JOURNALISM OF COURAGE SINCE 1932 DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH,DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA,LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR,PUNE, VADODARA ● REG.NO. MCS/067/2018 -20RNI REGN. NO. 1543/57

JOURNALISM OF COURAGE FRIDAY, APRIL 24, 2020, MUMBAI,LATE CITY, 12 PAGES SINCE 1932 `5.00, WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM Cox and Kings: Maharashtraseeshighestsingle-day Audituncovers jump,HousingMinistertestspositive siphoning of crores, fudgingofrecords CORONACOUNT 21,700 686 and bogus sales CASES DEATHS 4,325 RECOVERED 5,00,542 samples have THE COX & been tested as on April 23 KINGS DOSSIER Staterecords 778new cases, AN EXPRESS SERIES 522 in Mumbai PART 1

KHUSHBOONARAYAN EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE MUMBAI,APRIL23 MUMBAI,APRIL23 TRANSACTIONSWORTH MAHARASHTRA THURSDAY Rs 21,000 croreoverfour years registered778 newCOVID-19 (2015-2019)done mainlyto cases, the highestsingle-day siphon offfunds; falsifying jumpinnumbers since the first records; aRs1,100-croreloan coronavirus case in the statein from a“brother to abrother” that the firstweek of March.Overthe violated basic fiduciarynorms; lastfour days alone, the statehas sales worthRs9,000 croreto registered2,000newcases, tak- over 160customers who arebo- ing itstotal to 6,427. The statehas gus or do notexist, inflated bank seen 283deaths, 14 of them over Forty-five recoveredpatientsleave the Covid carecentreatAjwaITI instituteinVadodara. BhupendraRana balances and astring of defaults From top: Anil Khandelwal, the past24hours. —these areamong aslewofal- PeterKerkar and Mumbai continued to add leged irregularities highlighted Rana Kapoor the highestnumber of cases to in the forensic audit of bankrupt the state’s tally, registering 522 One month of lockdown: Covid spread travel firm Coxand Kings, The moreoverthe past24hours — Centrefreezes DA/DR Indian Express has learnt. Bank Ltd whenco-founderRana also itshighest number foraday. Records of the audit, done in Kapoor washeading it. The total COVID-19count in the increase for staff till July widens, but concentrated in same areas February2020 by YesBank has an exposureof city nowis4,205, or 65% of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) morethan Rs 2,267crore to Cox Maharashtra’s total, while six at the behestoflender YesBank, &Kings Group. Lastmonth, Ajay moredeaths on Thursday took 2021, statesmay follow ABANTIKAGHOSH and official records accessedby Ajit Peter Kerkar wassummoned itstollto137.BMC officials said &KARISHMAMEHROTRA The Indian Express detail howthe forquestioning by the

that includedinThursday’s D NEWDELHI,APRIL23 companyallegedlyfudged EnforcementDirectorate(ED) in count were 297cases diagnosed ENSECONOMICBUREAU Creates records and window-dressedits connection with the money by private labs betweenApril20 NEWDELHI,APRIL23 INE moreelbow ONE MONTHintothe national figures. laundering case againstKapoor. and April 21. PLA E lockdown, the coronavirus out- Coxand Kings, promotedand Kapoor,currentlylodged in ● room The previous largest single- DETERIORATINGREVENUE po- EX break has spread to morethan controlledbyAjayAjit Peter jail, is accused of takingkick- dayjumpfor Mumbai wason sition in the backdrop of the pan- half the total number of districts Kerkar and his family, wassent to backs in lieu of granting loans to April 19,with 456 cases. demic-inducedeconomic shut- GIVENTHATthe pan- across the country,but remains bankruptcy courtinOctober severalcompanies thathave Among those who tested down has forced the central demicisstraining govern- concentrated in the same areas, 2019,after it defaulted on pay- nowdefaulted on repayments. positive wasMaharashtra government to putonhold in- ment finances, this freeze ananalysis of officialfiguresshow. ments. While the promoter The forensic audit has alleged Housing MinisterJitendra crement in dearness allowance will lead to an estimated The figures show thatwhile group owns 12.20 per cent shares that mostofthe related party Awhad. He wasadmitted to hos- (DA) for48lakh central govern- saving of Rs 37,530crore districtsonthe COVID-19map in the company, the publicowns transactions of Cox&Kings were pital on Tuesdaynight, 10 days ment employees and 65 lakh in the current financial have morethan doubledinthe theremaining 87.80per cent. executed without “proper ap- afterhehad puthimself under pensioners till July2021. year and 2021-22 —creat- lastthree weeks—from211 dis- The travel and tour company provals” from itsboardand with- home quarantine aftercoming The Finance Ministry ingroom forstepping up trictsonApril 1to429 on April Aqueue forfood near Katraj in Pune. PavanKhengre owesRs5,500crore to banksand out anyloan agreement. in contact withapersonwho Thursdaysaid it has decidedthat expenditureonhealth 22 —the heavy load remains financialinstitutions and was The investigation has found tested positive forcoronavirus. additionalinstalment of DA andwelfare measures. If confinedto12administrative one of the topborrowers of Yes CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Sources close to the NCP payabletocentral government states follow the Centre, districtsthat recordedover200 24 districtshaverecordedmore well over halfthe number of leader said he wasmoved to a employees anddearness relief whichtheydo, the savings cases each. than 100positive cases each. cases: Mumbai,Ahmedabad, privatehospital afterdeveloping (DR) to central government pen- will be Rs 82,566crore. In fact, these12accounted for Signallingthe thinspread in other Indore,Pune,Jaipur,Hyderabad, fever.Ahospital spokesperson sioners due from January1, over 50 per cent of the 18,985 areas, 223 districtshaverecorded Thane, Surat, Chennai, Bhopal, Congress tellsGovt said his condition wasstable. 2020, shall notbepaid.While cases forwhichdistrict-wise sta- less than 10 cases eachwhile 182 Agra,Jaipur and Delhi. Dr SanjayOak,former dean the increase is being held back, Government sources said the tistics have been made available others recordeddouble digits. Meanwhile, NITI AayogCEO of KEMhospital, who wascalled DA and DR at current rateswill savings on account of freezing of by the Union Health Ministry. When it comes to urban cen- Amitabh Kant revealedthat the to ease ‘devastating’ CONTINUEDONPAGE2 continue to be paid. CONTINUEDONPAGE2 The dataalso shows that only tres, at least13accounted for CONTINUEDONPAGE2 lockdown, let states Mamatahits the streets, speaks Complaints against PDS plan own roadmaps directly to locked-down Kolkata dealers in Jharkhand, MANOJCG BUSINESSASUSUAL ` 90 per kilo Bihar amid food crisis NEWDELHI,APRIL23 RAVIKBHATTACHARYA BY UNNY &ATRIMITRA ruption in the the Public AHEAD OF Prime Minister ` 118 per kilo KOLKATA,APRIL23 ABHISHEKANGAD Distribution System. NarendraModi’sinteraction &SANTOSHSINGH Almostamonth into the with chief ministers, the ` 145 per kilo IT’S4PMonThursday, and a RANCHI,PATNA,APRIL23 lockdown that beganonMarch Congress on Thursday said a whiteSUV is parkedatMoulali 25, 865 PDS dealers find them- lockdown of “the present na- ` 60 per Dozen in central Kolkata—normally EARLIER THIS week,Jharkhand’s selvesinthe dockinJharkhand ture” wasunsustainable and oneofthe city’sbusieststreet grievance helpline 181received —297 have had their licences cannotcontinue. Askingthe gov- junctions, nowdeserted. Afamil- four calls from Palamu on asin- suspended, nine have had their ernment to come out with a“de- WORLD iar voice rings through the gleday.All the callers had asim- dealerships cancelled, 524have tailedexit strategy” in the 10 neighbourhood, amplifiedby ilar complaint:though the state been issuedshow-cause notices, days leftfor this phase of the loudspeakers perched on lamp had promised70kgrice in April, and 44 face FIRs.The numbers lockdown to end on May3,the posts up to aradius of perhaps their ration dealerinaregoingupdailyinthe state main oppositionparty accused half akilometre. Medininagar wasn’t giving them whichhas 25,445 PDS dealers it of nottakingany concrete “Aami Mamata Banerjee (I am the entireamount and had, in for2.63 crorefamilies. steps to revive the economy. Mamata Banerjee),” it echoes in MamataBanerjee at Moulali, Kolkata, Thursday. Partha Paul fact,confiscatedthe rationcards To help people tide over the The party’s stance, formu- the silence of the lockdown. of 50 others. Thedetails were lockdown,the Jharkhand gov- latedat ameeting of theCongress tions of lockdown norms, the AFTER U.S. FREEZES “Aapnaderkaachhe eshechhi; aa- forwardedtothe district supply ernment had announceddouble Working Committee (CWC), is Congress also urgedthat states WHO FUNDS,CHINA maykhoma korun aapnader Bengal is inside the SUV.“Barite work.You aresuffering, but you officer,who suspendedthe li- ration —70kgrice —for card expected to be articulated by its be allowedtodevise their own STEPSIN—$30 MN saathe dekha korteparchhina, thakun, shusthothakun (stay in- arecooperating with us. Aarkota cence of the dealer and attached holders and 10 kg of rice to 7lakh chief ministers during their in- plans and arguedagainsta“one- gaadi theke naamteparchhi na (I doors, stay healthy),” she says din korun,jotodinnaaamra thecustomers to another dealer. people whose application forra- teractionwith the PM on size-fits-allpolicy”. LET’S NOT SQUANDER have come to you; forgivemefor intoamic in her hand, speaking shokolemilecorona ke taracchi In Jharkhand and Bihar,the tion cards arepending. Monday. With the Centresend- Manyleaders, including WHAT WE ACHIEVED, notbeingable to getout of the through acloth mask that cov- (Please endurefor afew more food crisis triggered by the lock- Bihar,wherethe government ing teamstoseveral Opposition- Rahul Gandhi, stressedatthe SAYS MERKEL car to meetyou).” ers her face. “Thelockdown is on. days,until we areable to down has put aspotlight on an decidedtogive5kgriceand 1kg ruled states, apart from Madhya CWCthat the government must PAGE 10 The Chief MinisterofWest Your shops areshut, youhaveno CONTINUEDONPAGE2 old problem —leakages and cor- CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Pradesh, to checkalleged viola- CONTINUEDONPAGE2

PAGE1 ANCHOR Chess greats face offonline,webcams, arbiterstowatch moves

teams —Russia, USA, China, ganisersand those overseeing However, the online setting eventtobeconsidered safe,” won’t take risks. But as agovern- SHIVANINAIK&SANDIPG India, best of Europe and Rest of the competition will be to ensure willkeep everyone on their Llada said. ing body,wehavetotakeall pre- MUMBAI,NEWDELHI,APRIL23 the World—with four players in that the online setting leavesno toes, giventhe sheerscope for Online chess is notanovelty cautions. Thereare acouple of each,will go up againsteach doubtsaboutfair play, and manipulation. “The players will and, according to FIDE,anesti- checkingtools —one which flags AWELL-LIT room, smartly other in adouble round-robin, cheating is completely ruledout. be playingfromhome.Theyare mated 16 milliongameswere amoveifthe softwaresuggests placedroving webcams,a 25-minuteteam event. With a Forwhich, the Fédération required to have acouple of we- playedonlinesince the lock- the player’s analysis could be en- screen-sharesettingonSkype, line-up of greatssuchasGary Internationale des Échecs(FIDE), bcams, so the arbiters can see down began. But this will be the gine-aided. No one is naive to an arbiter sitting remotely who Kasparov,Vladimir Kramnik and the governingbody of interna- their room and their computer biggestevent to take offonan think cheatingdoesn’t happen can alerttoany out-of-place am- Viswanathan Anand, the online tional chess competitions, is screen.Thesewill be rapid online platform. in online chess; justthat technol- bient sound, and oodles of trust. tournament will playout in banking on reputations. games, so thereare no toilet RAnantharam, one of India’s ogy catches it,” said Theseare the logistics of the what’s among the sport’s most “It is an eliteevent. Onlythe breaks. Chess.comalso has leadingchessarbiters who is also Anantharam, adding therehave Online Nations Cup, achess tour- famous residential addresses. best players in the world. They someanti-cheatingsystems on the FIDE panel,said back- been instances of cash prizes be- nament that’s perhaps the high- MagnusCarlsen, the biggest would neverrisktheir reputa- that areabletotrack,with a room work forthem will nowin- ing withdrawnafter amateurs estprofile sportingaction at a name in chess,is, however, host- tion,”saidDavid Llada of FIDE, high degree of reliability,when cludemonitoring everymovefor were found cheating. timewhen global travel is at a ing another online tournament adding that the worldbody aplayerismakingtoo may speedofreactions and patterns Anantharam, one of the standstill and all sporting action and will skip the Nations Cup. would do everythingtechnology movesthat coincidewiththe and vetting them on anti-cheat- sharpestarbiters in the country, has pauseddue to the coron- While players andfansare permitstoguarantee that condi- Viswanathan Anand, GaryKasparov and Vladimir Kramnik engine’s recommendations.All ing softwaretocheckfor engine- saidheonce caught aplayerin avirus pandemic. happythat at leastchesscan stay tions forthe event arenot cor- areset to playinthe Online Nations Cup things combined, we can guar- aidedmoves. Kochiusing “some kind of Between May5and 10,six afloat, the biggesttestfor the or- ruptedbythose participating. antee the conditionsfor the “Atthis high level, players CONTINUEDONPAGE2

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Maharashtra Among those who present at litrekerosene of oil. everyone ahappyPoila the videoconference with the The Jharkhand Food Boishakh (Bengali NewYear, in early Wednesdaytomonitor Central team were Public Health Commissionsuggestedtothe whichwas on April 14). Our his health, said, “Awhad is suf- MinisterRajesh Tope, Chief Spread widens but load on same areas government to emulate homes arenow our temple, our fering from pneumonia and has SecretaryAjoyMehtaand the Chhattisgarhand Odishawhere mosque, ourchurch and our waterinhis lungs.” municipal commissioners of weeklydoublingrate—the government’s focus, whichso tientswho have flu-likesymp- frastructure,made aglobal theration is distributed by pan- gurdwara. We cannotcelebrate AfterMumbai, Pune, which Mumbai and Pune. time takenfor the cases to dou- farhas been on those who dis- toms arenot coming to health comparisonofwherecoun- chayats. In Odisha, around 75% anyfestivals now. Letuscele- remains the second worst-hit in ble —has shiftedfromalow of playedCOVID-19symptoms, facilities or arecoming late tries stood by the time they of fair price shops aremanaged brateinour homes,” she says. the state, sawfivedeaths while Cox and Kings 3.54days amonth agoto10.13 andhad travel andcontact his- with breathlessness, leading to had conducted 5lakh tests. by Gram Panchayats and “Do youhaveany problems? one death eachoccurredin that Coxand KingsgaveRs1,100 days now. In other words, tory with positive cases. highermortality whenmany He said that the US reached PanchayatExecutive Officer. Do youhaveenough food?Is Nandurbar, Navi Mumbai and croretoAlok Industries, a while the numbers have Currently, the ICMR’sstrat- could have been savedbyoxy- the markonMarch 26 with anyone in your familysick? Dhule. In Nandurbar,a32-year- stressedfirm that went bank- mounted since the lockdown egy focusses on testing of those gen,” he said. 80,000cases, ItalyonMarch 31 Please contact the local police; old traderdiedonWednesday ruptin2017, even as the travel cameintoforce on March 24, with ILI symptoms —fever, Speaking to The Indian with 100,000 cases, UK on Mamata they willhelp you. We aregiv- night, within aday of testing firm didnot have anybusiness the pace of the outbreak ap- cough, sorethroat, runnynose Express later, Guleria said, “We April 20 with 120,000 cases together chase away corona).” ing free rations. But please main- positive. Of the state’s 6,427 relationship with the company. pears to have moderated. —onlyinhotspots or clusters areadvocating voluntarytest- and Turkey on April 16 with “It will onlybepossible with tain social distancing when you cases,over120,oraround2%, are Significantly, when the loan The governmentsaid that and in large migration or evac- ing forall those with ILIs. The 80,000 cases. your cooperation,” she pleads. go to getyour rations. And when critical. wasgiven,the ChiefFinancial 78 districts on the virus map uee centres. experience from Mumbai India hadtested5,00,542 Sarkar aapnar paashe aachhe you return, wash your clothes, Officer of Alok Industries was did notrecordany fresh case in Guleria, who is amember shows that many of thepa- samples by Thursdaymorning, (The government stands with and even your chappals.” SunilKhandelwal, who is also the last14days —ofthese,it of the empoweredgroup on tientscame to the hospital late. he said, from just 14,915 tests you).” Over the pastthree days,the brother of Cox&Kings CFOAnil said, 12 districtsreportedno medicalfacilities and strategy That is whyitisimportant that on March 23. At atimewhenshe faces crit- Chief Ministerhas visited 6,427 Khandelwal. newcase in the last28days.A forCOVID-19, alsoappealed the stigma is removed.” “If we makeacomparison, icism from both the Opposition Rajabazar, Park Circus, Apartfromthis, in financial majority of these, however, ap- againststigmatisation so that The Indian Express hadre- we seemtobedoingwellwith and the Governor of her state Kidderpore, Tiljala,and year 2019 alone, Cox&Kings pear to be lowcase-load dis- people with suchsymptoms portedonApril 15 that an our strategy,whichisintensely who has even made allegations BallygungePhanri. In sealed-off TOTALPOSITIVECASES loanedRs589 croretoatleast11 tricts. Forinstance, acompari- can gettested. analysis of the first50COVID- focussedonareas of high pos- about a“PDS scam”, and teams areas likeRajabazar, her car INMAHARASHTRA related parties “withoutexecut- son of theHealth Ministry’s “Wehavetoworkonthis 19 deaths in Mumbai showed itivity—ofcourse, countries sent by the Centreare checking stood outside the barricades, ing loan agreements”. district-wise datawith that of strategy... If youtestearly,treat- that justoverhalf of them died likeSouth Koreahavedone on her government’s handling while she spoketothe people. Number of deaths 283 “Prima facie it appears that April 6shows that at least 54 ment is startedearly and that within hours or aday of hospi- better.This shows that our test- of the COVID-19crisis, Banerjee Mamata’s outreachtothe Totalnumber of people theseloans have been granted districtsdid notsee anyjump can save your life. If youcome talisation. In almost half of ing strategy has been targeted hasdecided to do what she does people has been criticised by the discharged840 to related parties withoutob- in cases —ofthese, 49 had less gasping forbreath, it will lead these cases that ledtodeaths, and continues to expand. It’s an best —hit the streets. Opposition, including the BJP. taining the requisite than 10 cases. to higher mortality.Itisimpor- the patientstestedpositive af- evolvingstrategy,weare learn- Everyday forthe pastseveral “Sheisvisitingneighbour- Number of people tested approvals/documentation, WithIndia’s case count tant to encourageeveryone to terorjustbeforetheir death. ing everyday and as we are days,she hasbeen outinthe city hoods, speaking intoamicro- 95,988 whichraises asuspicion that reaching 21,700 Thursday, seek medicalattention, get According to the Health learningweare expanding...we —travellingits lengthand phone. This proves that the ad- Totalnumber quarantined these transactions have been with arecovery rate of about themselvestested. We have Ministry’slatestfigures,Indiare- will expanditagain in future as breadth,visiting neighbour- ministration and her party have 8,702 done with the intent of siphon- 19.8%, AIIMS director and top ramped up testing to alarge ported 1,229 newcases and34 the scale of the challengekeeps hoods, especiallythose near the no one else to do the job. It is ing offfunds,” said theinvesti- pulmonologistDrRandeep extent, thereisnoshortage... deaths in the last24hours, tak- changing,” Mishrasaid. coronavirus hotspots that have onlyher.This is also her vote- Number of newcases 778 gation report. Guleria called forvoluntary we should be able to support ingtheoveralltollto 686.About He said that India’s positiv- been sealed. She has been bank politics, apolitical gim- Detailedemails withques- testing by all those with flu-like all those people who needto 19.8% patients—4,324—have ity percentagehas remained speaking intothe mic, directlyto mick. She and her administra- tions to AjayAjit PeterKerkar, symptoms to prevent unnec- be tested,” Guleria said at the recoveredfromthe disease. constant at around 4%.“Which the people—asking them to stay tion have notonlyfailedto Of the 14 who diedon Anil Khandelwal and Cox& essarydelays in treatment. government’s media briefing. At themedia briefing ear- showsweare on the righttrack in,advisingthem to reachout to combat COVID, theyhaveactu- Thursday, three were under 40 Kings did notelicit anyresponse. Guleria’s call to those with “Thestigma is notjustified. lier,CKMishra,environment but we areconscious that we the police if needed, and under- allymade it worse by suppress- years of age, ninebetween 40- In 2017,Alok Industries was “ILI (influenza-likeillness)” It is causing increasedmortal- secretary who heads the em- needtorampuptestingandwill lining thedo’s anddont’s that ing factsand trying to resistcen- 59, and twoabove 60. Sevenof sentto thebankruptcycourtafter symptoms signals ashiftinthe ity and morbidity.Manypa- poweredgroup on medicalin- continuetodothat,” he said. areessentialtocheckthe spread tral teams,” Rahul Sinha, them also had diabetes, hyper- it failedtorepayRs29,500crore of the disease. national secretaryofthe BJP,told tension, asthma or heartdisease. to banksandfinancialinstitutions, She has been hands-on, per- The Indian Express. The Inter-Ministerial Central includingthe StateBank of India. sonallydrawingcircles on the Team, dispatchedbythe Centre Thecompanywasacquiredby JM Centre freezes DA/DR hike for staff till July 2021 road to ensurepeople followthe to assess the effortsbeing taken Financialand RelianceIndustries norms of social distancing in Chess greats by Mumbai to fight COVID-19, Ltdfor Rs 5,050 crorein2019 these instalmentsofDAand Sincestatesgenerally fol- thereare demands of eco- MPs, including the Prime markets, visiting rationshops, transmissions through a told the government on throughthecorporate insolvency DR to centralgovernment em- lowthe central government on nomic stimulus to protect the Ministerand Union Ministers, and speaking to conservancy Bluetoothdevice”. An Thursdaytotakemeasures to re- resolutionprocess. ployees and pensioners would DA and DR decisions, it is ex- economyfromentering into forayear.Italso decidedto workers. InternationalMasterisknown duce the doubling rate andmor- The audit reportonCox & be Rs 37,530 croreinthe cur- pected that states mayan- recession. While thereare suspend all MPLADS “Wehavenever seen alock- to have once usedthe pretextof talityrate. The doubling rate in Kings has alleged that the com- rent financial year and 2021- nounce similar decisions. It is doubts on aggressive stakesale (Members of ParliamentLocal down likethis, and we aregrate- aweakbladder to take helpfrom Maharashtraisatpresent 7days, panyindulged in “falsification” 22. estimated that the savings on plans giventhe slumpinstock Area Development Scheme) ful to youfor your cooperation his phone hidden in adustbin. and the death rate 4.5%. In of itsfinancial statementsbe- “Theunprecedented situa- suspension of these instal- markets, netdirect taxcollec- funds—under whicheach as youface hardships,” she says “It’ll be best if cameras used Mumbai, the death rate is 4%. tween 2014 and 2019 by “over- tion arising from the COVID-19 mentsofDAand DR of state tions had contracted after20 elected MP gets Rs 5crore an- repeatedly.“Please wear amask forthe FIDE event have audio The team said effortsshould be statingits sales figures and un- pandemichas placedhugead- government employees and years in 2019-20. During 2019- nuallyfor development work and maintain social distancing. feeds. As an arbiterofonline made to increase the doubling derstating itsdebt”. It has also ditional demands on govern- pensioners will be Rs 82,566 20, the governmentfaceda in his/her constituency—for Wash your hands frequently. If games, one would needtoob- time to 10 days,according to a highlighted several“fictitious” ment finances. Thereisneed crore, thesources said.The 4 shortfall of Rs 1.42 lakh crore twofinancialyears starting youhavesymptoms likefever or serveplayers’ movementstosee senior stategovernment official transactions of the firms. formajor increase in the ex- per centDAhikefor central from the downward revised April 1. The moneyfromthe respiratoryproblems, do not if theyare checking tools as well present at meetings with the Consider itskey findings: penditureonhealth as well as government employees was target at Rs 10.27lakh crore, a MPLADS funds —nearly Rs hide them. Contact the police.” as theircomputer screens to Central officials. *Between 2014 and 2019, on welfaremeasures forvari- announcedlastmontheffec- decline of 9.6 per cent from 8,000 crore—will go to the She is accompaniedbythe makeitfoolproof,” he said. At avideo conference with thecompanymade salesofRs ous affected sections of society tive from January1,2020. previous year’s collections. Consolidated Fund of India MayorofKolkata, Firhad Hakim, While stressing that no top Chief MinisterUddhav 5,278 croreto147 bogus cus- includingthe poor and vulner- Slowing taxand non-tax Earlier this month, the which, the government had andPoliceCommissioner Anuj players will attempt cheating, Thackeray,the Central team tomers. Of these, at least141 are able,” the sources said, justify- revenues have strainedgov- Union Cabinethad cleared a said,will be usedinthe battle Sharma.Aboutanhourbeforeshe GM Dibyendu Barua addedthat asked the stategovernment to notregisteredwith the Goods ing the decision. ernment finances,evenas 30 per cent salarycut forall againstCOVID-19. arrivedinMoulali,arrangements safetymeasures were important create quarantine facilitiesaway and Services Tax(GST) depart- were putinplace.Themovement so that “no one can blame any- from slums forpeople livingin ment. At leastsix customers ofvehicleswasrestricted,andpo- one later”. thoseareas, citing the threat have listedthe GSTregistration licemen were stationedinthe “Keeping thewebcam on for posedbythe use of same public number forCox and Kings as CompanyLaw Tribunal (NCLT), onlyinhot zones and com- taking adequate precautions. Indian Express thatthe statehas neighbourhoodlanesandstreets. the wholeduration,awell-lit toilets. their ownregistration number. that hearsinsolvency cases,re- mencement of activities in green Baghel,among others, raised so farsuspendedlicences of Avehicle mounted with aboard room and supervision will hap- According to astatement is- *Between 2016 and 2019, stricted AjayAjit PeterKerkar, zones. this issue. Rahul said the govern- about 200dealers.“We have displaying COVIDdo’s and don’ts pen, of course,” he said, adding suedbythe CM’s office, the Cox&Kings made asubstantial Urshila Kerkar,Anil Khandelwal, The resolution adoptedby ment should accordfirstprior- been receiving complaintsfrom andapictureoftheChiefMinister that he has heardofmobile de- Central team ledbyAdditional portion of itsRs3,908 croresales three other directors of the com- the CWCsaid states mustbeem- itytothis, while PChidambaram panchayats andhaveformed in- wasparkedtoone side of the vices being usedfor cheating at Secretary,MinistryofFood from 15 customers, who al- panyand 16 employees from poweredto“devise solutions called forahumane policy keep- spectionteams. E-PoSmachines crossing. lowerrungs. Processing Industry, Manoj Joshi legedly arenon-existent. Aphys- leaving the country without the tailored to their unique situa- ing the migrantsinmind. have minimisedcorruption in “Leave all your worries to us,” Chennai-basedRBRamesh, specificallytalked about ical verification of theaddresses permission of thecourt. tionsand challenges” and ar- The Congress felt that India PDS, but we arealert,” he said. Banerjee says,firstinBengali aformer player and current Dharavi. The statement said of thesecustomersfound that (Tomorrow: HowaCox and guedthat “the fight mustbebot- waslagging in establishing aro- Santosh RaiofSarra pan- and theninHindi.“If youhave coach, said theshortertime con- Joshi also told the stategovern- these were residential addresses Kings firm diverted loans to a tom-up instead of the top-down, bustand accurate testing chayat in Madhubani said,“All symptoms, visit MRBangur,our trols (25-minuterapid) don’t ment to increase itscapacity of and no travel agencies ever op- front companyrun by itsown one-size-fits-all policy currently regime. of us got 4kgrice instead of 5kg. special COVID hospital. Youwill lend themselvestoany hanky- institutional quarantine and erated from these places. employees) on display”. The party resolution as well The dealer collected our cards be treated thereand youwillget panky.“With technology,cheat- carry out morefocusedtests. *While the ledgers of Cox& The resolution also asked as Sonia’s statement also ac- and made an entryof5kg in well. So manypeople have re- ing can be curtailedinblitz The five-member Central Kings have recordedcollections whythe Economic Task Force cusedthe BJP of spreading “the eachcard.” He said severalpeo- covered. Those with critical ail- games.But if it’s longer formats, team that has been in Mumbai of Rs 2,548 crorefromthese 15 Cong to Govt announcedbythe PM amonth virus of communal prejudice ple had complainedagainstthe mentslikeaheartorkidneycon- with 300-400playing, it’s tough forthe pastthree days also said customers, the moneywas not alloweconomic activities to re- agodoes notappear to have and hatred”and “seeking to in- dealer but no action wastaken dition areatgreater risk.Ifyou to monitor.But that’s whyonline private hospitals and nursing tracedinits bank accountsasno sume in non-hotstopzones. come out with aplan yet. It flamecommunal divisions”,us- againsthim. think youhavebeen in touch tournamentsare notrated offi- homes should notrefusetreat- actual funds were receivedby Chief Ministers Ashok Gehlot asked the government to utilise ingthe pandemic. Additional Chief Secretaryof with an infected person, alert ciallyand FIDE has softwarelike ment to non-COVID patients. Cox&Kings. Between April 2014 (Rajasthan), Amarinder Singh the remaining lockdown period Sources said the Congress JharkhandArun Singh said ac- theauthorities and stay at home the plagiarism tracker, so to Thackeray asked the state and June 2015,Cox &Kings (Punjab), Bhupesh Baghel for“preparation and publication leadership is worriedoverthe tion wasbeing takenagainstthe or at our quarantine centrefor some extent youcan mitigate administrationtoimplement recordedsales of Rs 250-Rs 260 (Chhattisgarh)and V of adetailedexit strategy and a political fallout of the attempts dealers. “Wecannotsimplycan- 14 days.Sofar,itismostlyfamily cheating,” he said. the suggestions immediately, croreagainsteachofthese 15 Narayanasamy(Puducherry) comprehensive road mapfor the at communal polarisation —be cel the dealership at this point - memberswho have been in- He insistedthat both video and told BMC to publicise infor- customers. All these transac- pointed out the financial distress futuretosubstantiallyincrease it over the Palghar lynchings or that will lead to abigger crisis. fected.Soyou have to take care.” andaudio cameras needtobe mation regarding COVID and tions were “curiously” recorded being facedbystatesand the health infrastructure capacity to the Tablighi Jamaat links to Wherever we getany complaint Afterabout 45 minutesat live,toerase suspicion of some- non-COVID hospitals and fever onlyonthe lastday of the shortage of testing kits. deal with the pandemic and to manyofthe coronavirus cases. we areacting againstthe deal- Moulali, she is ready to move. one standing offcameraand clinics. month. Inastatement,Congress pres- revive the economyand protect Manyleaders, both young ers,” he said. She lowers her windowpane suggestingmoves.“One can’t Maharashtrahas collected *For FY 2019,the company ident Sonia Gandhi said anyex- current levels of employment and old, expresseddismayto Admitting to “problems”, and asksmediapersons notto obviouslysay definitively that over 96,000samples fortesting, disclosedcash and bank bal- tension of the kindoflockdown and wages/income”. The Indian Express over the Israil Ansari, who owns aPDS stand close to eachother.“Keep cheating doesn’t happen online, while over alakh people areun- ancesofRs723 croreand Rs in place nowwould be “even The CWCalso reiterated CWC’s inability to come out with shop in Ranchi’s Kankeblock, some space betweenyour- justthe chances hereare very der quarantine. Of them, 8,702 1,830crore on standalone and moredevastating”. “The lock- manyofthe demandsmade ear- a“credible political line” to said dealers should be givena selves,” she says,asthe convoy low,”hesaid. remain in institutionalquaran- consolidated levels respectively. down continues. all sections of lier —likegiving states adequate counter the BJP and felt the party “fixed compensation”. “Every of over adozenvehicles,includ- Thelastwordofwisdomisre- tine. The government said it had Despitethis, the companykept our society continue to face acute financialsupport,releasing their should resume normal political month, Igets100 quintals of ra- ing those belonging to the me- served formultiple worldcham- streamlinedits treatment pro- on defaulting on loan repayment hardship and distress —particu- full shareofthe GSTcollected so activity.Some of the leaders felt tion.The Jharkhand government dia, starts moving. She heads to- pion Viswanathan Anand. tocol to keep bedsfor critical pa- sinceJune2019, indicatingthat it larly our farmers, farm workers, far, allowing them greater fiscal theCongress should focus on the has asked me to charge Re 1for wardsSouth Kolkata, through Offeringaninsightinto thefuture, tients free. Whilethe statehas had inflated itscash and bank migrant and construction work- space to borrow, providing di- plight of migrant workers as a akgofrice, whichmeans Iget a TheatreRoad, Alipore, to Behala hesaidwhileonlinechesssimpli- 2,509ventilators, it has placed balances, whichled to manipu- ers.Trade,commerce andindus- rect cash transferand food counter to the communal prop- commission of Rs 10,000 a Chowrasta. fies alot of things forthe organis- orders for2,000 more. lation of itsfinancial statements. tryhavecometo avirtualhaltand grains to the poor,complete aganda. month. But it is onlyonpaper.I By the time she reaches her ers —traveland venue and other Officials said Maharashtrais *For FY 2019,Cox &Kings re- crores of livelihoods destroyed.” moratorium on agricultural and have to paythe transporters destination,alightrain has minorpracticalaspects-hehoped running 944camps formigrant portedthe total debt of the com- Former PM Manmohan other loans foratleastone year around Rs 1,000.Iemploythree startedtofall. She beginsspeak- the virtual version wouldn’t be- labourers, providing them food, panyatRs2000 crore, whereas Singhsaidthesuccessof thelock- along with complete interest PDS complaints labourers fordistribution and I ing, about the virusand the need comethenorm.“Ithasturnedout shelter and mental counselling. thestandalonedebt of the com- down will be judged finallyon subvention and asector-specific pulsesfor three months as lock- paythem Rs 5,000-6,000.Iam to take the right precautions, but very useful in this situation. Astate official said 46,436 panywas Rs 3600crore.Apart the ability to tackle the epidemic, packagefor MSMEs. down relief, too, has received leftwith less 3,000foramonth.” also about festivals and people’s Havingsaidthat,thewholeworld labourers had been counselled from this, acredit carddebt of Rs and that cooperation between The party asked the govern- severalcomplaintsofdealers In Bihar,dealersdon’t get everydayproblems. hopes that we arenot living with about coronavirus. “Those who 750 crorewas notdisclosedto the Centreand states waskey. ment to frame apolicytoensure shortchangingPDS beneficiar- commission fordistributing free “Ramzanishere. Iwish you coronaforthenext10 years.Hope have serious mental illnesses are lenders, in violationofthe dis- Rahul said it wastime to returnofmigrant workers to ies. ration. Forthe regular stock, a well forthe month of Ramzan itwouldnot becomenecessaryto being admitted fortreatment,” closurenorms. think of transition from acom- their home states and the Bihar Deputy Chief Minister dealer gets acommission of 70 (whichbegan on Thursday playonline all the time.For the an official said. In January, the National plete lockdown to lockdown Indians strandedabroad, while Sushil Kumar Modi told The paise per kg of grain and Re 1per evening),” she says.“Ialso wish moment, it keeps us going.”

Mumbai WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 3 THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,APRIL24,2020 THE OUTBREAK Mumbai GOVTMumPROJECbaiTS 70,00’spl0POSIan:TIVE60CASESB,000YMID-MAY

CORONA WATCH quarantineunits,250% Qualityoffoodpoor: BJPcorporator jumpinhospitalbeds toPardeshi Mumbai: TheBJP corpora- torfromGoregaon area SANDEEPASHAR DHARAVICASES has written to Municipal MUMBAI,APRIL23 RISETO214 Commissioner Pravin Pardeshi complaining TO ENSURE that it is prepared to Mumbai: Thenumberof aboutthe quality of food tackle the increasing number of COVID-19cases in Dharavi being providedtothe mi- COVID-19patientsinMumbai,the reached214 onThursday with grant labourers, the Maharashtragovernmentisplan- another25peopletestingpos- homeless and the poor. ninga250percentincreaseinthe itive.One among them died, Priti Satam has alleged number of hospital beds and a Dharaviisone of the worst takingthe overall toll in this thatinher ward,the qual- massive scale up of community affected areas . Pradip Das densely-populated slum area ityoffood wassobad that quarantinefacilitiesto accommo- to 13.Thecity,meanwhile,has manywerefinding it dif- dateasymptomatic patientsand 930 containment zones, with ficulttoeat. “The food is high-risk contacts. 326localities in redzones. At half cooked and the qual- With the number of active AdditionalMunicipal 97,the mostcontainment ity is notgood. In my area, cases still doubling afterevery CommissionerSureshKakanisaid zones areinareas covering manyrefusedtoeat it. MohammedAli Road (above),ahub foranall-night food festival during Ramzan, wears adesertedlook as mostshops in the sevendays in Mumbai, the state schoolcomplexes,large exhibition AndheriWest, Versova and Also, theydon’t getthe area have downedtheir shutters due to the COVID-19pandemic. The holymonth begins tomorrow. Pradip Das public healthdepartment has centresandmarriagehallswillbe Juhu, followedbythe hotspot khichadi on time,” Satam projected that going by the cur- acquired forthe purpose. The of WorliKoliwada at 95. The wrote. Satam addedthat rent rate of infection, the number BMC health officials areofthe mostredzonesareinG-South she came across the prob- of cases in the city mayrise to opinion that all of them maynot ward thatincludesWorli lem on April 15 and 17 70,000by mid-May. be needed, but the civic body is Koliwada (37). when some needy people An unfamiliar calmbefore Ramzan While pointing out that the notready to take chances. in her area refusedtoac- rate of casesdoublinghadslowed Plansfor an immediateramp 14MIGRANTSSENTTO ceptfood packetsdue to here andinmyentire life, Ihave down from three days to seven up of hospital bedsisinprogress itspoor quality.Assistant EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE neverseen this area fall so silent days,state healthauthoritieswant as well. In civic-run and private QUARANTINECENTRE Municipal Commissioner MUMBAI,APRIL23 PROCUDUREFORSIGHTINGOFMOONTWEAKED before Ramzan–not evenafterri- the BMC to ramp up infrastruc- hospitals,BMC has so farmade Mumbai: Agroup of 14 (Planning) Dr Sangeeta otsorduring riots.” Afroz is yetto turalarrangementsinabigwayto arrangementsfor about 2,000 strandedmigrant workers Hasnale, who is in-charge With the month of Ramzanset to Mumbai: Amid lockdown, the on Friday. buysuppliesto make iftaridishes. treat morepatients, and eventu- bedstotreat COVID-19patients. from Bihar wasThursday of the community kitchen begin on Saturday, civic officials procudurefor sighting of the SaeedNoorie from Raza Khadija Munaaf (33), aresi- allyflatten theinfection curve. In anticipation of morecases,the shiftedtoatransitcamp operations,said BMC is and NGOs areworking on a moon marking the beginning Academysaid, “Wehavebeen dentof Nakhudamohalla,saidshe Concernedoverthe high rate planistorampthis up to 7,000, school, whichhas been providing khichadi as well roadmap to reachMuslim mi- of the holymonth of Ramzan givenpermission to travel in will miss the “chehel pehel”that of infection and mortality in with civic and government-run turnedintoaquarantine fa- as biryani,and the quality grant workers and those who has been tweaked this year. twovehicles to anyspotinthe Ramzanbroughtwithitself.“We'll Mumbai, even an inter-ministe- hospitals alone making up for cility at Dharavi. A47-year- is as per standard. wouldbefasting. While in the past, anywit- city fromwhereaperson calls eat simple this Ramzan,aswe rial central team of the Union 3,400of these. old man living with them Right now, ready-to-eat food nesswho spotted the moon sayinghe/she has spotted the haven’t stockedanything so far. Home Ministry, whichhas been StatePrincipal Secretary had tested positive forcoro- packagesare distributedforlunch would need to visit religious moon. At leasttwo witnesses, Let's see whatfruitsare available assessing thesituation in the city Manisha Mhaiskar,who is over- navirus Monday but wasad- anddinnerineachward.Butdur- leaders and then give his or who have sighted the moon, during the market hours,” said forthe lastthree days,had on seeing hospital management in mitted to ahospital onlyon TWO SHOPS ROBBED ing Ramzan, sehri or the mealbe- her statement, thisyear,the areneededfor the officialdec- Munaaf,who will also miss the Wednesday directedstateofficials the city forCOVID-19control op- Tuesday. Localsinthe area fore thefastingbegins,istakenbe- religiousleaders have gotper- laration of the commence- firni and malpua,whichisespe- to augment institutional quaran- erations, said: “When we began had demanded that the Video clipof fore 5am. Thefasting ends after7 mission from the police to go ment of Ramzan.” ciallysoldatBhendi Bazar during tiningarrangements, expressing the operations,the BYLNair hos- group, whichhad come in pm. to the spotwhereaperson Noorie added, “While in Ramzan. dissatisfaction over the arrange- pital (nowdedicated forCOVID- contactwith the man, should burglary at Additional Municipal says he has spotted themoon. the past,people who spotted The residentscurrentlybuy mentsinthe denseslumpockets 19 patients) wasa40-bed setup. be made to undergo testsor jewellerystore Commissioner Jayashree Bhoj With Ramzan slated to be- the moon would come to the vegetablesbetween9amto11am in particular. It will become a320-bed spe- shiftedtoaquarantine facil- said theyhavereceivedalistof gin from Saturday, the religious leaders, nowwewill butthe market timing will be ex- OnThursday, atadeliberation cialisedfacility by this weekend. ity as theycontinue to have goes viral,shop those whowouldbefastingfrom moonislikelytobespotted be going to them.” ENS tendedupto12.30pmduring viavideoconferencebetweenthe Plans aretoaugment it to 1,000 access to commontoilets in wardsacross the city. “Since dis- Ramzan, officials said. central team, Chief Minister beds. Similarly,plans arealso to thearea. ENS ownersontoes tributingfood pre-dawn maynot ForIrfan Pudinawala, who Uddhav Thackeray and senior enhance the capacity of Seven bepossible,intheevening,we will isnomoneytobuydryration.We quarantinecentres. runs amedical and general store stateand BMC officials, thescale- Hills Hospital (also adedicated be giving twopacketsoffood to queueupforfoodthatisservedat The office-bearers of the providinghomedeliveries,theor- up planwas discussed. COVID-19carefacility) from 620 AsaplanBfortheeasternsub- MOHAMEDTHAVER those on thelist. One of the pack- noonand in the evening. We are Hazrat Makdoom Shah Baba ders of cheese and ketchup have At present, BMChas acquired bedsto1,000beds.” urbs, the BMChas drawnupan MUMBAI,APRIL23 etswillcontainareadyto eatmeal yettoget anyinformation (from MahimiCharityTrusthas also overtaken those formedicines in facilities forquarantining 23,000 To scale up operations, state- additional plan to convert andtheotheronewillhave five to governmentagencies)abouthow written to the CM statingthat thelastone week.“No one is or- people. Theseare being used to run Sir Gokuldas Tejpal and St Ghatkopar’s Rajawadi hospital as JEWELLERYSHOP owners in the sixitems,includingafruit,biscuits, to manageduring Ramzan,” said sincecertain items likefruits dering medicines andweare not isolatehigh-risk (14,000)and George’s hospitals have been adedicatedCOVID-19carefacil- city went intoatizzyafter avideo lassi and dates,” sheadded. AlamShaikh,aworkerinAndheri. wouldbenecessaryforthosefast- delivering too,”said Irfan. His asymptomatic patients(8,000). added to the pool.“They will add ity if the needarises. clip, purportedlyofatunnel dug Bhoj further said that in con- An official from the collec- ing, directions be issued to police medicalstoreistheonlyoneopen With about 85 to 90 per cent of another 500to600 beds, while OnWednesday, Uddhavhada through thefloor of ashop in tainment zones, phone numbers tor’s office said that manyNGOs and civic authorities to facilitate in the entirelane,the entryto thepatients,whohave testedpos- the civic-run HinduHriday meeting with civic officials over Andheri(East)wentviralonsocial of fruit, vegetable and milk ven- have been engaged in distribu- the sale of food items while fol- which isbarricaded,withapolice itive so farbeing asymptomatic, SamratBalasaheb Thackeray the ramp-upplan.“Thedoubling mediagroups.Alljewelleryshops dorshave beencollectedandpro- tion of food. KishoreBhamre, di- lowing social distancingnorms. vanstayingput at the entrance. the plan is to augment institu- Trauma CareHospital in rate of cases has improved.Itis in the city have been shut since visions will be made forthem to rector of NGOPratham Council Police officers said they have Afew otherresidentshave tional quarantinefacilities to ac- Jogeshwariwillprovide150beds. nowcome down to sevendays. the lockdown wasannounced saletheirproductsatafixedtime. forVulnerable Children, which ropedincommunityleadersto in- also takentodistributing commodateatleast60,000 to BMC’s Kasturba hospital already We plan to better it further,” said last month. Assistant Municipal has been distributing food to form peopletostayindoors since ketchup,dates and sherbat bot- 63,000people. has 125beds,” said Mhaiskar. Mhaiskar. According to police, the clip Commissioner (Planning) vulnerable groups and in con- thereisarestrictiononmass tleaspartofthe rationkit to the wasapartofaCCTVcamera Sangeeta Hasnale said: “Weare tainment areas across Mumbai, prayers. poor.Rizwan Chunawal(43), footageobtainedfromajewellery also increasing the number of is coordinating with BMC offi- The bylanes of Mohammad who livesatChaklaStreet, said Pre-monsoon shoplocated at Akruti in Andheri teams working on food delivery cials at M-Eastward. “Wehave AliRoad,Bhendi Bazarand itsad- that theyare onlylooking to (east).Around3amTuesday, bur- and distributionwith specific managed to getsupplies of dry joining Null Bazar wore an unfa- cooking bareminimumthis glars reportedly dugasmall tun- teams to cater to the population ration likechana, dates and miliar calm before Ramzan,ape- Ramzan. “Howthings will go will works begin nel through the corner of ashop, thatwill be fasting.” nuts,” he added. riod when the whole locality onlybeclear on the firstRoza. MahavirJewellers,anddecamped StrandedMuslim migrant Corporator Rais Shaikh said would prep itselftohostthe Thiswill bethe firstRamzan with with1.5-2kilogrammesilverjew- workers, meanwhile, said that that he has writtentoChief month-longfestival. no prayersheld at the mosque. SANJANABHALERAO ellery worthRs50,000,Senior theyhavenoidea howtheyare MinisterUddhavThackeray to AfrozShaikh(48),asshemade Everyone willhavetopray at MUMBAI,APRIL23 Inspector Jagdish Shinde, MIDC going to access packaged food for provide the pre-dawn sehri meal her waytobuy ayurvedic medi- their homes. Let’s see howthat policestation, said. the pre-dawn sehri meal. “There andpost-dawn iftaari to those in cines forherself, said: “I wasborn worksout,”headded. AMIDLOCKDOWN, theBMC has “TheCCTVcamerainstalledin startedpre-monsoon worksof theshophascapturedthefootage road resurfacing, desilting and of aperson entering the shop bridgerepairs to avoid flooding around 3am. We should be able Civic body invokes force majeure and waterlogging during the up- to make arrestssoon,” saidanof- coming monsoon season. ficer from MIDC policestation. Withthemonsoononsetdate Meanwhile, afterthe video for Mumbai this year being June went viral on social media,own- in favour of city builders 11,BMChasoveramonth-and-a- ers of Sona company, whichex- half to complete pre-monsoon GUJARATMEDICAL SERVICES CORPORATION LIMITED portsgold anddiamonds abroad, Validityofall construction permissions expiring before June30extended works. It has restarted255 works checkedtheir unit at Mahakali of roadsrepairandresurfacing,27 (A Government of Gujarat Undertaking) CavesRoad Tuesdaytofind valu- surveyors and the project propo- ment and the civic body mustan- worksofbridgerepairs,38works Regd. Office :BlockNo. 14/1, Dr.Jivraj Mehta ablesworthcroresmissing.MIDC SANDEEPASHAR nentsbeing closed. It is therefore nounce an amnesty forall ofstormwaterdrains (including Bhavan, Sector-10, Gandhinagar
079-23250767, 23250766, 23257696 policehaveregistered aFIR in the MUMBAI,APRIL23 The main worry is the necessarytoconsider the force schemes forpenaltiesand desilting)and 100other repair matter.While Sona company majeuresituation arisen,” wrote amountspayable by existing workswith3,879labourerswork- COVID-19 URGENTPURCHASE NOTICE: total destructionof DRUG/01/2020-21 owners have claimedthat gold JUSTASdebate ragesoninlegal demand brought on by Pardeshiinthe circular. projectsand shouldalso provide ing acrossMumbai. and diamonds worthRs6crore circles on whether forcemajeure the lockdown. One The move comes at atime interestsubsidies on loans,” said Thecivicbodyhasbeentasked Quotations are invited for Tablet &Capsules, Injections and have been burgled,police have willapply to COVID-19, authori- when the juryisstill out on Rajesh Jain, chairman, NEUMEC with completing pre-monsoon Miscellaneous products through E-mail.Interested pegged theamount at Rs 15 lakh tiesinMumbaihaveinvokedthe senses that it will be a whether the pandemichad trig- group, whichisundertaking a worksbyMay 31 whilefollowing Manufacturer/company/Authorized dealer are invited to send on the basis of receipts of stolen clause to grant amajor relief to while before the buying geredaforce majeure.Broadly, number of projectsinthe island guidelineslikemaintainingsocial Quotations of items along with their drug license, Name of ornamentssubmitted so far. city builders. sentiment is restored the courts have interpreted the cityofMumbai. distancing norms and providing manufacturer forparticular drug and copyofWHOGMP The Mumbai crime branch, Applying forcemajeure, the amongcitizens” term as an eventthatneither be “The mainworry is the total maskstolabourers. “Pre-mon- certificate of manufacturer through e-mail on md- which is conducting aparallel in- Brihanmumbai Municipal anticipated nor controlled by ei- destructionofdemandbrought soonworkscan'tstop,if thathap- [email protected]. till 27/04/2020, 16:00 Hrs.Detailed vestigationinthematter, saidanin- Corporation (BMC) has extended ther of the parties involvedina on by the lockdown. One senses pens, therewill be lotofissues – RAJESH JAIN Noticeisavailable on website http://gmscl.gujarat.gov.in sider’shand could notberuledout the validity of various develop- contract.Provisionsofforce ma- that it will be awhile before the flooding,accidentsandtrafficdis- CHAIRMAN, NEUMEC GROUP and this office notice board. in the Sona companyburglary. mentpermissions granted by it jeuregenerallycover natural dis- buyingsentimentisrestored ruptions. We areadopting safety INF/34/19-20 Prithviraj Kothari, national forbuilding constructions in the asters likehurricanes, floods, and amongcitizens,” said Jain. Bhavik precautions forour workers. We president of India Bullion and commercial capital. and June 29, toohavebeen ex- earthquakes as “acts of god”. Mehta, partner,Namo Realty and arenot diggingupanynew roads, Jewellers Association, said, “There In acircular issued lastweek, tendedtill June 30, provideda Othercovered eventsmay in- InfraLLP,echoedJain’sconcerns. we arejustworking on the roads areover5,000jewelleryshops in Mumbaimunicipal commis- formalapplication forrevalida- clude war, terrorism,civil disor- Mehta, also acommittee mem- that arealreadydug up,” Mumbai’s Zaveri Bazaar area sioner Praveen Pardeshiruled tion is madeonorbeforethe ex- der,among others. berofthe Brihanmumbai Additional Municipal alone. We have been in touch thatthe validity of all IODs tendedcut offdate, said officials. When contacted,Vinod Developers Association, arepre- CommissionerPVelrasu said. with the zonal DCP who has in- (Intimation of Disapproval), ex- While there arenoprovisions Chitore, BMC’s Chief Engineer sentativebody of mid-sizedde- BMChas restarted ninewater creasedpatrolling, especiallyin piring between March 1, 2020 in the Mumbai Regional and (Development Plan), pointedout velopers mainlyfromthe sub- supply, 22sewerage,255road,27 thenight. We have also sought and June 30,2020, had been ex- Town Planning Act, 1966,which that Maharashtra’sRealEstate urbs of Mumbai, said, “The bridge, 38 stormwaterdrain and permission from the authorities tendeduptoSeptember 30, governsthe municipality’sfunc- RegulatoryAuthority and the government mustconsider aGST eight sewage disposal projects. to keep ourshops open fortwo 2020. tioning, regarding forcemajeure, Union MinistryofEnvironment relieffor sale apartments.Also Also,39projectsfromthe hy- hours in the morning to checkif An IODisthe initial develop- the municipality has citedthe andForests,too, had reliedonthe construction premiums should draulicdepartmentisinprogress. everything is in place. We areyet ment permission giventoaproj- unprecedented shutdown to clause forrevalidation of orders be sizeddown.” Work hasalsoresumedonthe to hear from them.” ect, whichlists conditions for containthe COVID-19outbreak granted by them. “The moment the lockdown coastal road project with 416 compliance before the com- and howithas impactedthe con- While citybuilderswel- is lifted, one feels that stranded labourers. In case of nullahs and mencement of actual construc- struction industrygravely tojus- comedthe move,mostare pitch- migrant workers willrush to rivers,BMCcarriesout70 percent Twoshops —Mahavir tion work.All other development tifyits use. “In viewofthe COVID- ing forevenmoreperks and an their nativeplaces. The onesthat of the desiltingworks before the permissions, including com- 19 outbreaksand the subsequent economical revivalpackagefor have already reachedhome monsoon.Thecityhasaround276 Jewellers at Akrutiand mencement certificates, lockdown,variousindustryout- theconstruction industry.“We states willalso take awhile be- km of 280 major nullahs, and ashopowned by Sona Transferable Development fits had reportedthat applica- (the construction industry) were fore comingbackgiven thechal- around 438kmofminor nullahs. company at Mahakali RightsCertificates, letters of in- tionsfor renewal(of develop- already reeling under aslow- lenges theyhavefacedduring the The BMC needs to remove 3.62 CavesRoad —have tent, debris management plans, ment permissions) could notbe down. The disruption causedby lockdown. It willbeagood year lakh metric tonnes of wastefrom no dues certificates from various submitted. Those submitted on- the pandemic is akiller blow. and ahalf before normalcy re- allthesenullahs,aswellasdesilta been reportedly robbed department, etc, whose validity line could notbeprocessed, since While the revalidation of permis- turns to construction activity,” 21-km stretchinMithi riverby wasexpiring between March 1 the office of the architects, license sions is welcome, the govern- said Jain. May31.

Mumbai WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 4 THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,APRIL24,2020 THE OUTBREAK Maharashtra

RECOVERY RATE PIL in HC seeks adequate facilities for treatment Sangli,Latur of non-COVID patients

the hospitals,the pleastated. record100%; EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Theplea alsosought from the MUMBAI,APRIL23 stategovernment and civic bod- ies to widelypublicise the details APIL has been filedbeforethe of hospitals operational fortreat- BombayHigh Court seeking di- mentofillnesses other than statelagsat rectionsto hospitalsandthestate COVID-19. Khan said afterhe governmenttoprovide adequate cameacrossmediareportsabout facilities fortreatmentofnon- hospitals denying admissions, he coronavirus patientsduringthe verifiedthemindependentlyand nationwide lockdown. found hospitals thatweredeny- 13.9percent The plea soughtdirections ing admission non-COVID pa- fromtheHighCourttotakeneces- tients. He also said ambulance saryaction againsthospitals and services had become scarce and, medical institutions that refuse therefore,needypersonswere be- TABASSUM PERCENTAGEOFTHOSE treatment to patientssuffering ingdeprivedof timely treatment. BARNAGARWALA fromotherailments.Italsosought ThePILfurtherstatedthatdue MUMBAI,APRIL23 WHORECOVERED from the stategovernmenttoen- to the increasingnumber of doc- sureadequateambulance facili- torsandmedicalstafftestingpos- AMIDAdailyspikeincoronavirus Sangli 100% ties to ferrypatientssuffering itive forcoronavirus, severalhos- cases,twodistrictsinMaharashtra Latur 100% from COVID-19 as well as other pitals and medical facilities in —Sangli and Latur —have medicallycompromisedpatients Mumbai, Thaneand Navi Ahmednagar52% recorded100 per cent recovery and, if required,state-run or pri- Mumbai have suspendedtheir rate.All the26people afflicted by Pimpri-Chinchwad34% vate buses to be converted into regular functioning. the virus in Sangli and eight per- Pune 18.2% ambulance.APILfiledbyadvocate It wassubmittedthat out-pa- sonsinLaturhaverecoveredfrom Mutahhar Khan referred to news tientdepartmentsinmosthospi- and subsequentlydischarged, a Satara18% reportsand stated that several talsareclosed,whileelective pro- stategovernmentreport stated. Mumbai 13.1% hospitals in theMumbai cedures at in-patient Till Wednesday, 789 patients BRIGHT EYES MetropolitanRegionhave denied departmentshavebeen deferred Nagpur12% or 13.9 percent of the total 5,649 admission to patientssuffering as pergovernmentadvisories. people infected by the virushave Navi Mumbai 9.9% Children playinDharavionThursday. In one of Asia’s biggestslums, coronaviruscases areonthe rise. Pradip Das fromotherailments,claimingthat Khan’s PIL has sought direc- recoveredanddischarged.Atotal Buldhana 8% theirfacilities were singularly tions to stateand healthauthori- of 150people, highest in asingle dedicated forcombating the tiesto providefacilitiesto persons day, were dischargedonApril 21 KalyanDombivali 3% COVID-19outbreak.Suchin- suffering from ailmentsother alone. However, Mumbai and Thane Municipal PALGHAR LYNCHING stanceshave resultedinfatalities, than COVID-19and announcea Pune, the twodistrictsthat were Corporation 3.01% who hadapproachedthe emer- listofsuchhospitals. The HC is firsttoreportCOVID-19cases in gencyorcasualtydepartmentsof likelytohearthe PILnextweek. Vasai-Virar3.9% Official who could haveordered firing thestate,have recordedslowerre- covery rates-at18.2 per cent Pune’srecoveryrate isslightlybet- terthan Mumbai (13.1per cent) could be startedearly,” said Dr of warning shots was not informed AssaultatAwhad’s tillWednesday. PawanSalve,additional medical Till Wednesday, 734coron- officer,Pimpri Chinchwad house: HC asks police to avirus cases were recordedby Municipal Corporation. The dis- KAVITHAIYER Pune Municipal Corporation trict noticedseveral cases in be- MUMBAI,APRIL23 Two arrested in Palghar lynching (PMC)-thefirstcasewasreported ginning of March,but has man- secure CCTVfootage by itonMarch 9.Of them134have aged to trace contactsofthe AS Aprobe commences into case directlylinked to BJP: Sawant beendischargedtillnowfromiso- infected personsand control the lapses surrounding the lynching had stated that he had uploaded lation centres.InMumbai, which diseasetransmission. of twosadhus and their driveron is amember of BJP’s booth communalise the issue in- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE amorphedphotograph of the recordeditsfirstcaseonMarch 11, In other districts with signifi- April 16 at Gadchinchle village in EXPRESSNEWS committee forGadchinchale stead.” MUMBAI,APRIL23 ministeronFacebook,mocking the number of patients has gone cant COVID-19cases, the rate of Palghar district,ithas emerged SERVICE village. Another man who has The Congress also sought him in connection with PM up to 3,683,ofwhom 483have recovery has remainedslow. In that despitethe rapidlyworsen- MUMBAI,APRIL23 been arrested,BhauSathe, is an Ordinance againstmob THE BOMBAY High Courton NarendraModi’sappeal to light been dischargedtillWednesday Vasai-Virar, 6.9per cent of 115in- ingsituationatthesitewherethe also amember of the BJP’s vil- lynching and questionedwhy Thursdayissuednoticetostate candlesat9pmonApril 5tomark night. According to Dr Daksha fected have been discharged, mob had gathered,nocall was THE CONGRESS on Thursday lagebooth committee, Sawant the Union government was governmentseekingits response the battle againstCOVID-19. Shah,deputyexecutive healthof- while in Thane only3per centof made to thelocal sub-divisional alleged that some of the ac- allegedwhile releasing photos sittingonthe issue inspiteofa on aplea filedbyaThane-based Karmusehad told policethat ficer,Brihanmumbai Municipal 166infected have recovered. Of magistrate (SDM)whocouldhave cused arrested in the Palghar of the accusedattending apro- Supreme Court directive in civil engineer who hassought a at 11.50 pm on April 5, four per- Corporation,eachpatient who 101people infected in Navi givenanorderforthepolicetofire lynching case aredirectly gramme organisedbythe BJP. this regard. transfer of the investigation to the sons,including twomen testsnegative twiceinagap of 24 Mumbai,only9.9 per centhave warning shots in the air to dis- linkedtothe BJP.Sofar,110 Questioning BJP’s alleged “The Supreme Courthad Central BureauofInvestigation dressedinpolice uniform, came hoursisconsideredrecoveredand recoveredand discharged. In perse the crowd. men have been arrested for reluctance in acting against givenguidelines to makealaw (CBI) in an incident wherehewas to hisresidenceatAnand Nagar is dischargedfromhospital. In Nagpur, 12 per centof97people Either on account of patchy the lynchings of twosadhus the twoaccused, he said: “The againstmob lynching. Two allegedlybeatenup by 10-15men area of Ghodbunder Road in state, confirmed COVID-19pa- infected have been discharged. cellphone networkatthe site, lo- and adriver. BJP should expel these people years have passedsince this associatedwith the stateHousing Thane. The “policemen”, he tientsundergoatestevery alter- Thedatashows thatMalegaon cated 150kmfromMumbai and Congress spokesperson from the party if it is reallyse- order.Why has the BJP not Minister, JitendraAwhad, for claimed, told him to accompany nateday to assesstheir viral load. has recorded94cases, all in last on the border of Dahanu taluka Sachin Sawant claimedthat riousabout sadhus being come up with alaw?Its fight posting amorphedphotograph them to the police station, but InSangli,whereall26infected one week.“Recovery will take andtheadjoiningUnionTerritory 25-year-oldIshwar Bandhu lynched. Over the pastfew againstmob lynching is fake,” of the NCPleader on social media instead took him to Awhad’s patientsweredischarged, only time. Whenthe spikecame, it of Dadra-Nagar Haveli, or due to Nikole,who has been arrested, days,ithas been trying to said Sawant. earlier this month. bungalowbehind VivianaMall, one senior citizen withdiabetes camesuddenlyand severalwere alapse amid the chaos, local offi- Asingle-judgebench of wherehewas allegedly as- had required close monitoring. infectedatonce,”saidepidemiol- cials at Gadchinchlefailedtoin- JusticeGirishSKulkarni heardthe saulted.AnFIR has wasregis- Districtofficialssaidtheotherpa- ogist Awate. The district has form the SDM. phonecall to the police, but nei- erected along highways. “Itgot sobadthatwe beganto pleathroughvideo-conferencing teredagainst“unidentified per- tientshad mild or no symptoms recordednine deaths, but nota Eyewitness accounts, includ- therlocalresidentsnorthepolice- “Wehavealsorequested sev- conductawarenesscampaignsre- and directed that CCTVcamera sons” under severalIPC sections and were onlykeptinisolation singlepatienthasrecoveredsofar. ingthose of BJP sarpanch Chitra meninformedtheSDM,adeputy eralpeopleto assistusinreaching garding fake rumours alongside footageofAwhad’sbungalowfor forabduction, causinghurtby until theytestednegative. Thoughthenumbersare smallto ChoudhariandNCPZillaParishad collector-levelofficer. outto thepeopleoftheregionand the social distancing awareness the relevant period along with dangerous weaponsormeans, In Latur,all eight infected pa- compare,butMalegaon’smortal- member Kashinath Choudhari, “The policecould have re- tellingthemthattherumoursare campaigns,” said Zilla Parishad call datarecords and other evi- rioting and intimidationat tientswerenativesofTelangana. ity rate is doublethe state’smor- said the mob attackonthe vic- sorted to lathichargeiftheyfelt it false. Thelocaladministration, memberSatishKarbad,aresident dences be submitted in asealed Thane policestationonApril8. “Allof themwere stablewithmild tality rate at 4.7 per cent, Awate tims’MarutiEecolastedwellover wasnecessary, butnormallythe teachers, anganwadi sevikas, ac- of nearby villageGhadne covertoamagistrateinThane. Five persons were subsequently symptoms. Recovery waseasy,” said,addingthatthedeceasedalso twohours. DespiteSection 144 order to fire ashotinthe airis credited socialhealth activists Patilpada.“Everybodywasreceiv- The plea, filedthrough advo- arrested by Vartak NagarPolice saidstate epidemiologist Dr had somecomorbidities. being in place againstthe gather- givenbythe SDM,” thecollector (ASHAs), police patils and gram ingthesemessagesviaWhatsApp cateAnirudh Ganu, also sought station in the matter. Pradeep Awate. The stategovernment report ing of morethan five persons,a said.Meanwhile,to curbthespate sevaks will undertake this work. sincethe startofthe Awhad’s name to be includedas Earlier,Awhad had told The In Pimpri-Chinchwad, where on 3,525 patients, currentlyad- mobofnearly 400men rained of rumoursabout gangs that kid- Simultaneously, social organisa- lockdown.” The Kasa police sta- accusedinthe FIR lodged by Indian Express that he did not 54 cases have been recorded so mittedto hospitals,hasalsofound stones andwoodensticks on the napchildren fortheir organs,the tionsworking in theareaand tion said no kidnappingsorcom- Thane police in the matter.Public know anything about anyone far, arecovery rate of 34 per cent thatatleast83percentof patients Eeco,upturningitbythetimethe districtadministrationhasswung electedrepresentativeswill also plaintsoforgan thefthavebeen Prosecutor Deepak Thakareop- being beaten. “However, this has been observed, the statere- are asymptomatic.Thesepatients policearrived. intoaction with various stake- tellpeoplenottobelieve theseru- recordedinrecent months, and posedthe plea and said that mere person has been putting up ob- portstated. The district has willrequireregular testing forvi- “Theydidn’t call the SDM or holders at the village levelroped mours,” he added. that messagesaboutgangs, in- allegationswerenot enough.The scene memes and photosof recorded onlytwo deathsto ralload. About twoper centwho me,” Palghar Collector Kailash in to spread awareness aboutthe Forabout amonthnow,local cluding some listing villages benchhas asked the statetofile leaders of my party and family Covid-19. “Wefocussed on early arecritical,require intensive care, Shindetold The Indian Express.A fake messagesonWhatsAppand residentshavereceivedand wherethieveswerepurportedto replyand postedthe matter for members forthe pasttwo years. testing and hospitalisation. while the rest with mild symp- watchman at the forest depart- othersocial media platforms. shared messages about thieves have attacked, were completely further hearing to April 30. This is aclassic case of someone Severalwith early signs of infec- toms can be clinicallymanaged ment’schowkioutsidewhichthe Shinde saidhoardingscoun- roamingtheregionatnight,lead- fake.Nightpatrollinghasbeenin- In his police complaint, the abusing freedom of speech,” he tion were tested, andtreatment with treatment. lynching took placemade the tering the rumours will soon be ingtonightlyvigils. tensifiedacrossDahanu. engineer,AnantKarmuse (40), had said.

DOOR-TO-DOOR DELIVERYOFNEWSPAPERS LAST-MINUTE DECISION BY HOME MINISTRY Exceptional policy decision takenin After40-daywait in watersoff Mumbai extraordinary situation:Govt to HC onApril20to file itsreplytoape- Referring to it subsequently VIVEKDESHPANDE tition filedbyNagpur Union of changing the order to allowdis- coast, 147 crew members finally disembark NAGPUR,APRIL23 Working Journalists and tribution of newspapers except MaharashtraUnion of Working in Mumbai and Pune, the govern- THE STATEgovernment, while Journalists againstthe ban, de- ment said, “Exemption will not media pleading with the govern- The Marella Discovery setsail seeking disposalof apetitionfiled scribing it as gagging of the free- applytocontainment zones in SRINATHRAO menttorepatriatethemwithout forEurope afterrefuelling, said againstits earlier order to ban dom of press and expression. places whereitisallowedand MUMBAI,APRIL23 delay. “Wedid notreceiveany re- Serang.Pol is confident of testing door-to-doorcirculationof news- In itsaffidavit, the govern- that permission is subject to de- sponse to our earlier petition. It negative.“We did nothavesingle papers in the state, strongly de- ment stated,“Section 2ofthe livery boys wearing masksand VIDYADHAR POL is still in disbe- wasonlyafterwe shotvideosand case on the ship and all our pas- fendedthe move before the EpidemicDiseases Act, 1897 em- observing social distancing.” lief overhowclosehecameto sail- The crew sharedthemwidelythatthegov- sengers and halfthe crew disem- Nagpur benchofthe Bombay powers the statetoundertake Arguing that the principalaim ingtheotherwayonThursdayin- members were ernment woke up to our plight. barkednearly twomonths ago High CourtonThursday. special measures and prescribe of the move wastocontrol and stead of returning home. whisked away to We alsoreachedout to (NCP MP) when we dockedatSingapore to In an affidavit filedbeforeHC, regulations in extraordinarysit- reduce spread of COVID-19, the Butfor alastminutedecision ahotel after SupriyaSule,whohelpedusalot,” loadsupplies.Sincethenwehave the government said that the uation. Experts saycoronavirus government said, “Norestriction by the MinistryofHome Affairs being tested for Polsaid. been on sea,” he said. April 18 order,whichitlater an- can stay on various surfaces for wasimposedonthe functioning on Wednesdayevening,the COVID-19. Express On shore,the NationalUnion Inthemonth-and-a-half since nulledfor parts of the stateother considerable time and newspa- of electronicandprintmedia but cruise ship Marella Discovery of Seafarers of India (NUSI) lob- then,moraleandfoodbothbegan than Mumbai andPune, was“an per is something that will be onlycirculation of newspapers would have refuelled at Mumbai biedwiththeMinistryofShipping to run low, as the Indian govern- exceptional policy decision passedbyhand-to-hand by vari- wasrestricted.” PortonThursdaymorningandset governmenthasnotdeliveredon returning to Indiawould be im- and the MHA to issue asign-on mentkept dithering.“Rice,toma- takenunder extraordinarysitu- ous people,whichmay increase Objecting to the affidavit, the sail towardsEurope aftera40- itspromises.Ispoketothe head possiblefromEurope.Ifone of us and sign-offorder allowingsev- toesandonionswere almostover. ation and exceptional circum- chances of infection.” petitioners’ counsels, Deven day-long wait in Indianwaters. office yesterdayand told them died, even our bodies would not eral thousand Indian sailors We couldn’t eat pasta everyday. stances, as an important tempo- “Newspapers cannotbecon- Chauhan and Nikhil Kirtane, Instead, 147Indiancrew mem- thatwehavetodrawaline.We’re be sent backtoour families,”he strandedinvesselsacross the We hadfreewifiandwereableto rary measuretocontrol the sidered as an essential item, urgedthe courttodisapprovethe bers disembarked and were hangingaround here with no di- said.The recent passing away of worldtoreturnhomebysea. speak to ourfamilies everyday. outbreak of the COVID-19pan- hence,comparisonwithfoodde- contentionsjustifying“muzzling whisked away to ahotel afterbe- rection. Ican see people’ssmiles aninfectedGoansailoraboardan- AbdulGhani Serang,NUSI But the crew wasupset,” he said. demic, using overriding provi- livery is notfair. Readers canget of fundamental rightsofthe me- ing tested forCOVID-19. going and itsnot good forus. otherMarella cruise shipdocked generalsecretary, saidthatensur- Likehis compatriots, Polre- sionsofthe special laws made newspapersonInternet. dia”. The Aurangabad benchof Pol,whoworksasanassistant Nothing is going to happen in the in Europe had also spooked the ing the safetyofanxious Indian turnedhome with his contract forsuchscenarios”. Responsibility of sanitisation of the HC hadalso takenasuo motu cookonboardthecruiseliner,said nextfewdays.Itwasn’tadecision strandedsailor.“His body has sailors shouldbeamong the gov- overandafutureintheembattled Therefore, the intention of the food deliveryboys is takenbythe cognisanceofthe issue as also the thattheCaptain,ChrisDodds,told that waseasy to make,” Dodds beenkept ontheshipbecausethe ernment’s toppriorities. shipping industry in doubt. He is, order wasinthe interestofthe deliverer. No suchcontrol on pa- Press Council of India, which his crew on Tuesdaythat after hadsaid. Indiangovernmentrefusedtoac- On Thursday, the sailors dis- however, grateful to Marella well-being and safetyofcitizens, per delivery boys is guaranteed. found the ban an “assault on the spending15 days inthewatersoff India had closedits borders ceptitand no European country embarkedatMumbaiPortat9 Cruises and the Indian govern- it added.The statefurther said One can’t determine whicharea freedom of press”, theyadded. Kochiand another 25 days off lastmonth in abid to contain the is ready to allowitintoits terri- am and were allowedtoleave for ment.“Thecompany and ourfel- thatthe order wasjudicious, very theycome from, whichcould also Justice Nitin Sambre observed Mumbai,hecouldwaitnolonger COVID-19pandemic. tory,” said Pol. Andheri at 4.30 pm afterunder- lowcrew members were patient fair and transparent and neither be ahotspot,” the government that since the maingrievance forthe Indian government to Poland his compatriots had Following Dodds’announce- goingtestsandcompletingimmi- to wait forusfor 40 days.They arbitrarynor permanent in na- said, adding that “circulation of raisedbypetitioners has been re- makeupits mind. dreadedheading to Europe, ment, the desperate sailorsand grationformalities.Thesailorswill were alsoupsetwhen thecom- ture. So, the instant petition be non-essential items could lead to dressedafter the statewithdrew “Unfortunately, despiteevery- whichhas been severely ravaged theirfamiliesrampeduptheirap- remain in the hoteluntil the re- panydecidedtoheadtoEurope,” disposedof, it submitted. spread of the disease to green the earlier order,the matter will thing we have done, the Indian by the pandemic. “Weknewthat peals and posted videos on social sultsoftheir tests areknown. said Pol. The HC had directedthe state zone areas”. be heardnextonJune 15.

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Mumbai WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 6 EXPRESS NETWORK THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,APRIL24,2020 PresidentappointsCalcutta SCHEME TO DISTRIBUTE1KGPULSES PER FAMILYTONFSA BENEFICIARIES HC judgeDipankarDuttaas Only10%freepulsesundergovt BombayHCChief Justice schemedistributedtopoorsofar wassworn in on March 20, will of West Bengal between May EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE serveashorttenure asheisdueto 2002 and January2004, and as a MUMBAI,APRIL23 retireonApril 27. counselfor the Central Justice Dharmadhikari was Government since1998. He was HARIKISHANSHARMA ALLOCATIONANDDISTRIBUTIONOFPULSES Out of the total monthlyallocation of 1.95 lakh THECENTRALgovernmentissued appointedasacting Chief Justice elevated as apermanent judge of NEWDELHI,APRIL23 metric tonpulses underthe Pradhan Mantri Garib anotificationThursdaydeclaring of the BombayHigh Courton the CalcuttaHigh Court on June UNDERPMGARIBKALYANANNYOJANA KalyanAnn Yojana, barely19,496 tonhave that the President of India Ram February 24 afterformerCJ 22, 2006.BorninFebruary1965 ANNOUNCED AS partofthe Totalmonthlyallocationofpulses Nath Kovind has appointed Pradeep Nandrajog’s retirement. to former judgeofthe Calcutta COVID-19relief packageabout a 1,95,531metricton been distributedbythe states tillWednesday CalcuttaHighCourtjudgeJustice Justice Dharmadhikari,who has HighCourt,lateJusticeSalilKumar month ago, free pulses —1kgper DipankarDuttaasChief Justice of served as Bombay High Court Datta, JusticeDattahad obtained family—tobeneficiaries of the Quantityissuedtostates the BombayHigh Court. judgefor nearly 16 years, willat- hisLLBdegreefromtheUniversity NationalFoodSecurityAct(NFSA) 1,22,312metricton crorefamiliesfor three months SupportScheme run by the On April 18,the Supreme tain his retirement ageof62on of Calcuttain1989.Heenrolledas areyet to reachmanyhouseholds Quantitydispatchedtodestination across all 36 states and UTs. In big AgricultureMinistry. Italsomain- Court Collegium had recom- April 28. Justice DipankarDatta, an advocatethe same year and in the economicallypoor strata. 44,932metricton statessuchasBihar,UttarPradesh, tains abufferstock of pulses un- mendedJusticeDutta’selevation. second senior-mostjudgeat practiced in the SupremeCourt Out of thetotal monthlyallo- Number of Jharkhand, Rajasthan, West der the Price StabilisationFund The Bombay HC Chief Justice CalcuttaHC,hasservedasthejun- andhighcourtsdealingwithcon- cationof1.95 lakh metricton Quantityreceivedbystates NFSA Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Scheme administered by the Bhushan PDharmadhikari, who ior standing counsel forthe state stitutional and civilcases. (LMT) pulsesunder the Pradhan 34,768metricton beneficiaries Rajasthan, thenumber of eligible Ministry of Consumer Affairs, MantriGarib KalyanAnn Yojana Quantitydistributedbystates 19.55 crore beneficiaries is quitehigh and, Food andPublic Distribution. (PMGKAY), barely19,496 ton 19,496metricton therefore, the allocation is high, AfterFood Ministryofficials SALUTE THE SOLDIER 34policemenin have been distributed by the (so) we aretaking some time.” flagged asluggish response in states till Wednesday, according But NAFED is sending pulses supplyofpulsestothe states, the SI/GD Bhupal Singh Bhopalinfected to datacompiledbythe Ministry to these states, he added. Cabinet Secretaryislearntto have (10.08.1968 –23.04.2009) of Consumer Affairs, Food and Package: Progress So Far”, the 34,768 MT receivedbythese The official saidpulses in asked officials concernedinthe Sashastra Seema Bal fondly remembersand Bhopal: As manyas34police PublicDistribution,whichismon- Finance Ministry on Thursday states,andonly19,496MTdistrib- quantity have been sent to UTs AgricultureMinistryand NAFED cherishes the valiantact of SI/GD Bhupal Singh who personnel, posted in eightout itoringsupplyofessentialitems statedthat“1,09,227MTofPulses utedto thebeneficiaries,ministry such as Andaman andNicobar to ramp up supply. made the supreme sacrifice of his life in theline of of 40 police stations in Bhopal, duringthenationwidelockdown. have alsobeendispatched”to var- datashows. Islands, Puducherry and In astatement issuedon dutyonthis dayin2009.While stationed in Assam he and their 30 familymembers According to sources, the ious states and Union Territories Sources in the Food Ministry Chandigarh, and smaller states March 26, the government had was travelling alongwith his troopswhen his vehicle have been infected with coro- NationalAgriculturalCooperative (UTs). However, the Food said sluggishness in distribution such as Manipur, Nagalandand said, “Toensureadequateavail- cameunder ambush laid down by insurgents. SI/GD Bhupal Singhbravely retaliated and charged upon the insurgents navirus. While infection in MarketingFederationof IndiaLtd Ministry’sdatashows thatagainst is due to alatestart of the milling Tripura. “Bufferstock of pulses is ability of protein to all the above- andalongwith troops chased them back. Unfortunately he got hit in the some police personnel was (NAFED),whichcomesunderad- amonthlyallocationof1,95,531 process by NAFEDdespitean- always kept un-milled(whole), mentionedindividuals, 1kg act and succumbedtohis injuriesand attainedmartyrdom. tracedtothe Nizamuddin con- ministrative control of the MTpulsesunderPMGKAYtopro- nouncementofPMGKAY on and the millingprocesstakes pulsesper familywouldbepro- In recognition of his heroic deed he was awarded the “Kirti Chakra” on gregation, some got infected AgricultureMinistry, has been vide pulses free of costto19.55 March 26, aday afterthe country some time,” the official said. videdaccording to regional pref- Republic Day 2010,posthumously.His gallantact continues to inspire becausetheywerepostedinar- tasked with ensuringsupplyof crorefamiliesunder NFSA, went intolockdown. NAFED is the central nodal erences fornextthree months. us all. eas likeJahangirabad that re- pulses from the bufferstocksit 1,22,312 MT have been issuedto Aseniorofficialof NAFEDtold agencyfor procurement of noti- These pulseswould be provided We salute the valour and supremesacrifice of brave martyr. portedmanycases, ADG maintains. In astatement on states.Outof this,44,932MThave The Indian Express,“We have to fiedagriculturalcommodities,in- free of costbythe Government SASHASTRA SEEMABAL UpendraJain said. ENS “Pradhan Mantri GaribKalyan been sentto“destination” states, distributefreepulses to 19.55 cluding pulses, underthe Price of India.” 2Youth Cong workers held for targeting Arnab

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Arnabmoves SC against FIRs MUMBAI,APRIL23 NewDelhi: The Supreme Court will on Fridayhear a Twomen were arrested in the early hours of Thursdayfor pleabyRepublic TV editor-in-chiefArnab Goswami allegedly trying to attack Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab challenging FIRs againsthim in some states over his re- Goswami and throwing ink on his car. marks on aTVshow. The incident took place in LowerParel area of central The matter has been listedbeforeabenchof Mumbai around 12.15am, when Goswami and wife Justices DYChandrachud and MRShah. The bench Samyabrata, alsoajournalist, were returning home. Both willhear it through video conferencing. Advocate TAMILNADU NEWSPRINT AND PAPERS LIMITED were unhurt, the police said. PragyaBaghel, through whom the plea wasfiled, said Kagithapuram –639 136. Karur Dist.Tamil Nadu The assailantswerecaught by Goswami’s security per- Goswami is seeking protection from anycoercive ac- Ph: 04324-277 001(10Lines). e-mail: [email protected] sonnel and handedovertopolice, who said both areaffili- tion on the basis of the FIRs. ENS ated to the Youth Congress. NOTICE INVITING TENDER Mumbai Youth Congress chief Ganesh Yadavconfirmed Tender No Material Description Due Date that the twoare affiliated to the organisationbut refused condemneditand targeted the Congress over the incident. to comment further.Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant Theincidenttook place hours afteratleasttwo FIRs were 192013 Sodium Soap Required for Deinking Plant - 11.05.2020 said, “Theyhavedone it in their individual capacity.” filedagainst Goswami by CongressleadersinRaipur, 008195 Quantity -360 (MT) Acase has been registeredagainstthe duo —identified Chhattirgarh,and Nagpur,Maharashtra, accusing himofin- Detailed terms &conditions, Tender Fee, EMD are availableintender as Arun Borade and Prateek Mishra-under IPC Sections 341 citingcommunal hatred in the Palghar lynching case and document at our websites: www.tnpl.com/www.tenders.tn.gov.in (wrongful restraint), 504(intentional insult with intent to making derogatoryremarks againstCongress president DIPR/ 1677 /Tender/2020 TNPL -Maker of bagasse based eco-friendly Paper provokebreachofpeace) and 34 (common intention). Sonia Gandhi in his TV show. The Indian Newspaper Society (INS), the Editors Guild of Morecases were filedagainstGoswami on Thursdayby India and the Press Council of India (PCI) have condemned Congress leaders in severalstates, including Rajasthan, the incident. LawMinisterRaviShankar Prasad sought ac- Telangana, Maharashtra, and West Bengal. Goswami, who tion againstthose involved, while BJP president JPNadda wasgiven Y-categorysecurity in 2016,isprotected by two policemen and aprivate security guard round the clock. Theywerefollowing him in another car when the alleged attacktook place, the com- plaintsays.In awrittencomplaint to police, Goswami said twomen on abikeblockedhis car when he reachedGanpatraoKadam Marg around 12.15am. Thepillionrider allegedlyhit thewindow- pane on the driver’s side severaltimes. Realising that theycouldn’t break through, the“pillion rider removedaliquidbottle from his pocket TAMILNADU CIVIL SUPPLIES CORPORATION andthrew liquid all over thecar on driver’s side, HO: No.12, THAMBUSAMY ROAD,KILPAUK, CHENNAI-600 010. whereIwas sitting,” Goswami stated. He said the duo shouted and abusedhim in E-TENDER NOTICE Hindi and made violent gestures. No. :QC2/011998/2020Dated :23.03.2020 Apolice patrolling party reachedthe spot E-TenderNo.: TNCSC/20-21/ET/03 and took the twotoNMJoshi Margpolice sta- Online electronic tender for “THE SUPPLY OF DiSinFESTaTiOn tion.police station. The police said theyhaveob- cHEmicaLS:maLaTHiOn 50% Ec anD aLUminiUmPHOSPHiDE tainedCCTVfootage from the area and areex- TabLETS”. amining it. Complete tender canbeviewed, downloaded and uploaded The police saidtheyhaveobtainedCCTV through https://www.mstcecommerce.com/eprochome/tncsc from 24.04.2020to27.05.2020. footagefromthe area and areexamining it. The police said the accused, residentsofSion The biddershavetoparticipate online bidding only with Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) of Class-II or Class-III. Koliwada in central Mumbai, are ForRegistration and further details contact MSTC LIMITED, unemployed. Phone: 25222842 /25251910 /25261005 e-Mail : [email protected] Duringquestioning, the duo allegedly said LastDatefor Online Submission :27.05.2020 up to 2.00 PM that theywereinfuriated afterwatching avideo Tender Opening Date &Time :27.05.2020 at 3.30 PM clip on social mediainwhichGoswami wasseen DIPR/ 1675 /Tender/2020 MANAGING DIRECTOR humiliating Sonia Gandhi and thereforecarried out the attack, an officer said. “Mishrawas riding the bike. Borade got off andthrew ink on the car,” the officer said. Asked howtheylearnt about Goswami’s movements, an investigator said, “Thetwo claim that theyknewit.” Theinitial complaintregistered by the po- lice does notrefer to political linksofthe ac- cused. DCP (zone-III) Abhinash Kumar said, “We producedthem in courttodayand sought their custody;wewant to verify who theyare affili- ated with...” Mishraand Borade have been remandedin police custody until April 27. Nadda tweeted, “Shocking to seeArnab Goswamiattackedafter Congress CMs publicly threatenedhim.... Congress shows it is the party that brought Emergency and continues itsrich tradition of trampling free speech.” Prasad tweeted, “Deeplycondemn the vio- lent physical attack.... StatePolice musttake lawful action againstattackers.” Information andBroadcastingMinister PrakashJavadekar said everyattack on journal- ists is condemnable, as this is againstdemoc- racy.The INS said in astatement, “This act shows howgoons belongingtopoliticalparties have scant respect forfreedom of expression. The INS urgesMaharashtragovernmenttotake strict action againstthe offenders.” The Editors Guild of India stated,“Anyphys- ical attack, instigation forhateorverbal abuse hurledagainstany journalistisareprehensi- ble act.” The PCI stated,“Everycitizen, includ- ingajournalist, hasthe right to express their opinionwhichmay notbepalatable to many but this does notgiveanybody the authority to strangulate suchavoice. Violence is notthe an- swer even againstbad journalism.” Objecting to Goswami’sremarks on Sonia Gandhi, the Congress on Thursdayasked the I&B Ministry to take action againstthe journalistand his TV channel.

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SIMPLY PUT QUESTION &ANSWER Howfar can someone without symptoms spread theinfection?

The signalssofar arethat somepeople spread COVID-19beforeshowing symptoms themselves. One of Brazil’s manysugar mills, whichare seen as producing moresugar andless Can somealso spread the disease without ever showing symptoms? Alook at theemergingevidence ethanol than earlier.That wouldbebad news forIndia’s farmersand mills. Reuters

andothercoronaviruses(egMERS-CoV,SARS- ABANTIKAGHOSH CoV) ranges from 2-14 days,” the CDC says. NEWDELHI,APRIL23 How oilpricecrash Howdoes oneprotect oneselffrom TWORECENT figures givenout on separate asymptomatic transmission? days by the Indian Council of Medical Thereisnoalternativetobasic safety Research (ICMR) aboutpeople without symp- practices suchashand-washing, wearing a impacts sugar, what toms testing positive fornovelcoronavirus mask, and social distancing, saidDrRandeep disease (COVID-19) has createdfear about the Guleria, AIIMS Director and arespiratory possibilityofunsuspectingindividuals sud- medicine specialist. That is, till suchtime that denly falling very sick, and of their infecting avaccine is found. “This is whyuniversal pre- others.Alook at the evidenceand the guid- cautions such as socialdistancing hand it means forIndia ance on asymptomaticcases of COVID-19: washing aresoimportant. Maintaining dis- tance is very important but stigma onlyends Whathas the ICMRsaid on this? up increasing mortality and morbidity.You with higher Brazilianoutput, is bad news On April 20, Dr RRGangakhedkar,head have to understand that manypeople, espe- PARTHASARATHIBISWAS forbothIndian sugar mills and cane farm- of epidemiologyand infectiousdiseases at ciallygiven howyoungour countryis, would &HARISHDAMODARAN ers.BeforeCOVID-19happened, the Indian ICMR,said: “I have explainedthat80% peo- go through abit of fever and bodyacheand PUNE,NEWDELHI,APRIL23 industry wasexpecting to export5.5-6 mt ple will have infectionwithout symptoms. notevenknowthat it is COVID.” of rawsugar in 2019-20. Mills had already Theywillbeasymptomatic but if youtest Testing at afacility run by municipal authorities in Mumbai. GaneshShirsekar Thequestion of transmission from an in- IT IS notonlyoil that has tumbled, with entered intocontractsofsome 3.8 mt, out them, thereisachance that theywill bepos- dividualwho does notshowsymptoms is prices of West TexasIntermediategrade of which3.05 mt have been shippedout so itive... We need to understand that RT-PCR also important —while evidence on asymp- crude closing at an unprecedented minus far. With ex-factory realisations from ex- test comes positive only afteraperson is another,startshappening twotothree days transmissioniswhenapersonspreadsthedis- tomatic individuals spreading the disease $37.63 per barrelonApril20, before recov- portsatRs2,250-2,400per quintal and the symptomatic. People take time to be symp- before the onsetofsymptoms. easebefore symptomsappear,andeventually maybedivided, it is more or less accepted ering atad to $13.78 by Wednesday.On Centre providing asubsidy of Rs 104.48(it tomatic. This means if Itesthim when “Weobserved the highestviral load in developssymptomsthemselves. thatpeople canspread the disease before April 21,prices of rawsugar forMay deliv- wastermedlump-sumassistance towards asymptomatic, the chances of him/her test- throat swabs at the time of symptomonset, Onasymptomatictransmission,theWHO theyshowsymptoms. eryatNew York crashed to 9.75centsper defraying marketing, internal transport, ing positive aresmall.” This, he said,isalim- and inferredthat infectiousness peakedon or says it“referstotransmissionof thevirusfrom pound, the lowest closing foranearest- porthandlingand ocean freight expenses), itation of the test:the closer one is to the before symptomonset. We estimatedthat aperson, who does notdevelop symptoms. Forhow long can aperson spreadthe month futures contract since the 9.70cents the industry’s woes from excess stocks point of infection —when the disease is con- 44%(95% confidenceinterval, 25-69%) of sec- Thereare fewreports of laboratory-confirmed disease afterbeing infected by the virus? recordedonJune 9, 2008. Even commodi- were seeminglybehindit. Thiswas to be tracted andnot manifested —the slimmer ondary cases were infected duringthe index caseswhoaretrulyasymptomatic,andto date, The replytothisquestionis commonlyas- ties suchascorn and palm oil have seen aidedbothbyexports and lowerproduc- arethe chances of testing positive.That is also cases’presymptomaticstage,insettings with therehasbeennodocumentedasymptomatic sumedtobe14days. However, as it is anew price declines following the slide in crude. tion (26 mt, from 33.2 mt in 2018-19). why, he said, India’s testing strategy,which substantial household clustering, active case transmission.Thisdoesnotexcludethepossi- disease, knowledge about it is evolving. In Alook at the connection: The current plungeinworld prices,plus banksheavilyonwhether aperson is symp- findingand quarantineoutsidethe home,” re- bilitythatitmay occur.Asymptomaticcases Kerala recently, a54-year-old woman tested Brazil’slikelyproduction surge, would up- tomatic (unlessone is in ahotspot with a portedthe researchers, including from have been reported as part of contact tracing positive forthe virus almost amonth aftershe We know aboutoil. But whyhave setthese calculations. Naiknavare,however, known history of contact with aconfirmed Guangzhou MedicalUniversity and the World effortsinsome countries.” arrivedfromabroad,and had been quaran- global sugar pricesalso collapsed? is counting on Indonesia’s increasedimport case), doesnot needany immediaterevision. HealthOrganization (WHO)Collaborating The US Centers forDisease Control and tined at home ever since. Healthofficialstold All commoditieshavetaken ademand requirementsand itsdecision lastmonth to The following day, afterthis ledtoappre- Centre forInfectious Disease Epidemiology Prevention(CDC)isclearthat both presymp- TheIndianExpressthatthere have beenatleast hitfromsubduedeconomic activityand slash the duty on Indian rawsugar from 15% hensions,DrGangakhedkar clarifiedthat in and Control, at the University of Hong Kong. tomaticandasymptomatictransmissionofthe adozencases so farofpeople testing positive lockdowns imposedbymanycountries to to 5%. Indonesianrefinersare projected to India, 69% of the people who had tested pos- The study waspublishedinNatureMedicine. virus arepossible.“The onsetand durationof afterhaving been quarantinedfor28days. On combat the COVID-19pandemic. But sugar import3.3 mt of raws this year,upfrom2.6 itive areasymptomatic.“What Isaid yester- viralsheddingandtheperiodof infectiousness Thursday, Telangana decidedtoincrease the is one commodity that, until quiterecently, mt in 2019.“Theybuy mostlyfromThailand, dayabout 80% people is based justonone But what is “presymptomatic stage”? forCOVID-19are notyet known. It is possible home quarantine period to 28 days,from14 wasonabull run. Mostestimates showed which is experiencingabad drought that study,” he said. The WHO recognises three stages of thatSARS-CoV-2RNAmay bedetectableinthe days.TheUnionHealthMinistryhasadvocated globalproduction in 2019-20 (October- could lead to itsproduction falling from 14.6 COVID-19transmission —asymptomatic, upperorlower respiratory tract forweeksaf- fromtheverystartthatpatientsshouldbefol- September) to fall shortofconsumption by mt in 2018-19to9mt. It opens up an oppor- Whatisthe evidence on this? presymptomaticand symptomatic. terillness onset, similar to infections with lowedup,atleastthroughcommunitysurveil- 8-9million tonnes (mt). On February12, tunityfor us,” he says. It is nowwidely understood that around “Symptomatictransmissionreferstotransmis- MERS-CoVandSARS-CoV.However, detection lance,for 28 days and not14days. the front-month rawsugar futures contract theworld,the bulk of the people who getin- sion from aperson while theyare experienc- of viralRNAdoesnotnecessarily meanthatin- This is also in line withsome of the global at NewYorkactuallyclosed15.78 cents per Whatisthe situation with respectto fectedwill notshowsymptoms, and will prob- ingsymptoms.Datafrompublishedepidemi- fectious virus is present.Thereare reports of experiences.InastudylastmonthinTheLancet pound, the highestsince May2017. Adrop canefarmers? ablynot even knowthat theyhavecontracted ology and virologic studies provide evidence asymptomatic infections (detection of virus Infectious Diseases,researchers from Imperial from that to below10cents is rather steep. Exports slowing down and notmuchdo- the virus unless theyare subjected to asero- thatCOVID -19isprimarilytransmittedfrom with no developmentofsymptoms)and pre- CollegeLondon estimated that in China the One reason forthis collapse is the clo- mesticlifting of sugar by institutionalcon- logicaltestatsome point andarefoundto have symptomaticpeopletootherswhoareinclose symptomatic infections (detection of virus “mean duration from onsetofsymptoms to sureofrestaurants, weddings and other so- sumershas significantlyunderminedthe developedantibodies. Lastweek,astudy from contactthroughrespiratorydroplets,bydirect prior to development of symptoms) with deathtobe17·8days andto hospitaldischarge cial functions nottaking place, andpeople ability of mills to make cane payments.Uttar China concludedthat44% of the cases who contact with infected persons, or by contact SARS-CoV-2, but their role in transmissionis to be 24·7 days.” Theyalso pointed out that all avoiding ice-creams andsweetened cold Pradesh’s factories have tillnow crushed had contractedthe disease had caught it from with contaminated objectsand surfaces,” the notyet known.Basedonexistingliterature,the caseswere hospitalisedthere,notsomuchbe- beveragesthatmight cause throatinfec- caneworth roughlyRs32,000 croreinthe an asymptomaticperson. Theyestimatedthat WHO says.The incubation period of the virus incubation period(the time from exposure to cause theyneededhospitalcare, but to “pre- tions. The impactofcoronavirus-induced 2019-20 season, butmanagedto payonlyRs viral shedding, whichiswhen apersoninfects ranges between 5-14 days.Presymptomatic development of symptoms) of SARS-CoV-2 vent onward transmission”. lockdowns on out-of-home consumption 16,456 crore. The stategovernment, last and institutional (asopposedtodirect week,announcedascheme of mills giving household) demandfor sugar is obvious. “willing farmers” one quintal eachofsugar Prakash Naiknavare,managing director of forthe next threemonths,inlieuof canepay- CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK INDIA COUNT: 21,700 (686 DEATHS) the National FederationofCooperative mentsdue to them. Maharashtramills, too, Sugar Factories, projects sugar consump- had paid onlyRs11,310crore out of their to- DAILY COUNT OF DEATHS, INFECTIONS RESTOFINDIA tion in India alone to dip by 1.5-2 mt in 2019- talcaneduesof Rs12,539 croreasonApril 15. TOP10STATES AndamanandNicobarIslands 18 ArunachalPradesh 1 20, from the normal 25.5-26 mt levels. Moreover, the industry’s problem is not Assam 35 from sugar alone.The lockdown has re- 139,243 151,195 189,973 Bihar148 Is thatthe onlyreason? ducedofftakeofalcohol, be it potable liquor Chandigarh 27 Sinking crude prices appear an even big- or ethanol forblending with petrol. UP United Kingdom Germany Italy 98,674 2,248 Delhi Chhattisgarh36 Turkey Goa 7 gerfactor.Thejuice from crushingsugarcane mills, according to the state’s canecommis- 1,509 UP Haryana 262 can be crystallisedintosugar or fermented sioner Sanjay Bhoosreddy,may produce 1,890 Rajasthan HimachalPradesh 40 intoalcohol. When oil prices arehigh, mills around 100crore litres (onebillion) of JammuandKashmir 407 Jharkhand49—especiallyinBrazil —tendto divert cane for ethanolthis season, compared to 51.5 crore 157,135 62,773 1,695 MP making ethanol (alcohol of 99%-plus purity) litres in 2018-19. But withcars and two- France Russia 456 Karnataka 443 2,407 West Bengal Kerala 438 that is usedfor blending with petrol. In 2019- wheelersnot running,oil market compa- Gujarat Ladakh 18 20 (April-March), only34.32% of cane nies aren’t very keen to procure ethanol. 845,959 83,878 960 Telangana Manipur2 US China Meghalaya12crushed by Brazilian mills went formanu- Mizoram1facturing26.73mtofsugar.The rest was Areother agri-commodities impacted? 5,652 895 AndhraPradesh Odisha 83 Maharashtra usedtoproduce 31.62 billionlitresofethanol. Prices of corn, whichisalso usedfor Puducherry 7 But with oil prices tanking—WTIcrude was makingethanol, fell to their lowest since 87,026 1,629 Tamil Nadu Punjab 277 213,024 Iran Tripura 2 quoting at $53-plus twomonths ago—mills September 2009 at ChicagoonApril21. Spain Uttarakhand 46 will notfind it attractive to divert cane for Likewise,palm oil, again afeedstock forbio- ethanol. Brazil’s mills, whichhavestarted diesel, ended7.5% loweratthe Bursa Union Health Ministryupdate as of 11 pm, April23. Some states mayhavereported crushing (the Indianseason is from October), Malaysia futures exchange. Corn prices can, TOTALCONFIRMED:2,665,122 DEATHCOUNT:186,131 higher numbers. Onlystatesand UTswith the mostcases arelistedabove. areseento produce up to 36 mt of sugar and in turn, drag down other cereals, justas Source: JohnsHopkins University, updated at 11 pm on April 23 4,325 PATIENTS DISCHARGED IN 30 STATES AND UNION TERRITORIES hardly26billion litres of ethanol this year. palmoil couldtosoyabean andother oilseeds. Theyare all ultimatelylinked to Have aquestion on the COVID-19outbreak and what youshould/should notdo? [email protected] Howwill thisaffect India? oil, whose prices matter as muchtopetro- Dip in sugar consumption,together leum companies as farmers.

AN EXPERT EXPLAINS Workingwithlockdown:creategreenworkerpools,notgreenzones

arewherenonew caseswerereported over home to major companies that produce nu- To identify the recovered, give aPCR test. The secondissue is identifying services Forthem, large spaces (stadiums, con- 28days sincethelastcasetestednegative.The merous essential drugs fordomestic and ex- Thosetesting negative can join the green and businesses forantibodytesting. vention centres)should be opened up. orangezones arethosewithafew cases, and portmarkets. It is in ared zonebut is being workers.Those testing positive should self- Healthserviceworkersarealreadyonthe Theseallowfor socialdistancing,showers the redones have alarge number of cases. allowedproduction, with manyworkers quarantine forsay 7-8 moredays,and then priority list. Another priority is industries and toilets,community kitchens or even Thegovernment suggestsopening up comingfromother states. What if the work- getPCR tested againand cleared. This proce- manufacturing PPE kits, ventilators, oxygen self-organisedcooking, virus testing spaces, the green zones first. But these zones may ers bringinfection? durewill createaworkerpool who can work concentratorsandmedicines,buttheyshould and parking fortransportbuses, etc. Many have manyasymptomatic cases, that is, in- Alower risk methodwould be to create without endangeringothers or themselves. alsocreategreen worker pools.Beyondthis, states areusing schoolsand colleges formi- fected people with no symptoms.The Delhi “pools of green workers” (rather than green Theywillnotneedon-sitelodgings,sincethey anyfactoryorbusiness thathas itsrequisite grants, but these will be neededwhen they BinaAgarwal government found recentlythat25% of zones) who areinfection free. Hence, if an willhave someimmunity, andcancomefrom number of green workersshould beallowed open,and seldom have stadium-type facil- those who tested positive had no symp- industrywantstoopen(andall should be anyzone, includingred. to open,whicheverzone it falls in, with min- itiesfor afew thousandpeople. ALL APPROACHES to easing the lockdown toms. Chinahad 44%asymptomatic cases. allowed, whether producing essential or What about false negativesorfalse pos- imumredtapeingrantingpermission.Given Basically, we needaneffective butlow risk carry risksofinfection spikes. Howcan we These areveryhigh figures. non-essentialgoods)itshould firstidentify itivesinantibody tests? lowconsumerdemand, rather fewmay ini- strategy to return to work andease the lock- minimise the risk whileallowing work?The If green zones areopenedand 25% peo- itsworkers. Those who have already recov- Thefalsenegatives,thatis,thoseshowing tiallycome forwardinany case. down.Azonalapproachcanprove ineffective governmentisfollowingageographic(zonal) pleare asymptomaticcarriers,infectionswill ered from the virus willhavesome immu- no antibodiesevenifinfected,would be ex- By focusingongreen workersand not andcarrieshighrisk.Theanswerliesincreat- approach.Thisisahigh-riskapproachwhich spike.If workersaretogetherinfactories,even nity.Givethem agreen certificateorstamp cludedanywayfromthe green worker pool. green zones, we canalso minimise the need ing green worker pools, notgreen zones, can also prove ineffective. withsocialdistancingasingleasymptomatic theirarms.Giveantibodytests to theremain- Onfalsepositives,thatisthoseshowinganti- forhousinginworklocations, which most through targeted antibody plus PCR testing, Amoreeffective,minimal-risk approach carriercaninfectothers,forcingtheentireunit ing workers in that industry.Theseare blood bodieswithoutbeinginfected,ifthePCRtest businesseslack. But thosewho want to pro- and agenerous plan to housemigrant work- would be to createinfection-free worker intoquarantine.Theeffortof openingupthat testswhichcan identify in an hour if some- findsthem infection free and theyhavebeen videhousingcanminimisethechanceof clus- ers.We canthuswork withthelockdownwith pools,by astrategiccombinationof antibody factorywill be wasted.Moreover, manyfac- onehasbeeninfected,evenifasymptomatic. in self-isolation for14days,including them terinfections,if theyhavepre-testedworkers. minimum risk and maximum effectiveness. andPCRtestingof workersinbusinessesthat tories arelocated in redzones, and supply Some antibodies (IgM) appear afew days af- in the worker pool will carry minimal risk. The third issueishousing migrant work- openup. Letmeexplain why. chains oftencut across zones. terinfectionand others(IgG) alittle later. Therewill still be some risk,since theywill erswho mayjoin the work forcelater but Bina Agarwal is ProfessorofDevelopment The government has demarcated three Forexample,BadditowninHimachal Some of those who test positivemay still lack immunity,buttheirco-workerswithan- needaccommodationnow, givencontinued Economics and Environment, zones:green,orangeandred.Thegreenzones Pradesh is India’s biggestpharma hub, and be infectious, others would have recovered. tibodies will have immunity. lockdowns across states. University of Manchester

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8 THE EDITORIAL PAGE —MAYA ANGELOU The unsungcoronawarriors

§ FOUNDED BY § RAMNATH GOENKA Despiteoddsand amid crises,farmersdeliver BECAUSE THE TRUTH INVOLVESUSALL produce.Today, farmers needgovernment

A BIG DEAL Harish Damodaran Jio-Facebook alliance can reshape the retail landscape in India. “BURN DOWN YOUR cities and leave our ers.These womenand men have kept sup- soldier on mayhavetodowith their nothav- Partnership raises concerns about dataprivacy,net neutrality farms, and your cities will spring up again as pliesgoing, even without being designated ing anarrowaccountant’s approachtoprof- if by magic. Butdestroy ourfarms andthe Frontline Corona Warriors. its. Operating income,return on capital em- NWEDNESDAY,RELIANCE Industriesand Facebook announcedthat the grass will grow in the streetsofevery city”. The abundance of produce that farmers ployedorearningsper shareare all alien California-basedsocial media giant willacquirea9.99 per cent stakeinJio — William Jennings Bryan, have deliveredcomesinspite of themany concepts; the keymetric forthem is bhaav Platforms limited,the holding companyofReliance Jio, for$5.7 billion (Rs ‘Cross of Gold’ Speech(1896) “coronas”facedbythem in recent times— (price). So long as it covers costs,not the most O from droughtsin2014and 2015,growing rigidlydefined, and generates cash flows to 43,574 crore).The deal whichpegs the value of Jio platforms at Rs 4.62 lakh crorewill help the Reliance group to reduce itsdebt burden, something the oil-to-tele- COVID-19 maygodownasIndia’s firstever stray cattle menace, an anti-producer infla- run the home and finance the next crop cycle, natural disasternot to register widespread tion-targeting policyand thedemonetisa- theywill keep producing. com conglomerate has been activelyworking towards. Thetwo companies expect to starvation in terms of atotal collapse in food tion-inducedcrash in crop realisations. Each Howshould we expressgratitude to this benefit from the synergiescreated by partnerships between the various arms of Reliance consumption levels. About three million time, theyhaverisen, phoenix-like,fromthe FrontlineCoronaWarrior? Farmersdon’t —retail andtelecom—and Facebook’s platforms suchasWhatsApp. At itscore, the idea people perishedinthe Great Bengal Famine ashes. Theyweathered the DeMo storm by needour thalis and taalis (beating of plates is to create an ecosystem around JioMart, enabling customers to access the local kirana of 1943. The 1966-67Bihar famine ledto simplyreplacing cash with deferredpay- or clapping of hands). They have filled our stores using WhatsApp, combining both offline and onlineretail. This abilitytoconnect the state’sdailyper capitacalorie intake mentsfor farm inputs. Currently, theyare stomachs even in this hourofcrisis. The least millions of local businesses with end consumers, and provide them aseamless online dropping from 2,200tonearly 1,200insev- harvesting wheat and sugarcane using what- we can doisreturn the favour.Asmentioned eral regions. Maharashtra’s drought of 1972- ever labour is available, whetheroffamily earlier,the problem nowisn’t supply, but de- transaction experience could radicallyalter the country’s retail landscape. 73 causedanestimated1,33,000-plus “ex- members or non-farm workers rendered mand. With private tradepracticallynon-ex- Both firms have stressedonthe newopportunities forbusinesses of all sizes, and espe- cess deaths”. jobless by the lockdown. Theirs is atale of re- istent and nobody apart from households ciallyfor the millions of small businesses across the country. With the ongoing lockdown The novelcoronavirus pandemicand the silienceand human endurance. buying, the onus to guarantee amarket for in the countryonlyreaffirming the importance of the local kirana store—major online de- ensuing lockdown have had afar wider,na- Whatisitthat makesour true Corona farm producelies on the state. liverychannels have struggledtoreachconsumersduringthis period—integration is bound tionwide impact. Yet, they haven’t produced Warriors carryon, come rain or shine, Government agencies have begun procur- to be an enticing proposition. Ascaling up of this model will also provide opportunities for the severe food deprivation, soaringprices drought or flood? ingthe rabi crop,but in the name of main- and hoarding that definedthe previous great One is, of course, the natureoftheirwork taining social distancing, onlyfew farmersare cross-selling —significantlyincreasing the upside forfirms and increasing the valuation of calamities. We have had reportsofstranded that allows little rest or procrastination.The being allowedtocome to themandis every itsretail arms. At present, though,the reachofWhatsApp Payislimited —justoveramil- migrant workers notgetting enough cooked periodfromaboutmid-Februarytomid-Julyis day. Theyare being issuedcoupons or SMSs lion Indians arereportedtocurrentlyhaveaccesstothe payfeature. But this sortofmodel food or dryrations. But these arelargely sto- Government agencies have thebusiestforfarmers,whentheyare harvest- to bring quantitiesaslow as 5-10quintals, is popular in other AsianeconomiessuchasChina,KoreaandJapanwhereapps like WeChat ries of localisedadministrative neglect,and ing wheat,mustard,chana, potato,onion or similartowomen JanDhan bankaccount- have awide rangeofproduct offerings, whichinduces consumer stickiness. This arrange- notcomparable to the general lackofaccess begun procuring the rabi sugarcaneandthenpreparingthefieldto sow holders havingtoqueue up forhourstowith- ment also allows Jiotogreatlyexpand itsproduct offering to itsmorethan 370million-odd to food seen in pastcatastrophes. crop, but in the name of paddy,cotton, soyabean, maize or bajra. The draw ameaslyRs500.Why notopen pur- subscriberbase. The dealmayalsoopen upthe entireWhatsApp consumerbase —the near This time,not onlyistherenofood crisis, maintaining social workloadreducessomewhatsubsequently till chase centres at riceand dal mills or even the problem has been moreabout demand around mid-September,beinglimitedtoday- schools, colleges, panchayatoffices, coopera- ubiquitous chatting app has aconsumer base of around 400million —toReliance, includ- distancing,only few farmers than supply. Panic buying of milk, atta,dal, to-daymonitoring of the crop and giving wa- tive societies, districtcourtsand other public ing those on other telecom platforms suchasAirteland Vodafone. sugarorcooking oilinthe initial period of are being allowedtocome to ter, fertilisersand pesticides or removing places shut during the lockdown? Wheat just Yetthereare concerns regarding this arrangement. Forone, giventhe dominant mar- lockdown has givenway todemand destruc- the mandis everyday.They weeds. From mid-September till end- has to beunloaded, cleaned, weighed, bagged ket position of the players, concerns over themarket structureand itsimplicationsfor tion from the closureofhotels, restaurants, are being issued coupons or December,it’sbacktoharvestingandmarket- and reloadedfor dispatchtoFood Corporation consumer welfareare boundtoarise. Second, the tie-up also raises questionsonnet neu- teastalls, caterers, sweetmeat shops and SMSs to bring quantities as ingthekharifcropandplantingfortherabisea- of India warehouses.Ifovercrowding is to be trality with the possibilityofpreferential treatment being granted.Third, giventhe data other business consumers. As aresult, pro- son. Fordairyfarmers,eventhe 3-3.5 months avoided, the best wayistospreadout buying ducers arethe ones reallysuffering.Evenwith lowas5-10quintals, similar of relative relaxation is ruledout, as their ani- beyond the mandis. privacy issues highlighted in the pastbythe CambridgeAnalytica episode, forinstance, allthe supplychain disruptions,therearen’t to women JanDhan bank mals have to be fed, cleanedand milkeddaily. Tailpiece: My friend and editor of Outlook thereare apprehensions over the enormous amountsofdatathat will be collected by toomanycasesoffoodnot being available in account-holdershaving to This full-time activity —which involves Hindimagazine,Harvir Singh, recalls adoor- these entities, especiallywhen Indiastilldoes nothaveapersonal dataprotection law. marketsoratration shops, community following the dictates of natureand manag- to-doorsurvey conducted at his village near kitchens and relief camps. People maybe queue up forhoursto ing production as well as price risks—breeds Uttar Pradesh’s Shamliin1976. Thedistrict hungry, but notstarving. withdraw ameasly Rs 500. toughness and equanimity in the face of ad- authorities checkedhow muchfreshly-harv- The credit forthis not-small transforma- Whynot open purchase versity.Lastyear,whenauto companies were estedwheat each farm household had sto- tion goes partlytothe much-deridedgovern- centres at rice and dal mills announcing factoryshutdowns amid apile- cked.After assessing the self-consumption SECURING THE FIGHTERS ment foodgrain procurement anddistribu- up of inventories, aplain messagecirculatedin requirement, they requisitioned theentire tion system. India enteredthe lockdown with or even schools, colleges, afarmers’WhatsApp group: “Whycan’t they balance quantity as levy.Procurement was Violenceagainstdoctorscannotbetolerated.Government must roughly77milliontonnes(mt) of rice and panchayatoffices, slash car prices from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 2lakh, if done without anyfuss at the village’s junior wheat, plus another 2.25mtofpulses,inpub- cooperative societies, district we can sellRs20onions forRs2?Ifwecan highschool. That wasduring the Emergency, find ways to persuade society to rallyaround medical workers lic godowns. But the unsung heroes —with- courts and other public bear losses and continue to farm, what stops when the government neededgrain. Today, out whom all this grain, nowbeing distrib- them from running theirplants?” Survival the farmer needs the government. IMON HERCULESSUCCUMBED to COVID-19onSundayafter battling the in- utedor cookedin food camps, wouldn’t have places shut during the againstall odds is hardwired intotheir genes. fection fortwo weeks. Aneurosurgeon basedinChennai, Herculeshad report- been producedatall —are the country’s farm- lockdown? Asecond reason whyfarmers areableto [email protected] edly contracted thedisease from apatient—ahazardmedical professionals Smentallybrace themselvesfor when calledtothe frontlines of the battleagainst the coronavirus. But increasingly, during the courseofthis battle,healthcareworkers have becomevulnerable to dangers theydid notsign up for—stigmatisationand vio- lence. On Tuesday, thispaper reportedthat amob attackedthe Chennai doctor’s family members when theywereperforming hislastrites. Elsewhereinthe country, medical HOW TO FIND MONEY IN CRISIS workers have facedphysical threatswhile doing their work.The Union government has done well to acknowledge this situation. On Thursday, it approvedan ordinancetomake violence againstmedical professionals “a cognisable and non-bailable offence”. The pe- Government mustsaveand trim expenditure, rationalise salaries and pensions nal provisions include jail termsranging from three months to sevenyearsand fines rang- ingfromRs50,000to Rs 5lakh. These measures will, no doubt, boostthe morale of health- careworkers, who put in gruelling hours at great personal risk. But at the same time, the Ajay VirJakhar governmentshouldn’tlose sight of the needtocreateawareness about the disease and the strategies to combat it, whichcan help counter the spread of fear and prejudice. THE COVID-19CRISIS has precipitatedan un- government employees, government-con- Austerity recommendedthe freezing of dear- History shows thatduring pandemics the fear of contracting infections can bring out precedented socio-economic calamity. trolledinstitutions andtheir debt—tothe ex- nessallowance, leave travel allowance, bonus, the worstinhuman beings. Lastmonth,some Air India staffers were asked to vacatetheir Designing an adequateresponsehas become tent that actual employeeexpenditurecould encashment of earnedleave etc. Additionally, increasinglycomplicated. Policy decisions be 50 per cent higher.This isn’t asimple case the retirement ageofgovernment employ- homes because theycrewed flights to evacuateIndians from hotzones.Therehavebeen made in thenextfew weekswill have apro- of governance failure, but acleverattempt to ees should be reducedto57years and no disturbing reports of Muslims and people from the Northeast beingtargeteded. And in foundimpact on the future.Notwithstanding keep the subject under the radar. morethan 1per cent be allowedretainment acountrywherepeople do nothaveadequatefaith in the public health system, the med- the bonanza of lowcrude prices, India is des- Nowisthe time to cut the Gordian knotto beyond that. ical professional’sworkhas been made morearduous, even dangerous. Forinstance, last peratelytrying to sell familysilvertoover- rationalisepaystructures. It is within the remit Electedrepresentatives(MLA,MP etc.) get month this paper reportedthat fear of “being injectedbythe virus”was one of the rea- come therevenue collection shortfall and, of thegovernmentto evoketheconstitutional pension foreachtime theyare electedtothe sons forpeople attacking ateam of doctors in Indore. Tempers calmed, somewhat, after sadly, seeking foreign institution loans to keep provisionsof Article 360todeclareafinancial office. It is time to reduce the outgoontheir itshead above the water. Understandably, emergency.Iam surethat Class Aand Bem- pensions and limit their pension to one term local religious leaders intervened, but these matters have notalwaysbeen resolvedam- borrowing moneyand giving taxcutsare ployees will agree to a25per cent salaryde- only. Those holdingthe government’s reins icably. In the second week of April,the policehad to step in afteradoctor wasaccusedof easy,while spendingcutsare the hardest. ductionfor thenextthreeyearsin the national mustset aside theirpride andreverse the ill- “spreading the virus” and assaulted while buying groceries in aSouth Delhi locality. PopulistgovernmentsattheCentreand in interest. Class Cand Demployees, who earn conceivedcorporatetax-cutsand stall expen- Combating apandemic requires forging of social solidarities. Reaching out to people the states, havinggivenouthandouts, arenow Nowisthe time to cut the morethan Rs 30,000per month,will also will- ditureonstatues, memorials, bullet trains etc. with timelyand clear communication —evenwhen it is about risksand uncertainties — collectively reeling underadebt of overRs170 ingly agreetoa10 per cent salarydeduction. Suchsteps will release over Rs 4lakhcrore Gordian knot to rationalise holds the key. It’swell-known nowthat communication and community participation lakhcrore.Sixty percent of this debthas been The deducted amount can be converted into annuallytorevivethe economy.The estab- takeninthe lastsix years, amounting to over interest-freebonds, redeemable afterfive lishmentmustnot deflectfromcoreissues playedadecisive role in Kerala’s relative success againstthe coronavirus.Evenasitframes paystructures. It is within Rs 1lakh crorenew debt per month. the remit of the government years. Deductions should beapplicable forall by merelytinkering with allowances. strategies of deterrencetocurbviolence againstmedical professionals, the government The questionisnot onlyhow muchmoney thosewhose salary is basedonthe Seventh There’s another fundamental flawinthe should exploremeanstonudgesociety towardsdeveloping empathy fortheirwork. the RBI can print,but also, rather thanborrow- to evokethe constitutional PayCommission recommendations and the process of India’s economic recovery.When ing indiscriminately, howtosaveand opti- provisions of Article 360 to recommendationsshouldbereversedwher- the firsteconomic packagewas announced— mallyutilise the scarce, available resources. declare afinancial ever accepted.All pensioners receiving pen- without consulting those forwhom it wasin- An economic impetus will definitelybere- emergency.Those holding sionsabove Rs30,000permonth, too, should tended, the poorestsectionsofsociety —it quired forrecovery,soitistime to rethink is- getadeduction of 25 per cent. came in forcriticism. Nowthat the newan- ACTIONREPLAY sues that were,untilnow,too sacrosanct to the government’sreins must Government employees alsoreceiveal- nouncementsare due forcorporatebailouts, even be contemplated.About twocrore state set aside their pride and lowances and perks,comprising about25per thegovernment is talkingtothe business lead- The sporting weekend isn’t intoxicating anymore, and central government employees covered reverse the ill-conceived cent of the government expenditureonem- ers. This attitude of onlydeliberating with the by the paycommissionguidelines, forming corporate tax-cuts and stall ployees. The government cantakeacue from affluent sections of society is what got India but it’s notcolourless either only1.40 per centofIndia’s population, are the early 1990s: WhenIndia facedasome- intoagrand mess in the firstplace. paid Rs 12 lakhcrore annually. Across India, expenditure on statues, what similar economic crisis, the National PORTS FANS, THESE days,liveinthe past. Theyare in atime-warp, sating their there is no authentic dataonthe number of memorials, bullet trains etc. DevelopmentCouncil’s Committee on The writer is chairman, Bharat Krishak Samaj craving withreplays of old matches. The stadiums arelockedand that gnaw- Sing match-dayanticipation is aforgotten emotion. Catering to the needsof those forced behind closeddoors because of the COVID-19pandemic areweb- sites, televisionchannels and social media posts that generateasteady stream of nostal- gia-tinted content. The keyboard,orthe remote control, is atime machine. APRIL 24,1980, FORTY YEARS AGO Though nothing canreplace the suspenseand thrill of live sports,inthese times of economic slumpand mounting death, sportingexpectations toohavebeen downsized. A SSAM AGITATION Paramasivam, told UNI that action would be thirdpoint of the party’s election strategy — Edge-of-the-seatexcitement is no longer part of thesporting experience. Forthe sports ACOMPARATIVE LULL prevailedonthe agi- takenagainstthe “ring leaders” of the wasmade conditional by the hardliners led watcher,the couchisn’t ahot seat, it’s an easy chair now. Thefear of Messi wasting afree tationfront in Assam as the police left the employees. by SSBhandari and Jagannath RaoJoshi. kickininjury timeorRoger Federer missing his firstserveinafifth set tie-breakerno pickets at the government offices to them- selves. TheAll-Assam Students’Union and BJP AND STATE POLLS IRAN-MOSCOW TIES longer grips the mind. Compensating forthis unmatchedrush arethe less intoxicating op- the GanaSangram Parishad, whichstarted WITH THE BJP national executive’s decision IRAN’S FINANCE AND economyminister, tions available in the archives. The webhas footageofmatches that even pre-datevideog- the picketing of government offices yester- favouring to go it alone in the elections to the Reza Salimi, said that Iran and the Soviet raphy. There’sFerenc Puskasscoring goals in the 1954 WorldCup, Angelo Schiavio net- day, did notinterferewith the essential serv- assembliesinnine states, and to have no Union drafted“an important protocol”for tinganinjury-timewinner to help Italywin the 1934 WorldCup final, Jesse Owens’s ices. Whileair,train andbus services were truckwith the Communistparties,the non- economic and industrialcooperation. The magical runs and Donald Bradman’s unputdownableinnings. also normal, work in the statesecretariatand Congress (1) parties’ declared objective to announcement came as the EEC wasan- Revisiting the classics can be akin to rereading amystery novel. One might discovera the North-East FrontierRailway headquar- putupcommon candidates to fight author- nouncing planstoimposeeconomicsanc- quirkthat evadedthe eyebackthen. Youmight end up discoveringsome unsung heroes ters wasparalysed.Asworkingovernment itarian forces seems to have failed. Even the tions on Iran. Thepermanentcommission offices and bankswas paralysed,the govern- freedom giventostate units—tohave local forcooperation between the twocountries, or suddenlybegintoappreciateaplayerpreviouslydisliked. It could beperception-alter- ment decidedtotakeaction against itsoffi- adjustmentsunder pressure from UP and whichwas formedunderthe Shah, hadmet ing, image-changing, even pacifying in these troubledtimes. While the sportingweek- cers and employees forabsenting them- Rajasthan units, forelectoral adjustments forthe firsttime since Khomeini took over a end would neverbeasintoxicating as it usedtobe, it’s notthat colourless either. selvesfromduty.The chief secretary, RS with the Lok Dal and other partiesasthe year ago.

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THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,APRIL24,2020 WHATTHE OTHERSSAY There shouldbeno need to explain whythe United States —the dominant and richest member of the WHO and the IMF and anation to whichthe world looksupintimes of upheaval—should take the lead in assisting countries the 9 THE IDEAS PAGE world over.—THENEWYORKTIMES Don’t waste the oil crisis Leading from

We cannotleveragelow and volatile oilpricestoour advantage the front unless we empowertraders, free them of bureaucratic control Indiahasplayedanexemplaryrolein tacklingtheCovid-19crisis

ous reflection of the people’s trust in the leadership of Nitish Kumar. Iwouldnot hesitatetosay that Bihar, with itslimited resources and other con- straints, is indeed an “outlierstate”onmost Vikram S. Mehta parameters of performance in containing thespreadofCOVID-19. The recovery rate of patientsdiagnosedpositive is arguably “THINGSFALL APART; the Centrecannot Harivansh better than manyothers in the world. The hold, mereanarchyhas been loosedonthe community spread has been effectively world.” containedthere, so far. In rural Bihar,asus- Istarted my last article on oil withthis TRANSCENDINGGEOGRAPHICAL bound- tainedcampaign to promotecleanliness quotefromWBYeats. Idosoagain because aries —and everysocio-economic and po- and social distancing has madepeople Ithink it is apposite. The centreofthe oil mar- litical demarcation—the COVID-19outbreak acutelyaware of the pathogen’sinsidious ket hascollapsedand forthose engaged in has causedhugedisruptions globally. It has ways of attacking the human body. the oil business,itmustseemasifanarchy substantiallypunctured mankind’s vanity. BesidesBihar,other states toohavebeen has indeedbeen loosedupon them. However, the United Nationssecretary- evolving their response models.Weare Earlierthis week,peoplewokeuptothe general, António Guterres, waswide offthe proudofhow the political executive, bu- headline that the price of the benchmark markwhen he termedthe pandemic as the reaucracy,medical professionals, health US crudeWTI had entered negativeterri- greatesttestwehavefaced since World workers,the police and ASHA workers in tory.For the non-cognoscenti, this wasan WarII. The scourge of nature is farmorese- villages, have combined to do their best in extraordinaryand incomprehensiblepiece rious athreat than man-made wars. It is in checking the spread of the contagion. The of information. Whywould producers “pay” this contextthat Isee India’srole as exem- media deserves unreservedappreciation consumers? Whydid they notsimplyleave plary. Among the worldleaders, Prime formaking peopleaware of the dangers of the stuffinthe ground? Forthe cognoscenti, MinisterNarendraModi seems to be partic- the pandemic. the information wasalso dramatic. But the ularly perspicacious—not onlydid he as- Contrastthis with the onslaught of the questions were different. Did this herald an certain the real natureofthe crisis, but he Spanish flu in 1917-1919—and thenum- irreversible structural changeinthe oil mar- helpedtoprepareagradedresponse to it. berofdeaths then—and youwill knowthe ket?Whatmight be thegeopoliticalimpli- Atimelyresponse mitigates the effects difference. Unlikeinthe past, India seems cations?What specificallydoes thismean of adisasterand India has been spot-on in to be better placednow and ahead of the forIndia? this regard.AsModi pointedout in his mes- curve—not onlyinevolving aresponse to The collapse in the price of WTIreflected sagetothe nation on April 14,Indiatook the corona menacebut to mitigate the atechnicalpeculiarityoffutures trading. “quickand decisive action”and adopteda plight of itspeople as compared to Europe, Paper traders would normallyhavehad two “holisticand integratedapproach” in the the US, and China. This crisis hasfore- options.Tolet their contract expireand take absenceofwhich the country’s situation groundedaunique aspect of PM Modi’s hu- physical delivery or to pass on the contract could have been drasticallydifferent from manistapproach. Hispersuading people to to someone else. Butthis wasnot anormal what it is now. remain in sustainedlockdown is guided by month. The US wasrunning out of crude oil India has shown remarkablepercep- his impulse of notmaking human lifesub- storagecapacity and traders knewtheycould tiveness and alacrityintackling the pan- servient to economics. not“risk” taking delivery.Therewas no phys- demic: From conducting screenings at air- This strategy has been successful so far. ical space to hold the product. So their only ports to visa restrictions,India has been The health ministryhas estimated that option wastosellthe contract. This wasnot scaling up itsresponse well ahead of time. without the timelyimposition of the lock- easy as everyone facedthe same physical India, under the leadership of PM Modi, has down, COVID-19cases could have regis- constraint. So, on the lastday before the con- movedwith ameticulouslyplanned tered a41per cent cumulative increase, tractsexpired,the traders in desperation roadmap in itsfightagainstcoronavirus. reaching up to 8.2 lakh cases, by April 15. “paid” to offloadtheir risk.Therewas no Finally, therealso came the mostdiffi- The leadershiprole thatIndiahas as- physical transaction. The dramatis personae cult decision: Shutting down all movement sumedindealingwith this crisis is nowbe- were paper speculators, notoil producers. CRSasikumar to stop the spread of the coronavirus. This ing appreciated across the globe. India has The current futureprice is backinpositive Supplywill rest on the outcome of fur- junk, willconfront deepening political and wasanextraordinarydecision in many shown the worldthat it can notonlyhan- territory. ther discussions amongstOPEC, Russia and, socialcrises. India should build intoits eco- ways.Frompersuading people to stay at dle this crisis upfront but also provide aid That said, the headline did bring into ironically,the US. OPEC and Russia had earlier nomic plans the possibility that itstraditional home, to planning forthe economic impact and supporttothe marginalisedsections sharprelief astructuralreality. The world thismonthagreedtocut productionby10 oilsupplyroutes could getdisrupted. And of suchanunprecedented lockdown —and of society.The government is making all (and notjustthe US) wasfastrunning out of mbd. But clearly,this is notenough and fur- that itsdiaspora,whoseremittances areof also implementing it humanelyand sensi- possible effortstoprovide relief to the poor storagecapacity.This wasbecauseoil pro- ther cutbacks have to be agreed on.The US, significance, couldface disproportionate tively.The decisioncouldnot have been and the migrant workers. Areliefpackage duction wasway in excess of demand. The too, will have to reduce production. Itscom- hardship as these economiesretrench. takenwithout exceptional leadership skills. of Rs 1.7lakhcrore,aimed at providing a latter had crashedbyalmost30millionbar- panies arecurrentlyproducingapproxi- Second, on the dayprices hit negative ter- In an appreciable displayofdemocratic safetynet along with insurance coverfor rels aday or mbd (the equivalent of OPEC’s matelytwo mbd morethanisrequired by the ritory, Iwondered whether thetrading ex- ethos, PM Modi directly reachedout to the frontline medical personnel, is something entireproduction)because of the COVID-in- refineries.The government cannotmandate perts in our oil PSUshad the flexibility to 1.3billioncitizenstoseektheir mandate. that is being acknowledgedasatemplate in ducedlockdown of transportationand in- such acutback but the marketmay forceit. On the dayprices hit even contemplate“buying” the WTIfutures Theysupportedthe move and the lock- the collective fight againstthe virus. dustry. Theprice of the other crude bench- At current prices, manycompanies arebarely negative territory, I contract forJune, takingdelivery,shipping it down has nowbeenextended,again, with In the true spirit of Vasudhaiva markshad also dropped butnot the same able to meet their production costs. wondered whether the to India and storing it someplace. Ialso won- full popular support. Further, he also spoke Kutumbakam, whichmeans “the worldis extent —the NorthSea Brent fell, forinstance, Whatever the scenario foreconomic re- dered whether theyhad the authority to lock with all the statechief ministers who recip- one family”, India has takenthe lead in to $15/bbl, alevel notseensince 1999.The covery or supplyconstraints, thereisaslim trading experts in our oil in lowprices throughforward contracts. rocated in equal measure, highlightingthe helping the worldatthis hour of need. reason wasthat unlikethe WTI, whichis likelihood of crude oil prices reaching the av- PSUs had the flexibility to These were,ofcourse, academic reflections. cooperative nature of Indianfederalism. India, the largest producerofthe drug hy- tradedinthe US and thereforedependent on erageprice levels of 2019 ($64) over the next even contemplate ‘buying’ Iknowthereisashortage of storagecapac- Acting in tandem with the Union gov- droxychloroquine, has been generously US inland storagecapacity,the other crudes 12 months orso. Morelikely, theywill be the WTI futures contractfor ity in India and amismatchbetween the ernment, Bihar chief ministerand JanataDal helping manycountries with the supplies have accesstoseabornestorage (oil tankers). volatile downwardswith $50 as the ceiling quality of WTIand the requirementsofour (United)president Nitish Kumar displayed of this potential cureofCOVID-19. This latter capacity is, however, fast filling up and with no floor. June,taking delivery, refineries. Nevertheless, Ihad these thoughts his remarkable aptitude forgovernance and The waragainstthe virus is still raging. and the price of these crudes mayalsohit his- This “lowfor longer” price outlook raises shipping it to India and because Iamclear we cannot leverage the foresight in educating peopleabout the But the countryhas gainedgreat confi- toric lows. twoissues forour policy-makers. One, what storing it someplace. Ialso current marketconditions of lowand volatile merits of social distancing. Unlikeindustri- dence from the exceptional patience of its So, whereare we headed? One clear arethe supplyrisks? And two, what can they wondered whether they had oil prices to our national advantageunless alisedstates, Biharisapredominantlyrural people, the quickresponse ofpublicau- pointer.Oil prices willbevolatile downwards do to maximallyleveragethe advantages of we empowerthe traders and leave them un- statewithpocketsthathavesomeofthe thorities and, above all, fromits trust in the until demand picks up and/or supplyisfur- lowprices? the authoritytolockinlow encumbered from bureaucraticcontrol. And, highest population density in theworld. leadership. As partial relaxations begin ther cut. One could provide manyanswers to these prices through forward mostimportantly,protect themfromthe One misstepcouldhaveled to havoc. As of soon, Ihope the people embrace morepos- Demand willdepend on the curveof twoquestions but forlackofspace, letme contracts. These were,of threeCs(CVC,CBI and CAG) in case their now, the statebearsthe maximum pressure itivity.Amidstall the gloom the worldover, post-COVID economicrecovery.Whichlet- makejusttwo points. course,academic reflections. trade goes awry. of migrant labourers fromacrossIndiaand this will also notbeasmall achievement. terofthe alphabet will it follow? V, U, W, Lor First, everyoil producer (with no excep- Iamnot suggesting we ask our traders to is averitable communal cauldron. Yet, the I? The last“I” (that is, continuing decline )is, tion) will face abudgetarycrisis. Some,like Iknowthere is ashortage of emulateWall Street.Iammerelysuggesting behaviour of thepeople of the stateishighly The writerisformerdeputy chairmanof ofcourse,the doomsdayscenario.Optimists Saudi Arabia, the UAEand Kuwait will finance storage capacityinIndia and this oil marketcrisis could be made to work disciplinedand admirable. That is an obvi- RajyaSabhaand JD (U) MP-elect from RS arelooking at Vorperhaps U. Theepidemi- their social and economic commitmentsby amismatchbetween the to our advantage. We mustnot wastethis ologists mightsuggestW:Aninitial recov- cutting costs,increasing debt anddrawing qualityofWTI and the opportunity. ery, reversedbyasecondwaveofinfection down on their sovereign reserves. Others like followedbyastrong and enduring upturn as Iran, Iraq, Nigeria and Venezuela, who have requirements of our The writerischairman andseniorfellow, andwhen avaccine is developed. no suchcushion and whose credit ratings are refineries. Brookings India LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR

WISHFUL THINKING THIS REFERS TO the article, ‘The test of a LETTER OF THE nation’ (IE, April 23). Even as the writer WEEK AWA RD Doctors and teachers commends the PM’s farsightedness,the tragic migrant crisis continues to unfold. To encouragequality reader As forthe “timely” lockdown, we know intervention, The Indian it took nearly twomonths afterthe first Express offers the Letter of Theycarry on withtheirduties, no matter what crisis engulfsthe world case wasreportedto announceit.Theal- mostthreatening demand forhydroxy- the Week award. The letter KrishnaKumar chloroquinefromDonald Trumpiswhat adjudged the best forthe the writer calls India’s “crucial role” in week is publishedevery the changing global order.The “cooper- Saturday. Letters maybe HOWDOCTORSmakesense of theirlifeis one Delhi witnessedinthe lastdays of otsinDelhi unbelievable wasbecauseincer- studentswho nowteach in Delhi’s schools ative federalism” alludedtoisonlyaeu- e-mailedto hardlyamystery. Their profession givesthem February. Asenseofduty alonecannot ex- tain matters Itrusttradition. have been asking howtoaddress children’s phemism forthe Centre’s chauvinism. [email protected] ahigh social status. Regular opportunity to plain the relentless effort manydoctors It is acultural fact that we Indians will do queries aboutthe riots.Some of these are: Finally, giventhe stress on it, one won- or sent to The Indian puttheir knowledgeintopracticegives them made to treat people brought in from riot- anythingwecan to putupthe best possible Whydid people become so violent? Why ders if gratitudecan replace PPEs forour Express, B-1/B, Sector 10, professional satisfaction. In addition, there ravagedNortheastDelhi with wounds front when aguestvisitsus. That is howwe couldn’tthe police stop them?Whenwill corona warriors. Noida-UP 201301. is personal satisfaction inhealingoratleast causedbyguns, knivesand fire.Surely, these aresocialisedsince childhood.You learn early normalcy return? Muhammad Ghazali, Patna helpingpeople when theyare feeling miser- doctors musthavewondered whether their in lifethatifavisitor is about to showup, you These areall difficult questions to answer. able.Nomatter what branchortype of med- long anddemanding training in health and put out of sight anythingthat mightbring Moreover, no teacher feels comfortable fac- RIGHTORDINANCE icalpractice theyare in, doctors followa medicine deserved to be utilisedinthis way. the familyabad name. Thatthe riots could ing such questions.Theyknowthatafter a propriate.And, trackingconvictsvia stressedroutine and carry on theirwork, no Ariotrepresentsabreakdown of social occur when aprizednational guestwas riotasviolent as this one, one can anticipate THIS REFERSTOthe report, ‘Govt. WhatsAppand Google Mapsisperhaps, matterwhatthe circumstances or stateof order.While the policecan wait and watch scheduledtobeinDelhi made absolutely no anew normal to descend on the social ethos. changing lawtostopattacks on health the best use one could makeofmodern the patient. Surgeons areprobablymore till theyare ordered to intervene, doctors and sense. Howcould this be,you wanted to Forchildren who witness public violence, di- workers: 5-year jail, Rs 5lakh fine’ (IE, technology. stressedthan general practitioners,but the nurses cannotwait. Theyjustget intoaction know. Perhaps it wasfakenews,Ifirst rectlyorindirectlythrough television, there April 23). At atime when the countryis MelvilleXD’Souza, Mumbai difference is onlyofdegree. Anyone who sees when theycome across apatient. Nordo thought.Soon enough, Ihad to face reality, is no easy or quickfix forinner disturbance. fighting COVID-19, attacksondoctors people in pain and discomfortonadailyba- theyask anyone whysomuchviolence was and it hadmanyironies in store. Theone I Unlikedoctors, who succeed in healing the and healthcarepersonnel areunpar- ONLINE LIMITS sis cannotavoid the feeling that he or she is unleashed. Iamnot sureiftheyhavethe found most difficulttodigestwas the visi- woundedand burnt, teachers can at best en- donable.The government’s decision to carrying aburden. The rangeofhuman mis- time, as the rest of us have,towonder what tor’s wifebeingtaken to witness aspecial gage andrelate, hopingthat higher under- makesuchattacks acognisable and THIS REFERSTOthe article, ‘Goingback eryadoctor encounters dailyand attemptsto anyone achievedbyletting so muchmalice class at agovernment school.While standing will some daytakeover. The corona non-bailable offence is welcome. to thenew school’ (IE,April 23 ). The address by choosing appropriateremedies getexpressedthrough physical attackson NortheastDelhi wasfacingraw hatred and virus has deniedthis opportunity to Delhi’s MCJoshi, Lucknow school post-pandemicwillbeverydif- is vast andtherefore, stressful. Doctors who ordinarypeople, looting and arson. violence, the firstlady who accompaniedthe teachers. Theyare nowbeing asked to inau- ferent. Studentsand teachers will have serve in wars areperhaps inspired by the When the news of these riots startedar- American president wasattendingaso- guratethe newsession and coverthe ex- COVID AND CRIME to adapttomanychanges, move on to same kind of positive emotions and sense of riving, one could hardlybelieveit. My asso- called“happiness” class. pected syllabus forAprilbygiving e-lessons. online learning. But this modelalso has duty thatsoldiers have.The injuries suffered ciationofFebruaryinDelhiiswithflower Whosoeverwas teachinginthatclass The riots have lostwhat relevance and value THIS REFERS TO the report, ‘Jail terms limitations. Online learning canfill by the latter have arationale —inthe idea of shows.Irealise the spring waslatethis year; probably hasthe same immunity that doc- theymight have hadasobjectsofenquiry on hold, convictstobetracked via some gaps but cannot replicateall the the nation and itsborders. nevertheless,Ihad imagined thattheremust tors have.Teachers carry on with their du- and contemplation. WhatsApp, Google Maps’ (IE, April23). benefitsofagood learning No suchthingcan be said about injuries be alot of flowers. That aconsiderable partof ties, justlikemedical staff, no matter what The proposal of keeping jail terms on environment. sufferedinacommunal riot. It troublesmeto Delhi coulderuptintobloody fightsand ar- crisisengulfs the worldaroundthem. The The writer is aformer director of NCERT hold in viewofthe coronavirus is ap- Aamil Lodhi, Gandhinagar think howdoctors feel when theyface peo- son at this time of the year cameasashock. onlydifference is thatteachersface ques- andauthor of TheChild’sLanguage ple woundedduring aviolent riotsuchasthe The other reason whyIfound the news of ri- tions; doctors don’t. Anumber of my former and the Teacher

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THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,APRIL24,2020 MADAGASCAR HANDS OUT ‘MIRACLE CURE’ Madagascar soldierswent door-to-door in Antananarivo, doling out sachets of aherbaltea touted by President Andry Rajoelinaasapowerful remedyagainst COVID-19. This herbal tea gives results in seven days," Rajoelina said. "We canchange 10 the historyofthe entire world." THE OUTBREAK TheWorld

TOPOFTHE WORLD AfterUSfreezesWHOfunds,Chinastepsin Chinese govt saiditwould donate $30 million more to theglobal health body; Close wildlife Australia to pursue WHO chief says he hopes Trumpadministration reconsiders freeze on funds wet markets Covidprobe at World AGENCIES permanently, BEIJING,APRIL23 Daniel Pearl says Pompeo HealthAssembly CHINASAIDon Thursday it would PAKISTAN donateafurther $30 million to the WorldHealth Organization REUTERS KIRSTYNEEDHAM SCmovedover (WHO), whichisseeking more WASHINGTON,APRIL23 SYDNEY,APRIL23 than $1 billion to fund itsbattle acquittalsin againstthe coronavirus pan- US SECRETARYofState Mike AUSTRALIA WILL push foranin- Pearlmurder demicthat has killedmorethan PompeosaidthattheUnitedStates ternational investigation intothe 180,000people worldwide. has called on Chinatoperma- coronavirus pandemicatnext Karachi/Islamabad: The The pledgecomesabout a nentlyclose itswildlife wetmar- month’sannual meeting of the Sindhgovernment has week afterUSPresidentDonald kets,citing linksbetween those WorldHealth Assembly, the de- challenged in the Trumpsuspendedfunding to the markets and zoonotic diseases. cision-making bodyofthe Supreme Courtthe WHOand accused the Geneva- “Giventhe strong link be- WorldHealth Organisation provincial high court's basedorganisation of promoting tween illegal wildlifesold in wet (WHO), itsprimeministersaid Scott Morrison verdict that acquitted Chinese “disinformation” about marketsand zoonotic diseases, on Thursday. British-borntop al-Qaeda the virus, whichemergedinthe the United Stateshas calledon Australia wantsthe WHOto leader AhmedOmar central city of Wuhan lastyear. the People’sRepublic of China to be strengthenedand is suggest- tentious with U.S. President SaeedSheikhand three “Atthis crucial moment, sup- permanentlyclose itswildlife ing introducing inspectors with Donald Trumpaccusing it of be- others in the abduction porting WHO is supportingmul- wetmarketsand all marketsthat the powertoenter acountryto ing “China-centric” and sus- and murder of USjour- tilateralismand global solidar- Chinese President Xi Jinping inspectsaprimaryschool in Shaanxi Province. AP sell illegal wildlife,” Pompeo said respond morequicklytoahealth pendingU.S. funding. nalist DanielPearlin ity,”Hua Chunying, a in astatement lateWednesday. crisis. Australia sitsonthe exec- Diplomatsbelieve the May Karachi in 2002. Pearl, the spokeswoman of China’s foreign He had earlier hit out at utive boardofthe assembly, meeting opens the door fordis- 38-year-old South Asia ministry, said on Twitter. this an important investment, Beijing again over theoutbreak whichdetermines WHO policies cussion of Australia’s call foran bureauchieffor The Wall The donation aimedtosup- notjusttohelp others,but forthe 2.32LAKHCASESINCHINABYMID-FEB:STUDY and accused it of taking advan- andappointsthe director-gen- enquirybecause agenda items al- Street Journal, wasab- port the globalfight against U.S. to stay safealso,” Tedros said tage of the pandemic to bully eral. The assemblyisdue to meet readyinclude calls fora“lessons ducted and beheadedin COVID-19,inparticular strength- during avirtual briefing. Beijing: China could have re- wave of coronavirus in main- neighbours. Pompeo repeatedal- on May17. learned” reviewofhealth emer- Pakistanin2002. The eninghealth systems in devel- China had hinted at stepping portedover2.32 lakh COVID- land China," said University of legations that China wasexploit- The coronavirusisbelieved gencies, and urge membersto government of Sindh on oping countries, she said, adding up itsmonetary contribution to 19 cases by mid-February— Hong Kong researchers. ing the world’s focus on the pan- to have emergedinamarketsell- complywith international health Wednesdayfiledthe that China had already donated the UN healthagency onApril15. morethan four times of what In thestudy publishedin demic with “provocative ing wildlifeinthe central regulations introducedafter the challengebeforethe $20 milliontothe WHO on Beijing's response came aday af- wasofficiallyannounced—ifit The Lancet,researchers said behaviour” to erode autonomyin Chinesecity of Wuhanlatelast 2004 SARS outbreak in China. Supreme Court against March 11. terTrumpannouncedtoput a had followedabroadercrite- Chinamight have had Hong Kong, exertmilitarypres- year.Ithas spread around the “The WorldHealth the April 2order of the On Wednesday, WHO "verypowerful" holdonUS' fund- rion to count thetotal number 2,32,000cases rather than the sureonTaiwanand coerce neigh- worldinfecting some 2.6 million Assemblyiscoming up in May. SindhHigh Court, accord- Director-General Tedros ing to the WHO, accusing theUN of infections, astudy has said. official count of about 55,000 bours in the SouthChina Sea. people and killingmorethan There areopportunities to pur- ing to Dawn. Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he agency of being"veryChina-cen- "Weestimated that there by February20, if arevised “TheUnited States strongly 183,000 of them, according to sue that matter there and that hopedthe Trumpadministration tric" and criticising it forhaving were at least2,32,000 infec- definition adoptedearlier had opposes China’s bullying, we Reuters calculations. is our firstportofcall,” would reconsiderits decision. "missedthe call" in itsresponse tionsinthe firstepidemic been appliedthroughout. PTI hopeothernationswill hold The WHO’sresponsetothe Australian Prime Minister Scott “I hope the US believes that to the coronavirus pandemic. them to account,” he said. outbreakhas becomecon- Morrison said. REUTERS AFRICA Worriesascases Pak using jump43per Hidden outbreaks centinaweek spread through US ISI’s system CapeTown: Africa has reg- to keep track istereda43per cent jump in reportedCOVID-19 far earlier: Estimates cases in the lastweek, of suspected highlighting awarning from the WorldHealth BENEDICTCAREY& 4.4MNMOREFILE cases: Imran Organizationthat thecon- JAMESGLANZ tinent of 1.3billion could NEWYORK,APRIL23 JOBLESSCLAIMS; become the next epicen- TOTALNOW26MN SAJJADHUSSAIN treofthe global outbreak. BY THE timeNew York City con- ISLAMABAD,APRIL23 Africa also hasa"very,very firmedits firstcase of the coro- limited" and “very, very navirus on March 1, thousands ■Morethan26million PAKISTANPRIMEMinisterImran strained” testing capacity, of infections were already people have joined the Khan disclosedonThursdaythat JohnNkengasong, director silentlyspreading through the ranksofthe unemployed hisgovernment wasusing asys- of the AfricaCentresfor city,ahidden explosion of adis- over the pastfiveweeks. tem, originally meant to track DiseaseControland easethat many still viewedasa As manyas4.4 million downterrorists by thespyagency Preventionsaid in his remote threat as the city awaited workers filedfor jobless ISI, to trace suspected cases in the weeklybriefing on the firstsigns of spring. benefitslastweek country, as thenumber of the Thursday. It meansthat Hidden outbreakswerealso COVID-19patients rose to 10,927. the surge in infections on spreading almostcompletely ■ Stateagencieshave “It (tracking system) was the continent is likelyto undetected in Boston, San scrambled to handle the originally (meant to trace) ter- be even higherinreality, Francisco, Chicagoand Seattle, floodoffilings as well as rorists but we'reusing it to tackle he said. longbeforetesting showedthat aset of federal eligibility corona,” Khan said during the each city had amajor problem, rulesinstituted to deal live Ehsaas Telethon to raise BANGLADESH accordingtoamodel of the with the crisis. Panic is CHECK-UP QUEUE funds to supportthe people spread of the disease by re- widespread among worsthit by the pandemic. Shutdown searchers at Northeastern the mostvulnerable Drivers wait to be checkedamid large-scale social restrictions to prevent the spread of coronavirus in Bandung area of West He said that "tracking and extendedas University who shared theirre- Java in IndonesiaonThursday. Reuters testing is the onlyway to reopen sults with The NewYork Times. ■ With government businesses".Khan said that effi- tollrisesto127 Even in early February— phones and websites cient tracking and testingof while the worldfocusedonChina cloggedand drop-in coronavirusinfected persons Dhaka: Bangladesh has —the virus wasnot onlylikelyto centresclosed,legal aid wasthe onlyway to reopen the decidedtoextend the na- be spreading in multiple lawyers arefielding ‘Let us notsquander what we achieved’ closedbusinesses in the country. tionwide COVID-19shut- American cities, but also seeding complaintsfrompeople Khan said that alockdown down for10moredays blooms of infection elsewherein who saytheydon’tknow lowedsmallerstores and, in some forindefiniteperiod wasnot an until May5.Tocurbthe the US, the researchers found. whereelsetoturn. NYT NEWYORKTIMES cases, schools to begin reopening Wherethe option and anydecision about spread of the coronavirus, In five major US cities, as of NEWYORK,APRIL23 on Mondayunder restrictions. the shut down should be for“all the governmentinitially March 1, therewereonly23con- Merkelsaid she stood by her limitlies Pakistanis and notjustthe elite”. declared ageneral holi- firmedcases of coronavirus. But NetworkScience Instituteat CHANCELLOR ANGELAMerkel decisions to impose restrictions, “Thegovernment is looking dayonMarch 26 for10 accordingtothe Northeastern NortheasternUniversityinBoston. of GermanyonThursday and to allowthem to be slowly at the option of smartlockdown days.Later,thatwas grad- model, therecouldhaveactually The model estimatesall in- warned thegovernors of the eased, but cautionedagainstcre- The concernfor Germany, to wiselyprovide relief to the uallyextendedtill April been about 28,000 infections in fections, including those in peo- country’s 16 states againstloos- ating afalsesenseofsecurity. and forEuropeingeneral, people badlyhit by the closure 25. “The government will those cities by then. plewho mayexperiencemild or ening restrictionsonpubliclife “Nobody wantstohear this, lies in deciding whichre- of the country,”hesaid. PTI extend the nationwide Aspoliticalleadersgrappledin no symptoms. tooquickly,saying thatitcould but the truth is that we arenot strictions aresafetolift. shutdown until May5,” a Februarywith the question of Other disease researchers said jeopardisethe nation’s abilityto living in the final phase of this Germanexpertshave Cabinetdivision whether the outbreak wouldbe- the findings of Dr Vespignani’s keep the spread of coronavirus Merkelwarnedagainstfalse pandemic, but at the beginning,” voicedworriesthat easing spokesman told PTI as come serious enough to order team were broadly in line with undercontrol. sense of security. Reuters she said. “Weare goingtohave toomanymeasureswould health-careofficials said measureslikeschoolclosuresand their ownanalyses. The research “Letusnot squander what to live with it foralong time.” result in the countrylosing that the pandemic has remote work,little or no system- offersthefirstclearaccountingof we have achieved,” shesaid in an But the chancellor alsonoted the early lead it had gained. spread to the country's58 atictestingfor the virus wastak- howfar behind the United States address to Parliament. portedmorethan 148,000infec- that theoutbreak and subse- Forexample,while opening of 64 administrativedis- ingplace.“Meanwhile,intheback- wasindetecting the virus. And Germany has slowedthe pan- tions and over 5,000fatalities,has quentlockdownwas proving of stores, schools and salons tricts, indicatingworsen- ground, youhavethis silentchain the findings provideawarningof demic’s spread since residents had asteady decline in the num- challenging. “Thispandemic is has been charted, experts ing situationofcommu- of transmission of thousandsof what can recur,the researchers were orderedtolargely remainin berofnew cases since April. an imposition on our democracy, have metwith scepticism a nity levelinfections. people,” said Alessandro say, if social distancing restric- their homes starting in mid- Afterdiscussions with the because it restrictsour existen- push to open restaurants. Imran Khan Vespignani,director of the tions areliftedtoo quickly. NYT March.The country,whichhas re- chancellorlastweek,the statesal- tial rightsand needs,” she said. WWII veteran dies of ‘STOPPING US FROM SEEING OUR CHILDREN IS ACRIME’ Covid 100 years after ‘We are in prison’: PaininFrance’s nursing homes exposed Spanish flu kills twin

songbirdtogether. proving bittersweet: Better than notcome soon enough. “Weare and Samuel diedofthe Spanish ASSOCIATEDPRESS Even before many businesses nothing,butnowhereclose to be- in prison," Patricia said. AGENCEFRANCE-PRESSE flu notlong after. PARIS,APRIL23 rumble backtolifeorschool- ing enough. Afterall, howcan a Sabrina isamong thosewho NEWYORK,APRIL23 His grandson Warren Zysman yardsbustle again, France started fewminutes, sat across atable in believesthat nursinghomes said Kahn had been afraid of an- FORHER firstauthorisedvisit in to allow tightlyregulated nurs- face masks, makeupfor so many were sealedoff nottoprotect A100-YEAR-OLD WorldWar-II other pandemic coming along morethan six weekswith her ing home visits this week,punc- days apart? Sabrina and Patricia residentsbut to preventfamilies veteranhas diedofthe new duringhis lifetime. "Itwas some- 80-year-old mother,Sabrina turing astrictno-visitors lock- were on the phone to eachother from knowing what washap- coronavirusacenturyafter his thinghebrought up quitefre- Deliryprepared aselection of down that still failedtoprevent minutes aftertheysaid goodbye peninginside. twin brotherwas killedinthe quently,"Zysman told CNN."I their favouritetunes,among an ongoing tidal waveofcoron- with blown air kisses and the “It sickens me,” she said. 1918-19Spanish flu pandemic, would have conversations with them Edith Piaf's “La VieenRose.” avirus deathsamong elderly mother trundledbackalone to “Those areour parentsbehind US media reports said. him,hewouldsaytome,'Itoldyou Later,atthe Paris nursing nursing home residents. her room in her motorised those walls, my mother, our fa- PhilipKahn foughtatthe history repeats itself,100 years is homewherethe mother has Forsome, seeing their par- wheelchair,giving afinal wave. thers.Theyhavenorighttode- Battle of IwoJima and helped not thatlong of aperiod of time.'" been agonising in the solitude of entsagain broughtjoy and relief. "Stopping us from seeing our prive us of them likethat.”She with aerial surveysafter the Kahnexperiencedcoron- her room, feeling imprisoned “I know howimportantitis childrenisacrime,” she said. worries that Patricia, aretired atomic bombing of Hiroshima avirus symptoms suchascough- and miserable without the sun forher," Christopher “They wait forustodie before hairdresser who hassuffereda and Nagasaki, Newsdaysaid on ing before his death on April 17. on her cheeks, the breeze in her Cronenberger said afterseeing sending our children to us.” The stroke,will be even moredimin- Wednesday in itsonlineedition. "He talked about his brother hair or her daughter's tender his 87-year-old mother. At the Kaisesbergnursing homeineastern France. AP visit, she said, “makesmewant ishedphysicallybyweeksofbe- Kahn and his twinSamuel alot in the lastfew days," hugs, theylistenedtothe French But forothers, the visits are to live again.” But the next can- ing confinedtoher room. were borninDecember1919 Zysman said.

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THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,APRIL24,2020 11 ECONOMY GOLD RUPEE OIL SILVER `41,705 `76.06 $26.15 `38,100

Note:Spotgoldmarkets shut due to lockdowninmajor states. *Indianbasket as on March19, 2020 SENSEX: 31,863.08 ▲ 483.53 NIFTY: 9,313.90 ▲ 126.6 NIKKEI: 19,429.44 ▲ 291.49 HANGSENG: 23,977.32 ▲ 83.96 FTSE: 5,763.47 ▼ 7.16 DAX: 10,390.18 ▼ 24.85

Internationalmarket data till 1900ISTs TRACKING COVID-19 INDUSTRYBODIES WORKINGONPROPOSALTOCONDUCTSNAPSHOTSURVEY BRIEFLY CYBERSECURITY ‘Don’tcount Govt,industrytojoinhands,mapskills paymentdelays After AarogyaSetu, duetolockdown’ NewDelhi: SebiThursday tender for wristband withjobsfor22lakhstrandedmigrants askedvaluationagenciesnot to consider anylockdown- tial relaxation wasgranted to in- statesandunionterritorieshadset related delayinpaymentof to track patients by AANCHALMAGAZINE The process had hit aroadblockasthe database for dustryforresumptionof work be- up 21,064relief camps forfood or interestorprincipal or ex- NEWDELHI,APRIL23 migrant workers registeredsofar in manystates ginning April 20.Asenior Labour shelter, withthegovernmentsha- tension of maturity of ase- Ministryofficialsaiddatahasbeen ving providedshelter to 6,66,291 curity as default forthe pur- CPSE causes concern AFTERREGISTERING detailsof22 waslimited to identification details but lacked collected for22lakhworkers and persons and food to 22,88,279 poseofvaluationofmoney lakhstrandedmigrantworkersin details of their skillsetsand immediatepreceding moreworkisbeing done to up- persons.Thisdatasetincludesdet- market and securities held shelters amid the ongoing lock- work experience datethe database. ailsofpooranddestitute,stranded by mutual funds. PTI AASHISHARYAN& ‘BREACH’OF down to counter the COVID-19 On Wednesday, addressing a migrant workers,workers who PRANAVMUKUL pandemic,thegovernmentplans FICCI webinar,Labour Secretary need access to food, or workers NEWDELHI,APRIL23 PERSONALDATA to collaborate withtheindustryto skills and qualifications of work- be addedtomakeitaworkable Heeralal Samariyahad said that whoreachedtheirdestinationbut Reliefpackage findthemigrantworkersemploy- erswiththeavailablework oppor- dataset,” an industrysource said. the Centrehas collectedthe data were neededtobequarantined. forexhibition EVENASprivacy concernsfor ■ BECIL, aCPSE under ment by mapping their skill sets tunities inareasneartheshelters. Industryrepresentativessaid of migrantworkersfromstatesas Thoughthere’sacountrywide COVID-19trackingappAarog- the I&B Ministry, has to meetthe requirementfor jobs Attemptsarebeingmadeto fill the details so farare morefrom well as districts. “... we aretrying lockdown in forcetill May3,the industry ya Setu remain, the Broadcast floated atender on the ground. up this crucial information gapto theidentificationperspective and if there’s work available with fac- government had allowedpartial EngineeringConsultantsIndia inviting companies to The process had hit aroad- feed the availableworkerpool to mighthelpinanyproposedtrans- tories,builders,howtodomatch- resumptionofsome industries NewDelhi: Amidthe hard- Limited (BECIL)—acentral supplydevices such blockasthe databasefor migrant nearby industrialunits afterthe ferofbenefitsby thegovernment, ing so thattheycan be provided fromApril20.TheCentre hadalso ship being facedbythird publicsectorenterprise(CPSE) as COVID-19patient workers registeredsofar in many requisite testing regimen. “Gove- butmore granulardetailswillhelp employment in nearby places so allowedmovement ofmigrant party fair organisers, India underthe Ministryof tracking tool, online stateswaslimitedto identification rnmenthascollectedinformation in getting the workers employed. thatworkcan startinfactories ... labour betweendistricts within a TradePromotionOrganisati- InformationandBroadcasting high feverscanning details —name, bank accounts, forthemigrantworkers.Butabet- Industrychamberssuch asthe we areonjob,issuinginstructions state, primarilytofacilitatethe on,thenodaltradefairbody —hasfloatedatenderinviting tools and handheld mobilenumber,Aadhaar, Ujjwala terapproximationof wherethose Confederation of Indian Industry to concerned district administra- movement of available skill sets underthe Commerce companiestosupply devices thermal imaging registration —but lacked details workerscanfitincanbedoneonly arealreadyworkingonaproposal tion so that work and relief mate- to areas wheretheywould be Ministry, announcedrelief suchasCOVID-19patient systems of their skill sets and immediate if we have dataontheir skill sets to conduct asnapshotsurvey rialcan be given,” he had said. needed if factories and industrial package/stepsto thirdparty trackingtool,onlinehighfever precedingworkexperience. This and wheretheywereemployed across the countrytoassess the As per the status reportsub- unitsare tostart.The movement organiserswhoholdexhibi- scanningtools and handheld ■ The requirements information is critical forthe in- before they cametostayinthe potentialworkopportunities for mitted by the Home Ministryto of labourbetween states, how- tionsatPragatiMaidan. ENS thermalimaging systems. and functionalities dustry to meaningfullymap the shelter.These questions need to these migrant workers afterpar- the SupremeCourtinMarch end, ever,remains prohibited. The requirementsand sought by the CPSE in functionalities sought by the the three tools raise CPSE in the three toolsraise redflags of redflagsofsurveillance and surveillance and TLTRO 2.0: Banks not keen on NBFC Prolonged lockdown: “severebreach” of personal “severe breach” of sensitive data, cybersecurity personal sensitive Growth may contract and legal experts said. data, experts said bailout, take littleover half of RBI funds BECIL undertakessupply of specialisedcommunication, tween Rs 500crore and Rs 5,000 ferthree-month moratorium on by 0.9%, says CII monitoring, security andsur- parolees that manycountries GEORGEMATHEW crorerated in investment grade. loanrepaymentsbytheircus- veillance systems to defense, have ...Thistooltakesonestep MUMBAI,APRIL23 NBFCs, especially those notat tomersinthewakeoftheCOVID- activityislikelytoremain con- police and para-militaryde- forwardandanalysesthedata, the highestend of credit rating, 19 pandemicandthelockdownin ENSECONOMICBUREAU strainedduetocontinuingrestric- partments, according to the providing invasive insights BANKSHAVElargely ignored the were unable to access the fund- thecountry. However, bankshave MUMBAI,APRIL23 tionsonfreemovementofgoods tenderdocument. intopersonal lives,” aPune- Rs 25,000-croretargetedlong ing.The situation has aggravated refusedtogivethesamefacilityto andpeoplebeyondthelockdown Thelastdateofopening of basedcyber-lawexpertsaid. term repo operations(TLTRO) Partialcredit asmanybankshavenot beenacc- NBFCs whichhavetaken huge CORPORATEINDIAhasexpressed period, CII said. “This will lead to thebidsforthethreewasfixed Oneoftherequirementsof conductedby theReserve Bankof ommodative inprovidingamora- loans from thebanking sector. fearsthattheGDPwillcontractby disruptioninsupplychains, slow forApril 20. thedevicestatesthatitshould India (RBI)and bid foronlyhalfof guarantee torium to NBFCs,whilethe latter AccordingtoIndia Ratings, 0.9 per cent in FY21ifthe coron- pick-up in investmentactivity, BECIL didnot respond to be able to geofence an area of themoneyputby theRBIonThur- an option have already providedamorato- NBFCswithanassetsizebetween avirusoutbreak gets prolonged labour shortagesinthe short-run emailedqueries on privacy interest, suchas“meeting sday, indicatingtheir reluctance riumto theircustomers.Ontopof Rs 500crore and Rs 5,000 crore and thelockdown continues fora andmutedconsumptiondemand concerns. Another email place,airport,mosque,railway to bail outtroublednon-banking this, banksare notavailing of largely belong to ‘BBB’and ‘A’ longperiod.“Incaseof amorepro- onaccountofreducedhousehold whichsought to know station, bus stand” and iden- finance companies (NBFCs) and POOR PARTICIPATION by funds offeredbyRBI to help small ratedcategories and mayhave longed outbreak,wherethe re- incomes,” it said. whether the CPSE had so far tify all the people present at micro-financeinstitutions(MFIs). banksinthe TLTROfor andmediumNBFCs,sourcessaid. weakerliquidityandotherbuffers strictions in existing hot-spot re- In the optimistic scenario, receivedany responses from thesaid location, the tender Of the Rs 25,000 croreput by NBFCs clearly highlights VydianathanRamaswamy, di- thanhigherrated issuers. With a gionsget extended,while new whichenvisages afasterpick-up thebidderandwhetherithad document said. the central bank on the TLTRO the banks’ reluctance to rector—ratings, Brickwork large segmentof NBFCs’customer regions areidentifiedas‘hot- postthe lockdown period,GDP is selected avendor forthese “Manycomponentsofthe windowonThursday,bankstook lend to mid-size and Ratings, saidlimitedparticipation base (both in MSME and other- spots’leadingtointermittentstop projected to registeragrowthof tools did notelicit aresponse tool included in thetender onlyRs12,850 crore(forthree- small NBFCs and MFIs in by banksinthe TLTRO2.0 clearly wise)likelytobesignificantlyim- and startineconomicactivity, 1.5per cent at best,itsaid. either.Ofthe three tools document go beyond the year tenor), while therewereno the current situation. A highlightsthe banks’ reluctance pacted by the lockdown, delin- GDPislikelytodeclineby -0.9per “Given the extent of the dam- soughtby BECIL,themost con- commonrequirementsof takers forthe remaining amount. viable option could be a to lendtomid-size andsmall quenciescoulddisproportionately cent,”theConfederationofIndian agetothe economyfromthe dis- troversialisthe COVID-19pa- contact tracing and could re- The RBI offers TLTROfunds at the structurewith partial NBFCsandMFIsinthecurrentsit- risefortheselenders.TheRBImay Industry(CII) said. ruption to business, the GDP tient tracking tool, which sultinpervasive surveillance,” repo rate of 4.40per cent. credit guarantee by the uation. “Giventhe lackofrisk ap- have to revisetheir strategy to On Thursday, FitchRatings growth in FY21will likelybethe couldbeintheformof awrist- the SFLCstatementsaid. “Banksdon’tseem to be keen government, similar to petiteinbanks,astructure with helpsmallandmediumNBFCsas alsocutIndia’sgrowthprojection lowest in manydecades,” said band, experts said. Apartfromthe tracking on giving moneytosmall and the PCG scheme partial credit guarantee by the banksarehesitantto give fundsto to 0.8per cent in 2020-21,saying ChandrajitBanerjee,directorgen- Thereare 33 requirements tool,theCentrehasalsosought mediumNBFCs ... manyofthem launchedlastyear for government similar to thePCG them. In the TLTRO1.0 window, an unparalleledglobal recession eral, CII. “The economic costs of that the government man- suppliesof hand-heldthermal arefacing liquiditycrunch as col- securitisation. This is scheme launchedlastyear forse- most of thefundingwasabsorbed wasunderwaydueto disruptions thelockdownarerisingeachpass- dates the tool musthave. The imagingsystemandanonline lections have fallen duetothe lo- likelytoease liquidity curitizationmaybetheonly viable by public sector entities andbig- causedbytheCOVID-19outbreak ingdaywiththeimpactbeingfelt firstamong them says that it thermalfeversensingsystem. ckdown,” said abanking source. challenges of NBFCs optionto easeliquiditychallenges gercorporates. and resultant lockdowns. across sectors. Thesituationre- must bean“intelligenceinves- Forthehand-heldthermal There’s alreadyacomplaint of NBFCs,” he said. Atop corporatehad raisedRs In the baseline scenario, GDP quires immediate, across the tigation platform &tactical imaging system too, the gov- thatbankswhichhadtakenfunds Whilecollections arefalling 8,500 corethrough an NCDissue isexpectedtogrowat0.6percent boardintervention from the gov- tool to detect, prevent andin- ernmenthasspecifiedthatthe from the central bank’sTLTRO steeplyinthe wake of thelock- earlier this month. Bankshaveso on an annualbasis as economic ernment,” he said. vestigatethreatstonational device—apartfrombeingable windowearlier had giventhat datesthat within the totalsize of down, closureofunits and job farmobilisedRs1lakhcrorefrom security,” using call data to take temperatures from a money to top-ratedcorporates,ig- Rs 50,000 crore, 10 percent sho- losses, an estimated Rs 1.75 lakh theRBIatreporate.Manyofthese records, internetprotocol de- distance of 2-5 metres — noringthe claimsof cash-starved uld be allocatedtoMFIs, 15 per croredebtobligationof NBFCswill corporates areraising this debtto tail record, towerand mobile should alsohaveasecuredig- small and medium units. centto NBFCswithassetsizeof Rs maturebyJune 2020. notonlytide over short-term liq- As output costs exceed phone forensics data. ital memorycardslotwith a Lastweek,theRBIannounced 500crore and below, and 25 per The RBI had asked banks, co- uidity challenges but also “Readingthrough the capacityof upto 32gigabytes. TLTRO2.0 andthe scheme man- cent to NBFCs with assetsize be- operative banks and NBFCstoof- strengthen their liquidity buffers. global prices, upstream specificationsofthe tracking Thesaiddeviceshouldalso tool,itisevidentthattheitem, have voiceannotationrecord- presumablyacomprehensive ingandtextcommentfeature oil &gas cos seek relief software, goes beyond a whilecapturinganimage,and 20-50DAYS: $10-20PER healthcare tool and opensup shouldhave anin-builtmicro- ‘Indianrefinersstare at CRUDEINVENTORYTHAT BARREL: thepossibilityof masssurveil- phoneandbebigenoughto be INDIANREFINERSKEEPON INVENTORYLOSSCAUSED KARUNJITSINGH Crude rallieson lance,” policy groupSoftware mountedonatripod. Though `25,000 cr inventoryloss’ AVERAGE TOAVOID DUETO RAPIDFALLINCRUDE NEWDELHI,APRIL23 Freedom LawCentre(SFLC) the devicewill have“an audio DISRUPTIONINOPERATIONS PRICES faster output cuts said in astatement. alarm forhightemperature,”, Indian oil refiners mayhaveincurred a`25,000-crore UPSTREAM OIL and gascompa- NewYork: Oil soared on The tracking tool should, the “high-temperature value inventory loss in January-March period, Crisil Ratings said niesare seeking reliefsontaxes Thursdayafter major oil- amongother things, be “ad- shallbeadjustable as per user Crude prices nosedive: As and converted into fuel, the and levies from the government producing nations said they vancedanalytics and intelli- requirementinthe real-time demand slumped due to the rates have fallen, resulting in as the fall in international Brent wouldaccelerateplanned gence softwarethat uses tele- scenario”,the tender docu- COVID-19 pandemic, the inventory losses crudepricesto below$20perbar- output cuts. Brentrose com&internetdatatoidentify ment said. prices of global crude oil relhas hit their profitability. $1.90, or 9.4 percent, to suspectlocations,associations The thirdtool, an online plummetedfrom an average of 9.7 million barrels per day: Sources at ONGC and Oil India $22.28 abarrelby1553 &behaviour”. The firsttwo thermalfeversensingsystem, $55 per barrel in February to: Record production cut that oil (OIL) said that topmanagement GMT, while WTIjumped points,legalexpertssaid,indi- also has certain controversial ■ $33 in March cartel OPEC and its allies wasindiscussionswiththe $4.02, or 29 per cent, to cate innouncertaintermsthat requirements suchasface de- ■ $20 at March-end agreed to on April 12, in spite PetroleumMinistryseekingrelax- $17.80. REUTERS the app could be usedasa tection feature, video and au- of which crude prices have ations in both oil cess and royal- tracking tool if the needbe. dio recording, aminimum of Inventory losses: The mayhem hovered low ties,astheircost of productionex- “It is sortoflikethe ankle one month of video footage in the oil market meant that by ceeds international crude prices. makeupfor losses, but mayhelp braceletfor prisoners and beingrecorded, experts said. the time crude oil is processed Source: CrisilRatings/PTI “ONGC management has in meeting operatingexpenses. asked that oilcess and royalties “Both gasand crude busi- notbeleviedwhen crudeprices nessesareincurringmajorlosses, arebelow$45 per barrel,” said a but we aresurethe government Mobile testing source awareofdevelopments, will take stepstoproviderelief” IndiGoreverses April Amazon India’s pilotproject to give local adding that these should be said an officialatOil andNatural lab to speed waived forthe durationofthe Gas Corporation(ONGC), noting pay cut for staff keeping stores online presence gets`10 cr boost supplyglut and demand collapse thatstaff at offshoresites were due to theCOVID-19outbreak. spendingstintsofover40daysas up COVID-19 named‘Local Shops on Amazon’, help the customers in need,” he Oil producers arerequiredto against an averageof14daysto in mind ‘govt’s wishes’ ENSECONOMICBUREAU this program helps customers added. paya20per centoil cess on the ensureuninterruptedsupply. screening NEWDELHI,APRIL23 discoverproductsfromlocal As of now, shops enrolled priceofcrude as well as aroyalty TheCentreslashednaturalgas wishes of notreducing paydur- shops in their city (manytheyal- with the programme areonly of 10-12.5 per cent foroffshore pricesearlierthismonthby 26per PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA ENSECONOMICBUREAU ing the lockdown”. Consequently, ONLINE RETAILER Amazon India readytrustand love!) from the sellinggroceries and essentials, as production of oil. cent to $2.39 per million British NEWDELHI,APRIL23 NEWDELHI,APRIL23 the staffwill be paid full salaries on Thursdayannounced an in- convenience of their homes, those arethe onlycategories per- Another source in the know thermal units(mmBtu), despite forthe month of April. However, vestment of Rs 10 croreinapilot while helping shopkeepers sup- mittedbythe government, but said that upstream oil PSUs had calls from industry thatadown- DEFENCE MINISTER Rajnath INDIA’S LARGESTairline IndiGo Duttainformedthe staffthat ex- programme under whichithas plementtheir footfalls with adig- Amazonexpectsothercategories bornethebruntof providingsub- ward revisionfromthe previous SinghThursdayunveiledviavideo Thursdayreversed itsdecision ecutive committee members and onboarded5,000local stores sell- ital presenceand expand beyond to pickuponce the lockdown is sidies to consumers when crude priceof$3.23 per mmBtu would link aMobileVirology Research announcedlastmonth to cut thoseabove senior vice-president ingitemsincludinggrocery, elec- their normal catchment,” Gopal relaxed. oilpriceshadreachedover$100a makegasproductionunviablefor and Diagnostics Laboratory salaries of itsemployees despite levelhavevolunteeredto take the tronics, apparel, toys and home Pillai,VP—sellerservices, Amazon Retail sector analysts arepre- barrelin2007and 2008, and the some domestic producers. (MVRDL) developedbyDRDO facing financialpressures due to paycutsfor April. furnishings. India, wroteinablogpost. dicting ashiftin consumer behav- government should consider an Ajay Kumar Dixit, CEO of pri- thatwill help speedupCOVID-19 flight restrictions on account of Concurrent with the country- The investment commitment These include stores from iour in favour of e-commerce arrangement in whichOMCs are vate upstream playerCairn India, screening, astatement said. the COVID-19 outbreak, accord- wide lockdown, airlinesare not comes aday afterFacebook an- Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad,Mumbai, even once the lockdown is lifted. asked to purchase crude oil from told The Indian Express that do- The firstsuchMobile Viral ing to people with knowledgeof allowedtooperate anyscheduled nounceda$5.7-billion stakepur- Bengaluru, Pune, Jaipur, “Afterthe control of the PSUs at ratesabove international mestic producers neededrelief Research Lab (MVRL)thatwill thematter. commercial flight on domestic or chase in Jio Platforms, alongside Ahmedabad, Coimbatore, Surat, spread of coronavirus andpost pricesinsuchsituations.“Oilmar- from government levies. speedupcoronavirusscreening In March,the airline had an- international routes till May3. an arrangement between its Indore, Lucknow, Saharanpur, the lockdown period,spendingas keting companies (OMCs) could “Companies aregettingham- andrelatedR&Dactivitieswasde- nouncedacross the boardpay IndiGo’s decision stood out messaging platform WhatsApp Faridabad, Kota,Varanasi among well as shopping patternsofcon- be asked to buy domestic crude mered down heavily. It would velopedbythe Research Centre cutsofupto25per cent, citing a among itscompetitors in the do- and Reliance Retail that will see others. sumersare expected to change production whichaccount for take atleastcoupleof quartersfor Imarat (RCI), the Hyderabad- “precipitousdropinrevenues” mestic sector,mostofwhichhave the newe-commerceplatform “The lastfew weekshave significantly ... In suchtimes, re- only20percentof crudedemand thingstonormalise,” he said, basedlaboratoryofthe Defence that threatenedthe very survival either reducedthe salariesofem- JioMartaccelerateits drive to digi- brought us across an unprece- tailerswith presence across retail inIndiaatsomeagreeduponprice adding that theCentreshould Research andDevelopment of theairline industry. ployees or have furloughedthem. tise three croresmall grocery dented challenge. As we focused segments(grocery, apparel, ap- whichisviable fordomestic pro- considerwaiverordefermenton Organisation (DRDO), in consul- According to company Airlines—whichhaveahigh- stores across the country. our effortstoserveonlyessential pliances, accessories) as well as ducers,” said the person. royalty,cessandprofitpetroleum. tation with ESIC Hospital, sources, IndiGo chief executive fixedcostmodel —havebeen try- “Over the last6months, we productstocustomers, it was who have an omni-channelstrat- Another source said that OIL AspokespersonforthePetrol- Hyderabad, the statement said. RonojoyDuttawrotetothe air- ing to reduce coststosurvive, have been running apilot with heartening to see howhundreds egy with presence in both offline waslosingaround$10-15perbar- eum Ministrysaid the govern- TheMVRListhecombinationof a line’s staffThursday informing giventhat revenue generation has 5,000+offline retailersand local of retailers and shopkeepers and online channels areexpected relofcrude production and that a mentwasholdinginternaldiscus- BiosafetyLevel 3lab andaBSL2 them of the reversal in decision nowbeen limited to cargo oper- shopstobringthe benefitsofon- acrossIndia, already partofthe to have aquickerrecovery,”CARE relief from the Centreinroyalties sions about the proposals by lab essential to carry outits work. on account of the “government’s ations forIndian carriers. line selling closer to them. Code- pilot, playedanimportant role to Ratings said in aresearch note. andoilcessmaynot beenoughto upstream companies.

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THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,APRIL24,2020 MURRAY TARGETS FRENCH OPEN Andy Murray has said that he would “definitely”play in the rescheduled FrenchOpen in September, if it is able to take place as planned. “I'd definitely play on the 12 SPORT clay, if it goes ahead,” former world number one Murray toldCNN. Corona impact: BCCI proposes IOA misses IamsureBCCIwillbeopen-mindedin new revenue Asian Games sharing model bid deadline helpingothercountries:Tendulkar at ICC meeting

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE NEWDELHI,APRIL23 DEVENDRAPANDEY KOLKATA,APRIL23 MUMBAI,APRIL23 “Nobody knows how the ball INDIA COULD notsubmit itsbid to hostthe TheBCCIwantstolead the postCovid-19 2030Asian Games before theApril 22 dead- EVERYCRICKETING nationwill have itsown will respond if there is no cricketworld, as it has laid out the roadmap linebecause of thecoronavirus pandemic, problems to solve and has suffereddue to the shining. Idon't think any forthe futureICC functioning.Itislearnt that Indian Olympic Association(IOA) president absence of international cricketduring the team has played agame duringthe global body’sChief Executives’ NarinderBatrasaid. The IOAisnow consid- lockdown across the world, says Sachin without applying saliva or Committee (CEC) meeting on Thursday, BCCI eringtohostthe 2034edition of theconti- Tendulkar.InaninterviewtoThe Indian sweat on the ball. Players secretaryJay Shah proposed anew revenue nental event. Express thebatting great talksabout howthe will be aware of social distribution system that willlook afterall Batra added his organisationhad to game could change because of the pandemic distancing and they might cricketboards. The CEC meeting, via confer- changeits 'priorities afterthe outbreak of the and whyeveryone should chip in. ence call, wasattendedby12Full Members pandemicand ensurethe well-beingofits also be wary of celebrating and three Associates. athletes first.' Consequently, the Olympic Do youthinksportwillbethe same again? with high-fives after taking The BCCI has assured theother cricket body couldnot complete the necessaryfor- There is already some talk about cricket awicket.” boards, feeling the pinchofaglobaleco- malities and securegovernment guarantees and in particular about the use of saliva in nomic meltdown, of itssupport. According in time. TheOCA,onThursday,announced shiningthe ball. to an insider,duringthe meeting, Shah re- thatSaudi Arabia and Qatarare the only two All these things aregoing to change, with- questedthe chief executivesofall other countries whohavesubmittedabid. “I wish out anydoubt.Nobodyknows howthe ball cricketboards to roll over the existing struc- the twocountries the best.Wecouldnot will respond if thereisnoshining.Idon’t tureand draw up adraft proposal foranew complete theformalities afterthe virus out- think anyteamhas playedagame without revenue distribution model. break.Wewillnow aim to bid forthe 2034 applying saliva or sweat on the ball. Players Thecurrentrevenuedistributionmodelfor edition,” Batrasaid. will be awareofsocial distancingand might theongoingeight-yearcycleexpiresin2023.At The idea to hostthe AsianGames in 2030 also be wary of celebrating with high-fives the ICC, though, regulations maybemade or gainedmomentum in 2017,when it wasdis- aftertakingawicket.What Ihear is that amendedbythe “BoardofDirectors or by any cussedbythen sports ministerVijay Goel and stands arelikelytobeempty whenatourna- Committee,Sub-Committeeormemberof ICC formerIOA chief NRamachandran. Backthen, ment is playedinitially. That certainlywon’t Managementto whomappropriateauthority the decision waswelcomed by the OCAas be easy to adjustfor the players as theydraw hasbeendelegatedby theBoard of Directors”. well. By the end of last year,the IOAhad for- alot of energy from spectators. We will be Sachin Tendulkar believesitisbettertobesafethan sorry whenitcomes to the coronavirus pandemic. File Foraspecialresolution to pass,“morethan75 mulatedan ambitious plan to host morethan needing government clearance on whether per cent of the aggregatenumberofvotes” is one multi-discipline eventinthisdecade. it’s safetoplay, of course, first. The mostim- required,whileforanordinaryresolutionmore Apartfromthe 2030 Asian Games, theywere portant thing is to save lives. dent, playabig role in leading cricket’s helpand theytoo want to help. Franchise cricketwillgrowbecause of its than 50 per cent would suffice. alsoplanning to bid forthe Commonwealth global fightback? T20 version, theversion whichispopular In 2014,the BCCIhad joinedhands with Games in either 2026 or 2030 and the Youth Whatdoyou think should be therole of If youlookintoother boards, cricketers are (Roger) Federer,(Rafael) Nadal and among mostofthe families.T20 is something the Englandand Wales Cricket Board and Olympics in 2026. It nowappears that the Indian cricketasthe futureofseveral in different positions.This is notacricketing (Novak) Djokovic have spoken about help- one can take their familytoand the game is CricketAustralia to form the Big Three that Youth Olympics, along with the International cricketing nationslooksbleak? Countries decision; cricketing decisions aretaken on- ing tennis players who arenot among the over in three hours. Slowly, the game is mov- had approved acontribution-based revenue OlympicCommittee’s Congress in 2023,are likeZimbabwe,WestIndies and even New field. This decision is morehumanitarian. Iam top100 and arestruggling to survive. Do ing towardsthat direction. distribution system. With the Indian board the twoeventsIndia will be aiming for. Zealand and Sri Lanka willfinditex- sure rest of the boardmemberswillhavetheir youthink even cricketneeds to initiatea contributing to morethan 70 per centofthe Canadian cityHamilton is among the tremelytoughtosurvive this lockdown views and theytoo want to help. Ifeel,atthis dialoguelikethis? Areyou abit scared likethe rest of us about ICC’srevenue, itsprojectedsharewas $570 contenders for the2026CWG.India is yetto andglobaleconomic crisis. level, whether youare cricketerornot,atthis Everything is up to individuals there(in thisvirus? million forthe 2015-2023 rightscycle. In officiallybegin itsprocess to submit abid for Everyone has sufferedinthis. Some have moment everyone will help. He (Ganguly) is tennis). Here the rights and whatever it is, Ithink it’s good to take all possible precau- 2017,when the ICC dismantledthe Big Three the event it lasthostedin2010. sufferedmore, some have sufferedless. It boardpresident and it has nothing to do (with) thereisaboard. Ithink players can manage tions. If one is negligent or has an attitude of model, the BCCI’srevenue share reducedto would be appropriateifBCCI answers this whether he has playedcricketornot.Hewill up to certain extent. Idon’t knowabout ten- ‘nothingcan happen to me’, that is howit alittle over $400million. But in apostCovid- Bitter rivals in fray question and notmeasIdon’t knowwhat take this call as boardpresident. nis and what theyare lookingtodo. Each happens. That attitude is unacceptable to me. 19 world, almost every other cricket board, Meanwhile, bitter neighbours Qatar and BCCI’s capabilities and capacity areatthe mo- sport or eachcountrywill have itsown chal- It is better to be safethan sorry.Itall comes especiallyweaker nations,will needthe Saudi Arabia will battle forthe hostingrights ment.Eachcountrywillhaveits ownprob- Notjustforeign cricketers, even Indian do- lenges andwewould tryand help. Iamsure downtohygiene.AsaUNICEF ambassador,I BCCI’s support–seriesagainst Indiafor ex- forthe 2030 edition of the Asiad. Saudi lem to solve, notonlyincricket but overall. mestic cricketers mightsufferifthe BCCI will be in apositiontohelpour crick- have been telling peoplehow important it is ample –tomakeupfor the financial losses. Arabia, along withthe United Arab Emirates, Afterall, BCCI is India. Iamsurethey(BCCI) moneygoes out of the game. eters. to wash hands. My companyhas planned WiththeCovid-19outbreakcausinghavoc, Bahrain and Egyptsevered political,trade willbeopen-mindedinhelping other coun- Yes. Asolution will have to be found.I howtocontinue helpingpeople. And notonly theCECallbutruledoutanycricket inthenear and transport ties with Qatar in mid-2017, tries if theyapproachthem. think right nownobody is thinking about it, Do youthink eventuallyafewtop coun- till this coronavirus, people have problems at future,whilediscussingcontingencyplansfor accusing Doha of supporting terrorism and everyone is thinkingabout beating the virus. trieswill continuetoplaycricket but other timesaswell. Idon'twant to stop, Iwant theWorldTestChampionship,T20WorldCup cozying up to regional foeIran. Shouldthe BCCI, with acricketeraspresi- But IamsureIndia will be in apositionto mostlyfranchise cricket will grow more? to help people until my lastbreath. and the 2021Women’sCricket WorldCup.

OVER THE HEDGE by Michael Fry &TLewis CROSSWORD4100 DAYTODAY BYPETERVIDAL

ARIES(Mar21-Apr 20) LIBRA (Sep 24 -Oct 23) Abrightand Thesocial colourful moon is dimension is bound to lift your becomingstronger, spirits, even if only which means thatin temporarily. In fact,it’s work or in anyequivalent major tomorrow’s planetary picture ambition,other people arenow whichisgoingtoset youona becomingincreasingly permanentcourse for important.Never imagine that emotional fulfilment, so hang you’ll getyour waywithout a on in there, and do your level large measure of support. If you best to avert potential trytogoit alone,you mightnot bad feeling. getthere. TAURUS (Apr 21 -May 21) SCORPIO(Oct24-Nov 23) If ever youimagined You’reundecided thatdomestic about what you hassles or awkward should do and CALVIN &HOBBES by Bill Watterson family relationships uncertain about could be putoff untillater,think what’s expectedofyou. Even if again. No matterwhat other youdecidetoback-trackonone peopledoorsay,you mustdo particular social engagement, what youknowinyour heart to it maybetoo late to callitoff. be right and proper.You can’t In anyevent,all professional ACROSS DOWN putoff the inevitable justby Scorpios areabout to hit 1Infact apoint of view(5) 1Gang leader (7) ignoring it. anew high at work. 4Acleric angered about being 2See 9Across Congratulations. GEMINI (May22-June 21) sorted out (7) 3Usedbyabird of prey in a It’s arelatively lively SAGITTARIUS (Nov 24 -Dec 22) 8Managetostand (3) brutal onslaught (5) day, celestially Theever-present 9and 2Down: Protectivedevice 4Consider changing gear on the speaking. Probably influence of Jupiter, forspeedy transportworker way(6) thebestthing you planetofgrowth, (9,9) 5Helping poorrelations? can do foryourselfis enhancingthe 10 He is sorry forone who is late(7) (7) to revise afew of your attitudes principledand spiritual 11 Homesinthe finestsituations? 6Romanian moneythat is left andopinions, anddropthose dimensions of your character,is (5) over (3) excuses you’vebeen using to about to receiveanother 13 Don’t miss areview(6) 7Artistwhen old retires south justify inaction.Itdoesn’t shotinthe arm from the 15 He flies automatically. Some (5) matter whatyou do, justaslong Moon.Onapurelymundane swear by him (6) 12 Havinggot well, howtoget as youdosomething. level, it’s vital that youknow rich(6,3) your rights. 18 See 25 Across MARVIN by Tom Armstrong CANCER (June 22 -July23) 19 Smallarticle produced by an 14 To prevent overheating use When allissaidand CAPRICORN(Dec 23 -Jan 20) erratic knitter? (7) this -not coal,anyway done,moneystill Your emotional 21 Want to try? Only toowilling! (7) seems to be the most situation is aboutto (4,1,4) 16 Necessarilyinvolvesasilent importantfactorin change,hopefully for 23 SorceryJapanese women get reformation (7) your life. It maybebestto the better,although wrappedupin(3) 17 What peoplewho had designs considerthe matter from the it mightnot seem that way 24 Dead setabout beingcalmed on eating out did? (6) psychologicalperspective,for at first. Long-distanceloveis down(7) 18 Drops of water(5) theextent to whichyou value still thetheme, so it’s very 25 and 18 Across: Famous 20 Twoindifficultiesbeingpulled yourselfand your lovedones is muchaquestion of absence Western stagepartnership along (2,3) more importantthanhow making the heart grow (5,5) 22 Deceiveachild(3) much cash youhavein fonderoverthe coming your pocket. fewweeks. SolutionsCrossword4099:Across:1Apprehends,8Siren,9Leeward,10Ukulele, LEO(July 24 -Aug 23) AQUARIUS (Jan21- Feb19) 11Lydia,12Ratify,14Ascent,17Miser,19Etching,21Atelier,22Fleas,23Perversity. Thisreally can be a Saturn, thatserious Down:2Pursuit,3Rinse,4Holder,5Needles,6Sward,7Advantages,8Squaremeal, special time of year, and sober planet, is 13Furrier,15Evident,16Degree,18Sheep,20Cuffs. as one by one the still an planets lineupin extraordinarily your honour. The powerful factor.However, the trouble is thatlife’sstillnot easy, feelingsofstabilitywhich butdon’t mistake obstacles or it hasbeen nurturing are JUMBLED WORDS DifficultyLevel4s over-commitment for beingincreasingly Instructions misfortune. Quitethe overwhelmedbyyour Givenbelowarefourjumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemto TosolveaSudokupuzzle, opposite:achance problem deepening desire forapersonal therespectivesquaresbelow.Selectthelettersintheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtoget everydigitfrom1to9 4188 mayhelp youtorefine your revolution and formorerespect theanswerforthegivenquip. mustappearineachofthe talents andskills. and recognition. An___existenceisaworsenegationoflifethandeathitself.-JoséOrtegayGasset(10) nineverticalcolumns,in VIRGO(Aug24-Sep 23) PISCES(Feb20-Mar 20) eachoftheninehorizontal Mercury,your Mercury and Venus 4189 DREEO AERYDM rowsandineachofthe planetary ruler,has deserve no little nineboxes. switchedroles, thanksfor the good

SUDOKU somewhat theyare doing you prematurelyinmyopinion. emotionally. Althoughtoday’s FGLNU INOTPY DifficultyLevel Don’tbedisappointed if it celestial alignmentsfavour beginstoseemthat arecent hardwork, do yourself a SUDOKU 1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy; promiseorcommitment will favour andcramyour social 3s=Medium;4s=Hard; notbefulfilled. Strangeasit diaryasfull as possible.You’re

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SOLUTION

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