JOURNALISM OF COURAGE SINCE 1932

Dear friends & fellow members,

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

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

Government/other Regulatory Authorities on COVID-19, including relating to employment. On behalf of the Bombay Chamber team, I wish you and your families a stay safe during the lock-in. Warm Regards, V. S. Parthasarathy President-Bombay Chamber of Commerce & Industry President-Mobility Service Sector, Mahindra Group & Member of the Group Executive Board, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd DAILY FROM: , CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA ● REG.NO. MCS/067/2018 -20RNI REGN. NO. 1543/57

JOURNALISM OF COURAGE WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2020, MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 14 PAGES SINCE 1932 `5.00, WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

NSA, CDS ALSO PRESENT NochangeinLadakhgroundsituation, ` 110 per kilo

` 138 per kilo militarybrassbriefPMandRajnath ` 171 per kilo Commanders conference starts today, Armysayswill brainstorm on security challenges

MinisterRajnath Singh and commanders starting in Delhi May27-29, and the second in SUSHANTSINGH& briefed him on the ground situ- Wednesday. It will beattendedby June-end. DIPLOMACYSTARTS MAHARASHTRA KRISHNKAUSHIK ation in Ladakh, deployment of Northern ArmyCommander Lt “The apexlevel leadership of NEWDELHI,MAY26 armedforces and the stateof Gen YKJoshi whose command is Indian Armywill brainstorm on NewDelhi: India and preparedness on the LAC. responsible foreastern Ladakh. current emerging security and China arelearnt to have AMID TENSIONS with China The militarybrass is learnt to He is well versedwith the area, administrative challenges and activatedthe “working along the Line of Actual Control in have apprisedthe Prime having been the XIV Corps chartthe futurecourse forIndian mechanism” at the Ladakh, Prime MinisterNarendra Ministerabout the evolving situ- Commander before taking over Army,”the Armysaid in astate- diplomatic level. Naveen Modi held ameeting Tuesday ation in eastern Ladakh though as Northern ArmyCommander ment. Srivastavainthe MEA with National Security Advisor officials maintainedthat the earlier this year. Meanwhile, therehas been no leads the Indian side Ajit Doval, Chief of Defence Staff meeting waspre-scheduledand The conference wasorigi- scaling down of tensions on the while the Chinese side is General Bipin Rawatand chiefsof reforms in the armedforces was nallyscheduledfor April 13-18, LACineastern Ladakh with India ledbyHong Liang of the MUMBAIAIRPORT the three services. on the agenda. but waspostponeddue to the matching the Chinese with itsde- Chinese Ministryof OPERATES 41 Earlier,General Rawatand The meetings came ahead of pandemic. It will nowbeheld in ployment of man and material. Foreign Affairs. Indiaunderlines FLIGHTS ON DAY 2 the three chiefsmet Defence the three-dayconference of Army twophases, the firstphase from CONTINUEDONPAGE2 PAGES 3, 4, 5 faithinHCQ, After meeting says benefits Uddhav, Pawar outweigh risks says no threat to Severalprivate hospitals in Mumbai stop govt in Maharashtra giving it afternoticing irregular heartbeats ABANTIKAGHOSH, Juryis SANDEEPASHAR, BUSINESSASUSUAL TABASSUM VISHWASWAGHMODE& BARNAGARWALA& stillout LIZMATHEW BY UNNY ANURADHA MUMBAI,NEWDELHI,MAY26 MASCARENHAS NEWDELHI,MUMBAI,PUNE, AS ICMR’s Dr Balram A90-MINUTE meeting between MAY26 Bhargava says,wedon’t Chief MinisterUddhavThackeray knowfor surewhat drug and Sharad PawaronMonday ADAY afterthe WorldHealth is working and what is- evening, hours afterthe NCP Organisation (WHO) suspended n’t in the fight against chief metGovernor Bhagat Singh Migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar wait in separatelines forbuses to take them to the railway station, in Dharavi the allocation of patientsinthe the novelcoronavirus. Koshyari, triggered speculation in Mumbai on Tuesday. Ganesh Shirsekar hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) arm Chloroquine has been in about the stability of the Maha of itsmulti-countrySolidarity use foracentury, and Vikas Aghadi coalition govern- Trial to find an effective treatment HCQ is considered asafe ment, whichisset to complete forCovid-19, India reiterated its drug. The WHO has said six months on Thursday. Inadequacies, lapses: SC At 97, highest single-day faith in the continuedprophylac- that acall on HCQ would However, on Tuesdaymorn- tic use of the anti-malaria drug for be takenafter areview ing, Pawar, seen as the glue hold- seeks answers from toll in state; Mumbai to get the novelcoronavirus disease. of the existing evidence, ing the three-party coalition of the government. Narayan Rane Thereisenough experience in some time in the middle the ShivSena, NCPand Congress metKoshyari on Mondayand the countryofusing HCQ, and of next month. together,scotchedtalk of apolit- calledfor President’s Rule. There Govt, states on migrants alakh beds by mid-June sufficient datafromobservational icalrealignment in the state, and has been talk that MLAs of the and case control studies to war- said therewas “no threat” to the three ruling parties were being “We, thus, issue notice to the rant itsuse, the government said. Dr Vinod Paul, Member government. approachedwith offers to jump ANANTHAKRISHNANG Unionof IndiaandallStates/Union TABASSUM HCQ also continues to be (Health) at NITI Aayog, and chair- Pawar’s meeting with the ship. NEWDELHI,MAY26 Territories to submit their re- BARNAGARWALA 54,758 usedfor treatment of Covid-19, man of the EmpoweredGroup chief minister, held at Thackeray’s But on Tuesday, Pawartold sponses looking intothe urgency MUMBAI,MAY26 along with the antibiotic on the government’s medical residence Matoshree, came as the NDTV:“Thereisnothreat to the TAKINGSUO motu cognizance of the matter.Wedirect the suo azithromycin. “Wewill review emergency management plan, main opposition BJP has stepped Maharashtragovernment.All of “problems and miseriesofmi- motupetitionto betakenupday- MAHARASHTRA REPORTED 97 TOTALPOSITIVECASES it,” Dr Balram Bhargava,DG, said: “Wehaveusedchloroquine up itscriticism of the Thackeray MLAs arewith us, anyattempt to grant labourers” strandedindif- after-tomorrowand we request deaths due to Covid-19on INMAHARASHTRA Indian Council of Medical foryears... HCQ is even moresafe government’s alleged mishan- break them at this time will re- ferent parts of the countryand thelearnedSolicitorGeneralto as- Tuesday–the highestsingle-day Research (ICMR) and Secretary, because it is usedcontinuously dling of the Covid-19crisis in sult in the public beating us.” “inadequacies and certain sisttheCourtandby thenextdate toll so farsince the stateregis- Number of deaths 1,792 Department of Health Research, in rheumatoid arthritis. Maharashtra. The meeting at Matoshree lapses” in effortsbythe Centre of hearing bring in the notice of teredits firstdeath on March 17. said on Tuesday. CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Over the pastfew days,sev- followedwhat is said to have and States, the Supreme Court the Courtall measures and steps The previous highesttoll was Totalnumber of people eral senior BJP leaders have gone been Pawar’s firstvisit to the Tuesdaysought their responses, takenbytheGovernmentof India recordedonMay 19,when 76 discharged16,954 to RajBhavantocomplain about CONTINUEDONPAGE2 saying it will hear the matter andto betakeninthisregard,”the people had succumbed to the in- Number of people tested again Thursday. benchsaid. fection. 3.90 lakh TRACKING INDIA’S COVID CURVE The benchofJustices Ashok Pointing out that “the crises The dayalso witnessed2,091 Totalnumber quarantined LOCKDOWN Bhushan, SKKauland MRShah of migrant labourers is even con- newinfections being reported, RECOVERED:60,490 | DEATHS:4,167 BJP not in hurry, govt will 35,200 DAY CASES: said it was“of the viewthat effec- tinuing todaywith large sections taking the total number of cases TESTS:3,126,119 | DOUBLINGRATE:13.53** tive concentrated effortsare re- still strandedonroads, in Maharashtrato54,578. Across Number of newcases 2,091 63 145,380 fall on its own: Fadnavis quired to redeem the situation”. CONTINUEDONPAGE2 CONTINUEDONPAGE2 SHUBHANGIKHAPRE IndiGo flyer BMC ties up with app-based cab MUMBAI,MAY26 tests positive ALLEGINGTHATthereisnotruth in the statement that BJP is Devendra after landing service to track ambulances KEYSTATES TOTAL SURGEIN 7-DAYAVG. DOUBLING working to destabilise the Fadnavis TOWATCH CASES 24HRS GROWTH* RATE** UddhavThackeray government, in Coimbatore basedcabs has providedBMC An analysis of the call dataon ■ Maharashtra 52,667 2,436 5.99% 12.03 former chief ministerDevendra SANJANABHALERAO& with itssoftware, through which itsCovid-19helpline (1916) by ■ 14,468 405 3.02% 23.82 Fadnavis on Tuesdaysaid the Almost24hours aftersenior LAXMANSINGH the location of the ambulances BMC has shown that amid the three-party coalition will fall on BJP MP Narayan Rane met EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE MUMBAI,MAY26 spread across the city will be outbreak,people have made a ■ Delhi 14,465 412 4.61% 15.63 itsown due to sharp internal dif- Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, NEWDELHI,CHENNAI,MAY26 available in the civic body’s Covid large number of distress calls over ■ Tamil Nadu 17,082 805 5.48% 13.14 ferences between allies Shiv demanding that President's Rule IN Abid to reduce the response warroom. Municipal non-availability of ambulance ■ Bihar 2,737 163 9.79% 7.35 Sena, NCPand Congress. be imposedinthe state, BJP dis- A24-YEAR-OLD passenger on time takenbyambulances to Commissioner ISChahal, at a services across the city.The 149 4.39% “EvenCongress leader Rahul tanceditself from the develop- boardIndiGo’s Mondayflight reachCovid-19patientsand oth- joint press conference with Chief helpline receivesabout 2,400 ■ West Bengal 3,816 16.40 Gandhi has admitted that ment. "Rane is asenior leader from Chennai to Coimbatore ers in Mumbai, the SecretaryAjoyMehtaand Health calls dailyfromthose in needof *Compounded Daily Growth Rate over last7days**Calculated over 7-daygrowth though his party wasapartof and everybody is well versed tested positive forCovid19upon Brihanmumbai Municipal Secretary Dr Pradeep Vyas, made ambulances forferrying either CONCERN CAUTION AGLIMMER the government, it wasnot in- with his blunt speak.His anger arrivalatCoimbatore, following Corporation (BMC) has tiedup the announcement on Tuesday. suspectedor confirmedCovid-19 ASSAM: Bihar-like UTTARAKHAND: HARYANA: volvedinmajor decision mak- againstthe government's failure whichthe airline’s operating crew with an international app-based “456 ambulances have been de- patientstohospitals from home. situationunfolding, Anotherstate with Fortwo weeksnow, ing... Thackeray's lackofassertive to tackle Covid-19led him to de- has been quarantinedfor 14 days. cab service to trackthe move- ployedinthe city.Wewill use Chahal admitted that thereis five-foldrisein rapidly rising growth rate below leadership and inability to take mand President's Rule. The BJP According to health officials, ment of 456 ambulances in real- the softwaretomonitor the lo- ashortage of telephone lines to casesinone week, numbers, though national average. bold decisions has adverselyaf- does notsupporthis demand. he wasasymptomatic before time and dispatchthem quickly cation of ambulances and divert the warroom and BMC is work- to over 520 still small overall Totaljustover1200 fected Maharashtra,” he told me- Politics is notour priority." boarding and wastestedalong whereneeded. the nearestones to attend to pa- ing to increase them. "Wehave Basedondaily databyCentre, ICMR, stategovernments diapersons. CONTINUEDONPAGE2 CONTINUEDONPAGE2 The operator of the app- tients,” said Chahal. CONTINUEDONPAGE2

PAGE1 ANCHOR MP district scrambles to cope: More beds ready, need doctors The Indian Express visited TEST the centreisbeing usedtoquar- Onlyfour MBBS doctors and two forworkout of fear,” said an- MILINDGHATWAI Burhanpur on itscountrywide antine asymptomatic patients, MDs, who work in 12-hour other doctor,who did notwish BURHANPUR(MP),MAY26 journeytotrack hospital inven- REP RTS the firstLevel-1 Covid Care shifts,attend to Covid patients. to be identified. tory in Covid-carefacilities far FROM THE Centre(CCC) in the district. Youcan imagine the conse- At the Ayurvedafacility, ON APRIL 22, when the first from urban areas -- and found a And, apartofthe govern- quences. We treat patientstothe where61patientsare being Covid case wasreportedfrom district that is scrambling to con- FIELD ment AyurvedaCollegeand best of our understanding. Or monitored,thereare onlythree Burhanpur,near Madhya tain the outbreak. TRACKINGTHEVIRUS, Hospital, located afew kilome- else, we referthem to MY private Ayush (Unani) practition- Pradesh’s border with Therehavebeen upgrades tres away,was “acquired”inthe Hospital in Indore, whichis ers, hired on ad hoc basis on a Maharashtra, the district hospi- since the firstcase wasreported, LOCKDOWN firstweek of Maytoserveasthe about 175kmaway,”said Dr salaryofRs25,000 each, and talhad one ventilator,asevere sayofficials. second CCC, whichcan accom- Prateek Navlakhe, one of the three supportstaff.“We manage shortage of doctors, and twoam- The ANM training centre, RAJASTHAN UP modatenearly 100cases. doctors on duty. the showhere. No MBBS doctor bulances with emergency sup- near the main building of the But thereare still some glar- With onlyasmall boardthat has come heretocheckonpa- portsystems and twohired ve- 200-bed district hospital, has ing gaps. reads ‘Infection Disease Control’, tients. We have to do everything hicles with basic equipment. been converted intoa60-bed At the ANM facility,where60 it is difficult to identify the isola- on our own. We needpara- One month, 293 cases and 13 Level-2 facility formoderate Bhopal MADHYA patientsare undergoing treat- tion area in the same compound. medics. The supportstaff pro- Covid deaths later,the main gov- cases. Three BiPap machines, for PRADESH ment, notall nine oxygen cylin- “It’s notuncommon fornon- vides onlyfood and tea,’’ said Dr ernment healthcarefacility has non-invasive ventilation, have BURHANPUR Inside the isolation facility at the ANM institutenear the ders earmarkedfor Covid cases Covid patientsand their relatives Irfan Shaikh, one of the Unani got morebeds, but is still short been shiftedfromthe hospital. district hospital in Burhanpur,MP. Milind Ghatwai areavailable together.“We have to enter by mistake.The ward practitioners. of keyequipment and doctors. Anew building blockbehind aserious shortage of doctors, too. boys and sweepers don’t report CONTINUEDONPAGE2 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 2 THE SECOND PAGE THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,MAY27,2020

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SC on migrants servational studies, some were knowabout their resultsby ing ratio up to 15.Inslums, if a case control studies at AIIMS evening and then theystart positive case is found, then 15 highways,railway stations and and ICMR and three public hos- Military brass brief PM, Rajnath on Ladakh calling BMC hospitals and other high-risk contactsofthe patient Stateborders,”the judges said pitals in Delhi. It wasdifficult to persons concerned. However, will be put up in institutional “adequatetransportarrange- do RCT[randomisedcontrolled Sources said the Armyhad sive militaryposturing” by crossedthe LACatthree places, Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg the datafromprivate labs is quarantine. If anysymptoms ment, food and shelters areim- trial] of something that we say increasedits presence on the China, sources said. have refusedtomoveout of Oldie (DSDBO) road whichwas submitted to BMC afterthat. develop, theywill be tested on mediatelytobeprovidedbythe “maybenefit”. We looked at boundarywith China in North In Ladakh, at leastsix Indian territoryorde-escalate completedlastyear.Itprovides We startgetting distress calls the 10th dayofquarantine," Centreand StateGovernments datafrombothkinds of studies Sikkim, Uttarakhand, rounds of talkshavebeen held the tensions. access to Daulat Beg Oldie from patientssame daylate Chahal said in ajoint press con- free of cost”. and found that it maybework- Arunachal Pradesh, along with between Indian and Chinese In Galwan valley, the wherethe IAF re-activatedan night and by that time our staff ference with Chief Secretary The benchobserved that ing,” Dr Bhargava said. Ladakh. This wasbasedonthe militarycommanders on the Chinese have massedtroops AdvancedLanding Ground arealso tired.Sohelp to many AjoyMehtaand Health “newspaper reports and the Severalprivate hospitals in understanding that India ground but have failedto on their side of the LAC. (ALG) in 2008. Galwan valleyis patientsgetsdelayed. Nowall SecretaryPradip Vyas. media reports have been con- Mumbai have,however, “would notbescaling down its achieve abreakthrough. India’s key“strategic asset” closesttothe road from the the datawill be giventoBMC "When Ihad joined, the con- tinuouslyshowing the unfortu- stoppedusing HCQ to treat pa- deployment in face of aggres- Sources said the Chinese, who in the area is the 255-km LAC. firstand checkedproperly and tact tracing ratio was1:3. Now, nateand miserable conditions tientsofCovid-19. then next morning it will be re- it has reachedabout five but we of migrant labourers walking Doctors in these hospitals leased,” said Chahal. have to improveitfurther," he on foot and cycles from long said theyhad observed adverse Forthe lastfew days, added. distances”. reactions in afew patientswho MP district: More beds ready, need doctors Mumbai is recording about Chahal said that it has been The migrants“have also were being givenacombina- 1,500Covid-19cases daily. noticedthat ahigh fatality rate is been complaining of notbeing tion of HCQ and azithromycin. Besides, it takesamini- also involvedgovernment Officer Dr OPGargismore Chief SecretaryMehtasaid being reportedamong patients providedfood and waterbythe Government hospitals in mum of three days to getthe STATUSREPORT teachers and employees of dif- forthright. “Thereare less than lifting the lockdown is going to suffering from renal ailments, as administration at places where Mumbai, however, continue to test resultsfromIndore. ferent communities to build 10 doctors. And having justone be very gradual and calibrated. theyare unable to getdialysis on theywerestrandedorinthe use the drug forpatientsshow- And yet, with 100patients confidence and makepeople ventilator has made it really “The lockdown cannotbere- time. “In afirst-of-its-kind ini- wayi.e. highways from which ing mild to moderatesymp- having been dischargedsofar, IN PLACE: 350-bed reportillness and undergo difficult. We have sought 10 movedinone go.Itdoesn’t hap- tiative,wehavestarted dialysis theyproceededon-foot, cycles toms. officials sayBurhanpur -- the Level-3, 200-bed Level- tests. At 2,500samples fora oxygen concentrators, more pen suddenly,”said Mehta. facilitation forpatientsthrough or other modes of transport”, The number of cases in India district wascreated just17 2, 2Level-1 facilities, 1 population of 2.5 lakh in the BiPap machines and aportable Mehtasaid the administra- online portal,” he said. the benchsaid. reached1,45,380 on Tuesday, years ago--isontrack to face isolation area. town, the averageismorethan x-ray machine,’’ he said. “There tion has twofundamental prin- The portal, covidialysis.in, It said “in the present situa- with 6,535new cases being re- the crisis. WISHLIST: 10 the state’s averageof1,144tests arePPE kitsand masksinsuffi- ciples before them when it is can be managed by dialysis cen- tion of lockdown in the entire portedinthe last24hours. Ato- Theadministrationisgiv- ventilators, 10 BiPap per 10 lakh,” Singh said. cientquantity.” strategising on removing the tres to book positive patientsa country, this section of the so- tal4,167 people have diedfrom ing final touches to aseparate machines, 1000PPE, Officials saythat by keep- The administration has also lockdown. “The firstprinciple is slotfor dialysis in designated ciety needs succour and help by the disease –however, an 60-bed isolation facility on 1,000VRT(Viral ing atab on graveyards and the draftedAll Is Well, a350-bed the extent and the acceleration centres. Chahal said 84 dialysis the concernedGovernments… analysis of case mortality the firstfloor of the district TransportMedium) crematorium, the administra- hospital that is among the of infection in aparticular area. machines have been assigned steps needtobetaken by the shows that India has had about hospital with oxygen facilities kits. tion has also triedtoensure largest private facilities in the The second is that the minute forthis purpose and in the last Government of India, State 0.3 deathsper lakh population, -- 13 patientsfromthe exist- CASES: 293, 100 that no death goes unreported. state, as aLevel-3 facility forse- youremove or relax the lock- twodays,30Covid-19patients Governments/Union Territories whichisamongstthe lowest in ing isolation area have al- discharged, 13 deaths. “Irrespective of whether the vere cases -- arespiratoryICU down, therewill be definitelya have undergone dialysis. in this difficult situation”. the world. Globally, the mortal- ready been shifted. death is due to Covid or not, we has been created and 15-20 surge in the cases and whether BMC has ropedin570 doc- The benchsaid it “has also ity rate is 4.4 deaths per lakh “The administration is DISTRICT: Municipal monitor familymembers, or- rooms earmarkedfor sus- we have the health infrastruc- tors and nurses from the private receivedseveral letters and rep- population. prepared forany eventuality, limitsinred zone, rest der tests, and ask those show- pected cases. Officials said 13 turetolook afterthe people. sector and other districts. Till resentations from different sec- PulmonologistDrJalil We arenot worriedabout the in green. ing symptoms to go intoquar- Covid patientsare currently The surge is going to be limited now, Mumbai has tested 1.75 tions of society,highlighting the Parkar,who has been treating numbers going up. The antine,” asenior official said. undergoing treatment here. with people moreaware and lakh people, and is testing problem of migrant labourers”. severely ill Covid-19patientsin District Institutefor But yes, topdistrict health “When Covid hit the town, cautiousnow.But letusnot re- 13,400per million population. The benchasked the SC Lilavati Hospital, said: “A few Education and Training outside on May2. officials admit, there's still private practitioners were main in fool’s paradise that Registrytoserveacopyofthe patientsshowedQTprolonga- the city has been readiedto “The government has also some waytogo. scared.People suffering from therewill notbeasurge,” he order to the Solicitor General as tion. We decidedtochangethe house 150patients. Atribal de- purchasedfiveoxygenconcen- “It’sdifficult to managethe other respiratoryillnesses added. Fadnavis well as the States and Union regimen because this drug was partment building at trators (that provide enriched district hospital with less than were scared,too, and did not He further said that the "Whether it is BJP's central Territories through their stand- notfound effective.” Nepanagar,atownnearby, will air). We don’t wait forpatients 20 doctors. We needatleast60. want to go to the government lockdown period is being used or stateleadership,the focus is ing counsel “todayitself so that QT prolongation refers to be usedtohouse 500cases, if to come to us in an advanced But we will continue working, hospital. The system strug- to increase bed availability,ICU to fight Covid-19. We arenot in appropriateresponses be chaotic heartbeats, whichshow needed. We can startthese fa- stageofinfection. So we are whether we getdoctors or gled,’’ said Medical bedsand others. “Wewill keep ahurry to form the government brought before the Courtatthe up in apatient's electrocardio- cilities with just12-hour no- tracking all wardsand mohal- not,’’ said Civil Surgeon Dr Superintendent Dr Subodh this in mind and will decide in Maharashtra," he added. earliest”. gram. Dr Parkar said he had tice,’’ said District Collector las,’’ he said. Shakeel Khan. Borle. “But things areinplace what has to be relaxed.Now, "The inherent differences, stoppedusing HCQ even before Pravin Singh, who took charge “The administration has Chief Medical and Health now”. we will have to look at those ar- whichwerevoiced clearly by the WHO suspendedits trial, eas that have been markedas Rahul Gandhi, has exposedthe Faith in HCQ and had switchedtoaregimen redzone. We arelooking at cracks within the coalition... Thereisvalid biological of ivermectin and doxycycline our dosageissmall, we arenot senger wasseated on-boardthe the chief ministerisinfavour of government falls on itsown, the opening those things whichare Rahul Gandhi's confession that plausibility forits use. It is instead. concernedabout side effects,” aircraftwith all precautionary retaining the restrictions to BJP maynot stakeclaim imme- neededand wherepeople will Congress is in the government known to increase the pH of the Dr Gunjan Chanchalani, On Monday, the WHO said measures including face mark, contain the outbreak and save diately. The party prefers the notwalk out justfor the sakeof but is notamajor decision-mak- cell and makeitalkaline. Along chief intensivistatBhatia that acall on HCQ would be face-shield and gloves. lives. The meeting focussedon statetobeunder central rule it. Then we will move on what ing partner is both surprising with zinc it blocks the entryof Hospital, said, “Wehavenot takenafter areviewofthe ex- “Additionally, no one else the strategy to exit the lock- whichwould be the best,be- is calledmoving on out of and shocking. It is aclear pointer the virus intothe cell. seen adverse reaction yet, but isting evidence, some time in wasseated in his vicinity,sig- down in Mumbai, Pune, and causethe Covid situation has choice. So, in anyeasing of lock- to Congress' double standards – Admittedly this is anew virus we reducedits (HCQ) use to the middle of next month. nificantlyreducing the possibil- other Covid hotspots,the gone out of control already,” down, necessity is the firstthat on one hand, it participates in whose behaviour we arestill very fewpatientsafter so many WHO Chief ScientistDr ity of transmission... The oper- sources said. said aparty leader. youdoand the choice, elective the government but on the learning about, but it (HCQ) is negative reports.Now we plan Soumya Swaminathan told The ating crew has been home Thackeray is learnt to have in nature,isthe next,” he added. other,ithas distanceditself known to work in other coron- to completely stop using HCQ.” Indian Express on Tuesdaythat quarantinedfor 14 days and we asked officials afterthe meet- from owning up forthe coali- aviruses. We have takenacall In Nanavati Hospital, Dr this wasatemporarystep, areinthe process of notifying ingtodecide on aphasedexit BMC ties up tion's failureinhandling the basedonbiological plausibility Rahul Tambesaid theywerenot whichwill be reviewedbased other passengers as per the strategy from May31onwards, receivedcomplaintsthat when Single-day toll Covid-19crisis," said Fadnavis. andavailability of the drug.” using HCQ forhypertensive,di- on evidence emerging from government guidelines, to en- with the aim to resume most citizens arecalling the helpline the state, 1,792 people have Alleging that Congress and Dr Paulsaid that the evi- abetic, and cardiac patients, and various trials worldwide, as suresafetyofour passengers economic activities by June 15. numbers, the lines arebusy.We diedsofar.Mumbai has re- NCPare working againstthe dence had been examined elderly patients. “It is being well as publishedresearch. and staff,” the airline said. In Delhi, BJP leaders said areincreasing the telephone ported32,974 cases and 1,065 CM, he added: “Thackeray has “verythoroughly, including be- usedfor averylimited number “Thereisnoneedfor panic, On Monday, around 500 that while Thackeray had failed lines connected to the helpline deaths. had to backtrackfromseveral fore making the expandedrec- of patients. We still needmore but randomisedtrials needto flightsoperated across the to contain the spread of the number and soon the waiting Officials said of the 97 policy decisions due to NCP's ommendation [for prophylac- dataonit.” be conducted on the use of the countryand on Tuesdaytill 5 coronavirus disease, the central period will go down," added deaths, 35 people had diedin upmanship... Thereisalackof tic use of HCQ] lastweek forall Dr Balkrishna Adsul, in- drug forprophylaxis,” Dr pm, 325 departures were leadership of the party did not Chahal. The civic body had, on the lasttwo days,while 62 died coordination within the govern- frontline workers”, including charge of SevenHills Hospital, Swaminathan said. “The safety recordedcarrying 41,673 pas- want to topple the government April 24,launchedthe helpline between April 17 and May23. ment." those notinhealthcare. said theyhad noticedadverse profile of the drug needs to be sengers. at this time. 1916 to address queries related All the deaths were verifiedon Fadnavis claimedthat the “Collectively the academic reaction in afew patientswith studiedinbothcases –drugs Instead, the BJP would pre- to Covid-19. Tuesday. While 39 diedin theoryofBJP trying to dislodge and research fraternity of India renal complications. “But we giventohospitalisedpatients ferto“mount pressureonthe Ashortage of ambulances Mumbai, 15 diedinThane, 10 in the government wasaployto has put itsfaith in the drug. will continue to administerthe and to healthyindividuals ex- Maharashtra Thackeray government, and let coupledwith adelayinavailing Kalyan-Dombivali, eight in divert people's attention from Prima facie thereisacase for drug until the ICMR guidelines posedtoCovid-19.” Thackeray familyhome since it crumble on itsown,” at least hospital bedshas ledtohours Pune, seveninSolapur,fiveeach serious issues. “The purpose is use of the drug. We will modify change. Everydrug has some 2012. four leaders of the party told of waiting in some cases. BMC in Aurangabad and Mira- to mislead and hide their own and expand the protocol as we side effects,” Dr Adsul said. “The Maha Vikas Aghadi The Indian Express. The BJP on Mondayalso launchedalive Bhayandar,three eachin shortcomings,” he said. go along, use it both fortherapy The current protocol at hos- IndiGo flight government will complete its would intensify itscampaign dashboardtotrack the real- Malegaon and Ulhasnagar and As per the former CM's cal- and prophylaxis. Thereare min- pitals run by the with all passengers at the air- five-year term and we will fight forPresident's Rule because the time availability of bedsacross one eachinNagpur and culation, Maharashtra's share imal and tolerable side effects Brihanmumbai Municipal portupon arrivalonMonday the elections together afterfive Maha Vikas Aghadi govern- government and private hospi- Ratnagiri. under various direct and indi- of HCQ including abnormal Corporation (BMC) is basedon evening. years,” ShivSena MP Sanjay ment had “utterly failedtocon- tals in the city."The datawill be While thereare over 36,000 rect financial Covid-19welfare ECG and arrhythmias. However ICMR guidelines, whichrecom- “He alone wastestedposi- Raut, who attendedthe meet- tain the coronavirus situation” updated every30minutes and active cases in the state, Health schemes translates to Rs 2.7 forthe purposes forwhichwe mend HCQ formildlyormod- tive in the flight. All others have ing, said. and “tomanagethe issue of ex- live information available in our SecretaryDrPradeep Vyas said lakh crore, which, he said, the arerecommending it, the ben- eratelyill patients, as well as pa- gone formandatoryhome Asked what had brought odus of migrant labourers”, control room," said Chahal. He that basedonthe current trend, statedid nothavethe potential efitsfar outweigh the risks,” Dr tientswith pneumonia, quarantine and theywill be PawartoMatoshree, Raut said these leaders said. added, "Wehaveasked hospi- 60,000 to 70,000 active and to encash. Paulsaid. respiratoryfailure, and organ trackedfor symptoms in com- it wastodiscuss the Covid situ- Leader of Opposition in tals to notrefuse patientsad- symptomatic cases areex- "Fromproviding forration to Dr Bhargavaagreedwith Dr dysfunction foratleastnine ing days,” said astate govern- ation. “Thereisnothing surpris- MaharashtraDevendra mission in case of non-avail- pected by June end. “These cooking gas, agriculturetomed- Paul. “This is anew virus. We days.The doses aresmall, rang- ment official. The passenger ing in Pawarcoming to Fadnavis told reporters on ability of beds. Instead they 60,000 to 70,000 cases will be ical and migrantstravel, the don’t knowwhat drug is work- ing from 200mgto400mg, and wasworking as an assistant in a Matoshree. We sought guid- Tuesdaythat the BJP wasnot in- needtostabilise the patient, afterwededuct asymptomatic Centrehas made hugealloca- ing or what is not. Thereare a arebeing givenmainlytopa- Chennai-basedbar hotel. ance from him on the govern- terested in pulling down the contact the control room, and cases, recoveries and deaths. tions. It is unfortunateifthe lotofdrugs being repurposed tientsbetween ages 15 and 40. Mondaymarkedthe first ment’s futureand on the han- government, but it “will fall of transfer the patient to the hos- We have prepared enough beds stategovernment fails to capi- fortreatment or prophylaxis. Dr Subhash Salunke, techni- dayofdomestic flightsafter a dling of the Covid-19situation. itsown burden”. pital wherebedsare available." basedonthis prediction,” he talise the funds. The fiscal space Chloroquine is in use for100 cal advisor to the stategovern- gapoftwo months following a Thereisnothing wrong in seek- The BJP's national leader- To deal with hospital bed added. of Rs 1.6lakh crorewith ex- years. HCQ is even safer,” he ment,said that since the WHO countrywide lockdown an- ing guidance from him; Prime ship has had severalrounds of and ambulance issues BMC has On Tuesday, Brihanmumbai tendedperiod of loan repay- said. has onlypaused–and not nouncedonMarch 24.Prior to MinisterNarendraModi also meetings with the stateleader- nowchanged the system on in- Municipal Corporation (BMC) mentsprovides the stateanop- “The biological plausibility stopped–the HCQ trial, the resumption of domestic seeksguidance from Pawar,” ship. While party president JP forming patientsabout their Commissioner Iqbal Singh portunity to initiatebold policy showeditcould be an antiviral Maharashtrawould fornow flight operations, anumber of Raut said. Nadda had ameeting with the Covid-19testresults. Civic body Chahal said that Mumbai is go- decision and help critical sectors drug. Therewas datapublished continue to administerthe drug states had expressedcaution at It is, however, no secret that BJP coregroup of the stateon will nowinform patientsabout ing to scale up to one lakh beds to revive.The state's sharefrom in [the journal]Natureetc., that to patients. the prospect of sudden influx of the three parties differover Monday, another meeting with their resultsinthe morning and by mid-June and up to 1.5lakh CentreinMSME is Rs 3,500 it showedantiviral activity.We “Weshould notjumpto people intotheir stateborders Thackeray's strategy foreasing coregroup leaders and the na- at the same time it will be up- bedsbyJune end to treat mild crore. Using this amount, it can found similar properties in conclusions. We needtotake as theyaimedtocontain the the lockdown. Therehas also tional leaders took place on dated in civic body's system. to severely ill patients. Mumbai, infuse fresh lease of lifein50 vitro. American government ECG, and observepatients outbreak. been resentment in the cabinet Tuesday. This will help them in manag- Chahal added, has 44,000 beds lakh MSMEs, employing 1.5 startedusing it, got fast-track closelyfor the effect of the drug. “Wereceivedconfirmation over Thackeray's reliance on the Sources said the national ing bed and ambulances in forseverelyill to moderatelyill crorepeople," Fadnavis said. approval. We had thought it It should nottrigger panic,” Dr from the Coimbatoreairport bureaucracy,who have been leadership wanted Fadnavis shifting the positive patientsto patientsand mildlyill patients, He claimedthat of the Rs maybeauseful drug forpro- Salunkesaid. doctor that apassenger who givenalot of powertodecide and the party to attackonthe civic facilities. The civic chief including 644intensive care 70,000 croreprovidedfor the phylaxis basedoninvitrodata, Health SecretaryDrPradeep travelledon6E-381from on the state’s Covid strategy. entiregovernment instead of had ameeting with private labs unitsand 359ventilators. housing sector by the Centre, bio plausibility and availability Awatesaid: “ICMR released Chennai to Coimbatoreon25th Therehavebeen complaints focussing justonthe chief min- and told them to inform BMC at Chahal has instructed that the statewould getRs15,000 and safetyofthe drug. We had datawhichhas shown only Mayevening, has tested posi- that officials arekeeping min- ister. “The national leadership the end of the day. All results forevery patient, BMC must crore. “The mootquestion is recommendeditfor empiric three serious side effectsof tive forCovid-19. He is currently isters in the dark. wantsthe stateunit to keep the and datawill be double identify at least 15 high-risk whether the stateiswilling to use under strict supervision HCQ as aprophylactic till now. quarantinedatESI statemed- Sources in the Sena said that pressureon, but does notwant checkedand accordingly contacts. Earlier,the BMC had utilise itssharefor developing some time back. During these WHO’s Solidarity Trial used ical facility at Coimbatore,” while Pawariskeen on grant- it to take the blame of toppling arrangement of bedsand am- increasedthe number to 10 per critical sectors and helping peo- six weekswegot some datain double the dosagethat ICMR IndiGo said in astatement. ing some relaxations to put the it, whichcould createsympa- bulances will be made. patient. "I have instructed ward ple who aregoing through India and theyweremainlyob- prescribes forits patients. Since The statement said the pas- stateonthe path to normalcy, thyfor Thackeray.Evenifthe "Currentlypatientsget to officers to increase contact trac- hardships," Fadnavis said. WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,MAY27,2020 3 THE OUTBREAK TheCity As Mumbai deaths cross 1,000, families Allowusto remember the loss of aloved one open,trade

SRINATHRAO bodiestogovt MUMBAI,MAY26

IN THE space of twomonths, over 1,000 residentsofMumbai SANDEEPASHAR The Federation of have fallen to Covid-19. They MUMBAI,MAY26 Associations of were ordinarymen and women, who arenow partofIndia's FACED WITH heavy losses, Maharashtrahas growing number of coronavirus trades' bodies in Mumbai are approachedCM victims. To their familymembers nowlobbying aggressively for though, theyare morethan just resumption of economic activi- UddhavThackeray astatistic. Having said their ties. Citing that thousands of goodbyesfromafar, nine fami- traders were struggling to stay in the retail and wholesale sec- lies recall the frightening mo- afloat, the Federation of tor, had sustainedmassive losses ment of testing positive and how Associations of Maharashtra owing to the supplychain dis- theychoose to remember their (FAM), an umbrella body of ruptions and the unprecedented lostparents, spouses, siblings, 781registeredtrade associa- mass closures. "Weunderstand children and friends. tions, has approachedChief the difficulties and the ground MinisterUddhavThackeray for realities facedbythe govern- permitting both retail and ment. But businesses arebleed- SULABHA AMBETKAR (64), (Above)Ameena Bi (83) enjoyedcooking. Even while sitting on the sofa, she would peel wholesale traders to resume ing heavily; paying salaries to the SELF-TAUGHT SINGER WHO garlic; (right) Ahsan Khan (75). activities even in the Mumbai staffisbecoming achallengeby TOURED THE WORLD. Metropolitan Region. the day. The government Her performance of the Asha "Let's open as muchaspossi- (Centre) has permitted e-com- Bhosle classic "Dum Maaro Soon afterthe lockdown was would personallytakethem to Jogeshwari, she passedaway. ble. Let's open as safelyaspossi- merce operators to deliver Dum" wassoconvincing that her enforced, Mali made surehis the hospital, banking on his good The familydescribed Rashida ble," said Vinesh Mehta, presi- goods, but retail and wholesale audience oftenbelievedthe leg- neighbours in aGoregaon East relations with hospital authori- as an intelligent woman who dent, FAM, whichrepresentsover traders haven't got anyrelief or endaryplaybacksinger washer- slum did notgohungry. "My fa- ties," said his brother Sharvar neverchanged her mind once 20 lakh traders across the state, assistance," said Mehta. self on stage. "The waySulabhaji ther had organisedfood dona- Shaikh. Despiteovercoming she had made adecision. "She mostofwhichare locatedwithin His colleague, JitendraShah, presented herself and carried tion drivesatthe Sant Nirankari asthma 18 years ago, Ghulam's had marriedaman sevenyears the MMR. In his letter to Sr Vice President, FAM, said, "It's herself on stageitwas as though Mission office in Goregaon," said breathing grew increasingly agobut lefthim within two Thackeray,Mehtawrote,"We notjustabout allowing the busi- Ashaji wassinging," said Chetan his son Ramesh. His Facebook laboured half-way intothe holy months afterdiscovering that he (theassociation) have receiveda nesses to open; it's also about Rana, colleague and fellowper- pageisfloodedwith messages month of Ramzan. His 13th fast drank toomuchand wasabu- number of appeals from retailers, our customers. Traders will lose former.Along with her saxo- mourning the loss of a"beauti- would be his last. He passed sive.She had decidednever to semi wholesale and wholesale clientsiftheydonot service their phonisthusband Nandakumar ful person". Mali passedawayat away at JJ Hospital in the early marry again," said Khaleel. associations seeking the easing of requirements. Other states have Ambetkar,Sulabha wasamong the Trauma CareCentrein hours of May11. curbs from June 1onwards." allowedtraders to resume. The the mostrespected singers in Jogeshwari EastonMay 13 after "My brother took the lock- The letter,also markedto stateisalso losing out on taxrev- Mumbai's live performance cir- Sulabha Ambetkar (64) wasamong the mostrespected shortness of breath. down seriously. But since he AMEENA BI (83), state's Finance MinisterAjit enue." He added, "Our plea is to cuits. singers in Mumbai’s live performance circuits. could notleave home, he would APASSIONATE COOK WITH AGE- Pawar, makes adesperateplea resume as muchaspossible. Adiabetic, Sulabha tested feel bad at notbeing able to help DEFYING ENERGY. forreopening. "Weare willing to Even opening our shops for positive afterdeveloping auri- AHSAN KHAN (75), anyone. He knewthat ordinary It is onlynow that her son open forcurtailedhours, on al- some days and hours of the narytract infection and fever de- consignmentsofrations and said Abhijeet. The dream would ACHAIN-SMOKER WITH A people would notknowwho to Rizwan Umar can trulycompre- ternatedays,orevenonselect week will be helpful at this spitestaying at home. She clear them fortransportation to notlast. Six months ago, the PATHAN'S STUBBORNNESS. turn to forhelp," addedSharvar. hend justhow old his mother days of the week.Wewill adhere stage." The FAMhas also ap- passedawayatSeven Hills the soldiers. My father's boss garage wasrazedbythe BMC for Formorethan six decades, was. "I always thought she to all the Covid-19precautionary proachedSouth Mumbai elected Hospital in Marol on May7after would keep telling him to go aroad-widening project. "My Ahsan smoked three packetsof RASHIDA SHAIKH (30), looked no older than 75. She had measures listedbythe govern- representativesincluding Shiv her breathing rapidlydeterio- home and finish work the next uncle wassupposedtoselect an bidisaday."His doctor had told MEHENDI CONE MAKER. the energy of amuchyounger ment and the Mumbai munici- Sena MP Arvind Sawant, rated, said her son-in-law day. But my father would say, 'I alternatesitebut then the lock- him that 40 per cent of his lungs Her devastated familyisstill person," he said. Until the time pality.But letusopen," it states. Congress MLAAmin Patel, and ShailendraPednekar,apercus- cannotdelaysending food to our down wasannounced. At home, had wasted away and that he trying to comprehend howa that typhoid laid her lowinthe Mehtatold The Indian Express BJP MLAMangal Prabhat Lodha sionist. He remains confident soldiers. If theydonot eat on he became increasingly worried had no chance of living if he did bright young woman fell to a lastweek of April, Ameena Bi that the trade businesses, both to raise their cause. that Nandakumar,who tested time, theycannotfight'," said about howhewould provide for notgiveup," recalledhis son virus theybelievedclaims only commandeered her kitchen and positive too, will makeafull re- Amit. his twodaughters," said Tahir.After episodes of quitting the old or infirm. She leavesbe- instructed her daughter-in-law covery,"My father-in-lawalso Afterretiring, Prakash de- Abhijeet. and quicklyfalling offthe wagon, hind ayoung sisterand father. to layout ascrumptious Iftaar. tested positive around the same voted all his time to his grandson Ahsan finallystoppedsmoking Rashida's uncle Khaleel Shaikh "Her knees had gone and she time as his wife. But his lungs are Anuj. "AfterAnuj begankinder- lastyear."But the damagewas said she ranher home with her couldn't walk without support. very strong because he has been garten, notaday would go by SIDDHARAM GAIKWAD (52), done," addedTahir.Tahir re- mehendi cone machine, even She had high blood pressure playing the saxophone formany when my father wouldn't buy AMBEDKARITE AND VANCHIT members his father forwhat he during the lockdown when she and diabetes but she trulyen- years," he said. him chocolateorchips or acold BAHUJAN AGHADI PARTY WORKER. did forhis family--anunedu- insistedthat mehendi artists joyedcooking and could never Rana remembers her forher drink on the wayhome. We Siddharam's younger brother cated man from Prayagraj who visit her to collect finishedcones. stay still. Even while sitting on willingness to mentor young would onlyfind out whenever Uttam said had he diedofnatu- worked as asupervisor at the "She wascareful nottoleave the sofa, she would peel garlic," singers, her warmth and her Anuj had arunnynose. Iwould ralcauses, at leastalakh people MetalBox India Ltd in Worliand home much," said Khaleel. he said. Of all his mother's cook- composedperformances. "I scold my father forspoiling Anuj in Saki Naka would have at- had pleadedwith the principal At the end of April, Rashida ing, Rizwan will miss her daal startedperforming 23 years ago but that neverstoppedhim," tendedhis funeral. "As asocial of Father Agnel School at Bandra got tested afterfailing to shake gosht the most. when Sulabhaji wasatthe peak said Amit. worker,hehad helpedmany Reclamation to admit his sons. It offapersistent fever.She wasthe of her career.Ilearnedalot by people in the locality," he said. A is due to that persistence that firstperson to test positive in the (For this report, TheIndian simplyobserving her perform. building construction painter, twoofhis sons arenow profes- narrowlanes snaking beneath Express approached severalfam- The lasttime Iperformedwith PRAKASH DHAWALI (56), Siddharam beganhis morning sors and the thirdabusiness- GilbertHill in Andheri West. ilies who had lostadear one, and her entirefamilyshe told me af- SELF-MADE GARAGE OWN ER AND reading the Marathi newspaper man. Soon afterbeing admitted to the it includes only those who agreed terwards that she wasgetting AMATEUR CRICKETER. Samrat. "It publishes alot of arti- "Wetriedalot to stop his Trauma CareCentrein to speak about their loss) tooold forthis," he said. Prakash's nephewAbhijeet cles about Dr Babasaheb smoking, but he could never believesunceasing worryand Ambedkar.Itwas the onlynews- tolerateushiding his bidis. He restlessness got to him. "He was paper my brother read," he said. would saytous, 'Main apni ka- PRAKASH HANDE (63), notthe sorttosit at home. He Having neveronce gone to a maai ki peeta hoon'. Wohdi- RETIRED CIVILIAN SUPERVISOR IN would go to work six days a doctor,Siddharam wasnever the maag se Pathan they,"said THE INDIAN NAVY, WHO LOVED TO week and went out of Mumbai same afterseeing bodies lying Tahir. SPOIL HIS GRANDSON. everySundaytoplaycricket.He unattendedatBhabha Hospital One moment from his fa- wasveryfit,"said Abhijeet. But in KurlainlateApril. "He had ther's three-decade-long career in less than three weeksofthe been suffering acidity forsome HAJI GHULAM ABBAS as acivilian supervisor in the lockdown, Prakash developed time but seeing those bodies re- SHAIKH (67), Navy's Material Organisation in acidity and eventuallycough and allyscared him. His health began MEDICAL SOCIAL WORKER. Mumbai will always stand out high fever. to worsen and he passedaway Therewas notasoul at Nair forhis son Amit. "I wasinClass 9 "He had risen from nothing on April 24," said Uttam. Hospital who did notknow when the Kargil Warwas being to become an apprentice to a Ghulam bhai. "He had friends fought. My father would come mechanic afterdropping out of at everyhospital in central and home very lateevery night. school and had savedenough KISAN MALI (60), south Mumbai. Wheneverhe When Iasked him why, he said moneytobuy his owngaragein MEMBER OF SANT NIRANKARI came across someone who he neededtostaybacktoinspect Andheri West afew years ago," MISSION. neededurgent medical help, he People dialling for home delivery of liquor duped by online cheats

she had paid Rs 2,500to rounds on Facebook,claiming to MOHAMEDTHAVER With aspikein “Mukesh Wines” in Borivali for supplyalcohol. MUMBAI,MAY26 demand, online alcohol through Paytm, but the AFacebook spokesperson delivery wasnot made. Deven said, “...Wehaveaclear policy on TWODAYSafter the fraudsters aretapping Sharma, another Twitter user fraudand deception in our com- Brihanmumbai Municipal buyers through who has also tagged the munity standards, and we re- Corporation (BMC) allowedon- WhatsApp messages, Mumbai Police on his post, move anycontent we identify is line sales and home delivery of claimedhehad paid Rs 3,060 to aimedatdeliberatelydeceiving alcohol in the city,a21-year-old police said an online liquor delivery shop in people to gain an unfair advan- Government of India collegestudent in Bhandup on Aarey, but did notget the prod- tage.Our advertising policies May24receivedamessageon uct. also prohibit advertisements Department of Atomic Energy WhatsApp about awine shop mand foralcohol afteradry- Saikat Mitra, director of Trust that aremisleading or false. If CORRIGENDUM that wasoffering the service in spell due to the lockdown, online and SafetyatGoogle India, said, people encounter this kind of the area. As he had purchasedal- fraudsters, police said, were tap- “Millions of businesses regularly content on Facebook,they Advt.No.03-R/IMSc/2020 Date: 26.05.2020 cohol from the shop earlier,the ping potential buyers through makeeditstotheir addresses, should reportitimmediately, so Reference our indicative advertisement No.01-R/IMSc/ youth checkedGoogle listings to WhatsApp messages. While the hours of operation, and more, so we can take action.” 2020 Dated 20.03.2020 and subsequent indicative ascertain if the number be- wine shops and their addresses we rely heavilyonthe commu- Mumbai-basedcyber expert corrigendum advertisement No.02-R/IMSc/2020 dated longed to the shop, and subse- areauthentic, the scammers just nity to help keep listings up-to- Shubham Singh said, “A lotof 20.04.2020 inviting applications for the post of quentlycalledonitand placed tamper with their phone num- dateand flag issues. We work liquor shops areputting up their th an order.The call recipient, how- bers listedonline, theysaid. hardtofight againstspammers numbers outside their shops. DIRECTOR, IMSc, Chennai (Level –15under 7 ever,informedhim that there With suchcases on the rise, who trytowrongly leverage The safestway to ensure, youare CPC) which appeared on all leading Newspapers. wasaproblem with the debit severalpeople have takentoso- these listings. When we en- notdupedistocall on the num- Due to COVID–19 Lock Down, the last date is further cardand asked him to share cial media to warn others. In one counter or arealertedabout fake berdisplayedbythe shop and extended upto 10.06.2020 for receipt of applications photographs of itsfront and back suchpostonTwitter,the user, information, we remove it. We followbasic online security,like through Registered Post (or) Speed post (or) Courier sides and the one-time pass- who goes by the name Kritika, continuallyworktoidentify and notsharing OTP with anyone on (or) email: [email protected]. word (OTP) forthe transaction. has tagged the Mumbai Police remove content that violates our the phone.” Afew minutes later,Rs1.5 lakh and said amessagehas been cir- policies, and encouragepeople Joint Commissioner of Police Other terms and conditions as explained in the detailed waswithdrawnfromthe bank culating underthe name “King's to flag anysuchcontent so we (Crime) Santosh Rastogi said advertisementappearing on the following websites account linked with the card. Wine” in Powai. The ‘shop’ was can reviewand take action.” theyhad compiledalistand re- remain same. According to police several taking orders but notdelivering Interestingly,evenbeforethe leased186 fraudulent numbers i) www.dae.gov.in under“Vacancy Notices’’ suchfraud cases were reported alcohol despitepayment, the BMC had allowedonline deliv- that were being circulated online from across the city in the last user claimed. eryofalcohol in the city,several as helpline numbers to cheat ii) www.imsc.res.in under “Other Positions” fewdays.With aspikeinde- Another,Jinali Shah tweeted advertisementsweredoing the people. WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,MAY27,2020 4 THE OUTBREAK Maharashtra

Complete 3Covidcasesat lockdown in Dongrichildren’s Mumbra home,2recover from today NEERAJTIWARI MUMBAI,MAY26

SADAFMODAKAND A17-year-old boy, THE THANE Municipal SAGARRAJPUT apprehendedbythe Corporation(TMC)onTuesdayor- MUMBAI,MAY26 dered acomplete lockdown of police in asexual MumbrafromMay 27,allowing IN THE firstcase of Covid-19ata assault case, wasthe onlymilkandmedicalshopsto re- children's institution in the city, firsttobedetected mainopen.Theareahasreported twochildren and astaffer were 298Covid-19cases so far. infected at the Dongri home this positive forthe virus “Therehas been asubstantial month. While twopatientshave increase in the number of Covid- since recoveredand been dis- 19 casesinMumbra.Inspiteofthe charged, a15-year-old girlisun- staffers, who live on itspremises, lockdown,peoplearecrowdingat dergoing treatment at St and 15 others who visit the cen- shops and vegetable markets. George's Hospital. treasper duty. Social distancing norms arenot A17-year-old boy, appre- Within aweek of the first being followed...,” the circular is- hendedbythe police in asexual case, a37-year-old nursing sued by TMC said. assault case, wasthe firstperson staffer, on duty forconducting Official said no shop, barring to be detected positive forthe regular checks across the insti- milk and medical stores, will be virus at the centre. Sent to the ob- tution, also tested positive.Anof- allowedtoremain open. While servation centrefollowing the or- ficial from the Dongri home said milkshopswillbeopenfrom7am ders of the Juvenile Justice Board that afterthe staffertestedpos- Thousand of migrant workers queue up to boardShramik special trains outside CSMT in Mumbai on Tuesday. Ganesh Shirsekar to 9am, medical stores can be on May6,the boyhad firstdevel- itive,all those who had come in open onlyafter adhering to social opedafever and cough, and sub- contact with her were tested.As distancing norms. sequentlymade to undergo tests. manyaseight children were Deputy Municipal “He waskeptinaseparate tested among whom onlythe MASSIVE RUSH AT MUMBAI STATIONS AS CENTRE, STATE WAR OF WORDS CONTINUE Commissioner Maneesh Joshi room till the reports,received 15-year-old girltestedpositive. said that no individual will be al- twodays later,confirmedthat he She wasshiftedtoahospital lowedtostepout. “People will be waspositive forCovid-19. He and is currentlyundergoing Goyal says 145 Shramik trains planned on allowedtomoveout onlyinex- wasthen shiftedtoagovern- treatment, the official said, treme emergencies,” he added. ment hospital,” an official said. adding that the girlwas reported TMC has setupapatrolling The Dongri institution has missing, and sent to the home unitstoenforce the lockdown. separatewings forboys and girls onlytwo months agoafter she Tuesday, only afraction ran; Parab hits back “Wehavedecidedtobarricade who areinneedofcareand pro- wasfound. “Her parentshave majorjunctions.We arealsoseek- tection, and an observation cen- been tracedand once she is de- Maharashtra ing extrapolice deployment in trefor children in conflict with clared fitfor discharge,the deci- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Mumbra,” Joshi said. He added law. Since the lockdown, new sion regarding handing over her MUMBAI,MAY26 free to send that arrangementshavebeen admissions were allowedonlyat custody to them will be fi- made to ensurehome delivery of the observation centre, while nalised,” the official said. THE WARofwords between the more Shramik meat, fish and vegetables. “If in children in needofcareand pro- “Wehavebeen taking all pre- Maharashtragovernment and twoorinthree days,the number tection, including those rescued cautions, including socialdis- Union Railway MinisterPiyush trains: Bihar of cases go down, then the lock- from streets, were being sent to tancing and have made arrange- GoyaloverShramik special trains down will be relaxed,” Joshi said. other institutions in the city. mentsfor segregation as well,” continuedTuesday, withthelatter The institutecurrentlyhas Rahul Kanthikar,Dongri home claiming thatonlyafraction of the Migrant EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE 136children. It also has 25 superintendent, said. 145trains scheduledfrom workers MUMBAI,PUNE,MAY26 Woman dies while Maharashtracoulddepartbecause gather at of the state’s lackofpreparedness. Thane station THE BIHAR government on waiting to board ThestategovernmentMonday Tuesday Tuesdaysaid itsMaharashtra Shramik train to UP KEM Hospital staffers evening had submitted arequire- afternoon to counterpartcan send as many mentof 145trainsto theRailways, boardShramik Shramik special trains to Bihar Mumbai: A58-year-old woman protest after worker with including the details of passenger special trains as it wants. All migrant workers diedonTuesdaywhile waiting and their destinations. Basedon to Lucknow. and nativesofthe statewho forher turn to boardaShramik thelist,theRailwayshadscheduled Deepak Joshi wish to return would be taken special train to Jaunpur in Uttar Covid symptoms dies as manytrains to leave Tuesday back. Pradesh from Vasai railway sta- fromacrossMaharashtra.Of these Chief SecretaryofBihar, tion. She, along with her four he wasnot tested forfour days, 145trains, 120trains were from 41 forWestBengal,27 forBihar,two sawthescheduleonlyby8am.The swelledinthe evening hours, Deepak Kumar,said, “It is the de- familymembers, were waiting EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE he added. Mumbai Metropolitan Region eachforOrissaandTamilNadu,and firsttrainwastodepartatnoonand blockingtheentirePD’MelloRoad cision of the government that all in aqueue at Suncity ground MUMBAI,MAY26 Despitebeing asuspected (MMR) alone. one eachfor Chhattisgarh, theyhad to preparefor it,” he said. outsideCSMTstation.Sourcessaid, people of the statewilling to re- in Vasai, when she collapsed Covid-19patient, the staffer’s “On requestofMaharashtra Rajasthan,Jharkhand,Uttarakhand Parabalso pulledupthe scoresof strandedworkerskeptar- turn will be brought backtothe and died. STAFFERS AT the KEM Hospital body waskeptinKEM mortuary govt, we arranged 145Shramik and Kerala. Railways forscheduling over 40 riving at the station, even as hun- state.”He addedthat so far, 130 Officials said the deceased, staged aprotest Tuesdayafter a fornearly twodays,protesters Special trains today. These trains TheCRstatementalsosaidthat trains forWestBengal on asingle dredswaited to boardthe trains, trains from Maharashtrahaveal- Vidhotma SurendraShukla, was 45-year-old class III employee, said. Municipal Commissioner areready since morning. (Atleast) onMay25therailwayshadoffered day. “This is despitethe fact that scheduledtill 3am. ready come to Bihar,carrying ahomemaker.The familyoffive, with suspected coronavirus Iqbal Chahal had earlier in- 50trainsweretoleavetill3pm,but torun125trains,butthestategov- West Bengal had requestedtonot Blaming the central govern- morethan 1.93 lakh passengers. including the deceased, areres- symptoms, died. So far,18 structed all hospitals to seal and only13trainshave(left)duetolack ernmentcould provide listofonly send morethan twotrains aday mentandGoyalforplayingpolitics Another 38 trains arescheduled idents of Nalasopara. health workers belonging to dispose of abody in 30 minutes. of passengers,” Goyaltweeted. 41 trainstill2am.Of these41 trains, andMaharashtrahad agreedtoit andrefusingtorunallthe49trains to departfromvarious cities of On Tuesday, the family classes III and IV have dieddue “Wehaveappointedclass IV em- Apress note issuedbythe only39could run as passengers as theywerebadlyhit with the thatwerescheduledtodepartfrom Maharashtratill May28. walked from their Nalasopara to the virus, Municipal Mazdoor ployees, whose job is to onlyseal Central Railway stated that till 12 couldnotbebroughtinbythelocal (Amphan)cyclone.Despiteknow- Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT), Kumar addedthat residence to the Suncity ground Union said. and packbodies of Covid-19or pm on May26, atotal of 18 trains authorities.Thetwoothertrains,it ingtherequest,theRailwaysdelib- senior NCPleader NawabMalik Maharashtrahad, on Tuesday, in- and had stood in aqueue in the The protestbegan at 7am suspected patients,” he said. were plannedtooriginatefrom said, had to be cancelled. eratelyscheduledthese trains,” said: “Even though Piyush Goyal formedthe Bihar government heat. According to the rail offi- and continuedtill noon until the Meanwhile, KEM Hospital Maharashtra, but none could de- Taking adig at Goyalfor play- Parabsaid. saidhe'lloperate49trainsfromLTT, about itsdecision to run 24 addi- cials, six Shramik special trains hospital dean held ameeting dean,DrHemantDeshmukh, partdue to lackofpassengers. ing the victim cardand notifying Meanwhile, therewas huge the divisional railway manager tional trains. were scheduledtoleave forUttar with protesting staffers and as- held ameeting with the repre- Boardingofthefirsttraincouldonly the schedule for145 trains at 2.30 chaosoutsiderailwaysstations,in- (DRM) maintainedthat notmore “If Maharashtrawantstosend Pradesh –three forJaunpur,two sured them accommodation and sentativesofthe workers’ union commence at CSMT at 12.30 pm, am Tuesday, Maharashtra cluding CSMT,asaround 7,000 to than 16 trains can leave from LTT moretrains to Bihar,itcan do so. forBadoi and one forGorakhpur treatment if theyfell ill. The 45- Tuesdayand assured to provide thepressstatementsaid.Ofthe145 TransportMinisterAnilParabsaid, 10,000 migrant workers report- even though thousands of We do nothaveany problem. We –due to whichhundredshad year-old’s body washandedover treatment at nearbyMahatma scheduledtrains scheduledfor “The police afteralong bandobast edly assembledtoboardthe passengers were waiting to board arefullyprepared,”Kumarsaidin gathered at the ground. to his familyTuesdayevening. Gandhi hospital if anyof Tuesday, 68wereforUttarPradesh, during Eid went backhome and Shramik special trains. The crowd the trains.” astatement. The police have registeredan According to the Mazdoor them fell ill. accidental death report. ENS Union, the Class III stafferwas a Aclass IV employee, posted contractual employeeand at the hospital’s operation the- cleanedwards at the hospital atre, meanwhile, said therewas Mumbai airport 1st fireman dies of since 2010.For the lastfew days, fear among the staffers in han- he waspostedonduty at ward dling Covid-19cases because of Covid in Mumbai 20, whichwas assignedfor increasing numbers of infections Covid-19patients. “He fell ill on among health workers. operates 41 Mumbai: A56-year-old fireman May20and requestedfor leave. The union estimates over from Mumbai Fire Brigade suc- But he wasneither tested for 300classes III and IV employees cumbed to Covid-19onSunday. Covid-19nor givenleave.He have been infected by the virus, flights on Day 2 This is firstsuchdeath reported continuedtoworkinthe hospi- the maximum number of cases from the fire brigade. So far, 35 talwith fever and body pain,” from Sion hospital. In KEM hos- fire brigade staffers have tested Pradeep Narkar of Municipal pital, eight workers in the mor- positive forcoronavirus across Mazdoor Union said. tuaryhave, so far, tested positive EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE the city. On May24, when his condi- forcoronavirus. “Those who MUMBAI,MAY26 The deceased, who wasbe- tion deteriorated and he became work in Covid-19wards, go back ing treated fortyphoid and complainedofbreathlessness, home and put their families at ON THE second dayafter dysentery, waspostedat his familyrushedhim from their risk.Wehavedemandedthat we Mumbai airportresumedre- Gowalia Tank Fire station on Thane home to KEM hospital, mustbeallowedtoliveonthe stricted operations of domestic Grant Road and wasinvolvedin but he diedenroute. campus,” the staffersaid. He flights, 41 flightswereoperated fumigation and disinfection ac- “He wassuffering from high- addedthat thereisashortage of by six airlines to 13 locations. Of tivities. He had been on leave grade fever,loss of taste, and staffers since those above 55 this, 22 departedfromthe city since May16due to his illness. body pain,” Narkar said. While years of agehavebeen postedto Candidates queue up to submit forms fornursing positions at Thane Municipal Corporation and 19 arrived, ferrying atotal of Mostwerepassengers flying On May23, when his condi- staffers aresupposedtobetested safer locations and severaloth- on Tuesday. Deepak Joshi 4,224passengers comprising to Delhi. File tion worsened, he wasrushedto when theydevelop symptoms, ers were under quarantine. 3,114departing and 1,110arriv- JJ Hospital but wasallegedly re- ing fliers. Mostpassenger load fusedadmission. The next day, continuedtobefor departures tedbasedonthe size of the air- he wasagain takentothe hospi- ELGAAR PARISHAD CASE to Delhi. line, among other considerations. tal, wherehediedduring treat- The firstflight departedto An official associated with an ment. He tested positive for Ranchi at 6.30 am while the first airline told The Indian Express, Covid-19onTuesday. It is yetto Navlakha shifted to Mumbai jail, family says not informed flight arrivedat8.20 am from “Routing flightshas been diffi- be ascertainedhow he con- Lucknow. Both the flightswere cult with different states having tracted the infection. Three fam- continuedtoremain in NIA cus- longings and then takento portunityto beheardbeforeshift- operated by IndiGo. different policies forflights. It de- ilymembers of deceasedhave EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Navlakha’s interim bail tody in Delhi. Mumbaionanovernighttrain.He ing him, especiallysince his in- Even as the statehas allowed pends on what worksfor the air- been put in quarantine and their MUMBAI,MAY26 application on medical OnSaturday, aDelhicourthad requestedtobeallowedtocallhis terim bail plea will be heardon the airporttooperate50flightsa line basedonslottimings, pas- test resultsare awaited. directedNavlakhato remaininju- lawyersorfamilymembersbutto Wednesdaybythe Delhi HC. daycombining arrivals and de- senger demands, permissions to Till Tuesday, of the 35 fire THE FAMILYand lawyers of ac- grounds is slated to be dicial custody till June 22. His in- noavail,”Husainsaid,addingthat “The situation in Mumbai is partures, some flightsare being flybetween locations, etc. The brigade staffers testing positive, tivistGautamNavlakha, booked heardbythe Delhi High terim bail application on medical hewasonlyallowedtomakeacall worrisome giventhe Covid-19 cancelledbythe airlines over is- airlines don’t want to flywhen four areinICU.Four family in the Elgaar Parishad case, on CourtonWednesday grounds citing the Covid-19pan- afterhetookpermissionfromthe pandemic.We donotunderstand sues with slottimings, routede- thereare already others who op- members of infected staffers Tuesdayclaimedthe National demic is slated to be heardbythe specialcourtinMumbaiwherehe what wasthe needtotakehim to mands and statepolicies with re- erateinthe same routeand tim- have also tested positive. Investigation Agency (NIA) Delhi High CourtonWednesday. wasproduced. the city... without giving his gard to operations. On Tuesday, ing because anyway the number Following the rise in cases, brought him to Mumbai from of conspiring to organise the Hispartner,SahbaHusain,said Special Public Prosecutor lawyers or familyanopportunity IndiGo cancelledthree flights of passengers flying is low.” the fire brigade has starteda30- TiharjailinDelhiwithoutinform- Elgaar Parishad in Pune –had that afterhewas sent to Tihar jail Prakash Shetty said the Mumbai to speak with him. He has always scheduledtoarrivefrom Recently, GoAir highlighted bed Covid carecentrefacility at ing them. surrendered before the NIA on onSaturday, shewasinformedthe courthad issuedaproduction cooperatedwiththeinvestigating Dehradun, Ranchi and lackofclarity on the readiness of Byculla CommandCentrefor The NIA prosecutor said that April 14 following Supreme next daythat he wasbeing given warrant againstNavlakha, based agencies,” Husain said. Guwahati. states and their airportswith re- staffers. Chief Fire Officer PS Navlakha wasproducedbeforea Courtorders. aseparatecell,asheisaseniorcit- onwhichhewastransferredfrom “Ontheonehand,youwantto The three cancelledflights gard to acceptance of flights, or Rahangdale said, “Wehave courtinMumbai and has been Due to the lockdown, while izen. “Thereafter, Ireceivedacall Delhi. “He wasshiftedsince the decongestjails as Mumbai has were operated later in the day. the conditions applicable to pas- startedthe facility in Byculla. It sent to judicial custody at the Navlakhahadsurrenderedbefore from him onlyafter he waspro- case is pending here,” Shetty emergedasthe epicentreofthe Sources at the airportsaid sengers entering the respective wasmade ready in onlyfour Taloja jail till June 22. the NIA headquaters in Delhi, ducedbeforethe Mumbai court. added. Navlakha’s lawyers, how- Covid-19pandemicand on the that with slots being given, it is states. days.Ifrequired,wewill startan- Navlakha and academician Teltumbde had surrendered in He told me that he wasgiven less ever,said that theyshould have other,youareexposinghimto this the prerogative of airlines regard- The airline has announcedit other 30-bed facility in Borivali.” Anand Teltumde –bothaccused Mumbai.Followingthis,Navlakha thanfive minutesto gatherhisbe- been informedand givenanop- kind of risk,” she added. ing decisions to fly. Slots areallot- will flyonlyfromJune 1onward. ENS WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,MAY27,2020 5 MAHARASHTRA GovtasksCIDto re-probesuicide abetmentcase againstArnab

paid her father,whichdrove him MOHAMEDTHAVER to commit suicide. MUMBAI,MAY26 Raigad Superintendent of Police Anil Paraskar said, “Wehad THE ABETMENT to suicide case registeredacase of abetment to registeredagainstArnab suicide againstthree persons Goswami and twoothers in when the body wasfound 2018 that had been closedby based.... However, lastApril we Raigad police lastyear will now submittedasummaryreportbe- be re-investigated by the state fore acourtstating that therewas CID, the Maharashtragovern- notenough evidence to file a ment announcedonTuesday. chargesheetagainstthe accused.” StateHome MinisterAnil An officer said it had come to Deshmukh said the CID will re- light that while Anvayhad com- investigatethe case basedona mitted suicide, the postmortem requestbythe daughter of Anvay reportindicated Kumud had Naik,who along with his mother been strangulated.Following Kumud Naik were found dead at that, the police also registereda their bungalowinAlibaug, in case of murder. Raigad district near Mumbai, in The police suspect Anvay May2018. mayhavekilledhis mother and The local police had closed then committed suicide. While the case lastyear stating that Kumud’s body wasfound on the enough evidence wasnot found ground-floor sofa, Anvaywas againstGoswami, editor-in-chief found hanging on the firstfloor of Republic TV news channel, by the bungalow's caretaker. and twoothers to chargesheet The police had found asui- them in the case. cide note in English whichpur- Anvaywas managing direc- portedlystatedsaid Anvayand torofConcorde Designs, a his mother decidedtotakethe Mumbai-basedarchitectural extreme step since payments and interior designing firm, his due to them were being cleared mother wasonthe firm's board by owners of three companies - of directors. -- Republic TV,Feroz Shaikh of COVID CARE CENTRE Republic TV had earlier IcastX/Skimedia, and Niteish stated that it had cleared all pay- Sarda of Smartworks. The parking space of Mahalaxmi Racecourse in Mumbai has been converted intoaquarantine and hospital facility fortreating coronavirus patients. Ganesh Shirsekar mentsdue to Concorde Designs. The three firms owed On Tuesday, Deshmukh Concorde Designs Rs 83 lakh, Rs tweeted, “Adnya Naik had com- 4crore and Rs 55 lakh, respec- plainedtomethat Alibaug Police tively,the note had stated. BRIEFLY Trial courts should not had notinvestigated non-pay- An officer said that during in- Are Covid testing facilities available ment of dues from Arnab vestigation theyfound Anvay Goswami’s Republic, which wasinheavy debt and was Nochangein keep temporary bail pleas in each district, HC asks state govt droveher entrepreneur father struggling to repaymoneyto and grandma to suicide in May contractors. Raigad police also RRratestill pending unnecessarily: HC “... stateauthorities issued 2018.I’veordered aCID re-inves- found that Naik had an NC (non- OMKARGOKHALE Adivision benchof passes to migrantsand 44,531 tigation of the case.” cognizable case) registered furtherorders pending before different courts MUMBAI,MAY26 were allowedtoenter Ratnagiri Adnya, Anvay's daughter,had againstacontractor in Mumbai OMKARGOKHALE and sought that theybedecided Chief Justice Dipankar and nearly 30,000 people en- also alleged that the police had afterthe latter had threatened Mumbai: The Inspector MUMBAI,MAY26 in atime-boundmanner. THE BOMBAY High Courton Dattaand Justice KK teredwithout official passes. As notinvestigated the angle of Rs him to repaythe moneyhehad General of Registration The courtobserved,“As per Tuesdaysought to knowfrom Tatedwas hearing aplea per government data, 29,259 83 lakh that Goswami had not taken. (IGR) on Tuesdaysaid THEBOMBAY High Courton guidelines, the relevant courts, the stategovernment whether people areunder home quaran- that the Ready Reckoner Tuesdaysaid that trial courts to the best of itsability and with Covid-19testing facilities are filedbyafisherman tine. Adistrict having apopula- (RR) ratesfor properties mustnot unnecessarilykeep the resources available at itsdis- available in eachdistrict of seeking proper testing tion of 16.15lakh has six func- ‘Highly destructive’ locust in Maharashtrawill re- pendingtemporarybail pleas posal, have seen striving to take Maharashtraand inquired if mo- facilities in Ratnagiri, a tioning hospitals, of whichtwo main unchanged till fur- seeking release of prisoners, fol- appropriatesteps to dispose of bile clinics can be startedacross hospitals arereserved forCovid- ther orders.The RR rates lowing Supreme Courtguidelines as manybail pleas and in the the state. non-red zone 19 treatment,” the petition said. swarms in parts of Vidarbha, areannual market val- to decongestjails, afterarights' light of the guidelines, no direc- Adivision benchofChief It addedthat swab samples ues forproperties as de- group arguedthat over 14,000 tion as suchisrequired to be Justice Dipankar Dattaand from Ratnagiri aresent to alab- seen first time since 1990s terminedbythe govern- suchpleas areyet to be decided made, since we hope and trust Justice KKTated washearing a HasanmiyaWasta,a58-year-old oratoryinSangli, whichis237 ment. While the RR rates by courts across the state. that no application forbail shall plea filedbyafisherman seeking fisherman, has claimedthat if km away.“This resultsinadelay in nature, the pests destroy every for2020-21wereorigi- Adivision benchofChief be kept pending unnecessarily.” proper testing facilities in migrants, returning from red in receiving reports...the Miraj PARTHASARATHI single bit of greeneryontheir nallyscheduledtobean- Justice Dipankar Dattaand jus- The state, in itsreply, said 23 Ratnagiri, anon-red zone, in the zone areas likeMumbai and Hospital in Sangli, whichisalso BISWAS way. Asquarekilometreofan nouncedonApril 1, the tice KKTated washearing the temporaryjails have been set light of thousands of stranded Pune to Ratnagiri, were not overburdenedwith samples PUNE,MAY26 area can accommodate40to80 government had firstde- state’s response on granting up in different districtsfor migrant workers returning tested due to lackoffacilities, it from nearbydistricts, is unable million of them. ferred it till May31ow- temporarybail pleas raising con- newlyarrestedinmates. It home in the district from red would endanger the livesoflo- to provide reports within the AN UNPRECEDENTED attackof In the absenceofany stand- ingtothe lockdown. But cerns over severalinmates and addedthat while Maharashtra zones suchasMumbai and Pune. cal residentsinRatnagiri. stipulated time.” desertlocustisunderwayin ing crop, the desertlocustisfeed- with Mumbai and 18 jail staffers testing positive for prisons can accommodate On May22, the HC had di- Appearing forWasta,advo- Following this, the courtsaid: parts of Vidarbha, whichisama- ing on the green coverofthe area. other cities in the state Covid-19. The People’s Union for 24,000 inmates, the current rected Government Pleader cateRakesh Bhatkar said that “Although the grievance in this jor threat to the orangeorchards At threat arethe orangeorchards still in the redzone, IGR Civil Liberties (PUCL), and an- population in jails as on May10 Priyabhushan Kakade to re- since the Covid-19outbreak, PIL is confinedtonon-availability in the area. Officers of the agri- in the area, whichhavenot faced Omprakash Deshmukh other petitioner,Archana was34,000.The statesaid that spond to the petition. The state Ratnagiri had initiallyreported of testing centrefor Covid-19 culturedepartment said this will suchacrisisinalongtime. has said that the RR rates Rupawate,had movedthe HC to maintain social distancing on Tuesdaysubmitted that due onlyseven cases, including two cases in Ratnagiri district, we be the firsttime since the 1990s Sridhar Thakare, executive di- for2019-20 will con- seeking relief forprisoners. norms, the capacity of barracks measures arebeing takentotest deaths. Till May, all infected per- would liketobeenlightenedby that the statehas reportedsuch rector of Mahaorange, whichis tinue to prevail till fur- Senior Counsel Mihir Desai, will be reducedbytwo-third. suspected persons and sought sons were cured.However, with the statewhether testing facilities an attack. the orangegrowers’ cooperative ther orders. appearing forPUCL, said that al- Directing the government to twodays'time to take instruc- migrantsentering the district, fordetection of cases areavailable Since early April, parts of in the area, said it mustbeafter though the statehas takensteps respond to the plea, the court tions from the authorities to file nearly 108cases have been re- in eachdistrict of Maharashtra.” Gujarat, Rajasthan and Punjab 60 years suchattackhad been de- to bring down the number of in- postedthe matter forfurther areply. portedinRatnagiri, the petition The courtpostedthe matter have reportedsightings of the tected.“Control operations areon 14from mates, over 14,000bail pleas are hearing on June 9. In his petition, Khalil Ahmad claimed. forfurther hearing on May29. migratoryand highlydestructive but if the swarm continues to Pune-based desertlocust, Schistocerca gre- grow,morethan 1.51 lakh garia. This early sighting -- the hectares of orangeorchards SRPFunit pestisnormallysighted along could getdestroyed,” he said. PMC says spike due to results of tests arriving late the Indo-Pakistanborder in July- Since itsfirstsighting in April, testpositive October -- has alertedthe au- the locustwarning organisation no needtopanic over the spike, as samples has increased, thereare fortests is increasing,” said testing capacity,” said Mhaisekar. thorities of the dangers that lie (LWO)has treated over 21,675 Pune: Fourteen person- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE thehighernumberof positivecases limitations on the number of tests Pune Divisional Commissioner Meanwhile, the administra- ahead in this season. These hectares of affected area, mainly nel from the Pune-based PUNE,MAY26 wasbecause of delayedtesting of that can be carriedout. The labo- Deepak Mhaisekar. tion is planning to put up an on- short-hornedgrasshoppers are in Punjab, Gujarat and Rajasthan. unit of the StateReserve severalsamples, the resultsof ratory reportofthe test should Hesaidtherewasaneedtoin- line dashboardtoprovide latest innocuous when solitary, but However, swarms have been re- Police Force(SRPF) AS THEPuneMunicipal whichhad come on Monday. The come in 12 hours but it is getting creasetesting,andhehastakenup updates on the pandemic situa- highlydestructive when theyin portedinthe recent days from tested positive forCovid- Corporation(PMC) reporteda PMC firstsaw aspikeofover300 delayedbyupto36hours. The the issue with the agencies con- tion to local residents. “The PMC aswarm, and can migratelarge Madhya Pradesh and now, since 19 on Tuesday, taking record399 newcoronavirus cases cases in aday on May22, and test resultsreceivedonMonday cerned. “I have spoken to repre- has also increasedscreenings in distances in ashortframe of lastSunday, Maharashtrahas the total number of onMonday,authoritiestriedtoas- the figurerose to 399 on May25. were of samples collected in sentativesofNARI, NCCS and BJ containment zones,” said acivic time. Being polyphagous (able to also reportedthe presence of the cases in the Maharashtra sure local residentsthat therewas “While the collection of swab the lastfew days.The pendency Medical Collegetoscale up the official. feed on different kinds of food) pest. SRPF above 520. Two companies of the Pune- headquartered'Group 2' of the SRPF -- compris- Govt asks Gadchiroli collector to ing around 100person- nel each--had been de- Glenmark set for trial to study role of defreeze accounts of 19 gram sabhas ployed in Mumbai. They returnedtotheir base in Tribal Development, that no spe- de-frozen," read the letter. Pune on May21. While anti-viral combination in treating Covid VIVEKDESHPANDE cificcomplainthadbeenreceived TheIndianExpresshadreported all of them were kept in NAGPUR,MAY26 by youregarding anyirregularity theissuelastweek.Singlahadtaken quarantine as aprecau- potentiallyinfect others. drug took to test negative. vice-president Monika Tandon intheoperationof back account." theaction,statingthatgramsabhas tionarymeasureafter TABASSUM The trial, calledFaith, has re- The study observed, said in apress statement. THE MAHARASHTRA govern- "You froze the accountson had erredindepositing the com- arrival, their swab tests BARNAGARWALA ceivedapproval from regulators. “Umifenovir might notimprove The companyisinvolvedin ment has directed Gadchiroli March 18 withoutgivinganyprior pensation amount of about Rs 65- were also conducted.M MUMBAI,MAY26 Favipiravir and Umifenovir are theprognosisoraccelerateSARS- anothertrialusingFavipiravirand CollectorDeepakSinglato imme- notice. Youcalledthegramsabha 70 lakh theyhad receivedagainst Ramkumar,Group 2 both anti-virals. Favipiravir is CoV-2 clearance in non-ICU pa- involving 150patients--30pa- diatelyde-freeze the bank ac- authoritiesamonthlaterwithout erectionofpowergridtransmission Commandant, told The PHARMACEUTICAL company givenorallyand expected to pre- tients.Arandomizedcontrolclin- tientshavebeenenrolledtillnow. countsof19Gadchiroligramsab- conducting anyinquiryinthe in- towersintheaccountbybypassing Indian Express, "Results Glenmarkisset to commence a vent viral duplication in the body ical trial is neededtoassess the In Mumbai, BMC officials said has,sayingthatnoirregularityhad tervening period that coincided the gram sevak, who is the ex-offi- of swab testscame back phase-3 clinical trial to study the by inhibiting the enzyme that efficacy of umifenovir.” hospitalshave beenshortlistedfor beencitedby himto thestategov- with the lockdown period, for ciosecretaryofthegramsabhaand on Tuesday... 14 of the efficacy of acombination of drivesthe replication. It is com- The lateststudy will assess the Favipiravir trial but hospitals ernment to justify his action. whichtheyhad to travel 150km. agovernment representative. constables have tested Favipiravir and Umifenovir drugs monlyusedasananti-influenza whether acombination of both areyet to getshortlistedfor the In aletterissuedbyDeputy Thiswasagainstprinciplesof nat- The Collector had also insti- positive." The 14 addi- to treat Covid-19. The trial, which drug in Japan and China. drugs worksbetteronmoder- combination drugs. Dr Om Sriva- SecretaryofTribal Development, ural justice," the letter stated. tuted aprobe intothe matter. tional cases take the to- willinvolve 158Indianpatients,is Umifenovirisalsousedtotreatin- ately-ill patientswhen theyhave stava, an expertoninfectious dis- LGDhoke, to Singla on May26, "Inthetimesof corona,thevil- The letter also directed the talnumber of positive the second trial to startinthe fluenzaAandB.However, astudy high viral load and early onsetof eases, said Remdesivir and Favip- the government said, "Noviola- lagers have no job opportunities. Collector to take action as per the cases in 'Group 2' to 70, countryusing Favipiravir. publishedinClinicalMicrobiology symptoms. “Combining antiviral iravir have shown encouraging tion of Forest RightsAct, 2006,its Currently, theyare collecting findings of the probe, if anything over 40 of whom have The combination of the drugs and Infection on April 25 found agentsthathave agoodsafetypro- resultssofar,but it has been ad- rules of 2008 and amendedrules tendu leaves. In that respect, the untowardwas found. The letter, already recovered. Test willbeusedtocheckwhetherdu- Umifenovir did nothelp in faster file and act on different stages of ministeredtoveryfew patientsin of 2012 wascited in the letter is- communityforest rightscommu- however, stated that the gram resultsofsome people ration of viral shedding can be recovery of Covid-19patients. virallife-cycleisaneffective treat- Mumbai. In Mumbai, Umifenovir suedtothe bank or in anyother nities(CFRCs)needtodofinancial sabhaswere perfectlywithintheir were awaited,said offi- shortened. Viralshedding, which Thoseadministeredthedrugtook ment approachtorapidlysup- is yettobeusedonpatients. “We documentsmade available by transactions under the supervi- rightsconferredbyFRAto conduct cials . ENS usuallyoccursbefore orattheon- 18 days to test negative forcoron- press initial high viral load and have notusedthis combination Collector's office. Similarly,you sion of gram sabhas. Hence, to the bank accountsthrough the setofsymptoms,meansthevirus avirus as opposedto16days that lead to overall improvement in yet, we have onlyusedFavipir- have also stated during your dis- preventasituationof hunger,their CFRCs and therewas nothing ir- isexpelledfromthebodyandcan patients who were notgiven the clinical parameters,” Glenmark avir,”saidaLilavatihospitalofficial. cussion with Principal Secretary, gram sabha accountsshould be regular about it. WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 6 THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,MAY 27,2020

The Indian EXPRESS

BUSINESS POULTRY

VENCOBB Ex-Farm Yesterday’s price in Pune Rs. 120/-. Suggested Retail Price is Rs.138/- 0070701559

''IMPORTANT'' DIPR/ 1923 /TENDER/2020 Whilst care is taken prior to acceptance of advertising TAMIL NADU WATER SUPPLYAND DRAINAGEBOARD copy,itisnot possibleto ADDENDUM/CORRIGENDUM verify its contents. The Indian Express (P.) Limited cannot be Extension of Tender Notice held responsible for such No.1-3-2 /F.CWSS /2020/ SDO/ CE-TNJ/dt:22.05.2020 contents, nor for any loss or Sub : 1. Creation of an additional source with pump house to Combined Water Supply Scheme to 893 damage incurred as aresult habitationsinNagapattinam District. of transactions with 2. Providing Combined Water Supply Scheme to 134 Rural Habitations in Kumbakonam Union of companies,associations or ThanjavurDistrict . individuals advertising in its 3. Providing Combined Water Supply Scheme to 73 rural habitations in Veppur unionofPerambalur – newspapers or Publications. Extension of tenderNotice–reg. We thereforerecommend Ref : 1. This office I.F.B.No:- 02 /F.CWSS to 893 /2020/ SDO/ CE-TNJ/ dt :17.04.2020 (Sl.No.1) that readers make necessary 2. This Office Extension of Tender Notice No. 11-2 /F.CWSSto134 /2020/ SDO/ CE- inquiries before sending any TNJ/dt.08.05.2020 (Sl.No.2) monies or entering into any 3. This office ExtensionofTender Notice No. 1-1 /F.CWSS to 73 /2020/SDO/CE-TNJ/dt.08.05.2020 agreements with advertisers (Sl.No.3) or otherwise acting on an The sale period, Last date of receipt and opening of tenders in the references cited for the above works advertisement in any manner is here by extended as below in continuation of the Govt. announcement of 144 extension due to prevailing CENTRAL RAILWAY whatsoever. COVID-19Virus spreading precautionary measures. Sl. No Description Extended up to BHUSAVALDIVISION 1The last datefor Sale ofTender 03.06.2020 upto 5.45 P.M E-Tender Notice No.: BSL/ELW/ 2The last datefor receipt ofTender 05.06.2020 upto 3.00 P.M Tender/ 2020-21/01 SALUTE THE SOLDIER TAMIL NADU WATER SUPPLYAND DRAINAGEBOARD 1) Name of Work:- "MS pneumatic 3Date &Time of opening ofTender 05.06.2020 at 3.30 P.M OFFICE OF THE CHIEF ENGINEER, TWAD BOARD, MADURAI. Repiping of conventional locomotive 9419439P LNK RAM KUMAR PRADHAN 26 MAY All other terms and conditions already published remain unaltered. (WCAM-3, WCAG-1 or equivalent )as Chief Engineer (i/c), TWAD Board, Thanjavur ADDENDUM/CORRIGENDUM On this day 9419439P Lnk Ram Kumar Pradhan of 1/11Gorkha Rifles DIPR/ 1921 /TENDER/2020 SAVE WATER, CONSERVE WATER, EVERYDROP COUNTS per technical specifications at TENDER EXTENSION NOTICE No.1 /DATED :20.05.2020 (BATALIK) made the supreme sacrifice during 'OP VIJAY' (Kargil) in ELW/BSL.” 2) Estimated Cost:- Ref :T.O. IFBNo.F.Kadamalaikundu CWSS /SDO I/ CW /2020 / Rs.1,38,43,536/-( Rupees one crore May 1999 in atrue act of valour.The brave soldier will always be Dt :17.04.2020 thirty eight lakh forty three thousand remembered for his enthusiasm. To this braveheart we pledge that we The period of sale of tender documents and receipt &opening of five hundred thirty six only) 3) Earnest shall always be guided by his immortal spirit and make his name tenders called for in the reference is extended as below. Money Deposit:-Rs 2,19,200/- proud. Name of :Providing Combined Water Supply Scheme to 250 Rural (Rupees two lakh nineteen thousand CO AND ALL RANKS, 1/11GORKHA RIFLES work Habitations in Kadamalaikundu -Mayiladumparai, Andipatty two hundred only) 4) Completion (BRAVEST OF THE BRAVE) (BATALIK) and Theni Unions in Theni District including maintenance for a period:- 12 Months 5) Last Date & period of 5years. (Period of completion -18months) time for closing of uploading of tender:- 22.06.2020 at 15:00 Hours, Period of sale of bid documents Upto 5.45 P. Mon03.06.2020 6) Website particulars:- Last date for receipt of tenders Upto 3.00 P. Mon05.06.2020 http://ireps.gov.in 7) Notice Board Regional Office: 4, Nehru Place,Tonk Road,Jaipur-15 (Rajasthan) Opening of tenders At 3.30 P.Mon05.06.2020 location &Address:- (Where E-Tender Notice complete details of tender can be An e-tender notice is invited, under two-bid system for appointment of Vendors for the period All other terms and conditions already published remain unaltered. seen) :Officeofthe Chief Workshop of one year for providing services of Vehicle Tracking System for the vehicles used by FCI Manager,Electric Locomotive Road Transport Contractors for transporation of foodgrain from various dispatching centers to DIPR/1922 /TENDER/2020 Chief Engineer (i/c), various receiving centers of Rajasthan region. TWAD Board, Madurai Workshop, Bhusaval, Central Railway, SAVE WATER, CONSERVEWATER,EVERYDROPCOUNTS Under e-tender notice ROJ/CONTRACT/VTS/02/2020, the bids shall be accepted ONLINE Old Varangaon Road, Bhusaval, from 27.05.2020, 02.00 PM to 16.06.2020, 02.00 PM. All the Terms &Conditions and PINCode:425201. other details are available on CPP Portal’swebsite https://eprocure.gov.in/eprocure/app and All India Passenger Helpline 138 Corporation’swebsite www.fci.gov.in. General Manager (Region) tAMiLnAdU neWSPrint And PAPerS LiMited Unit-1 :KAGITHAPURAM -639 136, KARUR DIST. TAMILNADU BHARATCOKING COAL LIMITED Phone: 04324-277 001 (10 LINES) Unit-2: Mondipai -621306, TrichyDistrict, TamilNadu ‘AMini Ratna Company’ Ph:04332-265102 (A Subsidiary of Coal India Limited) NOTICEINVITINGTENDERs NOTICE Tender No. Descripion Due date Optical Brightening Agentoncostper kg basis All the tenders* issued by Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) 202113 forPaper M/cNo.1,2&3 for procurement of Goods, Works and Services are available on 000708 a) WetEnd OBA 10.06.2020 website of BCCL www.bcclweb.in, Coal India Limited (CIL) b) Surface OBA e-procurement portal https://coalindiatenders.nic.in and DAFChemicals De-inking Plant 202113 A. Flocculant Anionic Central Public Procurement portal https://eprocure.gov.in. In 000667 b. FlocculantCationic 09.06.2020 addition, procurement is also done through GeM portal https:// c. Coagulant Strong Cationic gem.gov.in. Manufactureand Supply of Stainless Steel(SS) SI. No 1 Pipesfor Hardwood Cooking area at TNPLUnit- 10.06.2020 *This is applicable to all Open (Domestic/Global) Tenders II MEP issued through e-procurement portal of CIL. Manufactureand Supply of Stainless Steel (SS) SI. No 2 Pipe Fittings forHardwood Cooking area at TNPL 10.06.2020 Unit-II MEP cHennAi MetroPoLitAn WAter SUPPLYAnd SeWerAge BoArd 202123 non rric fo NPLUni II .0 2 20 000203 Liquid fe alum rT t- 10 6. 0 notice inviting tender 202113000708 [email protected] 1. NATURE :Sealed tendersare invited in the prescribedform. Email S.No: 1&2- [email protected] 2. ADDREss :PURCHASEMANAGER, MaterialsDepartment, No.1,Pumping Staion Road, 202123000203 - [email protected] Chintadripet, Chennai-2. TelephoneNo: 04428451300, Extn:272 E-Mail: [email protected] Terms &condition, Specifications, Qty., Tender Fee, EMD areavailable Tender schedule canbedownloaded from websites:www.chennaimetrowater.tn.nic.in & in Tender document at our websites: www.tenders.tn.gov.in & www.tenders.tn.gov.in www.tnpl.com 3. DETAILsOFTENDER : DIPR/1900/Tender/2020 TNPL -Maker of bagasse based eco-friendly Paper sl. Tender No. EMD Amount Descripion No. and date in Rs. Hiring of WaterTankerLorriesof16000 MAT/ 10,000/- State Project Implementation Unit, Uttarakhand 1. litres, 9000 litres and 6000 litres capacity OT/010/2020 per Vehicle (A Unit for Implementing World Bank Funded Project-UKWDP) on contract basisfor threeyears2020-2023 Government Industrial Training Institute (Women) Campus 26-EC Road, Dehradun –248001. Availability of Tender Schedule : From 28.05.2020 to 30.06.2020 upto 3.00 P.M. Govt. of Uttarakhand Email- [email protected] Due Date &Time forreceiptofTender : 01.07.2020 upto 3.00 P.M. CORRIGENDUM No. 6(EXTENTION IN BID SUBMISSION) Due Date &Time of opening of Tender: 01.07.2020 ater 3.00 P.M. Name of Project: Uttarakhand Workforce Development Project (UKWDP) DIPR/1907/Tender/2020 PURCHAsE MANAGER All prospective bidders are herebyinformed that the bid Submission dates for the packages mentionedbelow has already been extended thrice due to the unprecedented conditions prevailing in the country.Due to thenumerous CENTRAL ORGANISATION FOR representation received from the prospective biddersrequesting for extension,the last date of submission ofthe technical bid is further extended as per the table below. RAILWAY ELECTRIFICATION 1, NWABAYUSUF R/OAD, CIVIL LINES Prayagraj-211001 Bid Ref No. Bid submission date Bid Bid submission date Bid opening opening FAX.No :0532-2407150www.acore.indianrailw ys.gov.in date date CRORIGENDMU-5 As per Corrigendum No 4 CorrigendumDetails Publish Date: 20.05.2020, 14.52 For Fitter 29th May 2020,11am uploading 29th May 16th June 2020,11am 23rd June Trade IN- on www.uktenders.gov.in 2020, uploadingon 2020, Tender Details Closing 19.06.2020 SPIUUKWFDP 29th May 2020, 2pmPhysical 4pm www.uktenders.gov.in 23rd 4pm TendeNro.RELCO E-OHE-EPC-04-Mod- Date/Time 15.00 -154891- submission at SPIU office June 2020, 2pm Physical GO-RFB- 01 submission at SPIU office Re (eOp nTender) For 30th May 2020,11am uploading 30th May 17th June 2020,11am 24th June Name oWfor:kEEPC TNDER: Reqeufst oPr roop salFoErelctrifitca ino Electrician on www.uktenders.gov.in 2020, uploading on 2020, Trade 30th May 2020, 2pm Physical 4pm www.uktenders.gov.in 4pm of Raliway Linesofthseoecti nManm/ad AnkaiM-udkhdeo-Man harabad Ref.no. IN- submission at SPIU office. 24th June 2020, 2pm icnuldingnJa kampteh-Bod aanndaMhbubnagahr-DonoeufSoth SPIU- Physical submission at SPIU UKWFDP- office. Centrial Ra lawTyto/al RKMKT9M76.100/1461.1 OnnEgein ering, 154891-GO- Proucrmenet&Cosntrcution(EPCd)Moe.B[/id PacekagoN.EPC-0(4Mo)d]. RFB-02 ItemMsfodi ide It is further informed that this may be treated as the last and final extension and no NTIHeader further date extension shall be done. All prospective bidders are informed to work FieldNaem ExistignaVlue ModifiedValue actively to ensure the timely bid submission.Further as per the above table, a window of additional seven(7) days is being provided for hardcopy submission of TenderClosing 05.06.2020 169.0 .0022 documents, failing which the bid will not be admitted. DateTime 15.00 1.050 The rest of the terms and conditions shall remain unchanged. Bdid ignStart Dtae 22.05.2020 065.0 .0022 Note: This corrigendum will be uploaded on websiteswww.uktenders.gov.in and www.uksdm.org. PR/370/2020 ADK "Serving Customers with a Smile” www.ireps.gov.in Project Director

CLASSIFIED CENTRES IN MUMBAI

Beejay Ads, Premier Advertisers Central AdvertisingAgency, NAC Opera House Mumbai Central Mahim (W), Bandra (W), Phone :23692926 /56051035. Mobile: 9819891116 Phone :24468656/24465555 Mobile :9664132358 Color Spot, Sarjan Advertising, CharudattaAdvertising, Reckon Byculla (E), Tardeo, Mahim (W), Bandra (W.), Phone :23748048 /23714748. Phone :66626983 Phone :24221461 Mobile :9867445557 FCA Communications, Sanjeet Communication Jay Publicity, Space Age Advertising, Nariman Point, Fort. Dadar (E), Bandra (E) Phone :40020550 /51. Phone :40024682/ 40792205. Phone :24124640 Phone :26552207 Mobile :9869666222/ Fulrani Advtg. &Mktg. S. Arts Advtg. Pallavi Advtg. 9869998877 Antop Hill Masjid Dadar (W), Phone: 24159061 Phone: 23415111 Mobile: 9869109765 Kirti Agencies, Mobile: 9769238274/ Khar (W), 9969408835 TajPublicity Services, Shree Swami Samarth Phone :26047542. Byculla (W), Advertising, Ganesh Advertising, Phone :2305 4894. Dadar (W), Hindustan Advertising Abdul RehmanStreet, Mobile :9892011371. Phone :24440631 Vile Parle (W), Phone:2342 9163 /2341 4596. Mobile :9869131962 Phone :26146229 Yugarambha Advertising, J.K. Advertisers, Girgaon, Stylus Arts, Promserve Hornimal Circle, Fort. Phone :2386 8065. Dadar (W), Vile Parle (W), Phone :22663742. Mobile :9869074144. Phone :24304897 Mobile :9167778766 Mani’s Agencies, Aaryan Publicity Time Advertising, Venture Opp.G.P.O., Fort. Dadar (E), Matunga (W), Andheri (E) Phone :2263 00232. Phone: 022-65881876 Phone :2446 6191 Phone :61226000 Mobile :9892091257. Mobile: 9320111876 Anuja Media Vijaya Agencies, Andheri (W), Manjyot Ads, B. Y. Padhye Publicity Services, Dadar (W), Mobile :9152895703 Currey Road (E) Dadar (W), Phone :2422 5672. Phone :24700338. Phone :24229241/ Mobile :9920640689 Bombay Publicity Mobile :9820460262. 2422 0445. Andheri (W) Media Junction, Mobile :9870703542 OM Sai Ram Advtg., DATEYAdvertising, Matunga (W), Currery Road Datey Bhavan, Dadar (W) Phone: 022-66393184/ Carl Advertising, Mobile: 9967375573 Mobole :8452846979/ 022-66332340 Andheri (W), 9930949817 Mobile: 9820295353/ 9821656198 Phone :6696 3441 /42. Pinto Advertising, Mazagaon, Hook Advertainment Achievers Media Gauri Press Communication, Phone :23701070. Dadar Bandra (W.), Andheri (E), Mobile :9869040181. Mobile :8691800888 Phone :22691584 Mobile: 9820069565/ 9820069568 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 7 THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,MAY27,2020 THE OUTBREAK Migrants On TheRoad

AHMEDABAD:9:48AM WAITING FOR TICKET HOME DELHI-UPBORDER:9:00AM LUDHIANA:1:36PM

Agroup waitsoutside Kalupurrailway station.Theysay they Agroup of migrantsatthe Delhi-Ghaziabad border near have notgot atrain forthe last20days. JavedRaja Ghazipur Mandi on Tuesday. Prem Nath Pandey PATIALA:2:15PM PUNE:5:15PM

Arjun, who hails from Fatehpur,returns from Guru Nanak DevStadiumwith his familyafter being told no trains are Asocialworkerdistributes waterbottles to migrantswaiting departingonTuesdayfor Uttar Pradesh. As awasherman,heusedtomakearound Rs7,000per month before the MigrantsfromBihar waitingfor train ticketsatthe PMPML foraSpecialShramiktrain on Tuesday. HarmeetSodhi lockdown. He had firstregisteredfor atrain on May2,and is still waiting foraridehome. Gurmeet Singh bus stand on Tuesday. Arul Horizon

DELAYS CUT,TRAINS NEVER GET LOST,SAYSRAILWAYS OFFICER As Shramik Spls ‘stray’, Rlys notifies ‘route ‘Unassigned’casesnear3,000, rationalisation’ to explain diversions riseascurbsonmovementlifted to congestion. diverted trains proving to be a AVISHEKGDASTIDAR According to Railways But the “rationalisedroute majorpain point, the Railways that wherever someone is tested NEW DELHI,MAY 26 KARISHMAMEHROTRA officials, thereare plan” has assignedother routes has amended itsGeneral CASECOUNT:THECHANGINGPICTURE is the automatic location in- through Northern Railway, Financial Rules to enable adivi- NEWDELHI,MAY26 putted.If, forexample, someone multiple ways fora WITH DIVERSION of Shramik West-Central Railway and sional railway managerto Alook at howCovid-19 case counts in states from UP is tested in Delhi, the Specialtrains to navigate net- NorthWestern Railway to de- spenduptoRs1lakh foreach WITH THE increase in inter-state testing sample will be assigned train to reacha arechanging as migrants return home work congestion blowing up congestManikpur, and other train to arrangefor food,water, movement of people, the num- to Delhi. But what if during sam- intoacontroversy,evenasde- destination from a suchcrossings, and givendesti- etc. OfficialsinIRCTC said the berofCovid-19cases that are ple collection, the person said layedrunningofthese trains ‘source’ –or nation stationsabreather,they PSU has so farsuppliedatleast “unassigned” to anystate has UTTAR PRADESH ANDHRA PRADESH theyare from UP? Then,once a and shortageoffood andwater originating –station, maintained. 74 lakhmeals on boardthe quadrupledoverthe pastweek 4,966 229 62 8148 49 None positive sample comes back, we on boardcontinue to plague the Givencapacity constraints, Shramik Specials, but deliver- to 2,970. Foreign entrants: None Foreign entrants: 49 needtodetermine exactlywhich Railways, the national trans- and a‘rationalised some railway zones have de- ing to the diverted,unsched- Onlyninestatesinthe coun- location is this patient in now— porter has officiallynotifiedthe route’ is one that may creasedand even stoppedload- uledtrains has been achallenge. tryhaveacase load that is higher TAMIL NADU PUNJAB forhospitalisation,quarantine, 10,289 646 49 1500 26 1 alternativeordiverted paths notbethe usual route ing of goods trains to makeway To makeupfor this, divi- than that number. etc. So everyday,wehavetoshift and called it route“rationalisa- forShramik Specials. sional officers in places such as Cases in the unassignedcat- Foreigner entrants: 5 Foreign entrants: None the locations once the informa- tion”. during normal times Officialssaid while busy sec- UP and Bihar,among others, egorymakeup2per cent of the tion is found.” RAJASTHAN HARYANA The diversions have been tions suchasAllahabad that see have made use of thenew fi- country's 1,45,380 cases of coro- The unassignedcategoryhas donesothattrains arenot held offaround 300trains one way nancial powers to arrangefor navirus infection as of Tuesday, 9,323 236 167 2031 94 None been growing within states as up at one place forhours with- everyday in normal times are food at remote locations, as also and could potentiallyskewthe Foreign entrants: NA Foreign entrants: None well. In AndhraPradesh forex- out waterand food, asenior bound forBiharand further on handling fewer–around 250– to loadprecooked food on case curves of severalstates. ample, thereare now312 cases KERALA ■ Samplestested Railwaysofficial told The Indian were earlier delayedbyanav- Shramik Specials per day, these trains. The category “Casesbeing re- –morethan10per cent of the Express. erage24hours, whichofficials trains arenot running as per a On Tuesday,Railways assigned to states”was intro- 1026 67 33 ■ Positivecases state's 2,719 confirmedcases – Atrain, this officer empha- said have come down to under settimetable. plannedtorun 315Shramik ducedinmid-May.Numbers un- Foreign entrants: 27 ■ Migrants with no district-levelassign- sisedtoreject the criticism, five hours in the lastcouple of Field officialstold The Indian Special trains, amajority of der that head grew from 230 on *States’ datafor last 24 hours, updated up to 9pmonMay26 ment.InTamil Nadu, the unas- “nevergetslost”. days.“No diversions now. All Express that politicisation of the whichwerescheduledfrom May16to1,403 on May21, to signedcategoryhas grownfrom According to Railwaysoffi- trains originatingduring the last ShramikSpecials have ledto Maharashtra. However, 2,970 cases on May26. The cat- 40 on May21to92onTuesday. cials, thereare multiplewaysfor three days arerunningontheir “indiscriminate” introduction Railways MinisterPiyush Goyal egoryhas no informationonre- Indian Express that the unas- mined. Forexample, truckdriv- In Gujarat, it grew from 26 to 43 atrain to reachadestination pre-scheduledrationalised of these trains without looking stated that only 27 could be run. covery or deaths within this signedcategoryhas been grow- ers. Theyhavegone somewhere, in that same time. from a“source” –ororiginating routes,” aministryspokesper- at networkand handling capac- He tweeted: “Eight five of 145 group, unlikethe other statecat- ing because of the increasedin- theybecome symptomatic, and Between May1and May15, –station, and a“rationalised sonsaid. ity. trains arranged from egories. ter-statetravelinthe country— theyget tested.Astate now two-thirdsofthe 1,000Shramik route” is one that maynot be Officials said Manikpur “Atthe source station, Maharashtraweresupposed to Government officials said asign of howcountrywide needstoownthem.Oncetheir Special trains carrying migrants the usual routeduring normal Junction of NorthCentral boarding is takingalong time run today. But sincethe state that the categorycaptures the movement could impact the ef- test is positive,itcomes intothe home took 8lakh passengers times. But sincethe newroute Railway,whichnormally falls afterconcludingall healthpro- governmentcould not arrange cases wherediscrepancies exist fortstotrack the epidemic. system. But the system doesn’t from RedZones to Green or is notified, and is scheduled on routeofmostofthesetrains tocol. So if atrain misses its passengers, we could run only between the person’s home “Those arethe cases where knowinwhichstate this person OrangeZones. Domestic flights within the system,itcannot be from western India to destina- scheduledpath setbyus, it has 27 by 6PM...” stateand current state. we needtoreassign because has to be put in,” the official said. resumedonMonday, andover technicallycalledadiversion,an tions in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, to eat intoorshareanother UntilMonday, 3,274 Asenior official of the wheretheyare admitted or An officialfromthe Indian the pastfew weeks, vehicle official explained. wasamajor sourceofconges- train’s path,” asenior official Shramik Specials were runto Integrated DiseaseSurveillance wheretheyare being quaran- Council of Medical Research movement between states too Officialssaid this helps bet- tion until acouple of days ago, said. “Places likeGorakhpur, transportmorethan 44 lakh Programme (IDSP) told The tinedstill needs to be deter- (ICMR) said: “Therule we use is has pickedup. terplanning of meals and wa- as trains from Central Railway whichdonot have terminal ca- passengers; over 1crore water tering of trains en route, and and WesternRailway con- pacity to receive so manytrains bottles and 74 lakh free meals also cutsdownthe element of verged there. Whilenormallyit inquicksuccession, takestime were distributed,the Railways Pinarayi slams Rlys for sending trains ‘without notice’ surprise forrailway divisions on took atrain around90minutes to release platforms. This results said in astatement. the way. to cross this section, trains were in pilingupoftrains.” FULLREPORTON rules must beadoptedtoprevent Shramik Special trains taking up to four hours or so due With availability of meals in www.indianexpress.com SHAJUPHILIP the spread of the disease. KERALAGOVTTO THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, “Trains arecoming to Kerala RAMPUPTESTING MAY26 from all parts of thecountryand UP to open up thereare norestrictions. Our only Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Girl in Nainital quarantinedies KERALACHIEF MinisterPinarayi condition is that thereshould be government has decidedto publicparks VijayanonTuesday said the prior intimation from the step up dailytesting as Railwayssendingtrains to Kerala Railways.Theyshould give us the Covid-19number has seen Lucknow: The UP government of snakebite, 3officials booked without prior information would listofpassengers who have an upwardswing withthe Tuesday directed all districts to underminemeasures takenby bookedtickets.Inthe same way, it arrivalofpeople from abroad open up public parks formorn- Anjali's uncle Khim Singh al- Rajpal allegedly neither the statetocontain the spread of PinarayiVijayan is important and compulsoryfor and hotspotstates. Till two ing walksand settimings for EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE leged he had told quarantine in- pickedthe call nor informedhis Covid-19. He said the issue had passengers to registeronthe weeksago,Kerala has been their functioning, the state's DEHRADUN,MAY26 charge andrevenue sub-inspec- seniors about the incident.SDM been brought to the notice of CovidJagratha portalbeforethe testing 700-800samples a chief secretary, AwanishKumar torRajpalSingh that he feared said RajpalSingh,villagedevelop- Prime MinisterNarendraModi. ment to spread the disease. But, journey. We will be preparedto day. Thestate on Tuesdayre- Awasthi, said. He addedthat lo- THREE GOVERNMENTemploy- snakeattackasthe campus was mentofficer Umesh Joshi andas- Lastweek,after the Railways even afterthat, the Railways de- receive the passengers. Those ported67new cases, the cal authorities would have to en- ees have been booked aftera surroundedbyathicketofbushes. sistant teacher Karan Singh were sent atrain to Kerala from cidedtosend atrain to Kerala who arrive here arescreenedat largest single-day risesofar, sureproper patrolling in the snakebitekilleda7-year-old girl Rajpal Singh didn’t receive the found negligentin addressing the Mumbai without informing the from Mumbai. So this issue has the railway station and sent to takingthe totalto963. The parksto ensuresocial distancing quarantinedalongwithher fam- call when the girl’s uncle triedto complaintsand responding. stategovernment aboutits stop been brought to the attention of home quarantine.Butwe needto number of active cases rose and security. ilyataschool in Nainital on inform that his niece wasbitten Umesh and Karan were also un- in Kannur,the Chief Ministerhad the Prime Minister. It is amatter have the listinadvance so thatwe to 415onTuesday from 16 on Also, the government has Monday. by asnakeearly morning,said awareaboutthe incident till af- written to Railways Minister undermining our precautions,’’ can ensurethereisaproper facil- May8,adayafter evacuation asked all thestate's divisions to The girl, identifiedasAnjali, sub-divisional magistrate(SDM) ternoon. Piyush Goyalsaying the state he said. ity forhome quarantine.Any fail- flightsbegan landing in come up with aplan to establish and four members of her family RichaSingh.Thegirl wastaken to The SDM said the three have mustbeinformedinadvance The CM said the government uretodosowould undermine the Kerala. Since then, the Covid- an integrated office so thatsub- had come from Delhi, and were aCommunity Health Centre been chargedunder various IPC about suchtrains. “He wastold isofthe viewthat peoplefromall measures takenbythe govern- 19 curveinKerala hasbeen divisional offices can all be scheduledtoleave fortheirhome wheredoctorsdeclaredher dead sections, including 304A(caus- that such astepwould dent the areas shouldcome backtothe ment... therebyprevent the going up. ENS brought under one roof. ENS from the quarantine on Tuesday. at 1:30 pm, saidthe SDM. ing death by negligence). steps being takenbythe govern- statebut at the same time, strict spread of the disease,’’ he said.

CLASS 12 STATE BOARD EXAMS TO RESUME TODAY Kerala takes first step backtoschool with exams: 20 students to ahall

forofficials to ensurethatthe Officialssaid that about were in quarantine, or had fam- count. The practice of teachers In addition, studentswere SHAJUPHILIP& guidelines were adheredtoas 5,000 thermal screening de- ilymembers under home quar- signing the answer sheets and advisedtonot share stationery VISHNUVARMA 4.25 lakh studentsreached vices were purchased, and over antine, were allottedspecial affixing seals at the end wasalso or waterbottles. And as soon as THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, 2,945 centres forthe class 10 the lastfew days,all centres dis- rooms. Theywereasked to not done away with,” Babu said. the exams were over,theywere KOCHI,MAY26 stateboardexams, and 29,458 infected by fire andrescue hand over answer sheetsto On the ground,meanwhile, directed to head straighthome studentsturnedupat389 cen- teams. Afterthe firstsession, teachers, but deposit them in manyschools witnessedoffi- without interacting with other SOCIAL DISTANCING, thermal tres forthe vocational higher the halls, benches and desks special bags,” said Babu. cialsand parentsjoining hands students. screening, hand sanitisers, only secondarytests across the state were disinfected againfor the Forthe teachers deployed as to ensurethat the exams stayed Therewas aminor problem, 20 studentsinahall, and strict on Tuesday. afternoon. invigilators,gloveswill be pro- on track—some PTAmembers though. instructions againstchildren The Class 12 stateboardex- And with public transport vided everyday,and kept in even helped in disinfecting the “Around twodozen stu- huddling together. ams will resume Wednesday, services still notavailable in colour-codedpacketsfor dis- centres under the guidance of dentsdid nothaveany com- Kerala had all the guidelines with 3,79,519 studentsex- manydistricts, schools posal. local health workers. muting options from in place when it became the pectedat2,032 centres. The arranged conveyance forstu- “Steps have also takentoen- Forinstance, in Kochi’s Mulavukad, whichis12km firststate in the countrytore- school exams arescheduled to Social distancing in place forexam. Nitin RK dents using PTAfunds. In many sureminimum contact be- EdappallyGovernment Higher from the school. We asked the sume the school boardexams continue till the month-end. cases, officialssaid, parents tweenstudentsand teachers at SecondarySchool in Kochi, the local MLA, PTThomas, if he thatwerestalled by morethan “Weare notapproaching the droppedtheir children at the schools.The attendancesheets PTAsentdetailsofseating couldhelp.Abus wasimmedi- twomonths due to the ongoing exams with fear,but with vigil. 19 guidelines. Studentshave theystepout of their homes,’’ centres. were notpassed from onestu- arrangementsdirectlytostu- atelyarranged,” said Covid lockdown. All studentshavebeen given been told to ensuresocial dis- said Director of Public “Students who could not denttoanother forsigning,in- dentsthrough WhatsApp to Sankaranarayanan,the school But it wasachallenging task masksand pamphlets on Covid- tancing, right from the time Instruction JeevanBabu. clear the thermal screening, stead the invigilators took the avoidcrowding. principal. WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,MAY27,2020 8 EXPRESS NETWORK Aim of lockdown ‘failed’, Guards,vegetablevendorsinICMRlist Rahul asks govt about plan B offrontlineworkerswhoneedtesting MANOJCG NEWDELHI,MAY26 dors, banks, etc.” The lastthree CONGRESSLEADERRahulGandhi ABANTIKAGHOSH areparticularly in congestedar- on Tuesdaysaid the aim and pur- NEWDELHI,MAY26 eas of cities and high- poseof thenationwidelockdown incidence/containment zones. has “failed” and asked the Centre POLICE PERSONNEL at check The Covid-19outbreak in to spelloutitsstrategynowtocon- points, building security guards, India is currentlyconcentrated tain the spread of coronavirus. Rahul Gandhi Prakash Javadekar airportstaff,bus drivers and staff, in cities, with 70%cases and Rahul also said “haphazard” vegetable vendors and pharma- deaths in 10 cities. lifting of the lockdown could re- cists have been identifiedby However, sources said, the sult in asecond waveofthe pan- “Whatwe arefacingrightnow BJP hits back: Indian Council of Medical ICMR’s listhas been drawnup demicinIndia—onewhichcould is afailedlockdown because the Research (ICMR) as “frontline with an eyealso on identifying be “extremelydevastating.” goalof thelockdown,as statedby Doubling rate up workers” who needtobetested emerging hotspots.“We have to Addressing an online press thePrimeMinisteronnationaltel- forCovid-19iftheyshowflu-like graduallymovetotesting ‘front- conference,theCongressMPsaid evision, wasthat we will defeat from 3to13days symptoms. This is in addition to line’ workers as per the ex- Prime MinisterNarendraModi the disease in 21 day... These are healthcareworkers, paramedics pandeddefinition. This is the hadtoldthecountrythatIndiawill notmywords; these arethe PM's under lockdown and returning migrants. wayforward.This document has defeat the virus in 21 days,and words...nowweare comingto the As per the revision of testing been drawnupalso with special pointedoutthatthelockdownhas end of the fourth lockdown and strategy on May18, “all sympto- focus on the eastern region notproducedtheresultModihad the disease profile is notreduc- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE matic (ILI symptoms) health care wheretesting facilities arelim- in mind. “Clearly,the Prime ing.” He added, “So what we ex- NEWDELHI,MAY26 workers /frontline workers in- ited and authorities arestill get- Ministerand his advisers had un- pectedfromthelockdownhasnot volvedincontainment and mit- ting usedtothe containment Apolice officer helps an elderly migrant put on amask afterhis arrivalatBikaner’s Lalgarh derestimatedthescaleof thebat- occurred.Diseaseprofileisshoot- THE BJP on Tuesdayhit backat igation of COVID19” needtobe and contact tracing drill,” said a junction to boardaspecial train to his native place Motihari in Bihar on Tuesday. PTI tle India had to launchtodefeat ing up.” Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tested forthe NovelCoronavirus source. The document also reit- coronavirus,” he said. FirstimposedonMarch 25 forslamming the Centre's lock- (SARS-CoV2). ILI or influenza- erated the general testing prin- Using cricket terminology, and extendedthrice, the lock- down strategy. likesymptoms arethe symp- ciples suchasRT-PCR being the RahulsaidthePrimeMinisterwas down ends on May31. Union MinisterPrakash toms associated with flu suchas gold standardand antibody tests Centre asks states, UTs to negotiate quicktotakecentrestage in the TheformerCongresspresident Javadekar said, “Rahul Gandhi fever,sorethroat, body ache. being good forsurveillance. early stages but has steppedback said India is the onlycountry gave awrong statement. Iwant Symptomatic healthcare It is also partlywith this ex- with pvt labs, bring down test price and “gone on the backfoot” at a “wherethe virus is exponentially to tell him, when the lockdown workers were eligible fortesting pandeddefinition in mind that time when his leadership is most rising and we areremoving the wasimposed, doubling rate of from the verystart, but inclusion ICMR is looking at ramping up needed. lockdown”. He said thereshould infection wasthree days.Now of other frontline workers was testing capacity to 2lakh aday.A of Health Research,wrote:“Now, stategovernmentsandUTadmin- Hesaid:“He(Modi)playedon beastrategyto ensurethatthedis- the infection takes13days to the big takeaway of the lasttest- lotofthe fresh testing is expected ABANTIKAGHOSH testing supplies arealso stabiliz- istrations are“advisedtonegoti- the front foot initially. Nowheis easedoesnot“runamok”oncethe double.This is India's success, ing strategy revision. However, a to be from the eastern states NEWDELHI,MAY26 ing and manyofyou have started atewithprivate labsandfixmutu- nottobeseen. But the country lockdown is lifted. “I am worried and everyone's success.” document drawnupbythe ICMR whereinfrastructureisscarce. procuring suchkitsfromlocal allyagreeable prices forsamples wantstosee the Prime Minister. that in anon-lockdown situation, He said the “whole worldis on the general wayforward on Seventeen testing laboratories EVEN AS private diagnostic labo- market.Due to variedoptions of beingsentby thegovernmentand He will have to tell the country inahaphazardopeningup,we will praising India” forimposing the testing shows howwidespread eachare being setupinBihar and ratoriescitetheRs4,500pricecap testing materials/ kits, including also forprivate individuals...” howtogoforward.Hewillhave to getasecond waveofcorona that lockdown “at the right time”. that definition is settobecome. Odisha, 27 in Uttar Pradesh and as one of the pain pointsfor their indigenous ones, prices arebe- Bhargava noted,“Atthebegin- come on the front foot again, ag- will be extremelydevastating.” Javadekar added, “When the Apartfromparamedics and 36 in West Bengal. coronavirustestingnumbersstag- coming competitive and areun- ningof COVID19pandemic,there gressively —hehas gone on the “It is pretty clear that the aim lockdown wasimposed, the healthcareworkers, the full list The MinistryofHealth on nating at less than 20 per cent of dergoing reduction.... ICMR con- wasaglobal crisis of testing kits backfoot. Iamfromthe and purpose of the lockdown has Congress wasupsetwhy it was includes: “Security staffatbuild- Tuesdayheld ameeting with dailytests doneinthecountry, the tinuouslyadvocates aggressive and reagentsasIndia washeavily OppositionbutIamtellinghimto failed. What India is facing now, imposedacross the country; ings both private and Govt, Police Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Centrewantsthe price to be re- testing of lLl symptomatic per- reliant on importedproductsfor come on the front foot again.” whatisinfrontof us,istheresultof (theysaid) the economywill be personnel manning check- UP and MP,asking forstatesto ducedfurther. sons,forwhichRT-PCRtest iscon- moleculardetectionof viruses.As Rahul said stategovernments afailedlockdown. What we want destroyed.Theyopposedthe im- points/ roads (In certain indus- take careofthe immediate This is in the light of availabil- sidered as Gold Standard.” He such, in mid-March,norates for arenot getting adequatesupport to understandis,thegovernment’s position of the lockdown and trial areas/ business establish- health needs of migrant workers ity of indigenous testing kitsand wrote,“lnthisbackdrop,andkeep- RT-PCR test forCoronavirus was fromtheCentreandfeeling“ham- view(of it)… going forward. We noware opposing the relaxation. ments), airportstaff,Air India by activating existing health in- other supplies, unlikeinMarch, ing in viewthe evolving prices of availableforreferenceinthecoun- strung” as aresult. He said chief want to understand what their This is their doublespeak. team involvedinthe evacuation, frastructuresuchasAyushman whenallthesehadto beimported testing commodities, the earlier try. Keepinginviewthecostofim- ministers of Congress-governed strategyis.Itisprettyclearthatthe Compared to the loss facedby migrant labourers returning to Bharat health and wellness cen- amid tough global competition. suggestedupper ceiling of INR portedkitsandeffortsinvolvedin states have told him that theyare four stages of lockdown have not thE US, France, Britain, Spain, States, bus driverand associated tres and complete enumeration In alettertostatesand Union 4,500vide letter dated 17/3/2020 carrying out the test,ICMR sug- “fighting alonelybattle” without producedtheresultthatthePrime Italy, Iran, Brazil, and China, India staff, Certain categoryofshops at the villagelevel of comorbidi- TerritoriesonMonday, DrBalram maynot be applicable now”. gested the upper limit of asingle adequatesupportfromtheCentre. Ministerexpected,” he said. hasbeen relatively less affected.” like–pharmacist, vegetable ven- ties if any. Bhargava, Secretary, Department Therefore,Bhargava stated,all test as lNR 4,500...” HC: Too early to give As LAC heats up, India &China Loan interest during moratorium: Gujarat govt certificate activate border mechanism talks Supreme Court notice to Govt, RBI Situation in Mehtasaid he will take instruc- an optical shop in Agra and had a SOHINIGHOSH SHUBHAJITROY Govt must tell nation what’s on ANANTHAKRISHNANG tionsonthematter.Itwillbeheard gross total income of about Rs. AHMEDABAD,MAY26 Ahmedabad NEWDELHI,MAY26 NEWDELHI,MAY26 again aftertwo weeks. 6.57lakh per annum. He had in border areas, says Rahul Thepetitionerurgedthecourt availedahomeloanandhadbeen IT WAStoo early to give acertifi- better than Italy, INDIA AND China arelearnt to NewDelhi: As border ten- parency on what is going on,” THE SUPREME Courtissuedno- to declareultravires that partof paying the EMIs without default- catetothe stategovernment,the have activatedthe “working sion rises between India and he told reporters. tice Tuesdaytothe Centreand theRBI’sMarch 27 notificationon ing. Gujarat High Courtsaid during France: govt mechanism” at the diplomatic China, Congress leader Rahul Rahulalsosaiditisupto the ReserveBank of India (RBI) on a the charging of interestsince it The extendedlockdown, he an urgent hearing on acivil ap- level, establishedduring former Gandhi on Tuesdayasked the government to resolve the is- plea challenging the decision to “creates hardship in the present said, had created “immense bur- plication the government Ahmedabad: Defending itself in Prime MinisterManmohan Centretobetransparent and sue. “As farasIndia and China levy interestonloans despitethe scenario of complete national den”onhis“budget asapartfrom movedonMondayseeking clar- acivil application seeking clarifi- Singh’stenurein2012andsigned sharewith the countrythe sit- (border skirmishes issue) is moratorium on repayment in lockdown being extendedfrom payingEMIonhomeloan”,hehad ifications on the court’s May22 cation on the Gujarat High by then Indian ambassador to uation in Ladakh and the rea- concerned,itisaliveissuenow. viewofthe extendednational time to to “payhis employees... and also order while rebutting certain ob- Court’s May22order that said Beijing SJaishankar. sons forescalation in tension. Idon’t want to saymore. Iwill lockdown. time due to the Covid-19out- managefinancial aspectsofhis servations by the court. the Ahmedabad civil hospital Thishasbeenactivatedalong- “What we would liketo leave it to the wisdom of the AbenchofJustices Ashok break”. home and family”. The civil application sought was“as good as adungeon or sidethemilitary-to-militarycon- see is some moretrans- government... ENS Bhushan, SKKauland BRGavai Sharma pointed out that “Inthepresentscenario,when to clarify itsposition on some worse”, the Gujarat government, versation taking place at the field issuednotice on the plea by though RBI, by wayofthe notifi- all the means of livelihood has scathing observations made by said its(Ahmedabad's) Covid-19 levelto“dis-engage” and “de-es- GajendraSharma,ownerof anop- cation, permitted all banksto been curtailedbythe the courtregarding the condi- situation wasbetterthan Italy calate” the situation. twosideshadreviewedthesitua- of LACand arenow camping at tical shop in Agra,who said “this grant amoratorium of three Government of India by imposi- tion of the Ahmedabad Civil and France, whichhad compa- The“WorkingMechanismfor tioninborderareas.Inthisregard, the spotinabid to “hold the line”. action of imposition of interest months on payment of all instal- tionof acomplete lockdownpan- Hospital, comparing it to “dun- rable populations. Consultation &Coordination on theyhad also takennoteofregu- This“holdingtheline”tacticis during the moratorium period is mentsdue between March 1and India… the Petitioner,being acit- geons or worse". According to the stategov- India-China Border Affairs” was lar exchanges at the troops and backedbyalarge number of completely devastating, wrong” May31, it “made clear that inter- izen of India, has no wayto To the state’s objection on the ernment, “...the rise in number establishedinJanuary2012after diplomaticlevels,includingunder Chinese troops —muchmore and has caused“hindrance” and estshallcontinuetoaccrueonthe continuehiswork andearnliveli- courttaking cognizance of an of Covid-19cases has been sub- border talksbetween then NSA the WMCC framework,for main- thanordinarypatrols.Sourcessaid obstructedhis “right to life” guar- outstanding portion of the term hood… imposition of interest anonymous letter written by a stantiallyslowinthe stateas Shivshankar Menon and his taining peace and tranquility. therehavebeen multiple meet- anteed loans during the moratorium pe- during the moratorium will de- resident doctor,the courtsaid compared to the said countries” ChinesecounterpartDaiBingguo, In the current situation, ings within the government — by Article 21 of the Constitution. riod”. feat the purpose of permitting that while the government dis- despitethe latter having supe- and is headedbyjoint secretary- Srivastavaissaidto beleadingthe both online and some physical — Solicitor General Tushar Sharma said he wasrunning moratorium on loans,” he said. misseditas"rubbish",noresident rior medical facilities. “Similarly, levelofficials from both sides. conversation at the diplomatic and acall is yettobetaken on doctor “would musterthe cou- the number of deaths has been Theyare entrustedtohelp the level, since the mandateofthe whetherapolitical-leveldialogue rage of coming forwarddisclos- substantiallyless in Gujarat as special representative forbound- mechanism is clear:“aim for is to beopened, and at what level. ing his identity forthe purpose of compared to Italyand France,” arytalks,apositioncurrentlyheld timelycommunication of infor- Although the effort is to resolve 2lakh affected in Assam floods redressing suchgrievances". the application before the HC by NSAAjitDoval.Whilejointsec- mation on the border situation” the situation “locally”, where Defending itself againstthe said. retary (EastAsia) in the Ministry and “for appropriatelyhandling troopsmove backtotheiroriginal lashlarge partsof thestate,includ- Covidwilloverseefloodmanage- court's criticism on the higher The application movedby of ExternalAffairs(MEA),Naveen border incidents”. positionsinthenext“7to 10 days”, ABHISHEKSAHA ing capital Guwahati, even as the ment andrelief. mortality rate at the civil hospi- the government prayed before Srivastava, leads the Indian side, India's assessment is that the NewDelhi’s position is that the GUWAHATI,MAY26 numberof Covidcasesincreased. 3killedinlandslides tal, the government said it could the courtthat it be “kind enough the Chinese side is ledbyHong Chinese areinvolvedinwhat is “Chinesetroopswhohave crossed According to the Regional notbecompared to Ahmedabad to clarify that the...observations” Liang, Director General, known in militaryparlance as over” and the “Indian troops are The Assam government on Meteorological CentreinGuwahati: Alandslide triggered Municipal Corporation-run of HC, whichwerebasedon“the Department of Boundaryand “holding the line”. While thereis on the India side of the LAC”. But Tuesdaydirected deputy com- Guwahati, heavy rainfall is pre- by rain in Arunachal Pradesh’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patelhospi- anonymous letter of the Oceanic Affairs, Chinese Ministry no agreedLine of Actual Control the effortsare to notdial up the missionersto ensureadequatere- dicted in the region over the next DibangValleydistrict onMonday talbecause it wastaking more Resident Doctor and the anony- of Foreign Affairs. (LAC), both Chinese and Indian rhetoric. While the MEA has is- lief material and repair of em- five days.After ameeting, state nightledtothedeathof afamilyof critical patients. The benchsaid mous reportofthe Medical In the lastmeeting, in accor- troops patrol up to their “claim suedtwo measuredandnuanced bankmentsasthestatebracedfor ParliamentaryAffairs Minister three.Afterthebodieswere recov- the courtwill visit the civil hos- Officer of the Civil Hospital, do dancewiththeimportanceplaced lines” and then return. In the cur- statementssofar on the situation floods, with sevendistrictsand ChandraMohan Patowary said ered on Tuesdayevening, Chief pital "one fine morning" and end notreflect the true pictureofthe by leadersof bothcountriesforef- rent situation, it appears the on LAC, the Chinese foreign min- nearly 2lakh people already af- ministers in charge of different MinisterPema Khandu said relief all controversy. ground realities.” ENS fective border management, the Chinese crossedtheir perception istryhas also issuedstatements. fected.Heavy rain continuedto districtsfor the supervision of willbeextendedtothenextof kin. Cloud diplomacy: Consular access, demarche move online

cess”(ameetingbetweenadiplo- Baglay, who went to Colombo in tual” &3rd Joint Commission India in Januarythis year,had to phone conversations with world SHUBHAJITROY mat and the foreign national fac- an Indian AirForce aircraftalong Meeting between India and cancel because of the bushfires. leaders, including US President NEWDELHI,MAY26 ing charges). The MEA decidedto with the medical supplies, pre- DenmarkonMay 12,the MEA While the Indian government Donald Trump, Jaishankar held at grant virtual “consular access” via sentedhiscredentialsto SriLankan said. Flanked by officials, has usedthe NIC video platform, least44phoneconversationswith AT Atimewhen“socialdistancing” video conference. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa JaishankarandDanishMinisterof different countries have useddif- his counterparts.“Some of these and “workfromhome” have be- Again,inmid-April,whenSou- through avideo conference. Foreign Affairs Jeppe Kofoddis- ferent platforms to connect. “The phone calls also took place come the norm, South Blockis th Blockwanted to lodgeastrong India’s newPermanent Repr- cussedIndia-Denmarkties and virtual platform usedisdifferent through video conference,” a makingeffortstoconduct“virtual” protestwith Pakistanoverwhat it esentative to theUnitedNationsT strengtheningof bilateralrelations. foreverysummit,anddependson source said. diplomacyintheabsenceof “face- calledunprovokedfiring that re- STirumurti, who went to New PrimeMinisterNarendraModi the host. Saudis usedadifferent While India has adaptedto to-face” meetings. sultedinthekillingof civiliansnear York in one of the Vande Bharat also participated in online sum- virtualplatformfortheG-20sum- virtual diplomacy in less than Besides virtual summitsand the Line of Control, a“demarche” evacuation flights, also presented mits, from the SAARCsummit to mit,Russiansusedanotherforthe twomonths, China has also phone calls, demarche, consular (diplomaticnote)wasissuedover his credentials to UN Secretary G-20summit,andaddressedInd- SCOforeign ministers meeting,” a movedahead on this and has access and even presentation of the phone to the PakistanHigh GeneralAntonioGuterresthrough ianambassadorsallovertheworld source said. coinedaterm —“cloud diplo- credentials have movedtoonline Commission in NewDelhi. avideo conference. through video-conferencing. While video conferences and macy”. On Sunday, Chinese platforms. “Astrongdemarchewasmade President RamNath Kovind “With foreign travel being re- summitsare usuallyplanned Foreign MinisterWang Yi said In early April, in the middle of to the Pakistanside on the killing also acceptedcredentials from strictedinthesetimes,onlinesum- ahead and take time, moresub- that while lifemay have paused the nationwide lockdown, when of three innocent Indian civilians Ambassadors and High Commis- South Blockhas usedonline platforms to conduct mitsorvirtualsummitswillbethe stantive conversationshave taken due to Covid-19, diplomacy has- thegovernmentrealisedthathun- with aphone call, whichwas fol- sioners of Australia, NorthKorea, substantive diplomatic conversations. File newnormal in the months to placeduringphonecallsbetween n’t paused. He said that Chinese dredsofforeigners had been lowedbyanemail,” asource said. Senegal, Trinidad &Tobago, come,” said an official. Modi, Jaishankar and their coun- President Xi Jinping has held roundedupfor attending the At leasttwo Indian ambassa- Mauritius, Cote d’Ivoireand Plansarebeingchalkedoutfor terparts.ModiandJaishankarhave about 50 phone conversations Tablighi Jamaat congregation in dorswhotookcharge recentlypre- Rwanda through avideo confer- credentials were presented platforms to conduct substantive avirtual summit with Australian togetherclockedabout100phone with worldleaders and has at- Delhi in March,manyembassies sentedtheircredentials“virtually”. ence lastweek. through the digital medium,” a diplomatic conversations as well. Prime MinisterScott Morrison in callssinceMarch withtheircoun- tendedvirtual summits, includ- reachedout to the Ministryof India’s newlyappointed High “This wasthe firsttime in the statement said. External Affairs MinisterS June, possiblyJune 4, as well. terparts. ing of G-20 countries and the External Affairs for“consular ac- Commissioner to Sri Lanka Gopal historyof RashtrapatiBhavanthat South Blockalso usedonline Jaishankarheldthefirst-ever“vir- Morrison, who wasset to visit While Modi held at least53 WorldHealth Assembly. WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,MAY27,2020 @ieExplained #ExpressExplained 9 If thereare questions of current or contemporaryrelevancethat you E EXPLAINED would likeexplained, please [email protected]

SIMPLY PUT QUESTION &ANSWER CORONAVIRUS DASHBOARD THE WORLD 157,814 Solidarity Trial progress so far 266,590 180,802 230,158 United Kingdom Germany Italy Turkey In thehunt forpossible Covid-19treatments, WHO has halted enrolment forthe hydroxychloroquine arm 183,067 of trials. What ledtothe move,and what progress has been made with the other arms of Solidaritysofar? France 362,342 1,667,154 Russia SafetyMonitoring Board.” US ABANTIKAGHOSH The study ledbyBrighamand Women’s 149,822 NEWDELHI,MAY26 Hospital had concluded: “Wewereunable India 374,898 to confirm abenefit of hydroxychloroquine Brazil 236,259 LATE ON Mondaynight India time,the World or chloroquine, when usedaloneorwith a Spain Health Organization (WHO) announcedit macrolide, on in-hospital outcomes for would no longer assign patientstothe hy- COVID-19. Eachofthese drug regimens was TOTALCONFIRMED: 5,534,728 DEATHCOUNT:347,587 droxychloroquine (HCQ) arm of the multi- associated with decreasedin-hospital sur- countrySolidarity Trial on possible treat- vivaland an increasedfrequency of ventric- Source: Johns Hopkins University,updated at 11 pm on May26.JHU’s India tally and Health mentsfor Covid-19. The announcement ular arrhythmias when usedfor treatment Ministry’stally(below) maynot matchasthese areaccountedatdifferent times. raises severalquestions, particularly in India of COVID-19.” Macrolidesare aclassofan- whichisamajor manufacturer/exporterof tibiotics that include the antibiotic the drug and has also reposedimplicit faith azithromycin. in itstherapeutic and prophylactic role for health workers exposedtoCovid-19cases. What arethe other arms of Solidarity? In gene linked to dementia, a Bothof thesearewithacombinationof the What is the Solidarity Trial? drugsritonavirandlopinavir,withonearmtri- correlation with severe Covid “Solidarity” is an international initiative allingthecombinationtogether withanaddi- forclinicaltrials launchedbythe WHO,along tional substance. Ritonavir and liponavir are ANEW study has found alink be- diseases. The same team has previ- with partners,tohelp find an effective treat- second-lineHIVdrugs,knownasHIVprotease tween the severity of Covid-19and a ouslyfound that people withdemen- ment forCovid-19. It wasoriginallysupposed inhibitors,thathave beeninuseforsometime. gene linked to dementia. Having a tia arethree times morelikelytoget to lookatfour drugsordrug combinations: Theybolsterthe immune system, whichre- faulty gene linked to dementia dou- severe Covid-19,the University said. remdesivir,HCQ, ritonavir/lopinavir and ducesthechancesof aHIV-positive personde- bles the risk of developing severe It said partofthe increasedrisk lopinavir/ritonavir/interferon beta 1a. Now velopingcomplications suchastuberculosis. COVID-19, according to the large- mayhavebeen due to exposure to the with HCQ trial enrolment stalledfor at least Their use in India forHIV,though,isvery scale study,publishedininthe Journal high prevalence of the virusincare the next fewweeks, the Solidarity trial will limited —70% Indian patientsare on first- of Gerontology:Medical Sciences. homes. However, the newstudy sug- proceedwiththe otherthree arms. Some line drugs. These drugs aremanufactured in The gene is calledAPOE, and exists geststhat agenetic componentmay dataonHCQ will still be generated,though. India mainlyfor exportmostlytoAfrican in adifferent forms, one of whichis also be at play. The team found that AccordingtoWHO: “By enrolling patients countries. Following early reportsfromChina termede4e4. people with theAPOE in multiple countries, the Solidarity Trial Remdesivir,often described as the mostpromising of the options. Reuters File on successful use of the drug combination, Researchers at the e4e4 genotype were at aims to rapidlydiscoverwhether anyofthe India in Februaryhad obtainedregulatory University of Exeter double the risk of de- drugs slowdisease progression or improve clearance fortheir use in Covid-19. The drugs Medical School and the veloping severe Covid- survival. Other drugs can be addedbasedon arecausedbycoronaviruses. trial by mid-June. were usedinahandful of patientsbefore University of 19,compared to those emergingevidence... Over 400hospitals in Atrial fundedbythe US National Institute On MondayWHO Director General India begantofocus on HQL and Connecticut School of with the commone3e3 35 countries areactively recruitingpatients of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has found, Tedros Adhanom said: “On Friday, The Lancet azithromycin by theend of March. Medicine analyseddata form of the APOE gene. and nearly 3,500patientshavebeen enrolled in thepreliminaryresults, significant positives publishedanobservational study on hydrox- India’s changeofstance came following a from theUKBiobank, PAPER In this analysis, from 17 countries. Overall, over 100coun- to the use of remdesivir in patientsrequiring ycholoroquine &chloroquine &its effectson 199-subjecttrial in China on the efficacy of which collects health 2.36% (9,022) of 3.82 tries have joinedorexpressedaninterestin oxygen therapy.Thedrugwasfound to speed COVID-19 patientsthat have been hospi- ritonavir/lopinavir.The study reportedthat at and genetic dataon CLIP lakh participantswith joining the trial, and WHO is actively sup- up recoveryduring atrial and the resultswere talised. The authorsreportedthatamong pa- 22.1%, the mortality reportedinthe trial was 500,000 people. They European ancestries porting 60 of them.” encouraging enough to warrant publication tientsreceiving the drug, when usedalone substantiallyhigher than the 11%to14.5% found high risk of se- NEWRESEARCH had the APOE e4e4 Indiaisamong the countries wherethe of the resultsevenwhile the trial wasstill on. or with amacrolide, theyestimated ahigher mortality reportedininitial studies of pa- vere Covid-19infection faulty gene, but 5.13% Solidarity Trial is being carriedout. Four hos- However, In an earlier,truncated study re- mortality rate.The Executive Groupofthe tientshospitalisedwith Covid-19. However among European an- (37) of 721who tested pitals in Jodhpur,Ahmedabad, Chennaiand portedinThe Lancet,Chineseresearchers had SolidarityTrial,representing10ofthe par- the drugs have notbeen writtenoff as candi- cestryparticipantswho carry two positive forCovid-19had this gene Bhopalhavereceivedregulatoryapprovals, concludedtheycould notfind any“statisti- ticipating countries, metonSaturdayand has dates in the hunt forCovid-19treatments. faulty copies of this gene. One in 36 variant, suggesting the risk is doubled and morewill follow. In all, patientsin20-35 callysignificant clinical benefits” of the drug. agreedtoreviewacomprehensive analysis people of European ancestryhavetwo compared to e3e3 (410 per 100,000 hospitals in the countrywill bepartofthe trial. and critical appraisal of all evidence available What is the other arm that includes faulty copiesofthis gene, and this is versus 179per 100,000). What resultswas HCQshowing in trials, globally. Thereviewwill considerdatacol- ritonavir/lopinavir? known to increase risksofAlzheimer’s Co-author Dr Chia-Ling Kuo, of the Have anyofthe arms made particularly and what ledtothe suspension? lected so farinthe Solidarity Trial and, in par- It involvesthe twodrugs in combination disease up to 14-fold and also increases UConn School of Medicine, said in the good progress? Hydroxychloroquineisadrug usedinthe ticular robustrandomisedavailable data, to withinterferon beta 1a —whichbelongs to risksofheartdisease, the University of University of Exeter statement:“… Sofar, remdesiviris widelybeingdescribed treatment of autoimmunediseases such as adequatelyevaluate thepotential benefits aclass of substancesknown as cytokinesthat Exeter said in astatement. We mightnow be able to pinpoint as the mostpromising, although resultsofvar- rheumatoid arthritisand lupus, and also as and harms from this drug. Iwish to reiterate aresecreted by immune cells to signal other Now, the research team has found howthis faultygene causes vulnera- ious trials have sometimes being conflicting. amalaria treatment and preventive.Ina that these drugsare acceptedasgenerally cellstoact againstanimminent or acutein- thatcarryingthesegenemutations bility to COVID-19. This could lead to Developedby GileadSciencesInc,remdesivir sense, it remainspartofthe trialbecause pa- safefor use in patientswith autoimmune dis- fection. It is usedtotreat diseases likemulti- doubles the risksofCovid-19—evenin newideas fortreatments.” is abroad-spectrum antiviral whichwas pre- tientswho had been earlier randomisedto easesormalaria. The Executive Grouphas ple sclerosis. Some studieshaveshown that peoplewho had notdevelopedthese Source: University of Exeter viouslytestedinhumanswithEbola virusdis- getthe drug will continue to do so until the implemented atemporarypause of the hy- if interferon beta 1a is addedtoritonavir and ease, and whichhas also shown promise as a treatment is completed. The WHO is ex- droxychloroquine armwithin the Solidarity lopinavir,thereare better resultsthan when drug againstMERSand SARS, bothofwhich pected to take acallonits future inside the Trial while the dataisreviewedbythe Data the antivirals alone areused. INDIA COUNT: 145,380 (4,167 DEATHS)

RESTOFINDIA TOP10STATES AndamanandNicobarIslands 33 What nextfor HCQ after enrolment freeze? ArunachalPradesh2 Assam 526 Chandigarh 238 quine as apreventive drugtobetaken by and it is oftenastandardpractice to tem- Chhattisgarh 291 7,300 14,053 Delhi DadarNagarHaveli 2 ANURADHAMASCARENHAS frontline health workers treating COVID 19 porarilystopthe randomisation of the drug Rajasthan Goa 67 PUNE,MAY26 patients, Dr Swaminathansaid the safety in the trial while adatasafetymanagement 6,532 UP Haryana 1184 HimachalPradesh 223 profile is likelytobe very different in sickpa- boardreviewisongoing,” Dr Godbole said. JammuandKashmir1668 THE DECISION to temporarilysuspend en- tientscompared to healthyindividuals. “Howeverthereare three other drugs Jharkhand 377 Karnataka2182 rolmentinthe Solidarity Trial’s hydroxy- “There is no needfor panic, but randomized whichare being assessedand the trial contin- 6,859 Kerala 896 chloroquine arm, one of four optionsbeing trials needtobeconductedonthe use of the ues. We have registeredmorethan 15 clinical 14,460 MP 3,816 Ladakh 52 studiedfor Covid-19treatment, wastaken drug as aprophylaxis. Thesafetyprofile of sites forthe trial and hope to registeratleast30 Gujarat Manipur 39 West Bengal Meghalaya 14 by the Solidarity Trialexecutive committee the drug needs to be studiedinbothcases — and enrol 1,500participants,” she said. Mizoram 1 because the data safetymonitoring boardfelt drugs giventohospitalisedpatientsand to Dr Samiran Panda, Director,ICMR- NARI, 52,667 2,730 Nagaland 3 it prudent to gather more evidence on the healthy individuals exposedtoCOVID-19,” said the trial startedwith afew patientsacou- Maharashtra Bihar Odisha 1438 Puducherry 41 safetyand efficacy of thedrug, WorldHealth Move temporary, says Dr Swaminathan she said. Shereiterated that dataemerging pleofweeksago and theywill have to wait Punjab 2060 Organization (WHO) chief scientistDr from various studies is being reviewedcare- and see what happens as other countries have 3,110 Sikkim 1 17,082 Andhra Pradesh Telangana1920 Soumya Swaminathan said on Tuesday. fullybeforeWHO can take apolicy decision also progressedintheir trial efforts. “The trial Tamil Nadu Tripura 194 Dr Swaminathan told The Indian Express hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine(with or on the use of HCQ. has an adaptive design that allowsfor adverse Uttarakhand 349 thatthe trial is ongoing. This wasatempo- without amacrolide) wasassociated withno In India, Pune-basedIndian Council of eventsand hence it is standardpractice to halt Union Health Ministry update as of 11 pm, May 26. Some states may have rary measureand areviewwill be done of evidence of benefit. Instead the use was Medical Research -National AIDS Research the drug temporarily,” Dr Panda said reported higher numbers. Only states/UTs with at least one case listed above. the emerging evidence from varioustrials linked to increasedrates of mortality and Institute (ICMR -NARI) is the nodalcentrefor “TheSolidarityTrialisahugeeffortandwe worldwide, as well as the publishedlitera- heartarrhythmias among hospital patients coordinating the Solidarity Trial. Dr Sheela were due to startnextweek,"said Dr Zarir 60,491 PATIENTSDISCHARGEDIN32STATESAND UNION TERRITORIES ture. Dr Swaminathan said the interim trial with Covid-19. However, Dr Swaminathan Godbole, Head,Division of Epidemiology, Udwadia,one of the members of analyses aremonitored by the global data mentionedthat this wasobservationaldata, ICMR-NARI and national coordinator of the Maharashtra's Covid-19task force. Afterthe Have aquestion on the COVID-19outbreak and what youshould/should notdo? and safetymonitoring committee, whichis subject to bias, and thesefindings need to be Solidarity Trial, said the trial continues and WHOdirective,the other threearms will be [email protected] an independent group of experts. confirmedbywell conducted RCTs (random theyhavebeen engaged in theprocessof studied,hesaid. He also saidseveral trials ex- Arecentstudy in The Lancet had cau- controlledtrials). randomising patients. “There has been evi- ploring the use of CQ or HCQ forprophylaxis tionedthat the use of aregimen containing Asked about theuse of hydroxychloro- dence from observational studies about HCQ of Covid-19inhealthcareworkersisunderway. Whylocustsarebeingsightedinurbanareas,whatitcanmeanforcrops

arewitnessing one of the worstlocusts at- of the UN Food and Agriculture lowgiven that farmers have already har- PARTHASARATHIBISWAS tacksinthe last25years. Organization said the locusts have started vested their rabi crop. Orangegrowers in PUNE,MAY26 In India, locusts arenormallysighted movinginsearch of food. “Spring-bred Maharashtrahaveexpressed concern but duringJuly- October along the Pakistanbor- swarms from Pakistanstarted arriving in as Gurjar said, the swarm in Maharashtra OVER THE lastfew days,swarms of locusts der.Lastyear,parts of Western Rajasthan Rajasthan earlier this month. As this is be- would be easy to control. have been sighted in urban areas of and Northern Gujarat reportedswarms that fore themonsoon rains, theyfound drycon- The bigger problem will come once the Rajasthan, whichisunusual.Swarms have causeddamagetogrowing rabi crops. These ditions so theycontinuedtomoveeastin present swarms breed. An adult female lo- also been reportedfromparts of Madhya were the firstswarms reportedinIndia Rajasthan looking forgreen vegetation for custlays80-90 eggs thrice in her three- Pradesh and Vidharbha region of since 1997.This year,the firstsightings of food and shelter wheretheywillmature month lifecycle. If leftuncontrolled, a Maharashtra. The firstswarms were sighted small groups were reported early —onApril and then layeggs withthe onsetofthe swarm can grow exponentiallyto40-80 alongthe India-Pakistanborder on April 11, 11 —byscientists of the Agriculture monsoon in about five weeks,” he said. million locusts persquarekilometre, Gurjar months ahead of the usualtime of arrival. Ministry’s LocustWarning Organization and others estimatee. The locustswill start (LWO), from Sri Ganganagar and Jaisalmer What ledtotheir early arrival? laying eggs afterthe monsoon starts and What arelocustsand when aretheyare districtsofRajasthan. This can be tracedbacktothe cyclonic continue breeding fortwo moremonths, sighted in India? storms Mekunu and Luban that had struck with newergenerations rising during the The desertlocust (Schistocerca gregaria) Whyare locustsbeing seen in urban Oman and Yemen respectivelyin2018. growth phaseofthe kharif crop. is ashort-hornedgrasshopper.Innocuous areas? These turned largedesertstractsintolakes, Earlier this month, Union Agriculture when solitary, locustsundergo abehav- Locustsare beingseeninareasnot histor- facilitating locustbreedingthat continued MinisterNarendraSingh Tomar chaireda ioural changewhen their population builds icallyassociatedwithsuchsightings—Jaipur, through 2019.Swarms attacking crops in meetingto take stockofthesituation.Control up rapidly. Theyenter the ‘gregarious phase’ MP’sGwalior,Morena and Sheopur, andre- EastAfrica reachedpeak populationsfrom involvessprayinginsecticideonlocusts’night by forming hugeswarms that can travel up centlystray swarms in Maharashtra’s November,and built up in southern Iran restingplacesliketrees.Tilldate,theLWOhas to 150kmper day, eating up everybit of Amravati, Nagpurand Wardha. Aswarm of desertlocusts in JaipuronMonday. Rohit Jain Paras and Pakistansince the beginning of 2020, carriedout spraying over 21,675 hectares in greeneryontheir way. Theseinsectsfeed KLGurjar,Deputy Director of LWO, said with heavy rains in EastAfrica in March- Rajasthan. India has also put an order of 60 on alarge variety of crops. If notcontrolled, therebeing no crops in the fields, the locusts Aprilenabling further breeding. specialisedinsecticide sprayers with the UK. locustswarms can threaten the food secu- have movedacrossstatesattracted by green he said. At present thereare three to four has migrated to Maharashtra, whichGurjar Gurjar said the countryalready has 50 such rity of acountry.Atpresent countriesinthe cover. “Theswarmswere aidedbyhigh-speed swarmsinRajasthan,anothertwoorthreein said would notbeverydifficult to control. What can it mean to crops in India? machines.“Also,droneswillbeusedto spray Horn of Africa suchasEthiopia and Somalia windandthustheymadetheirwaytoJaipur,” Madhya Pradesh, from whereasmall group Keith Cressman, senior locustforecaster At present,chancesofcropdamageare the resting places,”hesaid. WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,MAY27,2020

WORDLY WISE If youbureaucratise popular justice then

10 THE EDITORIAL PAGE yougive it the form of acourt. —MICHEL FOUCAULT The importance of campus

§ FOUNDED BY § RAMNATH GOENKA Pandemic is being usedtopushonline education —but it BECAUSE THE TRUTH INVOLVES US ALL mustsupplement,not replace, physical sites of learning

TACKLING THE SURGE Satish Deshpande

Hospitals needtolook forcreative solutions to dealwith patient THE CURRENT CRAZE foronline education Indian student? still the onlyspace wherepeopleofall gen- (OE) reminds me of the wall graffiti advertis- ProponentsofOEoffer misleading an- ders, classes, castes, and communitiescan influx, while ensuringsafetyofhealthcareworkers ing sexclinics that arevisible across urban swers to this question by making biased meetwithout one group being forced to bow north India. These ads promise guaranteed comparisons. Since no one with access to an to others. Whatever itsimpact on academics, ITH LESS THAN aweek forLockdown 4toend, India’s COVID-19case- cures — shartiyailaj —for all kinds of ailments eliteTEI chooses OE instead, we knowthat this is criticallearning forlife. Women stu- load has surgedpast1,40,000.The relaxation of restrictions from the andafflictions. Today, OE is being force-fed to OE always loses in best-to-bestcompar- dents, in particular,will be much worse offif thirdphase of the lockdown onwardshas addedtothe challenges Indianeducationasamiraclecure—atall lev- isons. Favourable impressions about OE are confinedtotheir homes by OE. W facedbythe country’s already overburdenedhealthcaresystem. els (school,college,university) andforall tasks created mostly by comparing the best of OE Itsunacceptabilityasasubstitutedoesnot According to the Indian Council of Medical Research,the positivity rate (shareoftests (lectures, exams, admissions) —not only for with averageorworse TEIs.But is it true that diminish the indispensable partthat OE can pandemic conditions but forthe future. the best OE is better than the averagecol- playasasupplement to on-siteeducation. It that yield positive results) has gone up to 7per cent in the three weeksofLockdown 3and Readers mayhavealready decidedthat I legeoruniversity? can use content and methods that arehardto 4—it wasaround 3per cent at the end of Lockdown 2. The mortality rate,reassuringly, cometo buryOE, nottopraise it. Theyare half To answerthis question, we mustexam- include in the normal curriculum. It can put has remainedstatic at about 3per cent. Moreover, morethan 80 per centofthe infected right.Ibelieve that theincrediblesynergy un- ine the implicit claim at theheartofthe OE pressureonlazy or incompetent teachers. It do notrequire hospitalisation. Even then,the sheer scaleofthe pandemic seems to be leashedbyinformation and communications project,namely,thatthe goals of TEIs are can provide hands-on experience in many taxing the resources of hospitals in mostparts of thecountryand taking atoll on the technology(ICT)is the best thingto have hap- achievable without the latter’s physical loca- technical fields wheresimulations arepossi- health of medical professionals. The death, on Sunday, of aCOVID-positivenurse em- penedtoeducation sincethe printing press. tion or forms of interaction. In other words, ble.And itcan, of course, beapowerfulacces- Indeed,highereducationtodayisunthinkable OE claimsthat neitherthe campusnor face-to- soryfor affluent studentsable to afford expen- ployedataprivate hospital in Delhi, who wasallegedlymade to wear usedPPEs, frames without some form of the computer and some faceinteraction areintegral to education.Since sive aids.Butitis fraudulentto suggestthatOE the difficulties of those at the frontlines of the battle againstthe virus. mode of digitiseddatatransmission. As prod- the comparative evaluation of virtual versus can replace public education, the onlykind In the pasttwo months, states have tried to mobilise public resources, ramp up med- uctsofthis revolution, online methods of face-to-face pedagogic interaction needs more that the majority can access. ical centres, and shoreupquarantine facilities. In mostparts of the country, suchefforts teaching and learning deserveour highest space, thecampus question is consideredhere. Suchbluntness mayseem unseemly. It is have,atbest, producedmixed results. In Delhi, morethan 75 per cent of the bedsear- praise —but onlywhen castintheir proper We have long ignored the vital Howdoes the typical student’s home necessarytoday when governmentsare us- markedfor COVID-positive patients in privatehospitalsare already occupied. Though role, whichisto supplement,supportand am- (wheremostwould accessOE)comparewith ing the coverofthe COVID-19emergency to plify thetechniquesof face-to-faceeducation. role public educational atypical TEI campus? Census 2011 tells us that push through regressive “reforms” —suchas the Delhi government claims that the situation is under control, it needs to be on high alert The moment theyare proposedasasubsti- institutions play as exemplary 71 per cent of households with three or more anti-workeramendmentstolabourlaws— because the cityhas been adding morethan400COVID cases dailyfor morethan aweek tutefor thephysical sites of learning we have sites of social inclusion and members have dwellings with tworooms or that wouldface vocalopposition in normal now. In Mumbai, as areportinthis paper showedlastweek,the situation is muchmore longknown —brick-and-cement schools, col- less(74per cent in rural and 64per cent in ur- times.Inthis context, thereisareal danger critical: Thereisan acuteshortage of Dedicated Covid Hospitals, whichadmitcritically leges, and universities —online modes must relative equality. In Indian ban areas). According to National Sample that OE is being groomedtoplaythe role ill patientslikethosewho requireICU or ventilator support. With the return of migrants be resolutelyresisted. conditions, this role is Surveydatafor 2017-18, only42per centof playedbythe “cashless economy” during the from hotspots,districtsand small towns in the countrywill have their task cut out. Resistance to OE is oftendismissedasthe arguably even more urban and 15 percent of rural householdshad demonetisation crisis, but in reverse. The mi- Khagaria district in Bihar,for instance, expectsabout 50,000 migrantstoreturn in the self-serving response of vested interests,no- important than the scholastic internetaccess, and only34per cent of urban rage of acashless economywas aretrospec- tablyobstructive,technophobic teachers un- and11per cent of rural persons had usedthe tively inventedjustificationfor acatastrophic coming weeks, but has onlytwo ventilators, both in privatehospitals. Only37ofthe 135 willing to upgrade their skills. But theseare role. Though manyugly internetinthe past30days.Itistrue that many autocraticdecision.OEcouldbethe proactive posts of government doctors in the district have been filled. notthe onlyvestedinterests involved. blemishes remain,the public TEIs (both public and private)havesubstan- trojan horse smuggledinunder pandemic Overwhelmedbythe pandemic, some medicalfacilities have turnedupthe pressureon Authoritarian administrators areattractedby educational institution is still dardinfrastructure. But these datasuggestthat conditions to abrogatethe state’s commit- medical professionals, particularly junior doctors and nurses. Lastweek,the Gujarat High the centralisedcontrol andscaling-at-will that the only space where peopleof the majority (roughlytwo-thirds) of students mentsinpublic education. OE offers. Educational entrepreneurs have arelikelytobeworse offathomecomparedto The best last-ditchargument forreplacing Courtpulled up the state’s health ministerand chief secretaryfor neglectingthe problems all genders, classes, castes, and facedbypatients and staffatthe Ahmedabad CivilHospital. Responding to an anonymous been trying to harvestthe billions promised anycampus. The impact of smartphone capa- TEIs with OE is to firstundermine the former by massive open online courses(MOOCs) — communities canmeet bilities and stability of netconnectivity on OE to the point of collapse, and then innocently letterdetailingtheproblemsof thegovernmenthospital’sjuniorstaff,thecourtdescribedthe think of Udacity,Coursera, or EdX. Punditsare pedagogy also needs to be examined. point out that, afterall, OEisbetterthannoth- healthcarefacilityasa“dungeon”.Asthecountry’sCOVID-19caseloadincreases,policymak- without one group being nowpredicting post-pandemic tie-ups be- forced to bowtoothers. But it is as asocial rather than physical ing. This cynical argument worksonlyifwe ersandhospitalauthoritiesneedtoworkatcreative solutionsto dealwiththepatientinflux. tween ICTgiantslikeGoogle and Amazon and space that the collegeoruniversity campus aresomehowpersuadedtobecomplicit in the As afirststep, theymusttreat healthcareworkers in ahumane manner, ensuretheir safety. premium education brands likeHarvardand Whatever its impacton plays acritical role. We have long ignored the destructionof publiceducation.Unless we re- Oxfordthat will launchanew eraofvertically- academics, this is critical vital role public educational institutions play sistsuchpersuasion today, OE is exactlythe integrated hybrid OE platforms. learningfor life. Women as exemplarysites of social inclusion and rel- kind of “shartiya ilaj”that we maybecoerced Whatever the vestedinterests,ultimately students, in particular, willbe ativeequality. In Indian conditions, this role is intobuying tomorrow. UNLOCKING JUSTICE it is the perspective of studentsthat should be arguablyevenmoreimportant than the decisive.IsOEaviablealternative to traditional muchworse offifconfinedto scholastic role. Though manyuglyblemishes The writer teaches sociology educational institutions (TEI) forthe typical their homes by OE. remain, the public educational institution is at Delhi University That a19-year-old is still in jail,accusedofsedition, because courtsees no urgencyinher matterisatragedyand travesty

NDIVIDUALSAGAINST WHOM cases of sedition have been filedinrecentmonths, forprotestsagainstthe Citizenship Amendment Actand the proposed National RegisterofCitizens in particular,may be facing adoubleinjustice, in the justice APORTA BLE WELFARE I process. As areportinthis paper has brought to light, amid apublic health emer- gency in whichcourts arehearing only“urgent” cases through video-conferencing, bail pleas filedinthese cases arenot being definedassuch. Thatthese people, like19-year- Experience withGST holds valuable lessons forOne Nation One Ration Card old Amulya Leona, arrested in FebruarybyBengalurupolice under Section 124ofthe IPC forraising “PakistanZindabad” slogansatananti-CAA rally, arelanguishing in custody, their bail pleas unheard,isthe second injustice. The first, as another reportinthis paper Va rad Pande and Subhashish Bhadra underlinedinFebruary, predates the pandemic: It is the fact that in manyofthese ar- rests, the remand orders by magistratesneither asked nor answered basic questions laid THE ECONOMIC CRISIS precipitated by ration shops and 54 million tonnes of food- (PDSN) to track movementof rations, register down by the Supreme Courttosatisfythemselvesthat the serious sedition charge is COVID-19has focussedthe country’s atten- grain annuallyonasingle platform. beneficiaries, issue ration cards, handle griev- founded. Ascrutinyof25-odd arrestsmade on chargesofsedition in UP,Karnataka and tion on inter-state migrants. Millions of These barriers might seem daunting, but ances and generateanalytics. Since food ra- Assam since the anti-CAA protests began, threw up asobering pattern of police custody Indians in this diverse,complex group have the countryhas previouslydealt with an tions areacrucial lifeline formillions, sucha crossedstate borders in search of bettereco- equally complexsituationwhile rolling out platform should incorporateprinciples such grantedbycourts,noquestions asked,noreasonsgiven, or afterthe mostperfunctory nomicopportunities. The crisis,however, has the GST, whichwas widelytoutedas“one na- as inclusion, privacy,security, transparency, hearings. Whilethe Supreme Courthas upheld the colonial-erasedition law, it has also highlighted their precarious socio-economic tion,one tax”. andaccountability. The IM-PDS portal pro- read the provision restrictively,saying onlyseditious “speechtendedtoincite publicdis- condition. Justlikewith ON-ORC, fiscal concerns had vides agood starting point. order” waspunishable. The apexcourthas emphasisedthat clear and immediateincite- Historically, governmentshavemade sev- troubled GSTfromthe start. States likeTamil At the same time, we shouldlearn from ment to violenceisnecessaryfor makingthe offence of sedition. eral attemptstobridgethe gap. Akey partof NaduandGujaratthatare“netexporters”were the shortcomings and challenges of the GST The apparent languor of the courts,the evident lackofrigour or urgency,incases thatroadmap is the ideaofportable welfare concernedtheywouldloseoutontaxrevenues rollout. Forexample, delayinGST refunds led benefits, that is, acitizen should beable to ac- to “net consumer” states likeUPand Bihar. to cash-flowissues. Similar delays in receiv- whereitwould appear that the government is criminalisingactsofprotest by slapping cesswelfarebenefitsirrespectiveofwhereshe Finally, the Centrehad to step in andprovide ing food rations could be catastrophic. seriouschargesonthem,istroubling. It is disquieting if thepandemic becomes acover is in the country. In thecase of food rations, guaranteedcompensationforlosttaxrevenues Therefore,ON-ORCshouldcreate,publishand to delayordenythe weak and the vulnerabletheir dayincourt, their fundamental right the idea wasfirstmootedunder the UPAgov- forthe firstfiveyears. The Centrecouldpro- adheretotime-bound processes, likeright to to bail. Ever since people’sprotestsbegan across the countryagainstthe CAAand the pro- ernment by aNandanNilekani-ledtask force vide asimilar assurance to “netinbound mi- public services legislation that have been In anoteworthyexample of posedNRC —theywereseentobeintroducing religion as acriterion forcitizenship, and in 2011.The currentgovernmenthadcommit- gration”statessuchasMaharashtraandKerala adoptedby15states, and rapid grievance re- discriminating againstthe Muslim minority—the BJP-ledgovernment at the Centre has, tedtoanational rollout of OneNation, One cooperative federalism, the thatany additionalcosts on account of mi- dress mechanisms. Ration Card(ON-ORC) by June 2020, and had grantswill be coveredbyit forthe five years. MSMEs also complainedabout the in- deservedly, invitedaccusations of intolerance of views different from itsown. The gov- central government created a initiated pilotsin12states.While intra-state GSTcouncil consisting of GSTalso sawsimilar challenges with crease in compliance burden especiallyfor ernment did notjustturn adeaf ear to the protesters, it also attempted to subduethem, portability of benefitshas seengood initialup- broader issuesof inter-state coordination.Ina those who had to digitise overnight. Similar including by wielding the sedition law. This has castagreater responsibility on the court. take,inter-state portability has lagged.The fi- the finance ministersofthe noteworthyexampleofcooperative federal- challenges could arisein ON-ORC. PDS dealers Thecourts arethetime-testedrecourseforupholdingandsafeguardingconstitutionalpro- nanceministerhasnowannouncedthe dead- central and state ism, the central government created aGST will needtobebrought on board, and notas- tectionsforthecitizens’freedomof expression,includingandespecially thelibertyto dissent. line of March 2021toroll out ON-ORC. governments to address council consisting of the finance ministers of sumedtobecompliant. Citizens will needto Theymustnot show,nor be seen to show,alackofalacrity in performing their vital role. To ensureasmooth rollout, we would ben- these issues. The the central and stategovernmentstoaddress be shieldedfromthe inevitable teething is- efit from reviewing the challenges thus far. these issues. The government could consider suesby keeping thesystem lenient at first, pro- First, the fiscal implications: ON-ORCwill af- government could consider a asimilar national council forON-ORC. To be viding different ways of authenticating one- fect howthe financial burden is shared be- similar national council for effective,this council should meetregularly, self, and publicising ahelpline widely. tween states. Second, the largerissues of fed- ON-ORC. To be effective, have specific decision-making authority,and If done well, ON-ORCcould laythe founda- WATCH THE BIRDIE eralism and inter-state coordination: Many should operateinaproblem-solving mode tion of atrulynational and portable benefits states arenot convincedabout a“one size fits this council should meet basedonconsensus building. system that includes other welfarepro- The golden ageofkabootarbaazi in Pakistanisn’t over — all”regime because theyhavecustomisedthe regularly,havespecific Finally, GSTissupportedby asophisticated grammes likeLPG subsidy and social pen- PDS through higher subsidies, higher entitle- decision-making authority, tech backbone, housedbythe GSTNetwork sions. It is an opportunity to provide areliable another missionfromthe farside is on the radar ment limits, and supplyofadditional items. and should operate in a (GSTN), an entity jointlyownedbytheCentre social protection backbone to migrants, who Third, the technology aspect:ON-ORCre- andstates. Asimilar system would beneeded arethe backbone of our economy. WICE EVERYDECADE, on average, intelligence officers on the border with quires acomplextechnology backbonethat problem-solvingmode based forON-ORC. The Nilekani-ledtask forcerec- Pakistaninterrogate aflighty suspectand trytomakeitsing. But it can only bringsover 750 millionbeneficiaries,5,33,000 on consensus building. ommendedsetting up of aPDS network The writers work at Omidyar Network India Tcoo, because it is ahoming pigeon. The lasttime aPakistani pigeon wascaught in the Indian dragnetwas in 2015,when abirdwith nashtaliq markings was apprehended.The writing referred to adistrict and town in Pakistan, and wasprobably the pre-modern equivalent of the courier company’s standard message: “If undelivered, pleasereturn to sender.” However, amid rampant attemptsbysomecustodians of Indian MAY 27,1980, FORTY YEARS AGO culturetopurge it of Urdu, the lettering wasfoundtobesuspiciousand the pigeon was interrogatedmercilessly. The contentsofits debriefing were neverrevealed. Presumably, ASSAM VIOLENCE invited by PrimeMinisterIndiraGandhi, for KWANGJU CRISIS the birdhad cooedsoothingly. Four persons were killedwhen police opened discussions on the Assam problem on May31. THE BATTERED SOUTH Korean cityof But it had lied. All is notwell. The nashtaliq pigeon’ssuccessor in the servicehas been ap- fire on clashingmobs of rivalstudent groups Members of the cabinetcommittee on polit- Kwangju remained in the hands of anti- in at leasttwo Assam towns this morning. ical affairs will attend the all-party meet. Mrs government rebels. The student leaders prehendedinKathua,the borderdistrict in Jammu &Kashmir, as it flewinfromPakistani Morethan 400persons, including adozen Gandhi had convenedthe meeting to make of the insurrection said that they wanted airspace, under the radar.This miscreant is inscrutable, but features radical heraldry. Itsleft policemen, were injured.Scores of houses another bidto evolve anacceptablesolutionto the United States as a“firm ally”tohelp wingismarkedbrightred,andsoisaringfixedtoitsleg,whichbearsastringofcode.Adated were burnt down, shopslootedand innumer- the problem of foreign nationals in Assam. Mrs mediate asolution to the crisis. “The signal from the communistmovement,whichhas alargely forgottenhistory in Pakistan? ablecases of assaults were reportedfromas Gandhi is likelytoseek the opposition's views US should exercise influence on the govern- Having leftbehind thathistory,noone has the keytoread thatmessageany more. manyas24 placesinlowerAssam. Three of on the various suggestions whichhavebeen ment,” the militantstold reporters as And anyway,the onlyapparent ground forsuspecting the pigeon is itsnationality.Maybe the casualties were at Bijni and one of them made about the base year fordeportation and the stalematebetween them and martial wasatAbhoypuri.One personhas been settlement of thoseidentified as foreigners. lawauthorities continuedfor thefourth the “code” is justthe bird’s membership number in apigeon racing club in Sialkot.Maybe stabbed to death at Barpetaroadlastnight. Since the earlier all-party meeting had en- day. Student leaders also announcedanew it is the Swiss bank accountnumber of itsowner,whichisthe internal affair of Pakistan. dorsedthe government’s move to fix1971as death toll from the three days of rioting Maybeit’s astringofgibberish designedtokeep the National Security Advisor on edge. OPPOSITION VIEWS the base year foridentifying and deporting lastweek,saying that theyhad collected Maybeweshould wait five years forthe next Pakistani pigeon to violateour airspace, TWENTYLEADERSFROMvariousopposition foreigners,it is felt that the oppositionshould atotal of 261bodies, of which100 remain bearing amoresensible message. parties and groups in Parliament have been be consulted if any changeisto be made. unidentified. WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,MAY27,2020 WHATTHE OTHERSSAY “What is nowatstake is bigger than the future of Hong Kong,asimportant as that is. Other nationsshould ask themselves whether they want China to 11 believe that it cantrample on its pledges and renege on international treaties THE IDEAS PAGE with impunity.” —THE GUARDIAN HIV lessons for When faith Covid-19 is shaken To reinstall trustofdiasporaingovernmentas HIV/AIDSwas thwartedbyabottom-up approach, in whichthe marginalised effective rescuer,aCitizenEvacuation and vulnerablewereseen as partners,not subjects Policy is needed

When the central government finally decidedtooffer ahelping hand, it optedto launchapaidrepatriation mission rather than an evacuationmission (whichisfree of costfor the evacuee). Is this the time to extract apound of flesh from disheartened, disappointed and fatiguedIndians? The Vande Bharat Mission along with Operation SamudraSetuhas created history by being Jaiveer Shergill the largestpaid repatriation exercise. It has Vivek Divan also createdhistory by being the mostde- layedand commercialisedrepatriationthe ON JUNE 8, 2017,then External Affairs worldhas seen in recent times. ADECADE AGO, India demonstrated a MinisterofIndia, the lateSushma Swaraj, Moreoften than not, wheneverthe ex- health-related response that wasacclaimed tweeted: “Even if youare stuckonMars, ecutive fails, the judiciarycomes to the res- as ablueprint forhow public health chal- theIndianEmbassy will be theretohelp cue. Unfortunately, in the case of stranded lenges can be successfully tackled. We seem you.” This confidence-laden declaration to Indians, even the SupremeCourtofIndia to have forgotten(or dismissed)the funda- help Indians on foreign soil during crises on April 13 said, “staywhereyou are” in an mentals of thatsuccess already. stemmedfromtwo factors. First, the glori- observation whiledealing with the plea The decades-longresponse to HIV/AIDS ous trackrecordof30-plus successful over- seeking directions to thegovernment to fronted the following principles. First, deal- seas evacuations by thegovernmentsince initiateevacuation missions. The lacuna ing with epidemics requires placing the most Independence, including the Kuwait Airlift and unpredictability of the government’s marginalisedand vulnerable at the forefront and Operation SafeHomecoming. These, response bring to the forefront the urgent of anystrategy.Iftheir needs aremet — despitebeingheld duringwartime condi- needfor India to have awell-structured and whether in the form of access to information tions, were characterisedbyaquickgov- institutionalisedrights-based“citizen evac- and services, or respect fortheir bodily, so- ernmental will and intent to shieldthe di- uation policy” with the potential to be ini- cial and economic integrity —not onlyare aspora.Second, from the assurance given tiated and implemented without being their health outcomes morepromising, but to everycitizen on the firstpageofthe held hostage to unpredictable political in all likelihood, the needs and health of oth- Indian passportwhichreads “...Allowthe temperamentsand the bureaucratic maze. ers who arehigher in the socio-economic bearer to pass freely… and to affirm him or The fact that suchapolicy is critical for ladder will also be metthrough sucha her,every assistance and protection of being well-preparedforanother COVID-19 thoughtfulapproach. whichheorshe maystand in need”. likeexigency is aforegone conclusion. Also, Shaping inclusive andnurturinghealth COVID-19has notonlytestedthe re- keeping in mind the increasing trafficof systems and social environmentsmeans that silience of the medical and safetyinfra- outbound students,businessmen, tourists those delivering health areattunedtothe re- structureofthe countrybut has also put to (the United Nations WorldTourism alities of the vulnerable and marginalised, the test theseriousness of the pledgeofas- Organisation estimated that morethan50 and can better servetheir needs. It means sistance and protection made to every million Indians willtravel abroadtill 2022), fostering an environment of health and gov- CRSasikumar Indian travelling or studying abroad. While researchers and job-seekers, India needs to ernance that those at the margins feel en- don’t have thesolutions to healthissues cess to antiretroviral medication that made the reverse migration of labourers has ex- revisit itsoverseas evacuation strategy.As couraged andsafetoengagewith. As aqueer that areentwinedwith complexhuman re- the government roll out and scale up afree posedfaultlines in the welfareapparatus, suggestedbyaresearch paper onJanuary manwho wasvulnerable to HIV,Iknowhow alities. And that although those in the most programme that has savedand enhanced the commercialised, chargeable interna- 4, 2017,“India’s ExpatriateEvacuation very distant ahealth system that shunned serious predicamentsmay be lowerinall millionsoflives. It wasanactive anddiverse tional missions —“Vande Bharat” and Operations: Bringing the DiasporaHome”, me and my ilk felt likeinthe 1990s. As a the kinds of ill-conceivedwaysbywhichwe queer community that demandedanend to “Operation SamudraSetu” —expose the publishedbyCarnegie India, legislators and lawyer who has long worked on issues re- measuresocial and human worth, they laws likesection 377whichmade them vul- arbitraryand slow-footed response of the policy expertsneedtoframe aset of stan- lated to health, Isaw howtransformative it probablyhaveinsightsthat lead us together nerable to violence,unjustcriminality and current central government towardsthe dardoperating procedures. These mustnot wastoworkwith government bureaucrats, to solutions. HIV that causedthe lawtobestruckdown. It repatriationofIndians stuckabroad. be based on convenience but on the re- physicians, nurses, police, employers, and Third, leave one’s personal morality and wasavastswatheofcitizens that worked on The government shut down Indian quirement to strengthenthe response NGOs, who were open to conversations on the all-too-common human tendencyto and obtainedIndia’s firstanti-discrimination skiestoall inboundtraffic on March 22, mechanism of Indian embassies worldwide sex, sexuality,illness and law, andhow,over blameand vilify behind.This entailsunder- law—the HIV/AIDS Act. It is this community whichleftalarge number of Indians (amongstotherthings) so that everyIndian time, these dialoguesfosteredanenabling standing howadisease transmits, but not whichchallenges illegitimatemonopoly strandedinvarious countries. Indiansma- on foreign soil is awareofthe law, timelines, environment in the healthsector,whichbe- faulting those who have it. Likewith COVID- claims by big pharma to patent life-saving roonedabroadstaredatthe bleakpossibil- communication channels, individual rights gantoreflect in policy,and in wider societal 19,inHIV tooanoverwhelmingmajority of drugs thatthreaten to make medication un- ity of notreturning home, facedevictions beyond the “11line promise” printedon the effortstocounterHIV. people have no idea that theyare carriers. affordable. from hostels and hotels in certain casesdue firstpageofthe passport. At the same time, In the case of HIV,fostering suchanenvi- Doing this in relationtoHIV ledtosome Admittedly,the response to Admittedly,the responsetoHIV wasdis- to safetymeasures as well as financial con- theofficials at the MEA needtoanswer why ronment meant sexworkers, hijras, people extraordinaryprogress, including the matur- HIV wasdisease-centric, ease-centric, strengthenedwith large sums straints. The sequence of eventsthat fol- therewas adeparturefromthe swift, non- livingwith HIV, drug users, men who have ing of ahealth bureaucracy forwhom issues strengthened with large of financing and human resources. lowed, rather than reassuring them, gave commercialisedapproachadoptedinthe sexwith other men were at the heartof of human sexualityand sexual behaviour be- sums of financing and Unfortunately, it failedtotransform health the impression that the administration has past, creatingatrustdeficit amongstthe healthand publicpolicy efforts. In the con- came routinelycomfortable, one whichwas systems morebroadly, whichshould have adiscriminatoryand whimsical approach help-seeking citizens. text of COVID-19, it means centering front- honestand empathetic about suchissues, human resources. been another positive outcome of suchare- towardsits citizens in needoverseas. The The Prime MinisterofIndia, in atele- line personnel suchashealthcareworkers, regularly at ease sitting with hijras and sex Unfortunately,itfailed to source-intensive effort.And undoubtedly, decision to signacontract wherebyAir visedinterviewonJanuary21, 2018, sanitation workers,and the police, people workers to listenand learn from them, and transform health systems COVID-19and HIV aredifferent in their India would return safelythe citizensof claimedthat the “Indianpassport nowhas with co-morbidities, senior citizens, and letsuchvoices shape policy and practice, more broadly,whichshould pathologies, causes, manifestations and im- four countries —Germany, Canada,France different respect and strength”. Now, just those whose livesare turnedchaotic by harsh whichbecame so muchmorereflective of pacts. Still, likethe Basic StructureofIndia’s and Ireland —and opting to flybackempty as the faith of migrant workers has been measures suchaslockdowns —daily wage ground realities, and therefore, moreeffec- have been another positive Constitution, thereare some fundamentals instead of ferrying backIndians (desirous of shaken and demolishedbythe system, the and migrant labourers, women and the ur- tive.Indeed, it washeartening to note that outcome of sucharesource- whichare true and work regardless of the returning)lefteveryonewith asense of be- faith of studentsand tourists abroad stands ban poor. some of those who served in government at intensive effort. And natureofthings. trayal. The MinistryofExternal Affairs in- scarred. To reinstall the trustofthe dias- Second, makethe marginalisedand vul- the peak of the HIV response arepartof Althoughthe challenges of COVID-19 dulged in self-congratulation in one of its porainthe government as an effective res- nerable allies in this journeythrough acollec- ICMR’shigh-leveltechnicalcommittee of ex- undoubtedly,COVID-19 should notbedealt with in adisease-specific press briefings, forassisting 20,000foreign cuer,aCitizen Evacuation Policy mustbe tive approachthat listens to their needs and perts on COVID-19. Theywill have lessons to and HIV are different in manner,this crisis is aripe opportunity to nationals in exiting India. But it failedto tabledatthe earliest. offers appropriatesolutions. Do nottreat sharefromHIV.That advice should be their pathologies, causes, strengthen the public healthand social se- shareablueprint or even give acommit- them as subjectstoberegimented,but part- heeded. manifestations and impacts. curitysystemmorefully, fortifiedbythe hu- ment about the return of Indiancitizens The writer is aSupreme Court lawyer ners to be empowered—bottom-up, nottop- HIV wasthwartedfromravaging India mane and inclusive approachesthatHIV has abroad, highlighting the “out of sight-out and national spokesperson, down. Strengthen them with reliable,relat- notbyanintimidating top-down approach. Still, likethe Basic Structure shown us. It is notyet toolatefor India’s re- of mind” mindsetofthe decision-makers. Indian National Congress able, destigmatising and evidence-based It wascontainedbecause of an empowered of India’s Constitution, there sponse to COVID-19torecalibratesothat it information and services, the rightstoavail community of affected citizenswho de- are some fundamentals servescommunity health and the public these, and ahealth and social system that manded their health and related rights, and whichare true and work good in justthis manner. does notcastigatebut welcomes. aplace at the table as responsible solvers of This requires humility,aconsciousness the challenge, notdocile recipientsofdirec- regardlessofthe nature of The writer heads theCentrefor Health LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR to knowthat whatever our expertise, we tives. It wasacommunity thatdemanded ac- things. Equity,Law &PolicyatILS Pune

LEARN NOW IDEAS THIS REFERS TO the editorial, ‘Think smarter' (IE, May26). Therehas to be a ONLINE course correction in our SmartCities Mission. Howlittle health figures in ONLYINTHE EXPRESS Crisis and leadership smartcity projectsisridiculous. Perhaps, if ourinfrastructurehad notbeen so ● UNLOCKING GOLD’S woefullyinadequate, we maynot have POTENTIAL: MOHAN Uttar Pradesh is setting an example, dealing with pandemic with efficiency,firmness been pushedbehindcloseddoors forso KUMARAMANGALAM long. The lackofmeans to deal with COVID-19has ledtoindescribable suf- Akhilesh Mishra ● FORANAUTONOMOUS fering. Ahealthypopulationisanasset EC:ASHWINIKULKARNI, foranation. It’s time to realise this and WE ARE STILLinthe middle of the COVID-19 India —under the leadershipofPrime statehas displayedrequisitetact andfirm- travel, food and financial assistance, the state learn our lessons from the pandemic. PRAMATHESHAMBASTA pandemic and, therefore, amoredetailed MinisterNarendraModi —stands as ashin- ness. So far, morethan 2.52 crorepeople in has also startedpreparing forthe future. The Vijai Pant, Hempur analysis of all the factors at playinreal-time ing democratic counter to the artificial glitz over 50 lakh homes have been reachedby unskilledlabour that once leftthe stateis www.indianexpress.com mayhavetowait. However, severalaspects of the autocratic Chinese model. over 60,000 surveillanceteams. nowreturning as askilledand trainedwork- FEARMONGERS of this pandemic—what it will meanfor the Closer home, an unstatedcontestbe- Second, health infrastructurehas been force. Utilising the opportunity,aMigrants world—are already visible. tween the various states is also playing out. scaledupinrecordtime. Seventy-eight hos- Commission is being setupwhich, among THIS REFERS TO the article, ‘The conta- With values likeempathy, solicitude At the global scale, the system of gover- Whichstate leadership has proveditsmettle pitals ofLevel-1,64government hospitals of other things,willprepareadistrict-wise hu- gion of fear’ (IE, May26). The fear of an and respect missing in public life, alarge nance is itself at test.This is notaminor hap- in this time of unprecedentedcrisis? While Level-2 andsix hospitals of Level-3 —with a man-skills map foruse by industries in abid unknown disease,acontagionthat has chunk of the populationisreducedto penstance, as history showsthat suchglobal an answer to this questionmay have multiple combinedbed capacity of 52,000 —have to retain talent. affected allaspects of life, is under- second-ratecitizens. This betraysour crises have oftenled to majorupheavals in views,what cannotbecontestedisthe emer- been setup, covering everydistrict of the Fifth, realising the inherent opportunity standable.InIndia,though, the reaction collective conscienceand the human the globallyacceptedforms of governments. gence of Yogi Adityanath as the stateleader state. Fifty-three unitsmanufacturing PPEs, in thecrisis, aggressivereforms carriedout to thedisease isn’tjustabout anatural spirit. Abit of conscientiousnessand In the present context, the question being with the mostenhancedstature. He had al- 99 unitsmaking sanitisersand 412units at thestate level—especiallyinlabour laws fear.The political class, particularly the due regard will go along way. posedisthis: Is the autocratic model of ready built areputation foradministrative making medical equipment and medicines —havealready attracted global attention. rulingparty,has made the issueone of Anirudh Parashar, Solan China, whichclaims to have stoppedthe dexterity by thesimultaneous and flawless have been made functional in the stateinthe Coupledwith an already massive push to- demonisingminorities. It’sown ant-sci- virus in itstracks, better? Oristhe demo- executionofthe mega-scale Pravasi Bharatiya lasttwo months. wardscreating connectivity,easier land ac- ence bias —asthe author pointsout DON’TSUCCUMB craticmodel better? Considering the way Divasand the2019Prayagraj Kumbh Mela. Third, Adityanath is the onlystate leader quisition processes and responsive statema- through examples—encouragesexclu- the virus has been handledinsome large But in asense, theywereminor challenges. to have understood the importance of pro- chinery, thestate is putting itsbestfoot sion and obscurantism. THIS REFERS TO theeditorial, ‘Unquiet democracies, an enterprising partisan could The real mettle is tested when one needs to vidingearly economic relief. It wasthe first forward. VonWellx became the firstcom- Biswadeep Chatterjee, Delhi front’(IE, May25). The stand-offbe- makeacase forthe Chinese model. The par- react to unforeseen challenges —likeCOVID- stategovernment to provideRs1,000 each panytoshiftits manufacturing from China tweenIndia and China on the border tisan could argue that South Koreaor 19 —Adityanath and his COVID-19“Team 11” to 5.97lakh constructionworkers on March to India postthe COVID-19crisis. UNEQUAL CITIZENS appears to be apressure tactic by the Singaporeare notreallymodels since they management team have,sofar,performedin 24.Since then, in April,Rs, 1,000 eachwas Coincidentally, it chose UP as itsbase. Chinese to forceIndia to playalowkey areverysmall states, and in terms of scale, astellar fashion in managing all the dimen- transferredtoanadditionalalmost30lakh It will be fascinating to watchhow UP THIS REFERS TO the article, ‘Migration: in the pandemic origin probe. India get- China has faredbetterthan the US or Britain sions of this challenge. workers, and Rs 611crore wastransferredto faresingeneral,and Adityanath in particu- Our’sand theirs’ (IE, May26).The writer ting closetothe US has also irkedthe in firstmanaging the pandemic, and then First, in establishing aprotocol forcon- over 27 lakh MGNREGA workers.OnMay 1, lar,inthe coming months andyears. If the poignantlycaptures the unequal treat- Chinese. So, the latter has even pro- later,inrestarting the economy. India is the tact tracing, testing and quarantining, Uttar labour day, over 30 lakh workers were again response to the COVID-19crisis is anybarom- ment metedout to the interstate and vokedNepal to raise aborder disputein onlyspoilsportinthis narrative.Itisalarge, Pradesh has setagood example. The success- givenRs1,000each. All this is over and above eter,weare in forexciting times. intra-state migrants, basedontheir Sikkim. India muststand itsguardand chaotic and diverse democracy.Yet,fromen- ful Agra clustercontainment model, forex- the central government relief packages. caste and class. Inequality—amarker notsuccumb to Beijing’s bullytactics. forcing strict and early lockdowns to provid- ample, has already attracted alot of atten- Fourth, the statehas been the mosthu- The writer is CEO, Bluekraft Digital of capitalism —istoday away of life. RDSingh, Ambala ing economic relief to almosthalf abillion tion. In dealing with the violators of mane and proactive in managing the mi- Foundation and wasearlier director people, and then to agradual opening up, guidelines, be it the Tablighis or others,the grants' movement. Apartfromimmediate (content) MyGov WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 12 THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,MAY27,2020 THE OUTBREAK TheWorld

PANDEMIC WATCH Scaleupbattlepreparedness:Xitomilitary

ing effective epidemic control on Chineseand Indian armies, the KJMVARMA aregular basis. latest border friction wasnot BEIJING,MAY26 He listenedtospeeches by causedbyaccident, but wasa the militarydeputies on fulfill- plannedmoveofNew Delhi. CHINESEPRESIDENTXiJinpingon ing epidemic control tasks, "India has been crossing the Tuesdayordered the militaryto strengthening training amid the boundary line intothe Galwan scaleupthe battlepreparedness, epidemic, and accelerating ca- Valleyregion and entering visualisingtheworst-casescenar- pacity buildingonbiosecurity Chinese territory. Indian soldiers ios and asked them to resolutely defence, amongothers. have also deliberatelyinstigated AstudentinCologne, defendthecountry'ssovereignty. Commending their role in conflictswith their Chinese Germany. AP Xi, 66 who is also the General battlingCovid-19, Xi said the counterparts.IfIndia failedto Secretaryofthe ruling people's armedforces have once stop suchprovocations as soon CommunistParty of China (CPC) again proven themselvestobe as possible, it will impact on GERMANY and head of the two-million- heroic forces that can be fully Beijing-New Delhi ties -and may Socialdistancing strong militarywith prospectsof trustedbythe CommunistParty even exceedthe sortofintensity lifelong tenureinpower, made and the people. of the Doklamstandoff, an article tobeextended the remarks while attending a Xi said the epidemic has in the state-run Global Times plenarymeeting of the delegation brought aprofound impact on written by Long Xingchun, pres- untilJune29 of the People's Liberation Army the global landscape and on ident of ChengduInstituteof (PLA) and People's ArmedPolice China's security and develop- WorldAffairs, said. Berlin: Germany plans to Forceduring the current parlia- ment as well. TheMinistryofExternalAffairs extend social distancing ment session being held here. Xi demandedreform and in- said all Indianactivities were car- until June 29, newspaper Xi ordered the militaryto novation to address newsitua- riedout on itsside of the border, Bildcitedadraftdocument thinkaboutworst-casescenarios, tionsand problems exposedin asserting that India has always that still needs to be ap- scaleuptraining and battle pre- the epidemic and ordered accel- takenaveryresponsibleapproach proved by the federal paredness, promptly and effec- erating the research anddevelop- towardsborder management. At states as saying. Asked tively deal with all sortsofcom- ment on Covid-19drugs andvac- the same time, it said, India was about the report, a plexsituations and resolutely cines by tapping the advantages deeplycommitted to protect its spokesman forthe safeguardnational sovereignty, Chinese President XiJinping talkstoWang Yang, the chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, ofmilitarymedical research. sovereignty and security. German governmentsaid security and development inter- duringthe second plenarysession of China's National People's Congress in Beijing on Monday. AP Noting that this year marks "Anysuggestion that Indian talkswereongoing. Bild ests,state-run Xinhua news the endofthe 13th five-year plan troops hadundertakenactivity said meetings in public agency reported,without men- formilitarydevelopment,Xisaid across the LACinthe Western placeswouldbelimitedto tioning anyspecificissues that extraordinarymeasures mustbe sector or the Sikkim sector is not amaximum of 10 people posedathreat to the country. in Ladakh and NorthSikkim have weeksafter theywereengaged terthe US, hiked itsdefence the COVID-19 pandemic. takentoovercome the impact of accurate. Indian troops arefully ormembersof twohouse- His commentscame in the witnessedmajor militarybuild- in twoseparate face-offs. budget by 6.6 per cent to USD In his meeting with aPLA the epidemic to ensuremajor familiar with the alignment of holds. It said therewould backdrop of the continuing up by both theIndian and The nearly 3,500-km-long 179billion, nearly three times delegation on Tuesday, Xi tasksonthe militarybuildingare the Line of Actual Control in the be no limitsonthe num- standoffbetween the militaries Chinese armies recently, in a LACisthe de-facto border be- that of India, the lowest incre- stressedonachieving the targets achieved. India-China border areas and berofvisitors allowedto of India and China at the Line of clear signal of escalating tension tween the twocountries. ment in recent years amidstthe and missionsofstrengthening Meanwhile, aChinese expert abide by it scrupulously,"MEA visit peopleintheir own Actual Control (LAC). and hardening of respectivepo- On May22, China,the sec- massive disruption causedtothe the national defence and armed commented that unlikethe pre- spokesperson Anurag Srivastava homes but theymusten- Severalareas along the LAC sitions by the twosides even two ond-largest militaryspender af- communistgiant's economyby forces for2020, while maintain- vious standoffs between the said at abriefing lastweek. PTI surethatthereisenough spaceforeveryoneto keep their distance. REUTERS Swedensteadfast Bolsonaro brought in generalsto in strategy as WHOwarns of SAUDI ARABIA fightvirus, but Brazil is losing battle virus toll Curfewends continues to rise ‘secondpeak’ in June21,except Behind the scenes, theysaid, tic and international criticism of REUTERS powerwas shifting from the his handling of the crisis,and a Stockholm: Sweden’s govern- inMecca SÃOPAULO,RIODEJANEIRO, Health Ministry, thetraditional snowballing death toll. ment defendedits response to areas where MAY26 leader on public health matters, Brazil nowhas the world's the Covid-19global pandemic Cairo: Saudi Arabiawill to theofficeofthe president's second-worstoutbreak behind on Tuesdaydespitethe begin easing restrictions IN MID-MARCH,Brazil took chief of staff, known as Casa Civil, the United States, with more Scandinavian countrynow re- cases declining on movement and travel what seemedtobeaforceful ledbyWalter Souza BragaNetto, than374,000 confirmedcases. porting one of the highestmor- this week,morethan two early strikeagainstthe coron- an Armygeneral. Morethan 23,000 Brazilians tality ratesinthe worldwith months aftertheywere avirus pandemic. Brazil has losttwo health min- have died from Covid-19. 4,125fatalities, or about 40 nizant of the fact that the disease introduced.Restrictions Although Brazil had yettore- isters in the pastsix weeks—one “So what?” Bolsonarosaid deaths per 100,000 people. REUTERS can jumpupat anytime. We will be lifted in three portasingledeathfromCovid-19, wasfired,the other resigned—af- recentlywhen asked by re- “Transmission is slowing GENEVA,ZURICH,MAY26 cannotmakeassumptions that phases, culminating in publichealthofficialsappearedto Jair Bolsonaro tertheydisagreedpubliclywith porters about Brazil's mounting down, the treatment of Covid-19 justbecause the disease is on the the curfew completely begettingoutinfrontof thevirus. Bolsonarooverhow best to com- fatalities. “What do youwant me patientsinintensive careisde- Countries wherecoronavirus waydownnow it is going to ending-with the excep- Theyacted on March 13,justtwo bat the virus. The interim leader to do?” creasing significantly, and the infections aredeclining could keep going down... We mayget tion of the holycity of days afterthe WorldHealth fice forBrazil's President Jair nowincharge of the Health Some experts saidBrazil's rising death toll curvehas been still face an "immediatesecond asecond peak in this wave." Mecca -fromJune 21,the Organization calledthe disease a Bolsonaro. “That correction was MinistryisanotherArmygeneral. stumbles areall the moreshock- flattened,” Foreign MinisterAnn peak"iftheylet up toosoon on He said countries in Europe statenews agency re- pandemic. due to pressure," said Julio Croda, Moreimportantly, therevi- ing because of itsprevious suc- Linde said. measures to halt the outbreak, and NorthAmerica should "con- portedinastatement Less than 24 hours later,the an epidemiologistwho wasthen sions underlinedthe hardening cess containing malaria, Zika and Sweden took arelatively soft the WorldHealth Organization tinue to put in place the public early on Tuesday. The Hajj ministrywatered down itsown the headofthe Health Ministry's of Bolsonaro's viewthat keep- HIV."One thing that has been a approachtofightingthe coron- said on Monday. health and social measures, the and Umrahpilgrimmages advice, citing "criticism and sug- department of immunization ing Brazil'seconomy running shining lightinBrazilhas been avirus —large gatherings were The worldisstill in the mid- surveillance measures, the test- —whichattractmillions gestions" it had receivedfromlo- and transmissible diseases. wasparamount,the people their public healthsystem," said banned, but restaurantsand dle of the firstwaveofthe coron- ing measures and acomprehen- of travelers from around cal communities. The about-face, givenscant said. Bolsonaro, afar-rightfor- AlbertKo, aprofessor at the Yale schools foryoungerchildren avirus outbreak,WHO emergen- sive strategy to ensurethatwe the world—will remain In fact, four people familiar attention at the time, markeda mer Armycaptain, has never School of Public Health who has have stayed open.The govern- cies head Dr MikeRyantold an continueonadownwards trajec- suspendeduntil further with the incidenttold Reuters, turning point in the federal gov- waveredonthatstance formu- decades of experienceinBrazil. ment has urgedsocial distanc- online briefing, noting thatwhile tory and we don't have an imme- notice. REUTERS the changecame afterinterven- ernment's handlingofthe crisis, lated during acrucialfew days "Tosee that all disintegrateso ing, and Swedes have largely cases aredeclininginmany diatesecond peak." tion from the chiefofstaff's of- according to thefourpeople. in mid-March,despitedomes- quickly, it's justbeen very sad.” complied. AP countries theyare still increasing HCQ safetyfindings RUSSIA in Central and South America, SouthAsia as well as Africa. expected by mid-June 174newdeaths, Ryan said epidemics often WHO said on Tuesdaythat a casenumbers Leadersfacescrutiny over adherencetolockdown rules come in waves,whichmeans safetyteam would reviewdata that outbreakscould come back on hydroxychloroquinebynext cross360,000 to Prime MinisterBoris Johnson, postonTuesdayinprotest. down rules when he picnicked later this year in places wherethe month, aday afterofficials cited THENEWYORKTIMES has ignited apolitical firestorm. The Polish government had in aDublinparkoverthe week- firstwavehas subsided.There safetyconcerns that prompted Moscow: The Russian gov- NEWYORK,MAY26 Mr.Cummingsheld anews con- to apologize lastweek after end with his partner and friends. wasalsoachance that infection them to suspend use of the ernment reporteda ference on Mondaytoconfirm Prime MinisterMateusz In the US, the prospective ratescould riseagain more malaria drug in aglobal trial in recorddaily spike of 174 AS TOPofficials revisit their re- reportshetraveledmorethan Morawiecki tweetedphotosof Democraticpresidential nominee quicklyifmeasures to halt the Covid-19patients. deaths Tuesday, which sponse to theconstantlyshifting 250 miles from his home during himself sittingdownameal with Joe Biden steppedout forhis first firstwavewereliftedtoo soon. The WHO calledtime on us- brought the country's coronavirus pandemic, theyare thelockdown, but he pointedly three colleagues at arecently re- public appearance in months on "Whenwespeakabout asec- ing the druginits multi-country death toll to 3,807. coming under increasing scrutiny declinedtoapologize. Mr. openedrestaurantand encour- Monday, donning aface mask. ond waveclassicallywhat we of- trial, calledSolidarity,after a Russia's coronaviruscase- notjustfor their broaderpolicy Johnson has defendedhim. aged others to visit local estab- That wasinastark visual contrast tenmean is therewill be afirst study publishedinBritish med- load surpassed 360,000 approaches butfortheir personal The issue has openedariftin lishments. to President Donald Trump, who waveofthe disease by itself, and ical journal TheLancet found pa- on Tuesday, with almost willingness —ornot —toabide by the governing Conservative Leo Varadkar,Ireland's care- attendedMemorial Daycom- then it recurs months later.And tientsrandomised to gethydrox- 9,000newinfections reg- the restrictions they'veimposed. Party, with at least20lawmak- takerprime minister, wastar- memorations without one. Mr. thatmay be areality formany ychloroquine (HCQ) had istered in the past24 In Britain, the apparent ers from the party condemning Aposterdepicting Donald getedbysometabloids and crit- Biden, 77,and his advisers have countries in anumber of increasedmortality ratesand hours. AP breachoflockdown rules by Mr.Cummingsand ajunior gov- TrumpinWashington. AP ics on social media and accused said theyintend to abide by the months' time," Ryan said. higher frequencyofirregular Dominic Cummings, atop aide ernment minister resigning his of violating his country'slock- public safetyrecommendations. "But we needalso to be cog- heartbeats.

OTHER TOP GLOBAL STORIES Afghan govt to free 900 prisoners; US militarysays Russia deployed China’s military vows to defend Taliban may extend Eid truce its fighter jets country’s interests in HongKong Kabul, as well as from the infa- to Libya ASSOCIATEDPRESS mous Pul-e-Charkhi prison on the protests have international KABUL,MAY26 the eastern edge of the Afghan Cairo: TheUSmilitaryTuesday THENEWYORKTIMES supportintendedtoundermine capital. accusedRussia of deploying HONGKONG,MAY26 the CommunistParty's rule over THE AFGHAN government an- By lateafternoon, the AP wit- fighterplanestoconflict-stricken the city. nounceditwould free 900pris- nessedscores of men pouring Libya to support Russian merce- THE COMMANDERofChina's "Garrison officers and sol- oners on Tuesday, itssingle out of the Bagram compound - naries aiding east-basedforces militarygarrison in Hong Kong diers aredetermined,confident, largest prisoner release since the presumably thereleasedprison- in their offensive on thecapital, said in an interviewposted and capable of safeguarding na- US and the Taliban signeda ers. It wasnot immediatelypos- Tripoli. Tuesday that forces stationed tional sovereignty,security and peace deal earlier thisyear that sible to verify their numbers or In astronglywordedstate- therewould "resolutely" protect development interests and spells out an exchangeofde- whether theywereall Taliban ment, the US Africa Command the country's national security maintaining the long-term pros- tainees between the warring Security personnel at a members. said the Russian militaryaircraft interests,apointed reminderof perity and stability of Hong sides. checkpoint in Kabul on The prisonerreleaseispart of arrivedinLibya recentlyfroman Beijing'sultimatepowertoen- Kong," General Chen said in in- The announcement came as May23. Reuters the US deal with the Taliban, airbase in Russia via Syria, where forceits rule over the semiau- terview withChina's statetele- athree-daycease-firewith the signedonFebruary29to allow theywererepainted to hide their tonomousterritory. vision network, CCTV. insurgentsdraws to an end. The forthe eventual withdrawal of Russian origin. The commander's remarks Riotpolice aftertheydispersedprotesters on Sunday. Reuters The video of the interview Taliban had calledfor the truce Press.“If these developments, US and NATOtroops from Therewas no immediate came as Hong Kong'sembattled wasaccompaniedbyscenes of duringthe Muslim holidayofEid likethe announcement of pris- Afghanistan, bringing to an end comment from Moscow. leader,Carrie Lam, defendedthe previous militarytraining exer- al-Fitr thatmarks theend of the oner release continues, it is pos- the country's protracted warand Libya is nowsplit between a central government's plan to "If aminority of people, in- dressedthe situation in Hong cises, includingdrills againstri- Islamic holymonth of Ramadan. sible to move forwardwith de- America'slongestmilitaryin- government in the eastallied draftnew national security laws deedaverysmall minority of Kong in an interviewonthe side- oters and marineoperations in Thereare expectations that cisions likeextendingthe brief volvement. with Hifterand oneinTripoli, in to punish actsofdissent or sub- people, aregoingtobreachthe lines of the National People's Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor. the prisoner release could lead cease-fireand to move in apos- Under the deal,Kabul is to re- the west,supportedbythe version,eventhough the process lawtoorganize and participate Congress in Beijing. Some of the clips appeared to be to newreductions in violence, itive direction withsome minor lease 5,000 Taliban prisoners United Nations. sidesteppedthe territory's own in terroristactivities to subvert General Chen said the new from operations lastyear,when and Taliban officialssay theyare issues,” the Taliban official said. while the insurgentsare tofree HifterisbackedbyThe legislative process. the statepower,thenofcourse legislation would deter"all kinds the protests overwhelmedthe considering an extension of the The prisoners were being re- 1,000captivestheyhold, mostly United Arab Emirates, Egyptand "Rightsand freedoms arenot theyhavetobeboundedbythe of separatistforces and external city and the People's Liberation cease-fire. leasedfromBagram prison, government officialsand Afghan Russia, while the Tripoli-allied absolute," Mrs. Lam said at her neededlegislation," she said. intervention forces," echoing the Armyand the People's Armed Asenior Talibanfigure con- wherethe US still maintains a forces, beforeintra-Afghan ne- militias areaidedbyTurkey, regular weeklynews conference The garrison commander, viewofMrs. Lam and others in Police sent asurge of newtroops firmedthis to The Associated major militarybase, north of gotiations can begin. Qatar and Italy. AP in Hong Kong. Maj. Gen. Chen Daoxiang, ad- China's political leadershipthat intoand near Hong Kong. WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,MAY27,2020 13 ECONOMY RUPEE OIL `75.66 $35.98

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International market data till1900IST COVID-19 IMPACT AMID PRIVACY CONCERNS RAISED BY CYBERLAW EXPERTS ‘Q4FY20 GDP growth CONSUMER INTERNET COS Centreshiftsstance,releases likely to be 1.2%, may Over4.4Kjobs cutby sourcecodeforAarogyaSetuapp contract 6.8% in FY21’ 5majorIndian cos in ENSECONOMICBUREAU India facing MUMBAI,MAY26 community signifies the govern- worst recession 1month; Uber lays off AASHISHARYAN& ment of India’s continuing com- INDIA’S GDP growth is likelytobe in FY21: Crisil KARISHMAMEHROTRA May help assuage mitmentto theseprinciples,”Niti at 1.2per cent in the January- NEWDELHI,MAY26 AayogCEO Amitabh Kant said, March quarter(Q4) of the previ- NewDelhi: India’s fourth re- nearly600 people concerns over while announcing the release of ous fiscal(2019-20),aseconomic cessionsinceIndependence, IN Adeparturefromits previous thesourcecode.Hesaidthatif70- activity came to astandstill in the the firstsince liberalisation stance, the Centre on Tuesdayre- privacy, security 80 per cent of acommunity has lastweekofMarch duetothena- and perhaps the worstto PRANAVMUKUL UBERTOLAYOFF leasedthe source codeofits con- the app downloaded, theycan tionwide lockdown to contain the date, is here, Crisil said Tues- NEWDELHI,MAY26 FULL-TIMESTAFF tacttracingappAarogyaSetuand WITH THE opening up of the source code fordevelopers as achieve“digital immunity.” spread of COVID-19, aState Bank dayasitpredicted the econ- announcedcash prizes forthose well as the announcement of abounty scheme forfinding The opening up of the source of India reporthas said. omytoshrink by 5per cent FIVE LARGEcompanies in the ■ Uber India and who find abug or vulnerability in bugs in the AarogyaSetuapp, the government has opened code fulfills along pendingde- According to theSBI’s research in the current fiscal. consumer internetspace in South Asia, Ola, it. Government officialsoversee- itself to scrutinyofcoders across the world. mand of cyberlawexpertsfrom report‘Ecowrap’, gross domestic “Thefirstquarter(Aprilto India have announcedreduc- Zomato, Swiggy and ing the mobile application devel- This will, however, restoresome faith in skeptical minds acrossthecountryandtheworld. product (GDP) growth is likelyto June 2020) will sufferastag- tionofover4,000jobsoverthe Cure.fit have together opment also told The Indian as theycan nowread and understand the code for “AarogyaSetushouldalways be 4.2 percent forthe full year of gering25per cent contrac- lastone month, on accountof cut around 4,441 jobs Expressthattheywillsoonprovide themselves. It will also help in assuaging the dataprivacy and have beenopensource,rightfrom FY20. It is expectedtocontract by tion,”itsaidinitsassessment contractioninbusinessdueto in the lastone month anonymiseddatatoresearchers security concerns surrounding the app. the getgo. Everything developed (-) 6.8 per cent forthe ongoing of India’sGDP.“About10% of COVID-19-ledlockdownand to conduct their ownanalysis on by thegovernmentshouldalways FY21. The Q4 GDP growth num- GDP in real terms could be thesubsequentfallindemand. ■ The 600people COVID-19trends in the country. be open sourceasthatuses tax- berfor FY20 will be announced permanentlylost.” PTI OnTuesday, US-basedcab- that Uber plans to lay The release of the app’s Andr- abilitiesinthe app, calling forde- Sawhneytold The Indian payers money. Work to ensure by the NationalStatisticalOffice aggregatorUberannouncedit offare full-time oid source code (which98per velopers to attempttosolve the ExpresstheCentresharesAarogya that the app doesn’t mutateinto (NSO) on May29. will layoff around 600full employees cent of the 115million Aarogya concerns in adetailedtechnical Setu datainthree buckets. anyother vehicle that plays with “Wenow believe thatQ1 GDP time employees in the India- Setu usersuse) comes nearly two document.TheCentre’sfirst-ever “Personal dataisshared to med- sensitive informationofsucha FY21 losswillbehumongous and Fitch projects SouthAsia region, amajority monthsaftertheappwasreleased bug bounty programme will give ical officials in order to fight the large population should contin- could even exceed40per cent,” economy to of whichare located in India, to essentialtripsandvacations on April 2. When askedabout the upto Rs3lakhfortwo rewardcat- pandemic. Anonymised,aggre- ue,”MishiChoudhary, technology the SBI reportsaid. When India due to the “impact of COVID- being put offfor better times, delayinreleasingthe code after egories —security vulnerability gate dataisshared with support- lawyer and founder,SFLC.insaid. had firstimposed alockdown, contract 5% 19 and the unpredictable na- the impact of this crisis is def- significantcalls from India’s de- reportingandsuggestionsforim- ingdepartmentsliketheplanning Earlierthis week,the govern- GDP estimatewas 2.6 per cent tureofthe recovery”. initelygoingto belong-drawn veloper community,ITSecretary provement in the source code. developmentto assesstheinven- ment updatedtheterms of usage and since then it has been pro- NewDelhi: FitchRatings on In total, five companies — forus,”OlaCEOBhavishAgga- Ajay PrakashSawhney told The Although the IT Ministry’s tory required.And we willbegin of the app, removing the restric- gressively reducedtoanegative Tuesdayforecasta5percent UberIndiaandSouthAsia,Ola, rwalwroteinane-mailto em- Indian Express:“Even the best de- ownpolicy from 2016 states that to share‘hard anonymised’data tions on tamperingwith itscode 4.7 per cent, with nominal GDP contraction of Indian econ- Zomato,SwiggyandCure.fit— ployees, adding that the crisis velopersdon’tdocumenttheir all softwareusedbythe govern- withresearch institutionswhore- andallowingreverseengineering witnessing acontraction, it said. omyinthe current fiscal, on have together announced the has affected livelihood of mil- code whentheyare rushing to mentwillbeopensourceasfaras questsuchdataandareclearedby of thesame.Intheupdatedterms “However, giventhat the account of slumpineco- reductionof around4,441 jobs lionsof thecompany’sdrivers. makeitfunctional.Now, theyhave possible, the Ministry had barred acommittee soon to be setupby of use, the Centrealso specified Statesarenow takingastaggered nomic activitiesand very inthelastonemonth.“Theim- Priorto this,thetwolargest properly cleaned the code.We individualsfromreverse engi- the Principal Scientific Advisor.” thatanindividual’sfailuretocom- approachinterms of activities in stringent lockdown policy. pact of COVID-19and the un- food-techcompanies in India even plan to release the code for neering the codeofAarogya Setu. Till date, 1,264emerging plywith the terms of usageofthe red, green and orangezones, we This is substantiallylower predictable natureofthe re- —Swiggy and Zomato—an- the server function so that other Reverseengineeringallowsin- hotspots have been identified appwillnolongerleadto thesus- believe that abottom-up appro- than0.8 per cent growth for covery has leftUberIndia SA nounced, in quicksuccession, countries can pickitupand use dividualsandfirmsto deconstruct across Indiathroughthe app. pensionoftheiraccount. achestimationtogrowth could 2020-21fiscal projected in with no choice but to reduce the plan to prune their em- this app in their countryaswell.” the working of asoftwareora “Transparency,privacyandse- AarogyaSetuhas become bemore appropriatethan an ear- April. thesizeof itsworkforce.Arou- ployeebase. Exhorting that National Informatics Center hardwarebytracing back steps curity have been the coredesign mandatoryfor central govern- liertopdownapproach,” it added. Fitchsaidithasmadefur- nd600fulltimepositionsacr- the number restaurantsisex- Director General NeetaVerma fromthefinalproduct,oftentoen- principles of AarogyaSetusince mentemployeesandfortravelers Subsequently, SBIestimated thercutstoworld GDP fore- ossdriverandridersupport,as pected to shrink by 25-40per saidthegovernment’sinternalas- hance the working of the source itsinception and opening the crossing severalborders across the district-wise, zone-wise loss casts in itslatestGlobal Eco- wellasotherfunctions,arebe- cent over the next 6-12 sessmentfoundpotentialvulner- code or find abug in the system. source code uptothe developer parts of the nation. in GSDP foreachstate and found nomic Outlookfor May. PTI ing impacted.These reduc- months, ZomatoCEO Deep- that total GSDP(gross statedo- tionsarepartofpreviouslyan- inderGoyalwrote to thecom- mestic product) loss due to nouncedglobal job cutsthis pany’s staffers thataround 14 COVID-19for statesstands at Rs growth rate is notlarge,but this month,”said Pradeep Param- per cent of them,or541 peo- 30.3 lakh crore, whichis13.5 per time due to huge losses in netin- eswaran,president,UberIndia ple, have been askedtolook ‘States’ fiscal deficit seen 4.5% 0.9% cent of total GSDP.The loss is direct taxesthe difference will be andSouthAsia.Thenumberof fornew jobs. Swiggy CEO OF THE GDP: EXPECTED EXPECTED NOMINAL GDP maximum(around 50 per cent) quitebig. “Weestimatereal GVA laid offstaff comprised about SriharshaMajetytoldtheem- rising to 4.5% of GDP’ AGGREGATE FISCAL DEFICIT GROWTH RATE FOR FY21 AS in redzones and wherealmostall growth could be at -3.1 per cent afourthofUberIndia and ployees that the corefood de- FOR THE STATES IN FY21, NATIONWIDE LOCKDOWN the big districtsofIndia arelo- in FY21and real GDP growth at - SouthAsia’s employeebase. livery business had been se- Despitethe relaxation in COVID-19-related restrictions, HIGHER FROM EARLIER WOULD EXACERBATE cated.The combinedlossofor- 6.8 per cent in FY21,”itsaid. The taxi-hailing company verely hitandwaslikelytostay therevenue balance of states in FY21isset to worsen, FORECAST OF 3% ECONOMIC DOWNTURN angeand redzone is around 90 SBI said GDP numbers forQ2 said the layoffswerepartof impactedovertheshortterm. India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) said in areport per cent of total loss. “The loss in of 2020-21could witness asmart previouslyannounced global To this effect, he announced green zone is theleast as 80 per recovery andclock7.1 per cent, if job cuts.Lastweek,the firm’s lettinggo off1,100employees. 2.8%OFGDP 16.2%reductioninthedevolutionof cent of population in this zone is the countryisable to sustain the parent company—US-based Similarly,health and fit- Expectedaggregaterevenuedeficit centraltaxes located in rural areas whichare demand. “Q3 and Q4 growth Uber Technologies —an- ness startup Cure.fit had also forstatesasagainstearlierforecast ■ States’owntaxrevenue almost open forall activities,” it numbers could also lookmuch nounceda23per centreduc- laid offaround 800people, in of0.4%,withstates receiptswerelowerby2.2%in said. better,with an averageof6per tion in itsworkforce. an effort to reduce costs. likelytofacesignificantslippages revisedestimatesforFY20than The Ecowrapsaid state-wise cent, but the Q2 bumpcould Uber’s Indian rivalOla, In addition to the layoffs, fromtheirbudgettargetsforFY21 budgeted`12.04trillion analysis indicates that top10 come down with the immediate whichsaw itsrevenue fall by someof thesecompanieshave ■ Revenueandfiscaldeficitsare states accountedfor 75 percent bustinpentupdemand in Q2 95 per cent over the lasttwo alsoannouncedsalarycutsfor `8.25TRILLION budgetedat0.02%and2.5%of of totalGDP loss, with subsiding subsequently,”itsaid. months,lastweekannounced achunk of their employees. Estimateofgrossmarket GSDPinFY21 Maharashtracontributing 15.6 However, things could rapidly that it willbeletting go off Zomatosaid itsstaff will un- borrowingsofstatesinFY21,revised per cent of total loss, followedby changeasthe incomeandjobloss 1,400employees.“...theprog- dergo atemporarysalaryre- upwardfromearlierestimateof` Ind-Raexpectsstatestoresortto Tamil Nadu (9.4 per cent) and couldagainpropelthecountryto- nosisaheadforourbusinessis duction of up to 50 per cent, 6.09trillion highermarketborrowingstofund Gujarat (8.6 percent).Thesethree wardsalower equilibrium after very unclearand uncertain. It withsomeof theseniormem- thefiscaldeficit.Thepressureon states also have the largest num- the initial bumpup. is going to take along time for berstakingavoluntarypay cut ■ Aggregaterevenuereceiptsof20 stategovernmentstoprovide berofconfirmedCOVID-19cases “Wethus believe thegovern- peopleto go outandaboutlike of 100per cent. Similarly,Ola states(constitutingnearly86%of supporttohouseholdsand in India, it said. ment might belookingatthe data before.Withmorecompanies said that over the pastcouple thebudgetedtarget)camein4.2% businessesthroughfiscalstimulus According to SBI, one interest- morecloselytoprevent suchloss preferringtohavealarge of months, all members of its lowerthanbudgetedat`24.79 measuresissettoincrease ing aspectof dataisthe difference in momentum in Q3 and Q4 and number of employees work extendedleadershipteamhad trillioninFY20,primarilyledbya Source:India Ratings and Research/PTI between GDP and GVA(gross even come up with another tar- from home,air travel limited taken“significantsalarycuts”. value added). Normallythe dif- getedpackagelater in the year,” ference between GDP and GVA the reportsaid. BRIEFLY New norms for delivery Bharti Telecom BBB selectsSNRajeswari as CMD of Chile’sLATAM OlaFinServices centre for commodity sells2.75% Oriental Insurance via video interview largest airline raises`205cr stakeinAirtel to file for would be senttoAppointments NewDelhi: Ola Financial derivatives contract for `8,433 crore GEORGEMATHEW Rajeswari, General Committeeof theCabinet andthe bankruptcy Services(OFS), whichoper- MUMBAI,MAY26 Manager of New India Prime Minister’s Office fortheir ates Ola Money, has raised approvals. “Going by the earlier about Rs 205 croreinfund- PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA No restriction PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA SNRAJESWARI,GeneralManager, Assurance, is setto experience, the whole process REUTERS ing from Matrix Partners NEWDELHI,MAY26 on use of PoA NEWDELHI,MAY26 New India Assurance (NIA), has replace AV GirijaKumar, maytakearoundtwo monthsto BENGALURU,MAY26 andothers,asperregulatory beenselectedby theBanksBoard who retires this month notifythenameof Rajeswari,’’said documents. SEBIONTuesday issueduniform by broker: Sebi PROMOTERFIRMBhartiTelecom Bureau(BBB)astheChairmanand sources at the Ministry. LATAMAIRLINES Group SA filed guidelinestobefollowedbystock has sold 2.75 per cent stake in MD of the Delhi-basedOriental Other generalmanagers who forUSbankruptcy protection on exchanges while identifying and NewDelhi:Sebisaidithasnot Airteltoinstitutional investors in InsuranceCompany(OIC)afteran views forselecting aCMD were appeared forthe interviewwere Tuesday,becomingthe largest KotakMahindra selecting alocation as adelivery imposedany restriction on thesecondarymarket,raisingover online video interview processin donethroughvideoconferencing, Dinesh Waghela (OIC),Sobha carrier to seek an emergency re- BankQIP centreforcommodityderivatives the use of PowerofAttorney Rs 8,433crore,the companysaid the wake of thelockdown. withthe nation under lockdown Reddy (NIC), Deepak Godbole organization amid the coron- contracts. The move by the (PoA)betweenaclientanda onTuesday.Thesaleproceedswill With this move,thereare to checkthe spread of COVID-19. (GIC Re)and Madhulika Bhaskar aviruscrisis. Mumbai: KotakMahindra Securitiesand ExchangeBoardof brokerintheequitymarkets. be fullyutilisedtorepaydebt at clearindicationsthattheCentreis Currently, BPSharma heads a (GICRe).Rajeswari,acharteredac- Latin America’slargest airline Bank Tuesdaylaunchedits India (Sebi) has been takenbased It said systems arein BhartiTelecomandwillmakethe notinahurryto implementthe2- seven-member panel to select countant, is currentlythe second follows rivalAvianca Holdings of overRs7,000-crorequalified on the recommendations of place wherebrokerusing promoterholdingfirma‘debtfree year old proposaltomerge three CMDs of PSU insurance compa- seniormostGMofthepublicsec- Colombia in seeking US bank- institutionalplacement.PTI CommodityDerivativesAdvisory PoAtransfersclientsecurities company’, it said. PSU general insurers, OIC,Natio- niesand banks. In aunique prac- torgeneralinsuranceindustryand ruptcy protection. Committee(CDAC)andinconsul- asmarginintohisclient’scol- Bharti Group and Singtel will nalInsuranceCompany(NIC)and tice,BBBhaspreferred,forthesec- will retireinMay2022. But unlikeAvianca, Chile’s tation with bourses. lateral account and then continuetoholdamajority stake United IndiaInsurance, analysts ond time, to announce the result Meanwhile,the Ministryhas LATAMpostedprofitsforfourcon- MoerstobeAston Aparticular location can be place these securities with in Bharti Airtelat56.23per cent said. The BBB had conducted vir- of the interview on thesameday. indicatedthat it would startthe secutive years totaling morethan MartinCEO identifiedand selected as adeliv- clearing corporation (CC) by afterthetransaction,thetelcosaid. tual interviews of five senior gen- Earlier,resultsofinterviews for officialexercisesto appointdirec- $700 million. It had recentlyap- erycentrebyastock exchange wayoftransferorcreationof However, sharesofBharti eralmanagersof thepublicsector selecting CMDs of GIC Re and tors of PSU general insurance proved adividend payment. London: AstonMartin con- basedondemand-supplydyna- pledgetowards margin. PTI Airtel fell nearly 6per cent after generalinsuranceindustry—with AgricultureInsuranceCompany companies. It had completely LATAMlaid off1,800employ- firmedonTuesdayTobias mics, liquidity of thecontract, the sale of stake. It dropped5.71 twoyears of residual services till were announced the same day. stoppedappointing directors in eesoutofover40,000inthelead- Moers, CEO of Mercedes- value chain participants, infra- per cent to close at Rs 559.15 on May2022—to selectaCMD for TheFinanceMinistrywillnow the four PSU general insurers for up to itsbankruptcy filing. AMG, would become CEO structuresupportandtradefeed- tional, plays an important role in theBSE.Intra-day, ittumbled5.96 OIC on Tuesday. AV Girija Kumar, startthe process of appointing almosttwo years and as aresult “Wehaveimplemented ase- on August1,replacing Andy back,the regulator said in acircu- thepricing and settlementofthe per cent to Rs 557.65. On the NSE, CMD, OIC, is retiring this month RajeswariastheCMDof OIC.After majority posts of directors—out ries of difficult measurestomiti- Palmer. REUTERS lar.Theregulatorsaidthatdelivery physicallydeliveredcommodity sharesof thecompanyfell5.72 per end on reaching60. Finance MinisterNirmala Sitha- of eight —are currentlylying va- gatethe impact of this unprece- centre, whether basis or addi- derivativescontract. cent to close at Rs 559.25. Forthe firsttime, the inter- raman’s nod, the official papers cantinthosefourPSUcompanies. dented industrydisruption, but ultimatelythispathrepresentsthe Vedantaseeks best option,” CEO RobertoAlvo nodfordelisting Apple to reopen about 100 US said in astatement regarding the Oil prices rise as faith in supply cutsgrows filing. NewDelhi: VedantaLtd on stores, most with pickup option LATAMisaninstantlyrecog- Tuesdaybegan the process TexasIntermediate crudefutures and the S&P 500crossed3,000 nizablebrand forSouth of seekingshareholdersnod REUTERS gained89cents,or2.7percent,to points on Tuesday as optimism Rupee gains 29p thecompanyreopenedahandful Americans,dominating interna- fordelisting the company. NEWYORK,MAY26 $34.14. aboutapotentialcoronavirusvac- REUTERS of stores in Alaska, Idaho and tional airtravelinthe region, as The Organization of the cine and arevival in business ac- Mumbai:Therupeeappreci- SANFRANCISCO,MAY26 Alabama. well as aleading domestic flight OILPRICES rose on Tuesday,sup- Petroleum Exporting Countries tivity helpedinvestors overlook ated by 29 paise to close at Under Apple’s newproce- operatorinBrazil,Colombia,Chile, TorrentPharma portedbygrowing confidence andotherleadingoilproducersin- simmering Sino-US tensions. 75.66againstthe USdollar APPLE INCplanstoreopen about dures,storeswithwalk-inservice Argentina, Peru and Ecuador. netat`314cr thatproducers arefollowing cludingRussia,agroup knownas During intra-daytrade,the onTuesday. IntheIndianeq- 100USstores, mostlywith curb- will requirecustomers and em- CarriersinLatinAmericahave through on commitmentstocut OPEC+, agreedlastmonth to cut DowJonesIndustrialAveragewas uity market,the BSE Sensex sidepickupbut some with walk- ployees to undergo temperature sought bailoutstonoavail so far, NewDelhi:DrugfirmTorrent suppliesandasfueldemandpicks their combinedoutput by almost up593.68points,or2.43percent, fell 63.29 points, or 0.21per in service, the companysaid on checksandwearmasksbeforeen- unlikerivalsinthe United States PharmaceuticalsonTuesday up withcoronavirus restrictions 10 millionbarrelsperdayinMay- at 25,058.84, the S&P500wasup cent, to end at 30,609.30, Tuesday. Apple shuttered stores tering. Apple willprovide masks andEurope.LATAMwillcontinue reported aconsolidated net easing. June to shoreupprices and de- 50.88points, or 1.72 per cent, at while the NSE Nifty ended worldwide as the novelcoron- to customers who have none. to flywhileitisinbankruptcypro- profit of Rs 314crore forthe Brent crude futures were up mand, whichhas been hit by the 3,006.33. The Nasdaq Composite 10.20points,or0.11 percent, avirus pandemic spread but has Social distancing ruleswilllimit tection. Itsaffiliates in Argentina, quarterendedMarch 31. PTI 45 cents,or1.3 per cent, at $35.98 coronavirus pandemic. wasup81.78 points, or 0.88 per down at 9,029.05. PTI slowlyopenedthembasedon lo- the number of people in the store Brazil and Paraguaywerenot in- abarrelby1709GMT.USWest Meanwhile,USstocksjumped cent, at 9,406.37. calhealthdata.Earlierthismonth, at one time. cludedinthe Chapter11filing. WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,MAY27,2020 WI RESUME TRAINING Gearing up foraproposed tour of England in July,some West Indies players, led by skipper Jason Holder, 14 returned to training in small groups SPORT following acoronavirus-forced hiatus.

BRIEFLY Teenagedgamergetstherealwheel Paklegendsmourn Balbir’sdeath Chennai’s Kutti, winner of eRacing series held during lockdown, to train at Karthikeyan’s academy&with Volkswagen in real world Balbir Singh Sr's death evoked emo- down from March 25. ISRL is promotedby to be patient,” Banajee says. tional tributes from Pakistan's hockey NIHALKOSHIE multiple-time national karting champion Sim racing, however, can help in the community,whichdescribed the leg- NEWDELHI,MAY26 Rayomand Banajee while Formula 2racer switchfromagaming wheel to asteering endarycentre-forward's demise as a Armaan Ebrahim and AdityaPatel, who drives wheel. “For example, if youare getting alot big loss to the sportingeneral and the VIRTUAL RACINGseries startedbypromi- forAudi Motorsport, have createdUltimateE. of understeer,how areyou aregoing to tackle subcontinent in particular.The 96- nent Indian race drivers during the lockdown Both virtual racing championships held it with the steering. The process is going to year-old three-time Olympic gold- have givenateenaged gamer his big break — their inaugural seasons during the lockdown be the same,” Banajee adds. medallist, considered one of the best amovetoreal-world racing. to keep motorsportaddictsengaged.The Twenty-year-old Sai Prithvi, the winner centre-forwardsofall time, diedon Amith Kutti, a16-year-old from Chennai, driving experience mirrors real-world racing of the second season of ISRL, will also test MondayinMohali. "He had amazing sat on aplastic chair while driving with a with practice and qualifying sessions foreach drive with Volkswagen Motorsport. Prithvi flexibility,speedand litheness in his gaming racing wheel in front of aPCscreen race, officials watching everylap, drivers be- comes with the experience of racing in both game. His sprintswereatreat to at home when eRacing againstsome of the ing penalisedand having to enter the pitlane worlds. He has anumber of trackraces under watch," former Pakistancaptain best drivers in the country. Kutti went wheel- to repair damageand losing out on time. his belt, including podium finishes in the Samiullah said. The SecretaryGeneral to-wheel with Narain Karthikeyan -the first When the coronavirus pandemic forced Formula Junior Rookie Series and RedBull of the PakistanHockeyFederation Indian to drive in Formula One -and Arjun the cancellation of traditional races, Formula and ECR karting challenges. Asif Bajwaalso condoledthe death. Maini, aEuropean Le Mans Series driver, in One, Formula Eand Moto GP launchedvir- “The firstthing Irealisedwhen Istarted UltimateE’s all-starrace, an online series tual competitions but theywererestricted Sim racing is howsimilar it wasand howfar hostedonweekends during the lockdown. to professional drivers and teams. Formula it has come(technology). Ihavebeen play- JLN,National Earlier this month, Kutti beat 31 racers One Esports series, whichbegan in 2017,pits ing racing games since Iwas young and to Stadiumreopened from 15 cities to win the thirdseason of the eSportdrivers signedtoF1teams against Amith Kutti has been virtual racing from home during the lockdown. Express see it evolve to what it is todaywas astonish- Indian Sim Racing League (ISRL), avirtual rac- eachother.The Nissan GT Academyisone of ing in terms of howaccurateitcan be.Except The Sports Authority of India (SAI) on ing series that beganinApril. Consistent the mostpopular virtual-racing talent hunt forsimulating the physical forces on the Tuesdaystarted activities in twoout of podium finishes in UltimateEenhancedhis programmes in the worldand enables body,everything else, going from setting up itsfivestadiums in the national capital reputation. His reward: admission to the kart- gamers to makeatransition ontothe track. Whye-racingconnectswithprodrivers your car,tyredegradation or weight balance afterthe central government green ing programme at Karthikeyan’s racing acad- ISRL and UltimateEwant to provide Indian is almostperfect,” Prithvi, who made his vir- lightedresumptionof outdoorsportsin emyand atraining stint and test with drivers with asimilar non-traditional route. tual competition debut in the ISRL, says. aphasedmanner.According to aSAI Volkswagen MotorsportIndia. He will now Kuttiisconfidentof makingtheswitchfrom E Askilledgamer maybestLeBron James and Lionel Messi on NBA2K Ebrahim tooacknowledgesthe advances statement, sporting activities have re- ● gettodrive real cars and karts on racing tracks. thesimulatorto theroad.“Inthesimulator,you EXPLAINED and FIFAvideo games but stands no chance on the real turf. Virtual racer in virtual-racing technology.“Youcan’t even sumedattheJawaharlalNehruStadium, “Now especiallyduring the lockdown, feel (the physical force) through your arm and Enzo Bonito, however, already grabbed the bragging rightsfor his com- call these games, games anymore. Theyare Major DhyanChand National Stadium therehavebeen newvirtual competitions intherealcar,youfeelitthroughyourbody,es- munity when he beat Lucas di Grassi, aFormula Eand ex-Formula 1driver, in areal- so realistic in asimulator,” he says. from Tuesdayafternoon in slots of one paving the wayfor virtual drivers in India. I peciallywhenyoubrake,”Kuttiexplains.Hegot worldrace lastJanuary. The G-force-driven, high-risk worldofreal racing demands Kutti would have had to wait longer for hourwhichneedsto bepre-bookedon- haven’t been offeredanything (in the real afirst-handexperienceof aracingcar-hisonly enormous skill and bravery, but simulated racing is still incrediblyrealistic and diffi- someone to give him abreak but the lock- line.However, activitiesinIndiraGandhi world) before.This is the firsttime Ihave one -when he droveanentry-levelFormula cult. It is the onlyesportthat has parallels with the real world; the reason whyithas down openedthe door of opportunity. Stadium and Karni Singh Shooting been offeredachance to train at the NK LGB4 in Chennai in February. “When Ifirst connected with professional drivers. It starts with the gear.There's no joystickorkey- Ebrahim says the pandemic hastenedthe Rangeare expected to startinaweek's Racing Academy. Volkswagen Motorsport droveit, Iwas scared that Iwas going toofast. board+mouse setup. Professional virtual racers train with wheels and pedals. startofvirtual leagues in the country. “I think time as logistics arebeing worked out. training is the prize forwinning the Indian But Iamcomfortable now,”Kutti says. Advancedsimulators go even further,implementing cutting-edgeaerodynamic and we in India woke up alittle latetothe po- Sim Racing League season,” Kutti says. The teenager’s initiation intogaming be- suspension research as well as real-world 3d technology. tential of virtual racing and howitcan be a Karthikeyan calledhim the ‘fastest gamer ganwhen afriend convincedhim to buy a "Thereismassive overlap and parallels between our real lifeand virtual worlds. platform to identify talented drivers,” he Holyfield-Tyson in India’ when he announcedthe tie-up be- Formula One game forthe Xbox. Afew The same cannotbesaid about manyother sports," Julian Tan, head of Formula 1's says.Towards the end of lastyear,aspartof rematchoncards? tween his academyand UltimateE.“ERacing months earlier,his father,abusinessman, had esports division, told this paper.Red Bull driverMax Verstappen has been the inter- the promotion forthe X1 Racing League has become morerelevant with the Covid-19 takenhim to watchthe 2012 Formula One mediarybetween the twoworlds and uses virtual racing to sharpen his skills. In (custom-built cars on track), Ebrahim took Former heavyweight champion situation. In the firstedition of this collabora- Indian Grand Prix in Greater Noida. He recalls gaming too, the 22-year-old remains milliseconds faster,focussing on real-lifede- simulators to six different cities to test wa- Evander Holyfield has said he is open tion, we have decidedtosign up Amith Kutti, being fascinatedwatching the cars speedpast. tails suchassteering angle, slip angle of the car,trail braking or downshifting. It’s ters. “Werealisedthe appetitefor eSports to facing one-time rivalMikeTyson in who has excelledinmultiple eSports leagues nota1:1 experience, but the process of tailoring the car to specific needs and using lastyear.The Covid situation accelerated the atrilogy fight forcharity on the condi- andhaseasilycomeontopasthefastestgamer Transition challenge telemetryonpainstakingly recreated circuitsisavalid form of training forprofes- progress and we startedhosting races every tion that Tyson asksfor the bout to be in India,” Karthikeyan says.The objective,ac- Sitting behind the wheel of avehicle, be sional drivers, and agreat jumping-offpoint forgamers looking to transition. weekend on different platforms as partof setup.Tyson, 53, fought twoepic cordingto him,isto getKuttiaseatintheRotax it akartoramodifiedcar,will be challeng- UltimateE,whichpeople can playfrom boutswith Holyfield, 57,during their Max (karting) national championships. ingfor arookie likeKutti, experts reckon. home. The aim is to put drivers from the vir- professional careers, including their Home-grown virtual racing competitions, Banajee, founder of IR eSports,whichruns the computer does notscareyou but it will done exceedingly well on the actual race tual tracktothe real track,”Ebrahim adds. controversial 1997 encounter in open to anyone with access to asimulator or ISRL, will train Kutti in aVolkswagen scareyou in the real world. Getting your brak- track. In India, Ithink gamers who aretal- Kutti is currentlybrushing up his physics whichTyson bit offachunk of aconsole at home, were launchedbyprofes- Motorsportcar.The experienceddrivertalks ing right too(will be key) because thereisno ented needtobegiven enough of an oppor- lessons as he starts Class XII, acrucial year, Holyfield's ear. sional drivers when race tracks became inac- about ‘speed’ and ‘braking’ being awhole new real-world feel when youare racing here tunity.You can’t take the best gamer and tell one whichwill also see him graduating to PTI/REUTERS cessible because of the countrywide lock- experience. “Speedatwhichyou aregoing on (simulator). Abroad, some eSports racers have him this is your one chance on track.We have the racetrackwith Karthikeyan guiding him.

OVER THE HEDGE by Michael Fry &TLewis CROSSWORD 4128 DAYTODAY BYPETERVIDAL

ARIES (Mar 21 -Apr 20) LIBRA (Sep 24 -Oct 23) Someone at home It’s important that needs agood talking youopen adialogue. to,and if youdon’t If youhavean do it, nobody else interviewtoattend will. This is, by the way, agood or mustput over your point of daytocheckuponall travel viewinany other way, the arrangements, mainlybecause planets areonyour side. Just your intentions mayhave don’t letdifferences over movedon. Theremight also be moneycloud the real issues. something youhave And do listentofriends who overlooked,perhaps something knowyou better than you quiteimportant. knowyourself. TAURUS (Apr 21 -May 21) SCORPIO (Oct 24 -Nov 23) Youmay have good Foronce in your life reason to question it is very hopeful other people’s that your CALVIN &HOBBES by Bill Watterson priorities, especially professional if youfeel their ethical stance achievementsand worldly leavessomething to be desired. ambitions will be properly Youmay also getintouchwith rewarded.This is no morethan familymembers who arefar youdeserve, and manyofyou away,orengineer areunion have waited an extremelylong between friends who mayhave time. If thereisafurther delay, fallen out. don’t despair,but keep your ACROSS DOWN hopes up. 1Felt shops contributed to high 2One maybeattachedtoadog GEMINI (May22-June 21) living (9) because of it This is an extremely SAGITTARIUS (Nov 24 -Dec 22) 8The godofunions (5) (5) useful moment to Youstill have the 9Musician having ear most 3Isinahide to see abird sortout all financial powertocontrol developed(7) (6) plans, although I and influence 10 Anew angle foragirl 4Gothrough poetry, being hope youdon’t slip backinto everything that (6) unreasonable (8) the confusion of the past. You happens at home, so don’t 11 Iaminpursuit in acarriage 5Not his sortofreligion (6) have about three days in which squander this valuable (6) 6Granted,itcould setmanyfree youmay take very valuable opportunity.Other people are 12 His relations makethe (7) steps to boostyour material very muchofone mind, and so headlines (8) 7Starting point foraperson on security,after whichyou’ll you’ll needtohaveyour wits 15 What one requires to the other side (3,6) have afresh chance in about you, finding away complete the score 11 Eastern quarterinDresden? another month. forwardwhichfulfils (8) (9) MARVIN by Tom Armstrong everybody’s wishes. 18 Lowers oneself?(6) 13 Ancient writers made their CANCER (June 22 -July23) 20 Three times theyinitially point with it (8) On the psychological CAPRICORN (Dec 23 -Jan 20) facednew peril (6) 14 He doesn’t believe in field leveleverything Youmay be in a 21 Letter I’vegiven to the girl management (7) hinges around how haze today, but no (7) 16 Does he issue bank muchyou value matter.Bythis 22 Aquestion of place statements? (6) yourself, and whereyou see evening youshould (5) 17 Is againstusing Latin your true worth. Sortthis out once again have your finger on 23 Crosswordaddictsshould be (6) and you’ll getrid of severalbad the pulse, and nobody will be usedtosuchsetbacks 19 Up or down it is neither habitswhichhavebeen able to pull the wool over your (9) (5) distorting your ability to deal eyes again, at leastnot for with moneyreasonably another week.Makea and rationally. point of talking to people whose opinions are SolutionsCrossword4127:Across: 1Declaim,4About,7Aims,8Crackers,10 LEO (July24-Aug 23) Followsuit,12Railed,13Refuge,15Fatalerror,18Clean-cut,19Serf,20Noted,21 usuallyignored. Riposte.Down:1Dwarf,2Complain,3Morose,4Archimedes,5Open,6Testate,9 The overall emphasis Forewarned,11Quarters,12Rubicon,14Valuer,16Rifle,17Lent. remains highly AQUARIUS (Jan 21-Feb 19) pleasurable, but This could be a that’s probably sociable day, one because youcan enjoyactivities when youmay easily and experiences whichleave makethe mostof lesser people feeling worn out friendlyadvances. Thereare JUMBLED WORDS DifficultyLevel1s and weary. Unlikemanypeople, further indications that you’ll Instructions youhaveahigher regard forthe needtospend some time alone. Givenbelowarefourjumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemto TosolveaSudokupuzzle, virtues of hardwork. Keep Some of youwill even shut therespectivesquaresbelow.Selectthelettersintheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtoget everydigitfrom1to9 4120 yourself busy. yourselvesaway, tending your theanswerforthegivenquip. mustappearineachofthe sensitive emotions and oh-so- Therearethreefaithfulfriends-anoldwife,anolddog,and______.-BenjaminFranklin(5,5) VIRGO (Aug 24 -Sep 23) vulnerable feelings. nineverticalcolumns,in If yousettle

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