# '!! ecRZ_d WcVVkV Z_ ecRT\d Z_ "! URjd - Daily Pioneer

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H ours after taking oath, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday launched a fierce attack on the Centre for sending “intimidat- ing” letters and a Central team to enquire into the reports of ongoing post-poll violence that has seen at least 17 people dead, many including election can- didates injured and hundreds of houses destroyed. Taking a swipe at the Centre, she said, “This is unprecedented… It has not been even 24 hours that the Government has taken charge and they are sending letters, teams and Ministers… my question is where was these teams when violence was tak- ing place in Delhi and UP?” Attacking the BJP Government for trying to take out its frustration after the humiliating defeat it suffered in the just-concluded State elec- tions, she said, “The fact is the BJP is unable to digest its defeat and so it is trying to cre- ate problems through fake reports on violence,” adding, “Instead of sending letters and teams they should have sent vaccines and oxygen.” “I wrote to the Prime Minister repeatedly to set aside 30,000 crore for free vaccine but he would not even reply to that…maybe that he is busy… but my question is when stat- ues can be made spending thousands of crore… why 30,000 cannot be earmarked for free vaccine and oxygen… What has happened to the PMCares fund?’’, she said. “Without doing the need- ful they are trying to disturb an elected Government… they are sending Ministers and Central teams to complicate the issue… but my issue is anyone may come to Bengal… the Central Ministers too… but whosoever comes from outside, even by special flights, we want RT-PCR tests and there will be no discrimination,” she added. A Home Ministry team led by an Additional Home Secretary level officer arrived in Bengal to enquire into the reports of post-poll violence. I n a major relief to Delhiities, the Delhi Government has now set up a website to facili- tate online registration for making available oxygen cylin- ders for home isolated Covid patients. The online system started functioning from Thursday. “All people requiring oxy- gen for the patients in home isolation can apply on the Delhi Government’s website at http://delhi.gov.in with a valid photo ID, Aadhaar Card details, and valid Covid-19 positive report indicating the need for oxygen. The applicant will also be required to inform the actual quantity of oxygen needed,” the Government order stated. As per the order, the District Magistrates shall ensure an adequate number of office personnel to scrutinise every application being regis- tered on the portal and issue the e-passes quickly as time is the essence in such cases. S upreme Court on Thursday urged the Central and State Governments to start working on plans “today itself ” to tack- le the third wave of Covid pan- demic. The court also suggest- ed that there should be “scien- tific plan” to vaccinate children too before the third wave. Meanwhile, the Centre informed the apex court on Wednesday that 730 MT (extra 30MT) oxygen was supplied to Delhi, and the judges advised both the Centre and Delhi State Counsels to “avoid polit- ical ideological differences” in the time of pandemic in the interest of people. “The third surge in India which is around the corner according to experts will affect children. So when a child goes to hospital, the mother and father will also have to go. That is why vaccination will have to be over for this group of peo- ple. We need to plan for this in a scientific way and thus make arrangement…If we prepare today we may be able to han- dle it,” said the Bench com- prising Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah, reiterating on vaccination cover for Children. Several health experts have cited risk to children during the third wave. The Bench also urged the Centre to examine the possi- bility of utilising services of doctors who have completed MBBS and waiting to enroll for PG courses. Their services could prove crucial for the third wave. “Today we have 1.5 lakh doctors who have finished medical course but waiting for NEET exam. How do you tap them? 1.5 lakh doctors and 2.5 lakh nurses are sitting at home. They will be crucial for third wave,” Justice Chandrachud said. S upreme Court on Thursday disposed of the Election Commission (EC)’s petition to expunge the observation of Madras High Court that the poll panel was singularly responsible for the rise in the Covid-19 pandemic. Disposing of the petition, which was objected by Rajiv Kumar from filing, the Bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud said judges should exercise caution in mak- ing off-the-cuff remarks while appreciating the role of High Courts across the country in taking up the cases related to the pandemic and delivering remedies. “The remarks of the High Court were harsh. The metaphor inappropriate,” the Supreme Court said, adding even if the High Court did indeed make the oral observations that have been alluded to, it did not seek to attribute culpability for the Covid-19 pandemic in the country to the EC. I ndia has contributed half of the world Covid cases in the past 24 hour. Of the total 8,43,709 Covid cases reported across the world on Wednesday, India contributed over 4.12 lakh cases. This is the highest single-day case report- ed by any country in the world. India’s share of global active coronavirus cases now stands at 19.26 per cent. According to the worl- dometers.info data, the US, the worst affected country, has reported 46,129 in the last 24 hours. The rate of daily new infections fell below 50,000 per day over the weekend and continues to decline in the US. The US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world’s highest number of cases and deaths at 33,321,244 and 5,93,148 respectively. The new cases and deaths in India hit a record daily high with 4,12,262 new infections and 3,980 fatalities being reported, taking the total tally of Covid-19 cases to 2,10,77,410 and the death toll to 2,30,168. The active cases have increased to 35,66,398 com- prising 16.92 per cent of total infections. On April 30, it had report- ed 4.08 lakh cases. The last one million cases for India have come in just three days. Brazil, the third worst affected country reported 75,652 cases. France and Turkey have reported 26,000 and 26,476 cases respectively. In terms of deaths, Brazil comes second with 4,14,399 fatalities across the world. The other countries with more than two million con- firmed coronavirus cases are Brazil (14,936,464), France (5,706,378), Turkey (4,955,594), Russia (4,855,128), the UK (4,425,940), Italy (4,070,400), Spain (3,551,262), Germany (3,469,448), Argentina (3,071,496), Colombia (2,934,611), Poland (2,818,378), Iran (2,610,018), Mexico (2,355,985) and Ukraine (2,097,024). T he southwest monsoon is likely to make its onset over the Indian subcontinent at its normal date of June 1. “Extended Range Forecast sug- gests monsoon will arrive over Kerala on time, around 1 June. This is an early indication,” said M Rajeevan, Secretary at the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES). This is the second indica- tion of a normal monsoon season in 2021. About 75 per cent of the country’s annual rainfall is recorded between June and September. C haudhary Ajit Singh, 82, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief and a powerful Jat satrap of western Uttar Pradesh, who held key portfolios in several Governments at the Centre and switched sides effortlessly died of Covid on Thursday. Singh could not be a wit- ness to the recent revival of his party in the Uttar Pradesh Panchayat polls after it was vir- tually washed out in last Assembly elections. The twin Jat-Muslim sup- port in the rural hinterland of Western UP remained late leader’s political lifeline that failed him in the twilight of his long career as the BJP made its foot-prints in the region. Singh, son of Ch Charan Singh, the first Prime Minister from the Jatland, was appar- ently a reluctant politician before he took the plunge and established himself as an astute politician, who like late Union Minister Ramvilas Paswan, was seldom “jobless”. Singh was born on February 12, 1939, at Bhadoola, in Meerut, UP, to former Prime Minister Ch Charan Singh and Gayatri Devi. He is survived by his wife Radhika Singh and son Jayant Chaudhary. Singh was an alumnus of Lucknow University, IIT Kharagpur, and Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago. He worked for 15 years in the IT industry in the US before returning to India. The Jat leader was caught in an unsavoury controversy when in 2014 water and elec- tricity connections of his Thuqlag road residence were snapped as he failed to vacate it despite being served the eviction notice. Despite witnessing a dive in his political career in the last few years, he nevertheless enjoyed power as good as one can. Singh had inherited the political legacy of his father in ‘Lok Dal’ and became a Rajya Sabha member in 1986, a year after the former’s death. A seven-time Member of Parliament from Baghpat, Singh served as Union Minister for Civil Aviation, Agriculture, and Food Processing Industries in different Governments. The Government changed hands but the RLD leader retained his political clout and managed key cabinet slots in the series of coalition Governments at the Centre. I n a major reform to fast-track decision making in the Armed forces, the Government has appointed military officers as additional and joint secre- taries in the Defence Ministry. These officers can now act on their own avoiding bureau- cratic maze. The setting up of these posts was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister on Wednesday evening, sources said here on Thursday. The officers will be part of the Department of Military Affairs (DMA) in the Defence Ministry. The DMA was created last year along with the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) institution and General Bipin Rawat was appointed as the first head of it. The CDS is single-point adviser to the political leader- ship on matters of defence and strategic importance. Similarly, the DMA also came into being along with the CDS to propel major reforms in the Armed forces, including joint com- mands, cutting down avoidable expenses by pooling scarce resources and speeding up the pace of modernisation. Rawat heads it as the Secretary, DMA. After the ACC nod, Lt General Anil Puri became Additional Secretary. Major General K. Narayanan, Rear Admiral Kapil Mohan Dhir and Air Vice Marshal Hardeep Bains were appointed as joint secretaries in the DMA, the ACC note said. Sources said Puri was already officiating as addition- al secretary and the other three officers as joint secretaries. With the official and formal seal of additional secretary and joint secretaries, these four officers can now take decision independently. Elaborating on this aspect, they said till now the four officers had to seek approval for any decision from Secretary, the DMA as they did not have the requisite official sanction. New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the national Capital received 730 metric tonnes of oxygen on May 5. In a letter, Kejriwal said that it was for the first time the national Capital received more than 700 MT of oxygen. Kolkata: Union Minister V Murlidhar too got trapped in the post-poll violence on Thursday even as reports of clashes continued to come in from various parts of the State. The Minister’s convoy was attacked at the Panchkhuri village in Midnapore Sadar area when he went there to enquire into the reports of some BJP workers being attacked by alleged TMC men, sources. I n view of a massive surge in Covid-19 cases and States imposing curfew and lock- down to contain the pandem- ic, the Indian Railways has gone for cancellation and sus- pension of huge numbers of trains, including premier trains such as Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Vande Bharat express. At an average, the Railways has suspended 260 trains per day in the last ten days. The total number of suspended trains now stands at 2,600, which is more than one-fifth of the 12,000 trains operated by railways during the pre-Covid time. The Indian Railways had started the operations of almost 9,000 trains in October 2020. The number has now come down to around 6,400. “Movement of certain pairs of the passenger trains is being suspended till further notice in view of surging Covid-19 pos- itive cases and poor occupan- cy as well,” said Deepak Kumar, Chief Public Relations Officer, Northern Railways. The cancellation of the premier trains is expected to send the domestic air ticket price soaring high and place the country in a state of semi lockdown with States intro- ducing major restrictions on the movement of people. The decline in traffic is cited as offi- cial reason for the suspension of trains. Apart from Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Vande Bharat express, the railways also sus- pended 14 pairs of long dis- tance superfast trains operat- ing from the national Capital on Thursday. The trains suspended now includes mail/express, holiday special and passengers spe- cials. Trains suspended till fur- ther notice from Friday onwards include Amritsar Shatabdi, Kalka Shatabdi, Bhopal Shatabdi, Dehradun Shatabdi, Chennai Rajdhani, Chhatisgarh Rajdhani, Katra Vande Bharat and other pairs. According to Ministry of Railway sources, if the situation didn’t improve more trains could be suspended in coming days, bringing the passenger transport services to a near halt. Earlier the suspension of the train was only for short dis- tance duration but the Ministry of Railways has instructed the Zonal Railways to suspend trains wherever there is a mas- sive Covid-19 surge and also poor occupancy. So far zones like ECR, Central Railway, Southern Railway, South Eastern Railway catering to States like Bihar, UP Jharkhand, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Maharashtra had suspended their inter and intra- State passenger services due to sharp rise in covid cases and low occupancy in the trains. The passenger train ser- vices had started in a phased manner last August after com- plete suspension in March end 2020. Most of the suspended trains are e destined to Bihar, UP, Jharkhand and Odisha. Bihar has announced com- plete lockdown till middle of this month and given the acute surge in cases it is likely to be further extended.

Transcript of # '!! ecRZ_d WcVVkV Z_ ecRT\d Z_ "! URjd - Daily Pioneer

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Hours after taking oath,Bengal Chief Minister

Mamata Banerjee on Thursdaylaunched a fierce attack on theCentre for sending “intimidat-ing” letters and a Central teamto enquire into the reports ofongoing post-poll violence thathas seen at least 17 people dead,many including election can-didates injured and hundredsof houses destroyed.

Taking a swipe at theCentre, she said, “This isunprecedented… It has notbeen even 24 hours that theGovernment has taken chargeand they are sending letters,teams and Ministers… myquestion is where was theseteams when violence was tak-ing place in Delhi and UP?”

Attacking the BJPGovernment for trying to takeout its frustration after thehumiliating defeat it suffered inthe just-concluded State elec-tions, she said, “The fact is theBJP is unable to digest itsdefeat and so it is trying to cre-ate problems through fakereports on violence,” adding,“Instead of sending letters andteams they should have sentvaccines and oxygen.”

“I wrote to the PrimeMinister repeatedly to set aside�30,000 crore for free vaccine

but he would not even reply tothat…maybe that he is busy…but my question is when stat-ues can be made spendingthousands of crore… why�30,000 cannot be earmarkedfor free vaccine and oxygen…What has happened to thePMCares fund?’’, she said.

“Without doing the need-ful they are trying to disturb anelected Government… theyare sending Ministers andCentral teams to complicate theissue… but my issue is anyonemay come to Bengal… theCentral Ministers too… butwhosoever comes from outside,even by special flights, we wantRT-PCR tests and there will beno discrimination,” she added.

A Home Ministry teamled by an Additional Home

Secretary level officer arrived inBengal to enquire into thereports of post-poll violence.

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In a major relief to Delhiities,the Delhi Government has

now set up a website to facili-tate online registration formaking available oxygen cylin-ders for home isolated Covidpatients. The online systemstarted functioning fromThursday.

“All people requiring oxy-gen for the patients in homeisolation can apply on theDelhi Government’s websiteat http://delhi.gov.in with avalid photo ID, Aadhaar Carddetails, and valid Covid-19positive report indicating theneed for oxygen. The applicantwill also be required to informthe actual quantity of oxygenneeded,” the Government orderstated.

As per the order, theDistrict Magistrates shallensure an adequate number ofoffice personnel to scrutinise

every application being regis-tered on the portal and issuethe e-passes quickly as time isthe essence in such cases.

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Supreme Court on Thursdayurged the Central and State

Governments to start workingon plans “today itself ” to tack-le the third wave of Covid pan-demic. The court also suggest-ed that there should be “scien-tific plan” to vaccinate childrentoo before the third wave.

Meanwhile, the Centreinformed the apex court onWednesday that 730 MT (extra30MT) oxygen was supplied toDelhi, and the judges advisedboth the Centre and Delhi

State Counsels to “avoid polit-ical ideological differences” inthe time of pandemic in theinterest of people.

“The third surge in Indiawhich is around the corneraccording to experts will affect

children. So when a child goesto hospital, the mother andfather will also have to go. Thatis why vaccination will have tobe over for this group of peo-ple. We need to plan for this ina scientific way and thus makearrangement…If we preparetoday we may be able to han-dle it,” said the Bench com-prising Justices DYChandrachud and MR Shah,reiterating on vaccination coverfor Children.

Several health experts havecited risk to children during thethird wave.

The Bench also urged theCentre to examine the possi-bility of utilising services ofdoctors who have completedMBBS and waiting to enroll forPG courses. Their servicescould prove crucial for thethird wave.

“Today we have 1.5 lakhdoctors who have finishedmedical course but waiting forNEET exam. How do you tapthem? 1.5 lakh doctors and 2.5lakh nurses are sitting at home.They will be crucial for thirdwave,” Justice Chandrachudsaid.

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Supreme Court on Thursdaydisposed of the Election

Commission (EC)’s petition toexpunge the observation ofMadras High Court that thepoll panel was singularlyresponsible for the rise in theCovid-19 pandemic.

Disposing of the petition,which was objected by RajivKumar from filing, the Benchheaded by Justice DYChandrachud said judgesshould exercise caution in mak-ing off-the-cuff remarks whileappreciating the role of HighCourts across the country intaking up the cases related tothe pandemic and deliveringremedies.

“The remarks of the HighCourt were harsh. Themetaphor inappropriate,” theSupreme Court said, adding even if the High Courtdid indeed make the oralobservations that have beenalluded to, it did not seek toattribute culpability for theCovid-19 pandemic in thecountry to the EC.

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India has contributed half ofthe world Covid cases in the

past 24 hour. Of the total8,43,709 Covid cases reportedacross the world onWednesday, India contributedover 4.12 lakh cases. This is thehighest single-day case report-ed by any country in the world.India’s share of global activecoronavirus cases now standsat 19.26 per cent.

According to the worl-dometers.info data, the US,the worst affected country, hasreported 46,129 in the last 24hours. The rate of daily newinfections fell below 50,000per day over the weekend andcontinues to decline in theUS. The US continues to be theworst-hit country with theworld’s highest number of casesand deaths at 33,321,244 and5,93,148 respectively.

The new cases and deathsin India hit a record daily highwith 4,12,262 new infectionsand 3,980 fatalities beingreported, taking the total tallyof Covid-19 cases to

2,10,77,410 and the death tollto 2,30,168.

The active cases haveincreased to 35,66,398 com-prising 16.92 per cent of totalinfections.

On April 30, it had report-ed 4.08 lakh cases. The last onemillion cases for India havecome in just three days.

Brazil, the third worstaffected country reported75,652 cases. France andTurkey have reported 26,000and 26,476 cases respectively.In terms of deaths, Brazil

comes second with 4,14,399fatalities across the world.

The other countries withmore than two million con-firmed coronavirus cases areBrazil (14,936,464), France(5,706,378), Turkey(4,955,594), Russia (4,855,128),the UK (4,425,940), Italy(4,070,400), Spain (3,551,262),Germany (3,469,448),Argentina (3,071,496),Colombia (2,934,611), Poland(2,818,378), Iran (2,610,018),Mexico (2,355,985) andUkraine (2,097,024).

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The southwest monsoon islikely to make its onset

over the Indian subcontinent atits normal date of June 1.“Extended Range Forecast sug-gests monsoon will arrive overKerala on time, around 1 June.This is an early indication,” saidM Rajeevan, Secretary at theMinistry of Earth Sciences(MoES).

This is the second indica-tion of a normal monsoonseason in 2021. About 75 percent of the country’s annualrainfall is recorded betweenJune and September.

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Chaudhary Ajit Singh, 82,Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD)

chief and a powerful Jat satrapof western Uttar Pradesh, whoheld key portfolios in severalGovernments at the Centreand switched sides effortlesslydied of Covid on Thursday.

Singh could not be a wit-ness to the recent revival of hisparty in the Uttar PradeshPanchayat polls after it was vir-tually washed out in lastAssembly elections.

The twin Jat-Muslim sup-port in the rural hinterland ofWestern UP remained lateleader’s political lifeline thatfailed him in the twilight of hislong career as the BJP made its

foot-prints in the region. Singh, son of Ch Charan

Singh, the first Prime Ministerfrom the Jatland, was appar-ently a reluctant politician

before he took the plunge andestablished himself as an astutepolitician, who like late UnionMinister Ramvilas Paswan,was seldom “jobless”.

Singh was born onFebruary 12, 1939, at Bhadoola,in Meerut, UP, to former PrimeMinister Ch Charan Singh andGayatri Devi. He is survived byhis wife Radhika Singh and sonJayant Chaudhary.

Singh was an alumnus ofLucknow University, IITKharagpur, and IllinoisInstitute of Technology,Chicago.

He worked for 15 years inthe IT industry in the USbefore returning to India.

The Jat leader was caughtin an unsavoury controversywhen in 2014 water and elec-tricity connections of hisThuqlag road residence weresnapped as he failed to vacateit despite being served the

eviction notice.Despite witnessing a dive

in his political career in the lastfew years, he neverthelessenjoyed power as good as onecan. Singh had inherited thepolitical legacy of his father in‘Lok Dal’ and became a RajyaSabha member in 1986, a yearafter the former’s death.

A seven-time Member ofParliament from Baghpat,Singh served as Union Ministerfor Civil Aviation, Agriculture,and Food Processing Industriesin different Governments.

The Government changedhands but the RLD leaderretained his political clout andmanaged key cabinet slots inthe series of coalitionGovernments at the Centre.

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In a major reform to fast-trackdecision making in the

Armed forces, the Governmenthas appointed military officersas additional and joint secre-taries in the Defence Ministry.These officers can now act ontheir own avoiding bureau-cratic maze.

The setting up of theseposts was approved by theAppointments Committee ofthe Cabinet headed by thePrime Minister on Wednesdayevening, sources said here onThursday. The officers will bepart of the Department ofMilitary Affairs (DMA) in theDefence Ministry.

The DMA was created lastyear along with the Chief ofDefence Staff (CDS) institutionand General Bipin Rawat wasappointed as the first head of it.

The CDS is single-pointadviser to the political leader-ship on matters of defence andstrategic importance. Similarly,the DMA also came into beingalong with the CDS to propelmajor reforms in the Armedforces, including joint com-mands, cutting down avoidableexpenses by pooling scarceresources and speeding up thepace of modernisation. Rawatheads it as the Secretary, DMA.

After the ACC nod, LtGeneral Anil Puri becameAdditional Secretary. Major

General K. Narayanan, RearAdmiral Kapil Mohan Dhirand Air Vice Marshal HardeepBains were appointed as jointsecretaries in the DMA, theACC note said.

Sources said Puri wasalready officiating as addition-al secretary and the other threeofficers as joint secretaries.With the official and formalseal of additional secretary andjoint secretaries, these fourofficers can now take decisionindependently. Elaborating onthis aspect, they said till nowthe four officers had to seekapproval for any decision fromSecretary, the DMA as they didnot have the requisite officialsanction.

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New Delhi: Delhi ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwal onThursday thanked PrimeMinister Narendra Modi afterthe national Capital received730 metric tonnes of oxygen onMay 5. In a letter, Kejriwal saidthat it was for the first time the national Capital received morethan 700 MT of oxygen.

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Kolkata: Union Minister VMurlidhar too got trapped inthe post-poll violence onThursday even as reports ofclashes continued to come infrom various parts of theState. The Minister’s convoywas attacked at thePanchkhuri village inMidnapore Sadar area whenhe went there to enquire intothe reports of some BJPworkers being attacked byalleged TMC men, sources.

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In view of a massive surge inCovid-19 cases and States

imposing curfew and lock-down to contain the pandem-ic, the Indian Railways hasgone for cancellation and sus-pension of huge numbers oftrains, including premier trainssuch as Rajdhani, Shatabdi andVande Bharat express.

At an average, the Railwayshas suspended 260 trains perday in the last ten days. Thetotal number of suspendedtrains now stands at 2,600,which is more than one-fifth ofthe 12,000 trains operated byrailways during the pre-Covidtime. The Indian Railways hadstarted the operations of almost9,000 trains in October 2020.The number has now comedown to around 6,400.

“Movement of certain pairsof the passenger trains is beingsuspended till further notice inview of surging Covid-19 pos-itive cases and poor occupan-cy as well,” said Deepak Kumar,

Chief Public Relations Officer,Northern Railways.

The cancellation of thepremier trains is expected tosend the domestic air ticketprice soaring high and placethe country in a state of semilockdown with States intro-ducing major restrictions onthe movement of people. Thedecline in traffic is cited as offi-cial reason for the suspensionof trains.

Apart from Rajdhani,Shatabdi and Vande Bharat

express, the railways also sus-pended 14 pairs of long dis-tance superfast trains operat-ing from the national Capitalon Thursday.

The trains suspended nowincludes mail/express, holidayspecial and passengers spe-cials.

Trains suspended till fur-ther notice from Fridayonwards include AmritsarShatabdi, Kalka Shatabdi,Bhopal Shatabdi, DehradunShatabdi, Chennai Rajdhani,

Chhatisgarh Rajdhani, KatraVande Bharat and other pairs.

According to Ministry ofRailway sources, if the situationdidn’t improve more trainscould be suspended in comingdays, bringing the passengertransport services to a near halt.

Earlier the suspension ofthe train was only for short dis-tance duration but the Ministryof Railways has instructed theZonal Railways to suspendtrains wherever there is a mas-sive Covid-19 surge and alsopoor occupancy.

So far zones like ECR,Central Railway, SouthernRailway, South Eastern Railwaycatering to States like Bihar, UPJharkhand, West Bengal,Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu,Kerala, and Maharashtra hadsuspended their inter and intra-State passenger services due tosharp rise in covid cases andlow occupancy in the trains.

The passenger train ser-vices had started in a phasedmanner last August after com-plete suspension in March end2020. Most of the suspendedtrains are e destined to Bihar,UP, Jharkhand and Odisha.Bihar has announced com-plete lockdown till middle ofthis month and given the acutesurge in cases it is likely to befurther extended.

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UPES has introduced under-graduate and post gradu-

ate programmes in its School ofHealth Sciences from the aca-demic session 2021. The newprogrammes will offer stu-dents integrated modules withspecialisations and options tochoose from various minorelectives. There has been asurge in the need for skilledhealthcare workers so theseprogrammes are designed bear-ing in mind the industrydemands and to equip the stu-dents with the right skill setsmaking them readily employ-able.

UPES School of Health

Sciences has launched threenew integrated undergraduateBSc-MSc programmes of four-year duration. These includeintegrated BSc-MSc (ClinicalResearch) with specialisationsin Clinical Pharmacokineticsand Regulatory Affairs, inte-grated BSc-MSc (Nutrition andDietetics) with specialisationsin Dietetics and HolisticWellness and Nutraceuticaland Nutritional Policy, inte-grated BSc-MSc(Microbiology) with speciali-sations in Food andEnvironmental Microbiologyand Medical andPharmaceutical Microbiology,a two-year post graduate MSc(Pharmacology andToxicology)with two speciali-sations- Applied ClinicalPharmacology and Molecularand Biochemical Toxicology.The university has also intro-duced integrated five-yearBTech- MBA programmes.These include BTech.- MBA(Food Technology) with spe-

cialisation in Food PlantEngineering or FoodBiotechnology under FoodTechnology electives and spe-cialisation in ProductManagement or Marketingunder management electivesand BTech- MBA(Biotechnology)with speciali-sation in PharmaceuticalBiotechnology, Biosimilars orPlant Biotechnology underBiotechnology electives andspecialization in BiotechnologyProduct Management orBiotechnology Marketingunder management electives.Apart from the integrated pro-grammes, a new BTech(Biotechnology) a four-yeardegree programme has beenlaunched with specialisation inPharmaceutical Biotechnology,Biosimilars or PlantBiotechnology.

PhD programmes inPharmaceutical Sciences,Microbiology and Food andNutrition Sciences have alsobeen introduced.

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Eligible beneficiaries havebeen asked to take the ben-

efit of the free ration being facil-itated by the Government ofIndia. Considering the Covid-19 pandemic, the government ofIndia has allocated free foodgrains for the entire nation inaddition to that provided underNational Food Security Act,Pradhan Mantri Garib KalyanAnna Yojana (PMGKAY).Against the free allocation forMay-June, 2,860 metric tonnesof wheat and 1,195 metrictonnes of rice have been takenfrom the DCP stock throughthe Food Corporation of Indiaand the State government.

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As India finds itself in thethroes of a deadly and

record-breaking second waveof COVID-19, the Twitter han-dle of Congress’ Rajya SabhaMP Deepender Singh Hoodahas become a go-to platformfor people seeking help to findlife saving medicines, hospitalbeds, plasma and medical oxy-gen.

Deepender, who is leadinga team of around 300 volun-teers, is winning hearts every-where for his unrelentingefforts to respond to SOS mes-sages on his Twitter handle andhelping as many people as pos-sible amidst the despair ofCOVID-19 pandemic.

Quoting the famous idiom“We can't help everyone, buteveryone can help someone”,Deepender tells The Pioneer,“These are difficult times andwe are coming across heart-wrenching tales of hardships.Keeping the politics aside, I andmy team of volunteers are justtrying to help people, who arein distress.”

Deepender has over three

lakh followers on Twitter han-dle, which gets tagged by thou-sands of people from Haryanaand neighboring states withSOS messages every day. Apartfrom his Twitter account,another handle‘TeamDeepender’ of volun-teers is inundated with SOSrequests.

The Congress leader fromHaryana tells, “His phone keepsringing incessantly and hisTwitter handle and DM areflooded with appeals for helprelated to hospital beds, muchsought after drugs likeRemdesivir and Tocilizumab,oxygen cylinders, food andeven, cremation. We have beenreceiving more than 4000requests through social mediaplatforms and phone calls on adaily basis now.”

“Out of over 4000 requests,we manage to attend half ofthem and try to help as manypeople as possible. In the begin-ning of April, we used toreceive around 50 requests perday but the number of peopleseeking emergency help hasseen a massive surge amid theunprecedented rise in COVIDcases and crumbling health

infrastructure,” tells Deepender,who is the son of formerHaryana Chief Minister andcurrent Leader of opposition inHaryana, Bhupinder SinghHooda.

The MP further shares“Over the past two weeks, Ihave been spending around 20hours per day on social mediaplatforms like Twitter,WhatsApp and on calls torespond to the requests per-sonally and make arrange-ments for the people who arerunning from pillar to post inneed of medical assistance. Iam personally contactingDeputy Commissioners andother officers to ensure quickresponse to SOS requests.”

With Haryana’s healthcaresystem overwhelmed by hugespike in COVID cases, the rel-atives and friends of COVIDpatients, struggling to get med-ical help have been taggingDeepender and his team onTwitter for prompt action andnot preferring to seek helpfrom Chief Minister ManoharLal, Deputy Chief MinisterDushyant Chautala, Home-cum-Health Minister Anil Vijamong other active users on

social media platform fromthe state.

Talking about 'TeamDeepender', the MP says, “It isall teamwork…When Mumbaiwitnessed a massive surge inCOVID cases, we had begunworking on putting together ateam of volunteers in Haryanain the beginning of April. Now,we have a team of 300 volun-teers and this number of goodsamaritans will further increasein the next few days. The con-tact numbers of ten volunteerseach in every district havebeen made available on socialmedia platforms to facilitate thepeople in distress.” “Whenevera request is received on myTwitter account, I tag the offi-cial handle of TeamDeependerand concerned district toamplify and get quick responsefrom the volunteers. Thesevolunteers have been workingin the field for over a monthnow and have built a networkwith suppliers, manufacturers,social organizations amongothers to address the issuesrelated to oxygen cylinders,medicines or other medicalhelp,” he tells.

“Apart from districts ofHaryana, we are also gettingrequests from districts inadjoining states of Punjab,Rajasthan and even Delhi,” headds. Besides actively moni-toring the requests on Twitter,the team of volunteers haveformed WhatsApp groups tocoordinate among themselvesto arrange various facilities forCOVID-19 patients and theirattendants in the time of crisis.

Not only this, the team hasalso started a plasma bank tohelp in the treatment of criti-cal COVID patients. Even lastyear, Deepender had deputedvolunteers across the state fordistribution of food for strand-ed migrants during the nation-wide lockdown.

Notably, the second waveof the COVID-19 has bar-relled past grim milestones inHaryana, which had on May 5reported 15416 COVID-19cases and highest ever 181fatalities.

The three districts ofGurugram, Faridabad andSonipat, all falling in theNational Capital Region, con-tinue to witness a massivejump in new cases and deaths.

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Haryana Chief MinisterManohar Lal Khattar on

Thursday directed to consti-tute district level monitoringteams for oxygen supply anddemand in every hospitalacross the state.

“These teams should beconstituted at the earliest.Regular auditing of oxygen,availability of beds and med-icines in the hospitals shouldalso be done so that the futureand present strategies regard-ing demand and supply can bemade in advance,” the ChiefMinister said while presidingover the review meeting ofCOVID-19 withAdministrative Secretariesand Deputy Commissionersthrough video conferencing.

He said that the DeputyCommissioner should them-selves monitor the demandand supply of oxygen and

further ensure unloading ofoxygen tankers at the earliest.More emphasis should be laidon conducting maximumrapid antigen tests, organizinghealth check-up and aware-ness camps especially in ruralareas, he directed.

The Chief Minister saidthat at present the state’s oxy-gen quota is 257 MT and arequest has been made to theCentral government to furtherenhance this quota to 300MT, hence uninterrupted oxy-gen supply across the state isbeing ensured. The DeputyCommissioners should ensureunloading of the tankersshould be done within theshortest span of time so thatthe oxygen supply chain in thehospitals remains intact, headded. Khattar said that as perthe experts a potential rise inthe COVID-19 cases isexpected therefore all theDeputy Commissioners now

have to play a pivotal role inthe containment of this pan-demic and have to furtherramp up COVID-19 manage-ment preparations coupledwith aggressive surveillance,stringent containment,focused clinical managementalong with proactiveInformation Education andCommunication (IEC) activ-ities, especially in rural areas.

He asked the DeputyCommissioners to focus onshifting the step down patientsto COVID Care Centres alongwith ensuring all medicalhealth facilities to suchpatients so that any criticalpatient who might be strug-gling to get admission in thehospital can get the muchneeded treatment at the ear-liest. He also directed the offi-cers concerned that both thegovernment and private hos-pitals should ensure dailyupdation of the data regarding

number of patients admitted,patients on oxygen support,number of patients dischargedso that the requirement theoxygen quota and other facil-ities can be given on Hrhealand NHM portal.

Asking the DeputyCommissioners to emphasizemore on rapid antigen tests,the Chief Minister said testingcapacity should be increasedespecially in rural areas alongwith aggressive efforts toreduce the positivity rate ofCOVID-19. Improved testingcapacity together with aggres-sive contact tracing is the keyto reduce the positivity rate.Besides this, more focusshould be laid on conductingantigen testing in every dis-trict, along with conductingRTPCR, he added.

Emphasizing on settingup special screening camps inrural areas, Khattar said sincein rural areas the virus is

spreading its wings, thereforespecial screening camps ineach village should be set up.Participation of public repre-sentatives in organizing thesescreening camps should beensured, he directed.

Besides this, the HealthDepartment has also beendirected to impart necessarytraining to people in these vil-lages so that they can spreadthe required awareness forthe disease, he added. Thework of imparting the train-ing would start soon andthrough these camps. theDeputy Commissionersshould ensure that everymember of 60 lakh familiesresiding in Haryana is tracked,he said. On the issue of blackmarketing, the Chief Ministerdirected that every DeputyCommissioner should con-stitute a team to curb blackmarketing of medicines,essential commodities.

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With no less than 10,000COVID-positive patients

on oxygen support amidst theerratic oxygen supplies to thestate, Punjab Government hasasked the doctors not to pre-scribe medical oxygen to thepatients in home isolation.

The fresh orders, amidstthe increasing requirement ofoxygen in state’s hospitals,came at a time when thePunjab Government is strug-gling with the supplies of thelife saving gas, and also facingshortage of special tankers tocarry the same.

The orders, issued by thestate Principal Secretary(Health and Family WelfareDepartment) Husan Lal, hasasked the doctors not to pre-scribe medical oxygen to thepatients who were in home iso-lation as it was important to“monitor their condition”.

“In view of more numberof patients requiring oxygensupport at Level II and Level IIIhealth facilities, the demand

for medical oxygen hasincreased and the state is

ensuring availability of medicaloxygen to all the patientsadmitted in the Governmentand the Private health facili-ties,” read the order.

“It has been observed thatsome of the doctors are pre-scribing medical oxygen tothe patients so that they cantake the medical oxygen sup-port at home. This is notadvisable as it is very important

to monitor the condition of thepatient who requires oxygensupport,” it added. Thus, theorder stated, it was orderedthat “henceforth, no doctorshall prescribe medical oxygento the patients in home isola-tion”.

As on Wednesday, the statehad 8,457 patients on oxygensupport, and another 240 crit-ical patients were on ventilatorsupport.As per available infor-mation, the state’s consump-tion of oxygen is more than250 MT daily, while the aver-age increase in demand everyday is around 15-20 percent.

Notably, Punjab has a 195MT allocation from variousplants in other states, but theactual supply received has beenaround 110-120 MT daily,which has also been erratic.Considering that the numberof patients on Oxygen supporthas been rising every day, theState Government is makingefforts to monitor and stream-line the supplies through itscontrols rooms, which hashelped in keeping things stable.

Only a day before, the StateCabinet had approved ‘thrustsector’ status for all oxygen pro-duction units in the state,besides appointing a nodalofficer to coordinate withCustoms Department for quickclearance of foreign aid.

The special status willapply to oxygen productionunits with a minimum capac-ity of 700 cylinders per dayequivalent to five MT, Oxygencylinder manufacturers or fab-ricators, Oxygen concentratormanufacturing units. However,the Oxygen refilling units willnot be covered by the specialstatus.

With this decision, theunits — both old and new —will become eligible for 100percent exemption fromChange of Land Use (CLU) orExternal Development Charges(EDC), Property Tax,Electricity Duty, Stamp Dutyand Investment Subsidy, byway of reimbursement of GSTup to 125 percent of FixedCapital Investment made in theland and machinery.

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In the ongoing fight againstcoronavirus, the Punjab

Government on Thursdayappointed two nodal officers tofacilitate the individuals ororganizations in getting taxexemption on any COVIDrelief to be imported into theState from abroad.

“To fight the challenge ofcoronavirus pandemic more

effectively and to facilitate theflow of aid from outside India,the Government of India hasprovided exemption from cus-toms duty and integrated tax ongoods for COVID reliefimported into the country,”said a spokesperson of thePunjab Government. He saidthat the same concessions

could be availed for suchimports if they were sent freeof cost from outside India andare distributed free withinIndia. “For claiming theseexemptions, anyone couldapproach the nodal officerappointed by the StateGovernment of Punjab —Kumar Rahul (IAS) on9876164787 and e-mail:[email protected] [email protected]; andRavneet Singh Khurana (IRSC&IT) on 9560954405 ande m a i l :[email protected],” saidthe spokesperson. Any personwho wants to send goods forCOVID relief from outsideIndia for free distribution inIndia may contact these offi-cers.

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The second wave of the con-tagion of Covid-19 in

Uttarakhand has alreadyreached unmanageable levelsand the experts opine that thestate is yet to reach the peak inthe number of daily cases. It isa pity that when the adminis-tration should have madepreparations for tackling thesecond wave it was busy inorganising a ‘divine and grand’Kumbh in Haridwar. The BJP’sdecision to change the chiefminister was also mistimedwhen seen from the perspectiveof combating the pandemic.The daily numbers of newcases in the state would notappear dramatic when com-pared with states likeMaharashtra, Karnataka andUttar Pradesh but consideringthe geographical and demo-graphic factors of the smallHimalayan state the situation isalarming to say the least. Thecreaking health infrastructureof the state is already unable todeal with the high case load ofCovid and with the pandemicspreading in the mountainousareas where health facilities areelusive; the situation is destinedto worsen to the level of cata-strophe.

In such a situation thestate government is left with noalternative other than enforc-ing a strict lockdown of a fewdays to stop the virus which atpresent is multiplying expo-nentially and claiming humanlives at an alarming pace.

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Apparently moved by anunprecedented rush being

witnessed in the cremationgrounds of the state and reportsof shortage of firewood inmany crematoria, a benevolentand sensitive government ofUttarakhand has announcedthat it would provide firewoodfree of cost for funerals.

The minister holding thecharge of department of forestshas even directed the forestdevelopment corporation toprovide free firewood at cre-mation grounds. People of the

state reeling under a severeonslaught of pandemic ofCovid -19 and getting fright-ened with the naked dance ofdeath in their neighbourhoodshould believe the govern-ment’s words on firewood sup-ply as the state has enough for-est cover to fulfil the need. It isanother matter that in a sce-nario in which the patientsgasping for breath are beingrefused admission in the hos-pitals, the life saving injec-tions and equipment are beingblack marketed and adminis-tration has failed in tackling thesecond wave (tsunami) of pan-demic effectively one wouldfind some succour in the cre-matoria which would haveplentiful supplies of firewood.

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The rain gods finally came tothe rescue of the burning

forests of Uttarakhand and thedownpour doused the forestfires in different parts of thestate.

The gigantic department offorests with all the resources atits disposal always lookstowards the skies for its rescuewhenever infernos strike theforest wealth of the state. Whenthe fires were eating into thevast swathes of woods in thewild the half hearted mea-sures of the department wereexemplified by the histrionicsof the minister when in pres-ence of a camera he used abunch of twigs to douse a for-est fire.

With dousing of fires inforests one desperately hopesthat some divine power tamesthe rampaging Coronavirustoo which is on a killing spreeas the government has failed incontaining the contagion.

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The Government has moveda step ahead in its plan of

developing Badrinath as asmart spiritual township. OnThursday, an agreement wassigned between the SriKedarnath Utthan Trust andpublic sector companies of theMinistry of Petroleum andNatural Gas for works amount-ing to about Rs 100 crore forthis purpose. The agreementwas signed in the presence ofchief minister Tirath SinghRawat and Union Petroleumand Natural Gas ministerDharmendra Pradhan in a pro-gramme held virtually.

Speaking on the occasion,Union minister DharmendraPradhan said that the oil com-panies are committed to thetransformation of Badrinath. Inthe future, some works on thelines of Badrinath andKedarnath will also be under-taken for Gangotri andYamunotri in Uttarkashi dis-trict. Along with embankmentworks along the Alaknanda inBadrinath, other constructionand beautification worksincluding construction of plaza,water drainage, sewerage,lights, CCTV cameras, publicaddress system, toilets andbridges are proposed to beundertaken.

Speaking on the occasion,Rawat said that the Kedarnathreconstruction started after the2013 disaster under the guid-ance of Prime Minister

Narendra Modi is now in itsfinal stages. The PM had alsodecided to develop Badrinathas a smart spiritual township.Considering the requirementsfor the next 100 years, workswill be undertaken in a phasedmanner on 85 hectare area inBadrinath. Special attempts arebeing made to increase thefacilities for pilgrims here, saidthe CM. He appreciated thecontribution of oil companiesin the development ofBadrinath. The focus of thestate government is also onencouraging homestays in thearea to provide affordable facil-ities to devotees arriving here.The state government is com-mitted to transform Badrinathin the next three years, addedRawat.

The State’s Tourism andCulture minister SatpalMaharaaz said that Badrinathis important from both the reli-gious and economic points ofview. Thousands of people getemployment here. He stressedthat focus has to be laid toensure that the environment isnot damaged during the recon-struction works. The expansionof the hospital is proposed inthe first stage of the work here.Along with this, riverfrontdevelopment, strengthening ofembankments, landscaping,holding area in case of crowd-ing and retrofitting of bridgesamong other works are also tobe executed. Chief secretaryOm Prakash was also presenton the occasion.

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The Bharatiya Janata Partystate president Madan

Kaushik has opined that at atime when the people are fight-ing against the Covid-19 pan-demic, the Congress appears tobe fighting against the public.Most leaders of the Congressdo not appear to be with thepublic in the fight against

Covid, he said.Kaushik said that the

Congress leaders should learnfrom their senior leader andformer chief minister HarishRawat who has decided tostand with the public in suchtimes. “This is not the time toplay politics or simply findfaults in the arrangements.This is the time to stand withthe public and work with asense of service.

The BJP workers areinvolved in serving the publicacross the state, providing med-icine, food and other help tothose in need. This is the timeto help each other,” saidKaushik.

He further said that earli-er too the Congress had wast-ed four years while in theopposition and now duringthe pandemic, instead of stand-ing with the public it is playingnegative politics and fightingagainst the public.

The Congress needs tocontemplate about itself, addedthe BJP State president.

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The Uttarakhand unit ofCongress party organised a

protest outside the RajivBhawan here on Thursdayagainst what it termed com-plete failure of the state gov-ernment in tackling the pan-demic of Covid-19.

Speaking on the occasionthe Pradesh CongressCommittee (PCC) presidentPritam Singh said that theCongress party is ready to helpthe state government in theongoing battle with the diseasebut the Uttarakhand govern-ment has gone into a sleepingmode. “The government isneither seeing the pain of peo-ple nor it has any intention toimprove the health system

which is on ventilator itself,’’ hesaid.

The PCC presidentclaimed that the hospitals arefacing acute shortage of beds,ventilators and life saving

machines and the black mar-keting is going on right underthe nose of the government.Holding the governmentresponsible for deaths in thestate due to Covid-19, he saidthe patients are losing theirlives due to lack of oxygen inhospitals.

The hospitals do not havemedical staff, things have goneout of control but the lack-adaisical attitude of govern-ment persists, he said.

The PCC president saidthat the number of new casesof Covid- 19 is increasingalarmingly and the death ratein the state is higher than thenational average. He said thatthe BJP government is trying tofind opportunity in disaster byincreasing the power tariff.

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The state of Uttarakhandwhich was witnessing a

steep surge in the cases ofCovid-19 experienced a blastin numbers on Thursday withthe state health departmentreporting 8,517 new cases ofthe disease. The state alsowitnessed 151 deaths fromthe disease on the day. Only onWednesday the state healthdepartment had reported7,783 patients and 127 deathswhich were the highest in aday ever since the contagionstarted in the state in Marchlast year.

The state now has 2,20,351cumulative cases of the diseaseand a total of 3,293 deathshave so far been reported.The death rate in the state is1.49 percent which is a causeof worry since it is higher thannational average. The author-ities discharged 4,548 patientsafter recovery from the hos-pitals on Thursday. The cumu-lative count of recovered

patients in the state has nowincreased to 1,49,489. Therecovery rate in the state hasdipped further to 67.84 per-cent while the sample positiv-ity rate is 5.57 percent.

Out of record 151 deathsreported on Thursday, 16deaths each were reportedfrom Government DoonMedical College (GDMC) hos-pital, All India Institute ofMedical Sciences (AIIMS)Rishikesh and Coronationhospital Dehradun. Similarly14 patients were reported deadat Himalayan hospitalDehradun, 12 at Kailash hos-pital Dehradun and 11 each atSushila Tiwari governmenthospital Haldwani and HNBBase hospital Srinagar onThursday.

The authorities reportednine deaths from Synergy hos-pital Dehradun, eight fromMilitary Hospital Dehradun,six from Prayas hospitalKhatima, Udham Singh Nagarand four from MahantIndiresh hospital Dehradun.Three patients each died atDistrict Hospital Champawat,Jeewan Anmol hospitalChampawat, Arogyadhamhospital Dehradun, Velmedhospital Dehradun, Arogyamhospital Haridwar and Basehospital Kotdwar on Thursday.The contagion has reachedalarming levels in the fourplain districts of Uttarakhand.

In Dehradun district 3,123new patients were reportedwhich is the highest ever dailynumber. Similarly the plaindistricts of Udham SinghNagar, Haridwar and Nainitalreported 1,130, 1,045 and 847new cases of the diseaserespectively on the day.

Pauri reported 413,Uttarkashi 389, Champawat276, Tehri 256, Almora 229,Pithoragarh 212, Rudraprayag140 and Bageshwar 109 casesof the disease.

The state now has 62,911active patients of the disease.Dehradun continues to be atthe top of the table of activecases of the disease with22,532 patients, Haridwar has10,869, Nainital 6,968, UdhamSingh Nagar 4,912, Pauri4,001, Tehri 2,701, Chamoli2051, Champawat 1,883,Almora 1,771, Uttarkashi1438, Pithoragarh 1435,Bageshwar 1,201 andRudraprayag 1,149 active casesof the disease. To contain thecontagion of Covid-19, thestate administration has set up342 containment zones in dif-ferent parts of the state.

In the ongoing vaccina-tion drive 55885 people werevaccinated in 493 sessions indifferent parts of the state. Atotal of 5,19,720 people have sofar been fully vaccinated in thestate while 17,18,638 havebeen partially vaccinated.

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Hearing on the public inter-est litigation seeking

parole for prison inmates in thestate considering the Covid-19surge, the Uttarakhand highcourt has directed the highpowered committee to hold ameeting on this issue withintwo weeks. The division benchheaded by the chief justice RSChauhan also directed that noinmate should be released onparole without first undergoinga Covid test. The court hassought a report in the matter byJune 6.

During the hearing of thepetition on Thursday, theinspector general of prisons,AP Anshuman was also presentvia video conferencing. It wasstated on behalf of the peti-tioner that last year, a high levelcommittee had been formed inthe state on the directions ofthe Supreme Court last yearregarding the release of jailinmates on parole.

On the recommendation ofthis committee, 699 inmateshad been released on parole lastyear. On Thursday the divisionbench of chief justice RSChauhan and justice AlokKumar Verma directed thehigh powered committee tohold a meeting within twoweeks and take a decision onthe release on those prisoninmates on parole who aresentenced to seven or less thanseven years.

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The Ministry of CivilAviation on Thursday

issued guidelines for Covid-19vaccination of all civil aviationpersonnel working inGovernment as well as privateentities.

According to the guide-lines, a priority during vacci-nation should be given to theair traffic controllers (ATCs),cockpit and cabin crews of theairlines as well as mission-critical and passenger-facingstaff. The Ministry has alsoadvised that the vaccination ofcivil service personnel shouldnot have any delay. TheMinistry’s guidelines came afterthe Air India pilots unionthreatened to stop work if theairline failed to set up vacci-nation camps for them on pri-ority.

“A dedicated vaccinationfacility will be established bythe airport operators in theirrespective airports to facilitateexpeditious vaccination of staff.Basic facilities for the person-nel visiting (help desk, drink-ing water, ventilation fans,washrooms, etc.) to bearranged following Covid safe-ty protocols. The cost per vac-cination dose can be decided bythe airport operator with theservice provider and it will bethe same for aviation person-nel,” the guidelines said.

The guidelines stated thatthe operator should immedi-ately contact the StateGovernments or private serviceproviders (hospitals), which arewilling to set up Covid-19 vac-

cination centres at the airports.There can be more than

one service provider at any air-port depending on a number ofpersonnel working in the avi-ation ecosystem," it stated. Thefocus of major airports couldbe on tying up with private ser-vice providers, it noted.

"For the smaller airports,where the numbers to get vac-cinated are less and privateplayers do not find it viable, theairport operators can approachthe district or local adminis-tration for extending the vac-cination programme," it added.

The guidelines further stat-ed that all agencies working inthe airports eco-system need tosponsor their personnel toavail the facilities as opera-tors/service providers wouldnot be dealing with individualcases. Further, online Paymentmechanism to the serviceprovider for vaccine dosesadministered for their respec-tive personnel has been advisedto be devised.

The facilities created by air-port operator would be avail-able for all aviation personnelin the first phase and can beextended to the family mem-bers subsequently, it men-tioned.

"All airport operators areadvised to designate a nodalofficer — and alternative nodalofficer may also be kept inreadiness — for coordinatingthe efforts," the guidelinesnoted.

"Chairman of AirportsAuthority of India (AAI) willhold regular meetings to reviewthe progress and coordinatewith the Civil AviationMinistry, and DirectorateGeneral of Civil Aviation(DGCA) will address issues orchallenges" it said. The AAIowns and manages more than100 airports across the country.

"This is the broad frame-work to facilitate expeditiousvaccination of the civil aviationcommunity in the country," theguidelines said.

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Days after asking theStates/UTs to prioritise

persons with disabilities(PwDs) in the ongoing vacci-nation drive, Union SocialWelfare Ministry has made itmandatory for them to issuedisability certificates online tothe sector which is confinedwithin the four walls of theirhomes due to Covid-19.

A gazette notification hasbeen issued in this regard bythe Union Ministry of Socialjustice and empowermentrecently.

"Mandatory for al lStates/UTs to grant certificateof disability through onlinemode only using the UDIDportal with effect from June 1.States/UTs have been advisedfor compliance," the ministry'sDepartment of Persons withDisabilities (DEPwD) tweeted.

The sector had beendemanding such a move, espe-cially during the Covid pan-demic where PwDs wereunable to get their certificatesdue to the prevalent restric-tions as well as health threatposed by the deadly virus.

According to the 2011Census, there were 2.68 crorePwDs, while till mid-Marchthis year just around 54.84lakhs e-Unique DisabilityIdentification (UDID) cardshave been generated in 710 outof 734 districts acrossStates/UTs. Thus, indicatingthe slow pace of the UDIDproject which is envisaged to

be the national database forthe PwDs, for issuance ofUDID Cards in order toenable the sector to avail var-ious concessions underschemes meant for their wel-fare.

The DEPwD plans tocover an additional 10 lakhpersons by December to reach65 lakhs.

Unhappy at the poor paceof the UDID, the ParliamentaryStanding Committee on SocialJustice and Empowerment inMarch recommended thatDEPwD must fix state-wiseannual targets for issuing theUDID cards.

In another decision, theMinistry has also asked theState/Union Territory to makesure “special provisions” weremade at testing, vaccinationand treatment centres for PwD.

The move followed allega-tions that persons with dis-abilities (PwD) were beingmade to wait for COVID-19testing, treatment and vacci-nation.

The Rights of Persons withDisabilities Act, 2016 man-dates that PwD are given pri-ority when it comes to medicalattention and treatment. TheDEPwD said it had received arepresentation from theNational Federation of theBlind, Delhi on April 22 “alleg-ing that PwDs including per-sons with visual impairmentshave to stand in long queues forthe purpose of testing, vacci-nation and treatment forCovid-19 induced ailments”.

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Days after the first consign-ment of 150,000 doses of

the Sputnik V vaccine landedin Hyderabad from Russia onMay 1, yet another lot of 1.5lakh doses of Sputnik V vaccinewill reach here in the next twodays while another 30 lakhdoses will be arriving inHyderabad with Dr ReddysLaboratories by the end of thismonth. However, no timelinehas been set when the Indianswill be able to avail the vac-cines.

Currently the Centre hasrolled out a nationwide vacci-nation drive using twoCOVID-19 vaccines —Covaxin of Bharat Biotech andCovishield of Oxford-AstraZeneca, manufactured bySerum Institute of India inPune.

In September 2020, Dr.Reddys and RDIF entered intoa partnership to conduct clin-ical trials of the SputnikV,developed by the GamaleyaNational Research Institute ofEpidemiology andMicrobiology and the rightsfor distribution of the first 100million doses in India.

Later it was enhanced to125 million. Dr Reddys hasalready received approval fromIndian drug regulator forrestricted emergency use ofSputnik V in India on April 12.

“New Delhi and Moscoware constantly in touch witheach other through the diplo-matic channels so that medicalsupport is available ondemand as much as possible,”an Indian diplomat reported-ly said.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi on Thursday

reviewed the Covid-19 situa-tion in the country and calledfor speeding up vaccinationdrive and expanding its pro-duction.

Modi noted that an advi-sory was sent to the States toidentify districts of concernwhere case positivity is 10% ormore and bed occupancy ismore than 60% on either oxy-gen supported or ICU beds.

Union Minister s RajnathSingh, Amit Shah, NirmalaSitharaman, Dr HarshVardhan, Piyush Goyal,Mansukh Mandaviya otherministers and top officialstook part in the meeting,according to a statement fromPrime Minister's Office(PMO)

The Prime Minister wasgiven "a detailed picture" onthe Covid outbreak in variousstates and districts. He wasinformed about the 12 stateswhich have more than 1 lakhactive cases and details on thedistricts with high diseaseburden.

Modi directed that statesshould be given help and guid-ance about leading indicatorsto ramp up healthcare infra-structure.

The need to ensure quick& holistic containment mea-

sures were also discussed, saidthe PMO statement.

Prime Minister alsoreviewed the availability ofmedicines. He was briefedabout the "rapid augmentingof production of medicinesincluding Remdesivir."

In the meeting PrimeMinister reviewed the progresson vaccination & the roadmapfor "scaling up production onvaccines in the next fewmonths."

He was informed thataround 17.7 crore vaccineshave been supplied to thestates. Modi also reviewed thestate wise trends on vaccinewastage.

According to the PMO ,the Prime Minister was briefedthat "around 31% of eligiblepopulation over the age of 45has been given atleast onedose".

He spoke about the needto sensitise states that thespeed of vaccination doesn’tcome down, said PMO.

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The N440K variant of coro-navirus, which was largely

responsible for the first wave ofthe pandemic in India is dimin-ishing and likely to disappearsoon, scientists at CSIR-Centrefor Cellular and MolecularBiology (CCMB) have said.

They shared this informa-tion to the public by posting atweet on Thursday.

They also said that theB.1.617 variant of the coron-avirus which is more infectiousis fast replacing the N440Kvariant in south India, thusindicating that the worse is inwaiting.

N440K strain, also knownas B.1.36, was detected inAndhra Pradesh, Karnataka,and Telangana last year.However, its impact has sud-denly dropped in March, andnow "the share among the pos-itives is very minimal", accord-ing to CCMB institute.

COVID Command Centrechief Dr KS Jawahar Reddy onThursday said, "Research datadoesn't establish that N440K isvariant of interest and is veryvirulent".

"On average around 250samples are being sent to Centre

for CCMB from the labs of thestate every month, wheregenome sequencing of southernStates — Andhra Pradesh,Telangana and Karnataka — arebeing carried out. The researchdata of CCMB far does notestablish that N440K is a vari-ant of interest and is very viru-lent," he said.

The CCMB also released anofficial statement in which itsaid, "Although N440K variantshown to be efficient in cell cul-ture system in the experimen-tal condition, it is also importantto remember that just becausea variant behaves a certain wayin cell cultures, it does notmean it will behave the sameway in humans, or a compli-cated pandemic scenario".

The Hyderabad-based insti-tute further cited World HealthOrganization's weekly epi-demiological reports and saidthat even the WHO mentionedB.1.617 as the "Variant ofInterest" and did not say any-thing about N440K.

"If this variant (N440K) is ofsuch public health concern, itshould have by now found aplace in WHO reports as well asICMR report," the CCMB saidin the statement.

However, currently, doc-tors have identified two strainsB.1.617 (double mutant strain)and B.1 in Andhra Pradesh,Karnataka, and Telangana,which are said to be 'very infec-tious' and 'easily spreading' inthe younger age groups.

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With its engagement grow-ing to fight the corona

pandemic, the Army has set upan exclusive Covid manage-ment cell to fine-tune responsein real-time to the civil admin-istration to provide aid.

Meanwhile, DefenceMinister Rajnath Singh onThursday underlined effortsmade by the armed forces, theDefence Research andD e v e l o p m e n tOrganisation(DRDO) and thedefence public sector under-takings(PSU)to meet the ongo-ing second wave of the pan-demic.

Giving details about thenew cell, army officials saidhere on Thursday while theforce has ensured own forcepreservation, medical care toveterans and their dependents,it has also deployed consider-able medical resources to assistcivil authorities especially at thefive COVID hospitals alreadyfunctional or in the process ofbeing established at Delhi,Ahmedabad, Lucknow,Varanasi and Patna.

In order to coordinate mul-tiple facets of staffing and

logistics support, an exclusiveCOVID Management Cellunder a Director General rankofficer has been establishedwhich reports directly to theVice Chief of Army Staff.

This will bring in greaterefficiency in coordinating realtime responses to addressexponential rise in COVIDcases across the country includ-ing Delhi where assistance tocivil administration in the formof testing, admissions in mili-tary hospitals and transporta-tion of critical medical equip-ment are already being pro-vided, they said.

In a blog post on his web-site, Rajnath said emergencyfinancial powers were grantedto the armed forces so thatcommanders can establish and

operate quarantine facilitiesand procure items that arerequired to fight against thepandemic.

Various defence organisa-tions such as the DRDO,Cantonment Boards, ArmedForces Medical Services(AFMS) have establishedCOVID hospitals and facilitiesin various cities includingDelhi, Lucknow, Bengaluruand Patna, he mentioned.

The AFMS has deployedadditional doctors, includingspecialists, super specialistsand paramedics, at varioushospitals, he said. "My ministryhas granted an extension toshort service commissioneddoctors of AFMS till December31, 2021, which has augment-ed the strength of AFMS by 238

more doctors," the ministersaid.

On the steps taken by theArmy, Rajnath said it has pro-vided 100 beds each toLucknow and Allahabad, set upa 40-bedded isolation facility atSagar in Madhya Pradesh andestablished a 50-bed isolationfacility at Namkum inJharkhand.

Army medical personshave been deployed atAhmedabad and Patna, andbattlefield-nursing assistantshave been provided to thePatiala administration for hos-pital management, the minis-ter noted.

He also talked about thelogistics support that is beingprovided by the IAF and theNavy in bringing requiredmedical supplies including oxy-gen cylinders from outsideIndia or in transporting thesesupplies from one place toanother within the country.

Indian naval ships includ-ing Kolkata, Kochi, Tabar,Trikand, Jalashwa and Airavathave been deployed for ship-ment of liquid medical oxygen-filled cryogenic containers andassociated medical equipmentfrom various countries in theMiddle East and South-EastAsia, he noted.

The DRDO has also initi-ated fabrication of 500 medicaloxygen plants with allocationreceived from PM Cares Fund,he said.

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In six days since the launch ofthe 18+vaccination drive

which was launched on May 1,a total 9,04,263 beneficiaries ofthe age group 18-44 years havebeen inoculated the first doseof Covid vaccine across 12States.

These are Chhattisgarh(1,026), Delhi (1,29,096),Gujarat (1,96,860), Jammu andKashmir (16,387), Haryana(1,23,484), Karnataka (5,328),Maharashtra (1,53,966),Odisha (21,031), Punjab(1,535), Rajasthan (1,80,242),Tamil Nadu (6,415) and UttarPradesh (68,893).

The Union HealthMinistry said that cumulative-ly, 16,25,13,339 vaccine doseshave been administeredthrough 29,34,844 sessions, asper the provisional report till 7am on Thursday.

These include 94,80,739healthworkers (HCWs) whohave taken the 1st dose and63,54,113 HCWs who havetaken the 2nd dose while1,36,57,922 frontline workers(FLWs) have taken the 1stdose,74,25,592 FLWs (2nddose).

At least 5,31,16,901 1stdose and 1,29,15,354 2nd dosebeneficiaries in the category ofmore than 60 years old and5,38,15,026 (1st dose) and48,43,429 (2nd dose) benefi-ciaries aged 45 to 60 years havebeen vaccinated so far.

In the meanwhile, theGovernment said thatMaharashtra, Uttar Pradeshand Delhi are among 10 statesthat account for 72.19 per centof the new Covid-19 casesreported in a day.

New coronavirus cases anddeaths in India hit a recorddaily high with 4,12,262 newinfections and 3,980 fatalitiesbeing reported, taking the totaltally of Covid-19 cases to2,10,77,410 and the death tollto 2,30,168.

The ministry said thatKarnataka,Kerala, Haryana,West Bengal, Tamil Nadu,Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthanare among the other states inthe list of 10.

Maharashtra has reportedthe highest daily new cases at57,640. It is followed byKarnataka with 50,112 whileKerala reported 41,953 newcases.Besides Maharashtra,Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka,Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Haryana,Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthanand Jhakhand account for75.55 per cent of the newdeaths.

India's cumulative recov-eries stand at 1,72,80,844 with3,29,113 recoveries being reg-istered in a day.

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Alarge study in Denmarkand Norway has found

slightly increased rates of veinblood clots, including in thebrain, among adults who hadreceived their first dose of theOxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, compared withexpected rates in the generalpopulation.

However, the study pub-lished in The BMJ onWednesday, stresses that therisk of such adverse events isconsidered low.

The researchers fromUniversity of SouthernDenmark, and NorwegianInstitute of Public Health, setout to compare rates of bloodclots and related conditionsafter vaccination with theOxford-AstraZeneca vaccinewith those in the general pop-ulations of the two countries.

The findings are based on280,000 people aged 18-65who received a first dose of theOxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, known as

Covishield in India, fromFebruary 2021 through to 11March 2021 in Denmark andNorway.

Using national health

records, they identified rates ofevents, such as heart attacks,strokes, deep vein blood clotsand bleeding events within 28days of receiving a first vaccinedose and compared these withexpected rates in the generalpopulations.

The researchers found 59blood clots in the veins com-pared with 30 expected, corre-sponding to 11 excess eventsper 100,000 vaccinations.

This included a higherthan expected rate of bloodclots in the veins of the brain,known as cerebral venousthrombosis (2.5 events per100,000 vaccinations), the said.

However, the team foundno increase in the rate of arte-rial clots, such as heart attacksor strokes.

For most remaining out-comes, results were largelyreassuring, with slightly high-er rates of less severe eventssuch as thrombocytopenia acondition related to low bloodplatelet levels — clotting dis-orders and bleeding.

The researchers said theseevents could be influenced byincreased surveillance of vac-cine recipients.

This is an observationalstudy, so cannot establish

cause, only correlation, theresearchers said.

They also point to somelimitations, such as a lack ofdata on underlying risk factorsfor clotting and the possibili-ty that their results may notapply to other ethnicities.

However, strengths includethe large population basedapproach, using reliablenational registry data and nearcomplete follow-up of partic-ipants.

"The absolute risks ofvenous thromboembolicevents described in this studyare small, and the findingsshould be interpreted in the

context of the benefits ofCOVID-19 vaccination at boththe societal and the individuallevel," the researchers said.

BMJ editors Rafael Pereraand John Fletcher noted thatCOVID-19 is itself associatedwith cerebral venous throm-bosis, adding that vaccinationremains overwhelmingly thesafest option.

"The choice we nearly allface is between eventual SARSCoV-2 infection or vaccina-tion. The Astra-Zeneca vaccineis clearly a good choice, despitethe likely risks reported inthis study," the editors wrote.

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The current surge in coro-navirus cases may go

down by the middle to theend of May, noted vaccinolo-gist Gagandeep Kang has said.

She said there could beone or two more peaks ofcoronavirus cases but theymay not be as bad as the cur-rent one.

Right now it's doing a"world through" in areas it didnot do last year, in the mid-dle class population, in therural areas and there is goingto be "very little fuel" for thevirus to continue to gothrough, she said.

Allaying fears about vac-cines, she said they are effi-cacious and emphasised theneed to ramp the inoculationdrive.

She also expressed con-cern over the declining num-ber of coronavirus tests. Theproportion of cases is actual-ly much larger than the testsreveal but in absolute num-bers in "what we track andcount", Kang said.

"Best case estimates from

a number of models are some-where between the middleand the end of the month.Some models have it goinginto early June but based onwhat we are seeing, right nowmiddle to end of May is a rea-sonable estimate," she said inresponse to a question in awebinar organised by theIndian Women Press Corps.

On forecasting waves ofvirus, she said one can defi-nitely use the characteristicsof the strain, characteristics ofa pandemic in a particularplace to predict what is goingto happen in that location ifthe data is available at thatlevel for mathematical mod-elling.

She said there are fewinfectious disease modellersin the country.

"And all the ones thatexist will tell you that theirmodels are as good as the datathey have and the models areaccurate up to two weeks. Youcannot expect a prediction forthree months or six months ortwo years from now as yet. Wedon't know enough about thevirus.

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The Ministry of Agricultureand Farmers Welfare has

formulated a special strategyfor the ensuing Kharif 2021season and has proposed to dis-tribute 20,27,318, almost 10times more, seed mini kitsthan the 2020-21 season cost-ing Rs 82.01 crores. The totalcost for these mini-kits will beborne by the CentralGovernment to boost the pro-duction and productivity ofTur, Moong and Urad. The fol-lowing mini-kits will be dis-tributed: 13,51,710 mini kits ofarhar containing certified seedsof HYVs of arhar released dur-ing the last ten years and pro-ductivity not less than 15qtl/ha- for inter-cropping.

4,73,295 mini kits ofmoong containing certifiedseeds of HYVs of moongreleased during the last tenyears but productivity not lessthan 10 qtl/ha for inter-crop-ping.

93,805 mini kits of uradcontaining certified seeds ofHYVs of urad released duringthe last ten years but produc-tivity not less than 10 qtl/ha forinter-cropping.

1,08,508 mini kits of uradcontaining certified seeds ofurad HYVs of urad released

during the last 15 years andproductivity not less than 10qtl/ha for Sole Crop.

The above mini-kits usedfor inter-cropping and uradSole Crop will cover an area of4.05 lakh hectare in the Kharifseason 2021 to be funded bythe Central Government. Inaddition to this, the usualprogramme of inter-croppingand area expansion by thestates will continue on a shar-ing basis between the Centreand the States.

Through consultationswith the State Governments, adetailed plan for both areaexpansion and productivityenhancement for Tur, Moongand Urad has been formulat-ed.

Under the strategy, utilis-ing all the high yielding vari-eties (HYVs) of seeds that areavailable either with theCentral Seed Agencies or in theStates will be distributed freeof cost to increase area throughinter-cropping and Sole Crop.

Tur inter-cropping will becovered in 11 states and 187districts.

The states are AndhraPradesh, Chhattisgarh,Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka,Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra,Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu,Telangana and Uttar Pradesh.

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After ten years in the Oppositionbenches, the DMK will take over the

State administration and return to FortSaint George (the headquarters of TamilNadu Government) on Friday morning.

Party president M K Stalin (68)would be sworn in as Chief Minister ofTamil Nadu on Friday at 9 am in a sim-ple function to be held at Raj Bhavan.Governor Banwarilal Purohit will admin-ister oath of office and secrecy to 33MLAs as members of the council ofMinisters to be formed by Stalin.

The names of MLAs to be sworn inMinisters include Durai Murugan (83),who will be the minister for waterresources, a portfolio in which he hasexcelled during his previous tenure in theKarunanidhi ministry. As per the listreleased by Raj Bhavan, Durai Muruganwoud be the second-in-command to theChief Minister.

Those who are joining Stalin in thecouncil of ministers include veterans KN Nehru, I Periyasamy, K Ponmudi, EVelu, M R K Panneerselvam, KKSSR

Ramachandran, Thangam Thennarassu,S Reghupathy, S Muthusamy, K RPeriyakaruppan, T M Anbarasan, M PSaminathan, Geetha Jeevan, “Anitha” RRadhakrishnan, S R Rajakannappan, KRamachandran, R Sakkarapani, VSenthilbalaji, R Gandhi, M Subramanian,P Moorthy, S S Sivasankar, P K SekarBabu, Palanivel Thiagarajan, S M Nassar,Gingee K S Masthan, Anbil MaheshPoyyamozhi, Siva Meyyanathan, C VGanesan, Mano Thangaraj, MMathiventhan and Kayalvizhi Selvaraj.

Palanivel Thiagarajan is the newfinance minister while senthi Balaji, whocrossed over to the DMK from AIADMKvia the AMMK has been allocated theportfolios of electricity, prohibition andexcise.

Fort Saint George has been given afresh coating of paint to welcome the newchief minister and his colleagues. TheInformation and Public RelationsDepartment has removed all pictures oflate Chief Ministers M G Ramachandran,J Jayalalithaa and former Chief MinisterEdappadi Palaniswamy from all offices inthe Secretariat.

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The Kerala Government has declared anine-day complete lock down of the

State with effect from Saturday. This hasbeen necessitated because of the failure ofthe State administration to bring in anychange in the ever growing number ofCovid-19 patients on a daily basis. Thoughthe complete lock down begins only onSaturday, the entire State wears the look ofa deserted place with most of the popula-tion staying indoors.

According to the Department ofHealth, Kerala diagnosed 42,464 newCovid-19 patients in the 12 hours ending6 pm on Thursday. The death toll tooincreased in the last 24 hours as 68 personssuccumbed to the pandemic. The TestPositivity Rate reached 27.28 per cent byThursday evening.

The lock down rules have been madestringent this time as no private vehicleswould be allowed anywhere in the Stateunless it is for medical emergency. TheGovernment order says the police havebeen empowered to seize any private vehi-cles that come out to the roads during thelock down period.

The KSRTC buses owned by the KeralaGovernment would deploy sufficient buseson Friday to help travelers reach their des-tinations.

The next nine days would see all pub-lic vehicles staying off the roads.

Shops selling emergency materials likemilk and vegetables would be opened fora few hours daily while the general publichave been asked to make use of home-deliv-ery facilities.

The Kerala Government MedicalOfficers Association welcomed the moveto declare total lock down for nine days.“We are hopeful that the decision wouldhelp in curbing the increase in the trans-mission of the pandemic.

Yes, we have been requesting theauthorities to declare total lock down forquite sometime,” Dr T N Suresh, generalsecretary, KGMOA, told The Pioneer.

He said the Government was takingmeasures to appoint more doctors and paramedical staff as there was severe shortageof doctors and medical professionals in theGovernment Hospitals. Southern Railwayhas cancelled 15 long distance trains ply-ing through the State because of the lockdown.

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Jammu: A joint team of securityforces on Thursday neutralised threelocal terrorists of Al-Badr terroroutfit while one of them surrenderedbefore the security forces in Kanigamarea of Shopian.

In Jammu, a Pakistani intruderwas shot dead by the BSF jawans ashe had managed to sneak at least 100metre inside the Indian territory inthe Samba sector.

Initially, BSF jawans deployedalong the International border chal-lenged him but when he kept mov-ing he was neutralised in the weehours of Thursday.

In a brief statement, PRO BSFJammu frontier said, "a Pakistaniintruder was shot dead in the Sambasector. A paltry sum of Rs 150 wasrecovered from his possession".InSrinagar, a police spokesman said, thejoint team of security forces had

launched a joint cordon and searchoperation in the Kanigam area ofShopian after receiving the infor-mation about the presence of groupof terrorists in the area.

Police spokesman said, "duringthe search operation as the presenceof terrorists got ascertained theywere given an opportunity to sur-render. Family members of thetrapped terrorists were also called tothe encounter site to motivate andpersuade them to surrender.

Following repeated appeals oneof the trapped terrorists TausifAhmad stepped out of the hideoutand laid down his arms before thejoint security forces.

"The surrendered terrorist lateralso appealed to his trapped com-panions to surrender, however, theyturned down the surrender offer andfired indiscriminately on a joint

search party which was retaliatedleading to an encounter", policespokesman added.

In the ensuing encounter, threeterrorists were killed and their bod-ies were retrieved from the site ofencounter. They have been identifiedas Danish Mir, Mohd Umer Bhatboth residents of Khajapora Shopianand Zaid Bashir Reshi resident ofRaben Shopian. As per police records,they were affiliated with proscribedterror outfit Al-Badr.

IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar con-gratulated the joint team of police andsecurity forces for showing utmostpatience and exhibiting profession-alism, which resulted in saving the lifeof a misguided youth. IGP Kashmiralso made a fervent appeal to all mis-guided youth who have joined terrorranks to shun the path of violenceand return to mainstream. PNS

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Union Minister V Muraleedharan too gottrapped in the post-poll violence on

Thursday even as reports of clashes con-tinued to come in from various parts of theState. The Minister’s convoy was attacked atthe Panchkhuri village in Midnapore Sadararea when he went there to inquire into thereports of some BJP workers being attackedby alleged TMC men, sources said.

The Minister’s convoy was chased awayby the locals who attacked with sticks.Another senior saffron leader and formerState party president Rahul Sinha too wasattacked, sources said.

Seven hundred kms away at Dinhata inCooch Behar district former TMC MLAand senior leader Udayan Guha wasattacked by alleged BJP men who smashedhis vehicle, gave him a fractured hand andhead injuries, Chief Minister MamataBanerjee said.

“Udayan has been seriously injured” shesaid. Guha’s personal security officer too wasattacked and he received stitches on his head,police said. The former MLA who lost bya few votes had been hospitalized.

Back in Kolkata the Union Ministersaid, “They stoned my vehicle,” adding “this

cannot be politics but simple goondaism”he said adding any build-up should diedown after the elections but “here it is con-tinuing with vengeance … so much so thateven a protected person like a central min-ister is not spared … then what must be hap-pening to the common partyworkers.”

He said he would submit a report to theappropriate authorities while State BJPvice president JP Majumdar wondered“whether we are in Bengal and whether weare in India and whether we are Indian cit-izens … a Central Minister was driving pasta public road … is he not entitled to do soas a citizen of this country? Should he bestoned like the way they did in Kashmir …there they pelted stones and here they arethrowing brickbats … is there a difference… if President’s Rule can be imposed therein Kashmir for stone-pelting why cannot thesame be done here.”

Later a 10-member team of BJP lead-ers led by State party president Dilip Ghoshon Thursday met the central team. “We havegiven our side of the story on how our lead-ers, candidates and workers are beingattacked and killed every day… thousandsof them are homeless and living in camps,”Ghosh alleged.

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The Union Territory ofJammu & Kashmir on

Thursday came closer torecording around 5,000 freshcases of coronavirus while 52patients succumbed to thevirus across different covidhospitals in the last 24 hours.

With 4,926 fresh cases ofcoronavirus the total activepositive load stood at 41,666cases. Out of 52 deaths, 34 werereported from Jammu divi-sion and 18 from Kashmirdivision. So far 2562 patientshave died due to Covid19.1068 patients succumbed to thedeadly virus across Jammuregion and 1494 acrossKashmir division. According to

the media bulletin, out of41666 active positive cases,Kashmir region accounted for65 percent active positive caseswhile Jammu division account-ed for 35 percent cases. Out of20 districts, Jammu andSrinagar districts aloneaccounted for 17 % and 25%active positive cases.

Meanwhile, chaos pre-vailed outside Chest Diseasehospital in Jammu during thefirst half of the day as severalpatients in need of hospitalbeds with oxygen support weredirected to return home due tonon-availability of beds.

As media teams arrived inthe hospital premises severalcare takers of the seriously illpatients claimed they had been

waiting for admission but thesame was not happening in theabsence of beds.

Around one dozen patientsalong with oxygen cylinderswere seen sitting in differentcorners of the hospital premis-es/garden waiting for theirturn to get admission.

To set the record straight,Incharge Triage Facility andMedical Superintendent, ChestDisease & TB Hospital Jammu,Dr Rajeshwar Sharma claimedthat health infrastructure inJammu has sufficient resourcesin place to treat all Covid-19patients.

He further urged the pub-lic not to give in to panic andrumours. Dr Rajeshwarinformed that 366 Covid-19

patients are under treatment inGMC Jammu, out of which 35have been admitted in the last24 hours.

“Out of 94 under treatmentCovid patients in Chest Disease& TB Hospital, 14 have beenadmitted since yesterday.Similarly, the Super SpecialtyHospital and Maternal & ChildHealth Hospital are treating 33and 83 Covid patients respec-tively, out of which 14 havebeen admitted in the last 24hours. (4+10)” Dr RajeshwarSharma added.

Giving the details of recov-eries, Dr Rajeshwar Sharmasaid that in the last 24 hours, 22Covid-19 patients have beendischarged from GMC Jammu,3 from Chest Disease & TB

Hospital, 2 from SuperSpeciality Hospital Jammu and8 from Maternal & ChildHealth Hospital Jammu.

Regarding treatment pro-tocol, he said at present 359Covid-19 patients are on oxy-gen support in GMC Jammu, 2patients in Chest Disease & TBHospital and one in SuperSpecialty Hospital.

With regards to beds, hesaid 366 out of 410 beds areoccupied in GMC Jammu; 94out of 110 beds are occupied inChest Disease & TB Hospitaland 83 out of 172 beds areoccupied in Maternal & ChildHealth Hospital Jammu. TheSuper Specialty Hospital isoccupied to its full capacity. (33beds), he said.

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In a relief to senior IPS officerRashmi Shukla, the Mumbai

police told the Bombay HighCourt on Thursday that theywould not arrest her for thetime being, if she co-operateswith them in the investigationsinto the much-discussed phonetapping case.

During the hearing on apetition filed by Shukla seekinga direction to the Mumbaipolice not to not take any“coercive action” against her forallegedly leaking certain confi-dential documents, seniorcounsel Darius Khambata –appearing for the state -- told atwo-member HC bench com-prising Justices Manish Pitaleand S S Shinde that the Mumbaipolice would not arrest her tillthe next date of hearing.

Khambata told the highcourt that if Shukla -- who iscurrently Additional DirectorGeneral (ADG) of the CentralReserve Police Force (CRPF)based in Hyderabad – could notto Mumbai, the Mumbai policewould send a team of policeofficers to record her statementunder Section 160 Code ofCriminal Procedure.

On his part, seniorAdvocate Mahesh Jethmalani,representing Shukla, told thecourt that a statement of 'no-arrest' may be made and thatShukla was willing to co-oper-ate with the investigation.

After the State agreed not toarrest Shukla till the next date,the HC bench observed:

“Respondent 1 ( state) and thepetitioner shall strictly abide bythe statements made by themthrough their senior advocatesand can proceed further.”

In a related development,Additional Solicitor GeneralAnil Singh appearing for theCBI submitted that the obser-vations made in the regard toShulka’s petition “may not beconstrued as impediment to it”to proceed further in the larg-er investigation being con-ducted by it in the FIR regis-tered against former HomeMinister Anil Deshmukh oncorruption charges.

The HC bench clarifiedthat the order statements andthe observations made in theorder passed on Shukla’s peti-tion were only limited to thepresent case and “may not beconstrued as impediment to it”into the FIR registered in thecorruption case on April 2.

In a criminal write petitionfiled through her advocateSameer Nangre, Shukla hadon Monday sought a directionto the police to not take any“coercive action” against her.She also sought an urgent head-ing in the case, as she wasapprehending her arrest in thecase.

“My client is one of thesenior most officers of 1988cadre in police service for morethan 30 years....The approach ofthe respondent state is to arm-twist the petitioner by bogusand frivolous case,” Shukla’scounsel had said in the petition.

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Puducherry: AINRC Chief N Rangasamywill be sworn in as Chief Minister of UnionTerritory of Puducherry at a brief ceremo-ny here on Friday. Lt Governor TamilisaiSoundararajan would induct Rangasamy asChief Minister at a brief session on theprecincts of Rajnivas here. Official sourcessaid Rangasamy alone would be inducted asChief Minister tomorrow although he wouldbe heading an NDA dispensation which hasthe BJP as the other constituent.

According to party sources, the swear-ing in of other ministers, including thosefrom BJP willtake place in the next few days.Usually, the strength of a ministry inPuducherry would be six including ChiefMinister.

There is however a reported move tohave one Deputy Chief Minister now

although there is no precedent in thisregard.

A Namassivayam, who joined the BJP inJanuary after quitting the Congress is tippedfor the post of Deputy Chief Minister.

The concurrence of the Centre isawaited for the appointment of Deputy ChiefMinister, BJP sources said.

The AINRC bagged 10 seats out of the16 it contested in the April 6 polls while theBJP garnered six out of the nine seats it con-tested.

The total strength of the Assembly is 30and sixteen is the magic number for for-mation of a ministry.

The AINRC and BJP has a combinedstrength of 16. There are six independentselected to the House and they are by andlarge supporters of Rangasamy. PTI

Jaipur: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot hasgiven approval for the opening of 48 new courts inthe State and the creation of 550 posts of various cadresfor them.

In accordance with the budget announcements,Gehlot has given approval to open commercial courtsin Bikaner, Alwar, Bhilwara and Jodhpur, courts ofadditional district judge in Jalore, Sirohi, Wair,Dungargarh, Nainwan, Sardarshahar, Nasirabad,Kathumar, Sadulshahar, Begun, Anupgarh, Neem KaThana and Gangapur City.

He also gave approval for the opening of variousother courts in other districts.

The Chief Minister has also sanctioned 550 postsof presiding officer, stenographer, reader, clerk,class-4 employee etc. For these courts.

"With this decision of the chief minister, peoplewill be able to get justice at the local level itself andcases pending in the courts will be cleared," accord-ing to a release. PTI

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The Bombay High Court onThursday adjourned the

hearing for four weeks on apetition filed by Maharashtra’sformer Home Minister AnilDeshmukh seeking the quash-ing of “false” FIR filed againsthim by the CBI under thePrevention of Corruption Act,after the central investigatingagency told the court that itneeded time to file its reply.

In a petition filed beforethe high court on Wednesday,Deshmukh had urged the courtto quash the “false” FIR filedagainst him on the groundthat the CBI ----while regis-tering the case against him ---had followed a “biased anddubious” way and that tooafter a “legal non-existent

enquiry with an ulterior motiveat the behest of those havingpolitical or other vendettas’’against him.

Deshmukh had also toldthe high court that the CBI hadbased its FIR on “vague alle-gations” and that there was nocase of allegations of ‘illegalgratification’’ under section 7 ofPCA or criminal conspiracy under section 120-B of the IPC.

In his petition, he had alsotold the court that the CBI hadnot taken the Maharashtragovernment’s consent to regis-ter the FIR against him whichhe said was necessary since hewas a minister when the allegedoffence took place.

Deshmukh had told thecourt that the reason behind fil-ing an FIR against him was to

have him “arrested with anulterior motive”.

On Thursday when seniorcounsel Amit Desai appearingfor Deshmukh began to makesubmissions before the court,Additional Solicitor GeneralAnil Singh, representing theCBI – told the court that sincethe petition copy was served tohim on Wednesday evening, heneeded four weeks’ time to filea reply to the former minister’spetition seeking quashing ofthe FIR against the latter.

The petitioner’s counselopposed the four weeks’ timesought by the CBI saying that“there is urgency in the matter”.

However, the court allowedthe CBI’s request and gavefour weeks’ time to the inves-tigating agency to filed its replyon Deshmukh’s petition.

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Panaji: The Entertainment Society ofGoa(ESG) on Thursday cancelled all per-missions granted for film and televisionserial shootings in the state in the wakeof the raging Covid-19 pandemic.

ESG is the Goa government's nodalagency which is empowered to give per-mission for commercial shootings in thecoastal state.

Several film and TV serial makersfrom Mumbai and Chennai recentlyshifted their shootings to Goa in the wakeof the surge in COVID-19 cases in theirrespective places, ESG's Vice ChairmanSubhash Faldesai told PTI. PTI

Panaji: The Goa Governmenton Thursday brought Covid-19treatment under its flagshipmedical insurance scheme,which covers the entire popu-lation of the state.

The move will allowpatients to avail benefits underthe Deen Dayal Swasthya SevaYojana (DDSSY) while under-going treatment for Covid-19 inprivate hospitals, according toa notification issued byAdditional Secretary (Health)Vikas Gaunekar. Treatment forCovid-19 in government hos-pitals is free in the state.

Patients can avail benefitsfor a maximum 10 days fromthe date of admission and theywill be applicable only toDDSSY-empanelled hospitalswith ICU facility, said the order.

The notification said allcharges, including admission,those related to medical con-sultancy, nursing, beds, diet,PPE kits, X-Ray, ECG and car-diac monitor, among others,will be covered under thescheme's package.

The government-sponsoredscheme, with nominal premi-um, allows residents of Goa toreceive healthcare services fromgovernment and listed privatehospitals for surgical, medicaland hospitalisation expenses.

It offers health insurancecoverage between �2.5 lakhand �4 lakh, depending on thenumber of family members, andprovides benefits on a cashlessbasis. PTI

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With absolutely no improve-ment in the Covid-19 sit-

uation, Maharashtra onThursday recorded 853 deathsand 62,194 infections, even as63,842 patients were dischargedfrom various hospitals across thestate.

A day after the state record-ed 920 deaths and 57,640 infec-tions, the daily deaths droppedto 853, while the daily infectionswent up to 62,194.

With 853 new deaths, thetotal number of deaths in thestate climbed from 72,662 to73,715. Similarly, with 62,194new infections, the total numberof cases rose from 48,80,542 to49,42,736.

As 63,842 patients were dis-charged 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 42,27,940.The recovery rate in the state forthe first time in several days rosefrom 85.32 per cent to 85.54 percent. The total “active cases” inthe state dropped from 6,41,569cases to 6,39,075. The fatalityrate in the state stood static at1.49 per cent.

With 69 fresh deaths, theCovid-19 toll in Mumbaiincreased from 13,511 to 13,580,while the infected cases went upby 3028 to trigger a jump in theinfections from 6,65,057 to6,68,085.

Mumbai:The BrihanmumbaiMunicipal Corporation (BMC)on Thursday made it manda-tory for Mumbaikars desirousof getting vaccinated to regis-ter themselves on CowinPortal and book appointmentslot for vaccination at the cen-tre of their choice.

In his order, MumbaiMunicipal Commissioner I SChahal stated: “... all citizenswho wish to get vaccinatedagainst COVID-19 shall inadvance register themselveson the Cowin portaland alsobook the appointment slot atthe CVC of their choice on thesame portal before proceedingto the Vaccination Centre”.

However, the BMC madeexceptions to its “Cowin reg-

istration must” rule in thecases where the citizens areabove 45 years of age who aredue for the second dose ofCOVAXIN only (subject toproduction of the provisionalcertificate of 15t dose in eithersoft or hard copy), health careand frontline workers due forsecond dose of COVAXIN orCOVISHIELD and health careand front line workers due forfirst dose having authenticcertification by his employer.

The BMC started the vac-cination program againstCovid-19 from January 16,2021. Currently, it is carryingout the vaccination program isimplementing through 147Covid Vaccination Centres(CVCs).

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word comes to mind.Incredible; a word popu-larised by the Indian Tourismslogan, “Incredible India”.Even now, being caught in thepolitical crossfire of the ScottMorrison Government’s deci-sion to temporarily ban thetravel to Australia, nothinghas changed my mind aboutthis ancient civilisation.

As of now, this heavingmass of humanity reels in thewake of the pandemic; thenew normal replacing variousreligious festivals, exotic wed-ding celebrations, bustlingstreets jampacked with streetvendors and livestock, allsadly — like the MorrisonGovernment’s travel policy —temporarily put on hold.

Looking out the windowof my room overlookingBengaluru, a truss has beenestablished; as if a siesta hasbeen called in respect to healthauthorities’ call to action forour new global anthem:“Isolate, stay home, sanitiseyour hands, wear your mask,social distance.” A race busi-ly running in the background,in many cases for life itself, asnational resources like oxygenand critical medical suppliesare being re-routed from man-ufacturing plants to hospitalsand care facilities. The simple

truth: The demand for basicmedical facilities is making thesupply look more like one ofUsain Bolt’s competitors.

In short, hectic has beenreplaced with nervous. Onecan truly sense the fear andanxiety as India faces offagainst the challenges of thishorrific pandemic. Beggingthe question, why is an Aussieex-cricketer away from hisbeloved country and family atsuch a critical, even danger-ous, time? On the surface isthe commercial value for myfamily, having played andworked on every IPL since itsconception in 2008.

It’s true, my remunerationis significant and, yes, it paysmy family’s bills. More broad-ly, however, I have a deep con-nection to Mother Indiawhich docks into my life’s mis-sion: To connect people andorganisations on purpose andstrategy. My purpose in sup-porting the IPL this seasonwas to provide a welcomerelief to the monotony ofextended periods of partial orhard lockdown. Every eveningfrom 6.30 pm, cricket lovers,and let me tell you there are afew, went online or turned onthe television to watch theirfavourite franchise battle.

As a genuine lover of the

game since I was four yearsold, my voice, full of excite-ment, helps narrate our greatgame by bringing an authen-tic positive view to the crick-et community. Cricket, as sooften throughout history, hasbeen and is the silver liningto our COVID cloud. Thecricketers, especially in theIPL, have understandablybeen soft targets of the mediaand, because of their contrac-tual obligations, cannotdefend themselves.

It makes all the moreimportant for people such asme, who have once been in asimilar situation but can nowfrom the outside not onlyshare a “player’s perspective”but also speak up for them.India is a rich civilisationwhich has very few parallelsin the world and, in its hourof need, the least we can dois to appreciate its cultural,regional, linguistic, humandevelopment and other com-plexities before passing anyjudgement on it.

(The writer is a formerAustralian cricketer; BoardMember, Australia IndiaCouncil (DFAT) and theGoodwill Ambassador forIndia, Institute for AustraliaIndia Engagement. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

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India is in the middle of thepandemic second wave’sbattering, as never seenbefore. As it battles the

alarming spread of the virus, theworld media has spared notime in lambasting a country ofa whopping 1.4 billion wherethe sheer numbers make theimplementation and success ofany public scheme a challenge.

I have been visiting India forover a decade now and havetravelled all over the country,especially Tamil Nadu which Iconsider my “spiritual home”. Ihave always had the highestrespect for the leaders and pub-lic officials who are entrustedwith the task of running such adiverse and vast country.

Wherever I went, the peo-ple greeted me with love andaffection, for which I remain intheir debt. I can proudly claimthat I have seen India up closeover the years and that is whymy heart bleeds to see it not onlyin agony at the moment, but alsofor the bad press that has beenhurled at it by those who I amnot sure spend any time here tounderstand India, its peopleand their myriad challenges.

As a cricketer and lover ofthe game, I have maintained myassociation with the sport whichhas allowed me to come to Indiato cover the Indian PremierLeague (IPL). Many of my fel-low countrymen have also beenplaying in the IPL for years. Inthis context, at a time when theworld has been shutting doorson India and lambasting theGovernment, I thought of shar-ing my thoughts while in India,to give a perspective not avail-able to those sitting thousandsof miles away.

I am not a data person, butsome of the figures I gatheredfrom some of the media reportsare astonishing. India has alreadyvaccinated over 160 million peo-ple (five times the population ofAustralia) and has been conduct-ing 1.3 million tests a day. Thepoint I am making is not to over-look the sheer vast numbers andthe challenges associated with it.

When one conjures upthoughts of India, a singular

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SOUNDBITE����������� ����� ����������� Sir — In the West Bengal Assembly elec-tion, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s, suppos-edly invincible election juggernaut was van-quished in the long-drawn fight. The saf-fron army was led by none other than PrimeMinister Narendra Modi. The reasons forthe BJP’s defeat are not difficult to analyse.After the Parliament election, the BJPstarted believing that it could wrest powerfrom the TMC through coalescence of socialengineering, religious polarisation, advoca-cy of nationalisation, noisy campaigns,psychological warfare and inflaming theanti-incumbency against Mamata Banerjee.

In the run-up to the voting, theydemonised the Muslims, promised to ban-ish the Muslim infiltrators, offered citizen-ship to the numerically strong migrantMatuas-the scheduled caste Vaishnava sect,rent the air everywhere with religious chantsand had been deeply disrespectful towardsMamata Banerjee all through. Perhaps, thatwas the genesis of the slogan — “Bangla NijerMeyekei Chaay” — which literally means“Bengal wants none but its own daughter”– which transformed the election into a bat-tle between ‘son of the soil versus the out-sider’. This is the third consecutive victoryfor Trinamool in the Bengal Assemblyelection. Since 2011, it has been leading inall elections in the State, whether Assemblyor parliamentary. There is no gainsaying thefact the saffron outfits proved to be out ofsync with the culture of Bengal.

Haridasan Rajan | Kozhikode

�� ������������� Sir — Bill and Melinda Gates have filed fordivorce to end their 27 years of marriage.Divorce is sad and stressful for most peo-ple who go through it. They are hyper-wealthy, but that doesn’t make them lesshuman. One hopes they are able to walk thedifficult path forward as amicably and gen-tly as possible. Bill has said that they bothwill continue their work together at theFoundation.

The Gates Foundation has spent morethan $50 billion, mostly on essential glob-al health and development initiatives.

Vaccinations, education and campaignsagainst HIV/AIDS and malaria have longbeen on the Foundation’s agenda, but overthe years, Melinda’s voice was heard push-ing for an increased focus on family plan-ning efforts envisaging that family planningmakes families healthier, wealthier and hap-pier. And as they— Bill and Melinda — aretransiting into the next phase of their lives,we should respect their wish for personalprivacy. Only time would tell where lies thefuture of their highly influential Foundationin times to come.

N Sadhasiva Reddy | Bengaluru

�������������� ���Sir — It refers to the editorial ‘Wide of themark’ (May 6). It’s shameful that our scien-tists are unable to accurately predict theCOVID-19 pandemic — the number ofcases, when it will reach its peak, when it

will subside, making the curve flat etc. If oneor two scientists or institutes are of the markthen it can be understood but if all are giv-ing predictions which are far from real thenit does raise serious doubts on the researchwork going on in our institutions.

We are going through one of the worstcrises and we need to have accurate data toplan accordingly. It seems that our scientistsare firing arrows in the dark just based onfaulty hypotheses. Since there is no dearthof technological tools available with our sci-entists, we expect them to give us as accu-rate data as possible. Indeed our scientistsneed them to facilitate our Government asvaccinating all 18 plus citizens will takemonths if not years and is no mean task.

Bal Govind | Noida

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As the India oxygen story leaves the worldwondering and different versions of the pre-paredness of the nation make headlines glob-

ally, it’s time we start looking at the crisis from a dif-ferent angle. That the Government should have beenbetter prepared and that they should have seen thiscoming, has already been said a million times. Thatwe celebrated too early and should have been morecareful, is widely acknowledged. While the blamegame will continue, it’s time to rethink our priori-ties. There is no disputing the fact that we were notprepared for the second wave and it just blew awaythe entire Government machinery. It exposed thefact that our disaster management services werefaulty and their plans were not methodical. TheCentre-State debates and the blame game took itsown toll. It was, however, marvelous to see how var-ious social groups and individuals rose to the occa-sion and took steps to help out in any way they could.

Anthony Fauci, the Chief Medical Advisor tothe Joe Biden Administration, in an interview rec-ommended steps to be taken on an immediate, inter-mediate and long-term basis to overcome this cri-sis. The immediate steps suggested by him were:Make an emergency group that will visit the situ-ation every day and suggest measures; focus on theimmediate need for oxygen, beds and medicinesrather than the long-term strategy of vaccinationthough it should keep going on simultaneously asa long-term strategy; rope in the Army to help withthe situation; shut down the entire country for a fewweeks. While these suggestions are relevant and havebeen known to work for both China and the US,we must realise that whenever the lockdown isopened, we will plunge back into the crisis. This isbecause, the mutability of the virus is unpredictableand we are dealing with a political class and pop-ulation that doesn’t understand the importance ofCOVID-appropriate behaviour and the severity ofthe situation.

To keep the economy from crashing; to save thelives of the people; to take all measures to keep themhealthy and to keep the stoves burning in theirhomes so that they can feed their families is tough.Even as we choose strategies to fight one variant,the next one will be ready to play hide and seek withus. What options are we left with, then?

India’s National List of Essential Medicines, asalso the World Health Organisation’s (WHO’s)model list of essential medicines, lists oxygen as one.As AIIMS Director, Randeep Guleria puts it,“Many of the patients can be saved by giving justone treatment, that is by giving oxygen.” Therefore,a strategy of having more oxygen beds makes a lotof sense. However, there is no official data on theoverall requirement of oxygen of the country. Hence,preparedness has suffered and the future demandof oxygen cannot be predicted. Piped oxygen in hos-pitals is much safer and cheap in comparison to oxy-gen cylinders which are unsafe, logistically challeng-ing and expensive. The purity of oxygen and whetherit is medical grade or not, is equally challenging.

Procuring oxygen concentrators from abroadis also being actively pursued to artificially produceoxygen, which is then transported to medical estab-lishments. In large hospitals, liquid oxygen is filledin large tanks and supplied through a network ofpipes to the outlet near the patient’s bed. Piped oxy-gen is more automated and it is easier to control thelevels. The Government had created guidelines for

management of medical oxygen atthe start of the pandemic to ensurethat the supplies were enough in hos-pitals. The first wave was managedwell but when the new strain of thevirus started infecting more people,the numbers escalated. The demandrose from 1,500 metric tonnes (MT)to 6,000 MT within 72 hours. Thisled to a panic situation as no one wasprepared for it.

While India has the capacity toproduce 8,500 MT oxygen, it has astock of 4,000 MT. The crisis alsohappened due to supply chain man-agement failure. Oxygen transport isnot easy due to its highly inflamma-ble nature and the vehicles carryingoxygen cannot run very fast. Theavailability of cryogenic tankers waslimited. However, as usual, we havebeen resilient and the Governmenthas roped in the security forces tohelp tide over the oxygen crisis in thecountry. They have been ferryingoxygen from abroad and the DefenceResearch and DevelopmentOrganisation (DRDO) has set up anoxygen generation plant at theAIIMS in New Delhi. Four moreplants capable of generating morethan 1,000 litres of oxygen per hourwill soon start functioning in theRML Hospital, Lady Hardinge,Safdarjung and the AIIMS in Rohtak.The system can cater to 190 patientsat a flow rate of five litres per minuteand charge 195 cylinders per day.

The Medical Oxygen Plant tech-nology has been developed by theDRDO based on the on-board oxy-gen generation unit of the Tejas lightcombat aircraft and will help over-

come the logistics issues of oxygentransportation. The IAF is makingrelentless sorties to airlift oxygenfrom abroad and one of its C-17 air-craft flew 35 hours to fetch cryogenicoxygen containers from England.Earlier, another C-17 flew 14 hoursnon-stop to get cylinders fromGermany. Looking at the serious sit-uation, the IAF has to date broughtin more than 60 cryogenic contain-ers and 900 oxygen cylinders fromSingapore, Dubai, Bangkok,Frankfurt and the UK, clockingover 140 flying hours. While there area lot of lessons to be learnt from thiscrisis, the importance of addinghealth to the Concurrent List underthe Constitution has been pointedout by the Finance Commission. Thismust be taken up on a priority basis.It is imperative that central healthschemes are implemented in Statesand the Centre and StateGovernments work in tandem. If allconcerned perform their duties intime and there is cohesiveness infunctioning, the next crisis during thepredicted third wave of the pandem-ic can be averted.

Meanwhile, it is heartening thatseveral startups and corporates havestepped up the fight against the sec-ond wave of the contagion in India.The Paytm Foundation is raising over�10 crore to donate oxygen concen-trators across India. Zomato FeedingIndia, in association with logisticsfirm Delhivery, has started the ‘HelpSave My India’ endeavour to sourceoxygen concentrators. ActionCOVID-19 Team Grants (ACTGrants) have taken the task of fund-

ing ideas that can solve the globalhealth crisis. Google and Microsofthave pledged to support India. Applehas also offered to extend its supportto India. Many NRIs have formedsocial groups that are collectingfunds and have opened charities tosend the required supplies to India.Amazon has offered to bear the costof airlifting oxygen concentrators toIndia. A new US public-private-part-nership called ‘A Global Task Forceon Pandemic Response: Mobilisingfor India’ will provide the countrywith critical medical supplies, vac-cines, oxygen and other life-savingassistance.

With so much help pouring infrom all quarters, all India needs todo is stand strong, take the immedi-ate steps and prepare for the futureto avoid another such crisis.Defeating the virus that changeseveryday and keeping normal lifegoing will be tricky in a vast coun-try like India. With all the requiredsupport from across the world, wewill definitely come out of this cri-sis very soon. What remains to beseen, however, is how we will fare infuture. We have survived past disas-ters and will wade through this withimmense global and internal support,India-specific wisdom, a strong willpower and community coopera-tion. This is also the time to realisethat what will save or defeat us is ourown strength, whether in terms ofcontracting the disease or in termsof our survival. Hence, we need tofollow our scientific wisdom that issilently becoming more importantand widespread the world over.

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India is reeling under theimpact of the second, morevirulent wave of the

COVID-19 pandemic. And thenumber of cases and casualtiesare just mounting up. As theGovernment scrambles to han-dle the situation, fingers arebeing pointed at Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and there havebeen calls for his resignationfrom some quarters. In the eyesof the Opposition, the Press,both Indian and international,and some communities, Modiis responsible for every short-coming in the country.However, this blame game hasnot helped in addressing theproblem. As a nation, the needof the hour is to rise beyondCOVID politics and establishfundamentally strong arrange-ments for providing relief to thesuffering citizens.

Indeed, some errors mayhave occurred in arresting thesecond wave of the virus.

However, we must rememberthat India is a large and popu-lous nation with unique chal-lenges and it is almost impos-sible to take into account everydetail and caution while devel-oping national strategies andimplementing the local actionsof these wider programmes.Often, people do not cooperateunless forced to do so.

We must realise that ourhistoric cumulation of knowl-edge has not given us enoughunderstanding about the behav-iour of this microscopic beast.Most researches on theCOVID-19, including theinvention of the Coronavirusvaccine, are only a few monthsold and we are yet to discoverthe long-term effects and effec-tiveness of the measures beingprescribed and adopted. Assuch, the policy-making hori-zon at the national level alsodoes not have an accumulatedexperience to bank upon and

derive from. If you analyse thematter, India has actually donemuch better than manyadvanced countries. First, manywestern countries, includingthe US, allowed civil protests onthe need for masking up andpeople argued that imposingthe mask rule was against theirfundamental rights guaranteedby the Constitution. India hasimposed the mask rule muchmore sincerely than any othercountry in the world.

As for social distancing,India imposed stringent guide-lines and meticulously imple-mented them. However, thereis a view that this regulationcould have been better fol-lowed in election rallies andreligious congregations. Withthe cooperation of the peopleand all political outfits, thiscould have been coordinatedbetter, though. Or even better,the elections and the MahaKumbh could also have been

put off for some time in view ofthe outbreak, but that is not aneasy decision to take.

Vaccine production is oneimportant and primaryresponse to the pandemic thatIndia excelled at. It investedheavily in this and brought outeffective vaccines at affordableprices. India also became aglobal leader and shipped mil-lions of doses for free to coun-tries in trouble, as part of its“vaccine diplomacy.” Manycountries, including the US,

kept for domestic use what theyproduced, without shippingout a single vial. Now, when weare falling short of vaccines forour own citizens, this “vaccinediplomacy” is paying off andother nations are lending ahelping hand and shipping theprecious doses to us.

Till the second wave of thecontagion exploded and wefell short of vaccines, our pub-lic vaccination programme wasa very systematic one. Indiabegan its inoculation pro-gramme from the most vulner-able section of the society. InGermany, senior citizens whoregistered for vaccination inJanuary are still waiting to gettheir first dose. In Switzerland,which has a tiny population thevaccination programme thatstarted in December 2020 hasstill covered only eight per centof the citizens.

However, India is shown ina bad light, all the while, which

is a trend in international one-upmanship, to which evenIndians in India and abroadgreatly contribute. If the perunit population death by thevirus is computed, India has theleast number of casualties percrore of population. It is onlythat India is visible because ofits large population and theabsolute numbers affected bythe virus. Also, we are visiblebecause of the dramatic footageof cremations of the dead whilethe rituals in other communi-ties may not be that dramaticlooking.

We must realise that byhighlighting and constantly fill-ing the television channels andsocial media with negativeinformation of the tragedyIndia is undergoing and not giv-ing enough coverage to theenormous amount of positivework the nation is doingtowards the mitigation of thepandemic, we only stir up anar-

chic conditions and delay recov-ery. Also, nations like Pakistanand China are determined toshow India in a poor light.China in particular has an axeto grind because as a nation, itwas isolated during the firstwave of the outbreak andCOVID-19 was called the“Chinese virus.” Politics over thepandemic will only provideIndia-bashing fuel to China andits allies. We will play into thehands of international cartelsthat want to see India underde-veloped and politically chaotic.

This is the time for us tocome together as a nation andrally behind our leaders, whoare doggedly working towardsCOVID recovery and the devel-opment of the country. If wedon’t recognise our role as cit-izens, we will just turn out to beour own worst enemies andspin within the negative spiralthat we ourselves create, know-ingly or unknowingly.

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Aflash mob of mostly youngpeople in Myanmar’s

biggest city staged a briefprotest march on Thursdayagainst military rule, the latestin a series of actions aimed atreducing the chances of a dead-ly response by the authorities.

In the five-minute protest inYangon, about 70 marcherschanted slogans in support ofthe civil disobedience move-ment that opposes February’sarmy coup that ousted the elect-ed government of Aung San SuuKyi. They then scattered into thedowntown crowds.

Protests also took place inother cities and towns includ-ing Mandalay, the country’ssecond biggest city, whereBuddhist monks marched, andDawei in the southeast, wherethe demonstrators includedengineers, teachers, universitystudents and members ofLGBT groups.

In Yangon in particular,small protests publicised byword of mouth have become

popular. They contrast withweeks of confrontations inwhich security forces increas-ingly used lethal force, withsome militant protestersresponding with homemadeweapons such as gasolinebombs in self-defence.

In other areas, mass peace-ful protests still are being bro-ken up by force, while in someremote areas, groups opposed tothe ruling junta have occasion-ally ambushed security forces,leading to bloody clashes.

According to theAssistance Association forPolitical Prisoners, which com-piles details of arrests and fatal-ities linked to the junta’s crack-down, 769 protesters andbystanders have been killedsince February’s militarytakeover. The junta has said thedeath toll is about one-third ofthat, and that the use of lethalforce was justified to end whatit called rioting.

After the military govern-ment began using lethal forceto suppress demonstrations,protesters in some towns and

neighbourhoods began organ-ising themselves into home-grown militias or defencegroups.

On Wednesday, the anti-

military shadow governmentformed by elected lawmakerswho were barred from takingoffice by the militaryannounced a plan to unify

these local groups into anational “People’s DefenceForce” which would serve as aprecursor to a “Federal UnionArmy” of democratic forces

including ethnic minorities.The plan was announced

by Khin Ma Ma Myo, deputydefence minister of the shadowNational Unity Government,which challenges the junta’slegitimacy. She said one of theduties of the People’s DefenceForce is to protect the country’sresistance movement from mil-itary attacks and violence insti-gated by the junta.

The National UnityGovernment has the backing ofseveral major ethnic minoritygroups who for decades havebeen seeking greater autonomyand who maintain their ownguerrilla forces. The two mostimportant are the Kachin in thenorth and the Karen in the east,both of which are activelyengaged in combat with thegovernment’s military forces.

Pado Man Man, aspokesman for the 5th Brigadeof the Karen National Union,said he believes that the for-mation of the People’s DefenceArmy will be a step toward afuture state that includes allethnic armed groups.

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More than 200 globalorganisations urged the

UN Security Council onWednesday to impose an armsembargo on Myanmar, sayingthe time for statements haspassed and immediate actionis needed to help protectpeaceful protesters againstmilitary rule and other oppo-nents of the junta.

A statement by the non-governmental organisationssaid the military “has demon-strated a callous disregard forhuman life” since their Feb 1coup, killing at least 769 peo-ple including 51 children asyoung as six years old anddetaining several thousandactivists, journalists, civil ser-vants and politicians.Hundreds of others have dis-appeared, it said.

“No government shouldsell a single bullet to the juntaunder these circumstances,”the NGOs said. “Imposing aglobal arms embargo onMyanmar is the minimumnecessary step the SecurityCouncil should take inresponse to the military’s esca-lating violence.”

The organisations urgedthe United Kingdom, theSecurity Council nation incharge of drafting resolutionson Myanmar, “to begin nego-tiations on a resolution autho-rizing an arms embargo assoon as possible.”

This “will demonstrate tothe junta that there will be nomore business as usual,” theysaid. Myanmar for five decadeshad languished under strictmilitary rule that led to inter-national isolation and sanc-tions.

As the generals loosened

their grip, culminating inAung San Suu Kyi’s rise toleadership in 2015 elections,the international communityresponded by lifting mostsanctions and pouring invest-ment into the country. Thecoup took place followingNovember elections, whichSuu Kyi’s party won over-whelmingly and the militarycontests as fraudulent.

The 15-member SecurityCouncil has issued severalstatements since the coupdemanding the restoration ofdemocracy and the release ofall detainees including SuuKyi, strongly condemning theuse of violence against peace-ful protesters and the deaths ofhundreds of civilians and call-ing on the military “to exerciseutmost restraint” and “on allsides to refrain from violence.”

It has also stressed “theneed to fully respect humanrights and to pursue dialogueand reconciliation,” andbacked diplomatic efforts bythe 10-member Association ofSoutheast Asian Nations andUN special envoy ChristineSchraner Burgener to find asolution.

“The time for statementshas passed,” the NGOs said.“The Security Council shouldtake its consensus onMyanmar to a new level andagree on immediate and sub-stantive action.”

They said a UN globalarms embargo againstMyanmar should bar thedirect or indirect supply, saleor transfer of “all weapons,munitions, and other mili-tary-related equipment,including dual-use goods suchas vehicles and communica-tions and surveillance equip-ment.”

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Tursunjan Mamat, a prac-ticing Muslim in western

China’s Xinjiang region, saidhe’s fasting for Ramzan but hisdaughters, ages 8 and 10, arenot. Religious activity includ-ing fasting is not permitted forminors, he explained.

The 32-year-old ethnicUyghur wasn’t complaining,at least not to a group of foreignjournalists brought to his homeoutside the city of Aksu by gov-ernment officials, who listenedin on his responses. It seemedhe was giving a matter-of-factdescription of how religion ispracticed under rules set byChina’s Communist Party.

“My children know whoour holy creator is, but I don’tgive them detailed religiousknowledge,” he said, speakingthrough a translator.

“After they reach 18, theycan receive religious educationaccording to their own will.”

Under the weight of officialpolicies, the future of Islamappears precarious in Xinjiang,a rugged realm of craggy snow-capped mountains and barren

deserts bordering Central Asia.Outside observers say scores ofmosques have been demol-ished, a charge Beijing denies,and locals say the number ofworshippers is sinking.

A decade ago, 4,000 to5,000 people attended Fridayprayers at the Id Kah Mosquein the historic Silk Road city ofKashgar. Now only 800 to 900do, said the mosque’s imam,Mamat Juma. He attributed thedrop to a natural shift in val-ues, not government policy,

saying the younger generationwants to spend more timeworking than praying.

The Chinese governmentorganised a five-day visit toXinjiang in April for about adozen foreign correspondents,part of an intense propagandacampaign to counter allega-tions of abuse. Officials repeat-edly urged journalists torecount what they saw, notwhat China calls the lies of crit-ical Western politicians andmedia.

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The top US general forAfrica is warning that a

growing threat from Chinamay come not just from thewaters of the Pacific but fromthe Atlantic as well.

US Gen. StephenTownsend, in an interviewwith The Associated Press,said Beijing is looking to estab-lish a large navy port capable ofhosting submarines or aircraftcarriers on Africa’s westerncoast. Townsend said China hasapproached countries stretch-ing from Mauritania to southof Namibia, intent on estab-lishing a naval facility. If real-ized, that prospect wouldenable China to base warshipsin its expanding Navy in theAtlantic as well as Pacificoceans.

“They’re looking for a placewhere they can rearm andrepair warships. That becomesmilitarily useful in conflict,”said Townsend, who headsU.S. Africa Command.“They’re a long way towardestablishing that in Djibouti.Now they’re casting their gaze

to the Atlantic coast and want-ing to get such a base there.”

Townsend’s warnings comeas the Pentagon shifts its focusfrom the counterterrorism warsof the last two decades to theIndo-Pacific region and threatsfrom great power adversarieslike China and Russia. TheBiden administration viewsChina’s rapidly expanding eco-nomic influence and militarymight as America’s primary long-term securitychallenge.

U.S. military commandersaround the globe, includingseveral who may lose troopsand resources to bolster growthin the Pacific, caution thatChina’s growing assertivenessisn’t simply happening in Asia.And they argue that Beijing isaggressively asserting economicinfluence over countries inAfrica, South America and theMiddle East, and is pursuingbases and footholds there.

“The Chinese are outma-neuvering the U.S. in selectcountries in Africa,” saidTownsend. “Port projects, eco-nomic endeavors, infrastruc-ture and their agreements and

contracts will lead to greateraccess in the future. They arehedging their bets and makingbig bets on Africa.”

China’s first overseas navalbase was built years ago inDjibouti in the Horn of Africaand it is steadily increasing itscapacity. Townsend said asmany as 2,000 military per-sonnel are at the base, includ-ing hundreds of Marines whohandle security there.

“They have arms andmunitions for sure. They havearmored combat vehicles. Wethink they will soon be basinghelicopters there to potential-ly include attack helicopters,”said Townsend.

For some time, many havethought that China was work-ing to establish a Navy base inTanzania, a country on Africa’seastern coast, that has had astrong, longstanding militaryrelationship with Beijing. ButTownsend said it appears there’sbeen no decision on that yet.

He said that while Chinahas been trying hard to get abase in Tanzania, it’s not thelocation he’s most concernabout.

The Hague: The InternationalCriminal Court sentenced aUgandan former child soldierwho turned into a brutal rebelcommander to 25 years’ impris-onment on Thursday, with judgessaying that his own abduction asa schoolboy and history as a childsoldier prevented him being sen-tenced to life.

Dominic Ongwen was con-victed in February of a total of61 war crimes and crimesagainst humanity includingmurder, rape, forced marriage,forced pregnancy and usingchild soldiers as a commanderin the shadowy Lord’s ResistanceArmy. His lawyers have said theywill appeal the conviction.

Presiding Judge BertramSchmitt said that judges had toweigh Ongwen’s brutality andvictims’ wishes for justice againsthis own tortured past whendeciding on a sentence.

“The chamber is confront-ed in the present case with aunique situation. It is con-fronted with a perpetrator whowillfully brought tremendoussuffering upon his victims,”Schmitt said.

“However, it is also con-fronted with a perpetrator whohimself had previously enduredextreme suffering himself at thehands of the group of which helater became a prominentmember and leader.”

Ongwen, wearing a facemask and headphones, showedno emotion as he heard that thethree-judge panel had givenhim a sentence five years longerthan the 20 years prosecutorsrequested.

Ugandan authorities wel-comed the sentence, in a casethey had asked the court toinvestigate.

“As the government ofUganda, we are happy that thecase we referred to the ICC hadmerit,” said spokesmanOfwono Opondo. “We are sat-isfied, and we hope it willserve as a signal to others whothink they can commit a crimeand run away. The law will

always catch up with you.”Ongwen’s defence lawyers

have always cast him as a vic-tim of the LRA’s brutality whowas traumatised after beingabducted as a 9-year-old andturned into a child soldier inthe group’s violent insurgency.

But judges in Februaryruled that he committed thecrimes “as a fully responsibleadult, as a commander of theLRA in his mid- to late 20s”.

Schmitt underscored thaton Thursday, saying Ongwencould have fled the LRA, was notalways in a position of total sub-ordination to its leader JosephKony and committed some ofthe crimes in private. AP

Kyiv (Ukraine): On the front-lines of the battle againstRussia-backed separatists andin the halls of government inKyiv, Ukrainians hold stronghopes for Thursday’s visit of theUS Secretary of State -increased military aid andstrong support for NATOmembership among them.

By visiting so early in histenure, before any trip toRussia, Antony Blinken is sig-naling that Ukraine is a highforeign-policy priority forPresident Joe Biden’s adminis-tration. But what he can, orwill, deliver in the meeting withPresident VolodymyrZelenskyy is unclear.

Blinken said Monday inLondon that he would use the

visit to show “our unwaveringsupport for the independence,sovereignty and territorialintegrity of Ukraine.”

Zelenskyy has made it clearthat he wants significant action.

“Ukraine needs a clear sig-nal about the European andEuro-Atlantic prospect,”Zelenskyy said Monday onTwitter, referring to Ukraine’saspirations to join NATO and theEuropean Union. “Postponingthese issues for later,’ some day,’(in) 10 years’ has to end.”

“We need to be more sup-ported, given some special sta-tus - NATO membership,” saida Ukrainian soldier on theeastern front lines, who gave hisname and patronymic as VasylAdolfovich. AP

Geneva: France joined theUnited States on Thursday insupporting an easing of patentand other protections onCovid-19 vaccines that couldhelp poorer countries get moredoses and speed the end of thepandemic. While the backingfrom two countries with majordrug makers is important,many obstacles remain.

The move to support waiv-ing intellectual property pro-tections on vaccines underWorld Trade Organisation rulesmarked a dramatic shift for theUnited States — and drew cheersfrom activists, complaints fromBig Pharma, and a lot of ques-tions about what comes next.Washington had previouslylined up with many other devel-oped nations opposed to theidea floated by India and SouthAfrica in October.

Attention is now turning tothose richer nations, notably inthe European Union — andFrance was the first to voice itssupport.

“I completely favour thisopening up of the intellectualproperty,” AP

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China on Thursday declinedto comment on reports

that the debris of its LongMarch 5B rocket, which lastweek launched the core mod-ule of the country’s space sta-tion, is set to re-enter theearth’s atmosphere this week-end, amid concerns that itcould cause damage if it crash-es in civilian areas.

While the Foreign Ministryspokesman Wang Wenbin par-ried questions about the reportsthat the US defence departmentwas tracking the falling rocketdebris, official media herequoted Chinese experts as say-ing that the parts of the disin-tegrated rocket will fall ininternational waters.

The Pentagon said onTuesday that it was tracking alarge Chinese rocket that is outof control and set to re-enterearth’s atmosphere this week-end.

Asked what measuresChina is taking to deal with thesituation arising out of the

falling rocket, Wang said for“specifics I refer you to thecompetent authority”.

“As a principle, China iscommitted to the peaceful useof outer space and believes weshould conduct internationalcooperation in this area,” hesaid.

“We stand ready to workwith all parties to make effortsfor the peaceful use of outerspace and uphold its safety andsecurity,” he said.

The rocket was used byChina to launch part of itsspace station. While most spacedebris objects may burn up inthe atmosphere, the rocket’ssize — 22 tonnes — hasprompted concern that largeparts could re-enter and causedamage if they hit inhabited areas.

State-run Global Timesquoted aerospace expert andTV commentator SongZhongping as saying that it is“completely normal” for rock-et debris to return to Earth.

Wang Ya’nan, chief editorof Aerospace Knowledge mag-

azine, said that the develop-ment of rocket debris fallingwas carefully considered byChina’s space authorities fromthe initial rocket design phaseand the choice of a launch site,to the rocket’s liftoff attitudeand its trajectory.

“Most of the debris willburn up during re-entry intothe Earth’s atmosphere, leavingonly a very small portion thatmay fall to the ground, whichwill potentially land on areasaway from human activities orin the ocean,” Wang told thedaily.

On May 4, the US DefenceDepartment said it was track-ing a large Chinese rocket thatis out of control and set to re-enter earth’s atmosphere thisweekend, CNN reported.

The Chinese Long March5B rocket is expected to enterearth’s atmosphere “aroundMay 8,” the report quoted astatement from DefenceDepartment spokespersonMike Howard, who said the USSpace Command is trackingthe rocket’s trajectory.

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Colombo: Sri Lanka onThursday announced that allarrivals from India will bebanned with immediate effectdue to the record rise in Covid-19 cases in the neighbouringcountry.

Several countries like theUK, the UAE, Australia andSingapore have already bannedtravellers from India as well asother South Asian countries.

The Civil AviationAuthority on Thursday saidthat travellers from India willnot be allowed to disembark inSri Lanka. The decision hasbeen taken as the coronaviruscontinues to spread rapidly inIndia.

The Director General Civilaviation in a letter to the CEOof the national carrier SrilankanAirlines has said, “in accor-dance with instructionsreceived from health authori-ties of Sri Lanka due to theCovid-19 pandemic situation,it is hereby directed that pas-sengers travelling from Indiawill not be permitted to dis-embark in Sri Lanka withimmediate effect.” PTI

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AMalian woman has givenbirth to nine babies at

once — after only expectingseven, according to Mali’sMinister of Health and theMoroccan clinic where thenonuplets were born.

It appeared to be the firsttime on record that a womanhad given birth to nine sur-viving babies at once.

The Guinness Book ofWorld Records said in an emailto The AP on Wednesday thatits current record for most liv-ing births at once is eight, andthat it is verifying the Moroccobirth.

The current holder of theGuinness record is AmericanNadya Suleman, who gavebirth to eight premature butotherwise healthy children in2009.

The five girls and fourboys, and their mother, “are alldoing well,” Mali’s health min-ister said in a statement.

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The Government should reg-ulate and control cryp-

tocurrencies instead of pro-hibiting them, former financesecretary SC Garg said onThursday.

Addressing a virtual eventorganised by industry bodyAssocham, Garg also said thereis undue emphasis on cryp-tocurrencies and these digitalassets will require standardframeworks. “I don’t think westill have full clarity and under-standing about how to regulatecryptocurrencies...Regulate,control cryptocurrencies but

allow the crypto assets, encour-age the crypto services,” he said.

Cryptocurrencies are dig-ital or virtual currencies inwhich encryption techniquesare used to regulate the gener-ation of their units and verifythe transfer of funds, operatingindependently of a central bank

The RBI had virtuallybanned cryptocurrency trading

in 2018 and had directed allentities regulated by the centralbank to cease dealing in virtu-al currencies. The SupremeCourt had asked the Centre in2019 to frame policies for cryp-to, and in 2020, struck downthe curbs imposed by the RBI.

All Indian companiesshould only be keeping digitalaccounts in the next three tofive years, Garg said, adding “itis possible to integrate nation-al accounts with companyaccounts.”In the times to come,the entire system of accounting,auditing and reporting can beautomated, he added.

“At present, we have this

quarterly accounting systemwhereby companies have toshow their books of accountsafter every three months.

“We need to set higheraccounting standards andmove out to automaticaccounting system whichwould be relevant to presentneeds of the business,” henoted.

According to Garg, thecurrent financial reportingstandards are for the bygoneindustrial era and there is anurgent need for a complete dig-italisation of accounting, finan-cial reporting and auditing forcompanies.

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Equity gauges Sensex andNifty notched up gains for

the second straight session onThursday, boosted by hecticbuying in auto, financial and ITcounters amid firm global cues.

Participants cheered theUS government’s decision toback waiver of intellectualproperty rights for Covid-19vaccines, which can speed upthe vaccination drive in Indiaand other emerging economies,traders said.

The BSE benchmarkSensex closed higher by 272.21points or 0.56 per cent at48,949.76. In volatile trade,the 30-share index oscillatedbetween a high of 49,011.31and a low of 48,614.11 duringthe day. Similarly, the broaderNSE Nifty ended with gains of106.95 points or 0.73 per centat 14,724.80. On the Sensexchart, Bajaj Auto, HDFC, TechMahindra, Infosys, NestleIndia, Maruti and Titanemerged as the prominentgainers, advancing up to 2.61per cent.

On the other hand,

PowerGrid, ONGC, AsianPaints, Bajaj Finserv, IndusIndBank, NTPC and Sun Pharmawere the major laggards, drop-ping as much as 1.24 per cent.

Of the Sensex constituents,20 shares ended with gains.

“The trend of positivenews alternating with negativenews continues.

President Biden’s decisionto back waiving intellectualproperty rights on vaccines isa big positive. This will quick-en the vaccination processenabling countries like India tocome out of the pandemicfaster,” said V K Vijayakumar,Chief Investment Strategist atGeojit Financial Services.

But data on daily infec-tions indicate a rise after fivedays of decline, he said, addinglockdowns and restrictions onmobility are increasing, impact-ing the economic recovery.

New coronavirus casesand deaths in India hit a recorddaily high with 4,12,262 newinfections and 3,980 fatalitiesbeing reported, taking the totaltally of COVID-19 cases to2,10,77,410 and the death tollto 2,30,168.

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The spiralling crisis fromresurgence of Covid-19

cases in India has dented sup-port for the ruling BJP butvoter support for PrimeMinister Narendra Modi andhis party will remain strongover the coming quarters andthrough this humanitarian cri-sis, Fitch Solutions saidThursday.

The sudden and steepsurge in the number of coron-avirus cases – the highest-ever4,12,262 new infections and arecord 3,980 daily death toll ina day – has swamped the healthsystem, which seemed to havecollapsed.

While containment mea-sures will weigh on India’songoing economic recovery,the localised nature of restric-tions means that the actualimpact is likely to be much lesssevere relative to April-June2020 when a strict nationwidelockdown was imposed, FitchSolutions said.

It forecasted real GDP togrow 9.5 per cent in 2021-22(April 2021 to March 2022).

Risks to this forecast are tothe downside, as the surge innew daily COVID-19 case-

loads will most likely see anextension and expansion oflockdowns, it said adding thatthe resurgence of Covid-19cases exposed cracks in theIndian healthcare system.

“While there appears to besigns that the spirallingCOVID-19 crisis in India hasdented support for the rulingBJP, we maintain our view thatvoter support for PrimeMinister Modi and the BJP willremain strong over the comingquarters and through thishumanitarian crisis,” FitchSolutions said.

This second wave in Indiahas been widely attributed tothe B.1.1.7 variant – first iden-tified in the UK – which hadramped up cases in Punjab.Another possible culprit is ahomegrown variant, B.1.617,with two worrying mutationsthat originated in Maharashtra,the worst affected state.

“In addition to this, inIndia, a year of COVID-19fatigue gave way to an ill-advised euphoria over herdimmunity as cases began to dipin January 2021.

“Inadequate governmentmeasures and people notadhering to public healthguidelines, such as wearing

face masks and maintainingsocial distancing, are also themain reasons for India’s upwardtick in infections,” it said.

It added that a number ofpolitical, social and religiousevents and elections for localbodies in multiple states andpreparation for Assembly elec-tions in others also created anopportunity for the virus to

move fast.Fitch Solutions said that in

March this year, a few weeksbefore the new surge, HealthMinister Harsh Vardhan, whois also a physician, assertedthat India was in the“endgame” of the COVID-19pandemic, justifying the gov-ernment’s decision to exportmedical resources to other

countries.India exported around 193

million doses of vaccines.Fitch Solutions said “the

perception that Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s administra-tion has considerably mis-managed the COVID-19 crisiswill weigh on his and theBharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP)popularity somewhat.

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India’s second wave of coron-avirus infections and the

resultant city and state-specif-ic restrictions may shave-offabout 20-25 per cent of autofuel demand in April, consul-tancy Wood Mackenzie said onThursday and estimated amodest impact on oil demandin the absence of a full nation-wide lockdown.

India’s COVID crisisshows no sign of slowing. Thecountry has reported new casesabove 3 lakh per day for twoweeks straight, though expertsthink the true number is like-ly to be far higher, it said.

“Yet despite increasingcalls for the government toimpose a nationwide lockdownto reduce the rate of infection,Prime Minister Narendra Modihas so far resisted, citing theeconomic impact on an alreadysuffering population.”

Compounding this terriblehuman tragedy, the crisis is alsoimpacting India’s near-term

economic performance as trav-el is curtailed and local restric-tions enforced.

“This is inevitably impact-ing the country’s energy mar-kets, with all sectors beingimpacted.

However, without anationwide lockdown alongthe lines of that seen in Q2(April-June) 2020, energydemand has so far proven rel-atively resilient, despite themore severe levels of infectioncompared to 12 months ago,”Wood Mackenzie said in areport.

It trimmed India’s GDPforecast to 9 per cent year-on-year in 2021 from 9.9 per centpreviously due to the secondpeak of COVID cases. Butthere is further downside riskif lockdown measures andrestrictions on movement aretightened further.

“While current localisedrestrictions appear inadequatein comparison to the severity ofthe pandemic, tighter restric-tions come with expectations of

additional financial supportfrom the government; India’sstimulus measures have beenmodest since the start of thepandemic, totalling 9 per centof GDP. If a nationwide lock-down is enforced, the govern-ment will need to providemuch more,” it said.

With the domestic econ-omy gripped by the pandmicand the looming risk of anationwide lockdown, externaldemand and export-orientatedindustries are now critical forthe economic recovery in theshort term.

During last year’s lock-down, India’s oil demand fell by1.2 million barrels per day inApril-June, equal to about a 25per cent drop. Road trafficwas particularly impacted,recording a peak decline ofsome 45 per cent during April2020.

Oil product consumptionalmost halved in April 2020with petrol demand slumpingby a record 60.5 per cent anddiesel by 55.6 per cent.

New Delhi:In one of the steep-est increase since daily pricerevision was started, petrolprice on Thursday was hikedby 25 paise per litre and dieselby 30 paise as oil companiesraised rates for the thirdstraight day

To pass on to consumersthe increase in international oilprices.Petrol price in Delhiwas increased to Rs 90.99 perlitre from Rs 90.74 while dieselrates went up to Rs 81.42 a litrefrom Rs 81.12, according to aprice notification by state-owned fuel retailers.

Rates have been increasedacross the country and varyfrom state to state dependingon the local incidence of taxa-tion (VAT). This is the thirdstraight day of increase inpetrol and diesel prices sincestate-owned fuel retailers endedan 18-day hiatus in rate revi-sion during assembly electionsin states like West Bengal.PTI

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Aday after the RBI allowedanother round of restruc-

turing, largest domestic ratingsagency Crisil on Thursday saidhalf of the mid-size companiesin its portfolio will be eligiblefor the recast.

Companies with relativelyweaker credit profiles, and partof low-resilience sectors areexpected to benefit more fromthe scheme, Crisil said, speci-fying that mid-sized companiesare those having aggregateexposures of less than �500crore.

RBI Governor ShaktikantaDas had on Wednesdayannounced another windowto recast loans given the secondwave of COVID-19 infections.

As per the announcement,individuals, small businessesand MSMEs having aggregateexposure of up to Rs 25 crorewould be eligible for consider-ation under the Resolution

Framework 2.0, provided theyhave not availed of restructur-ing under any of the earlierframeworks and were classifiedas standard accounts as onMarch 31.

Crisil said it rates 6,800mid-sized entities and morethan half of them are small andmedium enterprises (SMEs)having a bank loan exposure ofup to Rs 25 crore.

Over 3,400 of the mid-sized companies were classifiedas standard accounts, makingthem eligible to avail restruc-turing.

“The RBI’s intervention istimely and companies withweaker credit profiles will ben-efit more from the restructur-ing scheme,” its Chief RatingsOfficer Subodh Rai said.

Four out of five companieseligible for restructuring havesub-investment category rat-ings, indicating their relative-ly weak ability to manage liq-uidity shocks, he said.

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Continuing its exceptionalperformance during the

last fiscal, the electricity mar-ket at the Indian EnergyExchange entered the new fis-cal year 2022 with 7707 MUvolume in April 2021, achiev-ing a 90.2 per cent YoY growth.

According to the powerdemand data published by theNational Load Dispatch Centre,the national peak powerdemand was at 183 GW whilethe peak demand and powerconsumption registered close to40 per cent YoY growth on aweak base.

While the growing elec-tricity consumption has beenone of the key factors behindthe consistent performance ofthe Exchange, its robust valueproposition in terms of themost competitive prices, flex-ible, and efficient procurementpositions it as the most pre-

ferred destination for powerprocurement for both the dis-tribution utilities as well as theindustrial consumers.

The day-ahead markettraded 5,699 MU volume inApril, achieving a significant 54per cent YoY growth.

The average monthly priceat Rs 3.70 per unit witnessed 53per cent increase over Rs 2.42in the corresponding period in2020.

The increase in price wasprimarily due to increase indemand and sharp slump inelectricity prices in April 2020due to a stringent nationwidelockdown. The day-ahead mar-ket saw ample availability ofpower with sell-bids at 1.48X ofthe cleared volume during themonth.

The term-ahead marketcomprising intra-day, contin-gency, daily & weekly contractstraded 349 MU during themonth.

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Beijing has expressed deepconcerns over India’s new

telecom policy that does notpermit Chinese telecommuni-cation companies to conduct5G trials in the country, sayingthe move is not conducive tothe innovation and develop-ment of related Indian indus-tries.

On Tuesday, theDepartment ofTelecommunications (DoT)granted approval to nearly adozen companies to conduct asix-month trial for use andapplications of 5G technology.The telecom service providersincluded Bharti Airtel, RelianceJioInfocomm Ltd, VodafoneIdea Ltd and MTNL who havetied up with original equipmentmanufacturers and technologyproviders which are Ericsson,Nokia, Samsung and C-DOT.

There was no Chinesecompany -- Huawei or ZTE --in the list that have been oper-ating in India for several years.

Wang Xiaojian, spokesper-son of the Chinese Embassy inIndia, said in a statement thatChina expresses “concern andregret that Chinese telecom-munications companies havenot been permitted to conduct5G trials with Indian TelecomService Providers in India.”

“Relevant Chinese com-panies have been operating inIndia for years, providing massjob opportunities and makingcontribution to India’s infra-structure construction intelecommunications,” Xiaojiansaid. “To exclude Chinesetelecommunications compa-nies from the trials will notonly harm their legitimaterights and interests, but alsohinder the improvement ofthe Indian business environ-ment, which is not conduciveto the innovation and devel-opment of related Indianindustries”.

Like the US and the UK,there have been demands fromthe industry stakeholders likethe Confederation of All India

Traders to ban Huawei andZTE Corporation of Chinafrom participating in 5G net-work rollout in India.

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The Union FinanceMinistry on Thursday

released the 2nd monthlyinstallment of Post DevolutionRevenue Deficit (PDRD)Grant of Rs 9,871 crore for theyear 2021-22 to 17 states.

With the release of 2ndinstallment, a total amount ofRs 19,742 crore has beenreleased in the first twomonths of the current finan-cial year as PDRD grant to thestates. The Centre provides thegrant to the states underArticle 275 of the

Constitution. The grants are released as

per the recommendations ofthe Finance Commission inmonthly installments to meetthe gap in revenue accounts ofthe states post devolution.The 15th FinanceCommission has recom-mended PDRD grants to 17states.

These states are: AndhraPradesh, Assam, Haryana,Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka,Kerala, Manipur, Meghalaya,Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab,Rajasthan, Sikkim, TamilNadu, Tripura, Uttarakhand,

and West Bengal.The eligibility of states to

receive this grant and thequantum of grant was decid-ed by the Commission basedon the gap between assessmentof revenue and expenditure ofthe State.Assessed devolutionfor the financial year 2021-22was also taken into account bythe Commission.

The Fifteenth FinanceCommission has recom-mended a total grant of Rs1,18,452 crore to 17 States inthe financial year 2021-22.The grant is released in 12monthly installments.

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Apetition filed in theBombay High Court has

sought Z-plus security for AdarPoonawalla, Chief ExecutiveOfficer of the Serum Instituteof India (SII) which manufac-tures the Covishield vaccineagainst Covid-19.

The Union governmenthas already granted `Y’ cate-gory security to the Pune-based industrialist.

Advocate Datta Mane, thepetitioner, also sought a direc-tion to the police to register FIRand carry out a probe intoalleged threat to Poonawallaover the supply of vaccine.

If vaccine makers feltunsafe, it could affect vaccineproduction, the petition, filedon Wednesday, said.

“If Adar Poonawalla is outof India due to threat to his life,then it (his company) will be aship in a storm without its cap-tain,” said the plea.

Poonawalla had said in arecent interview to The Timesthat he left for the UnitedKingdom due to threats andpressure from `powerful peo-ple’ seeking vaccine doses onpriority.Mane further said inthe petition that he hasapproached the Commissionerof Police, Pune andMaharashtra Director Generalof Police with a complaintabout alleged threat to the SIICEO.The high court shoulddirect the police to register FIRand ask the government to pro-vide higher-level security toPoonawalla, the petition said.

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Last year during Covid lockdown,Doordarshan struck gold re-tele-casting Ramayan, Ramanand

Sagar’s hit mythological series of theeighties. This year, as India has come toa standstill once again owing to the sec-ond wave of the deadly coronavirus,many soap makers seem to have pickedup cue. Mythology seems to be flavouron the tube once again, as Indian tele-vision finds a ready homebound audi-ence base.

A host of shows includingVighnaharta Ganesh and RadhaKrishnmake for prime family viewing while theepics Ramayan and Mahabharat arebeing re-telecast.

Shooting for mythological shows inthe time of Covid is naturally tough,given the extravagant set, costumes,heavy jewellery and the execution theydemand. Also, no matter the precau-tions, actors would always have to takeoff their masks in front of the camera.

“Shooting in Covid times is toughbecause there are so many precautions

that need to be kept in mind. Actorsare at high risk because we cannot weara mask while shooting. If the team isgood and precautions are being taken,actors are safe. You need to sanitiseyour hands and take precautions andsee if people around you are wearingmasks and sanitising their hands,”says Riney Aryaa, who plays GoddessLaxmi in Vighnaharta Ganesh.

She adds, “A lot of people touchactors for costume, hair and make-up,which increases the risk of contractingCovid-19. The costumes are so heavyand the temperatures are high and thatmakes it very difficult. We are in ourjewellery and get-up for 16 hours.”

“In these uncertain times, portray-ing a mythological character alsoentails a very different challenge.Shows in this genre are meant tospread hope during a crisis such as thepandemic, as people look up to divineprotagonists on the small screen withreverence. In turn, this means we needto take extra care in portraying such

characters with as much authenticityas possible, as these are characters peo-ple have immense faith in and are sen-sitive about,” observes MadirakshiMundle who plays Devi Parvati inVighnaharta Ganesh.

“I feel fortunate to have essayedGoddesses on the TV screen.We havegrown up hearing tales of theennobling qualities, benevolence anddeep intrinsic strength of virtuousGoddesses such as Sita, Lakshmi andParvati and have a deep reverence forthem. They are often very commonlyinvoked as role models. People areattached to them and their principlesare deeply integral to our culture andmythology. So, the audience’s feelingstowards them are of paramount impor-tance when I essay such a role. Peoplehave a certain image they attach withsuch a character, in their minds,” sheadded.

Here are some of the mythologicalshows that are currently a rage on thetube:

����8��The popularity of late Ramanand

Sagar’s tele-epic continues to grow withtime. While the show broke severalrecords upon re-release on Doordarshanduring last year’s lockdown, it has beenbrought back on Star Bharat this year. Theshow stars Arun Govil as Ram, DeepikaChikhalia as Sita, Sunil Lahri asLakshman, Arvind Trivedi as Raavan andDara Singh as Hanuman.

����������This 2013 series stars Saurabh Jain as

Lord Krishna, Pooja Sharma as Draupadi,Sayantani Ghosh as Satyavati, and ShaheerSheikh as Arjun. The show also stars ArpitRanka as Duryodhana, Praneet Bhatt asShakuni and Puneet Issar plays the roleof Parshurama. The series has been re-released on Star Bharat.

����������������������

The story of the show revolvesaround the life story of Sai Baba of Shirdi

and talks of how he helps multiple peo-ple who seek him. His path of Dharmais highlighted in the series. The show starsTushar Dalvi, Kishori Godbole andVaibhav Mangle. Tune in to SonyEntertainment Television (SET) India towatch this show.

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The show is a sequel to the seriesSantoshi Maa and has been produced byRashmi Sharma and Pawan KumarMarut. Actress Gracy Singh plays the leadin the show which is being telecast onZee5. Actors Tanvi Dogra and VijayBadlani are also part of the show.

����������The series revolves around the eter-

nal bond of love shared by Radha andLord Krishna. The show stars SumedhMudgalkar and Mallika Singh and hasbeen directed by Rahul Kumar Tiwari. Itis being aired on Star Bharat.

—IANS

Actress Jamie Lee Curtis hasgiven a motivating response to

Hollywood star Will Smith’s socialmedia post which stated he is cur-rently in the “worst shape” of hislife.

Curtis reinforced his positivemessage by reminding people to settheir own realistic self-acceptancegoals.

In a now-deleted Instagrampost, Curtis, 62, shared an unedit-ed photo of herself from an oldMore magazine photoshoot along-

side the 52-year-old Smith’s shirt-less image.

“Acceptance of the way thingsare is the first step to any change,”she wrote alongside the picture andadded, “My old More@_moremagazine story was both atestament to ‘The way things werefor me’ as well as a way to show theartifice of magazine advertisingand airbrushing but also a chanceto look in the mirror and makesome changes. None of us should beunhealthy. We ALL have fallen

into bad habits.”“The goal is self-acceptance, self

love. Realistic, attainable self-accep-tance. In recovery we say ‘compare anddespair’, ‘nothing changes unless some-thing changes’,” Curtis, quoted the say-ings she had collected during her drugand alcohol addiction recovery.

She added: “Many people don’thave the luxury of devoting oodles oftime and money on their appearance.Mostly it should be a conversationstarter.”

—IANS

Singer Sonu Nigam urged every non-vaccinat-ed person in India to step forward and donate

blood because there will be a severe shortage fol-lowing the second wave of Covid-19.

“There is going to be a severe crisis in blood-banks. People who haven’t been vaccinated tillnow need to step forward and donate blood. Thesituation, which could turn serious in the nearfuture, can easily be controlled with blood dona-tion,” said Sonu.

The singer, who donated blood and oxygencanisters at a blood donation camp in Juhu, urgeseveryone to not wait till the 11th hour.

“Rather than waiting for the crisis to arriveand then start looking for a solution, it wouldbe a lot easier to foresee the threat and preparefor it right away. That’s what I am doing here:looking for a solution to a looming crisis,” addedSonu.

Sonu inaugurated the blood donation campand also donated 250 oxygen canisters forBrihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)and ambulances. He added, “There are 250 oxy-gen canisters here for patients who are beingtransported in ambulances, from home to hos-pital. We’re making these canisters available forBMC and ambulances.”

Sonu had tested Covid positive earlier andhe has not taken the vaccine yet.

—IANS

While many over-the-countercreams claim to fade away dark

spots within a matter of days, there isno such magical potion to clear yourskin instantly unless you eliminate thecause behind it. Pigmentation occursdue to an excess amount of melaninproduction in the skin cells, triggeredfrom sun exposure, hormonalchanges, poor diet, medical condi-tions, use of certain products, post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, orenvironmental conditions.

Here are seven tips to easily treatdark spots on your body for a brightand clear complexion.

Wear broad-spectrum sunscreenUV radiation coming from the

sun induces the production ofmelanin, which results in tanning.However, sun exposure can also exag-gerate post-inflammatory hyperpig-mentation, resulting in the darkeningof the brown spots. Therefore, makesure to add sunscreen to your skincareroutine 365 days a year to preventintensifying pigmented marks. Also,physical protection is more effectivethan using the sunscreen, so makesure to wear hat, scarf, or even use anumbrella when you are outdoors. Tryto limit spending hours in the sun forlong hours to prevent exacerbating theskin issue.

Include antioxidants in dietConsume antioxidant-rich foods

such as coloured fruit, vegetables,berries, dark chocolate, etc. to even outyour skin complexion. Antioxidantspromote collagen production, repairacne marks faster, increase cellturnover, and lead to a brighter com-

plexion.

Drink adequate amount of waterDark spots are sometimes caused

by lack of hydration, so consuming anadequate amount of water can dowonders for your skin. Drinkingwater can provide a natural barrierfrom pollutants and heal the skinfaster, resulting in a flawless complex-ion.

ExfoliateMake sure to gently exfoliate

your skin at least twice a week todiminish the appearance of dark

spots. Choose alpha-hydroxy acidsbased exfoliators that work to improveskin by removing top layers of the skinand remove dead cells to revealhealthy and glowing skin.

Use turmeric Packed with anti-inflammatory

and anti-bacterial benefits, turmerichas been shown to inhibit the skin’smelanin production. Topical applica-tion of turmeric on dark spots canhelp to lighten hyperpigmentation andprevent the occurrence of acne.

Apply night creamThe skin repairs and rejuvenates

while you take your beauty sleep. So,make sure to apply a night creamwith a high concentration of antiox-idants, Vitamin E, Kojic acid,Azelaic acid, Glycolic When yourbody has the right vitamins in theright quantities, the health of theskin cells improves rapidly and itradiates from within. Vitamin A,Vitamin C, Vitamin B12, andVitamin E are some of the best vit-amins for lightening dark spots.Generally, vitamin skin treatmentstarts showing results but to knowthe right vitamins as per your skintype, take advice from a certifieddermatologist.

Develop healthy skincare habitsMake sure to cleanse your skin

twice a day to remove dirt and deadskin layer. Get at least six-eighthours of sleep so that your skin hasample time to heal. Quit bad habitslike excessive drinking and smok-ing for glowing skin.

—IANS

Popular singer Shahid Mallya, who is thevoice behind classic hit songs like Rabba

Main Toh Mar Gaya (Mausam), Ikk Kudi(Udta Punjab), and Kukkad (Student Of TheYear), says that he misses the physical audi-ence-artiste interaction. It is very crucial tothe essence of being an artiste and prays fornormalcy to return.

Asked how has the Covid-19 pandemicand lockdown impacted his professional andpersonal life, the playback singer said, “Tillan artiste isn’t fronted with listeners, criticsand admirers, she or he is somehow lost. Yeswe are recording sitting at home, but at theend of the day, we miss the face-to-face inter-action. The artiste inside is unnerved and iswondering whether the future will be with-out any physical connect and we’d remain rel-egated to screens only? I pray that the audi-ence-artiste interaction can begin againsoon.”

According to the vocalist, “Without anaudience, an artiste is not a true artiste.”

Mallya has repeatedly also critiquedremixed music. Speaking on his approach tomusic and songs, he says, “The remixes thatare being made today are mostly songs fromthe 1990s or 2000s era. If the singers of theoriginal song are still active, when they heartheir own work via some other music direc-tor, they wouldn’t like it. At some point in thepast, they had collected appreciation for thesesongs, and when they see someone else beingappreciated for singing the same song, I thinkit’s wrong.”

He adds that remixes are alright if thesongs are really old, or the original makershave passed away or if the songs have slippedaway from popular memory. “Then it’s goodto recreate them, so today’s generation knowof the songs from the bygone era. My perspec-tive on selecting songs is that they should havegood poetry, and I should enjoy doing thesong, and it should fit my singing skills.”

Responding to a question about debatesaround nepotism and favouritism inBollywood, Mallya shares an interestingviewpoint. “Nepotism happens truly when anyartiste is launched but is unable to do justiceto the role or task, whether it’s in acting, danc-ing, singing or any domain where peopleachieve stardom and their descendants wantto follow suit. According to me, even if anartiste is launched or gets work in the indus-try, unless they have what it takes, the audi-ence will anyway not accept them. If some-one works hard, then it’s not nepotism. If asinger’s child is good, then she or he has theright to work. Yes, the entry is easier for them.In this process, overlooked are those artisteswho come from a small village or a poor fam-ily or those who aren’t enabled to reach theright place at the right time. There are real-ity shows which often platforms fresh talent.Experienced people in any field have theresponsibility to guide the right talent.Nepotism can give you a platform, but to keepstanding on it and succeed, depends on one’scapabilities,” he says.

Finally, who are some of the biggest influ-encers of his music? “Whatever I know, I havelearnt from my father. I have also listened togreat artistes from the childhood. I have hugerespect for Mohammed Rafi sahab and SonuNigam ji, and am influenced by them,” con-cludes Mallya.

—IANS

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The pandemic turned ourfocus around and made usconcentrate on tiny things

that improve our health.Microgreens are one food groupgradually climbing the charts ofpopularity. It might have start-ed as an exotic garnish butnow, it has made it to the frontrow of immunity-buildingfoods. You might have seenmicrogreens in fancy restaurantsall around the world. Top chefshave taken a fancy to thesebecause of their ability toenhance the looks, taste andhealth quotient of dishes.

Delhi-based Swati Jain, TheFirst Leaf, highlighting theirimportance, says, “A healthyimmune system is our bestdefense against viruses, bacteriaand carcinogens. A great way tostrengthen it is by adding micro-greens to our daily diet. They areabundant in vitamins and min-erals that improve the body’sability to fight, prevent andrecover from an illness.”

But what are microgreensand where can we find these?You know that a bunch of fenu-greek (methi) is a great source ofvitamins, minerals and so muchmore. Similarly, mustard greensare loaded with antioxidantsand essential vitamins. Then,there is spinach that’s packedwith plenty of minerals andiron. In fact, the list of theseamazingly nutritious vegetablesis rather long.

“Now imagine, if we couldharness up to 40 or even 50times the nutrients out of thesealready magical vegetables. Thesmall edible greens grown fromthe seeds of these mighty vegeta-bles are called microgreens,”says Jain and adds, “Alwaysmake sure that these are grownorganically and consumed as liv-ing foods.”

Microgreens are the firsttrue leaves produced from aseedling of vegetables and herbsthat are about two-three inchestall. There are so many varietiesof plants including turnips,radishes, broccoli, cauliflower,carrots, celery, chard, lettuce,spinach, arugula, amaranth, cab-bage, beets, parsley and basil, toname a few, that can be grown as microgreens for awholesome and nutritious addi-

tion to your daily meals. Thetiny leaves of most of the micro-greens get ready for harvest in12 to 14 days and are packedwith nutrition and intenseflavours imitating their maturecounterparts.

Bengaluru-based chefVikram Udaygiri and his wifeDivya Kumar from EarthisticAgro represent the Ministry ofExternal Affairs in promotingIndian cuisine and have organ-ised food festivals in severalcountries including SouthAfrica, Israel, and Egypt.“During a food festival inZimbabwe, I came across micro-greens being used as a garnishfor dishes in the same way thatwe use coriander or curry leaves.I was amazed because, at thetime, these tiny leaves wereconsidered an exotic ingredientback home and were also quiteexpensive. I wondered if I couldwork towards changing thatperception and make themaffordable,” says chef Udaygiri.The couple, in 2017, convertedhis grandparents’ empty houseinto a microgreens farm andtoday he is one of the top sup-pliers in Bengaluru. He adds,“We have door-to-door deliverybecause now people are awareand concerned about theirhealth. And trust me, it’s a verygood source for improvingimmunity.”

Fine dining has relied on thepower of microgreens for sometime now. Chef SiddharthSharma, Holiday Inn New DelhiMayur Vihar Noida says, “For along time microgreens wereused and served as a decorativeitem and for colour contrast,especially in Continental andFrench food. These give a differ-ent texture and elevate theflavours of food.”

But if you think these arebest used in a restaurant, you aremistaken. These tiny greens canimprove the flavours of yourregular, homemade food tosomething par excellence. Jainsays, “These can work as a greathealthy addition to our dailydiet. These are not only packedwith nutrition but a lot offlavour too. Basil, corn shoots,amaranth, sunflower, pakchoi,pea shoots have a mild flavourprofile. Whereas mustard,radish, arugula, garden cresshave a sharper flavour. One canpick and choose based onhis/her palate.” Another advan-tage is their versatility. You canblend them in smoothies, stuffthem in sandwiches, toss themin salads, sprinkle them overeggs. Or simply munch on themlike a snack.

Dr Manjari Chandra saysthat there is more which works in the favour of addingmicrogreens to your diet. Shesays, “Most of our food has pes-ticides and growing these athome can be the first steptowards a healthy life. Theseplants stimulate immunity, helpto lose weight and reduceinflammation. They contain sul-phur that repairs damaged cellsin our bodies. These tiny plantsare a kitchen pharmacy.”

So, what are you waiting for?Go ahead and get that dash ofmicro.

As times change people and their per-spective towards their lifestyle and

their habits have also changed drastical-ly. The ongoing pandemic has accelerat-ed this process and has been a criticalwake-up call for many people who nowlook for ways to improve their habits forbetter immunity and a better lifestyle.With healthier alternatives such as oats,chia seeds and others, gluten-free food hasbecome quite popular. Besides peopleswitching to a more calorie-consciousdiet, others who are diagnosed withCeliac disease should definitely not con-sume gluten.

In this never-ending quarantine,cooking isn't just an essential but also ahobby for many who bake to keep them-selves distracted inspired by YouTubevideos. People who choose to switch toa gluten-free diet are apprehensive thatthey might not be able to enjoy theirfavourite dishes, especially desserts if theyforego wheat flour. But that is just a myth.Baking enthusiasts need to keep thesethings in mind while rustling up gluten-free desserts.

������������One of the major pain points that

make people hesitant to switch to gluten-free products is finding a substitute thatgives you the taste and texture of wheatflour. Gluten-free desserts are madefrom a wide host of flours such asalmonds, potatoes, oats, quinoa, coconut,amaranth, sorghum among others.However, using a blend of flours ensuresthe structure and moisture in the treat asone type of flour cannot replace thestrength of gluten.

���������� �As the gluten bonds are formed, the

protein forms elastic networks within thedough, which in turn gives structure toit. This helps the dough to rise and addsshape and a chewy texture to bakedgoods. The gluten proteins solidify, whenheated, forming a semi-rigid structureand providing texture to many wheat-based products. However, due to theabsence of the glue-like binding nature ofthe dough, gluten-free desserts have to useseveral ingredients for the flour. Thesecould include chia seeds/flax seeds/psyl-lium husk/agar powder.

�������������We’re often warned not to over-

whisk baked goods made with wheatflour. The upside of gluten-free dessertsis that you really can’t toughen thedough. Therefore, another aspect that onecan keep in mind while making thesedesserts is that, since there is no gluten

in the flour, you can never overmixgluten-free cake.

����������������8One of the major points of differen-

tiation between gluten-rich and gluten-free cake batters is that the latter has amuch more runny consistency. The bak-ing time is much longer. The cakes do notrise as well and often sink due to the lackof structure made by the glue bonds inthe batter. However, these are only aes-thetic differences and the desserts tastejust as rich and amazing. A tip for the newbakers — when you start experimentingwith gluten-free baking, you must ideal-ly follow the given proportions in therecipes until you get the hang of the con-sistency and workability of thedough/mixture.

�����������$��$�Once made, the life of gluten-free

desserts is not as long as regular desserts.So, these dishes should be consumed inthe given time period and stored accord-ing to the recommended method.

A gluten-free diet can help improveyour intestinal and dietary issues and helpyou and your entire family feel healthierwhile, at the same time, eating the tasti-est of desserts. For people suffering fromceliac disease improvements in digestivehealth are observed. Consuming gluten-free desserts satiate your sweet tooth whilehelping to revitalise your body with bet-ter digestion.

— The authors are head bakers andco-founders, Moonlight Bakers

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The Australians flew off toMaldives, the South Africansheaded home as the suspended

IPL’s foreign cricketers bid adieu toIndia, hoping that the country recov-ers from the mayhem unleashed by asecond wave of Covid-19 cases.

The 40-strong Australian contin-gent, except for a Covid-positive MikeHussey, left for Maldives on Thursdayto serve out the waiting period beforethey can board a flight to Australiaonce the travel restrictions end on May15.

“We can confirm that Australianplayers, coaches, match officials andcommentators have been safely trans-ported from India and are en route tothe Maldives,” Cricket Australia stat-ed in a release.

“The Australians will remain inMaldives until the conclusion of thetravel pause pertaining to flights fromIndia to Australia,” it added.

Of the 40 Australians involved inthe league after three early pullouts, 14were players, including mega-starssuch as David Warner, Pat Cummins,and Steve Smith among others.

The 11 South Africans in theleague boarded flights forJohannesburg as their country has notimposed any restrictions on travel fromIndia, which recorded more than 4 lakhCovid-19 cases on Thursday and closeto 4,000 deaths.

“My constant prayers is with thepeople from India to get through this.Pls Take care of yourselves,” Proteas starFaf du Plessis, who turned up ChennaiSuper Kings, posted on Instagram.

Cricket Australia thanked theBCCI for its assistance in ensuring thatplayers were able to leave India with-in two days of the league’s suspension

owing to Covid-19 cases inside its bio-bubble.

“CA and the ACA extend their sin-cere thanks to the BCCI for theirresponsiveness in moving theAustralians from India to theMaldives...,” the statement read.

JAYAWARDENE TO COMPLETEQUARANTINE IN MALDIVES

Mumbai Indians on Thursdaysaid that their local stars have reachedhome while it has also ensured a safepassage for its Australian contingentto Maldives along with Sri Lankanhead coach Mahela Jaywardene, whoalso will be quarantining there.

The five-time champions posteda series of tweets and shared the trav-el plans of its players and support staff.

“Indian players have embarked ontheir journey back to their hometowns.All Covid-19 related travel and safe-ty protocols have been diligentlyadhered.

“Mumbai and Ahmedabad basedplayers and support staff members willreturn home via Ahmedabad on acharter flight. The cabin crew has com-pleted seven days quarantine at theteam hotel in Delhi,” the franchise stat-ed.

“Australian players and supportstaff members will fly to Maldives ona special charter. MI has madearrangements for their 14-day quaran-tine stay in Maldives before flyingthem back to Australia,” it said.

The franchise has two Australianplayers — hard-hitting batsman ChrisLynn and pacer Nathan Coulter-Nile.

“Head coach Mahela Jayawardenewill also complete his quarantine inMaldives before returning to SriLanka,” it added.

The players and support stafffrom New Zealand, South Africa and

the Caribbean will fly to Auckland,Johannesburg and Trinidad on theirrespective charter flights arranged bythe franchise.

Among its foreigners, while swash-buckling all-rounder Kieron Pollard isfrom the West Indies, opener QuintonDe Kock hails from South Africa.

Pacer Trent Boult and bowlingcoach Shane Bond are from NewZealand.

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Four members of NewZealand’s Test contingent

involved in the now-suspend-ed IPL, including captain KaneWilliamson, will leave India forthe United Kingdom on May 11while the rest will make theirway back home on Friday, thecountry’s cricket board hasannounced.

New Zealand are scheduledto play hosts England in a two-match Test series, beginning onJune 2, before facing India inthe World Test Championshipsfinal at Southampton from June18.

“We’ve worked closely withthe BCCI and the IPL franchis-es on the various departurestrategies and we’re very appre-ciative of their support duringwhat is, clearly, a very challeng-ing time,” New Zealand Cricket(NZC) chief executive DavidWhite said in a statement onThursday.

Skipper Williamson, pacerKyle Jamieson and spinnerMitchell Santner, as well asphysio Tommy Simsek, willremain in a mini-bubble inNew Delhi before departing forthe UK, ahead of preparationsfor the Test series againstEngland, and the WTC finalagainst India.

There were 17 NewZealanders involved in the IPL,including 10 players.

“We are also very gratefulto the England and WalesCricket Board for accommodat-ing the early arrival of the fourmembers of the Test squadcurrently in India.”

NZC said May 11 is the

earliest date it could obtain forthe team’s arrival in the UK.

However, pace spearheadTrent Boult will return homebriefly to see his family beforejoining the Test squad in earlyJune, for the second matchagainst England and the WTCfinal.

The New Zealand-basedTest squad members will departfor England on May 16 and 17.

“Along with the balance ofthe New Zealand-bound IPLplayers, support staff and com-mentators, Boult is scheduled todepart New Delhi tomorrow onone of two charter flights, arriv-ing in Auckland on Saturdaybefore undergoing managedisolation,” the NZC stated.

“...Boult will leave MIQ(Managed Isolation andQuarantine) on May 22 and willspend a week at home with hisfamily, training at MtMaunganui before departingfor the UK in early June,” itadded.

New Zealand team trainerChris Donaldson, who hasbeen with the Kolkata KnightRiders, will also return homebriefly to see his family beforereconnecting with the Testsquad.

White said IPL players,support staff and commentatorsreturning to New Zealandwould adhere to all regulatoryprotocols, including pre-depar-ture Covid-19 tests.

Those returning homefrom India also include StephenFleming, Brendon McCullum,Kyle Mills, Shane Bond, MikeHesson, Tim Seifert, AdamMilne, Scott Kuggeleijn andJames Pamment.

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*�������)�!������������ ����'��>���������C����#% � ���������������� �Chennai: Chennai Super Kings’batting coach Mike Hussey andbowling coach L Balaji have beenflown into the city from Delhi inan air ambulance as they recoverfrom Covid-19, a top franchiseofficial said on Thursday.

Hussey and Balaji wereamong the prominent non-play-ing staff to test positive when theIPL was ‘indefinitely suspended’on Tuesday.

“We decided to bring Husseyand Balaji to Chennai by an airambulance as we have better con-tacts here and wanted to ensurebetter medical facilities in case ofany need,” the CSK official said.

He further said the duo was‘asymptomatic and doing fine.’

The CSK official said Husseywould have to wait for a Covid-19negative report to be able to leavethe country.

“Hussey has to wait and get aCovid negative report before hecan leave India. We will makearrangements for a charter whenit is safe for him to fly,” the offi-cial added. PTI

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Dhaka: Bangladesh internationalsShakib Al Hasan and MustafizurRahaman on Thursday afternoonreturned safely to Dhaka on achartered flight arranged by theRajasthan Royals and the KolkataKnight Riders after the IPL wasindefinitely postponed.

While KKR posted the newsof Shakib’s safe arrival here,Mustafizur took to Twitter tothank both the franchises forfacilitating their Delhi-Dhakaflight.

“Thank you @Sah75official,happy to know you’ve landedhome safely in Dhaka withBangladesh teammate @Mustafiz9from Ahmedabad. Stay safe, andsee you soon.” KKR tweeted.

“Alhamdulillah, we have safe-ly back in Bangladesh without anytrouble. I would like to thank@rajasthanroyals and @KKRidersfranchises for making it happen.I would also like to thank ourhealth ministry for it’s contribu-tion,” Mustafizur wrote. PTI

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Chelsea set up an all-EnglishChampions League final

against Manchester City as goalsfrom Timo Werner and MasonMount beat Real Madrid 2-0 ina dominant display onWednesday to seal a 3-1 aggre-gate victory at Stamford Bridge.

If anything, the scorelineflattered Madrid as the 13-timeEuropean champions had noresponse to Chelsea’s greaterstrength and speed. The Bluesshould have ran out far moreconvincing winners as theytoyed with the tired visitors inthe second half.

However, Werner’s cush-ioned header into an empty neton 28 minutes after Kai Havertz’sinitial effort came back off thecrossbar and Mount’s tap-infive minutes from time wereenough to seal their place inIstanbul on May 29.

“To never lose the concen-tration, focus and positive ener-gy on the pitch — it was a hugeperformance and well deserved,”said Chelsea manager Thomas

Tuchel, who has mastermindeda huge turnaround in Chelsea’sseason since replacing thesacked Frank Lampard inJanuary.

Backed by Russian billion-aire owner Roman Abramovich,Chelsea’s £220 million spendingspree last summer has beenrewarded with a first Champions

League final since they lifted thetrophy for the only time in2012.

“We never lost the hunger,the desire to defend,” addedTuchel. “In the second half wehad even better structure todefend and it was a fantastic per-formance.

“We could have scored so

much earlier and more to besafe, but it’s no time for criticismnow. It’s a fantastic achieve-ment and big congratulations tothe team.”

Madrid boss ZinedineZidane welcomed back captainSergio Ramos for the first timein six weeks, while Eden Hazardwas handed a rare start in an

injury-hit season on his returnto Stamford Bridge.

But the Belgian was again aperipheral figure as Madrid’sover-reliance on KarimBenzema to provide a goalthreat was exposed.

“We needed to be bettergoing forward,” said Zidane.“We didn’t have any clearchances. They made a numberof them and that’s football.

“We fought and tried butthey deserved to win and gothrough.”

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London Olympics Bronze-medallist Saina Nehwal and

men’s star Kidambi Srikanth’slast hopes of Olympic qualifi-cation hang in balance as theIndian Government negotiatesfor their participation in theMalaysian Open amid a ban onflights from India in that coun-try.

Following the postpone-ment of the India Open (May11-16), Saina and Srikanth’shopes of qualifying for theTokyo Games hinge on the(May 25-30) Kuala Lumpurevent followed by the SingaporeOpen (June 1-6).

In the wake of an unprece-dented Covid-19 surge in India,Malaysia and Singapore havebanned flights from the coun-try effective April 28.

“The Sports Ministry,through the Ministry ofExternal Affairs, hasapproached the MalaysianGovernment requesting to

grant permission to the IndianBadminton Team to travel toMalaysia to participate in theMalaysian Open scheduledfrom May 25 to May 30,” theSports Authority of India saidin a statement.

“This is in light of a tempo-rary travel ban that has beenimposed by Malaysia on trav-ellers from India, owing to therising Covid-19 cases in India,”it added.

After an initial requestmade earlier this week, theIndian High Commission inMalaysia “received informa-tion from the MalaysianGovernment that the travel ofthe team may not be possibleimmediately.’’

“However, with 19 daysleft for the competition tobegin, the possibility of travelcannot be ruled out complete-ly,” SAI stated.

The tournament is one ofthe last events that contribute toOlympic qualification whichends on June 15. All top Indiansingles and doubles players likePV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal,Kidambi Srikanth, Sai Praneeth,Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, ChiragShetty, Ashwini Ponnappa andSikki Reddy are due to partic-ipate in this.

With direct travel not pos-sible, BAI had been trying towork out a solution and wasexploring alternative routes toreach Malaysia via Doha or SriLanka.

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