12
A day after the Supreme Court advised the Central and State Governments to con- sider a lockdown to break the chain of Covid-19 transmis- sion, prominent industrialist and trader bodies have called for a nationwide shutdown. Prominent industrialist and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) president Uday Kotak called for the curtail- ment of economic activity “to reduce suffering” due to the deadly second wave of Covid- 19 cases in India. “At this critical juncture when the toll of lives is rising, the CII urges the strongest national steps, including cur- tailing economic activity, to reduce suffering,” Uday Kotak said in a tweet. Kotak has asked for the highest-level response mea- sures to address the rising wave of Covid-19 cases, as currently safeguarding lives is key to cut the trans- mission links. “The healthcare infra- structure and supply build-up are being undertaken on an emergency basis by the Governments at the Centre and States, but will take time,” he said. Earlier, several experts as well as leading economists sug- gested the Government a nationwide lockdown is the only solution to break the chain of Covid infections. From US epidemiologist Anthony Fauci to AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria, all have sug- gested a complete lockdown. An online survey con- ducted by the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) showed that at least 67.5 per cent participants are in favour of nationwide lockdown while 78.2 per cent people have said they agreed that corona has become uncontrollable. CAIT national president and secretary general Praveen Khandelwal on Monday urged the Prime Minister to imme- diately impose a nationwide lockdown in order to break the chain of infections during the second Covid-19 wave. CAIT said in the event of a national lockdown, the trad- ing community across the country will ensure the supply of essential items like last year. Over 9,000 respondents par- ticipated in the online survey. Amid an exponential rise in coronavirus cases, the SC on Sunday urged the Centre and States “to consider imposing a lockdown to break the chain in the interest of public welfare”. Continued on Page 2 I n a sad end of the panchay- at elections, more than half a dozen candidates in the pan- chayat polls have died across the State before they were declared elected by the return- ing officer. Re-poll will now be held on these seats later. According to reports, most of the candidates died follow- ing Covid like symptoms but none of them had got them- selves tested or treated because they did not wish to be barred from the counting process. The State Election Commission (SEC) had said the candidates and their agents will be allowed to enter the counting centres only if they have tested negative for Covid- 19 in the 48 hours prior to the commencement of the count- ing process or taken both doses of the vaccine. Pinky, who contested the village pradhan post in Kurawali in Mainpuri district, won the election on Sunday. However, she died before the counting could take place. Continued on Page 2 T he Supreme Court on Monday rejected the pleas of Election Commission of India to ban media reporting on the Madras High Court’s observations that the poll panel was singularly responsible for Covid-19 deaths and it should be booked for murder. Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah advised the EC to take the criticism by the Madras High Court in the right spirit. “The ECI is a sea- soned constitutional body which has been entrusted with functions of conducting the elections. We cannot in today’s times say media will not report the discussions that take place in court,” the Bench said. The Bench went on to point out that the discussions that take place in the courts are of importance and are in pub- lic interest. “It’s not a mono- logue that one person will speak and then judges will speak. We have an Indian pat- tern of arguments in court...There is an aspect of the application of mind. First prayer of don’t report what is said in court was farfetched,” said Justice Chadrachud reject- ing the EC plea. “When something is observed, it’s in the larger pub- lic interest. They (Judges) are also humans and they are also stressed...Take this in the cor- rect spirit,” said Justice Shah. Continued on Page 2 I n view of an unprecedented rise in Covid-19 cases across the country, the Government has decided to postpone NEET-PG for at least four months. The decision was taken at the high-level review meeting held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It was decided that the State and Union Territories Governments are to make all efforts to reach out to each such prospective NEET candidates and request them “to join the Covid-19 workforce in this hour of need. The services of these MBBS doctors can be utilised in the management of Covid-19”, said a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). A series of important deci- sions were taken “to boost availability of medical person- nel to fight Covid-19”, it said. The NEET-PG exam will not be held before August 30. “Students will also be given at least one month of time after announcement of exam before it is conducted. This will make a large number of qualified doctors available for Covid duties,” said the statement. Continued on Page 2 W ith people rushing for computerised tomogra- phy scan (CT-scan) at the slightest sign of Covid-19 symptom, the Government has asked them not to do so as it can have health side-effects as serious as cancer besides caus- ing holes in their pocket. “In mild Covid-19 illness CT-scan is not needed, rather it can result in cancer in young people in their later stage of life. One CT-Scan is equivalent to 300 chest x-rays, it’s very harm- ful,” said AIIMS director and pulmonologist Dr Randeep Guleria. CT scan and markers are being misused. A lot of people are getting CT scans done. There is no use of the scan in the early stages, as it will not detect Covid properly in mild cases, Dr Guleria said. Guleria, who is also a member of the national pan- demic task force, added blood tests can’t always prove Covid infections as other underlying diseases can also trigger a spike in biomarkers. The CT-scan machine takes cross-sectional images of the body using computers and rotating X-ray machines. They are being used to detect Covid infections by detecting signs of pneumonia or white patches in the lungs. More people are relying on the expensive scan than last year as reports suggest the mutant variants of the virus can go undetected in the gold standard RT-PCR test. Continued on Page 2 S ustaining the tempo of air- lifting the much-needed oxygen from abroad, an aircraft of the IAF flew non-stop for 12 hours to bring home oxygen from Frankfurt, Germany. The C-17 transport plane ferried four empty cryogenic contain- ers from there and landed at the Hindon airbase, Ghaziabad. Similarly, another C-17 air- craft airlifted 450 oxygen cylin- ders from Brize Norton in the UK to the Chennai airbase in Tamil Nadu. In the past few days, the IAF planes carried out numerous sorties to ferry the containers from Singapore, Thailand and United Arab Emirates. I n yet another hospital tragedy in the country in recent days, 24 patients, 23 of them Covid-infected, died in Karnataka’s Chamarajanagar due to alleged oxygen shortage in the district hospital in the last 24 hours, with the Government warning of strin- gent action against those found guilty. The Government ordered a probe into the matter and appointed senior IAS officer Shivayogi Kalasad as the inquiry officer. Following the incident, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa convened a meeting with oxy- gen producers, where a num- ber of decisions were taken to ensure supply of allocated quantity of oxygen to the State by the Centre. Among these were to reduce the time taken to refill oxygen tankers, provide a green corridor for faster commuting of oxygen tankers and avoid unnecessary delay at toll gates. Utilising the service of the LPG tanker tanker drivers in case of emergency was also another important decision. Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar maintained that only three people had died due of oxyten shortage and not 24 as reported, though he stressed that the probe would reveal the truth. The incident evoked a sharp response from the Congress, with party leader Rahul Gandhi wondering “how much more suffering before the ‘system’ wakes up. In heart-breaking episodes preceding today’s incident in the country, a fire at a mall in Mumbai housing a Covid- des- ignated hospital in March left nine, including those on ven- tilators, dead, while 22 Covid-19 patients who were either on ventilator or oxygen support, suffocated to death when their oxygen sup- ply stopped suddenly due to a malfunction in the main stor- age at a civic hospital in Nashik. Continued on Page 2 T amil Nadu’s sombre mood due to Covid-19 pandem- ic gave way to celebrations, music, dance and bursting of firecrackers since Sunday evening when it was known that MK Stalin would form the next government as the DMK won a comfortable majority in the legislative Assembly polls. By late Sunday evening, the DMK headquarters and Stalin’s personal bungalow came under a security blanket as the cops of the State Armed Police took over the entire route. Limousines with Government number plates were the first ones to reach Stalin’s house and since then there has been no end to the number of visitors calling in. DMK cadre from all over the State flooded the party head- quarters as the route to Stalin’s residence was completely taken over by security men. It was fun, music and dance everywhere. Party activists with pictures of Stalin pinned to their pockets (a show of obeisance to Thalapathy, as Stalin is addressed by friends and cadre) were seen distributing sweets to all those who had visited the party headquarters. Iniyavan, popularly known as Idli King of Tamil Nadu, had come to the party office to pay his respect to the Chief Minister designate. He made the day a memorable one to all those who had come to the party headquarters with a spe- cial gift. A specially made idli, aptly titled Kalaignar Idli, was Iniyavan’s gift to Stalin. It took him and four of his assistants nearly ten hours to cook the idli which resembled the face of M Karunanidhi, the former Chief Minister and Stalin’s father. “This is a special idli and not for consuming. It has nine kinds of grains engraved on it with colouring agents approved by the Food and Drug Agency. This is our tribute to Karunanidhi as well as a wel- come gift for Stalin,” said Iniyavan, who holds a world record in the different varieties of idlis. Iniyavan can make more than 100 varieties of idlis, namely, chocolate idli, coconut idli, vanilla idli, jas- mine idli, carrot idli and a host of steam cakes with different flavours. Continued on Page 2 R uthless attacks on the van- quished Opposition work- ers continued in West Bengal with at least 8 people losing their lives to alleged Trinamool Congress violence in various parts of the State in the past 24 hours or so, reports said. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee made a public appeal asking the people to remain indoors and refrain from engaging in violence, but polit- ical animosity degenerated into bloodshed. Indian Secular Front work- er Hasanur Zaman was repeat- edly bombed to death at De Ganga in North 24 Parganas while BJP worker Haran Adhikari was shot in Sonarpur. Another BJP supporter succumbed to bullet injury at Moynaguri in Jalpaiguri district of North Bengal. A third BJP worker was shot dead at Burapancha village near Sitalkuchi in Cooch Behar where CAPF firing had claimed four lives during the elections. A woman was bumped off at Ranaghat in Nadia district while a Left supporter was killed in Murshidabad, sources said. Another BJP man was allegedly beaten to death at Beleghata in North Kolkata, party men alleged. Properties, including motorcycles, of BJP and CPI(M) supporters were destroyed at Chakdaha, Haringhata and other areas of Nadia district, sources said. Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh alleged that the houses of BJP men were vandalised and torched at Bhagwanpur and Patashpur in East Midnapore while saffron party offices were torched at Balurghat and North Dinajpur in North Bengal. He appealed to the Chief Minister to “stop this carnage and let the people live in peace.” Ghosh led a team of BJP leaders to meet the Governor at Raj Bhavan. He said, “Elections are over and what- ever ill-feeling should now be forgotten… Instead of that our workers and those of some other political parties are being systematically targeted, beaten up, murdered and their prop- erties destroyed. We have been forced to transfer the victims of this violence to other safer places. I request the Chief Minister to order her men to stop this or else we shall be forced to resume campaign from tomorrow.” Refuting the charges, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, “Our leader Mamata Banerjee has asked people not to indulge in violence. In none of the cases, the TMC is involved. In fact, it is the fight between the old and the new BJP men. The old BJP men are beating up the new entrants who went from the TMC.” T he people of West Bengal had put the rulers of Delhi in their place by handing them out a stunning loss in the Assembly elections and this “proves that the BJP is not a shahenshah,” Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said. Mamata will take oath for the third time in a row as Bengal Chief Minister on May 5, senior party leader and Minister of the outgoing State Cabinet Partho Chatterjee said after the TMC Legislator party on Monday unanimously elect- ed her as the Leader of the TMC Legislature Party. She alleged the BJP had misused the poll body to defeat her but failed, “thanks to the people of Bengal”. Refusing to let her anger on the Election Commission die down, Mamata complained how the counting of votes at Nandigram was manipulated at gunpoint to ensure that she lost by a wafer-thin margin. “I have an SMS with me… it was sent by someone... it said the Returning Officer of Nandigram was forced not to order a recount at gunpoint… he said he had risk his life and family if he ordered a recount… But I will not take it lying down. I will move the court and definitely tell all the officials to preserve the VVPAT and other papers,” she said. Continued on Page 2 Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh Government has extended the coronavirus-induced cur- few in the entire State by two more days, May 6. As per the latest order, the restrictions will remain in place in all 75 districts till May 6 morning. The restrictions were slated to be lifted on May 4 morn- ing. This is the second exten- sion of lockdown-like curfew in the country’s most popu- lous State.

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Page 1: + ˇ,˘˙˘ ˆ ˝ ˇ · 5/3/2021  · ˘ˇˇˆ˙˝˛˚˜ !" ˘ˇ ˆ ˙ ˝ ˛ ˚˜ ˜ ˚ ˜ ! ˝ " !! ˛ #˘ ˜ $˝ " !! ˛ "˚ ˝

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��'��$(���� 01/��1,*+

Aday after the SupremeCourt advised the Central

and State Governments to con-sider a lockdown to break thechain of Covid-19 transmis-sion, prominent industrialistand trader bodies have calledfor a nationwide shutdown.

Prominent industrialistand Confederation of IndianIndustry (CII) president UdayKotak called for the curtail-ment of economic activity “toreduce suffering” due to thedeadly second wave of Covid-19 cases in India.

“At this critical juncturewhen the toll of lives is rising,the CII urges the strongestnational steps, including cur-tailing economic activity, toreduce suffering,” Uday Kotaksaid in a tweet.

Kotak has asked for thehighest-level response mea-sures to address the risingwave of Covid-19 cases, as currently safeguarding lives is key to cut the trans-mission links.

“The healthcare infra-structure and supply build-upare being undertaken on anemergency basis by theGovernments at the Centreand States, but will take time,”he said.

Earlier, several experts aswell as leading economists sug-gested the Government anationwide lockdown is theonly solution to break thechain of Covid infections. FromUS epidemiologist AnthonyFauci to AIIMS DirectorRandeep Guleria, all have sug-gested a complete lockdown.

An online survey con-ducted by the Confederation of

All India Traders (CAIT)showed that at least 67.5 percent participants are in favourof nationwide lockdown while78.2 per cent people have saidthey agreed that corona hasbecome uncontrollable.

CAIT national presidentand secretary general PraveenKhandelwal on Monday urgedthe Prime Minister to imme-diately impose a nationwidelockdown in order to break thechain of infections during thesecond Covid-19 wave.

CAIT said in the event ofa national lockdown, the trad-ing community across thecountry will ensure the supplyof essential items like last year.Over 9,000 respondents par-ticipated in the online survey.

Amid an exponential risein coronavirus cases, the SC onSunday urged the Centre andStates “to consider imposing alockdown to break the chain inthe interest of public welfare”.

Continued on Page 2

������������������,�'$02/

In a sad end of the panchay-at elections, more than half a

dozen candidates in the pan-chayat polls have died acrossthe State before they weredeclared elected by the return-ing officer.

Re-poll will now be held onthese seats later.

According to reports, mostof the candidates died follow-ing Covid like symptoms butnone of them had got them-selves tested or treated becausethey did not wish to be barred

from the counting process.The State Election

Commission (SEC) had saidthe candidates and their agentswill be allowed to enter thecounting centres only if theyhave tested negative for Covid-19 in the 48 hours prior to thecommencement of the count-ing process or taken both dosesof the vaccine.

Pinky, who contested thevillage pradhan post inKurawali in Mainpuri district,won the election on Sunday.However, she died before thecounting could take place.

Continued on Page 2

#�� 01/��1,*+�

The Supreme Court onMonday rejected the pleas

of Election Commission ofIndia to ban media reportingon the Madras High Court’sobservations that the poll panelwas singularly responsible forCovid-19 deaths and it shouldbe booked for murder.

Justices DY Chandrachudand MR Shah advised the ECto take the criticism by theMadras High Court in theright spirit. “The ECI is a sea-soned constitutional body

which has been entrusted withfunctions of conducting theelections. We cannot in today’stimes say media will not reportthe discussions that take placein court,” the Bench said.

The Bench went on topoint out that the discussionsthat take place in the courts areof importance and are in pub-lic interest. “It’s not a mono-

logue that one person willspeak and then judges willspeak. We have an Indian pat-tern of arguments incourt...There is an aspect of theapplication of mind. Firstprayer of don’t report what issaid in court was farfetched,”said Justice Chadrachud reject-ing the EC plea.

“When something isobserved, it’s in the larger pub-lic interest. They (Judges) arealso humans and they are alsostressed...Take this in the cor-rect spirit,” said Justice Shah.

Continued on Page 2

#�� 01/��1,*+

In view of an unprecedentedrise in Covid-19 cases across

the country, the Governmenthas decided to postponeNEET-PG for at least fourmonths. The decision wastaken at the high-level reviewmeeting held by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi.

It was decided that theState and Union TerritoriesGovernments are to make allefforts to reach out to each suchprospective NEET candidatesand request them “to join theCovid-19 workforce in thishour of need. The services ofthese MBBS doctors can beutilised in the management ofCovid-19”, said a statementfrom the Prime Minister’s

Office (PMO).A series of important deci-

sions were taken “to boostavailability of medical person-nel to fight Covid-19”, it said.The NEET-PG exam will notbe held before August 30.

“Students will also be givenat least one month of time afterannouncement of exam beforeit is conducted. This will makea large number of qualifieddoctors available for Covidduties,” said the statement.

Continued on Page 2

#�� 01/��1,*+

With people rushing forcomputerised tomogra-

phy scan (CT-scan) at theslightest sign of Covid-19symptom, the Government hasasked them not to do so as itcan have health side-effects asserious as cancer besides caus-ing holes in their pocket.

“In mild Covid-19 illnessCT-scan is not needed, ratherit can result in cancer in youngpeople in their later stage of life.One CT-Scan is equivalent to300 chest x-rays, it’s very harm-ful,” said AIIMS director and pulmonologist DrRandeep Guleria.

CT scan and markers arebeing misused. A lot of peopleare getting CT scans done.There is no use of the scan inthe early stages, as it will not

detect Covid properly in mildcases, Dr Guleria said.

Guleria, who is also amember of the national pan-demic task force, added bloodtests can’t always prove Covidinfections as other underlyingdiseases can also trigger a spikein biomarkers.

The CT-scan machinetakes cross-sectional imagesof the body using computers

and rotating X-ray machines.They are being used to detectCovid infections by detectingsigns of pneumonia or whitepatches in the lungs. Morepeople are relying on theexpensive scan than last year asreports suggest the mutantvariants of the virus can goundetected in the gold standardRT-PCR test.

Continued on Page 2

#�� 01/��1,*+�

Sustaining the tempo of air-lifting the much-needed

oxygen from abroad, an aircraftof the IAF flew non-stop for 12hours to bring home oxygenfrom Frankfurt, Germany. TheC-17 transport plane ferriedfour empty cryogenic contain-ers from there and landed at theHindon airbase, Ghaziabad.

Similarly, another C-17 air-craft airlifted 450 oxygen cylin-ders from Brize Norton in theUK to the Chennai airbase inTamil Nadu. In the past fewdays, the IAF planes carried outnumerous sorties to ferry thecontainers from Singapore,Thailand and United ArabEmirates.

#��� �103�,�-�

In yet another hospitaltragedy in the country in

recent days, 24 patients, 23 ofthem Covid-infected, died inKarnataka’s Chamarajanagardue to alleged oxygen shortagein the district hospital in the last 24 hours, with theGovernment warning of strin-gent action against those found guilty.

The Government ordereda probe into the matter andappointed senior IAS officerShivayogi Kalasad as theinquiry officer.

Following the incident,Chief Minister BS Yediyurappaconvened a meeting with oxy-gen producers, where a num-ber of decisions were taken toensure supply of allocatedquantity of oxygen to the Stateby the Centre.

Among these were toreduce the time taken to refilloxygen tankers, provide a greencorridor for faster commutingof oxygen tankers and avoidunnecessary delay at toll gates.

Utilising the service of theLPG tanker tanker drivers incase of emergency was alsoanother important decision.

Health Minister Dr KSudhakar maintained that only

three people had died due ofoxyten shortage and not 24 as reported, though hestressed that the probe wouldreveal the truth.

The incident evoked asharp response from theCongress, with party leaderRahul Gandhi wondering “howmuch more suffering before the‘system’ wakes up.

In heart-breaking episodespreceding today’s incident inthe country, a fire at a mall inMumbai housing a Covid- des-ignated hospital in March leftnine, including those on ven-tilators, dead, while 22

Covid-19 patients whowere either on ventilator oroxygen support, suffocated todeath when their oxygen sup-ply stopped suddenly due to amalfunction in the main stor-age at a civic hospital in Nashik.

Continued on Page 2

����������� ������ ���� �������������������������������

������������� ����������������������������������������������������

�� ��� �� ����������������� ��� ������ ��������� �� ��������� �������

����� !�"���"����#����� $��"��� ���%���&�'�"������

(��"�&�'�"������ �"������ �����&�� ��$���������"��������)����(*

$(���������##��� '*100�+

Tamil Nadu’s sombre mooddue to Covid-19 pandem-

ic gave way to celebrations,music, dance and bursting offirecrackers since Sundayevening when it was knownthat MK Stalin would form thenext government as the DMKwon a comfortable majority inthe legislative Assembly polls.

By late Sunday evening, theDMK headquarters and Stalin’spersonal bungalow came undera security blanket as the copsof the State Armed Police tookover the entire route.

Limousines withGovernment number plateswere the first ones to reachStalin’s house and since thenthere has been no end to thenumber of visitors calling in.DMK cadre from all over theState flooded the party head-quarters as the route to Stalin’sresidence was completely takenover by security men.

It was fun, music anddance everywhere. Partyactivists with pictures of Stalinpinned to their pockets (ashow of obeisance to

Thalapathy, as Stalin isaddressed by friends and cadre)were seen distributing sweets toall those who had visited theparty headquarters.

Iniyavan, popularly knownas Idli King of Tamil Nadu, hadcome to the party office to payhis respect to the ChiefMinister designate. He made

the day a memorable one to allthose who had come to theparty headquarters with a spe-cial gift. A specially made idli,aptly titled Kalaignar Idli, wasIniyavan’s gift to Stalin. It tookhim and four of his assistantsnearly ten hours to cook the idliwhich resembled the face of MKarunanidhi, the former ChiefMinister and Stalin’s father.

“This is a special idli andnot for consuming. It has ninekinds of grains engraved on itwith colouring agents approvedby the Food and Drug Agency.This is our tribute toKarunanidhi as well as a wel-come gift for Stalin,” saidIniyavan, who holds a worldrecord in the different varietiesof idlis. Iniyavan can makemore than 100 varieties ofidlis, namely, chocolate idli,coconut idli, vanilla idli, jas-mine idli, carrot idli and a hostof steam cakes with differentflavours.

Continued on Page 2

+����,�����"��������"��()����)(#��� $2,$�4�

Ruthless attacks on the van-quished Opposition work-

ers continued in West Bengalwith at least 8 people losingtheir lives to alleged TrinamoolCongress violence in variousparts of the State in the past 24hours or so, reports said.

Chief Minister MamataBanerjee made a public appealasking the people to remainindoors and refrain fromengaging in violence, but polit-ical animosity degenerated intobloodshed.

Indian Secular Front work-er Hasanur Zaman was repeat-edly bombed to death at DeGanga in North 24 Parganaswhile BJP worker HaranAdhikari was shot in Sonarpur.

Another BJP supportersuccumbed to bullet injury atMoynaguri in Jalpaiguri districtof North Bengal. A third BJPworker was shot dead atBurapancha village near

Sitalkuchi in Cooch Beharwhere CAPF firing had claimedfour lives during the elections.

A woman was bumped offat Ranaghat in Nadia districtwhile a Left supporter waskilled in Murshidabad, sourcessaid. Another BJP man wasallegedly beaten to death atBeleghata in North Kolkata,party men alleged.

Properties, includingmotorcycles, of BJP andCPI(M) supporters weredestroyed at Chakdaha,Haringhata and other areas ofNadia district, sources said.

Bengal BJP president DilipGhosh alleged that the housesof BJP men were vandalisedand torched at Bhagwanpurand Patashpur in EastMidnapore while saffron partyoffices were torched atBalurghat and North Dinajpurin North Bengal. He appealedto the Chief Minister to “stopthis carnage and let the peoplelive in peace.”

Ghosh led a team of BJPleaders to meet the Governorat Raj Bhavan. He said,“Elections are over and what-ever ill-feeling should now beforgotten… Instead of that ourworkers and those of someother political parties are beingsystematically targeted, beatenup, murdered and their prop-erties destroyed. We have beenforced to transfer the victims ofthis violence to other saferplaces. I request the ChiefMinister to order her men tostop this or else we shall beforced to resume campaignfrom tomorrow.”

Refuting the charges, TMCspokesperson Kunal Ghoshsaid, “Our leader MamataBanerjee has asked people notto indulge in violence. In noneof the cases, the TMC isinvolved. In fact, it is the fightbetween the old and the newBJP men. The old BJP men arebeating up the new entrantswho went from the TMC.”

�()����)(#��� $2,$�4�

The people of West Bengalhad put the rulers of Delhi

in their place by handing themout a stunning loss in theAssembly elections and this“proves that the BJP is not ashahenshah,” Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee said.

Mamata will take oath forthe third time in a row asBengal Chief Minister on May5, senior party leader andMinister of the outgoing StateCabinet Partho Chatterjee saidafter the TMC Legislator partyon Monday unanimously elect-ed her as the Leader of theTMC Legislature Party.

She alleged the BJP hadmisused the poll body to defeat

her but failed, “thanks to thepeople of Bengal”.

Refusing to let her angeron the Election Commissiondie down, Mamata complainedhow the counting of votes atNandigram was manipulated atgunpoint to ensure that she lostby a wafer-thin margin.

“I have an SMS with me…it was sent by someone... it saidthe Returning Officer ofNandigram was forced not toorder a recount at gunpoint…he said he had risk his life andfamily if he ordered arecount… But I will not take itlying down. I will move thecourt and definitely tell all theofficials to preserve the VVPATand other papers,” she said.

Continued on Page 2

Lucknow: The Uttar PradeshGovernment has extendedthe coronavirus-induced cur-few in the entire State by twomore days, May 6. As per thelatest order, the restrictionswill remain in place in all 75districts till May 6 morning.The restrictions were slatedto be lifted on May 4 morn-ing. This is the second exten-sion of lockdown-like curfewin the country’s most popu-lous State.

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Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh on Monday recorded288 more COVID-19 deaths which pushed thetoll to 13,447 while the infection tally rose to13,42,413 with 29,192 fresh cases, an officialstatement said.

Of the fresh COVID-19 deaths, Lucknowreported 26 followed by Allahabad (25), Jhansi(21), Gorakhpur (19), Kanpur and Chandauli(17 each), Gautam Buddh Nagar (13), Varanasi(11), and Meerut (10), it said.

Of the new cases, 3,058 were reported fromLucknow, 1,446 from Gautam Buddh Nagar,1,404 from Moradabad, 1,311 from Kanpur,1,222 from Saharanpur, 1,097 from Gorakhpur,1,082 from Amroha and 1,022 from Varanasi,the statement said.

As many as 38,687 COVID-19 patients haverecovered from the disease in the state takingthe total number of discharged patients to10,43,134.

The number of active COVID-19 cases inthe state stands at 2,85,832, the statement said.

In the last 24 hours, more than 2.29 lakh

samples were tested for COVID-19 while so far,over 4.15 crore samples have been tested in thestate, the statement said. PTI

New Delhi: Two male nurses ofa private hospital in west Delhiwho allegedly sneaked awaywith Remdesivir injection vialsof dead coronavirus patientsfor black-marketing have beenarrested, police said on Monday.

The accused have beenidentified as DomathotiYashwanth (27), a resident ofHarsh Vihar, and Deepak (28),a resident of Budh Vihar.

With an unprecedented risein coronavirus cases, the drug isin high demand these days evenhough experts have underlinedits limited benefits. Police saidthey had received a tip-off aboutthe two accused and laid a trapnear Punjabi Bagh Flyover afterbeing informed that Yashwanthwould arrive there for sellingRemdesiver injection at inflatedprices. PTI

Indore: A video of a tehsildarkicking a man for not per-forming a punishment taskgiven to him for COVID-19norm violation in Indore inMadhya Pradesh went viralon social media, prompting theMP Human RightsCommission to ask authoritiesto submit a report on the inci-dent.

In a video of the incident,said to have taken place onSunday in Depalpur town here,the official is seen kicking theman on the back when he failsto leap like a frog in sync withdrum beats, the punishmenthanded down to the latter forviolating corona curfew.

Taking cognisance of acomplaint in this connection,MP Human Rights

Commission chairpersonNarendra Kumar Jain directedthe Indore divisional commis-sioner and the Depalpur tehsil-dar to submit a report withina week, an official said.

Speaking about the inci-dent, Indore district collectorManish Singh on Monday saidthe action of the official was"totally wrong", adding that "Ihave scolded him".

However, Singh said citi-zens who neglect norms inplace under the EpidemicDiseases Act due to the pre-vailing pandemic are liable to bepunished. Janata curfew, whichallows only essential servicesand emergency travel, is inplace in Indore, MadhyaPradesh's worst coronavirus-hit district. PTI

Patna: The fatality rate in coro-navirus infections in Bihar isextremely high and it has espe-cially hit hard the state's agri-culture department.

As many as 15 officials ofthe Bihar agriculture depart-ment have lost their lives dueto the Covid-19 infection,including the Deputy Directorof Diyara Taal DevelopmentProject, Om Prakash Singh.

Singh tested positive forCovid-19 a week ago andpassed away in a private hos-pital in Patna on Sunday night.

Bihar Agriculture MinisterAmrendra Pratap Singh, andAgriculture Secretary, NSaravana Kumar expresseddeep condolences to the vic-tim's family.

Earlier, an agriculturedepartment official deployed atNaubatpur, five agricultureadvisors, three agriculture

coordinators and three clerks inthe land preservation unit losttheir lives during the secondwave of Covid-19 in April thisyear.

The Registrar of VeerKunwar Singh University,Bhojpur, died due to a heartattack on Monday morning. Hewas also infected with thevirus.

The deceased, NanheshwarPrasad, had tested positive forCovid-19 five days ago and wasadmitted to Narayan MedicalCollege and Hospital inSasaram. He was recentlyappointed as the Registrar anda notification in this regard wasissued by Bihar GovernorPhagu Chauhan's office onApril 6.

A doctor in the PrimaryHealth Centre in Punpun areaof Patna district also died dueto Covid-19 on Monday morning. IANS

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The Bihar Government on Monday decidedto make available Rs two crore each from

the development money of the state legislatorsto corona eradication fund constituted in the health department to furtherenhance the medicare facility to fight COVIDpandemic more effectively. A sum of Rs 2 crorefrom the legislators fund of all the MLAs andMLCs for the fiscal 2021-22 be transfered to thecorona fund, an official statement said here.

Under legislators' local area developmentfund, all the MLAs and members of legislativecouncil get Rs 3 crore annually inBihar.

As per the order of the Governor, legisla-tors willing to give more than Rs 2 crore fromtheir kitty for the purpose can make a recom-mendation to this effect to the Additional ChiefSecretary Planning and Development depart-ment, the statement said. Bihar has 243-mem-ber assembly, while there are 75 members in thecouncil.

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At least three incidents ofcloudburst were reported

in Uttrakhand on Monday.However, no loss life has beenreported so far as the localadministation is carrying outrelief and rescue operations.

Cloudburst was reported inKumarada village inChiniyalisaur block, Uttarkashiand the Saini Tok area inNarkota village in Rudraprayag.

The Rudrayag police saidthat two places near Narkotahave reported cloudburst, butno report of any loss of life hasbeen received so far.

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New Delhi: The defence advisor atTanzanian High Commission has diedof Covid-19 at a hospital in the nation-al capital, in perhaps the first case ofdeath of an official of a foreign missiondue to coronavirus infection, peoplefamiliar with the development said onMonday.

Col Moses Beatus Mlula passedaway at Base hospital in Delhi Cantt onApril 28, a day after he was admitted tothe facility, they said.

They said Mlula was taken to a lead-ing private hospital on April 27 in a seri-ous condition but he did not get admis-sion there due to the unavailability ofbeds. The defence advisor's conditionworsened when he was waiting at theparking area of the hospital and theTanzanian High Commission then con-tacted the Indian Army.

After receiving the communication,the Indian Army brought him to theBase hospital and deployed a team of

doctors to treat him.However, he died at the Base hos-

pital at around 3 PM on April 28, theysaid. There is no official word on it byIndian authorities.

The Tanzanian High Commissionhas mentioned Mlula's death in an inter-nal communication to foreign missionsand UN agencies. On April 29, thehigh commission opened a condo-lence book for Mlula. Thenational capital as well as several partsof the country have been ravaged by adevastating wave of coronavirus in thelast few weeks.

It is learnt that several foreign mis-sions in Delhi have reported COVID-19 cases.

On Sunday, the Ministry ofExternal Affairs said it is in continuoustouch with all foreign embassies in Indiaand responding to their medicaldemands, especially those related toCOVID-19. PTI

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From Page 1It also directed the Central Government to revisit its initia-

tives and protocols, including the availability of oxygen, avail-ability and pricing of vaccines, and availability of essential drugsat affordable prices.Unable to cope with deteriorating Covid cases,States are seeking the Army’s help to manage things. Armed forces’Medical Corps has set up hospitals in Delhi, Ahmedabad, Varanasiand Lucknow. According to reports, some members of the Covid-19 task force, a technical expert body that advises the CentralGovernment, are pushing hard for a national lockdown.

The experts argue that lockdown is a must because the wayin which the Covid-19 pandemic is spreading, threatens to over-whelm the already creaking health infrastructure. The task forceincludes experts from AIIMS and ICMR.

Modi had imposed a strict lockdown last year, but has beenreluctant this year due to concerns about the economic impact.Last month, Modi said lockdown should be the “last resort” todeal with the raging pandemic and asked States to convincemigrant workers to stay put at their places of work with a guar-antee for their lives and livelihood.

However, at least 11 States and Union Territories haveimposed some form of restrictions due to the spiralling cases.The country is reporting around 4 lakh new infections a day andover 3,000 deaths.

From Page 1The ECI had raised strong

objection to certain oralremarks made by the MadrasHigh Court on April 26, where-by it had commented that theECI should probably be put upfor murder charges in view ofits failure to curb the “wantonabuse” of Covid-19 protocolduring election rallies. Thewide publication of the saidcomments prompted the ECIto move the court.

Justice Chandrachud saidjudges cannot be asked to only“stick to pleadings” while hear-ing a case.

“We can’t just say judgesshould stick to pleadings. Theyare overburdened and they aresaying what’s happeningaround them. They are burn-ing the midnight oil,” heremarked. Justice Shah made areference to how the MadrasHigh Court’s comments maynot have been impromptu. Heurged the ECI to take the com-ments in the right spirit. “TheHigh Court was consideringorders and noted that orderswere not followed. It was notimpromptu. What is said issaid. Take it in the right spir-it,” Justice Shah said.

From Page 1“But failing oxygen saturation and excessive fatigue are warn-

ing signs that indicate Covid patients in home isolation need hos-pitalization,” Dr Guleria said even as he warned against the useof steroids in the early stages of infection.

Dr Guleria said oxygen therapy, steroids, and anticoagulantscan be used to treat moderate patients while Remdesivir,Tocilizumab and plasma therapy were only emergency measures.

“We have issued clinical guidelines for the management ofCovid. It clarifies that those with mild illness do not need a med-icine. Early-stage steroids can cause more harm than advantage.Steroids only help with moderate illness,” he added.

Dr Nita Radhakrishnan, associate professor, Department ofPediatric Hematology-Oncology - SSPHPGTI in Noida (UP)added that CT is helpful only for patients who are RTPCR neg-ative and are symptomatic.ile Dr Rahul Bhargawa, senior hema-tologist from Fortis Gurugram said that “the scan is recommendedto rule out any clot or infection in the lungs. In rare cases it isadvised for patients testing negative, but facing difficulty in breath-ing or their oxygen saturation dipping.”

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From Page 1Leaders of political outfits

who called on Stalin in theparty headquarters thatinclude Vaiko,Thirumavalavan and com-munist party bosses took timeoff to see the new idli made byIniyavan. Most of the leadersenjoy a rapport with Iniyavan,whose services they seek for allauspicious occasions in theirfamilies. No function in TamilNadu would be completewithout serving hot and softidlis with sambar. AndIniyavan never disappointshis customers. The idli, onceseen and blessed by Stalinwould be immersed in thenearby Bay of Bengal with theloving messages to lateKarunanidhi.

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From Page 1Similarly, 15 coronavirus

patients died after a fire brokeout at the Intensive Care Unitof a private hospital in Palghardistrict, also in Maharashtra inApril.

Further, 12 Covid-19patients, including the HoD ofthe gastroenterology depart-ment of Batra Hospital in Delhidied allegedly due to oxygenshortage on Saturday.

A glitch in oxygen supplyin Vizianagaram in AndhraPradesh resulted in threedeaths last week.

At Chamarajanagar, a pallof gloom descended on the dis-trict hospital as the grieving kinof the deceased gathered afterhearing the news.

Family members of thedead also staged a demonstra-tion at the hospital and allegedthere was shortage of oxygenand raised slogans.

Speaking to reporters inChamarajanagar, Sudhakar said123 Covid patients were admit-ted to the hospital.

“Of these, 14 are on venti-lator, 36 are on Non InvasiveVentilator, 58 were on HighBlow Oxygen, 29 are on normaloxygen (Up to 10 litres perminute).”

According to Sudhakar, 14people, all of whom had beenundergoing treatment for thepast 14 to 18 days, died due toCovid from Sunday 7 am to 12midnight.

Their condition had wors-ened and they died naturallydue to the disease, he added.

“Between 12 midnight to 3am, three people died. From 3am to 7 am, seven people died.So three people died due toshortage of oxygen, accordingto the district authorities, ourhealth department officials anddoctors,” he told reporters.

He said 23 people died inthe district hospital and one at

Kamagere village in the past 24hours.

Chamarajanagar districtin-charge Minister S SureshKumar said he has ordered adeath audit report from the dis-trict administration into theincident.

He, however, maintainedthat all the deaths did notoccur due to oxygen shortage.

“It’s not appropriate to saythat all the 24 deaths were dueto oxygen shortage. Thesedeaths occurred from Sundaymorning to this morning.

“The oxygen shortage hap-pened in the wee hours ofMonday -- from 12.30 am to2.30 am,” Kumar, who holds thePrimary and SecondaryEducation portfolio, toldreporters here.

He said the death auditreport would detail what thesepatients were suffering from,whether they had any comor-bidities and in which conditionthey were brought to the hos-

pital.“All the people who died

may not have died due to oxy-gen shortage,” he added.

According to him, there isa stock of 6,000 litres of LiquidMedical Oxygen (LMO), butthere was a need for oxygencylinders. “The cylinders weresupposed to come fromMysuru, but there was someglitch,” Kumar said.

He also said he hasexplained the situation to theChief Secretary of the State,personal secretary to the ChiefMinister and the Additional Director General ofPolice Pratap Reddy, who is incharge of oxygen supply in theState.

“I have also told the offi-cials to find a permanent solu-tion for the supply of oxygen inChamarajanagar district.

There indeed is a problemin Mysuru, but that should nothinder the supply of oxygenfrom Mysuru to

Chamarajanagar and Mandya,”Kumar added.

Chief Minister BSYediyurappa warned of strictaction against those foundresponsible for the incidentand also expressed shock overthe deaths.

“I have ordered an inquiryinto the matter and strict actionwill be taken at the earliestagainst those responsible. Wewill also ensure that such anincident is never repeated,”Yediyurappa tweeted.

“Deeply pained andshocked by the loss of lives atthe Chamarajanagar districthospital.I express my heartfeltcondolences to the familymembers. Government standsfirmly with the bereaved fam-ilies in their hour of grief,” headded.

Rahul Gandhi and otherCongress leaders, includingformer chief ministerSiddaramaiah, hit out at theruling BJP over the deaths.

From Page 1In Rasoolpur village in

Firozabad, Babulal wasdeclared elected but he passedaway on April 25.

Savita won the GramPanchayat election in Nauravillage in Amroha on Sundaybut lost the battle for life twodays ago. In Bhogala village inUnnao, Shivkali also won theelections but died before shecould be declared elected. InJaunpur’s Ramnagar block,Ram Chandra died before hewas declared elected as villagehead.

Vimla Devi in KapuriEkauna village in Deoria dis-trict died an hour before count-ing began on Sunday. She wasdeclared elected, hours after hercremation took place. InBarhalganj in Gorakhpur, PawnSahni won the election fromJaitpur village but did not liveto see himself being elected.

In some other districts,the winning candidates havealso died though their detailswere not immediately available.“Panchayat elections have takena toll on villages as the infec-tion has spread very fast. Manypeople have died and thiswould have been preventedhad the Government post-poned the election,” SamajwadiParty lawmaker Ujjawal RamanSingh said. State ElectionCommission (SEC) officialssaid the process for repollingwould begin after the countingprocess is concluded.

From Page 1Mamata said, “Bengal was

saved from ruination (because)the spine of the people wasstraight. This is a victory ofdemocracy… Bengal has deci-mated the ego of BJP.”

In a significant statement --- that experts linked with herhidden national agenda --- theChief Minister asked the Centreto provide, “free vaccine for all,”failing which she threatened aprolonged movement.

“I am requesting the Centreto allocate a fund of Rs 30,000crore for providing free vaccineto all … if the Centre fails to dothat then I will be forced to startan agitation at the GandhiStatue,” said Mamata, addingcontrolling the pandemic washer first priority. She asked hernewly elected MLAs to moveinto their constituencies andhelp the people out.

The Chief Minister whotargeted the ElectionCommission for conspiring withthe Opposition BJP to plan herdefeat at Nandigram, a seat thatshe lost by a meager margin of

1,953 votes, also expressedunhappiness at not getting acongratulatory call from PrimeMinister Narendra Modi.

“I have received telephonecalls from all the senior leaderslike Udhab Thackery, NavinPattanaik, Amrinder Singh,Akhilesh Yadav, Sharad Pawar,Rajnikanth, Hooda, but no callcame from the Prime Minister,”said Mamata, adding quicklythat “he might be busy with hisother engagements.Curiously aday after Union MinistersNirmala Sitharaman andRajnath Singh congratulatedMamata for her victory, theirministerial colleague BabulSupriyo tweeted that he wouldnot like to do the same as peo-ple of Bengal had done a his-torical mistake. “Neither will Icongratulate Mamata... nor do Iwish to say I ‘respect’ the peo-ple’s verdict... sincerely thinkpeople of Bengal made a historicmistake by not giving BJP achance... by electing this corrupt,incapable, dishonest govern-ment and a cruel lady back topower,” he wrote.

From Page 1The tide of second wave of

corona has taken toll of a largenumber of doctors, nurses andother paramedics and healthsevices are increasing feelingthe pressure on this count.The Government measures areto ensure availability of per-sonnel in the ongoing emer-gency situation.

To augment trained man-power to manage Covid-19cases, medical interns are to bedeployed in Covid manage-ment duties under the super-

vision of their faculty.“Final Year MBBS students

can be utilised for tele-consul-tation and monitoring of mildCovid cases under supervi-sion of faculty,” said the PMOafter the meeting.

This apart, medical per-sonnel completing 100 days ofCovid duties will be given pri-ority in forthcoming regulargovernment recruitments.

BSc/GNM qualified nurs-es to be utilised in full-timeCovid nursing duties under thesupervision of senior doctors

and nurses.The medical personnel

completing 100 days of Covidduties will be given “PrimeMinister’s Distinguished CovidNational Service Samman”, itsaid.

, due to the second wave ofCovid - 19, the Ministry ofEducation on Monday direct-ed the postponement of alloffline examinations sched-uled in the month of May2021.

In a letter addressed to allthe heads of Centrally funded

institutions, Secretary, HigherEducation Amit Khare hasurged institutions to postponeall offline examinations sched-uled in the month of May, 2021.The Online examinations, etcmay however continue.

The letter also stated thatthe decision will be reviewed inthe first week of June 2021. TheCentre had earlier last monthannounced the cancellation ofboard examinations of class 10and 12 and also postponed cer-tain entrance tests like JEE,NEET, UGC amongst others.

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After Haryana’s DeputyChief Minister Dushyant

Chautala’s request to UnionFinance Minister NirmalaSitharaman for GST exemptionon oxygen concentration, DelhiDeputy CM Manish Sisodia onMonday wrote to the Ministersaying oxygen concentratorshave emerged as ‘essential lifesupport machines’ in presentcircumstances and GST shouldbe exemted on them.

Delhi has been reporting

over 300 Covid-19 fatalitiesevery day mainly due to oxygensupply lacking in hospitals.Under such circumstances,Sisoida, the Nodal Ministerfor Covid 19 crisis manage-ment and Finance Minister inDelhi Cabinet, requestedSitharaman and wrote, it hademerged as “essential life sup-port machines” given the surg-ing Covid cases in the Capitaland citizens would benefit if theGST complement of the pricecould be waived off.

Sisodia wrote, Delhi has

16,272 non-ICU oxygen bedsand 4,866 oxygen beds and theDelhi Government was work-ing on a war footing at creat-ing 15,000 oxygenated non-ICU beds.

1,200 ICU beds over next10 days even as more than50,000 COVID patients were inhome isolation.

He expressed gratitude toSitharaman for the Centre’sdecision for allowing theimport of oxygen concentratorsfor personal use through e-commerce portals till July 32this year and the reduction ofIGST on these from 28% to12%

However, these oxygenconcentrators had become“essential life supportmachines” during the ongoingand unprecedented health cri-sis and steps could be consid-ered to further lower the finan-cial burden on those purchas-ing them, he stated.

“It would be appropriate ifthe Government of India andthe GST Council considerexempting GST on oxygenconcentrators for a period of sixmonths to make them moreaffordable for our citizens,” hewrote.

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Initiating its first vaccinationdrive for Covid-19 at 301

centres operationalised atGovernment schools for 18-44age group, the DelhiGovernment on Monday saidit will expand immunisationcentres in all 272 wards forswift action as vaccination isthe only weapon to combatcoronavirus.

“About 92 lakh people havebeen registered for the free vac-cination drive for 18-44 years,a Government official said.

While the city administra-tion is aiming to set up 3000vaccination centres which willbe operating at 300 schoolsacross Delhi, many people hadto travel inter-districts to get

vaccinated due to non - avail-ability of the vaccine at theirnearest centres mentioned inthe list released by DelhiGovernment on Sunday, par-ticularly people residing insouth-west district.

To mount surveillance onthe ongoing vaccination driveat limited centres, DeputyChief Minister Manish Sisodiaand Cabinet Minister GopalRai also visited different cen-tres located West Vinod Nagarand Shahdara.

Explaining the situation,Sisodia said the Governmenthas received 4.5 lakh vaccina-tion doses until now, on thebasis of which 301 vaccinationcentres have been set up in 76schools across Delhi, vacci-nating 45,100 citizens.

“The West Vinod NagarSarvodaya Kanya VidyalayaSchool in itself has 5 centresthat are working parallelly inthe school.

We want to ensure that allcitizens between the ages of 18-45 are vaccinated, and arecommitted to scale vaccinationcentres in Delhi in a way thateach school has 10 vaccinationcentres.”

Rai said, “We are regular-ly communicating and as andwhen we receive the nextconsignment, we will keepincreasing the number of cen-tres”

As per the data of Delhigovernment, more than 33lakh doses have been adminis-tered since the initiation ofCovid-19 vaccination in Delhi

till now.“More than 7 lakh benefi-

ciaries have been completelyvaccinated with 2 doses of vac-cination while daily vaccinationcapacity for the 45 plus agegroup is about 60,000,” a Delhigovernment official said.

“As per the ongoing trend,youth are on the target ofWuhan virus, we should getvaccinate ourselves as soon aspossible, however, amid lock-down restriction, traveling toother district is trouble whenthe virus is in air,” saidMandar Lokhande , a publicservant, who travelled centraldistrict to get his first shot ofCorona vaccine, adding, “I amhappy though as to get vac-cine is priority and will givesense of relief.”

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To address spurt in cyberoffences, Delhi Police

Commissioner S N Shrivastavaon Monday directed police toimmediately put in place acomprehensive strategy. Policesaid they are getting numerouscomplaints regarding theonline fraud targetting Covidpatients and they have regis-tered eight FIRs in this con-nection in CyPAD and differ-ent police stations.

On Monday, a meeting ofall district Cyber Crime Cellsand Crime Branch was alsoheld coordinated by CyPAD ofDelhi Police. Senior officers ofIndian Cyber CrimeCoordination Center (I4C) ofMHA and National PaymentCorporation of India (NPCI)were present as special inviteesin the meeting, a statementreleased by police said.

The NPCI and I4C haveagreed to intensify cooperationin this regard and to get thebank accounts being used by

cyber criminals frozen and theSIM cards being used by thembe escalated to DoT for manda-tory KYC so that it becomesfurther difficult for the crimi-nals to continue with suchcriminal practices, it said.

According to the state-ment, each and every com-plaint shall be duly enquiredinto and appropriate actionwill be taken. CyPAD will actas the nodal point for inter-

acting on a daily basis with theconcerned authorities. Allmajor cyber-criminal networksbased out of Jamtara, Mewat,Purulia etc. shall be underintense scrutiny.

Police said in the statementthat they have urged the citi-zens to call on the COVIDhelpline number 01123469900to report incidents that includesovercharged by ambulances,harassment faced at crema-

tion grounds, black-market-ing of life saving drugs, oxygenand medical articles, and cheat-ing and fraud in name of sup-plying COVID drugs.

The inputs, regardingonline frauds, are being verifiedand it is noticed that people indesperation are not verifyingbefore transferring moneyonline to unknown personswho claim to be oxygen ormedicine providers, the state-ment said.

Taking cognizance of suchcheating and fraud, eight FIRshave been registered in CyPADand different police stations, itsaid.

The general public isrequested to lodge their com-plaints in this regard onwww.cybercrime.gov.in and tomake maximum use of helpline155260. Simultaneously, infor-mation can also be shared andassistance be sought from DelhiPolice Covid Helpline 011-23469900 or [email protected], itadded.

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Faced with shortage of oxy-gen, some hospitals in Delhi

on Monday sent out desperateSOS calls to authorities toreplenish their dwindlingstocks. AAP nationalspokesperson Raghav Chadharesponded to calls and provid-ed immediate help to savemany lives.

The AAP leader alsoappealed to the Centre toensure delivery of Oxygen toDelhi.

Replying to SOS call ofIrene Hospital situated inKalkaji, he tweeted “It has beentaken care of. We have ear-marked 8 D-type oxygen cylin-ders to IRENE Hospital fromour Rajghat Response Point. Asour oxygen reserves are quick-ly depleting, we urge Centre toensure that committed oxygensupply to Delhi is delivered,”

The hospital in the messagesaid that it was left with onehour of Oxygen and 27 ofpatients are on Oxygen supportand seven on high flow supply.

Similarly, Chadha provid-

ed four D-type oxygen cylin-ders from our Rajghat responsepoint to Dharamveer SolankiMultiSpeciality Hospital(Rohini) and averted anytragedy.

“We are in touch with thehospital administration andhave allocated four D-typeoxygen cylinders from ourRajghat Response Point. Weshall spare no effort to addresseach and every SOS. But we atthe Delhi Govt are raising#SOS too. Please give us ourallocated share of oxygen,” hesaid in a tweet.

The AAP leader also madeavailable 10 D-type oxygencylinders to IBS Hospital inLajpat Nagar who was runningout of Oxygen and lives of 37were on stake.

“We have rushed 10 D-typeoxygen cylinders from our SOSreserves to IBS hospital inLajpat Nagar, which wouldhelp them tide over the crisis.Sincerely hope that with theintervention of judiciary, theCentre will finally be charita-ble enough to give Delhi itsshare of oxygen,” he tweeted.

������# ����� 01/��1,*+

The North Delhi MunicipalCorporation (NMC) has

activated 24 hours tele coun-selling service for Covid-19patients through its helpline no1800 200 8701.

Mayor of North Delhi JaiPrakash informed that the civicbody has introduced consulta-tion from Ayurvedic doctors.However, residents can alsotake consultations fromAllopathic doctor as well.

“All one need to do is todial a helpline number andpress 4 after that to get con-nected with doctors,” he said,adding that in cases of consul-

tation required with allopath-ic doctors of Hindu RaoMedical College, one can press3 after dialing helpline.

The mayor said since alarge section of people, believein Ayurveda system of medi-cine and treatment, NorthDMC has extended this servicein addition to Allopathy.

“It is an important steptowards providing consulta-tions to the Covid patientswho are under treatment espe-cially at home and their atten-dants or their family memberswho are in trauma due to thepandemic. This helpline wouldcertainly help in relieving theirtrauma and guide them

towards the right line of treat-ment either in Allopathic orAyurvedic system of treatmentand medicine,” he added.

Municipal Commissioner,Sanjay Goel said that the tele-counselling would be done bythe senior faculty of Hindu RaoMedical College for Allopathicsystem of medicine, whilesenior Ayush doctors practic-ing in Ayurveda would respondto the queries of citizens as pertheir choice.

“Their rich experience andknowledge would help in treat-ing the patients and their fam-ily members of the corona andmental trauma of the disease,”he said.

Jai Prakash further saidthat the civic body startedcovid helpline number 1800-200-8701 for the convenienceof the citizens where they canget information related to covidtesting centre, vaccination cen-tre, hospital, covid care centre,isolation centre, lifting of bio-medical waste, cremation/ bur-ial ground and queries relatedto requirement of sanitization.

Now, this helpline as tele-counselling tool is real sourceof authentic informationregarding line of treatment ofdisease and cure traumathrough various branch ofmedicine and treatment, hesaid.

������# ����� 01/��1,*+

With the arrest of four per-sons, the Delhi Police

has busted a racket of blackmarketing of oxygen concen-trator machines (OCM) whichis required for the treatment ofCovid-19 patients. Police saidthat a total of 115 OCMs wererecovered from the possessionof the accused.

The accused have beenidentified as Anuj Jain (40) andhis brother Anil Jain, a residentof Janakpuri, Shekhar Kumar(37), a resident of WestSagarpur area and KeshavChaudhary, resident of VaishaliExtension.

According to Rajiv RanjanSingh, the DeputyCommissioner of Police(DCP), Outernorth district,police received specific inputsthat one Anuj Jain was sellingoxygen concentrator machines

on higher price and wasinvolved in profiteering.

“Thereafter, head constableArun Kumar was sent as adecoy customer to purchase themachine.

He found Anuj, along withShekhar Kumar, was inside acar at Sanjay Gandhi TransportNagar,” said the DCP.

“Suring interrogation, theaccused Anuj agreed to sell oneoxygen concentrator machinefor Rs 1,10,000 and accepted Rs5,000 as a token money, fol-lowing which police apprehended both the accusedpersons.

Later, Chaudhary was alsoarrested,” said the DCP.

“The accused personsoperating a godown atJanakpuri which was foundlocked. The godown wassearched at the instance ofAnuj and his brother Anil wasfound present inside the locked

premises with oxygen concen-trators,” said the DCP.

“Anil was also arrested byDelhi Police Crime Branch in2017 for changing old curren-

cy note worth Rs 5 crore. Atotal of 115 oxygen concentra-tor, two cars and Rs 4,90,000cash were recovered from theirpossession,” the DCP added.

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Leaving no stone unturned toprovide assistance to the

needy, the Delhi Police hasreleased life-saving injections,medicines, oxygen and equip-ment like oxygen concentratorsto hospitals and care centres foruse by needy patients in thenational Capital.

According to police, so far86 remdisivir injections, usedfor critical care in high lungsinfection, have been released tohospitals that include SanjayGandhi Memorial Hospital,BSA Hosipital, DeepchandBandhu Hospital, ParkHospital, Kailash hospital,CDMO, Terapanth Chhatarpur,Rohini Covid Care Center andDDMA North.

“Around 90 Fabipiravurtablets have been given toDeepchand Bandhu Hospitalby order of the DistrictCommissioner (DC) of North.Over 100 remdisivir injectionsare under process of release,awaiting orders from authori-ties concerned,” said ChinmoyBiswal, the Public RelationOfficer (PRO) of Delhi Police.

“Police have also released70 oxygen cylinders to institu-tions that include the official in

charge of DDMA West district,CDMO Terapanth AnsariHospital, World Brain CentreHospital, Aarya Hospital,Bhagat Chandra Hospital insouth west district. 140 oxygencylinders freshly seized are inthe process of release,” saidBiswal.

“Around 170 Oxygen con-centrators seized by north dis-trict police have been releasedto AIIMS (60), CAPF Hospital(40) and Covid Care Centreswhile over 100 concentratorsseized by Outer North districtand others are in the process ofrelease.

In the same manner, 66Oxygen flow meters, 24 oxygenregulators and 63 pulseoxymeters have been released.18 oxygen pumps and 28 oxy-gen flow meters are in thepipeline for release,” saidBiswal.

“Over 190 remdesivir vialsseized by various police teamswere found fake. CrimeBranch has busted a fakeremdesivir manufacturing unitat Kotdwara, Uttarakhand andarrested 7 persons. Over 2000fake remdesivir had alreadycome to market from this unit,investigations have revealed,”Biswal added.

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To fix accountability of oxy-gen supply in Gurugram,

the district administration hasroped in Vplak India, a pro-fessional company which man-ages supply chain of e-com-merce companies like Amazonand Flipkart, to make supply ofoxygen cylinder smooth InGurugram.

Gurugram DivisionalCommissioner Rajeev Ranjanrecently held a meeting withRavinder Yadav of Vplak Indiaand Pradeep Aggarwal, anArtificial Intelligence expert.

Ranjan said that presentlythere is no accounting of oxy-gen cylinders as many peopleare taking cylinders, majority ofwhich are not returned.

There are reports that somepeople are storing these cylin-ders.

He said that bar coding ofoxygen cylinders may be done

so that while distributing cylin-ders, mobile numbers andAdhaar number of the personreceiving cylinder can be taken.

“If any cylinder does notcome for refilling in 48 hours,then the details of receiverperson would be sent to CallCentre, from where a call willbe made to him or her.

If he or she still requiresoxygen then it would be gotfilled up, otherwise he or shewould be asked to return thecylinder, so that it can be givento another needy patient,”Ranjan said, adding that thecompany officials asked todevise a mechanism for prop-er utilisation of availableresources”

Ranjan also said that thedistrict administration wouldbe requiring more number ofdoctors and paramedical stafffor additional facilities and forreplacement of doctors whohave themselves become covidpositive.

������# ����� 01/��1,*+

A40-year-old ambulancedriver was arrested for

over-charging to shift Covidpatient from Govindpuri to AllIndia Institute of MedicalSciences (AIIMS) hospital.

The accused has been iden-tified as Faizan, a resident ofSangam Vihar.

According to a seniorpolice official, a complainantSonu Tiwari on Sunday lodgeda report where he alleged thatan ambulance driver chargedRs 9,000 from him to shift hiselder brother, who was havingfever, from Transit Camp,Govindpuri to Apollo Hospitalwhich is around seven kilo-meters.

“Thereafter, a dummyclient called the driver forambulance service from Majida

hospital to Apollo hospital.After reaching the Majida hos-pital, the customer contactedthe ambulance driver to shifthis patient,” said the seniorpolice official.

“The driver demanded Rs9,000 to shift the patient with-in a range of ten kilometers andRs 5,000 extra for waiting inhospital parking. After bar-gaining, he agreed for Rs 8,500,”he said.

“When the dummy cus-tomer gave him Rs 8,500 cash,police nabbed the accused per-son. One ambulance was seizedfrom his possession,” he added.

Earlier on Sunday, theDelhi Police in Northwest dis-trict had arrested an ambulancedriver for allegedly charging Rs14,000 to ferry the body of aCOVID-19 victim from thehospital to the crematorium.

������# ����� 01/��1,*+

Alert Delhi Police personnelrescued a 75-year-old man

and his son from a fire in southDelhi’s CR Park area onMonday.

The man has been identi-fied as Someer while his sonhas been identified as 30 year-old Agnibha.

According to a seniorpolice official, on Monday at3.03 AM, police control room(PCR) received a call about ahouse in CR Park has caughtfire, following whichEmergency Response Vehicle(ERV) was dispatched for thespot.

“Police reached the spotwhere house owner KalyaniChaterjee said that her sonAgnibha is a psychiatric patientand he has allegedly lit fire inher house.

Her husband Someer, adiabatic patient, and son wereinside the house,” said thesenior police official.

“Someer was rescued fromhis bedroom by breaking thedoor.

Police heard a cry for helpfrom inside the room, but dueto heavy fire and smoke, theexact location was not trace-able,” he said.

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Page 4: + ˇ,˘˙˘ ˆ ˝ ˇ · 5/3/2021  · ˘ˇˇˆ˙˝˛˚˜ !" ˘ˇ ˆ ˙ ˝ ˛ ˚˜ ˜ ˚ ˜ ! ˝ " !! ˛ #˘ ˜ $˝ " !! ˛ "˚ ˝

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External Affairs Minister S.Jaishankar on Sunday took

on the Congress, which hadattempted to project that theCentral Government had col-lapsed and foreign embassieswere reaching out to theOpposition for help with theirCovid-19 medical emergencies.

On Sunday, the NewZealand Embassy in New Delhitweeted an SOS tagging youthleaders of the Congress, saying,“Could you please help withoxygen cylinder urgently atthe New Zealand HighCommission? Thank you.”

Youth Congress presidentBV Srinivas responded to therequest and tweeted an hourlater saying, “We have reachedNew Zealand HighCommission with oxygen

cylinders. Please open the gatesand save a soul on time.”

However, the New ZealandEmbassy apologised soon after,saying, “We are trying allsources to arrange for oxygencylinders urgently and ourappeal has unfortunately beenmisinterpreted, for which weare sorry.”

The apology came afterJaishankar rebutted Congressleader Jairam Ramesh, whohad on Saturday accused theGovernment of being com-pletely dysfunctional and unre-sponsive towards medicalemergency at the PhilippinesEmbassy.

On Saturday, the IndianYouth Congress had tweeted avideo claiming that its mem-bers were providing medicalemergency services at theEmbassy of the Philippines in

New Delhi.Ramesh tweeted the video,

saying, “While I thank @IYCfor its stellar efforts, as anIndian citizen I’m stunned thatthe youth wing of the opposi-tion party is attending to SOScalls from foreign embassies. Isthe MEA sleeping@DrSJaishankar?”

To this, Jaishankar tweetedon Sunday morning, “MEAchecked with the PhilippinesEmbassy. This was an unso-licited supply as they had noCovid cases. Clearly for cheappublicity by you know who.Giving away cylinders like thiswhen there are people in des-perate need of oxygen is sim-ply appalling. Jairamji, MEAnever sleeps; our people knowacross the world. MEA alsonever fakes; we know whodoes.”

#�� 01/��1,*+

Sustaining the tempo of air-lifting the much-needed

oxygen from abroad, an air-craft of the IAF flew non-stopfor 12 hours to bring homeoxygen from Frankfurt,Germany. The C-17 trans-port plane ferried four emptycryogenic containers fromthere and landed at theHindan airbase, Ghaziabad.

Similarly, another C-17aircraft airlifted 450 oxygencylinders from Brize Nortonin the UK to the Chennai air-base in Tamil Nadu. In the

past few days, the IAF planescarried out numerous sortiesto ferry the containers fromSingapore, Thailand and theUnited Arab Emirates.

An Italian air force trans-port plane landed here onMonday with a team of med-ical experts, oxygen genera-tion plant and ventilators tohelp India fight the pandem-ic. The oxygen generationsystem capable of supplyingthe gas to the entire hospitalwill be deployed at the Indo-Tibetan BorderPolice(ITBP)hospital inGreater Noida.

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States seem to have to waitmore to get the adequate

supply of vaccines, particular-ly Covishield with its manu-facturer Adar Poonawalla ofSerum Institute of India (SII)on Monday categorically stat-ing that his firm cannot rampup production overnight asvaccine making is a specialisedprocess.

The statement ofPoonawalla comes days afterhe had said that due to “pres-sure and aggression” for himand his family temporarilyleaving the country for theUK, as “everyone wants thevaccine to be available in thequickest possible time.” This islikely to impact the vaccina-tion drive that was kicked offfrom May 1 to cover 18 + pop-ulation i.e. about 60 crorepeople.

In a statement here,Poonawalla said that it hasorders from the Governmentto supply 11 crore more dosesover the next few months ontop of 15 crore already sup-plied, Poonawalla said. Hefurther said that another 11crore doses will be supplied to

states and private hospitals inthe next few months. “Wehave got all kinds of support,be it scientific, regulatory andfinancial. As of today, wereceived total orders of over 26crore doses, of which we sup-plied more than 15 croredoses. We have also got 100per cent advance of Rs 1,732.5crore by the GOI for the nexttranche of 11 crore doses inthe next few months,” he said.

Earlier in the day, theUnion Ministry of Health saidthat 11 crore doses ofCovishield are to come fromSII during May, June and July.Another 5 crore doses ofCovaxin have been orderedfrom Bharat Biotech India Ltdfor the same months.

Poonawalla, however, didnot give a timeline for sup-plying the vaccines. Pune-based SII can produce 6-7crore doses a month and isreportedly planning to rampup production to 10 crore by

July.Though the Centre has

among various steps openedup vaccination for all above 18years from May 1, the pro-curement of jabs has been leftto states and private hospitals.This has led to state afterstate rushing to SII, which canmeet only a small part of thedemand.

Serum is licensed to man-ufacture COVID shots fromAstraZeneca Plc and NovavaxInc. But so far, the governmenthas approved onlyAstraZeneca’s Covishield vac-cine for use.

The Government has alsoapproved the homegrownCovaxin vaccine of BharatBiotech. Russia’s Sputnik Vvaccine too has been approvedfor emergency use.

SII CEO Poonawalla, whois currently in London, said thepopulation of India is huge andto produce enough doses for alladults is not an easy task.

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Alarmed at various requestsappearing on social media

such as twitter regarding theadoption of kids whose parentshave died due to Covid-19, theNational Commission for theProtection of Child Rights(NCPCR) has warned the com-mon citizens/NGOs to refrainfrom doing so and written toStates and Union Territories,urging them to inform childprotection authorities aboutsuch orphans.

“The commission hasbeen made aware of instanceswhere it has been seen thatmany NGOs are advertisingabout the children who havebecome orphans after losingboth their parents to Covid-19,” NCPCR chairpersonPriyank Kanoongo has writtento chief secretaries across theStates in a letter.

He said that “in such a sadsituation of the surge inCovid-19 cases in the countrythere are situations arisingwhere the child has lost bothits parents or is found to beabandoned. It may be notedthat the Juvenile Justice (Careand Protection of Children)Act, 2015 provides for theprocedure to be followed forchildren who have lost theirfamily support and havebecome children in need ofcare and protection.”

The missive followedcomplaints that a few NGOsand individuals had been ontheir own on the social plat-forms l ike twitter andWhatsApp urging people tohelp such kids “get a new lifeand spread the word,” whilesharing their contact num-bers.

The procedure under theJJ Act, 2015 ensures that chil-dren are provided all the min-imum standards of care andtheir rights are upheld andprotected, Kanoongo said.

“Therefore, it is of utmostimportance that these childrenwho have lost their familysupport must be producedbefore the child protectionauthorities of the district, andinformation about these chil-dren must be shared with the

authorities”He also pointed out that it

was necessary for every indi-vidual, entity, organisation orNGO to ensure that any infor-mation received aboutorphaned and abandonedchildren during these Covidtimes is shared on the helpine1098.

“Similarly, it is furtherrequested that if any suchinformation for an abandonedor orphaned children isreceived by any entity, organ-isation, NGO then the samecan be also be informed to theNational Commission forProtection of Child Rightseither through email([email protected]) or throughtelephone (011-23478250) forassistance and help to thechildren,” the letter said.

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The Union Home Ministryhas ordered deployment

of 50 additional companies(5,000 personnel) of theCentral paramilitary forces inJammu and Kashmir to aug-ment law and order securitygrid in the Union Territoryfrom May 7. The move comesafter a request to the effect wasmade J&K DGP through a let-ter on April 27 and it wasapproved by the Centre thenext day.

The mobilisation is beingmade “for augmentation ofexisting deployment grid toeffectively manage law andorder and security duties.”

On the decision for

deployment of the 50 CentralArmed Police Forces (CAPF)or Central paramilitary com-panies, the order said, “Thematter has been considered inthis Ministry, it has been decid-ed to provide 50 companies ofCAPF (CRPF-20, BSF-10, SSB-10, ITBP-05 and CISF-05 com-

panies) to Union Territory ofJammu and Kashmir by May 7.

“The UT Administrationof Jammu & Kashmir isrequested to work out thedetailed deployment plan inconsultation with the respec-tive CAPFs and the deploy-ment of the CAPFs companies

may be made only after com-pleting the mandatory quar-antine period to break thechain of coronavirus, readsthe order issued on April 28.

Keeping in view theCovid-19 situation, the HomeMinistry advised the Jammuand Kashmir administration totake necessary transporta-tion/logistics/accomodationand other arrangementsrequired in connection withdeployment of the CAPFswithin the UT, as per theGovernment guidelines on thesubject. The deployment of theadditional paramilitary per-sonnel will be organised by UTAdministration, added thecopy of the order.

Presently, 60 battalions ofthe CRPF and 10 battalions ofother CAPFs are deployed onthe ground in the UnionTerritory for law and order asalso for the security duty roles,sources said. The additionaltroops are likely to be also usedfor the conduct of theAmarnath Yatra, they added.

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The CBI on Monday said ithas registered a case in

connection with the “ISROspy case” in compliance to aSupreme Court order of April15 this year for taking actionagainst the erring police offi-cers who allegedly framed sci-entist S Nambi Narayanan in afalse espionage case.

Earlier, the case was regis-tered by Kerala Police onOctober 20, 1994, as Crime No.225/94 at Police StationVanchiyoor, Trivandrumagainst a Maldivian Nationalunder Foreigner’s Act on theallegations of overstaying inIndia after the expiry of thevisa.

Subsequently, another caseas Crime No. 246/1994 datedNovember 13, 1994, was alsoregistered at Vanchiyoor Policestation under Official Secrets

Act 1923 and Section 34 (com-mon intention) of IPC againsttwo accused Maldivian nation-als on the allegations that they,in collusion with some others,had taken part in the activitiesagainst the sovereignty andintegrity of India and indulgedin other activities which wouldharm the cordial relations ofIndia with its neighbours.

Later, the investigation ofboth the said cases wasentrusted to a SIT of Keralapolice. In Crime no. 246/1994,besides said two accused, fourmore persons including twoscientists working at LiquidPropulsion Systems Centre(LPSC) of ISRO were arrest-ed on the charges of espionage

activities. Further, the investigation

of both these cases was trans-ferred to CBI. In theEspionage case, CBI submit-ted Final Report (chargesheet) before the Chief JudicialM a g i s t r a t e ,Ernakulam(Kerala) which wasaccepted by the Court. Whilesubmitting the said report inthe Espionage case, the alle-gations pertaining to espi-onage were found to be false.

One of the scientists SNambi Narayanan took thematter for taking actionagainst the erring officials tothe apex court by way of fil-ing a civil writ petition.

The SC, in its judgementdated September 14, 2018 inthe Civil Appeal No. 6637-6638/2018), awarded com-pensation of Rs 50 lakh toNarayanan on several countsand also ordered the consti-

tution of a Committee, forobtaining actual scenarioincluding arrest, false impli-cation of the said scientist andto find out ways for takingappropriate steps against theerring officials, the CBI said.

Accordingly, a Committeeunder the Chairmanship of aretired judge of the SC, wasconstituted by the UnionHome Ministry, it said.

The Committee, afterconducting inquiry, submittedits report before the apexcourt. Based on the saidenquir y report, the SCthrough an order on April 15directed the CBI to proceed inthe matter in accordance withlaw, being a Court directedenquiry.

“Accordingly, as per thedirections of Hon’ble SupremeCourt, CBI has registered acase,” the agency said in astatement.

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The Union Home Ministryon Monday sought a

report from the West BengalGovernment on the post elec-tion violence in the State tar-geting Opposition politicalworkers.

The Home Ministry in aletter to the West Bengal ChiefSecretary has asked him tosubmit a detailed report on theviolence that broke out inparts of the state on Sundayevening even as trends andresults from the Assemblyelection were pouring in.

The houses and vehicles ofsome Bharatiya Janata Partycandidates were allegedlyattacked and a party office at

Arambagh was set on fire. Thevehicle of Suvendu Adhikari,who defeated Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee inNandigram, was also report-edly attacked.

“MHA has asked WestBengal Government for areport on the post election vio-lence targeting oppositionpolitical workers in the state,”the Home MinistrySpokesperson tweeted.

After the violence,Trinamool Congress leaders,however, said they had noth-ing to do with any such inci-dents in West Bengal andurged people to maintainpeace and follow Covid-19protocols.

At Natabari, the car of BJP

candidate Mihir Goswami waslearnt to be damaged after theElection Commissionannounced his victory fromNatabari in north Bengaldefeating RabindranathGhosh, minister and seniorTMC leader.

A BJP party office atArambagh was set ablazewhere the party’s candidateMadhusudan Bag defeatedTMC’s Sujata Mondal byaround 7,100 votes.

At Siuri, a BJP office wasransacked and the local partyleader’s tractor was set ablaze.

A similar incident wasreported from Kolkata’sBeleghata constituency wherea BJP candidate’s garage wasset on fire.

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Aspecial NIA court inKerala’s Ernakulam on

Monday sentenced a fakeIndian currency note (FICN)racketeer to six years rigorousimprisonment besides impos-ing a fine in connection withthe Thrissur FICN case.

An NIA spokesperson saidhere that the special court forNIA cases in Ernakulam con-victed Ali Hossain akaMohammed Ali Hossain, 30, aresident of Murshidabad dis-trict in West Bengal, under sev-eral sections of the IndianPenal Code in a 2018 FICNcase and sentenced him to sixyears rigorous imprisonmentbesides imposing a fine of Rs85,000 on him for his role inprocuring, possessing and cir-culating FICN in Kerala.

The official said that a case

was originally registered at theThrissur East police stationon August 19, 2018 againstHossain following the seizureof two FICNs of Rs 2,000denomination from his pos-session.

Based on Hossain’s inter-rogation, 101 fake notes of Rs2,000 face value each wererecovered from his residence inPalakkad district.

NIA had taken over thecase on October 27, 2018.

The official said that inves-tigation had revealed that in2018, Hossain had conspiredwith accused Alim Sheik, aBangladeshi national who isabsconding, to smuggle FICNinto Kerala, with an intentionto use the same as genuineIndian currency for unlawfulgains.

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Reacting to reports of theCentral Vista as essential

service, Congress spokespersonPawan Khera has attacked theUnion Government and raisedquestions about the vaccines.

Addressing a Press confer-ence on Monday Khera said,“Central Vista is an essential ser-vice, amid this pandemic in theCapital where thousands aredying every day, lakhs are suf-fering and struggling for hospi-tal beds, for oxygen, for medi-cines, in the same capital city, theCentral Vista is an essentialservice, but the vaccine willcome in July, is that a joke?”

He said over the last 15 days,the tragedies in the hospitals thatwe have all witnessed in Delhi,which is the capital city, a fewkilometres from the CentralVista, hospitals are pleadingthrough social media, throughmedia, they are pleading, beg-ging for oxygen.

“Is the vaccine available? We

have been told by the manufac-turers that it wouldn’t be avail-able before July. I don’t want toremind Hon’ble Prime Ministerwhat he said in January at theWorld Economic Forum that byAugust, 300 million peoplewould be vaccinated,” he said.

The Congress demandedauditing and distribution of for-eign aid like injections, oxygenand other drugs. “We requestand demand from theGovernment, every day, pleasemake public, share it with everyIndian, where has this aid comefrom, where is it going -- whichstate, which hospital, whichagency,” he said.

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Jaipur: Rajasthan ChiefMinister Ashok Gehlot hasinstructed officials to maintainconstant coordination with theCentral Government toincrease the allocation of med-ical oxygen in view of theever-increasing active cases ofCovid in the state. Along withthis, he has also directed tostrongly advocate for providingtankers as per requirement toRajasthan out of the oxygentransport tankers beingimported through the centralgovernment.

The Chief Minister hassaid strict adherence to theCovid protocol is very impor-tant for lifesaving. He instruct-ed that the epidemic red alertstarting from Monday shouldbe strictly followed the guide-lines of Public DisciplineFortnight, there should not beany laxity in it.

Shri Gehlot was reviewingthe supply of oxygen, avail-ability of medicines, Covidcondensation and the epidem-

ic Red Alert - Public DisciplineFortnight starting Mondaythrough video conference onSunday night.

He said that the consump-tion of oxygen in the state isincreasing rapidly due toincreasing compaction. Sincethe central government is allo-cating oxygen under theNational Plan, it is very impor-tant to increase the amount ofallocation in view of the needof Rajasthan. He said that therehas been an additional increaseof 350 metric tonnes in the pro-duction capacity of oxygen atthe Jamnagar plant. In such asituation, Rajasthan gets anallocation of extra oxygen fromthere.

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Shattering peace prevailing along the 194 kmlong international border between India

and Pakistan across Jammu frontier, thePakistani rangers early Monday morning tar-geted a BSF patrol party in the Ramgarh sub sec-tor of Samba by opening 'unprovoked' firing onthem.

This is the first incident of 'unprovoked' fir-ing on the Indian border guards after both Indiaand Pakistan had renewed their mutually bro-kered ceasefire agreement from the midnight ofFebruary 24-25.

Luckily, the BSF patrol party escapedunhurt. Official sources in the BSF confirmed,"no loss of life/injury was reported on groundzero".

According to official sources, "early Mondaymorning Pakistani rangers stationed at one ofthe Pak post 'Tipu' and 'Hussain' fired around20 rounds of small weapons targeting theworking party of BOP Majra near mount no 8/36pillar no 81". In response, BSF jawans exercisedutmost restraint but maintained a close watchon the activities of the Pak rangers.

After gathering inputs and making prelim-inary assessment of the groundsituation, PRO BSF, DIG SPS Sandhu, Jammu

frontier in a formal statement claimed, "Pakistanir a n g e r sresorted to 'unprovoked' firing at 06:15 a.m inRamgarh sector on BSF patrolling party aheadof fencing." No loss of life/injury was reported,he added.

Interestingly, the Ramgarh sector was wit-nessing hectic activity for the last couple ofweeks.

On March 16, 2021 alert BSF jawans hadkilled a Pakistani intruder in the same sectorafter he refused to retrieve inside the Pak ter-ritory and kept advancing towards the Indianside.

Several aeroplane shaped balloons with PIAwritten on it were also recovered from agricul-tural fields in the Hiranagar, Arnia and RS Purasectors of Jammu frontier.

Meanwhile, local villagers in the borderareas were living peacefully for the last twomonths and focusing on harvesting their wheatcrops standing in the fields.

Local civilians bore the maximum brunt ofcross border firing in the past and were lead-ing peaceful lives since the past more than twomonths in the forward areas.

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Tamil Nadu Chief MinisterEdappadi Palaniswami sub-

mitted his Government’s res-ignation to GovernorBanwarilal Purohit on Mondaymorning as a follow up to theElection Commission of Indiadeclaring the results of theLegislative Assembly electionheld on April 6.

M K Stalin, president of theDMK, who led his party as wellas the Secular Front to animpressive win in the electionwould be sworn in as the nextChief Minister on Friday. Thenewly elected MLAs of theDMK are meeting at the partyheadquarters in Chennai onTuesday to formally elect Stalinas the leader of the legislativeassembly. Stalin had told mediapersons late Sunday eveningthat the swearing in would be

held at the Raj Bhavan inChennai and it would be a sim-ple affair. The mission to ensurea smooth transition of powerbegan late Sunday evening andcontinued throughout Mondaywith bureaucrats and policeofficials calling on Stalin at hispalatial residence many times.

In the 234 strongLegislative Assembly, the DMKwould have 133 members whilethe AIADMK with 66 mem-bers would don the role of theprincipal opposition party.

The Indian NationalCongress, the principal ally ofthe DMK, won 18 of the 25seats it contested, while the twoCommunist parties shared twoseats each. The VCK, a Dalitoutfit, managed to win fourseats. The DMK will notinclude any of the allies in itsgovernment as the party com-mands a safe and securestrength in the House.

The PMK and the BJP,allies of the AIADMK, wonfive and four seats respective-ly. The Anna Makkal MunnetraKazhakam launched by TTVDhinakaran and the MakkalNeethi Maiam, launched byfilm actor Kamal Hassan failedto win at least one seat from theState. Both Dhinakaran andHaassan were defeated in thehustings.

Sixty eight year old Stalinwould be the oldest person tobe sworn in as Choef Minister.His predecessor EdappadiPlaniswamy was 63 when hetook oath of office as chief min-ister in 2017, while MKarunanidhi, Stalin’s fatherhad become the chief ministerat the age of 45. K Kamaraj was57 when he was sworn as chiefminister while C N Annadurai,the first DMK chief ministerwas 60 when he became thechief minister.

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During the covid pandemic,it has been seen that the

sensitivity of DeendayalHospital staff is dead. BeenaGhosh, resident of Begambagh,died on April 30, but Rs 8,000were demanded to hand overthe body.

Son Shankar was upsetdue to lack of money. After thematter went viral on socialmedia, the DM in charge tookcognizance and the investiga-tion has been handed over toSDM. After this, the body wasalso handed over to Shankar.

Bina Ghosh was testedpositive on 24 April, the sameday she was admitted to thecorona ward of DeendayalUpadhyaya Joint Hospital.

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Jammu: The Union Territoryof Jammu & Kashmir onMonday recorded 51 deaths,highest so far in one single daywhile 3,733 new cases of coro-navirus tested positive takingthe tally of active positive casescloser to 35,000 cases.

According to a media bul-letin, only 11 Covid ICU bedshave been left vacant in GMC,Jammu, four in Chest DiseasesHospital, 20 in Gandhi Nagarhospital, three in ASCOMSHospital. The situation inSrinagar is no different. As perthe media bulletin, only 1Covid ICU bed was vacant inSMHS hospital in Srinagar, 2 inSKIMS, Soura.

Meanwhile, there has beenno let up in the total numberof new cases. On May 3 out of

3733 new positive cases1294were reported from Jammudivision and 2439 fromKashmir division.

The death toll due toCovid 19 touched 2421 after 35deaths were reported fromJammu division and 16 fromKashmir division.

Moreover, 1536 moreCovid-19 patients have recov-ered and discharged from var-ious hospitals including 626from Jammu Division and 910from Kashmir Division.

Both the capital cities ofSrinagar and Jammu continueto record the highest tally ofpositive cases despite observingcorona curfew. On Monday,Srinagar recorded 1136 casestaking the tally of active posi-tive cases to 10,143. PNS

New Delhi: The BJP is likely tofinalise its choice of ChiefMinisterial nominee for Assamin a day or two as internal con-sultation within the party hasbegun amid a suspense overwhether it will continue withincumbent chief ministerSarbananda Sonowal or bring ina new face.

Sonowal and his powerfulministerial colleague HimantaBiswa Sarma are being seen asthe two most obvious con-tenders for the top job. BJP sources said internal con-fabulation is on in the party, andthe its parliamentary boardmay soon name centralobservers to preside over themeeting of its newly-electedparty MLAs in Guwahati wherethey will pick their leader. Central observers generally con-vey the choice of the party topbrass to the state leadershipwhich in turn is endorsed by the

MLAs. The ruling BJP-led NDA

has retained its grip on Assam,bagging 74 of the 126 assembly

constituencies that went to polls,while the opposition Congress-led grand alliance managed toclinch just 50 seats. PTI

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Assam Chief MinisterSarbananda Sonowal

thanked all sections of peoplefor giving a clear mandate tothe BJP-led alliance in theassembly election, results ofwhich were declared onSunday.

Expressing his gratitudeto the people belonging toBarak and Brahmaputra val-leys, and other parts of thestate, the chief minister in astatement on Monday said,they had reposed their faith in

the BJP-led alliance due to itsperformance in four key areas.

The areas were "develop-ment carried out by the BJP-ledgovernment which manifestedin every nook and corner of thestate, its unrelenting fightagainst corruption, initiatives tostrengthen peace and harmo-ny, and committed efforts ofthe government to safeguardthe identity and existence of theAssamese people from theinflux which had significantlyaltered the demography of thestate, especially lower Assam",the statement said.

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In a new development in themuch-discussed phone tap-

ping case, senior IPS officerRashmi Shukla on Mondaymoved the Bombay HighCourt, seeking a direction tothe Mumbai police not to takeany coercive action against herand urging the court for anurgent hearing in the case reg-istered under the OfficialSecrets Act and other laws forallegedly leaking certain con-fidential documents.

In a criminal write petitionfiled through her advocateSameer Nangre, Shukla – whois currently Additional DirectorGeneral (ADG) of the CentralReserve Police Force (CRPF)based in Hyderabad – soughta direction to the police to nottake any “coercive action”against her. She also sought anurgent heading in the case, asshe was apprehending her

arrest in the case.Shukla’s counsel said in

the petition: “My client is oneof the senior most officers of1988 cadre in police service formore than 30 years....Theapproach of the respondentstate is to arm-twist the peti-tioner by bogus and frivolouscase”.

“The petitioner hasexposed the nexus betweenministers and politicians andother gross corruption involvedin assigning posting to policeofficers...This reveals courageand integrity of the petitionerin performing her officialduties and making her bestendeavours to expose and elim-inate the corruption by bring-ing the guilty to books,” Nangrestated in the petition.

“Instead of applauding andappreciating the work of thepetitioner, the governmentauthorities are involved inframing the petitioner in afalse criminal case,” the petition

stated.The petition pertains to an

FIR registered by the police atthe BKC Cyber Police Stationon March 26 based on a com-plaint filed by the StateIntelligence Department (SID)against unknown persons forthe alleged illegal phone tap-ping and invoked sections ofthe Official Secrets Act,Information Technology Actand Indian Telegraph Act.

Before the BKC police reg-istered an FIR in the phonetapping case, MaharashtraChief Secretary Sitaram Kuntehad claimed in a report sub-mitted to Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray that “itappears that Ms. Shukla herselfhad leaked the confidentialreport (to the former chiefminister Devendra Fadnavis)”.

On her part, Shuklaskipped the summons issued toher to appear before the BKCon April 26 and April 28 forrecording her statement in the

case. It may be recalled that the

SID had lodged a lodged acomplaint with the police afterMaharashtra’s former chiefminister and senior BJP leaderDevendra Fadnavis had onMarch 23 gone to towndemanding a CBI inquiry intothe alleged racket involvingthe transfers and promotions ofpolice officers ranging frominspectors to high-ranging IPSofficers.

Fadnavis had made hisdemand based on a confiden-tial submitted to it in Augustlast year by the then StateIntelligence CommissionerRashmi Shukla through thethen the Director-General ofPolice Subodh Jaiswal onAugust 25, 2020 allegedlyinvolving corruption in mattersrelating to the transfers and promotions ofpolice officers ranging frominspectors to high-ranging IPSofficers.

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Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Mondayaccused the ruling BJP Government in Uttar Pradesh

of remaining in "isolation" and said the frightening picturescoming from hospitals are exposing the tall claims of ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath.

"The BJP government did nothing in past four yearsand remained in isolation due to which it has put entirestate in isolation now. The tall claims of Adityanath isexposed in frightening pictures and videos coming fromhospitals daily," Yadav said in a statement here.

He also questioned the work being done by chief min-ister's 'Team-9', saying that in some cases, entire familiesare COVID-19 positive and no one is there to take care ofthem. The SP leader also alleged that alive people are beingdeclared dead in hospitals.

"There is no proper supply of oxygen and no beds inhospitals. Hundreds of people are dying due to misman-agement and BJP government is responsible both admin-istratively and morally," Yadav said, adding that such irre-sponsible government is of no use to people.

Lucknow: In order to preventCovid surge in the rural areas inUttar Pradesh, the YogiAdityanath Government isgoing to launch a mega testingcampaign for Covid infection inall the revenue villages of thestate from May 5.

The Chief Minister, whilepresiding over a high-levelCovid review meeting, said thatthe rural areas have been a mat-ter of huge concern and we haveto protect the villages from theCovid spread.

To curb the Covid numbersin rural areas, the governmenthas decided to ramp up testingin around 97,409 revenue vil-lages of 75 districts.

The focus is to contain thespread of the infections in ruralareas."We have to protect vil-lages from Covid infection atany cost. There is a need for spe-cial vigilance in the villages. Insuch a situation, a massive cam-paign of Covid testing should beconducted in all the 97,409revenue villages of the state", hedirected. The initiative startingfrom May 4, aims to drivedown Covid-19 rates and trans-mission in the rural areas byidentifying positive cases.

The Chief Minister hasasked the officials to make allthe necessary preparations.

The number of RRTs(Rapid Response Teams) shouldbe increased to check Covidspread in the villages of each dis-trict.Members of RRTs shouldmake door-to-door visits andcheck body temperatures,record oxygen level and checkfor other symptoms in peoplewho are into home isolation.

The Chief Minister alsoordered the health departmentto complete preparations for thesuccessful implementation ofthis large testing drive whichwill begin from Tuesday.

"We are hoping that the vil-lagers will recognize the bene-fits of getting tested to helpreduce the spread of the virus,"said a governmentspokesman.

Yogi Adityanath asked theofficials to seek help from themonitoring committees. Thosewho are found unwell or thosewho tested positive, should begiven treatment according toCovid medical protocols.IANS

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Two major NGOs here thathave been providing oxy-

gen to Covid patients, haveurged their families to returnempty cylinders.

About 200 oxygen cylin-ders and 15 concentrators, pro-vided by the two nonprofitorganisations — Shri ChetraBajaj Committee and HelpAgra — are lying with peoplebeing treated in home isolation,they told PTI.

“Some people are rentingour cylinders further to otherpeople at heavy rates. When wecall them, they refuse to returnthem and tell us to keep thesecurity amount," Shri ChetraBajaj Committee SpokespersonNandkishore Goyal said,adding the security amountvaried from Rs 5,000 to Rs6,000.

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In a relief to the health author-ities, the number of Covid 19-

triggered deaths in Maharashtradropped further to 567 onMonday, while the state logged48,621 new infections.

A day after the state record-ed 669 deaths and 56,647 newcases, the daily deaths droppedby 102 while the infectionscame down by 8026.

The drop in the number ofdaily deaths in the state shouldbe seen in the context of the factthat the daily deaths had goneup to 10-35 on April 28, whilethe state witnessed 802 deathson May 1 and 669 deaths onMay 2. With 567 new deaths,the total number of deaths in thestate climbed from 70,284 to70851. Similarly, with 48,621infections, the total number ofcases rose from 47,22,401 to47,71,022.

As 59,500 patients weredischarged from the hospitalsacross the state after full recov-ery, the total number of peopledischarged from the hospitalssince the second week of Marchlast year went up to 40,41,158.The recovery rate in the state forthe first time in several days rosefrom 84.31 per cent to 84.7 percent.

The total “active cases” inthe state dropped from 6,68,353to 6,56,870 cases. The fatalityrate in the state stood static at

1.49 per cent.With 78 fresh deaths, the

Covid-19 toll in Mumbaiincreased from 13,294 to 13,372,

while the infected cases went upby 2624 to trigger a jump in theinfections from 6,55,997 to6,58,621.

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Concerned by the suddendecrease in the number of

Covid-19 tests being conduct-ed in the metropolis, MumbaiMunicipal Commissioner I SChahal on Monday appealedto the citizens in the city tocome forward to get tested sothat “a minimum of 40,000tests are done every day” in thecountry’s commercial capital.

In an appeal made on aday when the number of dailyCovid-19 tests dropped to23,542 as against 56,000 testsdone in a single day themetropolis last month, Chahalsaid: “It has been the consistentpolicy of MCGM to do maxi-mum testing to flush outCorona virus from Mumbai’senvironment”.

“Our highest single daytesting from March 2020 till10th Feb 10, 2021 when sec-ond pandemic wave hitMumbai was 24,500,” the civicchief said.

“However, immediatelythereafter our testing was morethan doubled & touched 56000tests on a single day in April2021. Our average daily testingin the month of April’21 wasnearly 44000 per day,” Chahalsaid.

“It has been observed thatthe testing figures have fallenin last few days from 50,000plus to 38000 day before &28,000 yesterday. It’s likely tofall further during weekends,”the civic chief said in themorning.

As per the Covid-19update released by theBirhanmumbai MunicipalCorporation (BMC), the num-ber of Covid-19 tests done ona single day dropped to 23,542on Monday.

“Our aggressive testingpolicy has resulted in reduc-tion of the positivity rate. Thismight have reduced the naturaldemand for home collection ofswabs by our citizens in the lastfew days,” Chahal said.

Jammu: In a shocking incident, par-ents of a 2-month-old dead Covid pos-itive baby abandoned the body at a hos-pital in Jammu district and fled, an offi-cial said on Monday.

S.M.G.S. Hospital MedicalSuperintendent, Dr Dara Singh, said theparents ran away from thehospital. "The baby was admitted to thehospital on Sunday with congenitalheart disease and other problems. Thebaby, who had tested positive forCovid-19, expired and the parentswere told to test themselves for thevirus. Instead of testing themselves ortaking the dead baby's body, theparents ran away from the hospital," hesaid.

"Our efforts to trace them havefailed so far and we have kept the bodyin the hospital mortuary. IANS

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Page 6: + ˇ,˘˙˘ ˆ ˝ ˇ · 5/3/2021  · ˘ˇˇˆ˙˝˛˚˜ !" ˘ˇ ˆ ˙ ˝ ˛ ˚˜ ˜ ˚ ˜ ! ˝ " !! ˛ #˘ ˜ $˝ " !! ˛ "˚ ˝

people to a higher ground andsafety, like we should have ifthis were a real tsunami, wewere mesmerised and walkedinto the exposed seafloor,trying to pick up coral andseashells. We travelled to Goa,crowded planes and airportsand instead of managing trav-el from hotspots like theUnited Kingdom, or evendomestic travel, we “celebrat-ed” the rising numbers of airpassengers through tweets.Instead of restricting air trav-el, either within India, fromIndia or into India, weallowed hundreds of people tocome in likely carrying newand exotic variants of thevirus. The world, however, isscared of the new variantsemerging from India and haspretty much closed its doorsto India.

Some of us had read aboutthe sudden rise in cases inBrazil, starting with theAmazonian city of Manausand spreading across thatSouth American country, andwondered whether India toocould see such a tremendous-ly debilitating tsunami ofcases. Instead, we were toldstories of Indian exceptional-ism, how India had beaten

back the virus and taking a cuefrom our leaders, across fieldsfrom politics to sports, we alllet our guard down. Instead ofunderstanding why India wasspared the “full” impact of theoriginal Coronavirus, werolled out a gradual vaccineprogramme and indeed madea song and dance aboutexporting millions of vac-cines abroad. Nothing againstIndia’s generosity to the world,but maybe here following amore selfish American philos-ophy might have ensured thatmore people in India werevaccinated and the death tollfrom this outbreak might havebeen less.

Yes, a large majority ofthose who have died wereelderly and had led full lives,and while many of themmight have died in this tsuna-mi also, the issue is that a largenumber of people who diedneed not have died had thearrangements for more bedsand oxygen been made earli-er. Yes, the system might stillhave been overwhelmed,meaning that those whocaught the disease early ben-efited from more resourcesbut if the special COVID-19hospitals in Delhi and

Mumbai had been establisheda week earlier, if a properlogistical programme hadbeen thought out for oxygentransport a month earlier,many lives might have beensaved. The Government isgoing around tom-tommingIndia’s “low” COVID-19Fatality Rate; in fact, with a bitof planning and organisa-tion, it could have been lowerstill.

The fact of the matter isthat we saw the warning signsbut chose to ignore these; weall bought into the story ofIndian exceptionalism. Weblithely chose to ignore whatwas happening elsewhere inthe world and believed thatonce we all start getting vac-cinated, things will get evenbetter. We went ahead andplanned for massive religiousfunctions like theMahakumbh, we had partieson Holi and we put ourselvesat risk. We ignored the warn-ing signs, even though thesewere in plain sight for all of usto see. No wonder, now wefind ourselves drowning in atsunami.

(The author is ManagingEditor, The Pioneer. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

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Anybody who has seenvideos of the horrific2004 tsunami thatkilled an estimated

quarter of a million people, andthere are several of these onYouTube, might have noticed insome videos that as much as 10-15 minutes before the tsunamiactually hit the shore, waterhad started withdrawing fromthe beach. The students of mid-dle-school geography willremember that it is taught as aclassic warning sign of animpending tsunami; and we areactually taught at a very early agethat one needs to find higherground in such a situation. Thislesson is redoubled in manycoastal areas. Maybe some peo-ple did seek shelter when theynoticed this, many did not. Yes,the tsunami might have gottenmany of those who escapedanyway; it was so devastatingthat running away could do onlyso much. But even if it saved afew lives, the lessons in schoolwould have been worth it.

That was a real tsunami,what we have in India right nowis not a second wave of COVID-19 infections. We have an over-whelming tsunami of COVID-19 infections and, in Delhi andin many other cities acrossIndia, the healthcare system isoverwhelmed. We know that atleast 3,500 people are dyingevery day, at least in official sta-tistics. India is inching up to2,50,000 deaths and almostevery family in Delhi at leastknows either a loved one or aclose friend who has died fromthe Coronavirus Tsunami.While the authorities now strug-gle with managing the situation,we have to start taking intoaccount as to why we all ignoredthe warning signs.

And these were there. Thesewere there for all of us to see andread about in the news. Weknew there was a deadly newBritish variant doing the rounds;we knew that there was a new“double mutant” variant. Evenwith limited testing, we knewthat there were hotspots emerg-ing in and around Mumbai andPune. But instead of herding

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SOUNDBITE�������������� ����������Sir —The Indian Premier League (IPL)match between archrivals Mumbai Indians(MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK)recently was a perfect entertainer and cer-tainly the match of this season so far.Kieron Pollard’s stunning onslaught tookthe Mumbai Indians to an improbable winin a run-fest. The defeat also ended theSuper Kings’ five-match winning streak.

The MI came out with flying colours ina last-ball thriller. With 138 needed from thelast 10 overs, they knew there was just oneway to go about it and, in Pollard, they foundthe man to pursue the Herculean task. Hemuscled Jadeja for three sixes in the 13thover before smashing two more off LungiNgidi in the next. By the end of 14 overs,Mumbai were 130 for three. At the samestage in their innings, the Super Kings were126 for four. Pollard raced away to 50 in 17balls, the fifth joint-fastest in the IPL, andreduced the equation to 66 required fromthe last five overs. A match that witnessedan equal number of fours and sixes (30 each)is absolutely a bad memory for the bowlers.Remarkably, both teams displayed trueteamwork to arrive at such a mammothtotal. But Rayudu and Moeen Ali from CSKand Pollard and Krunal Pandya from MIdeserve special applause. Let’s hope the rich-est cash league will offer the best entertain-ment in the remainder of the series.

Satish Reddy Kanaganti | Nalgonda

���� ��������������������Sir — Winning over the first wave ofCOVID-19 was no mean feat for India.Buoyed by it, New Delhi started vaccinediplomacy to help other nations during thecrisis. However, things turned upsidedown as the second wave hit us hard andsent our healthcare system reeling. Somesceptics applaud other countries for beat-ing the second wave and compare it withIndia’s “failure”. However, we must keep inmind that we have a huge population andthere are several other barriers. Despite allthe constraints, our recovery rate is far bet-ter and mortality rate is too low. Even theUS and Russia, among the developed

nations with top medical infrastructure,were devastated by the second wave.

The Centre and State Governments aredoing their best to fight the pandemic andutilising their resources to the optimum.The services of final-year MBBS studentscan be utilised for providing services liketele-consultation and monitoring of mildCOVID cases after due orientation by andunder supervision of faculty. It’s time forall of us to work together and overcomethe pandemic. The darkness will soon goaway if every citizen follows the rules andprecautions at individual level.

Aman Jaiswal | New Delhi

��� ���������� � �� ����Sir — These Tamil Nadu Assembly elec-tions were the first time in the last fivedecades without the towering presence ofthe icons of Dravidian politics. This time,the State may well have seen the emergence

of one, perhaps two, new icons. Now theState has newly elected MLA and to-be-Chief Minister M K Stalin who is well suit-ed for this new generation and for theDMK. He is 68 years old and has finallyreached where he wanted to be for five longdecades in the shadow of his father and oneof the leading lights of the Dravidian move-ment, the late Muthuvel Karunanidhi.

However, the AIADMK hasn’t done asbadly as was expected, especially with theweight of an alliance with the BJP whichwas more like a liability. Stalin, because ofhis genealogy, long years in politics andtwo successive wins, in 2019, when theDMK-led grouping won 38 of the 39 LokSabha seats in the State, and now, can stakeclaim to being the next Dravidian icon.

Anshita Rochwani | Ujjain

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Under the ‘Liberalised Pricing andAccelerated National COVID-19Vaccination Strategy (LPANCVS)’,

announced on April 19, which was kicked offfrom May 1, the Centre has plans to vaccinateall adults above 18 years of age. Before this, theinoculation drive that was launched on January16, covered healthcare and frontline workers andpeople above 50 years of age and those withcomorbidities. In the second phase of the drivethe age limit was brought down to those above45. Vaccine manufacturers were giving all theirsupplies to the Government of India (GOI) andcharging �150 per dose even as the latter wasarranging for inoculation of eligible people freeat Government vaccination centres (GVCs).However, those opting to get vaccinated at pri-vate hospitals needed to pay �250 per dose. TheGOI incurred a subsidy on vaccination done atGVCs equal to �150 per dose, plus the cost ofadministering it. It was funded from the UnionBudget.

Even as the above arrangement involved dif-ferential pricing, like free for those who got vac-cinated at GVCs and others getting the jab at pri-vate hospitals for a price, the proposed systemfrom this month is much more complex. Underit, of its total supply, the vaccine manufacturerwould give 50 per cent to the GOI at the rate of�150 per dose and make the remaining 50 percent available to State Governments, private hos-pitals, industrial establishments at a price to bedeclared in advance (the price charged for vac-cination by private hospitals would be moni-tored). People can make an “informed” choiceat the time of booking an appointment at a pri-vate vaccination centre.

The vaccines will not be available for sale atpharmacists or chemist shops in the open mar-ket. The present system of private hospitals inoc-ulating those above 45 years for �250 per dosewill cease to exist as they will no longer be get-ting any supplies from the GOI quota and willhave to procure directly from vaccine manufac-turers at the price notified by the latter.

Meanwhile, the manufacturers haveannounced prices they intend to charge from theState Governments and private hospitals. TheSerum Institute of India (SII), the maker ofCovishield, will charge �300 per dose on sup-plies to States and �600 per dose from privatehospitals. Bharat Biotech, the maker of Covaxin,will charge �400 per dose from States and �1,200per dose on supplies to private hospitals. Bothwill continue to supply to the GOI at the rate of�150 per dose (this is as per a statement issuedby Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Healthand Family Welfare).

Putting all pieces together, there will be aminimum of five prices for the COVID-19 vac-cination dose i.e. zero, �300, �400, �600, �1,200(the cost to the recipients will be higher by anamount equal to the “service charge” levied bythe State Governments/private hospitals tocover the cost of administering the vaccine)depending on the vaccine type and the channelthrough which it is done.

Meanwhile, more vaccines like Sputnik V,Nasal Covaxin and so on, are are expected to getapproval shortly. But those are likely to be priced

even higher. The earlier arrange-ment was far from optimal as itentailed differential treatment ofeligible people depending on theplace they got the jab. While,those going to GVCs got it free,others opting for private hospitalspaid �250 per dose. Even as theinvolvement of private hospitalswas justified in view of the need tocover a large number (there are300 million in the 45 plus group)within a short time frame, puttinga price tag to it and that too �100over and above the price they paidto manufacturers militated againstthis objective. Indeed, this was apotent factor behind dismal resultsthus far with only about 20 millionin a total of 300 million having gotboth the shots (even as other fac-tors such as the initial vaccine hes-itancy among the public at large asalso supply constraints were equal-ly responsible).

Under the new regime, even asthe facility of getting a jab for �250per dose at private hospitals forpersons in the 45 years plus cate-gory has been withdrawn, theCentral Government wants over500 million people (50 per cent ofabout one billion of the adult pop-ulation i.e. over 18 years whom itexpects to get jabs from States andprivate hospitals’ quota) to pay aprice high enough to destabilisethe budget of even a middleincome family.

Consider the following twoscenario: First, let’s take the low-est in the price spectrum i.e.

Covishield — supplied for �300per dose to States. Add servicecharge of �200 per dose (67 percent of the price; this is the mark-up applied to �150 per dose beingthe price billed to private hospitalsunder the erstwhile dispensation),the recipient will pay �500 perdose. For two doses, this comes to�1,000. A family of four will haveto shell out �4,000.

At another extreme, considerCovaxin supplied for �1,200 perdose to private hospitals. Plusservice charge, the recipient willpay �2,000 per dose. For twodoses, this will be �4,000. In thiscase, the dent on this family’s bud-get will be �16,000.

Given the high prices at Statecentres and much higher at privatehospitals and considering thatvaccination from the GOI quota(50 per cent of total supply) is forfree, people will tend to gravitatetowards the latter. The clamour forgetting vaccinated at GVCs will beso pronounced as to cause a com-plete breakdown of this network.This could be averted if only theState Governments decide to dofree inoculation even out of thepaid quota; however, this willrequire them to give heavy subsidyfrom the State Budget.

Already, some States likeMaharashtra, Delhi and so on haveannounced their intent to give itall free and others are likely to fol-low suit. If, it has to be free for allinvolving subsidisation by theCentre or States then why go

through such a cumbersomeroute?

Considering that the crisis is ofan unprecedented magnitude(once in a lifetime) afflicting theentire population, there is a direneed for vaccinating at least onebillion within the shortest possi-ble time frame and given the pit-falls of differentiated pricing, theCentre should opt for inoculatingeveryone free of charge.

Apart from GVCs, all otherstakeholders like the State healthfacilities, private hospitals, indus-trial establishments and so onshould be involved in the vaccina-tion drive. They can pick up theirrequirements directly from themanufacturers even as the GOIdoes overall coordination, negoti-ates a good price and makes pay-ment.

Given the mammoth numbersi.e. two billion doses, a price of�200 per dose should be goodenough to cover the cost and givegood return to the manufacturers(here, it is pertinent to recall astatement by Adar Poonawalla,CEO, SII, “the firm was making aprofit even at a price of �150 perdose”). The cost of purchase i.e.about �40,000 crore can be metfrom the allocation of �35,000crore made in the Union Budgetfor 2021-22 (an additional �5,000crore would be needed to make upfor the deficit). As for the “servicecharge” for vaccination, this costmay be paid by the States fromtheir Budgets.

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Joseph Needham a brilliantBritish bio-chemist whohad obtained a doctorate

from Cambridge Universityin 1925, visited China severaltimes. In his book ‘Science andCivilisation in China’ Needhamposed the problem, known as“Needham’s grand question”, inrespect of China, but whichapplies equally to India.

The question is this: Whydid China (and India), whichwere far ahead of Westerncountries in science and tech-nology at one time, later fellbehind, did not have an indus-trial revolution, became back-ward and consequently victimsof imperialism and colonisa-tion?

There is no doubt thatboth India and China were atone time far ahead of theWestern countries in scienceand technology. China invent-ed gunpowder, the magneticcompass, paper and printing,

which, according to FrancisBacon, were the three mostimportant inventions facili-tating Europe to pass from thedark Middle Ages to theModern age. But why didChina’s progress in scienceand technology stop there-after? According to Needhamit could have been theConfucian philosophy, whichwas incompatible with scien-tific development, which wasresponsible for this. But is thisexplanation not superficial?

As for India, it was farahead of the West in ancienttimes. Indians invented thedecimal system in mathemat-ics, which was one of the rev-olutionary inventions in histo-ry. The numerals in the deci-mal system were known asArabic numerals by theWesterners, but the Arabscalled them Indian numerals.Were they really Arabic orIndian? To answer this we

may note that the languagesArabic, Persian, and Urdu arewritten from right to left. Butif we ask an Arab, Persian, orUrdu writer, to write any num-ber (say 259 or 1,379) he willwrite it from left to right. Thisindicates that these numberswere taken from a languagewhich is written from left toright. And now it is accepteduniversally that the decimalsystem and the number zero,was invented in India.

The importance of zerocan be understood by consid-ering the following: Theancient Romans built a greatcivilisation of Caesar andAugustus. But if we were to askan ancient Roman to write thenumber one million he wouldhave been stumped. The rea-son for this is that the ancientRomans wrote their numbersin alphabets, V standing forfive, X standing for ten, L for50, C for 100, D for 500, and

M for 1,000 (or millennium).There was no alphabet express-ing a number greater than1,000. So if an ancient Romanhad to write 2,000 he wouldhave to write MM and if hewanted to write one million hehad to write M a 1,000 times.

On the other hand, accord-ing to the system invented byIndians, to write one millionthey had only to write one and

then put six zeros after that.The ancient Greeks andRomans just did not have theimagination to conceive of anumber called zero. By usingzero our ancestors could con-ceive of astronomically largenumbers. Thus, 1,000 hadthree zeros after one. If we addtwo more zeros we get one lakhand so on.

Aryabhatta, who reputed-ly lived in the 5th Century ADworked on quadratic equa-tions, the binomial theoremand calculated the value of pieto a fairly accurate degree. Healso made significant contribu-tions to astronomy, being per-haps the first person in theworld to prove that the Earthrotates on its axis, thus causingday and night.

Brahmagupta and Bhaskaralso made great contributionsin mathematics and so on. Inmedical science India was atleast 1,000, if not 1,500, years

ahead of any country. Thus,Sushrut, the father of surgery,invented plastic surgery in the6th century BC while theBritishers discovered it onlytowards the end of the 18thcentury AD during the Anglo-Mysore wars, and that too,from a traditional physicianwho lived near Pune.

The harbour at Lothal inGujarat, which is regarded asquite modern in its construc-tion, was built around 5,000years ago, and is regarded aspart of the Indus valley civili-sation. Why, then, did we fallbehind the West? Why did wenot have an industrial revolu-tion? Why was our advance inscience and technologyblocked, while Europe pro-duced Copernicus, Galileo,Kepler, Newton, Descartes,Robert Boyle, Cavendish,Priestly, Lavoisier, Maxwell,Gauss, Max Planck,Rutherford, Heisenberg, Pauli,

Niels Bohr, Einstein,Schrodinger, Chadwick,Madam Curie, Otto Hahn inphysics, chemistry and math-ematics, William Harvey, Ross,and so on in medicine,Edmond Halley and so on inastronomy, James Hutton inGeology, Linnaeus, Buffon,and Darwin in biology, and soon. No doubt we produced CVRaman, Srinivasa Ramanujan,Chandrashekhar, S Bose and soon but these are just a handful

What happened that madein the history of India thedevelopment of science andtechnology less important(after the great burst of scien-tific creativity in ancient India),while in the West it becamemore important? This mysteryis yet to be solved. Were therecultural, economic, or histor-ical factors involved in thisdeceleration in learning? Alot of scientific investigation iscalled for.

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An ethnic rebel group innorthern Myanmar said it

shot down a Government mil-itary helicopter on Mondayduring heavy fighting over astrategic position.

The claim by the KachinIndependence Army came asprotests against Myanmar'smilitary government continuedin Kachin State and elsewherein the country. It would be thefirst aircraft shot down duringrecent hostilities between thegovernment and ethnic guer-rilla armies. There was noimmediate comment by thegovernment on the incident.

The Kachin are one of sev-eral ethnic minorities whohave allied themselves withthe nationwide protest move-ment against the military'sFebruary ouster of the electedgovernment of Aung San Suu

Kyi, who was arrested andremains in detention. Thecountry's ethnic minoritieshave been fighting for decadesagainst the central governmentfor greater autonomy.

Government offences areunderway against the Kachinand the Karen, another ethnicminority in eastern Myanmarthat maintains its own armedforce and also has been the tar-get of airstrikes. The fighting inKachin and Karen states hasdisplaced more than 45,000 vil-lagers.

Col Naw Bu, a spokesmanfor the Kachin IndependenceArmy, said his group's forcesshot down the aircraft aftergovernment forces used heli-copters and jet fighters in anattack on Momauk township,where the Kachin seized a baseat the foot of Alaw Bum moun-tain from the government onMarch 25.

A video on social mediasaid to be of the helicoptershows, at a great distance, anaircraft diving as the sounds ofheavy weapons are heard. Asthe helicopter continues a steepdescent, it appears to catch fireand leaves a trail of smoke. Thevideo, and another taken from

a distance showing smoke fromwhat was said to be the crashsite, could not be indepen-dently verified.

Naw Bu said it was the firstaircraft shot down in what hasbecome a fierce battle lastingalmost two weeks after thegovernment attacked withheavy artillery and fighter jets.

“Good news! Our prayerhas been answered. KIA shotdown a terrorist's helicopter,”Hkanhpa Sadan, foreign sec-retary of the guerrilla army'saffiliated Kachin NationalOrganisation, said on Twitter.Opponents of the military gov-ernment routinely refer to itsforces as “terrorists”.

The ruling junta continuesto also face a challenge in thecities and towns of Myanmar,where street protests are stillbeing held more than threemonths after it seized power.

Security forces often use

lethal force to break up theprotests. The AssistanceAssociation for PoliticalPrisoners, which tracks deathsand arrests, said at least fivecivilians were killed Sunday onwhat protesters declared wasGlobal Myanmar SpringRevolution Day.

The organisation said secu-rity forces have now killed 765protesters and bystanders. Thegovernment puts the death tollat about one-third that figureand says its actions are justifiedto stop what it calls rioting.

The government also haskept up targeted arrests ofactivists and other people itconsiders to be behind theresistance movement. TheAssistance Association says3,555 people have beendetained since the army'sseizure of power. About 40journalists are among thosebeing held.

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The US will never waver inits commitment to prevent

another terror attack on thecountry and to keep theAmerican people safe,President Joe Biden has vowed,as he marked the 10th anniver-sary of the killing of Osama binLaden in Pakistan.

The al Qaeda leader whoevaded justice for 10 yearsafter the terror attacks ofSeptember 11, 2001 met hisend in a covert raid by US spe-cial operations forces on May1, 2011 in the Pakistani garri-son city of Abbottabad.

In a statement on Sunday,Biden, then Vice President,recalled that he joinedPresident Barack Obama andmembers of the national secu-rity team, crowded into theSituation Room of the WhiteHouse in 2011 to watch as theUS military delivered long-awaited justice to bin Laden.

"It is a moment I will neverforget," Biden said, while prais-ing the intelligence profes-sionals who had painstakinglytracked bin Laden down; the

clarity and conviction ofPresident Obama in makingthe call; the courage and skillof the American team on theground.

"It had been almost tenyears since our nation wasattacked on 9/11 and we wentto war in Afghanistan, pursu-ing al Qaeda and its leaders. Wefollowed bin Laden to the gatesof hell — and we got him.

"We kept the promise to allthose who lost loved ones on9/11: that we would never for-get those we had lost, and thatthe United States will neverwaver in our commitment toprevent another attack on ourhomeland and to keep theAmerican people safe," thepresident said.

Biden noted that as a resultof the efforts taken the US, hisadministration was bringing toan end the country's longestwar and draw down the last of

the American troops fromAfghanistan where al Qaeda isnow a "greatly degraded" terrorgroup.

The US and NATO for-mally began withdrawing theirlast troops from Afghanistanon Saturday, according toWhite House and military offi-cials. President Biden set May1, 2021 as the official date onwhich the remaining troopswould begin pulling out,although the military has beenflying equipment out of thecountry in recent weeks,according to US media reports.

There are between 2,500-3,500 US troops and about7,000 North Atlantic TreatyOrganisation (NATO) soldiersremaining in Afghanistan, thelast of whom will leave the war-torn country by the end ofSeptember.

Under a deal signed lastyear between the Taliban mil-itants and the administration offormer president DonaldTrump, foreign forces were tohave left by May 1 while theTaliban held off attacking inter-national troops.

Biden last month pushedback the May 1 pullout, sayingsome troops would stay onuntil September 11 this year,the 20th anniversary of the 9/11attacks, citing the security sit-uation.

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Saudi Arabia's King Salmanappointed a new Economy

Minister and named his eldestliving son as a special adviserin a series of royal decreesissued early on Monday.

The king named Faisal al-Ibrahim as the minister ofeconomy and planning, a movethat promotes him from hispost as deputy minister inwhich he'd served as sinceearly 2018.

Al-Ibrahim has previouslyheld jobs with Aramco and inthe country's Council ofEconomic Affairs andDevelopment, according toSaudi state media reports.

Finance MinisterMohammed al-Jadaan hadbeen serving as the actingminister of economy since lastyear. In another decree pub-lished in state media, KingSalman appointed PrinceSultan bin Salman as a specialadviser to his father.

The prince had been headof the Saudi Space Authority,leaning on his experience as thefirst Arab astronaut to go tospace in 1985.

The space authority willnow be chaired by Abdullah al-Swaha, who is also the minis-ter of communications andinformation technology.

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Top Biden administrationofficials and US senators

crisscrossed the Middle East onMonday, seeking to assuagegrowing unease among GulfArab partners over America'sre-engagement with Iran andother policy shifts in the region.

The trips come as the U.S.And Iran, through intermedi-aries in Vienna, discuss a returnto Tehran's tattered 2015 nucleardeal with world powers thatformer President Donald Trumpabandoned three years ago.

The United Arab Emirates,Saudi Arabia and other Gulfallies, excluded from Obama-era nuclear negotiations, haverepeatedly pressed for a seat atthe table, insisting that anyreturn to the accord mustaddress Iran's ballistic missileprogram and support forregional proxies.

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del.,a key Biden ally dispatched onoverseas diplomatic missions,told reporters in the UAE's cap-ital of Abu Dhabi that he hopedto allay the sheikhdom's“understandable and legitimateconcerns” about the return tothe landmark deal and to cre-ate “broader engagement” withGulf partners.

Coons said “close consul-

tation” with the UAE about theongoing talks in Vienna was“important, expected and hap-pening," adding that he hopesthe Emiratis “may not just benotified, but actually help.”

What that means remainsunclear, as Gulf states nowwatch with resignation as nego-tiations gain traction in theAustrian capital. When askedto elaborate, Coons balked atthe suggestion that the UAE'sinput had acquired any greatersignificance in talks with Iranover the last five years.

“I did not in any way meanto suggest that there was somedeal in the works where theEmiratis would be securinganything,” he said. “Vienna isthe place where the UnitedStates government, the admin-istration, is negotiating.”

Regional tensions are ris-ing. To pressure the Bidenadministration to lift sanctionsand come back into compliancewith the deal, Iran has steadi-ly violated the accord's limita-tions on nuclear enrichmentand stockpiles of enriched ura-nium. The long shadow warbetween Israel and the Iran hasintensified, with suspectedIsraeli attacks on Iranian shipsin volatile Mideast waterwaysand at Iran's Natanz nuclearfacility.

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San Diego: The Biden admin-istration said on Monday thatfour families that were separat-ed at the Mexico border duringDonald Trump's presidency willbe reunited in the United Statesthis week in what HomelandSecurity Secretary AlejandroMayorkas calls “just the begin-ning” of a broader effort.

Two of the four familiesinclude mothers who were sep-arated from their children inlate 2017, one Honduran andanother Mexican, Mayorkassaid, declining to detail theiridentities. He described themas children who were 3 yearsold at the time and “teenagerswho have had to live withouttheir parent during their mostformative years”.

Parents will return to theUnited States on humanitarianparole while authorities con-sider other longer-term formsof legal status, said MichelleBrane, executive director of theadministration's FamilyReunification Task Force. Thechildren are already in the USexactly how many families willreunite in the United States andin what order is linked tonegotiations with the AmericanCivil Liberties Union to settlea federal lawsuit in San Diego,but Mayorkas said there were

more to come.“We continue to work tire-

lessly to reunite many morechildren with their parents inthe weeks and months ahead,”Mayorkas told reporters aheadof the announcement. "Wehave a lot of work still to do, butI am proud of the progress wehave made and the reunifica-tions that we have helped toachieve this week.”

More than 5,000 childrenwere separated from their par-ents during the Trump admin-istration going back to July 1,2017, many of them under a“zero-tolerance” policy to crim-inally prosecute any adult whoentered the country illegally,according to court filings. TheBiden administration is doingits own count going back toTrump's inauguration inJanuary 2017 and, according toBrane, believes more than 1,000families remain separated.

While family separationunder “zero-tolerance” endedin June 2018 under court orderand shortly after Trumpreversed course, Biden hasrepeatedly assailed the practiceas an act of cruelty. An execu-tive order on his first day inoffice pledged to reunite fam-ilies that were still separated “tothe greatest extent possible.” AP

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The European Union hassummoned Russia's ambas-

sador after Moscow blacklistedeight EU officials in retaliationfor the bloc's decision to imposesanctions over the imprison-ment of Russian oppositionleader Alexei Navalny.

The Russian listannounced Friday includesEuropean Parliament PresidentDavid Sassoli and Vera Jourova,a vice president of theEuropean Commission whosebrief includes rule of law issuesand disinformation.

European Commissionspokesman Peter Stano saidthat Ambassador VladimirChizhov would meet inBrussels later Monday with

senior EU officials who “willconvey to him our strong con-demnation and rejection ofthis decision.”

Stano said the Russian-imposed travel bans are “obvi-ously very politically motivat-ed and lack any legal justifica-tion. They are groundless.” Hesaid that “this all shows thatRussia is determined to con-tinue the hostile track of con-frontation.”

Russia's foreign ministryhas accused the EU of wanti-ng to punish Moscow for its“independent foreign anddomestic policies” and of try-ing to limit its developmentwith “unlawful restrictions.”

EU foreign ministers willdiscuss tensions with Russiawhen they meet on May 10.

Niamey (Niger): An ambushon a military patrol near Niger'sborder with Mali killed 16Niger soldiers and left onemissing, the government said.

The patrol was returningfrom a security mission nearthe border with Mali in Tilliain the northern part of Niger'sTahoua region when it wasattacked by a band of men rid-ing motorcycles on Saturdayevening, the Ministry ofInterior said in a statement lateSunday. Six other soldiers werewounded in the ambush.

Niger's military also inter-cepted a group of suspectedextremists Friday night, killingat least 24 who were preparingto attack Baibangou, a villageabout 100 kilometers (62 miles)north of the capital, Niamey,

according to a statement fromthe ministry of defense.

“While in police custody,before being transported toNiamey, the suspected terror-ists tried to escape around 4a.M. And 24 of them were shotdead by the army,” the defenseministry said.

Both incidents are beingofficially investigated.

Niger and neighboringBurkina Faso and Mali arebattling the spread of deadlyextremist violence from groupslinked to al-Qaida and theIslamic State group.

The increasing violencehas killed thousands of peopleand displaced hundreds ofthousands despite the pres-ence of regional and interna-tional troops. AP

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Israeli settlers attacked aPalestinian village in the

occupied West Bank overnight,setting brush fires and hurlingstones, Palestinian officials andan Israeli rights group saidMonday.

It appeared to be a revengeattack after three Israelis werewounded in a drive-by shoot-ing at a nearby traffic junctionon Sunday.

The Israeli human rightsgroup B'Tselem said dozens ofsettlers attacked the village ofJaloud. It circulated videosshowing the fires, with peopleshouting in the background.Israeli security forces arrested11 Palestinians and four peo-ple were wounded by rubberbullets, B'Tselem said.

Ghassan Daghlas, aPalestinian Authority officialwho monitors settlement activ-ity in the northern West Bank,provided a similar account,saying the villagers had comeout to defend the village afterthe settlers attacked.

The Israeli military saidIsraeli civilians and Palestinianshurled rocks at each other out-side the village and that “anumber of locations were ignit-ed.” It did not provide details onwhat triggered the violence. Itsaid around 10 people weredetained, but did not identifythem.

Radical Israeli settlers havebeen known to carry out so-called “price tag” attacks onPalestinian communities inresponse to violence or per-ceived Israeli plans to restrictsettlement activity.

Israel captured the WestBank in the 1967 war, and thePalestinians want it to form themain part of their future state.Nearly 5,00,000 Israeli settlerslive in more than 100 settle-ments scattered across the WestBank, which is home to some2.5 million Palestinians.

Dhaka: An overcrowdedspeedboat ferrying over 30passengers and defying theCovid-19 restrictions capsisedafter hitting a stationary sand-laden cargo vessel in the PadmaRiver on Monday, leaving atleast 26 people dead, a seniorBangladesh police officer said.

The accident occurred at theold Kanthalbari ferry terminal inShibchar upazila of Madaripurat around 8 am. The boat, dri-ven by an inexperienced driver,overturned in the Padma Riverin central Bangladesh whileheading for Madaripur districtfrom Munshiganj district.Rescuers have retrieved at least26 bodies, police said.

"We have retrieved 26 bod-ies, rescued alive five others . ..

But searches are underwayfor more as several speedboatpassengers are feared miss-ing," said Ashiqur Rahman, thepolice inspector of a nearbyferry terminal. PTI

Brussels: In an announcementsure to be welcomed by travel-ers worldwide, EU officials onMonday proposed easingrestrictions on visiting the 27-nation bloc as vaccinationcampaigns across the continentgather speed. Travel to theEuropean Union is currentlyextremely limited except for ahandful of countries with lowinfection rates.

But with the summertourist season looming, thebloc's European Commissionhopes the new recommenda-tions will dramatically expandthat list. The Commissionhopes the move will soon allowtravelers reunite with theirfriends and relatives living inEurope and support the bloc'seconomy this summer.

“Time to revive EUtourism industry and for cross-border friendships to rekindle— safely,” EuropeanCommission President Ursulavon der Leyen said. AP

#��� �1,�2�-01

Australia's Prime MinisterScott Morrison on Monday

defended his government'sdecision to ban and impose ajail term and a penalty forAustralians trying to returnfrom India, saying it is in thecountry's “best interests” and toprevent a third wave of infec-tions.

The Australian govern-ment, for the first time in his-tory, recently imposed a ban onits citizens from returninghome, if they have spent timein India up to 14 days beforeflying back.

The government threat-ened to prosecute them with apossibility of five years of jailterm or a penalty of 66,000Australian dollars (USD50,899).

Colombo: Sri Lanka's AttorneyGeneral on Monday slapped800 charges against two top for-mer security officials for theirfailure to prevent the deadly 2019Easter Sunday bomb attacks inwhich over 270 people, includ-ing 11 Indians, were killed.

The charges were unveiledin the Colombo High Court bythe country's top law officerDappula de Livera against for-mer official in the defenceministry Hemasiri Fernandoand former chief of policePujith Jayasundera.

The duo has been accusedof neglecting the prior intelli-gence input on the impending

attacks, thereby failing to pre-vent the loss of life.

Nine suicide bombers,belonging to local Islamistextremist group NationalThawheed Jamaat (NTJ) linkedto ISIS, carried out coordinat-ed blasts that tore throughthree churches and as manyluxury hotels in Sri Lanka onthe Easter Sunday in 2019.

A special presidential panelrecently recommended thatcriminal action be takenagainst both Fernando,Jayasundera and several othersenior defense officials, includ-ing former presidentMaithripala Sirisena. PTI

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TRabi Sankar on Mondaytook over as the new

Deputy Governor of theReserve Bank of India for aperiod of three years, the cen-tral bank said in a statement.

Sankar has filled thevacancy created after the retire-ment of B P Kanungo on April2.

The other three deputygovernors are Michael D Patra,who heads the all-importantmonetary policy department;Mukesh Kumar Jain, the com-mercial banker-turned-centralbanker; and Rajeshwar Rao.

Sankar wasExecutive Director of theReserve Bank before being ele-vated to the post of deputy gov-ernor.

The AppointmentsCommittee of the Cabinetcleared Sankar’s appointmentas the new RBI deputy gover-nor on Saturday.

“In pursuance with theGovernment of India notifica-tion dated May 3, 2021, TRabi Sankar took over as theDeputy Governor of ReserveBank of India today for a peri-od of three years or until fur-ther orders, whichever is ear-lier,” the RBI said.

#��� �����+

Equity benchmark Sensexstaged a smart recovery

from the day’s low to end withmarginal losses on Monday,propped up by robust buying inFMCG and telecom counters.

Reliance Industries andbanking stocks accounted formost of the losses, while arebounding rupee also provid-ed support, traders said.

After plunging over 750points in early trade, the 30-share BSE index made a U-turnto finish 63.84 points or 0.13per cent lower at 48,718.52.

In similar movement, thebroader NSE Nifty closed 3.05points or 0.02 per cent higherat 14,634.15.

Titan was the top laggardin the Sensex pack, shedding4.58 per cent, followed byIndusInd Bank, RelianceIndustries, Axis Bank, KotakBank, ITC, SBI, ONGC andICICI Bank.

On the other hand, BhartiAirtel, HUL, Maruti, BajajFinance, Asian Paints, NTPC

and Nestle India were amongthe gainers, climbing up to 3.98per cent.

“Domestic equities recov-ered sharply from day’s lowdespite weak global cues. Whilegrowing uncertainties aboutcollection efficiency and assetquality of banks/NBFCsdragged heavy weight finan-cials, strong buying in FMCGand Metals supported recoveryin markets,” said Binod Modi,Head Strategy at RelianceSecurities.

While persistent rise insecond wave of COVID-19cases has weighed on investors’sentiments, steady corporateearnings with positive man-agements’ commentariesoffered support to markets, henoted.

On the macroeconomicfront, India’s manufacturingsector activity was largely flatin April, as rates of growth fornew orders and output eased toeight-month lows amid theintensification of the COVID-19 crisis, a monthly surveyshowed on Monday.

#��� 01/��1,*+

APIL in the Delhi HighCourt on Monday sought

direction to the Delhi govern-ment and the NDMC toremove the hoardings put upby a Bengaluru-based beermanufacturer advertising itsproduct.

A bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice JasmeetSingh issued notice to theGovernment of NationalCapital Territory of Delhi, theNew Delhi Municipal Council(NDMC) and the beer manu-facturer - Pegasi Spirits - seek-ing their stand on the plea bya lawyer.

Advocate Dhruv Chawla,in his plea, has said that the

Ministry of Information &Broadcasting (MIB) inSeptember last year put out anadvisory for private satellite TVchannels to ensure that liquor,tobacco and other intoxicantsare not advertised directly orindirectly on their channels inviolation of existing law.

In March this year he cameacross several hoardings acrossDelhi advertising the alcoholicbeverage of Pegasi and filed acomplaint with the AdvertisingStandard Council of India(ASCI) regarding the same.

He also filed an applicationunder the Right to InformationAct seeking details with regardto any sanction or permissiongiven by NDMC to put up thehoardings.

#��� 01/��1,*+

The Government onMonday waived Integrated

GST (IGST) till June 30 on theimport of Covid-related reliefmaterial donated or receivedfree of cost from outside Indiafor free distribution.

The Finance Ministry in astatement said the governmenthad received a number of rep-resentations from charitableorganisations, corporate enti-ties, and other Associations/entities outside India seekingexemption from IGST on theimport of Covid-19 relief mate-rial, donated/received free ofcost from outside India for freedistribution.

“Accordingly, the CentralGovernment has ... Grantedexemption from IGST onimport of such goods receivedfree of cost for free distributionfor covid relief,” it said, addingthe exemption would be applic-

able till June 30.This exemption would also

cover goods already importedbut lying uncleared at theCustoms ports.

The Government hasalready exempted from cus-toms duty import of a host ofCOVID-related relief materials,including Remdesivir injec-tion and its APIs, Inflammatorydiagnostic (markers) kits, med-ical grade oxygen, oxygen ther-apy related equipment such asoxygen concentrators, cryo-genic transport tanks, etc, andCovid vaccines.

The IGST exemption givenon Monday would be subject tonodal authorities, appointedby the state governments,authorising any entity, reliefagency or statutory body, forfree distribution of such reliefmaterial.

The said goods can beimported free of cost by a stategovernment or, any entity/

relief agency/ statutory body,authorized in this regard forfree distribution anywhere inIndia.

The importer shall beforeclearance of goods fromCustoms produce a certificatefrom the said nodal authoritiesthat goods are meant for freedistribution for Covid relief.

After imports, theimporter shall produce, to theDeputy or AssistantCommissioner of Customs atthe port within a period of sixmonths from the date ofimportation or within suchextended

period not exceeding ninemonths, a statement containingdetails of goods imported anddistributed free of cost.

This statement shall becertified by the said nodalauthority of the state govern-ment.

“This exemption shallthus enable import of the Covid

relief supply imported free ofcost for free distribution with-out payment of IGST (up to the30th June, 2021). As customsduty is already exempt , theseimports will not attract any cus-toms duty or IGST,” the min-istry added.

India’s single day COVIDinfections had crossed a record4 lakh mark last week. OnMonday, 3.68 lakh new infec-tions and 3,417 deaths werereported.

Last week, the governmentslashed IGST rate on import ofoxygen concentrators for per-sonal use to 12 per cent, from28 per cent, for two months tillJune 30.

Under Goods and ServicesTax (GST), the tax levied onconsumption of goods or ren-dering of service is split 50:50between the Centre and thestate. Such tax is known asCentral-GST or CGST andState-GST or SGST.

#��� 01/��1,*+

The country’s sugar produc-tion has reached 29.91 mil-

lion tonne till April of theongoing 2020-21 marketingseason, industry body ISMAsaid on Monday.

With regard to sugarexports, mills have contractedfor shipments of 5.4 to 5.5 mil-lion tonne so far. Out of which,3.5 million tonne has beenexported, while another 1 mil-lion tonne is expected to bedone by this month, it said.On ethanol, Indian Sugar MillsAssociation (ISMA) said millshave supplied 117.72 crore litresof ethanol to oil marketingcompanies till April 19 of thisyear against the total contract-ed quantity of 302.53 crorelitres, it added. Releasing updat-ed production figures, ISMAsaid mills across the countryhave produced 29.91 milliontonne of sugar during the Oct-April period of the 2020-21marketing season (Oct-Sept).

ISMA has estimated sugarproduction to be 30.2 milliontonne in the 2020-21 market-ing season, higher than 27.42million tonne achieved in theprevious season. As perthe ISMA data, Sugar produc-tion in Uttar Pradesh, thecountry’s largest sugar-pro-ducing state, remained slight-ly lower at 10.56 million tonnetill April of this year, as against11.65 million tonne in theyear-ago period.

Whereas the output inMaharashtra, the country’s sec-ond-largest sugar producer,rose substantially to 10.56 mil-lion tonne from 6.09 milliontonne in the said period.Similarly, output in Karnataka,the country’s third-largestsugar-producing state, rose to4.16 million tonne till April ofthis year as against 3.38 milliontonne in the year-ago period.Most mills in these key pro-ducing states are expected toclose their operations in thenext fortnight or so.

#��� �����+

With the second wave ofthe pandemic disrupt-

ing supply chains for mostindustries, India Ratings hasprojected an overall 6 per centmedian revenue growth forcorporates this fiscal overFY20.

However, this will be ahigh 21.2 per cent over FY21,the year of the pandemic whenhalf of the year was almost lostin lockdwons; and the forecastis more than its own earlierassumption of 4.4 per cent,though.

The service-oriented sec-tor is the worst hit so far whenit comes to supply-side dis-ruption from the second waveof the pandemic, the reportsaid on Monday, adding thishas pushed back their recoverybeyond the current fiscal.

While FY22 is likely to bebetter than FY20 for most ofthe sectors due to an improve-ment in revenue benefittinglargely from elevated pricesand pent-up demand resultingin higher volume growth,volatile commodity pricesalong with interest rates rever-sal and the rupee fall are like-

ly to cap profitability, the reportadded.

“Given these, we expect anoverall median revenue growthof 6 per cent for corporates inFY22 over FY20 and 21.2% overFY21,” India Ratings said, andpointed out this is an increasefrom its earlier estimate of amedian growth of 4.4 %.

The gains in FY22 is pri-marily a result of some level ofconsolidation resulting in bipo-larisation, meaning larger com-panies growing faster thansmaller ones, it said. Moreover,excess cash used for delever-aging across sectors will resultin higher operating leveragesupporting the overall creditprofile of corporates, theagency noted.

But sectors like pharma,chemicals, cement and steelmay witness some capex onaccount of higher liquiditycushion with them, it added.

Lower revenue growth islikely to test the credit profilein FY23 due to the moderationin consumption and invest-ment demand outlook andsmoothening out of supplychain issues, and the conse-quent possible moderation inprices, the rating agency said.

New Delhi:The country’slargest lender SBI on Mondayannounced allocating �71 croretowards the fight againstCovid-19, a part of which willbe used to set up a makeshift1,000-bed hospital for the treat-ment of patients in some of theworst-affected States. StateBank of India (SBI) has allo-cated �71 crore to undertakevarious support initiatives tocombat the second wave ofCovid-19, SBI said in a release.

The State-owned lenderhas allocated �30 crore for amakeshift hospital while �21crore will be used to supportinitiatives such as procure-ment of life-saving healthcareequipment, oxygen supply tohospitals, Covid-care centres,ambulances, PPE kits, masks aswell as food relief efforts.Besides, �0 crore will be usedto supplement government’seffort in genome sequencing,and �10 crore will be ear-marked to collaborate withon-ground NGOs to addressthe community needs, SBI said.

���� 01/��1,*+

India’s high frequency indi-cators have started to show a

softening trend in economicactivity, Crisil Research said onMonday.

“In India, the impact ofstate-announced restrictionsare more clearly showing upacross high frequency indica-tors - they all trended down forthe second consecutive week,”it said. Retail mobility fell 8.2percentage points (pp) on aver-age in the week ending May 2,while workplace mobilityslowed 7.1 pp.

Besides, toll collectionthrough electronic modedeclined 2 per cent on-week.

Similarly, Goods andServices Tax e-way bill collec-tion (volume) declined 6.9 percent on-week for week endingApril 25.

Lately, India’s crushing sec-ond Covid-19 wave has beenmaking new peaks with everypassing day, as daily cases nearthe 4 lakh plus level.

“If it was any consolationamid the steep rise in dailycases and deaths, growth in

recoveries, which lagged casestill last week, grew faster by 57per cent in the week April 26-May 2. That compared with 16per cent growth in cases.”

“Growth in daily cases inmajor affected states, such asMaharashtra, Madhya Pradesh,Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradeshtoo slowed down, comparedwith the week ending April 25.But recovery rate has declinedto 82 per cent as of May 2, dueto the high base of confirmedcases,” Crisil said.

Furthermore, it said thatCovid-19’s second wave is clos-ing in on rural India.

“The share of predomi-nantly rural districts in newcases in April was 30 per centup from 21 per cent in March.This is still lower than the peakreached in the first wave (at 40per cent in August 2020).”

“Further, daily vaccina-tions are slowing as vaccinesupplies are choked. Theydropped from 1,992 per millionin the week prior to 1,585 permillion on average, in the weekending May 02. This is the thirdstraight week that daily vacci-nations have declined.”

���� 01/��1,*+

Demand growth pushedIndia’s manufacturing sec-

tor output higher in April,showed IHS Markit IndiaManufacturing PMI report onMonday.

Accordingly, the reportsaid economic conditions inIndia’s manufacturing sectorremained favourable in April,as companies scaled up pro-duction in line with a furtherimprovement in demand.

Consequently, the head-line seasonally adjusted IHSMarkit India ManufacturingPurchasing Managers’ Index(PMI) inched up from 55.4(index reading) in March to55.5 in April.

The PMI ranges between 0and 100, with a reading above50 indicating an overallincrease compared to the pre-vious month.

Besides, the report saidconsumer goods sector wasthe strongest-performing cate-gory, followed by capital goodsand then intermediate goods.

“While output and sales

increased at the slowest ratessince last August due to anintensification of the Covid-19crisis, there was a faster upturnin international orders,” thereport said.

“Moreover, quantities ofpurchases expanded at one ofthe strongest rates seen for overnine years as firms sought toboost their inventories.”

Furthermore, survey par-ticipants signalled a steepincrease in input costs, thequickest since July 2014, andupward revisions to sellingprices.

“The rate of charge infla-tion climbed to the highest inseven-and-a-half years.”

#��� �����+

The second wave of Covid-19 and the resultant

localised lockdowns haveimpacted over 75 lakh jobs,taking the unemployment rateto a four-month high of 8 percent, the Centre for MonitoringIndian Economy (CMIE) saidon Monday.

The situation on theemployment front is expectedto continue to remain chal-lenging going forward as well,CMIE’s managing director andchief executive Mahesh Vyassaid.

“In the month of April,compared to March, we havelost 75 lakh jobs. That is whathas caused the jump in theunemployment rate,” he toldPTI.

The national unemploy-ment rate touched 7.97 per centas per the centre’s proprietarydata, with urban areas wit-nessing higher stress at 9.78 percent and rural joblessness at7.13 per cent.

The national unemploy-ment rate had stood at 6.50 percent in March, and the numberon both rural and urban frontwas lower.

The second wave of theCOVID-19 pandemic has ledto a slew of pockets going

under lockdown-like situationwith only essential activitiesbeing allowed, which result ina chill in a bulk of economicactivities and a resultant impacton jobs.

“I do not know about thepeaking of the COVID wave,but I can see stress on theemployment front,” Vyas said.

What is likely to happenis that unemployment canremain at high levels, he said,adding that the labour forceparticipation rate can also fall.“In worst situation, both canhappen,” Vyas added.

He, however, said that thesituation right now is not asdire as the one witnessed in thefirst lockdown, when theunemployment rate hadtouched up to 24 per cent lev-els.

The country is reportingaround 4 lakh new infections aday and over 3,000 deaths. Inan address to the nation lastmonth, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi had advisedstates to look at lockdowns asa last resort, because of itsimpact on economic activity.

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The second wave of Covid-19 and the rollback of the

stamp duty cut inMaharashtra impacted thehousing sales in April, showeda report by Knight FrankIndia.

The report noted thatMumbai recorded upwards of10,000 residential propertyregistrations in April 2021.

However, upon delvingdeeper into the property reg-istrations data, it was foundthat, only 7 per cent of theseregistrations were from new

residential sales concludedin the same month, while 93per cent of the registrationswere from properties trans-acted between December2020 to March 2021 for whichapplicable stamp duties werepaid during the lower ratewindow, it said.

The Maharashtra stategovernment in December2020 had given a leeway offour months to homebuyersto register a property after thepayment of stamp duty inorder to prevent crowding ofregistration offices.

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The rupee rose by 14 paise toclose nearly one-month

high of 73.95 against the USdollar on Monday followinglosses in the American cur-rency in the global markets.

A fall in crude oil pricesand positive economic datahelped the local unit pare earlylosses.

The rupee had openedlower at 74.25 and hit the day’slow of 74.33 later in line withearly losses in the domesticequities.

The local unit, however,pared its losses in afternoontrade on the back of dollar saleby exporters, positive manu-facturing data and a recoveryin stock indices.

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Shares were higher in Europeon Monday after a retreat in

Asia, where some marketsincluding those in Tokyo andShanghai were closed for hol-idays. London was also closedfor the May Day holiday.

Hong Kong and Seouldeclined while Paris andFrankfurt advanced. US futureswere higher.

Oil prices were mixed andthe yield on the 10-yearTreasury note was steady at1.62 per cent.

Markets have mostlyclimbed in recent weeks asinvestors remain optimisticthat the pandemic is slowly andsteadily coming to a close, atleast in the United States.

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TB has killed more people inhistory than any other infec-

tious disease. MycobacteriumTuberculosis continues to ravagecommunities and societiesacross the globe since its emer-gence 9000 years ago. Indiabears disproportionately largeburden of the global TB inci-dence, accounting for over 27per cent of the world’s 10.8 mil-lion TB cases. This burden isfurther exacerbated as Indiaalso is a leading country for peo-ple with multiple drug-resistantforms (MDR-TB) that do notrespond to commonly usedmedicines and aggravate mortal-ity.

Multiple factors contributeto the growing rates of TB:Tuberculosis is a social disease.The under-privileged are dispro-portionately affected due topoor living conditions, malnu-trition and access to healthcare.Stigma leads to underreportingand ostracization within the

community and the workplaces.The long treatment period leadsto poor compliance, and thechronic nature of the diseaseleads to rising mortality.

“The severity of the epidem-ic has led to a host of TB con-trol initiatives in the countrywith the Government commit-ted to eradicating TB by 2025.We have made great strides inTB care. The scaling-up of diag-nosis and treatment and an effi-cient system has saved millionsof lives. However, while thesesuccesses are commendable,there remain gaps, such as themedicalised perception of TB,that need to be addressed. Fortoo long, the focus has been ondiagnosis and treatment of dis-ease, with minimal attention tosupportive services, making TBredressal a challenge,” Dr DalbirSingh, President, GlobalCoalition for TB, says.

TB is a multifaceted issueinvolving society, gender, and

inequalities. Viewing it througha solely medical lens hinders ouropportunities for patient care. ATB patient’s first interface witha medical service is often anunfamiliar hospital environ-ment, where a heavy emphasison technical knowledge andtreatment procedures reinforcesthe patient’s growing anxieties.A large part of making TB ser-vices accessible involves demys-tifying the disease. While coun-selling services ensure thatpatients are adequately sensitisedregarding their illness, these arestill centralised facilities that areinaccessible for many. We needto move towards decentralisedpatient-centric approaches thatserve to reduce the burden onmarginalised communities.

“While we work towardsmaking TB care more accessible,we must also consider the expe-riences of those affected by TB.Often, programmes are designedfrom a position of expertise that

fails to account for the needs ofthose the programme aims tobenefit. There is a glaringabsence of the patient’s voice inour TB control initiatives and asubsequent lack of understand-ing of the patient experience.The voices of those affected byTB matter because they breakthrough pre-existing percep-tions and provide real experi-ences and needs of those thathave survived TB. There is aneed for a sustained effortfocused on benefiting them,easing their experiences,empowering them and makingthem the voice for change,” DrRajeev Gowda, Former RajyaSabha member, adds.

The fight against TBrequires the combined effort ofmany sectors. The pandemic hasshown us that it is possible totackle such diseases if we worktogether and that there is muchto be learned from the COVID-19 response.

��� ��" Immunity hastaken centrestage during thepandemic. So much so, thatanything and everything thathas immunity boosterwritten on it is running offthe shelves real quick.However, heightenedimmunity can be achieved athome without too muchefforts.

Eating a handful ofalmonds every day can dothe job for you. Almondsare a source of 15nutrients such asmagnesium,p r o t e i n ,riboflavin,zinc, etc. Inaddition tothis, they arealso high in vita-min E, which acts as an

antioxidant to support pul-monary immune function.Vitamin E is also known tooffer protection against infec-tions caused by viruses andbacteria. It also helps preventcold.

Alternatively, you cansoak f ive-six almondsovernight and have them asthe first thing in morning.

Breathlessness, chest tightnessand coughing, does thesesound like COVID symp-

toms to you? Most probably, yes.However, the fact of the matter isthat all these symptoms echo withasthma too.

While it is hard to identifywhether a person is having anasthma attack or COVID becausethe patients are now presenting withnewer symptoms, experts say thatasthma patients should continuewith their medications.

“People feeling breathlessmay sometimes confuse

between Covid symptomsand an asthma attack.The major symptomsseen nowadays in Covidpositive patients arebreathlessness instead of

fever or any other com-mon Covid symptoms

such as sore throat,headache, cough etc. In such a

situation it is best to use the inhalerso the asthma attack can be man-aged. In case of asthma patients hav-ing contracted Covid, inhalers andbronchodilators as well as othermedications should be continued asper schedule. Nebulisers are againvery useful in handling Covidinduced bronchospasms. Asthmapatients can easily use nebulization,with or without steroids, to helpalleviate chest congestions andpressure,” Dr Sandeep Nayar, SeniorDirector & HOD, Chest &Respiratory Diseases, BLK-MAX

Super Speciality Hospital, tells you.Respiratory viruses can trigger

and worsen asthma symptoms andif a person has uncontrolled asth-ma, they may develop or face severeCovid symptoms. Uncontrolledasthma can mean that there willalready be inflammation in thelungs and airways will be compro-mised so in many cases Covid mayeven lead to pneumonia, fibrosis(thick and stiff lung walls) or otherintense respiratory diseases.

“All asthmatics need to be com-pliant with their regular medica-tions. Covid virus can also causeflare up of asthma in addition to

causing pneumonia. Hence, earlymedical advice should be sought incase of symptomatic deterioration,”Dr Arunesh Kumar, SeniorConsultant & Head RespiratoryMedicine/Pulmonology, ParasHospital, says.

Nayar adds that all asthmapatients above 18 years of age mustget vaccinated to prevent the dead-ly implications of the virus even ifthey get infected.

“Vaccination will not just helpin protecting from the virus but willalso help reduce the severity of thesymptoms. However, those havinghad an immediate or severe aller-gic reaction to the vaccine or any ofits ingredients, must consult theirphysician,” Nayar says.

Many people don’t considerasthma as a serious condition,however, asthma compounded byother infections can increase therisk. An important aspect for allpatients is to know the triggers soone can keep away from them andbe protected from another attack.

“Identify your triggers. If dustcauses problem, try and keep yoursurroundings dust free. Maintainproper cleanliness at all times. Atsuch a time, when differentiatingbetween COVID and asthma attackhas become a task, it is advisablethat you are on optimum guard andeliminate anything and everythingthat can aggravate asthma,” Dr.Deepak Verma, Internal Medicine,Columbia Asia Hospital,Ghaziabad, explains.

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One of the most common chronic diseases of the respiratorysystem, asthma affects more than 300 million people across

the world with around one-tenth of them in India. While the preva-lence of asthma is higher in developed countries, the burden ofasthma-related deaths is much higher in developing countries likeIndia. In fact, according to a report published by the World HealthOrganisation (WHO), over 80 per cent of asthma deaths take placein developing countries.

While environmental allergens like dust, pollen, insects anddomesticated animals are the leading triggers of asthma, outdoorair pollution has also emerged as a problematic trigger. Researchersfrom the French Institute of Health and Medical Research foundthat high traffic intensity and ozone exposure has increased therisk factors in individuals living with asthma. With rising envi-ronmental pollution, the incidence of respiratory disease is increas-ing in India, particularly among children. It is important there-fore to introduce a holistic approach towards the management ofthis condition through the use of naturopathy and yoga. Evidencesuggests that a naturopathic approach can offer long-term healthbenefits to people with asthma by reducing the intensity of thedisease, improving symptoms and lung function while significant-ly reducing drug requirement.

Modern medicine reliesheavily on the use of steroidinhalation and anti-inflamma-tory drugs to manage the con-dition. These drugs work byreducing inflammation andmucus production in the air-ways, thereby improvingsymptoms and con-trolling the condi-tion. However, thehigh cost of drugsand their potentialside effects remain acause of concern. Anaturopathy basedtreatment, on the otherhand, uses a drugless

approach which is much safer and sustainable.Naturopathy is holistic rather than a compartmental way of

treating and managing a condition. While modern medicine worksin a reactive approach to manage symptoms when they arise, natur-opathy works to eliminate the cause and reduce the severity of thedisease. The Alternative system of medicine believes that all dis-eases are caused due to an accumulation of toxins or morbid mat-ter in the body and negative vibrations in the mind. The therapeu-tic plan in naturopathy is executed in three phases — the elimi-native phase, which focuses on cleansing the body of accumulat-ed toxins, the soothing phase, which focuses on rejuvenating thebody and supplying the necessary nourishment, and the construc-tive phase, in which the body’s metabolic activity is regulated.

The treatment is divided into three therapy sections — Naturecure therapy, Diet therapy and Yoga therapy. Nature Cure thera-py consisted of chest pack applied from 30 minutes to an hour onceor twice a day depending upon the clinical condition of the patient.This was accompanied by a combination of hot foot and arm bath,partial massage therapy to upper back and chest, fomentation,Asthma Bath, Oxygen Bath, Steam and Sauna Bath, Enema, SteamInhalation and Drainage therapy. Under the diet therapy, patientswere prescribed nutritionally calcium-rich, non-mucus and non-acid generating food-items along with herbs and lots of water. Yogickriya, Yogasana, Pranayama and Yoganidra spanning into a three-week programme with a gradual gradation in the severity of thepractices was the third pillar of the treatment approach.

The study combined with a year follow up of patients had shownhighly promising results. The naturopathy approach helped thesepatients to improve their lung function and symptoms while reduc-ing the requirement of drugs in most patients.

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Dazzling white teeth isa dream of many.Everyone wants to

get rid of yellow teeth for thatperfect smile. Of course, onecan visit a dentist but thatwill fall heavily on yourpocket. Here are home reme-dies foe the same.

Most homeshave baking sodaand yes, it canbe used foralmost any-thing — fromcleaning toiletsto getting rid ofthat stain in yourfavourite dress orshirt to even whiten-ing the teeth.

Take two-four tea-spoons of baking soda andadd lemon juice to make apaste. Depending on theamount of baking soda, theadded liquid will differ.

Apply a liberal amount ontothe toothbrush and brushteeth for two minutes.Repeat the process a fewtimes a week or until thedesired results are achieved.

Believe it or not rinsingthe mouth with coconut

oil for whitening isage-old. Prior to

brushing yourteeth, use aspoon toscoop anappropriateamount of

coconut oilup. Take one-

and-a-half table-spoon of coconut

oil and put it into yourmouth. Like the mouth-wash, swish the liquidaround for 10-15 minutes.Spit out the oil and thenbrush teeth. Repeat as nec-essary.

Pearly white teeth and picture perfect smile is on

everyone’s bucket list.ROSHANI DEVI shares

simple and easy to followhome remedies that can help

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The second wave of COVID-19 has beencharacterised by a sharp spike in casesthat has overwhelmed the healthcare

system in India. Scenes depicting patient andattendants waiting for tests, oxygen and med-icines have become common these days. Theonly solution is to fight back.

The first important observation duringthis time is that vaccinated people seem tobe protected against severe form of the dis-ease. Except a few rare cases, the vaccinatedpeople have mostly recovered well. In addi-tion to this, the infection rate among vacci-nated people does not appear to be signifi-cantly lower than unvaccinated people.Third, vaccination doesn’t provide absoluteprotection against infection or reinfection.This makes it clear that all citizens need tofollow guidelines like wearing of masks, reg-ular hand washing/use of sanitisers and socialdistancing norms. Fourth, the proportion ofpeople with moderate or severe diseaseappears to be higher as compared to previ-ous years pandemic. This too has overbur-dened the healthcare system. Fifth deterio-ration of patients in second week (from symp-tom onset) has been reported frequently. Themost frequent deterioration has been report-ed from day seven to day 12 of symptomonset. Deterioration includes rapid declinein oxygen saturation level, markedly increasedbreathlessness overnight, chest pain, appear-ance of high grade fever after few days ofbeing afebrile etc. Sixth, though elderly peo-ple and people with comorbidities appear tobe at higher risk of adverse outcomes butsevere disease isn’t infrequent among healthyunvaccinated adults.

The picture appears to be gloomy. Whatcan be done at this stage to minimise the lossof lives? Here are a few basic facts that areessential to manage the ongoing pandemic.The first part focuses on what can be doneat home. The first step involves classificationof disease severity at home. First, anybodytesting positive for Covid-19 by rapid anti-gen kit or RT-PCR needs to isolate himselfand monitor his oxygen saturation. Personwith oxygen saturation of 94 per cent, 90 to94 per cent and less than 90 per cent at roomair are considered to have mild, moderate andsevere disease respectively. These needs to bemonitored at least four times a day till twoweeks are competed or the person is com-pletely symptom free. Second, we need toidentify factors which predict the progressionto moderate and severe disease. One impor-tant test which can be done at home itself ismeasuring pulse rate regularly along withoxygen saturation. If the pulse rate is persis-tently more than 100 on repeated measure-ment and oxygen saturation drops by morethan five per cent on walking for six minutesthen there are higher chances of progressingto moderate and severe disease. HighResolution Computed Tomography scoringis informative of disease severity too if it isdone on day six of symptom onset.

By following the basic precautions andgetting vaccinated will help us beat the virus.

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With Covid-19 impacting us likenever before, most of us arespending more time at home.

Working from home, around the sameenvironment, can become a mundanetask. Along with work stress, beinglocked up at home, can impact usmajorly. Changing the set up at homecan increase our productivity as whatwe see and interact with directly influ-ences our well-being.

A home office that inspires creativ-ity is easy. It is also a great way to utilisequarantine time. Here are three basictips which you can play around withand also infuse with your personal style.

�Use bright colours as these helpyou stay awake and alive while keepinglethargy away. An accent piece is a greatway to add a fun element to your space.Stress can sneak up on you but the goodnews is that you can keep the levels

down by simply using the right coloursin your home. You might not evennotice it, but your body and mind reactto colours. For 2021 Pantone hasn’t cho-sen one but two colours of the year —the neutral ‘ultimate grey’ together witha lovely yellow called ‘illuminating’. Thismix of colours conveys a message ofstrength and hopefulness that is bothenduring and uplifting. Practical androck solid but, at the same time, warm-ing and optimistic, this union is one ofstrength and positivity. As grey is a neu-tral, soothing shade, hints of yellow canbring in a bright element that yourspace would be happy to have.

�Working from home is the normfor plenty of professionals, but for someof us, we’re just getting in the groove ofworking remotely for the first time. Aswe get used to that work-from-homelife, it’s important to rearrange yourhome work space in an organised way

that will keep you focused on your dailytasks with all the essentials you need.To help you upgrade your new workstation, avoid getting too cosy or comfy,invest in a good office chair, a desk and,maybe, then add a fashionable cushionto go along with the arrangement. WFH can get boring and it’s here to stay,so keep changing your cushions every month or so as these can add anew look to your home-office everymonth.

�Last, keeping your surroundings

clutter-free can change the entire game.With fewer distractions around, youreyes will remain focused on tasks athand. It’s essential for your productiv-ity — and your mental health — to keepyour workspace organised. It may seemlike a daunting task, but the incentiveto start organising is undeniable.

—The author is director of e-com-merce of an Indian brand of handmaderugs and accessories that are exported toover 90 countries across the world

Actress Shweta Tripathi encourages sustainablefashion for the sake of the environment.”I am a big

advocate of sustainable fashion and I think if one is con-scious of the environment, they’d always choose ethi-cal clothing over anything else. Right from thrift storesto second-hand shopping, I’d like to encourage peopleto indulge in these practices and make a difference,”Shweta said.

The actress treats her clothes with a lot of love andcare to ensure they are not torn or damaged.

“The problem is that everyone thinks someone elsewill save the world. It’s time to be that someone. If weall do our little bit, the world will be in a better place.I’d also like to tell people that even when it comes tosourcing for shoots, we try our best to cut down on newthings,” she added.

In her new web-series, the thriller Escaype Live,Shweta wears her own footwear.”For my character inEscaype Live, I’m wearing my own footwear as opposedto buying new ones because if there’s something thatalready fits, I think it’s really unnecessary to purchasenew ones,” she said.

—IANS

Beauty is a matter of cultivatingsome good habits to last you a life-

time. Here are some tips that I swearby to give you that extra edge:

Remember to cleanse yourface every night, removing make-up and pollutants that aredeposited during the day. Iuse an aloe vera and lemoncleanser for normalto dr y skin.Glowing skin thatis free fromblemishes is theresult of daily,a p p r o p r i a t ecleansing.

Remove allcreams, l ikec l e a n s i n gcreams, nourish-ing creams,under-eye creamswith moist cottonwool, so that there isno moisture loss.Moist cotton doesn’t

absorb moisture fromthe skin.

Moisture and pro-tection are the life of

skin, especially in winter,to keep the skin soft

and smooth. Sun-expo-sure also causes mois-ture loss. Use sunscreen

or sun-block beforegoing out in the sun.Choose high SPF for sun-sensitive skin, while SPF25 would suit most skins.Use a sunscreen gel foroily skin. When you areat home, apply mois-turiser.

I have normal todry skin. So, I applynourishing cream at

night, after cleansing, mas-saging it on the face with

outward and slightly upwardstrokes. I include the neck inmy massage routine and wipeoff cream with moist cotton

wool before bedtime.Use a facial scrub for blackhead-

prone, oily skin at least twice a week.Avoid scrubs on pimples, acne or rash, aswell as very dry, dehydrated skin. It candeplete both oil and moisture, causingflaking of the skin. For normal skin, ascrub may be used once a week.

Use a face pack at least once or twicea week. I use a face pack daily. It consistsof herbal powder and seaweed lotion,mixed with yogurt, honey and egg white. If your skin is oily, apply it moreoften. Packs help to deep cleanse the skinand tighten it, delaying ageing signs. TheShahnaz Husain Home Pack suits all skintypes.

Keep your hair clean and neverneglect shampooing the hair. It is veryvital to your hair looking its best and stay-ing healthy. Use mild herbal shampoo andhair rinse. After washing the hair wrap itin a towel and allow it to soak up mois-ture. Avoid rubbing the hair. Avoidbrushing wet hair. Use a wide toothedcomb.

—IANS

According to NationalEating Disorders

Association, the InternationalNo Diet Day on May 6 encour-ages the rejection of diet cul-ture. This movement, started byMary Evans Jones in 1992, cel-ebrates the importance of bodyacceptance, diversity, andrespect for all body shapesand sizes.

The day is dedicated topromoting a healthy lifestylewith a focus on health at anysize. It aims to educate peopleabout the right way to diet andnot feeling guilty aboutindulging once in a while; cre-ate an acceptance of how yourbody looks and its uniqueness;and to end weight discrimina-tion.

Nutritionist, sports consul-tant, psychologist ShwethaBhatia, who is among the fewdieticians recognised by theIndian Dietetic Association,Mumbai, shares her thoughtson the day’s importance thatmay make you rethink yourapproach to dieting culture.

“We must respect people ofall sizes and their unique bat-tles with body shaming andweight loss. However positivebody image in no way shouldbe an excuse for quitting andremaining unhealthy. Ashumans we do have a psycho-logical association with food.This can reach unhealthy pro-portions in the form of emo-tional eating,” Bhatia says.

She emphasises, “Shootingfor unrealistic body types isharmful. The focus should beon health and fitness ratherthan a certain size or numberon the scale. Shape is largelydetermined by your genes. Sois the tendency to store fat andbuild muscle in certain areas.Even when you begin to lose

fat, it leaves areas that werenever meant to store it first,” shesays.

With major celebs in herlist of clients, Bhatia, 43, is awell-known name in the fitnessand nutrition field. She says: “Afit body always looks good.Aesthetics is the by-productwhen you have more muscleand less fat. Spot reductiondoes not work. When youexercise, it is working the mus-cle rather than burning the fatsitting above it. Fat burning is

targeted trough the diet. A dietis a combination of nutrientsyour body needs on a dailybasis to survive, repair andadapt. Being on a diet thereforemeans doing the right thingsmost of the time in line withyour heath and fitness goals.Going off the diet then meansletting go once in a while in away that it does not throw youoff the wagon.”

Finally, she advises: “Stopobsessing over calories andconsumed and burnt: Exercise

is for improving fitness, not try-ing to cancel out cheat meals.Calorie burning is the bonusand not the goal of the exerciseprogram. The caloric value offoods is measured in a con-trolled environment in a lab.But in your body, your hor-mones and enzymes decidehow these calories are releasedand used.

All calories are not equal.Foods with similar caloriestake different pathways oncedigested and their fate dependson our hormones. Caloriecounting without paying atten-tion to quality and quantity ofnutrients does not make sense,even within a calorie deficitplan. You may lose weight buthealthy weight loss means lessfat mass while gaining or main-taining muscle.”

—IANS

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Back in the groove after two consecutive wins,defending champions Mumbai Indians will

be firm favourites to put it past the turbulence-hit and bottom-placed SunRisersHyderabad here on Tuesday.

Mumbai will enter the game aftertheir four-wicket win over in-formChennai Super Kings courtesy KieronPollard’s blitzkrieg.

SunRisers, in contrast, suffered ahumiliating 55-run loss to RajasthanRoyals, their sixth in seven gamesthis season.

Mumbai openers RohitSharma (250 runs) and QuintonDe Kock (155 runs) would beitching to give the five-timechampions another strong plat-form and also convert theirstarts into big scores.

Mumbai’s hard-hittingmiddle-order has clicked inthe last two games, which wouldbe quite pleasing for the team man-agement. Pollard (168 runs), whoblazed his way to a match-winning87 off 34 balls in the last game,would be keen to continue fromwhere he left.

The likes of Krunal Pandya(100 runs), Hardik Pandya (52runs) and the f lamboyantSuryakumar Yadav (173 runs)can be destructive on their dayand the trio would be aiming tofire in unison.

However, the Mumbai bowlerswould need to forget the hammeringreceived at the hands of the CSK bats-men and start afresh.

The pace duo of Jasprit Bumrah(6 wickets) and Trent Boult (8 wick-ets) have been exceptional at thedeath and would pose a big threat tothe SRH batting unit, which has beeninconsistent at best.

Leg-spinner Rahul Chahar (11wickets) has been the MI’s mainwicket-taker, but he would

need support from Krunal, whohas just three scalps.

However, there are problemsaplenty for SRH.

They are over-reliant on theirtop-order, especially Jonny Bairstow(248 runs), but their middle-order hasfaltered most often.

Against RR, they dropped Warnerand opened with Manish Pandeyand Jonny Bairstow, with Williamsoncoming in at three. If they persist with

the same line-up, the three need to fireon all cylinders.

Also, the likes of Vijay Shankar (58runs), Kedar Jadhav (40 runs), AbdulSamad (36 runs) and MohammedNabi (31 runs), if he plays, will haveto get some runs for the side to haveany chance of building a momentum.

On the bowling front, star leg-spin-ner Rashid Khan has been the pick ofthe bowlers with 10 wickets but pacers

Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3 wickets) andKhaleel Ahmed (4 wickets) wouldneed to find their form too.

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ACovid-19 outbreak left thestar-sprinkled IPL on ten-terhooks as Kolkata Knight

Riders’ Varun Chakravarthy andSandeep Warrier tested positivefor the dreaded virus, forcingpostponement of their gameagainst Royal ChallengersBangalore, while cases also cameto light in the Chennai SuperKings camp.

The match, which was to beheld in Ahmedabad on Mondayevening, will be rescheduled sometime later during the tourna-ment, which will conclude on May30.

“Varun Chakravarthy andSandeep Warrier were found to bepositive in the third round of test-ing in the last four days. All otherteam members have tested nega-tive for Covid-19,” the league,which features the biggest namesin International cricket, said in apress release.

Apart from this, ChennaiSuper Kings CEO KasiViswanathan, bowling coachLakshmipathy Balaji and a buscleaner with the contingent test-ed positive on Sunday.

A top BCCI official, afterdeclaring all three cases to be “falsepositives”, later clarified that Balajialong with the unnamed cleanerhad come out positive even in therepeat test.

“Three members of CSK con-tingent, CEO Kasi, bowling coachL Balaji and a bus driver had test-ed positive in the morning fol-lowed by negative Rapid Antigentest report,” the source said.

“However second RT-PCRreport found Balaji and bus dri-ver positive again. The others in

the team especially playing mem-bers have tested negative,” headded.

CSK, currently based in Delhi,suspended their training for theday and are scheduled to faceRajasthan Royals on May 5. Theteam had been hit by Covid caseseven in the 2020 edition whichwas held in the UAE.

There was cause of concern inDelhi too as a few groundsmen at

the Arun Jaitley Stadium, whichis due to host Mumbai Indians vsSunRisers Hyderabad on Tuesday,have also tested positive for thevirus.

However, Delhi and DistrictsCricket Association (DDCA) chiefRohan Jaitley asserted that “noneof the groundsmen on duty” areamong them.

The BCCI continued to insistthat the league will go on but

Monday’s developments have def-initely cast a shadow on how theCovid-19 threat would be man-aged for an event being stagedacross six venues — two at onetime.

Leg-spinner Chakravarthyand pacer Warrier, both 30, havebeen isolated and the rest of theKKR contingent has returnednegative reports for now. Of thetwo, Warrier has not yet made theplaying XI in any of the sevenmatches KKR have played.

“The Medical Team is in con-tinuous touch with the duo andare monitoring their health.Meanwhile, the Kolkata KnightRiders have now moved towardsa daily testing routine to identifyany other possible cases and treatthem at the earliest,” the IPL stat-ed.

“The Medical Team is alsodetermining the close and casualcontacts of the two positive casesduring the 48 hours prior to col-lection of the sample that returnedthe positive test results,” it added.

KKR last played on April 29against Delhi Capitals inAhmedabad and the develop-ment is bound to trigger anxietyin the league, which had beengoing along smoothly so far in abio-secure bubble in front ofempty stands.

“Now, the DC players (cur-rently in Ahmedabad) will alsohave to be tested and every mem-ber of the team contingents thatcame in contact withChakravarthy and Warrier willalso be contact traced through theapp watch that has been given toeveryone,” a BCCI source said.

According to IPL’s StandardOperating Procedure for Covid-19 management, any close contact

of an infected person has to iso-late for six days and return threenegative tests on days 1, 3 and 6.

It is learnt that KKR’s pacespearhead Pat Cummins revealedthe latest development to all theAustralian players in the IPL afterChakravarthy, while undergoingsome shoulder scans for a niggleafter Thursday’s game, tested pos-itive for the virus.

Chakravarthy has appeared inall of KKR’s matches so far andbeen one of their most successfulplayers with seven wickets underhis belt.

KKR and CSK had clashed onApril 21 in Mumbai.

IPL had dealt with positive

cases before the tournament start-ed, including some high-profilenames like Axar Patel and DevduttPadikkal.

However, this is the firstinstance of positive cases in themiddle of the tournament.

“The BCCI and the KolkataKnight Riders prioritise the healthand safety of everyone involvedand all measures are being takenin that endeavour,” the IPL stated.

Foreign players, who werealready anxious about gettinghome with travel restricted fromIndia, are edgier right now. Butfranchises would prefer the leagueto continue with necessary safe-guards.

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Chennai Super Kings bowlingcoach Lakshmipathy Balaji

testing positive for Covid-19 has leftthe BCCI in a fix about the next fewIPL games in Delhi after postpone-ment of Monday’s evening matchbetween Kolkata Knight Riders andRoyal Challengers Bangalore inAhmedabad.

While the entire KKR team hasgone for a six-day hard quarantine,starting Sunday, after VarunChakravarthy and Sandeep Warrierreturned positive, Balaji, who is aregular feature in the ChennaiSuper Kings dug-out has goneinto isolation after returning withtwo RT-PCR positives on Monday.

“Balaji’s positive report is cer-tainly a cause of concern althoughthe CSK players have tested nega-tive. But normally, a lot of peoplestart showing symptoms from thefifth or sixth day. There are discus-

sions whether it is safe to go aheadwith the next two matches inDelhi,” a senior BCCI source said.

While DDCA president RohanJaitley told PTI that he hasn’t beeninformed about any re-scheduling,the problem is CSK having playedMumbai Indians last Saturday.

“Balaji was in the dug-outand also before and after thematch, he interacted withMumbai Indians players which isnatural. Now you can test every-day but just like KKR’s match hasbeen postponed, it’s prudent ifMI’s match against SunRisersHyderabad on Tuesday and CSK’sgame against Rajasthan Royals onWednesday is rescheduled,” theinfluential official said.

Since KKR team is doingeveryday testing with six days ofhard quarantine, many believe thatthe same rule should be applicablefor CSK also before they play theirnext match.

DC IN HARD QUARANTINEDelhi Capitals has gone into

isolation following two Covid-19cases in the KKR camp on Monday.

“The team has been asked tostay in isolation in their hotelsince they were the opponents ofthe KKR in their last match, playedon April 29,” an official told IANS.

DC also played a game onSunday against Punjab Kings inAhmedabad and that puts thePunjab franchise at risk as well.

However, PBKS have beenindirectly in touch with the affect-ed KKR as they played againstDelhi on Sunday.

“We have had indirect contact.So, unless somebody from theDelhi Capitals tests positive, wewon’t have to undergo isolation.However, it is not that we are mov-ing around. We stayed inside ourrooms the whole day on Mondaybecause we had no practice,” saida Punjab team official.

7���8�����������������*�������Ahmedabad: Kolkata KnightRiders duo of VarunChakravarthy and SandeepWarrier are doing “fine” andthe team is hopeful of return-ing to action for their next IPLgame once the quarantinephase is over, said CEO andMD Venky Mysore.

“Difficult times, but I’mhappy to report that bothVarun and Sandeep are doingwell,” Mysore told host broad-casters Star Sports.

“We have taken all theprecautions that are necessaryand have been advised by themedical teams of IPL and KKRand also getting appropriateadvice from outside on whatthe right thing to do is.

“Sandeep, in particular, isdoing fine. No temperature, noother symptoms, and he is feel-

ing good. Varun is still a littleunder the weather, but betterthan yesterday and both ofthem are in good spirits.”

While the duo tested pos-itive, the rest of the KKR con-tingent has returned negative.

Now as per protocol, theentire team and the hotel staffare being quarantined for fivedays with a daily testing sched-ule ahead of their next matchagainst Delhi Capitals here onMay 8.

Mysore said they foundout approximately 24 hours agoabout Varun testing positiveand later in the night they gotWarrier’s result.

He said the duo was soonisolated on a different floorwith different AC ducts to“make sure others are protect-ed”. PTI

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Cricket Australia currently has noplans to arrange a charter flight to

bring its players back home fromCovid-19-ravaged India once the IPLgets over, its chief Nick Hockley saidon Monday.

Hockley insisted that Australianplayers are feeling safe and secure inthe IPL bio-bubble but his commentscame before it emerged that two KKRplayers have tested positive for thedreaded virus.

Mumbai Indians batsman ChrisLynn had recently requested CricketAustralia to arrange for a charter flightfor Australia players after the tourna-ment concludes on May 30.

“There’s no suggestion at themoment of any charter flight,” Hockleytold Melbourne radio station SEN.

“We’re working closely and talk-ing closely with the AustralianCricketers’ Association, with the play-ers and with the BCCI to make sureeveryone’s okay and the people havegot full information.

“We’ve been in touch with theplayers there and they are generally ingood spirits. The work the BCCI hasdone around the (bio-secure) bubblemeans they are feeling safe and secure,and those we’ve talked to are general-ly planning to complete their playingcommitments.”

The Cricket Australia boss saidthey are monitoring the situation anda decision will be made but notimmediately.

“The BCCI have come out andsaid they understand and want to sup-port the players in making sure theyget home safely at the end.

“The tournament doesn’t finishuntil the 30th of May, so for themoment it’s monitor the situation andas we get closer to the end of the tour-nament we’ll need to see where the sit-uation is at,” he said.

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New Delhi: Cricketer-turned-com-mentator Michael Slater, who is cur-rently doing commentary in the IPLhere, has launched a scathing attackon his country’s Prime MinisterScott Morrison for not allowing itscitizens to return from Covid-19 hitIndia, calling the travel ban a “dis-grace”.

Australia has shut its bordersand not allowing any commercialflights from India because of themassive Covid-19 surge here whichhas led to all the players, supportstaff and commentators, who mighthave wanted to leave the IPL in a fix.

“If our Government cared forthe safety of Aussies they wouldallow us to get home. It’s a disgrace!!Blood on your hands PM. How dareyou treat us like this. How about yousort out quarantine system. I hadGovernment permission to work onthe IPL but I now have Governmentneglect,” Slater tweeted.

Threatening a five-year jailterm or hefty fine, the AustralianGovernment temporarily barredits citizens from entering the coun-try if they happened to be in Indiawithin 14 days of their intendedarrival. PTI

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