JOURNALISM OF COURAGE SINCE 1932

MCS/204/2020-22RNINO.MAHENG2002/21899 Pages 11-13

MUMBAI,LATECITY eye APRIL5,2020 14PAGES,`5.00 THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE

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SUNDAY STORY PAGE 8 THE WORLD PAGE 10 DearReader, The national lockdown to fight the coronavirus has disrupted TheRecovered Highest 1-daytoll in US production and distribution of TheSundayExpress.This has compelled us to reduce page count. To ensure that you do not Hidden behind grim statistics of death, COVID-19cases is another Americans should wear face maskswhile outside, miss out on the special weekend package, Eye,The Sunday heartwarming number: those who recovered. Their stories recommends Trump —then he says he won’t Express Magazine, is being integrated into the main edition. 200EasingOF 500 DISTRICTSlockdown,HIT, KEY GOAL TO BRINGhow,GOVERNANCEwhen,BACK ON TRACKwhere: Ministersexplorestepspost-April14

CORONACOUNT Modi, Trump: 3072 75 Use India-US CASES DEATHS partnership to 213 RECOVERED jointly fight 79,950 samples have been tested as on April 4, 2020 COVID-19 SHUBHAJITROY RAVISHTIWARI NEWDELHI,APRIL4 NEWDELHI,APRIL4 For 9-min lights-off PRIME MINISTER Narendra AN INFORMAL group of Union Modi Saturdaysaid he had an ex- Ministers has been brainstorm- tensive discussion on the COVID- today, power sector ing on the issues arising out of 19 crisis with US President the nationwide lockdown to Donald Trumpoverthe phone. counter the coronavirus out- Stating it was“agood discus- switched on high alert break and exploring the possible sion”, the Prime Ministersaid in next steps and options afterthe atweet,“Had an extensive tele- PM call onlyfor lightsathome, not 21-dayperiod ends April 14. phone conversation with “This (nationwide lockdown) President @realDonaldTrump. street lightsorappliances: Ministry cannotcontinue foranindefi- We had agood discussion, and nitelylongperiod.Butitalsodoes- agreedtodeploythe full strength n’t appear advisable to liftitfrom of the India-US partnershipto ENSECONOMICBUREAU Gridnot everywhereinone go,” said a fight COVID-19.” The twoalso NEWDELHI,APRIL4 likely source awareofthe deliberations discussedthe impact of the pan- E ● totrip in the informal group headedby demic on the global well-being THE NINE-MINUTE ‘lights-off’ EXPLAINED Defence MinisterRajnath Singh. At Sir GangaRam Hospital in NewDelhi, Sunday, after108 medical staffwerequarantined. Praveen Khanna and economy, the PMO said in a exercise scheduledfor Sunday The committee metfor the statement. evening, as per Prime Minister LIGHTING, WHICHispart thirdtime on fridayand is likely “Stressing the special rela- NarendraModi’s appeal to peo- of the domestic load, ac- to meetearly next week again. It tionship between the twocoun- ple across the country, has forced countsfor under 10 per is learnt that the group maybe Use homemade mask After two test positive tries, the Prime Ministerreiter- the grid operator to initiatean cent of the all-India load. in aposition to makeupits mind ated India’s solidarity with the elaborateset of contingency If lighting load goes off, it onlyafter looking at the corona when stepping out: Govt at Ganga Ram hospital, USAinovercoming this global measures to avertany crisis is unlikelytohaveama- numbers —rateofgrowth of crisis together.The twoleaders causedbythe sudden massive jor impact on the grid newcases, extent of the spread agreedtodeploythe full strength load reduction quicklyfollowed frequency in normal —byApril 10. ABANTIKAGHOSH WHOTESTEDPOSITIVE 108 staff quarantined of the India-US partnershipto by asharp increase. times. While grid fre- Moreso, when currently, NEWDELHI,APRIL4 resolutelyand effectively com- These measures include ta- quency is expected to positive cases have been re- AGE GROUP CASES nurses, nine ward boys,three bat COVID-19,” the statement pering thermal output and in- swing, the possibility of portedfromlittle over 200ofthe AS THE number of novelcoron- (IN %) ASTHASAXENA technicians and apantrystaffer said. creasing generation from hydro tripping is remote. over 700districtsacross the avirus (COVID-19) cases climbed 0-20 years 8.61 NEWDELHI,APRIL4 have been quarantined. Modi and Trumpexchanged and gasstations to enable ramp- country. to 3,072 and the toll rose to 75 21-40 years 41.88 The twopatientswith critical notesonthe steps takenineach ing up and down of powerdur- “Giventhat therecould be on Saturday, the Health 41-60 years 32.82 DELHI’S SIR GangaRam Hospital illnesses were admitted to the countryfor mitigating the health ing the episode, calling forall tingency measure. This refers to asymptomatic cases of COVID- Ministry, forthe firsttime, ad- Above60years 16.69 has quarantined108 staffmem- hospital’sICUlastweek.“Theydid and economic impactsofthe personnel to be present on duty the setofrestoration procedures 19 in areas/hotspots and positive viseduse of “homemade face Source: Ministry of Health bers, including 20 doctors and 75 nothaveany symptomsof COVID- pandemic. “The twoleaders also across the countryand even req- at regional load despatchcentres cases, these will have to be dealt cover” forthose stepping out of and Family Welfare nurses, aftertheycame in con- 19 whentheywereadmitted.But touchedupon the significance of uisitioning for“blackstart facili- alluding to the possibility of with differently. Ruralareas will their houses, saying this would tact with twopatientswho were theylater developedrespiratory practices suchasYogaand ties” to be kept active as acon- CONTINUEDONPAGE2 have to be dealt with separately. “help in protecting the commu- brought to the hospital with no symptoms and were checkedfor Ayurveda(traditional Indian Smaller shops needadifferent nity at large”. The WorldHealth coronavirus symptoms, but later COVID-19asper ICMR protocols. herbal medicine practice) foren- response than what needs to be In the US too, the Centers for Organisation (WHO), however, tested positive forthe disease. Since then, staffassociated with suring physical and mental well- done formalls or shopping com- Disease Control and Prevention has said thereisnoevidence that While 85 people have been sent the patientshavebeen quaran- being in these difficult times,” Almost 33% cases traced plexes,” said the source. (CDC) revisedthe earlier stand covering the face has any“self- to home quarantine, 23 have tined,”saidDrDSRana,chairman the statement said. Theyagreed “For example, large shopping and recommended“the use of protection paradigm.” been quarantinedatthe hospi- (BoardofManagement), Sir their officials would remain in to Tabligh meet, Govt malls could pose achallengein simple cloth face coverings to Meanwhile, of the total tal’s isolation ward. GangaRam Hospital. close touch. CONTINUEDONPAGE2 slowthe spread of the virus”. CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Apartfromthe doctors and CONTINUEDONPAGE2 CONTINUEDONPAGE2 says one slip can be big Won’t spare those spreading Lockdown may be relaxed in phases, ABANTIKAGHOSH fake news, communal possible if directives followed: Govt NEWDELHI,APRIL4 OVER 33 per cent of all COVID- messages on virus: Uddhav 19 cases in the countryare linked ` 63 per kilo MinisterUddhavThackeray had to the gathering of the Tablighi EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE said that the decision to relax the Jamaat at Nizamuddin in Delhi EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE MUMBAI,APRIL4 Health 21-daylockdown dependedon lastmonth. At Ghaziabad hospital where ` 91 per kilo MUMBAI,APRIL4 Minister howpeople conformedtothe So far, 1,023 of the 3,072 posi- some who were at Markaz THE MAHARASHTRA govern- Rajesh Tope statedirectivesofmaintaining tive cases in India have been event areadmitted. PTI ` 110 per kilo TWODAYSafter BJP president JP ‘Don’t do it ment is considering if some re- social distancing and staying in- tracedtothat one congregation. Nadda urgedhis party leaders to even forfun’ laxation in the lockdown could side their homes. The cases have come from 17 ` 55 per Dozen refrain from giving anycommu- be rolledout postApril 14,state cols and rules laid down by the Tope, meanwhile, said that states and Union Territories — in the MinistryofHealth, said nal colour to the COVID-19out- Public Health MinisterRajesh state. over the lastfew days,over9lakh Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Andhra Saturday, “About 30 per cent of break,ShivSena leader and other virus that is emerging, Tope said on Saturday. "People feel what will hap- people have been tracedinthe Pradesh,Telangana,UttarPradesh, all our cases have been linked to MaharashtraChief Minister whichiscreating ariftinthe so- Addressing the people of pen postApril 14.The CM has state. He addedthat over 2,400 Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, this one incident. Forus, it is a INSIDE UddhavThackeray warnedthat ciety —itisthe virus of fake news Maharashtra, Tope said that the justnow said that postApril 14, teams of health officials wasop- Maharashtra, Karnataka, Assam, CONTINUEDONPAGE2 strict legal action would be taken CONTINUEDONPAGE2 relaxations, whichcould be in- we areconsidering if some form erating in containment zones set Uttarakhand, Haryana, Himachal RAILWAYS DESIGNS againstpeople spreading “fake troducedinaphasedmanner, of relaxation can be givenin up across Maharashtra. Pradesh, Kerala, Arunachal ITS OWN VENTILATOR news”and “communal hatred” would be determinedbythe phases. That is possible onlyif He further said that there Pradesh,JharkhandandAndaman ACROSS STATES, 107 PAGE 5 over the pandemic. BMC SCRIPTS willingness of the residentsto we followdiscipline," he added. wasnodearth of equipment for and Nicobar Islands. MORE CASES WITH “Likecoronavirus, thereisan- FIGHTBACK PAGE 3 followsocial distancing proto- Earlier in the day, Chief medical professionals. LavAgarwal, Joint Secretary TABLIGHI LINK PAGE 6

Amid yoga, TV and chai, group at Varanasi station asks: Will trains take us home?

Sunday, March 22, when the ior citizens -all waiting forthat “Around 3inthe night, the waiting hall with benches and were some 1,500-2000km away AVISHEKGDASTIDAR government observed Janata one elusive object:atrain. train stoppedatMughalsarai. all. Then we formedaplan,” says from their homes. We decidedto NEWDELHI,APRIL4 Curfew.The “curfew”ended, but “Thereisnothing to do. In the We were told that the train has Anand Mohan, the station direc- take careofthem as best as we their wait foratrain did not. beginning, Iusedtogoout of the been terminated herebecause of tor, whose job, apartfromrun- could,” he says. WHATDOyou do when youare The 21-daylockdown hap- station to look forsome other the JanataCurfew.Wewalked to ning the station during the lock- The yoga class and TV are at arailway station, waiting fora pened, the city shut down, and ways to go home. But now, we the Varanasi station afterthat,” down,has also been to take care newadditions to their dailyrou- train? the railway station became their justwait,” says Manoj Shinde, he says. of this group of stranded. tine, starting Sunday. “...so that On Sunday, agroup of 50 pas- home. partofagroup of 11 daily-wage It took the railway authorities Acouple of days later,Prime people have something to do sengers from various parts of Caught in this unintended labourers from avillagenear justabout aday to realise what MinisterNarendraModi an- and also stay fit,” Mohan says. India will perform yoga together consequence of the lockdown Aurangabad, Maharashtra. had justhappened. On Sunday, nouncedthe 21-daylockdown. The station officials arrange in the waiting hall of Varanasi aredaily-wage labourers, farm- Shinde and group did some even as the curfew wason, the Thestation authorities realised food. Thereistea afew times of railway station. Afterthat, they ers, traders, professionals and work around Patna forafew government suspendedall train that these people were nowhere the day. Children play, people are will watchthe re-run of pilgrims to the Kashi days and were due to return services till March31. forthe long haul. on phones, the senior citizens Ramayan on Doordarshan on a Vishwanath Temple from such home. The JanataCurfew was Officials soon realisedthat “Slowly, with coordination areseen praying daily. Fightsand 55-inchTVinstalledespecially far-flung places as Maharashtra, still 24 hours away.Sofrom therewas agroup of some hun- with stateauthorities, we started laughter break out in equal forthem. After Ramayan,there AndhraPradesh, Madhya Patna station, the local authori- dred people waiting at the sending some people home, the measure, people sing songs, play will be lunch. Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra ties got them to boardatrain, The group of 50, from Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhraand Varanasi station. “Theywere ones who livedwithin distances music on phones, clothes are These passengers have been Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat. which, theysaid, wasgoing to other states, has been stucksince March 22 scattered across the station. We manageable by taxis. But finally, washedand put to dryevery day. waiting fortheir trains since Thereare women, children, sen- Maharashtra. quicklygot them to the large agroup of 50 remained-they CONTINUEDONPAGE2 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 2 THE SECOND PAGE THE SUNDAY EXPRESS,APRIL5,2020

Morenews WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM zeroads 3THINGS WHYLOCKDOWNISFORCINGASSAMFORESTDEPTTOISSUENEWADVISORIES Wildanimalsventuringintohumanhabitationisnotanewphenomena—atleastinAssam,inwhich34.21 percentoftotalgeographicalarealiesunderforestcover.Infact,Guwahati,thestate’sbusycapitalcity

WEB sharesitsboundarywiththeAmchangWildlifeSanctuary,andanumberofnotifiedReserveForests

EXCLUSIVE Understanding India’s POINTYOURCAMERATO migrants GOTOTHEAPPSTORE VIDEOOFTHEDAY EXPRESSEXPLAINED VISUALSTORIES I DAILYBRIEFING NEWEPISODEEVERYDAY CUSTOMISEDNEWSEXPERIENCE OTHER PANDEMICS PM CALLS FOR LIGHTS On the Sandip RoyShowpodcast, author THAT HIT INDIA OUT ON SUNDAY EXPRESS TECHNOLOGY ChinmayTumbetalksabout migrant Apple CEO TimCook HowSpanish Flu What will be the impact workers and whytheyare oftennot defends billion dollar Pandemic Of 1918 of the Sunday9pm considered during policymaking deal with Google Affected India lightsout? FROMPAGEONE

Easing symptoms forcoronavirus un- Computers, TVs, Fans, Sundayasamatter of abundant 8.61% areinthe 0-20 years age MikeRyanalso emphasisedthat body circulates fake news or til Saturdayevening. Refrigerators and ACsinthe caution.India is one of the group, 41.88% in 21-40 years, surgical and medical masks videos with inflammatorycon- lockdown “Wehavehired aspecial homes. “The lightsinHospitals largest synchronous intercon- 32.82% in 41-60 years, and suchasN95, FFP2 and FFP3 res- tent suchasnotes being building to accommodateour and all other essential services nected grids in the world, with 16.69% above 60 years. pirators arefor the medical sys- smeared with saliva,law will maintaining social distancing. healthcareworkers deployedin likePublic Utilities, Municipal an installedcapacity of about (According to the 2011 cen- temand mustbeprioritisedfor catchupwith them. Theywill Therecould be intra-district the COVID-19ward. Fiftyper Services, Offices, Police Stations, 370gigawatts(3,70,000 mega sus, about 40.71% of the popu- use by frontline health workers. notbespared.Don’t do this even movementsallowedwhere cent of our staffisalready not Manufacturing Facilities, etc watts) and anormal baseload lation fall in the 0-19years age Meanwhile, with 11,182 forfun,” Uddhavsaid while ad- RamVilas Paswan thereare no cases, but inter-dis- coming as all our OPDs areshut. will remain on...All local bodies powerdemand of roughly150 group; about 31.93% in 20-39 samples being tested in the last dressing the statethrough so- trict movement? Notsure. Also, We arealso trying to keep our have been advisedtokeep the gigawatts. years; about 18.41% in 40-60 24 hours, 79,950 samples have cial media. depending upon the spread, dif- healthcareworkers safeas street lightsonfor public safety.” When an exigency occurs, years; and about 8.57% over 60 been tested across the country Maharashtrahas so far Paswan lauds ferent situations prevail in dif- PPEs arestill notenough,” said PIB Principal Director likeanoutageatapowerplant years.) so far. The ICMR said 3,113pos- recorded635 cases of COVID-19, ferent states afterApril 14.All Dr Rana, adding that the hospi- General KS Dhatwalia also ap- or the tripping of atransmission Currently, thereare 58 criti- itive cases had been detected till of whichatleastseven have FCI employees these factors have to be consid- talhas morethan 5,000 pealed to people to notuse al- lineorsudden changeinelectri- cal cases, mostlyfromKerala, now. been tracedbacktoaTablighi ered,” said the source. employees. cohol-basedhand sanitisers be- cal demand, the operator needs Madhya Pradesh and Delhi. The government has de- Jamaat gathering at for ensuring One keyissue being dis- The 600-bed hospital has fore lighting candles on Sunday. to ensurethat thereisanauto- The ICMR has also issuedan cidedtocover testing and treat- Nizamuddin in Delhi in mid- cussedishow to bring aspects earmarked51bedsinthe isola- From the grid managers’ matic corrective response, fail- advisoryfor the use of rapid an- ment forCOVID-19under its March.The statehas also supply amid of “regular governance” backon tion ward forcoronavirus pa- perspective,the primarycon- ing whichthe operator then tibody testsin“areas reporting Ayushman Bharat Pradhan recorded32deaths from coro- trackafter April 14 without tients, and kept 50 morevacant, cern is that justbefore9pm, needs to manuallyintervene to clusters (containment zone) Mantri Jan ArogyaYojana (AB- navirus. lockdown compromising the needfor vig- to be usedincase of an emer- theremay be unprecedented avertacrisis. and in large migration gather- PMJAY). While it is already free “Wehavethe supportand ilance againstthe transmission gency. load reduction, followedbysud- While domestic load is ings/ evacuees centres”. The re- in public facilities, those covered blessings of all the people, in- of the pandemic. Over the pastfew days,at den increase in load post9.09 about 30-32 per cent of total sultsofthe antibody test can ei- by the scheme can nowavail cluding all religions and politi- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE Directions have already least15healthcareworkers in pm. During this lights-out exer- load during the normal times, ther be confirmedusing RT-PCR free testing in private labs and cal parties... So, Iwon’t allowany NEWDELHI,APRIL4 been issuedrelaxing movement the national capital have tested cise, about 11,344-12,879 MW the grid load currently, because -the DNA-basedtest-orthe an- treatment in empanelledhos- attempt to divide our unity in of farm labour giventhe neces- positive forcoronavirus, with of load nationwide is expected of the lockdown, is largely ac- tibody test can be repeated af- pitals. the fight againstcoronavirus,” UNION MINISTER forConsumer sity of farm operations and also mostofthem catching the in- to drop suddenlyand then counted forbydomestic load. ter10days of home quarantine. On Saturday, Prime Minister the CM said, adding that he was Affairs, Food and Public the broad pattern so farthat ru- fection from patients. Several come on stream afew minutes The normalbaseload power And, in thefirstsign that the NarendraModi chaired ajoint in touchinwith Prime Minister DistributionRam Vilas Paswan ralareas and smaller towns doctors and medical experts later —the equivalent of five demand of roughly150 gi- “all-patients-in-hospital” rule is meeting of the 11 empowered NarendraModi, Congress pres- on Saturdayappreciated the with lowpopulation densities have highlighted the shortage large thermal generating sta- gawattshas already droppedby being relaxed,itsaid: “If symp- groups on COVID-19. “PM. re- ident Sonia Gandhi and NCP role of Food Corporation of arenot reporting anysignificant of personal protective equip- tions going offtogether. 20 per cent since mostofindus- toms worsen, refertodesig- viewedcountrywide prepared- chief Sharad Pawar. India (FCI) employees in ensur- outbreak. ment (PPE) kitsacross the coun- POCOSO’s 30-point detailed tryand commercial establish- nated COVID-2019 hospitals. ness regarding availability of Saying that the lifting of the ing supplyofwheat and rice “The economic reality is that try. guidelines, issuedunder three mentsare notoperational. So When home quarantine is not hospitals, proper isolation and 21-daylockdown would de- throughout the countryamid foralarge section of the popula- On Saturday, Delhi Chief broad heads —generation the lighting load, as apercent- feasible, consider facility-based quarantine facilities as well as pend on howwell people com- the lockdown. He also urged tion, thereislittle cushion fora MinisterArvind Kejriwal too scheduling and frequency con- ageoftotal load, is muchhigher quarantine”. disease surveillance, testing and pliedwith government direc- stategovernmentstoensurethe long duration of lockdown. raisedthe issue: “In Delhi, the trol; voltagecontrol measures: nowand the impact of asudden In itslatenight advisoryon critical caretraining,” the PMO tives, Uddhavsaid, “The prompt supplyoffoodgrains to Manyofthem barelyscrape situation is alittle critical as we and general guidelines —in- drop in lighting load could be Friday, the Health Ministrysaid: handle tweeted. lockdown will end on April 14 beneficiaries under the Pradhan through eachmonth. This is a arehaving to take the responsi- clude basic checklists suchasall moreaccentuated than in reg- “It is suggestedthat suchpeople He directed the “concerned and what is to be done after- Mantri Garib KalyanAnna broad understanding within the bility of those who came from clocks at generating stations be- ular times. Thereis, however, who arenot suffering from groups and officials to ensure wardsdepends on the people Yojana group,” said another source abroad. Around 2,300people ing synchronisedtoIndian stan- hope that the airconditioning medical conditions or having sufficient production, procure- and howstrictlytheyfollow In aseries of tweets,Paswan awareabout the deliberations. were evacuated from the dardtime, strengthening of the load in the country’s western breathing difficulties mayuse ment and availability of all es- government directives.” said, “All the StateGovernments “But giventhat the numbers Markaz and manyamong them control room staffacross the and southern regions would act the handmade reusable face sential medical equipment such During arecent video con- areurged to ensurelifting and arerising and thereisaspread arelikelytotestpositive.So, NLDC and all load despatchcen- as acounterbalance. In the west cover, particularly when they as PPEs, masks, gloves and ven- ference with CMs, Prime distribution of their quotaof5 in manystates, caution has to be suddenly, therehas been a tres staying “in alertmode and and south, the airconditioning step out of their house. This will tilators,” it said. MinisterNarendraModi had kg foodgrains/beneficiaryun- observed.Ifitdoesn’t getmuch shortage of PPE kits. Iamwor- monitor the grid closelyinor- load is already high, which help in protecting the commu- Modi is also scheduledto said that states should liftthe der the Pradhan Mantri Garib out of control and the curvesig- riedabout our doctors and der to take careofany contin- could ensurethat the switching nity at large.This face coveris hold avideo conference with lockdown in phases. KalyanAnna Yojana forthis nals flattening, we could see an nurses. Idon’t want anydoctor gency”. Distribution companies offofthe light could place a notrecommendedfor either floor leaders of political parties TheCMalsosaidnopermis- month as soon as possible so easing,” said the source. and nurse to treat corona pa- arebeing warnedtoensurethat lesser stress on the grid. health workers or those work- on April 8. sion would be givenfor public that all beneficiaries getfood- Forthis group of Ministers, tientswithout PPE. We wroteto distribution substations, hous- ing with or in contact with eventsinthe state. “Till further grains on time.” the firstphase of the lockdown the Centreyesterday,seeking ing society and residential COVID-19patientsorare pa- notice, no permission will be “Thankstoall FCI employees -the issue of migrantsmove- the kitsurgently, but so farwe apartmentsmain supplyshall Tabligh tientsthemselvesasthese cat- Varanasi givenfor cultural, religious and including depotlevel and re- ment -isalmostover. have notreceivedany kit.” notbeswitchedoff at either the egories of people arerequired to sporting eventsinthe state. Big gional levelofficers and 80 “That wasanissue in the first Hospitals in Delhi where feeder or mains level. meet wear specifiedprotective gear.” station festivals suchasGudhi Padwa, thousand labourers who are phase. It has nowbeen attended healthcareworkers have tested On the generation side, too, dailybattle, contact tracing is on The government also said It has been 13 days,soby RamNavami have been cele- working dayand night to en- to by and large,” said the source positive aremeanwhile prepar- thereare aseries of detailed in all these 17 states... Iwant to Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries nowthereisa“system”. brated inside houses. Similarly, surethe supplyoffoodgrains highlighting howshelters and ing lists of staffmembers who contingency planning meas- tell youthat our doubling rate is can optfor testing and treat- “My husband’s clothes got people from other religions throughout the countryand food arrangementshavebeen have been in contact with them. ures. lowerthan mostcountries, but ment forCOVID-19freeofcost stolen. We had leftthem to dry. should also celebratetheir fes- due to their hardworkfood- made to arrest large-scale The Delhi StateCancer Institute During evening peak hours Iwant to emphasise that one at privatelaboratories and em- We were notcarrying so many tivals indoors.” grains arereaching to 81 crore movement that initiallythreat- (DSCI) is contemplating shifting —from6.10pmto8pm—hy- failurebyone person will put us panelledhospitals. “Testing and clothes with us here,” says Uddhavsaid that during the beneficiaries,” Paswan said in a enedtoundermine the lock- all cancer patientstoaprivate drogeneration is to be reduced backhugely. achain is onlyas treatment of COVID-19isal- YogitaAdkine from Nanded, video conference with the PM, separatetweet. down. hospital afterfour of itshealth- “and conserved”for providing good as itsweakestlink.” ready available forfreeinpub- Maharashtra, who had arrived some CMs had expressedfears Meanwhile, Paswan’s son The group considers the pe- careworkers —adoctor and flexibility forthe 9pmevent. From the firstweek of licfacilities. Now, morethan 50 in Varanasi with her twochil- of a“Delhi-likeevent” (the gath- and president of Lok Janshakti riod till April 14 as the second three nurses —testedpositive During this time, thermal and March,hundredsofTablighi crorecitizens, eligibleunder the dren, husband and mother-in- ering at Nizamuddin Markaz) PartyChirag Paswan has ap- phase whichhas itsown chal- forCOVID-19. gasgeneration aretobesched- Jamaat activists had gathered at health assurance scheme, will lawtoimmerse the ashes of her happening elsewhere. pealedtopeople to supportthe lenges forunaffected popula- “Wehave48patientsadmit- uledtomanagethe peak de- itsNizamuddin headquarters be able to avail free testing father in lawinthe Ganga. “The permission forasimi- Prime Minister’s call forlight- tion and those affected. tedtothe hospital and areplan- mand. Afterpeak hours, major forareligious event that contin- through private labs and treat- Amid all this the threat of lar event wasdeniedin ing candles or lamps at 9pmon “As forthe unaffected pop- ning to shiftthem to aprivate thermal Inter-State Generating uedfor days even as agovern- ment forCOVID-19inempan- COVID-19looms. Maharashtra. The names of the April 5toshowsolidarity in the ulation, thereisdisruption but hospital. Cancer patientsare al- Stations generation aretobe ment advisorybarredall con- elledhospitals,” said the Multiple times everyday, people who attendedthe Delhi fight againstCOVID-19. keyissues of supplyhavebeen ready on strong medications “graduallyreducedtonear tech- gregations in viewofthe National Health Authority, the station officials sanitise the event is being shared with us resolved. The other challengeis with aweak immune system; nical minimum levelof60per worsening COVID-19situation. whichimplementsAyushman waiting hall and the bathrooms. dailybythe Centreand all have around the affected population this makes them prone to catch- cent by 8.55 pm and simultane- According to the Ministryof Bharat. Officials have enforcedamini- been traced. Theyhavebeen 4militants and health infrastructurefor ing the disease. We can’t take ouslyhydrogeneration is to be Health Affairs, morethan 2,000 LavAgarwal, Joint Secretary, mum distance between people. isolated and quarantinedingov- them. Availability of testing kits, the risk and become the source increasedtomaintain the load of the Tablighi Jamaat partici- Health Ministry, clarifiedthat Everybody has been giventwo ernment facilities. People killed, had role trainedhealth workers in case of transmission. At our level, we generation balance”. pantswereforeigners. Afterthe the ministryhad notchanged its face masks. should come forwardtoinform of cases emerging in newerar- aretrying to contain the infec- Hydrogeneration and gas gathering, over 800ofthem earlier position on the use of “I have my wife, aged par- us if anyone has been leftout,” in civilian eas, identifying asymptomatic tion,” said Dr BLSherwal, direc- generation —bothofwhichof- toured various parts of the masks. entsand children at home. They he added. cases, testing, tracing and isolat- torofDSCI. fermoreflexibility as compared country. “The earlier guidelines re- keep asking everyday when I Uddhavalsoadvisedpeople ing them -that remains afocus to coal-fired unitsinramping up On Thursday, the MHA main; medical masksare to be will come home. Itell them to to go onlytodedicated COVID- killings: J&K area,” said the source. and down in line with the re- blacklisted1,320 foreigners as- usedwhen someone is sick, notworry.The government has 19 hospitals if theyshow Sources said the Ministers 9-minutes quirementsofthe grid —are to sociated with the Tablighi when caring foranill person; takengood careofus. Police symptoms of fever,cold or Police were using their ministries and be specificallyrampeddown Jamaat forviolating visa rules the newguidelines arefor come everyday to ask howwe pneumonia. political networks to gauge the lights-off starting from 8.57pm, depend- even as it cancelledtouristvisas homemade face or mouth aredoing,” says NarendraSingh situation before providing guid- potential grid failureand having ing on the system frequency. of all suchvisitors to India. cover, notmasksper se. This is Bhakre, an advocatefromUjjain ADILAKHZER ance to shape the government’s to restartthe grid from scratch. Gas-basedunitshavebeen Punya Salila Srivastava, Joint away of increasing personal hy- who had visited Varanasi “for a Modi, SRINAGAR,APRIL4 policy prescriptions. Aftermanystates, through specificallyinstructed to ramp SecretaryinMHA,said about giene. These arecloth coverings day’s work”. Likemillions of Besides Rajnath Singh, the their respective stateload down to the “minimum level”. 22,000 people linked to the that can be usedindenselypop- others, he, too, had thought the Trump FOUR HIZBUL Mujahideen mili- group comprises Home despatchcentres, flagged risks Subsequent to this, ramping Tablighi Jamaat and their con- ulated areas when going out. a JanataCurfew wasaone-dayaf- On Saturday, Modi also tantswerekilledinanencounter MinisterAmit Shah, Food to the grid from the proposed up of thermal unitsare to be car- tactsacross the countryare cur- barrier approach. that is not fair.Sohestayedput in ahotel spoketoBrazil’s President Jair in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam MinisterRam Vilas Paswan, move,the national grid opera- riedout from 9.05 pm on. And rentlyunder quarantine. meant forhealth workers. Also, on Sundayand even stood at the Messias Bolsonaroand Spain’s district on Saturdaymorning. J&K Petroleum Minister tor, PowerSystemOperation from 9.09 pm on, hydrogenera- Of the 2,000foreigners from these should notbeshared.If windowat5pm. PM PedroSanchez Perez- Police said the militantswerebe- DharmendraPradhan, I&B Corporation Ltd (POSOCO), is- tion is then to be ramped up to 70 countries who were in differ- thereare four people in afam- “Veryquickly, all transport Castejon. hind recent killings of civilians in MinisterPrakash Javadekar, sueda30-point guideline meetthe increase in load. ent parts of India on touristvisa, ily, theyshould have their own options vanishedfor me. It is af- Modi and Bolsonaro south Kashmir. HRD MinisterRamesh Saturdaytoload despatchcen- Following this, “afterthe stabil- mostare from Bangladesh individual ones, ideallytwo terall some 20-24hours jour- stressedupon the significance Joint forces launchedacor- Pokhariyal Nishank,Agriculture tres at the state, regional and na- isation of system parameters”, (493), Indonesia(472), Malaysia eachsothat theycan be washed neyfromheretoUjjain,” he says. of close cooperation between don-and-search in Hardmand MinisterNarendraTomar,WCD tional level. The objective is to hydrounitsare to be withdrawn (150) and Thailand (142). and used,” he said. The civil administration in the twocountries, bilaterally Guri in Manzgam area of Kulgam MinisterSmriti Irani and Animal counterbalance the expected in consultation with the re- Health Ministryofficials said In the US, the CDC issueda Varanasi has standing instruc- and in the multilateral institu- district afterreceiving inputs HusbandryMinisterGiriraj sharp reduction in load and sub- gional and stateload despatch that before the fallout of the similar recommendation. “CDC tions in place fortaking careof tional framework,tomitigate about the presence of militants Singh among others. sequent recovery,whichithas centres. Tablighi Jamaat gathering came is additionallyadvising the use the stranded. “Food packet is the gravecrises causedby in the area, police said. During the Interacting with Chief termedas“unprecedented”. At the state, regional and na- to light, therewere“serious of simple cloth face coverings to distributed everyday.The law COVID-19. Theyagreedonthe operation, militantsfired on the Ministers over video-confer- “These apprehensions are tional load despatchcentres, signs” of the lockdown bringing slowthe spread of the virus and enforcement officials checkon needtoforge anew human- security forces, triggering the en- ence Thursday, Prime Minister misplaced,” said the Ministryof some of whichhavebeen func- down the rate of increase of help people who mayhavethe them. People of the city also centric conceptofglobalisation counter around 5.45 am, police NarendraModi had suggested Powerinastatement Saturday. tioning on arotational staffing cases. virus and do notknowitfrom contributewith packs of food,” forthe post-COVID world. said. the needto“formulateacom- “The Indian electricity grid is ro- basis on account of the lock- “Wewerehopeful that we transmitting it to others. Cloth says Kaushal RajSharma, With Spain’s PM, the two Four militantswerekilledand mon exit strategy to ensure bustand stable and adequate down, thereare specific instruc- could reallybend the curve face coverings fashionedfrom District MagistrateofVaranasi. leaders agreedonthe impor- weapons recoveredfromthe site, staggered re-emergence of the arrangementsand protocols are tions of all hands needing to be and notjustflatten it in afew household items or made at It’s adiverse group that tance of international coopera- said Srinagar-basedDefense population” when the lock- in place to handle the variation on deck. “All RLDCs/ SLDCs & moredays.But all of that has home from common materials speaksadiverse setoflan- tion forfighting the global Spokesperson Col Rajesh Kalia. down ends afterApril 14. in demand.” NLDC (regional, stateand na- nowchanged.That is whyitis at lowcostcan be usedasanad- guages. Station staffsay it’s the health crisis. Apolice statement issuedon The ministryalso clarified tional load despatchcentres) are so important that thereare no ditional, voluntarypublic health same setofquestions, asked in “The Spanish Prime Minister Saturdaynight identifiedthe that the PM’s appeal is to only advisedtoextend the evening moreslip-ups,” asenior official measure,” it said. different languages: Will the agreedwith Prime Minister’s slain militantsasShahid Sadiq Delhi switchoff lightsand notother shifttimings till 10 pm prefer- said. The WHO said while it sup- lockdown end on April 14?Will observation that the world Malik,aresident of Kulgam, hospital appliances. The statement said, ablyand allowoverlap with the ports suchcalls, basedonthe trains come to take us home? neededtodefine anew,human- Mohd Ashraf Malik alias Sadam, “The appeal of the Hon Prime incoming nightshift.” leveloftransmission and re- centric conceptofglobalisation aresident of Anantnag, and The quarantinedhealthcare Ministeristosimplyswitchoff All senior personnel have Use mask, sources available in acountry, forthe post-COVID era,” the Waqar Farooq, aresident of workers aremainlyfromthe the lightsintheir homes from 9 been asked to be available at the thereis“clear evidence that Won’t spare: statement said. Hanan Chawalgam. The identity ICU,medicine emergency and pm to 9.09 pm on April 5. There generating stations, substations, says Govt wearing amask in public places of the fourth militant is yettobe fever OPD. The hospital said is no call to switchoff either Load DespatchCenters (LDCs) COVID-19positive cases re- does notprotect you.” Uddhav FULLREPORTON ascertained. none of them had developed street lightsorappliances like between 6pmto10pmon portedacross the countrysofar, WHO Executive Director Dr and communal hatred.Ifany- www.indianexpress.com WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 3 THESUNDAY EXPRESS,APRIL5,2020 THE OUTBREAK Mumbai

Woman, two Uddhav’s homeless othersattacked Rampingbedstotests,BMC for urging two shelterplan fails to men to follow lockdown orders scriptsCOVID-19fightback take offinMumbai EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE SANDEEPASHAR MUMBAI,APRIL4 Fourth case in MUMBAI,APRIL4 TWOMEN reportedlyassaulted Dharavi, BMC TWODAYSafter ahomeless man a38-year-old womanand her wasfound deadoutside theCST family members, including her screeningclinics station, the plansofthe stategov- minor son, on beingtoldto follow ernment to house andfeedthe the prohibitoryorders and return open today homeless in Mumbai during the Migrant workers from home, policesaid Saturday. The lockdown does notseem to be Jharkhand at ashelter. Express twomen, police said, were stand- showing the desired results. ing nearthewoman’shouseat Jai EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE According to areport com- Bhim NagaronReayRoad in MUMBAI,APRIL4 piledbytheBMC,Mumbai'sshel- amenities. southMumbai,andtalkingwhen ters forthe homeless have so far “The shelters justoffer food she reportedlyasked them to go WITH ASIA's largest slum, housedonly863 people. The re- and accommodation.Theylack backhome. Dharavi, recording itsfourthpos- portwas last updated on April 2. otherfacilities and supportfunc- Thewoman,AnishaIdrisi,her itive coronaviruscase Saturday, In the city,BMC is the nodal tions.Thereisnomilkforchildren, 12-year-old son and 57-year-old the Brihanmumbai Municipal agency formeeting the shelter, some do notprovide waterfor mother-in-lawsustainedinjuries Corporation (BMC) is starting water, food and medical require- bathingorwashingclothes.There on their face, neck,headinthe at- screening clinics in containment ment of the homeless and the is no 24x7 medical facility is case tack,police said.Inher statement zones and denselypopulatedar- strandedmigrant labourers. of an emergency,” said Shelar, to thepolice, Idrisi said, “Around easinMumbai,with10 suchfacil- Whilethe officialreport claimed who is also amember of the 3pm, the twomen, Zuber Ansari itiesbeginningoperationsSunday. that28,145migrantworkerswere Homeless CollectiveinMumbai, and Babu Chikna, were standing The move follows arise in strandedinMumbai amid the anoutfitof organisationsworking on the road oppositeour house cases in hotspotareas, especially lockdown, it pegged the total forthe homeless in the city. andchatting.Iaskedthemto obey nearslum pockets. And is the lat- homeless sheltered at just863. However, Additional theprohibitoryordersof thelock- eststepinthe BMC's pushback-- “Mostofthem do notwantto Municipal Commissioner down and return home.” from conducting the mostnum- BMC staffers seal abuilding at Worlipolice camp. Prashant Nadkar stay thenight.Theycome,eat,and Jayshree Bhoj, said: “Adoctor will According to police, the two beroftestsinanycity(over9,500) MAXIMUMCITY, go,”saidaseniordeputycollector, be availableatthe camps round man came charging at the com- to rampingupisolation-bed ca- MAXIMUMTESTING in charge of one suchshelter. theclock.”Shearguedmostofthe plainantand assaulted the pacity to 2,689 and quarantine to packedareas likeWorli, Malad, cilitated by Dr SujataBavejaof tientswithco-morbiditywhoare Whilehewasreferringto thelocal homeless wanted to safeguard womanandherfamilymembers. 1,119. ChemburandGhatkoparseeinga Sion hospital and her team. The positive forcoronavirus and ad- homeless population, some of their turfonthe road,and hence Theyalsopeltedstonesatherres- With Mumbai recording 330 rise in cases, each of the BMC's test samples willbetransported mittedinthefive dedicatedhospi- whomhavebeen residingon had shown unwillingness to shift idence, police said. “The woman positive cases nearly twoweeks newscreening clinics will have a by municipalvehiclesto hospital,” tals.” Mumbai'spavementsforgenera- to thetemporaryshelters.Shesaid and twoofher familymembers intothe national lockdown, the 9,500+ doctorandnursewho will collect aBMC official said. Then, thereare the numbers tions,theauthoritieshaven'tsofar BMC has askedpolicetointensify sustainedinjuries on their face, Corporation has deployed200 swab samples to be sent to Sion Officials said these clinics will thattell the story: been able to even gather all measures to shiftthe homeless. neck, head, backand hand. teams with over 3,100staff for Hospitalfor testing. beoperationalfrom9amto1pm, ■ 2.7 lakh international trav- strandedmigrant workers into But a38-year-old man, shel- Ansari’s wife also went to the door-to-door tracking. INMUMBAI Officials said three municipal and health officers in charge will ellersscreened tillMarch 22. thetemporaryshelters.Thereport teredinafacility at Bandra, com- woman'sresidenceandassaulted This pushissignificant be- zoneswill have twoclinics each, ensurethat social distancing ■9lakhpeople informed, ed- claimedthatthe authorities have plainedthatthefoodbeingserved her later,” an officer from Sewri cause anyturnaroundinthe city ■Karnataka: 5,061 with one eachinthe remaining norms arefollowed. ucated and screenedacross 2.4 sofarsuppliedwaterandrationto toowasnotuptothemark.Others police station said. willbekey to whatever exit strat- four zones. Five hospitals,meanwhile, lakhhomes. 14,832 migrantworkers and shelter residentscomplainedof Acaseundersections324(vol- egythatMaharashtraislookingat ■ Delhi:3,694 “Since zones 2, 4and 5have have been dedicatedfor sympto- ■ Helpline logged 4,239 calls servedcookedfoodtoanother overcrowding, crammed space, untarilycausing hurtbydanger- afterthe21-daylockdownperiod. morethan 15 cases of COVID-19 matic patients: Kasturba, Saifee, tillApril 3, and 230 suspected 4,305,and the shelter require- and lackoffacilities. ous weapons or means), 504(in- The statehas conducted 12,859 ■ Tamil Nadu: 3,684 each, it wasdecidedtoset up one St George,Seven Hills and cases have been advisedtests. ment remainedminimal. The report, meanwhile, tentionalinsult withintent to testssofar,with635positive cases. additional screening clinic there. Nanawati. And sevenothers for OthermeasuresincludeCCTV Sitaram Shelar,Director, claimedthatthe highestnumber provokebreachofthe peace) and Withthecountry’sbiggestand ■ Telangana: 3,468 The medical officer of the health non-symptomatic positive cases. cameras in containment zones, CentreforPromotingDemocracy of migrantworkerswere founded 34 (acts donebyseveral persons busiestinternational airport, department in each ward willor- Officialdatashows 28percentoc- home-testing by four private labs --anorganisationworkingforthe strandedinH-East municipal in furtherance of common inten- Mumbai’s firstcases showedup ganiseadoctorandanurseforthe cupancy in isolation and 18 per basedonprescription,requisition welfareofthe homeless in ward,whichcoversareas on the tion) of the IPC has been lodged. on March 11 —anelderly couple with2,133havingcompletedtheir clinicwhileotherlogisticslikePPE cent in quarantinebeds. of emptyspaces to quarantine Mumbai –complainedthatthe eastern side of Bandra, Khar,and Senior police inspector fromDubai.BMCofficialssaidthat 14-dayisolationperiod. forstaff will be arranged by assis- Referringto thebedsavailable, contactsofpositive cases,andtie- shelters in the city were ill-pre- Santacruz, followedbyM-East, GajananKurhadesaidpolicewere since then, 7,000 people have With over 200designated tantcommissionersof each ward. aBMCofficialsaid:“Thiswillhelp upswithfooddeliveryAppsto de- pared to cope with the emer- whichcoversparts of Mankhurd lookout forthe twomen. been put in home quarantine, containment zones, and densely Thecollectionof swabswillbefa- inefficienthandlingof elderly pa- livergroceriesamidthelockdown. gency,and lackedevenbasic and Govandi. Life insidecontainment zones:Locals learn to deal with shortages, curbs

regular.“The local kirana stores SANDEEPASHAR arerunning out of stock. There MUMBAI,APRIL4 arenofresh supplies. Iwanted to buy medicines formyseven- SANTOSH HINDE (45) had been month-old daughter,but the at hisjob as asecurity personnel pharmacists said it wasn’t avail- in aprivate firm on March 31 able. We arecooperating with when the BMC declaredthe the authorities, but theyshould WorliKoliwada in the island city understand our plight as well,” NO ENTRY as a“containment zone” after he said. four COVID-19cases were de- Gavai, however, arguedthat EntrytoChunabhatti was tected in the locality. the police and the civic authori- sealedoff on Saturday. On Saturday, five days later, ties have been morethanac- Prashant Nadkar the number of cases stood at 10, commodating to the residents' necessitating an extendedpe- needs. Twodays ago, therewas riod of containment of the area. an episode wheresome locals While authorities have advo- had breachedthe containment cated that residentsstayinside Locals at WorliKoliwada travelling to Mahim by boat for their homes,for Hinde,the seal- face adifficult time ferrying procuring essentials. As schools switch to online classes, students ing meansstayinglockedout of essential goods. Express On Saturday, thelocal Sena his ownhouse. unit distributed essentials in the While locality.Local corporator, Hinde’s joint nounced, said: Hemangi Worlikar,who wasa from weaker sections get cut off from learning familylives in- “Wehave partofthe drive,claimedthatthe side Koliwada LCKDOWN been telling distribution wasundertakenat ClassVstudentSiddhiRajguru, When contacted, School mote pockets of the statestill near the LOG people that Aaditya’s insistence. “Things are ABHAGORADIA Parents of many who livesinPanchasheel Nagar, Education Commissioner Vishal struggleforInternet connectivity, Golfadevitem- this is notbe- improving gradually. Supplies MUMBAI,APRIL4 children are doesn't have anyaccess to acell- Solanki said that the stateschool butoncetheresourcesaredown- ple, he claims that he could not ing done to inconvenience them. arefar better now,”she said. ragpickers, or involved in phone or alaptop. Herfather education department will be loaded, theycan be accessedof- gethome in time before the seal- We ensurethattheymaintain Sevenkmaway, at another ACOUPLE of days ago, ateary- Satish Rajguru, whoworks as rolling out aprogrammefor un- fline,” Banuri said. He is also the ing offexercise wascarriedout. social distancing while handing containment zone, at an upper eyedVaishali,astudentof classVI similar jobs. At their housekeepingstaff,said,“Theonly derprivileged children on founder and CEO of NGO The sole earner,hesaid hisvoice over materials. Things have middle class locality in Wadala, at MaharashtraAikyavardhak homes, one findsfour to waytokeep her engaged is Monday. Thedepartmenthas Leadership withEquity. cracking, “Wehad no time to calmeddownalittle now,”he authorities on Saturdayrelaxed Mandal in Tilak Nagar, calledher five vessels and few through books, by repeating the partnered withNGO Leadership Following suit of initiatives prepare, my whole family is in- said, adding that the firsttwo some measures, arguing that the school teacherSangita Patil. clothes. Most of them eat same chapters. Other children in ForEquity and UNICEF to develop startedbyotherstates, side. Ihavebeen living in my of- days,the police had to face alot residentsthemselveshad de- Amidthe lockdown, Vaishali, only once aday. At our area areonlyplaying, as most content forstate's ownonline Maharashtraisalso planning to fice since then. My familyisdis- of resistance. cidedtohonour the restrictions. whose parentsare construction present, many have left don't have access to educational platformcalledDiksha,aswell as launchprogrammes through tel- traught as theyhavelittle Right behind Hindenear the “There wasonlyone positive workers,has been living out of a for their villages” resources on the Internet.” forradio and television. Theini- evision and radio, said officials. supplies inside.” barricade is Harish Shukla, a case in one of the buildings, half-builtconstructionsiteinTilak While it is yettobean- tiative willbelaunchedby Next week,the programmes will Forthe lastfivedays,Hinde Dadarresident, who has come to whichhas been sealed. The pa- Nagar. “She brokedownonthe —SANGITA PATIL nounced, education expertsand MinisterVarsha Gaikwad be broadcasted on television and has been shuttling betweenhis deliverfoodgrains and vegeta- tient had self-quarantinedhim- phone, and said her father beats SCHOOL TEACHER officials from the department through Facebook Live andother radio forstudentswho do not office, wherehecurrentlystays, bles to his friend, Anil Nakhwa, self afterreturning from Europe. her mother,and therewas have saidtheybelieve that the mediums. have accessto Internetorcomput- and the barricadedentrance of whose familyisstuck inside. so the chances of aspread area nowheretogo. The boredom of lockdown on schools will con- Academicadvisorto thestate, ers.The statehas partnered with the Koliwada to ferryessential While NakhwathanksGavai as little less,but the residentstold staying put wasconstant. Iasked and local independent bodies. tinue till Mayend. Madhukar Banuri, said: “While UNICEF to also develop aplan for forhis familythatisn’tpermit- he receivesthe supplies from his us theywill see to it that they her to refertoasection of math With schools being shut, the ac- Co-founder of NGOPratham, private schools have devisedon- responding to COVID-19. tedtoleave the containment friend, Koliwada residents are don’t move out much,” said a problems and focus on English cess to virtual classrooms and Farida Lambay. said, “Our experi- linemechanismsforstudents,we “Six weeksofacademic time zone. nowlearning to grapplewith the BMCofficialpostedoutside the spellings. other facilities has been cut forall enceof working in rural areashas have been figuring out ways to hasalreadybeenlost.We have de- On Saturday, he and acol- sudden restrictions, and the con- premises. “‘Prepareasthough youstill itsstudents. As of September shown that onlyone person in help underprivileged children.” visedamix method involving ra- league from his office arrivedin sequent shortagesinessential Residentshavecomeupwith have exams’,Itoldher,” said Patil. 2019,2,71,892 studentsstudy at mosthouses owns asmart Diksha, an already existing plat- dio, TV and the Internetapp atwo-wheeler loadedwith es- supplies. asystemofplacingorders on the As moreand morestoriesof BMC schools, mostofwhom are phone,usuallyitbeingthe male form of the state, has been up- Diksha, to bring educational con- sentials. The police postedatthe The WorliKoliwada, whichis phone and gettingthe essentials migrantsstrugglingtofend for from underprivileged back- member.The digital divide is a dated with over 8,000-plus con- tent to as manychildren as possi- barricades supervisedashe among the oldestfishermen deliveredatthe security gate. themselvesemerge,education grounds. hardreality among the poor,who tent pieces. This can be accessed ble. In phase1,weare lookingtill handeditovertoanother family colonies in Mumbai, also falls in Bhavesh,28, who worksatthe has takenabackseat forchildren Out of nearly 200students aremosthit. Aftereverysuchdis- through the QR codes already Mayend.Existingcontentinvolv- member on the other side of the the constituency of Chief nearbyRoyal Chemists,said, who areapartofthesegroups. who study at Maharashtra aster, thereisaproblemofschool present on the backofeverystate ing simple games, episodes on barricade, ensuring that precau- MinisterUddhavThackeray’s “Theycall us to placeorders for Here, the strugglefor survivalhas Aikyavardhak Mandal in Tilak dropoutsand hugelearning loss boardtextbook. parentingand others,will very tionarymeasures forCOVID-19 son and Environment Minister medicines, one of our shop boys overtakenother aspectsof Nagar, onlyabout 2per cent stu- among them.” “Even in backwardareas like soon be broadcast andtelecast,” were adhered to.Hewould re- AadityaThackeray.Inavideo then drops it offatatable placed growth, with education coming dentswouldhave laptopsorcom- Lambaysuggestedthatthe Amravati and Melghat, we have said UNICEF education specialist turn momentslater with awhite messages issuedfollowing the near the security gate and the to be considered aprivilege. The puters at their homes, said Patil. stategovernment should target found 60 per cent penetration of Reshma Agarwal. envelope, presumablyfilled with containment, Aaditya assured residents collect it from there. digital divide has grownwider, “Theparentsofmanychildrenare schoolchildrenthroughrelief ma- smartphoneswithgoodnetwork. UNICEF,along with the state cash, whichwas also handed locals that essentialsupplies Payment is done either online or with manyprivate schools, ragpickers, or involvedinsimilar terial that is being distributed by The intention is to involve stu- department,isalso creating a over to afamilymember. won’t be disrupted. at the drop offpoint.” As COVID- switchingto onlineclassesaswell jobs.Attheirhomes,onefindsfour thestate.“Quizzes,puzzles,ques- dentsinself-learning and convey learningmanagement system Assistant Police Inspector But Nitesh Patil, secretary, 19 cases increase in Mumbai, as exams. to five vessels and fewclothes. tionnaires can be ways in which the messagethat the stateisdo- whereincontent developed Sandeep Gavai, who is associ- WorliKoliwada NakhwaSociety BMC has sealed241 areas across Thereare 66,033schools un- Mostofthem eat onlyonce aday. this can be done. Usageoftelevi- ingeverythingitcanto ensure that across all states can be accessed ated with the Dadar police and —arepresentative outfit of the the city. Similarmeasures areex- derthestateschooleducationde- At present,manyhaveleftfortheir sion and radio can also provea studentskeep learning. Around by teachers and students, said has been postedheresince the localcommunity —complained pected to be takenelsewherein partment,run by zilla parishad villages,” she added. helpful tool at suchtimes.” 30 to 40 per cent studentsinre- Agarwal. containmentmeasurewas an- that the supplies have been ir- the stateaswell. WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THEINDIANEXPRESS,SUNDAY,APRIL5,2020 4 THE OUTBREAK Maharashtra Only 3% of those tested for Staterecordshighestjumpincases, coronavirus found positive Rapid testing notneededinstate as of now, sayofficials sixmoredie;635infectedoverall widespread, even private labora- younger population. TABASSUM tories would have shown a Maharashtracontinues to re- tested positive.A67-year-old old woman wasadmitted with contact with him, including BARNAGARWALA higher rate of positive cases. This portthe maximum cases in India EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE man, who wasadmitted on April TOTAL high fever,cough, breathlessness those in the private hospital," he MUMBAI,APRIL4 shows our strategy to onlytest with Mumbai contributing to 50 MUMBAI,NAGPUR,APRIL4 2, diedaday later.Healso had 635 POSITIVE on April 2. She also sufferedfrom added. high-risk groups is on the right per cent of stateburden. fever and breathlessness, and ischemic heartdisease diabetes Meanwhile, twopersons AN ANALYSIS of 423 coronavirus track,”said SanjayMukherjee, The number of newcases re- THE NUMBER of COVID-19rose sufferedfromdiabetes. His sam- CASESIN and chronic lung disease. On tested positive in Mumbai's positivesamples in Maharashtra the medical education secretary. mains erratic —from15cases on to 635with 32 deaths recorded ples tested positive on Friday. MAHARASHTRA April 2, her samples tested posi- Dharavi–a30-year-old woman hasshownthat4.6percentof the Archana Patil, additional di- April 1to88cases on April 2and in the statebySaturday. A53-year-old man, who suf- Number of deaths 32* tive forCOVID-19. The next after- who livedinthe same society thosetestedingovernment labo- rector in DirectorateofHealth 67 newcases on April 3. Stateof- Maharashtrarecorded145 new feredfromasthma, wasadmit- noon, she sufferedacuterespi- wherealocal resident had died Totalnumber of people ratorieshave comepositive,while Services, said the current gov- ficials have attributed this trend cases, the highestjumprecorded tedtoKEM hospital on April 1. ratory distress and passedaway. due to COVID-19, and a48-year- discharged52 inprivate laboratories,wheretest- ernment criteria fortesting are to adelayinconfirming test re- in aday till now. He had fever,breathlessness, and In Amravati, a45-year-old old man who livesinthe slum ingcriteriaaremorerelaxed,only enough at this point. “Private sultsfromprivate labs by the Across the state, six more loose motions. He tested positive Number of patientscritical man, admitted in the district but did notcome in contact with 0.24percenthave testedpositive. labs maybetesting people from government. “If we keep aback- deaths have been reportedinthe the same dayand succumbed to - hospital, diedonSaturday. He the deceased. At Shivaji Park in Therationalethat'testmoretode- the general population, hence log of private reports and con- lasttwo days. severe acuterespiratorydistress Number of people tested had no foreign travel history, the city,a60-year-old woman tectmore',stateofficialssaid,then their rate forpositive cases are firm them on asingle day, the While Mumbai on Saturday on Friday. 14,352 stateofficials said. He suffered with no foreign travel history maynot entirelybetrue forIndia low... We also don’t needtoin- day’s tallygoes up. We arenot reported99cases, 22 tested pos- A57-year-old electrician from asthma that worsenedhis tested positive.The BMC disin- wherecases arestill notwide- troduce rapid testing at this abletotrulyreflect howmany itive in nearbydistrictsof from Mumbraalso died. He suf- Totalnumber quarantined condition. fected her building and sealedit. spread. Currently, Maharashtra point. Rapid testing will only newcases aregetting detected Mumbai, 12 in Pune, eight in feredfromdiabetes and hyper- in hospitals today708 "A 45-year-old man wasad- All residentshavebeen asked to has 50,000 quarantine beds, showhow manypeople have eachday,” astate official said. Latur,two in Osmanabad and tension. Number of newcases 145 mitted forthree days in aprivate remain under home quarantine. 10,000 isolation beds, and 1,000 developedantibodies against To preparefor asteep spike one eachinNagpur and Jalgaon. Dr Hemant Deshmukh, dean (99 in Mumbai, 12 in Pune, 8in hospital before being shiftedto One person tested positive in ventilators fortackling coron- the virus. What intervention will in COVID-19cases, apartfrom KEM hospital in Mumbai has in KEM hospital, said three of the Latur,1eachinNagpur and the government hospital on Nagpur,taking the total number avirus burden. we be able to provide with that 10,000 isolation beds, the state recordedfour deaths in the last patientswerebrought in acriti- Jalgaon, 2inOsmanabad, 22 in Thursdayaround 12.30 am. He of infected people in the city to Astate medical education information?” government plans to makeuse twodays. cal condition. nearbydistricts of Mumbai) had developedpneumonia and 17. department’s reporton423 pos- Overall, in Maharashtra, of 1,096 hospitals empanelled A70-year-old man, who was “Weimmediatelysent their succumbed at 9.30 am. His sam- In order to contain clusters itive samples Saturdayshowed three per cent of the total num- under the Mahatma Jyotiba admitted to the hospital on April swabs fortesting. Without wait- *Apart from 32, one Philippines ples were sent to Nagpur for wherecoronavirus transmission that government laboratories berofpeople tested have been Phule Jan ArogyaYojana. But of- 3with complaintsoffever and ing forresults, symptomatic national’s deathwill be test," said Amravati Civil Surgeon has been recorded, Mumbai in- had tested 8,956 high-risk cate- found positive forCOVID-19. ficials from the insurance breathlessness, diedwithin treatment wasstarted,” he assessed by deathreview Shyamsundar Nikam. creasedits number of health gory samples, of whichitfound What worries health officials, scheme said the empanelled hours due to respiratoryfailure. added. committee of BMC "Wehavestarted to quaran- teams to 523, Pune to 423 and 414samples (4.6 per cent) posi- however, is that 69 per cent of hospitals have shown hesitance Doctors said his nasal swab later At Nair hospital, a43-year- tine people who had come in Nagpur to 210. tive.The government labs test positive persons areasympto- in treating COVID-19cases. onlyfour categoryofpeople — matic and capable of transmit- “Theydonot have the required those with travel history and ting the infection unknowingly personal protective equipment. symptoms, asymptomatic sen- to others. Theremight be more Theyhaveasked us to provide Lockdown leads to ior citizens with travel history who have been missedbythe that,” said Dr Sudhakar Shinde, and co-morbidities, health testing net. who heads the scheme. workers and patientswith acute At leastfiveper cent of those Officials from the health de- change in diet of respiratorydistress syndrome. infected have diedinthe state, partment said the empanelled Private laboratories areal- while twoper cent remain criti- hospitals arebeing considered lowedtotestawider spectrum cal. Maharashtra’s death rate is as the lastresortwhen govern- of patientsthat include all those higher than India’s average(2.5 ment facilities run to itsfull ca- many carnivores who fall under the above criteria per cent), but in sync with the pacity.“We will makearrange- and people advisedsobydoctors. global death rate (5.17 per cent). mentsfor PPE when required. With slaughterhouses shut, zoos Datashowthese private labs had The mortality rate is highest Currently, thereisadequate tested 3,896 people and found (66.6 per cent) forthose aged stockfor health workers in iso- struggle to procurebuffalo meat nine (0.24per cent) positive above 80 years, the rate is 27 per lation wards,” said an official cases. “If therewas community cent forthose aged 71-80 years from DirectorateofHealth zoo. Since the lockdown, the zoo transmission or the virus was and keeps on decreasing for Services. SANJANABHALERAO has been trying to getexport MUMBAI,APRIL4 quality buffalo meat forthe ani- mals. On Friday, authorities man- THE NATIONAL lockdown due to aged to procuremeat forits ten Out on bail, undertrial prisoners COVID-19has ledtoachangein carnivores. the dietaryplans of animals in the Star attractions- sevenpen- Mumbai Zoo, officials said. Most guins (Olive,Molt, Bubble, have no means to reach home carnivoreswho were fedastaple Donald, Daisy,Popeye and dietofred meat have nowbeen Flipper) at the zoo have contin- “Wehavebeen calling family forced to makedowith chicken uedwith their favouritefood, SADAFMODAK Awoman, who was members of the prisoners and due to the shortage of buffalo sharp-smelling fish. Penguins eat MUMBAI,APRIL4 releasedfromByculla giving e-passes to them and the meat in the city. five to six kg of fish dailyand the persons getting releasedtoen- Varun and Soumya (a pair of supplyisstoredinablastfreezer, EVEN AS the stateprisondepart- prison on April 1, could suretheyare droppedhome. stripedHyenas), Drogone and whichwas especiallyprocured ment has begun releasing un- notreachPalghar.A Some arealso being dropped MONEY MATTERS Pinto(apair of leopards) and forthe penguins. dertrial prisoners on bail to de- jailor gave her shelter home with help from the police,” Shakti and Karishma (a pair of To ensureseamless food sup- congestprisons, manyofthem said Harshad Ahirrao, Thane jail Customers queue up outside abank at KalyaninThane on Saturday. Deepak Joshi tigers) have been forced to alter ply, the zoo authorities bought arefinding it difficult to reach foraday and later superintendent. their food choices owing to the twoadditional deep freezers each home due to the nationwide another inmate, who Other prison officials, how- 21-daylockdown. All 6, along with acapacity of 500litres to lockdown. ever,said that due to less man- with four jackals in the civic-run storemeat and vegetables forthe Awoman in her 20s, who wasalso being released, power, it has notbeen easy to en- Bycullazoo arebeing fedchicken animals. The zoo is also in talks wasreleasedbythe Byculla took her in later sureeachprisoner can be BJP MLC booked for violating meat as opposedtobuffalo meat with acontractor who has frozen prison in Mumbai on April 1, droppedhome. Manyundertrial since March 25. buffalo meat stockincold storage could notreachher familyin prisoners have walked home The tencarnivorespresently to be providedtothe zoo. Tigers Palghar district. Ajailor of the asocial worker with Prayas, a from the jails to their homes in lockdown, driving to Ahmednagar housedinthe Zoo would con- arefed at leasteight to tenkgof prison gave her shelter to her for field action project of Tata faroff suburbs of the city with no sume around 50 kg of chicken meat daily, while leopards con- aday in her house, hoping to InstituteofSocial Sciences, means of transportavailable. Ahmednagar were stoppedby der the DisasterManagement and buffalo meat everyday. sume three to four kg of meat makearrangementsthe next whichworks with prisoners. In Latur,the District Legal SRINATHRAO the police at Khedvillageinthe Actand the Indian Penal Code for However, afterthe lockdown, everyday. dayatastate shelter home for Another social worker Saturday Services Authority (DLSA)has MUMBAI,APRIL4 weehours of Thursdayand pre- violating orders issuedbythe transportation of livestockfrom Zoo director SanjayTripathi women. But with entrytosuch visited the woman to ensureher sought assistance from Prayas to vented from proceeding further. Beeddistrict collector and for across the country, especially said, “Wehaveenough meat sup- homescurrentlyrestricted,an- wellbeing. drop the prisoners home, which BEED NATIVE and BJP MLC "When Dhas came to know committing anegligent act likely Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, plyfor the next tendays at least, other inmate, who wasalso be- So far, 2,910 undertrial pris- is being done since lastmonth. Suresh Dhas wasbooked on about the detention, he used to cause the spread of COVID-19. Madhya Pradesh stopped, result- and we won’t run out of food. On ing released, ultimatelyhad to oners, who face up to seven “Weare in touchwith officials of Thursdayfor allegedly violating some obscureroutes, passing Throughout the country, ing in the shutting of Deonar March 25, we had our firstmeat step in to take the woman home years imprisonment, have been other districts, including the lockdown and crossing over though interior villages. to reach strandedmigrant workers have abattoir as well as the supplyof supply. We arenot procuring with her. releasedonbail across 37 pris- Mumbai, and have made them intoneighbouring Ahmednagar Khed. He participated in a been struggling to return to their buffalo meat. chickenmeat dailytominimise “The woman told us that she ons Maharashtrawith the max- an offerincase theyrequireany districttoprotest the detention protestagainstthe detention be- home ever since all means of “Buffalo meat is notavailable contact and procureinbulk.” stays at arailway station in imum, 429, releasedfromArthur assistance in making arrange- of migrant workers by the police. fore returning to Ashti afew transportweresuspendedlast since the slaughter house is Afterintervention by the Palghar district with her family, Road jail, followedby284 from mentsfor prisoners being re- Dhas, who livesinBeed's hours later.Itisnot possible for month to prevent the spread of closedand we aregiving these Central Zoo Authority,zoos were including her children. As she Thane and 279fromTaloja in the leased,” said VijayRaghavan, Ashti town, is alleged to have us to seal all roads," the officer COVID-19. animals chickenmeat. In be- includedunder essential services. could notreachthere, ajailor city afteranorder wasissuedby projector director,TISS. driventoKhedinAhmednagar's added. Migrant workers have been tween when the slaughter house SanjayGandhi National Park, kept her in her house foraday. the Supreme Courtlastmonth. Prayas has also reachedout Karjat taluka around 1amon The police in Beedonlylearnt leftwith little choice but to walk wasopen, we managed to get whichhas 20 animals, including Subsequently, we triedtotake The prison department has through cash transfers and ra- ThursdaydespiteBeedsealing later on Thursdaythat Dhas had long distances or payprivate three to four days’supplyofbuf- twonew leopardcubs in captivity, her to ashelter home, but that asked jail authorities across the tion distribution to morethan itsborders to all vehicles except crossedthe district border by- transportcompanies to ferry falo meat. If this continues fortoo is procuring 120kgoffrozen buf- wasalso seeming difficult. statetoensurethat appropriate 200families of prisoners, who those transporting goods. passing checkpointsand block- them home. In response, the long, it might have an impact on falo meat daily. Soon afterthe Another inmate, also in her 20s, arrangementsshould be made arefromthe informal sector, Asenior police officer said ades at severalvillages. An of- statepolice has steppedupits their food habit as protein levels lockdown, animals in the national offeredtotakeher home in forthe prisoners who were be- who have facedaloss of liveli- that migrant sugarcane workers fence wasregisteredatAshti scrutinyoftrucksand buses trav- vary in different meats,” said Dr parkwerealso dependent on Govandi,” said Meenal Kolatkar, ing releasedontemporarybail. hood due to the lockdown. from Ashti travelling to police station againstDhas un- elling long distances. Komal Raul, veterinary, Byculla chickenmeat.

TEMPORARY BAIL Plea challenges decision to Switching off lights may lead to multi-state grid collapse, blackout: Raut uation further and cause the allyspoketomeduring the immediatelyswitchedon, unlike suchcases...The consumption of exclude undertrial prisoners EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE stateand central grid to fail. meeting. The central govern- thermal unitsthat take 16 hours light bulbs is only10per cent of MUMBAI,NAGPUR,PUNE, Thereisaneedtoreconsider the ment has nowissuedanotifica- to restore,” Raut said. the total electricity demand. booked under special laws APRIL4 decision and Irequestpeople to tion in this regard about howto The MSLDC confirmedit Shutting them offfor nine min- light lamps and candles without restorepowersupplyinthe would rely on powergenerated utes will onlylead to aback ous offences under special laws, ENERGY MINISTER Nitin Raut switching offelectricity,” Raut event of tripping of powersup- from Koyna Hydroelectric sta- down of 1,200MWand our sys- EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE including Prevention of Money Saturdaysaid residentsshould said in avideo message. ply,”hesaid. tion forgrid management and temcan handle this,” former en- MUMBAI,APRIL4 Laundering Act(PMLA), participateinPrime Minister The PM on Fridayurged peo- Raut said Union powermin- ensuring supplyofpowertothe ergy ministerChandrashekhar Unlawful Activities (Prevention) NarendraModi’s 'DiyaJalao' ple to switchoff lightsathome isterRKSingh also calledhim stateincase thingsget out of Bawankule said. THE AURANGABADbenchofthe Act, MaharashtraControl of campaign and light acandlesor and light lamps, candles or Saturdayafternoon. “Singh said hand. Officials claim it will take Meanwhile, in astatement BombayHigh Courthas asked OrganisedCrime Act(MCOCA) flash torchormobile light fora switchonmobile phone torches the Centrehas takenmyobjec- over twohours forthe entiresys- Saturdayevening, Raut said, the stategovernment to respond and Narcotics, Drugs and fewminutes Sunday, but refrain fornine minutes at 9pmon tion seriouslyand wasnow di- temtostabilise in case of the “Who does what, who lights to aplea challenging ahigh- Psychotropic Substances Act. from switching offall house Sundaytodisplaythe country's recting states to ensurethat all nine-minuteshut down and has lampand who switches it off poweredcommittee’s decision The plea filedthrough advo- lights. “collective resolve”todefeat electrical home appliances re- asked all itsofficials to be vigi- doesn't bother me, but it bothers to exclude prisoners booked for cates Pradnya Talekar and Raut said switching offlights coronavirus. Nitin Raut main functional during the nine- lant. me when the PM does so onlyto offences under special laws from Madhavi Ayyappan claimedthe simultaneouslycould lead to a Raut told The SundayExpress minuteperiod. The ministersaid MaharashtraState Load hoodwink the masses on the is- being considered fortemporary committee's directive wascon- multi-state grid collapse and that due to the nationwide lock- theyare issuing directivestoall DespatchCentrechief engineer sue of coronavirus to hide his release to decongestprisons due trarytothe Supreme Court’s or- blackout in the stateand even down, powerdemand in intodarkness,” Raut said. the states in this regard,” Raut Anil Kolap has stated that the failuretoaddress the issue... to COVID-19outbreak.Abench der.“The discretion givenbySC the entirecountry. He directed Maharashtrahad come down It takesaminimum of 16 said. switching offlightswill lead to a (The) powersector wasincur- of justice RGAvachat heardthe wastoensurethat the commit- the statepowercompanies to from 23,000 megawattsto hours to restoreapowersupply Raut said the statewould de- sudden drop in demand of ring hugelosses due to decreas- plea filedbytwo undertrials. teeshall take intoconsideration ensurethat health and emer- 13,000 MW.“Due to the lock- if astation witnesses failure, Raut pend on hydro-powerplantsto 1,700-1,750 MW that will cause ing demands in industrial sector Thehigh-poweredcommit- the relevant parameters so as to gency services remain unaf- down, the industrial load is zero. claimed. “It would take awhole take the load when people of the an increase in system frequency whichhad causedanxiety tee, constituted in the statefol- ensurethat the right categoryor fected Sundaynight when the The 13,000 MW is consumed week to restorenormalcy across stateswitchbacktheir house during the drop in demand. among all the stategovernments lowing the Supreme Courtorder class of prisoners arereleased Prime Ministerhas appealed largely by the emergency serv- the country.” lights. “Weare going to arrange The BJP,meanwhile, has said irrespective of their political affil- on decongesting prisons, had last rather than making blanket ex- people to switchoff lightsat ices and residential areas. If “My officers soundedmeout for2,845 MW powerfromour that the statehas the expertise iations. During suchgrim situa- week decidedthat undertrial ceptions basedonirrelevant cri- home forafew minutes. everyone switches offhouse saying that asuddendropofde- hydro- electric powerstations and resources to handle the tion, asking people to switchoff prisoners booked foroffences teria,” the plea stated.Itclaimed “If everyone switches off lightstogether,then the grid can mand, causedbyasuchapower enough to meetthe requirement event without causing problems the lamps would definitelyag- with maximum punishment up that the state’s reviewcommit- light at the same time, it will lead fail and powerstations trip. If switchoff,does lead to tripping. of the stateduringnight.All to the grid. gravatethe sufferings of power to sevenyears will be released teefor undertrials is yettomeet to asudden drop in demand. Due states, likeMaharashtra, which This has been borne out by the states will be depending on their “Wehavepreviouslywit- sector.” on interim bail initiallyfor 45 and take anydecision. to the present situation, thereis have ahigh powerdemand suf- fact that the PM convenedan hydro-powertokeep the supply nessedincidentswhere WITH INPUTS FROM VIVEK days on furnishing personal The courthas issuedanotice already ademand-supplymis- fergrid failure, it will lead to a emergency meeting of power on afterthe nine minutes when Maharashtrahas seen a2,500 DESHPANDE, NAGPUR, MANOJ bonds. The committee, however, to the stateand postedthe mat- match. Switching offlights multi-state grid failureand fur- ministers of all the states after lightsare switchoff as hydro- MW backdownofpowerplants. MORE, PUNE, AND ZEESHAN excludedthose booked forseri- terfor April 8. Sundaymay deterioratethe sit- ther throw the entirecountry my video went viral. He person- electric powerstations can be We have the expertise to handle SHAIKH,MUMBAI WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 5 THESUNDAY EXPRESS,APRIL5,2020 THE OUTBREAK Nation

ICMR TO TESTPROTOTYPE Rlyunit first PSU to make ventilator InquarantinedBengal

team. AVISHEKGDASTIDAR One of India’spremier pro- village,fearofstigma NEWDELHI,APRIL4 duction unitsthat manufactures CORONA the German-design Linke WITHIN Aweek of receiving in- Hoffman Buschecoaches, RCF WATCH structions from the government firstlookedwithintosource ma- about “exploring the possibility” terials to startwith. So the body asbigasthatofcorona of making ventilators, the is takenfromacoach, the argon Railways’Rail CoachFactory flowmeter is from alaser weld- perishable goods sell early. (RCF) in Kapurthala on Saturday ing machine and the compres- RAVIKBHATTACHARYA “Ihave adaily yieldof cucum- came out with aprototype that sor is from an air cooler.“If you &JOYPRAKASHDAS bers.Ihavebeencallingtradersin has an original design and will open the box, it’sacomplexma- NIJAMPUR,APRIL4 Timohinimarket,justaboutakilo- costafraction of what regular chine, but allunderRs10,000,” metreaway. Theysay theywillnot ventilators cost. Gupta said. POLICEMEN AND localguards acceptvegetablesfromourvillage. The firstsuchbreakthrough The RCFneededtosource man the entryand exit pointsof My produce lies inthe field and by aPSU,the prototype named Theprototype has been namedJeevan. RCFKapurthala twoparts from vendors in Delhi Nijampur,avillage130 km from will soon rot. Evenifthis quaran- Jeevanwillnow go forfinal test- and Noida. It sourcedthe valve Kolkata. Alog andwooden tine ends,the stigma will remain. DebasreeChaudhuri ing at the Indian Council of from the Indian arm of Japanese benches blockthe breadth of the Who will buy our vegetables,” Medical Research (ICMR) before ager of the RCFand also the chief servomotororpistonorlink engineering firm SMC thin road that snakes itsway says AjitPramanik. being put to production to aid designer of themachine,told The mechanism. “It is very silent. Corporation basedinNoida and through the village.Abamboo Families in the villagehave Minister the country’s fight against SundayExpress.Gupta is a1984- And it is notreverse engineering. the ContributionController from bridgeoverthe Kansai tributary, Policemenand villagers at told their sons, who worksas COVID-19, the Railway Ministry batchMechanicalEngineering This is an original design from APaulbasedinOkhla. Amid the the onlyother wayout, hasbeen Nijampur villageinWest goldsmiths or flowerdecorators booked for decidedSaturday. In-house office of the Railways. scratch,” he said. lockdown,RCF used“emergency severedbyresidentsof Midnaporedistrict. Partha Paul in the big cities of Mumbai, Delhi, flouting medical professionals of the pro- “It can be usedasanemer- Behind the machineisateam transit” servicestogetthe two Gobindopuracrossthe waters. Hyderabad and ductionunithavetestedthe unit gency ventilator.Productionis of 10 railway engineersand a components by road and train. Ever since March 31,when a Ahmedabad, nottoreturn norms and givenitago-ahead. easy and canbedone with lo- group of medical professionals. The designers and engineers goldsmithbackfromMumbaiand Youcan see the bamboo bridge. even afterthe lockdown ends. “The costwillbeunder Rs callysourcedcomponents,” he Theintellectualproperty rights arepreparing thetechnicaldoc- his father tested positive, My familytoo is scared that Ido On Friday, 27-year-old Sisir Kolkata: Union Ministerof 10,000without the compressor. said. relating to the ventilator belong umentsfor perusal of the ICMR. Nijampur in Daspur 1blockof dutyhere.Butdutyisduty,”Panda Majhi, sufferingfromkidneyfail- Statefor Women &Child Overall, the costwill still be a The heartofthe device is the to theRCF. By next week,the prototype West Midnapore has been under says. ure,wasunableto reachthetown Development Debasree fractionofwhat regular ventila- compressedair container to It has amicroprocessor- willbesentthere fortesting as quarantine.All its250 families No onestirsout.Thetempleis of Ghatal fordialysis.“My condi- Chaudhuri wasbooked on tors available in the market cost,” work theAmbu bag with air basedcontroller and the circuit per instructionsofthe Railway have been ordered indoors. emptyand the local quack’s tionisnotgood.Everyweek,Ihave Saturday forallegedly flout- Ravinder Gupta,generalman- without anymoving partslike has been designedbythe RCF Board. No onegetsin,noonegets out. chamber is shut. From behind to undergo dialysis twice. In the ingsocialdistancingnorms. Theonlypeoplevisiblearevillage windows,faces emerge.Alittle morning,Igot acallfromthe hos- An FIR waslodged after resourcepersonsandanauxiliary later,people stand at the doors. pital in Ghatal. The person said Raiganj municipality chair- Two more top Gehlot forms task nursemidwife(ANM)whomake “Our entirevillage is cutoff. since the virus is nowinour vil- man Sandip Biswas fileda Karnataka considers ateam of nine. Wearingpersonal We cannotmoveout. Police and lage,thedialysiswillnothappen.” complaint againstthe Lok officers in MP’s forces to draw protective equipment,theyhave people of neighbouringvillages When The Sunday Express Sabha MP.According to the up lockdown been going door-to-door,looking chase us. We heardthat the state contacted healthofficials, an am- FIR, Chaudhuri allegedly COVID spl teams phased withdrawal foranyone with symptoms of governmentisgiving5kgriceand bulance arrivedSaturday to take distributed face masks exit strategy COVID-19. flour,free, to each familyfromra- Majhitothe hospital in Ghatal along with other BJP party test positive The youthand his father,who tion shops. The ration shop is in wherethe dialysis wasdone. workers in Raiganj police of lockdown testedpositive,are ataninfectious Gobindopur andwe cannotleave Theteamof healthworkerson stationarea. Sources said EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE diseaseshospitalinKolkatawhile this village. Panchayatmembers thegroundhave aHerculeantask Chaudhuri had travelled MILINDGHATWAI JAIPUR,APRIL4 othersinthe family, andtheir rel- saidtheywouldgetusthefreera- on hand. Theyare goingdoor-to- from Delhi to Kolkataon BHOPAL,APRIL4 EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE ativesare under isolationingov- tion,but that has nothappened,” doordaily. SheikhLatifuddin,one March 23andhadbeenun- BENGALURU,APRIL4 RAJASTHAN CHIEF Minister ernment hospitals. says MithuPramanik.Amotherof of the villageresource persons, der home quarantine. TWOMORE senior government Ashok Gehlothas constituted Whiletheir shifting out did two, she is very upsetthat says:“In eachhousehold, we are However, sheviolatedquar- officials, includingaPrincipal THE KARNATAKA government is twotask forces forsuggestions bringawaveofrelief inNijampur, Gobindopur chose to severthe checkingfor anykindofailment, antine rules on the nightof Secretary-levelIAS officer,tested considering aphasedwithdrawal on withdrawing the lockdown in that hassince been overtakenby bamboo bridgeatits end. especially fever, cough or respira- March 31,when she trav- positive forcoronavirus on of the lockdown in the state, sen- aphasedmannerand to bring afear of social ostracisation. Herhusband Dilip Pramanik, tory problems whichare symp- elledfromKolkatato Saturday.This makes three peo- iorministerSSureshKumarsaid the statebackontrack. Becausenoonewantstohaveany who drivesaToto, an e-rickshaw, toms of COVID 19.This is being Raiganjwhereshestayedat ple out of four members of one of on Saturday, following ameeting Orders in this regard were is- dealingwithNijampur,atleastnot says hesneakedoutto gettoagro- done everyday.Weare anine- herrentedaccommodation. the specialteams, formedbythe with Chief MinisterBS suedFriday. Gehlotformedthese now. Suchisthe fear of Nijampur cerinParbatipur.“Thepolicemen member team now. Ihavere- On Thursday, she took part Madhya Pradeshgovernment to Yediyurappa and BJP legislators. CM BSYediyurappa had said task forces afteranappeal by thatresidentsofadjoiningvillages andresidentsof thevillagechased questedfor twomorepersons.” inan“awarenesscampaign” fight the pandemic, have tested Speaking at abriefing on the relaxation would be subject Prime MinisterNarendraModi toohavelockedthemselvesin. me. Theysaid theywillnot letme MamoniJanaGhorui(30),the againstcoronavirusanddis- positive forthe virus. COVID-19situation, Kumar said, to the extent people adhere during avideo conference with Theycall Nijampurthe village of entertheir village. Ihad to run secondaryANMwhoridesacycle tributed masksinRaiganj. The special team wastasked “AfterApril 14,wewill examine to norms ChiefMinisters on Thursday. coronavirus-that’sthereasonfor backhome. We needgroceries, to do thedaily rounds, says,“We Local politicians, including with lookingafter drugs,equip- the situation and decide on re- Additional Chief Secretary, the dismayhere. Constables and we have run out of essentials. knoweachfamilyhere. So even if Raiganj MLAMohit ment and logistics to fight the movaloflockdown in stages. Home, Rajeeva Swarup will guards manning the roadhead There’s no cooking oil left.” theyhide anysymptom, we will Sengupta,filedcomplaints pandemic in MP.AnIAS officer of Some modalities on phased mission to agovernment facility head the firsttaskforce that has where Nijampur endsand OtherslikeManikPramanik,a find out. If theyhaveotherhealth againstChaudhuri with the the 2011 batch, who had no for- manner of relaxing of the situa- in Bagalkote. 12 officers and experts. The Parbatipurbegins saytheyhave farmerwho is also the secretary problems, we trytohelp them. District Magistrate andan eigntravelhistory,hadtestedpos- tion arebeingworkedout at the Health authoritiesare yetto Home Department will be the been working in shifts 24x7 for of the UnnayanCommittee (vil- We have alsodistributedhandbills inquirywas initiated. itive on Thursday. Asubsequent statelevel.Atthe national level, ascertain the source of the infec- administrativedepartment for the last threedays.“No one can lage developmentcommittee),try on precautions that needtobe Chaudhuriallegedly pre- test on the officer on Fridaycon- aCentral committee under tion, and arelooking to see ifthe the task force. Gehlotformedthe enterorleave Nijampur.Thisisthe to help peopleinthe villageby takenagainstCOVID-19.” ventedhealthofficialsfrom firmedthe infection. (Defence Minister) Rajnath infection occurred afterhewas secondtaskforceunderthechair- order we have been given. There sharing what theyhave. KamalKrishnaSamanta,prad- putting up quarantine no- Afterthe 2011-batchofficer Singh is looking at the situation.” visitedby his son from Bengaluru. manship of Arvind Mayaram, the were twocases hereand the vil- “I have twocowswhichgive han of Nandanpur 1grampan- tice outside her house, testedpositive,morethanadozen On Friday, Yediyurappahad “He fell ill twodays agoand went Chief Minister'sEconomicAdvisor lagehas been quarantined. 7-8 litres of milk daily. Ishareit chayat whichincludes Nijampur, sourcessaid.Denyingtheal- IAS officers quarantinedthem- said that relaxation of the lock- to alocal Ayurvedadoctor and and Deputy Chairman of the Another team makes rounds with othersinthe village. There says,“Twopersons have tested legations,Chaudhurisaid,“If selvesafter giving their samples down would be subject to the then to twoprivate hospitals. RajasthanTransformationCouncil. of the villagetoensureeveryone arevegetables in ourfields,but positive.Weare awarethatration this notice wasput up out- fortests.Samples of twoofficers extent to whichpeople in the AfterdoubtsonFriday,hewas The Planning Department will be is at home all the time,” says mosthouseholds have run out of and groceriesare yettoreach sidemy house,othersinthis returnedpositive onSaturday, in- stateadheretothe norms over sent to adesignated hospital and the administrative departmentof Sambhunath Panda,the 22-year- rice, flourand potatoes. We also Nijampur.Wewillsoongetration flat would face difficulties.” cluding the Principal Secretary- the next 10 days. diedinthe night. He wasaheart this task force. old civil guard. need medicines,” he says. fromtheshopatGobindopurand ENS levelofficer. Alltheseofficersinter- Meanwhile, Karnataka re- patient and had astent implant, The firsttaskforce will give The bamboobridgehas been Quarantine meansNijampur transportittothe village. Earlier, actedwithandattendedmeetings portedits fourth coronavirus-re- high uncontrolleddiabetes and suggestions on the lockdown, cordonedoff attheNijampur-end, cannottakeits producetothe therewasaproblembecausepeo- addressedbyChief MinisterShivraj lateddeathonSaturday,with a hypertension. When he came to while the second task forcewill and severedbyGobindopur on market.Mostfarmersgrowveg- ple in Gobindopur protested.But GITAM Singh Chouhan, who is nowrely- 75-year-old man succumbingto the hospitalone lung wasdam- makeastrategy forimproving the other side. “Linkstoneigh- etables in small plots,and have to it has been resolved...Weare tak- donates to CM ing moreonvideo conferences. lung failurewithin aday of ad- aged,” Kumar said. the economy. bouringvillageshavebeencutoff. ensurethese ing all carepossible.” relief fund

NewDelhi: MSri Bharat, Chhattisgarh HC ex-CJ tests positive, Delivered in ambulance, newborn dies, father President of the Gandhi Institute of Technology admitted in AIIMS trauma centre says hospital drove them off for being Muslim and Management, donated Rs 25 lakh to the tions. We aretracing his family as the staffatBharatpur's RBM Bharatpur whichhas jurisdiction Bharatpurandaminister, calledit Telangana CM’s Relief ASTHASAXENA Asenior doctor said members to understand the DEEPMUKHERJEE Jenana Hospital allegedly drove over the hospital, but she refused a“shameful” incident. In succes- Fund on Saturday.Sri NEWDELHI,APRIL4 theyare tracing his source of transmission. He had JAIPUR,APRIL4 them away asecond time when to comment and saidthe Medical sive tweets,Singh wrote: Bharat metTelangana tested positive forCOVID-19 theyreturnedinthe ambulance. Education Department Secretary “Pregnant Muslim Woman was ministerKTRama Raoand ARETIRED Chief Justice of familymembers to when brought to thehospital.” THE FATHER of anewborn on Subhash Garg, Ministerof is the right person to comment. refusedmedicalattention...&was handedoverthe cheque in ChhattisgarhHigh Courtand understand the source Twopatientsconfirmedwith Saturdayalleged that doctors at Statefor Medical Education and Medical Education Secretary told to go to Jaipurgiven herreli- the presenceofMedak MP presentlyamember of Lokpal, the virus have so farbeenadmit- the government hospital in MLAfromBharatpur,denied VaibhavGalriyasaid an inquiry gion.... Shameful.... The (Tablighi) Kotha Prabhakar Reddy, AjayKumar Tripathi, has been of transmission tedtoAIIMS trauma centre. Rajasthan's Bharatpur district that the familywas askedtogo has been ordered. jamaatmostcertainly has been GITAM Hyderabad ProV- admitted to AIIMS trauma cen- The stateIntegrated Disease turnedthem away afterlearning to Jaipur because theyare Khan said that he suspects hazardous...however,itdoesnot CNSivaPrasad and treafter he wastestedpositive Surveillance Programmecell is that theyare Muslims and re- Muslims and said an inquiryhas the staffattendingonher expec- mean citizensofIslamic faith are resident director DVVSR forCovid-19. trauma centre. tracing Justice Tripathi's con- ferred thecasetoJaipur. been orderedintothe allegation. tant wifethoughttheywerecon- treated theway apregnantlady Varma, according to a Justice Tripathi wasadmitted Asenior doctor from the tacts. Sources said his family IrfanKhan,34,saidhiswifede- The SundayExpress reached nected to the Tablighi Jamaat. washandled...” statement. ENS to AIIMS main hospital on Friday trauma centresaid, “Weare members have been quaran- liveredintheambulanceonwayto out to Dr Rachna Narayan, princi- VishvendraSingh,MLA from FULLREPORTON night and waslater shiftedtothe monitoring his health condi- tinedintheir native state. Jaipur,but the newborn diedeven pal of the medical collegein Deeg-Kumher constituency in www.indianexpress.com

LOCALISED,QUIETER ORGANISATIONAL ACTIVITIES Under lockdown, BJP leaders focus on community kitchens, reaching rations

coordinating variousactivities, With instructions to launch a ensures that 20 kg gram is pro- LIZMATHEW party leaders told The Indian ‘mask movement’, Jain has out- videdtomonkeysatdifferent NEWDELHI,APRIL4 Express. sourcedmaking of thesemasks places in Ayodhya.His niece Reading to Bollywood songs: BJP generalsecretary P to an NGOrun by his wife -they makes home-made hand sani- IN THE middle of anationwide Muralidhar Raotold TheIndian getclean old clothes, disinfect tiserusingspirit, aloe vera,neem what Cong leaders are doing lockdown, BJP elected represen- Express that allworkofdistribut- them and stitchmasks. Being a leavesand camphor,and party ing his constituency,writing, tativesand senior leaders, who ing food is done while maintain- doctor,hesays suchmasksare workers distributethem among MANOJCG meditation, kung fu, reading otherwise criss-cross states on ing social distancing. “There notfoolproof but they“also help”. villagers. Singh’s daystartswith NEWDELHI,APRIL4 the lawonbio-weaponisation organisational work,are coordi- could besome minor aberrations InBihar,whereAssemblypolls apuja and he watches Ramayan and powers of the International nating community kitchens and to lockdown, but no compromise aredue later this year,state BJP on TVwith familymembers be- RAJYASABHAMPandCongress CourtofJustice, and the Rome distribution of ration to the poor, on socialdistancing,” he said. chief SanjayJaiswal is busy with fore meeting people at 11 am. leader Abhishek Singhvi has Statutes. He haswrittentwo and monitoring the pandemic While Raoiscoordinating communityactivitiessuchascre- The leaders said despitethe turnedasingerduringthelock- policy briefs, four articles, fin- over telephone and through party’s community activities in atingahelplinenumberforwork- lockdown and the stay-at-home down. He has sung some old ishedJairam Ramesh’s book on conference calls and video- the southern states, especiallyin ers employedoutside Bihar and policy, theyhardlyget time to Bollywood numbers and up- VRKrishna Menon and conferencing. Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, fel- returningduring afterthe lock- pursue anyhobby. “I usuallyfin- loadedthem on his YouTube William Dalrymple’s The Soon afterPrime Minister lowBJP general-secretaryAnil down. “The helpline has already ish abook everyweek,but Ijust channel. The songs arefor vari- Anarchy,and is nowreading NarendraModi announcedthe Jain keeps trackofthese activities helpedaround4,200peopleinthe Lok Sabha MP and Bihar’s BJP stateunit chief SanjayJaiswal could finishwhat Iwas reading - ous moods and aretitled“ro- Crisis Point by US Senators Trent JanataCurfew on March 22,BJP in Haryana and Chhattisgarh. For last five days.Wereachhelp and doing echocardiographyofapatient. 10%Less Democracy:Why You mance during corona”, “the Lott and TomDaschle andHein president JPNadda and general Jain, the daystartsearly with followuponeachcall,” he said. Should TrustElites aLittle More truth of life: whichcorona re- GKiessling’s Faith, Unity, secretary(organisation) BL yoga andpuja, followedbytele- Jaiswal, aheartsurgeon, and and theMasses aLittle Less minds us of”, “camaraderie Discipline: The ISI of Pakistan. Santoshdecided to shape and phone calls and video-conferenc- hisgynecologist-wife packfood patientsaday during the break. Pratap ChandraSarangi; theBJP (Garett Jones) —because thereis withcoronaorchallengetoit?”, Lok Sabha MP Shashi guide the party’s courseofaction ing with stateministers anddis- foratleast100 people each day In Bhubaneswar, BJP vice- statepresidentand coregroup so muchtodo,”Pandasaid. “ephemerality of life...of which Tharoor isdevoting moretime —atleastfor amonth. trictin-charges. “Wecollect daily and distributeitatthe local gov- president Baijayant Panda said he memberstotake stockofthe ac- Jain has started Sixteen corona also reminds us”, and to exercising, spendingclose to Days later, eachBJP office- reportsfromthem and submit it ernment hospital. Theyhavealso works12-14hours aday,ashe tivities...” StormyDays: The Story of theFirst “the Sargamoflifeand the an hour and ahalf on keeping bearer and MP makes an average to the central office. Thereisa brought together agroup of doc- coordinates party activities in Besidesrunning community AmendmentoftheConstitution of soundof silenceduringcorona”. himself fit.Hespendssixto eight 80-90 phone calls eachday,at- meeting of general-secretaries tors from private hospitals fora Jharkhand. “I hold video-confer- kitchen foratleast650 people India by Tripurdaman Singh. Lok Sabha MP Manish hours on COVID-relatedinter- tend at leastfour video confer- with Nadda-ji at 7pmevery day 24-hour medical service cell. ening everyday withUnion min- and distributing dryrations, BJP FULLREPORTON Tewari is focusing on monitor- ventions forhis constituency. ences and spends 10-12hours in on Skype,” he said. Jaiswal saidhetreatsatleast8-10 isters Dharmendra Pradhan and MP from Ayodhya Lallu Singh www.indianexpress.com WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 6 EXPRESS NETWORK THE SUNDAYEXPRESS,APRIL5,2020

JAMSHEDPUR Price they pay to keep the virus away: Fiveheld for Shutting out family, moving to outhouse spreading online rumour on Tabligh event GARGIVERMA RAIPUR,APRIL4 ABHISHEKANGAD CHHATTISGARH HEALTH THECRONA RANCHI, APRIL 4 SecretaryNiharikaBarik says she hasn’t entered her house in FIGHTERS FIVE PEOPLEhavebeenarrested nearly amonth. The 49-year-old ANEXPRESSSERIES in Jamshedpur over the lasttwo IASofficer has been livinginthe days forallegedly posting social outhousetominimise contact media messagesthatare offen- with her aged parents and sive,inflammatorymessages teenaged daughter.Every day, also have to gonear thosepossi- and flamereligious hatred, the she steps out intothe garden to blyinfected,due to the nature of police said on Saturday. interact with her daughter,who my job.So, Ihaveisolated myself The messages were at- stands on the terrace. and don’tinteract with my fam- tempts to spread rumours by Over 250 km away,Raigad SP ily, unless it is from adistance,” citingthe Tablighi Jamatcon- Santosh Singh remains alone in he says. gregationinNizamuddin, Delhi, the front room while at home. IAS officer Niharika Barik has been living in the outhouse to The 2011-batchIPS officer in mid-March,the police said. The toughestpart, says the 37- minimise contact withher aged parents and teen daughter. says his children don’tunder- Thosearrestedhavebeen year-old police officer,iswhen stand whytheir father won’t play identified as Rakesh Sahu, his infant son crawls towards with them, and oftencry.“My BaldevSingh, Ramnarayan him, and he has to shut the door myself. Imeetseveral people, in- asmall table. The help leavesfood youngestwantstocome to me Singh, Mumtaz Khan and Khalid on his face. cluding doctors, and Ican’t min- and waterthere, whichIcarry andsometimescrawlstowards Majid. Theywerebookedunder Chhattisgarh, whichwent imise those interactions. But with me to theworkplace or to me. But Ikeep my door closed,” IT Actand under IPC Sections intolockdownonMarch 22 two since othermembers of my fam- my room,” she says. hesays. 188, 295(A) and 120(B). days before thenational move, ilyare in agegroups that aremore “The hardestpartisnot being Singh says he’s at work for Jamshedpur SSP Anoop has reported nine cases so far. at risk,Itook this decision,” she able to interact withmydaugh- morethan12hours everyday. Birtharay said: “Afterreports And, Barik and Singh areatthe says. ter. She might feel troubled, too, “My cook leavesthe food outside that manypeople who at- forefront of the state’s battle to The 1997-batch officer,who knowing that her mother is not the door...I wash my utensilsmy- tendedthe Nizamuddin con- contain the coronavirus.But like took charge as the state’s top accessiblephysically. This is adif- self. The onlytime Isee my chil- gregation have tested positive thousands of others likethem healthofficialin2018, spends ficult decision, it takesalot of re- dren is while leaving forwork, forcoronavirus, some people across thecountry, from govern- mostofher dayinthe “war solve.But unlikemanyothers,I when theystand near the door.I areposting inflammatorymes- mentofficials to medicalprofes- room” created by the Health have theprivilege of isolating hope that when theygrowup, sages and spreading rumour on sionals, theyare struggling to Department, whereshe carries myself at home,” she says. theywill remember thatIdid this social media.Wehavearrested come to terms with the personal her ownmeals. “I have sent my In Raigad, SP Singh says he because Iwas aresponsible fa- five people. We aretracking so- cost. entirestaff at home on leave,and has been following similarnorms ther,” he says. cial media posts very closely “The Health Ministerand our there’s justone help who lives to protect his wife, twochildren, “Now,otherofficers have and will put all suchpersons team had startedpreparing to with my family. She manages the and aged in-laws who have similarly isolated themselves. It intojail.” tackle the outbreak in January- household since Ican’t enter,” movedintotide over the lock- is difficult, as everyone wantsto Jharkhand Chief Secretary end.Idecidedtomoveout of my says Barik. down. “I have twoyoung chil- be able to relax with their fami- SukhdevSingh said theyare yet home in the secondweek of “I don’tlet anyone elsewash dren, and the youngestisbarelya lies afterwork.But this is our way to ascertain the number of peo- March,before thelockdown was or clean forme. Ileave my uten- year old. Ihavetogoout on the to ensure that thedisease doesn’t ple from the statewho attended announced. Ican’tquarantine sils near the door,whereI’vekept streets, meetpeople, and might come home with us,” says Singh. the Nizamuddin congregation. 107 new cases with Tablighi link, 2deaths in TN

ON SATURDAY,statesacross the UTTARAKHAND have tested positive.for the virus. gregation.Haryana’s totalcount countryreported107 newCOVID- Six persons linked to Tablighi Thetotalnumberof positive cases of COVID-19 patientstouched 70 19 casesand twodeaths linkedto Jamaat tested positive on COVID- in the statetouched 306. on Saturday. theTablighiJamaatreligiouscon- 19 infection on Saturday. Among Health MinisterKKShailaja JAMMU &KASHMIR gregation, held in Delhi’s the newcases,fiveare in Nainital told media that of Saturday’s 11 Tenof14people who were Nizamuddinarea. and one in Haridwar The total newcases, five have atravelhis- foundpositive forCOVID-10 in TAMIL NADU numberofCOVID-19positive toryof Dubaiandtwopersonsare Kashmir on Saturday arecon- Thestaterecordedtwodeaths cases recordedinthe statesofar primarycontactsofpatients nected withthe Tablighi Jamaat and 73 newCOVID-19cases is22.UttarakhandPolicesaid383 tested positiveearlier.Adistrict- congregation. linked to the religious congrega- people from the statehad gone wise break up showedthat six Thetotalnumberof COVID-19 tion in Delhi. Of the twodeaths of outside to attend jamaats after newcases arefromKasaragod, cases rose to 92 in J&K. As per the COVID-19 patientsreportedinthe March 1, and 26 of them have not taking the total number of pa- Saturday’s media bulletin,there state, a51-year-old man diedin returnedyet.The remaining tientsfromthat districtto137. areatotal of 68 casesofcoron- Villupuram medical collegeon members have been put in either HARYANA avirus in Kashmir. Saturdaymorning.The state institutional or home AfterPalwaldistrictwitnessed KARNATAKA health department said that the quarantine. aspikewith 13 Tablighis testing Twofreshpositive caseslinked husbandand the son of the 53- KERALA positivefor coronavirus over the to the Tablighi event were re- year-old woman who diedin Kerala on Saturdayreported last24hours,HealthMinisterAnil portedinthe statefromthe Madurai were also partofthe 11 freshcases of COVID-19, of Vijhasorderedmedicalexamina- DakshinaKannadadistrict,taking teamthattravelledtoDelhiforthe whom three had participatedin tion of allthe Tablighis who have the total number of patients congregation. In the state, 422 of theTablighiJamaateventinDelhi. entered Haryana afterMarch 1. linked to the Delhi event to 16. thetotal485casestestedpositive Officialssaid157personsfromthe Palwal has registeredthe maxi- Atotal of 16 fresh cases were aredirectlylinked to thecongre- statehad attendedthe event, and mum increase of COVID-19pa- reportedinKarnataka on gation. withthe fresh cases, atotal of six tientsinasingleday. Thestate has Saturdaytaking the total number identifiedover1,300Tablighis of COVID 19 cases to 144, includ- across Haryana,ofwhom over ingfourdeathsand11 discharges. GOVERNMENT OF MAHARASHTRA 510 hadattendedthe Delhicon- --ENS PUBLIC WORKS DIVISION, NASHIK RITES LIMITED E-TENDER NOTICE NO. 92 for 2019-20 (A Govt. of India Enterprise) REGIONAL PROJECT OFFICE, LUCKNOW (RFQ_Consultancy)CorrigendumNo. 1(Ist Extention) CIN :- L74899DL1974GOI007227 AS Per Demand From Bidders for following (RFQ_Consultancy) NOTICEINVITING e-TENDER NIT No.: RITES/RPO-LKO/JVUNL-JTPP/00018/P-7, Date: 04.04.2020 Tender.Hence Please read the following changes in Schedule in the The GM/P,RITES Limited, RPO-Lucknow on behalf of Jawaharpur Vidyut Utpadan Nigam above E-TENDER NOTICE NO. 93 for 2019-20 Ltd. (JVUNL), Distt.:- Etah, UP (A 100% subsidiary of UPRVUNL) invites online percentage rate tenders on two packet system for the following work:- (RFQ_Consultancy) Work Sr.No. 1Work I. D. (2020_PWR_567621_1) Name of work: Construction of Workshop Shed, POL Line, Administrative Building, Station Building, S&T Buildings, TXR Building, Rest Room and StaffQuarters etc. at Jawaharpur TPP, vide this corrigendumNo. 1 Singhpur Loya, Etah, Awagarh, Jalesar City,Shivala Tehu Stations and Proposed New Barhan Station on DFC Route (Package-7) in connection with construction of Railway Siding of 2X660 REVISED TENDER SCHEDULE MW Jawaharpur Thermal Power Project of JVUNL at Etah (UP) Estimated Cost: Rs 25.53 Crore, Earnest Money: Rs 25.53 Lac, Period of Completion: 15 Sr. Stage Start Time Expiry Date (Fifteen) Months, Last date of submission: 05.05.2020 at 15.30 Hrs. The bid forms and other detailscan be obtained from the website No. &Date &Time https://etenders.gov.in/eprocure/app Addendum /Corrigendum, if any,shall be hosted online only. 1 Publishing Date and Time 24.03.2020 -- From 11.00 2 (RFQ_Consultancy) Tender 24.03.2020 30.04.2020 Document Sale Start and End Date, From 11.05 Upto 17.00 Time 3 Bid SubmissionStart and End 24.03.2020 30.04.2020 Date, Time From 11.05 Upto 17.00 4 Bid Opening Date and Time 02.05.2020 -- From 14.00 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT REVISED SCHEDULE 1 Date, Time and Venue of On 02.05.2020 Time 1400 hours (If Opening of Technical Bid Possible) in the office of the Executive (Envelope No. 1&2) Engineer,P.W.Division, Nashik Other matter of the published Invitation for Tender remain unchanged. Sd/- Executive Engineer, O. C. Signed by E. E. Public Works Division Nashik WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THESUNDAY EXPRESS,APRIL5,2020 Crude Wa tch OIL SURGES OVER 13% NewYork: Crude futures surged forasecond dayonFriday, with both US and Brent contracts posting their largest weekly 7 ECONOMY percentage gains on record due to hopes that aglobal deal to cut crude supply worldwide will emerge early next week. REUTERS

EASINGWORKING CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS FOR BUSINESSESHIT BY COVID-19 Virus, lockdown take toll BRIEFLY on mentalhealth: Stress, Govtputscurbs Centrerelaxese-waybilldeadline, onexportof anxiety, insomnia riseas diagnostickits people fret over future NewDelhi: Thegovernment defersrestrictionofinputtaxcredit Saturday put curbs on ex- ports of diagnostic kitswith PRABHARAGHAVAN Around half the calls to aviewtodiscourageship- were getting expired and could over-dimensional cargo)are valid NEWDELHI,APRIL4 mentsamidthecoronavirus AANCHALMAGAZINE notberenewed on due dates. forone dayfor the movement of mental health outbreak. “The export of di- NEWDELHI,APRIL4 “... whereane-way bill has goodsfor100km,andinthesame NOIDARESIDENT Preeti (name organisations concern agnostic kits(diagnostic or been generated under rule 138of proportionforfollowingdays.Tax changed)has notsleptfor four rising tension over laboratoryreagentsona THE GOVERNMENT has retro- the CentralGoods and Services officials have thepower to scruti- days becauseshe has been expe- backing, preparation diag- spectively extendedthe validity TaxRules, 2017 andits period of nisethee-way billatany pointdur- riencing “paralysing” anxiety.The COVID-19, increasing nostic or laboratory of e-waybillsunder the Goods validityexpiresduringtheperiod ing transit to checktax evasion. nationwide lockdownhas aggra- domestic violence and reagents)...isrestrictedwith and Services Tax(GST) regime 20th dayofMarch,2020 to 15th In October lastyear,the GST vatedherparanoiaoverCOVID-19 the effectsofthe immediateeffect,” the that would have expired be- dayofApril,2020,thevaliditype- Councilput acap on input tax andintensifiedherdepressionand DirectorateGeneral of tween March 20 and April15to riod of suche-way bill shall be credit at 20 per cent of the eligible anxiety. lockdown on jobs ForeignTrade said. April 30. Also, in amovethat will deemedtohavebeenextended credit forbuyers whose suppliers Itdoesn’thelpthatshecan’tget ease the working capital require- till the 30th dayofApril 2020,” didnotuploadinvoices,whichwas the face-time she needs with her quartered psychosocial helpline, mentsfor businesses, the gov- the Finance Ministrysaid in ano- then further curtailedto10per counsellor.Tomakeupfor this, iCALL, announcedthree new ‘Moretimeto ernmenthas deferredthe imple- tificationlateFriday. TheMinistry cent in the GSTCouncil meeting theyspeak multiple times aday numbers afterthe lockdown pre- individualstofile mentation of 10 percent alsonotifiedothercompliance-re- on December 18. over the phone. The thoughtthat venteditscounsellorsfromreach- restriction on availing input tax Trucks at AzadpurMandi duringthe lockdown in New Delhi latedrelaxations,whichwerean- Abhishek Jain, taxpartner,EY goes overrepeatedlyinPreeti’s ing the office helpline. The new TDSexemption’ credit during February-August, on April2.Manytrucks arestranded across the country nouncedearlier. said,“Therelaxation forallowing mind is —“When is this going to numbers were “flooded”with whichwouldthen be cumula- since March 15,when states startedtolocktheir borders. PTI Accordingto notifiede-way bill cumulativereconciliationvia-a-vis end?” calls, but iCALL has onlybeenable NewDelhi: TheIncome-Tax tively adjustedinSeptember. rules,everyregisteredsupplierre- monthonmonthreconciliationfor The pandemic and ensuing to caterto55-60 aday instead of Department has allowed With hundreds of trucksget- quires prior online registrationon availinginputtaxcreditwasanim- lockdown in India have exacer- itsusual75-80becauseof ashort- individuals to submitForm ting strandedacrossthe country lockdown announcedbythe tential penaltiesarising from ex- thee-way billportalforthemove- perative oneto obviatehighercash batedsymptoms likeanxiety in ageofcounsellors. It is adding 15Gand 15Hfor the current since March 15,whenstates Centre, TheIndian Express re- pired e-way bills. Truckers were ment of these goods. The rules flows andtoreapthebenefitof the thosewithexistingmentalhealth morecounsellors. fiscalafter June 30 for startedtolocktheirborders portedonApril 2about trans- havinge-way billsfor goods in also specify that the permitsfor relief providedthrough extended conditions. The isolation and un- Around half the calls concern claiming exemption from down culminating intoanational porters raising concerns over po- transitoringodowns, which conventional cargo (otherthan timelinesforfilingofGSTreturns”. certaintyhasalsopromptedsome risingtensionsover COVID-19, in- TDS on interestincome to to seek professional help forthe creasingdomestic violenceand mitigatethe hardshipof firsttime. Issues rangefromfears theeffectsofthelockdownonjobs peopleamid the COVID-19 about the virus to worriesabout and personal finances.“The calls crisis. Forms 15Gand 15H 107 cargo flights ferried Low crude prices, fall in imports,rise in jobsecurityandmanifestindiffer- arenot onlycomingfromupperor arefiledbypersons, whose entways acrossstatesandclasses. middle-classpeople,butalsodaily incomes arebelow the tax- value of gold help forex reserves surge Delhi-basedconsultant neu- wage workers whodonot know ablethreshold, to seek ex- over 138 tonnes of PPEs, ropsychiatristDr.UmangKochhar wheretheywillgettheirnextday’s emption from TDS on inter- uity marketsbetween March 20 estimatesa20percentincreasein payfrom,”saidiCALLprogramme estincome. PTI enzymes, medical gear ENSECONOMICBUREAU and March 27 amounted to thenumberofpatientsduringthe coordinator TanujaBabre. NEWDELHI,APRIL4 $3.5 billion. lockdown period. This includes West Bengal-basedactivist hub-and-spokemodelto distrib- Cheap Experts sayforex reserves are those who mayhavesoughthis Ratnaboli Ray, founder of mental ITCpartners ENSECONOMICBUREAU utevariousessential itemsacross DESPITE THE continuedoutflow crudekey benefittingfromfalling imports. helpinthepast,were “stable”,but health rightsorganisation Anjali, NGOstodeliver NEWDELHI,APRIL4 the country, wherein these com- of funds by foreign portfolio in- “Wheneverglobal growth slows nowsee a“spike”insymptoms. explainedthat mental health is- modities sourced from various vestors in March,foreign ex- THE SHARP decline in down, our current account “Sleep is one thing that has been sues take on different shapes for foodsupplies MORE THAN 138tonnesofcargo parts of thecountryare first changereserves sawajumpin crude oil prices over the deficit looksbetter. While the ex- impacted themost,” he said. those living in poverty. “Poor peo- comprising COVID-19-related brought to various hubs suchas theweek endedMarch 27,asit lastone months has ports also decline, the imports Lastweek, the National ple who had been reintegrated in NewDelhi: ITChas joined reagents, enzymes, medical Delhi,Mumbai,Chennai,Kolkata, rose by $5.7 billiontohit $475.6 helpedIndia’s cause as fall moresince we arenet im- Institute of Mental Health and the community and were leading hands with three NGOs in equipment, testing kits, personal Bengaluru and Hyderabad. billion. While lowcrude prices crude oil importac- porters and thatresultsintoa Neuroscienceslaunchedanational ameaningful lifeare feeling re- buildinganetworktode- protection equipment like Thereafter, these goods are continue to help the cause, in the countsfor almost 20 per rise in foreign exchangere- COVID-19psychosocialhelplinein sourcelessandtheiranxietylevels liveressentialfood supplies masksand gloves and other ac- distributedto different statecap- week endedMarch 27,India wit- cent of total importbill. serves,” said DK Pant, chief econ- conjunction with the Health have gone up. Theyare worried to those severely impacted cessories have been transported itals or other towns as per requi- nessedariseinthe value of its omist, IndiaRatings. Ministry. On the firstday,theyre- theywillhave to dieoutof hunger, by the current lockdown, as through the countryin107 cargo sitioning by stategovernments. gold reserves and arise in foreign The sharp decline in crude oil ceived1,000calls.Onthesecond— or howtheywillaccess the med- per arelease. ChildRights flightsoperated between March Additionally, an “air bridge” be- currency assets. declinein reservescoincidedwith pricesoverthe lastone monthhas 3,000. ication theyare on.” and You, SOS Childrenâs 26 and Friday. tween Shanghai and Delhi has The riseinreserves come af- FPIoutflowthatamountedto $15 helpedIndia’s cause as crude oil “Manystateshavealsostarted “The effect is going to be large, VillageIndia and another Theseflights,flownby private been establishedbyAir India, tertwo consecutive weekswhen billion till March 19,2020. importaccountsfor almost20per regional languagehelplines,” said widespread and in asense, per- eminentNGO willhelp im- carriersIndiGoandSpiceJet,inad- whichwill operateits firstcargo the reserves came under pres- During the week ended centoftotal import bill. Earlier, NIMHANSdirectorBNGangadhar. haps, long-lasting,” said Sitaram plement this initiative.This ditionto AirIndia,AllianceAirand flight to theChinese city on sure. Whiletheyhad hit an all March 27,while thevalue of gold India’sforeignexchangereserves Other long-standing mental Bhartia Hospital consultant psy- programwillbeimple- Indian Air Force, have been oper- Sunday, in addition to other ded- time high of $487.2 billion on reservesjumpedby$3billion,the had asmoothrun fornearly six health organisations have had to chiatristDr. AlokSarin.“At themo- mentedbythe respective ated under the MinistryofCivil icatedscheduledcargo flightsfor March 6, theyfell $17.3billion foreign currency assets rose $2.5 months as theyroseweek-on- find newwaystobeaccessible ment, everybody has asense of volunteers of the NGOs in Aviation’s LifelineUdanscheme. uplifting of critical medicalequip- over the following twoweeksto billion. On the other hand, the net week betweenSeptember 20, during the lockdown. fragility.Anxiety is nowthe new eachstate. ENS TheMinistryhasestablisheda ment from China. $469.9 billion on March 20.The outflowbyFPIs from debtand eq- 2019 and March 6, 2020. Forinstance, Mumbai-head- normal,” he elaborated. YOURWEEKAHEAD BRIDGE SUNDAY CROSSWORD 2263 If it’s your Dealer East, nil vulnerable. ARIES (Mar 21 -Apr 20) LIBRA (Sep24-Oct 23) QUICKCLUES NORTH WEST EAST SOUTH Birthday Monetary matters You’ll have alittle ACROSS seemtobe causinga supportfromthe ♠ KJ6 ♠ 10742 ♠ 983 ♠ AQ5 1. 1984 sci-fithriller(10) fewproblems, Moon at the ❤QJ3 ❤105 ❤K9864 ❤A72 6. Beautypowder (4) 9. Give strength (10) although itisdifficult beginningofthe ♦92 ♦ 87543 ♦KQ6 ♦AJ10 10.Chess piece (4) SundayApril 5 to see whether itispartners or week,which is asuresignthat ♣KQ6 ♣K7 ♣A2 ♣J953 12.As______: in perfect health ? You’reontop of the world, or at leastyou youwho aretoblame!Itis you’ll feel good about your home (3,2,1,6) should be.Ifyou have aweakness, it’s your reassuring to note that your long- situation. Yetafinancialcrisis, WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH term celestialinfluences arevery hopefullyabrief one,isbound to 15.Southeasternmosthill of Rome inability to see howwell offyou are. If you 1❤ 1NT (7) prosperous indeed. Romantic flareuponWednesdayor Pass 3NT Pass Pass 16.Erudite-academic (7) have aspecial strength, it’s your ability to prospectsare also settocontinue Thursday, whenthe Sunand 17. Many(7) work hardtoimprove your lot. on ahigh note. Plutoget intotop gear. Pass 19.Associate(7) West leads the H10. Plan the play 20. Notusedto(12) TAURUS (Apr 21 -May 21) SCORPIO (Oct 24 -Nov 23) 23. Samoanseaport (4) MondayApril 6 Youseem to have This is no time for We cansee that, with the king convenientlysandwichedbe- 24.Cranialnerves (10) Eventswhichtakeplace todaycould been knockedoff weak-kneed tweenthesolidqueen-jackandtheace,North-Southwillwin 25. Slave or serf (4) foreshadowopportunities of the next two balance, perhapsby compromise. twotricks out of the firstthree forone lost, but howdoes the 26.Inaverylarge number(1,5,4) weeks.It’samomentforquietthoughtand someonewho no Instead, youmustbe playgoafter West has ledthe ten? longer understands your best tough and unyielding,asonlya DOWN discreetagreements. We canseethreespadetricks,two hearts,atleastonediamond, interests.However, over thenext Scorpio can. Youwill gain an 1. Nerd (4) probablytwo asthehonoursarelikelytobewellplacedunder fewdaysyou maypullyourself enormousamount of 2. Be jealous of (4) ourtenace,and thusthelongclubswillneedtobeestablished TuesdayApril 7 togetherand assert yourself even satisfaction from pursuing your 3. Grandeur or splendour (12) forthree tricks afterthe ace and king have been knockedout. Youmight feel as if you’vebeen here more thaninthe past. Youcan owngoals, sodon’t feel guilty 4. Drape(7) Again,whichdefender wins these topclub tricks will be cru- expect dramaticimprovements about being selfish. Fascinating 5. Hazard(7) before.But this time round youshould cial. Thefirstpoint to realize is that,ifEasthas both ace and by the endofthe week. news mayarriveatthe end of 7. Leaving or giving up completely have much morecontrol. That’s good king,thereisnohope as the defenders areamove ahead. On the week —sothat shouldstir (10) winning his firstclub, Eastwillknockout our second heart because you’ll have abetteridea of what to GEMINI (May22-June 21) things up. stopperand,onwinninghissecondclub,hewillbeableto cash 8. Adversaries,antagonists or rivals do about monetary matters. Groupeventspromise three morehearts fordownone and this all applies irrespec- (10) to bemoresatisfying SAGITTARIUS (Nov 24 -Dec 23) tive of howthe heartplaygoes. 11.Difference of opinion (12) than one-to-one It’s aweekfor plots, girls !(4) 18.Fellow with the unlinedgold WednesdayApril 8 13.Amass (10) meetings. Perhaps rumours and gossip. 14.Enticement (10) 24.Surprising old boat in backward cloak (7) ThecriticalcasethusariseswhenWest hasoneof theclubho- If you’vegot thefigures right then spareno that is because youwish to avoid You’ll also discover noursand is able to win the firstround of that suit while his 18.Feedbag (7) Mediterranean island(French 19.Birdbehaving likeadog ?(7) expense when it comes to home thecomplicationsthat mayarise increased partner’s entryiskeptintact –inother wordswhen the clubs 19.Overflowing (7) ocean) (10) 21.Competent Hollywood star’s no arebreaking2-2asabove.IfWestisabletoleadasecondheart, 21.Italian volcano (4) 25. Sounds likethe oppositeofayes good (4) entertaining.Youcaneitherinvitethewhole outofintimateencounters. opportunitiesfor spreading a thenthecontractwillbeset.However, if hehasbeenexhausted 22. Sight (4) and on thedot whenonit(4) 22. Male bridgepartnersbeing gang over or have aquiet, intimatedinner. Moneydevelopmentsmay be off littlegoodwill, helping people of hearts before takinghisclubtrick,we areamove aheadand 26. Bes result’s availablebythese females (4) theagenda until the end of the worse offthan youand generally our clubs will come in first, allowing us nine tricks. CRYPTICCLUES rent-payers who have tenantsof ThursdayApril 9 week,whenthe Moon begins a adoptingacharitable outlook. ACROSS their owninthe premises(3-7) Solutions to 2262 newrole in your financial life. Youshould be liberated from a So we see that, in situations wherethe declarer wonthe first 1. Cheer agroup of whales, with It’s adynamic time, full of potential for tight financial corner by the end trick,the defence prevails and vice versa. However, we can in- moremoving intoplacefor DOWN: QUICKCLUESAcross: 1Adequacy,5 positive experiences.You can either give in CANCER (June22-July23) of the week. sistonlosingthefirsttrick,whilestillkeepingourdoublestop- ancient pursuits(10) 1. Meaty parts forbad actors (4) Odessa,9Rattling,10Assent,12About, and go under,oryou canmeetthe Your best days should per intact,byplaying asmallcardinbothhands. This leaves 6. Raises containers forpart of lock 2. Yearn to find the colourone’s lost 13Enamoured,14Recant,16Student,19 be Thursdayand CAPRICORN (Dec 23 -Jan 20) the defenders with no answer. challenges and obstacles head on. (4) (4) Antonym,21Creepy,23Metallica,25 Friday, whenthe The Sun continues to Calve,26Elixir,27Agrarian,28Stings,29 9. Have fun etc.;I’m in effect very 3. Don’t quote me, but it’s taken help you, whichis Dealer East, both vulnerable Criminal.Down:1Abroad,2Extrovert,3 Moon, theplanet generous (10) from thealbum (3-3-6) FridayApril 10 responsible foryour emotions, surelygood news. NORTH SOUTH 4. Detailedtoappear in courtagain Unlit,4Congest,6Dissolute,7Steer,8 10.Article written by sailor in Scarlet Antidote,11Mars,15Annulling,17 Forsomeone who is supposedtobe so passesthroughasympathetic Take acloser look at (7) ♠ K852 ♠ AQ O’Hara’s former residence (4) Expulsion,18Harmless,20Main,21 humble, youcertainlyhaveagreatdeal to region of your chart. Even better, anumber of your engagements, 12.Nomoreone might tell a 5. Wealthydoctor and needy especiallysocial responsibilities ❤53 ❤AJ6 Charger,22Kernel,24Trini,25Claim. achieve.Great times lie ahead if youare other people will genuinely successful bidder (5,4,3) eccentric (7) CRYPTICCLUESAcross:1Repaints,5 and see if thereare anythat can ♦A86432 ♦KQ 7. Notquiteclearing it, coming preparedto layyour reputation on the line. understandyour hopes and 15.Stuffy idea to getinvolvedwith Spring,9Question,10Troika,12East’s,13 needs, whichshould make you be safelyabandoned. Do what the nur.(7) towardsthe end(6,4) Boughtoff,14Marble,16Goesout,19 ♣8 ♣KQ9643 feel happierand moreconfident. youcan to create the right 16.Suspect calls about debt (7) 8. Touristsmay go to see something Lugsail,21Points,23Colostrum,25Jiffy, SaturdayApril 11 conditions foramore WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH 17. Asmall quantityofLatin?(7) cheekilydisplayedbyladies(6,4) 26Elijah,27Petrarch,28Slacks,29 carefree existence. 11.Something warm to put on and Einstein.Down:1Roquet,2Pressgang,3 You’vegot plentyofgoodideas,theabilityto LEO(July 24 -Aug 23) Pass 1♣ 19.How rare to injurebattle legend ProfessionalLeos (3,4) getafter the feller (6-6) Ictus,4Trouble,6Parcheesi,7Inigo,8 put them intopractice and the faith in the AQUARIUS (Jan 21-Feb 19) Pass 1♦ Pass 3NT Graffito,11Jung,15Beanstalk,17Outof have mosttogain 20.Are greetings adaptedfor giving 13.U-boat raid resultsinsurrender Theemphasis on true,18Slackers,20Lark,21Pompeii,22 future. The worstthing youcan do nowis from the Sun’s current Pass Pass Pass guidance?(8,4) (10) close partnershipsis Python,24Leila,25Jerks. starttofeel sorry foryourself. motion. Allofyou West leads the H7 to the H3 and East’s HQ. Howdoyou 23. International development 14.Whatchocolateeaters do on stillverystrong, bicycle (6,4) with grand ambitions will plan the play? agencystudents were initially although it looks as if experience some sort of difficulty, you’ll be communicating at a mainlyaclash betweenshort- distance, vialetters and term domestic responsibilities telephones,ratherthan through andlong-term hopes.But whatis JUMBLED WORDS DifficultyLevel5s personalmeetings. The one important is that youdevelop percentofyou who have fax Instructions your creative talents, rather than Givenbelowarefourjumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemto TosolveaSudokupuzzle, machines will be receiving blindly submitting to aroutine strangemessages. therespectivesquaresbelow.Selectthelettersintheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtoget everydigitfrom1to9 4169 imposed from outside. theanswerforthegivenquip. mustappearineachofthe PISCES(Feb20-Mar 20) When______,thinkoftheconsequences.-Confucius(5,5) nineverticalcolumns,in VIRGO (Aug 24 -Sep 23) Youcan be muchtoo 170 Misunderstandings ready to eachoftheninehorizontal arelikelyaround the DRAEE CESUNS rowsandineachofthe accommodatethe U4 time of theSolar whims and wishesof nineboxes. alignmentsinthe

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T GUS AU SUS, EN ,C IER BR ED, :EAR SOLUTION WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 8 THESUNDAY EXPRESS,APRIL5,2020 THE OUTBREAK Sunday Story The Recovered

Hidden behindthe grim statistics of death and mounting casesofCOVID-19isanotherheartwarming number: of thosewho tested positive, yet battledthe virusand more,and cameout winning. The SundayExpress tells their stories —fromachoreographer in Bengaluru who can’twait to get backtoher dancestudiotoastudent in Surat who usedher time in isolation to reflect on life, familyand friends

that everyone who had come in contact with Naidu keep the faith. “In India, we always ‘Wealwaysthink system will me would getalerted. Ialsomade a think the system will betray us. But the level ‘I value my life WhatsApp group of whoever Ihad metand of efficiency,strategyand carewith whichthe informed them,” sherecalls. officials have worked in Karnataka has betray us. But care Igot Six days ago,Naidu’s isolation at the Rajiv reinstalledmyfaith,” she says. alot morenow. Gandhi InstituteofChestDiseases, wherethe Severalof herdays inisolationwere spent city’s COVID-19patientsare housed, came to overthephone,talkingto officialsof thepolice, It’sarebirth’ reinstalledmyfaith’ an end—when she waswheeledintoaroom the municipal corporation and the statesur- with another patient who had tested nega- veillance department, who painstakingly tive afteraround of treatment. went over her everymovement in the week DIYANAIDU I 36 helplinewe hadto call,butnooneanswered,” ThoughNaidu presented withveryfew she spent outside the hospital. RITABACHKANIWALA I 21 Naidu recalls. “The friends and colleaguesI symptoms—neitherfever,norcough—ithas “Fromalistofthe Ola cab drivers, food MANAGEMENTSTUDENT,SURAT CHOREOGRAPHER,BENGALURU had metinSwitzerland had also gone back beenatryingtime.“Itfeelslikeabigwavehas delivery people Ihad interacted with, to the Discharged on March29 In hospital, waiting forsecond home and were leading normal lives. That’s hit youand youare trying to stand up,” she places Ihad been to andthe studio Ihad test to be cleared what Idid too.” says.“Onceyougointoisolation,youtellyour- workedin. TheycheckedCCTVfootage and She had self-reported to aprivate hospi- self youare illandyouneedtostayalone.Idid clinicallytrackeddownmy primarycontacts. KAMALSAIYED tal, when doctors told her she could notbe yoga foranhour to keep myself sane. The Ihad gone lateatnight to agrocer’s, Iwas AMRITADUTTA tested forCOVID-19 yet—she hadnot trav- nurses would come in with their PPEs and wearing amask so theycould notrecognise THE FOUR chairs around the dining table at elledtothe countries on the list, and had no their hazmatsuits,but theywereverykind. me. But theycross-checkedwiththe clothes the Bachkaniwala home have been placedat TBEGAN as aloss of sensation —both symptoms.Whenthetastelessnesspersisted, “The nurses would come in with Evenif theycomeinfor30seconds,theytryto Iwas wearing, traced my bank transactions leastsix feet aparttoensureproper social tasteand smell. DiyaNaidu had retur- shereturned. “By that time, travellers from their PPEs and hazmatsuits, jokeabit.Thehealthcareworkers’dedication and made surethe shopwas shut down. distancing. The familyhas been very cautious nedtoBengaluru from Switzerland a other countries toowerebeing screened. So is extraordinary. It’s the outside stuffthat Luckily, noneinthe listofmyprimarycon- sinceRitacame home on March 29, after week agoand thought something was theycalledmeover,and Ihad athroat swab but they were very kind.Evenif messes withyour head,” she says. tactshas tested positive,” she says. being dischargedfromNew Civil Hospital Iamiss.“Ireaduponlineto seeif thatwas done,” she said.Itwas positive. Whilepeopletrolledherfornot goinginto Whatshereallywantsto doisreturnhome (NCH)inSurat. they come in for30seconds, asymptomofCOVID-19but at thetime, not Withinhalf-an-hour, amedicalofficerhad isolationonherreturn,herlandlordaskedher andherlifeasadancer,thoughbothseemdif- Ritatestedpositive forcoronavirus on manyhad reportedit. My friends,who were arrivedatherhouseto take herto ahospitalin they trytojokeabit.The to move outevenwhile she wasinhospital. ficultfornow.“Itwilltake alot of courage,and March 19,days aftershe reachedSurat from doctors, said it mightbesinus,”she recalls. Indiranagar,whereshe waited forfour days healthcareworkers’dedication “Strangers on my Facebook postcalledmea moretimebefore we canalltake to thedance London, whereshe is pursuing an under- But it niggledatthe 36-year-old choreog- before theresultsofconfirmatorybloodtests cold-bloodedmurderer,and calledfor my ar- floor together,orwatchaconcert together.” graduatedegreeinInternational Business rapher,nevertheless.Shehadreturnedfroma came in.“Iwas notconscious of the fact that I is extraordinary” rest.It’scometo thisthatif Itestnegative again, Fornow,afriend has offeredtheirvacant Management at Brunel University. work triponMarch9,nervousaboutwhether wasafraid. But Icould see Iwas shivering Icouldbedischargedintwo days andIdon’t officeasaplacetostaywhensheisdischarged. “Aftermyuniversity wasshut down,Ire- she had to isolateherself. “But at thattime, slightly. From the moment youget that call, about her lifeasusual. An artistwho lives knowwheretogo,” she says.“But if people “Evenaftergettingdischarge,Ihavetoquaran- mainedmostlyindoors... Imight have picked therewas no quarantine protocol in place for youstart thinking, ‘Who all did Imeet? Did alone in the city, she metfriends,attendeda don’trefrainfromhatingpatients,thenextper- tine myself foranother fortnight. If all the infection from either Heathrow airport people who had returnedfromSwitzerland. someone Imeetgoand visit their grand- concertand visitedthe dance studio she son who suspectsshe is infected will hide it.” COVID-19patientsare goingto betreatedlike or the Mumbai airport,” she says on the OnlytravellersfromChina,Singapore,Iranand mother? Did Iput them at risk?’” she recalls. worksat. “Immediately afterIgot to knowI In all this, it has been the quietefficiency this, then we have abig problem on our phone from her home in Surat’s Piplod area. Italyhad to isolatethemselves. Therewas a Till she wasdiagnosed,Naidu had gone waspositive,Iput out aFacebookpost, so of the government officials that has helped hands...andIamnot talkingaboutthevirus....” Soon afterarrivinginIndia, the 21-year- old came down withafever andcough. The coronavirus diagnosis, she says,“didnot come as ashockasIhad prepared myself for it”. Her parentsNimish and Anjana, and ‘Fortunately, lifehad other brother Janak,werealsoquarantinedatthe home,” she adds Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) quarters ‘Noone will knowIwas the On hearing of her hospitalisation, at Vesu, though theytestednegative. plans... Happytobewith family’ Shambli’s parentsarrived at her But it washer days in isolationthat tested Noida flat onlytobeput under girl whohad COVID-19’ home quarantine. MAULANAASADQUASMI I 43 down. Iwas scared,Ididn’t knowifIwould Theyalso had to face tauntsfrom RELIGIOUSPREACHER,MUMBAI seemyfamilyagain. The stress of being others in the apartmentcomplex, who infected withthe coronavirus took abig SHAMBLI I 22 accusedtheir daughter of notbeing Discharged on March30 mental toll on me. Ihavediabetes and my MBBSSTUDENT,NOIDA careful enough. “They were overreacting. sugarlevelswould also increase because of Theydidn’t deserveanexplanation thestress...Fortunately, lifehadotherplans.” Discharged on March26 because Ihad takencaretoself-report LAXMANSINGH On March30, aftertwo consecutive and notmeetanyone. Itoldmyfather to negative tests, he wasdischargedfrom ignorethe tauntsand onlyinteract with “WHEN Iwas in hospital, rumours of my hospitalandaskedto stay inself-quarantine ANKITADWIVEDIJOHRI the Chief Medical Officer of Gautam deathwouldspreadeveryday.Peoplewould forthe next 14 days. Buddha Nagardistrict. Even on March 26, call me to checkifIwasalive.Evenmyfam- Forthe pastfew days,Quasmi has been THE ‘ANGRYBIRDS’game on herphone when Icame backhome from hospital, ilymemberswouldgetsuchcalls.Itwasvery spendinghisdays ina10x15roomonthefirst and acopyofChetanBhagat’s The Girl the head of the Resident Welfare disturbing,”says Maulana floor of his house, while his In Room 105 have been Shambli’s com- Association raisedafewquestions, but Asad Quasmi, 43, apreacher wifeand four children live on panion through her days of quarantine nothing came of it. Afterall, Ihad come atalocalmosqueinMumbai’s the ground and second floor. —bothinhospital and nowathome. “I backtomyown house,” she says. Govandi, alarge slum pocket His room has afew utensils, have no idea of when the sun risesor At home now, while her parentsare on the city’seastern suburbs. his clothes,and abed. sets.Ihavejustbeen holedupinmy through withtheir 14-dayquarantine, With over 300infections, “I have been reading the room,” says the 22-year-old MBBS she continues to be restricted to her Maharashtrahas thehighest Quran Sharif and abookon student on phone from her apartment room. “My parentsonlyget me food, Rita (left) is astudentatauniversity numberof COVID-19casesin the lifeofProphetMuham- in Noida. thereisnootherinteraction. Forour in London the country, andwith the mad.Sometimesmy children On March 14,Shambli, athirdyear supplies, we makeorders online, and it is virusnowfindingitswayinto sit outside the room and we MBBSstudentatTbilisi StateMedical deliveredtothe apartment gate.My the densely populated slums chat. Iamhappytobeback University in Georgia, returnedtoDelhi “I don’t want to complain father goes and picks it up... Imostlyplay “I would talk to my parents, of Mumbai, wheresocial dis- with my family,”hesays. from France, whereshe wasonaholiday about the conditions games on my phone orread.Ilikereading cousins and friends. Icouldn’t tancinghasitschallenges,the Quasmi is also relieved with friends. novels,” she says. state’s health administration that unlike manyofthe re- While she headedstraight to the flat at the hospital, but Fornow,Shambli has decidednot to even do video calls because has atough task on itshands. portshehadbeenreading,neitherhenorhis in Noida that her familyowns, Shambli everyone seemed scared. inform her university about her condi- therewas no Internet.But it Amaulanafor thepast20years, Quasmi familyfacedanydiscriminationinhisneigh- —whoseparentsliveinPakur,Jharkhand tion. “Anyway,the collegeisclosed. Iam had visited Sri Lanka, Bangkok,Cambodia bourhood. “Mostofmyneighbours were —says shefelt weak,and had arunning Thedoctorsand nurses nowwaiting forthe online classes to start. helped me stayawayfromall and Malaysia,before returning to Mumbai concernedabout my health and never nose, drycough and headache. were worriedabout taking Ihope that happens soon. Idon’t want to the alarming newsaround on March 17.OnMarch 22, he tested blamedmeforbringingthevirusto thearea. “I immediatelybooked an Ola cab and wastemyyear because of the pandemic,” positive forcoronavirus and wasadmitted EvenwhenIcamebackfromhospital,many went to theGovernment Instituteof the infection home” she says. COVID-19” to Kasturba Hospitalfor Infectious Diseases peoplecameto meetmebutIsentthemback Medical Sciences in Greater Noida.On Does she worryabout having to deal in Chinchpokli. as Iamstill in quarantine,” he says.“Since I March 17,Itestedpositive,” she says. Iwas going to die. It wasjustlikeany viral with anykind of stigma in the future? her resolve.“Iwasprescribed oral medicines “Afterreturning from my travels,Ideve- am apreacher,people respect me.” At the hospital, forthe next three-four fever,” she says. “No... No one recognises me here. Even if and injections. Ibecame weak and wasalso lopedfever.When my condition did not As he nowwaits forhis quarantine to days,she continuedtohave feverand “I don’t want to complain about the Igoand stand in the lobbyofmy givenIVfluids. The hospitalstaff monitored improvefor afew days,Iwent to thehospi- end,Quasmisays he is relievedthat all his some “side-effects” of the medicines she conditions atthe hospital,but everyone apartment, no one will knowthat Iam me five times aday,measuring my blood tal. When Iheardthat my resultswereposi- familymembers tested negativefor the wason. “I wasvomiting, Ihad breathing seemedscared.The doctors and nurses the girlwho wasdiagnosedwith pressure, my bodytemperatureand my tive,Ithought it wasthe end of my life,” he virus. “Aftermyisolation ends, Iwill visit issues...Buthonestly, at no pointdidIthink were worriedabouttaking the infection COVID-19,” she smiles. breathing. The mostpainful partwas when says,adding,“Oneday, whenIwasreturning the mosque and thank Allah foreverything. the doctors took swab samples from my to my bedfromthewashroom,Ihadabreak- Icame backfromthe dead.” nose,” she recalls. Aftergetting discharged, Rita put up avideo on her Facebook page thanking the doctorsatNCHand urging people to trustgovernment hospitals.“They were very helpful,” she smiles. ‘Happy Iamalive,but Ifear ‘Have six-month-old child at home, Beingawayfromher familywas tough, says Rita,adding that all through her days in discrimination onceIreturnhome’ 213 not sureifIwant to return to work’ isolation, she sawthem only once—through aglass separation. “Therewas no television totalnumberofpatients inmywardand my phone wasmyonlycon- 65-YEAR-OLD antine facility. They have to spend another whohaverecoveredacross 37-YEAR-OLD Although the samples of her husband nection with the worldoutside. Iwould talk fortnight therebeforemoving backhome. and son returnednegative,the familyhad to my parents, cousins and friends. Icouldn’t RAIPUR,CHHATTISGARH At the quarantine facility,the 15 family 19states LABTECHNICIAN,GURGAON to fightanother battlebackhome,where a even do video calls because therewas no Discharged on April 2 members arehoused in four rooms where Discharged on April 1 fewhostile neighbours demandedthey Internet. But it helpedmestayawayfromall the children spend mostoftheir time play- move elsewhere. the alarming news around COVID-19,” says ing games on the phone. “The authorities STATERECOVERED “Some of them reallyharassedmy Rita, adding that she managed to finish three GARGIVERMA also arranged forafewbooks,and my sons SAKSHIDAYAL husband. Theywanted us to leave.We novels during her stay at the hospital — Gone ANDHRAPRADESH 1 teachthe children sometimes. But Ican’t finallyhad to call the PCR to counsel our with theWind, Inferno and Vanished. SOMETIME IN thethirdweek of March, the wait to go outfor awalk,”says the 68-year- CHHATTISGARH 3 THREE WEEKSago,the 37-year-old, a neighbours,”she says,addingthat there “When Igot tired of reading, Iplayed 68-year-old developedacold and cough. old. Adds hisyounger son, “Sometimes, we DELHI 15 laboratorytechnicianatCivil Hospital, were also people whowere“extremely SubwaySurfers on my phone. Iwas also “It seemednormal, likeany ordinary talk to peopleinthe adjacent rooms GUJARAT14Gurgaon, wasfillingupforms andascer- supportive”, sending food to her husband, carrying my economics textbook and studied illness...But then one daythe ASHA didi through the walls, but that gets boringtoo.” taining the travel historyofsuspected who did notknowhow to cook.“Since my whenever Igot achance,”says Rita.Her came to our house to inquireifanyone was The 68-year-oldhas another concern on HARYANA 24 COVID-19patients. On March 20, she husband wasinself-isolation and could not exams aredue later this month. ill, and we told her about our father,” hismind.“IamhappythatIamalive andwell. HIMACHAL PRADESH 1 joinedthe growing listofpositive cases leave thehouse, some people also got him Aftergetting dischargedfromhospital, recountshis 36-year-oldson. But now, when Igoback, people will treat JAMMU AND KASHMIR 3 herself, fightingabattle that was“more essential items.” Ritawas movedtoaflatofthe Surat Inthenext48hours,thefamilyof15was our familyasuntouchables. No member of mental thanphysical”. All throughher treatment, the family Municipal Corporation, alittle distance from KARNATAKA 12 uprootedfromtheir two-room housein my familyshowedany symptoms,butbeca- “I gave my samples afterdeveloping a remainedintouchthrough phone and whereher parentswerekept.OnMarch 29, Raipur’sRamnagarareaandmovedto agov- useofme, all of them suffered,” he says on KERALA41sorethroat and diarrhoea. The results video calls. While in quarantine, she would the family’s quarantinefinallycame to an end ernment-run quarantine facility in the city. the phonefromthe quarantinefacility. LADAKH 3 came on March 20. The next day, my son watchreligiousshows on television or read and theymoved backtotheir house. OnMarch 25,the68-year-oldtestedpositive The familyhas another worry: the im- and husband were also tested.Iwas news reports on COVID-19. “Thefirstthing Idid on reaching home was MAHARASHTRA 42 forCOVID-19—the thirdcase in the state. pactof thelockdownontheirtransportbusi- placedinisolation at Medanta—The On April 1, after10days in isolation, she to bowbeforethe portrait of our familyguru, “This case wasdifferent because the ness. “Fortunately, we ownour houseand PUDUCHERRY1Medicity,” says the mother of asix- wasfinallydischargedfromhospital when Swami Nijanand. My mother got acall from patient did nothaveany historyofforeign ourtempos, so at leastwewill have shelter PUNJAB 1 month-old boy. twoofher samples returnednegative.Back Chief MinisterVijay Rupani. He asked her travel,” said asenior health official, adding, and some help,” says his eldestson. RAJASTHAN 21 The 10 days in isolation,she admits, home now, she says she wantstofocus on about our well-being and urgedustofollow “Afterhetestedpositive,hewas movedto As theyspend their days in quarantine, were very difficult,“especially because I her home and family, andisunsureabout the post-hospitalisation protocol,” she says. AIIMS Raipur.Fourteen other members of cut-offfromtheworld,thefamilyadmitsthat TAMIL NADU 6 wasawayfrommybaby, who is justsix returning to work immediately. “I have Looking back, says Rita, the COVID-19 his family, including histwo sons and their theywonder howtheirfather pickedupthe TELANGANA 1 months old”. “The onlything Icould do was been allowedhome rest forone week now experience “has taught me to value life children, were placed in quarantine and infection. “Wedon’t knowwhat happened, UTTARAKHAND 2 to stay in touchwith my familyonadaily because Istill have some nausea and alit- more”. “The isolation gave me time to reflect tested.Fortunately, they were allnegative.” but we areglad that he is nowcured. Babuji basis. The support from my department tle heaviness in my abdomen because of on my life, my relationship withmyfamily UTTAR PRADESH 19 Afterundergoingtreatmentfornearly 10 theek hai, filhaal to usimesantosh hai (myfa- also gave me strength,” she told TheSunday the medication. Ialso been away from my and friends, things that Iwould overlook days,the68-year-oldwasfinally discharged ther is healthynow,weare happywith that WESTBENGAL3Express on April 2, hours afterbeing son... Idon’tknowifIwill re-join my team earlier... Ivalue my lifealot morenow.It’s a on April 2, and joinedhis familyatthe quar- fornow),” says the38-year-oldson. reunited with her family. anytime soon,” she says. rebirth forme,” she says. WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 9 OPINION THESUNDAYEXPRESS,APRIL5,2020

Across Fifth THEAISLE COLUMN TAVLEENSINGH Now,everyoneisinprison Twitter@tavleen_singh

ACCORDINGTOWHO, 205 countries are commandedbythe richestcountryofthe puppetjudiciaryand areeither in exile countrytocountry. Some cannotbe affected by coronavirus or COVID-19. A worldseems to be of anyuse. The dollar or jail. described as democracies. More than virus is asubmicroscopic infectious agent has appreciated,but a‘strong’dollar is as Turnto Africa,andthepictureisworse. Thailand: The newgovernment of that replicates onlyinside the living cells powerless as a‘weak’ eurooryuan. Ethiopia: Mr AbiyAhmed became Prime MinisterPrayut Chan-o-cha of anorganism.Virusescaninfectalltypes Yet, severalheads of government, prime ministerin2018, made peace with assumed powerin2019. Therehavebeen gestures PCHIDAMBARAM of lifeforms includingbacteria. That’s elected or usurpers, want to rule their Eritreaand wonthe NobelPrize.Through physicalassaultsonpolitical activists, Website:pchidambaram.in enoughabout viruses forthe purpose of countries, not govern with the consent of 2019,the Internetwas switchedoff. forced disappearances of human rights Twitter@Pchidambaram_IN this column. theircitizens.AsBruceSpringsteensaidin An NGOhas documented 64 extra-judi- defenders,and the criminal code’s provi- needed now COVID-19isthe name givenbyWHO ‘Badlands’,‘And aking ain’t satisfied ‘Til he cialkillingsandatleast1,400casesof arbi- sions aredefactothreatstofree speech. to aninfectiousdiseasecausedbythenew ruleseverything’.Howhollow theiractions trarydetentions. Cambodia:The2018 pollswereheldin virus. It wasfirstnoticedinapatient as andinstrumentsseemtoday?Diktats,life- Tanzania:PresidentJohnMagufulihas aseverelyrepressive environmentthatof- NO POLITICAL crisis from days of yore or causedbya‘new’ virus by aChinese doc- long power, rubber-stamp parliaments, arrested Opposition MPsand journalists, feredvoters no meaningful choice. The elections pasthas been aharsher test of tor, LiWenliang,inDecember2019.Hewas cronycourts,pliantagencies,spies,andthe shut media outlets and passedlawsto main opposition party wasbanned, NarendraModi’s leadership than this houndedbythe Government of China, mostwidelymisusedtool,throwing muzzle dissidents. opposition leaders were in jail or exiled, Chinese virus. So, Iwaitedfor thePrime made to sign aconfession, caught the in- political opponentsinprison formonths Europepresentsamixedpicture.There and independent media and civil society Ministertospeak before sitting down to Themost powerful human on fection,anddiedonFebruary7,2020atthe or years without acharge,are all hollow. arerobustand celebrated democracies, outlets were curtailed. The ruling party writethis. Likeyou, Iwill tonight turn earth (so they say) US ageof33. (The authorities apologisedaf- thereare also: wonevery seat in both houses. the lightsoff in my house fornine terhis death.) The newvirus that he had Hungary: PrimeMinisterViktorOrban minutes at 9pmand light acandle to President Donald Trump noticedhasspreadrapidlythroughoutthe OPPRESSOR & has alignedthe executive, legislatureand shownationalistsolidarity in the war helplessly watched as the worldinless than100days. OPPRESSED judiciary. His government forced the HUMANITY WILL WIN againstthis invisible enemy. Imustadd, number of infected persons in COVID-19 cannot be stoppedatthe closureofCentralEuropeanUniversityand Beforeyou despair, ask yourself, why at the risk of having the BJP once more bordersof acountry, itrespectsnonational Youshould remind the oppressors: is imposedthe firstinternettax.OnMarch iseverystrongleaderunableto ‘arrest’the ask forthis column to be shut down, his countrycrossed 213,600 borders, and it does notdiscriminateon it notironic that the whole worldhas 30, Mr Orban got passedemergency spread of coronavirus? Will humanity ul- that Ihad hopedfor more. on April 3(highest in the grounds of religion, caste,race, sex, and turnedintoaprison and the oppressors legislation thatgives himthe right to rule timatelytriumph over the epidemic? The The Prime Ministerhas aviewofthe world). Thenumber of placeof birth.Inaperversesense,thevirus and the oppressedfind themselvesinthe by decree as long as he deems fit. tallestliving Tamil poet, Mr Vairamuthu, battlefield that is morepanoramic than deaths, it waspredicted,will respectsArticles 14 and 15 of the same prison? Russia: President VladimirPutin thinksso, and has pennedabeautiful we have under curfew so Iwould have Constitution of India. Sinceyou arelockeddown, hereisa pushedthrough aconstitutional amend- poem on coronavirus (here is afree liked to hear him tell us whether his be between 100,000 and game youcan play. Download amap of ment thatresethis term to zero. In translation of apart): strategy to win the battle againstCOVID- 240,000. The‘most powerful POWERLESS LEADERS the worldonyour laptoporphone. Ask Moscow, whenthousandsofprotesters Tinier than theatom 19 is working. Iwould have also liked to militaryinthe world’ is anyfamilymember to identify the coun- filledthestreets,theauthoritiesresponded Deadlier than theatombomb hear his views on howheplans to mitiga- unable to do anything. Notall Themostpowerfulhumanonearth(so tries one by one. Andask onequestion: with batons, over 2,000 were detained, Enters without asound te the terrible economic crisis that alrea- theysay)USPresident Donald Trump does that countrythrow people in jail dozens were beaten, and severalhad cri- Destroyswithout awar dy looms. Those who survive on daily the wealth commandedbythe helplesslywatched as the number of without acharge? minal cases openedagainstthem. Arrest Man will annihilate wagesopenlyadmit that their choice is to richest countryofthe world infected personsinhis countrycrossed Hereiswhat youwill find, and of political opponents, violence by police The Corona too die of hunger or die of the virus. India seems to be of anyuse. The 213,600 on April3(highestinthe world). these areonlyexamples. Startwith officers,detentionof children,andthreats He will conquer thepandemic faces the same problems in this extraordi- dollar has appreciated, but a The number of deaths, it waspredicted, South America. to parentshavebecome commonplace. Whenhumanitywinsthiswaragainst narilyterrifying moment in time as every willbebetween100,000and240,000.The Venezuela: Thirty Opposition lead- Thereare over 200political prisoners in coronavirus,Ihopehumanitywillalsowin other country, but the difference between ‘strong’ dollar is as powerless ‘mostpowerful militaryinthe world’ is ers were strippedoftheir parliamentary the country. itsfreedom from dictators and tyrantsas us and developedwestern countries is as a‘weak’euro or yuan unable to do anything. Notall the wealth immunity by President Nicolas Maduro’s Asia: Degrees of freedom vary from also from those who aspiretobe so. that morethan 80 per cent of our econo- my is in what is calledthe ‘unorganised sector’. We knowthat in the US nearly ten million Americans have already registered as unemployed, but we have History no wayofknowing howmanyIndians Thecastefactor in Onceupon atime,when have become jobless and arelikelyto remain jobless till this virus is defeated. HEADLINE Political leaders everywhereface the social distancing AVISHEKGDASTIDAR trains stopped in theirtracks ultimate test of theirleadership today, but Modi’s test will be hardernot just in [email protected] tryingtosaveusfromeconomiccollapse. The total lackofempathyofthe mid- But, also intryingtodestroy this ruthless dle class towardsmigrant workers is killer because all he hasare primitive seated in their place in the labour hierar- THE THINGabout being 167years old is tools. As Iwritethiscome stories from Dalitality chy, which is right at the bottom,with that fewthings surprise you. No matter Mumbai about people testing positive in them engaged in low-paying jobsasma- what comes your way, you’ve probably Dharavi. In normal timesforeign visitors SURAJYENGDE sons, helpersorcleaners.The women experienceditbefore, maybeevenmore aretaken forpoverty tourismtoDharavi Twitter@Surajyengde work at construction siteslayingbricksor than once. Surviving anationwide lock- as it is famous forbeing Asia’s largest labouring in farms, or as domestic helps. down included. slum. In normaltimes itdoesindeed Manyare reducedtobegging on the Forthe country’s Railway system, de- have agrotesque sortofcharmbut nowit streetswith their children. scribed with the beaten-to-death cliché has becomesodangerous aplace that THE MEASURES to handle the COVID-19 While those belonging to the domi- “Lifeline of India”,shutting itself down in- those wholiveinfine buildings in the city pandemic proposedbythe WHO were di- nant castesundertake migration forup- definitelyand directing itsvastmachin- areorderingtheirdrivers,maids and rected at everyone. It wasuptorespective ward mobility,the Dalitsand Adivasis are erytokeep onlythe essentials running re- otherdomestic employees to stop countries to introduce regulatorymeas- unable to gain benefitsasthe system fur- quired justaflipping backofafewpages. coming to work.Theyare terrifiedthat if ures to encouragephysical distancing. The ther disadvantages them in the urban Take the small example of running they come theywillbring the virus with Indian government got fartoo excited and spatiality,according to aresearch pub- parcel trains. The Railwayshas started them from theslums in whichtheylive. If hastilyimplemented “social distancing” lishedin2019bySChandrashekhar and some 20 trains to exclusively carry parcels they avoid gettingitintheir crowded, by force, leaving aheavy-handedpolice Arup Mitra. —perishables, groceryitems, e-com- windowlesstenementstheywillsurely to enforce an overnight curfew that left We needsolid social welfarepro- merce consignmentsetc whichwould or- pick it up on thetrains. thousandsstranded. grammes. Acountry can’tclaim anyvalue dinarilygobytrucks —tomajor centres It is very,veryimportanttostopthe Plus, social distancinginIndia comes if it doesn’t protect its weakestsections. of the country. In the ageofalockdown, The Railways is running trains to transport parcels to various parts of the country virus from spreading exponentiallybut is with an edge,ofcaste.Unsurprisingly,the The recent exodus of migrant workers is facedwith the threat of adeadlyvirus, it’s this even possible? If itstrajectoryfollows moneyed, whether it’s hereorinthe US, the outcome of an inefficient administra- no easy task.Putting together the neces- the pattern that we have seen in Europe profited.InIndia, pricesof tion and the insensitivity of sarystaff and the whole paraphernalia to RailwaysthatfirstshowedIndia what no staff. They were on strikeand angry. and the United States, howwill we cope? sanitisers soared.InAmerica, policy advisors, including load and unloadand thenstick to asched- life waswithout trains —muchlikein We had to scramblefor resources every If the mostefficient health services in the the Congress passeda$2tril- Thetotal lack of the PrimeMinister, towards ule would unnervethe best player in the March-April 2020. daytoput together that one service. But worldare running shortofventilators and lion stimulus bill largely res- empathyofthe the poor,Dalitsand Adivasis. business. But forthe Railways,it’s abit of Mobilised by the youngtrade union then the playbook of railwaymensays, no maskshow will our public hospitals cuing corporates. However, middleclass Images of manyofthem awalk in the park. Itsexperience of run- leader George Fernandes, the strong rail- matter what,ifatrain has to run, it will managewhereevensoap is aluxuryand while it is important to take who returnedtovillages ning services despiteconstraintsgoes wayunions of Indiaplayedhardball with run,” said Shri Prakash, a1971-batch wheredangerouslysickpatientswill have careofthe economyand towards migrants is kept quarantinedinabysmal backsome severaldecades. IndiraGandhi,noless. Indian Railway TrafficService (IRTS) offi- to tryand survive in filthy, crowded healthcareofacountry, let’s seated in their place quarters is reminiscent of Around the time when India waswak- When the then Prime Minister cer who retired as Railway BoardMember wards. We thanked our frontline corona notlose sight of the cultural in the labour “cordon sanitaire”or“putting ing up to theneedfor anetwork of mod- remainedunshakable to thedemand for (Traffic) in 2009. warriors in advance on the dayofthe andpolitical after-effectsthat the impurepeople inside a ern highwaysand wasjustabout passing fixedworking hours fortrain drivers and Thereare other instances of the Rail- JanataCurfew by ringing bells and coronavirus will leave. hierarchy,whichis barbed wire, intoasortofa aHighwaysAct in 1956, Indian Railways, an across-the-boardpay raise, a chakka ways stepping up in trying circumstances. banging our ‘thalis’but can we now One of the images that right at the bottom, cage”,asAmbedkar des- in the late1950s,began dedicated parcel jam became inevitable. How, during the 1971 warwith Pakistan, ensurethat theyhavethe protective came out of India lastweek withthem engaged cribed in his magisterial trainscalledQuickTransit Service (QTS). Foraround three weeksinMay 1974, railwaymen worked 24 hours at astretch equipment theydesperatelyneed? wasofagirlchildofabout 6 treatise The Untouchables. Mainlytaking essential commodities no trains ran. Because therewas no one to forfivedaystoensureIndia’s militaryca- Speaking of our frontline warriors I years of agewalking with her in low-paying jobs The latter live in permanent of everydayuse from the then run them —drivers, station masters, pability remainedwell-suppliedatthe have to saythat the mostdreadful story worldlypossessions tiedina segregation. industrial/business hub of Calcuttato guards, trackstaff and manyothers. Eastern and Western fronts. The thou- lastweek wasofhealthcareworkers small piece of cloth on herhead.Parents The ramifications of coronavirus will other major centres suchasDelhi, these In asingle swoop, the government sands of backroom boys who worked to being beaten up by mobs in Indore, trekkedwith infants, even the elderly —all outlastthe pandemic’s threat.Bigots QTSs were major moneyspinners. In lockedupall union leaders. Railway lore makethathappen don’t brag, even today. Hyderabad and Bengaluru. Those who devastating evidence of the government’s mayget scientific validation to adjudi- those days,when fewgovernment serv- has it that when George Fernandeswas Take the days of the BabriMasjid de- did this should be jailedasshould the inabilitytogovern. Perhaps, surroundedby cateuntouchability. ices were certain, the Railways guaran- pickedupfromLucknow, Mrs Gandhi molition,for instance. Howanunknown head of the Tablighi Jamaat when he is cronies,the premieris unaware of this hor- The administration should make teed timely delivery through QTS or gave an earfultoher RailwayMinister Lalit cub officer of Railways took out atrain full caught and chargedwith criminal rorshow. immediatearrangementsfor therehabi- refundedasurcharge to clients. Narayan Mishra. “You want to make a of peoplefromAyodhya —afirebrand negligence leading to mass murder. UnlikeChina and South Korea, India litation of displacedmigrantsand create Pulled by steam engines thatrequired heroout of Geroge?” sheissaidtohave woman leader of the BJP hitching aride Islamic preachers arethe worstenemies hadthe advantageoftime andlessonsfrom opportunities forthem to survive. servicing afew times and even replacing told him. in the driver’s cabin —through arampag- of the Muslim community always but this other countriesto prepare. But, even as the Crisis testshumanity in itsworstform. along the way, the successful runofthe But Mrs Gandhi ensured oneexcep- ingsea of people, is astory onlyafewin time theyhaveendangered allofus. From pandemic wasbuilding up, it wascaught Notjustthe poor,eventhe minoritieshave QTS tapered offadecade or so later only tion —muchlikeModi has in the face of the system know. the Tablighi Jamaat Ireceived in my upin themachinationsin Madhya Pradesh. beentargetedby thosetryingto give COVID- when Railways startedfaltering on its thecurrent outbreak.Goods trains carry- So in the ageofanunprecedented mailboxamissive explaining the reasons Whatmakes the injustice to migrant 19 acommunal colour. Let’shope this pan- promise of timely delivery. Then came the ing essential industrial suppliessuchas lockdown, to the thousands of people whythe preachers’ convention had gone workers even moreacuteisthe fact that demicunitesusbeyondthevestigesof caste ageofthe “Super Goods” trains. coal and others could notbeincluded in working everyday to ensurefooditems ahead despiteWHO declaring a manyofthem areDalitsorAdivasis. Of the divides and class hatred.Ifweare able to These were similar in concept, “super- the strike. And, she made the unions agree reachthe godowns, the powerplantshave pandemic on March 11. 395 million inter-state migrantsinIndia, overcomethe pandemic by burning down fast”inspeed, but had mixed success. that strikeornot,atleastone passenger coal, some 20,000coaches turnintoisola- It wasameaningless attempt at white- 62 million areestimated to be Dalitsand the regime of caste,wewill have trulyde- Theyran well intothe early ’80s, even train should run on the trunk routes. tion wardsand vehicle workshopschurn washingagravecrime since Maulana 31 million Adivasis. Theymoved to cities featedcoronavirus.Afterall,thispandemic though notmuchinvogue,getting inter- So the Kalka Mailran from Howrah to out hand sanitisersand masks, the novel Saad’sspeeches, thatIhavelistenedtoca- from their homes preciselyonaccount of has successfullymade us across the world mittentlyinterruptedduring the Naxalite Delhi, the Frontier Mail (nowGolden coronavirus will seem like, well, justan- refully, indicateinthe clearest terms that casteviolence,atrocities, povertyorloss untouchablesofmoderntimes. movement in the ’60s and ’70s and, of Temple Mail) ranfromBombayand so on. other lemon. he encouraged his flocktokeepgoing to of ownership over forestsand land. Post- course, duringthe famous Railway strike That wasthe PM’s decree. And when youare 167years old, you congregations in mosques. He assured be- COVID-19,theyhavebeen leftagain at Suraj Yengde, author of Caste Matters, of 1974. Oldtimers still recall howdifficult it knowwhat to do withthe lemons life lievers that if theydiedatprayer in amos- their mercy of violence and exploitation. curatesthe fortnightly ‘Dalitality’ column It wasthe 1974 totalstrikeofthe wastoensurethat. “Therewas virtually givesyou. quetheywould go straight to paradise and those 72 virgins. Views of similar stupidity have been expressedby Muslim preach- ers from Gaza to Lahore. And, thePMof Pakistan. It horrifiedmetohear Imran Khan saythat what would save Pakistanis from COVID-19was their faith. Outof Amid apandemic, race forthe ‘best’ Our Prime Ministerhas said more MYMIND than once that our religious teachers mustguide people in the right direction MEGHNADDESAI been caught unprepared. Chinatookdays tions and deaths low. What these twohad Round the world, leaders arelikerab- works. India has atotallyinadequate but so should he. In these days of curfews to realiseand then publiclyadmit that wasanefficienthealth sector and adisci- bitscaughtinthe carheadlights.British healthinfrastructureexceptfor the very and uncertainty he needs to lead from the Wuhan had coronavirus infection. plinedpublic service. Theydon’t needPR. Prime MinisterBorisJohnson, being abio- expensiveprivate hospitals.The overall front. Instead of deputing lowlyofficials in IN THE middleofthe corona crisis, French PresidentXiJinpingcared more forhis The weaknessofhealth infrastruc- grapher of (Winston)Churchill,fancied structureofadministration —the Iron the Health Ministrytohold adailybrief- President Emmanuel Macronhas decided reputation than to admitacrisis.Itmay tures of manycountries has been himself as awar leader when the crisis Frame —iscorrodedand notfit for ing, this is something he should do him- that his mosturgent needistohaveanew notbeoveryet but until recently, China exposed. Number of hospital bedsper broke. But he had no idea of what to do purpose, but impossible to reform as self. It is something that mustalso start PR personwho can spread his fame had the highestpositivesand highest capita, number of qualifiedhealth profes- nor could he take expert adviceseriously. Modi has found out. The BJP mayhave being done dailybyour chief ministers. around the globe. The coronavirus has put number of deaths. American President sionals, availability of testing equipment The Health Service has been starved off crores of members as mustthe other Thereisnot muchreassurance theycan the leaders in arace. Whowill turn out to Donald Trumphas rescuedXifromlook- arewhat countsrather than DowJones or funds foryearstoaffordtax cutsfor corpo- political parties but theyare useless give againstthis unseen enemybut it be the best?The contestismorelikeagolf ing bad. Trumpbelievesthat he knows Sensex. The precarious ways in which rations. Days were lostwhile Johnson got exceptfor rabble rousing. might in some measuremakeordinary tournament with no time limit. We are best even as he changeshis mind. So af- people maketheir dailyliving, the inade- his act together. It is Britishpeopleasusual Citizens mayturn out to be the best Indians confident that thereare people at still getting scores eachday —how many teralotoffalse optimism and blaming quatehousing and public facilities, the who arecoming forward. Sevenlakh peo- betfor helping if Modican communicate the very topwho have takencharge and tested,how manypositive, howmany everyone but himself, he is taking contrastbetween what government per- ple have volunteered to help the Health to them their duty. India had agreat tradi- that everything that can be done is being died, is the countryinlockdown, social it seriously. America maystillhead the sonnel(elected and bureaucratic) enjoy Service. Doctors and nurses have come tion of voluntarysocial service before done to ensurethat we winthis war. distancing or socialisolation? We are(at league in number of positivesand deaths. by wayofperksand pensions and the rest backfromretirement. independence. We needservantsof Turning offour lightsat9pmtonight for leastsix feet apartfromeachother) wait- We knowwhat works. Testing. South of the citizens tells youwhereall your tax As alatecomer to thisrace, Indian India back. nine minutes and lighting candles is a ing forthe end. Koreashowedit. German Chancellor moneygoes. Howmanyhomeless can fit Prime MinisterNarendraModi has alot Vasudhaivakutumbakam (the worldis good gestureofsolidarity but that is all Without exception, everyleaderhas Angela Merkelalso managedto keep infec- intoaLutyens bungalow? to learn about what to avoid and what one family)? JustIndiawould do. that it is. Agesture. WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM 10 THESUNDAY EXPRESS,APRIL5,2020 THE OUTBREAK TheWorld

PANDEMIC WATCH USreportshighest1-daytollof1,480 Americans should wear face maskswhile outside,recommendsTrump—thensayshewon’t NewYorkstate AGENCIES U.S.,RUSSIASPAR APRIL4 OVERDELIVERYOF pleads for aid as THE UNITED States recorded RELIEFMATERIAL nearly 1,500deaths from COVID- In Dhaka. Reuters 19 between Thursday and Friday, death countsoars according to the Johns Hopkins AN ODD newfront in the BANGLADESH University tracker, the worst24- US-Russian rivalryhas hour deathtoll globally sincethe emergedasaRussian ALANFEUER Govtextends pandemic began. militarycargo plane NEWYORK,APRIL4 With 1,480deaths counted bearing aload of urgently shutdown between 8.30 pm (0030 GMT) neededmedical supplies NEW YORK,the increasingly bat- toApril11 Thursdayand the same time landedatJFK airport teredepicentreofthe nation’s Friday, according to the univer- coronavirus outbreak,onFriday Dhaka: Bangladesh on sity's continuouslyupdated fig- RUSSIA CAST it as reportedits highestnumber of Saturdayextendedthe ures, the total number of people magnanimous aid supply deaths in asingle day, prompt- nationwide transport who have diedsince the startof to astruggling country. ing state officials to begthe rest Reuters shutdown till April11as the pandemic in the United Trumpreferred to the of the United States forassis- threatening NewYork, where thecountryrecordedits States is now7,406. shipment as “aid,” and tance and to enact an emergency morethan 102,000 people— biggestsingle-dayin- President Donald Trumphas said it was“averynice order designedtostave offmed- nearly as manyasinItaly and crease of COVID-19cases recommendedAmericans to offer” from Putin ical catastrophe. Spain, the hardest-hit European withninenew positive covertheir faces with scarves or Aprotesttocall forthe release of detainedimmigrantsinColorado, citing the pandemic. AP In the 24 hours through 12 am countries —havenow tested tests, takingthe country's homemade cloth masks while THE US StateDepartment on Friday, 562 people —orone al- positive forthe virus. The situa- totalto70. The country going outside to curb the spread insistedthat the delivery mostevery two-and-a-half min- tion, as it has been forweeks, reportedtwo more of the coronavirus though he ing the use of medical-gradeor wasamerecommercial utes —diedfromthe virusinNew wasparticularly direinNew York deaths, taking the total fa- would notwear one himself. surgical-grade masks. Those Effectofredrawingofficial transaction:that the US York State, bringing the total City,wheresomehospitalshave talities to eight, according Citing the US Centrefor needs to be usedfor medical had paid Russia forthe death toll to nearly 3,000,double reported running out of body to data. The tallyofinfec- Disease Control and Prevention peopleworking to save livesof guidelinesmaybelimited supplies it needed, albeit what it wasonlythree days be- bags and others have begun to tions increase to 70 after (CDC), Trumpurged people to Americans," he said. at adiscount,and that fore.Inthe same period, 1,427 plan forthe unthinkable nine morepeople, includ- wear face coverings likescarves However, Trumpsaid he will it wasn’t agift newly sickened patients poured prospect of rationing care. ing twochildren aged un- or homemade cloth masks,and notfollowthat guidance. "I just WHILEGLOBALbodieshavesofar adviseduse of masksbyor- intothe hospitals—anotherone- “It is hardtoput fullyinto der 10,testedpositive. to keep medical-grademasks don't want to wear one myself, dinary citizensonlyincases when theyare sickorcoughing. dayhigh —although the rate of wordswhatweare all grappling This is the biggestjumpin available forthe health workers. it's arecommendation,"hesaid. Some in the Trumpadministration were reportedlyuncom- increase in hospitalizations with as we navigate our way positive testsovera24- “TheCDCisadvisingtheuseof "Somehowsitting in the Oval fortable withchangingthis. Theycalledfor thedirective to ap- seemedtostabilise, suggesting through this pandemic,” VickiL. hour period since non-medicalcloth face covering Office behind that beautiful plyonlytothe worst-hit areas. Others felt wearing maskswould social-distancing measures may LoPachin, chief medical officer of Bangladesh announced as an additionalvoluntarypublic ResoluteDesk,the great Resolute lead to peopleneglectingsocial distancing, whichisstill seen have startedworking. MountSinaiHealthSystem,wrote itsfirstcases on March 8 health measure,”Trumptold re- Desk,Ithink wearing aface mask as the mosteffectivemeasure. With experts feeling that Trump Despitethe glimmer of hope, in an email to thestaffonFriday. porters during apress briefing at as Igreet presidents, dictators, undercut the CDC advisory by saying he would notwear one, the newstatistics were astark re- “Weare healingsomanyandcom- the WhiteHouse on Friday. kings, queens, Idon't know, I it is unclearifthe move will yield the desiredimpact. minder of the gale-force forting those we can’tsave—one "TheCDC is notrecommend- don'tsee it formyself," he said. strength of the crisis that is preciouslifeatatime.” NYT SINGAPORE SixthCOVID-19 China pushes for Probe if virus deathreported, manmade, trace casestop1,100 quiet burials amid origin: Pakistan Singapore: Singaporeon Saturdayreporteditssixth lawmaker to UN deathfromthe coron- death toll questions avirus as the confirmed casesrose to 1,114, the PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA health ministrysaid, aday lovedones who had diedduring ISLAMABAD,APRIL4 afterPrime MinisterLee AMYQIN&CAOLI the height of China’s coronavirus HsienLoong announced APRIL4 outbreak.Now that the authori- APAKISTANI lawmaker has ap- home-based learning for ties saythe epidemic is under pealedtothe United Nations to schoolchildrenandclosure LIUPEI’ENheld the smallwooden control, officials arepushing the form acommission to probeif of mostworkplacesto curb boxthat containedhis father’s re- relativestoburythe dead quickly coronavirus is aman-madeora the spread of the disease. mains. Onlytwo months ago, he and quietly, andtheyare sup- naturallygrown virusand also Lee, during atelevised had helplesslyclutchedhis fa- pressing online discussion of fa- trace itsorigin, according to a speechtoSingaporeans, ther’s frail hand as the elderly talitiesasdoubts emerge about media report. said he wasworriedthat man took his lastbreath, and the the true size of the toll. Former interior ministerand unless "wetakefurther pain wasstill raw. He wept. As China tries to control the PakistanPeoples Party(PPP) steps,thingswillgradually But therewas little time, or narrative,the police in Wuhan, Senator Rehman Malik,inaletter getworse or another big space, forLiu to grieve.Hesaid of- wherethe pandemicbegan, have to UN SecretaryGeneral Antonio clustermay push things ficials in Wuhan had insistedon been dispatchedtobreak up Guterres,suggestedthe proposed over the edge". accompanying him to the funeral groups on WeChat, apopular commission on COVID-19under home and were waiting anx- messaging app, setupbythe rel- UN Convention on Biological AUSTRALIA iouslynearby. Later,theyfollowed ativesofcoronavirus victims. Weapons, 1975 might comprise him to thecemetery where they Government censors have of virologists,scientists, profes- Sikhcommunity watchedhim buryhis father,he scrubbed imagescirculating on sors,researchers, analysts andex- deliversfoodto said.Liu sawone of his minders socialmedia showing relativesin perts in microbiology and virol- taking photosofthe funeral, thecity lining upat funeral homes ogy,the Dawn News reported. thoseinneed whichwas over in 20 minutes. to collect ashes. Officials have as- SAYING THANK YOU “Manyclaims, speculations, “My father devotedhis whole signedminders to relativeslike conspiracy theoriesand misinfor- Melbourne: The Sikh com- lifetoserving the countryand the Liu, to followthem as theypick Achildnexttoamural in tributetothe NHS in Pontefract, Britain, on Saturday. Britain isunlikelytoliftits stringent mationabout the disease have munity in Australia is party,” Liu, 44,who worksinfi- burialplots,claim their loved lockdown rules until the end of May, agovernment adviser said on Saturdayasthe death toll rose by 708in24hours. Reuters found their wayintothe interna- working tirelesslytode- nance, said by phone.“Onlytobe ones’ remains and burythem, tional print and electronic media, liverfreemeals and gro- surveilledafter hisdeath.” grieving familymembers say. blurringdistinctionbetween real ceriestopeoplestruggling Formonths, the residentsof “Whereisthe dignity after and fake news,” he said. withself-isolationand fi- Wuhan had been told theycould death?”Liu asked.“Whereisthe He said that he wasnot blam- nancialhardshipamidthe notpickupthe ashes of their humanity?” NYT Spain’s daily toll falls for 2nd day in row ing anygovernment or agroup coronaviruscrisis.TheSikh or levelling anyallegation or en- VolunteersAustralia(SVA) pace of the around 20% increase themselvesfor afourth week liv- dorsing anymedia report. hascalleduponfamiliesin REUTERS registeredaweek ago. ing under one of Europe’s However, he added, he had Victoriato reachoutto the MADRID,APRIL4 Atotal of 809 people died strictestlockdowns. drawnGuterres’ attentiontoap- group forfreemeal deliv- from the disease over the past24 Onlyemployees in essential prehensionsbeing shown by the eries.Thegroup,whichhas THE DAILYpace of newcoron- hours, down from Friday’s 932 sectorssuchashealth arefreeto international media. over adozen of delivery avirus infections and deaths in and Thursday’s dailyrecordof travel to andfromwork. vans and only20volun- Spain slowedagain on Saturday 950, the figures showed. Restaurants, bars and shops are teers,delivermorethan as Prime MinisterPedro Sanchez Meanwhile, the total number shuttered,and social gatherings 800meals aday."The ini- wasexpected to announce a of registeredinfections rose to arebanned. tiative wasstarted three newextension to lockdown 124,736 on Saturdayfrom In apress conference on years agoinSouth East measures that have confined 117,710onFriday,when Spain Friday, Health MinisterSalvador partofMelbourne and we mostSpaniards to their homes overtook Italyinthe total num- Illasaid premier Sanchez would have been serving free forthree weeks. Neighbours chat from their berofinfectionsfor the firsttime. call opposition leaders following food packs to thosein The total death toll rose to balconies in Madrid. Reuters Some of Madrid’s mostfa- ameeting of his coronavirus task need..." SVAmember 11,744-the world’s second high- mous touristsites, suchasthe forceonSaturdaytolet them ManpreetSingh said on Workers observesilence in Hunan on Saturday as China est-on Saturdayfrom10,935the RoyalPalaceand Las Ventas bull- knowhis decision on extending Saturday. holds mourning forthose who died of COVID-19. Reuters daybefore,the Health Ministry in total deaths aftera9% rise on ring, stood eerilyquiet on the lockdown from the current In Peshawar, Saturday. AP said, representinga7%increase Friday. That is less than half the Saturday, as Spaniardsreadied end dateofApril 13.

OTHER TOP GLOBAL STORIES France: Knifeman kills Trump firesintel UK: Keir Starmer emerges Afghan forces arrest IS leader official with key 2inattack on passersby behind attack on gurudwara impeachment role new leader of Labour party Washington: President Donald be Sudaneseand to have been Khorasan (IS-K), the AfghanIS Trumphas announcedhewas ADITIKHANNA ASSOCIATEDPRESS born in 1987. AGENCEFRANCE-PRESSE branchhas been on itsbackfootin firing asenior intelligence offi- LONDON,APRIL4 PARIS,APRIL4 Prosecutors said other people KABUL,APRIL4 recent months. In November, cialwho had acentralrole in the were also injured but couldn't Afghan officials said IS-K had complaint lastAugust that KEIR STARMER, the former Keir AMAN wielding aknifeattacked confirm media reports that there AFGHAN FORCES have arrested been completely defeated in sparkedhis impeachment trial. shadowBrexit Secretary, on Starmer residentsventuringoutto shopin were sevenothercasualties, of the leader of the country's Nangarhar,one of the key eastern In alettertothe Senate Saturdayemergedasthe winner atownunderlockdown southof whom one is in criticalcondition. Islamic Stategroup affiliateand provinceswheretheyfirstsought Intelligence Committee on of athree-way race to replace theFrenchcityofLyonSaturday, They alsodidnot confirm reports the mastermind behind the at- to establish astronghold in 2015. Friday, Trumpsaid he had lost JeremyCorbyn as the Leader of task wasto"lead this great killingtwo peopleandwounding that the man had shouted“Allahu tack on agurudwaralastmonth In the years since, they have confidence in Michael Atkinson. the UK'sOppositionLabourparty. party intoanew era, with con- others,prosecutors said. akbar”(God isgreat)ashe carried that killed25worshippers, au- claimedresponsibility fora Atkinsonreviewedandtrans- The 57-year-old waselected fidence and hope". The anti-terrorism prosecu- out the attack. thorities saidSaturday. At least25people were string of horrific bombings mitted an anonymouswhistle- afterhedefeated Rebecca "Wewillshine atorch on crit- tor's office told The Associated The office said it is evaluating The National Directorateof killed in the attack. Reuters/File across Afghanistan. blower'scomplaintinAugustthat Long-Bailey and Indian-origin ical issues and wherewesee mis- Press the attacktook place at 11 whether the attackwas moti- Security(NDS)saidinastatement In itsstatement, the NDS said alleged Trumphad sought per- MP Lisa Nandy,who were adis- takesorfaltering government or a.m. in acommercial street in vatedbyterrorism, but that it has that Aslam Farooqi,also known Farooqi had admitted to having sonalpoliticalfavorsfromUkraine tant second and thirdrespec- thingsnot happening as quickly Romans-sur-Isere. The alleged notlaunchedany formal pro- as Abdullah Orakzai, had been ar- AFP Farooqi wasthe mastermind linkswith "regional intelligence in violation of US law. The com- tively in apostalballotofparty as theyshould we'll challenge attackerwas arrested by police ceedings to treatitassuch. rested along with 19 other men behind an IS-claimedattackona agencies" —aclear reference to plaint became the basis for members, trade unionistsand that andcall that out,"said nearby. Prosecutors did not Likethe rest of France, the in a"complexoperation". Sikh temple in Kabul lastmonth Pakistan, whichAfghanistan Trump's impeachment, whichi registeredsupporters. Starmer, theMPfor Holborn and identifyhim.Theysaid he had town's residentsare on coron- Speaking on condition of that killedatleast25people. routinelyblames forsupporting ncluded atrial forremovalinthe In his video victorymes- St Pancras in London, who had no documentsbut claimedto avirus-linked lockdown. anonymity, an NDS officialtold Known as Islamic Stateinthe jihadists and helping the Taliban. SenateinJanuary. AFP sage, Sir Keir Starmer said his fought on a“unity” platform. PTI APRIL 5, 2020 | WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM | PAGE 11 THE SUNDAY EXPRESSMAGAZINE

ARTSETC AHumane Heart Parvati Sharma on awriter’s eye role in an anxious world

ZeeZee Warriors

Manjula Padmanabhan she said, her eyes smiling. Roshan smiledback. “Hedidn’t even turn to lookatme!” Theybothlaughed. “So: tell OTIMEfor tears!Roshan As history and contagion literature have shown, even the me.How does this work?What connects scoldedherself, even as her these little warriors to theviruses?” eyes welledup. She pulled darkest of nights is followed by day. In this short Mimi said, “It’s asimulation linked to pa- the knotofher long black tients, via the medical centre’s HyperNet.” hair tight behind her head She directed Roshan’s attentionbacktothe Nand calledtoher eight- speculative story, avideo gamer is determined to change display. “See those enemyfighters? They’re year-old son, “Tuktuk!” Her voice wasmuf- make-believe.But once your son hitsenough fledbyher mask.“The vanwill be here any thecourseofapestilence of those practice enemies precisely, he’ll be minute.” Theylived in Garden Estate,which connected by remote linkstoanactual pa- wasthe closestpoint to theMillennium tient, in the medicalwing upstairs. Tuktuk’s Medical Centre, fartothe south of NewDelhi. movementswill be scaleddowntothe mi- Sheguessedthey’d be the lasttobecollected croscopiclevel until theycan act on instru- on the early morning run. pointswithout triggering anyalarms. Then it As soon as the door slidshut behindall mentstoo tinytobeseen. They’reminute She snatched up the house keysand hur- plunged intothe depths likeawhitebee re- three, the interior lit up. It revealedacockpit machines thatwe’veconstructed andposi- riedtowards thefront door,pausingbywhat turning to base. bristling withtwinkling instrumentsinside tionedinside the patient’s lungs. Likeminus- usedtobethe guestroom. “Ash?” she called Tuktuk hadbeensilentall theway.But achild-sizedspaceship.The details were a cule missiles. Eachmissile carries molecules to her husband. “We’regoingnow.” She was when the twoofthem got outand were cleverly designedvideo projection curving of virus-busting fluid —” abouttoadd, “It’s alright, don’t come out”, walking towardsthe ZeeZee Hub alongside around the raisedand paddedcomman- “Wait! Thereare no drugsagainstthis but he did, anyway. dozens of others, he clutchedRoshan’s der’s throne. The onlyphysical virus!” exclaimedRoshan. His face wasgrey, unshaven. He hadn’t gloved hand with his ownsmaller one. equipment was, in fact, the throne. Mimi nodded.“That’s right. No drugs. changed outofhis pyjamas in days.Hemet “Mumma?” he whispered,intothe The cubicle filledwith the thrum- We’reusingmolecules of soap.” She smiled her gaze and whispered,“What youand microphone in his helmet. ming sound of aspace- again. “The virus has athin outer shell of fatty Tuktuk aredoing is ... God’swork.” Then his She wore earbuds and adiscrete craftidling in space, as tissue. Soap breaksupthe tissue. That’s voice crackedand he turnedaway, weeping. mouth-mic.“Whatisit,sweetie?” the star-strewnblack- whyhand washing is so important: Theroom wasindarkness. But Roshan could “What happens if Ican’t?” ness of the cosmos it really doesdisable the virus. see, on the floor behind him,the golden She knewwhat he meant. surroundedthem Without itsouter coating,the mound of marigolds still laid out on awhite “Sweetie, you’ll be fine,” on all sides. virus losesthe tinyprickles it sheet, in the shape of asmall body.Therewas, she said, hoping she The engines roared to life Roshan suppresseda uses to hook ontohuman cells!” of course, nothing beneath the flowers. soundedsincere. smile behind her gloved hand. No hooks, no infection,no Mourning families were notallowedevena “Yes, but —” and, immediately,the field of “As soon as Istrap youinhere, death. “Weneedeffectivevac- lastgoodbye. Therewas no time to stop. Around vision began to fill with Commander Tuktuk,” Mimi was cines. But until then, this is the She and Tuktuk rushedout of the flat. The them, walking with the same air of saying, “your shipwillpowerup. best we can do,” said Mimi. “It’s ex- young boylooked likeanastronaut, in his steelypurpose were other parentsand speckles of light speeding Okaywith that?” tremelydesperate! Using children as war- shiny whitesuit, gloves and boots.His curly children. All the children were dressed Roshan couldn’t see her son’s riors, forgoodness’ sake! What’smoredes- blackhair framedthe blue face-mask.Ithad just likeTuktuk.Thereweregirls, with towardshim. ‘Incoming!’ face, but she knewthat his small peratethan that?” translucent breathing tubes curling out from theirhair in longplaitsorponytails. cried Tuktuk.‘Enemy round mouthwould be open Roshan watchedTuktuk,now swaying the nostrils. Roshan wore regular clothes: Some boys had shavenheads. and his eyes wide with and rocking in his seat as dozens of spiky ob- blackslacks, pearl-grey turtleneckjumper, Some had turbans. fighters!’ wonder anddelight. jectscame whirling and twisting towards blackpuffy jacket. It wasearly in the year and Roshan said, “Whatever “Yes,” he said now, him. Boom!Got one.And another — BOOM! the air wasicy. happens, there’s no danger to his voice sounding clearly in her Pom. DING! Whee — Theyran down three floors. Sureenough, you. No danger at all.” ears. “Yes! Of course!” He jumped “Kids!” said Mimi. “Forthem,it’sjust the whitetransporthad justdrawn up,with “But —” up and intohis seat as readilyasif videogames.Eachvirusisworth athousand the flashing redlight on itsroof. Theyscram- Ahead of them, theycould he’d spent his entireyoung life points. Theycompete against one another bledinthrough the rear door.Theywerethe hear awordless murmuring. doing nothing else. and earn moneyastheygo—10,000 points last to be collected.Four other parentsand Therewas also an undercurrent of Forthe next 20 minutes,Mimi guided is one rupee. Theycan keep at it forhours — their children were already strappedin. bings, chirps and booms. the boythrough the rudimentsofcom- oh! See the little glowing blob? That’s the The vehicle racedthrough the broad, Thecorridor widenedgradually, so that manding afully-weaponisedspace vehicle, real thing —areal coronavirus. He’s been as- emptyavenues of Gurgaon with the siren the transition to theenormous underground equippedtodestroy enemyfighters.Hewas signed apatient!” whooping. The sky wasblack, encrusted Hub wasnot tooabrupt. As the murmursand so eager to begin his firstsolo mission that Both womenleanedforward in excite- with stars. The towering buildings on either dings grew louder,tallfigures wearing deep “You’re…”atinypause as her helmetscan- he refusedthe offerofachocolateslurpee. ment. Tuktukswung the electron beam of side were darkand lifeless, all the residents blue helmetsand matching uniforms began ner read informationfromthe boy’s face Leaning forwardinhis seat, he calledout, his ship’s primary canonthis wayand that, and offices having closed aftersuccessive to appear. TheycalledthemselvesZeeZee mask,“... Tuktuk! Your firsttime? Welcome! “Secureall decks!” in clear,piping tones. sending out shattering blasts of greenlight lockdowns. Therewas no traffic: the siren Hosts.Their faces were hidden, yetthey I’m Mimi. Followme?” Mimi had taught him the startsequence. until, withanabrupt boom, he hit the blob. It wasmeant to alertcheckpoints along the seemedtobesmiling with their whole bod- All around them, other parentsand their “Raise shields…ENGAGE!” burstopen. Thousands of wriggling frag- waythat atransport wascoming through ies, as theygreeted the young warriors and children were trotting obedientlybehind Theengines roared to lifeand, immedi- mentsshotintothe void, fadedand died. and mustnot be halted. their parents. their individual hosts.Tuktuk clutchedhis ately, thefieldofvision begantofill with “Zee-Zee-Zee!” shrieked thevirusasit The Centrewas believedtobethe most Then the firstZeeZee stations came into mother’s handeventighter.Roshan clutched speckles of lightspeeding towardshim. collapsed. “Zee-Zee-Zee!” advancedmedical facility ever created. view. RoshanheardTuktukgaspinamazement. back. But she no longer felt anxious. The “Incoming!” criedTuktuk.“Enemyfighters!” Roshan felt aradiant joyawakenwithin It wasvisible from afar,blazing like Eachone looked likeahugebubble made of place had an unexpectedlyfestive air.Mimi Mimi straightenedup. Turning to Roshan, herself. apermanent dawn over the hori- frostedglass.Manywerelit from within. They ledthem through the maze of occupiedsta- she gestured towardsthe rear of the cubicle. Yes, shethought. We will win this war. zon. The structure, when it glowedand flashedinmulti-colours, accom- tions until she came to ahaltbeside adark- Therewas anarrowbenchthere, justenough came intoview, resembleda paniedbymuffledsound effects. enedone. fortwo.She drew down atransparent parti- ManjulaPadmanabhanisanauthor,playwright glittering honeycomb made “Hello!”said someone.One of the “Here,” she said. “This one’s forfirst- tion to reduce the audio. Then she removed andcartoonist.HernovelThe Island of Lost Girls is of plate-glass. The van blue-uniformedfigures. She bent forward, timers.” The door slid backather touchand her helmet. She wore aface-mask under- setinabrutalfutureworld.ShelivesintheUS, cleared through the check- addressing Tuktuk first, then Roshan. she stood aside, letting the other twoin. neath. “One morewarrior launched, Ithink!” withahomeinNewDelhi EYE,THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE

12 SPOTLIGHT APRIL 5, 2020

Love in the Time R: Remain compassionate DIGITAL Being quarantinedisaprivilege. That is of Corona something that is becoming obvious to all of us. From the comfortofour homes, we talk about the joyofslowing down, savouring mo- NATIVE ments with our families, loitering through the dayaimlesslyand posting picturesofgrati- tude. However, thetrauma to themargin- alisedand the mostvulnerable is something we willonlyget to understand in the months and years to come. Activists around the world aretalking about the riseindomesticviolence NishantShah and abuse during the lockdowns. Think: there are18million street children in our country Nishant Shahisaprofessor by Sudeep Sen alone.Wheredotheygo, whotakes careof of newmedia and theco- their meals, who looksout forthem when founder of TheCentre for adultswho aresupposedtoprotect them be- Internet&Society,Bengaluru Idon’t believe in God, but I’m afraid of Him. come predators? It is also heartening to see —Gabriel García Márquez, Loveinthe Time of Cholera effortsbeing made by so manyorganisations to step up. We have to makecompassion go In the dark times, will therealsobesinging? GETTYIMAGES viral in the comingmonths so that together Yes, therewill also be singing. Aboutthe darktimes. we weather the storm and build our inter- Viral Tr ap —BertoltBrecht connected livesback. 1. It takescourage to A: Aday at atime The lockdown has disruptedour daily The surfeit of news on corona Faint indigotintsinthe greysofyour hair rhythm, especiallyfor young people in the must not makeusoblivious to evokememory—Krishna’s love forRadha, agegroup of 15 to 21.Thereisnothing much to do, nowheretogoand nobody to meet.A those fading into the darkness itsperennial longevity,its sustainedmythology, live with adversity 19-year-old described it as a“weirdsense of itsblue-bathedlore—suchare life’s enduring vacuum”, asentiment echoedbymanyoth- WOKE UP the other daywith astrange feeling that I ers. This void can spiral intodepression and am losing my memory. As Iwas going through the parallels. Fourteen years —yet my heartflutters, We needtokeep moving forward, to be other mental health problems if left morning rituals of scrolling through news feeds infatuated likefirstlove. My hands fidgety, unchecked. In my co-research Ihavefound Iand social media updates, Ifelt that Icould notre- that what helps peopleisfinding at least member the worldbeforecorona —BC, if youwill. It was palms sweaty,pulse toofasttopick— compassionate without discrimination and to three anchors through the daywhichbrings astrange feeling. Iamalmostcertain that three weeks Iamnot allowedtotouchyour face. in stillness(yoga,meditation, walks), culti- ago, before the pandemic wasannounced, before the not let adversity define us. No matterwhat vating joyous momentsand connection with shutdowns were implemented,beforesocialdistancing Cyber-flurries of emoji-love fail to assuage people we love. and physical isolation became the bywords, theremust fears of corona criticality. Idon’t believe in God. have been other things that were on my mind and in my your hand) and getupand Changethe G: Growing our tribe information streams. TryasImight,Icould onlycome 2. channel (from corona worrytojoy channel “Weare allinthis together,”ispopping up up with vague recollections about events, people, through dancing, art, music, gardening, everywhereand peopleare rebuilding unique places, and plans that musthaveoccupiedmyattention. In thousands, migrant workers march home— knitting, cooking, yoga etc.). bridges in unique ways.Forgottenfriends, rel- The feeling of preternatural amnesiawas comple- hungryfootsteps on emptyhighways ativesare being remembered andconnec- mented through the rhythms of the day. At “work”, Isat O: Owning our light tions arebeingmade. As a21-year-old ex- at my desk in adress-shirt and pyjamas, makinganat- accentuateirony —‘social distancing’, JK Rowling described “dementors”as— plainedtome, “Structuresofindividualism tempttomakeonlythe camera-visible parts of mework- aprivilegeonlypowerful can afford. “gettoo near aDementor and every good feel- and neoliberalism have to give waytostruc- presentable. We joked howwehaveforgottentowear ing, every happy memory will be sucked out of tures of empathy.”Itreminded me of Aletter work clothes. The virus had renderedussartoriallycata- Cretins spray bleachonunprotected poor,clap, IMAGINE you”. Corona panic is doing preciselythat to all to the UK from Italy by the writer Francesca tonic. The news feed wasmakingmesickbecause the bang plates, ring bells, blowconches to rid of us. As ourjobs become uncertain, our fu- Melnadri, “Old resentments and falling-outs news channels were concentratingonthe stateofbefud- by SheljaSen turebleak,wegrapple with insecurities, self- willseemirrelevant. Youwill call people you dledbuffoonery in global governance of this pandemic. the voodoo — karuna’s karmic score, infected. doubtsand inadequacies, “Will Ibeable to go had sworn nevertotalktoeveragain, so as to So, Ishiftedtootherchannels, only to find that they, too, Mood-swingsinsanitisedquarantine —self- to college?” “Will Ilose my job?” All the ask them:‘Howare youdoing?’’ were talking about everythinginthe contextofcorona: ORONAVIRUS has made us dreams and aspirations forthe future might dating, mating,eating, meeting,cooking, creating, house- isolation, imposed—uncontainedvirus, viral. awareofthe fragility of ourlives. seem meaningless. A23-year-old young man E: Enduringadversity keeping and pet-keeping,all inthe times of corona. When shall we sing our dream’s epiphanies? We arelearning that despitethe who had invested alot of timeand effort in Victor EFrankl, Jewish psychiatrist and Unable to take this contagious onslaught, Imoved to dead ends and detours, we need making films told me despondently, “I usedto Holocaustsurvivor, expresseditbeautifully Netflix to watchareality TVshow, but had to stop mid- Cto move forward. As we navigate be passionateabout working with children in his brilliantbook, Man’sSearch forMeaning, waythrough the firstepisode because everytime Isaw 3. this uncharteredterritory, one thing that can withdisability, but it seems so futile now.” “Everything can be takenfroma(wo)man people touch, hug, or sit close to eachother,myspidey City weather fluctuates promiscuously, guideusthrough the worststorms, rough- That is whatcorona panic does —itdis- but one thing: the lastofhuman freedoms senses tingled. My newfound pathology of touchand mappingmybipolar temperature-graph — estterrains and darkest times is our Courage. tractsusfromwhat trulymatters to us by —tochoose one’s attitude in anygiven setof space could nottoleratethese people existing in apre-co- Courageisan acronym Iuse to highlight pumping in alot of obsessive paranoia. circumstances, to choose one’s way.”Fear is rona world, vegetating in one another’s germyexudation. tropic’s air-conditioner chill, winter’s sevencorepractices we will needinthis un- Therefore, it becomes all the moreimportant inevitable in the present time but, courage It is understandable thatwith such aglobalthreat to unseasonalhailstorm, sky’s pink-blue spring. precedentedjourney. Because as American to holdontowhat youvalue the mostno and fear can go handinhand. Andrew our species,alotofour attention is beingtaken by the novelistAnaisNin put it, “Lifeshrinks or ex- matter what the corona panic tries to con- Solomon,author of FarfromThe Tree,talks emerging calisthenics of epidemiology as newepicen- Blue-grey will moult intosalt-and-pepper, pandsinproportiontoone’s courage.” vince youof. about howcrucialitisfor ustotakeour ad- tres of contagionemerge.However, oursingle-handed ash-grey to silver-white, then to aged-white. versityand forgesomemeaning out of it. focus and viral information stream of thevirushas C: Change the channel U: Us against corona Think of one person youadmiredeeply, who trappedus. When our physical universe shrank,atleast My lungs heave,ingratiating metallic-crackles One of the biggestchallenges that the co- Corona panic has adevious knackof changed theworld forthe better.Itcould be forthose who could afford it, the reassurance wasthat struggle to escapethe filigreedwindpipes — rona panicisposing is thatitis makingusfeel splitting people up through “othering”. The Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, Mahatma digital accesswillliberateusfromour isolation. Instead, helpless and hopeless. It is shrieking and recent spateofvicious racism directed at Gandhi, Dalai Lama.Inall these amazing peo- we found and arepractising digital shrinkage, where our Ipersistinmyprayers. I’mafraid of Him. crowding our minds with the worst-case people from the Northeastisatypical ex- ple’s lives, adversity has been acatalystfor entireinformational universeisbeing shapedand con- Hope,heed, heal —our song, in present tense. scenarios. No wonder we arefeeling frazzled, ample of this. Thereisno“usand them” them to find meaning in their lifeand bring centrated on justthis one factor that bindsand restricts exhaustedand on edge.Corona’svoice of here, we areall in this together.“Humanity about the change. As Solomon so eloquently SudeepSenisapoet,translator, doom is tough to tune out. It hasalready ter- needs to makeachoice. Will we travel down explains it, “If youbanish the dragons, you literaryeditorandphotographer rorisedour economy, takenthousands of the routeofdisunity,orwillweadoptthe banish the heroes.” Hatsoff to all the heroes lives, and nowitisready to tyrannise our path of global solidarity? If we choose dis- across the worldwho have been slaying the minds. Notmuchofasurprise considering unity,this will notonlyprolong the crisis, corona dragon. all the horror stories we arefeedingour butwillprobablyresultinevenworse ca- Courage is notatrait or aquality;itisa minds all the time. It is becoming afertile tastrophes in the future.” These wordsby practice —tokeep moving forward, to choose ground forfear to breed. Imagine if we stood historian YuvalNoah Harari reallyresonate one’sattitude, to be compassionatewithout up to fear-mongeringpropaganda and took with alot of us as we grapplewith the inter- discrimination, to notlet adversity to define active steps to do all things that give us peace continental journeyofthe virus sweeping us and live our livesasclose to what we value and joy. Through my co-researchwith chil- across borders. Iloved the waythis wasex- the most. No matterwhat. dren, we have developedasimple trick to plainedsosimplybya13-year-old who told stop corona panic in itstracks: Alerttothe me: “If eachteam playerplays forhimself, DrSheljaSenistherapist, voice of corona panic churning away itssto- then the team will lose.Itisour matchwith writerandco-founderofChildrenFirst, GETTYIMAGES ries of doom and gloom, Breathe out (imag- corona too, and we arelosing until we be- achild&adolescentmentalhealthinstitute. ●●● ine youare adragonblowing afeather on come strong team players.” [email protected] We will meme in darkness of the darkness, not paying attention to thosewho shall fade into it

●●● Curriculum for aCrisis us. Beforewegot infected andimmobilisedbythisvirus, we had already been boundand bagged by theinforma- tioncircles of the virus —where endless WhatsApp Alist of books to school even the most educated on the ways of the natural world groupsand never-ending news cycles keep usimmersed onlyinthis onelandscape, ignoringthe othercritical, cu- rious, and creative things that makeushuman. or would have columnedthe virustowards refusedtosend his children to school or avail Thereare twoalarming consequences of this infor- the stratosphere”.And heypresto, in aweek, of modernmedicalfacilities.Heconvertedhis mation saturation of the corona crisis. One, it takesits DOWN IN all the viruseswould be ducted away! house intoavirtual bunker and stockpiled toll on our collective well-being, whereweget addicted To counter this astonishing “scientific” everything —food, guns, petrol, traditional to theupdates whichgiveusaconstant stream of traffic JUNGLELAND balderdash, here’s abrief listofbooksIwould medicines —invastquantities. Everything without giving us anynew information. It intensifies our strongly recommend. First, agoodmind- that happened, good or bad, wasbecause the feelings of being trapped, amplifying our isolation as the clearing dose of RichardDawkins. Youcould Lord willedit, so and nothing could be done onlydefining condition so that we letitdeepen our startoff with his book, TheMagic of Reality to changethat. Familiar,isn’t it? sense of precariousness and danger even when it is not (2011). It’s been written foryoung readers But,ah, youmay say, maybethat’swhat’s materiallywarranted.This would account forpeople, RanjitLal but that makes it even easier to understand. needednow:aharkingbacktothe old, “nat- who can afford to work from home, flooding the inter- Dawkins takesvariousquestions —who was ural”ways.Not really, because thereare se- webwith memes, darkhumour,political pontification Ranjit Lal the firstperson? Whyare theresomanydif- riousillnesses those “traditional” medicines and social commentary, about their tough negotiations is an author, ferent kinds of animals? What arethings RECOMMENDED “medicine men” and “witch doctors”,but the cannotcure—and which, in this case, put with reformulating their lives. environmentalist made of?—and answers them in twoways: READING overarching theme of this book is that all of her and her family—in serious danger.This The second, moresinisterconsequence of this infor- and birdwatcher first, he mentions some of the traditional ex- these tribes livedasapartofand in tune with book is also arevelation as to what alackof mational cloistering is that we turn the focus of our exis- planations that have been givenbypeople Books by (from left) nature —and did nottreat her as their main proper education can lead to:and that has tence onlyonourselves. Nowthat we allexperience a all over the worldand counterpoints this Jay Griffiths, Richard adversary, to be trampledupon, cut down, been displayedsoprominently today by threat that is onlyreflected in all our informational prac- with the scientific explanation of the phe- Dawkins and Ta ra drowned, conquered,and exploited.And that, messages on social media. We areliterate, tices, we getsoensconcedinour over-exaggerated in- NOWTHATMotherNature has thewhole nomenon. Since we’redealing with nature Westover can help no matter how“civilized” we pretend we are, maybe, educated,certainlynot. conveniencesthat we forget to recognise those who are worldbythe throat, it’s time we took another in this column,read thechapter on evolution counter unscientific deep down, the wild spiritremains. If reading is notfor you, here’s another going to sufferthe mostinthis changing worldorder. good hardlook at our relationship withher – to startwith—it has been wonderfullyex- Another major takeaway from this book wayofgetting “educated”. Everymorning, Our filter bubbles aregoingtoensurethat we worry beliefs and arguments andhow we’vereacted to this monumental plainedand Dawkins’s diamond-hardlogic is thefact that what the bat or pangolin has go out intoyour balconyorgarden and stand about wherewewill find our favouritebrand of olivesor crisis. Judging by someofthe WhatsApp for- is impeccable.You maybeloathtobelieve done to us is exactlywhat theEuropean did to and stare. There’s alot to discover: every cans of petfood,and stockpile on groceries, while mil- wardsdoing the rounds in India, it seems the that our ancestors were fish, or centipedes native tribes all overthe world: subject them plant has aminiature ecosystem humming lions aregoingtobelefttofend fortheir rightstolifeand magnitude of thecrisis has been completely or even chimpanzees —but Dawkins hasa to viruses (and addictions) that they had no around it:translucent crab spiders waiting security.Wewill meme in darkness of the darkness, not overshadowedbythe magnitude of the ig- clear and simple wayofshowing us that this immunity against, so theydiedindroves, en- in ambush,butterflies paying fleeting visits, paying attentiontothose who shall fade intoit. norance of our “educated”class.While the is, indeed, the case. Hopefullythe book abling them to take over their lands or en- hoverflies standing still in midair.Also, peo- While the media attention cycles will continue to poor Italians and Spaniards went out into should go some wayin“ducting” the wooli- slave them.Today, afurious Mother Natureis ple everywherehavesuddenlydiscovered forcecorona stories down our throat, it is up to us to de- their balconies to cheerand sing fortheir be- ness in our heads intothe stratosphere! showing us whatgoes around comes around birdsong likenever before.Eveninbig cities, velop anew information hygiene routine, wherewedo leaguered medicalworkers, we,inIndia,did The second book I’d recommend is Jay and we’renot enjoying it. Apartfromthis, youcan pickupthe songs and calls of at least notlet this landscapeofalarm and breaking news im- so to “spirituallycleanse” the countryofthe Griffiths’ Wild (2006). Griffiths is aBritish Griffiths is an incandescent, kaleidoscopic 20 species in justfiveminutes. Ah, but I’ll let mobilise our emotional and social landscapes. Justaswe virus! Apparently, the chanted prayers (and journalistwho spent years amongtribal and writer who writes with her heartand ab- youinonasmall secret.The birds haven’t practise social distancing and hand hygiene in the physi- clattering pots and pans) of 1.3billion Indians, native people around the world. She drank solutelydoesn’t hold back. come from the hinterland in great flocks to cal world, we needtodevelop newroutinesofinforma- “matchedthe resonant frequency of the di- psychotropic potionswith the shamans of the The thirdbook I’d recommend is Tara entertain us in this time of crisis! They’veal- tional distancing from the corona-centric stories and of- urnalmultipath propagation over theIndian South American rainforests,interacted with Westover’s Educated (2018). Tara Westover ways been there, singing, squawking and ar- ferour helping hands to those who do nothavethe subcontinent.” Further,“scientists”say that it cannibals in New Guinea (amongstthe kind- wasbrought up in aMormon familyand her guing. We just neverheardthem over the in- privileges and protections that youand I, and everybody would definitelyhavecreated aducting ef- estpeople sheencountered)and the Inuit of parentsbelievedinand livedaccording to rigid cessant roar of trafficand the ill-tempered else reading this column, can take forgranted. fect in the lowertroposphere, whichwould theicy polarregions,amongst others.Now,I traditional ways and customs. Her father had blaringofhorns. And, yes, of course, the either trap the virus in a“continental duct” do have reservations about the practices of apathological suspicion of authority —and disharmonious beating of pots andpans! EYE,THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE

APRIL 5, 2020 ARTS etc 13

‘Welearn from each new AHumane outbreak, butnot enough’ Heart Awriter’s role in an anxiety- Writer Laura Spinney on the impact of the 1918 Spanish FluonIndia and ridden world the mostly unchanging response to each new epidemic Parvati Sharma

EINGAwriter is half as muchthe “being” as Sushant Singh the writing.Iremember at 14,spending moretime imagining myself an ink-stained Jo in her attic, or asalty Joseph Conrad on the NHER much-acclaimed2017book, Bhigh seas at 24,thanproducingactual stories. Pale Rider:The SpanishFlu of 1918 and Likeall clichés, these two, of solitudeand adventureas HowitChanged theWorld,Laura essential to literature, arefounded in truth.You do need Spinneyrecounted the storyofafor- to think in order to write; and youdoneedexperienceto Igottenpandemic, whichleftbetween writeabout. On the other hand, Irealisedoverthe years 50 and 100millionpeople dead worldwide. that it’s perfectlypossible to writeinacrowdedoffice — The Paris-basedwriter and science journal- thinking happens in your head, afterall,nobody needs ist’s work,whichshows howthe pandemic an emptyhillside forit—and that adventures don’thave wasshapedbythe interaction of avirus and to involve tossing waves. Friendship is as muchanexpe- the humans it encountered,has special rele- rienceaslove; reading about the pastcan be as thrilling vance todayinthe time of COVID-19. Excerpts as diving intothe present. from an interview: Still, if it weren’tfor that adolescentcraving fora writer’slife, Iwouldn’twriteatall. At 14 and 40, the idea Whywas the 1918 flu pandemiccalledthe of an attic of my ownand aleading role in aHistorical Spanish Flu? Wasitdirectlylinked to the Moment held an irresistible, propelling romance. But Indian soldiers in the Great War? whatdid Iknow? NowI’m 42,the worldishushedand The storyofthe misnaming of the 1918 everymomentishistory —and Ican’t writeaword. pandemiciswell-known.WorldWarIwason Staying in is hardlyconducive to productive thought,af- in 1918,and thebelligerentnationscensored terall,when going out is prohibited;the urgency of ahis- their press, notwanting to damagetheirpop- torical momentisalsoits anxiety. ulations’ morale. Spain, however, wasneutral As Iwritethis, 22 migrantworkers have diedtrying to in that war, andwhen the firstcasesofflu oc- gethome across north India,almostasmany—29— curredthere,theywerewidelyreported. have succumbed to the dreadedvirusacrossthe country; Incidentally, it wascalledthe ‘NaplesSoldier’ and agovernment order has decreedthat stadiums be- in Spain, afteracatchy tunethat wasbeing come—not hospitals—jails.The American president playedinlocalmusichallsatthetime.Thedis- wantstoend his country’slockdown because thestock ease had already been in the United States for market’s unhappy.InColumbia, death squads areusing twomonths,andinFranceforseveralweeksat the opportunitytokillhomeboundactivists;and least.Thatinformationwas,however, kept out Hungary has become the EU’s firstcorona-inspired dicta- of their newspapers. So the worldcametosee torship. Aglobal pandemiconthe onehand, govern- the disease as coming out of Spain. This was mentsrevealing their mostmalevolentaspectsonthe alsoencouraged by propagandists in other WIKIMEDIACOMMONS other –the fear has suckedthe writing rightout of me. countries, whom it suited to shiftthe blame. HORRORSREVISITED Norcan Iread with muchconcentration,but Ihave Therewas no particular link to Indian sol- (Above) ASpanish Flu victim in St Louis, USA;Spinney been staring in glazedmanner at DanielDefoe’s AJournal diers, though, of course, theywereaffected of the Plague Year (1722), his account of the Great Plague and theyprobablyunwittinglyhelpedspread of London in 1665.Some bitscatchmyeye, forexample: it too, as theytravelled. It,however, clearly “I could notprevail upon my unsatisfied curiosity to stay shapedthe pandemic and the Indian experi- followedin1920was aspecial session of the quicklyfrompublicmemoryinIndia? Do within entirelymyself...” ence of it. Congress in Calcutta, whereGandhi promised wars attract moreattention thandisease? It is tempting, as the worldthreatens to collapse self-rulewithinayear if Congress followedhis Thereare manyreasons, but in India’s around us, to collapse, in turn, upon ourselves. To spend Did the 1918 pandemic alter the courseof satyagraha model all over India. By 1921, case, Ithink,acontributing factor wasthat, morehours in bed.Tobecome obsessive about disinfect- India’s independence movement in a thanks in no small parttothe freedom fight- foraverylongtime, Indians did nothavean ing doorknobs and stocking the fridge, when the news be- significantway? ers who providedrelief to millions of Indian accurate sense of the scale of their loss. The comes toomuch, to keep the dangers of the worldatbay. Ithink youcan argue from the historical during the flu, Gandhi had secured massive dead had simplynot been counted. But Defoe is awriter.It’s the bar he stocks —“I evidence that it did —and Iamnot the only grassroots support. EconomistSiddharth Chandra’s work in 2012 bought malt, and brewed as muchbeer as all the casksI oneto have doneso. The devastationwrought (The evolution of pandemic influenza: evidence had would hold” —and he ventures intothe world. It’s a by thedisease exacerbated socialtensions in Wasthe artand literatureofthe time in from India,1918–19, published in BMC “very, very,verydreadful” world, notjustbecause of the India,contributing to an eruption of violence India reflective of the pandemic and the Infectious Diseases)estimated that 18 million plague but also because of madnessand crime, mis- and significantlystrengthening theindepend- tragedy? wasareasonable estimatefor thedeath toll in ence movement. By 1918,Mahatma Gandhi Again, Ithink youcan argue that the pan- India as awhole, whichisroughly 6per cent wasbeing seen as afutureleader of the na- demic had an impact on Indian literature. For of the population of the undividedsubconti- tion, buthelackedgrassroots support. That example, MunshiPremchand who became nentatthat time. And, Idothink that wars at- spring, in Gujarat, he had organisedtwo satya- the self-styled “chronicler of villagelife” tractmuchmoreattentionfromwriters than grahas,butthesewere followedbythousands around 1918,and the poet(Suryakant epidemics or pandemics. of people, nothundredsofthousands. When Tripathi) Nirala who wroteabout the tragedy the flu returnedthat autumn, he fell ill, along in his memoir, ALifeMisspent (1939). This ar- Theworld has facedmanyepidemics with other members of theindependence gument is necessarilyspeculative, sincethe morerecently,suchasEbola in 2014-16 movement who sharedhis ashram.Armistice writers arenolonger herefor us to question and H1N1 in 2009. In what ways hasthe in WorldWarIwas signedinNovember 1918, them, but this does pose some interesting re- humanresponse notchanged? but the Rowlatt Actfollowed in India, which search questions forfuturehistorians. We tend to swing from panic, when the imposedthe martial law. That ledtoacall for pandemic strikes to forgetting and compla- a satyagraha by averyweak Gandhi, and, Despitebeing suchanimmense tragedy, cencywhenitpasses. We learnfrom each new eventually, the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy. What whywas the 1918 pandemicerasedso outbreak,but, perhaps, notenough. COURTESY:LAURASPINNEY.COM GETTYIMAGES ●●● Staying in is hardly conducive to productive thought, after all,when LAKSHMAN REKHA going out is prohibited

BY PRIYAKURIYAN ●●● management and fear;and everytime Defoe goes out he returns “[t]errified… and resolve to go outnomore”. Yethedoes. Thus, wanderingthe streetsofLondon, he writes of being transfixed by the sight of the richleaving the city, “a sight whichIcould notbut look on from morning to night”; he writes of the “[m]aid-servants... and men-ser- vants” going to fortune-tellers to ask if theywouldbe abandoned by their employers, “Oh sir... what will be- comeofme? Will my mistresskeepme, or will she turn me off?”Hewrites of the tears in hiseyesatthe storyofa boatmanworking dayand night forthe wifeand children he can no longermeet; theyare infected.Hewrites with blackhumour of asleeping piper almostburiedinamass grave, and with anger of the city’sterrible carefor itssick and itspoor —“as if theyhad had no warning, no expec- tation, no apprehensions, and consequentlythe least provisionimaginablewas made...” Defoedoesn’t lethis spiritbecontractedbyfear nor doeshelet himselfbeoverwhelmedbythe exigenciesof the self. He is as concernedabout his brother’s hat factory —wherehefinds the neighbourhood women helping themselvestoits unguarded ware —asheisabout the consequences of ageneral lockdown inacitybuilt on daily labour:“Isay, letany man considerwhat mustbe the miserable condition of this town if, on a sudden...labour shouldcease, and wagesfor work be no more.” Able to engage withthe present and speak to the future, Defoe is the idealwriter. And —ofcourse —heisfiction. Defoe wasachild in 1665; his “journal” is anovel,though possiblybasedona relative’s experience of the Great Plague. And the writer his narratorrepresents,jottingdownthe socio-political horrors of the daywhile swigging homemade ale —that maybeasmuchafantasy as anyIharbouredinmyado- lescence. As someone exclaimed on Twitterrecently,“A pandemicisnot awritingretreat”.Maybe it isn’t possible to writewhen you’relockedupand afraidofwhat the worldisbecoming. But Defoe’s idea of the writer —curious, courageous, empathetic —his idea of the writer’s lifeasawriter’s duty —unable to stay entirelywithin oneself,question- ing the worldasifresponsible forit—this offers some- thing to aspireto, morecompelling, even, than the soli- tary genius with abagful of sailors’ tales.

ParvatiSharmaisaDelhi-basedwriter

PriyaKuriyanisaBengaluru-basedillustrator,animatorandcomic-bookartist WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THESUNDAY EXPRESS,APRIL5,2020 KP WANTS ‘CONDENSED’IPL Kevin Pietersen has proposed a 'condensed' IPL without fans, saying he 'truly believes' the tournament should take 14 SPORT place. He added it could be held at three venues that will be safe forplayers. Virus fallout: FIFA postpones women’s U-17 World Cup in India

ing group on the women's international and the month's WorldCup qualifiers have PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA matchcalendar to consider potential While the tournament itself is already been calledoff due to the COVID-19 NEWDELHI,APRIL4 changes to the calendar and dates of post- five months away,onlythe pandemic. The recommendations still have ponedFIFAfinal tournaments". to be approved by the FIFABureau, areduced THE FIFAUnder-17Women's WorldCup to The All India Football Federation said the qualifying event forAsia has version of itsdecision-making Council. be held in India in November wason postponement wasonexpected lines. been held so farfromwhich "FIFAalso reiterates that health mustal- Saturdaypostponedbyfootball's governing "Justlikeother sports eventswhichwere ways be the firstpriority and the main crite- body due to the worsening COVID-19pan- postponeddue to this dreadeddisease, it Japan and NorthKorea have ria in anydecision-making process, espe- demic across the globe. (postponement of U-17World Cup) wasto made the cut. ciallyinthese challenging times," said FIFA. The women's agegroup showpiece wasto happen. We have to acceptthe decision," The group proposeddiscussions with beheld at five venues in the country—Kolkata, AIFF General SecretaryKushal Das told PTI. continental confederations to finalise are- Guwahati, Bhubaneswar,Ahmedabad and "The qualifying eventsinEurope and Africa people. Over 50,000 deaths have been visedschedule for2022 WorldCup qualifiers, Navi Mumbai —fromNovember 2-21. The and other confederations areyet to be held causedbythe deadlyoutbreak so far. aftermatches this month and in June were tournament wastobecompetedamong 16 and so the decision wasonexpected lines." The official schedule of the tournament postponed. The agelimit forthe Tokyo teams, with hosts India being automatic qual- He said the tournament will mostlikelybe wasannouncedinFebruaryand Navi Olympics men's football tournament could ifiers. It wastobeIndia's maiden appearance held next year.The working group of the Mumbai wastohostthe final. The Local be raisedsothat players who were eligible in the U-17Women's WorldCup. worldbody whichtook the decision includes Organising Committee (LOC) said it sup- in 2020 will notmiss out following the post- The decision wastaken by the FIFA- the FIFAadministration and Secretary portedthe decision though it waslooking ponement of the Games until the following Confederations working group whichwas Generals and topexecutivesfromall confed- forwardtohostthe tournament in year,FIFAsaid on Friday. recentlyestablishedbythe Bureauofthe FIFA erations. It unanimouslyapproved aseries of November as scheduled. Olympic football is usuallyrestricted to Council to address the consequences of the recommendations following itsfirstmeeting, "Weagree that this has been made with under-23 teams forthe men's tournament, COVID-19pandemic. The working group rec- whichwas organisedvia conference lateon the highestregardfor public health, and the with three overageplayers allowedper team. ommendedthe BureauofFIFACouncil to Friday. While the tournament itself is five participating teams, hostcities, staffand visit- However, aworking group setupbyglobal "postpone the FIFAUnder-20 Women's months away,onlythe qualifying event for ing fans, and keeps the best interests of every- soccer's governing body FIFArecommended WorldCup Panama/Costa Rica 2020 -origi- Asia has been held so farfromwhichJapan one in mind," the LOCsaid in astatement. on Fridaythat the competition should re- nallyscheduledfor August/September 2020 and NorthKorea have made the cut. main open to players born on or afterJan. 1, -and the FIFAUnder-17Women's WorldCup Five remaining qualifying events--that All international games deferred 1997,asoriginallyplanned, FIFAsaid in a India 2020 -originallyscheduledfor of Africa, Europe, Oceania,South America, Reuters:The working group also recom- statement. This would effectively raise the India’s under-17women’s team wasset to maketheir debut in the WorldCup, November 2020." "New dates will be iden- and Central, NorthAmerica and Caribbean - mendedthe postponement of all interna- agelimit by one year,asrequestedbyboth whichwas to be held from November 2to21this year. File tified," FIFAsaid in astatement. -havenot been held due to the global health tional matches due to be playedinJune -- a South Koreaand Australia. Thereisnoage It wasalso decided"to createasub-work- crisis whichhas affected morethan amillion formality as Euro2020, the Copa America limit forthe women's tournament.

India wassupposed to start its four-month countdown to the Olympics this moment.But forced into an unprecedented,grim lockdownasthe worldbattles the Covid-19 outbreak,sport is staring at unfathomable despair.Indian athletes though have given the countryreasons to rejoicein the past. The Indian Express looksbackatabunchofthese memories.

THOSEMONTHS THOSEMINUTES Invincibles of Incheon

SEPTEMBER 25,2014 ‘Itwasacaseofafewsmallmistakes thatdecidedtheoutcome.’

OCTOBER 2 ‘Wewerenotemotionalornervous, butcalm.’

Aftercountless false dawns and years of afractured hockeyteam putting up sub-par performances, India pulledtogether as aunit at the Asian Games in 2014 to reclaim continental gloryafter 16 long years beating arch rivals Pakistan. Sardar Singh, the talismanic captain and India's finestmidfielder of the era, looksback

had agreat combination of coaches. Ialways Nikkin Thimmaiah netted the equaliser but them. Marginal decisions also usuallywent in scenario as well. “He had decidedonthe play- TUSHARBHADURI believe that whosoeverisselected to playfor Muhammad Waqas scored what turnedout their favour as therewerenovideo referrals ers to be entrustedinthe high-pressuresce- the countryalready knows hockey. Only to be the winner aminutelater.“It wasacase there. We concededapenalty corner when I nario.Ihada50-50recordintrainingsessions, OVER HIS long international career,Sardar proper direction is needed,” he says. of afew small mistakesthat decidedthe out- knewthe ball had struckmyhand and notthe and wasleftout,” Sardar recalls. Singhoftenlefthockeyloversgaspingwithhis come,”thecaptainremembers.“Weweredis- foot.But we were determinedtokeep our When Akashdeep converted the firstat- skillswiththestick.Hisperipheralvision,sixth Preparation appointed,butnotdisheartened.We knewwe shape and discipline and avoid anycards. Our temptfromthe 25-yardline and Abdul sense about whereateammatewould be,the JUNE-JULY, 2014 were still in the tournament. We had ateam focuswasrewardedaswekepttheKoreansat HaseemKhandidn’t,itputtheIndiansinfront. blind pass, and uncannytackling ability en- The hockeycompetition in Incheon was bondingsessionlateintheeveningandlooked bayand Akashdeep (Singh)scored the only EventhoughManpreetSinghmissedthethird sured he waspartofnumerous All-StarXIs. scheduledfromSeptember20-October2.The forwardtothe next game.” goal of the match,” Sardar reminisces. attempt,Sreejesh again rose to the occasion However, hockeyisateam sportand the trainingcampbeforethetournamentwasheld Whathelpedmatterswasthatitwasquite againstBhutta. All it needednow was midfielder par excellence had precious few at NewDelhi’s Major DhyanChand National an experiencedbunchofplayers. “Guyslike ‘Justanother game’ Dharamvir to find the target,and he put the momentswhen he tasted triumph as partof Stadium, and Sardar remembers the toil the GurbajSingh, Dharamvir Singh and Danish OCTOBER 2, 2014 finishing touches on India’s campaign. the national team. India, during his playing players went through. Mujtaba had alot of games behind them and On the morning of abig final againstthe “Itwasaveryproudmomentformeasthe days,wouldoftenpromisemuchbeforefalter- “It waspeak summer in NorthIndia and knewwhat neededtobedone,” Sardar says. arch rivals,oneexpectsplayersto besuper-ex- captain,”Sardarlooksback.“Itwasparticularly ing in crunchsituations, be it conceding last- the stadium had big stands on everyside so India neededtobeat China in their last cited with butterflies in the stomach. But the significant as therewereafew youngsters in minutegoals or squandering gilt-edged scor- therewasverylittleaircirculation.Itwasa40- group game to makesureofasemi-final spot midfield general of yesteryears provides adif- the team playing their firstAsian Games and ing opportunities. daycampand severalfriendships developed and afteranother barrenfirsthalf, VR ferentperspective.“We were notemotionalor theyhad ataste of victory,”headds. there.Butthetrainingsessionswere sointense Raghunath and BirendraLakrastruckinquick nervous,butcalm.We knewwehaddoneour Askaboutthecelebrationafterthefinaland Honourable exception that we oftenfelt that we would collapse. succession to settle matters. homework and were expected to be in the fi- he replies wryly:“Youknowthese foreign However, the 2014 Incheon Asian Games “When Walsh joinedus, we were in nal.Thepreparationwaslikewhatwe hadbe- coaches. Theyare very professional and don’t wasone occasion when everything fell into Bhopal.Hedecidedtolay specialemphasison Taking down the hosts fore anyother game. allowyou to letyour hair down toomuch. We place and India notonlysecured itsthirdgold fitness. We had to complete 400m sprintsin SEPTEMBER 30, 2014 “Ourplanwastoplaywithenergyfromthe were givenabitof freetime,hadateamget-to- medal but also adirect berthfor the 2016 Rio groups within aparticular time, and usedto Byfinishingsecondinthegroup,Indiahad startand executeour strategy,soevenwhen getherbefore we hadto packourbagsandpre- Olympics. beleftgaspingattheend.Thecoachalsomade made matterstougher forthemselvesasthey Pakistantook an early lead (through parefor the return home.” “It wasour firstgold in 16 years and is one us swim at the TalkatoraStadium pool.” had to take on hosts South Koreainthe semi- Muhammad Rizwan senior in the third of thehappiestmemoriesofmycareer,”Sardar It’s notthat the technical skills of the game finals. The EastAsians had advancedwith a minute),we didn’tpanic.Itoldmy playersthat Alchemy looksback.“Itwastheresultof complete unity were ignored.“We had days earmarkedfor a perfect pool record, scoring 25 goals and con- therewas alot of time leftand we neededto Indian hockeyteams over the pastfew of purposeinour batch. Everyone’s thinking particularaspect.Forexample,onefullsession ceding justone. playwith discipline and sticktothe plan. decades have seldom pulledinthe same di- wasthe same.” wasdedicatedto the slap shot,” Sardar recalls. “Playing againstthe home countryisal- “Pakistanifansarealways veryabusive and rection,andithasoftenpulledthemdown.The No detail waslefttochance and the team ways tough, with the whole crowdbehind it wasnodifferent in this match. But we knew 2014 Asian Games squad wasateam in every Laying the foundation reachedIncheon10-12days before thecompe- it would happen and were determinednot to sense. What wasthe secret?“All the players HockeyIndia has oftenbeen flayedfor its tition.“Wehadsevenoreighttrainingsessions ■ ■ ■ react,” Sardar givesaglimpse intothe team’s bondedverywell,” Sardar reflects. “Atthe hire-and-firepolicy of coaches. Hardlyany at the venue and acclimatisedproperly.We mindset. Gamesvillage, 8-10players shared alarge head coach, especiallyforeigner,stays in the were fullof confidencewhenthetournament “It was our first gold in 16 Before the half-hour mark, Kothajit Singh room. Therewas discipline and strict rules job forasignificant length of time, whichalso began.” hadrestoredparity.Therewerenomoregoals about mobile usage. Nobody usedtostay breeds confusion among players. years and is one of the inthematch,butnodearthof actioneither.The awakelateasagood sleep wascrucial. But the arrivalofAustralian TerryWalsh, a Early setback skippermadeaspecialmentionabouthiscus- Recovery and proper dietwerelooked into.” silvermedallistatthe1976 MontrealOlympics SEPTEMBER 25, 2014 happiest memories of my todian, who came to India’s rescue on more “Also, wheneverwewent out, even to a with successful coaching stintsinthe Indiawere inthesamepoolasPakistanand thanoneoccasion.“(PR)Sreejeshwasourrock. restaurant, the whole squad went together. Netherlandsandhishomecountry, wasastep it wasalways going to be the keyclash. Sri career.Itwas the result of His body languagetoo wassuchthat it un- Whentheotherteamssawusmovingtogether in the right direction, feels Sardar,the captain Lanka and Oman were sweptaside easilybe- nerved advancing attackers.” even offthe ground, it exudedadifferent kind at that time. fore the contestagainstthe neighbours. complete unity of purpose in of feeling,” Sardar feels. And to think that the “Wehad Roelant Oltmans as the high per- Afteragoalless firsthalf, Pakistanwent Shootout decider Aussie architect of India’s golden hour was formance director and with Terry’s arrival, we ahead through Muhammad Umar Bhutta. our batch.” Head coachWalsh wasprepared forthis gone alittle over amonth later.

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