?` VWW`ce e` XVe 4Y`\dZ daRcVU - Daily Pioneer

$: ?` VWW`ce e` XVe 4Y`\dZ daRcVU - Daily Pioneer$
�� ! ��"�� #��

�� $�� $��%��!��&��&�� ' ��!�� $��&�� (��)��

�� *+#��+�,)

Antiguan Prime MinisterGaston Browne has con-

firmed that India has sent a pri-vate jet to Dominica carryingdocuments related to thedeportation of fugitive dia-mantaire Mehul Choksi who iswanted here in a money laun-dering case linked to the Rs13,500 crore Punjab NationalBank (PNB) credit fraud scam.

Meanwhile, the Antiguanmedia released Choksi's photoswith swollen eyes and bruiseson his arms.

Antigua News Room, anAntiguan media outlet, report-ed that a Qatar Airways privatejet landed at the Douglas-Charles airport in Dominica,fuelling speculation aboutChoksi's deportation.

Choksi went missing fromAntigua on May 23 and wassubsequently detained in neigh-bouring Dominica.

Browne said on a radioshow that the jet came fromIndia carrying the necessary

documentation needed fordeportation of Choksi, theAntiguan media report said.

"Yes I can confirm that a jetis there. My understanding isthat the Indian Government hassent some documentation fromthe courts to confirm thatChoksi is a fugitive. My under-standing is that it is for the courthearing scheduled onWednesday (June 2) as theDominica court has put a stayon his deportation. So theIndian Government seems tobe going all out to ensure thathe is repatriated to India andfaces charges there," Brownereportedly told the radio showin his country.

The Qatar Executive flightA7CEE reportedly left the Delhiairport at 3.44 PM on May 28and reached Dominica at 13.16local time on the same day, via

Madrid.A top Dominican court

has restrained Choksi's repa-triation till June 2 when it willtake up the hearing of a habeascorpus petition filed by thebusinessman's attorneys there.

Choksi's lawyer in MumbaiVijay Agarwal has alleged thatthe businessman was abductedfrom the Jolly Harbour inAntigua and Barbuda by police-men looking like Antiguans andIndians and taken to Dominica.

Antiguan PoliceCommissioner Atlee Rodney,however, debunked the claimsof Choksi's counsel saying hehad no information on himbeing forcefully removed.

The Antiguan news outletalso released purported picturesof 62-year-old Choksi with red,swollen eyes and bruises on hisarms.

�� *+#��+�,)

Giving a ray of hope to peo-ple waiting for inoculation

against Covid-19, theGovernment on Sunday saidthat nearly 12 crore doses of thevaccine would be available inJune, up from the 7.94 croredoses that were available forvaccination in May.

The Government's assur-ance came close on the heels ofan announcement by theSerum Institute of India (SII)that it would be able to manu-facture and supply nine to 10crore doses of Covishield inJune, which is way up from itsproduction capacity of 6.5 croredoses in May.

The availability of moredoses is likely to give a fillip tothe Government's nationwidevaccination drive which hadslowed down owing to theshortage of the jabs, resultingin the Government drawingflak from States as well aspotential vaccine beneficiaries.

"The allocation of suppliesto States and Union Territoriesis decided on the consumptionpattern, population densityand vaccine wastage," theUnion Health Ministry said."Visibility for availability ofvaccines for the entire monthof June has been provided wellin advance to States/UTs....," itadded.

"For the month of June,6.09 crore doses of Covid vac-cines will be supplied to the

States and UTs for the vacci-nation of the priority group ofhealthcare workers, front-lineworkers and people in the 45+category as free supply from theGovernment.

"In addition, more than5.86 crore doses will be avail-able for direct procurement bythe States/UTs and private hos-pitals. Therefore, in June, closeto 12 crore doses will be avail-able for the national Covid vaccination programme," itsaid.

The Ministry said thedelivery schedule for this allo-cation would be shared withthe States in advance.

��!"�� "!�� %-�%.�.

Bengal Chief Secretary (CS)Alapan Bandopadhyay may

not report at North Block onMonday as directed by theUnion Home Ministry, sourcesin the Mamata BanerjeeGovernment said. The StateGovernment has vehementlyopposed the Centre's "unilater-al order transferring an IAS offi-cer without consulting theState," sources said. Thoughthere was no official wordregarding this, sources said theCS who had been directed by theCentre to report on Mondaywould be attending pre-sched-uled meetings on the post-cyclone scenario in Kolkata.Sources said the State waspreparing to meet the Centre incourt should a situation arise outof the CS’s non-appearance inDelhi. "The Centre may eitherwithdraw its letter or it maymove court … in that case weare prepared too," a TrinamoolCongress MP said adding "atpresent it is upon our Chief

Minister to handle the situation."The CS, who was scheduled

to retire on May 31 and wasgranted a three-month extensionwith New Delhi’s nod, is cur-rently heading taskforces tosupervise and streamline thepost-cyclone relief mechanism.

Mamata earlier opposed theCentre's move to recallBandopadhyay, as "the BJP'sway to bulldoze the federal sys-tem of the country just becausethey cannot digest the defeat inthe Assembly elections."

A section of retired IAS offi-cers like Jawahar Sarkar said:"The Centre can do nothingabout it if the State sends thema polite letter pointing out theAll-India Service Rules govern-ing such transfers. This officermay relax and be where he is asnothing will happen if he doesnot go to Delhi."

Another retired officer said:"Though the rule is loaded infavour of the Centre in suchcases … it also stipulates thatthey will first have to approachthe State Government seekinga central deputation and hisrelease which they have not …in that case even if the ChiefSecretary reports at NorthBlock where is the release let-ter from the State."

�� ,+**.)

The uncertainty about the"progress" of the Covid-19

curve forced the State admin-istration to extend the totallockdown till June 7. MuthuvelKarunanidhi Stalin, who haddeclared his opposition to anykind of lockdown during hisdays as the Leader of theOpposition has conceded to therequest of the high power com-mittee for the continuation oflockdown only because of theunpredictable nature of thevirus causing the pandemic.

While Chief MinisterStalin's opposition to the lock-down is attributed to his appre-hension about the poorer sec-tions of society, many personsand institutions in the State areon a mission to feed the lessprivileged affected by the pan-demic.

Every morning, heavy

trucks belonging to MadrasRegimental Centre, Wellington,set on their trip to the hither-to unexplored regions in theHigh Ranges in search of poorpeople to provide them "twosquare meals" of food.

The soldiers, popularlyknown as Thambis (Tamil forbrothers) carry food packetswith steaming idli, vada, sam-bar, chutney and lunch thatconsists of rice and half adozen vegetable curries.

"This is in sync with ourmotto ‘Har Kaam Desh KeNaam’. We provide assistance inthe form of cooked food pack-ets to the poor daily wageearners, labourers and to theneedy in the far flung areas ofthe Nilgiris district," said aMRC Wellington spokesper-son.

These villagers are the oneswho are deprived of their liveli-hood and daily income because

of Covid-19 and the lockdown.The Thambis get the satisfac-tion of their life when they seethe smiling faces of these poorvillage folk, said thespokesman.

In the adjoining district ofTirupur, it is a homemakerIndira Sundaram who hasearned the goodwill of thepeople by her selfless services.Everyday she sets on her ownwith packed food packets insearch of the poor and needyand feeds more than 500households in the city.

"This is all I could do. I getthe food cooked in my houseitself with the help of a cater-

er. Of late many citizens gavecome forward offering financialassistance in this mission toprovide food to the people,"said Sundaram.

Tirupur an industrial huband also the knitwear capital ofIndia has many migrantlabourers from far away Stateswho have been affected by thelockdown. In Erode district, aschool principal by nameClement Premkumar movesaround in a cart with foodpackets. When he launched thefree meals for the poor people,he was alone in the venture.Seeing this 44-year-old man'sinitiative, others too joined hisbandwagon.

Pandemic may take time tosubside. But the Thambis ofMRC, Indira Sundaram,Clement Premkumar and hun-dreds like them would ensurethat no starvation deaths takeplace in Tamil Nadu.

��

�� !��

�� *+#��+�,)

Asserting that all hands wereon deck in the ongoing

pandemic that was the kind ofhealth emergency thatoccurred "once in 100 years",Prime Minister Narendra Modion Sunday said that the pro-duction of oxygen in the coun-try had increased "ten times"and people were working witha team spirit to defeat theCoronavirus outbreak.

During his monthly radioprogramme 'Mann Ki Baat', thePrime Minister said the coun-try's courage and determina-tion had increased manifold asCovid-19 posed a "big chal-lenge" before it.

"In the normal course, wewere producing 900 metrictonnes of liquid medical oxy-gen in a day. Today, the pro-duction has gone up to 9,500metric tonnes a day — an

increase of almost 10 per cent,"said Modi while underlininghis Government's efforts infighting coronavirus.

He said oxygen trans-portation to hospitals was tak-ing place with speed, dedica-tion and with the cooperationof all, including truck drivers,the Railways, the Indian AirForce (IAF) pilots, Army per-sonnel and Navy ship Captains.

"During the second wave ofCovid-19, a major challengewas to supply medical oxygento remote areas. To counterchallenges that the countryfaced, drivers of cryogenic oxy-gen tankers helped by workingon a war footing and saved livesof lakhs of people," said Modi.

�� *+#��+�,)�

The Ministry of Labour andEmployment on Sunday

announced additional bene-fits for workers through theESIC and EPFO schemes toaddress their fear and anxietyabout the well-being of theirfamily members due to Covid-19-related deaths.

The Government hasplanned to provide enhancedsocial security to workers with-out any additional cost to theemployers.

"Currently for the InsuredPersons (IPs) under ESIC, afterdeath or disablement of the IPdue to employment injury apension equivalent to 90 percent of average daily wagedrawn by the worker is avail-able to the spouse and widowedmother for life long and forchildren till they attain the ageof 25 years. For the femalechild, the benefit is available tillher marriage.

"To support the families ofInsured Persons (IP) underthe ESIC scheme, it has beendecided that, all dependentfamily members of IPs whohave been registered in the

online portal of the ESIC priorto their diagnosis of Covid dis-ease and subsequent death dueto the disease, will be entitledto receive the same benefits andin the same scale as received bythe dependents of insured per-sons who die as a result ofemployment injury," saidMinistry in a statement.

As per the new order, theamount of maximum benefithas been increased from 6lakhs to 7 lakhs to the familymembers of deceased employ-ees. Restoration of provision ofminimum 2.5 lakh compensa-tion retrospectively fromFebruary 15, 2020, said the cir-cular issued by the LabourMinistry.

�� -*�-*

Amid calls for a fresh probeinto the origins of Covid-

19, an explosive new studyhas found that Chinese scien-tists created the virus in a labin Wuhan, then tried to covertheir tracks by reverse-engi-neering versions of the virus tomake it look like it evolved nat-urally from bats.

The novel coronavirusSARS-CoV-2 virus has no "cred-ible natural ancestor" and was

created by Chinese scientistswho were working on a 'Gain ofFunction' project in a Wuhanlab, the Daily Mail reported onSunday, citing a new researchpaper by British professorAngus Dalgleish andNorwegian scientist Dr BirgerSorensen.

The new research claimsthat scientists took a naturalcoronavirus "backbone" foundin Chinese cave bats andspliced onto it a new "spike",turning it into the deadly and

highly transmissible Covid-19.

The paper also quotes thatresearchers found "unique fin-gerprints" in Covid-19 samplesthat they say could only havearisen from manipulation in alaboratory. Authors Dalgleishand Sorensen wrote in theirpaper that they had prima facieevidence of retro-engineering inChina' for a year, but wereignored by academics andmajor journals, reportedDailyMail.com.

��

��

�� !��"��!�"��#�� $ ��%��##�&��

�� !�"#$�!�%��

'##�� %��(�)�#� ��$��

# ��"�� "��%&

�%��*�+��"�'�� #$�%$&'$('&

)*'$&+$+%&,� ��($#-$%'&�)*($%'.,� �� #$/.$/-$.(&

)*#$'#$.+(,�� #%$&'$&.�

��/�/+$('$�'/�)*'�$.%%,

�0��#/$�+$�#+�)*#%$(+�,

� ��#/$'&$#�%�)*'-$�-&,

!��'.$-%$%'.�)*'$�.&,

� �� '&$#/$/-#�)*-&.,

�� *+#��+�,)

The Government has warnedhotels against offering stay

vaccination packages afterreports that some hospitalitysector players had started com-ing up with these schemes.

Union Health Minister DrHarsh Vardhan tweeted,"Hotels offering Covid-19 vac-cination packages shall facestrict legal action! Such activ-ities are in contravention ofrules under the national Covidvaccination programme andmust cease immediately."

The Ministry wrote to allStates on Saturday, saying it hadcome to its notice that "someprivate hospitals are givingpackages for Covid vaccinationin collaboration with somehotels, which is against (rules)."

The Centre has pointed outin the letter there are fouravailable options for vaccina-tion — Government centres;private hospitals; atGovernment and private officesand "near to home" centres forthe elderly and differently-abled.

,��# ��%�-�� ##��#��#��(��

�� &��'�� (��)��

��1�� 21$�3�34�52�6�7��51��589 1�)�58 ��:�2

92�;��21,�<5226�:��35<7�;1� ;��1;�58 �=� �� $�>5�5$

158952$�<�4;��6�5��4�<�;�5;�<��1 1;1��:�2 <��5��5�:�5

��?��>�=�;59��<422 �1

0�� &��!��1�� .�##�/�� (

��

� ��1�� 1

�� @'/ �114� 2345.��+'��. ��&��

�&��6��+�,)��7�%*-# �,-.��,7�.*+�#."

".*�,)�".)7" �,.*�)8.",��+,".�7* ,9�+".�.��:)�.9#.�.

1;59� 1��'�.&��

� ��!$�� ('$�#%#'A��" ��'#��#

0)��0��)*�).;��)�"+.�)*8�-6�,+��,)*+�+��)�7.�)-*

�)012��3�."9�%-��+��+�

6-"��)�:+"

��4015"�6

)�".+��+89��.�%��"7�+�#)�,�,.�.�

��

�� !�"�#$!��% "�#�% &'(�)*)'

�� !��"�� #�� $��%��&�� '�� "��(��

�� +,".�7*

Bharatiya Janata PartyMPs,MLAs and workers

participated in various serviceworks in urban and rural areasas part of the Seva HiSangathan programme to markseven years of the central gov-ernment under Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on Sunday.Ration kits, masks, sanitisersand other items were distrib-uted among citizens on theoccasion.

At a programme held inPratitnagar Valmiki Basti inRishikesh Assembly con-stituency, BJP national gener-al secretary and State in-chargeDushyant Kumar Gautam andthe local MLA and Assemblyspeaker Prem Chand Agrawalwhile in Haridwar Gautamalong with BJP state presidentand Haridwar MLA Madan

Kaushik distributed relief mate-rials at various places. Speakingat the event in Rishikesh,Gautam said that the BJP isorganising various pro-grammes for protection from

Covid while also raising pub-lic awareness.

He said that some confu-sion is being spread but peopleshould wear masks, observesocial distancing and frequently

wash hands for protection fromCovid-19.

He averred that the BJPgovernment at the centre hadserved the public with dedica-tion across the nation during

the pandemic. He also spoke in detail

about the various works of theparty.

Kaushik said that BJPworkers had conducted serviceworks in villages acrossUttarakhand. The party work-ers had distributed masks, handsanitisers, ration kits and otherimportant items to thoserequiring these. Former chiefminister and Doiwala MLA,Trivendra Singh Rawat attend-ed a blood donation campheld in the Nawada area of hisconstituency.

Similarly, the party’s stategeneral secretary (organisa-tion) Ajey participated in ablood donation camp inDharmpur Assembly con-stituency, MP Ajay Bhatt par-ticipated in events at Haldwani,Ramnagar and Kotabagh, MPAjay Tamta attended events inBajeti village in his con-stituency and state general sec-retary Rajendra Bhandariattended an event in Thano vil-lage. Other MLAs and officebearers of the party also attend-ed programmes for distributionof relief material and similarevents in various parts of thestate to mark the occasion.

�� +,".�7*

Taking a dig at the SevaDiwas programme organ-

ised by the BJP on Sunday, thePradesh Congress Committee(PCC) president Pritam Singhsaid that perturbed by its slid-ing graph the BJP had entereda damage control mode. Hesaid that when the pandemicwas at its peak and the destruc-tion prevailed everywhere theBJP and its leaders had isolat-ed themselves.

Singh was speaking aftersitting on a fast at the stateheadquarters of the party hereon Sunday.

The protest was organisedagainst poor health servicesand spiralling prices. He saidthat the general public is reel-ing under corruption, pricerise and unemployment andBJP by changing the CM hasproved that its governmenthas done nothing in the last

four and half years inUttarakhand. Singh said thatthe state government has failedin tackling the pandemic ofCovid- 19 and Black fungusdisease. He said that instead ofdiscussing assembly electionsslated next year in UttarPradesh and Uttarakhand theBJP had discussed ways ofcontrolling the pandemic in itscore group. He said that insteadof providing relief the state gov-ernment has hiked the tariff ofelectricity.

The cooking gas cylinder iscosting more than Rs 900, thepetrol Rs 95 and diesel Rs 90.Singh said that the ‘SewaDiwas’ is a mere political stuntand exposes the slander politicsof BJP.

Launching into an attackon the Narendra Modi gov-ernment for playing vaccinediplomacy, the PCC presidentssaid that the governmentexported 6.08 Crore vaccines to

other countries and now whenvaccine shortage has hit thecountry it is now importing thevaccine. He said that the gov-ernment should have madeadequate arrangements for vac-cines before starting the vac-cine campaign ( Tika Utsav).He said that the Union gov-ernment should have providedthe vaccines to the states but ithas abdicated this responsibil-ity and has put the onus of get-ting vaccines on the states.The PCC president said thatwhile 50 percent of the popu-lation of many countries hasbeen vaccinated, only 3 percentof the population is vaccinatedin India.

Former MLA Rajkumar,general secretary (organisa-tion) Vijay Saraswat, vice pres-idents Surya Kant Dhasmana,Aryendra Sharma, Lal ChandSharma, Navin Payal, PratimaSingh and other Congress lead-ers attended the protest.

�� +,".�7*

The claim of the ChiefMinister Tirath Singh Rawat

that the sugar is being providedfor the first time in PublicDistribution System (PDS)shops after independence inthe state by his government haselicited a sharp reaction from theUttarakhand Congress.

Terming the statement ofCM as proof of his lack ofknowledge, the PradeshCongress Committee (PCC)president Pritam Singh said, “Iwant to remind him that sugarwas available at Rs 13.65 per kgin ration shops during theCongress regime. The CMshould have consulted his offi-

cers before making such anignorant statement,’’ he said.

Known for giving state-ments which draw attentionand attract controversy, CMRawat said in a programme inUttarkashi on Saturday, “Sugarwas never given since indepen-dence, not even during disastersand bad times. We are givingsugar for three months alongwith grain.’’

However, later CM clarifiedthat sugar is being given for thefirst time in a disaster.

It is pertinent to mentionhere that the Rawat cabinet in itsmeeting on Friday had decidedto provide two kg of sugar at Rs25 per kg to all ration card hold-ers.

�� !"#$��%&��'�()

��%��,��*&!)�� #�� !��"�� ! ��

�*��&�+&,��&�)�,(�-,%�.��,(�&��,&&��)��/��)

�� ,.*�)8.",

Reduced to just about six leg-islative assemblies across

India, the Congress party is vir-tually leaving no stoneunturned to retain power inPunjab. Just about eightmonths to go before the crucial2022 Punjab assembly elec-tions, the Congress nationalvice-president Rahul Gandhiand the party high commandconstituted a three-memberpanel are simultaneouslyengaged in talks with the stateparty leaders to resolve theongoing crisis.

On one hand, the highcommand-constituted three-member panel is set to start aseries of meetings for the nextthree days in the national cap-ital to resolve the growingresentment within the Punjabparty unit by holding one-to-one meetings with the partyleaders; on the other hand,Rahul Gandhi on Sunday per-sonally called up state leaders,including three Ministers andsome MLAs, to take directfeedback.

To start with, the panel —comprising the Leader ofOpposition in the Rajya SabhaMallikarjun Kharge, state partyaffairs in-charge Harish Rawat,and former MP JP Agarwal —will kickstart the round ofmeetings with the PunjabCongress president SunilJakhar, followed by partyMLAs, MPs, former presi-dents, among others, over thenext three days.

The murmurs of dissentwithin the state party unitover the State Government’sperformance in Punjab, led byseveral senior leaders includ-ing the Ministers, has nowturned into boisterous voices ofrebellion affecting the party’simage in a run up to the stateassembly polls, which are slat-ed to be held early next year.

Returning from over ayear-long political hiberna-tion, former Minister NavjotSingh Sidhu opened a frontagainst his own party’s gov-ernment, especially the ChiefMinister Capt AmarinderSingh, over the unfulfilled pre-poll promises of punishingthe guilty of sacrilege andrelated firing cases besides thedrugs trade.

Also, the Punjab andHaryana High Court’s adverse

order in Kotkapura firing inci-dent came as a vindication ofSidhu’s criticism of theGovernment, and many moreparty leaders, includingMinisters, upped the anteagainst the Chief Minister.

The situation turned sobad that senior party leaders,including Cabinet MinistersSukhjinder Singh Randhawaand Charanjit Singh Channi,Rajya Sabha MPs Partap SinghBajwa and Shamsher SinghDullo, MLAs Pargat Singh,Surjit Singh Dhiman, andmany others, held a series ofclosed-door meetings to pressupon the Government toensure punishment to theguilty, the Badals, in the sacri-lege cases, before the ensuingelections.

If that was not enough, thereports of Vigilance actionagainst Sidhu, a case againstRandhawa’s personal assistant,an old ‘Me Too’ case againstChanni, and “threats” of“action” against Pargat Singhcame to fore, with the anti-Capt Amarinder camp decry-ing “vendetta” for raising theirvoices. Virtually, the state partyunit was divided into twopower centres.

Seeing things getting outof hand, the party high com-mand set up a three-memberpanel to resolve the internalissues in the state party unit,especially between the ChiefMinister Capt AmarinderSingh and Navjot Singh Sidhu.

Besides Jakhar, the panelhas also invited 25 legislatorsfor the meeting, scheduled tobe held in New Delhi onMonday, to take their feedbackon the ongoing tussle in theparty.

“We will talk to the grass-root leaders, the responsibleleaders…We will meet theChief Minister, party presi-dent, Bajwa, Sidhu, Dullo,Ministers like Channi…Wewill talk to everyone…First,we will talk to the MLAs,then MPs, and then formerpresidents, and if possible, wewill also go Chandigarh andsee if some other leaders alsowanted to meet us,” Rawat toldThe Pioneer.

Rawat said, “We will holda one to one meeting witheveryone so that all leaders cantalk to us freely and withoutany pressure. Our effort wouldbe to understand things and

find out ways to put up a unit-ed fight in the next electionsby resolving all differences.”

He said that senior leaders,including Ambika Soni,Ashwani Kumar, among oth-ers, would also be invited forthe meeting. “We have nopreconceived notions aboutanything…the meetings willbe held in a comfortable envi-ronment and with open mind,and we are hopeful to bring allleaders together to put up aunited face,” he added.

It has been learnt that thepanel would wrap up its meet-ings with the leaders by thefirst week of June, reportedlyby June 2-3, and subsequent-ly submit its report to theCongress interim presidentSonia Gandhi for a final deci-sion.

The main challenge aheadthe panel is to look for theways how senior leaders, espe-cially Sidhu, could be accom-modated, as all previous effortsto bridge the gap betweenhim and the Chief Ministerproved futile.

“As I have already saidmany times earlier also, Sidhuis a strong leader…he is theparty’s future. What role hewill get is on the party todecide…My previous effortscould not provide result, butonce again, we, as a panel,would make efforts and let’ssee how Sidhu and Capt saabwould respond…We will finda way through this panel,”said Rawat adding that bothCapt Amarinder and Sidhu aresenior leaders and we have tofind the way out between thetwo.

As of now, Sidhu is insist-ing that he should be appoint-ed the state unit president orDeputy Chief Minister —demands categorically deniedby the Chief Minister.Accommodating Sidhu on anyof the positions would providehim with an opportunity tocheckmate Capt Amarinder inthe distribution of tickets inthe coming Assembly polls.However, Capt Amarinder hadoffered to make Sidhu a partof his Council of Ministers.

Jakhar, who has alreadyreached the national capital tomeet the three-member panel,said that he was yet to knowthe exact agenda for the meet-ing and would see how thetalks move forward.

(<�&�� =�"�8��

��

�� ,.*�)8.",

Haryana Chief MinisterManohar Lal Khattar on

Sunday said that 50 people havedied due to black fungus ormucormycosis in the state sofar, while 650 more are under-going treatment for the infec-tion in various hospitals.

“There have been over 750cases of black fungus inHaryana so far. Fifty-eight havebeen cured while 50 people

have lost their lives and 650patients are undergoing treat-ment," the Chief Minister saidwhile addressing a digital pressconference here. He said thatthe government is procuringthe Amphotericin B injectionused in treatment of black fun-gus. "We have got 6,000 injec-tion vials. Over the next twodays, we will get 2,000 vialsmore while we have placed anorder for another 5,000 vials,”he added.

*+��

�� !��"��#��$��#��%�&'((��)(�*+%��,*�� -.(&+(+,,', �� !�"#"$��#"%��&��'��(�� )��*��+��',� ,�#�,-*��,��$�..*��+��,��/�� 0��!��+��+1��+�� 2�� +/�3��2��+��(��4��+!��%�/��-�� /�0�� /��5��3�!�0(��"$$...6��+.$$"7.$$.788��4��+9":$��%�!4'(��-��/��!3�"6.$:.$� ��+.$6."7;<=;..27;<==..��)��04��+7��9��3��9�> �,��)��0"66%.$%�?��+.866"6:7%77:"78

�� #�� !�"�#$!��% "�#�% &'(�)*)'

Dr Gaurav Sanjay

Each year World No TobaccoDay is observed on May 31.

This day serves as a reminderto raise awareness about thedangers of smoking and toencourage smokers to quit thehabit of smoking around theworld.

The habits of smoking andchewing tobacco have beenprevalent in the society sincehundreds of years, across allcivilizations and cultures in dif-ferent forms. Smoking, dhuma-pana (literally "drinkingsmoke"), has been practiced forat least 2,000 years in India andhas been first mentioned inAtharvaveda.

Although, the overallsmoking rate worldwide hasdecreased but the number ofsmokers has increased due toincreased population. Thereare more than a billion smok-ers worldwide, over 80 percent of them live in developingcountries. According to WHO,India is home to 120 millionthat is 12 per cent of the world’ssmokers and more than 10 mil-lion of them die each year dueto tobaccoconsumption.Another globaladult tobacco survey India(India GATS2) showed thatIndia is home to over 27 croretobacco users.Globally it is thesecond largest producer andconsumer of tobacco prod-ucts.This is preventable and canbe prevented only with theeffort of both government andsociety.

The ill effects of tobaccoare known to cause respirato-ry disorders such as COPD,oral and lung cancers.Smokingprecipitates hypertension andcardiac problems.The negativeimpact of tobacco smoking onhealth are well established andknown to the society. There isa statutory warning on each

pack of cigarette or tobaccopouch reminding the con-sumer the negative effects ofsmoking.

Covid-19 virus usuallyaffects the respiratory sys-tem.Think of your respiratorytract as an upside-down tree.The trunk is your trachea, orwindpipe. It splits into smallerand smaller branches in yourlungs. At the end of eachbranch are tiny air sacs calledalveoli. This is where oxygengoes into your blood and car-bon dioxide comes out.Thenovel coronavirus can infectthe upper or lower part of yourrespiratory tract. If it travelsdown your airways, the liningcan become irritated andinflamed. In some cases, theinfection can reach all the waydown into your alveoli.

Covid-19 is a still a newcondition and scientists arelearning more every day aboutwhat it can do to your lungs.They believe that the effects onyour body are similar to thoseof two other coronavirus dis-eases, severe acute respiratorysyndrome (SARS) and MiddleEast Respiratory Syndrome(MERS). As the infection trav-els in your respiratory tract,your immune system fightsback.

Your lungs and airwaysswell and become inflamed.This can start in one part ofyour lung and spread.About 80per cent people who haveCovid get mild to moderatesymptoms. You may have a drycough or a sore throat. Somepeople have pneumonia, a lung

infection in which the alveoliare inflamed.

There are not many scien-tific research papers on theeffect of smoking on the Covid-19 infection. A review of liter-ature has revealed that 34 peerreview studies have shown thatsmokers constituted 1.4 to 18.5per cent of the hospitalisedadults. In another study it wasfound that a there is a statisti-cally significant associationbetween smoking and severityof Covid-19 cases.The availableevidence suggests that evenpassive smoke exposure isharmful.

Tobacco smoking is knownto increase the heart rate andblood pressure and increase ofcarbon mono oxide level in theblood stream. WHO recom-mends quitting tobacco use inevery way and suggests thatwithin 20 minutes of quittingthe elevated heart rate andblood pressure drops, withinthree months of quitting, bloodcirculation improves and lungfunction increases and after 3-9 months coughing and short-ness of breath distressimproves. Quitting will notsave the patients but also theirloved ones,especially childrenfrom exposure to passive smok-ing.

Tobacco is a known riskfactor to predispose to infectionlike TB of lungs and cancer oforal cavity and the lungs. Inaddition to that nicotine cancauses hypertension, heart fail-ure, cancer and blindness. Thehabit of smoking is injurious tohealth. Considering the role of

smoking which increased theseverity of illness in Covid theMinistry of Health and Welfare,Government of India issued awarning on May 11, 2020against the use of any tobaccoproducts during Covid-19 pan-demic and took measures toreduce tobacco use given itspotential to increase likelihoodof virus infection while exhal-ing respirators droplets, spittingand sharing of the bidi or cig-arette etc.

The Covid-19 pandemic isan opportunity to increaseawareness to quit tobacco usein every form. Tobacco con-tains nicotine which is respon-sible for constriction of periph-eral arteries which leads to gan-grene usually of the limbs. Anoted Indian cardiologist,emphasised in a recent webinarthat hypertension, Covid-19and tobacco are a deadly triad.The author has an experienceof treating many patients ofperipheral vascular disease andgangrene and in these patientswhenever there is a need ofpainkillers, they do not givethem as much relief as to thegeneral populations.

Smoking itself decrease thetolerance of pain and nicotineblunts the effect of painkillers.This becomes a challenge espe-cially after any surgery in thesepatients. The management ofpain in these patients becomesdifficult because pain is usual-ly ischemic and these patientsare usually advised to stopsmoking. As is known, smok-ing is an addiction and becauseof that smokers suffer physio-logical and psychologicalimpacts on the body and brain.The problem should be under-stood not only by the patientand the treating team but thefamily as well.

Any kind of tobacco con-sumption predisposes a personto many diseases. The habit ofsmoking and chewing tobaccousually starts in teenage. Hence,there should be strict ban oftobacco sale in or aroundschools and others educationinstitutes. All forms of adver-tisement about tobacco saleshould be prohibited in massmedia, merely statuary warn-ing that smoking is injurious tohealth is not enough in cases ofchildren and people those whoare ignorant and illiterate.

��&��

�� +,".�7*

Much to the relief of thegeneral public and the

State Government the numberof novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) cases in Uttarakhand isdecreasing at a rapid pace. Thestate health department report-ed 1226 new patients of the dis-ease on Sunday which is theleast number in the month ofMay. The department also stat-ed that 1927 patients of the dis-ease recovered on the day. Thecumulative count of the patientsof Covid-19 in the state is at3,28,338 while a total of 2,85,889patients have recovered fromthe disease so far. The Statehealth department reported thedeath of 32 patients from thedisease on Sunday whichincreased the death toll to 6401in the state. A total of 22766samples were sent for testing onSunday and the sample positiv-ity rate is at 6.89 percent.

Out of the 32 deaths report-ed on Sunday, four eachoccurred at Government DoonMedical college (GDMC) hos-pital Dehradun and All IndiaInstitute of Medical Sciences(AIIMS) Rishikesh while threedeaths each occurred atArogyadham HospitalDehradun, Himalayan hospitaland Sushila Tiwari government

hospital Haldwani. Similarlytwo patients succumbed to thedisease at Sai Hospital, Nainital.The authorities also added ninesuch deaths in the toll onSunday which had occurred inthe past but were not reportedearlier. Six of these deaths werereported in Haridwar districtalone. The mountainous districtof Pithoragarh reported thehighest number of new cases ofCovid -19 on Sunday. Here 276new cases were reported.Dehradun reported 241,Haridwar 159, Pauri 100, Tehri94, Udham Singh Nagar 89,Chamoli 87, Nainital 59,Rudraprayag 50, Uttarkashi 24,Champawat 22, Almora 21 andBageshwar four new cases of thedisease on Sunday.

The state now has 30,357active patients of the disease.Haridwar is the top position inthe list of active cases with7,573 cases. Dehradun is on sec-

ond position with 3937 cases,Pauri 3,175, Chamoli 2,418,Udham Singh Nagar 2,256,Pithoragarh 1,894, Tehri 1,837,Nainital 1,696, Rudraprayag1,464, Almora 1,340, Bageshwar1,038, Uttarkashi 954 andChampawat 775 active cases ofthe disease.

The State now has 198patients of Mucormycosis (Black Fungus) and out of them15 have died while 13 haverecovered from the disease.

To contain the contagion ofCovid-19, the state administra-tion has set up 370 containmentzones in different parts of thestate. In the ongoing vaccinationdrive 12,364 people were vacci-nated in 364 sessions in differ-ent parts of the state on Sunday.A total of 6,83,285 people havebeen fully vaccinated while22,16,968 have received thefirst dose of the vaccine in theState.

�733��/��%�� 7��7+38��%�� 9:��

�� +,".�7*

In a clear indication that con-tagion of Covid-19 is on a

downhill path in Uttarakhand,the lowest number of newcases of the disease in the lastone and half month werereported in the week endingMay 29. In the week which is

the 63rd week ever since thefirst patient of the disease wasdetected in Uttarakhand onMarch 15 last year, a total of16643 cases were reported.The data kept by the SocialDevelopment for Communities(SDC) foundation shows that44856 and 27230 cases werereported in the 61st and 62ndweeks respectively. The highestweekly cases were reported inweek number 60th (May 2 -8)when 4030481 cases werereported.

The week ending May 29also had the lowest positivityrate (6.44 %) and least numberof active cases ( 31110) in the

last six weeks. The 63rd weekalso reported the lowest num-ber of deaths (626) in the lastfive weeks and highest tests(2,58601) in the last four weeks.In the week ending May 29, thehealth department reported42,523 recoveries while in theprevious week 62nd more than47000 recoveries were report-ed.

The founder of SDCFoundation Anoop Nautiyalsaid that though things areimproving, the authoritiesshould continue to focus on thestrategy of more testing, isola-tion, containment and vacci-nation.

� $��$��%��

��

� ��

�� "�� '�� "��

�� +,".�7*

Chief Minister Tirath SinghRawat virtually inaugurat-

ed a 500x2 LPM oxygen gen-

eration plant at the base hos-pital in Almora medical collegeand a 216 LPM plant in theAlmora district hospital onSunday. These are the first

oxygen plants to be set up inthe mountainous part ofKumaon region.

Rawat said that these plantswill benefit patients in Almora

and nearby districts. He saidthat after medical colleges anddistrict hospitals, the govern-ment is facilitating oxygenplants at the level of commu-nity health centres.

The CM reiterated thatpreparations should be com-pleted for the third wave ofCovid-19, adding that the stategovernment is undertaking allpossible efforts to control thepandemic. He further said thatthe testing average inUttarakhand is higher than inother states.

Rawat said that the major-ity of those aged above 45years have been vaccinated inUttarakhand.

The State is receiving vac-cines from time to time fromthe Centre. Efforts are alsobeing undertaken to importvaccines from other nations to

speed up vaccination of thoseaged above 18 years.

Efforts are also beingundertaken to start academicsession in the Almora medicalcollege, he added.

Almora MP Ajay Tamtasaid that the setting up of oxy-gen plants in Almora will alsobenefit people in Bageshwar,Chamoli and Pithoragarh dis-tricts.

State minister and ministerin-charge of Covid works inAlmora district, Rekha Aryasaid that various steps arebeing taken to improve healthservices. An oxygen plant willbe ready soon in Someshwar,she added.

Vidhan Sabha deputyspeaker Raghunath SinghChauhan and Almora districtmagistrate Nitin Bhadauriyaalso spoke on the occasion.

��!��

�� +,".�7*

Chief Minister Tirath SinghRawat commended the

efforts of party workers andlocal residents for helping thepublic in Pauri and Almora dis-tricts amidst the Covid pan-demic. He said this while inter-acting virtually with BharatiyaJanata Party workers involvedin the Seva Hi Sangathan pro-gramme on Sunday. He saidthat under the leadership ofPrime Minister NarendraModi, the state has achieved allround development while theCovid situation has also beenbrought under control.

Speaking on the occasion,Rawat stressed on the impor-tance of organised and com-bined efforts against Covid-19.Compared to the past, the sit-uation of the second wave ofCovid is now under control toa great extent. He said that thepeople had followed the Covidcurfew and guidelines due to

which the state is now in a bet-ter position.

The CM said that the gov-ernment has made all arrange-ments to ensure that nobodyfaces inconvenience in Covidtesting in both urban and ruralareas. Medical teams are work-ing in villages where arrange-ments have been made forvarious essentials from medi-cines to ration.

The State Government isattempting to facilitate oxygenplants from district hospitals tocommunity health centres toprevent any oxygen relatedissues. He also claimed thatmajority of those aged above 45years had been vaccinated inthe state. Arrangements havealso been made for the safety ofchildren. He exhorted all tostrongly face the difficult situ-ations resulting from the pan-demic. Rawat also commend-ed the work done by socialworkers and the general pub-lic in rural areas.

�� +,".�7*

Chest and respiratory diseaseexpert at Himalayan hos-

pital, Jolly Grant, Dr RakhiKhanduri has said that therisk of severity of infection ofCovid-19 and fatality from thedisease in tobacco users is 50per cent higher than the nonusers.

She said that the use oftobacco has a deteriorating

effect on the immunity of thebody due to which the bodybecomes more vulnerable toattack of the virus. DrKhanduri said that the themeof this year’s World No Tobaccoday is ‘commit to quit’ which isquite appropriate consideringthe prevailing pandemic.

She said that use of tobac-co damages the layer of lungsdue to which they becomemore sensitive to the contagion

of Covid-19. Tobacco use alsoaffects immunity. Dr Khandurisaid that the habitual tobaccousers tend to spit more due tosecretion of saliva whichincreases the chances of spread-ing the infection. She said thatwith a strong will power onecan say no to the use of tobac-co. Dr Khanduri said that med-itation helps in overcomingstress and desire for use oftobacco.

�/�0�*'��++,&)��,+%�&)"��,& �&��1��)�2�(��'�)�%�('��

�,!��,�*��&��)�3�4-��-�&�&�� +&,��,��'5�6

�� &�� !�"�#$!��% "�#�% &'(�)*)'

�� *+#��+�,)

On the completion of sevenyears of his Government,

Prime Minister Narendra Modion Sunday evoked “nationalpride” and asserted that Indiamoved ahead with its ownthought and did not comeunder any outside pressure.

Modi also reminded peo-ple in his monthly radio talkthat in the last seven years,India made “no compromiseon national security”.

“Together, we have experi-enced many moments ofnational pride in these years.When we observe that nowIndia moves ahead not with thethought and pressure of othercountries but with her ownconviction,” said Modi.

Without going into specif-ic issues, the Prime Ministersaid that country’s confidencehas gone high as it now gives“fitting reply” to “those con-spiring against us”.

“When we witness thatnow India gives a befittingreply to those who conspireagainst us, then our confi-dence soars. When India doesnot compromise on the issuesof national security, when thestrength of our armed forcesincreases, we feel that yes, we

are on the right path,” thePrime Minister said listingachievements of his govern-ment in last seven years.

He said the country couldachieve many a milestones infew previous years which didnot happen in decades.

Modi said over seven years,the country has followed themantra of ‘Sabka-Saath, Sabka-Vikas, Sabka-Vishwas’. “ All of ushave worked every momentwith dedication in the service ofthe country. Many friends havesent me letters and said that in‘Mann Ki Baat’, I should also dis-cuss our mutual journey of 7years”, he said.

Many people are thankful tothe country that electricity hasreached their village for thefirst time in 70 years, that theirsons and daughters are studyingin the light, under the fan.Many people say that our villagetoo is now connected to the cityby a paved road, said PrimeMinister.

Modi recalled that just a fewdays ago, a family from a villagesent him a photo of the water tapinstalled in their house under the‘Jal Jeevan Mission’. “They hadcaptioned the photo ‘ meregaon ki jeevandhara’- the lifelineof my village, there are manysuch families,” he said.

In the seven decades afterIndependence, Modi said, onlythree and a half crore ruralhomes of our country had water

connections. “However, just inthe last 21 months, four and ahalf crore houses have beengiven clean water connections.

Of these, 15 months were of theCorona period,” he pointed out.

A similar confidence hascome to the country through the

‘Ayushman Yojana’. When thepoor come home healthy withfree treatment, they feel that theyhave got a new life, he said.

“Friends, in these 7 years,India has worked to show theworld a new direction in digital

transactions. Today, you canmake digital payments withabsolute ease at any place; it isproving very useful even in thistime of Corona, “ Modi said.

Modi reminded that “manyold contentious issues” of the

country have also been resolvedwith complete peace and har-mony and a “new confidence ofpeace and development” hasarisen from the northeast toKashmir.

�� *+#��+�,)





















�� *+#��+�,)





















�� *+#��+�,)

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Sunday heaped

praise on the farmers across thecountry as he pointed to therecord production of cropseven during the Covid-19 pan-demic.

Addressing his monthlyradio programme ‘Mann KiBaat’ on Sunday, the PrimeMinister said that the pan-demic affected each and everysector but the agricultural sec-tor registered a record pro-duction. The PM appreciatingthe farmers’ comes at a timewhen a section of farmers con-tinues to protest on Delhi bor-ders against the three farm lawsbrought into effect recently.

“Our country faced such abig crisis that it affected everysystem of the country. The

agricultural sector protecteditself from this attack to agreat extent. Not only did itkeep itself safe, but the sectoralso progressed, moving for-ward,” Modi said.

“The farmers producedrecord output and this time thecountry went on to procure arecord amount of crops. Thistime in many places farmershave got more than the mini-mum support price (MSP) formustard,” he said.

“Due to the record foodgrain production, our countryhas been able to provide supportto every countryman. Today, 800

million underprivileged citizensare being provided free ration inthis hour of crisis. So, no such aday ever occurs in a needyhome when the stove is not lit,”PM Modi added.

“The Kisan Rail has so fartransported nearly 2 lakh tonnesof produce. Now the farmers areable to send fruits, vegetables,grains to other remote parts ofthe country at a very low cost,”the Prime Minister said.

He pointed out that farmerswere doing wonders in manyareas by taking advantage of thenew arrangements. “Take, forexample, the farmers of

Agartala. These farmers producevery good jackfruit harvest.Anticipating their demand in thecountry and abroad, this timethe jackfruit of farmers ofAgartala was brought toGuwahati by rail. These jack-

fruits are now being sent toLondon from Guwahati,” hesaid.

“Similarly, you must havealso heard the name of theShahi Litchi of Bihar. In 2018,the Government also gave GI

Tag to Shahi Litchi so that itsidentity would be reinforcedand the farmers would get morebenefits. This time the ShahiLitchi of Bihar has also been sentto London by air. From East toWest, North to South our coun-

try is full of such unique flavorsand products,” PM Modi said.

“You must definitely haveheard about the mangoes ofVizianagaram in South India.Now, who wouldn’t like to eatthis mango? Therefore, now the

Kisan Rail is ferrying hundredsof tons of Vizianagaram man-goes to Delhi. The people ofDelhi and North India will getto eat Vizianagaram mangoes,and the farmers of Vizianagaramwill earn well,” he added.

�� *+#��+�,)

Amid farmers’ ongoingprotests against the farm

laws and the ongoing pan-demic, the Government hasreached out to small and mar-ginal farmers through commonservice centres (CSC).

The CSC SPV is a specialpurpose vehicle under theMinistry of Electronics & ITthat provides a host of elec-

tronic services to consumersthrough its CSCs. It operatesaround 3.74 lakh CSCs, 80percent of which are function-al in rural and semi-urbanareas. Currently, 32,162 CSCsare connected to over 600Krishi Vigyan Kendras for pro-viding teleconsultations.Through the agri services por-tal, the farmers will be able tobuy seeds, fertilisers, pesticides,cattle feed and other agri-input

products. “Aimed at empowering

small and marginal farmers,who constitute 86 per cent ofIndia’s farming community, theCSC E-Governance India Ltd(CSC SPV) has unveiled aunique Agri Services Portalthat will act as a one-stop des-tination and marketplace forthem,” a CSC SPV statementsaid. The portal -- www.csca-gri.in – will enable small and

marginal farmers, who do nothave easy access to the digitalworld, to avail essential agri ser-vices with ease and at an afford-able cost, it said.

“Our newly launched por-tal can be accessed by farmerswith support from local CSCsfor buying agri-input prod-ucts, renting and hire of agri-culture implements andmachinery, soil testing, sale offarm produce, tele-consulta-tions, loan and insurance facil-ity,” CSC SPV Chief ExecutiveOfficer Sanjay Rakesh said inthe statement.

CSC SPV plans to reach outto 6,000 Farmer ProducerOrganisations (FPOs), one ineach block of the country, thisyear. “We have alreadyonboarded 1,000 FPOs on this

new platform. These FPOs willenrol about 1 crore farmers foravailing various services onthe portal,” said Rakesh.

With the help of VillageLevel Entrepreneurs (VLEs)who run the CSCs (commonservice centres) and FPOs,farmers can connect with buy-ers for selling their producethrough Kisan e-Mart, the ruralmarketing arm of the CSC. Inthe last one year, almost 4 lakhteleconsultations have beenconducted.

Various governmentschemes for farmers will also beavailable through the agri plat-form, for example Kisan CreditCard, PM Fasal Bima Yojana,PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, PMKisan Maan Dhan Yojana andsimilar schemes.

��

�� *+#��+�,)

The Congress on Sundaysaid that the Narendra

Modi Government’s sevenyears in power could besummed up in seven “crim-inal wrongdoings” by theCentre, including fuellingunemployment and infla-tion.

“In the last seven years,the Modi Government hasgiven the country unmea-surable pain. It has beenseven years since the countrygot a failed, useless andmindless government. Thecountry is suffering as unem-ployment fell to 11.3 percentin seven years. Petrol priceshave crossed �100 and mus-tard oil �200 in manyprovinces. It has proved to bethe weakest Government inthe country in the 73 years,”AiCC chief spokesman andCongress general secretaryRandeep Singh Surjewalasaid at press conference.

The attack by theCongress coincides with thePrime Minister Modi listingresolution of long pendingdisputes, prioritisation ofnational security, self-relianceand development works asmajor achievements of hisGovernment’s seven year ruleat the Centre during hisMann ki Baat address onSunday.

Former Congress presi-

dent Rahul Gandhi said thatthe Government needs tohave the right intention, pol-icy, and determination tofight coronavirus pandemic -monthly talk won’t suffice.

“You need the rightintention, policy and deter-mination to fight Coronaand not just a pointless talkonce in a month,” RahulGandhi said in a tweet refer-ring to PM Modi’s “Mann KiBaat” radio address.

Congress also launchedabout five minutes video insupport of party’s 7 Years ofModi Made Disaster socialmedia campaign to claimthat the Modi governmentwas the weakest to step intooffice in the last 73 years.

“The seven years of theModi Government aremarked by seven criminal

wrong doings,” Surjewalasaid, while accusing theGovernment of being guiltyof bringing upon a financialcrisis, triggering unemploy-ment and inflation, attackon farmers, lack of sympathyfor the poor and the middle-class, mismanagement ofCovid crisis and tamperingwith national security.

Surjewala said the currentunemployment rate was thehighest in 45 years; per capi-ta income was expected to dipto 5.4%; people were dyingdue to lack of life-savingdrugs, oxygen and hospitalbeds while the Governmentwatched.

On the issue of farmers’protest, the Congressspokesperson alleged that theModi government was play-ing with livelihoods to helptheir “capitalist friends” in theform of the three farm laws.

On the national securityfront, Surjewala claimed thegovernment had failed inprotecting the sovereigntyand the borders of the coun-try. “Far from showing the redeye to China, the BJP gov-ernment could not holdChina back from theencroachment within ourborder in Ladakh,” he said.

He also hit out at the gov-ernment for demonetisation,implementation of GST andits handling of Maoists insur-gency.

�� *+#��+�,)

Top BJP leaders on Sundaycredited Prime Minister

Narendra Modi’s “dynamicleadership” for paving the wayfor country’s self-reliance andmaking it ready to face majorchallenges.

On the completion ofseven years of the BJP-Government at the Centre,BJP chief JP Nadda took a digat the Opposition saying itwent into quarantine but theparty workers are out helpingthe needy in the pandemicreaching out to Coronavirusinfected people in one lakh vil-lages across the country.

He also indirectly attackedthe Aam Aadmi Party sayingit was creating hindrances.Nadda said those leaders inDelhi who made fun of Indian-made vaccine are now shout-ing asking for the same vac-cine.

As BJP is not celebratingthe day, the party presidentsaid that the organisation isobserving it as ‘seva day’. Hesaid during the seven years ofgovernance, the party workedon Prime Minister Modi’smantra of “Seva hi sangathan”and helped millions of peoplein need.

In a series of tweets Naddaalso extended his wishes to the

“National Democratic Alliance(NDA) family”, and said PMModi’s leadership and guid-ance has paved the way for“Atmanirbhar Bharat”.

In view of ongoingCovid19 pandemic, Naddasaid, “Today crores of partyworkers will do public servicein 1 lakh villages”. The partypresident tweeted his mes-sages and hashtagged the tweetas “7YearsOfSeva”.

“In concern of everyIndian during the Coronapandemic, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi Ji immedi-ately announced relief pack-ages. He called upon the gov-ernment machinery, organi-sation, and all others to helpthe needy,” he tweeted.

“Under the leadership ofthe Prime Minister, the coun-trymen have met the chal-lenges firmly. India’s confi-dence has awakened underhis guidance, paving the wayfor AtmanirbhaBharat andthe village, the poor, the farm-ers, the Dalits, the oppressed,and the deprived have for the

first time felt that they havetheir own Government at thecenter,” BJP leader said.

Union Home MinisterAmit Shah greeted the PrimeMinister on the occasion say-ing during this period, thecountry made “unprecedent-ed achievements” in fields ofsecurity, public welfare andreforms.

Shah credited Modi forimproving the living stan-dards of the poor, farmers anddeprived sections by bringingthem into the mainstreamwith his determined, holisticand welfare policies and mak-ing India a powerful nationwith his strong leadership.

“The Modi Governmenthas presented a unique exam-ple of unparalleled coordina-tion of development, securi-ty, public welfare and land-mark reforms,” he said.

For the last seven years,Shah said, the people of thecountry have consistentlyexpressed their unwaveringfaith in Modi’s service anddedication, for which he bowsto the countrymen.

“I am confident thatunder the visionary leader-ship of Modi ji, we will over-come every challenge andcontinue India’s develop-mental journey uninterrupt-ed,” he said.

� �,�� ,�� -��.�(� �

��

! ��

��(��)��)�!��

' �� %��

�� (��

�� *+#��+�,)

Ahead of the crucialSupreme Court hearing

on Monday over a petitionseeking cancellation of Class 12Board exams for 2021, theCentral Board of SecondaryEducation (CBSE) and CouncilFor The Indian SchoolCertificate Examinations(CISCE) are contemplatingvarious options, including can-cellation and adopting an alter-native assessment route orgoing ahead with the exams ina shorter format keeping inmind the ‘mood’ of the major-ity of the States and UTs.

The ICSE board is said tohave sought markings from itsaffiliated schools of students’past performance in class 9,10and 11, which is being per-ceived as a move to cancel theboard exams and evaluate astudent based on the last threeyears of performance in school.There was, however, no suchthinking by the CBSE whichhas already given the go aheadfor evaluating students for thecancelled class 10 exams on thebasis of last two years’ acade-mic performance.

“The CISCE is in theprocess of collating and col-lecting data from all ourschools presenting candidatesfor class 12 examinations. You

are, therefore, requested toprovide the requested infor-mation for class 12 candidates,”CISCE Secretary GerryArathoon said in a letter toschool principals marked as“strictly confidential” a copy ofwhich is available with ThePioneer.

There are approximately21,271 CBSE schools in Indiaand 220 schools in 28 foreigncountries affiliated to the CBSE.About 13 lakh CBSE studentshave registered for the class 12board exams this year. Thereare about 2,400 ICSE affiliatedschools and annually 2.5 lakhstudents take the class 12exams.

The Ministry of Educationis scheduled to review the sug-gestions of States and UTs dur-ing this week on the matter andthen place it before the PMOfor the final call. Sources in theEducation Ministry said thatwith the pandemic situationstill vulnerable there is athought process within the

g ov e r n m e ntover cancella-tion of examsand markingstudents onbasis of theirprevious resultsof class 9, 10and 11 whichwill be later

used as qualification score forundergraduate courses andother entrance tests like JEE,Medical etc.

The CISCE has asked itsaffiliated schools to submitdata including the average ofmarks obtained by Class 12students in class 11 and in thecurrent session.

The Supreme Court willhear on Monday a PIL seekingdirections to cancel the class 12exams of the CBSE and ICSEamidst the surge in COVID-19cases across the country. “Beoptimistic. May be by Monday(May 31), some resolution willbe there,” a bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar and DineshMaheshwari told the petition-er in a hearing on Friday.

While the Centre will awaitthe decision of the judiciary, afinal decision has to be takenthis week as even if there is ago ahead for conduct of exam-inations then the Board hasmentioned that it would need45 days notice period.

�� *+#��+�,)

Pregnant mothers takingparacetamol risk delivering

the baby with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder(ADHD) and autism spectrumconditions (ASC), mentalhealth disorders. Researchersafter conducting an epidemio-logical study of more than70,000 children in six Europeancohorts have linked symptomsof ADHD and ASC to themothers’ use of paracetamol(acetaminophen) during preg-nancy.

In total, the researchersanalysed 73,881 children forwhom data were available onprenatal or postnatal exposureto paracetamol, at least onesymptom of ASC or ADHD,and main covariates.Depending on the cohort, 14per cent to 56 per cent of themothers reported taking parac-etamol while pregnant.

The study, published inthe European Journal ofEpidemiology, found that chil-dren exposed to paracetamolbefore birth were 19 per centmore likely to develop ASCsymptoms and 21 per centmore likely to develop ADHDsymptoms than children whowere not exposed.

“Our findings are consis-tent with previous research,”explained ISGlobal researcherSílvia Alemany, lead author ofthe study. “We also found thatprenatal exposure to parac-etamol affects boys and girls ina similar way, as we observedpractically no differences.”

“Our results address someof the weaknesses of previousmeta-analyses,” commentedJordi Sunyer, researcher atISGlobal and last author of thestudy. “Considering all the evi-dence on the use of paraceta-mol and neurological develop-ment, we agree with previousrecommendations indicatingthat while paracetamol shouldnot be suppressed in pregnantwomen or children, it shouldbe used only when necessary.”

At some point during preg-nancy, an estimated 46%-56%of pregnant women in devel-oped countries use paraceta-mol, which is considered thesafest analgesic/antipyretic forpregnant women and children.

However, mounting evi-dence has linked prenatalparacetamol exposure to poor-er cognitive performance, morebehavioural problems, andASC and ADHD symptoms.

�� *+#��+�,)

RSS outfit, ‘Sanskar Bharti’,on Sunday decided to take

the initiative for “financial assis-tance” to cultural artists affect-ed by the ongoing Covid-19pandemic and submit a mem-orandum to this effect to theCentral and State Governments.

‘Sanskar Bharti’ had organ-ised a program, ‘Dard Na JaaneKoye’, here to discuss the “cur-rent challenges” in the field ofarts and the struggle of artists. It was presided over by lead-ing artists of various art disci-plines.

“In this online forum, col-lecting funds for financial assis-tance of artists affected by thecorona pandemic was serious-ly considered. It was envisagedto provide assistance to artistsunder social responsibility fromcorporate houses,” according tothe organisation.

“Efforts will be made bySanskar Bharati to meet theminimum needs of the artists.Along with this, in this difficulttime of pandemic, a memo-randum will also be submittedto the central government andvarious state governments tomake them aware of the prob-lems of artists,” it said.

In this seminar, tributeswere paid to the departed artistswho lost their lives due toCoronavirus.

�� *+#��+�,)

With the Navy activelyengaged in relief mea-

sures during natural calamitiesbesides performing its opera-tional role, it has fitted its heli-copters with medical intensivecare unit to provide immediaterelief to patients even duringadverse weather conditions.

This modification was car-ried out in the advanced lighthelicopter at Goa’s naval air sta-tion INS Hansa. The installa-tion of the ICU has increasedthe capability of the navy toevacuate critical patients evenin bad and unfavourableweather conditions.

Officials said the ICU wasfitted on the Advanced LightHelicopter(ALH)Mk-III fromby the Hindustan AeronauticsLimited (HAL). “With ALHMk-III, an all-weather aircraft,

being equipped with MICU,the Indian Navy can nowundertake medical evacuationof critical patients by air evenin unfavourable weather con-ditions,” they said.

The MICU has two sets ofdefibrillators, multipara mon-itors, ventilator, oxygen supportas well as infusion and syringepumps. The unit also has asuction system to clear secre-tions in the mouth or airway ofthe patient.

The system can be operat-ed on aircraft power supply andalso has a battery back up offour hours.

The equipment can beinstalled in two to three hoursto convert the aircraft into anair ambulance. The Navy willhave eight such helicopters innear future with the first onedelivered by the HAL recently,they said.

�)��%��*�� +��,��

�� .��

"�� $�� $��<��

��

�� -�� !�"�#$!��% "�#�% &'(�)*)'

�!�� %-�,)

Big time insurance companies aretaking policy holders for a ride

after promising them manna fromheaven, according to policy ownerswho feel let down by the volte-facemade by these insurers after extract-ing the entire premium amount fromthem.

V Hariharan, a self-made entre-preneur from Perumbavoor in Keralawho has settled down in Mumbai, wasshocked to get a curt message fromhis insurer Max Life stating that ‘dueto fund value being equal to or lessthan one annual target premium, yourMax Life policy has been terminatedand refund of �50,000 has been ini-tiated’.

Hariharan who had paid�5,00,000 as premium over a periodof ten years starting for 2007 andwhich ended in 2017 had beenassured by the Insurance Advisor ofMax Life that the former’s nominee

would get �12,50,000 in 2032.On receipt of the message,

Hariharan tried to contact VijayWadabalkar, the fund advisor, tofind out what was wrong with his pol-icy. He was told by Wadabalkar thatthe entire fund value went as mor-tality charges. “Mortality Charge is thepremium amount you pay to get lifecoverage from Insurance Company,”was the message received fromWadabalkar who had left the insur-ance company in search of greenerpastures.

The Fund Advisor's responsibil-ity ends once the customer enrols inthe scheme. The company is silentabout what happened to the premi-um paid by policy owners likeHariharan. Having failed to elicit anyinformation from Max Life or a clearexplanation from the fund advisor,Hariharan has approached theInsurance Regulatory andDevelopment Authority, the body thatsupervises the businesses carried out

by private insurance companies.“I have taken the policy in year

2007 and the full premium on instal-ments had been paid uninterrupted-ly over a period of ten years till 2017.The total accrued premium paid tothe above policy is around �5,00,000/-and the settlement amount receivedis �50,006/- which I have depositedin my bank account under protest andthis has been intimated to Max NewLife insurance company. But the sur-prise termination and unethical set-tlement amount initiated by Max NewLife has disappointed me. The settle-ment amount of �50,006/- is just 10per cent of my hard earned moneyinvested with the said insurancecompany,” said Hariharan in his pleato IRDA.

He is yet to get any reply from theIRDA, the body to safeguard the inter-ests of the investors and policy own-ers. Messages sent to Max Life seek-ing their comments remained unan-swered.

�� %�� !��

��!"�� "!�� %-�%.�.

Days after wildlife expertsexpressed concern regard-

ing the post-cyclone well-beingof the Royal Bengal Tigers ofSunderbans, one of the earth’smost dreadfully beautiful beasts,succumbed apparently to thecyclonic shock as also old age,sources said.

The forest officials whotried to rescue it but failed onSunday said that it could be the“cruel combination” of old ageand scarcity of prey soon afterthe cyclone Yaas hit the area thatcould have ended itslife. A male tiger aged about 11-12 years that strayed out of thecore area and was found in a

completely rundown conditionoutside Haarikhali camp ChiefWildlife Warden VK Yadav saidadding it could barely walk.

“It was found lying by apond and was panting even inrest … we tried to revive it bygiving it chicken and water …it refused to have the chickenbut sipped water for some timebut failed to survive on way tothe Sajnekhali forest camp fortreatment,” an official saidadding the “Sunderbans tigersare one of the cleverest andfittest animals on earth and theyhave learnt to survive in salinewater (which is why perhapsthey often turn man-eaters)conditions for ages.”

They also said that it was

rare that a Sunderbans tiger hadnot tasted human blood. “Oftenthese tigers swim across salinerivers often more than a milewide and filled with crocodilesto enter the local villages anddrag away livestock or evenmen,” they said.

As per the last census thereare about 96 tigers in the Indianside of the Sunderbans.

A postmortem on the tigerwould be conducted to ascertain

the cause of death. Wildlifeexpert Jaydeep Kundu said thatoften “the canine teeth of oldertigers get dilapidated which iswhy they cannot hold on totheir prey for long.

This is why often they haveto go food less for days, oftenweeks … this tiger is an olderone and might have becomeweak due to lack of food …more over the cyclone mayhave taken its toll as it could not manage the easypreys too.”

He however wondered howthe tiger could cross the wideMatla River even in this weakcondition. “This is the willpower that makes the prodigalRoyal Bengal Tiger,” he said.

Lucknow: Most people woulddo anything to get out of jail.But that's not the case with 21inmates in nine prisons ofUttar Pradesh who have writ-ten to authorities saying theydon't want parole as stayingincarcerated is “safer andhealthier” for them during theCovid-19 pandemic.

Parole is a temporary sus-pension of prison sentence.

The inmates who havemade such a request are lodgedin nine jails of the state, includ-ing in Ghaziabad, GautamBuddh Nagar, Meerut,Maharajganj, Gorakhpur andLucknow, Director General ofJail Administration AnandKumar told PTI on Sunday.

The reason is that if theyget a 90-day parole, then thiswill get added to the punish-ment term, he said. “ T h eother overriding reason which

they give is that if they go out,they will not get food andother healthcare facilities,which they get in the jails.

“The inmates say healthcheckup is done regularly in thejails. They get food on time,they are safe and healthy injails. The inmates say that oncethey go out of the jail, they willhave to struggle to earn a liv-ing,” Kumar said.

There are four suchrequests from Lucknow jail,three from Ghaziabad and twofrom Maharajganj jail.

Asked what is the jailadministration's response tothe request of the inmates,Kumar said, “Since they havegiven it in writing, obviously wehave to accept their stand andhonour it.”

Kumar also said over 2,200inmates have been released oninterim parole, and more than

9,200 prisoners have been giveninterim bail.

In all, around 11,500inmates have been releasedfollowing recommendations ofa high-powered committee onthe orders of the SupremeCourt, he said.

Taking note of an“unprecedented surge” inCovid-19 cases in the country,the Supreme Court on May 8passed directions for decon-gestion of prisons and orderedforthwith release of all thoseprisoners who were grantedbail or parole last year in viewof the pandemic.

In March last year, theUttar Pradesh government haddecided to free 11,000 prison-ers from 71 jails pursuant to aSupreme Court directive todecongest jails across the coun-try in the wake of the Covid-19 contagion. PTI

��

Balrampur (UP): Two men,one of them wearing a PPE kit,were caught on tape rollingdown a coronavirus patient'sbody from over a bridge intoRapti river in Uttar Pradesh'sBalrampur district. H o u r slater, the two were arrested, asenior police officer said.

The video was shot bysome people who were drivingby the spot. After the visualssurfaced, police registered acase.

Additional Superintendentof Police Arvind Mishra onSunday told PTI, “The body ofthe deceased was sent home asper Covid protocol.

In this context, two personshave been arrested for violationof Covid protocol after a casewas registered, following acomplaint lodged by the CMO.The person in the PPE kit hasbeen identified as Manoj, whilethe other person was the

nephew of the deceased (whoreceived the body).”

He added that the hunt ison for the third person, andinvestigations are going on.

Earlier, Balrampur's ChiefMedical Officer Vijay BahadurSingh said on Sunday that thebody has been identified as thatof Prem Nath Mishra, a resi-dent of Sohratgarh in UttarPradesh's Siddharth Nagar dis-trict.

“Prem Nath Mishra washospitalised on May 25 after hecontracted Covid-19 and suc-cumbed to the disease on May28. The body was handed overto family members as per theCovid-19 protocol. In thevideo, which went viral onsocial media, it can be seen thatthe body was thrown into theRapti river,” he said.

Singh said a case has beenregistered at the Kotwali Dehatpolice station in this regard.PTI

�� $�� >��&�� $�� 7=��

Kohima: Nagaland’s Covid-19caseload on Sunday increasedto 21,563 with the detection of192 new cases, Health MinisterS Pangnyu Phom said.

The death toll in the Stateincreased to 363 after 13 moreCovid-19 patients succumbedto the infection, he said.

192 +ve cases of Covid-19reported today. Dimapur-80,Kohima-Mokokchung-33 each,

Zunheboto-12, Mon-11, Phek-7, Wokha-6, Kiphire-Peren-Tuensang-3 each, Longleng-1.109 +ve patients have recov-ered. Dimapur-77, Phek-17,Kohima-10, Kiphire-3,Mokokchung-Mon-1 each, theminister said in a tweet.

The State now has 5,049active patients while 15,523people have recovered from theinfection so far, he said. PTI

�� /�� -01��2�� 3%

*�� 2?@� ��2(��

�� 3%

*�!��%�� +��"��"��,��-.��"��/�� "��,��

�� .��7

The Jammu & KashmirGovernment is expected

to take a final call over con-ducting the annual Amarnathpilgrimage soon.

As per the previous sched-ule the yatra was expected tostart from June 28 but in thewake of nationwide surge ofcoronavirus cases the registra-tion of the pilgrims was sus-pended.

According to officialsources, the Union Territoryadministration is expected toreview the level of preparedness

and the prevailing situationwith regard to the spread ofCoronavirus before taking thefinal call. LG Manoj Sinha isscheduled to attend a highlevel meeting with adminis-trative secretaries in the civilsecretariat in Srinagar onMonday along with new ChiefSecretary Arun Kumar Mehta.

Meanwhile, the J&Kadministration on Sundaydecided to partially relax lock-down restrictions even as itdecided to impose night longcorona curfew across all the 20districts of J&K between 8.00p.m to 7.00 a.m

On the other hand, a totalnumber of 29 patients suc-cumbed to the virus on Sundaywhile 3805 patients were dis-charged from different hospi-tals. The positivity rate record-ed on Sunday stood at 5.35 per-cent as 2,256 persons testedpositive out of a total numberof 41791 tests.

According to a notificationissued by the state executivecommittee headed by the ChiefSecretary, the lockdown restric-tions have been extended till 15June with minor relaxations forthe people.The educationalinstitutions shall remain closed

for imparting on campus/inperson education to the stu-dents. Teaching in all theseinstitutions will be in on-linemode

All Cinemas, multiplexes.Clubs, Gyms, Spas. MassageCenters and paid parks shallcontinue to remainclosed.However, barber Shops,Saloons / Parlours are permit-ted to open on three days in aweek (except on Saturdays andSundays) as per a roster to beissued by concerned DCs. Thegovernment has also decided toopen standalone shops of alltypes on alternate day basis or

a rotation system on weekdays(except on Saturdays andSundays).

Restaurants shall beallowed to open on all days(except on Saturdays andSundays) only for home-deliv-ery of orders and room serviceof residents. No entry of cus-tomers shall be permitted evenfor self take-away of orders.

However, Bars shall not bepermitted to open till furtherorders. Liquor shops are per-mitted to open on three days aweek (except on Saturdays andor Sundays) as per a roster tobe Issued by concerned DCs.

�� -�� $�� 3%

�� 7�%*-#

With a significant drop innovel coronavirus positive

cases, the Uttar PradeshGovernment has decided to liftCovid curfew from June 1 fromthose districts which haveshown improvement but thecurfew will remain imposed in20 big cities, including Lucknow,where the active cases are morethan 600.

As per the fresh directiveissued by Chief Secretary RKTiwari here on Sunday, allshops, markets and super mar-kets will open from 07:00 hoursto 19:00 hours for five days,from Monday to Friday, in thedistricts where the number ofactive cases is less than 600.There will be a two-day week-ly closure of the markets, onSaturday and Sunday, whensanitisation work will be carriedout in the districts. However, incontainment areas there will beno relaxation at all.

Besides, schools, colleges,coaching institutes, cinemahalls, multiplexes, malls, clubsand swimming pools willremain closed in these districts.

The new guidelines willcome into effect in 55 districtswhere the number of activecases is less than 600 while in 20districts the Covid curfew willcontinue.

The districts where theCovid curfew will continue are:Meerut, Lucknow, Saharanpur,Varanasi, Ghaziabad,Gorakhpur, Muzaffarnagar,Bareilly, Gautam Buddha Nagar,Bulandshahr, Jhansi, Prayagraj,Lakhimpur Kheri, Sonbhadra,Jaunpur ,Baghpat ,Moradabad,Ghazipur, Bijnor and Deoria.

012�� "�!��

�� 3%

Bengaluru: Karnataka has sofar received 2,025 ventilatorsunder the PM Cares Fund andinstalled them in various hos-pitals to fight Covid-19.

“Of the 2,025 ventilators,578 have been installed in dis-trict hospitals, 574 in govern-ment medical colleges, 708 inTaluk hospitals, 24 in theCommunity Health Centres,and 141 in the private hospitalsand medical colleges,” an offi-cial statement said.

The ventilators supplied todistrict hospitals, medical col-leges and private medical col-leges and hospitals are con-firmed to be in use yet there isa huge demand for additionalventilators. The demand wasbeing examined and met con-tinuously, the statement read.

The Government said trhe

State has taken the ICU facili-ty to the Taluk hospitals-levelby oxygenating 50 beds andcreating six ICUs with ventila-tors in each of such hospitalsafter the first wave, it said.

Karnataka is among therare States where ICUs havebeen taken to the Taluk-level.In the second phase, 888 ven-tilators had been received, ofwhich 712 been installed athealth facilities.

The remaining 176Ventilators would be distrib-uted based on the need, thestatement read.

The demand for ventilatorsgrew manifold with the risingCovid-19 cases in the State.

The State reported 20,628infections and 492 fatalitieson Saturday, and therea are 3.5lakh active cases. PTI

23�� 45�6��7��

�� %��5��

�� *+#��+�,)�

In a big set back to the multinational NGOAmnesty International, the Delhi High

Court has refused to the stay the attachmentof its bank accounts and deposits by theEnforcement Directorate. However, the HChas in its order on Saturday said that any finalorder by the ED will not be implementedwithout the permission of the Court.

In November 2019, the CBI registeredan FIR against Amnesty International andits affiliates for violating the FCRA and thePMLA. After the CBI’s case, the ED had inNovember 2020 registered money launder-ing charges and attached several deposits andbank accounts of the NGO. Propertiesworth Rs 1,87,86,807, two bank accounts

holding a total of Rs 2,35,977, and 10 fixeddeposit accounts holding a total of Rs1,85,50,830 were provisionally attached bythe agency.

Passing orders on Amnesty India office’spetition, Justice Rekha Palli made it clear thatany final order by the ED will not be imple-mented without the permission of theCourt. Advocate Arshdeep Singh Khurana,counsel for Amnesty International, arguedthat the provisional attachment order (PAO)is no longer valid as the period of 180 dayslapsed on May 25. The law mandates that thePAO has to be confirmed by theAdjudicating Authority under the Act with-in 180 days. Advocate Amit Mahajan,appearing for the ED, explained that thedelay was due to certain issues.

�� !�� *+#��+�,)

The India MeteorologicalDepartment (IMD) and pri-

vate weather forecaster Skymetare yet again differing on the dateof arrival of monsoon in Kerala.

Skymet on Sunday declaredthat the South-West monsoonhas arrived over mainland Indiaalong the Kerala coast in what itdescribed as a ‘mild onset’, justtwo days before the due date ofJune 1. This is in line in with itsearlier prediction that the onsetwill happen on May 30 (Sunday)with a margin of +/-2 days.

On the other hand, the IMDchose to push back the onset byfour days to June 3 after south-westerly winds strengthen like-ly from June 1 resulting inenhancement of rainfall over

Kerala. Hence, the onset mayhappen around June 3 against thepredicted May 31 with a modelerror of +/-4 days.

IMD Director General MMohapatra said there is cycloniccirculation along the Karnatakacoast which is hindering theprogress of the southwest mon-soon.

“The southwesterly windscould strengthen further gradu-ally from June 1, resulting in like-ly enhancement in rainfall activ-ity over Kerala. Hence the mon-soon onset over Kerala is likelyto take place around June 3,” theIMD tweeted.

Earlier this month, the IMDhad predicted the arrival ofmonsoon over Kerala by May 31with an error margin of plus orminus four days. On Sunday

morning, the IMD, in its dailybulletin, said the onset of themonsoon over Kerala wasexpected to be around May 31.However, by afternoon it said theonset is expected to be by June3.

According to the IMD, theonset of the southwest monsoonover Kerala depends on threeparameters. If after May 10, 60per cent of the 14 stations --Minicoy, Amini,Thiruvananthapuram, Punalur,Kollam, Allapuzha, Kottayam,Kochi, Thrissur, Kozhikode,Thalassery, Kannur, Kudulu andMangalore report rainfall of 2.5millimetres or more for twoconsecutive days, the onset overKerala be declared on the secondday, provided other two criteriaare also in concurrence.

This has to be supplement-ed by the wind speed. The depthof westerlies should be main-tained up to 600 hectopascal(hPa), in the box equator toLatitude 10-degrees north andLongitude 55 degrees to 80-degrees east. The OutgoingLongwave Radiation (OLR)should be below 200 watt persquare meter (wm-2) in the boxconfined by Latitude 5-10degrees north and Longitude70-75 degrees east.

Mohapatra said the depth ofwesterlies is not as much as it isexpected. Plus, the rainfall para-meters remain unfulfilled todeclare onset of monsoon overKerala.

On the other hand, Skymetsaid the monsoon kept date withKerala two days before the nor-

mal date of June 1 despite twopre-monsoon cyclones, Tautkaeand Yaas, to either side of thepeninsula having robbed muchof its kinetic energy.

Prior to its arrival, mostparts of the state have beenreceiving strong pre-monsoonshowers. Both the IMD and Skymet have differedon monsoon arrival dates earli-er too.

“A set of environmentalconditions need to be fulfilled asa criterion for the arrival ofmonsoon. By and large, all para-meters have satisfied the requiredthreshold, essentially the rainfalland depth and speed of wester-ly winds over the SoutheastArabian Sea and adjoiningEquatorial Indian Ocean,” theSkymet said.

��2��,��!��/��,�� . ��) �� &��+�

In fact, communist mili-taries are not known to be effi-cient. Josef Stalin claimed tohave played a major role indefeating Hitler’s Germany.But such a claim convenient-ly overlooked the enormity ofthe Soviet casualties, of over 20million in the four years 1941-45. Besides, it also ignored theenormous American aid ofwar material supplied underthe Lend-Lease scheme. Thereis an ideological block withcommunist militaries; theyare unable to develop a prop-er officer corps. Karl Marxdefined the core of his ideol-ogy as “from each according tohis ability to each according tohis need”. He forcefully prop-agated the equality of theentire working class or prole-tariat, as he termed it. But allother classes of people stoodexcluded from this unity; evenpeasants were overlooked; ifthey had even an acre or twoof land, it was collectivized ortaken away. Landlords andurban rich were eliminated.Stalin did all this by killing over30 million Soviet people dur-ing his reign that lasted from1924 to 1953. Coming to mil-itaries, officers must berespected by their soldiersand not be treated as equals.Implicit obedience is essentialfor obedience especially on thebattlefield.

Communism hasdestroyed the essence of disci-

pline by prescribing equality.If both soldiers and theircommanders are to be polit-ical equals as ‘comrades’, offgoes the military, or anyorganization for that matter.One reason whyCommunism did not crossthe borders of Kerala andWest Bengal in India is thisbug of equality. It is a contra-diction of the Hindu ethos ofkarma and liberty. One can-not prevent a person fromperforming better and betterkarma nor help to boost anindividual’s poor Karma. Oneof the first steps after 1949 byMao’s regime was to takeover the ownership of farm-ing land but, unlike Stalin, itsimultaneously leased it back.Communists could not trustany class except those whoworked for industries or thosedependent on state employ-ment. Ideally, they preferredparty service to that of thestate. This explains why thearmy in China is owned bythe party.

One may briefly lingerwhat the great leader ofSingapore Lee Kuan Yew hadsaid about China in the sec-ond volume of his autobiog-raphy. In the next 50 years Leesaid, the Chinese would haveto move from a planned to amarket economy, from a ruralto an urban base. China’spolitical structures would haveto allow its citizens more par-

ticipation and control overtheir lives. A third factorwould be the widening differ-ences in incomes, growthrates, and quality of lifebetween the wealthy coastaland riverine provinces and thedisadvantaged inlandprovinces. The fourth andmost profound factor will bethe different values and aspi-rations of the next generation.Several problems can causeserious disruptions: a break-down of the banking system,huge unemployment follow-ing reforms of state-ownedenterprises.

However, the most perni-cious problem is corruption.Much of China’s economicbreakthrough has been exportoriented. Its new factories, smalland large, manufacture prod-ucts that are mostly exported.Many of the larger factories havebeen set up by foreign entrepre-neurs. In such a situation, thecountry’s rulers should ensurefriendly relations with nearly allcountries, especially the import-ing ones. But, as it happens, thecurrent regime has earned thewrath of most nations of theworld. What then would even-tually happen to China’sexports?

This is the first of a two-partseries on Indo-China relations.

(The writer is a well-known columnist and anauthor. The views expressed arepersonal.)

)��*+��)�� ,�� &��(�� -,�� &� ��.��/��0��0��1��

�� /��$�� &��(��21��!��-��3�� 45 �� 6�� 1�!�+�7� ��8��49 ��4::;�+�

�� 1�� 1�!�+�7� ��8 �� #��(��/� <5�� (�� !��%��=��>�� 8�� = �� $��0�� =>��?��@��=�� !�� %�� A�� A��A� #��/��8��>0��/��%��.�� .��.��/��>��$��

#�1�!�+�7� ��8��45 ��#�� #� �� A�� #��(�� 2A� ��.��-�� 2��B-�#��(��C'�� !��/��!��(��.��A� �#��"��!��2��-��24D��-��!��>�� *��.�� E2+F��0��+�� *-

+��"�� C�� (��1��/��8A�� 0��,��C��

�� "�� /�� ,��+��&�� 7��+��$��/�� /��(��.��

�� >��+��&��C��= ��G8� A�� = �� &�� +��($�� "�� = �� =��+��G8(��.��+��6��"�� 8��.��8��#��C��+��&�>��7�� +��C��+��

�� 3��.��+��(��#�C��+��&��"�� +��(�� "��+��(�� C�� +�� )�� C��.��&�� +��"��(�� .��G��.��+��&��C��H�� &��+��&�� #�/��4<�� C��8��.�� C��+��.6?+�(4:��A��G8��

�!��" � # $ � % � & ' � � " ( ( � ) *

��&��!��1�� A 0�� A � ��1�� 1

�� !�"�#$!��% "�#�% &'(�)*)'

�.

+,$,�,#,*,-,(%"��"��!��4

��4�� 4��"��4��

- �� &��%�� #�� ) ��B��)�� ,� ��!�� &��

�*��

�� $ ��

�� /01�2*�/��8��4��,�� 9�:��;��

/��;�� "��"��

The Chinese army, or thePLA, is not a nationalforce but belongs to theCommunist Party of

China. Its genesis was in first ally-ing with the country’s national-ist party the Kuomintang (KMT)led by General Chiang Kai-shekagainst the Japanese invaders.Thereafter, the PLA fought theKMT in a civil war and defeatedthem to complete the communistrevolution by October 1949.Supposing the Indian Army hadbelonged to the Congress or anyother ruling party; would it havebecome the crack professionalforce it now is? Moreover, fight-ing for one’s country and obey-ing a political boss are not thesame thing.

Hypothetical outcomes ordifferences would be seen in thebattlefield, if we go deeper intosome figures. In 1962 the Chineseinvasion was a sorry tale forIndia. Nearly, 5,000 soldiers werekilled while about 4,000 werewounded or captured alive. Buteven here, the Chinese admittedthat they had lost nearly 750killed and 1,700 wounded. It isevident that the Indian soldiers,despite being badly clothed andequipped, fought bravely. Else,the Chinese should not have hadso many casualties. During theKorean War in 1951-53, Chinafound the communist NorthKoreans having to retreat in theface of the overwhelmingly pow-erful US army aiding SouthKorea, and went to North Korea’shelp. By 1953, the PLA had lostan estimated 1,52,000 soldierskilled and 383,000 wounded. In1967, just five years after its suc-cessful 1962 attack on India,China once again tried to grabIndian territory at Nathu La, butwas beaten back by the Indianarmy, suffering 450-500 casual-ties to just over 70 on the Indianside. In 1979, China decided toinvade communist NorthVietnam but despite the size ofthe PLA, it suffered over 60,000casualties and had to go back inignominy. Since its 1979 Vietnammisadventure, the PLA has hadno combat experience. Its recentattempts at bullying India, first inDokalam and then Ladakh, havemet with not only failure but alsocombat casualties. This historydoes not speak well of the effi-ciency of the Chinese army.

SOUNDBITE�� Sir — The public, pummelled by the pan-demic and consequent socioeconomicdespair, is being forced to pick from threeversions about the COVID-19 vaccinationdrive. One from the Central Governmentwith tall claims and heap of statistics; sec-ond from the Chief Ministers firing loudSOS signals of shortages; and the third onthe CoWin app the gateway, which is fail-ing to provide the vaccine. .Sources say thatuniversal vaccination of 135 crore people isnot even a discussion point right now.

The vaccine math arrived through aback-of-the-envelope calculation that showsthat 94.5 crore people need to be given twoshots of Covishield or Covaxin for herdimmunity. This means a requirement of 189crore vaccine doses.

To date, the states/UTs have been pro-vided nearly 19 crore vaccine doses. The vac-cine drive has been on for 115 days. Thismeans on average the daily supply is 15 lakhvaccines or 4.5 crores each month. At thecurrent rate of supply in 12 months fromthe start of vaccination, 54 crore vaccinedoses will reach states/UTs. It would takeover three years. With this, the entire Indianpopulation to get vaccine will be distancedream.

Bhagwan Thadani | Mumbai

� �� Sir — No matter what the ‘provocation’ was,the Central Government overreacted inrecalling Chief Secretary AlapanBandyopadhyay in the middle of COVID-19 pandemic and the aftermath of CycloneYaas. The State’s top bureaucrat was ablysteering the machinery of governmenttowards ameliorating the situation.

The Centre cannot cite the unilateraldecision — it was completely arbitrary andpolitically partisan too — taken by it as ashining example of ‘cooperative federalism’,which Prime Minister Narendra Modinever tires of holding as his Government’sguiding principle.

There was no valid reason for the par-ticipation of the Governor and theOpposition Leader in a PM-CM meeting

convened to review a pandemic and a nat-ural disaster.

Given their overt political postures andverbal barbs bordering on hostility againstChief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the pres-ence of Jagdeep Dhankhar, of ‘more loyalthan the king’ fame and Suvendu Adhikari,a turncoat was a clear signal that the BJP wasdisinclined to avoid a confrontationist atti-tude towards the re-elected Chief Minister.

By skipping the meeting ‘with your(PM’s) leave’ and that too thrice and proceed-ing to the cyclone-affected areas, MamataBanerjee pre-empted an ugly face-off or atleast a heated spat and expended her timeand energy thus saved on organizing reliefto the cyclone victims.

What a pity that the continuing politi-cal acrimony between the BJP and the TMC

adversely affects the coordination betweenthe central and state governments greatlyneeded to fight the challenges in this timeof untold misery. Sportsmanship is one virtuethat politicians will do well to ornamentthemselves with. Still BJP leaders have notyet learned how to be gracious in defeat.Mamata Banerjee said that she would touchthe PM's feet if he helped Bengal. That shouldbe the spirit!

Now is not the time for political slugfest;all parties should shun political wrangles andslanging matches. Now is the time for us tojoin forces to win the war against Covid-19,the most serious existential crisis and othercrises we face.

G David Milton | Tamil Nadu �� .

��;;�21;�3 ��2B=85 �@<�8�

)�� <�� &�� $� ��

�� $�� $�

�� C�&� ��,�� <��&� ��$�� <��

#��

� ��$��$��&��!�� $�� &� �� '��$�� <�� !�� $�� &��<� ��$�� $�� &��$��

��&��!� �� ;�� <�� <��$�� $�� >�� &��$�� $�� &�� &� <�� $�� !��

)��' �� <�� &�� $��<&��$�� $�� &��8�$�� &�� $�� .��.��

� C56�� =�� 752 �D��

�� !"

�� '��

�� &�� &��

�25E ��2�1 ��;D ��

*��%�� ,��$�� 6)"�� &��

��5��2D ��C��9��$

�� E�� )�� &�� )�� !�� $��B��

�<;�2D�"��$�

)��$�� *�� F�� )�� $��

�<;�2D��

��33�1� 30�33��2*301

�.*9�-6��,+�."8+"�6.��-")+�,.:+��++*��+��7

�9�6-"+)8*+*�"+"+*+7"��)*�7�,�.��)�7.�)-*�

�,+��-7*�"9;�"7�+"��,-7��

+*�7"+�6")+*��9"+�.�)-*��#)�,

*+."�9�.��-7*�")+��

+�+�).��9��,+)�-"�)*8�-*+��

�7��.��)��,.+*��,+��7""+*�"+8)�+�,.�

+."*+��,+�#".�,-6��-��*.�)-*�

-6��,+�#-"��

��!�� ) �� >��$��&��

�� G�

��28�2�� 5�17 33�2D�� 8�$��!��

*��/��;��

��0��!��!��!�� F@�� G �@@@��$��

��!��"�� !��F �� @H�!��

��

��!��!�� " ��(%��F��I��F��"�+�� '/��A�F��"�� ! @H��"� ��!��

The Nation recently paid its tribute to firstPrime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on his57th death anniversary. This reminds us ofhis invaluable contributions in laying the

foundations of thepublic education system and theinstitutionsrevolving around it in our country. Muchof what we see today is his work. As we pay homageto Nehru and his legacy, this is a right time toreimagine the political narrative on education incontradistinction to how it stands today.

The Indian National Congressmet in Karachiin March, 1931 to endorse the Gandhi-Irwin Pactand passed the famous Karachi Resolution. TheResolution consisted of a set of Fundamental Rightsthat were drafted by Nehru himself. It was a land-mark one in India's constitutional and political his-tory because it promisedwhat a future constitutionof India would look like. Among those several fun-damental rights enshrined in the resolution, onestood out for its ingenuity. It read, "The state shallprovide for free and compulsory primary educa-tion".Nehru'sintentions were clear.Soon after heassumed office of the Prime Minister, he oversawthe establishment of AIIMS, IIMs, IITs and NITs.His five-year plans included free and compulsoryeducation. He ordered to carry out massive villageenrolment programmes. He promoted, what hecalled, a 'scientific temper' and a 'technologically dri-ven' public education system. He believed that intel-lectual development was key to a nation'sprogress.As capitalism rose, Nehru virtually madeIndia ready for the impending "KnowledgeRevolution" which was set to define the post-indus-trial phase across the world.To a large extent he wassuccessful in doing this. A strong foundation forpublic education was laid in the country. Future gov-ernments were expected to build on to this vision.

Circa 2020. Amidst a raging virus, education-al institutions across the world have collapsed. Butin India the situation is worse than anyone wouldhave ever imagined. UNESCO estimates that closeto 32 crore students in India are affected. Dropoutrates are at an all-time high. Due to the shift toe-learning, socio-economic inequalities and otherintersectional layers of inequality have onlyincreased.These statistics are scary. Only 27 percent urban households have access to internetwhereas the percentage in rural areas is down tofive per cent. The NITI Aayog Report suggests thatmore than 55,000 villages donot have access tomobile network.Teachers are ill-trained to adaptto the transition to online teaching. Amidst allthese developments, look at the irony - theEducation Ministry's budget for digital e-learn-ing was slashed to 469 crore in 2020-21 - the yearCovid-19 struck - from Rs. 604 crore the previ-ous year. Our children will not be able to go toschools and colleges and, the World Bank Reportestimates that India will lose out on $440 billionin possible future earnings because of its unskilled,young population.Do we have a plan to deal withthis? Only few will doubt us when we say -no.

So, India will have the world's largest youth pop-ulation over the next decade and a majority of themwill be unemployed.It is unfair to impute this to theCovid-19 crisis completely. This has been long in themaking and our political class has been aware of thisever since.The virus has only exposed our hollow-ness in public education by exposing the truth.

What transpired in the underly-ing period of 1964 and today? It isnotas if all governments have failed, butmore or less the situation has eitherworsened or remained the same.Populism and jingoistic nationalismgrew in politics, leaders with larger-than-life political image came topower, majoritarianism slowlybecame the order of the day and theywere driven more by their hunger towin elections than by a 'vision' likeNehru's. In all these years, scienceand reason took a back seat.Education became just another arenafor politicians to lure voters. On theone hand, they went out promisinglakhs of jobs of new teachers to theeducated yet unemployedand onthe other, free cycles, money and lap-tops to students enrolling themselvesin schoolsand colleges. This was anera where we were also witness tosome huge scams in teacher recruit-ment drives in several states and seri-ous last mile delivery challenges inwhat was being promised to the stu-dents. In all these decades, Indialacked not in ideas but in intent. Wehad a model - backed by a strongprecedent and our political class con-sciously chose to not execute it. Ourpolitical narrative on education hasbeen completely distorted whereinour leaders today lure students tocome to school for money andmaterial. This is an unethical modeland has never been successful.

According to data from theministry of Human ResourceDevelopment on dropout rates,around one-fourth of our studentsleave school when they entertheirninth grade. The GrossEnrollment Ratio (GER) inSecondary and Senior Secondaryeducation is 77 per cent and 50 pecent, respectively.We have been ableto achieve close to 100 per cent GERin primary education but have notbeen able to retain students duringtheir secondary and senior sec-ondary education. This is primarilybecause we don't train our studentssuch that they develop a love for life-long learning or education in gener-al. We are not upskilling them either.There is no incentive for them to stay.

The recent National EducationPolicy (NEP) has reiterated that weneed to redesign our curricula. Weneed to enhance critical thinking,discovery and analysis-based learn-ing. It also states that the governmentneeds to introduce experiential learn-ing and pay more emphasis onSTEM Education as our future jobsare going to be based around them.

We do not need funds to intro-duce these changes in our public edu-cation system.We need leaders witha vision who dare to change the polit-ical narrative aroundeducation.Education should be theprimary focus of enrolment,, notfood or money. We should reduce

our expenditure on freebies, carry outoutreach programmes, train teach-ers to deliver experiential learningand develop our infrastructure bymaking it more and more equitablefor all stakeholders.We need to stopdisrespecting our teachers as we dotoday by treating them as secondclass employees and asking them toconduct census drives, surveys andholding elections. A teacher's prima-ry job is to teach and that itself mustbe a full-time commitment. The gov-ernment needs to understand this.

We are a nation filled withyoung blood and our ability to pro-vide them with high-quality educa-tional opportunities will determinethe future of our country. The worldis undergoing rapid changes in theknowledge landscape. As the NEPitself notes, "it is critical that studentsnot only learn but more important-ly learn how to learn". To achieve allthis by 2030 (target year to achievethe Sustainable Development Goalson Education), we need to buckle upand lessen the impact that COVIDhas caused, gear up for the future andinspire our children. For all this tohappen, the distorted narrative needsto go away and it is time to bite thebullet and reimagine the political nar-rative on education or we shall per-ish. As Nehru famously said, "Giveright education to the children oftoday and they will make the Indiaof tomorrow".

%��,��,��",�� "��,��!��4��"��"��"��"��

!��"�#�/��3�

-7�)��.*��)*8-)��)�

*.�)-*.�)��8"+#�)*�-�)�)��

�+.�+"��#)�,�."8+"<�,.*<�)6+-�)�)�.��)�.8+�.�+��-�-#+"�

�.�-")�.").*)��-#�9��+�.�+

�,+�-"�+"�-6��,+��.9�.*��,+9

#+"+��"):+*�-"+��9��,+)",7*8+"��-�#)*+�+��)-*��,.*�9�.�H:)�)-*;��)%+*+,"7>��)*�.��,+�+�9+."��)+*�+�.*�

"+.�-*��--%�.�.�%��+.��+�7�.�)-*

�+�.�+��7��.*-�,+"�."+*.6-"�-�)�)�).*��-��7"+�:-�+"�

#�� (�� 8��.6<��

�� ;I�� <9J9��<94:��(��$��.��+��G8�� 7��/��.��#��7�� 4��(�� +��(/� �#��0�� (��

��0�� J9��

#�+�� !��+��>�� (3�� <9JI�+��6��.�� #�.��%�� ) ��/��!'�� (��0��,��(��+��(��"��+��

,�� +�� +�� (�� 1�� (� �� (��0��(��"��

8�� (�� ,��(�� #�� (��

/�� (��(�� +��F��(��4�IK.��

��

�� !��"�� #$�� $�� !%

Delhi is beginning to openup in a phased mannerthough technically the

on-going lockdown still contin-ues in its seventh week. Thereare going to be conditionalrelaxations for constructionworks and manufacturing units.This planned unlock starts inthe city that was battered by asecond wave of Covid-19 with28,000 daily new cases and thehighest positivity rate of about35 per cent on April 26.

Lock-downs along withaggressive testing, tracing,tracking are time-tested sup-pression strategies which aim toreverse or slow the upward tra-jectory of pandemic growth.Lockdown helps in reducingcase numbers by restrictingpeople's movements and socialdistancing the entire populationthereby decreasing pressure onhealth-care systems. The lock-down has to be followed by

aggressive mitigation strategywith the intent of reducingdemand of peak health careinfrastructure and reducingfatalities and hospitalizations.Timely lockdown such as thisone did achieve its target asnumbers have been droppingsteadily bringing the positivityrate down to 1.5 per cent andnew infections to around 1000.

In ideal conditions publichealth experts would like to sus-tain these reduced numbers forlonger periods for a gradualrelaxation in restrictions.Sincewe are at the end of the lock-down which is imminent, thequestion that arises in ourminds is what next and how dowe go about resuming our per-sonal, professional and everyday social life.

Relaxations in restriction ofmovements will pose chal-lenges as the city heads back tonormalcy. We need to be extra

careful when the infection ratesare low in our regions but aresing in other parts of the coun-try or in other countries. In factthis is the time to intensify pre-ventive strategies.Surely, wecan't take being free of Covid-

19 for granted after the lock-down ends - especially as newervariants are emerging everynow and then. There is noroom for complacency as nextthe few months are going to bea big challenge to maintain low

levels of transmission as well asprepare for an imminent risk ofimpending wave of Covid-9.Many experts have been writ-ing about multiple waves incoming months including inmy own columns in this news-paper since June, 2020.

The well-being of our peo-ple and communities should beour highest priority, and in linewith public health advisories,we should be taking all neces-sary steps to ensure ongoingsafety as well as protectionfrom virus.This can only beachieved by the followingstrategies:

First, campaign for mask-ing should not be lost in thenoise of virus, variants and vac-cination.The mask compliancehas to be one hundred percentwhether indoors or outdoors.Masking will take care of allvariants and is as effective asvaccine.This has assumed

greater significance since wenow know air borne transmis-sion is the major way of virusspread.

Secondly, to safeguard our-selves and others , we shouldcontinue with the stay-at-homeadvisory even during the phasedrelaxation and not be part ofcrowds. The pandemic is notover until it is actually over inall states and majority gets vac-cinated and virus does not haveadequate number of susceptibleindividuals to infect and survive.

Thirdly, testing plays amajor role in controlling thesurge . We need to adopt aggres-sive testing and maintain dailytarget of one lakh tests in Delhiinspite of low number of newcases. Delhi has been testing themaximum numbers per millionpopulation in the country so farwhich has helped Delhi in over-coming this wave. We also needto increase genomic sequencing,

the single-most important para-meter to identify emerging vari-ants and predicting new waves.

Fourthly, there is nooption but to vaccinate every-one in the city.No one is safeuntil every one is safe. Thispandemic will end only andonly by vaccination. The nextfew months, during phasedunlocking with low newinfections, gives us the idealopportunity to inoculate asmany people as we can.

Everyone knows the drillof Covid-appropriate behav-iour. The important thing isto adopt and practice it reg-ularly and strictly. There isabsolutely no room for com-placency as we move out oflockdown in the next fewweeks. We need to be proac-tive and chase the virusaggressively rather thanbeing reactive with the viruschasing us.

�� !�"�#$!��% "�#�% &'(�)*)'

�4�� &��!��1�� A 0�� A � ��1�� 1

FIRSTCOLUMN&��#�&)��*.#(&��*�/��"&#��)/��0

��&�� &� < �� =��;��

��#��*"/��$�3*5�1'

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

(Anurag Tiwary is an'Impact Fellow' at

Global GovernanceInitiative. He is from the

National LawUniversity,

Visakhapatnam.Priyanka Singh is from

the National LawUniversity,

Visakhapatnam. Theviews expressed are

personal.)

��!��#</�=�-

��"��%&��2��!*6�

(The author is Head ofNeurology Department,Lady Hardinge MedicalCollege, New Delhi. The

views expressed arepersonal.)

�� '��(��))�� )�� )� ��*��*��

$ �� 7�� !�"�#$!��% "�#�% &'(�)*)'

Kampala: Thousands ofEthiopians gathered in thenation's capital Sunday toprotest outside pressure on thegovernment over its brutal warin Tigray.

Protesters at the rally inAddis Ababa carried bannersthat criticised the United Statesand others in the internationalcommunity who are voicingconcern over atrocities inTigray, where Ethiopian forcesare hunting down the region'sousted and now-fugitive leaders.

Troops from neighbouringEritrea are fighting in Tigray onthe side of Ethiopian govern-ment forces, in defiance ofinternational calls for theirwithdrawal.

But the protesters in AddisAbaba carried placards thatsaid “Ethiopian young peopledenounce the western inter-vention.” Others said Ethiopia'ssovereignty was at stake.

The US said last week it hasstarted restricting visas forgovernment and military offi-cials of Ethiopia and Eritrea,who are seen as underminingefforts to resolve the fighting inTigray, home to an estimated 6million of Ethiopia's 110 mil-lion people. B e s i d e sthe visa restrictions,Washington is imposing wide-ranging restrictions on eco-nomic and security assistance

to Ethiopia.Atrocities including brutal

gang-rapes, extrajudicialkillings and forced evictionshave been part of the violencein Tigray, according to victims,witnesses, local authorities andaid groups. Thousands of peo-ple are estimated to have died.

The Ethiopian governmentcalled the US action “misguid-ed” and “regrettable.”

“The Ethiopian govern-ment will not be deterred bythis unfortunate decision of theUS administration,” said thestatement tweeted by the min-istry of foreign affairs.

“If such a resolve to med-dle in our internal affairs andundermining the century-oldbilateral ties continues unabat-ed, the government of the

Federal Democratic Republicof Ethiopia will be forced toreassess its relations with theUnited States, which mighthave implications beyond ourbilateral relationship,” said thestatement.

The crisis began inNovember after Ethiopiaaccused former leaders of theTigray People's LiberationFront, or TPLF, of ordering anattack on an Ethiopian armybase in the region.

Troops sent by Ethiopia'sleader, Prime Minister AbiyAhmed, quickly ousted theTPLF from major cities andtowns, but guerrilla fighting isstill reported across Tigray.

More than 2 million peo-ple have been displaced by thewar. AP

Cairo:Egypt and Israel areholding high-level talks in bothcountries Sunday to shore up afragile truce between Israeland the Hamas militant group,and rebuild the Gaza Stripafter a punishing 11-day warthat left much of the seasideenclave in ruins.

Egyptian Foreign MinisterSameh Shukry was meetingwith his Israeli counterpart,Gabi Ashkenazi, who landed inCairo on Sunday. It was the firstpublic visit by an Israeli foreignminister in over a decade,according to the EgyptianForeign Ministry.

The Israeli Embassy inCairo said on Twitter thatAshkenazi's visit is the first fora top Israeli diplomat since2008.

It wrote that the two min-isters would discuss topicsincluding the cease-fire andthe release of Israeli soldiersand citizens being held byHamas.

Meanwhile, Egypt's intel-ligence chief, Abbas Kamel,flew to Tel Aviv for talks withPrime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu and Palestinianofficials in Ramallah, anEgyptian official said.

The official said Kamelwould discuss with Netanyahuand the Palestinian Authorityhow to rebuild Gaza. Kamel isthen expected to meet withHamas leaders in Ramallah.

The discussions withIsraeli officials also are expect-

ed to touch on a set of mea-sures that would allow mate-rials, electricity and fuel intothe territory, as well as the pos-sible expansion of the mar-itime space allowed for Gazafishermen, the official said.

“The role of thePalestinian Authority is centralin the talks,” he said. “Egypt isseeking to have it deeplyinvolved in the reconstructionprocess.”

The Egyptian official, whohad close knowledge of theproceedings that led to thecease-fire, spoke on condi-tion of anonymity because he

wasn't allowed to briefreporters.

The 11-day war killedmore than 250 people, most-ly Palestinians, and causedheavy destruction in theimpoverished coastal territo-ry. Preliminary estimates haveput the damage in the hun-dreds of millions of dollars.Egypt was key in mediating adeal between the two sides.

The official said Egyptwould offer guarantees thatrebuilding funds will not findits way to Hamas, possiblygoing through an internation-al committee led by Egypt or

the United Nations that wouldoversee the spending.

Kamel will also discuss thesituation in Jerusalem andways to water down tensionsin the holy city, including anease of Israeli restrictions atthe Al-Aqsa Mosque and howto prevent the planned evic-tion of Palestinian familiesfrom the Sheikh Jarrah neigh-borhood in East Jerusalem.

The talks in Gaza and TelAviv would also look into thepossibility of a release ofPalestinian prisoners in Israelin return for Israelis held byHamas, the official said. PTI

Tehran:Iranian authoritiesindicted a French tourist oncharges of spying and spread-ing propaganda against thesystem, his lawyer said Sunday.

It was the latest in a seriesof cases against foreigners amidheightened tensions betweenIran and the West.

Benjamin Berier was arrest-ed in May last year after takingpictures in a desert area wherephotography is prohibited andasking questions “in the media”about Iran's obligatory Islamicheadscarf for women.

Under Iranian law, a spyingconviction can bring up to 10years in prison and a convictionon a charge of spreading pro-paganda against the systemcan be punishable by threemonths to a year.

Berier's indictment washanded up by the justicedepartment in the northeasterncity of Mashahd. It wasn'timmediately clear when histrial would take place.

Rights groups accuse hard-liners in Iran's security agenciesof using foreign detainees asbargaining chips for money orinfluence in negotiations withthe West. Tehran denies it, butthere have been prisoner

exchanges in the past. Lastyear, Iran and France swappedFrench researcher RolandMarchal for Iranian engineerJalal Ruhollahnejad.

Berier is the latestWesterner to be held on wide-ly criticised espionage charges.

In March, prominentBritish-Iranian dual nationalNazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffereappeared in a Tehran court toface similar accusations ofspreading propaganda aftercompleting a five-year prisonsentence. She remains in limboin Iran awaiting a verdict,unable to return to London.

The cases come as Iranescalates pressure on theUnited States and Europeanpowers, including France andBritain, to grant badly neededrelief from sanctions.

Harsh sanctions were reim-posed on Iran after the USwithdrew from Iran's nuclearaccord with world powers in2018.

President Joe Biden hassince joined in talks aimed atrestoring the deal. ButWashington and Tehran havereached an impasse, with eachinsisting the other move first torevive the deal. AP

K a t h m a n d u : N e p a l ' sOpposition alliance on Sundayurged all State institutions notto support Prime Minister K PSharma Oli Government's"unconstitutional" and "anti-democratic" activities andexpressed hope that theSupreme Court's verdict on thepetitions against the dissolutionof the Lower House ofParliament will come in itsfavour, according to a mediareport.

A Constitutional Bench ofNepal's Supreme Court onFriday heard 30 writ petitionsagainst the dissolution of thelower house of Parliament andfixed Sunday as the next dateof hearing.

President Bidya DeviBhandari dissolved the 275-member House ofRepresentatives on May 22 forthe second time in five monthsand announced snap electionson November 12 andNovember 19 on the advice ofPrime Minister Oli.

She rejected the bids ofboth Prime Minister Oli andthe Opposition alliance's claimsto form a government. Oli andNepali Congress President SherBahadur Deuba had stakedseparate claims to the pre-miership, saying the “claimswere insufficient.”

The alliance of NepaliCongress (NC), CPN (MaoistCentre), the Madhav KumarNepal led-faction of the UML,the Upendra Yadav-led faction ofJanata Samajbadi Party (JSP) andthe Rastriya Janamorcha Partyheld a joint meeting on Sunday,myrepulica.Com reported.

The meeting was held atDeuba's residence atBudhanilkantha inKathmandu.

“We had staked claim tothe post of Prime Ministerwith the support of 149 law-makers. The government can-not decide on dissolving theHouse in this case,” reads a jointpress statement of theOpposition alliance. At present,136 votes are needed to form amajority government.

The alliance also urged allthe state organs and institutionsnot to support the governmentin its "unconstitutional" and"anti-democratic" acts. “Webelieve that the Supreme Courtwill pass the verdict in ourfavour,” further reads the state-ment.

Nepal's Opposition allianceon May 24 filed a writ petitionin the Supreme Court demand-ing restoration of the House ofRepresentatives and appoint-ment of Deuba as the PrimeMinister. PTI

Kabul: A mortar shell hit a wedding ceremonyin northern Afghanistan, killing at least sevenpeople, mostly children, and wounding at leastfour others, a police spokesman said.

Taliban insurgents attacked a Governmentsecurity checkpoint in the district of Tagab andone of their mortar shells hit a civilian house,Kapisa provincial police spokesman ShayeqShoresh said Sunday. He said the attack happenedthe night before.

But Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahidin a tweet accused police of firing several mor-tar shells toward the civilian house, causing thecasualties.

Both the Taliban and government forces rou-tinely blame each other for attacks. The assailantsare rarely identified and the public is seldominformed of the results of investigations into themany attacks in the capital.

The United Nations has repeatedly demand-ed both sides take more precautions to protectcivilians. In the first three months of this year,the UN mission in Afghanistan said 1,783 civil-ians had been killed or wounded in Afghanistan,up 29 per cent over the same period last year.

Recently, Afghan national defence and secu-rity forces and the Taliban have increased oper-ations against each other in most of the provincesof the country, where most often civilians arecaught in the crossfire.

Meanwhile, the Islamic State group in a state-ment Sunday claimed credit for a roadside bombthat struck a minivan full of university lectur-ers and students in Kapisa on Saturday, killingat least four and wounding 11 others.

The militant group in its statement said theminivan was carrying “Shiite apostates.” AP

Houston:An Indian-American nurse practitionerhas been sentenced to 20years in jail and ordered torepay over $52 million inrestitution for his role in ahealthcare fraud scheme in theUS.

Trivikram Reddy, 39,pleaded guilty to conspiracy tocommit wire fraud in October2020, according to Acting USAttorney for the NorthernDistrict of Texas Prerak Shah.He had been accused of engag-ing in a scheme to defraudMedicare and private insuranceproviders and was sentencedon May 25.

According to court docu-ments, Reddy, a licensed nursepractitioner, devised a schemeto defraud Medicare, BlueCross Blue Shield of Texas,Aetna, UnitedHealthcare,Humana and Cigna.

Prosecutors said Reddycreated fraudulent patient billsby using the provider numbersof six physicians as the treatingphysicians on the claims, eventhough they did not performthe services.

In June 2019, federal agentsinvestigated one of Reddy'smedical clinics and found hisstaff manufacturing medicalrecords. After the investigation,Reddy closed the clinic and ter-minated his business entity.

A few days after Reddyclosed the clinic he made the

first of several wire transfers,which totalled more than USD55 million, prosecutors said. Ananalysis on the wire transfertied the money to the fraudu-lent healthcare claims.

Federal agents also aroundthe same time period request-ed medical records to justifyMedicare claims paid betweenJanuary 2014 and June 2019,and Reddy and his staff alleged-ly spent the four months man-ufacturing fake medical recordsto turn over to authorities.

Reddy pleaded guilty towire fraud in October 2020.

"When nurse practitionerTrivikram Reddy stole theidentities of physicians todefraud Medicare and otherinsurers to enrich himself, heviolated the basic trust that thepublic extends to healthcareprofessionals," said MirandaBennett of the HHS Office ofInspector General Dallasregional office.

"Today's sentence sends amessage to corrupt medicalprofessionals that law enforce-ment will do everything possi-ble to root out all forms ofwaste, fraud and abuse in ourfederal healthcare pro-grammes."

Reddy operated three med-ical clinics, WaxahachieMedical, Texas Care Clinicsand Vcare Health Service.

PTI

London: British PrimeMinister Boris Johnson and hisfiancée Carrie Symonds mar-ried Saturday in a small privateceremony in London, UKnewspapers reported.

Johnson's office declined tocomment on reports in theMail on Sunday and the Sunthat the couple wed at theRoman Catholic WestminsterCathedral in front of a smallgroup of friends and family.

The Sun said senior staff inJohnson's 10 Downing St.Office were unaware of thewedding plan. Under currentcoronavirus restrictions inEngland, weddings can beattended by a maximum of 30people. Johnson, 56, and 33-year-old Symonds, an envi-ronmental campaigner,announced their engagementin February 2020 and have ason together, 1-year-oldWilfred. The marriage wouldbe Symonds' first and Johnson'sthird. He has at least five otherchildren from previous rela-tionships.

The last British prime min-ister to marry in office wasLord Liverpool in 1822.

Politicians sent congratu-lations after the news wasreported. Northern IrelandFirst Minister Arlene Fostertweeted: “Huge congratula-tions to Boris Johnson &

Carrie Symonds on your wed-ding today.” T h ereported nuptials come after atumultuous political week forJohnson, who was accused byformer top aide DominicCummings on Wednesday ofbungling the government'sresponse to the coronavirus

and being “unfit for the job.” On Friday, an ethics

inquiry found the prime min-ister acted “unwisely” in reno-vating his Downing Streetapartment without knowingwhere the money had comefrom, though it cleared him ofmisconduct. AP

Smyrna (US):A small jet carrying seven peoplecrashed into a Tennessee lake on Saturday, andauthorities indicated that no one on board sur-vived.

The Cessna C501 crashed into Percy PriestLake near Smyrna after taking off from a near-by airport about 11 am, the Federal AviationAdministration said in a statement.

Rutherford County rescue crews were stillat the scene of the crash late Saturday andplanned to work through the night, RutherfordCounty Fire Rescue Capt. Joshua Sanders saidat a news conference. He indicated that therewere no survivors.

“Our efforts have transitioned from a rescueeffort to that of a recovery effort. ... We are nolonger ... Looking for live victims at this point,”Sanders said. He said none of the names of thevictims would be released until their families hadbeen notified.

Earlier Saturday, officials confirmed that atleast one person had died in the crash and thatsearch crews had found a debris field and iden-tified parts of the airplane in the lake. Sanderssaid the crash appeared to have taken placeentirely in the lake.

Authorities also did not release registrationinformation for the plane, which was headingfrom Smyrna Rutherford County Airport toPalm Beach International Airport.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol told newsoutlets that a witness saw the plane go into thewater near a marina.

The National Transportation Safety Boardand FAA both had investigators at the scene.

AP

�� +I)�-��)�9

The notoriously violentJalisco cartel has respond-

ed to Mexico's “hugs, not bul-lets” policy with a policy of itsown: The cartel kidnappedseveral members of an elitepolice force in the State ofGuanajuato, tortured them toobtain names and addresses offellow officers and is now hunt-ing down and killing police attheir homes, on their days off, in front of their families.

It is a type of direct attackon officers seldom seen out-sideof the most gang-plaguednations of Central Americaand poses the most direct chal-lenge yet to President AndrésManuel López Obrador'spolicyof avoiding violence and reject-ing any war on the cartels.

But the cartel has alreadydeclared war on the govern-ment, aimingto eradicate anelite state force known as theTactical Group whichthe gangaccuses of treating its membersunfairly. “If you want war,you'll get a war. We havealready shown that weknowwhere you are. We are comingfor all of you,” reads a profes-sionallyprinted banner signedby the cartel and hung on a

building in Guanajuatoin May.

“For each member of ourfirm (CJNG) that you arrest, weare goingto kill two of yourTacticals, wherever they are, attheir homes,in their patrolvehicles,” the banner read,referring to the cartelby itsSpanish initials.

Officials in Guanajuato —Mexico's most violent state,where Jaliscois fighting localgangs backed by the rivalSinaloa cartel — refusedtocomment on how many mem-bers of the elite group havebeen murdered so far.

But state police publiclyacknowledged the latest case, anofficer who was kidnappedfrom his home on Thursday,killed and his body dumped ona highway. Guanajuato-basedsecurity analyst David Saucedosaid there have been manycases. “A lot of them (officers)have decided to desert. Theytook their families, abandonedtheir homes and they are flee-ing and in hiding,” Saucedo said.

“The CJNG is hunting theelite police force ofGuanajuato.” Numbers of vic-tims are hard to come by, butPoplab, a news cooperativeinGuanajuato, said at least sevenpolice officers have been killedon their days off so far this year.

Washington: Indian-AmericanCongressman RajaKrishnamoorthi said he isdoing everything to get theBiden administration to pro-vide excess vaccines not used inthe United States to India,amid the second wave ofCovid-19 pandemic.

He was speaking during awebinar organised by theHoward University here alongwith the Gautam BuddhaUniversity and Association ofIndian Universities.

“I have been doing every-thing I can to get the Bidenadministration provide theexcess vaccines that we are notusing in the United States forthe use of India.

“I made a call on them toshare portions of our 80 millionexcess vaccine doses. Theyresponded favourably, but Iam now proposing somethingeven bigger,”Rajakrishnamoorthi said in hisbrief address on ‘Strategies onDealing with Covid-19 espe-cially access of Vaccines Supply'.

The Congressman had alsorecently introduced theNullifying Opportunities forVariants to Infect and Decimate(NOVID) Act.

“It would stand up as a USprogram to vaccinate 60 percent of the world's population.

It is very important that wemake sure that 60 per cent orthat we reach herd immunity inIndia and other countries,” hesaid.

“Not only because it is theright thing to do out of com-passion and morality, but it isthe smart thing to do. If we donot do that, variants from allother countries will come backto harm everyone in the UnitedStates. So we must stand up thisprogram and help everybodyeverywhere. Because COVID-19 anywhere is a threat toeveryone everywhere,” heasserted.

The NOVID Act is anexpansive coronavirus preven-tion program that will ensureAmericans are not subject toanother deadly surge ofCOVID-19 domestically,according to a media release.

Under the NOVID Act, theUS would establish the USD 19billion Pandemic Preparednessand Response Program(PanPReP) through the StateDepartment, modelled onPEPFAR, to oversee and coor-dinate the US global strategyfor the COVID-19 pandemic

Meanwhile, a spokespersonof the Congressman refutedreports that the webinar washosted by the Swadeshi JagaranManch (SJM). PTI

Bogota: At least six people havedied in protests in theColombian city of Cali, localmedia reported.

Newspaper El Tiempo saidthere were six deaths onSaturday, while RCN Radioput the toll at seven, reprts dpanews agency.

President Ivan Duque onFriday night sent additionalmilitary assistance to supportpolice in the Valle del Cauca dis-trict, the epicentre of theprotests of which Cali is the cap-ital, after several people died inprotests earlier in the day.

Overnight he extended theorder to seven other districts.

Four people died on Fridayin Cali in armed clashes overstreet blocks which have beenaffecting the mobility of resi-dents and goods, local mediareported.

Since the end of April,there have been numerousprotests in different cities in theSouth American country.

At least 44 people have diedin connection with the demon-strations, according to thenational ombudsman's office.

Initially, the demonstra-tors had protested against a taxreform that has since beenwithdrawn. Opposition to ahealth reform, which has alsobeen scrapped, and advocacyfor the fragile peace processwere then some of the newissues that brought people outonto the streets. PTI

� ��#7�;��#��/��,�� (��)��#��#��)��

>�"��'��,��%��!��

/��7��"��"��

*��0�"��4� ��?��!��:��

/��=��5�!��@��A6��"��"�� '�

4��5� �� 6�� %� ��.�2��

.��,��

/��4��"��"��"��

<�%�7�2�#� �� #�� ##��##��8

��3��7�8��

!��"��$�� $��%��"��9�$�� $��3��$�!��

� ��8�� !�"�#$!��% "�#�% &'(�)*)'

)1*�9�� "��

��75;5�� ,�� "��$��<))��-:)�,�� J3?��$�� $�� $��&�� ,�� KJ��&�� -:)�� 2(�� (J� ��$��&�� !� ��$�� $� �� !�� +�!�� <�� L��*<?J��!��$��&�� ,��#��!�� -:)��

��J��F�� "��!�� "�� !��8525>5; � :)�<.��M:��N��.�$�� &�� :�� '�� $� � �� @K��@O@2�� &��'�� ) �� .&�� &�� 6�� :)��8��:�� P�� $�� &�� $�� $�� C��&�� Q�7 � ��&��&��.�$��6��&�� $�� &�� !� �� !� ��:��$�&��

�� #%#'�� !��!� ��5;;5�74�5;�42� ��"��+++�M�"�� + �� + �� +'�N�� &��"��) �� M��! �� "�7 �$��N�� M@4��@O@2N��)�� $��B�� "��+++��'�� @(�� @3��@O@2�� '�� !�� $�� $�� "��+++�@O@2��&�� ))�� &��$��&��@O��@O@2��'��@J�� @R��@O@2�

�� *+#��+�,)

As many as 470 infrastruc-ture projects, each worth

�150 crore or more, have beenhit by cost overruns totallingmore than �4.38 lakh crore,according to a report.

The Ministry of Statisticsand ProgrammeImplementation monitorsinfrastructure projects worth�150 crore and above. Of the1,737 such projects, 470 report-ed cost overruns and 525 weredelayed.

“Total original cost ofimplementation of the 1,737projects was �22,33,409.53crore and their anticipatedcompletion cost is likely to be26,71,440.77 crore, whichreflects overall cost overruns of4,38,031.24 crore (19.61 percent of original cost), “ the min-istry’s latest report for April2021 said.

According to the report,the expenditure incurred onthese projects till April 2021 is�13,16,032.62 crore, which is49.26 per cent of the anticipat-

ed cost of the projects.However, the report said

that the number of delayed pro-jects decreases to 375 if thedelay is calculated on the basisof the latest schedule of com-pletion.

Further, for 988 projectsneither the year of commis-sioning nor the tentative ges-tation period has been report-ed. Out of 525 delayed projects,106 projects have an overalldelay in the range of 1-12months, 123 projects (13-24months), 179 projects (25-60months) and 117 projects (61

months and above).The average time overrun

in these 525 delayed projects is45.63 months.

Reasons for time overrunsas reported by various projectimplementing agencies includedelay in land acquisition, delayin obtaining forest and envi-ronment clearances, and lack ofinfrastructure support andlinkages.

Delay in tie-up for projectfinancing, delay in finalisationof detailed engineering, changein scope, delay in tendering,ordering and equipment sup-ply, and law and order prob-lems, among others, are theother reasons, the report said.

The report also cited ‘state-wise lockdown due to COVID-19’ as a reason for the delay inimplementation of these pro-jects. It has also been observedthat project agencies are notreporting revised cost esti-mates and commissioningschedules for many projects,which suggests that time/costoverrun figures are underre-ported, it added.

�� *+#��+�,)

Leading automakers in thecountry are pursuing more

and more digitisation acrosstheir processes in order topush sales at a time whenprospective customers are notso willing to physically ventureout to showrooms to make pur-chases.

Carmakers like MarutiSuzuki, Hyundai, Honda, Kia,Toyota, Tata Motors, Mahindra& Mahindra and Mercedes-Benz have taken to digitalisa-tion with renewed vigour aslockdowns and curfewsbecome the new normal amidthe raging coronavirus pan-demic.

“Digitalisation is the wayforward. Given the unprece-

dented times, we have adopteda ‘Phygital’ approach for oursales initiatives at the dealer-ships. We have digitised 24 outof the 26 touchpoints involvedin a car-purchase journey,except the test drive and deliv-ery,” Maruti Suzuki IndiaExecutive Director ShashankSrivastava told PTI.

Digital contributes tomore than 40 per cent of theenquiries, he added.

Srivastava noted that thecompany has over 1,000 plusdigital touch-points acrossIndia to assist customersthrough their car-buying jour-ney, from enquiry to booking.

The country’s leading car-maker has partnered with lead-ing online platforms likeGoogle and Facebook bringing

global digital expertise to deal-er teams.

“We are utilising target-ed social media marketing,

insightful content creation andimmersive AR-VR experiencesefficiently and effectively,”Srivastava noted.

Mahindra & MahindraCEO – Automotive DivisionVeejay Nakra noted that thecompany is witnessing a sig-nificant growth in digital chan-nel month on month.

“Looking at where we aretoday, the whole consumerjourney is significantly going toshift into the digital world.Having said that, dealershipswould continue to play anintegral role, but the kind ofrole they would play is whatwould change,” he said.

Similarly, Tata Motors(Passenger Vehicles BusinessUnit) Head-Marketing VivekSrivatsa stated that the secondwave of the Covid-19 pan-demic has understandablybrought a lot of change in thebuying and selling pattern of

customers.“We, at Tata Motors, too

have introduced a host of digi-tised interventions

since the national lock-down of last year. We launchedour e-commerce platform,Click To Drive to largelyenable contactless end-to-endsales. We received a strongresponse throughout last yearwith noticeable spikes in inter-est as well as purchases, espe-cially during the lockdown,” hesaid. Currently, more than 40per cent of the customers reachout to the automaker via digi-tal channels, a significantincrease from previous years,Srivatsa stated. South Koreancarmakers Kia and Hyundaihave also lined up digital ini-tiatives.

�� *+#��+�,)

The National Company LawTribunal (NCLT) has

directed to initiate the liquida-tion process of DevasMultimedia by allowing thepetition filed by AntrixCorporation, a commercialarm of the Indian SpaceResearch Organisation.

The Bengaluru bench ofthe NCLT has said DevasMultimedia was incorporatedwith a fraudulent motive to col-lude and connive with the thenofficials of Antrix Corporationto get bandwidth from it byentering into an agreement in2005, which was subsequentlycancelled by the Government.

The tribunal also con-firmed the appointment of theprovisional liquidator by it ear-lier on January 19 and direct-ed him to take “expeditioussteps to liquidate” the compa-ny to prevent it from perpetu-ating its fraudulent activitiesand abusing the process oflaw.

“The incorporation ofDevas itself was with fraudulentmotive and unlawful object to

collude and connive with thenofficials of Antrix and to mis-use/abuse process of law, tobring money to India anddivert it under dubious meth-ods to foreign countries,” thetribunal noted.

It further observed that theGovernment of India has “sov-ereign powers” to frame andchange its policies, whichincludes the termination ofthe agreement in question.

“In the light of aforesaidfacts and circumstances of thecase, after duly consideringthe legal position on the issueand by exercising the powerconferred on the tribunal…company petition is allowed by

ordering to wind up DevasMultimedia Pvt Ltd,” said atwo-member

NCLT bench, comprisingmembers - R Rao Vittanala andAshutosh Chandra - in itsorder passed on May 25.

The tribunal has directedthe liquidator to submit areport by July 7.

“All persons associatedwith the affairs of DevasMultimedia, are hereby direct-ed to extend full assistance andco-operation to the saidLiquidator to discharge hisstatutory functions,” the NCLTsaid while directing Antrix toadvertise this winding-uporder.

�� *+#��+�,)

The Department ofTe l e c o m mu n i c at i o n s

(DoT) is likely to ask telecomoperators to conduct trials of5G technology in rural areasalso, along with urban centresfor which they have been givenpermission, an official sourcesaid.

Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jioand Vodafone Idea have beengiven trial spectrum for sixmonth to test 5G technology inthe country.

State-owned telecom firmMTNL will also be given trialspectrum once it submits feesof �5,000 required for the per-mission, the source said.

“The DoT will ask telecomoperators to include a rural areafor testing 5G applicationsalong with their urban centres.

“MTNL has teamed upwith C-DoT for conducting 5Gtrials in Delhi. They will con-duct a 5G test near Najafgarhas well. They will be given atrial spectrum once theydeposit the fees,” the official

said.Telecom operators have

been allocated spectrum in700 Mhz band, 3.3-3.6 giga-hertz (Ghz) band and 24.25-28.5 Ghz band across variouslocations.

DoT has approved trials of5G with Ericsson, Nokia,Samsung and C-DOT, and hasnot approved any trial withChinese vendors.

“Reliance Jio will conducttrials using its own technologyas wellmas Samsung networkgears,” an industry source said.

Jio and Samsung did notcomment on the matter. Thetrials will be conducted at var-ious locations including Delhi,

Mumbai, Kolkata,Bengaluru, Gujarat andHyderabad.

�� 7��.)

Amid apprehensions overinflation and continued

uncertainty with regard to thesecond wave of the Covid-19pandemic, the Reserve Bank ofIndia (RBI) is likely to retainthe benchmark interest rate atthe existing levels at its upcom-ing monetary policy review, feelexperts.

The next bi-monthly mon-etary policy review is scheduledto be announced on June 4, fol-lowing the meeting of theMonetary Policy Committee(MPC) beginning Wednesday.The meeting of RBI Governor

Shaktikanta Das-headedrate setting panel is scheduled

for June 2 to 4.The RBI had kept key

interest rates unchanged afterthe last the MPC meeting heldin April.

The key lending rate, therepo rate, was kept at 4 per centand the reverse repo rate or thecentral bank’s borrowing rate at3.35 per cent.

The RBI’s annual report,released last week, has alreadymade it clear that “the conductof monetary policy in 2021-22would be guided by evolvingmacroeconomic conditions,with a bias to remain support-ive of growth till it gains trac-tion on a durable basis whileensuring that inflation remainswithin the target”.

�� *+#��+�,)

The Finance Ministry onSunday expanded the scope

of the �3 lakh crore EmergencyCredit Line Guarantee Scheme(ECLGS), which will now offerconcessional loans to hospitalsfor setting up on-site oxygengeneration plants.

Besides, the validity of thescheme has been extended bythree months to September 30and or till guarantees for anamount of �3 lakh crore areissued, the ministry said in astatement.

The last date of disburse-ment under the scheme hasbeen extended to December 31.

“On account of the dis-ruptions caused by the secondwave of Covid 19 pandemic tobusinesses across various sec-tors of the economy, the gov-ernment has further enlargedthe scope of Emergency CreditLine Guarantee Scheme,” itsaid.

Under the ECLGS 4.0, itsaid, 100 per cent guaranteecover will be given to loans upto �2 crore to hospitals, nurs-ing homes, clinics, medical

colleges for setting up on-siteoxygen generation plants.

The interest rate on theseloans has been capped at 7.5per cent, which means thebanks can offer loans less thanthis ceiling.

�� 7��.)

The State Bank of India (SBI)has increased the cash

withdrawal limits throughcheques and withdrawal formsfor its customers at non-homebranches.

“To support our customersin this pandemic, SBI hasincreased the non-home cashwithdrawal limits throughcheque and withdrawal form,”the public sector lender said ina tweet. The revised ceiling forcash withdrawal for selfthrough withdrawal formaccompanies by savings bankpassbook has been raised to �25,000 per day. Further, theceiling for cash withdrawal bya customer for himself throughcheque has been raised to �1lakh.

�� *+#��+�,)

LIC’s holding across 296companies where its hold-

ing is more than 1 per cent,slipped to an all-time low of3.66 per cent as on March 31,2021, down from 3.70 per centas on December 31, 2020 andfrom all-time high of 5 per centas on June 30, 2012, as perprimeinfobase.com, an initia-tive of PRIME Database Group.

According to PranavHaldea, Managing Director,Prime Database Group, thiswas on account of profit book-ing by India’s largest institu-tional investor.

In INR value terms though,it reached an all-time high of Rs7.24 lakh crore in quarter end-ing March 31, 2021, an increaseof 6.30 per cent over previousquarter.

Sensex and Nifty rose by3.70 and 5.10 per cent respec-tively during this period. LICalso continues to command alion’s share of investments inequities by insurance compa-nies (76 per cent share).

Holding of Insurance com-panies as a whole also declinedto a 5 year low of 4.80 per centas on March 31, 2021 downfrom 5.00 per cent as onDecember 31, 2020.

New Delhi:Public sector banks(PSB) will provide unsecuredpersonal loans of up to �5 lakhto individuals for meeting theirexpenses of Covid treatment.The decision, which comes inthe wake of the severe secondwave of Covid-19, wasannounced jointly at a pressconference by the State Bank ofIndia and the Indian Banks’Association (IBA).

PSBs will provide “unse-cured personal loans to indi-viduals from �25,000 to �5lakhs for salaried, non-salariedand pensioners for meetingCovid treatment”, said a jointstatement. It further said that thestate-owned banks will providehealthcare business loans forsetting up oxygen plants underthe revised ECGLS norms.

New Delhi:As the countryfaced a severe shortage of med-ical oxygen amid the secondwave of Covid-19, Centre hasdecided to offer 100 guaranteeon loans up to �2 crore to hos-pitals, nursing homes, clinicsand medical colleges for settingup on-site oxygen generationplants. The interest rate forsuch loans has been capped at7.5 per cent. A Finance Ministry statementfurther said that borrowerswho are eligible for restructur-ing as per RBI guidelines ofMay 5, 2021 and had availedloans under ECLGS 1.0 ofoverall tenure of four yearscomprising of repayment ofinterest only during the first 12months with repayment of

principal and interest in 36months thereafter will now beable to avail a tenure of fiveyears for their ECLGS loan.

The Govt has alsoannounced additional ECLGSassistance of up to 10 per centof the outstanding as on Feb 29,2020 to borrowers coveredunder ECLGS 1.0, in tandemwith restructuring as per RBIguidelines of May 05, 2021

The Finance Ministry hasalso decided that the currentceiling of �500 crore of loanoutstanding for eligibility underECLGS 3.0 will be removed,subject to maximum addition-al ECLGS assistance to eachborrower being limited to 40per cent or �200 crore,whichever is lower. IANS

�� *+#��+�,)

India may continue to pursueinvestment opportunity in

the Farzad-B gas field in Iran,even though ONGC VideshLtd (OVL) lost the develop-ment rights of the block that itdiscovered over a decade ago tolocal firm Petropars Group,highly placed Governmentsources told IANS.

Reports from Iran indicatethat months the after ejectingIndia from the ambitious $1.8billion project, Tehrann hasnow brought in PetroparsGroup to develop the gas fieldin the Persian Gulf.

But the sources said thatthis would not deter the Indianentity from pursuing energyassets in the country and

remain invested in the project.In fact, they indicated thatIran may formally announce apartnership with the Indianfirm once development work ofthe field picks up pace.

Sources in the Oil Ministrysaid that Indian consortiumincluding IndianOil, Oil Indiaand OVL, which bagged theexploration contract forFarzad-B in 2002, mayremained invested in theupstream project as equitypartners with other local andinternational entities evenwithout operatorship or devel-opment rights. They are in talkswith Iranian authorities in thisregard to formalise thearrangement that gets India ashare in gas fields output, theysaid.

=8�� /�� %�� /��=�>6�5��

(��3� ��/�� 4�� $��%�&#,��6��

��%�� 6(��4��%&:��!�@��

*�/�� !��,��"�� 7��!4� ��

�� %� ��

New Delhi:The Centre hasmodified the Emergency CreditLine Guarantee Scheme(ECLGS) to bring the civil avi-ation sector under the ambit ofthe scheme.

Announcing ECLGS 4.0on Sunday, the FinanceMinistry also said that the cur-rent ceiling of Rs 500 crore ofloan outstanding for eligibilityunder ECLGS 3.0 will beremoved, subject to maximumadditional ECLGS assistance toeach borrower being limited to40 per cent or Rs 200 crore,whichever is lower. IANS

"�� !��7�� 6��

��$��$�� +��8�� &��

:/�;��"�� ,��

��<�� &� !�� J��!��$��

,� ��# ��?#��%��* ��03��

�('��(��,(�,&)�*��"��)�),�&��(��(��)�'�(��&�(��(��+��0'

��)�� <��&��

%"��,�� !��@��B)6�

�"��!��"�,�� "��

��"��

�� !�"�#$!��% "�#�% &'(�)*)'

:�+,��-��.�� ,��-��

�/��0� �..�� 12��-�3��

��44�� 4��4

5��

.��!��!��&��!� �� $��.�� ) �� <� �� &�� $��

P�� F�#�� $��)>�� )�� &�&��Q��.�� ,��!�� '��

�� ,�� "�!�� &�. �&��%��

�� &�� &��>��C�� $��

P.�� >��$�� >�� <��C�� Q��

+,-%&��,�!��%-&!�.�/�0&�%#��,��!1

H�� &�� '��&��&�� — � �� &�� .�� )��!�� )�� >�� )�� )�� ;

��

H�� )��:�C�� <��)�� >��$�� < ��C�� )�'��! �� >�� )�� <��)��B�� <�� )�� !��$�� !��!�� ;

��

31�"2)��;�1�#�!/,��/��-��0&�$�$!

��A widowed new dad copes with doubts, fears,

heartache and dirty diapers as he sets out to raise hisdaughter on his own. Inspired by a true story. StarringKevin Hart, Alfre Woodard and Lil Rel Howery, itreleases on June 18 on Netflix.

�� Maternity leave is over and it’s time for these four

moms to return to work while navigating kids, bosses,love and life in modern-day Toronto. Starring CatherineReitman, Dani Kind and Juno Rinaldi, it releases on June15 on Netflix.

�� When a clever, carefree gangster is recruited to help an

overseas crime lord take down a rival, he is caught off guardby the moral dilemmas that follow. Starring Dhanush,Aishwarya Lekshmi and James Cosmo, it releases on June18 on Netflix.

5 � ) ) � 2

Set in the 1990s, with escalating vio-lence in West Asia serving as thebackdrop, Shamal Days is the

story of Abbas and of the small news-room that brings together people fromdifferent backgrounds and with indi-vidual stories but shared editorialgoof-ups to a country built and run bythe expatriate workforce.

The book is a whimsical, ironictake on the aspirations and resentmentsof expatriate life in a tiny desert coun-try and on the political unrest in theregion.

�What led you to write ShamalDays?

I am a journalist and I have livedin a Gulf country for more than 15years. All those years I have beenobserving people and lives around me.I knew I had to write the story of theinteresting people in a small-timegovernment-run newspaper, whichhad an eclectic mix of expatriate staff.And, working in a newsroom in WestAsia, which is one of the most politi-cally happening places in the world, isquite an experience. I knew I had towrite the story, and the protagonist,Abbas, and his predicaments havebeen growing in me over the years.

�You have said that the story andcharacters have been with you for adecade. While good things do taketime, Shamal Days is set more than20 years in the past... What took it solong?

I did not write the book in one go.I wrote it in phases over a period of 10years. In between, I finished and pub-lished The Cliffhangers. Even whilewriting it, I used to go back to ShamalDays to check what’s happening toAbbas and his colleagues. None of thisis my first manuscript. I am reworkingon it now and, also, on another novelset in Trivandrum around the famoustemple and its underground treasure.So, I have the habit of working on mul-

tiple novels at the same time. Whileworking on these two novels now, I amalso working on a collection of 10 shortstories based in the Arabian Gulf.

�While the background of ShamalDays bears some semblance to real-ity, have you also included some rawpersonal anecdotes without polishingany details? If yes, could you share thestory behind any one of them?

You don’t write fiction out ofnothing. Your stories and characterscome from incidents, experiences andmemories. Shamal Days has characterswho have their DNA in real-life peo-ple but I have fictionalised them,stretching their behaviours or featuresone way or the other. Abbas is loose-ly modelled on an editor I have workedwith, but he is not 100 per cent him.Similarly, there are incidents whichhave been given a definite touch of fic-tion.

�The expats in the Gulf countries arein a really peculiar position. What doyou have to say about the fact thatdespite living for years they are neverrecognised as citizens?

The expatriates in the ArabianGulf, I reckon, are a peculiar commu-

nity. Yes, they have sought change —better living conditions for their fam-ilies back home —but they live ina state of impermanence.As writer DeepakUnnikrishnan callsthem, they are ‘tem-porary people’. Nomatter how manyyears they live in thosecountries, they willnever own anything butwill always be the ‘outsider’,with a sad box tuckedunder their bunker bed.Most of the Malayali expatri-ates in the Gulf live a life ofeveryday sacrifice and theypour themselves out or drain orempty themselves for their family. Ofcourse, they seek and aspire to change,but most of them cannot venture out.They remain prisoners of their circum-stances.

�Aspirations and ambitions seem tobe common themes in your writings.Since you have worked there, wouldyou agree with the common percep-tion that a ticket to the Gulf equiva-lent to a get rich quick card?

I am from Varkala, which is a Gulf-

pocket, a small town by the sea, northof Trivandrum. There will be at leastone person from a family whoworks in the Gulf. When I wasfive, my father quit his teachingjob in a college in Trichy andwent to the Gulf in the earlydays of the economic boomfollowing the discovery of oil.While going to the Gulf isa natural option for everymale at Varkala, and to anextent in Kerala, gettingrich is a far-fetcheddream. Of course, pro-

viding better living con-ditions for the family is the pri-

ority. Not everyone can become a mil-lionaire or rich overnight. The trap-pings of being rich are mostly make-believe. They live like Gershom — astranger in a strange land — and whilethey come home on vacation, theycome with gifts and expensive goodswhich they hardly use and spend likethe rich. But most of them go back afterpawning their wife’s ornaments. Acommon aspiration of all of them is tobuild a house, in which they hardly live.

�One can dream for free, but reali-ty happens to be somewhat of a has-

sle. While it is always nice to be hope-ful, would you agree with the notionthat one can make dreams come trueif one works hard enough? Why orwhy not?

Yes, of course working hard meansyour dream has more chances of com-ing true but in the context of the expa-triates in the Gulf, they all are hard-working but their dreams seem to slipaway from them. There is no room forlazing around there, there is no roomfor strikes or hartals. You are there tobend your back and turn your bloodinto sweat. But the question is, howmany of them are able to make theirdream come true? What’s their dream?It is to make sure they can send homemoney every month. How many ofthem are paid on time? I am not scep-tical or a pessimist but I have knownan expat’s life, and have lived it to saythis. Unlike in the early 70s and 80swhen they were treated quite badly bythe locals, things have improved nowbut the expatriate community in theGulf is a unique lot as they work hardin harsh climatic conditions in astrange land, dreaming every momentof their homeland.

�In Malayali households, getting awork visa to the Gulf is looked at asthe lottery. As Shamal Days is basedin an unnamed country in the Gulf,would it be safe to assume that thisbook picks up on some of the finernuances from The Cliffhangers?

It used to be a ticket to El Doradobut not anymore. People are comingback. And, that poses a challenge tothe government of Kerala in two ways.One, the foreign remittance is cut, andtwo, how do they rehabilitate them ina State with no industries? Abbas,from Shamal Days, and the lead char-acters in The Cliffhangers, Moosa,Jahangir, Thaha and Usman, are in atrap. While Abbas, an editor, is almostresigned to the fact that he is unableto break free of his indecisiveness,Moosa and his friends are trying toescape from their identity. They arecaught between the Jama’ath and theHindu-right wing. They want to goaway from their fishermen’s hamletbut not to the common destiny of theirbrothers and friends in the Gulf. InShamal Days, we see people with aspi-rations, like the Chinese Li and hiswife, or people living with differentforms of tragedy and broken dreams.While The Cliffhangers is a novel setin Kerala, Shamal Days is a cosmopoli-tan novel set in a small West Asiancountry and tells the story of the aspi-rations and frustrations of people who‘are there but are never there’, dealingwith the pain of loss, deceit and sep-aration.

(The book has been published byHarperCollins India.)

The two instalments of the show BrokenBut Beautiful had smashed quite a few

records and created a stir in the countryfor its alluring love story, unconvention-al story-telling and soulful songs. ActorSidharth Shukla, who stepped intothe world of the web series withthe third season in the popularfranchise, tells us that his charac-ter, Agastya, is a complicated manstuck between love and every-thing that comes with it. It is acharacter that he could relate toon a personal level.

“When I first read the script, Icould relate to Agastya. There havebeen times when I have gonethrough similar situationsor felt similarly emo-tional and, hence, Ireflected on mine andperformed. One ofthe main reasons Iloved Agastya’s char-acter is that he’s veryreal and very relat-able. He isn’t perfectbut I don’t think anyof us are. He’s on ajourney like manyof us in our respec-tive careers andfields, to accom-plish his vision inlife. I feel life is allabout experiences.It’s those experiencesthat make you,” he

shares.Given that there have been several

romance dramas written and filmed in thepast, you always need something new thatcannot be easily predicted or guessed. Ask

him if he thinks his character has anangle that is something completely

new to the audience? He says, “Ithink there is only so much whenit comes to genres but it’s how thegenre is treated, how the charac-ter is brought to life that bringsnewness. It’s not that we haven’t

seen characters like Agaysta in reallife or on-screen but what makes

a difference is the way he’sbeing brought to you,

which happensnot only by an

actor’s effortbut alsothrough theentire teamthat is visu-alising theproject.”

He tellsus that hisresearch, forthis one,was think-ing about all

the experi-ences he has

had, whichwere similar to

that of Agaysta,and feeling those

emotions, and then bringing them to life.He feels that we have come a long way inportraying relations in cinema and OTT.“We are walking on a path towards morereal content. We are no longer only aim-ing at the ‘fairy tale’ content or the ‘hap-pily ever afters’.

Sidharth, known for his roles in fic-tion soaps such as Balika Vadhu and DilSe Dil Tak, and reality shows such as JhalakDikhhla Jaa 6, Fear Factor: Khatron KeKhiladi and Bigg Boss 13, agrees that OTTis the new thing now, but both small screenand the digital platform come with theirshare of challenges. “The whole world ishooked to web platforms. OTT con-sumption, especially since last year, hasincreased tremendously. People are con-suming different things, and actors arewilling to experiment more with contenton the webspace,” he says and adds,“Both the mediums have their share of

challenges. As actors, our job is to act inany medium. I strongly believe if the con-tent is good, people will watch it, irrespec-tive of the medium. I am truly excitedabout my digital debut and am lookingforward to the audience’s response.”

It seems like the show is subtly and ina subliminal manner trying to highlightthe importance of theatres. But he does-n’t think the show is trying to highlight theimportance of any one medium. “Agastyaas a character believes in the art form ofentertainment and that’s what matters.Whether it’s theatre, cinema, OTT, weneed to keep the art alive,” says Sidharth.

Directed by Priyanka Ghose and pro-duced by Ekta Kapoor, the series featuresSidharth along with Sonia Rathee, EhanBhat, Jahanvi Dhanrajgir, Manvir Singh,Taniya Kalra and Saloni Khanna in promi-nent roles. The show streams onALTBalaji.

To zone in, creatively, has been a challenge.Reading a script while I am pivoting pro-

grammes and trying to get oxygen concen-trators to a tribal area has been a challengethat I haven’t experienced before. So,focussing has been shifty for sure,” saysSanjana Sanghi.

She adds, “Luckily, somehow the lastlockdown taught us a lot. That was the firsttime that we, from our relentlessly hecticschedule from being in different cities andbeing on set all the time, experienced whatit’s like to be locked in at home. That wastougher. The second wave came out of theblue to a degree that somehow the workaspect has been pushed to the background.All my actor friends are focussing on mak-ing sure that their families are safe and it’sone of those times when you know you willget back up when the time is right. Beinganxious is of no benefit because it’s ourresponsibility to get back to work only whenit’s truly safe.”

To help people deal with the pandem-ic, Sanjana started a mental health campaigntitled Here To Hear. She has teamed up withSave The Children to offer support inremote parts of India with the mission ProtectA Million.

“When the second wave hit, it felt com-pletely natural to figure out how to extenda helping hand and contribute. I saw thateveryone was coming together and doingincredible work. Hear To Hear was a steptowards filling the gap. I felt that amid all this,we were being able to help with supplies, butthe emotional aspect will be devastating inthe long term. With this programme, we have

been able to help alleviate that,” says Sanjana,who starred opposite Sushant Singh Rajputin the actor’s last film Dil Bechara last year.

She further shares, “There are stigmasassociated with psychological help or evenanxiety. The response to the programme wasoverwhelming. Within three to four hours,the slots filled up and we had to double upon manpower. It is working on the desiredtarget group. With Save The Children, it’s agrander mission that will take some time. Weare focussing on cities while a lot is happen-ing in the not so prominent regions of India.We don’t know the extent of their misery.These are communities where basic food,shelter are tough in normal times, it goeswithout saying that the virus has made itworse.”

:%�(�

SANDS OF TIME� ��"��"�� "��,�� 4��4�@��"��/&�/8��:�� "��C*/�%+ <�*(C>�>

��.��.*�.*.��.*8,) �� !�� $��&�� &�� $��-:)�<2?

DE�� "��;.��)�,."�,��,7%�. ��.97�,) �,."�. �� $�� !�&�� $�� $��

�� !�"�#$!��% "�#�% &'(�)*)'

::��44�� 4��4

1�*��(#�/�*2#-�&)� /"�2�+�*3�( ��$).#�(/##��&)��&�-#�$#((�)*4$�(2"��&)�'#/��"((#((��).�-�(#.#$�&0

#�!� �� C�� >��!��C�� &��@(� ��

��

&��2��&�� !�&��@(� �� =��&��22� ��&��&��3O� �� "�� :��7 �$��-��.��P#�� $� �� <�� !�� Q

"�� ' �� <�� -�� $� ��&��!�� >�� &��

.�� $��&�� $��

��$��&�� &��!��M.��N��

�� $�� H��!>�� &��!��&�� $��

6�� &�� C�� !�� J�OOO�� &� �� !� �� &��'�� &�� '�� &��!�� $�� $�&�� )�� ))�� &��&�� &��

� # $� �� %�&��'�� $' ��

.�� H&��!>��H��>�� H��>�� $��<��$�� ' ��

�� !��L� �� &�� !��&��

S� �� &�� &�� &�� &�� &�� &�� &�� &��$��

��&�� ) ��"�� &��&�� &�� &��+*�� $�� 22�K2K��&��!�� 8�C��. �� &��

�� ' � �� ($��%

"��$��$�� .��

) �� M.)N�� &�� $��$��<2?��

��7 �$��#�� .��'� ��#� �� <�� .)�� $�� P.�� $�� $��<2?�� !�� &�� &�� )�7��$� �� '�� $� ��Q�#� ��

6�� &�� C�� "� �� <�� .)�� '�� $��<2?� �� &�� '<��

< $�� $�� $�� $� ��, ��=>��

*�� !��&�� $�� 3(K��

�� !�� &��&�� &��

�� &�� C�� !�� )�� —�� M��<��N�� $�� &��M��<��N�� !��

) ��<� ��'�� 3(K� �� 2@(�O3(� �� !�� &��!��&��P��&�� $�Q��

��!�� &��$�� $�!��

��!�� $�!��&��

We all are living in an age where technology rules,and yet our quest for the truth about God

remains strong even today in this Iron Age (Kaliyuga).That is why God has been the most popular yet elu-sive and mysterious power for humans to understandand define. Many of us believe that God is everywhereand in everything around us. According to religiousscholars, God is present in every creature, particle andeverything is a manifestation of him. Is it? If that’s thecase, then why is there so much strife, hatred, pain,suffering and sorrow in this world? In the 18th chap-ter of Gita, which is a summary of the entire BhagavadGita, God says, “Sarva-dharman parityajya, mam ekamsaranam vraja, aham tvam sarva-papebhyo, moksay-isyami ma sucah.” It means, “Abandon all varieties ofreligion and just surrender unto me. I shall deliver youfrom all sinful reactions. Do not fear.” This brings upthe most important question of liberation or salvation.It is believed that God comes or descends to this worldto liberate humanity from sorrow. Now, if he is alreadypresent everywhere, where is the need for him toemerge from anywhere?

For ages, peoplehave been praying tohim for various rea-sons — to get over suf-fering and pain, togain peace and happi-ness, to acquire somepower and to seek hiswisdom, truth andc o m p a n i o n s h i p .Mystics in all faiths telltales of God connect-ing to them in avision, a metaphysicalexperience, a dream orc o n v e r s a t i o n .Interestingly, manyprophets, scripturesand faiths talk aboutthe eventuality of God coming to the human world insome form such as an avatar or an incarnation. TheHindus and many ancient cultures that practised idolworship believed in god incarnating in human or ani-mal forms. Hence, we find so many idols and formsattached to God's role and his qualities. Most of thestories show that his coming is always connected todire times on earth. That is why he comes in the dark-est period of the world when all human souls are stum-bling or sleeping in the darkness of spiritual ignorance.He arrives to liberate humans from all bondages suchas bad karma, suffering, and hence, he is called — lib-erator.

Different faiths talk of different times of God'scoming. For instance, the Hindus believe that Kaliyugais still a long way to go and God will come after manymore thousand years. Christianity and Islam talk ofJudgement Day and settlement time as the event ofGod’s final role on earth. Believers have long waitedfor that momentous event in the history of humani-ty when at last the ‘saviour’ would come and bring lightand happiness to the world. However, not many areaware that the much-awaited greatest event of humanhistory has already occurred. But a majority ofhumans are still in a deep slumber of ignorance andare still looking for God.

In Bhagavad Gita, the Almighty clearly says thathumans cannot reach him through prayers, penance,reading scriptures or doing charitable deeds. He intro-duces Himself to everyone when he comes to this worldat the end of Kaliyuga when unrighteousness hasreached extreme proportions and humanity is expe-riencing great sorrow. He also reminds us of our trueidentity, that we all are eternal souls and not bodies,and finally, he teaches us the unique art of Rajyoga,by which the souls can cleanse themselves of all theirsins and become worthy of taking birth in the GoldenAge where there is complete peace, purity and happi-ness. So, stop searching for God, instead, start follow-ing his divine teachings.

What a strange time this past yearhas been. Ever since we wereexposed to the COVID-19

virus, we saw so many battling with liveli-hoods physically as well as mentally,financially, and spiritually. In suchdystopian times, we need to stick togeth-er, more than ever, while staying apart.The question is — how can we extendour support and be there for someonebattling the virus? Here are three waysto help someone battling with COVID-19 while ensuring your safety andadhering to all the protocols adminis-tered by the respective country.

LISTEN MORE, SPEAK LESSSo many individuals are battling with

the COVID-19 virus and many peoplemay not be affected directly, however,they may be struggling with mentalhealth issues because of the pandemic.Become a source of support for some-one who is dealing with the traumas thatcome with the pandemic. Just simply bethere for them. We all want to be listenedto because it proves that our opinionsmatter. Just being present (does not haveto be physical) and listening to what oth-ers are going through and what they areexperiencing is an appreciated form ofshowing compassion. Perhaps they areoverwhelmed and their mental health istaking a knock and they need someoneto vent to. Open up your ears to their per-spectives and stories and make them feellike they are not a burden to you.

OFFER ASSISTANCEAsk them if they need anything from

the market such as groceries or medi-cines because they can’t step out in pub-lic due to quarantine. Maybe their childneeds assistance with homework, per-haps you can help them over a video call.Ask them what you can do to help tolessen the load of daily household activ-ities that they may not have the energyto deal with right now. Battling an illnesscan be strenuous. Being able to offer

assistance will be much appreciatedand makes the other person feel that theyare not struggling on their own to keepafloat.

INFORMATION IS THE KEYBeing a source of reliable informa-

tion and good news is a great way touplift the spirit of someone. Those whoare in quarantine are more likely to expe-rience feelings of depression or anxietyabout what they may perceive as theunknown. Being a source of positiveinformation and communication canhelp minimise the impact of mental anx-ieties. Keep yourself informed with reli-

able sources concerning topics about pub-lic health, share positivity and upliftingnews about recoveries and medicinal dis-coveries. Be a source of laughter and light-hearted comedy that will allow the per-son to keep going. Make a positive impacton someone.

If you are concerned about thephysical or psychological well-being ofsomeone, do not hesitate to reach out forhelp on their behalf. Remember to takecare of yourself so that you can care forothers. You cannot pour from an emptycup. Practice meditations, eat healthily,pamper yourself. Allow yourself to gothrough all the emotions you may be feel-

ing when trying to survive a post-pan-demic society because all your feelings arevalid. Happiness is a choice and we muststrive to fill every single day with it.

(The author is an inspirational speak-er, radio host and producer of the showSexy Brilliant, and an author of Too FatToo Loud Too Ambitious.)

Our children deserve qual-ity education in a safelearning environment at

par with the children who studyin urban areas,” believes MajidKhan, a resident of Chandyalvillage in Balakote block ofPoonch district in Jammu andKashmir. While sharing his con-cern about the deterioratingquality of education in his vil-lage, Majid questioned, “Forhow long will our children bedeprived of a proper education-al infrastructure?”

In recent times, there havebeen unprecedented disrup-tions in the education systemacross India due to Covid-19.While students across the coun-try have been affected, those inrural areas have suffered moredue to the unavailability andinaccessibility of resources suchas smartphones, internet con-nectivity, electricity and peace-ful space. The rural areas ofIndia, even before Covid-19, didnot have access to quality edu-cation and were notorious forthe sub-par school infrastruc-ture, poor sanitation facilitiesand teacher absenteeism. Thesituation is worse in regions thatare isolated and located near theborder.

The far-flung border dis-tricts in the newly announcedUnion Territory of Jammu andKashmir have long beenneglected. Among numerousdevelopmental challenges, lackof access to quality educationtops the list. Besides, years ofarmed conflict, vulnerability tonatural hazards, geographywhich is not easily accessible andextreme weather conditionshave impacted the academic as

well psycho-social health ofchildren.

Majid’s village is one suchregion where socio-political andnatural reasons play a criticalrole. Like him, other residents ofthis village are worried about thefuture of their children. TheGovernment Primary Schoolin their village is in a dilapidat-ed condition. In 2014, it wasdestroyed by the flash floodsthat had caused havoc in thisState. Since then, no steps havebeen taken by the concernedauthorities to repair or constructa new building for the childrenof Chandyal village.

As the school building isunsafe, around 40 childrenattend classes conducted by twoteachers in the courtyard of anearby house. Parents, here, areconcerned about the safety oftheir children.

“Chandyal often witnessescross-border shelling that pre-vents our children from acquir-ing proper education. In case ofsudden shelling, the wreckedschool building does not provideany shelter to the students. Thisfrightens the parents when theysend their children to school,”rued Mohammad Rafique,another resident of the village.

Rubina Kousar, thesarpanch of the village,informed that her repeatedappeals to rebuild the schoolhave not resulted in any actionby the Education Department.

“We read in the news abouthow the government plans toimprove the basic infrastructurein the border region. Theyshould start by improving theeducation infrastructure. Thisschool in our village, which

was destroyed due to a disaster,should be reconstructed at theearliest,” suggested MuhammadAsif Khan, another local.

According to the ZonalEducation Officer of Balakote,all relevant documents havebeen forwarded to the higherauthorities. “There are no funds.We will reconstruct the schoolas soon as we receive funds forthe same,” he informed. It isimportant to mention here thata news report published in TheHindu Businessline last yearclaims that 18,000 out of 23,000government schools in J&K arein a dilapidated condition.

The villagers are patientlywaiting for the EducationDepartment to address theirwoes. As another resident,Wasim Khan puts it, “Theyshould reflect upon the condi-tion of the school and repair itfor the sake of our children’sfuture.”

The students in rural areaswhich lie in conflict zonesdeserve equal access to inclusiveand equitable quality educa-tion as their urban counterparts.They need better support fromthe government as they areunder constant threat of cross-border violence. For such chil-dren, schools should be a spaceto help them fight their fears andbuild their confidence. Covid-19has further emphasised theimportance of having a safeeducational environment. Onecan only hope that post the sec-ond wave, children in Chandyalvillage will have access to qual-ity education in a proper, safebuilding just like their urbancounterparts.

:��"��

E�� "�� 8�� $� �� ".�9-8) �".,�.%7�." *)%7*� �)

?9 �� @2��*�� (��)�(�"�3��(��4��'��*�� ,��(��)�� 4��'�� 4��*�� )��)�� (�� 4�� 5678��9�!�� : �/,�% �/�� ;�%��

3�&#;��3�%�2��(4�3�%(�></&��2�'* �"�� !��"��,��"��#</�=�-��"��"�� !

�� :�� !�"�#$!��% "�#�% &'(�)*)'

�� *+#��+�,)

New Zealand pacer NeilWagner feels the

upcoming World TestChampionship (WTC) finalagainst India in

Southampton from June 18-22 is like a World Cup sum-mit clash for him as he hasnever played a white-ballgame for Black Caps.

In an interview withESPNCricinfo, the worldnumber three bowler in

ICC Test rankings, Wagnersaid: “Yeah, it is like a WorldCup final for me. Thebiggest disappointment, Iguess, in my career is thatI’ve never really played awhite-ball game for NewZealand or never been able

to crack into the T20 or theOne-Day game.”

“That ship has probablysailed now and I don’t thinkthe opportunity will evercome. For me now, it’s aboutputting all my focus andenergy into Test cricket and

��

World No 2 Naomi Osakalet her racquet do the

talking at the French Open onSunday when she reached thesecond round with a 6-4, 7-6(7/4) victory over Romania’sPatricia Maria Tig.Formerworld No 1 Angelique Kerberwas knocked out in the firstround, going down 6-2, 6-4 toqualifier Anhelina Kalinina.

The 23-year-old Japanesestar, a four-time Grand Slamtitle winner, has refused tocarry out media obligations atthe tournament, claimingnews conferences are detri-mental to her mental health.However, she did agree to aquick on-court televisioninterview after Sunday’s win.

“For me, playing on clayis a work in progress,” said thereigning US and AustralianOpen champion on a sun-kissed Court PhilippeChatrier.

“Hopefully the more Iplay, the better I will become.It’s a beautiful court. I've onlyplayed two matches here, onebefore the roof and one nowso hopefully I’ll keep it going.”

Osaka, who has never gotpast the third round in Paris,fired 39 winners but commit-ted 35 unforced errors against

her 63rd-ranked opponent.Next up for the second

seed is another Romanianplayer, Ana Bogdan.

In later matches, Freshfrom her first career claycourt title in Madrid,Belarusian third seed ArynaSabalenka faces Croatian qual-ifier Ana Konjuh.

The 144th-ranked Konjuhwas runner-up in Belgrade lastweek when she was forced toretire with an injury againstSpain’s Paula Badosa. Formertop 20 player Konjuh hasundergone four surgeries onher right elbow in recentyears, even falling out of thetop 1,000 in 2019.

In a battle of formerGrand Slam title winners,Victoria Azarenka, seeded 15,faces Russia's SvetlanaKuznetsova, the 2009 champi-on in Paris.

This year's French Openis being played just sevenmonths after the delayed 2020tournament.

�� F��

Boxing legend MC MaryKom failed to win her

sixth Gold medal in theAsian BoxingChampionship as she hadto settle for Silver after los-ing to Kazakhstan pugilistNazym Kyzaibay in a high-octane 51kg final in Dubaion Sunday.

The six-time worldchampion lost in a split ver-dict of 2-3 with 29-28, 28-29, 30-27, 29-28, 28-29scoreline.

Both the boxers startedthe summit clash withaggressive mindset andsoon exchanged powerfulblows attempting to unset-tle each other. The five-timeAsian Championships Goldmedallist Mary Kom usedall her experience againstthe Kazakh boxer, who is atwo-time world championand a six-time nationalchampion and made herwork hard but it wasn'tenough as the later tiltedthe hard-fought game suc-cessfully in her favour andemerged champion.

On Monday, AmitPanghal (52kg), ShivaThapa (64kg) and Sanjeet(91kg) will fight it out in themen's finals.

Panghal will square offagainst reigning Olympicand world championShakhobidin Zoirov ofUzbekistan. It will be arepeat of the 2019 worldchampionship final in

which the Indian had lost tosettle for Silver.

Thapa will be upagainst Mongolia'sBaatarsukh Chinzorig, whois the Asian Games Silver-medallist.

Sanjeet will take onKazakh legend VassiliyLevit, who is chasing hisfourth Gold at the conti-nental showpiece.

*##$"5�&)�/#".#�+)$�#�$)�# F�� C�$�� *��C�� +�� !��-�� ,��$��6��

$)%#$(��"*�#/�#6�)(�$#�&)�$� F�� -�� <&�� .�C� �� .�$� �� $�� $�<��!��' �� <��!��B�� $�� +��

��*(�(#&�&)�(2��/�� %%"� �� 7.+<��)�� !��.�� !�� .�� &��<&�&&��

��*�&"/2(�%�&'��%� F�� )�� $� ��!��#��) ��$� ��&&�� &��!��2O�� &�&&��<��<&�&&�� )�>�� 7.+�� &��

%��$#&�$*�&)�+�//�&$"�*�*3"�� #��) ��B�� .�� $��$��<2?��

�)�-3�/�('�*#(��*�#�$)�#�� ) ��>��. C�� &�� #�� &��&�� B�� !�� >��JO��( �� $� ��+��

�� passes

E%��,�� E�� E��

#�� "�� ,�� !��

to be able to play in a WorldTest Championship final is likea World Cup for me,” he added.Indian spinner RavichandranAshwin, who won the ICCWorld Cup in 2011 but playsjust one format now for India,recently referred to the WTCfinal as a World Cup for him.Wagner, who is already in

England and preparing for thetwo match Test series againstthe Poms, which starts fromJune 2 at the Lord’s followed bysecond game in Edgbaston,said he is excited to be the partof the ‘special occasion’ againstIndia but is not thinking far tooahead.

“I know this final is the first

and there isn’t a lot of historyaround it, but it’s the start ofsomething that’s pretty big. Toplay in a one-off Test finalagainst India - one of the bestteams in the world, if not thebest team in the world - to beable to test yourself against thebest on the highest and biggeststage, that's what it’s about.”

�� *+#��+�,)

Chelsea won the Champions Leaguefor the second time in their 116 yearhistory with a narrow yet effective 1-

0 victory over Premier League championsManchester City in an all-English finalplayed at Estadio do Dragao in Porto onSaturday.

Thomas Tuchel, who was appointed asreplacement for sacked Frank Lampard inJanuary got the better of his Man City coun-terpart Pep Guardiola for the third time ina row to bring European club football’sbiggest prize back to Stamford Bridge for thefirst time since 2012.

The young German prodigy KaiHavertz, who made a big money move fromLeverkusen to West London scored the allimportant winner three minutes before half-time when he collected a defence-splittingpass from Mason Mount to round City stop-per Ederson Moraes and score.

It leaves City still searching for theChampions League, the trophy that hasalways eluded them, and Guardiola cannotescape scrutiny for his part in this defeat aftertaking a tactical gamble which backfired.

The three time Premier League winnerwith Man City surprisingly decided againstutilising either Rodri or club captainFernandinho as a defensive midfielder,leaving City with a muddled game plan thatreduced their effectiveness and rarely pre-sented Chelsea with any problems.

Chelsea had the better opportunities

throughout, Timo Werner wasting two goodchances before Havertz struck and substi-tute Christian Pulisic squandering anotherin the second half.

City, who lost star midfielder Kevin DeBruyne to injury midway through the sec-ond half, threw on club greatest goalscorerSergio Aguero for his final appearance butthere was no fairytale ending for theArgentine as Chelsea closed out the win.

And for Tuchel it was elation after thedisappointment of losing last year’s final asmanager of Paris Saint-Germain.

THREE IN A ROWThe London club may have finished

fourth in the Premier League, a huge 19points behind the champions City, but this,

remarkably, was their third win overGuardiola’s side in six weeks.

They ended City’s hopes of a domestictreble when they triumphed in the FA Cupsemi-finals in April and then delayed theirtitle celebrations with victory in Manchester.

Now, in a final watched by a limitedcrowd of just over 14,000 fans who createda raucous atmosphere, they have denied Citythe first Champions League crown they andGuardiola so crave.

“It was an incredibly tough fight. Theywere determined to win this. We wanted tobe the stone in their shoe,” Chelsea coachThomas Tuchel told BT Sport.

“The effort was huge. We overcamesome difficult moments and had a fantas-tic attitude to defending.”

ABRAMOVICH’S 2ND CUPCity have had to wait 13 years since

being taken over by Abu Dhabi’s SheikhMansour just to get to the ChampionsLeague final.

They are now the seventh consecutiveteam to lose in their first appearance at thisstage. The same misfortune befell Qatar-owned Paris Saint-Germain last year aswell as Tottenham Hotspur when theywere beaten by Liverpool in the last all-English final in 2019.

“It is the first time we’re here, we’lllearn, we’ll come back,” Guardiola toldRMC Sport.

“The players did everything, theywanted to do well, to win this competi-tion, sometimes you perform well, some-times not.”

Chelsea also lost when they first gotto the final, on penalties againstManchester United in Moscow in 2008.

They overcame the final hurdle bybeating Bayern Munich in a shoot-out in2012 and now they have their secondEuropean Cup to move level withJuventus, Benfica and Porto as well asanother English side, Nottingham Forest.

Their transformation into one ofEurope’s super clubs has been down to theriches of Roman Abramovich, theirRussian oligarch owner who was in atten-dance at the game in Portugal.

“It’s such a special occasion. At thismoment in time, we’re the best team in theworld. You can’t take that away from us,”Mason Mount, outstanding for theStamford Bridge side this season, told BTSport.

1ST AMERICAN WINNERChristian Pulisic became the first

American man to play in a ChampionsLeague final. He came away with a win-

ner’s medal, too — and almost a goal.

FRACTURED NOSE, EYE SOCKETKevin De Bruyne fractured his nose

and eye socket during Man City’sChampions League final loss with lessthan two weeks before the start of theEuropean Championship.

The 29-year-old Belgian playmakerhad to be replaced by Gabriel Jesus in the60th minute on Saturday following a col-lision with Antonio Rudiger.

The Chelsea defender was booked forthe challenge on De Bruyne, who left thefield in tears.

And on Sunday morning De Bruyneprovided an update on his condition.

“Hi guys just got back from the hos-pital,” he tweeted. “My diagnosis is Acutenose bone fracture and left orbital frac-ture. I feel okay now. Still disappointedabout yesterday obviously but we will beback.”

Belgium open its Euro 2020 campaignagainst Russia on June 12.

(With inputs from AFP & AP)

B#��T�� %�� ,� ��6��!�� +�� 1

�� &�� $��&�� 2?4O<4@�M�� N�

-U�� >�� 7�� $��&��!�� &��

��

�� 8�� C��

� ��M�� "�� @O2O<22N

��$�� 7�� $��

��+��>�� V�$��

B��C�� $��

8��T�� %��

B��$��

��!��$��&�� &�� @OOJ<O?�

KEY NUMBERS,�$��L;��!�� 8��;��

��!��

��)��()��2��

quoteunquote)�>��.�,78+��+��-�.""):+�)*�,+�6)*.��.*��)�>��.*�+:+*�)88+"�-*+��-��)�+�9-7"�#.9�,"-78,�.*��-��.%+�)��.��,+�#.9��-��,+��7

&!��&��!�7 ��

#+��766+"+��#+��.��+�7*�)��,+�+*��.*��#+�#+"+"+#."�+��#)�,��,+�:)��-"9

*�3��2��7 ��

)��#.��,+�6)"��)�+�#+#+"+�.��,)��.8+�,-+67��9�#+�#)��+�,+"+.8.)*�)*��,+�67�7"+

��3�� 7 �� &��

#+��7��)��7"+��,)��-�+*��.*��,)��6++�)*8.*��)�>��.�.S)*8��)�>��.�"+.��-�+��"7+

��!��7 ��

��-��<%��5=��5>?6��!�(&"$�(�)$&(�*#&%)$2

?` VWW`ce e` XVe 4Y`\dZ daRcVU - Daily Pioneer

Documents

Transcript of ?` VWW`ce e` XVe 4Y`\dZ daRcVU - Daily Pioneer