadhaBurnier) areeither Meghe Dhaka Tara (1960), among Bengali Iplaythe role of Doyamoyi whobecomes a lationtomen,orthe struggle inherentinsuch English or American. films. While Ghatak raises melodrama to an victim of religious orthodoxy.Evenasshe is dynamic existences,Satyajit Rayrecognised So, formostofushereinthe West, art, thereisnodenyingthathis women,much dressedand garlandedasadevi,evenwhen anddepictedwomenassexualbeingswiththe seeing thetrilogy forthe firsttime was likethe iconic women in Hindi cinema, were she is shockedand overwhelmedand cannot same desiresand needsasmen —something abracingandeye-openingexperience, essentially“mother goddesses”. The differ- fullycomprehend what has happenedtoher, patriarchystillcan’t quitecome to terms with andaverymovingoneaswell.Thepeo- ence with Rayisstark:inSarbajaya,thereis she cannotcontemplatethat the head of the —withouteverfilming overtlysexual scenes. plethathad been in the background of neither self-pity,nor glorification of her forti- family, her father-in-law, can ever be wrong. In film afterfilm, he explores theissue of so many movies were nowthe charac- tude. In contrasttothe Confusedand disoriented, women’srightsand the needtopush the pa- tersintheforeground.Thepicturestold world-wearySarbajayais ●●● she is tootimid, tradition- triarchalenvelope.Inthis,hisfilmslendthem- storiesof everydaylifeinaveinthatwas the impish Durga —forever bound and tooyoung to as- selvestocontemporaryreading. Yet, they are somewhat similartoItalianneo-real- curious, with asense of ad- Women in Ray’s sert her willorher sense of notaggressively women-centric,anti-men or ism.Andtheartistry?Thefilmmaking? venture, always courting self-preservation. This paral- anti-society.After all, it is Nikhilwho encour- It took my breath away.Itwas poetic, trouble, and, sometimes, films trace an arc ysis of rational thought ageshiswifetostepoutof theandarmahaland immediate,sweepingandintimate,all wanting to escape to an- whichtraps women in a LIGHTUP THE WORLD intothe worldoutside in GhareBaire (1984). It at the same time. other world. Protective that encompasses space the patriarchal order (Top) Satyajit Ray; Sharmila Ta gore in astill from Apur Sansar (1959) is onlythrough this exposurethat she con- Isaw allthree pictures in one sit- about Apu, she dies before has decidedfor them exists frontsherself andheremotions,evolvingfrom ting in atheatreinManhattan. Iwas she can live her dreams but the entire gamut of even now. Even today, like ahousewifetoawomanwithamind of her mesmerised. That remarkable close- her absence seems to res- the feminine Doya,scores of women con- moral sensibility and his men areall helpless in Mahanagar stands up to herhusband and own—evenifthat evolution comes at aprice. up of Apu’s eyeinPather Panchali,the onateinApu’s lifewith a tinue to sufferinjustice in the children”, one criticbemoans. LikeAditi in his familyand refuses to give up working sim- It is impossible formetodefine the “half waythe cut workswith the sudden plangent wistfulness all experience name of family, tradition, Nayak (1966), Iplaythe “conscience” in this plybecause her identity as aworking woman shades, the hardlyaudible notes” thathe burstofRaviShankar’smusic —forme, through the trilogy. cultureand honour. film. Through her rational,non-judgmental has hurtthe husband’s ego. Similarly,when wanted “toexploreand capture” in his that wasone of those precious revela- Then there’s Indir ●●● Unlike Apur Sansar, outlook,the herodiscovers his humanity. she resignsfrom her job, it is to protest against women. From Sarbajaya to Bimala, theytrace torymomentsyou have in amovie the- Thakurun, wrinkled, bent whereIfelt energisedonthe Ray’s womencharacters struggle with thewrongfuldismissalof awomancolleague an arcthat encompasses the entiregamut of atre, and it had aprofound and lasting double with age. We remember almost every set, hereIwas constantlybesetbyafeeling of countless odds: tradition-bound, young with whom she chooses to stand in solidar- thefeminineexperience.Eventhe secondary effect on me as afilmmaker. nuanceof herperformance:howhungrilyshe heaviness,asthoughIwascarryingamassive Doya’s capitulation before the fanatic willof ity.Inthe closingscene, as Aartiand Subrata women characters speak eloquentlyofthe And the trilogy wasonlythe be- looksonasSarbajaya eats,her complete ab- weight on my chest. The claustrophobia was the familypatriarch,with economic freedom walkuninhibitedlyhandin handthrough the timein whichhisfilms were made.Onecould ginningofone of the greatestbodies sorptionwithself-preservation,howsheisim- inescapable. It wasasthough the oppression in Mahanagar (1963), the freedom of choice crowdedstreets of Kolkata, it is almostasif go on and on, but forme, as afemale member of work in the history of cinema. mune to all insults andisreadytogodoor to of Doya had reachedout to infect me. Ithink in marriage[Kapurush,1965; Samapti (Teen Rayisheralding anew eraofgenderparity. of the audience, it is at once humbling and em- We allneedtosee the films of door in order to survive,how she gobbles her Manikda had told everyone nottointeract Kanya,1961)], transgressive erotic desires Thequietrevolutionwroughtby thedaughter powering to see suchenduring portrayals of Satyajit Rayand re-seethem, again foodupandstillhastheurge to nurtureaplant, with me, he wanted me to feel isolated.This (Charulata,1964; Seemabaddha,1971; Aranyer and the mother in Kanchenjungha (1962), womanhood on screen. Ihavenodoubt that and again. Takenall together, they’re and her bond with Durga andApu. worked very well forthe character. Din Ratri)and her struggle to retain her dig- wheretheyemerge out of years of being dom- giventhe manyconcerns of his films, Ray’s one of our greatesttreasures. Apur Sansar (1959) wasmyfirstfilm with While Iwas committed to an outdoor nity in an unequal and patriarchal world inated by the familypatriarch to stand up for cinema, withhis unforgettablewomen pro- Manikda.Myveryfirstscene waswhereApu shootfor Aradhana(1969),Manikdacalledme (AranyerDin Ratri, Mahanagar,Nayak). These their owndesires, is, without doubt, one of the tagonists,will return to enrichour livesover MartinScorseseisanOscar-winning brings his bride home and invites her intohis again to play Aparna in AranyerDin Ratri women areexceptionalin theway theyartic- moststirring onscreen statementsonthe and over again. Italian-Americanfilmdirector, small one-room tenement. At first, we see (1970). But this Aparna, unlikethe Aparna in ulatetheir emotional, sexual and intellectual overthrow of the deadwood of tradition, more screenwriter,producer,andactor howtentative Aparna is. She is nowawayfrom Apur Sansar,isamodern, educated citygirl. longings. In agesturethat predates the powerful because it is understated. In ActorSharmilaTagoreis theformerchairpersonof the protective comforts of her home, alone “Ray’s women in this film areofsuperior women’smovement in India,the protagonist Charulata,the protagonistdoes nothaveacri- CentralBoardofFilmCertification EYE,THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE

14 SPOTLIGHT MAY 24, 2020 DOWN IN JUNGLELAND ‘HE WAS

RanjitLal POSSESSIVE

Ranjit Lal is an author, environmentalistand birdwatcher OF ME,LIKE Mother AFATHERIS Knows Best OF HIS SON’ Nature’sgot enough tricks up her sleeve to keep us guessing for awhile yet

EREALLYhavegottenahead of ourselves, haven’t we?Wepride ourselvesonbeing at the very topofthe food chain, of being Wable to “conquer”and “control”Mother Natureaccording to our whimsand fancies. In everyway, our technology comes out tops. Ah, but does it? Here’s a setofgentle reminders that will showthat in mostvital PARTHAPAUL aspectsoflifeand living, Mother Natureisway aheadof us and we’renot goingtocatchupinahurry (if ever). Mrinal Sen. Narsingh in Abhijaan (1962), Gangacharan in Take that processwhichsustains nearly alllifeonthe Actor Soumitra Iwas asought-afteractor from the begin- Ashani Sanket (1973), which Icouldstrongly planet: photosynthesis. Silentlyand efficiently,green ning. After ApurSansar,IactedinTapan relatetoasIcome from asmall town leavesuse solar energy to makefood(sugars) out of thin Chatterjee, 85, on Sinha’s KshudhitaPashan (1960), and then (Krishnanagar in Nadia district) and had ex- air and waterasitwere. Notonlythat, the “waste”gas with Asit Sen(Swayambara, 1961)and Mrinal periencedthe aftermath of the 1943 Bengal that is emittediswhat permitsall lifeonearth: oxygen. the bond he shared Sen (Punascha, 1961). ApartfromManikda, famine. However, Iwas happyabout one fact We maynow understand the intricatechemistry in- Sinha is the other director from whom Ihave when Ibecame Feluda: Iwas finallyplaying volved —but we’renot going to be producing green learnt the tricks of the trade. acharacterthat my childrenwould love.But leavesourselvesinthe foreseeable future! with Satyajit Ray when Feluda became acult figure, Iusedto We nowknowexactlyhow abutterflychrysalis turns In your book, The Master and I (2015), you wonderwhy shouldpeople,particularly the intoabutterflywiththe ingenious help providedbymir- Alaka Sahani have mentionedhow Raygrew young ones, knowmeonlyfor playing acle enzymes. Mostofthe caterpillar cells(making up its possessive about youlater on. Feluda? Later on, IrealisedIwas mistaken. muscles, forexample)are broken down into their protein When Sinha offeredmethe movie, I Even if one young child remembers me as constituents, whilecells of the butterflyparts —the HOWDID youbecomeanactor? Did asked Manikda if Ishould acceptit. Manikda Feluda that makes me happy as an actor. wings, proboscis, etc., whichsofar have been kept in a Satyajit Rayconsider youfor anyfilm told me that Imustdoitand stateofarresteddevelopment by another miracle en- other than Apur Sansar (1959)? nevermiss suchopportuni- Can youpickyour favourite zyme —get activatedasthis enzyme leveldrops. The but- Iwas interestedinacting from an early age ties. He waspossessive in a characters from Ray’s terflycells live offthe erstwhile caterpillar cells and grow when Iwas astudent in Howrah Zilla School, different way, likeafather is He became movies? inside the chrysalis until ready to emerge.Let’s see us do and, later,incollege(City College, Kolkata). about his son. That’sveryverytough. I something like that! Iwas in collegewhen Pather Panchali (1955) my mentor.Itis have workedwith14 of hisfea- Then,there’s the absolutelyastounding processof wasreleased. When Manikda (as Rayisfondly Howdid youreact to Ray turefilms and twoshort films. evolution. Sure, it’s takenbillions of years but it is as- called) waslooking forsomeone to playthe casting other male leads in from him that Igot Iactedevenintheverylastfilm tounding thatall forms of life had acommon ancestor. lead in Aparajito (1956), afriend of mine, who his movies? to know more Uttoran (1994) thathewrote. Everyliving creaturethat evolveddid so to surviveits wasassisting him, introduced me to him.He Well, everytime We were tostartshootingforit particular environmentand pass on itsgenes, but in do- found me to be toogrown up andtall forthat Manikda made afilm,I about films. in February1992 but he was ing so, it foundits niche in the world, so thatinthe end it role. Aparajito travelledtoVenice Film Festival would have been happyto hospitalisedamonth earlier. all fitted,likeagiant jigsaw puzzle.Talkabout Mother and got thebestfilm award(the Golden Lion). do it. But that wasnot pos- Ours was Afterhepassedaway(on April Naturetaking amacroviewoflifewhile takingcareof At apress conference there, Manikda declared sible. Iwas working in many 23, 1992),his son Sandip com- everymicro detail too! Everyliving thing is tunedpitch- that he wasgoing to makethe thirdpartof films. He became my men- acomplex pletedit. Afterworking with perfect:carnivorous predators areable to kill and eat just the trilogy.After he returnedtoKolkata, he tor. It is from him thatIcame Manikda in so manyfilms enough herbivoressothat the latter don’t cleanupall mentionedthat he had someone in mind for to know more about films. I but enjoyable spanning so manyyears, it therole ofthe adult Apu.Ihad no inklingthat wasakeen student of liter- seems to me as if all this were he wasconsideringme. Some years afterthe EXPRESSARCHIVE ature.That helpedmeto relationship one big film. making of Apur Sansar,Iwas told it’safter GOLDEN YEARS It waslikethat from the beginning.Before converse with himabout meeting me that he made up his mind about (From top) Soumitra the shootofApur Sansar began, he groomed various things.Iusedtobor- Anyregrets? making the thirdfilm of the trilogy. me to agreat extent. He gave me thefilm’s rowbooks, including those about cinema All those RaymoviesthatIcouldnot be Chatterjee; astill synopsis and sharedhis idea of the character. and acting, from him. It wasacomplexbut part of bothers me. Forinstance,Iasked Apur Sansar wasyour debut film. How from Sonar Kella, in Those days,theatresusedtoscreen good enjoyable relationship. Manikda to castmeasGoopyinGoopyGyne did it changeyour life? which the actor Hollywood movies on Sundaymornings. Iac- Bagha Byne (1969). He told me thatIdid not The movie launchedmycareer and gave played the role of companiedhim to cinema halls. Occasionally, From being Apu to Feluda, youplayeda fitthe imagethat he had forthe character. me the opportunitytobeaprofessional ac- Feluda; and on afilm he would point out certainaspectsofthe per- wide rangeofcharacters in his movies. When Iwatchedthe film, Iwas completely tor. Till then,Ihad onlyplayedsmall parts set with Ray (far formance. The greatestinspiration forme, Since Feluda wassuchapopular literary bowledover by themagnificent performance on stage. With Apu, Ifinallyfound what I however, was Pather Panchali. Whilewatch- figure, did youfeel asense of of Goopy by Tapen Chatterjee. It wasalmost right) waslooking for. ing this movie, it struckmethat this washow responsibility? decidedthat Iwould playthe role of Ashoke our performance should be. Notreally.WheneverIwork in afilm, Itry in Kanchenjungha (1962). My dates didn’t WIKIMEDIACOMMONS Youhavespoken about Raynot to go deeperintothe character.Manikda had matchwith itsschedule. Eventually, Arun IT’S AWONDER interfering when youfaced the camera. Youhaveworkedwith manytop already givenmesomanykinds of role such Mukherjeeplayeditand he has done sucha Abutterfly chrysalis Wasthat the case from the start? directors, including Tapan Sinha and as Amulya in Samapti (Teen Kanya, 1961), good job.

plant life. If all plantlifedies, well, herbivoreswilldie of starvation —and then so will the carnivores. All that will be leftare lifeless wastelands. We did managetostudy howbirds flyand used the chickenManchurian; andawheedling recep- same principles of aerodynamics while designing air- tionistcongratulating asperm donor on be- craft. But at what cost? Think of the bundobust involved Vo cal for Local coming afather.All thosemen —Nograj, in getting asingle flight offthe ground. Amillionchecks Asghar,Charles,Abdullah and Manjunath — and counter-checks, thousands of gallons of aviationfuel, were thecreations of Sait,the ventriloquist. the emission of huge quantities of greenhousegases— How actor-comic Danish Sait and his aatmanirbhar “I have calledpeople and told them Ihaveput and the fact that youneedtobeatthe airport at least petrol in your dieselcar,ortold someoneIam three hours before your flight! Abirdonawirejustraises props became the discovery of the lockdown madlyinlovewith your daughterand Iwant itstail, craps(to lighten itsload), spreads itswings and is to elope with her,” he says. up and away.Banks of computers guide the jettoits des- AmritaDutta vent schools in these sketches, da!Fromtry- Abig fanofthe work of British comedian tination —abirdhas all that navigation equipment ing to cadgeabottle of alcohol fromuncle in a Sacha BaronCohen, Sait realised thatthe tuckedawayinits birdbrain and will flyacross conti- “militarycanteen” to racing to “put one ker- mad success of theprank show—you can nentsifonannual migratorytrips. “BRO,HEistoo Hindi,no?” chief” in the queue in front of the wine store, still find entireshows uploadedonYouTube Again, it’s onlyrecentlythat we’veunravelledthe mys- “Nodude, we aretoo south Indian!” theyare all there. There is the chettan of Family —and especiallyNograj,the corruptpoliti- tery around insect flight —whichuses acompletely dif- Supermarket, aloving hat-tip to the Malayali cian, wasasign that he had to move to abig- ferent approach: basicallyaninsect generates little torna- THE QUICKEST, mostentertaining dissection ownersofcity department stores and their gerplatform.“Nograj is someone youcan does around itsveryflexible wings to attain lift. We’re of Prime MinisterNarendraModi’s May12 phlegmatic response —“aah”—to all kinds of find in Vidhan Soudha, who speaksEnglish nowfranticallytrying to emulatethat. Everyliving crea- speechannouncing lockdown 4.0 wasnot by customers lifethrowstheir way. “FromDubai even if he doesn’tknowhow to,who can say turehas features whichwewould love to copybybio-en- aragingTVnews anchorbutanactor-comic in to Bengaluru,every supermarket conversa- the mostinappropriatethings, and who gineering. We’veaccepted, perhaps, that we can never Bengaluruspeakingintoayellow paintbrush. tion goes likethat.What does that aah mean? prides himself on making money,”says Sait. createartificial mechanisms as wondrous, so arefiddling DanishSait, whose viral conversationswith Ihaven’t been able to figureout,” says Sait. Humble Politician Nograj releasedin2018, ce- with genes to see if theycan be borrowedtodothe job. imaginaryfriends have been the discovery of There’s Jaya,the domestic worker,whose didi menting the cult of Nograj. Our ultimateboastisthat we can destroy theplanet the lockdown, wondered if hasrealisedher worthin two In someways, the nimble-footed jugglery in amatter of minutes. So can Mother Nature: there’s a therecould be a“skip-intro ●●● months, and whose always- of accentsand thoughtsthat Sait pulls offis super-volcano sitting beneath Yellowstone National Park, button” to the PM’s speech, sloshedhusband hasfound aBengaluru thing —long-time residentsof whichisatime bomb of sorts.Not to mention the ring of before asking, “Macha,what ‘I have always had some serious online fandom. this multilingualcity have been known to fire around the Indonesian islands. We all sawwhat the is aatmanirbharta?” There’s the redoubtable carryonconversations inthree languagesat tsunamidid backin2004. But, unlikeus, MotherNature Sait wasspeaking fora afascination for Razia, whoserobust “thoo, be- once. Sait speaks “Kannada, Tamil, does notseem as intent on destroying the planetasshe is cohortofsouth-of-Vindhyas warsi” is the full-bodiedre- Malayalam, Hindi, English, alittle bit of on sustaining it. citizens flummoxedbythe voices, accents buffofaclosetfeminist.Also Telugu, Urdu. And Kodava takk, too, from my Her absolutenumber one miracle is, of course, that of PM’s Hindi, but if thereisone and characters,’ playing:the love storybe- boarding school days in Coorg.” The sketches creatingself-sustaining life. What wasthe magicformula person who has acedlock- tween Pyaari Bakhri and might be about aworldwide experience of that made an inanimateobject, animate and alive?And down goals of self-reliance, says Sait Gopal the Goat thathas set confinement, but theyget their zing from be- then evolve intoamillion incredible forms of life?For it is this 32-year-old comic severalheartbleatsaflutter. ing“vocal about local”. thousands of years, we’vepolluted her air,water and soil, who has as manyaccentsin ●●● “I have always had afasci- What theyalso do is laugh at the privi- flattenedher forestsand behavedlikepower-crazed lu- his repertoireasBengaluru nation forvoices,accentsand leged—theirobsessions and conspiracy the- natics. Nowshe’s showing us what she can do —withan autorickshawdrivers have excuses nottogo characters,” says Sait. As achild,herecalls ories, heroes and villains.Whilehestays away infinitesimal, invisible enemythathas brought lifeaswe anywhere. The baby-facedactor has been hangingout with his sister, the actor Kubbra SOMETHING ries. In some ways,this is justanextended from contemporarypolitics, Sait sneaksin knowittoagrindinghalt. Oh yes, we stilldaretoboast morphing intoanensemblecastofcharac- Sait, at adepartment storehis mother owned, FRESH childhood,” he says. comments aboutclassand Islamophobia. But thatsooner or later we’ll getahandle on this —but, well, ters, who pop up in his immenselypopular and soaking up the many kinds of people who It wasonradio thathis voicebecame fa- mostofall, inthe sketches featuring the feisty Danish Sait there’s suretobeanother moreinsidious and dangerous shortvideos to chat aboutlockdown blues. would walk in, their verbal ticsand odd mous, long before Sait did. In 2011,anFM Razia and her orange-beardedreligious- little bug waiting in the wingsfor itscue. Theyare all gluedtothe phone —whichcould singsong voices. It also helped that his mom channel startedashowthat became a mindedbrother, we see characters refusing In effect, MotherNaturehas put us across her knees be abox of tissues or aPersiancat, abottleof Yasmin, who makes an appearance in one of Bengaluru cult. It involvedaseries of men call- to bevictims, but laughing at themselvesand and is giving us aresoundingspanking. It reallyistime to wine or apackofchips, all repurposedinto the videos, is also “an unbelievable mimic”. ing clueless listeners to play pranksonthem. the world. Stereotypes, yes—but made of saysorry and begintomend our ways. aatmanirbhar props. “My mother would press the recorder button Therewas the Dakhani-speaking waiter from flesh, blood and wit.“Comedy should always Who arethesepeople?Bro, youmusthave and say, speak.Mysisterand Iwould blabber Shivajinagar,who calledavegetarian cus- punchup, notdown. Idon’t want to ever recognisedthe old boys of Bengaluru’scon- intotape aftertape, making up voices and sto- tomer to tell himthathehad been served makethe weak feel weaker,” he says. EYE,THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE

MAY 24, 2020 BOOKS 15

‘Inclusivity and tolerance produce Season of better outcomes in practice’ Disquiet Tw opoets on the strange new Historian Peter Frankopan on how plagues reset social relations and why this pandemic reveals rhythms of aworld thrown out adangerous lack of global cooperation of gear

Amrita Dutta The biggestchallenge, by ALL SOCIETIES passing through tragedies think of themselvesas far,isthe consequences exceptionallyill-fated.The BlackDeath, as youwrote in The Silk Roads (2015, of bringingthe economy Bloomsbury), came to Europe through the very routes that brought wealth and to astandstill and trying newideas. Howdoes the novel to kick-start that. The coronavirus outbreak compare? In lots of ways,the coronavirus is farless burden will fall most dangerous —atleast, from apathogenic point of view. Theplague is deadly, partlybecause heavily on the poor and being infectedso oftenleadsto death.Thishad all sorts of consequences, ranging from acol- will aggravate inequalities lapsein thelabourforcetolong-term changes in spending habits; and, of course, it also changedhowpeoplethoughtabouttheworld around them. As with the Spanish Flu, or,in- stronger immune systems, aremoreresilient deed, with warfareortraumatic eventslike and have better survivalinstincts. Thatcreates Partition,havingcloseexperience of deathand adifferent outcome, forexample, to today’s suffering produces sharp changes in society. challenge, wherethe primaryvictims have Thestrangething aboutcoronavirusis that tendedtobethose who areolder and above all while it is aserious global problem, the bigger withpre-existingunderlyinghealthproblems. challenges in the immediatefuturewill be The biggestchallenge, by far, however, is the economic and political. Mercifully, mortality consequences of bringingthe economytoa ratesare notactuallythathigh.This pandemic standstill and trying to kick-startthat.Thebur- really revealshowpoorglobalgovernanceand den will fall mostheavilyonthepoor and will cooperationareatthe internationallevel.That aggravateinequalities. should scareusall about futureoutbreaksof disease —and about the other major problems Severalcommentators have feared an of the coming decades, fromenergy to climate, increaseinthe concentration of powerin famine to migration. states, vis-a-vis individuals. Do youagree? Yes. In almost everycountryinthe world, What could be the implications of this the statehas takenemergency newpowers pandemic on aworld in whichnations thatcanfundamentallyreshaperelationswith SUVAJITDEY already seemedtobeturningaway citizens. The question is whether these are from globalisation? handedbackoncethethreathasdiminishedor It can be easy to exaggerate the disloca- areretained ‘just in case’. Clearly,the waythat TheWorldTakesaBreath tions in the world. Alot of commentators are dataisgathered and usedisamajor concern talking about reconfiguredsupply chains, ma- forall of us, as this drasticallyaltersthe ways Arundhathi Subramaniam jor shifts in manufacturing and production thatgovernmentscantrackandmonitorwhat and about localisation taking over from glob- we do, with whom, where and even why. alisation. Idon’t take these views very seri- The increase in the powers of the state The worldtakesabreath ously: theyare notgroundedinhistorical comes at atime whenthe leaders in many precedence nor in the logic of howthe world, countries arelookingtomakepolitical capi- noisily— business or politics actuallyreally work. talbytargeting or victimising minorities. That will getworse,sadly,asaresult of the pan- recycling anodyne YouwriteinThe SilkRoads that the demic. Thereisalong and darkhistory about text messages plague notonlydevastatedEurope in the disease,persecution andviolence. We should aboutthe wisdom 14th century, but —incredibly—made it be wary of that and demand better. of looking within, richer.How did thathappen? When scholars writeabout the Black Howdosocietiesregaintrustafter photographsofmuteanguish Death, theydosoalmostexclusively about pandemics? to give us our dailyfix Europe (and, occasionally, Egypt). That is partly By producing competent outcomes. We of indignation, because it is Europe’s onlyreal major experi- all want, expect and needour governmentsto ence with pandemics and disease in the last reduce inequality,todeliverpublicservices, awild pandemic 1,000years—whichmakesit highlysymbolic labourfromother locales, the types of work THE FUTURE IS These lastfew months raise lots of questions. to ensurethat those who have themostabil- of pieties. forscholars and the generalpublicalike. What in questionandalsoon therole thatnewtech- ANEW WORLD One is about the competence of governments ity rise to the top—and to provide protection the plague does, or,indeed, anyoutbreak of nologies playinreplacing human labour. and those in decision-making positions. If they to thosewho needit. Leaders or governments Who’d have thought Peter Frankopan,49, disease that killsin large numbers, is to reduce were notready and prepared poorly for that do notdothis can lose their mandates an emptyhour the size of the workforce: the fewerworkers Whydosocieties driftawayfrom is professor of COVID-19, what else aretheynot ready for? quicklyandareharshly judgedby history;but wassomuchlabour? thereare,the morevaluable labour becomes. ensuring healthcare, when past global history, worse, theycreateproblems rather than solve That means those lowerdownthe social spec- experience says diseasekills? Oxford University Howhavedisasters of this scale tendedto them. Inclusivity and tolerance arenice ideas We walk the daymosttimes trum can negotiatebetterterms, both in terms Because politicians arerewardedfor mak- affect political power? And howdifferent in theory; but theyproduce better outcomes on steel girders of wagesandworkingconditions.That,in turn, ing short-term decisions, rather than invest- arethoseimplications likelytobeinthe in practice, too, than small cabals thatemerge of habit spurs social mobility and consumption pat- ing forthe future. That is partlybecause there ageofuber-nationalism? and retain all powerfor themselves. That is terns, too. So the effectscan be dramatic. is pressurefromthe electorateand themedia It is hardtogeneraliseacross time and whydemocracies aremoreefficient, more knowing that as long as thereare lists However, it does notalwayshappen like to deliverimmediateresults; but Isuspect it space. Alot depends on whom disasters affect agreeable and moresuccessful than other sys- the worldissafe, that. We see no similar profile in Indiaafter also has something to do with the fact that most. In the Spanish Flu, forexample,the tems of government. Sadly, the direction that theSpanishFluoutbreakin 1918-19—sothere manypoliticians and civil servantshavevery prime victims were adults aged 20-45, with manydemocratic states aretaking is to focus and meaningwon’t save us areimportant differences that depend, pre- similar experiences, lifestyles and skills, and, men affected disproportionatelymorethan on winningelections, rather than building (neverhas), sumably, on the region,the availabilityof therefore, fall victim easilytogroupthink. women —partlybecause women have long-term futures forall the population. but rhythms will.

And onlysometimes does all the fumbling and twitching swivel When This is Over into immaculatechoreography

Eyes firmly on the future, two writers speak of returning to life once the pandemic is behind us and the sky falls away likeblue laughter Avni Doshi Devapriya Roy winter —has to sayabout his babybrother Bipanjyot.Hewill tell me about all the cab and suddenly, we’recycling, drivers he knows,acrossDelhi and howthey WHEN Ithinkabout lifereturning to nor- WHENTHIS lockdown ends, the firstperson areall coping. Invariably, one thread will lead handsfree, handsfree, mal, Ifeel the mingling of anticipation and who rings our bell will be PalSinghji. to another,wewill drive through JNU,the dread one might experience when seeing Mr Singh runs acab service near the place we arebothobsessedwith, and even if on air. an old love —there arememories, hesita- Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and has Ihaven’t said anything to him, we willend up tions and the knowledge thatnothing will been in our lifefor morethan adecade, part at Khan Market.Heknows all my vices. ArundhathiSubramaniamisanaward-winningauthorandpoet ever be quitethe same. We arelearning of everycrisis —several hospital runs —and Andthen,smilingatpeople(becauseinthis about ourselvesinisolation, particularly everybig occasion —firstbook launch, PhD fantasy,thevirushasdisappearedassuddenly who we arewhen no one is watching, and viva,insane boutsofhouse-hunting. Much as it had appeared and no one is wearing what we craveormisswhen dailylifeisatits likeevery hapless member of our family, masksorlooking suspiciouslyatdetermined mostpared down. whichnaturallyincludes ourfriends,hehas smilers), Ishall visit the three book stores at SpareUs! Friends and familyhavebeen asking me also crossedoverintoone of my books,Indira. Khanone afterthe other,first, Bahrisons, then if I’m writing —what agreat time to sitdown Beforethe JanataCurfew in March,hehad through the middle lane to Full Circle, and, fi- Daud Haider and wrestle with asecond novel! But the gone home to Himachal Pradeshfor acouple nally, backtoFaqeer Chand. Ishall dawdlein- truth is writing is difficult, even excruciat- of days,and then, as the crisis deepened, his sideeachfamiliarspace,chattingwiththecus- ing, these days.Instead, during this time at familydidn’t lethim return. It wasjustaswell. todians of the books, taking an inordinately Imprisonment Iknow, likeafamiliar nightmare home, Ifeel astrong desiretomakeart —to Aman whoworksthe mostimpossible hours longtimetochoose. Ishall be expansive:buy by heart, sketch,paint, createacollage, gather and in the city,sleeping onlytwo or three hourson thisbookforVandthatbookforA,acookbook Ihavepeeledmonths and sievedseasons in jails. arrangefound materials, something Ican nightsthereare multiple trips to the airport, formyfriendGeewho’srediscoveredcooking HereIam, hunchedagain amongscourgesofloneliness begin and complete in ashortspan of time it wouldhavebeen the firsttime in 40 years inthelastfew months,there arethebirthdays Bruised by atwo-headedhydra—terror and an invisible –and Iamincreasinglyaware thatI’m not ormorethat hewould have been away from we missed, and then there’s my niece Miko, virus. very good with my hands. Sure,Ican make Delhi forsolong, eaten his wife’s cooking for who had discoveredthe joys of bookswith something conceptual, but suddenlyskilled morethanamonth, spent time with his flaps and secrets justbeforethe lockdown. work and artthat requires techniquefeels nephew’s young children, without the pres- Finally, armsfull of books, Ishall walk Despairing and dead, essential, even radical. Likemanypeople, I’m REUTERS sureofhis Delhi regulars calling himall the round to Prithviraj Market, whereformer foot- Hungryand ailing, spending alot of time reading and learning sands of images from the lastdecade, and LONELYCITY time. (In his case, Ican afford thesentimental- baller Aslamji always givesusthe best mut- Men in perpetual winter haunt pyresand graves across what Ican online. Workshops,webinars and am makinglittle albums of special holidays Aview of Business ity onlybecause Iknowthatdespitethe loss ton. He asksafter my father—the twoofthem centuries free materialare suddenlyabundantand and trips. Namibia. Peru. Japan. Bhutan. As I of income, he has no outstanding debtstobe shareabond even though my father livesin as gigantic griefs everywaking hour Bay area, after a thereissomuchtochoose from. But the go through the pictures,I’m amazedathow honoured—hehas paid offthe EMI on his Calcuttafor mostofthe year —and Iask after Their phantom screams pound my listless ears. pleasureofdoing these things in person is muchI’vetravelledinmylife—and howI’ve curfew was imposed cabs —and his children arebothgrown-up). his wife. Though we speak of the lockdown acutelymissing. When this is all over,Iwant takenthis privilegefor granted.Being still to prevent the spread When the lockdown ends, Iwill sit in Pal andits losses, oureyesare on the sunlight out- to maketime to take artclasses, to be around forsolong, Isuddenlyhavethe urge to move. of COVID-19, in Singhji’s whiteDzireand nottell him where side that has painted everythingingold, and Spareus, Ogoddess of darknights, spareusyour blood- other students, in front of ateacher. Perhaps when this is all behind us, I’ll plan a Dubai, UAE to go.Iwill ask him, instead, about his village upon the people, who, having emergedfrom ied, frightening grimace. Spending endless hours at home has trip —somewhere I’velonged to go but have and his family,and howhespentthe lock- theirisolation,walkwithaspringin theirstep. made me keenlyaware of howdisorganised put off. Ethiopia? Antarctica? And, maybe, down days.Hewill tell me about the crop Though we speakofthe difficulties and count my lifeis. So, Iarrange drawers and cabinets, I’ll do what Inever had the couragetodobe- theyharvested, howtheymanagedto getitto the dead, our thoughtsare with the future. DaudHaiderisaBangladeshipoetinexileinBerlin.Thepoemhas hang and rehang clothes Iwill probably fore:travelalone. the wholesale grain market, and the latest beentranslatedfromBengalibySwatiGhosh neverwear again.Aspartofthis sorting,I’ve that JapjyotSingh —the grandnephewwho DevapriyaRoyistheauthor,mostrecentlyof, turnedtomyphotographs,tens of thou- AvniDoshiistheauthorofGirl in White Cotton asksfor mangoes from Delhiinthe middle of Friends FromCollege THESUNDAYEXPRESS,MAY24,2020 @indianexpress.com THOSEMONTHS,THOSEMINUTES Forced intoanunprecedented lockdown, sportisstaring at an unfathomable despair.Indian athletes, though, have giventhe countryreasons to rejoice in the past. 16 SPORT JJ SHOBHA tells ANDREW AMSAN her 2004 Athens Olympics tale of true grit etched in the annals of Indian sport.

BRIEFLY ‘LaLigacanresume ‘Chawla’snon-cooperationproveshisguilt’ weekofJune8’ pain's Prime MinisterPedro Sanchez Prime accusedinHansie Cronje match-fixing case didn’t divulgeany details even when confronted with evidence, says chargesheet announcedonSaturdaythat La Liga can resume from itscoronavirus lock- down on the week of June 8. "The re- PRITAMPALSINGH& LATEBCCISECYLELE sumption of major professional sport- SANDEEPDWIVEDI AMONGWITNESSES Mumbai Test,Cochin ODI were fixed: Delhi Police ing competitions and in particular La NEWDELHI,MAY23 Ligawill be allowedfromthe week of In the charge sheetfiledlastmonth, Delhi Police has made the following remarks about the games June 8," Sanchez told apress confer- PRIME ACCUSED SanjeevChawla’s “non-co- The Delhi Police in itschargesheet ence. Morethan twomonths afterthe operation” in the investigation of the 2000 mentions “that cited witnesses playedinthe much-malignedIndia-South Africa series of 2000.The tour had seen the Hansie COVID-19pandemic haltedthe season HansieCronjematch-fixingcase,despitecon- maybecalledthrough summons”. Cronje-ledvisiting side playtwo Test matches and five ODIs. In itsconclusion, the reportsays:“... in Spain, players have begun training fronted with evidence, is seen as proof of his Featuring in the listof68witnesses some of the matches were fixedand in some matches an attempt wasmade to fixthem”. in small groups as theyaim to be as involvement in the crime. This is mentioned is former BCCI honorarysecretary ready as possible forthe plannedre- in the latestchargesheetfiledbyDelhi Police. JY Lele who passedawayin2013. bootnextmonth.La Ligapresident Earlierthismonth,Chawlahadwalkedout He held the postwhen the 2000 HANSIE: “No, no ...Theywere Javier Tebas has said the preferreddate of Tihar jail in the absence of the High Court’s match-fixing scandal broke. 1stTest: Mumbai saying that they were already forgames to resume is Friday, June 12 stay on the trial court’s April 30 bail order. (FEB 24-28, 2000) doingCochin, theother guys are and Sanchez's announcement means Following this relief, Delhi Police approached dice Ican’t saymuch. HoweverI’m very keen alreadyangry with me becauseI that plan has been giventhe green light theSupremeCourtonMay 13,challengingthe to argue the case on the framing of charges.” “It was decided that South African have notreceivedtheir money...” from the government. AFP High Courtorder.The apexcourtislikelyto However, thecharge sheetincricket’smost team will not score more than 250 take up the matter next month. high-profile match-fixing case says:“... on the runs in an innings. Though the SANJEEV: “I candeposit themoney TheotheraccusedandChawla’sallegedas- basis of statementsofthe witnesses recorded in your account, it is notaproblem EPLchief‘confident’ sociates -Krishan Kumar,Rajesh Kalraand during the investigation, conversation South African team won the Test in three days, this was attributed ...TomorrowitselfIcan deposit ofJunerestart SunilDara-are alsooutonbail.TheDelhiPolice recordedbetween the accusedinthe seized themoney.” chargesheetdetails the alleged role playedby audio and video cassettes, CFSL reportand to avery poor performance by Premier League chief executive Chawlaand others in fixing cricket matches other documentaryand oral evidence, it can India. The Indian team had batted RichardMasters is confident the during South Africa’s 2000tour of India. besafelyconcludedthat some of the matches first and scored 225 and the 2nd, 3rd, 4th ODIs top-flight season will resume in June Cronje,who admitted to the South Africa were fixedandinsome,anattempt wasmade South African team scored only as 'Project Restart' gathers pace. government-appointedKingCommissionthat to fixthem…”. “Though the matches were not Clubs returnedtosociallydistanced hehadacceptedmoneyfrombookmakersfor The matter is nowfixed before Additional 176. In the 2nd innings, India scored amere 113 and the South fixed, it can be inferred that training in small groups this week underperforming, diedinaplane crash in Chief Metropolitan MagistrateSudhir Kumar Hansie Cronje helped in giving and the league hope to begin play- 2002.Followinghisdeath,proceedingsagainst Sirohi on July4for hearing argumentson African team won the match by ing the remaining 92 matches on him were abated by aJuly, 2017 courtorder. charge.The chargesheetalso states that there scoring 164 runs only. Thus, the inside information to the June 12 or 19.Premier League play- Meanwhile, the Delhi-born Chawlaafter is sufficient evidence to provethat accused South African team did not score accused persons and helped ers and staffhavebeen checkedfor moving to London became aUKcitizen. In “Chawla,HansieCronje,KrishanKumar,Rajesh more than 250 runs in both the them in placing bets and earn the coronavirus, with six people Februarythisyear,theDelhiCourtbroughtthe Kalra, Sunil Daraand Manmohan Khatter… innings, as committed by accused huge profits.” testing positive including Watford‘s 50-year-old British national to India aftera had entered intoacriminal conspiracy to fix Adrian Mariappa. AFP lengthyextradition process. thecricket matchesplayedbetweenIndiaand Hansie Cronje to the fixers. Thus, DelhiPolice’s final reportinthe case, that SouthAfricafromFebruary16,2000to March this match was afixed one.” 5th ODI Setienkeenon hasnow stretchedfortwodecades,says:“The 20, 2000in India. accused,SanjeevKumarChawla,duringhisen- “In furtherance of this conspiracy,the 1st 2nd Test: Bangalore “Fromtherecordedconversation,it NeymarBarcareturn tireinterrogation, remainednon-cooperative Test MatchatMumbai and 1stOne-Day (MARCH 2-6, 2000) isevidentthatHansieCronjehad and did notdivulgeany detail with regard to International at Cochin were fixedand the agreedtofixthescoreofthematch BarcelonacoachQuiqueSetiensays he theoffencescommittedby him...evenafterhe sameresultedinwrongfulgainto theaccused “Though Hansie Cronje had wouldlove to coachNeymarandwould wasconfronted with the evidences, which and wrongful loss in general to the public at spoken to other players, as per the andhehadalsoagreedtofixthe be "delighted"ifthe Brazilian returns clearly provehis involvement in this case…” large,whohadgonebelievingthattheywould Cassim by Sanjeev Chawla and individualscoreofHerschelleGibbs. statements made before the King Hansie Cronje on the night to the club from Paris Saint-Germain. However, thetrialcourt,whilegrantingbail, perform optimally. The accusedpersons have Commission, this match was not Itwasalsoagreedthatiftheresult Barca triedtore-sign Neymar lastyear had observed that “in viewofthe fact that no thus committed offences punishable under intervening 8/9.03.2000 cameasagreed,thenSanjeev but were unable to agree adeal with cricket matchwasthrown/lostpursuantto al- sections420and120Bof IPC,”thechargesheet fixed although an attempt was further corroborate the made to fix it.” Chawlawillpay$140000toHansie Frenchchampions PSG, whom he leged match-fixing, the applicant/accused said. The investigators also stated in the statement of Hansie Cronje Cronje.Thoughtheplayersforgot joinedforaworld-recordfeeof 222mil- SanjeevKumar Chawlaisordered to be re- chargesheetthattheywouldfileasupplemen- made before King Commission lion euros ($264million at the time) in leased on bail…”.Chawla’s lawyer,Advocate taryasinvestigationwithregard to voicesam- 1stODI: Cochin aboutthedealintheheatofthe 2017."Iwould love to be able to coach Vikas Pahwa, says:“Itisacase of no evidence. ple and specimen hand writing of Chawlais (MARCH 9, 2000) that he was being regularly gameanddidnotagree,itcanbe himsomeday,"saidSetien,speakingto Itwillbeverydifficultto proveacaseof cheat- yettobecollected.Asper the trial court’s di- pressurised to underperform as concludedthataseriousattempt beIN SportonFridaynight. AFP ing in this case, as the essential ingredientsof rection, Chawlahas already givenhis hand- “Constant calls made to Hamid per their bidding.” wasmadetofixthematch.” offencearemissing.Sincethematterissubju- writing specimen to the investigator. YOURWEEKAHEAD BRIDGE SUNDAY CROSSWORD 2270 If it’s your Declarer East(Contract:6C) ARIES (Mar 21 -Apr 20) LIBRA (Sep 24 -Oct 23) QUICKCLUES Birthday Littlebylittle your You’ll wonder why, WEST ACROSS moneystars are justwhen everyone ♠863 1. Meadows (6) growing stronger, is enjoying ❤92 4. Sun-driedbuilding bricks (6) with apeak towards themselves, 8. Virtuoso passage(7) the end of the week.With each someone else can be so jealous ♦ QJ106 9. Unclear (7) SundayMay 24 daythat passes adream is more and possessive.The fact is that ♣A543 11.Superior (10) 12.All there(4) Emotions arestill running high, but your likelytocome true, and your when there’s passion in the air, EAST 13.Ravioli or rigatoni (5) strongestquality is romantic idealism. You heartwill benefit as muchas there’s no telling what will your bank balance. That’s whyit’s happen. At work the tables will ♠ A5 14.Was aresident of; dwelledin(8) dream of the perfect world, and expect the 16.Indicate, draw attention to (5,3) best.Whether people live up it or notis difficult to judgewhether your soon be turned—inyour favour. ❤AQJ 18.Finnish name of Finland (5) emotional or material security another question. ♦A 20. Brass instrument (4) requires the greater attention. SCORPIO (Oct 24 -Nov 23) 21.Peripheral (10) You’rebound to be ♣KQJ10762 23. ____ up :excavating or unearthing MondayMay 25 TAURUS (Apr 21 -May 21) mildlystressedas ?(7) In partnerships thereisone moral: look, Atricky aspect the week begins. SouthleadstheSJ,andyouwinanddraw trumpsinoneround. 24.Bit daintily(7) involving Mercury Anyemotional Whatisyourbest planto maketwelve tricks?Bespecificabout 25. "Father of the Nation" (6) listenand learn. People have agreat deal to around the middle bruises will be soothedby whichcards youintend to playfromeachhand. 26. Hindu retreat (6) teach, and youhaveagreat deal to learn. of the week could Thursday, and familymembers Down: THE NORTHHAND: ♠ KQ7 ❤10 7643♦8742 ♣9 actuallymakeiteasier to reach will come to your aid, full of 1. Natural ability (5) TuesdayMay 26 agreement on awhole rangeof sweetwords. Mind you, your 2. Cricket teams (7) THE SOUTH HAND: ♠ J10942❤K85 ♦ K953 ♣8 issues. This maybethe best secrecy doesn’t help. If you 3. Boris Pasternak heroand movie Your financial stars aregrowing stronger. At firstglance it mayseem that declarer has to stakeevery- (2,7) Yetitcould be next week before family time to raise contentious don’t tell people what’s on thing on asuccessful heartfinesse, but there’s amuchsafer 5. Firstperformance (5) membersfinallyfigureoutwhattheywant. financial questions —and your mind, howcan they play. Declarershouldtake advantageofdummy’sexcellentdi- 6. ___ __ to the hilt :gives full support makeaprofit. Professional understand what you’rereally amonds.AfterwinningtheS]A,declarershouldplayCKtodraw ?(5,2) types aredue forapromotion going through? trumps,andthenplaytheDA.Nextdeclarershouldleadaclub 7. Tanzania’s famous National Park WednesdayMay 27 or anew responsibility. –not the C2 –and overtake with dummy’s CA.Now the DQ is (9) Newfriends will be trying to draw youinto SAGITTARIUS (Nov 24 -Dec 23) led.If NorthweretoplaytheDK,declarercouldruffwithahigh 10.Stating as fact or news,giving an agroup activity,although youmay be GEMINI (May22-June 21) Youcan’t be blamed account of (9) Feel free to change forchanging your club and playthe C2 over to dummytotakethe established 21.Ittakes the father and mother of a 15.Great fruit bat taking abrush-up reluctant. You’ll neverknowwhat you’re diamondwinners,discardingthespadeloserandaheartloser. 13.Asking formarriage-"Spoon grip" mind to produce it ! (6-3) your mind. Nobody mind. Youhaveas anagram ?(9) (5-5) 17.Somewhat pinkish affinity! (7) missing unless youtestthe water, so have a can pin youdownor muchright to alter But Northfollows to this trickwith alow diamond. Nowde- 15.Makeup (9) 23. Encourageleader to be intellectual 19.Inmaking up losttime, Chas and go,you maybepleasantlysurprised. hold youtoany your plans as anyone else. It clarershoulddiscardthespadeloser.Thistricklosesto South’s 17.Nine-sidedfigure(7) (7) Ottoare in league (7) DK, but that’s the lasttrickfor the defence. agreement youmade over the does younogood to buryyour 19.The tenth month (7) 24.Exertions directed to having 21.Too muchofagood thing -tobe ThursdayMay 28 pasttwo weeks. So, if youwant to head in the sand when it comes Southcanleadaspade,butEastruffs withahighclubandleads 21.Freshwater food fish (5) amphibians about (7) seen rearranging this fur (5) optout, you’ll neverhaveabetter to your true, inner feelings. 22. Revoke as alegacy (5) Youcan beas bright as abutton, but others the carefullypreserved C2 over to dummy. The HJ and GQ are 25. Upsetwhen lightlytouched(6) 22. Loudlyplunders musical chance. Onlyinloveare you Within about twoweeks 26. Survivesterminal illness amid instruments(5) discardedondummy’s twodiamond winners and declarer don’t always agree. When it comes to keeping asecret,maintaining certain fundamental emotions CRYPTIC CLUES elaboratefarewells (6) makes, without risking the heartfinesse. This technique is ideas, youmay lose sight of the factsin your loyalty to aspecial person. will come to the surface, calleddiscarding a"loser on aloser". ACROSS Solutionsto2269 1. Crisp iron guardedoutside (6) DOWN your determination to sayjustwhat you probablytoyour very Declarer South 4. Eminent scientistgetting about 1. She looked hotinthat futuristic QUICKCLUESAcross: Across:6Choir,7 think about everything. CANCER (June 22 -July23) considerable relief. Recessed,10Antigua,11Weapons,12 sickofunnecessary whitejumpsuit. Or wasitthat Leastsaid, soonest NORTH WEST ornamentation (6) Grapnel,13Patched,14Losecontrol,19 CAPRICORN (Dec 23 -Jan 20) whitedress and rock necklace? I Umpires,21Approve,23Purview,25 mended, is one 8. Having done the twistonone’s FridayMay 29 Venus, planetof ♠ K743 ♠ 98 getthem confused(5) Prefers,26Gargoyle,27Dance.Down:1 sayingwhich comes head? (7) Anythingispossible—intheory. Thetrouble love,islining up ❤Q108 ❤732 2. Shudder if father is offspring …(7) Football,2Oregon,3Dreadlocks,4Scow, to mind at this 9. Father’s sailor is well up in rock 3. Renéé playfullygrabs Albert’s rear 5Zeroth,6Charge,8Starter,9Aside,13 is that youmight have to decide between delicateemotional moment. with your house of ♦2 ♦AJ83 charts (3,4) before Rose came in again Pineapples,15Surging,16Looseend,17 hanging on to the pastand leaping intothe However, although silence is the love.And that must 11.Makethe people pay, what’s more ♣87432 ♣AKQ9 (9) Puppy,18Lessee,20Portal,22Pleads, future.If youuseyouropportunitieswisely, best approachtocertain personal add up to adouble dose of (5,5) 5. Radical in our town sometimes 24Ways.CRYPTICCLUESAcross:6 youmay be getthe best of both worlds. matters now, youwill soon be affection. Creative individuals 12.Having no sense of coming up heads demonstrations (5) Spike,7Excesses,10Waffles,11Entitle, arealso favoured,while all WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH with an allround student (4) 12Roadman,13Bahamas,14Fuel happytoface up to the 6. Naughty slut gets dirty, athletic types areinline fora 13.The firstmotorway -and not withholding nothing –being this economy,19Erinyes,21Kashmir,23 fundamental causes 1❤ SaturdayMay 30 prize. At work,you maynow be Pass 2❤ Pass 4❤ unimportant (5) (7) Cuffing,25Eyetest,26Summoned,27 of disagreement. 14.Openedout some sortoffun for 7. Propose abroadcastonthe firstof Clews.Down:1Riffraff,2Bedlam,3 Youcan be torn between the desirefor involvedwith the very latest, Pass Pass Pass the aged newspaperman (8) August-aserial drama (4,5) Messengers,4Acne,5Septum,6Sewers, emotional security and the needtobreak LEO (July24-Aug 23) progressive ideas. 8Satchmo,9Welsh,13Blockheads,15 16.SpotDorothy afterthe dance (5-3) 10.Extramarital pain -exult loose. Youdon’t have to choose, and can Your current Youlead the CA.Partner plays the C5 and declarer the Elysium,16Yammered,17Peach,18 AQUARIUS (Jan 21-Feb 19) 18.Say whyyou twice see ashrub (5) exuberantly(9) planetary patterns C6. Do youhaveany chance of beating 4H? What do you Crates,20Influx,22Speech,24Gins. spendsometimeinadventurousactivities. 20. Related group to wash the centre 13.Sonataofgreat brilliance? (9) arecertain to bring An off-the-cuff playattricktwo? out (4) monetary matters to decision might have ahead, but possiblynot until adramatic effect on next week.You thereforehavea your love life. It’s JUMBLED WORDS fewdays’grace to plan your next amazing howaspontaneous act DifficultyLevel4s money-making move.Inthe of generosity has the ability to Instructions meantime, aloveaffair or close completely transform a Givenbelowarefourjumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemto TosolveaSudokupuzzle, partnership could also take an relationship, but that’s just therespectivesquaresbelow.Selectthelettersintheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtoget everydigitfrom1to9 4117 intriguing turn. what will happen if youplay theanswerforthegivenquip. mustappearineachofthe your cards right. 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