DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA

JOURNALISM OF COURAGE MONDAY, MAY 4, 2020, KOLKATA, LATECITY, 10 PAGES SINCE 1932 `5.00/EX-KOLKATA `6.00(`12INNORTH EAST STATES &ANDAMAN)WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM PAKISTANI AMONG TWO MILITANTSKILLED Salons to storesto Colonel,Majoramongfivesecuritypersonnel cafes: small services stare at end of road killedineight-hourgunbattleinNorthKashmir Wait forsafetynet as Covid threatens operations built on savings, struggle Securityforces ‘He promised he would come soon. He were trying to PRABHARAGHAVAN, MSME is coming, but wrapped in Tricolour’ SUNNYVERMA,PRANAV save hostages MUKUL&AASHISHARYAN SOS in Handwara With their daughter NEWELHI,MAY3 AN EXPRESSSERIES HAMZAKHAN, Tamanna, 12,sitting besideher PALLAVISINGHAL&MAN at theirJaipur home,Pallavi said, FROM ASouth Mumbai cafethat PART 2 ADILAKHZER AMANSINGHCHHINA “I couldn’t contact him. Icalled wound up after10years in oper- HANDWARA,MAY3 JAIPUR,PANCHKULA, the unit and got to knowhewas ations to astandalone salon in depleting working capital on CHANDIGARH,MAY3 stucksomewhere. When so the heart of the capitalthatisun- payoutssuchasrent, electricity ADECORATED Commanding Familymembers of J&K Police Sub-Inspector Sageer Ahmad muchtime passes with some- surewhether it can ever start and salaries, and acomplete lack Officer of the Army’s counter-in- Pathan arrive totakehis body in Handwara. Shuaib Masoodi THE CALL came on Sundaymorn- one being stuck, youknow again to an eatery in Meerut’s of certainty on when demand surgency RashtriyaRifles, a ing, but PallaviSharma says she MajAnuj Sood (left) and Col something is wrong.” shopping hub launchedbya will be back-ifatall. Major and aJ&K Policeofficer already feared the worstasshe Ashutosh Sharma of 21 RR. The Armycalledthe familyto first-time entrepreneurwith his Take 43-year old Vishal Batra, were among the five security The security forces had lost HandwarainNorth Kashmir,to hadn’t been able to getthrough to inform them that Colonel personal savings -eachdistress whoventuredoutof family busi- personnel killedinagunfight contact with themen towards flush out militants. The dead in- husband Colonel Ashutosh ‘HAVEN’T TOLD OUR Sharma,44, haddiedalong with storyinthe Micro, Small and ness to starthis owninJanuary that stretchedonfor over eight Saturdayevening, afterthey cludedthe twomilitants, one of Sharma,the CommandingOfficer another officer,Major Anuj Sood, Medium Enterprises sector is 2020.HiseateryinMeerut’smain hours in NorthKashmir’s went inside ahouse in themidentifiedasaPakistani. of 21 RashtriyaRifles, all of PARENTS, CAN’T 30, and three other security unique but all of them have the market area heldearly promise, HandwaraonSaturday. Chanjimullahvillageof CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Saturdaynight. EVEN CRY’ PAGE 4 CONTINUEDONPAGE2 same refrain. launchedwith an investment of Operations built on the back Rs 10 lakh hepooledfromhissav- of personal savings,sweat and ings and some familyassistance. struggle, nowface the end of the Then the lockdown hit. road. For, it is notjustthe prob- Revenues arezero, but Batra West Bengal As new phase of lockdown lem of howtosurvive the cur- has to payshop rent and staff rent phase, but questions more salaries, in addition to paying basic:how difficult will it be to food expensesfor sevenemploy- committee begins, Centre tells states: pickupthe pieces when things eeswho arestrandedinMeerut. inchbacktonormal? Will there “It takestime foranew busi- to decide on 72% of deaths in 20 districts be ademand fortheir services to ness to pickupand we hadjust ensureviability? begancoveringour expenses, but chaired by the CabinetSecretary These beneficiaries of India’s in March, the lockdown started. easing curbs DIPANKARGHOSE on Sunday. consumptionboom, helpedin In the firstweek of April, we NEWDELHI,MAY3 These districtscover major recentyearsbyonline apps and startedsellingthrough Zomato, urban centres suchasMumbai, delivery options, nowstare at a but barely10dayslater,the EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE AS Anew phase of the lockdown Ahmedabad, Delhi, Chennai and bleakfutureasbeauty parlours, pizza-delivery case(case of a KOLKATA,MAY3 with relaxations begins on Pune among others. Significant spas, restaurants, retail stores, pizza deliveryboy testingposi- Monday, 20 districtsac- overlaps arelikelybe- guesthouses,and severalother tive forcoronavirusinDelhi,lead- EVENASseveral states have is- count for68per cent of tween the twosetsof segmentsofthe services trade ing to 72 families to whom he de- suedguidelines on restrictions the active COVID-19 districts. face up to whatlies on the other liveredand 17 other deliveryboys and exemptions in their respec- cases in the country, the The unionMinistry side of the pandemic. being quarantined) happened tive redand green zones, de- Centrehas communi- of Health and Family Till then,the dice is loaded: and our orders fell sharply,”Batra pending on coronavirus risk,the cated to states. As many Welfarehas deployed thereisnocredit to tide over the said. He had to down the shutters West Bengal government will as 72 percent of deaths central public health lockdown phase, newcredit cy- forthe time being. take acall on it Monday. from the disease have occurred teams to assist“state cle rules entail vendors demand- Chef Pooja Dhingrain Atask forceled by stateChief Workersatthe Mazdoor Line in the jutemill hub of Titagarh in Bengal’s North24-Parganas in just 20 districts, statechiefsec- health departments” in ingready cash even as buyers are Mumbai is farawayfromBatra SecretaryRajivaSinhawilldecide district. The mills have been shut sinceMarch 22. Partha Paul retaries were told in ameeting CONTINUEDONPAGE2 unwilling to payondelivery,the CONTINUEDONPAGE9 whichshops and industries will be allowedtoopen in green and orangezones. According to Allow hydel sourcesinthestatesecretariat,the Sacks they make are key to country’s Migrants pay to return home, states panel will take acallafter going project in NE, through the Centre’s guidelines, crops, Bengal jute mill hub despairs ask Centre to foot the train fare bill some of whichhavebeen modi- but give Rs 4cr fied andmay be changed further. TEST 140families, mostwith similar bear the expenditure on hu- Seniorofficials,however, made RAVIKBHATTACHARYA complaintsoflittle or no money AVISHEKGDASTIDAR manitariangrounds since the to study tigers, it clearthat complete lockdown &ATRIMITRA REP RTS in hand, hoping foran“advance”. &IRAMSIDDIQUE workers were already facing would continue in red-zone dis- BARRACKPORE,MAY3 FROM THE The gloom is pervasive,en- NEWDELHI,MUMBAI,MAY3 economic hardships. says Institute tricts.Adistrictiscategorisedasa veloping worker settlements When contacted,Railway redzone if thereare substantial IN MAZDOOR Line, aclusterof FIELD across North 24 Parganas—in MANY MIGRANT workers BoardChairman VK Yadavsaid numbersofactive cases.Theother two-roomtenementsnear the TRACKINGTHEVIRUS, Titagarh,Barrackpore, Kanch- boarding the Shramik Special it wasaconscious call nottorun JAYMAZOOMDAAR criteria arethe rate at which con- BarrackporeTrunk Road in the rapara, Naihati and Halisahar. trains to return to theirhome these trains free of costsothat NEWDELHI,MAY3 firmedcasesaredoubling,andsur- jute millhub of Titagarh in North LOCKDOWN This is one district from where states arepaying fortheir tick- onlythose who intend to travel veillance feedback. Only grocery 24-Parganas, 28-year-old Mith- Indiasources itsjutebags, always ets. While31such trains have were transported. “Problem is ASUB-COMMITTEE of the shops, markets, sweetshops, and un Prajapatipointstohis wife He says thePDS ration is not in great demand forgrains to be run so farand moreare ex- once youmakeservices free, Environment ministry’sForest pharmacieswill be allowedtore- and twochildren: “Kya khayega enough and he is countingona packedduring harvesting. pected over the next 15 days, everyone is eligible to travel. AdvisoryCommittee has recom- main open in suchdistricts, and yehlog (what will theyeat)?” “little advance” from the mill On April 14,Union Textiles MaharashtraChief Minister Then who is coming to thesta- mendedclearance of the 3,097- the usual restrictions will apply. Ajutemill worker,Prajapati owner because he has run out of MinisterSmriti Irani wroteto UddhavThackeray and tions; who all aretravelling MW Etalin hydroelectric project has been without work since money. Chief MinisterMamataBanerjee, Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister would become aproblem to Train tickets issuedto near atiger habitat in Arunachal FULL REPORT, PAGE 3 March 22 and the lockdown ex- He is notthe onlyone. The urging her to operationalise 18 Sachin PilotSundaydemanded track.This serviceisfor stranded migrantsinNashik Friday. Pradesh’s Dibang Valleydistrict, tension has addedtohis worries. Mazdoor Line is home to over CONTINUEDONPAGE2 the Centreand the Railways CONTINUEDONPAGE2 accepting “in toto”the reportof afield study by theWildlife InstituteofIndia under the same Covid strategist, AIIMS Mumbai doc booked for Punjab records biggest ministry. BUSINESSASUSUAL Fundedbythe developer,the WII study concludedthat the chief Dr Randeep Guleria ‘sexual assault’ of Covid BY UNNY spike, 55% of cases in state project would notaffect tigers since none wascamera-trapped in the project area during the is guest at e-Adda today patient, confined to home now have aNanded link four-month fieldwork. said it has sackedthe accused. Yetthe reportsought Rs 4 EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE SAGARRAJPUT “The doctor wasonhis firstday ANJUAGNIHOTRICHABA CORONACOUNT crore, as partofaRs 11-crorecon- NEWDELHI,MAY3 MUMBAI,MAY3 of duty,having joinedthe previ- JALANDHAR,CHANDIGARH, servationplan, forresearch and ous day. Following the receiptof MAY3 40,263 1,306 “monitoringtigerdistributionand AS INDIA approaches the end of A34-YEAR-OLD doctor has been information of misconduct and CASES DEATHS movements”ina10-kmradiusof a40-daynational lockdown and booked forallegedlysexuallyas- as per protocol, the administra- PUNJAB ON Sundaysaw its the projectsitefor five years. negotiates astaggered exit, some saulting a44-year-old male pa- tion immediatelyinformedthe steepestrise in Covid-19cases, 10,886RECOVERED Reasoning that “villages, keyquestions sharplyframe its tient of Covid-19inthe ICUward police. The services of the doctor with331 morepersons, mostly habitatdegradation, hunting, fight againstCovid-19: Arewe of WockhardthospitalinMumbai were terminated,” Wockhardt pilgrims returning from Nanded, 10,46,450 samples have high vehicle movement and low prepared forapossible surgein on May1 —the accusedhad jo- said in astatement Sunday. testing positive forthe novel been tested as on May3 prey base” mighthavekept cases if curbs areeased? What Dr RandeepGuleria inedthehospitaljust aday earlier. Police sources said the ac- coronavirus. Of the state’s tally tigers away from theproposed does containment mean when Agripada police, however, cused, an MD who had com- of 1,102cases,those who have reported85cases till now. project area, the WII reportsaid people startmoving morebe- said the accusedhas notbeen pletedhis medical education at a returnedfromNandednow ac- Maharashtraand Punjab that tiger presence could notbe tween districtsand states? Do questionedorarresteddue to Navi Mumbai medical college, THE EDITORIAL PAGE count for55.2% (609 cases). have been trading chargesover “completelyruled out” basedon we have enough beds, paramed- fears that he maybeinfected by had been recruited by the hospi- Out of the 331cases reported the source of the infections the shortstudy. ical staff, intensive careunits, and the coronavirus. Instead, they talonApril 30, the same day Sunday, 270havelinksto among the Nandedpilgrims, Therefore, stopping shortof ventilators to face apossible said, he has been placedinquar- when the patient wasadmitted. THENEW Nanded, including 12 cotton fac- around 4,000of whomhad been naming itself, the WII recom- spike? Howmuchtesting is op- antine inside his home in an The alleged incident took place CAPITALISM tory workers who came backon stuckataSikhshrine there since mended: “A competent research timal and do we have enough apartment block in Thane,and is around 9.30 am on May1 BY ASHUTOSH VARSHNEY thesame buses as the pilgrims. March due to thelockdown. organisation needstobeen- kits? What’s the newnormal? being monitored. (Friday), theysaid. PAGE 6 The 12 belong to Nawanshahr, Maharashtrahas blameddrivers gagedfor thismonitoring CONTINUEDONPAGE2 The hospital, meanwhile, CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Punjab’s firsthotspot, whichhas CONTINUEDONPAGE2 CONTINUEDONPAGE2

PAGE 1 ANCHOR Malegaon mystery: Covid countlow butsurge in overall deaths 12 due to coronavirus but 580deaths in April is double over 30 eachday,” said Raees who diedpostApril 10 to check SHARPSPIKE AhmedAnsari, administrator of if theyare carrying an infection,” the number lastyear,govttorandomlytestnextofkin the burial ground. In April, it saw said PankajAshiya, IAS, who 2019 2020 as manyas457 burials —last oversees the Malegaon lastyear (277)and a48per cent bly, have passed on the infection January354 275 April, the figurewas just140. Emergency Operation Centre ZEESHANSHAIKH jumpoverthe number of deaths to close contacts. February288 312 Officials said the number of establishedafter the Covid out- MALEGAON,MUMBAI,MAY3 in March this year (see chart). Malegaon, in Nashik district, cremationshas remainedrela- break in the city. Hardpressedtoexplain this (population: 6lakh) registered March 214390 tively unchanged,26this April as The Indian Express spokewith THE NUMBER of official Covid spike—someofficials blame the itsfirstCovid case and death on April* 267580 compared to 22 lastApril. Of severalfamilies of those who deaths in Malegaon in locked-downprivate hospitals— April 8, andhas since emerged Source: MalegaonMunicipal Malegaon’s population, an esti- diedinApril, local doctors and Maharashtraisjust12since the the stategovernment hasde- as ahotspotwith 229 cases and Corporation mated 79 per cent areMuslim. health officials. Some attributed firstcase in early April but, over- cidedtorandomlytestfamily 12 deaths until Sunday. There *Till April 29 “Therehas been asurge in the surgetoprivate hospitals all, the numberofdeaths in this members of all thosewho died has been no Covid death,asper deaths in April. Withoutathor- shutting down or cutting offac- city has shown an unusual surge. afterApril10. official records, since April27. ough study it would be difficult cess to healthcare. Their fear,of- At 580 deaths forApril,asper This amid concerns that LastThursday, over two bodiesbeing brought in. to sayifsome of these deaths ficials said, wasexacerbated after civicrecords obtained by The some of those who have died hours at the city’s biggestburial Nine bodies were brought to Malegaon’s biggestburial “On anormal day, we would happeneddue to Covid-19. We the deathoffivemedical practi- IndianExpress,it’s almost twice mayhavehad Covid but went ground, Bada Kabrastan, The ground in justovertwo hours lastThursday. Zeeshan Shaikh have six or sevenburials. Over have decidedtorandomlytest tioners, three of whom the figurefor thesame month undetected —and could, possi- Indian Express witnessednine the lastthree days,wehave had familymembers of all those CONTINUEDONPAGE2 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 2 THE SECOND PAGE THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,MAY4,2020 FROMPAGEONE

J&K lowedthe militantsinto issues. Ilived my aspirations duction loss could be over 2lakh Tope who visited Malegaon ear- teenotedlastmonth:“Thewildlife On Saturday, 20 pilgrims still fessionals,final year students, and On Sundaymorning, afterre- Chanjimullah villageafter an en- through Ashutosh,” Piush said, tonifthe situation continues. lier this week said that he ob- studydone by WII isacceptedin at theNanded shrine, Gurdwara NGOs. coveringtheir bodies,the Army counter with them on Fridayaf- calling his younger sibling “my West Bengal has 52 jutemills, servedpeoplewerenot reporting toto... along with all the recom- Langar Sahib, tested positive. confirmedthe deathsofColonel ternoon at Waterbala, around 3 onlyfriend”. of whichsix areunder lockout for to hospitalsevenif theyhadsymp- mendations with condition that Local Nawanshar leaders had Train fare Ashutosh Sharma, Commanding km away,inHandwaradistrict. Originally belonging to different reasons. Of the remain- toms. the UA (user agency) funds the reachedout to theworkers be- migrant workers, studentsetc Officer of RR’s 21 Battalion, Major Thisisasecondbigblowtothe Bulandshahr districtinUttar ing 46, 18 mills areinNorth 24 “Privatehospitalshavebeen Conservation Plan.” longing to the area to getto onlyand theyare allowedto AnujSood of the same battalion, ArmyinKashmirwithinamonth. Pradesh, wheretheystillown Parganas.Thereare about two asked to restart, the Collector has The FACconsideredthe rec- Nandedtoboardthebusesreturn- travel onlyafter thoroughscreen- SI Sageer Ahmad Pathan of J&K In the firstweek of April, five elite someland,thefamilycameto set- lakhworkersengagedinjutemills beenorderedto ensurenon-Covid ommendations“favourably”dur- ing to Punjabwith the Sikh pil- ing. These trains arenot forgen- Police’sSpecialOperationsGroup, Special Forces commandos had tleinJaipur some years ago. A apartfromothersassociatedwith patientsare treated there. Fever ing itsApril 23 meeting held via grims. Around 700workers and eral public,” Yadavtold The Indian Naik Rajesh Kumar and Lance diedinagunbattlelastingseveral cousin,SunilPathak,saidtheyde- the trade. clinics andmobile vans have also videoconference. traders from Punjab arebelieved Express.“So we arecharging just Naik Dinesh Singh. days neartheLoC,alsoinKupwara cidedtomoveafter father Chief Minister Banerjee, at a been startedtoensuredoor to Senior Environment ministry tobestrandedinvarious partsof nominal fare.” Arelease said the men lost district. Five militantshad been Shambhu Dutt Pathak’s death. pressconferencelastmonth,said: door survey is done,” he said. officialsdidnotrespondto queries Maharashtra,and50-oddof them Separately, in alettertostate theirlivesinabidto evacuatecivil- killedthen. Daughter Tamanna, who is in “Wehavealready givenpermis- On the ground, though, there forcomments. took the buses. chief secretaries, Union Home ians, having got intelligence that Class6,saidshetoowouldjointhe sionforjutemillsto work,butwith aregaps in handlingofsuspected Severalaspectsof theWII’sen- One of the workers who has SecretaryAjayBhalla Sunday militantshadtakenthemhostage. ‘He promised...’ Armylikeher father. less workers and social distance.” Covid cases. gagementintheclearanceprocess tested positiveand is nowin sought to clarify that the trans- “A jointoperation waslaunched personnel, in an encounter in While Major Anuj wasthe Chief SecretaryRajivaSinha An illustrative case is that of of the Etalinhydelproject raise Nawanshahr said, “I had gone to portfacilitation wasonlyfor such by Armyand JK Police. Ateam Chanjumullah area of Handwara, thirdgeneration of the familyin said, “Out of 46, 26 jutemills have 60-year-old Shamim Bano Abdul questionsofproprietyandconflict the Marathwada region forwork. “distressed” persons who were comprising five Armyand JK NorthKashmir. the Army, Sood said he did not beengivenpermissionto startop- Qayyumwhocomplainedoffeel- of interest. Igot in touchwithleaders in strandedafter having started Police personnelentered the tar- Major Sood’s familygot the wanthissonto jointheforces.“He erations. However, some arenear ing uneasy lastSaturday. Herson Considerthese: Nawanshahr,who informedme from their places of work before getarea. and successfullyextri- news of hisdeaththesamedayas wasabrilliantchild,anall-rounder, containment areas. Their 15% took her to aprivate hospital *InFebruary2017, the FAC about the buses being arranged the lockdown. “... (it) doesnotex- cated theciv (civilians),” the re- hewasscheduledtoreturnhome good at sports,studies, extra-cur- work forceare at least500 work- whichreferredher to adedicated soughta“multipleseasonalrepli- from Nanded.” The 26-year-old tend to those categories of per- lease said. However, it added, the afteragapof sixmonths.Whilehe ricular.Iwantedhim to join the men. So, it is difficult to maintain Covid centrewhereshe wasad- cate” study to assess the abun- said other workers toohad come sons, who areotherwise residing team came under heavy fire.“In had finishedhis two-year stint in corporateworld,have afulllife.But social distance.” mitted as doctors felt she had dance of wildlifeatthe proposed to theNandedgurdwara, hiring normallyatplaces, other than the theensuingfirefighttwoterrorists JammuandKashmirinMarch,he he had acalling. This is what he Indian JuteMills Association symptoms. project site. The WIIlimitedthe taxies or taking liftintrucks,hop- native places forpurposes of were eliminated andthe team of hadbeentoldto stay ondueto the wanted to do,” Sood said. (IJMA) chairman Raghavendra “On Sunday(April26),she studyto fourmonthsof fieldwork ing to gethome. work etc, and who wish to visit five Armyand JK Personnel at- lockdown.“Hewastocomehome Anuj’s elder sister, who is cur- Gupta said, “Jute is labour-inten- calledmetosay she wasthe only and expandedits scope to chart- On Sunday, Punjab’s coron- their native places in normal tainedmartyrdom.” foramonth-long leave andthen rentlyinMelbourne,won’tbeable sive production.So, we cannot woman in the entirewardat ing aconservation plan formiti- avirustollroseby threeto 23.A48- course,” it said. It’sthe second time 21 RR has join at Gurdaspur in Punjab,” his to makeitforthefuneral.Younger startproduction with only15% MansooraHospitalsurroundedby gating the project’s impact. year-old tested positive forCovid In itsguidelines published lostaCommandingOfficer.In father Brigadier (retd) CKSood, sisterHarshita,alsointheArmy, is workers. We wrotealettertothe menandcomplainedthatshewas *Etalin HydroElectric Power afterhisdeathinFerozepur,while Saturday, Railways said it would 2000,thethenCO andaBrigadier who wasinthe EME Corpsand headedhome from ArmyWar Chief MinisterandChief Secretary notbeing givenher regular dia- Company Limited, aJVbetween the other twodeaths were re- hand over the ticketstothe orig- had diedinanIED also served in Kashmir,told The College, Mhow, whereshe is un- and also intimated the condition betesmedicine. On Monday JindalPowerLimitedandthestate portedfromLudhiana. inatingstates andthe statewould attack. TopArmyand police offi- IndianExpress,attheirhome in dergoing some training. Anuj’s to thecentral government.” morning, Ireceivedacall from a government, fundedthe Rs 1.7- “collect the ticket fare”and hand cersarrived in Handwaratopay Panchkula, Haryana. mother passedawayinJanuary Onworkerwages,Guptasaid: patient who wasinanadjoining crorestudy,following an order by Lockdown 3.0 them overtoRailways. homagetothe dead officers on In their lastconversation, on 2011 of cancer. “Wehavealready startedgiving bedwhotoldmethatitlookedlike the ministryinSeptember 2017 managing the outbreak in 20 dis- Jharkhand, whichpaid Rs 5.4 Sunday. Saturday, Anujtold him he was WithSharma’sbodyexpected up to Rs 5,000 advance to work- she had probablydiedinher that “the costofthe study will be tricts that have thehighestnum- lakh to Kota administrationfor The Handwaraencounter be- heading foranoperation, the to arrive home on Monday, Piush ers.Mostownershave distributed sleep,” son Tauseef Qayyum said. borne by theuser agency as de- berofcases. These 20 districts one train to bring studentsback ganonSaturdayafternoon,when Brigadier said. “I later texted him brokedown,sayingthisisnothow this advance. Some of them may “Mybrotherwrappedupher mandedbyWII”. were hometonearly 100million from Kota,said it wasyet to make ajointteamof theArmy, paramil- to askabout his whereabouts.He he hopedtomeet his younger nothave.Theworkersshouldtalk body. He also wrappeduptwo *Thestudywasledby WII’sDr people at the time of the 2011 payment forthe 1,200migrant itaryand J&KPolice cordoned texted backsaying theywere brother again. “He had promised to them.” otherbodiesthatdiedonthesame Gopi who wasalso pickedasa Census. workers who boardedthe first Chanjimullah villageand ap- chasing twomilitants.” he will come soon. He is indeed Theindustryusedtoproduce day. My mother’s swab test was member of the FACsub-commit- “These teams shall reportto Shramik Special Train from proachedacowshedwheretwo Hiseyeswellingup,theretired coming,but wrappedinthe 12 lakh tonjuteeachyear.This takenbutwe arestillawaitingthe teethat subsequently accepted theAddlChief Secretary/Principal Lingampalliin Telanganato Hatia militantswerebelievedtobehid- officersaidAnujhadbeenmarried Tricolour.” year,production is down by 1.2 result,” Tauseef said. Neither the study’s recommendations. Secretary/Additional Secretary in Jharkhand. “Initially,therewas ing. Sources said towardslate justtwo-and-a half years and BrigadierSoodrecalledasking lakh tonand, according to Gupta, Tauseef norhisbrothershavebeen Proposed at adistance of 12 (Health)ofrespective statesand some confusion whether to pay evening, the officers found them- spent barelytwo-three months Anujonce what he would do if he mayslide further to 2lakh ton. tested yet. km from Dibang wildlifesanctu- assiststate healthdepartment in to the states or the Railways.On selvestrappedinahousewiththe with wifeAkriti in that time. The couldn’t clear the NDAexam. The “Weare stretchedthinandbut ary, theRs25,000-croreEtalinhy- implementation of containment May2,anSOP issuedbyMinistry militants, which waswhencon- twogot married in September boywho wonhorse-riding na- Malegaon aredoing all we canwith the re- del projectwillrequire felling measuresforCOVID-19inaffected is Railways makesitclear.Itsays tact withthe men waslost. 2017,and recentlyAkriti quit her tionalsinKolkatain2005said, were confirmedCovid cases. sources we have.The high deaths 278,038 trees over 11.65 sq km of areaswithinthesedistricts/cities,” the fareshavetobecollected by An officer said that afterthey jobataprivate companyinPuneto “withacockysmile”,“international SaidMalegaon’sHealthOfficer in the city areamatter of concern mostlythick, multi-strata, “truly the Health Ministry’s order says. the passengers,” he said. couldn’t communicatewith the live withAnujinGurdaspur.Sheis jockey banoonga”. GovindChaudhary: “Westillhave but notall arevictims of the virus. irreplaceable” subtropical ever- “Eight districtsare doubling Point 11(c) of the Railways’ officers,theyhaltedtheexchange currentlyinDharamshala,ather to study whether some of the Alot of these deaths have hap- greenbroad-leavedforest.TheFAC faster than 10 days:Mumbai, SOPonsaleofticketsstates: “The of fire.“Firingagainstartedatmid- parents’ place, and the Armyis Bengal jute mill deathswere becauseof Covidand pened because of the shutting has considered theproject four Ahmedabad, Chennai, Central local Stategovernment authority night. Subsequently, the twomil- sending vehiclestoget her to jute millsidentifiedbythe Centre went unreported. Malegaon ini- down of services by privatehos- times since 2015. Delhi, Kolkata, NorthDelhi, shall handoverthe ticketstothe itantswereshotdead,” asecurity Panchkula amid the lockdown. to dealwith the shortage of bags tiallyfacedaproblemasalot of pri- pitals. We arenow workingover- Kanpur Nagar, Krishna,” said the passengers cleared by them and officer in Handwarasaid, adding Colonel Sharma’s family, in- forpacking food grains. Thestate vate hospitals had shut down. time to ensurethat private hospi- Wockhardt presentation made at Sunday’s collect the ticketfareand han- thatthey alsopressedinparacom- cludinghiselderbrotherPiush,47, government subsequentlyal- Peoplewithdiseasescouldnotget talsopenup,”saidNitinKapadnis, Police have registered acase meeting. Sevendistrictshavea doverthe amount to railways.” mandos forthe operation. and mother,lastspokewith him lowedalljutemillsto reopenwith access to timelytreatment and deputy commissioner of underIPCsections377(unnatural higher case fatality rate than the Railway BoardChairman On Sundayevening, the J&K on May1,the 26th Raising Dayof the condition thattheyuse 15 per medicines whichled to the jump MalegaonMunicipalCorporation offences),269(negligentactlikely India averageof3.2 per cent, the Yadavsaid states were trying out Police identifiedone of the dead 21 RashtriyaRifles.The lasttime centof theirworkforce,ensureso- in deaths.” (MMC)whoisresponsibleforfor- to spreadinfectionof diseasesen- presentation said. manymodelsoffinancing the militantsasPakistani national Pallavi methim wasonFebruary cial distancing and other protec- As of now20patientsare be- mulating acontainment plan for dangeringlife)and270(malignant The casefatality rate (CFR)is services. “Wesee three-four Haider,and said he wasaffiliated 28, when he receivedthe Sena tive norms. ing treated in Dedicated Covid the city. actlikelytospreadinfectionof dis- the ratio of confirmeddeaths to models emerging. In many withtheLashkar-e-Toiba(LeT)and Medalforgallantryataceremony But owners saythat running Hospitals; 70 in Dedicated Covid “It is adenselypackedcom- eases endangering life), basedon confirmedcases.Thesesevendis- places,employers of labourers hadbeenoperatinginKashmirfor in Udhampur. mills with15per cent staffand HealthCare(DCHC)centreswhich munity. We have 10-15people acomplaintfromthehospital’sHR trictsincludemajorurbanandin- have giventhem the moneytogo thepastcoupleof years.“Theiden- Piush said Sharmaalways maintainingsocial distancing is arefor moderatecases; 232 in stayingin100to150sqftof space. head. dustrial centres suchasMumbai, home; in some places, NGOs tity of the other terroristisbeing wanted to join the forces. “Our difficult. Moreover, mostmills fall Covid CareCentres forcases The conditions makesocial dis- “Wehaveregistered the case Pune, Ahmedabad, Indore, Surat, have sponsored. Thereare origi- ascertained,” aJ&K Police familyhas an ‘Armyculture’. I nearredzonesandarestaringata deemedtobemild and 245were tancing very difficult.Also alarge on the basis of what the HR man- Central Delhi, and Krishna. natingstateswhichare paying, spokesperson said. wanted to getintothe Armytoo longer lockdown post-May3. kept in quarantine centres. chunk of people aredaily-wage ager has said in his statement. He Accordingto thepresentation, and then thereare destination TheArmysaiditsmenhadfol- but couldn’t due to certainfamily Owners estimatethat their pro- StateHealthMinisterRajesh earners. Lackofmoneyand poor toldusthattheaccusedwasinter- nine districts, including Mumbai, states paying to originating states. living conditions makethem vul- viewedonApril28and29follow- Ahmedabad,Indore, Thane,Agra, The services have juststarted,so nerable,” Kapadnis said. ingwhichhewashiredbythehos- KurnoolandKolkata,have positiv- the processwill getestablished pital,andApril30washisfirstday ity ratesthat are“twotimes the slowly,”hesaid. Randeep Guleria at work.Hecommitted theof- India average(4.4%)”. Among the MaharashtraCMThackeray, Thereisnobetterpersonto ad- fence on the second day,”apolice top20districtsofconcern with however, saidSunday, “Migrant dress these questions thanDr officer told TheIndian Express. high numbers, nine areshorton labourers areable to return to Randeep Guleria,Director,All The complaint states that the critical health infrastructure, the their homes aftermanydays. IndiaInstituteofMedicalSciences, accusedentered the patient’s presentation said. Since their financial condition has the country,who is closely in- room in the ICU on the hospital’s As lockdown 3.0 begins, 130 deteriorated,the Railways should volved in building strategies for 10th floor on May1.Itsays theac- districtshavebeen categorisedin notcharge anyticket fare on hu- prevention, containment, and cusedmade physical advances the redzone, 284inorange, and manitarian grounds.” When con- managementofCOVID-19in thatthepatienttriedtoresist.“The 319ingreen —the presentation tacted,Anil Parab, Transport India.TheIndianExpresswillhost patient raisedanalarm when the notedthat “stateshaveflagged Minister, Maharashtratold The itssecond online Express Adda doctor assaulted him andstaffers datarelatedissuesinzonalclassi- Indian Express that fare collected with Dr Guleria, also internation- whowere stationedoutsidewent fication”. Sources said that in pre- from migrantswas giventothe allyrenownedpulmonologist,on inside the room,” said an officer. vious interactions, severalstates Railways.“The Centreshould Monday, May4. Thevictimtheninformedhos- have protested against the num- take acall on faresand ask Thee-Addawillbemoderated pital authorities about the inci- berofred-zone districts. Some Railways to notcharge money for by Ravish Tiwari, Political Editor, dent.“Thehospitaltookadecision states have repeatedly asked that running the Shramik specials. It andKaunain SheriffM,Principal toinformbothpolice and BMC,” the powertoclassify should be will simplify the process and clear Correspondent. an official said. delegatedto them—thepresenta- the confusion within states,” said Dr Guleria is partofthe core “Wehaveregisteredacasebut tion,however, seemedtoindicate Parab. teamof topofficialsreviewingand we have notarrestedthe doctor. that the Centrewould notagree, The Shramik Special trainsare monitoring the pandemic in the Hecameinclosecontactwiththe though an attempt would be allowedtorun at two-thirdca- country. He heads the Clinical patient, so we suspect even he made to makethe datamorero- pacity and forsingle runs, which Research Groupofthe National might have gotinfected,” said bust. means theyare sent backtotheir TaskForceforCOVID-19.Heisalso Senior Police Inspector Savlaram Thepresentationsaidthat“go- originating places empty. Instead amember of the empowered Agwane of Agripada station. “We ing forward”, zonal classification of around 1,600, eachtrain has group constituted by the govern- areyet to take astatement from would be done on “line listofpa- been allowedtocarry 1,200. mentto tracktheavailabilityof fa- thevictimandthesuspect,”anin- tient data”. The Centre also re- “Obviouslythere is no question cilities andcritical caretraining vestigator said. questedallstatesto “removemis- of profit here. In fact, we areserv- and heads ateam thatruns the Asenior doctor from the hos- matchofall testing datainICMR ing complimentaryfoodand wa- NationalTele-consultationCentre pitalsaidithadto urgentlyrecruit portal”. States have also been ter. Ihaveinstructedthat no mat- at AIIMS, connecting doctors younger doctors afterapolicy de- askedto “updatelinelistingof pa- terhow manybottles of watera acrossthecountryinreal-timefor cision wastakentokeep those tient data, update outcome person requires,weshouldgive the treatment of COVID-19pa- above 60 years old and with co- data(deaths, recoveries) and them. We aregivingsoap, sani- tients. morbidities at home as aprecau- maintain health infrastructure tiser etc. We arenot running The Express Adda is aseries of tionarymeasure.“Thehospitalhas data(isolationbeds,oxygenbeds, these services to earn any informalinteractionsorganisedby hired afew younger consultants. ICUbeds)onCOVIDIndiaportalas money,”Yadav,Chairman, TheIndianExpressGroupandfea- This doctor wasnot known to theyimpactdistrictclassification”. Railway Board, said. turesthoseatthecentre of change. many,”the senior doctor said. In districtsthat have ahigh The Railways is charging non- Among the recent guests were Wockhardthospitalreopened doublingrate,theCentrehassug- AC sleeper fare as per distance Finance MinisterNirmala on April 23 afterbeing sealedfor gested that statesshould employ along with asuperfastcharge of Sitharaman, Nobellaureates nearly amonth when 80 staffers field unitstoenforce social dis- Rs 30 and areserved-berth AbhijitBanerjeeandEstherDuflo, were infected withCOVID-19. A tancing, ensurerigorous contact charge of Rs 20 on eachticket. Chief Economic Advisor BMC official said the hospital, a tracing,counselpatientsandcon- In the train that leftfor Puri KrishnamurthySubramanian,for- dedicatedCOVID-19facility, has tactsontheimportanceof follow- from Surat on Saturday, each mer UK Deputy PrimeMinister now opened up 30 bedstotreat ing isolation and quarantine passenger had to payRs710. NickClegg and cancer specialist patients. guidelines, and makesurethat Surat District Collector Dhaval andPulitzerPrize-winningauthor PPE kitsand prophylaxiswith hy- Patelsaid Odiyacommunity Dr Siddhartha Mukherjee. Last Nanded link droxychloroquinearemadeavail- leaders providedthe listofthose week,the Adda movedonline who came from Punjab to get able if large numbers of health who wantedto travel along with withDrArvindSubramanian,for- them forthe infection, saying the workers areinfected. contact detail. “They also col- mer Chief EconomicAdviser and pilgrimshad tested negative and Indistrictswithhighcasefatal- lected thefare. An officer went Visiting Lecturer at Harvard were only then allowedtoleave. ity rates, the “suggestedactions” with the community leader to KennedySchoolasthefirste-Adda Thediscoveryof casesamongthe includeraisingawarenessthrough the station andcollectedthe guest. cotton workers, who also stayed community action,and appoint- 1,200tickets and paidthe withthepilgrimsattheGurdwara ing“communityvolunteers/opin- amount to railway,”hesaid. NE hydel project LangarSahibforsomedays,isex- ion leaders/religious leaders” for At Nashik,332 migrants put researchincollaborationwiththe pected to broaden the tracing awareness and increasedsam- up at shelterhomes leftfor stateforestdepartment.” now. pling.Inareaswherethereis“poor Bhopal on FridaywerepaidRs Asked whythe institutedid Apartfromthem, twodrivers healthcare seeking behaviour” 250 per ticket.SawantKochle, notopt foralongerstudyandhow who returnedtoNandedfrom suchasdelayedreportingof cases, who worked as adriverin monitoringtigers in the area Punjabafterdroppingthepilgrims thesuggestedactions include “in- Mumbai and wasreturning with wouldguidepolicyoncetheproj- have nowtestedpositive.“This tensify(ing)activecasesearch,des- his wifeand twochildren said,he ectwascleared,DrGVGopi,coor- morning, three persons tested tigmatizationofCOVID19”,ensur- spenthis lastsavings of Rs 500 dinator of the study and WII sci- positivefor coronavirus. Out of ingwellfunctioninghelplineswith forthe fare. entist,said:“Weworkedwithina them, twoare drivers who re- adequateoperationalcapacity,and In another ShramikSpecial time frame anditisuptothe for- turnedfromPunjab afterprovid- advertising the helpline number. that leftBhiwandi forGorakhpur, estdepartment whichresearch ing avehicle service,” Nanded’s Wherethere are“inadequate workers were askedtopay Rs organisationtheyengage(forthe Civil Surgeon Dr Neelkanth health carestaff”, it has been sug- 800. Laxman Gawd (36) said his prescribed monitoring) or how Bhosikar said. gested to “mobilize stafffromdif- familyloaned the moneyonin- theyfactorinfutureresearch in- “Now,thenumberof Covid-19 ferentsources”includingadjacent terestfor him. puts.” patientswhoreturnedtoNanded districtsand private doctors on (WITH INPUTS FROM ASAD Advisingthat“theprojectmay from Punjab has gone up to five,” contractual basis, and explorethe REHMAN IN LUCKNOW & beallowed,”theFACsub-commit- adistrictofficial said. possibilityof engagingretiredpro- KAMAALSAIYEDINSURAT) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 3 THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,MAY4,2020 THE OUTBREAK West Bengal 2moredead;migrantsfrom Rajasthantoreachtomorrow

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE STATECOUNT Two weeks after delivery, KOLKATA,MAY3 663 50 Covid positive woman TWOMORE patientsdiedof ACTIVE DEATHS novelcoronavirus and 41 new CASES positive cases hadbeen reported 199 RECOVERED recovers, thanks hospital Spanishfootballers playing forMohun Bagan leave forDelhi, in the last24hours, stated abul- at NewTownonSunday. Theplayers, coaches and support letin releasedbythe West Bengal 22,915 SAMPLES staff, along with their families,will take aflighttoSpain government on Sunday. TESTED TILL MAY 3 EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE from the national Capital. Partha Paul Meanwhile, the stategovern- KOLKATA,MAY3 ment has initiatedthe process of bringingbackthousands of mi- newcases,abureaucratandasen- AMID UBIQUITOUS despair due grant labourers backfrom ior police officer of North24Par- to thenovel coronavirus, asliver Chief Secy-led panel to Rajasthan. Theyare scheduledto ganas district tested positive for of hope emergedinHowrahdis- reachBengal on Tuesday. COVID-19 andhadbeenadmitted trict. A24-year-old coronavirus decide easing curbs today “As apartofour promise to to DesunHospital in Kolkata. positive woman, who had deliv- bring backcitizens of Bengal Asenior policeofficer of ered ababytwo weeksago,has Chief Secretary, will meeton strandedinother states, 2special Pragati Maidan policestation also been dischargedfromhospital The mother and babywere EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Monday. Afterthat the commit- trainsfromAjmer&Keralawould tested positive.Senior Kolkata afterher recovery from the dis- dischargedonMay 1. Express KOLKATA,MAY3 teewill decide, following the leave tomorrowfor West Bengal Police officers on Sundayvisited ease. Her babyhad tested nega- Centre’s guidelines, which carryingmorethan2500migrant the said police station to boost tive forCOVID-19. ATASK forceled by stateChief shops, services and industries labourers,pilgrims,students&pa- the other officers’s morale, “Her recovery has boostedus, rean,” saidMitra. The hospital set SecretaryRajivaSinha on will be allowedtoopen in green tients.Everyone coming in to be sources added. We areproud of our team that up aspecial team, including agy- Mondaywill decide whichshops zones as well as orangezones. screenedasper protocols,” CM Meanwhile, an official tweet diligentlytook care of herfor 18 naecologistand apaediatrician. and industries will be allowed to Accordingly,theymay issue an MamataBanerjee saidinatweet. from the Information and days,” said ShubhashishMitra, OnApril20,shegave birthto aboy open in green andorangezones. order on Monday,”said asenior According to the bulletin, no Cultural Affairs Department said Sanjeeban Hospital director, weighing 2.7 kg.After that, she According to sources in the statesecretariat official. person wasdischargedfromany aspecialtrain wouldleave Ajmer Uluberia. graduallyrecovered. Themother statesecretariat, the panel will On Friday, Chief Minister hospital in the last24hours. So, in Rajasthan on Mondaytobring She had mild breathing prob- waskeptseparatefromher baby, take acall aftergoing through MamataBanerjee had said shop- thetotal number of active posi- backmigrant workerstoBengal. lemswhenshewasbroughtto the butshewasallowedtobreastfeed the Centre’s guidelines, some of ping malls, hawkers’ corners and tive cases stood at 663inWest The train will run non-stopand hospital on April 13,the dayshe him. On May1,the mother was whichhavebeen modifiedand marketcomplexeswould notbe Bengal, while the COVID-19toll reachhereonMay 5morning. testedpositive.Shewasmovedto dischargedfromthe hospital. maybechanged further. allowedtoopen in areas eligible reached50. As manyas1,939 The department also announced theisolationward andmonitored Her husband said, “The hos- Senior officials,however, forfewer restrictions. “Wewill SHOWERING PRAISE samples were testedinthelast24 that active steps had been taken continuously, said Mitra pital kept me in loop about the made it clear that complete lock- onlyallowstandalone shops,” hours,taking thetotal to 22,915. to bring back stranded migrant “Wefrequentlymade multi- health of my wifeand son downwouldcontinueinred-zone she added. Petals being showeredbyAir ForceoverChittaranjan Till now, thetotal number of peo- labourers of Bengal from Kerala. speciality effortsand monitored through video calls.” She districts.Adistrict is categorised With the Centreadvising National Cancer InstituteinNew Town on Sunday. Partha Paul ple dischargedremained199. Aspecial train will leave Kerala thepregnancyand heart rate of thanked the hospitalstaff for as ared zone if thereare substan- againstrestarting passenger bus Sources said among the two on Monday. the foetus… We avoidedaCesa- takingcareofher. tial numbers of active cases. The services, the government is othercriteriaaretherate atwhich thinkingabout continuing the confirmedcasesaredoubling,and ban. Banerjee had earlier said ■ An Indian Air Force(IAF) ■ An IAF Mi-17helicopter Governor slams CM for her remarks againstOppn parties, journalists surveillance feedback. private buses couldbeallowed helicoptershoweredflower took offfromBarrackpore Onlygroceryshops, markets, to run in greenzones, provided petals over twohospitals in air forcestation and had made these tworemarks needy getthe full benefit of free ies’ and thatjournalists ‘mustbe- sweetshops, and pharmacies theydonot carry morethan 20 Kolkataasamarkof showeredflowerpetalsover EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE during apress conference held at rationfromPradhanMantriGarib have’and take everyone along.” will be allowedtoremainopen passengers. gratitude to frontline Chittaranjan cancer institute KOLKATA,MAY3 the statesecretariat, Nabanna. KalyanAnnaYojana.Thereshould On Saturday, the Governor in suchdistricts, and the usual The Chief Ministerhas said coronavirus warriors, a and Alipore’s Command In an official statement on benocorruption,diversion,polit- had accusedthe state govern- restrictions will apply. heradministration will allow Defence spokespersonsaid. Hospital, the spokesperson GOVERNOR JAGDEEP Dhankhar lockdown extension issuedon ical interference or controlling ment of hiding the actual num- Comparatively morerelax- taxis to operateiftheytransport Chief of Defence Staff said. It wasanexpression of has once again hit out at Chief May2,Dhankharsaid, “My mes- this. Benefit should reachpoor & berofcoronavirus cases in the ations will be allowedinorange onlythree passengers at atime. GeneralBipin Rawathad gratitude to doctors,nurses, MinisterMamataBanerjee urg- sagetosenior police and admin- notthecoffersof blackmarketers.” state. He alleged thatthe Centre zones —areas with no recent The limit on passengers will also announcedonFridaythat paramedicalstaff and other ing her to express regret over her istrative officers:Befair,avoidany Taking adig at Banerjee, had information that thereare surge in positive cases —and applytoautorickshaws. the three services of the professionals who are statements—“political parties political affiliation or stance and Dhankhar said, “The Chief 931COVID-19cases in West green zones, or districtswith no The task forcewill also have armedforces will carry out a fighting the COVID-19 arevultures waiting fordead deliverwith your best foot for- Ministershould regret her state- Bengal, while the stategovern- cases in 21 days. to take acall on reopening liquor series of activities to thank pandemic from the bodies” and “journalists mustbe- ward.Iam sureall concerned in ment that ‘political parties are ment claimedthe number of ac- “The task forcedeciding lock- shopssince theyare amajor rev- the “corona warriors”. frontline,hesaid. PTI have”. Earlier this week,the CM the stategovtwill ensure thatthe vulturesinwaitfor thedead bod- tive cases to be just572. down relaxations, ledbythe enue source. WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 4 THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,MAY4,2020 THE OUTBREAK Nation

EVACUATING INDIANS ABROAD Centre asks states RailcoachestobeCOVIDhospitals to readyprotocol forTierIIandIIIcities,villages the fare and allowedtotravel Afireworks display by Navy ABANTIKAGHOSH onlyiftheyhaveaCOVID-free be used. MHA asks states ships in the Arabian Sea off NEWDELHI,MAY3 certificate. States have been ABANTIKAGHOSH& Dr Paul mootedthe idea to the Maharashtracoastto givenabreakup of howmany AVISHEKGDASTIDAR upgrade these intoLevel-II and to use home thank frontline workers. ANI HAVINGSTARTED the process of theywill have to accommodate.” NEWDELHI,MAY3 Level-III facilities at ameeting taking migrant labourers backto The protocol Kerala has with the Railways’ topbrass last guards, NCC for their home states in trains, the shared with states banksonfree AMID PROJECTIONS of asecond month. It wasunderlinedthat non-serious work Armed forces government is nowlooking at testing facilities available in waveofnovel coronavirus these coaches would add more evacuating Indians stuckabroad. countries likethe UAE. Foroth- (COVID-19) cases once the lock- value to the COVID-19contain- express gratitude In apresentation shared with erslikeSaudi Arabia, whereout- down is lifted, thereisaproposal ment infrastructureashospitals DEEPTIMANTIWARY states during ameeting chaired siders do nothaveaccess to free to roll out “train hospitals” in Tier on wheels rather than isolation NEWDELHI,MAY3 to ‘corona by CabinetSecretaryRajiv Gauba testing, the statehas proposed II and Tier III cities as well as vil- facilities. on Sunday, the Centregavestate- flying down Indiansdoctors and lages, wherethe existing health “It waspointedout that isola- WITH Arise in thenumber of warriors’, get wise breakups of people want- lab technicians with reagents, infrastructuremay notbe tion of asymptomatic patients COVID-19cases among police ing to return to India and asked while the local embassy negoti- sufficient. could happenanywhere, likesta- and prison inmates, the Ministry PM praise them to readyquarantine and ates foruse of laboratoryfacili- While 5,150train coaches diums, schools etc, whereas these of Home Affairs on Sunday is- testing facilities forthem. ties. (non-AC)havealready been con- coaches could be more useful as suedorders and SOPs forcon- NewDelhi:PrimeMinisterNaren- In the MEA’s presentation, it “When asymptomatic peo- vertedinto “isolationcentres”,the hospitals,” said asource. tainmentofcoronavirus infec- draModiSunday appreciatedthe wasestimated that of the 1crore ple with aCOVID-free certificate NITI Aayoghas proposedthat Over 5,000traincoaches have been convertedintoLevel-I However, some issues were tionsamong these twogroups. effortsbythe armedforces to people who arecurrentlyabroad land here, theygohome but are some of these should be up- isolationcentres. File raised, including the fact that Forpolice, the MHA has sug- thank doctors,nurses, healthcare on an Indian passport, about monitored everyday. gradedtohospitals,withoxygen, since these arenon-AC coaches, gested that states mustprepare workers and others combating 1,92,000 in direneedmay be Symptomatic people are ICU and ventilator facilities. it would getveryhot forthe pa- asecond line of defence andal- the COVID-19pandemic. brought backinsocially-dis- screenedand tested.Iftheyare This is in preparation fora gency management plan. HealthMinistry, we hadprepared tients, andwould nothavethe fa- lowworkfromhome forpolice On the lastday of the second tancedflights, that theythem- negative,theygohome with likelysurge in cases.According to He said some of these “train these coaches as Level-I centres. cilitiesneededfor pluggingin so- wherever possible. It has also phase of the lockdown-with a selvespay for, once thestatesare monitoring, and if theyare pos- NITIAayog’s presentationshared hospitals” could beretainedeven We have been giventounder- phisticated machines for asked them to deployhome morerelaxedlockdownperiodset ready with their protocols. This, itive they go to hospital,” saidan with states lastweek,ifthe lock- afterthe pandemic, to be used stand that,ifneeded, thesewould healthcare. guards and civil defence person- to kickinfor twoweeks-AirForce providedtheyhaveproof of be- official. down wasliftedasscheduledon during disasters. “Some of these be deployed in areas whereiso- The example of the Railways’ nel instead of police at places andNavyaircraftwentonflypasts, ing COVID negative. The UAEhas offeredtofly May3,the number of cases was couldcontinuetobewith the lation facility is notthere. That is Lifeline Express, ahospitalon wherelaw and order is notan showeredpetalsonhospitals,and Kerala has shared adetailed strandedIndians and citizensof estimated to touch65,000 by NationalDisaster Management wherethe matter standsasof wheels, wascited.However, issue. displayedbanners,Armybands protocol with the Centrefor other countries, who wish to be May15, and 2.74crore by August Authority,” he said. now,”said Arun Arora, Principal source said replicating asimilar In the case of prisons, MHA playedtheir best tunesathospi- bringing back3.6 lakh of itsesti- repatriated,iftheytestnegative, 15. The staff,said Dr Paul, could Chief Mechanical Engineer, rake would take about six has askedfor thorough assess- tals treating COVID-19patients, mated 22 lakh people stuckin the UAE’sambassador to India So far, about 20 per cent of be sourcedeither locallyfrom Northern Railway. months. The coaches have al- ment of COVID riskamongin- andtheNavy’svesselslitupflares. various countries. However, Dr AhmedAbdul Rahman the over40,000 cases across wherever the train is stationed, Thereare currentlythree lev- ready undergone considerable mates through thermal scan- Senior officers from all three sources said the Centrefeels Albanna had said mid-April. the countryhaveneeded or postedonarotational basis. els of COVID-19facilities in the modificationsforuse as isolation ning, investigation of health services also laid wreaths at the theircriteria forevacuation is too Officials said therewerecon- hospitalisation. “NITI Aayoghas suggestedto country: Level-I is forisolation of centres —the middle berthshave history of newly arrested in- National Police Memorial in the broad-based, and wantstore- cernsinsome statesabout the “This idea came from the the empoweredgroup to provide those who arepositive but been removed, twotoilets have mates, limited visit of non-es- capitaltoexpressgratitudeto law strict the number to workers evacuees putting pressureonthe PrimeMinister.The conversion of Level-II care, i.e. dedicatedCOVID asymptomatic or have ahistory been converted into bathrooms sential stafftoprisons and re- enforcement personnel. with expired visas and suchoth- already stretchedsystem. some of these isolation facilities health centres, in the railway of contact with aconfirmedpa- etc-atanestimated costofRs2 stricting the movement of PrimeMinisterModitweeted ers who have no resources or Sources said that Sunday’s pres- intohospitals (LevelIIand Level coaches, with facilities foradmin- tient; Level-II (dedicated COVID lakh per coach. Eachcoachhas prisoners within jail premises. avideoshowingsomeof theseac- documentstostaywherethey entation wastogivestatestime III COVID carecentres) is ahighly istering oxygen, IV fluids etc., to health centres)are hospitals with been re-structuredto accommo- “Home Guards, Civil Defence, tivities,andsaiditwasagreatges- are. to “get their act together”. logical step. It givesuscapacity strengthen the supporttodis- oxygen facilitiesthat offercarefor date16patients. NCCcadets,Scoutsand Guides turebytheforces.“Salutingthose Asource who wasatthe Assam Health Minister with mobility,especiallyinplaces tricts, as and when needed. It has cases thathavebeen clinicallyas- Accordingto the Railways’us- and Student Police Cadets may who areatthe forefront, bravely meeting said, “The MEA has HimantaBiswaSarma said: wheremedical infrastructureis further been suggestedthat a signedasmoderate; Level-III ageprotocol, eachcoachhas beutilisedinareas wherethere fighting COVID-19. Great gesture done an exercise to bring back “Thereissomething afootto lacking.Theycan reachanywhere small fraction of coaches should (dedicatedCOVID hospitals) are space fortwo oxygen cylinders; arenot imminentlaw andorder by our armedforces,” Modi said. about 1,92,000people from var- bring backIndians. We do not in the countrywithin 24 hours, also be includedasLevel-III, i.e. fullyequippedhospitals with the roof of the coachwould have issues. Theycan especiallybeof DefenceMinisterRajnath iouscountries... Many people have toomanypeople,about they canbeparkedanywhere. So dedicatedCOVIDhospitals, if pos- ventilators and ICUs to treatse- to be insulated forcooling; each help in maintaining order at the Singh said: “ArmedForces today have been stucksince March 22. 300-400. We have also sent we arepreparedforasurge at any sible. However, the current pro- vere cases. rake should be designated to be relief centres and in facilitating have organisedseveral activities Thereare some 88 lakhpeople about $2,000 to whoeverregis- place, anytime the local infra- tocol still stands forrailway Following consultations be- attachedtoaCOVID-carehospi- the maintenance of supplychain to show theirrespectandexpress in the Gulf alone who want to teredonour website—about59 structureisnot enough,” said Dr coaches -asLevel-Ifacilities,” said tween the Healthand Railways tal; and an emergency resuscita- and forcoordinatingotheressen- gratitude towardsthe Corona come back. They will be charged people in all.” VKPaul, member (health), NITI Health MinisterDrHarsh ministries, 5,150train coaches tion centreshould to be kept at tial services,” the MHA said. Warriorswhoarebattlingagainst Aayog, who chairs the empow- Vardhan. have been converted intoLevel- the platform whereatrain with FULLREPORTON the global pandemic”. Don’t force migrant workers ered grouponmedical emer- “Asper consultationswiththe Iisolation centres, but areyet to these coaches is parked. www.indianexpress.com ENS to leave: Kerala to Collectors ‘People of Sikkim have been extremely Afterthe lockdown, 3.39 lakh EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE migrant workers were camping THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, in Kerala —amajor chunk of MAY3 them takencareofbytheir em- disciplined, this is areasonfor our success’ ployers or people who rented Facing the threat of acuteshort- out accommodation. ageoflabour forceincase of en Chief SecretaryTom Jose AS INDIA battles the COVID-19 India in January. We didn’t want the countryand manymore lance of borders. bloc exit of migrant workers, Sundayissuedadirection to var- pandemic, Sikkim remains un- to wait forthe Centretoissuein- working. We asked them to stay Forthoseoutside the state, the Kerala governmenton iousDistrict Collectors that mi- touchedbythe virus. However, structions. Ifelt we should take wheretheyare.Wehavebeenin we have providedRs5,000one- Sundayissueddirections that grant workers should notbe the stateremains cautious even immediatemeasures. constant touchwith them time assistance to students, Rs onlythose workers who are forced to go.Workers who want as it prepares forrelaxation of re- ByMarch5,we hadbannedall THEEXPRESS through our resident commis- 10,000 assistance to Sikkimese adamant to return home should to stay in Kerala will be given strictions while the lockdown foreign tourists from entering sioner,sending them food rations, employedinothercities and Rs be sent back. necessarysupport. enters the thirdphase. Sikkim Sikkim.Foreigntouristswhowere INTERVIEW monetary assistance and any 30,000 to those who had gone Since Friday, Railways have The direction comes amid Chief Minister PREM SINGH inthestatewereaskedto leave.By WITH other form of help that theyneed. out formedical treatment. operated11Shramiknon-stop complaintsthat even those who TAMANG speaks to ESHA ROY March 17,wehad bannedall do- PREM SINGH Imyself have spokentoa Migrant workers within the trains formigrant workers who were notkeen to return were about the road ahead. mestic tourists and, likeforeign TAMANG number of students. Some want state —fromWestBengal,Odisha, arestrandedinKerala.These made to leave.The labour sector, tourists,thedomestictouristswho CHIEF MINISTER, SIKKIM to comeback, Ihaveassured Bihar —who were notallowedto trains have takenaround 12,000 including construction segment, Sikkimhas nothad asingle were in the state were asked to themtheywillbebroughtbackat leave were givenRs2,000 per migrant workers to Bihar,Odisha will becomeactiveafter the lock- positivecase. Howdid you leave.Thehotelindustrywasupset Whilethe Northeasthad an appropriatetime. Many oth- month. Registeredlabour within and Jharkhand. down, he said. ensurethis? whenwe broughtthesemeasures, ter. By the time the pandemic in been relatively unaffected,in ers have voluntarilystayedon, the statewerealso giventhis Ever sincenews of thevirus butnowtheytellusitwastheright thecountryisbrought under the lastmonth, severalcases saying theywantedSikkim pro- amount, apartfromASHA work- in China startedcomingin, we thing to do, otherwise we would control, Ifeel winter will be upon emergedinthese states as tected from thevirus. This is one erswhowere givenaone-timein- remainedalert, especiallyaswe have gotcases as well. us again,sowewill keep the pass well. Howdid youavoid this? of themain reasons whywehave centive of Rs 5,000, frontline shareaborder with China, apart We also completely shut all shut this entireyear.Wehave No one, including Sikkimese been so successful—it is because healthworkersaone-timeincen- from twoother international ourborders, including Nathula kept only twocheckposts open peopleliving in other states, were the people of Sikkim have been tive of Rs 3,000 and safai karma- borders with Bhutan and Nepal. pass, whereour people carry out —Rangpo and Melli —whereour allowedtoenter,noone wasal- extremelydisciplined, following charis Rs 5,000.This financial as- We conducted intensive screen- traditionaltrade with thelocal police forces have been deployed lowedtoleave.Inother Northeast all guidelines of the lockdown like sistancefurtherensuredthatthey ing of those entering and leaving Chinese across the border. and there is strict vigilance. Then, states, positive cases came when socialdistancing, strictly. We have followedour directives. the stateatfour of ourmain Nathula wasinany case hardly of course,onMarch 25, we went locals living outside came home. nothad to usepolice forceatall, FULLINTERVIEWON checkposts since February, after functioning at the time because under complete lockdown like We have morethan 2,000 stu- soourpolicehave beeneffectively www.indianexpress.com the firstcase wasreportedin we were justpulling out of win- the rest of the country. dentsstudying in otherparts of usedinmonitoringand surveil- HANDWARAENCOUNTER 116benchesofSCheard 835 ‘Haven’t told our parents, matters duringlockdown

can’t even cry before them’ with filings having dropped SEEMACHISHTI steeply. “InJanuary, therewereup Pathan— who leavesbehind his NEWDELHI,MAY3 to 205filingsperdayandatotalof ADILAKHZER,RAAKHI parents, wifeand four children — 4,108forthemonth.InAprilsofar JAGGA&LALMANIVERMA wonwas Sher-i-Kashmir Police ATOTALof 116benchesof theSup- (until April 26),the total number SRINAGAR,LUDHIANA, Medal forGallantry in 2009 and reme Courtheardmatters during of e-filings was305,” he said. DEHRADUN,MAY3 Police Medal forGallantry by the 22 days of hearings between Ma- The apexcourtunder CJI President of India in 2011. rch23—once lockdown rules en- Bobdehasbeenkeento beseenas SAGEER AHMAD Pathan, theJ&K Calling him acourageous offi- tailingcourthearingsviavideo-co- acourtthatwishesto adoptmod- GUJARATMEDICAL SERVICES CORPORATION LIMITED Police Sub-Inspector killedinthe cer,theJ&KPolicesaidPathan“at- nferencingwere putinpracticeby ern methods made possible by (A Government of Gujarat Undertaking) encounter at Handwarain tainedmartyrdom protecting in- the apexcourt—and May1.It re- electronic communication. The Regd. Office: BlockNo. 14/1, KupwaradistrictonSaturday, had tegrity and sovereignty of our sortedto limitedhearings via vid- Supreme Courtwas settolaunch Dr.Jivraj Mehta Bhavan, Sector-10, Gandhinagar been partofseveral successful nationandsafeguardingtheinter- eo-conferencing during this time. the use of artificial intelligence in anti-militancy operations in the ests of people till lastbreath”. FiguresaccessedbyTheIndian March,buttheplansweredelayed Ph. 079-23250767, 23250766, 23257698 Valley, earning him three out-of- Naik Rajesh Kumar,who also Express confirmthat 43 benches due to COVID-19. Even before the EMERGENCY TENDER NOTICE :DS-01/2020-21 turn promotionsinthe force’s diedinthe encounter, wasone of were designatedformainmatters lockdown wasdeclared nation- Emergency Tenders are invited online fromreputed SpecialOperations Group (SOG) five siblings.Thefamilyisbasedin and73benches forreviewpeti- ally, itwasbyanorderonMarch 6 and several gallantrymedals. Rajrana villageofPunjab’s Mansa tions.Thenumberof mattershea- thattheSupremeCourtinstituted Manufacturers /formulators /Authorized Distributors /direct AresidentofKarnah in district. rd was538,apartfrom297 conn- anew practice to observephysi- importers forPurchase of (1) Rapid AntibodyTest Kit for Kupwara, the42-year-old was Brother Subash Kumar said ected matters,sources said. caldistancingbutcontinueto hear COVID-19 (2) Viral RNA Extraction Kit on Quantity Contract leading the SOG team under the theywereyetto telltheirparentsof Judgmentsweredeliveredin57 matters that comeup. Basis. Interested bidders are requested to submit the tender command of District SP, the 29-year-old’s death and were mattersthathadbeenreservedor Concerns have been raisedin through e-tenderprocess.All tender documents can be down- Handwara,thatwaspartoftheop- waiting forthe body,expected to were Curia advisari vult and ano- some quarters that video-con- loaded free on the website: https://gmscl.nprocure.co &Tender eration, along withthe Army’s 21 arrive onMondaymorning.“They ther 268connected matters“co- ferencing leads to more opacity RashtriyaRifles Battalion. will notbeable to bear the shock. mprising all categories of matte- and notopenness, but sources Noticeisavailable on https://gmscl.gujarat.gov.in and this Pathan had joinedpolice in We arenot even crying in front of rs”. Also, 58 prayersfor interim said the “practice is notnew”. In office notice board. 1999 in itsArmedWing, and had them.” Rajesh joinedthe Army10 relief andmentioningwere heard. 2003,the Supreme Courtinits Duration of downloading of tender document (online): - beenwiththecounter-insurgency years agoand lastvisited home in Atotalof 49specialleave petitions, judgment passedinState of 03/05/2020 to 11/05/2020 upto 15:55 HRS. unit SOG since 2006. February. 92 writ petitions and 138review Maharashtra v. Prafulla Desai in Last date forsubmission (online): 11/05/2020upto 16:00 HRS “Inrecognitionof hisimmense Owning lessthanone acre of petitions were disposed of. 2003 heldthat recording of evi- contribution, Pathan wasgranted land, the familymakes by doing In comparison, DelhiHigh dence by acourtthrough video- Last date forsubmission of physical document: threeout-of-turnpromotionsand contract farming at times and de- Courttookup623casesinthispe- conferencingmode shallbecon- 12/05/2020 upto 16:00 HRS rose from the rank of aConstable pendedonthemoneyRajeshsent riod viavideo-conferencing. sidered to be “as per procedure Opening of Technical Bid Date (online): 13/05/2020 at 15:00 HRS to Sub-Inspector,” apolice home,villagerssaid.Whilethetwo Chief Justiceof IndiaSABobde establishedbylaw”. INF/60/20-21 MANAGING DIRECTOR spokespersonsaid. sisters aremarried, neitherofthe told The Indian Express last week FULLSTORYON Among the braveryawards brothers is. about aslumpincourtactivity, www.indianexpress.com WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,MAY4,2020 @ieExplained #ExpressExplained 5 TheOutbreak If thereare questions of current or contemporaryrelevancethat you E EXPLAINED would likeexplained, please [email protected]

SIMPLY PUT QUESTION &ANSWER CORONAVIRUS DASHBOARD THE WORLD 210,717 126,045 Spotlight on remdesivir 183,501 165,183 United Kingdom Germany Italy Turkey The debateoverthe drug continues. It hasbeengiven emergencyapproval forCOVID-19treatment in the 168,518 US, even asanew study casts doubt over itsefficacy.What is this drug,and what do the studies say? France 134,687 1,138,690 Russia US TABASSUMBARNAGARWALA 97,424 MUMBAI,MAY3 Iran 97,100 How remdesivir tricks coronavirus Brazil 216,582 LAST WEEK, the US Food and Drug Spain Administration (FDA) gave emergency ap- proval to use the drug remdesivir forcritical KABIRFIRAQUE THE VIRUS AND THE DRUG TOTALCONFIRMED: 3,462,682 DEATHCOUNT:244,911 COVID-19patients. This came days afterDr NEWDELHI,MAY3 AnthonyFauci, director of the US National SARS-CoV2 Source: JohnsHopkins University,updated at 11:00pmonMay 3 InstituteofAllergies and Infectious Diseases IN ALL the debateoverthe efficacy of (NIAID), made astrong case forthe drug.And remdesivir in treating COVID-19patients, ACE2receptors yet, also lastweek,astudy publishedinThe what has been clearisthe waythe drug Lancet put aquestion markabout the bene- acts —oris meanttoact —againstthe fits of using the drug. novelcoronavirus SARS-CoV2.Remdesivir Cellmembrane COVIDDEATHSINCANCERPATIENTS: What is it about remdesivir that holds is designedtoobstruct the stageofrepli- promise, and whyisitdebated? cation,when the virus creates copies of it- Hostribosome HOWDANGEROUSISTHEVIRUS? self, followedendlesslybythe copies cre- Releaseofvirusgenome What is remdesivir? ating copies of themselves. Research last It wasmanufactured in 2014 to treat for month concludedthat remdesivir indeed Translation searchers said, maypartiallyexplain Ebola,byUS-basedbiotechnology firm Gilead worksthis way, andanew paper lastweek ofvirus the high fatality rate within the Sciences. It has since been usedtotreat for described theexact mechanism of interac- case proteins Schematicdiagram study’s cancer population. However, MERS and SERS, bothcausedbymembers of tion between the virus and the drug. ofSARS-CoV2 even when compared to mortality the coronavirus family. This was, however, Repli replication. ratesinnon-cancer patientsacross notwith muchsuccess. Current research is Howdoes replicationtakeplace? Remdesivir(pictured NewYorkCityduring the same time looking at whether the drug’s antiviral prop- Once the virus enters the humancell, inGileadSciences lab,US)mimicsthe period, cancer patientsdemon- erties work againstSARS-CoV2,the coron- it releases itsgenetic material, whichis Replication PAPER ofRNA virus'srawmaterial, stratedasignificantlyhigherrisk of avirusthatcauses COVID-19disease. then copiedusing the body’sexisting sothatthereplicase dying from COVID-19. mechanism.Atevery stageofinfection, enzymeincorporates CLIP As agroup, COVID-19patients What is the basis of the hopes bing various human proteins, virus proteins, itandcannot with blood cancers, such as pinnedonremdesivir? and their interactions come intoplay. At replicatefurther NEWRESEARCH leukaemia and lymphoma, had the SARS-CoV2 replicates itself inside the hu- the replication stage, the key viralprotein highestmortality rate:37% (20 of 54 man cell with the help of an enzyme called at playisanenzyme calledRdRp(an en- patients). Forpatients with solid ma- RdRp. When remdesivir is injectedintra- zyme is akind of protein that speeds up with that specific function. When apatient tency and mechanism of action. ANEW study in the US has assessed lignancies, the mortality rate was venously, it inhibits this enzyme and effec- chemical reactions within acell). is givenremdesivir —the inhibitor —it Previously, the same team had found the mortalityrateamong cancer pa- 25%(41 of 164).Striking differences tively blocks replication of thecoronavirus. It is RdRp that makes the copies, by pro- mimics some of this material,and gets in- similar resultsfor remdesivir action tients infected with COOID-19. were observed among specificsolid TheJournalofBiological Chemistry published cessing componentsof the RNAofthe virus. corporated in thereplication site. With againstthe coronavirus that causes MERS. Described as thelargest study that cancers: the mortality rate forpa- astudy on April13concluding that indeed, University of Alberta researcherscalledit remdesivir replacing the material it needs, The drug itself wasdesignedtoact against makes this kind of assessment so far, tientswithlung cancer was55% and the “drug is able to inhibit the virus” and pre- the “engine” of the virus in apaper last the virus fails to replicatefurther. the Ebola virus, whichisnot acoronavirus. it found people with cancer are colorectalcancer was38%, compared vent itsfurther spread in humancells. week,inwhichtheydescribed the action “These coronaviruspolymerases are As farasSARS-CoV2isconcerned, apa- muchmorelikelytodie from COVID- with mortality ratesof14% forbreast “Since January, our teams have been of remdesivir againstthis “engine”. Again, sloppyand theyget fooled, so the inhibitor per by Chinese researchers lastweek has 19 than those without cancer. cancerand 20%for prostate cancer. working dayand night to determine whether researchers at the Max PlanckInstituteof gets incorporatedmanytimes and the addedtothe emerging knowledge about Conductedbyphysician-researchers “Our findings emphasise the remdesivir might work in patientswith Biophysical ChemistryinGermanyde- virus can no longer replicate,” University of the action of remdesivir. at MontefioreHealth System and needtoprevent cancerpatients COVID-19. These effortsincludecollabora- scribedthesame enzyme as the “copyma- Albertamicrobiologist and immunologist AlbertEinstein College of Medicine, from contracting COVID-19and —if tion with study investigators and govern- chine” of the virus when theyimaged the Matthias Göttesaid in astatement. What arethese newfindings? the study waspublishedinthe on- theydo—to identify and closely mentsonthe various clinical trials. (The) architectureofthis “machine” in 3D. Researchers from various institutions lineedition of Cancer Discovery. monitor these individuals fordan- news,that remdesivirmight play arolein In scientificliterature, such an enzyme Howfar has this action been under the Chinese AcademyofSciences The study involved218 cancer gerous symptoms,” said Vikas easing the burden of the pandemic, is the is calledapolymerase (the pisRdRp established? have imaged thehigh-resolution structure patientswho tested positive for Mehta, aco-lead author of the study, outcome we all hoped would be possible,” stands forpolymerase) or areplicase. In This is what the University of Alberta of the SARS-CoV-2 replicasecomplex, COVID-19fromMarch 18 to April 8 asurgical oncologistatMontefiore, Gilead Scienceschairman and CEO Daniel anycase, this is the enzyme that is targeted researchers reportedinthe Journal of withremdesivir bound to it. Theyhave at MontefioreMedical Center,New and associate professor of otorhino- O’Daysaid. by remdesivir. Biological Chemistry.Using insect cells, publishedtheir findings in Science. York.Ofthem,61diedfromCOVID- laryngology—head and necksurgery theyexpressedRdRp complexesofSARS- The structureshows wherethe virus’s 19,afatality rate of 28%, as compared at Einstein. “Wehope that our find- Who all arestudying it? And howexactlydoes remdesivir CoV (the coronavirus responsible for RNAtemplate enters the copymachine, to the overall mortality rate of 5.8% ings can inform states and commu- There aresix major trials or studies un- target this enzyme? SARS) and SARS-CoV2 (whichcauses whereremdesivir is incorporated,and forCOVID-19inthe United States(as nities that have notyet been so se- der wayfor remdesivir.Itisone of the lines of In order to replicate, the copymachine COVID-19). Theyfound that an active com- wherethe process of replication is termi- per the WorldHealthOrganization). verely struckbythis pandemic treatment being investigated under the processes rawmaterial from the virus pound in remdesivir inhibitsthe copyma- nated.The Chinese researchers tooused Thesepatientsweretreated at a about the unique vulnerability can- Solidarity trials under the aegis of the World RNA, broken down by another enzyme chines of both viruses with the same po- insectcells. timewhentesting wasmostlydone cer patientsface.” Health Organization (WHO). Otherinvesti- in symptomatic patients who re- Source: AlbertEinstein gations include Gilead’s ownSIMPLE study, quired hospitalisation. This, the re- CollegeofMedicine the US NIAID’s trials, the Frenchinstitute and amember of the US task forceagainst Whyisnot everyone optimistic? in his team aretrying ritonavir,lopinavir,and Inserm’s DisCoVeRy study,and twoclinical COVID-19, told the media in the White Some of the trials were limited in scope. even immunosuppressant tocilizumab, but trials in China. House: “The datashows that remdesivir has Then therewas the study in The Lancet on notremdesivir.“We came across some global On itswebsite,Gilead says it is collabo- aclear cut, significant, positive effect in di- April 29, about aclinical trial of 237COVID- reports of adverse reactionofremdesivir in INDIA COUNT: 40,263 (1306 DEATHS) rating with the US FDA,Centers forDisease minishing the time to recover. Although a31 19 patientsin10hospitals in China. “Inthis COVID-19patients. If patientsare already Control and Prevention (CDC), Department per cent improvement does notseem likea study of adult patientsadmittedtohospital critical, we can’t risk experimenting at this TOP10STATES RESTOFINDIA of Health and Human Services, NIAID and knockout 100per cent, it is averyimportant forsevereCOVID-19, remdesivir wasnot as- stage,” he said. AndamanandNicobarIslands33 Department of Defense-CBRN Medical, the proof of concept. What it is proving is that a sociated with statisticallysignificant clinical Dr Jalil Parker,apulmonologist, said that ArunachalPradesh1 Assam 43 China CDC and National Medical Product drug can blockthis virus.” benefits,” it said. ideallytheywait forsufficientdatafromclin- Bihar482 Administration (NMPA), WHO, and re- Astudy publishedinThe NewEngland The study found adverse drug reaction in ical trials before using adrug. “But we don’t Chandigarh 94 2772 4122 Delhi searchers and clinicians acrossEurope and Journal of Medicine on April 10 found clinical 18 people and stoppedremdesivir treatment have manyoptions right now, andwehaveto Rajasthan Chhattisgarh 43 Asia to assess the antiviralproperties of improvement in 68 per cent cases with im- prematurelyinthem. It said that therewere trynewer drugs forpatient with COVID-19. 2626 UP Goa 7 Haryana 394 remdesivir. proved oxygen levels aftertheywereadmin- adverseeventsin66% ofthe remdesivir- It is doctor’s call whether or nottouse the HimachalPradesh 40 The SIMPLE trial is looking at whether a istereda10-daycourseofremdesivir.The treated patients. drugs before clinical trial results. Iamopen to JammuandKashmir666 five-daycourse of remdesivir worksaseffec- study was, however, of asmall cohortof53 Commenting on the study in TheLancet, itsuse.” 2846 922 Jharkhand 115 tively as a10-daycourse. Phase-3 results patientsand did nothaveacontrol arm to the Gilead spokespersonsaid, “The study did MP West Bengal Karnataka606 showedthat it is indeed so. The trial evalu- compareresultsfor those whowerenot ad- notidentifyany newsafetyconcernswith Howmuchofitisavailable? 5055 Kerala 500 Gujarat ated 397patients hospitalisedfor severe ministered remdesivir. remdesivir treatment. Cardiac events (car- Since January, investmentshavebeen 1063 Telangana Ladakh 40 Manipur 2 COVID-19infection. Aspokesperson for Dr JagmeetSingh, professor of cardiol- diacarrestoracutecoronarysyndrome) and made to ramp up production and establish 12,296 Meghalaya 12 Gileadsaid, “This shorterduration of ther- ogy in HarvardMedical School,suffered treatment discontinuation due to respiratory asupply chain. Until Januarytherewas an in- Maharashtra 1583 Mizoram 1 apymay enable patientstobedischarged from COVID-19and required ICU support failurewereeventsassociated with both ventorytotreat 5,000 patients on a10-day Andhra Pradesh Odisha 160 Puducherry 8 from the hospital earlier and allowhealth- forpneumonia. He is aparticipant in one of remdesivir and placebo.The number of pa- course. By March end, it wasscaledupto 2757 TamilNadu Punjab 772 careproviders to treat more patientswith the US trials forremdesivir, althoughhe tientswho completedthe study wastoo low 30,000 patients. By Mayend thecompany Tripura 4 the existing supplyofmedication.” does notknowinwhicharm he wasplaced to enable anystatisticallymeaningful con- plans to produce enough stockfor 1.4lakh Uttarakhand 59 andwhether he receivedthe drug.“My re- clusions. Datafromfully-poweredtrials are patients. Gilead has fornow stoppedmeet- Union Health Ministryupdateasof11pm, May3.Some states mayhave What benefitshavebeenfoundsofar? sponse to thisdrug is somewhat lukewarm. neededtodetermine the safetyprofile of ing individual requests forsupplyunder its reportedhigher numbers. Onlystates/UTswith at leastone case listedabove. Initial trial resultsmade public by NIAID While the drugcertainlyreduces days of remdesivir as treatment forCOVID-19.” CompassionateUse programme, exceptfor found thatmortality rate was8per cent in hospitalisation by over 30 per cent and pregnant women and children with severe 10887PATIENTSDISCHARGED IN 30 STATES AND UNION TERRITORIES COVID-19patients administeredremdesivir, thereseemstobesome directional evi- To what extent is remdesivir being used infection. as opposedto11.6per cent in another arm of dence in reduction of mortality rate,there in India? The Gilead spokesperson said India is not Have aquestion on the COVID-19outbreak and what youshould/should notdo? patientsnot giventhis drug. Recovery time is still lackofstatisticaldatatoconfidently Dr VRavishankar,chief operating officer on itsCompassionateUse programme forthe [email protected] improved from 15 to 11 days.The full trial re- draw conclusions.The Gilead studyhad no in Lilavati Hospital, Mumbai, who until last drug. “India is partofthe large global study sultsare yettobepublished. control arm; if it is directional it lacks sci- week had 25 COVID-19patients, mostof designedbythe WHO —the Solidaritytrial,” NIAID director Fauci, an immunologist entific purity,”hesaid. them on intensive caresupport, said doctors the spokesperson said. ACinthetimeofCOVID:theapprehensions,andwhattheguidelinessay

Society of Heating Refrigeration and Air alveoli trap small particles. take through afan filter unit will prevent 24,while twootherfamilies—B&C—sat at KAUNAINSHERIFFM Conditioner Engineers (ISHRAE) sayatem- When we breathe dryair,the mucous outdoor dustentry(containing high levels the neighbouring tables. On the same day, NEWDELHI,MAY3 peraturebetween 24-30°Cshould be main- membraneinthe lungs also become dry; of PM10and PM2.5 particles) and exhaust one member (A1) of familyA,experienced tainedwhileoperating ACsathome, and the fluidoverthe lining of the cells becomes through kitchen and toiletexhaustfans kept onsetoffever and cough and went to the WITH SUMMERhaving arrivedduring an that relative humidity levels in the rangeof moreviscous, and cilia, the little hair that operational,” the guidelinesstate. hospital; andonFebruary 5, atotal of 9oth- outbreak,aquestion being asked is whether 40%-70% is considered mostsuitable. protectsour lungs from deep settling of par- ers (4 members of familyA,3members of peopleshould be careful aboutusingair- ISHRAE cites datafromastudywhich ticles, arerendered dysfunctional so that What is the study that linked COVID-19 familyB,and 2members of familyC)be- conditioners. Anumber of researchers have examinedthe transmission of the coron- particles settle moredeeplyinthe lungs. with air-conditioning? came ill withCOVID-19. The study had predicted thatthe novelcoronavirusisun- avirus in 100cities of China. The study had Humidity levels of 40-70% areconsidered It wasconducted by Guangzhou Center found that the onlyknown source of expo- likelytosurvive high temperatures. indicated that high temperatureand high the mostideal rangefor humans to fight forDisease Control and Prevention, in an surefor the affected persons in families B Additionally,astudy by Chinese re- humidity “significantlyreducethe trans- pathogens. ISHRAE also notesthat studies air-conditionedrestaurantinvolvingthree and Cwas patient A1 at the restaurant. searchers has concludedthat droplettrans- mission of influenza”. inactivate the virus,” ISHRAE states. indicatethat80% relative humidity tend to familyclusters. It concludedthat droplet “Virus transmission in thisoutbreak mission waspromptedbyair-conditioned “Studies conducted at various RH lev- neutralise the COVID-19virus. transmission waspromptedbyair-condi- cannot be explainedbydroplettransmis- ventilation. Notmanyotherstudies, how- els have shown that using viral culture What is the significance of the The guidelines statethat in dryclimate, tionedventilation and the keyfactorfor in- sion alone. Largerrespiratorydroplets (>5 ever,haveassociated AC use with coron- methods lowtemperatures(7–8°C) were humidity rangestipulated? relative humidity should notbeallowedto fection wasthe direction of theairflow. The microns) remain in the airfor only ashort avirus spread. optimal forairborne influenza survival, with Relative humidity is believedtoaffect fall below40%.Water evaporating from a study strongly recommendedincreasing time and travel only shortdistances,gener- The government has issuedgeneral virus survivaldecreasing progressivelyat infectivity of the coronavirus. Moisturein pan kept should be kept in theroom; this the distance between tables and improving ally <1 m. The distances between patient guidelines on the use of air-conditioners. moderateTemperatures(20.5–24°C) and the air plays aprimaryrole in proving pro- will increase humidity if it falls below40%. ventilation. A1 and persons at other tables, especially These arelimited to temperatureand rela- further decreases at higher(greater than 30 tection againstrespiratoryinfection. In the Among other guidelines, recirculation The researchers studied10positivepa- those at table C, were all >1 m. However, tive humidity in the contextofthe virus. °C) temperatures. As per some recent stud- upper respiratorytract, moistsurfaces with of cool air by room air-conditioners must tientsfromthree families who had eaten in strong airflowfromthe air conditioner ies, SARS-CoV-2 has been found highlysta- mucous layers collect largerparticles be- be accompaniedbyoutdoor air intake the same air-conditionedrestaurant.The could have propagateddroplets from table What arethe guidelines? ble on surfaces for14days at 4°C; one dayat fore theyenter the trachea and pharynx; in through slightlyopen windows and ex- family A, whichhad earlier travelledto Ctotable A,then to tableB,and then backto The guidelines compiledbythe Indian 37°C and 30 minutes at 56°C wasneededto the lowerrespiratory tract, the bronchi and haustbynatural exfiltration. “Fresh Air in- Wuhan, dinedinthe restaurant on January table C,” the study concluded. WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,MAY4,2020 WORDLY WISE Freedom of movement is the essence of free society.Once it is curtailed,all other rights

6 THE EDITORIAL PAGE suffer.—WILLIAM ODOUGLAS The new capitalism

§ FOUNDED BY § RAMNATH GOENKA In the foreseeable future, politics will drive economic BECAUSE THE TRUTH INVOLVES US ALL policies, notmarket-basedrationality

KRISHI PRADHAN Ashutosh Va rshney

Need of the hour is to maximise possibilities of agriculture, IN 1920, JOHN MaynardKeynes, perhaps the right-wing politics of nativism in away that revealing arethe data on medical equipment. mostinfluential economist of thefirsthalf of the movementsofgoods and capital rarely For50-80per cent of itssupplies, the US was whichhas demonstrated itsutility andresilienceintryingtimes the 20th century, wrote afamouspassage, have. dependentonChina forprotective surgical whichcouldwell have been writtenfor our DonaldTrump’s unrelenting critique of garments, plastic face shields, textileface HE YEAR 2019-20 sawIndia’s agriculturesector grow by 11.3 per cent at current times. Worth citingatlength, Keynes was globalisation predates COVID-19. He made masksand thermometers. Onlyfor ventila- prices,morethantheoverallannualGDPincreaseof 7.9percent.Accordingto NITI speakingofhow the FirstWorld Warended non-whiteimmigrants, especiallyHispanics tors and hand sanitisers wasthe dependence AayogmemberRameshChand,thisisthefirsttimesince1980-81whenfarmsec- what we nowcall Globalisation 1.0that lasted and Muslims, aspecial object of his political less than 20 per cent. Ttorgrowth has exceededthatofnon-farm by suchawidemargin. Butthat’s not nearly acentury till then. ire, but he wasalso vigorouslyagainstfree No matter howmuchbusinessmen and all.Thecurrentfiscal—theApril-Junequarter, definitely—couldseeagriculturalgrowthsur- “Whatanextraordinaryepisodeintheeco- trade as well as critical of businessmen who, economists argue that these trends are nomicprogressof mankind,whichcameto an in search of lowercosts,had made China the purelyeconomic, onlydemonstrating how passing that of non-agricultureevenatconstantprices. Simplyput, agricultureisbacktobe- endinAugust1914?...The inhabitant of destination of their accumulated invest- easy it is to manufactureatscale in China, ing the economy’s mainstayand, indeed, the onlysector growing amid anationwide lock- Londoncould order by telephone, sipping his ments, transferring jobs away from America’s the political leaders of the world, notsim- down. One indicator is wheat procurement. As on May1,governmentagencies had bought morningteainbed,thevariousproductsofthe industrialheartland. He leviedhigher tariffs plyinthe West,can onlyviewitwith great 14.3milliontonnes(mt)of thenewcrop,equivalentto aminimumsupportpricevalueof over whole earth, in suchquantity as he might see to curtailfreer trade,and exhortedAmerican concern and, if China threatens supplydis- Rs 27,500crore,with another 20 mt likelytobeprocured by month-end. Farming activity fit, and reasonablyexpect their early delivery corporations to bring capital backtothe US. In ruptions forcritical materials, even as ana- beingrelatively unaffectedisalsocapturedby retailfertilisersalesrising45percentyear-on- upon his doorstep; he could at the same mo- Europe,asimilar politicshas been ledbythe tional security issue. ment and by thesamemeansadventure his UK, though lessvociferously. The political winds arenow independent year in April. And if the monsoon turnsout normal as forecasted, things aren’tlookingthat wealthinthenaturalresources andnewenter- What will the pandemic do to this politi- of President Trump, who is clearly trying to bleak foragriculture;contrast this withthe zerodomestic car sales lastmonth. prises of any quarterofthe world, and share, cal thrust that hadalready becomeareality in scapegoat China to coveruphis own Agriculturedoing well is important both from the standpoint of inflation control (ade- without exertion or even trouble, in their severalmajor economies? In anyrealistic po- bungling. Givenall the doubts, rightorwrong, quatesupplyoffood,feedand fibre, alongwithlowoilprices,makes iteasierforthe Reserve prospective fruitsand advantages; ...He could litical sense, this question cannotbean- about howChina handledthe information Bank of India to pursuean accommodative monetarypolicy) and reviving spending(farm- secure forthwith, if he wished it, cheap and swered unlesswepay special attention to about the origins of the virus in Wuhan, the ers and rural labourers have higher marginalpropensity to consume). But it is also afact comfortable meansoftransit to anycountry howGlobalisation 2.0 has benefitted China. anger againstChina in worldcapitals is very orclimate... But, mostimportant of all, he re- Onemight,of course,firstwishtonote that palpable.Born of suddenand enormous suf- that the farmsector cannotsupporteconomicgrowthbeyond apoint.ANABARD surveyfor garded this stateofaffairs as normal,certain, China wasamong the biggestsufferers of fering, suchanger cannotbut have an impact 2016-17showedthat only43per cent of the averagemonthlyincome of even the country’s andpermanent,exceptinthedirectionof fur- Globalisation1.0(1815-1914).In1800,anesti- on the economics of globalisation. estimated10crore-plus agricultural households came from cultivation and livestockrear- therimprovement, and anydeviation from it mated33 percentoftheworld’smanufactures We should notonlyexpect that labour ing. The growth of non-agricultureis,in other words, importantforfarmingfamiliesthem- as aberrant, scandalous, and avoidable.” We should not only expect were producedinChina. DefeatsintwoOpium flowswill nowbemorestrictlyregulatedthan selves,many of which have membersderiving incomesfrommanufacturingandservicesec- No WorldWar is likelyanymore, as schol- that labour flows will nowbe Wars later,this sharehad gone down to 6per before.But also morethaneverbeforeinre- torjobs. Manyofthe migrantlabourers eitherstrandedorreturningfromindustrialcentres ars of international relationscontinuallyre- more strictly regulated than centby 1900.Moresignificantlyfornow, China cent decades, Western investors will also have and cities post-lockdown belong to rural farmingcommunities. Giventhat noteveryone mind us,thankstonuclear weapons. But can before. But also more than wasfar behind other economies in the early to factor in political risksintheir investment COVID-19, instead, bring an end to what years of Globalisation 2.0.In1980, it wasthe decision-making. Instead of chasing lower can be gainfullyemployedinfarms,itisamatter of time before theyhead backtowork scholars call Globalisation 2.0, whichbegan ever before in recent decades, 48th largest economyinthe world. In 1982, labour costs,theywill eitherbring capital away from their homes. in the early 1980s and has lastedfor four Western investorswill also withGDPs at roughly$200billion, Indian and backtodomestic shores, or geographicallyre- Thatsaid,theneedofthehouristo maximisethepossibilitiesinasectorwhichhasdemon- decades, an erawhen human beings, of acer- have to factor in political Chinese economies were similar in size. structuretheir supplychains. Forawhole stratedits utility and resilienceintrying circumstances. The focus should be on the coming tain class, “could order by (theinternet)... risksintheir investment In 2018,the lastyear forwhichwehave rangeofgoods, the global supplychains for kharifcroppingseason,especiallyensuringtimelyavailabilityof seeds,fertilisers,pesticides, products of the whole earth... adventure systematic data, China,with aGDP of $13.6 all practical purposes became Chinese sup- decision-making. Instead of credit and other inputs. The latter includes labour and machines, whose movement was wealth in anyquarterofthe world”, and re- trillion, wasthe second largesteconomyin plychains.That levelofeconomic concentra- gard “this stateofaffairs as normal, certain the world, behind the US ($20.5 trillion), but tion is no longer politicallysustainable. rightlyexemptedfromlockdown restrictions. The government should seriouslyconsider chasing lowerlabour costs, and permanent”? they will either bring capital farahead of Japan ($4.9 trillion), Germany Forthe foreseeable future, economic effi- startingattheearliestspecialtrainsforlabourersengagedinpaddytransplantationandother In strictlyeconomic terms, globalisation ($4.0 trillion), Britain ($2.8 trillion), France ciency,the cornerstone of market-basedsys- agriculture-relatedoperations.Thisisalsothetimeto freefarmproducetradeby liftingallre- is about the free movement of capital, goods back to domestic shores, or ($2.8 trillion) and India ($2.7 trillion). In 2018, tems, will have to gointoalowergear.Politics strictions on stocking, domestic movement and exports. LetIndianfarmers feed the world, and labour across national borders. As Iwrote geographically restructure China wasalso the largest tradingnation in will drive neweconomic policies, notmar- notjustIndia. in these pages some time ago(‘Globalisation their supply chains. Fora the world. Its exports were worth$2.5 tril- ket-basedrationality.Globalisation will not in retreat’, IE, November 30, 2017), labour whole range of goods, the lion, substantiallyahead of the US ($1.6 tril- end, but it will bepushedintogreater retreat. flowswerenever as free as the movements lion). And in 2018,China attracted over $203 We areenteringanewphase of capitalism. of capital and goods. Capital and goods are global supply chains forall billion worth of netforeign direct investment disembodied; one does notnecessarily see practical purposes became (FDI),muchmorethan Germany,Japan, UK, Thewriter is director,Center for CHANGING COLOURS who producedthem. Migrantsare embod- Chinese supply chains. That France as well as India ($42 billion), and sec- Contemporary South Asia, SolGoldman ied, as it were.One can directlyobservehow level of economic ond onlytothe US ($258 billion),showing Professor of International Studies and Social Classificationofred,orange, greenzones,drawingof ethnically, racially,religiouslydifferent from howmonumental foreigninvestment in Sciences, professor of political science, concentration is no longer boundaries, has to be dynamic. States mustplayleadingrole the mainstream theymightbe. Hence labour China had become. Watson Institutefor International and Public flows,iflarge,havenearly always triggered politically sustainable. Giventhe current pandemic,evenmore Affairs, BrownUniversity nMay 1, theUnionhomeministryextendedthenationwidelockdown—sched- uledtoend on May3—bytwo weeks. The thirdphaseofthe lockdown will, however, beless stringentthan thatexperiencedbythe countryinthe past 40 Odays.In603 of the 733districts, designatedgreen and orangezones, markets other than malls can re-open, factories and industrial unitscan resume operations,self-em- ployed people suchasdomestic helps and barbers cangobacktowork, ande-commerce in ACELEBRAT ION OF LEARNING non-essential items can recommence. But the fine print of the relaxation measures has left severalstatesdissatisfied. Their grouse largely pertains to thered zones, the 130districts whichhavebeen deemedasCOVID-19hotspots andtherefore, placedunder the maximum Ramadan marksthe revelation of theQuran, whichplaces knowledgeabove all restrictions stipulated in the home ministry’s directive.Punjab Chief Minister, Amarinder Singh, forinstance,hascontendedthatseveralareasthathavenoCOVID-19cases, Nabha for RahamathunnissaA example,have foundthemselvesineligibleforrelaxationsbecausetheyhappento belocated in redzonedistricts.The West Bengalgovernmenthas alsotermed the Centre’s assessment MANY THINK THATRamadan is amonth of as an act of worship. If one has to travel to mentation while lendingorborrowing of suchzonesinthestateas“erroneous”.AndDelhiChief MinisterArvindKejriwalhasargued fasting and givingcharity.But is it just for seek knowledge,hecan even combine and money(2:282). againstdesignating entiredistrictsasred zones—onlythe containment zones, areas witha that? What is the actual reasonfor believ- shortenhis five prayers or postpone the com- Thereare manyversesinthe Quran that highcaseload in hotspotdistricts, should be subjecttostrident restrictions, he said. ers being commanded to observefasting pulsory fasting. canbeusedasfoundations fordifferent That319districts,morethanhalf thedistrictsinthecountry—greenzones—havenot had duringthis month? These areimportant The Prophettaught that the word of wis- branches of knowledge suchasastronomy, asingle COVID-19caseinthree weeksdoes testify to thesuccess of the lockdown from a questions and their answers will help dom is the lostproperty of abelieverand economics, politics,law,ethics, philosophy, anyone to utilise this time in away that wherever he finds it, he is mostdeserving of biology,environmental science,geography, healthcare standpoint. Afurther 284districtsdonot have ahighcaseload,the orangezones. will benefit both believers as well as all it. This means that abeliever should search zoology,sociology, history andmedicine. However, epidemiologists have consistentlyemphasisedthat lockdowns do notframe the of humanity. forknowledge in everyplace possible. The This is in addition to the guidelines and com- endgame in the battleagainstthe virus. Hotspots can change, the infection can recede from The Quran says that it wasduring following saying of the prophetencourages mands on spirituality and worship. Any some areas and spread to newones. Kejriwal, too, underscored the needtoviewthe pan- Ramadan that itsrevelation took place: “The the pursuit of knowledge:“One who pro- branchofknowledge,aslong as it benefits demic from such adynamicperspectivewhenhesaid that “what is agreen zonetodaycan month of Ramadan is that in whichwas ceeds on apath in pursuit of knowledge, God mankind, is considered holy. TheQuran asks turn red”. The Centre doesallow states to re-designate greenzones as orangeand redzones. revealedthe Quran, aguidance forthe peo- makes him proceedtherewith on apath to man to ponder and research the wonders of pleand clear proofsofguidance andcrite- Paradise. And verily, the angels spread their nature. Italsoallowsthemthefreedomto classifyredareasasorangezones.Butitdoesnot give them rion.” 2:185 wings forthe seekers of knowledge outof “Do theynot observethe camels: How the flexibility to relaxthe lockdown in areaswithin the hotspotdistricts.The DelhiCMun- ThereisnoRamadan without the Quran. delight. Verily, everycreatureofthe heaven theywerecreated?And the sky:How it was derlinedthe limitationsofthis approachwhenheasked:“If adistricthas 50 villages and 40 Itisananniversaryofthe Book of guidance, and the earth asksforgiveness forthe seeker raisedhigh? And the mountains: Howthey cases emerge in one, whyshould the entire district be declared ared zone?” whichtransformedthe illiterateArabs into of knowledge,eventhe fish in the ocean. The were fixed? And the earth: Howitspread States and local authorities dealingwiththe infectionatground levelare the best placed the mostcultured andcivilisedpeople within merit of the learned over the devout is like out?” 88: 17 to 20. to understand itsspatial vagaries. It’s,therefore,imperative that theyhaveasayindrawing ashortperiod—the shortest in human his- IN GOOD FAITH the merit of the moon over the stars on afull The Islamic worldinfluencedmedieval tory.Therewas no magic. Therewerethe moon night. The learnedare the heirsofthe European lifeand cultureinvarious fields. the boundaries of the areas that have to be openedup. The details of the red, orange,green § guidelines sent through the Quran by Allah. prophets, forthe prophets did notleave The European scholar GerardofCremona zone scheme needconstant reviewand revision from suchaperspective. Itsfirstcommand wasnot to perform five behind alegacy of wealth but that of learnedArabic because of the “abundance of times prayer or anyspiritualactivity.Itwas: Theprophet taught that the knowledge.” booksinArabic on everysubject” and he “Read in the name of thyLordwho has cre- word of wisdom is the lost Teaching someone is considered as an translated 87 booksfromArabic intoLatin. ated..” 96:1 to 5 “ongoing charity” —suchaperson gets re- Ramadan is the time to revisit the verses The Quran, in another part, tells that propertyofabeliever and warded continuouslyevenafter hisdeath. of theQuran anddomore research on howto Freeze Frame EPUnny those who have knowledge andthose who wherever he finds it,heis Teachers andlearnedscholars areheld in boostthe worldeconomyafter the pandemic do nothaveknowledge arenot equal. most deserving of it. This high regard in Islamic societies. passes, as well as other issues facing the The Quran deals with practicallyevery means that abeliever should The Quran doesn’t differentiatebetween world. subject related to human lifeand all branches worldlyand spiritual knowledge.The longest of knowledge.Spending resources on the searchfor knowledge in verse in the Quran talksaboutthe procedures The writer is national secretary,women’s path to acquiring knowledge is encouraged everyplace possible. to be followedand the importance of docu- department, Jama’at-e-Islami

MAY 4, 1980, FORTY YEARS AGO

I NDIRA ON ASSAM ers of the movement whichshe claimedhad onlynine members. PRIME MINISTER INDIRA Gandhideclared created panicamong minorities. in Bhubaneswar that those arrested in con- IMPHAL CURFEW nectionwith the Assam movement would BAHUGUNA’SSWITCH NIGHT CURFEW HAS been imposedinthe notbereleased“tillthe agitatingorganisa- HNBAHUGUNAislikelytoresign from predominantlyNepali settlement of tions give aguarantee” that theywould not Congress (I) and join the Congress, accord- Kanglatandi and Kalapahar on the Imphal- resorttoviolence. Addressing an unsched- ing to reliablesources.Bahugunahas already Dimapur road, following tensions, official re- uledpress conference at the end of her one- resignedfromthe party posts and his sup- ports said. The reports said tension prevailed dayelection tour of the state, Mrs Gandhi porters have filedtheir nominationpapers in the twoareas lying near the foothills of said that therewas no pointinreleasing the as independent candidates. Theyare being Sadar Hills inhabited by Kuki tribals. leaders of the Assam movement when they accommodated by the Congress. It is learnt Kanglatandi is ahistoric settlement of were changing their standevery day. She re- that Bahuguna wanted party nominations Nepalese ex-servicemen who mannedan iterated that “it is notcorrect to saythat the for35ofhis men, 29 of whom were mem- armyordinance baseinImphal during the movement has been peaceful”. Manypeo- bers of the dissolvedassembly and had Second WorldWar.Asmanyas158 persons ple have been killed, she added. She ex- joinedthe Congress (I) along withhim. The have been arrested in connection with the pressedregretatthe statementsbythe lead- Congress (I), however, gave party tickets to current violence in Manipur. WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,MAY4,2020 WHATTHE OTHERSSAY “Big businesses will soon be asking taxpayersfor even more financial support. Let’s set out principles forwho should get funds and how.” 7 THE IDEAS PAGE — THEGUARDIAN India’sworld Unheard and unseen It can absorb shocksof pandemic, take the lead in reshaping global order In our pursuitofeconomic growth, we have ignored the voices of India’sinformal sector for toolong. Thisneeds to change

the costs of formalisation or don’t see much benefit from formalisation. On the other hand, the phenomenon of informalisation of wage employment in the formal sector is Sujan RChinoy aconsequence of formal firms trying to avoid payroll taxesand employer’s contri- butions to social security or pensions to re- THE COVID-19PANDEMIC has effectivelyex- duce labour costs. posed flawsinmultilateral structures and The prevailing discourse on informality highlighted the lacunae in national capaci- Radhicka Kapoor revolvesaround the recommendation that ties, particularly in healthcare. the informal economyshould beformalised Multilateralism has sufferedretrenchment. —adesirable objective indeed. However, The UN SecurityCouncil (UNSC)mustbe COVID-19iscausinghavocacross the world, giventhe multipledrivers of informality de- faulted forits egregious lackofaction in destroying both livesand livelihoods. scribed above,amulti-pronged andcom- March 2020 when China held the rotating Developing countries suchasIndia arepar- prehensive approachisneededtofacilitate postofthe president. It will remain one of the ticularly vulnerable as their vast informal the transition. It requires creating morefor- great ironies of history that China, whichhas workforce, whichhas no labour,social or mal jobs through labourintensive growth increasinglysought to play aglobal leader- health protection, is woefullyill-equipped so that informal workers can move to these ship role, actively suppresseddiscussions in to cope withthe medical and economic jobs.Further,itrequires registeringandtax- the face of amonumental threat to the lives CRSasikumar shocks of the virus. This is largely aconse- ing informal enterprises. The Indian experi- and security of millions globally. The with- of wild animals. Dubious “wet markets”and with anysuspected use of biological agents. quence of the continued neglect of the in- ence of compelling informal firms to regis- drawal of nearly $500millionworth of an- animal farms mustbeshutdown. Indeed, the UNSC can investigatecomplaints formal economyoverthe years in the belief terand become taxcompliant through nual voluntaryfundingbythe USAtothe India’srecordoflegislationinconservation in this regard,but the veto powerenjoyedby that it is amarginal or temporarysector demonetisation andintroduction of GSTfor- WorldHealth Organisation (WHO) is ade- and enforcement of penalties forthe killing the permanent members, including China, wherepeople subsistwhile theywait for malisedthem onlyinalegal sense. But for- batable move,notwithstanding the global and exploitation of protected wildlifeisbet- renders this achimera. In the run-up to the formal jobs. malisation processes arenot simplyabout consensus on the WHO’s China-bias. terthan most. Thereisconsiderable scope for ninth reviewconferenceofthe BWCin2021, Statistics suggestthat the size of the in- legal considerations, theyare also about in- At atime when the UNSC, G20, G7 and the Modi government to take the lead in pro- Indiacouldengageinconsultations with formal economy is farfrominsignificant. creasing productivity of informal enterprises the EU were inert, PrimeMinisterNarendra posing that CITES be givenmoreteeth to con- other middle powers to evolve aregime that At the lastcount, 90.6 per cent of India’s and incomes of the informal workforceby Modi stood out with his initiativestodevelop duct international scrutinyand inspections. can provide better oversight. workforcewas informallyemployed providingthem with technical andbusiness ajoint response. In bringingSAARCtogether The COVID-19pandemic has brought Theverynotionof criticalinfrastructurein (Periodic Labour ForceSurvey,2017-18). skills, infrastructureservices,financialserv- to fight the pandemic, Modi said “our neigh- across ahome truth: Wealth is unable to pro- thecyber domain is changing in myriad ways This estimateincludesthosewho areem- ices, enterprise supportand training to bet- bourhood collaboration should be amodel tect even the mostaffluent people from a with asudden surge in users and dataflowin ployedininformal enterprises (unincorpo- tercompete in the markets. Manypeople forthe world”. silent killer.Individuals with higher immu- thedigitalspace.Thishascreatedvast newat- ratedsmall or unregisteredenterprises) as working in the informal economyhavereal Therapidspreadof coronavirusaroundthe nity levels have abetterchance of survivalif tack surfaces in personal computers forhack- well as informal workers in the formal sec- business acumenand dynamism and could worldhas created fresh opportunities fordia- afflicted with COVID-19. The ancient Indian ers and cybercriminals, both stateand non- tor(workersinthe formal sectorwho are flourishifobstacles in the path to entrepre- logue. Thereishope,and scope, forcreating a practice of yoga is knowntoboostimmunity state.Post COVID-19,therewillbeevengreater notprovidedany social security benefitsby neurship were removed. This would enable newglobalcompact. Contributions will be levels through the cultivation of ahealthy reliance on artificial intelligence (AI), surveil- employers). The previous employment un- an organic process of transition and many measured notindollars alone, but in the lead- mind and body.This is the time to further re- lance technologies, online platforms and big employment surveys suggestthat the share informal enterpriseswould welcomeefforts ership thatcountriesexhibit —and theirwill- inforce the worldwide practice of yoga un- data.Indiamustredoubleitsefforts,alongwith of informallyemployedhas been persist- to reducebarriersto registrationandrelated ingnesstoshareideasandresourcesto develop der the banner of the International Dayof partners suchasthe USA, to push foramulti- entlyhigh. transaction costs as theyexpect to reap the an internationalmechanismfor monitoring, Yoga,also an initiative of Modi. India should stakeholdermodelofinternetgovernance. Between 2004-05 and 2017-18, ape- benefitsofformalising. verification, early warning and cooperation plan forspecial virtual eventsonJune 21 this The outlineofthe post-COVID-19era,par- riod when India witnessed rapid economic Clearly,the transition from informality among nation-states, including in vaccinede- year to encourage peoplearoundthe worldto ticularly in relation to economic recovery, growth, the shareofthe informalworkforce to formality is acomplex and long term velopment.Suchaframework willhavetolook practice yoga to promoteholistic health. healthcare, and food security,isfar from clear. witnessedonlyamarginal decline from process, one that cannotbeachieved beyond the limitations of the WHO. As the world’slargest producer andex- The pandemic mayserve toaccentuate the 93.2 per cent to 90.6 per cent. While there overnight. The policy discourseoninfor- In light of COVID-19, theredefinitelyex- porterofcost-effective generic drugs, India’s riftbetween the USAand China. However, wassome decline in the shareofworkers mality needs to focus notjustonformalis- ists acase forthe greater scrutinyof“wet readiness to ship the anti-malarial drug hy- giventhe inexorable centrality of the Chinese employedininformal enterprisesoverthis ing informal enterprises but also reducing markets” in China, south-eastAsia, and many droxychloroquine to fight COVID-19toothers As the world’slargest economy in global supplychains, it is amoot time period (from 87.4 per cent to 81.1 per the decent work deficit in informal employ- other countries around the world. Roadside is a“Good Samaritan” act in consonance with question if the economies of the USA, EU or cent), the shareofinformal workers in the ment. This requires protecting informal quacks across South Asia,too, areseen ex- the ethos of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”. producer and exporter of Japancan achieve amajor decoupling. formal sector increasedfrom5.8 per cent workers by providingthem asocial protec- tolling the spurious curative powers of lizard Indiaisalso in the race to produceavaccine. cost-effective generic drugs, COVID-19has shown howChina’s actionsim- to 9.5 per cent. Hence, the total shareofin- tion floor,ensuringaset of basic working oils and other extractsofprotected species. If China is a“factorytothe world”, India has India’sreadinesstoship the pact the entireworld. Whatever the denoue- formallyemployeddidn’t changemuch. conditions suchasadequateliving wages, Even the USA, which has enacted the the potential to be a“pharmacy to the world”. anti-malarial drug ment in the matter of bringingChina to book Looking ahead,itislikelythat informal em- limitsonhours of work and safeand Endangered SpeciesAct in1973, has notbeen It can even take on anew andwell-deserved forits actsofcommission or omission, itsco- ployment willincrease as workers wholose healthyworkplaces and increasing their able to eradicateanimal farms thatbreed and moniker,that of vishwavaidya(global physi- hydroxychloroquine to fight operation will bevital in reforming global in- formal jobs during the COVID crisis tryto collective representative voice. While,there trade exotic species. China operates commer- cian). This provides an opportunity to pro- COVID-19toothersisa stitutions and practices. find or creatework(by resorting to self-em- is growing consensus around the needfor cial tiger farms fortraditional medicine and mote ayurveda, whichcomplementsyoga. ‘Good Samaritan’act in India enjoys good relations withmulti- ployment) in the informaleconomy. Also eachoftheseelements, thereislittle agree- south-eastAsia does likewise with bears for At astrategic level, global opinion seems consonance with the ethos of ple powers and is well-regardedacross the formal enterprises arelikelytocontinue ment on howthis is to be achieved. bile extraction. All these activities increase weighedagainstChina, notwithstanding its developing world. With excellent long-term hiring informal workers as theyseek more Questionsaround the role of government the potential forzoonotic transmission of un- effortstosalvage credibility by shiftingthe ‘VasudhaivaKutumbakam’. economicprospectsinthe decades ahead, a flexibility and attempt to cut labour costs and who bears the onus of protecting known, deadlyviruses. focus away from the origins of the coron- India is also in the race to confident India appears fullycapable of ab- to cope with the COVID-19inducedeco- workers deservecareful considerationin The needofthe hour is to devise means avirus to the “superiority” of itssystemin produce avaccine. If China is sorbing the shocks of thepandemic and nomic uncertainty. the backdrop of the rising incidence of in- thatcan deal moreeffectivelywiththe ille- tackling the pandemic. Thereistalk of the a‘factorytothe world’, India striding forthtoengageaworld rivenby Thus,informality is heretostay and there formal employment in the formal sector galslaughter of exotic animals. Effortsmust coronavirus havingoriginated in alaboratory trade wars and ideological contestation. is an urgent needtoplace the informal econ- and the growth of the gig economy. be made to strengthen theConvention on in Wuhan, with manytheories about biolog- has the potential to be a Despite hardships, India can,and must, take omyatthe centreofthe policy debate. This As we grapple with ahealth, economic International Trade in Endangered Species of ical warfareprogrammes and accidental re- ‘pharmacy to the world’. It the lead in bringing the worldtogether to requires acomprehensiveunderstanding of and humanitarian crisis of epic propor- Wild Fauna and Flora(CITES), amultilateral lease. This provides an opportune moment caneven take on anew and practice anew multilateralism that places theheterogeneitiesinthe informaleconomy tions, theimmediate need is to provide treaty with morethan 180member coun- to turn the spotlight on the inherent weak- the common interests of humanity above and the various drivers of informality.Some emergency relief to cushion the effectsof tries. Thereshould be renewedfocus notonly nesses of the Biological WeaponsConvention well-deserved moniker,that narrow national interests. self-employedpersons choose to be in the the dualshocks of the virus and lockdown on theillegal international trade that is al- (BWC)of1975. It is adisarmament treaty that of ‘vishwavaidya’(global informal economyvoluntarilytoavoid reg- on informal workers by providing notjust ready coveredbyCITES, but also the haz- does notprohibit the retention and use of bi- physician). This provides an The writer is aformer ambassador,and istration or taxation, whilst others do so out adequateincome supportbut also free ardous exploitationofexotic wildlife species ological agents, including coronaviruses, for opportunitytopromote currently thedirector general of the of necessity to ekeout asubsistence living public provision of basic food items, other within national borders. All signatorystates, prophylactic purposeswhichencompass Manohar Parrikar Institute forDefence in the absence of alternative employment essentials and effective health services. The including China,mustpass and enforce leg- medical research fordiagnosis and immuni- ayurveda,which Studies and Analyses, NewDelhi. opportunities.Typically, fewinformal enter- COVID-19crisis has brought to the fore the islation to control the domestic consumption sation. It has no verification protocol to deal complements yoga. Viewsare personal prises, exceptperhaps some survivalactivi- vulnerabilities and precarities of the infor- ties, operateinisolation from formal firms. mal workforce. It is apparent that in our re- Theysource rawmaterialsfromand/orsup- lentless pursuitofeconomic growth, we plyfinishedgoodstoformal firms either di- have ignored the voices of India’s informal rectlyorthrough intermediate(formal/ in- sector fortoo long. formal) firms. But theychoosetoremain in Pandemic andpublic trust the informal sector as theyare deterred by The writer is senior fellowatICRIER

South Koreaholds lessons forleaders trying to use crisis to consolidatepower LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR Sanjib Baruah

SOUTH KOREA once featured prominently and the public’s trustand confidence in ernment has been using these powers pri- to do with therecent political history of WITH DIGNITY in what is now, thankfully, an obsolete de- them. The available legal regime shaping marilytofosterpublic trustinits strategy. South Korea. THIS REFERS TO the editorial, ‘Going LETTER OF THE bateonwhether authoritarian governments governmental responses has made a In an unusual twisttothe idea of the pub- President Moon, aformer lawyer special- home’ (IE, May1). Opening awindow WEEK AWARD can deliverbettereconomic growth than difference. lic’s “right to know,”the lawrequires author- isinginhuman rightsand labour law, cameof formigrantstoreturn home needs to democracies.The countrywas then heldas Anumber of democracies, notablythe ities to disclose locational information on ageduring awaveofstudent protests against be accompanied by ferrying them with To encouragequalityreader an exemplarysuccessstory of export-ledde- United States, have performedpoorly.Yet,it quarantinedpersonstothe public,though, authoritarian rule. He wasexpelledfrom dignity to their homes. Bareilly-type in- intervention, The Indian velopment under authoritarian rule. is surelynot accidental that NewZealand, those under medical surveillance have to be school and jailedfor his role in those protests. human treatment should notbemeted Express offers the Letter of Whatever the wisdom of development ex- Iceland, and Norway,whose leaders —all of eventuallynotifiedand the records de- Moon and other one-time pro-democracy out to them. It mayalso happenthat the Week award. The letter perts,and of the “Asian values” ideologues them women —havewon particular acclaim stroyed. It also sets forththe obligations of student protesters arenow members and sup- their ownvillages maybeloathe to al- adjudged thebestfor the at that time about asupposedtrade-off be- fortheir responses, areamong the best per- the statetodisinfect subways,buses and porters of the current government. lowthem backonmisplacedsuspicion tween economic growth and liberty,the av- forming democracies in the world. other public places and establishesthe right “Wheneverdemocracy has fallen intoa that theymay be carrying the virus. But week is publishedevery erageSouth Korean citizen had adifferent Therehas been muchwell-deserved of allcitizens to receive free diagnostic and crisis,” Moon told areporterafter being their return mustbeensured,asthereis Saturday. Letters maybe view. Anation-wide democracy movement praise forthe technicalities of the South medical treatmentfor infectious diseases. elected to office in 2017,“the Korean people bound to be abacklash if financiallyand e-mailedto endedauthoritarian rule in1987and inau- Korean response: Extensive testing and rapid This lawstands in remarkable contrastto have sprung up in rage.” emotionallyshattered people areput [email protected] gurated itscurrent polity:The Sixth Republic. contact-tracing, the smartuse of digital sur- India’s antiquated EpidemicDiseasesAct of Having been on the receiving end of au- through more. or sent to TheIndian Three decades later,agovernment made veillance,and targeted mandatoryquaran- 1897,invoked to give stategovernments the thoritarian arbitrariness,the current gener- DeepakSinghal, Chennai Express, B-1/B, Sector 10, up of the generation that grew up protesting tine onlyfor thosesickwithCOVID-19 or authority to enforcecontainment measures. ation of South Korean leaders appreciatethe Noida-UP 201301. the US-backedmilitary-authoritarianrule testing positive.But the basic democratic val- Originallyenactedduring the plague panic of need to transcend what the Universityof OTHER LEADERS stands as an inspiring example of aliberal ues widelyshared among the current gov- Bombay, it allowedthe colonial authorities to Chicago-educated vice-health ministerKim democracy successfullycontrolling aCOVID- ernment and itssupporters that undergird put infected areas under adefactostate of Gang-lipdescribes as the “limitations of the THIS REFERS TO thearticle, ‘Labour’s 19 outbreak without ever imposingalock- this strategy has notreceivedthe attention emergency.The morerecent Disaster conventional approachtofighting infectious leader’ (IE, May1). The articleclaims formation of the ILP by Ambedkar. down. SouthKorea wasone the world’s it deserves. Management Actof2005, that Prime Minister disease.” Gaining the public trustthrough that “B RAmbedkar laid the foundation Suchak DPatel, Ahmedabad worst-affected countries in February. On South Korea’s state-of-the-artInfectious NarendraModi invokedtoimpose anation- transparency and quickinformation flow, he forworkers’ rightsand social security April29, it recordedzerodomestically-trans- Disease Control and Prevention Actdeserves wide lockdown, wasdesignedwith national says,iscentral to his government’s strategy. in India”. Ambedkar wasavocal leader BORN TO ACT mitted newcases; itsfournew cases were all particular attention. It enables themobilisa- disasters and notapublic health crisisinmind. It is fartoo early in the coronavirus sagato forworkers’ rights.However, the credit tiedtooverseas travel. tion of multiple stateand non-state actors in Unfortunately, it tooprioritises military-style pronounce this or anyother strategy success- for“laying the foundation” in this re- THIS REFERS TO the editorial, ‘Lovely This is an especiallyhopeful and instruc- awhole-of-society effort to stop the spread commandandcontrol measures—not exactly ful.Yet, what thisnewly-energisedand vibrant gard goes to others. NMLokhnde lover’ (IE, May1). Starting with Mera tive storywhen illiberal leaders of certain of infectious disease. As Brian JKim points conducive to nurturing public trust. democracy has been able to achieveinthe past fought forthe labour rightsinthe 1880s, Naam Joker,for whichhewon the na- democraciesare trying to exploitthe pan- out, it empowers governmental authorities President Moon Jae-in’s left-leaning fewmonths holds important lessons forthe leading the struggle forleave and rea- tional awardfor the best child actor, demic to entrenchthemselvesinpowerand to act farmoreaggressively during apublic Democratic Partywon alandslide victory in rest of us —especiallyfor the once lively,but sonable working hours. Therewas a Rishi Kapoor mesmerisedfans through- stifle criticism of official high-handedness. health crisis than in many other democra- South Korea’s parliamentaryelections last nowexhausteddemocracies of the world. Madras Labour Union in the early out an illustrious career. He charmed To be sure, democracy or authoritarian- cies. Theyare able to collect private dataof month, signalling strong publicapproval of 1900s. In the 1910s, Gandhiji mobilised the countryinBobby.Sincethen, also ism per se has notbeen the determining fac- confirmedand probablepatients,and to re- the government’s handling of the crisis. Its Baruah is professor of political studies at the labour of Ahmedabad textile mills showedgreat versatility with films like torinthe ability to respond effectively to this quiretelecommunications companies and reliance primarilyonthe willing and self- BardCollege, NewYork,and author of the and fasted untodeath forthe labourers’ Mulk.Hewas born to act. crisis. One important variable has been the police departmentstosharethe geolocation motivatedcooperation of the public, and not 2020 published, In theName of the Nation: rights. All these took placebeforethe Parul Srivastava, Prayagraj competence of thosemaking keydecisions information of those individuals.But the gov- on the coercive powers of the state, has alot India and itsNortheast WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 8 THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,MAY4,2020 THE OUTBREAK TheWorld

PANDEMIC OTHER TOP GLOBAL STORIES WATCH Somenationseasecurbs,others Oli stays fornow, grappleaspandemicmarcheson China envoy had role in truce ASSOCIATEDPRESS PakistanPMImran ROME,MAY3 Khan said “wemay YUBARAJGHIMIRE have to live with the FROM THE US to Europe to Asia, KATHMANDU,MAY3 virusfor six months or the easing of some coronavirus Nepal PM lockdowns brought millions out SHEDDINGITS imageofbeing a KPOli (even) ayear”. File of their homes to enjoythe out- reluctant playerinthe internal doors and warm springtemper- politics of Nepal, China has been PAKISTAN atures. Yetthe global pandemic playing an active role these past piness,” stated apress releaseis- Over19,000 is still slicing through the de- fewdaysinKathmandu’s power suedbythe MinistryofForeign fenses of other nations, causing games. Affairs on April 27,hours afterthe casesreported, infections and deaths to march Ambassador Hou Yanqi, phoneconversation. relentlesslyhigher. Beijing’s envoy to Kathmandu, is “It wasunusual forthe deathtoll440 Newcoronavirus cases in being credited,inlarge measure, Chinese Presidenttoconveyhis Russia exceeded10,000 forthe forthe rapprochement at the top messagetothe Prime Ministerof Islamabad: Pakistan's firsttime, reaching 10,633on levelofthe ruling Nepal another country through the coronavirus tallycrossed Sunday—nearly double the new CommunistParty and, in the President,” asenior diplomat of 19,000 on Sundayafter cases reportedaweek ago. process, savingthe chair of Prime Nepal, nowretired,said. “After 989new patientswere ARussian epidemiologist, MinisterKPOli. all, hishappiness is also linked to diagnosedina24-hour however, said the sharp increase Acrucialmeetingofthe nine- his political successand defeat period. The Ministryof in coronaviruscases reflected in- member party centralsecretariat of dissidents,” the diplomat said. National HealthServices creasedtesting. Alexander endedSaturdaynight with Oli’s Between April 27 and May1, said 23 patients diedin Gintsburgofthe Gamaleya victory aftera‘let’s go together as an official holiday, Ambassador this period, taking the to- Research Center for aunited face’ appeal by dissident Hou Yanqi metPresident taltoll to 440. So far, 4,817 Epidemiology and Microbiology leaderandformerPrimeMinister Bhandari, Prime MinisterOli, people have recovered wasquotedbythe Interfax news PushpaKamal Dahal Prachanda - Prachanda and former Prime from the virus, the min- agency as saying the increasing on Wednesdaynight, it was MinisterMadhavKumar Nepal istrysaid. Out of the total number of infections doesnot Prachanda who had used the —15minutes separated thelast 19,103 virus patients, indicateadeepening pandemic, PeopleatabeachinHong Kong, Sunday. China, whichreported only twonew cases, sawasurge in visitors to tourist spots. Reuters same forum to ask Oli to resign. twomeetings. Punjab has reported7,106 noting that testing has doubled In the pastten days,ever Therehas been no official cases, Sindh 7,102, over the past10days. since Chinese President Xi word from anyside about the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Russia has reported1,222 touristspots afterdomestic itorsto30per cent of capacity or and chatting on sidewalks. runner Cristina Palomeque said Jinping had a40-minutephone meetings, but ahighlyplaced 2,907, Balochistan1,172, virusdeaths among 124,000in- travel restrictions were relaxed less to keep some social distanc- Prime MinisterGiuseppe in Barcelona. conversation with Nepal coun- source said AmbassadorHou Islamabad 393, Gilgit- fections, numbers that health ahead of afive-dayholiday that ing in place. Contehas warnedthatifthe rate In Britain, Prime Minister terpartBidhya Devi Bhandari,os- Yanqi advisedunity in the party Baltistan356 and experts widelybelieve under- runs through Tuesday. Italians arecounting down of contagionstartsrising again, BorisJohnson is under pressure tensiblytopromise all support and astablegovernment. Pakistan-occupied count the true toll of itsoutbreak. Nearly 1.7millionpeoplevis- the hours until Monday, when suchfreedoms will be curtailed. to reveal howthe country will to fight the COVID-19pandemic, China has muchatstake in Kashmir 67 cases. PTI Therewasalsoworryingnews ited Beijingparkson thefirsttwo parks and publicgardenswere In Spain, manyventured out leave the lockdown that began Ambassador Hou Yanqihas been Nepalgivenitsinvolvementinde- fromAfghanistan,wherenearly a days of theholiday, and re-opening nationwide for this weekend forthe firsttime March 23. The restrictionsare very active -and visible. velopmentalprojects. thirdtestedpositive in arandom Shanghai’s main touristspots strolling, jogging or bikeriding. since itslockdown beganon due to last at leastuntil through President Xi had dropped Kathmandu is also asignatoryto test of 500people in Kabul. welcomedmorethan1million But with sunshineand warm March 14. Thursday, but with hundredsof broad political hints, lending Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative. IRAN China, whichreportedonly visitors, according to Chinese temperatures across the coun- “I feel good, but tired.You deathsstill beingreporteddaily, supporttoPrime MinisterOli at Incidentally, Prachanda’sap- Somemosques, twonew cases, is seeing asurge media. try, manywereoutside in force surenotice that it has been a it’s unclear howthe country can atime when at leastsix of the peal forunity,following his call in visitors to newlyreopened Manyspots limited dailyvis- Sunday, walking down streets month and Iamnot in shape,” safelyloosen the restrictions. nine central secretariat mem- forousterofOli, took Madhav schoolsto bers had come out openlyin Nepal by surprise. favour of his exit as party chair- “I opposedPrime MinisterOli reopentoday man as well as Prime Minister. because Iwanted theparty to PompeoonCOVID: Chinahas “His Excellency the President work underasystemand as per Dubai:Iranplansto reopen of China expressedhis happiness norms and lawand notassome mosquesandschoolsinar- over the return of Right one’s pocketborough. Two eas that have been consis- ahistory of infecting the world Honourable Prime MinisterKP chiefscan alwaysbeonone side, tentlyfreeofthe coron- SharmaOlito normalwork sched- but notatthe costofparty prin- avirusasPresidentHassan ThisWeek programme. uleafterhiskidneytransplantsur- ciples,” said Nepal who declined Rouhani’s government ASSOCIATEDPRESS “These arenot the firsttimes geryandconveyedhisbest wishes to acceptOli’s offertobethe starts to ease restrictions WASHINGTON,MAY3 that we’vehad aworld exposed to the Rt. Hon. Prime Ministerof thirdchairman of the party after that were aimedatcon- to virusesasaresult of failures in Nepalforhisgoodhealthandhap- he and Prachanda. taining the outbreak. US SECRETARYofState Mike aChinese lab. And so, while the “Mosques will reopen in Pompeo on Sundaysaid China intelligence community contin- 132low-riskor‘white has been responsible forthe uestodoitswork, theyshould Rohingyaatsea Israel court cities’ and towns from spread of disease in the pastand continue to do that, and verify so Monday. Fridayprayerser- must be held accountable forthe that we arecertain, Ican tell you for weeks arrive hears pleas monswillresumeinthose coronavirus pandemic that orig- that there is asignificant amount areasaswell...However, all Supporters of Donald TrumpprotestMinnesota Governor inated in the country. MikePompeo of evidence that this came from on Bangladesh against thesestepswillbetakenby TimWalz’sstay-at-home orders in St Paul. AP/PTI In commentslikelytospark that laboratoryinWuhan.” respecting the health pro- protests from Beijing and else- Pompeo appeared to be re- island Netanyahu rule tocols,”Rouhanisaid.Iran's where, Pompeo said, “China has wasdeliberately spread but he ferring to previous outbreaksof health ministryhas di- ahistory of infecting the world.” ramped up alreadyharsh US crit- respiratoryviruses, likeSARS, videdthe country into Coronavirus becomes a He cited poorsafetyand security icism of the Chinese fortheir re- whichstarted in China. But his ASSOCIATEDPRESS ASSOCIATEDPRESS white, yellowand red at epidemiological laboratories, sponse to the outbreak. remarkmay be seen as offen- DHAKA,MAY3 JERUSALEM,MAY3 basedonthenumberof in- battle cry for US extremists including in the city of Wuhan “Remember,China has ahis- sive in China giventhe history fections and deaths. wherethe virus wasfirst tory of infecting the world, and of US discrimination against AT LEAST29Rohingya refugees ISRAEL’SHIGH court heardpeti- REUTERS pated advent of atotalitarian reported. theyhaveahistory of running the Chinese and people of from afishingboat floating in the tions Sundaythat seek to block THENEWYORKTIMES state. He stressedthat he had no substandardlaboratories,” Chinese origin dating to the BayofBengal forweekshave Prime MinisterBenjamin BANGLADESH NEWYORK,MAY5 “They arebeing very effective reason to believe that the virus Pompeo said Sunday on ABC’s 19th century. landed on an islandinsouthern Netanyahu from forming agov- in capitalizing on the pandemic,” Bangladesh, officials said Sunday. ernment because he has been Highest AMERICA’S EXTREMISTSare at- said Devin Burghart, aveteran The refugees, including 15 chargedwith serious crimes. single-day tempting to turn the coronavirus researcher of whitenationalists women and six children, landed Apanelof11justices partici- pandemic intoapotent recruit- who runs the Institutefor British govt had contingency on Bhasan Char island on pated in the highlyanticipated spikerecorded ing tool both in the deep corners Research andEducation on Saturdayand arebelieved to be session that wasbeing portrayed of the Internetand on the streets HumanRights, aSeattle-based from one of severalboatsstuck by some as awatershedmoment Dhaka: Bangladesh regis- of statecapitals by twisting the research center on farright plan for my death,says Boris at sea, said TonmoyDas, local forIsraeli democracy.The hear- teredits highestsingle- public health crisis to bolster movements. chief government official in ing wasbroadcast live. dayincrease in the coro- their whitesupremacist, anti- What success the groups me to be agood move but they Noakhali district. If the courtvoids navirus cases with 665 government agenda. have had in finding freshrecruits REUTERS were pretty adamant. Looking Das said food,doctorsand a Netanyahu’sability to serve as newinfections in the last Although the protests that is notyet clear,but newresearch LONDON,MAY3 British PM back, they were right to forceme team of 10 policemen were sent prime minister, Israel could be 24 hours, taking the total have broken out across thecoun- indicates asignificant jumpin Boris to go.” to the islandtotakecareofthe plunged intopolitical chaos, and number to 9,455. tryhavedrawn outawide vari- people consuming extremist THE BRITISH government had a Johnson Johnson wasadmitted to a refugees. it would likelytrigger the coun- Bangladesh also recorded etyofpeople pressing to liftstay- material while under lockdown. contingency planfor Prime ward on April 5and givenoxygen An official from Bangladesh’s try’s fourth consecutive election twomoredeaths from at-home orders,the presence of Various violent incidentshave MinisterBoris Johnson’sdeath as via aface mask and atubeinhis Refugee Commissioner’s office in justover12months. the virus in the last24 extremists cannotbemissed, been linked to whitesuprema- he battledCOVID-19 in intensive nario,” Johnson wasquotedas nose. “I wasgoing through litres in Cox’s Bazar districtsaid the of- Thejustices arebeing asked hours, taking the total with their anti-immigrant and cistoranti-governmentperpe- carelastmonth, he said in an in- saying in Sunday's edition of The and litresofoxygenfor along fice wasaware of the develop- to decide whether aprime min- death count to 177, the anti-Semitic signs and coded tratorsenragedoveraspects of terviewwith The Sun newspaper. Sun.“It wasatough oldmoment, time,” he said.Hewas movedto ment.The official spokeoncon- istercan form agovernment Dhaka Tribune reported. messages aimedatinspiring the the pandemic. Johnson, 55, returnedto Iwon't denyit.” intensive careonApril6. dition of anonymity. while under indictment -some- DirectorateGeneral of faithful, saythose who tracksuch Engagement with violent ex- work lastweek,amonth after Johnson said thatduring the At one point, doctors dis- Rightsgroupssay hundreds thing the Israeli legal code does Health Services movements. tremistcontent online in states testing positivefor COVID-19. He period when he wasself-isolat- cussedinvasive ventilation. of Rohingyaare strandedonat notexplicitlyprohibit. Additional Director EmbellishingCOVID-19 de- with extendedstay-at-home or- spent 10 days in isolation in ing in Downing Street,hehad re- AfterJohnson wasdischarged, leasttwo fishing trawlers be- Netanyahu wasindictedear- General Nasima Sultana velopmentstofit their usual ders grew 21 percent in early Downing Street before he was sistedgoingtohospital. St Thomas' said it wasglad to have tween Bangladesh and Malaysia. lier this year on chargesofac- on Sundaysaidthe health agenda, extremists spreaddisin- Aprilcompared with the eight takentoLondon’s St Thomas' “I wasindenial because Iwas cared forthe prime minister, but The refugees reportedlyat- cepting bribes, fraudand breach authorities have so formation on the transmission previous months, accordingtoa Hospitalwherehespent three working and Ikeptdoing these thehospital has givennodetails temptedtoillegallyreach of trust. He has deniedany farconducted 81,434 of the virus and disparagestay- report by MoonshotCVE,astart- nightsinintensive care. meetings by video-link,” he said. about the gravity of his illness be- Malaysia, but failedbecause of wrongdoing. His trial waspost- tests. PTI at-homeorders as “medical up that monitors extremist “They had astrategy to deal “...I saidIreallydidn't want to go yond stating that he wastreated strict patrols to keep out the poneddue to restrictions after martial law” —the long-antici- searches on Google. with a‘death of Stalin’-type sce- intohospital. It didn't seem to in intensive care. coronavirus. the coronavirus crisis erupted.

FANS SAY PROGRAMME HIGHLIGHTS JEWISH COMMUNITIES IN THE GULF,CRITICS CALL IT EFFORT TO RESHAPE ARAB VIEWS OF ISRAEL Jewishcharacters in SaudiTVshow sparks debate amongArabs

gion's historical relationships With the coronavirus shut- coordinated with theIsraeli oc- While MBC deniedthat in- At thesame time, some THENEWYORKTIMES with Jewish communities and tering mosques and the holycity cupation state,” Mr Atwansaid. cluding positive depictions of Persian Gulf leaders have come BEIRUT,MAY3 the shifting stances of some of its of Mecca, this year's Ramadan, Suspicions that the historical Jews waspartofany govern- to see Israel notasaneternal en- current leaderstowardIsrael. whichbegan lastweek, wasal- TV drama, Um Haroun,or ment mandate, this year's shows emy, but as apotential ally IN Amud-walledvillageinthe Fans laud the programme, set ready bound forthe history “Mother of Aaron”, is partofa do coincide withaquietbut clear againstthe shared threatsofIran Persian Gulf, aChristian woman in the 1940s and 1950s, forhigh- books. state-sponsored push to sway warming toward Israel among and the Muslim Brotherhood. sheds tears of love foraMuslim lighting an oftenoverlooked as- But the virus's effect on the opinions arewidespread. The governmentsinthe Persian Gulf. CrownPrince Mohammed merchant.But he is stuckina pect of the region's past—Jewish Islamic holymonth is justone showairs on MBC,the Arab Historically, animosity to- bin Salman of Saudi Arabia has miserable marriagetoawoman communities in the Persian Gulf aspect that will be long remem- world's largest private broad- ward Israel and sympathyfor the spoken of overlapping trade and who longs foranother Muslim —while providing amuch- bered, aprominent Palestinian caster,but oneultimatelycon- Palestiniansweresome of the securityinterests between the man.But she can’t have him,be- neededexample of coexistence journalist, Abdel Bari Atwan, trolledbythe Saudi state. fewsentimentsable to unite kingdom and Israel, and an causeheiscrazy about the local amongdifferent faiths. wrotethis week. The same networkisalso Arabs across the MiddleEast. But Israeli delegation is expected to rabbi’s daughter. But critics have blasteditasa The other reason this broadcasting acomedy pro- in recent years, wars, insurgen- participateinaworldexpo in These tangles of interreli- blatant effort to reshape Arab Ramadan won't soon be forgot- gramme that has made lightof cies and economic crises have the United Arab Emirates next gious intrigue unspool in anew views of Israel to pave the way tenisbecause “it witnessedthe Arab attitudes toward Israel, fur- leftmanyArabgovernmentsfo- year,although both Saudi Arabia blockbustertelevision series that forformal relations, or what largest normalisation campaign, ther fueling asense that both cusedondomestic issues, push- and the Emirates lackformal has setoff heated debates across manyinthe Arab worldcall drivenbythe Saudi media, with Ascene from the Saudi TVserial UmmHaroun. MBCGroup via AP shows aremixing entertainment ing the Palestinian cause down diplomatic relationswiththe the Arab worldabout the re- “normalisation”. help from the government, and with propaganda. the priority list. country. WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,MAY4,2020 MarketWatch S&P 500 RALLIES 30% OFF MARCH LOWS NewYork: TheS&P 500 has rallied about 30 per cent offits March lows,fueled by monetaryand fiscal policy designed to stimulate 9 ECONOMY the economyafter the United States ordered country-wide lockdowns to stop the spread of thenovel coronavirus. REUTERS

AFTER RECORDNET OUTFLOW OF `1,18,203 CR IN MAR; SENSEXREVIVESSHARPLY BY 14.4% Agriculturean FPIspauseselloffmode,outflowdrops88%inApr exception, fertiliser nounceda21-daylockdown on tive control in the spread of virus ging economywould have also salesjump 45%inApr ENSECONOMICBUREAU FLOWOFFUNDS March24. in India, the uncertainty still con- resonated well with investors.” NEWDELHI,MAY3 The outflowfromthe equity tinues.However, as countries He further addedthat with Equity Debt Debt-VRRHybrid Total markets reducedfromRs61,972 around theworld areworking on selective relaxationinthe lock- despite lockdown IN Abig relief to the capital mar- Jan20 12,122.58 -11,647.95 529.15-46.29957.49 croreinMarch to Rs 6,883crore developingmedicine and vac- down and gradual opening up of kets, even as the coronavirus in April.The sharp declineinout- cine forCOVID-19 and there economic activity in the country, Feb20 1,819.83 2,096.76 2,637.25 2,416.388,970.22 pandemiccontinues to hit flowbroughtrelief forequity seems to be some progress on it, foreign investors will be closely economiesand marketsworld- Mar20 -61,972.75 -60,375.81 4,164.77 -19.28-1,18,203.07 marketsand theystagedasmart asuccess on that front will lead watching the developmentson HARISHDAMODARAN The lockdown has wide, foreign portfolio investors Apr20 -6,883.57 -12,551.684,032.53 544.18 -14,858.54 recovery,inline with other global to aV-shapedrecoveryinthe this front. NEWDELHI,MAY3 notimpacted nutrient (FPIs) significantlyreducedthe markets.After witnessing asharp economyand markets. Unless, Theywould also startlooking Total -54,913.91 -82,478.6811,363.72,894.99-1,23,133.90 sales, partlybecause pace of outflowsinApril,after a Note:FiguresareinRscrore;Source:CDSL fall of 23 per cent in March,the thereisafresh scareonspread of at the domestic economic indi- AUTO COMPANIES did notsell a recordnet outflowofRs1,18,203 SensexatBSE revivedsharply by virus, Ithink FPIs willnot press catorsaswell to see howthe single car or two-wheeler in agricultural inputs croreinMarch 2020. In April, FPIs 14.4 per cent in April. the panic button,” said theCEO countrymanages itsdeficits, he April as manufacturing plants were exempted pulledout anet of Rs 14,858 crore retention route(VRR) scheme kets,while providing FPIs with Expertssay as the govern- of aleading brokerage. added. and showrooms remained from equity and debtmarkets. that allows FPIs to participatein operational flexibilitytomanage ment has announced to signifi- Himanshu Srivastava,senior “These areunprecedented closeddue to the nationwide from restrictions According to datasourced repos and alsoinvestinexchange their investments. cantly relaxthe lockdownrestric- analystmanager research, scenarios; and with risk-taking lockdown, but retail sales of fer- on movement, from CDSL, FPIs sold anet of Rs tradedfunds thatinvestindebt Whilenet fund outflowofRs tionsindistrictsmarkedingreen MorningstarIndia, said, “So far, going offthe table, emerging tilisers jumped45.1per cent distribution or retailing 6,883crore from theequities instruments. Theyinvestedanet 14,858 crorefromcapital mar- and orange, and also allowcer- Indiahasbeenableto containthe marketslikeIndia maycontinue year-on-year in April to 20.56 market in April and soldnet hold- of Rs 4,032 croreindebt VRR ketsinApril is asignificant tain business activities in districts COVID-19pandemic from to witness similartrends fora lakh tonnes (lt). ings worthRs12,551crore from schemes in April. amount, it is one-eighth of out- markedinred,itwill restartsome spreading aggressively.Inaddi- prolonged period or until the Datafromthe Departmentof mand forseedisalsoseen to be thedebt market. TheVRR channelisaimed at flows seen in March whenthe economic activity in the country tionto that, measuresannounced time situation on the coron- Fertilisersshows urea salesin- high.Till acoupleofweeksback, Theywere, however,net pos- attractinglong-term andstable pandemic startedspreading in that has come to agrinding halt. by thegovernment and the RBI avirus front stabilizes,” said creased36.2per cent to 10.95 lt, therewas concern over availabil- itive investors in debt voluntary FPI investmentsintodebt mar- India and the Prime Ministeran- “While therehas been rela- periodicallytorevitalize the sag- Srivastava. di-ammonium phosphate71.7 ity of seed, especiallyfor cotton per cent to 2.97lt, nitrogen- whose sowing has juststartedin phosphorous-potash-sulphur Punjab, Haryana and north complexfertilisers 81.4 per cent Rajasthan. Muchofhybridpaddy, Peak power demand REASON duetolimitedawareness,options to 3.9 lt,muriateofpotash 43 per maize and cotton seedproduc- Online car sales maygain Fearofinfectionandlackof andflexibility cent to 1.33 lt,single super phos- tion is concentratedin the south- down 26% in May hygienearelikelytomovepeople’s phate5.6 per cent to 1.31 lt and ern states. The IndianExpress had traction post-COVID-19: EY preferencebacktopersonal FALLOUT compost37.5per cent to 11,000 earlier reported that bothpro- mobility Oneofthemanyfalloutsofthe tonnes. cessing and transportofseeds to despite easing of curbs Post theCOVID-19crisis, online car sales arelikely to gain COVID-19crisisislikelytobe The 45.1per cent nutrient the consumingcentreshad been traction as customers would lean further towards EFFECT people’sproclivitytoownand sales jump in April, however, hitbythe non-availabilityof contactless modes of purchasing, according to areport by This,inturn,islikelytoreversethe travelinapersonalvehiclerather does notseem to be aone-off labour and trucks. ENSECONOMICBUREAU LOCKDOWNHITS consultancy firm EY trendofdecliningcarsales thanusesharedmobilityorpublic phenomenon. As the table “Seedprocessing plantsare NEWDELHI,MAY3 POWERDEMAND transport shows,fertilisersales registered still operating at about 60 per OUTLOOK double-digitgrowth every cent capacityonaccount of INDIA CONTINUES to face lower ■ EYsaidautomotiveretailneeds Continuedadherencetosocial month sinceNovember. labourshortages. But transporta- ■ India’s daily power demandfor powerdespitea tobecomevirtual,leanandflexible distancingnormsinapost-COVID- “The rabi (winter-spring) sea- tion issues have been signifi- demandhas declined partial easing up of the nation- toaligntothesuddenaccelerated 19world son wasgreat for us because of cantlysortedout, particularly by 25-28per cent wide lockdown during the on- changeinconsumerbehaviour an extendedmonsoon, whichled with the Railwaysstepping in. Of since the beginningof going COVID-19pandemic. ■PosttheCOVID-19crisis,there Thepathtopurchasewillcontinue to groundwater tables getting the estimated90 lakh packets re- the lockdown, driven Peak powerdemand —the isnodenyingthatcustomers tobeinfluencedbydigitalenablers rechargedand reservoirs being quirement of cotton seedsfor primarilybyfactory highestenergy supplyinaday wouldleanfurthertowardsonline withsomecustomersegments filledtonear capacity.Farmers, Northwest India, 50-60lakh have and office closures in across the country—dropped andcontactlessmodesof preferringavirtualpathfrom therefore, plantedmorearea. been movedinrail wagons from the commercialand over 26 per cent in Maysofar, purchasing.Vehiclesmayverywell awarenesstoclosure Theynow want to utilise the sub- Salem (TamilNadu) to Bhatinda industrial sectors that shows PowerMinistrydata. fallinthesamecategorytoo.While stantiallyimprovedsoil moisture (Punjab). The rest have been de- contributeover52per May1saw apeak powerde- Indiansarealreadymoreinclined Acontactlesspurchasejourney forthe ensuing kharif season as liveredbytruckswell in time for cent of total demand, mandof131.40 GW beingmet, towardsresearchingonlinewhile couldbeawin-winsituationfor well, whichisreflected in the sowing,” notedRam Kaundinya, as peraCII report. while 134.70GWwas the peak buyingcars,onlinesalesarerare customers,OEMsanddealers April sales,”said afertiliser indus- Director-General, Federationof powersuppliedonMay 2.Bycom- tryexecutive. Seed IndustryofIndia. parison, the peak powerdemand The nationwide lockdown Nurserysowing of paddy will was182.53GWinMay lastyear. the lowpower demand during Digitalheavyprocessesofferingflexibilityinconsumer Anintegrated“phygital”platformwithadigitally-enabled has clearly notimpactednutrient begininPunjaband Haryana af- In April, too, the peak power the lockdown and itspotential connectsupportedbyleandealeroperationsisboundto agilesalesforcewillbecomeacriticalsuccesscriteriontotap Source: sales, partlybecauseagricultural termid-May, while kharif plant- demanddippedabout one- impact on thealreadyfinan- becomethenewnormalinthenearfuture intoselectconsumersegments EY/PTI inputswereexemptedfromre- ings in the rest of India will take fourth from the samemonth last ciallystressedpower sector. strictions on movement, distri- offwith the arrivalofmonsoon year.The powerdemand during The country’s electricity dis- bution or retailing. If anything, it in June. According to Kaundinya, April has ranged between tribution companies (discoms) mayhavehelped. transport of vegetable seeds - 116.89 GW (April8)to132.77 owe over Rs 92,800crore to “Justaswith the panic buying whichtakes place in 40-50 kg GW (April30),and peak power electricity generators (gencos) Credit risk funds see outflows of `11,134 cr we sawfor foodstuff, dealers packets through surface courier demand crossedthe 130GW as of February2020, shows data wanted to stockupinanticipa- services, as opposedtotruckor markonApril 24 (130.02GW), from the PowerMinistry’s tion of kharif demand. We nor- wagonloads forothers-contin- April 29 (131.13GW) and April PRAAPTI portal. in aweek after FranklinTempleton crisis mallysupplyon2-2.5 months uestoface bottlenecks,“but the 30 (132.77GW), the data India’s dailypower demand credit to enable sales that peak overall situationismuchbetter showed. had declinedby25-28 per cent funds waspulledout by investors said:‘’Declining trendinnet re- onlyafter June, but theyactually thanwhat it wastwo weeksago”. This means the overall peak since the beginningofthe na- ENSECONOMICBUREAU inthelastweekofAprilalone.The demptionsfromcreditriskfundsis lifted material on cash this time. The mostimportant thing at powerdemandmet in April tionwide lockdown, drivenpri- MUMBAI,MAY3 Risky overall debt segment had wit- awelcome development, indica- Also, theyfearedthat therupee’s the end of day, though, is that stood at 132.77GW, down from marilybyfactoryand office clo- creditrisk nessedoutflows of Rs 1.94 lakh tive of investorscomfortfromRBI’s weakening maycause prices of the farmer wantsfertiliser and 176.81GWinApril 2019. sures in the commercialand MUTUAL FUNDS witnessedout- funds croreinthe month of March. specialliquidityfacilityavailableto importedfertilisers and inputsto seed. Thereisnocertainly short- The relatively cool weather industrial sectors that con- flowsofRs11,134crore under However, AMFI said netre- the MF industry. AMFIwillcon- go up in the coming months,” the ageofdemand here, which has playedspoilsport in April as tributeover52per cent of total credit risk funds in aweek after WHILE THE RBI’s demptionsundercreditriskfunds, tinue to work withregulators for executivesaid. might notbesowith cars and well as May, keeping powerde- demand,said the Confederation Franklin Templetondecidedto Rs 50,000croreliquidity one of debt mutual fund scheme normalfunctioningof themarket.” It is notonlyfertilisers; de- two-wheelers. mand lowduring this time, an of Indian Industryinareport last shutdownsixcreditriskschemes windowhas givensome category, which constituteless Franklin TempletonMutual industryexperttold PTI. month. on April 24 blaming the ongoing comforttomutual funds, than 5per cent of total debt mu- Fund, the ninth largest mutual The loweconomic activity in At the time that the lock- “liquidity crisis” in the market. credit risk funds aremost tual fund AUM, aretapering off fund in the country, had givena ALL-INDIAFERTILISERRETAILSALES(LAKHTONNES) the countryduring the lock- down had been extendedto Accordingtothe Association at risk if redemptions substantially, postRBI’sannounce- big jolttothe investor commu- 2018-192019-20 %Growth down, especiallyinthe manu- May3,CII estimated discoms to of Mutual Funds of India (AMFI), continue, particularly ment of special liquidity measure nity with itsdecision to wind up facturing sectors, has also played suffer anet revenueloss of Rs netredemptionsundercreditrisk where funds have expo- of Rs 50,000 crorefor the mutual six yield-oriented managed Oct48.37 45.17-6.62 aroleinthe lowerdemand. 25,000croretoRs30,000crore. funds stood at Rs 2,949.49crore suretoless liquid securi- fund industry. credit fundswitheffect from April Nov63.26 73.8416.72 Severalcompanies in segments Expertssaid with mercury as of April 24,and peaked at Rs ties, suchasunlistedse- “Allmutualfundshave metthe 23, 2020. Dec 70.86 87.08 22.89 of the country’s manufacturing expected to soarinthe coming 4,294.36 croreasofApril27. curities and higher risk redemptionsinthenormalcourse The six schemes —Franklin industryare yettorestart oper- days and resumption of some “Thereafter, forthepastthreedays appetitethrough expo- of business. Thereis81.5per cent Indialowdurationfund,dynamic Jan 58.0464.5 11.13 ations despiteeasing of the re- economic activities from i.e. on TuesdayApril 28, April 29 suretodefaulted entities. drop in netredemptions in credit accrualfund,creditriskfund,short Feb30.3946.6153.37 strictions in the lasttwo months Monday, powerdemandmay andApril30,thenetredemptions risk funds categoryonApril 30 term income plan, ultrashort Mar 24.6 28.96 17.72 due to issues with liquidity and see an uptick, reported PTI. undercreditriskfundsstoodatRs fromthepeaknetredemptionsas bond fund and income opportu- Apr 14.17* 20.56** 45.1 labour. However, theyare of the view 1,847.29 crore, Rs 1,251.17 crore Asthecreditriskfundcategory onApril27,courtesymeasuresan- nities fund—havecombinedas- Industrybodies and analysts that touching lastyear’s levels is andRs793.99crorerespectively,” had assets of over Rs 55,000crore nouncedbythe RBI,” AMFI said. sets under management of *April2019, **April2020. Source: DepartmentofFertilisers. have expressed concernabout still along time away. AMFI said. till March,over20per cent of the Nilesh Shah, Chairman, AMFI, around Rs 28,000crore. BRIEFLY ‘Govt to set up panel to FROMPAGEONE EPFOstaff give clearances in 3-mth contributeto Small berstrongElvis and Reema sudden, whenyou don’t getto ment wherecontract employ- resentative said. time frame for businesses’ Salon in Greater Kailash-1,a work fortwo months, it sets you ees getasteady stream of in- Other entrepreneurs have PM-CARES popularstandalone salon that back,”she said. “It is heartbreak- come during marriages and ensured that their the workers services would receive,onanaverage, ing formetoeventhink about other functions have been hit who chose to stay back aretaken NewDelhi: Employees of re- PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA The committee will be around 500clientsamonth be- layingoff someofmyteam. I hard. “Manypeople associated careof. Vipul RayofVadodara- tirement fund body EPFO NEWDELHI,MAY3 setupincoordination fore thelockdown, arenot sure can’t do that, because where in our business -suchascaterer, based ElmexControls, which have collectively contributed stare at end howmuchlonger theycan sus- would theygo? Even bigger sa- chef, fruit suppliers, confection- countsHoneywell Automation Rs2.5croretowardsthePM- THE GOVERNMENT will setup with states and the tain themselves. lon chains won’t be hiring dur- ers -havelosttheir livelihood. and Rockwell Automation CARESFundto supportfight apanel to provide necessary central government as of road Reema Bhatia, co-founder, ing this time,” she said. We don’t expect the marriage, among itscustomers, is one againstthe pandemic. clearances neededbybusi- stakeholders expects clientele to nearly halve Forsmall enterprises,the celebrations business to im- suchunit. “MSMEs aretypically nesses within atimeframe of andMeerut but the concernis if and when theyreopendue to problemsare multi-fold -from proveinthe next six months,” owner-drivencompanies, so the three-months in abid to attract identical. Earlier this month, social distancing norms. credit availabilitytolackof said Manish Goel,proprietorat cultureismoreofafamilybusi- BoBdisburses foreign investment in MSMEs, enterprises (MSMEs). Dhingrahad to pull the plug on “Our major business comes working capital to issues in en- Ludhiana-based, Sri Laxmi ness. While theymay notbein `2,300cr MSME MinisterNitin Gadkari “Weare going to formulatea her Le15Café in downtown from longer,moreelaborate cashing their assets even if they Fabrics, whichprovides fabrics, aposition to meet the govern- said. committee wherewewill give Mumbai after10yearsinopera- services, whichwedon’tthink were to shut shop. decor and catering services. ment-mandated legal require- toMSMEs Addressingthe Chartered all types of clearances within 3 tions. anyone will want. Theywill Service sector firms in the Across the board, the de- ments, theymeettheir own AccountantsAssociationof months and at the sametime, Beforegiving up the lease on want to come and quicklyget downstream logistics business mand forarelief packagefrom moral requirements. Theywill NewDelhi:TheMSMEsector India, he informedthat aJoint therewill be no redtape, full the café, Dhingra had contem- minor services done and leave. tooare facing challenges. the Government centres around see to it that medicines and ra- is keypriority area and Bank Secretary-level officer has al- transparency,time bound deci- plated other options: renegoti- We aregetting some requests Aakanksha Bhargava,CEO of PM liquidity and capital protection. tion issues aretaken careofun- of Baroda is taking various ready been appointed to look af- sion making process, qualitative ating the cafe’s rent to downsiz- from our regular clientsasking Relocations, aGurugram-based LogisticscompanyPMtil things go back to normal,” Ray steps, includingaRs2,300- terthe foreign investment in mi- approachand no corruption,” ing her team and operatingasa us when we will open up again, packing and moving company Relocations’Bhargava says the told The Indian Express. crorefinancial support, to cro, small and medium Gadkari said. delivery-onlybusiness. Yet, the butevenifwedo, we don’t ex- with an annual turnoverof government should take careof Until then, all eyes areonthe helpthesector,executive di- “exceptionallyhigh” costs of pect all our customers to re- about Rs 72 crore, said the dry- the Provident Fund contribu- Government. An entrepreneur rector VikramadityaSingh running arestaurant in Mumbai, turn,” she told The Indian ing up of working capital is a tions forevenmicroand small in Mumbaispeaksfor all: “The Khichi said. Allow districts with high economic coupledwith alackofcus- Express. major challenge. This strain has enterprises,inaddition to the al- Government is all in all, espe- tomers, made it impossible to The salon has been strug- resulted in acash crunchfor em- ready announcedsupport ciallyfor small businesses which activity to resumebiz operations: CII continue, she said. gling to payits costs,whichac- ployers likeBhargava to pay measures forasection of com- have to complywith abunchof ‘RCEPdeal Confederation of Indian But, moreimportantly, it was count fornearly 50 percent of its salaries forApril to herstaff of panies. regulations and laws.Our appeal ontrackfor PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA Industry(CII)calledfor economic when she looked at the next six revenues, becauseright now 500employees in 10 offices Manysaid labour laws to the Government is youregu- NEWDELHI,MAY3 contributionof districtstobetaken months that the prospects “thereisnorevenue, andweare across the country. “Landlords should be tweaked to support lateeverything, youdecide on signing’ intoconsideration while classify- looked grim.“Mostofour cus- abusiness that operates on daily arenot waiving the rent by even businesses to allowmeasures taxes, yousay protect the liveli- DISTRICTS WITH substantialeco- ing lockdownzones.The lock- tomers were tourists.That plus earnings.” anominal percentage, forget suchasovertime to be permit- hood of employees, what’s your Singapore: TheRCEPtrade nomic activity should be permit- down has brought economic ac- the onsetofthe monsoons Whilethe salon has some about agreeing to delayedpay- tedfor next fewmonths. “Once responsibility at this, our dark- deal is still on tracktobe tedtoresume allindustrial and tivityto agrindinghalt,CIIalsosaid, would reduce footfalls. The savings, costs likerent, electric- ments. So, there’s pressureof lockdown gets over,the concern esthour?” signedbythe end of 2020, business operations with highest citing findings from itsCEOs sur- bleedoverthe next six months ity and waterbills and salaries payment of rentsfor offices and is that workers maydemand (Tomorrow:The Emergency Singapore’sMinisterofTrade safetyprotocols forenterprises to vey, whichindicated that 65 per is one we couldn’taffordasa of itsemployees, have depleted warehouses along with salaries leaveslater in the year and that Wishlist: Capital,safetynet forlabour, andIndustryChanChunSing remain financiallysustainable cent of the firms expect revenues business,” she told The Indian itsreserves. It expectstorun out when revenues have become will be adoublewhammysince easingofcurbs) said Sunday. PTI while averting joblosses, CII said to fall morethan 40 per cent in Express. of savings in the next month or zero,” she said. industries wouldbeincrucial AdditionalreportingbyAanchal on Sunday. April-June quarter. The owners of the 12-mem- so, according to Bhatia. “All of a The event management seg- revivalmode,” an industryrep- Magazine,SandeepSingh WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,MAY4,2020 This (coronavirus) situation is aTest match on avery dangerous wicket. The ball is seaming and spinning as well —the batsman has very little margin of error. So, the batsman has to score runs and keep his wicket safe with 10 SPORT this little margin of error, and win this Test match.” SOURAV GANGULY

HCdeclinestopass orders Tokyo adrift againstDDCAombudsman

THE DELHI High Courthas decidednot to cant to move an application on behalf of the In Japan,with Olympics uncertain, players return to their day jobsinmiddleofapandemic pass anyinterim order to either remove the DDCAhavebeen raisedand it has notbeen DDCAombudsman or curtail his authority possible to hearall the counsel forthe par- Wemonitor regarding affairs of the statecricketunit or ties on the said aspect, it is considered ap- MIHIRVASAVDA itsmembers. propriatetogrant an opportunity to allpar- NEWDELHI,MAY3 themintensively. Hearing twoapplications filedbySanjay ties to file their responses to both the Everymorning, Bhardwaj andthe Delhi and District Cricket applications,” the order says. IF THESE were non-Corona times, Masaki theyhavetosend Association, Justice Asha Menondeclined to “Letresponses to the applications be filed Ohashi wouldhavebeen in Berlinright now. ustheirreports, pass anyorder on aplea seeking to restrain through email by the non-applicantswithin With his Japanese teammates, he wouldhave thingslikebody ombudsman Justice (retired)Deepak Verma aperiodoftwo weekswithadvance copyto been practising alongside Germany, watch- temperature,fatiguelevel,muscle from exercising his authority.The courtalso the counsel forthe applicants, who mayfile ing the hockeygiants’ showdown against soreness,mentalstateandmuch did notdeal withthe application seeking di- rejoinders thereto, within one week there- India and preparing notesfor the Olympics. rection “for removal/replacement of the cur- afterwith copies to the respective counsel The defender, instead, is in Tokyo. Hockeygear more.Wedoitonadailybasissowe rent Ombudsman”. forthe non-applicants through their respec- chuckedinsome corner of his apartment, knowexactlyhowtheyarefeeling.” “As objections to the capacity of the appli- tive emails,” the May1elaborates. ENS putting Olympics on the backburner,and, in the midstofapandemic-inducedlockdown, SIEGFRIED AIKMAN returning to his dayjob as an assistant man- COACH, JAPAN Ministrymulls phase-wise ageratone of Japan’s biggestprivate security @indianexpress.com resumption of national camps firms. uledtoopen on July24–werepostponedby Since the outbreak of COVID-19,athletes ayear.“It has ahugeimpact notjustonour THOSEMONTHS, SPORTS MINISTER Kiren Rijiju on Sunday around theworld have been forced indoors. schedule,but alsoonthe mentalstate of our THOSEMINUTES said his ministryisdevising aplan to ensure NotinJapan, however. Despitedeclaring a Half-a-dozenJapanese players arebacktotheir dayjobs in Tokyoand Osaka — players because it is quitealong time,” aphasedresumption of national camps for state of emergency,the country, whichhas twomost-affected citiesbyCovid-19—leaving theircoachworried. Aikman says.“It meanssome of our players, Forced intoanunprecedented Olympic-bound athletesbythe end of this 14,877 cases asonSunday, has notimposeda thosewho wanted to retireafter the lockdown, sport is staring at an month but othersmighthavetowaittillat complete lockdown as seen in India and Olympics, theyhavetodoone more year. unfathomable despair.Indian leastSeptember.Rijiju saidthe coronavirus- manyWestern countries. Businesses arestill ground railway.Yamashita is between jobs Aikmanisconcernedabout. The uncertainty Mostofthem have families, have children… athletes, though, have giventhe forced nationwide lockdown, whichhas running, bars areopenand, sincetheylack right now. Butthereare some, according to around the Olympics, whichhavebeen post- mostofthem aregetting to an agewherethey countryreasons to rejoice in the been extendedtill May17, forced his min- the legal powers to punish, the government Aikman, who work in schools while afew poneduntil next year,has takenamental toll might notrecoverwell. So the question is, if past. The Indian Express looksback istrytodelaythe resumption of the training can onlyask people to stay home but theyare others, likeOhashi, work for‘big security on the players ‘who were preparing fairly they makeittothe next Olympics, will they at abunchofthese memories. camps at SportsAuthority of India (SAI) notobliged to.So, half adozen Japanese companies’. well’ forthe home Games. still add the same value? That’s something, I centres. The lockdown wasearlier meant to hockeyplayers have to report forworkdaily To makesuretheyremain healthy, the think, will be forall teams.” In achat with end on May3."The camps will startina –mostofthem in Tokyoand Osaka,the two team management has come up with strict Mental well-being On the flip side, he says,the extrayear also ANDREW AMSAN, phase-wisemanner.Firstwewill start worst-affected citiestill date–leaving coach protocols. “Wemonitor them intensively. Under Aikman, aDutchcoachwith Indian giveshim the chance to work on things which NEERAJCHOPRA traininginNIS Patiala and SAI, Bengaluru SiegfriedAikmananxious fortheir well-be- Everymorning, theyhavetosendustheirre- roots, Japan have blossomed. Nottoo long ago, he otherwise could nothavebecauseoflack narrateshis whereathletesare basedcurrently...bythe ing. ports,things likebody temperature, fatigue theywereonthe fringes in Asia and barelya of time. Giventhat all coaches and players will remarkable end of this month," Rijiju said at FICCI's we- Likethe Indian hockey team, Japan too level, musclesoreness, mental stateand speckonthe worldhockeymap. Aikmanhas use the additionalperiod to come up with transformation binar titled'Corona &Sports: The continuedwith itsnational campafter the muchmore. We do itonadailybasis so we turnedthemintoaformidable unit,leading newstrategies and study their opponents story, from anobese teenager to a Champions Speak'. "Thecamps willbefor Olympicswerepostponed. However, unlike knowexactlyhow theyare feeling,”Aikman them to the Asian Games gold medal –and even moreclosely,Aikmanfeels the levelof champion javelin thrower. thosesportswhichhavequalifiedfor India, who have aboarding facility within says. thus earning arightful place at the Olympics competition in Tokyonextyear could be Olympicsorthe sportswhose Olympic their training centre, Aikmansays theyhave If something goes wrong, he adds,the rather thansneaking in as hosts –and turning ‘stronger thanever.’ READTHESTORYON qualification is in future," he said. "Wewill to look aftertheir ownaccommodation for playerisdirectlysent to the hospital forade- them intoaside that,ontheir day, can prove That is, however, if theGames take place indianexpress.com relax things partiallylooking at the the durationofthe camp.So, aftertheywere tailedcheck-up. The team has already had a to beabanana skinfor anyteam in theworld. at all. Lastweek,Japanese Prime Minister Olympics," he added. PTI asked to suspend their training twoweeks couple of scares –while the campwas still To further improvethemselves, Japan had Shinzo Abesaid thatifthe coronavirus spills ago, the players returnedtotheir respective going on, twoplayers went down with nor- setupjointtraining sessionsand practice over into2021, theywould have to call offthe Germany's interior minister backs Bundesliga restart homes.“When theygohome, theyhaveto mal flu and were isolated from therest. Only matches with Germany.Itwas awin-win sce- Games completely. work andearn their money,”Aikman tells The once theyrecoveredcompletely,werethey nario: forJapan, it wasachance to work on It’s an ‘uncertainty’Aikmanhas factoredin German InteriorMinisterHorst Seehofer on Sundaybackedapossible restartfor the Indian Express from the team’s trainingcen- allowedtojointhe rest of thegroup. Days theirskills while forGermany,bronze medal- while re-planning forthe Games. But he in- Bundesligaseason this month without spectators as the government prepares forakey treinthe city of Kakamigahara. later,one of Aikman’s assistant coaches had to lists at the Rio Olympics, it wasanopportunity sists it won’t impact howtheyapproach meeting next week.Although Bundesligaclubs have returnedtotraining in small groups, As is the case elsewhereinthe world, all go intoquarantine fortwo weeksafter he to getsome game-time ahead of their twin Tokyo2021. “Wedon’t knowhow the virus the leaguehas been suspendedsince mid-March due to thecoronavirus pandemic and Japanese hockeyplayers areamateurs,with came in contact with astaff memberofhis ProLeague matches againstIndia, originally develops so the uncertainty thatitmight be the government is to decide next week on apotentialresumption of sports activities. The nearly halfofthem still students.The rest child’s kindergarten, who testedpositive.“So scheduledtotakeplace latelastmonth. cancelled… of course, it’sone of the options. German Football League(DFL), eager foraquickrestart,has submittedahealth safety have full-time jobs. Captain Manabu when these players go outfor work,Iamwor- But as COVID-19casesgrew around the It’s in our heads. But we have settargets till plan forgames withoutspectators whichincludes regular testing of players. REUTERS Yamashita, forexample, workedforthe com- ried, of course,” Aikman says. world, Japan’s trip to Berlin wascancelled. July nextyearand will work basedonthose panythat made maps forTokyo’s under- It isn’t justthe physical well-being that Weekslater,the Olympics –that were sched- targets. So, until theycancel, it’s on.”

OVER THE HEDGE by Michael Fry &TLewis CROSSWORD 4108 DAYTODAY BYPETERVIDAL

ARIES(Mar 21 -Apr 20) LIBRA(Sep24-Oct 23) The worldmay be Some peopleobject spinningintohyper- to secretive space, but youare behaviour,but it nowgoingtohaveto honestlylooksasif keep your feet on the ground. you’ll be doingeverybody a From out of nowherenew favour if youkeep yourself to responsibilities will appear, yourself.The fact is that and youwill be taking an partners arejustnot ready to organisingrole. Actually, new hear what youhavetosay. jobs could bringagreat sense That’s partlytheirproblem, but of satisfaction. it could also makethings awkwardfor you. TAURUS (Apr21-May 21) Awhole group of SCORPIO (Oct24-Nov 23) planets is now Forsome time now shuffling places,so theplanets have it’s difficult to be been warning about CALVIN &HOBBES by Bill Watterson certain aboutanything. emotional Probablythe onlytrulypositive confrontations at work,partly piece of good advice todayisto because the resultscould be makemorespace foracreative costly. Seeing as the relevant hobby. Ithink youowe it to aspectsare climaxing over the yourself to spend moretime next fewdays youshould keep ACROSS DOWN doing what matters, instead of thepeace unless youare 1Itgoes to the head of state(5) 2Acheckonthe present what doesn’t. prepared forthe consequences. 8Model maybeagirl in love demand forbread (4,4) GEMINI (May22-June 21) SAGITTARIUS (Nov24-Dec 22) (8) 3Rather likeachat about a Mercury, the planet Travel and adventure changeofweather (8) 9The fall in steel production which justhappens plans arestill strong, (5) 4Author uses an alternative to be your personal but theredoesseem 10 Gotbetterfigureinarush (8) watersupply(6) ruler,istop of the list to be an increasing 11 Serious, but notgrave (5) 5Radiant girlreturns west (5) forimportant alignmentstoday. sense of uncertainty or doubt. 12 Apound could be agood 6Men go out to find Therefore, youmay feel In point of fact the best vacation investment (3) underground spirit (5) perfectlyfreetochangeyour will be of aspiritual or 16 Soundscoming from fold or 7Lose one’s footing on apiece mind as oftenasyou want — subterranean nature, so you stable (6) of glass (5) within reason. It’s great when could be offonavery 17 Father in pain, but brave(6) 12 Growing or burnt timber (3) the planets give youpermission mysterious journeyindeed. 13 Wheretobuy adrink and to behave as youwish. 18 His oppositenumber CAPRICORN (Dec 23 -Jan 20) some chocolate(3) (3) MARVIN by Tom Armstrong CANCER (June 22 -July23) Your financial 23 Go surreptitiouslyasasnake 14 There’s some humanity in Importantplanets prospects arestill disturbed (5) him, no doubt (8) arealignedwith turbulent. It 24 Food forpeople or horses 15 Gamethat maydisturb ant your sign and, in honestlynow looks (8) heaps (8) some senses,you’re as if anysocial disagreement is 25 Alighthouse casts it across 19 Makeamistake and run forit still the centreofattention, but likelytobetriggeredbymoney, the vessel (5) (6) youprobablyfeel that the real or adisputeoverwho pays for 26 Prevailing wetweather,we 20 Go hunting, we hear, fora action is moving elsewhere. what. Such things mayeasilybe hear (8) bird(5) Onlyifyou areutterly down-to- arranged in advance. A 27 Argentine flowerofunusual 21 Tinnedbeef likethis is earthand reliable willyou get romantic fantasy is still bugging petaldesign poison (5) what youreallyneed. you, but there’s nothing wrong with dreaming. (5) 22 Notesabout masonry(5) LEO (July24-Aug 23) SolutionsCrossword4107:Across:1Drawablank,6Rasp,10Sight,11Contralto,12 Youmay begin to AQUARIUS (Jan 21-Feb 19) Knockout,13Tense,15Tourist,17Pickets,19Pestles,21Bolster,22Lupin,24 think about putting That old planet Downpour,27Toothache,28Total,29Deed,30Presentday.Down:1Desk,2 muchmoreenergy Saturn is nowbeing Argonauts,3Attic,4Lockout,5Nonstop,7Allin,8Professors,9Critical,14Stipulated, intothe financial morehelpful over a 16Iolanthe,18Entrusted,20Sidecar,21Bowlers,23Probe,25Piton,26Play. arena. The fact that today’s problem, which lunar influences focus on means that other people willbe purelyroutine needs, may less inclinedtoblame youfor obscurethe fact that there their ownlackofsuccess. arelong-term issues to be To be perfectly frank,you can JUMBLED WORDS DifficultyLevel1s considered.Still, sometimes probablydowith abreak,for Instructions youjusthavetoconcentrateon partners’ demands have Givenbelowarefourjumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemto TosolveaSudokupuzzle, day-to-dayaffairs. been buildingup, unfairly in therespectivesquaresbelow.Selectthelettersintheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtoget everydigitfrom1to9 4198 your opinion. VIRGO (Aug 24 -Sep 23) theanswerforthegivenquip. mustappearineachofthe Adoptthe______:hersecretispatience.-RalphWaldoEmerson(4,2,6) Venus’ emotional PISCES(Feb20-Mar 20) nineverticalcolumns,in alignment is today The triple alliance of eachoftheninehorizontal

4199 compoundedby the Sun, Mercury IRAEE ABENTU rowsandineachofthe Mars and and Mars indicates nineboxes. complemented by that youmay now

SUDOKU the Moon. And that’s justfor come out of your shell and starters! Youshould defy your sharesome of your special CGAOR LUUCFP reputation forbeing slightly ideas and intuitions with DifficultyLevel ION reserved andshy of expressing people who areonyour SUDOKU 1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy; your deeper feelings. Other wavelength. There’s nothing to 3s=Medium;4s=Hard; people deservetoknowwhat be gainedfromkeeping your

5s=VeryHard;6s= youreally think. ambitionstoyourself.

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R.N.I. No.WBENG/2005/20789 VOL. XVINo.37 Printed by V.Srinivasan and PublishedbyV.Srinivasan on behalfofThe Indian Express (P) Ltd and Printed at Saraswati Print FactoryPvt.Ltd, 789, Chowbhaga(West), Kolkata-700105and PublishedatThe Indian Express (P) Ltd JL No.29 &30, N.H.-6, Mouza - Prasastha &Ankurhati, P.O. -Salap, P.S.-Domjur,Howrah-711 409. Ph: (033)66043800Fax: (033) 66043825 &66043847. Chairman of the Board:Viveck Goenka,Chief Editor :Raj Kamal Jha, Editor :Unni Rajen Shanker,Editor (Kolkata): Rakesh Sinha* (*Responsible forselection of news under the PRB Act)Copyright :The Indian Express (P) Limited.All rights reserved.Reproduction in anymanner,electronic or otherwise,inwhole or in part,without prior written permission is prohibited.The Indian Express(R) Invest in independent journalism. Subscribe to The Indian Express E-paper

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