18 Friday International Friday, May 1, 2020 Bollywood mourns another star as Rishi Kapoor dies at 67 A severe blow to Hindi movie industry and film lovers MUMBAI: Bollywood mourned a second loss in “Bobby”, and the 1977 comedy “Amar Akbar An- as many days as celebrated actor Rishi Kapoor, thony”. As Kapoor grew older, the romantic roles whose career spanned half a century, died yes- ceased, allowing him the opportunity to display terday aged 67 after a prolonged struggle with greater versatility. cancer. His death came as a severe blow to the He terrified audiences as a human trafficker in Hindi movie industry and film lovers, who were al- 2012’s “Agneepath” (“Path of Fire”) and won ap- ready reeling from the passing Wednesday of Ir- rfan Khan, one of the country’s most feted actors, aged 53. “Our dear Rishi Kapoor passed away peace- Kapoor died fully... today after a two-year battle with after a two-year leukemia,” his family said in a statement. Fellow actor Amitabh Bachchan was among the first to battle with mourn his death, tweeting: “I am destroyed”. Born leukemia September 4, 1952, into the prolific Kapoor dy- nasty-which has produced four generations of actors including his son, Ranbir-he made his debut in the 1970’s epic “Mera Naam Joker” (“My plause for his portrayal of a cantankerous porn- Name is Joker”). watching grandfather in 2016’s “Kapoor & Sons”. He received India’s National Award for best After being diagnosed with cancer in 2018 he child actor for his performance in the film, which sought treatment in New York, but was looking his father Raj produced, directed and starred in. to resume work shortly with plans to film a re- But it was his later persona as a romantic lead that make of the 2015 Hollywood film “The Intern”. He TAMPA, Florida: In this file photo taken on April 27, 2014, Bollywood actor Rishi Kapoor receives the won him legions of fans, who flocked to cinemas was forced to return to hospital this month, where, award for Best performance in a Negative Role during the fourth and final day of the 15th International to see him sing, dance and charm his way into his family said, “the doctors and medical staff... Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards at the Raymond James Stadium. — AFP their hearts in films such as the 1973 superhit said he kept them entertained to the last”. — AFP

doctor and two nurses. There is also a lack “sanitary cordon” and curfew declared in Mexican poor of face masks, sanitizing gel for people to the Chiapas town of Yajalon, where they wash their hands and gloves, he said. usually go to buy supplies. Four indige- Ocosingo is one of the Mexican munic- nous people were injured in the violence. Singaporeans who face virus with ipalities with the highest levels of extreme Besides hunger and unemployment, the poverty, affecting 76 percent of the pop- 4,000 people of the Mixe community in break quarantine for few defenses ulation in 2015, according to a non-gov- the towns of San Pedro and San Pablo ernmental monitor called the National Ayutla in the southern state of Oaxaca Council for the Evaluation of Social Devel- have been struggling with drought for food pay hefty bill MEXICO CITY: A day after learning he opment Policy. Surrounding Chiapas state, years. Now, with the pandemic, they are was infected with the coronavirus, an in- which is mainly indigenous, is also Mex- supposed to wash their hands frequently. A Singaporean man who broke his coron- SINGAPORE: digenous Mexican farmer named Samuel ico’s poorest, with 76.4 percent of its peo- “It is hard to exercise the human right to avirus quarantine with 30 minutes remaining to buy prata flat- hanged himself from a tree. And he re- ple living in poverty in 2018. The fact that health when the human right to water is bread worth a few dollars was fined $1,000, the latest in a mained hanging there for hours because no one had gear to collect Samuel’s body not guaranteed,” said Yasnaya Aguilar, a string of tough punishments for those who breach the city- no one had protective gear to bring the safely is a situation repeated in most of the Mixe linguist. To broadcast information state’s COVID-19 containment rules. The tiny island nation, body down - a grim illustration of the indigenous areas of Mexico. A full fifth of about the pandemic to indigenous areas, known for its no-nonsense law enforcement and widespread plight of Mexico’s indigenous peoples, the total population of 120 million identi- 22 radio stations that are part of the INPI surveillance, has one of the highest coronavirus caseloads in who are particularly vulnerable to the pan- fies as indigenous, according to the Na- air the message “stay home” in 35 of Mex- Asia due to mass outbreaks in cramped migrant worker dor- demic sweeping the globe because of their tional Statistics Institute. ico’s 68 ancestral languages. mitories. But it has won international praise for its strict quar- grinding poverty. antine and contact tracing regime that have limited infections After the suicide, panic spread through No water for washing hands Fear of hunger in the wider community. the village of Ocosingo, one of the poorest As of Tuesday, 227 indigenous people In the San Quintin Valley, a fertile agri- In mid-March, 22-year-old financial adviser Tay Chun native communities in Mexico. Samuel, 54, tested positive for the coronavirus, out of cultural area in northern Baja California Hsien was ordered not to leave his home after he was sus- from the Zoque ethnic group, is believed a national tally of 16,700 cases and 1,600 state, indigenous farm workers and their pected of being a contact of a coronavirus patient, court doc- to have been infected when two of his deaths, the government says. It did not say families have to deal not only with work- uments show. But just 30 minutes before the order was due to sons, working in a factory in northern how many indigenous people have died. place exploitation but also unsanitary con- expire he headed to a nearby food court where, according to Mexico, came home to impoverished Chi- Some ethnic groups have taken their own ditions. “Some landowners give them face local media, he ate roti prata, an Indian-inspired flatbread apas state after the plant shut down be- protective measures, such as shutting off coverings and sanitizing gel, but in other popular in Southeast Asia. As he was eating, an officer moni- cause of the health crisis. access to their territories. cases at least 10 people drink water from toring his quarantine called his mobile phone to check if he An official with the Chiapas attorney “For now it is the only way to stop con- the same glass,” said Amalia Tello, a com- was at home but Tay said he had left to buy food because he general’s office said the man suffered from tagion in these communities, where there munity representative and radio personality was hungry, according to the case records. “At this critical depression, which worsened when he is also a lack of hospitals and medicine,” in San Quintin. Like her, many of those stage in the nation’s fight against COVID-19, everyone has a learned he was infected. The rest of said Adelfo Regino, director of the Na- workers from the Mixe, Triqui and Zapoteca part to play. Persons who are subject to Home Quarantine Or- Samuel’s family is now infected, said Joel tional Institute of Indigenous Peoples, or ethnic groups emigrated north from Oaxaca ders and other measures...must comply,” said deputy public Morales, a community leader. And people INPI in Spanish. But such measures cause seeking a better life. “They are afraid of prosecutor Norman Yew, adding that Tay had returned home in that village of 1,400 are terrified be- conflict, such as a clash Monday between getting infected, but here they have no quickly and presented low risk of transmission. — Reuters cause there is only one clinic, with a lone police and indigenous people protesting a choice but to work,” said Tello. — AFP