JOURNALISM OF COURAGE SINCE 1932 DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD,CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA,LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA ● REG.NO. MCS/067/2018-20RNI REGN. NO. 1543/57
JOURNALISMOFCOURAGE THURSDAY,APRIL 30, 2020, MUMBAI, LATE CITY,14PAGES SINCE 1932 `5.00, WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM FOUR DAYS TO END OF LOCKDOWN Running out of ConsiderablerelaxationsMay4onward,says time to enter Centre,clearsreturnhomeofstrandedmigrants House, Uddhav Curbs to be eased dials PM for help in manydistricts; no movement VISHWASWAGHMODE& Must from containment LIZMATHEW become MUMBAI,NEWDELHI,APRIL29 member of zones, hotspots legislature WITHTHE Maharashtra by May27 Governorsittingonthe state DEEPTIMANTIWARY Cabinet’s recommendation that NEWDELHI,APRIL29 UddhavThackeray be nomi- nomination. He asked forhelp nated to the Legislative Council, saying if it does nothappen he IN AN indication of itsplansaf- the Chief MinisterdialledPrime would have to resign,” asource terMay 3whenthe current MinisterNarendraModi on in Delhi said. According to this phase of the lockdown ends,the Tuesdayevening. source, the PM told Thackeray CentreonWednesdaysaid there Thackeray sought the Prime thathewould look intothe mat- will be “considerablerelax- Minister’s cooperation in resolv- terand getmoredetails. ations” in manydistricts. ing the crisis,sources in New In Mumbai,aseniorShivSena The Union Home Ministry Delhi said.InMumbai, sources leader told The Indian Express: also issuedguidelines formove- in the Maharashtragovernment “Uddhavji discussedthe current ment of strandedmigrant said the Chief Minister hadex- political uncertainty in the state labourers, students, and tourists pressed unhappiness over the with the PM.Heexpressedun- who want to return home. “politics beingplayed” over his happiness over the politics being Sources, however, said this will nomination to the Upper House playedoverhis nomination as notapplytothoseinhotspotsor of the statelegislature. MLCatatime when the stateis containmentzones. Thackeray,who took oath on fighting the coronavirusout- In astatement, the Ministry November 28 lastyear,has, un- break,and is standing with the said, “New guidelines to fight At acremation ground in LucknowonWednesday, ashes await immersion in holyrivers. VishalSrivastav der Article 164(4) of the Centreinthe crisis.” COVID-19 will come intoeffect Constitution,six months to be- Asked howthe PM had re- from 4th May, whichshallgive come amemberofthe stateleg- sponded, the Sena leader said: considerable relaxationsto islature. However, withthe pan- CONTINUEDONPAGE2 manydistricts. Details regarding demic raging,aby-election thisshallbecommunicated in Punjab extendscurfewby2wks, Warning signsemerge in cannotbeheld, and the onlyway BJPNOT INTERESTED comingdays.” to fulfill the requirement isfor IN MAKING Curbs areexpected to be joins Bengal in lifting somecurbs Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar him to be nominated to the BACKDOOR ENTRY: easedindistrictswhere cases are Upper House by the Governor. FADNAVIS tapering. The Health Ministry “He (Thackeray)calledthe has identified129 of the coun- dress, PunjabChief Minister AMITABHSINHA& EXPLAINED Prime Ministertotalk about his PAGE 4 try’s 736districtsashotspots.On KANCHANVASDEV& CORONACOUNT Amarinder Singh said: “The de- KAUNAINSHERIFFM April 15,atthe end of the first ATRIMITRA cision on further course of action PUNE,NEWDELHI,APRIL29 lockdown, 177districtshad been CHANDIGARH,KOLKATA,APR29 31,787 1,008 will be takenafter twoweeks, notifiedashotspots. CASES DEATHS depending on the situation. The WHILE MAHARASHTRA and The order allowing inter- SETTINGApossiblepost-May3 onlysolution is social distancing. Gujarat have been attracting at- statemovement of those template, Punjab on Wednesday 7,797 RECOVERED If it is under control aftertwo tention forthe rapid rise in cases strandedcomes almostaweek became the firststate to an- weeks, we will take acall.” of novelcoronavirus infection, afterstatessuchasUttar Pradesh nounce atwo-week extension of 7,70,764 samples have been Singh asked peopletomain- states in theeasthave, forthe and Madhya Pradesh began lockdown (until May17), but said tested as on April 29 tain discipline and underlined firsttimenow,started to show transporting theirmigrant restrictions will beeasedfor four thatiftheystepout, they must signs that theycould emerge as labour and studentsstuckin hours daily, from 7amto11am, in non-containment zones from wear masks, ensuresocial dis- potentialdanger zones as well. other states. Wednesday’s order in non-containmentzones with May4—including movement of tancing and return to their The latestanalysis of com- said, “Due to lockdown, migrant effect from Thursday. It also de- private taxis and buses in green homes by 11 am.“If we have puter modellingresults by scien- workers, pilgrims, tourists,stu- cidedtoallowopening of shops zones, within adistrict, witha givenrelaxation,that doesnot tists of the Chennai-basedInsti- dentsand other persons are and industriesinthese areas. limited number of passengers. mean youcan call your friends tuteofMathematicalSciences strandedatdifferent places. They Similarly,WestBengal Chief Both stategovernments un- home. Social distancing has to be (IMSc) showthat thoughWest would be allowedtomove.” MinisterMamata Banerjee said derlinedthat the local adminis- ensured,” he said. Bengal,Bihar,and Jharkhandstill Mumbai’sWockhardt Hospital has been sealed. Express Incidentally, at avideo-con- experts and doctors areofthe tration wouldtakethe final call Punjab has reported377 had acombinedcase loadofless REVISITINGCURVE ference meeting with Prime opinion thatthe restrictions on easing curbs. COVID-19cases and 19 deaths so than1,200onApril29,thesethree TOREADLOCKDOWN Minister NarendraModion should continue till May-end, Announcinghis govern- far. While four districts—Patiala, states had the highestrate PAGE 9 CONTINUEDONPAGE2 but announcedsome relaxations ment’s decisioninatelevisedad- CONTINUEDONPAGE2 CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Covid fight: Govt CMC-NEET SC:Minority Labour shortage is Railways readies movement plan, system in front, institution makingPunjab and some states push for special trains private hospitals rights not above be scaledupto1,000,with ade- tancing. TheRailways’detailed Haryana farmers AVISHEKGDASTIDAR, tailedprotocol. protocol also had aparagraph do thedistancing laworabsolute ABHISHEKANGAD& While therehas been no in- stating that states falling in the DEEPMUKHERJEE dication that passenger train routes shouldallowthe move- switch from paddy NEWDELHI,RANCHI,JAIPUR, services will resume before May ment,screening, controlledem- ment hospitals, doctors, nurses ANANTHAKRISHNANG APRIL29 3, the Railwayscarried out an in- barking etc,” asenior govern- PRABHARAGHAVAN, and paramedics—battle the NEWDELHI,APRIL29 ternal exerciseand communi- ment official said. TABASSUM Covid pandemic. WHILETHE Centrehas allowed cated the plan to toplevels in the According to sources, by de- BARNAGARWALA& Behind this areaset of cir- STATINGTHATrightsofreligious ANJUAGNIHOTRICHABA movement of migrantworkers government. ciding on buses instead of trains, ABANTIKAGHOSH cumstances that rangefromthe or linguistic minorities to admin- &HARISHDAMODARAN in buses, severalstateshavede- According to the plan,each the government has strategically NEWDELHI,MUMBAI,APRIL29 natureofgovernmentpolicy on isteraninstitution underArticle JALANDHAR,NEWDELHI, mandedspecial trains, underlin- non-ACtrain will carry 1,000 restricted thenumber of people managing the pandemic to de- 30 of the Constitution“arenot APRIL29 ing the sheer numbers of those people per trip —about half the who can be transported. OF THE thousandsofCOVID-19 cisionstaken by the hospitals above the lawand other stranded. According to sources, usual number —toensureade- “It is justtoallowanoption patients admitted in hospitals themselves. Constitutional provisions”,the COVID-19has openedawindow the MinistryofRailways has also quatesocial distancing. of relief forthe strandedwant- around the country, justaround From beingsealed in the Supreme Courtruled of opportunity to wean away draftedaplan to operate 400 “Eachbus typicallycarries 25 ing to travel to their home states, 800are critical, requiring either early stages aftertheirstaff Wednesdaythat the National farmers in Punjab andHaryana special trains per day, which can people afterfollowing social dis- CONTINUEDONPAGE2 oxygen support, ventilatorsor tested positive,likeWockhardt Eligibilitycum Entrance Test from growing rice to less water- treatment in ICUs in Mumbai or the (NEET)for admission to gradu- guzzling crops suchascotton Sowing cotton in afieldin (Intensive Care PRIVATE private hospital in ateand post-graduatemedical and maize. Sirsa, Haryana. Express Russia under lockdown, India’smanned Units).Private hospi- Bhilwara, to re- and dental coursesis“regula- The driver: Uncertainty over tals,which account AND fusing to admit tory”innatureand in “national the availabilityofanestimated fortwo-thirdsof hos- patients, from interest”toimprove the quality million labourers from Uttar over adecade,been farming space mission trainees confined indoors pital bedsinIndia, ISOLATED suspending serv- of medical education which, it Pradesh and Biharwho under- paddyonhis 13 acres at Uddat and almost80per ices to playing said,has become a“saleable take the bulk of the paddy trans- Bhagat RamvillageinPunjab’s series of eventstriggered by the tive cases,with 972 deaths until centof availableven- AN EXPRESS SERIES safe,private hos- commodity”. planting that begins from mid- Mansadistrict. But thistime he SUSHANTSINGH spread of the novelcoronavirus. Wednesdayevening. tilators, arehandling PART I pitals aren’t Disposing abunchofpeti- June. That, plus the lackof has decidedtosow cotton on 11 NEWDELHI,APRIL29 Acouple of months after “The four astronauts-elect lessthan 10 per cent pulling their sub- tions by theChristian Medical mechanical transplanting op- acres, limit paddy to 2acres, that theirtraining beganatthe areingood health. The highly of this critical load. stantive weight. College,Vellore, and others, the tions, in contrasttothe ubiqui- too, subjecttogetting enough WHILETHE four IndianAir Force Gagarin Cosmonaut Training professional medical experts of This is justone symptomofa That’s notall. benchofJusticesArunMishra, tous combines used forboth local labour.“Ifinishedharvest- (IAF) fighter pilots selected to be Center (GCTC)inStarCity near GCTCare constantly observing largertrend over the lastthree CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Vineet Saran and MRShahor- paddy andwheat harvesting, ingwheat on April 20, and Iam trainedasastronautsforthecoun- Moscow, it has been put on hold them,” Director General of months: the Rs 2.4-lakh-crore dered that NEET will be the only means fewerfarmers arelikely waiting forwater from the Kotla try’sfirstmannedspaceflightmay —and the pilots remain confined GlavkosmosJSC Dmitry private healthcaresector has exam foradmissiontothe to take up rice cultivation in the Branch of theSirhindCanal (on have been motivatedbythe ad- to their rooms while Russia grap- Loskutov told TheIndian Express. largely been relegated to the NEXT: WHAT’S HOLDING courses and institutions cannot coming kharif season. the Sutlej River). They ventureofspace travel, they ples with the pandemic.Russia Glavkosmosisthe sidelines, watching thepublic BACK PRIVATE HOSPITALS IN be allowedtoconduct their own Manjit SinghSidhu has, for CONTINUEDONPAGE2 would nothaveanticipated the had reportednearly 1lakh posi- CONTINUEDONPAGE2 health caresystem—govern- THE WAR AGAINSTCOVID? separateexams over and above NEET. “Weare of the opinion that rightsunder Articles 19 (1) (g) PAGE 1 and 30 read with Articles 25, 26 ANCHOR and 29 (1) of the Constitutionof He dissolvedintohis part, leftnoresidue...andcamehomewith us CONTINUEDONPAGE5 body of work so enrichedour in- we had of him, in Shyam gush, yes, it is. An unapologetic, SHUBHRAGUPTA ner lives? BUSINESSASUSUAL Benegal’s teleserial BharatEk teary-eyed one,because he NEWDELHI,APRIL29 Irrfan, who passed away on Khoj,weknewwewereinthe madethings better,eveninhis Wednesdaymorning at the age BY UNNY presence of someone trulyspe- no-account parts. THEREARE some obituaries you of 53, wasnot justabrilliant ac- cial.Hewent on to becomeanin- Of his impressive bodyof never, ever want to write. This is torwho dissolvedintohis part, IRRFAN KHAN tegral partofsome of Indian TV’s work,four films jostle forthe top oneofthem.Weknewthat leavingnoresidue behind. He 1967-2020 mostpopularserials (Zee’s spotfor me: Tigmanshu Dhulia’s Irrfan Khan, one of the best ac- also managed to walk offthe BanegiApni Baat,Doordarshan’s Haasil,inwhich he plays alocal ` 93 per kilo tors the worldhas been privi- screen, and come homewith us. Chandrakanta,and Star TV’s Allahabadi student leader; leged to watch, wasstruggling He made spacefor himself in our Bestsellers), but his heartwas al- Vishal Bhardwaj’s Maqbool,in with adebilitating disease. We hearts,nestledinunexpected ways setoncinema. And,overa whichhewas amobster-with- ` 121 per kilo knewhewas gravelyill. But we corners, and poppeduponce in period of 30 years and more, as many-moods-in-Mumbai; Mira also believedthathewouldrise awhile,for achat. Whichhe he essayedone unforgettable CONTINUEDONPAGE2 ` 149 per kilo and shineagain, because, how would begin,with thatcharac- partafter another,fromAsif could he not? Howcould he teristic hooded-eyedsmile: Kapadia’s striking TheWarrior to ` 50per Dozen leave us, this enormouslytal- chaliyebaat kartehain. Shoojit Sircar’s Piku,henever let FULL COVERAGE ented human, whowith his fine From the very firstglimpse us down. If this sounds likea PAGE8
Mumbai WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 2 THE SECOND PAGE THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY,APRIL30,2020
DOWNLOADAPP WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
■ VISUAL STORIES
■ DAILY BRIEFING
■ PODCASTS KERALAWORRIEDASNEWCASESPOPUPINGREENZONES
■ CUSTOMIZABLE BetweenApril21andApril27,thestatesaw74newCOVID-19casesaddedtoitstally,takingbysurprise Decoding India’s NEWS EXPERIENCE doctorsandhealthofficialswhohadbeenkeepingawatchonthesituation.
WEB withdrawal of Indian Express EXCLUSIVE ★★★★★■4.6 rapid tests VIDEOOFTHEDAY CORONAVIRUS NEWEPISODEEVERYDAY CELEBRATINGTHE LIFE 11 LESSONS FROM THE In today'sepisode of the 3Things podcast, OF IRRFAN KHAN PANDEMIC we look at whythe governmentintroduced Khan ownedevery Everycountry has and then withdrew rapid testing forthe SCANTHISQRCODETO character he portrayed discoveredthat a novelcoronavirus DOWNLOADTHEAPP on celluloid shutdown is inevitable FROMPAGEONE
Railways plan tononfourof hisnineacres,again capacity of public facilities. cases in the country showeither previouslyfullyplantedto paddy. “ForgetCOVID-19, even reg- mild symptoms or areasympto- andnotareallyviabletransporta- “The peoplewho transplant Relaxations May 4onward, says Centre, ular services have become un- matic —the latter comprising 69 tionsolutionoverlongdistances,” paddyare from Bihar and UP. available,”complained Bihar per cent of all cases. These cases an officialsaid. Nobody knows if theywillcome. Principal Secretary(Health) generallydonot requirehospi- RajasthanChief MinisterAshok Even if the lockdown is liftedon SanjayKumar on April 19.The talisation, and can return home Gehlottweeted on Wednesday: May3,train servicesare unlikely clears return home of stranded migrants state, with India’s thirdlargest afterquarantining themselves “Long awaited demand of move- toresume soon and Icannot take population, had to issue an or- fortwo weeksinCovid Care mentofmigrant workers has fi- arisk.Whilelocal labourers can Monday, Bihar,Jharkhand and eitherhome or institutional arefinding it increasinglydif- forexample, is heavilydepend- der asking all hospitals to re- Centres. nallybeen accepted by the GoI. It be used, theywill demandRs Odisha, whichcomprisealarge quarantine. ficult to sustain migrant labour, ent on migrant labour. sume services. Giventhe complaintsfrom is awelcome step but until GoIal- 4,500-5,000 per acre, whereas chunk of the migrant labour Existing lockdown guide- with work and revenue In itsorder Wednesday, the This wasparticularly signifi- patientsinthecity,the municipal lows Indian railwaytooperate — the migrantworkers charge only numbers, had expressedtheir lines makenoallowance for sources drying up. Therehave MHA said:“All States/UTs cant also because all three hospi- corporation had on April 25 is- practicallyitwillnotbepossibleto Rs 2,500,” he points out. inabilitytofacilitatetheir re- inter-state movement, but been severalinstances of mi- should designate nodal author- tals handling Covid cases in suedacircular asking all nursing facilitatesmooth and hassle-free SouthwestPunjab —mainly turn home withoutguidelines the Centrehad kept quietas grantsdesperatetoget home ities and develop standardpro- Patnaare government hospitals. homes and private clinics to open transporttotheir home.” Mansa, Bathinda, Muktsar and from theCentreinthis regard. states recentlymoved ahead resorting to violence in Gujarat tocols forreceiving and send- VikashRKeshri, Senior Research up.On Monday,thestategovern- Jharkhand ChiefMinister Fazilka—was traditionallyacot- Releasing the newguide- witharrangementstoget and Maharashtra. The Uddhav ing such strandedpersons.The Fellow, The George Institutefor ment held extensive discussions Hemant Soren said he had told tonbelt. Manyfarmers in recent lines, Union Home Secretary backtheir studentsand mi- Thackeray governmentin nodalauthoritiesshall also reg- Global Health, said it wasalso with private hospitals, nursing Railways Minister Piyush Goyal timesswitched to paddy,thanks AjayBhalla said the movement grant labour.Biharhad shot Maharashtrahad sought isterthe strandedpersons “surprising” since the number of homes and even clinics in Pune. thatthe statewould needspecial to assured minimum support of those strandedshould be offaletter to the Centreatthe arrangementsfor inter-state withintheir States/UTs. In case peoplerelyingonprivate health- SubhashSalunkhe, Technical trains to bring backits students price-basedprocurementandfree arranged through mutually time, saying the transporta- transportoflabour. agroup of strandedpersons careoverpublic forbothoutpa- Advisor to the ChiefSecretaryof and migrantworkers.“We are powerfor groundwaterirrigation agreedterms between states, tion wasin“utterviolationof However, the move might wish to move between one tient and in-patient services in Maharashtra, told The Indian thankful forthe MHA order and during the cropping season. on sanitisedbuses, with re- national guidelines”. end up further impacting plans State/UT and another State/UT, Bihar is “far higher”. Private hos- Express, “Theyare afraid forob- we aredeliberating on our re- Thiswasfurthersupportedby quired social distancing. Only Thelatestguidelines,how- to open up theeconomy, which thesending and receiving pitals have 47,000 bedsinthe vious reasons. Theyare involved sources. However, Ihad said ear- the availability of migrant labour asymptomatic peoplewillbe ever,makenomention of is struggling to do so with the States mayconsulteachother statecompared with 22,000 of but theycan participatefurther. lier thatthe stateisnot capable of fortransplantingpaddyseedlings, allowedtotraveland asecond trains, whichwereamong the fewrelaxations announced. and mutually agree to the public hospitals. The HealthMinisterand the bringing them back on ourown. I whichare firstraisedinnursery assessment of their health modes of transportstateshad Manystateshavesaid they movement by road.” “The public sector remains Chief Ministerhavealready as- hadawordwithPiyushGoyaljion beds for25-30 days before being would be done on their arrival suggestedfor large-scale would liketoopen the econ- It also asked states falling in the mainstayofthe Covid re- suredassistance forPersonal thismatterearlier,” he said. uprootedand replanted in the in their home states. Basedon movement of migrant workers. omycompletely in green zones between to allowthe passage sponse.The private sectorre- Protective Equipment to hospi- Thestateestimatesover9lakh main field. this, theywould be movedto The move comes as states afterMay 3. TheMSME sector, of suchpersons. sponsehas been variable. They tals and nursing homes.” peoplefromJharkhand,including have expressedinterestbut to In Delhi, whichhas over 6.43 lakh migrant workers, are States to watch what extent theyare actually 3,300cases, government hospi- strandedinvarious parts of the of growth —measured by their providing supportrequired tals arehandling almostdouble country. reproduction numbers —inthe Punjab extends lockdown by 2weeks needs to be gauged,” said K the number of ICU patients. In earlierinteractions with country in the lastfew days.The Srinath Reddy,President, Public Senior officials in the Delhi Prime MinisterNarendraModi, reproduction number refers to Jalandhar,Ludhiana and government said standalone MamataBanerjee announced nouncedour decision today. It Health Foundation of India. government’s health depart- MaharashtraChief Minister the number of persons who are Mohali —havebeen declared shops, neighbourhood shops thatstandaloneshops, includ- willbeimplemented from Beforethe outbreak,the pri- ment said theyhad receivedsev- UddhavThackeray and Kerala infected on averagebyanal- hotspots,the containment and shops in residential areas ing forelectronics, books, paint, Monday,”she said. vate sector accounted fornearly eral complaintsofprivate hos- Chief MinisterPinarayiVijayan ready infected person. zones are: Jawaharpur in willbeallowedtoopenonrota- laundry, hardware, cellphone She said taxis, with not 70 per cent of critical procedures pitals refusing treatment to hadalsoraisedthe demand for As of Wednesday, West Mohali,Pathlawa village in tion, from 7amto11am. Shops recharge and paan shops,will morethanthree passengers, likechemotherapyand dialysis, patientsduringthe lockdown, specialtrains. Bengal had 696 confirmedcases Nawanshahar, Sujanpur in inmarket complexesandshop- beallowedtoopen in non-con- and private buses, with not according to Indu Bhushan, and later of compellingpatients Officials from Odishaand of infection, while Bihar and Pathankot,New Jain Market in ping mallsaswell as barber tainment zones from May4. morethan 20 passengers, will Chief Executive Officer, to getaCovid-negative test re- UttarPradeshhadalsoinformally Jharkhand had383 and 107 Rajpuraand Kacha Patiala, shops will remainclosed. “Wewill only allowstand- beallowedtoply in greenzones. Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan portbeforedialysis. spokento Railway officialsonthe cases respectively.Together,they Safabadi GateinPatiala. All shops in rural areas reg- aloneshops.Nohawkers’ cor- “Nobody can saywhen this Mantri Jan ArogyaYojana and This promptedthe statetois- matter.The Punjab government, accountedfor lessthan 4per Earlier this week,the istered underthe Shops & ner,market or shopping com- crisis willend. Mostcountries National Health Authority. Yet, sue an order on April 15 warn- too, had raisedthe demand. cent of the national case load, Punjab government had setup EstablishmentAct,exceptthose plexwill be allowedtoopen,” have already announced lock- “a lot” of these private establish- ing hospitals and nursing homes Bihar Chief MinisterNitish whichwas close to 33,000 on an expertcommittee to formu- inmulti-brandandsingle-brand she said. “Wethought we down till the end of Mayand mentstreating even non-Covid in thecityofstrict action, includ- Kumar tweetedinsupport of the Wednesdayevening. late alockdown exit strategy. malls, will also be allowedto would take adecision afterget- firstweek of June. Our experts cases had shut down in certain ing cancellation of registration. move on Wednesday. “This deci- In contrast, Maharashtrahad Issuing guidelinesfor re- open with 50 per cent staff ting clarity from the central and doctors believe that the re- states citing increasedcosts and While private facilities may sionisappropriateand worth 9,915 confirmedcases; Gujarat, suming economic activityin strength,for four hours daily. government. But we did notget strictions shouldcontinue till reducedfootfalls, he said. seem to have remainedconspic- welcoming.This wasour request 4,082. Together,theymade up non-containment zones, the In Kolkata, Chief Minister anyclarification. So, we an- the end of May,”she said. “StateslikeMadhya Pradesh, uouslyabsent, especiallyincer- and the central government has over 40 per cent of the cases in currentlystruggling with lackof tain high burden states, it is not takenapositive decision,”hesaid. the country. healthcarepersonnel,and Bihar without anyreason, saysenior Welcomingthedecision,sen- “The absolutenumbersin could do with moreprivate sec- executives. ior Congress leader P these states (WestBengal, Bihar 30,000by that time,” Sinhasaid. confluence.Itbroughtanew the recommendation it had first Prime Ministerwho would be torintervention here,” said In some cases, facilitiesare Chidambaramsought“sanitised, and Jharkhand) arestill quite Active casesdonot count the language, newrobustness to made on April 9after ameeting taking the final callonthe party’s Bhushan. “This is the time that ready and waiting, but some point-to-pointtrains”forthepur- low, so theydonot seem to be an number of people who have re- Hindicinema, something that presidedoverbyDeputy Chief decision”. According to this the private sector should be states likeUttar Pradesh have poseas, he said, buses wouldnot immediateproblem. But Ithink coveredfromthe disease. There old-school Bollywood filmmak- Minister Ajit Pawar. On Tuesday leader,Thackeray wantsthe looking at awelfaremaximisa- kept them on standby. In afew be enough. theyneedtobetaken note of. were alittle over 25,000 active ers like MaheshBhattrecog- evening, adelegation of the “BJP’s leaders in Maharashtra tion model and notaprofit- instances, states likeTelangana West Bengal, in particular, cases in the countryon nised. Bhatt’s production house Cabinetmet Governor Bhagat who arenot willing to cooperate maximisation model. Hopefully, didnot “fullysupport” the role Space mission stands out even amongthe Wednesday. gave Irrfan achancetogooverto Singh Koshyari, and urgedhim with the ShivSena to be directed this will happen,” he noted. of the sector initially, either in Russiangovernment-owned three. At the end of March,the Sinha’s calculationsshow the other side, away from the to nominateThackeray to one of by Modiji (todoso)”. In Mumbai, the city with the testing or treatment. space business company,which growth rate in West Bengal was that the current reproduction raw, visceral gangland/heart- the twovacant seatsinthe The leadersaid: “Not onlydid largest numberofCovid cases, “Therewas even atime signedacontract with theIndian showing signs of flattening, but number in Maharashtrais1.5, land tales, and exploreunfamil- Council through the Governor’s the ShivSena and itsleadership and also the mostdeaths, The when they(Telangana govern- Space Research Organisation nowitseems to be on acom- and in Gujarat, 1.38 —both iar territories. He liftedbrainless quota. betray the BJP (byrefusing to let Indian Express has reported ment) said ‘send all your posi- (ISRO) in June 2019 forthe train- pletelydifferent trajectory. In higherthan the national num- comedies (Rohit Shetty’s Sources said the Governor it form thegovernment),ithas howpatientswereturnedaway tive patients(to government fa- ing of the Indian astronauts. fact, if we justlook at the growth ber. The reproduction number Sunday) with the same verveas was“non-committal” during his been hostile to the party’s lead- from one hospitaltoanother, cilities)’. Now, Ithink theyhave “The lockdown hasstrongly curves in anon-rigorous fashion, forDelhi, another fast-growing he did gritty, hard-hitting tales meeting with the leaders of the ers since it came intopower. and even Covid-positive patients realisedthat in treatment, they beenrecommendedfortheastro- it would appearthat West state, could notbecalculated be- (Dhulia’s Paan Singh Tomar): it Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi. This, Even during the COVID crisis, the have had to wait forhours before needprivate hospital support. nauts-elect, as well as forthe Bengal is following the cause of the large variationsin wasall gristtohis mill,acutely the sources said, mayhave governmenthas notcooperated theycould be admitted. But Ithink this is justone or two GCTCpersonnel. The decision to Maharashtranumbers with alag dailyincrease in the case load. attunedtothe worldaround “forced” Thackeray to speak to either with the local unit (of the Maharashtradid notbar pri- governments. With mostofthe resumethefull-scaletrainingwill of three weeks,” said Sitabhra him. the Prime Minister. Asenior BJP) or with the Centre. vate hospitals from treating other governments, there’s a be takenafter athorough obser- Sinha, who,along with his col- Chaliye, baat Irrfan methis wife,Sutapa leader of the ruling coalition said “Whyshould the BJP help Covid patient but manywould great partnership role being vation of the epidemic situation leagues at IMSc, has been track- Sikdar,too at theNSD. Married that on Mondaynight, Uddhav Thackeray?” the BJP justnot admit patientswith played,” said SangitaReddy,Joint in the country,”Loskutov said. ing the disease numbers. karte hain for25years, theyhavetwo sons. Thackeray had discussedwith leader from Maharashtrasaid. Covid symptoms, fearing they Managing Director of Apollo Russia’sPresidentVladimirPutin Incidentally, West Bengal Nair’s The Namesake,inwhich Of course, therewas no con- NCPleader SharadPawar three “His party would earlier ask us, would be sealedbythe Hospitals Enterprises, India’s had initiallyannouncedalock- also has the fastestdoubling his Bengali bhadralok immigrant fining him to Bollywood. Irrfan’s options going forward. ‘when will our MLAbecome Municipal Corporation of largest hospital chain. downuntilApril30,butextended timeamonglarge statesinIndia, finds his place in farawayNew work took him to the world, and “The firstistowritetothe Chief Minister?’ Nowtheywant Greater Mumbai (BMC). “I think the private sector has it until May11onTuesday, with as pointed out in agraphical York;and Anoop Singh’s Qissa, he wasthe onlyIndian actor Election Commission requesting us to tell them whentheirCM “In Mumbai, BMC is manag- been trying to step up. There was thewarningthatthecountryhad analysis by The Indian Express in whichheplays aman de- who well and trulycrossedover. that the LegislativeCouncil polls will become MLC!” ing 80 per cent load of patients; the initial fear —some hospitals notyet reachedthe peak of infec- on Wednesday. Doubling time sirous of something he could not He had already made an early whichweredeferredbyitear- theprivate hospitalsare han- gotshut down... and with tions,and “a hardand difficult refers to the time takenfor the have. appearance in WesAnderson’s lier this month due to the lock- Covid fight: dling 20 per cent,” said Suresh smaller nursing homes also, pathlies ahead”. number of cases to double. These roles combine notjust TheDarjeeling Limited (2007). down, should be held. Since the Kakani, Additional Municipal thereweresome who were Havingstartedtheiryear-long Sinha said thatwhile the na- the ‘skills’ of aschooledactor,but But the big-and-small parts in election will be unopposed, we Govtsystem in Commissioner.Ofthe 4,574 ac- worried. But Ithink everybody training in Russiainearly tional reproduction number had deep empathy, agenerosityof internationalproductions quick- also want the EC to reduce the tive cases on Tuesday, 400pa- is nowramping up,” said Reddy, February, the four fighter pilots falledfromnearly 1.83 before spirit, and an unfetteredintelli- enedafter DannyBoyle’s 2008 required 21 days’period for front,private tients were admitted in private also the Presidentofthe have completedapproximatelya the lockdown begantoabout gence, whichshone through Oscar-winner Slumdog holding the poll.The secondop- hospitals do the hospitals, whereas1,600werein Federation of Indian Chambers fourth of theircourse so far, 1.29 now(forthe April 20-27pe- everything he did, good, indif- Millionaire, and he showed up tion is to approachthe Supreme public hospitals. The remaining of Commerce and Industry Loskutovsaid. Their schedule of riod), West Bengal had arepro- ferent, or flat-out fantastic. in Ang Lee’smagical-realistic Courttoask it to direct the EC to distancing 2,500-odd were asymptomatic, (FICCI). traininghasbeenmetsofar,even duction number of 1.52 (for the He did everything. Or at least tale of survival, LifeOfPi, and in hold polls,” the leader said. notrequiring admission. The sector’s biggestpain though the Russian authorities period April 18-27). That means everything that Bollywood suchmega-budget franchises as The thirdand lastoption Nationwide, private hospi- In fact, as on date, point, though, is their struggle to iimplemented the lockdown on that every100 infected persons broughttohis table, afterhaving The Amazing Spidermanand would be forThackeray to resign tals employfour out of everyfive Maharashtrahas 187critical pa- operatefacilities at atime when March 28. “All astronauts-elect in the statehas been passing on learnt that this tall, rangy,mag- Jurassic World. as Chief Minister, thencall aleg- doctors, but the refrain from sev- tients, of whichMumbai alone their costs have increased, but continueworking according to the virus to another 152people. netic-eyedperson could trans- But home wasreally where islative party meeting of all three eral cities and towns amid the accountsfor about 120-125, their revenues have seen adip. theirtrainingplan,”Loskutov said, Bihar had areproduction num- form, intoanyone, with apartic- his heartwas. None of these coalition partners to elect him as pandemic is that theyare lock- mostofwhom requirejustoxy- “I feel very strongly about adding that the four Indians had berof2.03, and Jharkhand, 1.87. ular kind of magic. He could go much-publicisedinternational leader,and form the govern- ing themselvesdowneven gensupport. Asplit of patients people trying to pull private sec- “successfullypassedtheexamon Sinha said that thankstothe high, dive low, getintense, do outingscouldtruly mine what ment onceagain, theleader said. whenitcomestoproviding non- requiring criticalcarebetween torhospitals down at this point the knowledge of the onboard lockdown, therewereonlyfour goofy and grumpy,growl and Irrfan wascapableof. He did “But”,the leader said, “we Covid health care. private and publichospitals was in time,especiallywhen some of systems of the mannedspace- states —Maharashtra, Gujarat, guffaw. He could be dangerous those movies because he could, don’t thinkitwill come to that. From Patna to Mumbai, pri- notimmediatelyavailable. us have been trying to continue craft”. Theyare to take the exam West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh and maniacal. He wasalso the but savedthe razzle dazzle for We arehopeful that the vate hospitals citemanyreasons In India,thereare three levels operations despiteincurring op- in mannedspacecraftflight the- —that were continuing to show loveliest, kookiest, mostpas- his desi dil-hai-Hindustani out- Governorwill soonnominate to explain their nearabsence: of COVIDfacilities. The firstlevel erating losses,” said AbhaySoi, ory, hesaid,andare“preparingfor a“consistent” rise in growth sionate loveryou ever saw. It ings. Fullyswitchedon, he came Thackeray to the Council.” lockdown restrictions, lackofin- comprises quarantine facilities CMD, Radiant LifeCareand the exam independently”. over time periods longer than a took the film industrymany up as close to us as possible, to Aministerbelonging to the ternal protocols to handle the in stadia, hostels, schools and Chairman, Max Healthcare. week.Andhra Pradesh and years to find Irrfan, and it isn’t as startthat conversation, as only Sena said that thechief secretary pandemic, fear of infection to lodges, calledCovid Care Said CKMishra, chairman, of Labourcrisis Madhya Pradesh also continue if he wasfloodedwith roles from he could: chaliye, baat karte could writetothe EC with are- their owndoctors and nursing Centres. This is wheremost EmpoweredGroup 2, that is in (government)normallyreleaseit to grow,but at slowerrates. the big studios immediatelyaf- hain. questthat the polls be held at the staff,unwillingnesstorisk the Covid-positivepatientsare kept. charge of hospital facilities and around April 30, which will en- “The lockdown hashelped in terhis breakout roles, post2002, Ihope that those chatswill earliesttoavoid aconstitutional business from non-Covidpa- The secondand thirdlevels are testing:“Theprivate sector has ablemetoplantcotton,” says the considerablyslowing down the in Haasil and Maqbool. never, ever end. crisis. “The issue is notabout one tients, or even the government’s hospitals with oxygen support, been assistingthe government 43-year-old. growth of theepidemic. Had But the filmmakerswho did, politicalparty,but of the govern- ownambiguity in co-opting the ventilators and ICU facilities. anditisaverywelcome step. Shamsher Singh, from the there been no lockdown, we likehis National School of Uddhav ment. The chief secretaryisex- private sector. Some patients who showsymp- Perhaps, we should look forward same village, also plans to only could have been on apath to Drama (NSD) mateDhulia, and “The PM agreedwith the pected to writealettertothe EC But, fallen offthe radar,they toms, whichare notverysevere, to moreand moreprivate-sector grow cottononhis8-acreholding, reaching acase load of about 1 Bhardwaj,made the mostofhis, CM’s view. We nowhope that soon,” the ministersaid. have. but yetrequiremedical atten- facilitiesjoiningthegovernment.” which wasentirelyunderpaddy lakh by the endofthis month. and their own, innateknowl- his nominationwill be cleared In NewDelhi, aBJP leader Bihar,infact, witnessedan tion, mayalso be admitted in (WITHINPUTSFROMASTHA untilthe2019 kharif season.Jagsir Thanks to the lockdown, it edge of the Hindi belt, long neg- soon by the Governor.” said that Thackeray had ap- “almost complete withdrawal” hospitals. SAXENA,ASHISHARYAN Singh from Jhumba villageof seems the number of active lected by Bollywood. Their com- On Monday, the proachedModi directlybecause of the private health sector, According to Indian Council ANDSHIVAMPATEL Bathinda district is going forcot- cases would remain well within ing together wasagreat MaharashtraCabinetreiterated he knows that “it would be the whichhas nearly twice the bed of Medical Research, 80 per cent INNEWDELHI)
Mumbai WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 3 THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY,APRIL30,2020 THE OUTBREAK Maharashtra Caseslodged for sharing 65-yr-oldstrugglestogetambulance, videos, namesofpositive patientsonsocial media reacheshospitalafter12hours
providing the names of those Forexample, on April 27,the Nair hospital in Mumbai Central helpline 1916 foranambulance. patients,” he said. turn to thegodownbut afterthe MOHAMEDTHAVER testing positivetoencouragecon- Khadakpadapolice registered LAXMANSINGH by the local police on Wednesday “The person who took my call Singhtrieddialling108 and owner learnt about his symp- MUMBAI,APRIL29 tactstocomeforwardinthe initial an FIR afteramuttonshop MUMBAI,APRIL29 morning, only to beditchedmid- saidtheyprovideambulanceonly 112, but both numbers were con- toms, he tootold him he wasno stages of the outbreak, owner in Kalyan(west)received waybythe cabbie who panicked when aperson is Covid-19posi- stantlybusy. longerwelcomethere. Finally, af- MULUND MLAMihir Kotecha Maharashtragovernment de- twocalls from customers asking A65-YEAR-OLD man, who had a at his condition. tive.Ifambulancesare only for Finally,Singh calledthe na- terscouting around on his own, recently releasedavideo, in cidedtorespect confidentiality if his son and brother had tested cough and wasfeeling breathless With great difficulty the man Covid-19patients, then howwill tional helpline 1075,whichasked he found ataxiat1pmtotake whichheisseensaying that local rules on keeping their identities positive.Shocked, he said it was and wanted to visitahospital to managedto find another cab, and aperson with similar symptoms the local police to provide help. him to Nair hospital. police hadregisteredacase private, as incidents of stigmati- notcorrect and enquired about gettestedfor Covid-19, wastold gottothe hospital around 1pm. with noothertransportavailable Around 11 am,apolice team “It took him over 12 hoursto againstunidentifiedpersons sation rose. Maharashtrapolice thereasonfor thequery. To his by the BMC 1916 helplineset up The man livesinagodown in due to the lockdown reachhos- reachedhim and arranged ataxi getadmitted in hospital. The au- who shotavideoofaman being has been registering FIRs against horror, he wastold theyhavegot forCovid-19-related assistance Bycullaand sellsmangoes fora pital?” he asked. to take him to hospital. thorities shouldensuresuchpeo- takenawayinanambulance and those found doing so. aWhatsApp forwardthatthey that it could notsend him an am- living. He wasadministeredatest The man hasno relative in the However, afterthe cabbie ple getambulance on time,” shared it widely. An officer from cyber police had tested positive.The mes- bulance as the emergency vehi- forcoronavirus atthehospital on city andlives in agodownwith came to knowofhis symptoms, Singh said. When contacted, The man is adoctor who was said apartfromcommunal mes- sagefurther said butchers and clecouldbeprovidedonlyfor pa- Wednesday, and the result is yet twoother persons, Singh said. about akilometrefromwherehe Deputy Executive Health Officer treating COVID-19patients and sages and thosespreading misin- mutton shop owners should not tientswho were confirmedto to come. “If he has to find his own had pickedhim up,the taxi driver Dr Daksha Shah said that the had subsequentlytestedpositive. formationabout COVID-19, cases be allowedinthe area. The mut- have the infection. Vinod Singh, who livesin transport, and his reportcomes left him on the road to fend for helpline number 1916 is onlyfor Someonerecordedthe videoof were coming about people shar- tonshop owner approachedthe Afterfutile attemptstoaccess Worli, and knows him as theyare positive, thenhow wouldBMC himself, Singhclaimed. “He called Covid-19patientsand theypro- him being shiftedinanambu- ing videos or spreading messages police and an FIR wasregistered. an ambulance on other emer- from the same Uttar Pradesh vil- trace all the people who came in me again. He wasbreathingheav- videambulanceonlyfor patients lance and posteditonsocial me- in their societyorlocalWhatsApp Asenior officer said, “In ma- gency numbers suchas108 and lage,saidhelearnt about his con- contact with him whilehewas ilyand itwas notpossible forhim who have tested positive. “For dia, whereitwent viral. At the groupsinforming others about jority of thesecases, while the 112onTuesdaynight, the man dition at8pmonTuesday. getting to hospital by himself. to walk to hospital,” Singh said. other patients108 can be time, twopatients hadtestedpos- who has tested positive. intention maynot be to cause waseventuallyput in ataxi to It wasSinghwho calledBMC’s Therehas to be asystemfor such The man then decidedtore- reached,” she said. itive forCOVID-19inMulund,one On the daythat Kotechaput problem to the person,the ac- being the doctor. out the videoclip, another person cuseddoes endupputtingthe “I want to ask people if they in Uttan recordedavideoofa victimand his/her family at risk arethinkingaboutthe crime they woman who had tested positive of socialisolation. Henceweare Covid casesincity doubling in 10 days: BMC arecommitting before sharing and wasbeing takentohospital takingstrict action against suchvideos. An FIR has been reg- in an ambulance.When arelative those indulging in suchactivi- isteredatMulund police station of the woman found the video in tiesand registeringFIRs to cre- theworst-affected slumand eas of Mankhurd,Govandi and againstthe person who shotit his school WhatsApp group, he atefear around‘overenthusias- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE semi-slum areas of Worli Deonar,has adoubling rate of andthosewho sharedit,” Kotecha informedthe woman’s husband, tic’ people who arequickto MUMBAI,APRIL29 BMC health Koliwada,BDD chawls and 8.8 days,upfrom14daysand H said in the video. who approachedthe local Uttan shootvideos or shareunverified volunteersat JijamataNagar,has recordeda East(Behrampada, Bandra East) Even though the Ministryof Sagari police station,whereanFIR information.” THE DOUBLINGrateofCOVID- an inspection doubling rate of 17.6 days be- has doublingrateof6.9 days,an Health and FamilyWelfarehas is- wasregisteredagainst theperson Mulund police station senior 19 cases in Mumbai hasim- at Geeta Nagar tween April 17 andApril 27.As increase from 9.3 days. suedanadvisory asking people in the neighbourhood who shot inspector Ravi Sardesai said they proved from 8.3 days to 10 days sluminColaba of April27, the numberofcases According to BMC,till April notto“spread names or identity the videoand the personwho for- have seizedthe mobile phone of from April17toApril 27,datare- on Wednesday. in the ward was642,highestin 26, it has traced1,29,477 con- of those affected or under quar- warded it. the person who shotthe video of leased by BMC showedon Nirmal Harindran the city.But in other wards, the tactsofpatients.Amongthem, antine or their locality on social The officer from cyberpolice the doctor and will arrest him Wednesday. While thedoubling doublingratehas gone up. T 21,053 arehigh-risk contacts. media”, severalcases have come addedthat therewerecases soon.Onthe Khadakpada inci- rate –daystaken forthe num- ward,whichcoversMulund, has Till date, BMC has conducted to lightwherepeople are“reveal- wherethe information“was dent, apolice officersaid, “The berofcasestodouble –in The civic body also said that April 26. The deathratein adoubling rate of 8.4days,hav- 66,000 tests. Approximately, ing” names of those testing posi- misleadingand spread with the messagehas been shared several Maharashtrawas 8.9days, the the fatality rate in thecity has Maharashtra, meanwhile, stood ing gone up from 13.2 days on 5,071 testsare beingconducted tive forCOVID-19 on social me- motive to malign the personor times and we aretrying to track national averagewas 9.5 during gone down from 6.3 per cent to at 4.3per cent in thisperiod. April 17.MEastward, which per million population in dia. While some states were community”. down the originalsender.” thisperiod. 3.9 per cent between April 11 to GSouth ward,whichcovers covers congestedand slum ar- Mumbai.
Cleaning and desilting of Mithi riverinprogress ahead of the monsoon. Prashant Nadkar PALGHAR LYNCHING BMC directsdialysis Three more policemen centres not to suspended shut operations for
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE MUMBAI,APRIL29 morethan 24 hours
THREE MORE policemen posted at Kasa police station in Palghar EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE The circular comes after were suspendedonWednesday MUMBAI,APRIL29 severalhurdleswerenoted over the lynching of twosadhus and theirdriverbyamobon April DIALYSIS CENTRES in the city have in theoperation of dialysis 16.Palghar SP Gaurav Singh is- been directed nottoshut down oper- centres and seekstomodify suedanorder to suspend ations formorethan 24 hoursifa an earlier circularthat Assistant Police Sub InspectorRB COVID-19patient is detected at their Salunkhe and constables Santosh centre. Anew circular issued by the warnedofpunitive action if Mukane and Naresh Dhodi, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation centreswerefound pending an inquiry. alsostatesthatdialysis centres staffers operating without screening The suspensions followthe wearing personalprotective equip- transferonTuesdayof35consta- ment (PPE) do notrequiretobequar- bles postedatKasa police station. antined if theyare exposedtoacoro- everypatient before puttingthem on With Wednesday’s suspension, navirus patient. dialysis machine.“Anycentre found to the entire staffofKasapolice sta- The circular, issuedonApril 27 by violatetheseconditions is liable for tion hasbeen shunted out. Singh Dr SanjayOak,chairman of Task Force punitive action from MCGM,” the cir- had claimedthe transfers were Committee,comes afterseveral hur- cular stated.According to Dr RB Dastur, notlinkedtothe lynching. dles were notedinthe operation of medical director in Bhatia hospital, Aspokespersonfor Palghar dialysiscentres andseekstomodify an theyhad startedrequesting all patients police station said the three po- earlierBMC circular that warnedof to firstundergo acoronavirus test and licemen were among the small punitive action if the centreswere then come if their test reportcame police partythathad rushedto found operating withoutscreening pa- negative.“This wastocontain the GadchinchlevillageonApril 16 tientsfor coronavirus and in case of spread of the infection,” he said. night aftervillagers had sur- virus transmission. Dr Ganesh Sanap, from ApexSwap roundedacarferryingthesadhus, The fresh circular states thatifa Transplant Registry, said the process MahantKalpavruksha Giri(70) case is found, standard disinfection became tedious forpatients, who had and Sushilgiri Maharaj (35), and protocol will be carriedout and only to undergoatestevery time theyre- their driverNilesh Yelgade (30). patientswho have comeincontact quired adialysis, as well as forcentres, The villagers arealleged to have withthe COVID-19infected person who feared that the civic body will seal mistakenthe men, who were would be tested. Staffers, wearing PPE their centreifapositive case came up. headedtoSurat forafuneral, for andexposedtosuchpatients,would Patientscomplainedtheyhad to un- child lifters and organharvesters. nothavetobequarantined, however, dergo aCOVID-19testevery 10 days or Despitethe presence of the those sans PPE would be quarantined so before afresh cycle of dialysis. police, the group of 500vil- if exposed, it states. Grant Road-basedDharmendra lagers attackedthe men bru- “Those (staffers) who do notde- Kansarasaid it took twodays forhis tallyand killedthem on the velop symptoms by theseventh day wife’s COVID-19resultstocome. “She spot. Lastweek, Assistant Police can rejoin work immediately,”the cir- kept vomiting because her dialysis was Inspector Anandrao Kale and cularstatedwhile amending the 14- nothappening on time. COVID-19test Police SubInspectorSudhir daymandatoryquarantine forhealth takesalong time. We can’t afford pri- Kataretoo hadbeen suspended workers at dialysis centres. vate test every10days,” he said, adding forfailing to protect the victims The earlier circular,issuedonApril thatgovernmenthospitals had refused from the mob. 10,had asked dialysis centres to screen to test her.
Mumbai WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 4 THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY,APRIL30,2020 THE OUTBREAK Maharashtra Highest single Govtmullsschemetoprotect 4,500 industrial units day jump: 32 resume work, 15,846 deaths in state salariesofMSMEworkers apply for permission Maypay up to 2months’ basic salaries, wagesfor MSME staff EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Applications have been SANDEEPASHAR MUMBAI,APRIL29 received from Mumbai, EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE MUMBAI,APRIL29 fected parts on April 20, atotal of Supreme Court to allowthemto givenanadditional six-month MUMBAI,PUNE,NAGPUR, 9,915 4,500unitsresumedproduction payworkers 70 per cent less dur- time formeeting various dead- NINEDAYS afterlockdownrestric- Pune, Nagpur, Nashik APRIL29 THE UDDHAVThackeray-led activity till April 28,while 15,846 ing lockdown and sought adi- lines and compliances. tionswereeased forindustrial and Aurangabad coalition government has taken appliedfor permission to oper- rection forthe governmentto Theseconcessions, collec- unitsinareas that had notseen WITH32deathsinthestate,26of TOTALPOSITIVECASES up aproposal forprotecting the ate, stated an official release of paythe rest of the fund from the tively,are expected to costRs COVID-19cases in Maharashtra, theminMumbai, Wednesday salaries and wagesofemployees the state-runMaharashtra PM cares fund. On Wednesday, 3,500-4,000 crore. With the signsofresumption of activity andfromtheworkplaces.Noneof sawthe highestsingle dayjump INMAHARASHTRA of small,micro, and medium en- Industrial Development former UnionFinanceMinister state’sown revenues adversely have begun emerging. the team members of these in- forCOVID-19deaths in Number of deaths 432 terprises (MSMEs) in thestate. Corporation. PChidambaram also urgedthe hit,asenior finance department According to an official state- dustries have anysymptoms of Maharashtraand itscapital. Estimating the lossessuffered While acommittee of serv- Union government to come up official said, the availability of mentissuedbythe state-run COVID-19,”itadded.Theapplica- In Mumbai, 475new cases Totalnumber of people duetothe lockdownbythe in- ing and retired bureaucrats, ap- with ascheme to protect the funds to provide suchsops Maharashtra Industrial tions forresumption have been were recordedonWednesday. In discharged1,593 dustrysector in Maharashtrato pointed by Chief Minister salaries and wagesof12crore would be an issue. The statehas DevelopmentCorporation,15,846 receivedfromMumbai,Pune, all,therewere597 newCovid-19 Number of people tested be over Rs 1lakh crore, senior of- UddhavThackeray, is still meas- people employedbythe private estimated itsown revenue loss industrial unitshaveappliedfor Nagpur,Nashikand Aurangabad. casesacrossthestate,bringingthe 1.35 lakh ficials said,aproposalfor paying uring the economic impact of sector. forthe lockdown period to be theresumingmanufacturingand Accordingto MIDC,inthefirst total count to 9,915, whilethe up to twomonths of basic COVID-19and waytoreviveit, In another measuretocush- over Rs 42,000 crore. processing activity since April 20 phase of the easingoflockdown Totalnumber quarantined death toll rose to 432. salaries and wagesfor the MSME seniorofficials said small busi- ion the impact forthe small and “Weare hoping that the whentherestrictionswere eased. conditions before April20, ap- 10,813 Maharashtracontributesto 29per staffwas under consideration. nesses in the statehavetaken the medium businesses, the depart- Centre itselfannouncessimilar “Alltheseapplicantshavesub- provals were giventomanufac- centof country’sCovid-19burden Number of newcases597 Maharashtra, India’s most in- maximum hit due to supply- ment has also proposedthat the schemes nationwide. This will mittedself-certified declarations turing and processing unitsin and39percentof country’sover- dustrialisedstate,has 17 lakh chain disruptions, with steel, real state government bear up to five reduce our burden,”anofficial or undertakings that theywill Konkan, Pune,Nashik, alldeath toll. registeredMSMEs that provide estate,and textile industries be- per cent interestonexisting and said. abideby thetermsandconditions Aurangabad, Amravati and Pune (1,062 cases), Mumbai HIGHESTCASES direct and indirect employment ing the worstaffected. fresh capital loans availedby In order to infuse fresh capi- laiddownbythestateandcentral Nagpur divisions.Theseincluded (6,644cases) and Thane (373)to- to nearly 1.5crore people. Of this, Senior officials said the state’s MSMEsfor ayear.Ithas also pro- tal, aproposal to approachthe governmentstocontain the 1,966industriesproducingessen- gether nowaccount for81per Mumbai6,644 the manufacturing sector, Industries department has pro- posed the electricity dutybe ReserveBank of India fordirect- spread of coronavirus,” said the tialgoods and156 continuous centofMaharashtra’scases.Buta among the worsthit by thelock- posed that the government waived offfor all industries, in- ing banks to grant20per cent statement.Ofthosewhohave ap- processingunits–ones thatrun Pune 1,062 riseincases is alsobeing notedin down, aloneaccount forsix lakh spendRs800-Rs1,000 croreas cluding major ones, forthe additional loan to all eligible in- plied, production activity has re- 24x7.Maharashtrahas atotal of Malegaon, Solapur,and Navi Thane 373 units. an incentive to MSMEs that do March-June period, but the dustries without seeking fresh sumedin 4,500units.“According 36,623registered factories. Mumbai.“Weexpectthenumber Malegaon 171 According to government es- notlay offtheir staff. “Thepro- state’s energy department has collateral is being considered by to themanagementof theseunits, Unitsthathaveresumed pro- of cases to furtherrise, at leastin timates, nearly 94 per cent of the posal is to reimburse suchbusi- reportedlyopposedthe sugges- the stategovernment, said offi- 3,83,613 workerswere employed duction include Hindustan Lever, hotspots basedonlatesttrends,” Navi Mumbai 162 operationalfactory units (34,501 ness foruptotwo months of ba- tion. cials.Meanwhile, Maharashtra earlier.Ofthese,90,000 have re- JSWSteel, POSCOSteel, Uttam said Dr PradeepAwate,state epi- Kalyan- Dombivali 158 of 36,623 registered factories) in sic salaries andwages paid,” said On Monday, the stateCabinet is planning to prioritise capital sumedduties,”statedtherelease. Galwa, AmbujaCement, demiologist. Three deathswere the statehad stalledproduction asenior official. had introduced aprovision to investmentsinthe roads, irriga- “A total of 2,500vehicles, Ultratech, Golden Fiberand KEC Vasai-Virar 128 recordedinPune, one in Solapur, following government-enforced The state’sproposal comes at enable traders moretime to pay tion,and other infrastructure whichare fullycompliant with InternationalLimited.Manyoth- one in Aurangabad, and onein restrictions. Afterthe lockdown atime when agroup of 11 GSTdues. The department has sectors in public sector to spur laiddown norms, have been de- ers areexpected to startsoon,the Panvel city. Seniorcitizens con- matic and yet-to-be-testedslum measures were eased fornon-in- MSMEs have petitionedthe nowproposedthattraders be growth. ployedtoferry these workers to MIDC added. tinueto accountformaximumfa- dwellers have been quarantined, talities—17ofthe32deathswere and 1,474people areinCOVID aged above 60.The instances of carecentres (level II), wherecon- MIGRANTS TO BE SENTHOME those with no comorbidity dying firmedCovid-19cases withno purelydue to coronavirus is also symptoms or mild symptoms increasing.OnWednesday,while have been put up. Govt likely to finalise 18 deceasedpatientsalsosuffered In Pune, a65-year-old man fromasthma,diabetes,hyperten- diedlateTuesdaydue to COVID- sion or heart problems, 14 had no 19 related complications.At modalities today co-morbidity at all. Sassoon General Hospital, a71- Mumbai officialssaid of 26 year-old man diedofCOVID-19- deaths in Mumbai, 10 were related infection on April 29. In EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE recordedlastweek but assessed Nagpur,aCOVID-19patientdied MUMBAI,APRIL29 Wecantransportonly20 andconfirmedasCovid-19deaths Wednesdaybutauthoritiesareyet to22peopleinonestate on Wednesday. to attributethe deathtocoron- AFTER THEUnion Ministryof transportbus,aswehave Acentralgovernment-ap- avirusasthe patient wasasymp- Home Affairs (MHA) issueda pointed team visited Solapur to tomatic.Municipalcommissioner notification permittinginter- tofollowsocialdistancing reviewthe control measures TukaramMundhesaid,“Since he statemovement of people,in- norms.So,wehavekept againstCOVID-19.The team wasasymptomatic despitebeing cluding migrant workers, 10,000busesready” headedbyDrAKGadpayle, from coronavirus positivewithsome tourists and others,toenable New Delhi,reviewedwhy cases co-morbidity factors likeblood them to reachtheir homes,state ANIL PARAB had suddenly gone up in Solapur. pressureabnormality,our death officialssaid on Wednesdaythat STATE TRANSPORT MINISTER AcrossMaharashtra,1.62lakh committeewould ascertain the ahigh-level meeting is likelyto peopleremainunderhomequar- cause of death.Onlyafter that we be convenedonThursdaytodis- antine whileover10,000 sus- wouldbeabletocommentonit.” cussmodalities. “sanitised” buses. pected cases remain under insti- Awoman, who delivereda Discussions on finalising The statewill have to do the tutional quarantine.OnbabyatIGGMC Wednesday, has modalities would take place on heavy lifting forthis, including Wednesday, 205peoplewere dis- tested positive. “Sheisasympto- Thursday, asenior bureaucrat arranging thousands of buses chargedacrossstate,ofthem 193 matic, but since she came from said. and the screening eachperson were from Mumbai. the containmentzone of The MHA decision has come who would be transported Mumbai,currently, has 6,770 Mominpura,we tookhersamples EMPTYLANES: The APMC vegetable market in Vashi wears adesertedlook Wednesday. Amit Chakravarty as partial relief to the across the stateborders. peopleadmitted in COVID care Tuesday,”said Deputy Medical Maharashtragovernment, Butthe government hasal- centres (level I), where asympto- SuperintendentSagar Pande. whichhad been pressing the ready done some homework on Centretomakearrangementsto sending the migrantshome by sendlakhsofmigrant workers road, as stateTransportMinister 'Real estate firms to homebuyers withfasterap- of stateandcentralgovernments and minimum wagesfor con- from the northernstates, Anil Parabhad told The Indian Not interested in making shouldform NBFCs’ proval. “The real estate industry to theplightof strandedmigrant struction workersand MGN- strandedsince the lockdown be- Express in an interviewearlier Mumbai:Real estate companies shouldadoptnew technologies labourersstuckforoveramonth REGAworkers despitelostem- ganonMarch 25 in urban cen- this week. backdoor entry: Fadnavis have been asked to reduce cost and reduce theirconstruction now, various organisations ployment,throughDirect tres of the state, including Parabhad said the govern- of constructionto boostdemand cost, whichwill help the sector working with the underprivi- BeneficiaryTransfer. ENS Mumbai, without anymeans of ment had worked out the exact Thackeray to the Council,” andstarttheirownfinancecom- to generatemoredemand and legedwillobserveaday’sfast on income or shelter.The statewas details of number of buses it has EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Fadnavissaid.“Iwouldliketoem- panies to provide loans to sell inventoryatalow May1,observedasInternational 70 buses leave to bring keen that this should happen be- in eachdivision. MUMBAI,APRIL29 phasize that BJP would be very homebuyers.Atawebi- cost,” he said. He said Labour Dayand Maharashtra students stuckinKota fore May3,when the ongoing “Wecan transportonly20to happytosee UddhavThackeray naronWednesday, at- the central and state Dayand press to send workers lockdownmay be extended 22 people in one statetransport DAYAFTERagovernmentdelega- being nominated to the Council tendedby1,500partici- governmentswere backtotheirhomestates.Calling Mumbai: At least70state trans- again. bus, as we have to followsocial tionled by Deputy ChiefMinister andcontinuingastheCM.TheBJP pants, MinisterofRoad planning to purchase it afastof“gratitude, empathy portbuses leftfromthe state Thelasttimeitwas extended distancing norms. So, we have AjitPawar metGovernor Bhagat does notwant instability in the Transportand Highways housing quarters for and constitutional responsibil- Wednesday tobring backstu- on April 14,nearly 2,000 mi- kept 10,000buses ready.Around SinghKoshyarito urge himto take state.” Refuting chargesthat the NitinGadkarisaidNational employees andifassoci- ity”, the organisations said the dentsstrandedatKotain grantsatBandrainMumbai had 1.5lakh peoplecan be trans- adecision on nominating Chief Oppositionwas behind stalling Real Estate CORONA ationscame forward fast from 6amto6pm will be Rajasthan due to the coron- takentothe streetsinthe belief ported by these buses,”hehad MinisterUddhavThackeray to the Uddhav’s nomination, Fadnavis Development Council withplansto thegov- undertakenbyrepresentatives avirus-enforcedlockdown,anof- that the government wasgoing added. LegislativeCouncil, formerCM said,“Weare neitherinterestedin (NAREDCO)shouldpro- WATCH ernment, it will help of atleast15districtsinthestate. ficial said. The vehicles leftfrom to send them home. Keen to The ministerhad further said DevendraFadnavis on engineering instability nor mak- poseto thegovernment developersgenerate Someoftheir demands include Dhule district around 10.30am avoid arepeat, Chief Minister thatthe migrantswill have to be Wednesdaysaid BJP is notinter- ing abackdoorentry.” forinvesting some amount in liquidity and regeneratethe groceries forlabourersregard- and willreachRajasthan by UddhavThackeray had repeat- registeredwith the government estedinmaking a“backdoor en- ShivSena leader SanjayRaut non-bankingfinancial compa- economy. ENS lessofwhether theyhaveration Wednesdaynight, he said. “The edly conveyedtothe Centrethat authorities –police or district try” intoMaharashtrapolitics. had accusedBJP of misusing Raj nies (NBFC) andthenask NBFCs cards; urgent repatriationof buses willleave from Kota it should startspecial trains and collectors. “Weare confident thatthe Bhawantoserveits politicalinter- to borrowforeign funds, which Labour bodies to observe workers to homestates; system Thursdaymorning,” theMSRTC issue guidelines before theend “Theyshould have at least Governorwilltake anappropriate ests.AsourceatRajBhavan,how- will help in reducing interest 12-hr fast on May1 at taluka anddistrict-level for official said,adding that only 20 of April. one identity card. People whodo decision, conforming to legaland ever,said,“The Governor is con- rates. He said thiswill helpde- workers to getduesand wages; students willbeallowedineach As per the guidelines issued nothaveaccesstoany shelter constitutionalframework,andac- sulting constitutional and legal velopersprovide cheaper loans Mumbai: To draw the attention insurance coverage forworkers bus. PTI on Wednesday, the migrants will be the firsttobemoved out,” cordingly nominate Uddhav experts. The process is on.” would nowbesent home in he had added. Long way home for migrants in Konkan and the wait, even longer
the attention of policemen at the should’vestayedhome withmy from across the country,have officials said it hadbroughtanxi- Going without waterthe entire MAYURAJANWALKAR Bhokestation. family,” said Chaudhry, who hails beenprovidedaccommodationat etytomanymigrant workersin night,thefourmen,threewomen RAIGAD,RATNAGIRI,APRIL29 “On the way, we didn’t find from Kailali in Nepal. He stays on air-conditionedcontainercabins. other districts as well. and athree-and-a-half-year-old anytransitcamps.But afterwe amangoorchardwithothersfrom The contracted daily-wage Choudhari,however, saidthat child,were lyingdownto rest their WHEN HE setout to walk from reachedBhoke, some policemen hisvillage. labourers (earning an averageof theydecidednot to uprootwork- bodiesthathadbravedabout220 MapusainGoa,SarojBhanRawat accostedus. We pleaded with Thefeelingof being“caughtin Rs400toRs500)liveinmakeshift ers whostayedonconstruction km on foot from Virar, Mumbai’s wasprepared to walk for25to30 themtoallow to walk further but themiddle”hauntsmanyevenas asbestosshantiesattheconstruc- sites.Theadministrationprovides far-flungsuburb,totheirvillagein days to makeithomeinSatnadis- theytold us that arrangements thedistrictadministrationtriesto tion sites. them with dryration, soaps and GondgharinRaigad. In another trict of MadhyaPradesh. have beenmadeforpeoplelikeus allaytheir anxiety. Among them is RitaDanve, sanitisers.She said that workers time, theywould travel the same “It was11ofus. We setout af- in Ratnagiri,” Rawatsaid. At MangaoninRaigad,thedis- whocame to Mangaon from livedingroups of people hailing distance in abus in eight hours. terpackingattaand rice.We SinceApril 14,the men have placementof constructionlabour- Bhusaval (about540 km away) fromthesamestateorvillage and The child wasasleep on his would cut through railway plat- made aclassroom in Damle ersaftermanyleftfortheirhome- leaving her three children with scatteringthem in camps would mother’s stretchedlegs,his black forms at night so that no one Vidyalaya inRatnagiritheirhome. towns before the lockdown on herparents.“Assoonasthetrains have onlycausedmorestress to facemaskslippingoffhisear. “We would see us. We worked at a Theschoolisnow hometo19mi- March 24,has takenatoll on the startagain, Iwill go home,” said them. have been walkingfor three days buildingconstruction siteinGoa grantworkers–the11 fromSatna work on the Mangaon bypass, lo- Danve, who has been at the site “Even the organisations and non stop.Hekeptcrying andre- andthere wasnoarrangementfor andothersfromtheneighbouring cated on the Indapur-Wadpale forovernine months with her NGOs that supplycooked food to fusing to walk,” said Akanksha us to stayput at the shanties we district of Sindhudurg. section of the underconstruction husbandLaxman. someofthe camps,wetold them Kap, theboy’s mother. Thefamily livedinwhenwe hadnowork.So, RamswarupKol, whostarted Mumbai-Goahighway. Areas likePanveland Uran to take small stepstoensure that hadonlyfourkilometresmoreto we decidedtogohomeandwalk- fromMapusawithRawat,saidthe Alok Kumar of Chetak that areinclose proximity with migrant workers feel moreat walk to makeithome. ingwasouronlyoption.Wewere schoolwascomfortableandthere Strandedmigrant workers in Ratnagiri. Amit Chakravarty Enterprises, the Rajasthan-based theMumbaiMetropolitanRegion home.Likeservechokhato Bihari “Eightof uslive inoneroomin notsurewhatwewouldget to eat wasnoshortage of food.“It’sokay companycontractedtobuild 26 arealsohometothousandsof mi- workers, serve brinjal with Virar. Whatkindof socialdistanc- so we thoughtitwas better to re- for nowbut this is nothome. Had km section of the highway,said grant workers. In Raigad, 36,879 khichdi. In Panvel, we installeda ingcanwe maintain?We decided turn to home,” he said from be- we been home, we could have restaurantsand hotels.Alarge ers from Nepal, who have been they needatleast 500workersbut migrant workersare stayingat TV in acampsothat theycan to walk home... our family mem- hindafacemask. helpedwith the work in our number of workers from Nepal comingto Konkaninthesummer with manyhaving leftbeforethe 327locations, District Collector watchmovies in theirlanguage,” bers in the villagesay we would In five days,the 11 men had farms,”headded. also migrate toRatnagiri and to work inmangoorchards,Rajesh lockdown, only120 areliving at NidhiChoudharisaid. said Choudhari. be quarantinedinthe village walked 216kmfromMapusa to Inthedistrictsalongthestate’s Sindhudurginthesummerahead Chaudhrycame to Ratnagiri for the site. Manyothers, who had Afternews andvideosof thou- Acarlightshone oneightper- schoolfor15days.Thatisfine...this Bhoke,one stationahead of coastline, migrant labourers are of mango plucking routine and the firsttime this year.“We are gone home forHoli, have notre- sands of migrant workers gath- sons resting their heads on their is home afterall,” said Ankush Ratnagiri on the Konkan railway. employedinlarge numbers stay putuntilthe end of May. okay herebut with the COVID-19 turned. ered at Mumbai’s Bandrastation bags alongthe highway near the Kap, the boy’s father who is an OnApril14,however, theycaught mostlyatconstruction sites, Unlikemanyofhis co-work- pandemicandlockdown,IthinkI The company’s staff, hailing on April 14 were widelyshared, KharsaivillageinRaigad at dawn. electrician.
Mumbai WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY,APRIL30,2020 THE OUTBREAK 5 At71,highest Attacks on frontline workers: UP to FROMPAGEONE CMC-NEET tions. In case theyhavetoimpart education, they arebound to bring in ordinance for strict penalty India do notcome in the way complywith theconditions 24-hourtoll; of securing transparency and whichare equallyapplicableto recognition of meritsinthe mat- all. The regulations arenecessary, and violating restrictions. Four held for terofadmissions.Itisopen to and theyare notdivisive or dis- MAULSHREESETH The CM said medical teams, regulating the course of study, integrative.Suchregulatory LUCKNOW,APRIL29 security personnel or even those attack on police qualifications forensuring edu- measures enable institutions to casesdoubling Yogi engagedindoorstepdelivery,are cational standards. It is open to administer themefficiently... The THE UTTAR Pradesh government Adityanath helpingpeopleofthestate by put- team in Kanpur imposing reasonablerestrictions qualityofmedical education is is settopromulgate an ordinance ting their livesatrisk and justa in the national and publicinter- imperative to sub-servethe na- to amendthe EpidemicDiseases handful of people cannot be al- Lucknow: Minutes afterhealth est,” the benchsaid. tionalinterest, andmerit cannot in11.3days Act, 1897,toensure thatthosein- Speakingto TheIndianExpress, lowedtocreateunrest. He said workers took away nine family Article 19 (1)(g) grants citi- be compromised.The volvedinattacksonfrontlinewor- stateLaw MinisterBrijeshPathak thathehas asked police officers members of aperson, who had zens the right to practice anypro- Government has the right for kers amid the COVID-19pan- said that afterthe Centreamen- nottohesitateintaking action. tested positivefor coronavirus, fession, or to carry on anyoccu- providing regulatorymeasures tionwide lockdown, asource demic face stiffpenalties, dedthe Act, eachstate wassup- “Such attacksareadirectchal- to putthem in quarantine, local pation, tradeorbusiness while thatare in the national interest,” ABANTIKAGHOSH close to the Health Ministerin- includingajailtermof upto seven posedtoamendrulesconcerning lengetothelawandordersystem, residentsWednesdayallegedly Article30relatestothe right of the order stated. NEWDELHI,APRIL29 dicated that he is in favour of years and Rs 5lakh as fine. it. “UttarPradeshhas decided to andinnosituation,theycanbeac- attackedapolice team deployed minorities to establish andad- The petitioners had said that continuation of the lockdown. Citing the attackonhealth implement all provisions, like cepted.Ihadsaiditearliertooand at the spot and threw stones in ministereducational institutions. unaidedminority professional EVEN AS discussions on where The source said, “The deci- workersandpoliceinKanpurand punishment from six months to will sayitagain thatinUttar Jugiyana locality of Kanpur. “The rightstoadminister an colleges have thefundamental each districtstands in terms of sion hasnot been takenyet on Moradabad,Chief MinisterYogi sevenyears and fine imposedin Pradesh,allthehealthworkers,se- Policesaid those who tar- institution underArticle 30 of the right to choose themethod and coronavirus cases and the open- howthe relaxations will be im- Adityanath on Wednesdaysaid, the CentralAct. We have decided curitypersonnel,allthesanitation getedthe policepersonnel de- Constitutionare notabove the manner of admittingstudents, ing up formula continuedinthe plemented.The Prime Minister “Attacks on our corona warriors to bring afresh ordinance, mak- workers, and even social organi- mandedthathealth workers lawand other Constitutional pro- subject to satisfaction of the government,the country himself is consulting all stake- areaseriouscrimewhich cannot ing the punishment morestrict.” sations areworking to break the should test thepatient’s family visions. Reasonableregulatory triple test of afair,transparent, recordedits highest24-hour toll holders and taking as manyin- go unpunishedasthese warriors Whilethenewordinancewill chain of coronavirus... Attacking members at the residence and measurescan be provided with- and non--exploitative process, —71, it wasannouncedon putsaspossible.... We cannotrisk areworkingforthesocietyby put- be calledUttar Pradesh Epidemic them is an unpardonable crime,” take away onlythose who test out violating suchrightsavailable and that NEET couldnot be the Wednesday. adisaster.” ting their livesatrisk.” DiseaseControlOrdinance,2020, he said,adding thatGangster Act positivefor coronavirus. underArticle 30 ofthe onlyparametertodetermine the In all, 1,008people have died “If youask the ministerper- “That is whywehavemoved sourcessaiditwouldincludepun- and NationalSecurity Actwould Fiftyarearesidentshavebeen Constitutiontoadministeranin- merit of astudent. of COVID-19across the country sonally,”the sourceadded, “he forwardtoamendEpidemicDise- ishment foroffences likespitting, also be invokedagainstthosein- booked in acase filedatthe lo- stitution,” the benchruled. They claimedthat changein so far. would tell youthatitmay be ases Act...,” he said. runningfromquarantinefacilities volvedinsuchattacks. cal policestation. ENS Writing forthe bench, Justice the admission procedureofstu- In the last24hours,1,813 better to maintain status quo.” Mishrasaid “the rightsunder dentswould result in asharp de- newcases were reported,taking Signalling achangeinthe Article 19(1) (g) arenot absolute cline in the current standards of the total number of cases to protocol so far, theHealth and aresubjecttoreasonable re- excellence maintainedatthe in- 31,787, and 7,796 patientshave Ministryhas already announced 17 moredeaths, Gujarat Chhattisgarhdist throws striction in the interestofthe stu- stitutions and that this would recovered, making therecovery that officeswhere aCOVID case dent’s community to promote notbeinpublicinterest. rate nearly 25 per cent. hasbeendetected neednot be cases cross 4,000 up first case,question on merit, recognition of excellence, Declining permission to con- So far, 7,70,764 testshave closeddown, as wasthe proto- and to curbthe malpractices. duct other exams, the benchsaid been conducted in the country col earlier. bad, including a20-year-old transferduringquarantine Uniform Entrance Test qualifies “the system is notyet out of in private and ICMR laboratories. “If thereisaCOVID patient in EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE woman anda65-year-old man the test of proportionality andis clutches of unscrupulous de- In an interaction with the anon-COVID hospital, that facil- AHMEDABAD,GANDHINAGAR, with athyroid condition.Three Both were green zone dis- reasonable.The sameisintended vices and dubious means are Lions Club Internationalmem- ity can be usedafter disinfection. VADODARA,RAJKOT,SURAT, others who diedare twomen, GARGIVERMA tricts,and all 12 people had ar- to checkseveralmaladieswhich adoptedtodefeat merit. The in- bers from across the country, The same process is to be fol- APRIL29 aged54and64,anda45-year-old RAIPUR,APRIL29 rived, alongmanyothers in a creptintomedicaleducation, to terestofeducation wouldfur- Union Health MinisterDrHarsh lowedfor anyother location woman who had no co-morbidi- group of around 400, from quar- prevent capitation feebyadmit- ther sufferand very purpose of Vardhan said that thereare “a lit- where aCOVID patient is de- SEVEN JOURNALISTS and five ties.Two other men, aged 80 and ON TUESDAY,a58-year-oldman antinecentres in Rajnandgaon ting studentswhichare lowerin centralisedexaminationwould tle over 300districtsinthe coun- tected.The buildingcan be used state informationdepartmentof- 61,who diedatSVP Hospital, had tested positive for COVID-19in district on April 17. merit and to prevent exploita- be defeated”. trywith no casesand another afterproper disinfection,” Joint ficialswereamong the 317new hypertension. A70-year-old Chhattisgarh’s Surajpur —the “Wehavesent all patients tion, profiteeringand commer- “Buildingthe nation is the 300with minimal -between 1 Secretary LavAgarwal had said COVID-19cases reportedin womanwhodiedatCivilHospital firstconfirmedcase in thedis- (man who tested positive and cialisation of education. The in- main aspect of education, which and 5-cases”. on Tuesday. Gujarat —the highestsingle-day had asthma andhypertension. trict.Inthe rapid test,nine oth- thosesuspected to have been in- stitution has to be acapable couldnot be ignoredand over- He alsosaid that the dou- In his interactionwith the jump —onWednesday. Thenum- Another 60-year-old womanto ers quarantinedatthe same fected)toAIIMS-Raipur.Iwas vehicle of education”. looked.Theyhavetocater to na- blingtime over the lastthree Lions Club members, Vardhan berofcases in the statehas now succumbhadlungcomplications shelter campweresuspected to contacted by the Rajnandgaon “The minorityinstitutionsare tional interestfirst, then their in- days is 11.3 days. said: “This timethe hallmarkof crossed4,000.The number of along withmental illness. have been infected. collector andwemade arrange- equallyboundtocomplywith terest,moreso, when such According to the minister, al- our approachhas been five-fold: deaths in the statestands at 200 In Ahmedabad,234 people A10th person suspected to mentsfor 106people theysent the conditions imposedunder conditions can be prescribed for though the global mortality rate (i) maintaining acontinuoussit- with 17 morepeople dying on testedpositive,includingfive em- have contracted theinfection to our district,” Surajpur district the relevant Acts and Regulations recognition, particularlyinthe is around 7per cent, Indiahas so uation awareness,(ii) preemp- Wednesday. Rajkot reported its ployees of stateinformation de- washousedataquarantine collector Deepak Soni said on to enjoy affiliation and recogni- matter of professional educa- farshown amortalityrateof tive andproactive approach, (iii) firstdeath—a60-year-old partment. Of them, twoare in campinJashpur district. Wednesday. tion, which applytoall institu- tion,” the benchsaid. around 3per cent,withnearly gradedresponseasper contin- woman with hypertension, who home 86 per cent fatality of patients uouslyevolving scenario, (iv) in- washospitalisedonApril20,died. quaran- with co-morbidities. ter-sectoralcoordination at all Her husband and twosons have tine and While the discussion cur- levels, and, mostimportantly(v) tested positive, takingthe district threeat rentlyiscentred around a creating apeople’s movement to case count to 58. acare graded opening up of the na- combat this disease.” Nine peoplediedinAhmeda- centre.
DATA PRIVACY, OWNERSHIP AND STORAGE Concerns over Gujarat app, with links to health secy, used to track cases
SOHINIGHOSH GANDHINAGAR,APRIL29
THE GUJARATstate health commis- sioner has raisedconcerns of data privacy,ownership and storagere- garding TeCHO+ app, whichisbeing usedtoupload dataonCOVID-19 patients. The softwarefor the app wasde- veloped by ArguSoftIndia Ltd, whose president is Ravi Gopalan, the husband of Principal Secretary, Health and FamilyWelfare, Jayanti Ravi. Sources in the Gujarat govern- ment confirmed thatHealth Commissioner Jai Prakash Shivahare Medical officials in Vadodara’s Nagarwada afteraperson tested raisedthe concern in acommunica- positive in the area. BhupendraRana tion dated April16regarding “TeCHO software”, saying that in or- der to use an upgraded versionofit, Infection) or ILI (Influenza Like you.” “certain legal aspectsneededtobe Illness) cases. In her statement to The Indian takenintoaccount likeconsentof Ascreenshotregarding mapping Express,Ravisaid that when she was the patient, ownership of the data, data across TeCHOplatformswas appointedasthe Health data storageand use. Under the cir- shared by theGujaratInformation Commissioner in 2017,she had in- cumstances, in order to increase the DepartmentonApril 12 on a formedthe General Administration coverage of the TechoSoftwareap- WhatsApp groupwithjournalists, Department that her husband’s firm plication, thereshould be an MoU showing asenior official of ArguSoft, Argusofthad in 2013 developedthe with the developer of the applica- Sethuraman Venkataraman, logged ImTeCHO appfor theGujarat gov- tion”. intohis account, while showing a ernment,usedasatrackerfor ma- Sources saidthe concern wasre- spatial distribution of cases. ternal and infant health. gardingsharingofdatawith Earlier,inanorderonMarch 27, It wasofficially“dedicated to the ArgusoftIndia Ltd. signedbythe Joint Secretary, Health people” on October 7, 2017,byPrime While Shivaharerefusedtocom- Department, and issuedinthe name MinisterNarendraModi from his ment on the issue, Deputy Chief of the Governor,the Gujarat Health hometown Vadnagar,Ravi’s state- MinisterNitin Patel, who holds the Departmenthadsaid,“concernedau- ment said, adding that the informa- health portfolio,told The Indian thorities will have toensurethat pri- tionisalso usedonthe CM Express,“Ihavecomeacrosssome vate doctors and hospitals upload all Dashboard. news reportsregardingthis but I informationonlineregardingsus- Ravi added that theImTeCHO don’t have anyinformation.” pected cases” on DrTeCHO+ app and app wasusedfor “door-to-door sur- In responsetoquestionssent by “violation of this circularwill result in veillance… afterCOVID-19pan- The Indian Express,Ravisaid anyal- proceedings under the Gujarat demic struck and wasalso usedto legations were “baseless” and that Epidemic Regulation, 2020”. monitortreatment”. “… in the first “asamatter of principle, Iand my Subsequentlytoo thegovern- week of April when the Central gov- husband Ravi Gopalanhad decided ment had issuedadvertisementsre- ernment launchedamobileapp for years backthat all work he does for garding the app,talking of “manda- the treatment and observation of the Gujarat government wouldbe tory reporting of all NovelCorona COVID-19 patientsand whengov- free of cost”. virus symptoms or Severe Acute ernmentsweredirected to use it, in- Argusoft India Ltdbuilt TeCHO+ RespiratoryInfection (SARI) through stead of TeCHO, thedecisionwas as afreeapp and itsprivacy policy DrTeCHO app”byall private doctors takenatour leveltouse the Indian states that the “Service is provided... andprivate health government’s app”. at no costand is intendedfor useas institutions”. As of April21, according to a is”. The privacy policy forDrTeCHO Gujarat governmentpress release, Incidentally, the TeCHO+ says,“If youchoose to use our serv- 3,304doctors were registered on “ecosystem”includes twoother ice, then youagree to the collection DrTeCHO+ application. apps, MyTeCHO and DrTeCHO, with and use of information in relation to Dr Kamlesh Saini, statesecretary tie-ups with the Gujarat govern- this policy... Forabetterexperi- of the Gujarat chapterofthe Indian ment. ThroughMyTeCHO,citizens ence… we mayrequireyou to pro- Medical Association,saiddoctors can registercomplaintsorfeedback vide us with certain personally iden- were expected to enter details such regarding government health serv- tifiable information. The as name, age, phone number,resi- ices. The servicewas temporarilyon information that we requestwill be dential address, travel history, co- halt, an official said. DrTeCHO, de- retainedbyusand used as described morbidities or existing health condi- veloped post-COVID-19, is to be in this privacy policy.The appdoes tions of SARI or ILI cases, as well as usedbyprivate doctors to notify use thirdparty servicesthat may the symptoms being exhibited and SARI (Severe AcuteRespiratory collectinformation usedtoidentify since when.
Mumbai WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 6 TENDER THEINDIANEXPRESS,THURSDAY,APRIL 30,2020
TAMILNADU CIVIL SUPPLIES CORPORATION CHHATTISGARH HOUSING BOARD DIVISION JAGDALPUR, Head Office: 12, THAMbuSAMY ROAD, KILPAuK, CHEnnAI-600 010. BODHGATH COLONY,JAGDALPUR Ph.no.(044) 26426773 Email id :[email protected] Website: www.cghb.gov.in, Ph: 07782-231170, Mob: 094242-09020. Advt.No. 70 Dt. 29.04.2020 CGHB invites Technical &Financial offer as per Request for Proposal from qualified and CIn:u15137Tn1972SGC006157 experienced firms (criteria as per in RFP document) for providing "Project Management Short e-tender notice Consultancy Services" for Proposed Township for NMDC Ltd at Niyanar Jagdalpur (C.G.) Name of Project Area of Land Approx .Estimated no. :BS6/014085/2020 dated:24.04.2020 cost put to bid Value Short e-tender no.: BS6/014085/2020/tncSc/20-21/et-04 RFP forselection of Consultantfor Project 118.00 Acres Rs. 1768.56 Crs. Management consultancy (PMC) for Proposed (47.86 hect.) Online electronic tender for“Appointmentofmillersbased on the out-turn Township for NMDC Ltd at Niyanar Jagdalpur.C.G. ratio forthe conversion of rawtur into TurDal (Split-Husked &Fatka)asper The bidder has to submit process fee of Rs. 10,000.00 &Bid SecurityofRs. 18.00 lakhs both Agmark Specification forissue underPradan Mantri Gareeb Kalyan Yojana in the form of DD/BG of any Nationalized Indian Bank with offer.The offer shall be sub- (PMGKAY)” mitted either by hand/ Courier/ Speed post in the office of EE CGHB Div.Jagdalpur C.G.up Complete e-tender documentcan be viewedand downloaded through to 4:00 AM dt. 22/05/2020, other conditions may be seen on website . https://www.mstcecommerce.com/eprochome/tncsc and also available in Executive Engineer www.tenders.tn.gov.in The biddershavetoparticipate online bidding only with Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) of Class-IIorClass-III ForRegistration and furtherdetails contact MSTC LIMITED, Phone:25222842/25251910/25261005e-Mail: [email protected] LastDatefor Online Submission :08.05.2020. DIPR/1693/Tender/2020 MAnAGinG director.
No.Ch. E./20/02/Bridges/GMLR dated 28.04.2020 TENDER CANCELLATION NOTICE DEPARTMENT Ch.E. (Bridges) GMLR TENDER NO. 7100159001 SUBJECT :Request for Qualification (RFQ)" for the workof "DESIGNAND SAMAGRA SHIKSHA CONSTRUCTION OF TWIN STATEPROJECT OFFICE, TUNNEL INCLUDING KBC BOYS HIGH SCHOOL CAMPUS, OPP RAITHU BAZAR, APPROACHES&BOX PATAMATA,VIJAYAWADA, ANDHRA PRADESH TUNNEL FOR GMLR PROJECT." Request for Proposal e-procurement notice. No. SSA-16021/4/2019-MIS SEC-SSA, dt. 29.04.2020 The said tender is being Samagra Shiksha, AndhraPradesh is inviting Request For Proposal for cancelled due to technical procurement and supply of setofnotebooks underthe schemeof reasons. “Jagananna Vidya Kanuka” to all thestudents(approximately 21lakhs in WEBSITE http://portal.mcgm.gov.in number) studying classes VI to XinGovernment/MMP/ZPP/ Municipal/KGBVs/ModelSchools/Ashram schools/ Residential/Aided A. TELEPHONENO. (OFFICE) 022-25962601 (Extn. 2006) Schools of Educationand welfare departmentsinthe State of Andhra B. E-MAIL ADDRESS [email protected] Pradesh during the year 2020-21. For detailsplease visit https:// tender.apeprocurement.gov.in from 01.05.2020.Tender/RFPformcan be Sd/- downloaded from website. Eligible firmsshalluploadthe prescribed format as PRO/54/ADV/20-21 Ch.E. (Bridges) per theschedulesgiven in theabove saidsite. ContactNo. 0866-2428599. Sd/- MCGM HELPLINE NUMBER 1800221292 from 9a.m.to9p.m. V. Chinaveerabhadrudu, I.A.S., FOR Homeless/Stranded Migrants/ Workers for food &shelters State Project Director, R.O. No.: 23PP/CL/ADVT/1/1/2020-21 Samagra Shiksha, Andhra Pradesh
INDIAN PORT RAIL &ROPEWAY CORPORATION LIMITED (A JV Companyunder Ministry of Shipping,Government of India) Chief Engineer (Bridges Department) (Formerly IndianPort Rail CorporationLtd.) No. Ch.E./20/07/Bridges/GMLR dated :- 28.04.2020 RFQ No. IPRCL/ADI/PROJECTS/NMHC/ REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATION (RFQ) EPC/2020 Dated: 30.04.2020 (INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIVE BIDDING) Construction of National Maritime HONOURABLE Municipal Commissioner,Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai invites "Request Heritage Complex at Lothal, Gujarat for Qualification (RFQ)" from eligible and experienced bidders through e-tendering as detailed below. through Engineering, DEPARTMENT Ch. Eng. (Bridges) Procurement &Construction (EPC) Mode. e-RFQ/Bid No. 7100177476 For more details visit website SUBJECT "Request forQualification (RFQ)" forthe workof"Designand www.etenders.gov.in/eprocure/app construction of Twin Tunnel below SGNP from Amar Nagar,Mulund to Filmcity Goregaon along with Cut &cover Box Tunnel in Filmcity area, Goregaon under the Goregaon Mulund Link Road Project" Sale of e-RFQ Start Date :29.04.2020 from 1100 hrs Chief Engineer (Mumbai Sewage Disposal Project) ''IMPORTANT'' Last Date :11.06.2020 up to 1300 hrs. Pre-bid meeting 2000 hrs. on 12.05.2020 No. Ch. E./M.S.D.P/191/ Date :28.04.2020 Whilstcare is taken priorto acceptance of advertising copy, Address- Conference room of AMC (P), 2nd floor,Annex Building, MCGM ShortE-Tender Notice Head Office, Mahapalika Marg, Fort, Mumbai-400001,Maharashtra, India. it is not possible to verify its THE Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai invites e-tenders for the works as contents. The Indian Express (P.) Website http://portal.mcgm.gov.in Limited cannot be held shown below. responsible for such contents, Contact Person Assistant Engineer (GMLR) Sr. Name of the Work EMD (in Rs.) Tender fee Work Start Date & Due date nor forany lossordamage a. Name 1. Shri. Ashok Mali (Mob. no. +91 9820847944) No. (in Rs.) Completion time of &timefor incurred as aresult of 2. Shri. Sudhakar Hande (Mob. no. +91 9869113088 period downloading on line bid transactions withcompanies, of bid submission associations or individuals b. Telephone No. (Office) 022-25962601,Ext. 2006 advertising in its newspapers or c. Email [email protected] 1 Design, Build,Operate 40,45,00,000/- Rs. 7700/- + 60 months 30.04.2020 29.05.2020 Publications. We therefore and Maintenance of GST (Inclusive of 1100 hrs Up to 1600 recommend that readers make RFQ documents are available on MCGM portal http://portal.mcgm.gov.in under e-tender tab. Any Worli WwTF under monsoon) hrs. necessaryinquiries before queries about the work can be sent on Email address [email protected] on or before 09.05.2020 MSDP Stage-II (Priority sending any monies or entering Sd/- Works) into any agreements with PRO/53/ADV/20-21 Chief Engineer (Bridges) (ADWF 500 MLD) advertisers or otherwise acting MCGM HELPLINE NUMBER 1800221292 from 9a.m.to9p.m. 2 Design, Build,Operate 32,40,00,000/- Rs. 7700/- + 60 months 30.04.2020 29.05.2020 on an advertisement in any and Maintenance of GST (Inclusive of 1100 hrs Up to 1600 manner whatsoever. FOR Homeless/Stranded Migrants/ Workers for food &shelters Bandra WwTF under monsoon) hrs. MSDP Stage-II (Priority Works) (ADWF 360 MLD) 3 Design, Build,Operate 16,50,00,000/- Rs. 7700/- + 48 months 30.04.2020 29.05.2020 and Maintenance of GST (Inclusive of 1100 hrs Up to 1600 Versova WwTF under monsoon) hrs. MSDP Stage-II (Priority Works) (ADWF 180 MLD) 4 Design, Build,Operate 39,33,00,000/- Rs. 7700/- + 72 months 30.04.2020 29.05.2020 and Maintenance of GST (Inclusive of 1100 hrs Up to 1600 Malad WwTF under monsoon) hrs. MSDP Stage-II (Priority Works) (ADWF 454 MLD) 5 Design, Build,Operate 17,60,00,000/- Rs. 7700/- + 48 months 30.04.2020 29.05.2020 and Maintenance of GST (Inclusive of 1100 hrs Up to 1600 Bhandup WwTF under monsoon) hrs. GURU GHASIDAS VISHWAVIDYALAYA MSDP Stage-II (Priority (A Central University established under the Central UniversitiesAct, 2009, No.25 of 2009) Works) KONI,BILASPUR-495 009 (C.G.) INDIA (ADWF 215 MLD) Tel. -+91-7752- 260342 260021 Fax -+91-7752- 260154 260148 website -www.ggu.ac.in 6 Design, Build,Operate 24,63,00,000/- Rs. 7700/- + 48 months 30.04.2020 29.05.2020 and Maintenance of GST (Inclusive of 1100 hrs Up to 1600 ADMISSION NOTICE (2020-21) Ghatkopar WwTF under monsoon) hrs. Ref.No.03/Admission/Academic/20 Bilaspur,Date 29.04.2020 MSDP Stage-II (Priority Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya, Bilaspur invites online applications for admission to the various courses forthe academic session 2020-21 through Vishwavidyalaya Works) Entrance Test (VET). (ADWF 337 MLD) (a) Courses available for admission: Please refer NIC's portal (https://mahatenders.gov.in) under "e-Tenders" section for further details. Honours Programmes : B. Com (Honours), BSW,BA(Honours)-Anthropology,English, Hindi, Journalism &Mass Communication, Economics, History,Political Sd/- Science, (Atul Rao) B. Sc. (Honours)- Anthropology ,Biotechnology,Botany,Forensic Science, Chemistry,Computer Science, Zoology,Mathematics, Physics, Electronics, Rural PRO/51/ADV/20-21 Ch.E. (MSDP) Technology . 5years Integrated BA -LLB,B.Com-LLB MCGM HELPLINE NUMBER 1800221292from9a.m.to9p. m. B. Pharm, B.Sc. in Forestry,Bachelor of Education (B..Ed.),B.Ed. Special Education (Learning disability), B.Ed. Special Education (Hearing Impaired), Bachelor of FOR Homeless/Stranded Migrants/ Workers for food &shelters Physical Education (B.P.Ed.), Bachelor of Library &Information Science (B. Lib. &I.Sc.), Postgraduate programme : M.Sc. -Botany,Chemistry,Bio-technology,Forensic Science, Computer Science, Rural Technology,Forestry,Physics, Electronics, Mathematics, Zoology,M.A.- Economics,Political Science, Hindi, English, History,Journalism &Mass Communication. Master of Education (M.Ed.), Master of Physical Education (M.P.Ed.), Master of Social Work (MSW), Master of Computer Applications (M.C.A.), M.A./M.Sc .inAnthropology,M.Lib. &Inf. Sc., M.