$cU hRgV Z_VgZeRS]V Z_ :_UZR - Daily Pioneer

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I t’s not about Alvin Toffler’s futuristic classic “Third Wave”, but the Government’s fear of the return of the Covid scourge after the ongoing sec- ond wave finally subsides. If coronavirus continue to evolve further, India will not be spared from a third wave of the pandemic which has presently swept nations like Canada, France and Italy, the Government on Wednesday said, flagging a frightening future at a time when India is already reeling under the sec- ond wave of Covid-19. However, the Government has no clue when it will hap- pen. “A phase three is inevitable, given the higher levels of circulating virus but it is not clear on what time scale this phase three will occur. We should prepare for new waves,” Principal Scientific Advisor to the Centre K Vijay Raghavan said while asserting that “vac- cines are effective against cur- rent variants”. Talking to reporters at a Press conference here, he said the country has to be prepared for the new variants that will also arise all over the world but variants that increase the trans- mission will likely to plateau. His comments come amidst WHO observation in a report that India accounted for 46 per cent of global cases and a quar- ter of global deaths reported in the past week. The Government has vir- tually rejected suggestion for a nationwide lockdown to reign in the Covid-19 pandemic, but it could learn from the experi- ence of those countries effec- tively dealing with the third wave. For instance, Germany after reopening schools in late February and allowing hair- dressers and some shops to resume business in March, extended its partial lockdown which ended on April 18 as the country faced a record surge in cases with most of those being infected were in the 15 to 49 age group, much younger than those in the first two waves. Similarly, hit by the third wave, France went for a third national lockdown in early April to check the Covid surge that threatened to overwhelm the country’s hospitals. All schools and non-essential shops were shut till the end of April and a curfew imposed from 7 pm to 6 am. Ditto with Italy which, according to the World Health Organisation, has recorded 3,809,193 confirmed cases of Covid-19 with 115,557 deaths between January 3, 2020, and April 15, 2021 in course of the third wave. Poland and Canada are among a few other countries that have imposed the nation- wide Covid-19 lockdown to deal with the third wave. On variants of the coron- avirus, Vijayraghvan said, “Variants are transmitted the same as the original strain. It doesn’t have the properties of new kinds of transmission. It infects humans in a manner that makes it more transmissi- ble as it gains entry, makes more copies, and goes on, same as the original.” However, he did not rule out the need to update the Covid-19 vaccine to deal with the new strain that has spiked the infection in the country. Continued on Page 11 T he Centre and health experts may have been ask- ing States and Union territories to increase the number of RT- PCR tests to at least 70 per cent of all Covid-19 tests being conducted, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), in its new testing guideline issued on Tuesday, has talked about reducing such tests to take the load off the existing 2,506 laboratories. As per the ICMR guide- lines, no test has to be con- ducted if an individual has tested positive by rapid antigen test, or by RT-PCR tests or has tested positive once by RT-PCR test or if a person has com- pleted 10 days home isolation period with no fever for the last three days. Also at the time of hospi- tal discharge, no RT-PCR test will be required. The revised guidelines came after the ICMR scientists found that with a sudden spike in the number of RT-PCR tests, the laboratories, which during normal times at a national level, can test close to 15 lakh tests, were overbur- dened. It is taking over 72 hours to process one RT-PCR test now, noted the ICMR. The problem has been compounded because lab staff are also testing positive and going off duty. The ICMR said, “At pre- sent, the laboratories are facing challenges to meet the expect- ed testing target due to extra- ordinary case load and staff get- ting infected with Covid-19. In view of this situation, it is imperative to optimise the RT- PCR testing and simultane- ously increase the access and availability of testing to all cit- izens of the country.” To help the exhausted labs, the ICMR is now suggesting Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) for mass detection. It said the RAT should be allowed in Government and private healthcare facilities across the country in cities, towns, schools, colleges, and commu- nity centres. The ICMR also suggested creating drive- through RAT facilities. Individuals with symptoms Continued on Page 11 V enkitaram Kalyanam, who was personal secretary to Mahatma Gandhi passed away in Chennai on Tuesday. He was 99. Kalyanam was the lone sur- viving member of the Mahatma’s team of personal staff. Malini Kalyanam, his daughter told The Pioneer that her father was suffering from age-related issues but was con- scious of what was happening around. Kalyanam had joined Gandhi’s ashram as a volunteer in 1942 and later rose to become his personal secretary following the demise of Mahadev Desai, considered to be Man Friday to the Father of the Nation. He was standing just behind the Mahatma when Nathuram Godse fired the shots at the former in the fate- ful evening of January 30,1948. “The death was instant. Gandhiji died within seconds of the first bullet piercing his heart. He did not utter a single word and fell into the hands of his two nieces Manu and Abha,” Kalyanam had told The Pioneer in an interview in 2018. He said all talks about Gandhi reciting “Hey Ram” and asking for Ganga Jal were nonsense. “The death was instantaneous. There was no time to say even “Oh” because the death happened the moment the bullet hit his heart,” said Kalyanam. It was Kalyanam who drafted and typed important documents like Gandhi’s will as well as Bapu’s last note to Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel about the need to disband the Indian National Congress. In the 2018 interview to this correspondent , Kalyanam said Gandhiji was disheart- ened and disillusioned within months after the Independence. “He told me many times that he has neither any part nor any say in many strange things that were going on in this country even after the British had left, I am no longer the current coin I fan- cied I once was,” Gandhiji had told Kalyanam weeks before he was shot dead. “The Congress was launched to agitate for Indian independence. It had no other missions. The party could mobilise the countrymen and draw the support of the whole country only because of the cause for which it was fighting. Once the country became free from the colonial rule, the purpose of Congress was over. What Gandhi asked the lead- ers was to disband the organi- sation and set up a Lok Sevak Samithi towards working for the welfare of the whole coun- trymen,” Kalyanam told this writer. Kalyanam had accompa- nied the Mahatma during his peace mission to Bengal where the Muslims were on a killing spree following the diktat from HS Suhrawardy, the then Prime Minister of Bengal to get the region free of Hindus. “The Father of the Nation was con- soling and comforting the vic- tims who lost everything in the communal holocaust while India was celebrating its Independence,” said Kalyanam who was with Gandhi on Noakhali at the time of parti- tion. Continued on Page 11 N epal’s embattled Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli-led Government on Wednesday lost majority support in the House of Representatives after the CPN (Maoist Centre) led by Pushpakamal Dahal “Prachanda” officially withdrew support to it. The party submitted a letter to this effect to the Parliament Secretariat, informing about its decision to withdraw support to the government, according to a senior leader of the party, Ganesh Shah. Chief Whip of the Maoist Centre Dev Gurung handed over the letter to officials at the Parliament Secretariat, he said. After handing over the let- ter Gurung told the media per- sons that the party decided to withdraw support to the Oli Government as the Govern- ment had breached the Constitution and the Govern- ment’s recent activities have posed threat to democratic procedures and national sover- eignty. I ndia recorded a new single- day high as the country saw 4,06,383 new cases during the last 24 hours with the coron- avirus taking firm grip on southern India even as Maharashtra on Wednesday logged record 920 deaths and 57,640 new cases. Southern India is hard hit by Covid-19 surge as Karnataka showed it was fast catching up with Maharashtra, recording 50,112 new cases and 346 deaths. In terms of the number of cases, Kerala too saw an explo- sion, recording 41,953 cases, but the fatalaities rate was rel- atively low with 58 deaths dur- ing the last 24 hours. Both Tamil Nadu (23,310) and Andhra Pradesh (22,204 cases) saw a massive rise in the number of cases. A day after Maharashtra recorded 891 deaths and new 51,880 new cases, the daily deaths shot up by 29, while the daily infections went up by 5,760. With 920 new deaths, the total number of deaths in the State climbed from 71,742 to 72,662. Similarly, with 57,640 new infections, the total number of cases rose from 48,22,902 top 48,80,542. According to Chief Minister Pinatrayi Vijayan, Kerala is in for major trouble as hospitals have run out of beds and oxygen. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday evening, Vijayan said he has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to help the State to get at least 500 tonnes of oxygen as the State is facing a shortage of 1,000 tonnes of it. Kerala reported 41, 953 persons with Covid-19 during the last 12 hours, the Chief Minister said. “The day also Continued on Page 11 O xygen shortage and fire in hospital have killed hun- dreds of hapless Covid-19 patients, who may have sur- vived otherwise. Over five dozen people died in fire inci- dents in several parts of the country, while the number of those who perished due to shortage of oxygen would be many times more. In some cases, when the hospital ran out of oxygen, the doctors fled to safety, leaving the patients to die a slow and painful death. On Wednesday, seven peo- ple reportedly died in Kalaburagi and Belagavi in Karnataka and five in Roorkee in Uttarakhand due to shortage of oxygen. Similarly, three died in an explosion at an oxygen plant in Chinhat on the outskirts of Lucknow. Among the dead, two were employees and one was a customer who had come to get the refill. In another case in Delhi, 26 Covid patients were rescued after a fire broke out in the nursing home. Alarmed over the increas- ing cases of fire incidents claim- ing several lives in the past two- three months, the Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday issued directions to the State Government to put in place a plan of action, to ensure that no fire incident occurs in any of the health facilities (par- ticularly Covid-19 dedicated facilities) both in the Government and private sector. In Uttarakhand’s Roorkee district, five Covid-19 patients, including a woman, died at a private hospital allegedly due to disruption in oxygen supply to the facility for around 30 min- utes. The incident occurred in the early hours of Wednesday when oxygen supply to the hos- pital remained disrupted between 1.30 and 2 am. One of the deceased was on ventilator support while four others were on oxygen beds. Continued on Page 11 W ith coronavirus spread- ing to smaller districts and rural areas, the UP gov- ernment has extended the corona curfew till Monday (May 10) morning. The restrictions were set to be lift- ed on Thursday morning. The decision was taken at a high-level meeting presided over by Chief Minister Yogi Aditynath. The meeting was attended by Health Minister Jai Pratap Singh and top gov- ernment officials. It is the third extension of lockdown- like curfew in the country’s most populous state. At first, the weekend cur- few was extended for two days from Tuesday morning to Thursday morning and now it has been extended for anoth- er four days till 7 am on Monday (May 10), a govern- ment spokesman said. During this period, all essential services will be allowed and vaccination drive will continue. Medical stores, vegetable shops and industri- al units will continue to oper- ate. It was also decided to intensify the sanitisation drive in all the 75 districts to break the transmission chain of coronavirus. UP is witnessing a spurt in coronavirus cases over the past few weeks. The chief minister claimed that the current strain of Covid is constantly changing. “It is 30 to 50 times more infectious than the first wave,” he said. Additional Chief Secretary, Information, Navneet Sehgal said that the government is constantly tak- ing necessary steps to break the corona transition chain. Extending state-wide weekly bandh, now partial corona curfew is a step in that direc- tion, he said. He said that industrial units have not been kept closed during the weekly bandh in the state and the local administration has been told that the identity cards of the people working in the industrial units, workers of the essential services, employees of the health department and media personnel should be treated as an e-pass.

Transcript of $cU hRgV Z_VgZeRS]V Z_ :_UZR - Daily Pioneer

Page 1: $cU hRgV Z_VgZeRS]V Z_ :_UZR - Daily Pioneer

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It’s not about Alvin Toffler’sfuturistic classic “Third

Wave”, but the Government’sfear of the return of the Covidscourge after the ongoing sec-ond wave finally subsides.

If coronavirus continue toevolve further, India will not bespared from a third wave of thepandemic which has presentlyswept nations like Canada,France and Italy, theGovernment on Wednesdaysaid, flagging a frighteningfuture at a time when India isalready reeling under the sec-ond wave of Covid-19.

However, the Governmenthas no clue when it will hap-pen. “A phase three isinevitable, given the higherlevels of circulating virus but itis not clear on what time scalethis phase three will occur. Weshould prepare for new waves,”Principal Scientific Advisor tothe Centre K Vijay Raghavansaid while asserting that “vac-cines are effective against cur-rent variants”.

Talking to reporters at aPress conference here, he saidthe country has to be preparedfor the new variants that willalso arise all over the world butvariants that increase the trans-mission will likely to plateau.His comments come amidstWHO observation in a reportthat India accounted for 46 percent of global cases and a quar-ter of global deaths reported inthe past week.

The Government has vir-

tually rejected suggestion for anationwide lockdown to reignin the Covid-19 pandemic, butit could learn from the experi-ence of those countries effec-tively dealing with the thirdwave.

For instance, Germanyafter reopening schools in lateFebruary and allowing hair-dressers and some shops toresume business in March,extended its partial lockdownwhich ended on April 18 as thecountry faced a record surge incases with most of those beinginfected were in the 15 to 49age group, much younger thanthose in the first two waves.

Similarly, hit by the thirdwave, France went for a thirdnational lockdown in earlyApril to check the Covid surgethat threatened to overwhelmthe country’s hospitals. Allschools and non-essentialshops were shut till the end ofApril and a curfew imposedfrom 7 pm to 6 am.

Ditto with Italy which,according to the World HealthOrganisation, has recorded3,809,193 confirmed cases ofCovid-19 with 115,557 deathsbetween January 3, 2020, andApril 15, 2021 in course of thethird wave.

Poland and Canada are

among a few other countriesthat have imposed the nation-wide Covid-19 lockdown todeal with the third wave.

On variants of the coron-avirus, Vijayraghvan said,“Variants are transmitted thesame as the original strain. Itdoesn’t have the properties ofnew kinds of transmission. Itinfects humans in a mannerthat makes it more transmissi-ble as it gains entry, makesmore copies, and goes on,same as the original.”

However, he did not ruleout the need to update theCovid-19 vaccine to deal withthe new strain that has spikedthe infection in the country.

Continued on Page 11

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The Centre and healthexperts may have been ask-

ing States and Union territoriesto increase the number of RT-PCR tests to at least 70 per centof all Covid-19 tests beingconducted, the Indian Councilof Medical Research (ICMR),in its new testing guidelineissued on Tuesday, has talkedabout reducing such tests totake the load off the existing2,506 laboratories.

As per the ICMR guide-lines, no test has to be con-ducted if an individual hastested positive by rapid antigentest, or by RT-PCR tests or hastested positive once by RT-PCRtest or if a person has com-pleted 10 days home isolationperiod with no fever for the lastthree days.

Also at the time of hospi-tal discharge, no RT-PCR test

will be required.The revised guidelines

came after the ICMR scientistsfound that with a sudden spikein the number of RT-PCRtests, the laboratories, whichduring normal times at a

national level, can test close to15 lakh tests, were overbur-dened.

It is taking over 72 hours toprocess one RT-PCR test now,noted the ICMR. The problemhas been compounded becauselab staff are also testing positive

and going off duty.The ICMR said, “At pre-

sent, the laboratories are facingchallenges to meet the expect-ed testing target due to extra-ordinary case load and staff get-ting infected with Covid-19. Inview of this situation, it isimperative to optimise the RT-PCR testing and simultane-ously increase the access andavailability of testing to all cit-izens of the country.”

To help the exhausted labs,the ICMR is now suggestingRapid Antigen Test (RAT) formass detection. It said the RATshould be allowed inGovernment and privatehealthcare facilities across thecountry in cities, towns,schools, colleges, and commu-nity centres. The ICMR alsosuggested creating drive-through RAT facilities.

Individuals with symptoms Continued on Page 11

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Venkitaram Kalyanam, whowas personal secretary to

Mahatma Gandhi passed awayin Chennai on Tuesday. He was99. Kalyanam was the lone sur-viving member of theMahatma’s team of personalstaff.

Malini Kalyanam, hisdaughter told The Pioneer thather father was suffering fromage-related issues but was con-scious of what was happeningaround.

Kalyanam had joinedGandhi’s ashram as a volunteerin 1942 and later rose tobecome his personal secretaryfollowing the demise ofMahadev Desai, considered tobe Man Friday to the Father ofthe Nation.

He was standing justbehind the Mahatma whenNathuram Godse fired theshots at the former in the fate-ful evening of January 30,1948.“The death was instant.Gandhiji died within secondsof the first bullet piercing hisheart. He did not utter a singleword and fell into the hands ofhis two nieces Manu andAbha,” Kalyanam had told The

Pioneer in an interview in2018.

He said all talks aboutGandhi reciting “Hey Ram”and asking for Ganga Jal werenonsense. “The death wasinstantaneous. There was notime to say even “Oh” becausethe death happened themoment the bullet hit hisheart,” said Kalyanam.

It was Kalyanam whodrafted and typed importantdocuments like Gandhi’s will aswell as Bapu’s last note toJawaharlal Nehru and SardarVallabhbhai Patel about the

need to disband the IndianNational Congress.

In the 2018 interview tothis correspondent , Kalyanamsaid Gandhiji was disheart-ened and disillusioned withinmonths after theIndependence. “He told memany times that he has neitherany part nor any say in manystrange things that were goingon in this country even afterthe British had left, I am nolonger the current coin I fan-cied I once was,” Gandhiji hadtold Kalyanam weeks before hewas shot dead.

“The Congress waslaunched to agitate for Indianindependence. It had no othermissions. The party couldmobilise the countrymen anddraw the support of the wholecountry only because of thecause for which it was fighting.Once the country became freefrom the colonial rule, thepurpose of Congress was over.What Gandhi asked the lead-ers was to disband the organi-sation and set up a Lok SevakSamithi towards working forthe welfare of the whole coun-trymen,” Kalyanam told thiswriter.

Kalyanam had accompa-nied the Mahatma during hispeace mission to Bengal wherethe Muslims were on a killingspree following the diktat fromHS Suhrawardy, the then PrimeMinister of Bengal to get theregion free of Hindus. “TheFather of the Nation was con-soling and comforting the vic-tims who lost everything in thecommunal holocaust whileIndia was celebrating itsIndependence,” said Kalyanamwho was with Gandhi onNoakhali at the time of parti-tion.

Continued on Page 11

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Nepal’s embattled PrimeMinister KP Sharma Oli-led

Government on Wednesday lostmajority support in the House ofRepresentatives after the CPN(Maoist Centre) led byPushpakamal Dahal“Prachanda” officially withdrewsupport to it.

The party submitted a letterto this effect to the ParliamentSecretariat, informing about itsdecision to withdraw support tothe government, according to asenior leader of the party, GaneshShah. Chief Whip of the MaoistCentre Dev Gurung handedover the letter to officials at theParliament Secretariat, he said.

After handing over the let-ter Gurung told the media per-sons that the party decided towithdraw support to the OliGovernment as the Govern-ment had breached theConstitution and the Govern-ment’s recent activities haveposed threat to democraticprocedures and national sover-eignty.

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India recorded a new single-day high as the country saw

4,06,383 new cases during thelast 24 hours with the coron-avirus taking firm grip onsouthern India even asMaharashtra on Wednesdaylogged record 920 deaths and57,640 new cases.

Southern India is hard hitby Covid-19 surge as Karnatakashowed it was fast catching upwith Maharashtra, recording50,112 new cases and 346deaths.

In terms of the number ofcases, Kerala too saw an explo-sion, recording 41,953 cases,but the fatalaities rate was rel-atively low with 58 deaths dur-ing the last 24 hours.

Both Tamil Nadu (23,310)and Andhra Pradesh (22,204cases) saw a massive rise in thenumber of cases.

A day after Maharashtrarecorded 891 deaths and new51,880 new cases, the dailydeaths shot up by 29, while thedaily infections went up by5,760. With 920 new deaths,the total number of deaths inthe State climbed from 71,742to 72,662.

Similarly, with 57,640 newinfections, the total number ofcases rose from 48,22,902 top48,80,542.

According to ChiefMinister Pinatrayi Vijayan,Kerala is in for major troubleas hospitals have run out ofbeds and oxygen. Speaking toreporters on Wednesdayevening, Vijayan said he haswritten a letter to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi tohelp the State to get at least 500tonnes of oxygen as the State isfacing a shortage of 1,000tonnes of it.

Kerala reported 41, 953persons with Covid-19 during

the last 12 hours, the ChiefMinister said. “The day also

Continued on Page 11

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Oxygen shortage and fire inhospital have killed hun-

dreds of hapless Covid-19patients, who may have sur-vived otherwise. Over fivedozen people died in fire inci-dents in several parts of thecountry, while the number ofthose who perished due toshortage of oxygen would bemany times more.

In some cases, when thehospital ran out of oxygen, thedoctors fled to safety, leaving

the patients to die a slow andpainful death.

On Wednesday, seven peo-ple reportedly died inKalaburagi andBelagavi inKarnataka andfive in Roorkeein Uttarakhanddue to shortageof oxygen.

Similarly, three died in anexplosion at an oxygen plant inChinhat on the outskirts ofLucknow. Among the dead,two were employees and onewas a customer who had cometo get the refill. In another casein Delhi, 26 Covid patientswere rescued after a fire brokeout in the nursing home.

Alarmed over the increas-ing cases of fire incidents claim-

ing several lives in the past two-three months, the Ministry ofHome Affairs on Wednesdayissued directions to the State

Government to putin place a plan ofaction, to ensure thatno fire incidentoccurs in any of thehealth facilities (par-

ticularly Covid-19 dedicatedfacilities) both in theGovernment and private sector.

In Uttarakhand’s Roorkeedistrict, five Covid-19 patients,including a woman, died at aprivate hospital allegedly due todisruption in oxygen supply tothe facility for around 30 min-utes.

The incident occurred inthe early hours of Wednesdaywhen oxygen supply to the hos-pital remained disruptedbetween 1.30 and 2 am.

One of the deceased was onventilator support while fourothers were on oxygen beds.

Continued on Page 11

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With coronavirus spread-ing to smaller districts

and rural areas, the UP gov-ernment has extended thecorona curfew till Monday(May 10) morning. Therestrictions were set to be lift-ed on Thursday morning.

The decision was taken ata high-level meeting presidedover by Chief Minister YogiAditynath. The meeting wasattended by Health MinisterJai Pratap Singh and top gov-ernment officials. It is the

third extension of lockdown-like curfew in the country’smost populous state.

At first, the weekend cur-few was extended for two daysfrom Tuesday morning toThursday morning and now ithas been extended for anoth-er four days till 7 am onMonday (May 10), a govern-ment spokesman said.

During this period, allessential services will beallowed and vaccination drivewill continue. Medical stores,vegetable shops and industri-al units will continue to oper-

ate. It was also decided tointensify the sanitisation drivein all the 75 districts to breakthe transmission chain ofcoronavirus. UP is witnessinga spurt in coronavirus casesover the past few weeks.

The chief minister claimedthat the current strain of Covidis constantly changing. “It is30 to 50 times more infectiousthan the first wave,” he said.

Additional ChiefSecretary, Information,Navneet Sehgal said that thegovernment is constantly tak-ing necessary steps to break

the corona transition chain.Extending state-wide weeklybandh, now partial coronacurfew is a step in that direc-tion, he said.

He said that industrialunits have not been keptclosed during the weeklybandh in the state and thelocal administration has beentold that the identity cards ofthe people working in theindustrial units, workers of theessential services, employees ofthe health department andmedia personnel should betreated as an e-pass.

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COURT NOTICECITATION (BY ADVERTISEMENT)

(Chapter XXX, Rule-21)IN THE HIGH-COURT OF JUDICATURE AT

ALLAHABAD ORIGINAL JURISDICTION TESTAMENTARY AND INTESTATE

JURISDICTIONTESTAMENTARY CASE NO. 19 OF 2021IN THE MATTER OF THE GOODS OF

Late Banshi Lal @ Banshi LalArora S/o Late Mukund Lal R/o110/142 A, Ram Krishna Nagar,Kanpur Nagar ...Deceased.

Smt. Neelam Arora....PetitionerWHEREAS an application has

been made by Smt. Neelam AroraD/o Late Banshi Lal @ Banshi LalArora, R/o 110/142 A, Ram, KrishnaNagar, Kanpur Nagar, for the probateof the wil l ( or Letters ofAdministration to the estate) of LateBanshi Lal @ Banshi Lal Aroradeceased, who died at 110/142Ram Krishna Nagar Kanpur on13.09.2017 AND WHEREAS, the20th day of May, 2021 has beenfixed for hearing of the said applica-tion. THIS CITATION is issued call-ing upon all persons, claiming to haveany interest to come and see the pro-ceedings if they think fit before thegrant of probate (or Letters ofAdministration).

Given under my hand and theseal of the Court this 25th day ofMarch, 2021.

DEPUTY REGISTRARHIGH COURT, ALLAHABAD

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The Uttar Pradesh Police lostbright young officer

Additional SP (Crime) RahulKumar in Etah to coronavirus onWednesday. The young officer’stragic death came just a few daysafter he lost his brother to thedeadly virus infection on April 14last. Kumar got infected by thevirus a few days back afterreturning from the funeral of hisbrother in Prayagraj. He was inhome isolation and his wifealong with her two little daugh-ters were in Delhi to look after herfather who was also Coronainfected.

On Wednesday morning,Kumar was doing some exercis-es at home when he collapsed.Kumar’s mother was with himwhen he fell unconscious. Hisstaff rushed him to Etah districthospital where he was declareddead by doctors. On beinginformed, DM of Etah Dr VibhaChahal and SSP Uday ShankarSingh rushed to the hospital.

Later, the officer’s elderbrother Nitish Kumar, who isInspector General in NationalInvestigation Agency (NIA) inDelhi, reached Etah along withKumar’s wife and the cremationwas carried out later in the day.

The news sent shockwaves inthe district as Kumar was a pop-ular officer, who was respected by

his subordinates and liked by thepeople who came in his contact.He was recently in the news forensuring justice to a graduatedhaba operator who was wrong-fully sent to jail after a fakeencounter. After the victim plead-ed for justice, Kumar took overthe investigation and ensured theyouth’s release.

Meanwhile, after muchbrouhaha over the insensitivity ofJhansi SSP Rohan P Kanay, SadarCircle Officer Manish Sonkarwithdrew his resignation afterDIG Joginder Kumar coaxedhim into changing his mind.Sonkar had put in his papers afterthe SSP refused a six-day leave tolook after his corona-infectedwife and four-year-old daughter.After accepting Sonkar’s resigna-tion and sending it to theGovernor, the SSP issued the COthe requested leave. Now, the PPSAssociation of UP has demand-ed action from DGP HiteshChandra Awasthi and AdditionalChief Secretary Home AwanishAwasthi, against the insensitiveSSP. The Association tweeted thatCO, Manish Sonkar sufferedmental torture barely for askinga leave for caring for his ailingwife and kid and requested thetwo top officers to take appropri-ate action against the SSP.Significantly, after this incident,the CO’s letter went viral on socialmedia.

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With a view to speeding upthe vaccination drive,

the Uttar Pradesh governmenthas floated a global tender forpurchase of 40 million doses ofCovid-19 vaccines.

Additional ChiefSecretary, Information,Navneet Sehgal said onWednesday that the globaltender for purchase of Covidvaccines has been floated byUttar Pradesh Medical SupplyCorporation. “Companiesinterested in supplying thevaccines can download thetender document which willopen on May 7 and the lastdate for submission of thetender is May 21,” he said.

The government hasalready ordered 10 millionCovid vaccines from two com-panies manufacturing Covaxinand Covishield.

Sehgal said that vaccina-tion of 18-44 years category aswell as that of people agedabove 45 years is going on inthe state and so far, 1,05,68,125people have been given the

first dose of vaccine.“Since May 1, the vaccina-

tion of people in the age groupof 18-44 is going on in 7 dis-tricts. Under this, 51,284 peo-ple have been vaccinated sofar. This global tender willaccelerate the vaccination ofpeople in the age group of 18-44 years,” he said.

Sehgal said that the bene-fit of government immunisa-tion is being given to specificgroups like governmentemployees and their families,media personnel and theirfamilies and the poor. He saidthat the Covid vaccination isbeing done free of cost in gov-ernment hospitals.

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When Richa Srivastava’s husband,daughter and son-in-law tested

positive for the novel coronavirusinfection, she faced the situationbravely. Her daughter and son-in-lawwere hospitalised while her husbandwas under home isolation. Last weekher brother also tested positive andwithin three days he died. When shegot the news she was stunned. She satsilently for a few minutes and thenstarted banging her head against thewall. She was taken to hospital whereshe is under the treatment of a psy-chiatrist.

This is not an isolated case. Thesurge in Covid 2.0 infections and newsabout deaths, struggle to get beds inhospitals and scarcity of medicines hasleft people traumatised. Their anxietylevel has gone up, reducing them to amental wreck.

“Mental health is the biggestcasualty this time but no one is talk-ing about it. In this edition of the novel

coronavirus infection there is a five-fold increase in the number of peoplewho are seeking consultation forincrease in anxiety as compared to lastyear and majority of them are doctors,paramedics or other caregivers whoare witnessing the mayhem in hospi-tals very closely,” said Dr AdarshTripathi, additional professor at theDepartment of Psychiatry, KingGeorge’s Medical University inLucknow.

He said the doctors had seeninnumerable deaths but this time thesituation was different because of theprevailing circumstances about strug-gle to get oxygen and bed.

“The fear that if this happens tothem or their family members willthey be able to get bed, oxygen orrequired medicine for them? hasraised their anxiety level. This hasstarted playing with their psyche andslowly leading them towards depres-sion,” Dr Tripathi said. The symptomsof mental health disorder are low ener-gy level, sluggish mental fitness and

less enthusiasm about work. They arenegative in their thoughts and theytalk more about death and fear.

Rajiv Dixit lost his father, youngerbrother and sister in-law to COVID-19 in a span of 13 days. They visitedhim during Holi and as the COVID-19 cases skyrocketed, Rajiv askedthem to stay. Their deaths have shat-tered him. “They died because ofme… I killed them,” he told his wife.He was taken to a psychiatrist and isunder medication.

The deaths have become theorder of the day in this Covid 2.0.

“Last year, deaths were not so

rampant. The number of cases wentup gradually and deaths were rare. Butthis time the cases came like a flashflood and deaths became frequent.Every third house in a mohalla report-ed deaths. Two-three casualties havebeen reported from many families.People are now talking about thedeaths and this has led them to fearpsychosis,” Dr SK Pandey, medicalofficer at Ram Manohar LohiaInstitute of Medical Sciences inLucknow told The Pioneer.

Besides, many people are feelingguilty of not being able to supportthose around them. These factors areimpacting people’s self-confidence,positivity and resilience to cope upwith the situation.

What has added to the anxiety ofthe people is the bombardment ofnews from different sources -- TV,WhatsApp or Facebook.

“We are living in an age of ‘overinformation’. Sometimes it is good, butat the time of crisis it is bad as peo-ple are exposed to information which

is not relevant to them. The informa-tion leads to thought which leads todreams and this is the time when theyneed medical consultation. As doctorsare grappling to control COVID-19,non-Covid treatment is closed. Tele-consultation is the only option, but itis not possible for everyone to avail it,”Dr Tripathi said, adding that psycho-logical footprints are hidden, subtleand long lasting and are more in num-ber than physical footprints.

The World Health Organisationhas estimated that 7.5 per cent Indiansare affected by mental health disor-ders. This number must have gone upbecause of the pandemic becauseIndia has 0.75 psychiatrists per onelakh population while the WHO rec-ommendation is for three psychiatristsper lakh population.

“It is difficult to quantify theimpact of pandemic on mental healthof Indians as it is bound to hit the vul-nerable sections more since they havemuch less access to mental health,” DrPandey said.

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Despite the clamour for oxy-gen in hospitals and man-

ufacturing units, the state gov-ernment claims that UP has750 MT of oxygen against theaverage demand of 300 MT.Hospitals across the state aresending SOS to the districtadministration seeking help,with reports suggesting thatsome private hospitals havestopped admission of patientsin Agra and Meerut.

A government spokesmansaid that the state used to get 32tankers before the demandshot up but now 90 tankers arebeing used and the efforts areafoot to supply 800 MT to 850MT of oxygen.

“To ensure abundant avail-ability of oxygen for criticalCovid patients across the state,Chief Minister Yogi Adityanathhas issued directives to provideas many as 20 oxygen concen-trators each to all the commu-nity health centres,” thespokesman said. A total of 10MT of oxygen will be suppliedto Shahjahanpur alone.

Similarly, O2 tankers arebeing sent again to districts,including Basti, Rae Bareli,Sant Kabir Nagar andGorakhpur, whereas oxygen isbeing provided via trains toBareilly and Moradabad. InAgra, the demand for oxygenis being fulfilled via airways.

Besides, on the instructionsof the CM, ventilators have alsobeen provided to all the dis-tricts and regular functioningof all the life-saving medicalequipment has been ensured.

Furthermore, Yogi has alsoasked the chief secretary toassess the demand, review theavailability of the life-savingfluid and maintain its ade-quate supply on a daily basis toensure synergy across all pub-lic, private hospitals and thestate government.

In addition, to meet theshortage of the staff, the chiefminister has also instructed theHealth and Medical Educationdepartment to recruit a trainedman force for operating venti-lators and other medical equip-ment with immediate effect. To

give a boost to the availability ofmedical oxygen in the midst ofthe second wave, work is beingconducted on a war-footing toset up oxygen producing plantsin not only state-run medicalcolleges and institutions butalso at all such private medicalcolleges and institutes, which donot have LMO plants.

Chief Secretary RK Tewarihas been asked to supervise thedaily developments and ensuretimely completion of the task.With this, several oxygen refill-ing plants which had been shutdown have been revived. Toensure smooth, timely andtransparent supply of medicaloxygen to the Covid patients ingovernment and private hospi-tals, an oxygen monitoring sys-tem has also been developed.

Lucknow (PNS): The UP gov-ernment claimed that therehas been a sharp fall in freshcorona cases due to the efficientpandemic management by itsagencies. Medical EducationMinister Suresh Khanna said inLucknow on Wednesday thatso far 1.30 crore people havebeen vaccinated in the state.

“On April 24, as many as38,055 people had tested Covidpositive. Due to the efficientmanagement of the pandemicby the government, the freshcases of infection came downto 31,165 on Wednesday while40,852 patients recovered. OnMay 1, the number of activecases was 3.01 lakh, which hascome down to 2.62 lakh,” hesaid. Khanna further said thatthe chief minister is vigorous-ly pursuing the vaccinationcampaign and wants to com-plete this process as early aspossible. “So far 1.05 crorepeople have been adminis-tered the first jab while 25.22

lakh have been fully vaccinat-ed. From May 1 till date, 51,284people in the age group of 18-44 years have been vaccinated.Expediting the vaccinationprocess is aimed at bringingdown the vulnerability of peo-ple from infection,” he said.

“Besides, the recovery ratein the state has improved andpositivity rate and growth ofinfection has come down. Thegovernment is committed toimproving the facilities in gov-ernment hospitals and ensurethat infected people get prop-er treatment both in hospitalsand in home isolation. Thegovernment is making allefforts to ensure that there is noshortage of oxygen and medi-cines in hospitals,” he said.

Khanna appealed to peopleto abide by Covid guidelinesand protocols for preventingthe spread of the viral infectionand urged them to use mask,stay home and away fromcrowded places.

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Lucknow (PNS): A day after theAllahabad High Court observedthat the death of COVID-19patients due to non-supply ofoxygen to hospitals is a crimi-nal act, Congress leaderPriyanka Gandhi Vadra target-ed the Yogi government sayingthat the chief minister has con-tinuously denied lack of oxygenwhen the truth is that there havebeen numerous deaths forwhich accountability must befixed. Earlier on Tuesday, mak-ing stinging remarks, theAllahabad High Court observedthat the death of COVID-19patients due to non-supply ofoxygen to hospitals was a crim-inal act and “not less than agenocide” by authorities taskedwith ensuring that the oxygensupply chain is maintained.

In an apparent reference tothe observation by the court,Priyanka Gandhi said the HighCourt has shown the mirror tothe government. “The UP gov-ernment has continuouslydenied the lack of oxygen. Ithas been threatening thosehighlighting the lack of the lifesaving fluid. While the truth isthat continuously there havebeen deaths due to lack of oxy-gen and its accountabilityshould be fixed," the Congressgeneral secretary said in aFacebook post in Hindi onWednesday.

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To make customers awareabout the importance of

masks, sanitisers and socialdistancing during the deadlyonslaught of the second coro-na wave, UP liquor sellers havedecided to paste stickers depict-ing ‘No Mask, No Wine’ at theirbusiness establishments inLucknow and neighbouringdistricts.

General secretary of LiquorSellers’ Welfare Association

(LSWA) KL Maurya said thatliquor sellers have decided towork shoulder-to-shoulder inthe UP government’s campaignin making people aware aboutthe use of masks in fighting thepandemic.

“Masks, sanitisers andsocial distancing are importantweapons that save us frombeing infected with corona. Inthese trying times, maximumbusiness activities are witnessedat grocery shops and liquorstores as large number of cus-

tomers visit these places. Wewill be pasting stickers of ‘NoMask, No Wine’ at liquor shopsand also distribute free masksand sanitisers among cus-tomers to make them aware ofthe Covid protocols,” he said.

Maurya said that the pro-gramme was to be launched onFriday but postponed due tothe lockdown. “In times tocome, we will start the cam-paign from liquor shops inHazratganj and later spread itacross the state,” he said.

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2�)� ���������� �������������������������Lucknow (PNS): Aiming tosanitise urban areas, theUrban DevelopmentDepartment has started sani-tising the roads and streets ofcities including the main insti-tutions, markets, hospitals in17 municipal corporationsand 48 major municipalities ofthe state. A governmentspokesman said that sanita-tion work was done in all12,016 wards of the state localbodies on Monday.Disinfectant with 1% sodiumhypochlorite solution wassprayed in each municipalbody for which several vehi-cles were pressed into service.

The official further saidthat special arrangementswere made to lift bio-medicalwaste in areas where citizensare in home isolation so thatthey do not face inconve-nience. Also, a special teamwas deployed to monitorcleanliness at crematoriums

and burial grounds. A Covidhelp desk has also been set up ineach local body office to moni-tor the temperature of those vis-iting the offices. As the numberof Covid cases are spiralling, thedepartment has been carryingout cleanliness campaigns in allrevenue villages of 75 districts inthe state under which cleaning,sanitisation and fogging werecarried out at a rapid pace.

The official said that around60,569 surveillance committeeshave been set up in 58,194 grampanchayats to provide relief andtimely medical facilities to vil-lagers against the deadly secondwave of corona.

1"#2������#�2�����������������3%���������������Lucknow (PNS): An MoUbetween KGMU and RightWalk Foundation was signed onWednesday for donation ofoxygen concentrators. The UP-based organisation reached outto Dr Suryakant to meet thishumanitarian need. Founded bySamina Bano, Right WalkFoundation works to imple-ment the Right to Educationand the Apprenticeship Act,1961 and is currently support-ing the Covid relief efforts bydistributing food kits and othersupport items.

“The oxygen concentra-

tors which the RighWalkFoundation is donating will beproviding life-saving services toCovid patients,” a KGMU offi-cial said. “Oxygen is the need ofthe hour and Covid-19 is a res-piratory disease and affects thepatients’ capacity to breatheffectively. Head of depart-ment, Pulmonary Sciences,made an appeal to the civil soci-ety on the LucknowManagement Association plat-form. The appeal was thenpromoted by English andModern European Languagesof LU,” the official said.

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The single users of oxygen arelikely to create an oxygen

crisis in the district. Givingthis information, an officialfrom the district administrationsaid that COVID-19 patients inhome isolation do not require somuch oxygen as was beinghighlighted. He said that a sur-vey carried out by the adminis-tration showed that the supplyof oxygen to hospitals was beingimpacted by the single users ofoxygen. “They are not taking thedoctor’s prescription and refill-ing one cylinder each. Theremay be many who may beblack marketing the oxygen,” hesaid while admitting that theydid not stop people from acquir-ing oxygen in these difficulttimes.

Meanwhile, when askedabout the oxygen audit by theadministration, district Covidincharge Dr Roshan Jacob said

they were trying to estimate thedemand of hospitals andimprove the distribution sys-tems in Lucknow district.

She said that they were inthe process of making a propos-al in this regard to the districtmagistrate and it would ease theproblem in the district.

“If everyone in Lucknowstarts keeping oxygen cylin-ders it will become difficult.Hence the option is to chan-nelise whatever oxygen we havein a better way,” she said.

Jacob said that they werenot blocking oxygen supply topatients in home isolationbecause there were many whoneeded it but if people starthoarding by keeping four cylin-ders instead of two it wouldimpact the hospitals’ needs.

Additional Chief SecretaryNavneet Sehgal said that theywere increasing the supply ofoxygen every day and inLucknow.

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Chief Minister YogiAdityanath dedicated the

Atal Bihari Vajpayee CovidHospital, set up by DRDO atAwadh Shilp Gram, to peopleof Lucknow after a formalinauguration by Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath onWednesday.

The chief minister, whilespeaking on the occasion, saidthe bed capacity is being con-stantly increased and in thesame effort, the Covid facili-ty at Cancer Institute with 100beds with ICU and oxygensupport was inaugurated onTuesday while this hospitalwith 500 beds is another addi-tion. He said the governmenthas put in all efforts to estab-lish the Covid facility.

Stressing that everyone hasto join hands in the fightagainst coronavirus, he said theendeavour made to stop thetransmission by the govern-ment has started showingresults because the number ofpatients recovered is doublethe cases in the last 24 hours.

“Senior doctors are regu-larly visiting the Covid hospi-tals and attendants of thepatients are getting informa-tion once a day. It is importantfor the doctors to deal with thepatients and their attendantswith sensitivity,” he said.

The CM also took a tour of

the holding area, ICU-1, ICU-2, oxygen beds and pharmacyof the hospital and inquiredfrom the doctors and the staffabout the facilities for thepatients and also interactedwith the officials present.

Amidst the second wave,the Ministry of Defence hasstepped up the fight againstCovid by bolstering the exist-ing medical infrastructure incoordination with the stategovernments and is setting upwell-equipped Covid facilitiesacross the country.

On the directions ofDefence Minister RajnathSingh, the Covid facility hasbeen set up by the DefenceResearch and DevelopmentOrganisation (DRDO) atAwadh Shilp Gram in recordtime. Defence officials saidthe hospital equipped with a20KL oxygen tank for uninter-rupted supply besides dedicat-ed power backup and bio-medical and other waste man-agement systems. There will beno charges for facilities avail-able in the hospital. Food willalso be provided to the patientsfor free. With the help of thestate government, DRDO hasmade arrangements for oxygenand medical supplies whichwill also be given to patientsfree of charge.

Defence officials said thatthe DRDO and UP govern-ment played a stellar role in

quick operationalisation of thefacility and are handling allmajor aspects such as supply ofessential amenities to run thehospital, services managementto include oxygen re-supply,patient management, wastedisposal etc.

The hospital is being runby a team of Armed Forcescomprising doctors of manyspecialities along with nursesand paramedic staff. The med-ical staff has been flown infrom all across the country.

Intensive training, qualitychecks of installed equipmentand Covid procedures andprotocols have been complet-ed prior to commissioning ofthe hospital. The admission tothe hospital will be controlledthrough the Integrated Controland Command Centre (0522-4523000) in Lucknow estab-lished by the UP governmentauthorities. However, the hos-pital will not cater to walk-inpatients and admissions.Information on admittedpatients will be available fromthe help desk at mobile num-bers 9519109239 &9519109240.

The hospital underlinesthe commitment of theMinistry of Defence and thestate government to synergise their efforts forenhancing the health infra-structure to provide succour tothe citizens.

Lucknow (PNS): Indian SugarMills Association (ISMA) saidthe sugar companies haveinked export orders for theexport of 55 lakh MT of sugarfor the current 2020-21 sugarseason. UP mills have pro-duced 1.56 crore MT of sugar,which is 11 lakh MT lowerthan what was achieved in thecorresponding period last year.Out of the 120 sugar mills inUttar Pradesh, 75 mills haveended their crushing while theremaining mills are expectedto close by the end of thismonth.

ISMA said that 55 lakhMT of export contracts inkedso far are more than 90 percent of the total MaximumAdmissible Export Quota(MAEQ) for 2020-21. Out of

this quantity, more than 25lakh MT of sugar has alreadybeen exported during Jan-Mar 2021 under the MAEQprogramme, which wasannounced on December 31,last year. Another 10 lakh MTof sugar was estimated to havebeen shipped out in April2021, taking the total export-ed quantity to 35 lakh MT sofar. Another nearly 10 lakhMT of sugar is expected to beexported in May 2021, ISMAsaid.

On the ethanol front,against a total letter of intent(LoI) quantity of nearly 3.26billion litres (BL), about 3.03BL have been contracted forand 1.18 BL of ethanol sup-plied as on April 19 this year.Out of this, about 77 per cent

pertained to ethanol madefrom sugarcane juice/B-heavymolasses.

“The country, on an aver-age, has achieved a blendingpercentage of 7.36 per cent,while 11 major states likeUttar Pradesh, Maharashtra,Karnataka, Uttarakhand,Bihar, Haryana, Punjab, Delhi,Goa, Gujarat and HimachalPradesh have achieved evenhigher blending percentage ofup to 10 per cent,” ISMAclaimed.

Meanwhile, Indian sugarmills have produced almost 3crore MT of sugar betweenOctober 2020 and April 2021,which is 41 lakh MT higherthan about 2,59 crore MTproduced in the correspond-ing period last year.

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The second wave of coron-avirus infection continued

to ravage Uttar Pradesh with357 deaths and 31,165 freshcases being recorded in the past24 hours. However, there wassome solace in 40,852 recover-ies during the same periodwhile the number of activecases came down to 2,62,474 inthe state.

Officials said 2,32,038Covid tests were conducted inthe state in the last 24 hours.The total tests done in the statehave gone up to 4,20,32,587.

Lucknow, Kanpur Nagar,Varanasi, Prayagraj, Meerutand Bareilly accounted for halfof the total infections in thestate. The death toll also wentup and at 46, Kanpur record-ed the highest single-day casu-alties. Lucknow recorded 38deaths, Chandauli 24,Lakhimpur Kheri 17,Sonebhadra & Ghaziabad 13each, Gorakhpur & Jhansi 12each, and Gautam BuddhaNagar 10. Lucknow continuedto be the district with the

highest number of fresh casesat 3,004. However, 4,878 recov-eries were also reported in thelast 24 hours. Among other dis-tricts, Meerut witnessed 1,732cases, Gautam Buddha Nagar1,703, Ghaziabad 1,373,Kanpur 1,206, Gorakhpur1,055, Varanasi 966 andPrayagraj 437.

Additional Director HealthDr DS Bajpai, who is monitor-ing the Covid situation inLucknow district, said that thedeath audit was being carried

out but they had not yetreceived the report. He saidthey had changed the strategyfor containment of the virus.

“Earlier it was testing,tracking and treatment but thestress is on testing, treatmentand then tracking,” he added.

“The strategy has to berevised from time to timebecause it is important to lookafter those who have beenaffected first and provide themtreatment. We immediatelystart treatment of whoever

tests positive and the result ofthe change will be visible insome time. It will take sometime to achieve the desiredresults,” he said. Dr Bajpai saidthe spike in positive cases wasthe result of complacency andnot following the appropriateCovid behaviour in the monthof March. The additional direc-tor said that the occupancy ofbeds was a dynamic processand the numbers varied fromtime to time.

Meanwhile, doctors at var-

ious Covid facilities admittedthat 90 per cent of the patientswere on oxygen support.

Dr Vishal Singh fromVivekananda Polyclinic saidthat when the hospital wasfunctioning normally oxygensupport was required only forICU but since the time the hos-pital was turned into a Covidfacility, the patients on all 77beds were on oxygen support.He said the patients alsorequired high flow nasal can-nula, BiPAP machines.

“There is a hundred percent requirement of oxygen inLevels 2 and 3 beds and we areplanning to convert the Level1 beds also to oxygen support-ed beds. This is the require-ment of the day,” he said.

Commenting on thedemand of oxygen for patientsin home isolation, he said thatthere were inquiries frompatients who were in panic dueto low blood oxygen level.

Meanwhile, NodalImmunisation Officer MKSingh said that 2,755 people inthe 18+ age group were admin-istered the first dose of Covidvaccine on Wednesday. He said2,357 people in the 45+ catego-ry were administered the firstdose of the vaccine and 1,862the second dose, while 879 peo-ple in the 60+ age group tookthe first dose of the vaccine and1,691 the second dose.

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Three people, including two employees,were killed while eight workers suffered

injuries in an explosion at an oxygen refill-ing plant in Chinhat on Wednesday afternoon.At the time of the incident, a huge numberof people were waiting outside for their turnto get a refill in view of the increased oxygendemand due to surge in Covid cases.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath extend-ed condolences to the kin of the deceased. TheCM instructed the officials to reach the spotand conduct relief and rescue operations. Healso directed the officials to ascertain thecause. Chinhat police and PAC personnelwere deployed outside the plant for crowdmanagement at the time of the incident. Theplant is located in Dhawa village on DewaRoad in Chinhat. A huge number of cus-tomers and ambulances were outside the pxy-gen plant when the explosion occurred.

ADCP, East, Qasim Abdi said thedeceased employees were identified as ArunPandey (only torso recovered) of Lucknowand Tribhuvan Yadav Barabanki. Another per-son killed in the incident was identified asDeepu Kanaujia of Vikas Nagar. He was thereto get a refill and was standing close to theplace where cylinders were being refilled. Fiveof the injured were identified as Ankur,Ashish Kumar of Barabanki, Neeraj of Sitapur,Rajbali Yadav of Faizabad and Akash Yadavof Vikas Nagar.

According to the police, the explosionoccurred when the some of the oxygen cylin-ders were being refilled. The police personneldeployed at the plant rushed the victims to RMLhospital where three were declared broughtdead.

Plant’s manager Rishi and other employeesfled the scene soon after the incident. The plantis owned by Atul Kumar of Indira Nagar, accord-ing to the police. Sources said the oxygen plantwas being run in a residential area and a caseagainst the owner and a loader driver was reg-istered on April 30 for blackmarketing. Thepolice had recovered 20 oxygen cylinders fromthere. It was suspected that the explosionoccurred when some cylinder of expired datewas being refilled.

DM Abhishek Prakash ordered a probe intothe incident and formed a team headed by ADM,Additional Police Commissioner (East), ChiefFire Officer and Drug Inspector.

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Many myths about thespread of COVID-19 and

its cure are circulating on socialmedia, leaving the uninformedpeople baffled, that the time hascome to dispel these fallacies toclear the picture.

Dean of the School ofEnvironmental Sciences atBabasaheb Bhimrao AmbedkarUniversity (BBAU), Dr NaveenArora, said that due to miscon-ception, many people wereblaming radiations frommobile towers, particularly the5G network, for the spread ofCOVID-19.

“Similarly, there are mis-conceptions about some drugspreventing coronavirus infec-tion,” he said.

He said that it was impor-tant to understand that novelcoronavirus infection hadnothing to do with radiationfrom mobile towers.

“In fact, proper internetfacilities at village levels and inremote areas can help in con-trolling the spread of virus insuch epidemics. Internet facil-ities and mobile phones canalso help in providing healthcare and medical consultationin remote areas and help intackling the pandemic and itsspread,” he said.

Dr Arora said that it wasalso clear now that hot or coldweather had no major impacton the spread of novel coron-avirus.

“The only important aspectis human to human contact.Direct contact with a COVID-19 patient is extremely riskywhile close door meetings orgatherings with even 1-2 pos-itive cases are also dangerous asthe virus is transmitted in theair in the form of droplets fromthe affected person. Althoughhot water and steam inhalationcan be very soothing and canhelp in recovering but it can inno way prevent infection if aperson comes in contact witha COVID-19 patient and thattoo without following the SOPs(standard operating proce-dures) such as wearing masksand regular washing of hands.Thus, it becomes important toeducate the population rightfrom the primary level aboutthe possible reasons and con-

trol measures to prevent thetransmission of such conta-gious microbes as novel coro-navirus,” he added.

He said that the pandem-ic could not be tackled in iso-lation. “It is not that a fewnations can eradicate it fromtheir boundaries while othersare fighting on their own. Thepandemic has to be tackled inunison and not is isolation.Unless and until the virus istackled globally in each coun-try and part of the world, noone is safe,” he said.

� �������-������ � ����Lucknow (PNS): An emptyballot box was found aban-doned in the thickets in Mallpolice station area, sendingthe cops and district adminis-tration into a tizzy onWednesday. A police team tookthe ballot box into custody andstarted the investigation. Acontestant, Sushmita Devi ofward number 8 from the area,had accused the returning offi-cer of rigging the vote count-ing and given a letter to the dis-trict administration, demand-ing a probe. Reports said someof the villagers spotted anempty ballot lying in the thick-ets in the mango grove ownedby Ram Milan of Bighapur vil-lage of Mall in the morning andalerted the ADO, Panchayat.

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The University of Lucknow has beenranked number 1 among all the univer-

sities of Uttar Pradesh by EduRank.org. LUspokesperson Durgesh Srivastava said thatthe university has secured 58th rank in thecountry.

“The 57 universities which have beenplaced above the University of Lucknow aremostly technical universities or the institutesof eminence. LU has once again proved itspotential as it has found place among top25% universities of the world as per therecords of ranking agency EduRank. org. Theuniversity has been ranked 1008th in Asia.The ranking has been published byEduRank.org and 14,178 universitiesthroughout the globe have been covered.Some of the prominent countries which havebeen covered are United States, China,Japan, Mexico, etc,” he said.

Lucknow (PNS): Aam AadmiParty Rajya Sabha member andUP in-charge Sanjay Singh saidon Wednesday that the peopleof the state rejected the rulingBJP in the just concluded pan-chayat elections.

“The public voted in favourof Kejriwal's model of gover-nance in the local bodies elec-tion and ensured the victory ofAAP candidates as 83 zila pan-chayat members, 300 grampradhans and 232 BDC mem-bers. We have pipped theCongress and are placed in thefourth place numerically. Ithank party workers for theirhard work which resulted in a

very encouraging result,” hesaid. “People of the state haveshunned the politics of grave-yard dished out by the BJP andwant free drinking water, elec-tric supply, hospital and educa-tion. In UP, people in crisis haveto wait for ambulances for sev-eral hours to reach their ailingkin to hospitals,” he said. Singhannounced that AAP will startauto ambulance services inLucknow and neighbouring dis-tricts to help the public. “TheUP government is registeringcases against people instead ofhelping them. This is con-demnable and smacks of Hitler’spolicies,” he said. The AAP

leader further said that the Yogigovernment was busy in con-cealing and blacking out heartrending scenes at crematoriumsand graveyards instead ofarranging beds, oxygen and lifesaving medicines for patientswho were dying due to the lackof these in Covid times.

Singh further alleged, “TheCM has been claiming thatthere was no dearth of bed andoxygen but the situation on theground was diametrically oppo-site. Even in Delhi, the BJP gov-ernment at the Centre has beendenying the allotted quota of976 metric ton of oxygen forhospitals in the national capital.”

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Finance Minister SureshKhanna said on Wednesday

that despite the onslaught of thesecond Covid wave across thestate and disruption in eco-nomic activities due to partiallockdown, the state achieved arecord revenue realisation ofRs 11,196.49 crore against thetarget of Rs 13,175 crore inApril, the first month of the2021-22 fiscal. He said that inthe corresponding period inApril last year, the recovery wasonly Rs 1,298 crore, whichwas less by Rs 9,898 crore.

“The positive growth inrevenue recovery during the

pandemic is a welcome sign forthe economy of the state.Against the target of Rs4,965.35 crore for GST, theactual revenue collection wasRs 5,157 crore in April this year.The GST collection in April2020 was only Rs 670 crore.The collection of VAT in Aprilthis year was Rs 1,307 croreagainst the target of Rs 826.53crore. VAT collection in April2020 was only Rs 402.22 crore,”Khanna said.

The minister said that rev-enue collection from the Excisedepartment in April this yearwas Rs 3,240 crore against thetarget of Rs 3,940 crore. InApril last year, the collection

from Excise department wasonly Rs 53.46 crore. Similarly,collections from Stamps andRegistration department inApril this year was Rs 1,218.39crore against the target of Rs1,854 crore while it was only Rs17.41 crore in April last year.

The collection fromTransport department was Rs553.95 crore in April 2021against the target of Rs 771crore while in April 2020, it wasonly Rs 100 crore. From theGeology and MMining depart-ment, the revenue collection inApril 2021 stood at Rs 199.74crore against the target of Rs338 crore while it was Rs 54.16crore in April last year.

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�������������Pariniti Malhotra,

a student of CityMontessori School,Gomti Nagar CampusI, has been selectedfor admission to theUniversity of SanFrancisco, USA, forhigher education.Thus, another studentof CMS has broughtlaurels to Lucknow bybeing selected in noteda university abroad dueto her academic excel-lence, diligence, and skills, chief PRO Hari OmSharma said. He added that each year more than100 CMS students are offered admissions to thetop universities of the world. This year, over 60CMS students have alreadybeen offered admis-sions to the top universities of the USA, UK,Canada, Australia, Japan, Singapore, Germany,etc.

Ahmedabad: The GujaratCongress on Wednesdaydemanded that the StateGovernment supply the prima-ry and community health cen-tres in rural parts with adequateamount of vital medicines, med-ical equipment and testing kitsto deal with the rising cases ofCovid-19.

The Opposition partyclaimed the State Governmenthas reduced the number of RT-PCR tests in an effort to hide coronavirus-related deaths.

The Congress said medi-cines, oxygen cylinders, ventila-tors, ICU ambulances, doctors,other medical staff and RT-PCR testing facilities should beprovided in sufficient numbersto health centres in rural Gujarat.

A delegation of seniorCongress leaders met ChiefMinister Vijay Rupani at his res-idence in Gandhinagar andurged him to ensure that therural populace is not left to suf-fer in the second wave of thepandemic. Health facilities inrural Gujarat are inadequate todeal with the present crisis.

The existing primary andcommunity health centres(PHCs and CHCs) are not prop-erty supplied with medicinesand other facilities required todeal with the rising cases.“Considering the ground reali-ty at the rural level, supply (ofmedicines and equipment)should be made in accordancewith demand so that preciouslives are saved. All the state'sPHCs and CHCs should be pro-vided with sufficient amount ofmedicines, as well as medicaloxygen, and other equipment totreat COVID-19 patients,” hesaid. PTI

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Tehreek-e-Hurriyat chair-man Mohammad Ashraf

Sehrai, who was lodged inUdhampur jail under PublicSafety Act (PSA), died inGovernment Medical Collegehospita l in Jammu onWednesday.

Sehrai,a close aide of sep-aratist leader Syed Ali ShahGeelani, was shifted fromUdhampur late Tuesdayevening after he complainedof breathlessness. 77-year-oldSehrai was suffering frommultiple ailments.

His family had recentlyrequested the J&K adminis-trat ion to release him“because his health wasfalling in the jail”.

He breathed his lastWednesday morning. At thetime of admission his RapidAntigen test report was neg-ative. He had tested positivefor Covid-19 on an RTPCRtest later.

The police authorities inJammu had informed hisfamily in Srinagar about hiscondition after he was rushedto the hospital in a criticalcondition.

His body was handedover to his elder son lateWednesday evening aftercompleting the necessary for-malities.

Sehrai was lodged in adistrict jail since July 2020after the killing of his sonJunaid Sehrai, a HizbulMujahideen commander.

Sehrai , or iginal ly aJamaat-e-Islami leader, hadfloated Tehreek-e-Hurriyatin 2003 with Syed Ali

Geelani.Following his death some

Kashmir based politiciansonce again urged the Centregovernment to release polit-ical prisoners and otherdetainees lodged across dif-ferent jails.

Former Chief Ministerand PDP Chief MehboobaMufti tweeted, "Deeply sad-dened to know about AshrafSehrai sahab’s sudden demise.Like him countless politicalprisoners & other detaineesfrom J&K continue to bejailed purely for their ideolo-gies & thought process. Intoday’s India one pays a pricewith his life for dissent. Theleast GOI can do in such dan-gerous circumstances is toimmediately release thesedetainees on parole so thatthey return home to theirfamilies".

Chairman of Jammu andKashmir Peoples ConferenceSajad Lone also posted aseries of tweets questioningthe logic behind keeping aninfirm dying person behindbars . In his tweets Lonesaid, "Ashraf Sehrai Sahibpasses away. A long politicalcareer comes to an end.Ashraf Sahib struggled allhis life. A Jamaat ideologue".

“...And why did he haveto die in incarceration andnot at his home amongst his kin and lovedones. Have we become soweak that an old infirm dyingperson is a threat to the state . I am not being critical. But please introspect.Seharai Sahib was a politicalleader not a terrorist",Lonetweeted.

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Patient care facilities provid-ed to the Covid-19 patients

inside Government Medicalcollege hospital in Jammu havecome under the scanner follow-ing increasing number of deathsof patients including those withno comorbidities.

On Wednesday 28 patientssuccumbed to the virus acrossJammu region and 24 acrossKashmir while 4,716 freshcases of coronavirus weredetected taking the tally ofactive positive cases to 39628.

Since May 1, a total num-ber of 146 patients have suc-cumbed to the coronavirusacross Jammu region and 82 inKashmir while 6656 patientstested positive across Jammudivision and 13845 acrossKashmir division.

According to the media

bulletin, "Majority of thesedeaths have been reported inGMC Jammu". Several care-takers on Wednesday, whilewaiting outside the mortuary ofthe hospital complex leveledserious allegations against thepoor patient care facilities pro-vided to the patients.

An employee of the GMCafter losing his daughter due toCovid 19 alleged, "after mydaughter was admitted in thehospital I requested senior fac-ulty to monitor her conditionand provide quality patientcare services to save her life".He alleged, "despite my regularpleas in front of the nursingstaff present inside the ward mydaughter was not attended to.Even the medicines prescribedwere not administered to her bythe nursing staff and no seniordoctor visited the ward tosupervise the patient care ser-

vices".Weeping inconsolably he

said, "I lost my daughter infront of my eyes. No seniordoctor came there to save herlife."

Another aggrieved son,while waiting for the deadbody of his father claimed,"when we were attending to ourpatient no one stopped us frombeing present there and nowwhen our patient has died theyare not handing over his deadbody to us claiming they arefollowing a protocol .

The son asked, "why nosuch protocol of patient carewas followed when the patientwas alive and was in need ofbetter patient care facilities".They all appealed to the gov-ernment to hold a detailedinquiry and punish the guiltyfor not discharging their dutiesinside the ward.

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On a day when MamataBanerjee swore in as the

Chief Minister for the thirdconsecutive term, BJP nation-al president on Wednesdayattacked her for provoking vio-lence in the State alleging “she is one ChiefMinister whose hands aresmeared in blood” of theOpposition workers.

Nadda, who visited thehouses of slain and attackedparty men in North 24Parganas, said, “The BJP con-demns Mamata Banerjee’scoming to power through bloodshed … she has blood inher hands.”

Alleging that the “mas-sacre of opposition workersparticularly the BJP men arepre-planned and is being car-ried out with a definite design…it reminds of the call for‘direct action’” just before theIndependence, he said “whenour workers were being beaten,killed and their houses were being looted the

Chief Minister was sitting silent…despite the fact that she hadwon the elections and wasabsolutely in control … she waswatched things happening forthree consecutive days.”

The Trinamool leadershiphowever rejected the BJP’sclaims even as its seniorMinister Firhad Hakim saidthat the violence was the resultof the provocative politics thatthe saffron outfit started inBengal adding however that“the Government is in controland ensure that no violencetakes place… this is not Gujarator UP.”

The BJP leadership onWednesday staged a dharna infront of its State party office atMuralidhar Sen Lane in NorthKolkata.

“We shall fight this outdemocratically,” Nadda saidadding “the BJP will root outthe TMC from Bengal oneday.”

The party on Wednesdaystarted a helpline for theattacked and evicted workers.

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With no let up in the con-tinued surge in the

Covid-19 fatalities and infec-tions, Maharashtra onWednesday logged 920 deathsand 57,640 new cases, even as57,006 patients were dischargedfrom various hospitals acrossthe state.

A day after the state record-ed 891 deaths and new 51,880new cases, the daily deaths shotup by 29, while the daily infec-tions went up by 5,760.

With 920 new deaths, thetotal number of deaths in thestate climbed from 71742 to72,662. Similarly, with 57,640new infections, the total num-ber of cases rose from 48,22,902top 48,80,542.

As 57,006 patients weredischarged from the hospitalsacross the state after full recov-ery, the total number of peopledischarged from the hospitalssince the second week of Marchlast year went up to 41,64,098.The recovery rate in the statefor the first time in several daysrose from 85.16 per cent to85.32 per cent.

The total “active cases” inthe state dropped from 6,41,910

to 6,41,569 cases. The fatalityrate in the state stood static at1.49 per cent.

With 77 fresh deaths, theCovid-19 toll in Mumbaiincreased from 13,434 to13,511, while the infected caseswent up by 3882 to trigger ajump in the infections from6,61,175 to 6,65,057.

While Pune accounted fora maximum 1,14,254 “activecases” in the state, Nagpurstood second 58,944, followedby Mumbai with 56,153,Nashik (46541), Thane(44,716), Chandrapur (28,105),Ahmednagar (21,043), Satara(21,025), Solapur (20,630),Beed (15,037), Buldhana(14,533), Jalgaon (12,465),Latur (12038), Aurangabad(11,541), Parbhani (10,043),Gondia (8529), Osmanabad(8468), Bhandara (6729),Nanded (6436) and Nandurbar(6181).

Of the 2,83,84,582 samplessent to laboratories, 48,80,542have tested positive (17.19 percent) for COVID-19 untilWednesday

Currently, 38, 52,501 peo-ple are in home quarantinewhile 32,174 people are ininstitutional quarantine.

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In an apparent indication ofconverting the magnificent

electoral victory in Bengal intoa launch-pad for her nationalambitions in Delhi, ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee onWednesday asked the Centre tocome out with a transparentpandemic policy for “the entirecountry and all the States.”

Mamata, who swore in forthe third consecutive time, shotoff an “assertive” letter to thePrime Minister wondering whythere was no transparent poli-cy on vaccination and distrib-ution of oxygen.

If she completes her thirdterms she will be the secondChief Minister to do so afterJyoti Basu of the CPI(M) whoruled the State for about 24years. Apart from Basu andBanerjee two other ChiefMinisters who had two succes-sive stints were Bidhan Roy thefirst Chief Minister andBuddhadeb Bhattacharjee.

Armed with an emphatictwo-thirds majority in the justconcluded Assembly electionsBanerjee said that “we demand-ed 3 crore vaccines but they aresending only 1.5 lakh which ispeanuts… it seems as if they aregiving us alms to beggars.”

She said quoting the letter,“In the letter we demandedfree vaccine for all … The main

issue which we highlighted inthe letter … that there is notransparency in the policy foroxygen , medicines and vac-cines. Oxygen from our State isbeing taken away and we are notgetting enoughvaccines.”

Banerjee had earlier com-plained against the Centre’salleged discriminatory poli-cies policy regarding coronacontrol narrating how “the BJPruled States are getting moreoxygen and vaccines while oth-ers are being neglected … inGujarat vaccines are being dis-tributed from BJP partyoffices.”

The Wednesday’s letterlooked like a formal reflectionof her earlier allegations whenshe wrote “at the very outset, Iwould again like to emphasisefree vaccination for all. Youmay kindly recall my letter on24th February 2021, wherein Ihad requested you to allow the

government of West Bengal toallow procurement of vaccinefrom designated points forproviding vaccination for thepeople of the state free of cost.This has not been addressed.”

Taking up the cudgel forother States too she said “allstates should be treated equal-ly and their needs should beaddressed” in an equitablemanner.

Soon after assuming chargefor the third term the ChiefMinister issued a “stern warn-ing” for the violence mongersasking “no one will be spared… I have asked the SPs andDMs to spare none whoindulges in violence.”

She alleged that a lot of fakevideos were being transmittedby some people and that vio-lence was taking place only inareas where the BJP had won,leading the opposition partiesto allege that “she has onceagain resorted to partisan pol-

itics.”Banerjee who reshuffled

the top police brass reinstatingDGP Virendra, and ADG (Lawand Order) Jawed Shamim(These officers had been trans-ferred by the ElectionCommission) to their old postshowever said that herGovernment would act impar-tially without seeing political

colours.She was speaking on the

continuing post-poll violencein the State that has seen at least17 people lose their lives thepast 36 hours. Earlier duringthe swearing-in ceremony atthe Raj Bhavan the ChiefMinister was curtly remindedby the Governor to ensurepeace.

3���� ��������� ������������� ���� ��Kolkata: Soon after assumingpower Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee onWednesday announced a num-ber of restrictions to contain thecorona pandemic.

Among these restrictionsare suspending of all the subur-ban trains, curtailing metroand other public transport ser-vices by half and imposing par-tial curbs on the market. Theattendance of the Governmentemployees had already beenreduced to half.

Asking the private con-cerns to encourage work-from-home system Banerjee said,“Controlling corona situation ismy first priority and we will doit anyway.” She said that no per-son entering the State would beallowed to do so without a RT-

PCR negative report.“From 7th May onwards,

no flight will be allowed inBengal without all the RT-PCRnegative tests for all passengers.We are seeing fake certificatesalso, so random tests will bedone and if any passengers areaffected by Covid, they will bequarantined,” she said.

Saying that all gatheringssave cultural and social ones willbe allowed Banerjee said suchgatherings should be allowedonly with prior permission andwith not more than 50 people.Markets would open for 5 hoursper day she said. The timing forall the shops, save groceries andmedicine outlets would be from7 am to 10 am in the morningand from 5 pm to 7 pm in theevening.

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Kerala is in for major troubleas hospitals have run out of

beds and oxygen, according toChief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.Speaking to reporters onWednesday evening, Vijayan saidhe has written a letter to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi to helpthe State to get at least 500tonnes of oxygen as the State isfacing a shortage of 1,000 tonnesof it.

Kerala diagnosed 41, 953persons with Covid-19 duringthe last 12 hours, said the ChiefMinister. “The day also saw 58persons succumbing to the pan-demic and the Test Positivity Ratetouching 25.69 per cent.Ernakulam district which diag-nosed more than 6000 patientsduring the last 12 hours hasbecome a serious concern. Peoplein the district have been asked tostay indoors and not to come out

of their houses. Total lock down has been

declared in all Panchayaths in thedistrict,” said the Chief Minister.Towns like Aluwa, Perumbavoor,Kothamangalam wore the look ofghost towns as this reporter tooka drive along the district onWednesday, of course with policepermission.

Things in Kerala have takena serious turn during the last 12hours as the Chief Minister hadtold the media on Tuesday thatthere was no shortage of oxygenin the State. But he had to makea volte-face in the interveningperiod and came out with the realsituation in the State.

Vijayan said that the Covid-19 has spread over to rural areasin the State, a hitherto unheardphenomenon. “There is no vac-cine as the Centre has not part-ed with any stock. This hasaffected the vaccination pro-gramme,” said Vijayan.

Since the GovernmentHospitals are facing severe short-age of beds, directives have beengiven to all hospitals to admitonly patients who are in seriouscondition. “We have just twomore beds remaining in thehospital and that is likelyto getfilled in another one hour. Sowhoever comes to this hospitalhave to be turned away or theymay have to wait till somepatients succumb to the pandem-ic,” said a senior doctor in aGovernment Hospital inErnakulam.

The First Line CovidTreatment Centre atPerumbavoor with capability toadmit 300 patients have stoppedadmitting category one and twopatients (those who are in the pri-mary and secondary stages) andonly those in the last phase arebeing admitted, said the doctorin charge on condition that hisname would not be given.

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The first commercial oxygenproduction has started in

the district with the beginningof operation in the Darekhuplant in Rohania area. This isin addition to six plants inChandauli district and one inMirzapur. This oxygen plantwas shut down several yearsago but recently, the districtadministration has acquiredthe same under the NationalDisaster Management Act andhanded it over to another firmto restart oxygen productionthere after receiving five pro-posals. Later, under the guid-ance of technical experts, itsmaintenance work was startedby the new firm.

Besides, a new plant of liq-uid medical oxygen (LMO)was also established within aweek with the resources avail-able to the new firm separate-ly. In this 10 tonne plant, thecylinder filling line of the oldplant is being used. LMO willbe filled daily through tankersso that 450 cylinders can befilled daily and with this, the

quota of all the governmenthospitals in the district hasbeen transferred to this newplant.

Along with this, the quotaof 150 cylinders has also beengiven to the institutions whichrefill oxygen cylinders to thecommon people of the city.The quota of about 250 cylin-ders exempted fromChandauli would now begiven to 10 new private hos-pitals which would help in

increasing about 120 new bedsin the Varanasi. Currently350-400 cylinders are in cir-culation for the public by dif-ferent institutions and withthe start of this plant it hasincreased to 600.

This will provide moreconvenience to people whowant oxygen by staying inhome isolation.

Earlier, District Magistrate(DM) Kaushal Raj Sharmainspected the new oxygen

plant at Darekhu on Tuesdaywhich has started functioningfrom the day. The DM wasinformed by the officials thatabout 450 cylinders will befilled daily from this plant.The DM said that with thecommissioning of this plant,there will be a lot of help inoxygen supply and efforts arebeing made to do maximumoxygen supply by running theplant 24 hours. Prior to hisinspection, testing and trial ofthe plant were done success-fully. UP Minister of State(Independent Charge)Ravindra Jaiswal, along withMLAs Saurabh Srivastava andSurendra Narayan Singh andJoint Commissioner(Industries) Umesh Singh,inspected the plant which hadbeen closed for the last eightyears.

Jaiswal said that with thecommissioning of this plant,the oxygen will be readilyaccessible to the coronapatients. On the occasion,Vijay Shakti and AkhileshPathak of the new firm werealso present.

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In a stern comment, theAllahabad High Court

termed the death of COVID-19patients as a criminal act dueto lack of oxygen supply to hos-pitals, saying it was nothingshort of a massacre by the offi-cials who were entrusted withthe responsibility for its contin-uous supply.

The court gave this com-ment on the social mediareports that according to lackof oxygen COVID-19 patientsdied in Lucknow and Meerutdistrict. The court has direct-ed the District Magistrates ofLucknow and Meerut to con-duct a factual inquiry within48 hours.

A bench of JusticesSiddharth Verma and JusticeAjit Kumar gave this directionwhile hearing a PIL on theprevalence of infection in thestate and the status of the seg-regated habitat. The court hasasked both the district magis-trates to present their probereport on the next hearing ofthe case and be present onlinein the court.

The court said that ‘Weare sad to see that due to lack

of oxygen supply to hospitals,Covid patients are dying. Thisis a criminal act and is noth-ing short of a massacre bythose who are tasked withensuring the continuous pur-chase and supply of liquidmedical oxygen’.

The bench said that whilescience has advanced so muchthat these days heart trans-plantation and brain surgeryare being done, how we canallow our people to die in thisway. Usually, we do not ask thestate and district administra-tion to check such news whichhas gone viral on social media,but the lawyers presented inthis PIL are supporting suchnews, so our governmentshould immediately take stepsin this regard. It is necessaryto say, the court added.

During the hearing, thecourt was told that lastSunday, news of the death offive patients went viral onsocial media due to lack ofoxygen in the ICU of the newtrauma centre of MeerutMedical College. Similarly,there is also news on socialmedia of doctors making theirown arrangements with Covidpatients due to lack of oxygen

supply at Sun Hospital andanother private hospital inGomti Nagar, Lucknow.

On the death of AllahabadHigh Court judge VKSrivastava from infection, thecourt said that JusticeSrivastava was admitted to theRam Manohar Lohia Hospitalin Lucknow on the morning ofApril 23 but was not takencare of till evening. As thecondition worsened at 7:30pm, he was put on a ventila-tor and on the same night hewas taken to SGPGI where heremained in the ICU for fivedays and died untimely froma corona infection.

The court has askedAdditional Advocate GeneralManish Goyal to file an affi-davit to explain how JusticeSrivastava was treated at RamManohar Lohia Hospital andwhy he was not taken toSGPGI on April 23 itself.

On illegally seized oxygencylinders, Remdesivir injec-tions / pills and oximeters keptin the consignment, the courtsaid that keeping these itemsin the consignment is not inpublic interest in any way asthey will all be spoiled. Onthis, Goyal said that he will

take up this issue with thestate government so that theycan be properly utilised andthey do not go waste.

During the hearing, thecourt was told that during thecounting of gram panchayatelections in the state, there wasa huge violation of the Covidguidelines. People gatheredin large numbers at the count-ing venues and election offi-cials and police remainedmute spectators.

The Allahabad HighCourt has also sought infor-mation from the State ElectionCommission on the violationof Covid directives duringthe counting of votes. Thecourt has directed the StateElection Commission to pro-duce CCTV footage of sched-uled counting areas and cen-tres in the form of footageprints and pen drives by nextdate.

The court said that if thecommission finds out byviewing the CCTV footagethat there has been a clear vio-lation of the Covid protocoland guidelines, then an actionplan in that regard shouldalso be submitted by the nextdate.

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On the fourth consecutiveday of lockdown, there

has been a big drop in the num-ber of corona infections in thedistrict. It reached the level ofa month ago. Apart from this,the death toll has also comedown. A total of 683 new casesof COVID-19 were found onthe last day on Tuesday night,while seven corona patientssuccumbed.

This was confirmed byDr Rishi Sahai, the NodalOfficer of Corona. He said thatbefore this, 652 patients weredetected on April 5.

Dr Sahai said that onTuesday, a total of 11,434 peo-ple in the district were testedfor corona. 683 people werefound infected. Of these 439came positive in RTPCR, 179in antigen test and 65 inTrunat, while antigen test wasconducted on 6,301 people,RTPCR on 4,550 people andTrunat test was done on 200people. About 383 tests wereconducted in private patholo-gy. Those found infectedinclude 103 antigens in the cityand 76 in rural areas. Whereas,348 people in the city and 91in rural areas were foundinfected in the RTPC test.

According to the testingreport, the proportion of thosefound infected in rural areason Tuesday is one fourth ofthat of the city. He said that themain reason behind the con-tinuous decrease in the num-

ber of infected people is thatpeople are not able to come incontact with each other due tothe lockdown and other trac-ing has been increased. Forthis reason, the number ofinfected is steadily decreasing.

On Tuesday, the numberof infection-free people hasnearly tripled, with the num-ber of new infections declin-ing. A total of 1,943 peoplebecame infection-free onTuesday. Out of this, 51 weredischarged from private hos-pitals including Swaroop RaniNehru Hospital, Beli, RailwayHospital, whereas home isola-tion of 1,892 has been com-pleted. With this, the numberof active cases is 9,857. Out ofthis, about 200 people areadmitted in hospitals. Apartfrom this, the rest are in homeisolation. The problem of bedslike other days remained the

same on Tuesday. People keptgoing around government andprivate Covid hospitals but didnot get any beds.

CORONAVIRUS HASNOT YET KNOCKEDSARAIDALI VILLAGE : Themantra of awareness and dis-cipline is the main reason thatthe coronavirus has not yetbeen knocked in the village ofSaraidali in Sadar tehsil ofPratapgarh district. This vil-lage of about 900 people isspread over an area of two-and-a-half kilometres. Thecorona has knocked in theadjacent villages of Abad SaraiDali, about 14 km from thedistrict headquarters, but it isuntouched by the coronavirus.

The people of Saraidali vil-lage have been following theguidelines issued by the gov-ernment in March 2020 itself.While keeping physical dis-

tance, we are also using immu-nity enhancing things in cater-ing. Garlic, horseradish,turmeric, and Giloy are used.Peepal trees have become a giftof life. Peepal tree is hundredsof years old tree in the middleof the village. Apart from this,many peepal trees are also inthe village.

This part of Usri gramsabha of Sandwa Chandrikadevelopment block has anabundance of enlightenedclass. People's education levelis good. All the people havebeen in high positions, theymake others aware of the con-dition of the country and theworld. So far, 23 people havebeen infected and three havedied in nearby villagesGopalpur, Jaitipur Kathar,Uttar ka Purwa, Sarai Mahima,Padumpur, Pura Pitambar,Chaubepur.

The elderly paid specialattention to the environment.Even today the practice isprevalent here that they plantstrees and save the environ-ment. Therefore there areNeem, Peepal trees at everydoor. It is getting fresh air, thiswas said by KrishnakumarShukla.

Most of the people havegot vaccinated, those who areleft are getting it also. We arestill quarantining those whoare coming from other citiesby persuading them. Perhapsthe result is that Corona didnot arrive here, said UdayPrakash Shukla, formerteacher.

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Despite facing a set back inthe election for the impor-

tant 40-member ZilaPanchayat, the ruling BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) has startedchalking out a strategy to retainthe post of chairperson with thesupport of independents andlike-minded political parties. Atthe same time, the main oppo-sition Samajwadi Party (SP) hasalso started consulting theindependents and others tograb this prestigious post.

After the formal announce-ment of the results, the picturein the 40-member ZilaPanchayat has become clear.The SP has emerged the largestparty with winning the maxi-mum 12 seats though it facedloss of five seats comparative-ly to the previous election as ithad won 17 seats in 2015. TheBJP too failed in performing asper expectation and registeredvictory on seven seats losingtwo seats in comparison to pre-

vious election in which it hadwon 9 seats. The ruling partyfailed even in opening itsaccount in four blocks whichinclude Chiraigaon, Harahua,Badagaon and Aarajiline.Meanwhile, the BJP hasdemanded recounting on fiveseats which include sector-II ofHarahua block, sectors-V &VII of Sevapuri block and sec-tor-VI of Aarajiline block.

The Congress Partyshowed better performancewinning five seats, three morecomparatively to the previouselection in which it had wonjust two seats. The senior leaderof Congress Party Ajay Rai hasexpressed happiness over theparty performance and saidthat it is the mandate of therural people against the anti-farmer policy of the PM andthe governments both at Centreand in the state. Similarly, theBahujan Samaj Party (BSP)also did well winning fourseats, three more in compari-son to the previous election in

which it had won only one seat.In 2015, the Apna Dal-S

and Apna Dal-Krishna hadcontested the election togeth-er and registered the victory on7 seats but this time, bothcontested separately and wonjust 5 losing two seats. AD-Sgot two seats, while AD-Krishna won three seats. Theindependents registered victo-ry on seven seats, while theyhad won 12 seats in 2015 los-ing five seats this time.

The BJP is eyeing for theindependents and like-mindedpolitical parties to retain theseat of chairman which isreserved for the female of otherbackward class and thus, itsleadership has started chalkingout strategy keeping this inmind. To retain the post ofchairperson is a matter of pres-tige for the saffron brigadebecause of the parliamentaryconstituency of the PrimeMinister.

The SP has also startedmaking all possible effort to

grab the seat to give a messagethat the ruling party has lost itssignificance even in the parlia-mentary constituency of thePM and thus, its leaders havestarted consulting the leaders ofrival parties of the BJP besidesthe independents. Its leadersseemed to be confident to bagthis prestigious seat with thesupport of others. As, the resultcame after the death of the can-didate Sushila who registeredvictory on the sector-IV ofChiraigaon block and thus,there will be re-election on thisseat. So, there will be a need of20 seats to get a majority in thepresent scenario. It is men-tioned that there were 48 mem-bers in Zila Panchayat in 2015,while this time, it was reducedto 40 members.

In 2015, the SP candidateAprajita Sonkar had succeededin becoming the chairpersonbut after the BJP came topower, the political situationalso changed in the district andshe joined the BJP.

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Divisional Commissioner(DC) Deepak Agrawal,

along with District Magistrate(DM) Kaushal Raj Sharma andMunicipal CommissionerGaurang Rathi, visited BanarasHindu University (BHU) hereon Wednesday to see theprogress of under-construc-tion 750-bed temporary coro-na hospital being developed bythe Defence Research andDevelopment Organisation(DRDO) there. During theirvisit, the DRDO officialsapprised the administrativeofficers of the three pandals,each with 250-bed capacity,being developed. Theysaid that the first pandal would

be the Intensive Care Unit(ICU).

After inspection, the DCsaid that 250-bed ICUequipped with ventilatorswould be completed first as 90percent work has already beendone. Apart from this, work inother pandals is also going onin full swing round-the-clockand they would be connectedto the facilities of High-FlowNasal Cannula (HFNC), BiPAP,oxygen concentrators and oxy-gen supply line. Giving infor-mation about the admissionprocess of the patients, theDM said that first the workloadof other hospitals would bereduced by shifting the admit-ted patients to this temporaryhospital.

According to him, as soon

as the work of the 500 beds iscompleted, the admission ofcorona patients would be donethrough the Covid ControlRoom and for this ADM (City)has been made in-charge of thishospital.

Giving information aboutthe medical equipmentinstalled on the spot, ACMODr NP Singh said that otherfacilities like HFNC, BiPAPmachines, oxygen concentra-tors etc are being suppliedsoon and the patients would beadmitted on all beds after com-pletion of all installation work.The DRDO officials alsoapprised the administrativeofficers of oxygen and medi-cine supply, bio-medical wastedisposal, issuing of death cer-tificates, power and water sup-

ply etc.Meanwhile, on the instruc-

tions of the MunicipalCommissioner, under the lead-ership of Mayor, corona med-icine kits comprisingAzithromycin 500mg,Paracetamol 500mg, Vitamin C500mg, Ivermectin 6mg andVitamin B 500mg, along withinfrared thermometers andpulse oximeters were distrib-uted to the corporators andsupervisors at Shaheed Udyanso that the same can be distrib-uted among the corona patientsof their respective areas. NagarSwasthya Adhikari Dr NPSingh, zonal sanitary officerRamasakal Yadav and manyothers senior officers of NagarNigam were present on theoccasion.

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Prayagraj police have inten-sified the raids in search of

those creating riots by allegingmess up in the UP Panchayatelection counting. Late onTuesday, the police raided sev-eral places for the arrest ofSurendra, husband of ZillaPanchayat member candidateAnjali Yadav and his support-ers. However, the accusedescaped from the house beforethe police arrived. The policehave picked up several closeassociates of the accused togather information about him.The police claimed that noaccused will be spared.

A case has been registeredagainst 25 named and manyunidentified persons, includingSurendra alias Guggu Yadav,husband of Anjali Yadav, acandidate for the post ofDistrict Panchayat member, inthe case of an uproar inSaidabad on Monday evening.Reports have been written inHandia police station on thewritten complaint made byInspector Brijesh Singh againstall on the charges of assault,demolition, damage to publicproperty under several serious

sections including thePandemic Act.

The accused includedSurendra alias Guggu, ShivYadav, Sanjay Yadav, SaurabhYadav, Shekhar Yadav, ShaileshYadav, Mangal Yadav, SandeepYadav, Rajesh, Swatantra,Manoj, Sanjay, Satish Yadav,Neeraj Yadav, Krishnakant aliasDadde Yadav, Kapil Yadav,Dharmendra, Chinta Yadav,Shivji Yadav, Naan Baba Yadav,Devesh Yadav, Naveen Yadav,Bablu Yadav, Raj Yadav, ArvindYadav.

Terming Anjali as victori-ous on Monday evening,Surendra started accusing ofmanipulating the counting ofvotes, demanding that she begiven a certificate at the count-ing venue itself. On refusal, heblocked the Prayagraj-Varanasiroad with his supporters. Whenthe police arrived to persuade,he became furious and startedpelting stones. Police had tocarry out aerial firing to con-trol the situation. However, bythen many people, includingthe sub inspector, were injuredin the stone pelting.

STUDENTS OF UNDER-GRADUATE FIRST YEARTO APPEAR IN EXAM: The

Examination Controller ofAllahabad University came outwith an official communique inlate hours on Tuesday to makeit clear that the students ofundergraduate courses firstyear, and of postgraduate andprofessional courses finalsemester will have to appear atthe examination which will beheld probably in July-August ifthe situation permits, whileall others will be promotedwithout examination.

A meeting of the examina-tion committee chaired by theVice-Chancellor Prof SangitaSrivastava was held on Tuesdayin the online mode. It wasdecided in the meeting that thestudents of second year ofundergraduate course andintermediate semester of post-graduate and professionalcourses will be promoted to thehigher classes or semester.

The students of Third yearof undergraduate courses willbe promoted and marksheetwill be awarded on the basis oftheir performance in the pre-vious class.

For the students of under-graduate first year courses andpostgraduate or professionalfinal semester the examinations

will be held in the July-August2021 depending on the thenprevailing pandemic situation.

The committee alsoresolved that for the purpose ofthe implementation of thereservation policy with respectto CRET 2020 admission in theUniversity, the individualdepartments of the Universityare to be treated as separateunits as vacancies are to be cal-culated under faculty membersof a particular subject.

For the purpose of applica-tion of reservation in con-stituent colleges, the collegesare to be treated as separateunits and like University, seatsfor research admissions are tobe calculated collegewise/department wise in orderto be in conformity with poli-cy being adopted.

70 CHALLANED: At least70 people were challaned fornot putting on masks during acampaign launched here onTuesday. It is extremely essen-tial to wear a mask to preventcorona infection. Althoughsome people are avoidingmasking. As a result, they areputting their lives at risk, play-ing with the lives of their fam-ilies and others.

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The district recorded a sharpdecrease another day in

the positive cases. As many as806 cases of COVID-19 wererecorded on Wednesdayevening slightly increasing thetotal number to 71,601 cross-ing 71K-mark. Nine moredeaths were recorded duringthe last 24 hours and with this,the death toll increased to 616.As many as 2,307 patients ofhome isolation recovered whileas many as 128 have beenrecovered from the hospitals.The total number of patientscured in the district increasedto 57,154 including 53,153 inhome isolation and 3,992 inCOVID-19 hospitals.

In the first report of theday, 528 positive patients werefound out of 2,703 reportsreceived and this f igureincreased to 80,6 1,328 out of8,256 received samples as per

report provided by the Healthdepartment in the eveningand the total active casesdecreased to 13,840 from15,478 which was a day ago.

On Tuesday evening, asmany as 1,328 positive caseswere recorded and the totalnumber was 70,795, while 8deaths were reported and thedeath toll was 607.

Earlier, in view of findinghundreds of new positivecases, with 7 new hotspots, thenumber of active hotspotswas 708 with 9 green zoneshaving been converted to redzones by a day ago.

Out of total 3,248hotspots, 2,540 are greenzones and 708 were red zones.

Meanwhile, the districtHealth department contin-ued the vaccination drive onWednesday as many as 70centres including SVMHospital in Bhelupur, divi-sional hospital of NER in

Lahartara and community &primary health centres inurban and rural areas for thebeneficiaries aged above 45years

But the long queues ofbeneficiaries aged between 18and 45 were seen at vaccina-tion centers particularly in thedivisional and district govern-ment hospitals and many ben-eficiaries had to return with-out vaccination because ofthe shortage of the vaccines.

But for the beneficiariesaged above 18 years and below45 years, as many as 17 vacci-nation centres have beenmade. On Tuesday, as many as8,975 beneficiaries took thevaccines including 6,273 gotthe first dose and 2,702 tookthe second dose of the vac-cine. Of them, 2,612 beneficia-ries were aged between 18 and45 years.

The Mayor MridulaJaiswal handed over corona

medical kits, infrared ther-mometer and pulse oximeterwere made available to thecorporators and supervisors todistribute in the wards. TheNagar Swasthya Adhikari DrNP Singh and others were pre-sent on the occasion.

Meanwhile, the ChiefDevelopment Off icerMadhusudan Hulgi has direct-ed the heads of variousdepartments to make detailedinformation available aboutthe respective employeespassed away because of theCOVID-19 during the duty onthe three-tier Panchayat polls.

He directed for makingavailable the detailed informa-tion about such employees tohis office by May 7 so as thesame could be made availableto the State ElectionCommission for the ex-gratiato their families as per thedirective of the state govern-ment regarding this.

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The Varanasi division ofNorth Eastern Railway

(NER) along with the entireIndian Railways is making var-ious efforts to prevent coron-avirus infection. In thissequence under the direction ofDivisional Railway Manager(DRM), Varanasi, Vijay KumarPanjiar, under the leadership of

Chief Medical Superintendent(CMS) Dr MS Nabial with thehelp of the district adminis-tration a total of 170 persons,including 100 railway person-nel and 70 others were admin-istered the Covid-19 vaccieneat the Divisional HospitalVaranasi on Tuesday, PublicRelations Officer (PRO) AshokKumar said. Apart from it atvarious rail section and sections

of Varanasi division vaccina-tion of employees connectedwith operations and their fam-ilies is being ensured at theirwork place itself. During thisperiod they are being toldabout coronavirus infectionbesides about proper wearingof masks, washing their handsproperly at regular intervalsalong with maintaining phys-ical distancing.

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The railway administrationwill for the convenience of

passengers run the 02575Hyderabad-Gorakhpur weeklysummer special train on May7, 14, 21 and 28 on everyFriday and 02576 Gorakhpur-Hyderabad weekly summerspecial train on May 9, 16, 23and 30 on every Sunday in fourtrips. All coaches in the trainwill be of reserved category andpassengers traveling in themwill have to follow the Covid-19prevention guidelines,Chief Public Relations Officer(CPRO)Pankaj Kumar Singh said.

H Y D E R A B A D - G K PWEEKLY SPL: The 02575Hyderabad-Gorakhpur weeklysummer special train will onMay 7, 14, 21 and 28 on everyFriday depart from Hyderabadat 21.05 hrs, fromSecunderabad at 21.30 hrs,from Kazipet at 23.19 hrs,from Manchiryal on secondday at 00.50 hrs, fromBalharshah at 03.20 hrs, fromNagpur at 06.25 hrs, fromItarsi at 12.05 hrs, from Bhopalat 14.15 hrs, from Jhansi at18.35 hrs, from Kanpur at23.10 hrs, on the third day fromLucknow City at 01.10 hrs,from Barabanki at 02.05 hrs,from Gonda at 03.30 hrs andreach Gorakhpur at 06.30 hrs.

G K P- H Y D E R A B A DWEEKLY SPL: In the returnjourney the 02576 Gorakhpur-Hyderabad weekly summerspecial train May 9, 16, 23 and30 on every Sunday departfrom Gorakhpur at 08.30 hrs,from Gonda at 11.05 hrs, fromBarabanki at 12.20 hrs, fromLucknow City at 13.25 hrs,

from Kanpur at 15.10 hrs,from Jhansi at 18.45 hrs, fromfrom Bhopal at 23.15 hrs, fromItarsi on the second day at01.00 hrs, from Nagpur at05.40 hrs, from Balharshah at08.55 hrs, from Manchiryal at10.32 hrs, from Kazipet at12.17 hrs, from Secunderabadat 14.30 hrs and reachHyderabad at 15.20 hrs. Atotal of 22 coaches, includingtwo of generator- cum-lug-gage van, two of general secondclass, nine of sleeper class,seven of air-conditioned thirdclass, one of air-conditionedsecond class and one of parcelvan will be attached in thistrain.

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The railway administra-tion will make changes in therake composition of the fol-lowing trains. All coaches inthis train will be of reservedcategory and passengers trav-eling in them will have to fol-low the standards of Covid-19prevention guidelines, CPROPK Singh. In the 05005/05006G o r a k h p u r - D e h r a d u n -Gorakhpur special train fromfrom Gorakhpur from May 7and from Dehradun from May11 according to the changedrake composition a total of 15coaches, including one of gen-erator-cum-luggage van, threeof general second class, six ofsleeper class, three of air-con-ditioned (AC) third class, oneof AC second class and one ofSLRD will be attached.

In 05001/ 05002Muzaf far pur-Dehradun-Muzaffarpur special train from

Muzaffarpur from May 10,and from Dehradun from May8 according to the changed rakecomposition a total of 15coaches, including one of gen-erator-cum-luggage van, threeof general second class, six ofsleeper class, three of AC thirdclass, one of AC second classand one of SLRD will beattached. In 02597/02598Gorakhpur-Chhatrapati ShivajiMaharaj Terminus (CSMT)(Mumbai) -Gorakhpur specialtrain from Gorakhpur fromMay 11 and from CSMT(Mumbai) from May 12according to the changed rakecomposition a total of 19coaches, including one of gen-erator-cum-luggage van, 17 ofgeneral second class and one ofSLRD will be attached. In02587/02588 Gorakhpur-Jammu Tawi-Gorakhpur spe-cial train from Gorakhpur fromMay 10 and from Jammu toMay 15 as per the changed rakecomposition a total of 22coaches, including one of gen-erator-cum-luggage van, threeof ordinary second class, nineof sleeper class, five of AC thirdclass, two of AC second class,one of pantry car and one ofSLRD will be attached.

In 05097/05098Bhagalpur-Jammu Tawi-Bhagalpur special train fromBhagalpur from May 13 andfrom Jammu Tawi from May11 according to changed rakecomposition a total of 22coaches, including one of gen-erator-cum-luggage van, threeof general second class, nine ofsleeper class, five of AC thirdclass, two of AC second class,one each of pantry car andSLRD will be attached.

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Aman was run over by the train under Dehat Kotwalipolice station on Wednesday. On seeing a body on

the railway track in Rajpur village in the morning thelocals informed the police which then reached the spot.The deceased was identified as Ramdas (35), son ofGelhar, a resident of Rajpur (Bangala) under DehatKotwali police station. After taking the body into cus-tody the police completed the legal formalities.

NABBED: Katra Kotwali police arrested twoaccused of abduction and manhandling on Tuesday.A case had been lodged at the police station by a com-plainant on Monday stating that that his son wasabducted by the accused and manhandled. After reg-istering the case the police swung into action. Duringpatrolling SHO Katra Kotwali Swami Nath nabbed theaccused, Rajesh and Sandesh, residents of Pahadi vil-lage under Dehat Kotwali police station, fromRoadways area on Tuesday.

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The railway administrationwill extend the running

period of the following sum-mer special trains for the con-venience of passengers.However, the coach composi-tion, route and timings of thesetrains will remain the same. Allcoaches in these trains will beof reserved category and pas-sengers travelling in them willhave to follow the Covid-19prevention guidelines, CPROPK Singh said.

MMCT-MANDUADIHSUPERFAST SPL: The 09035Mumbai Central (MMCT)-Manduadih superfast specialtrain will run for one trip onMay 11. Besides, the 09036Manduadih-Dadar superfastspecial train will run for onetrip on May 13.

MMCT-SAMASTIPURSPL: The 09049 MumbaiCentral - Samastipur specialtrain will run for four trips onMay 8, 10, 11 and 13. The09050 Samastipur-MumbaiCentral special train will run onMay 10, 12, 13 and 15 for fourtrips.

BDTS-BARAUNI SPL:The 09061 Bandra Terminus(BDTS) - Barauni special willrun for one trip on May 10. The09062 Barauni-BandraTerminus special will on May13 run for one trip.

BANDRA-GKP SPL: The

09073 Bandra-Gorakhpur spe-cial train will run May 9, 12 and13 on Sunday, Wednesday andThursday for three trips.Likewise the 09074 Gorakhpur-Bandra special train will run onMay 11, 14 and 15 on Tuesday,Friday and Saturday for threetrips.

U D H NA- C H HA P R ASPL: The 09087 Udhna-Chhapra superfast special trainwill run on May 14 for one trip.Likewise the 09088 Chhapra-Udhna superfast special trainwill run on May 16 one trip.

BDTS-MAU SPL: The09099 Bandra Terminus(BDTS)-Mau special will runon May 11 for one trip.Likewise, the 09100 Mau-Bandra Terminus special trainwill run on May 13 for one trip.

MMCT-BHAGALPURSPL: The 09117 MumbaiCentral-Bhagalpur special trainwill run May 7 for one trip.Likewise, the 09118 Bhagalpur-Mumbai Central Special trainwill on May 10 for one trip.

BDTS-GHAZIPUR CITYSPL: The 09123 BandraTerminus- Ghazipur Citysuperfast special train will runon May 10 for one trip.Likewise, the 09124 theGhazipur City-Valsad superfastspecial train will run on May 12for one trip.

MUMBAI CENTRAL-BHAGALPUR SPL: The09175 Mumbai Central -

Bhagalpur special train willrun May 9 for a trip. Likewise,the 09176 Bhagalpur-MumbaiCentral special train will run onMay 11 for one trip. On theother hand, thje 09177 MumbaiCentral - Bhagalpur specialtrain will run on May 12 forone trip. Besides the 09178Bhagalpur-Mumbai Centralspecial train will run on May 15for a trip.

BDTS-DANAPUR SPL:The 09181 Bandra Terminus -Danapur superfast special willrun on May 11 for one trip.Likewise the 09182 Danapur-Vadodara superfast specialtrain will run on May 13 forone trip.

A H M E D A B A D -SAMASTIPUR SPL: The09453 Ahmedabad-Samastipurspecial train will run on May 16for one trip. Likewise, the09454 Samastipur-Ahmedabadspecial train will run on May 19for one trip.

AHMEDABAD -DANAPUR SPECIAL: The09467 Ahmedabad - Danapurspecial train will run on May 9for a trip. The 09468 Danapur-Ahmedabad special train willrun on May 11 for one trip.

RAJKOT-SAMASTIPURSPECIAL: The 09521 Rajkot-Samastipur special train willrun on May 12 for a trip.Likewise the 09522 Samastipur-Rajkot special train will run onMay 15 for a trip.

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The Government Railway Police (GRP)arrested a youth along with a stolen

mobile phone and cash from the circu-lating area of Pandit DeendayalUpadhyaya railway station here. A jointteam of GRP and RPF was patrolling atthe railway station at night when one ofits member spotted a youth sitting in asuspicious condition in the circulatingarea. He was caught and a stolen mobilephone and �500 were recovered from hispossession. During interrogation, he dis-closed his name as Satyendra KumarGupta, a resident of Rampur Bhabua, Bihar.GRP DDU incharge RK Singh and RPFinspector Sanjeev Kumar said the youthused to steal belongings of the passen-gers in trains and at the station.

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Additional Chief Secretary(Health) Amit Mohan

Prasad has expressed concernover the sudden spread ofCOVID-19 in rural areasaround Kanpur and has direct-ed the officials to launch a spe-cial drive from Wednesday toMay 9 to track and trace theaffected people.

Prasad asked the officials toset up one team for every1,000 villagers to take up thedrive in a big way. He stressedon screening each and everyperson in rural areas and saidthe teams should carry outinspection and tests at thehomes as well and if a person

was found to be novel coron-avirus positive, he/she shouldbe distributed home isolationkit free of cost.

It may be mentioned thattill May 4, there was no restric-tion in the villages where thepanchayat elections were heldand thus the movement ofcrowds was witnessed every-where. In addition to this,there were long queues of vot-ers, with most of them notwearing masks or following theCovid protocol. This had led tothe spread of novel coron-avirus infection in the ruralareas.

In all the Kanpur divisionwhere panchayat elections wereheld, there has been a sudden

spike in COVID-19 cases. Thebiggest threat to Kanpur wasthe influx of who, in theabsence of proper medicalfacilities, were forced to cometo the city for treatment. In allthese surrounding districtsthere is no hospital equipped tohandle COVID-19 patients.

The additional chief secre-tary said that the UP govern-ment was releasing 10 lakhmedicine kits while 10 lakhantigen test kits had also beenprovided. He said the targetwas to cover at least 10 lakhpeople in the next seven days.

Prasad said the teams hadbeen directed to give the med-icine kits to people withCOVID-19 symptoms and to

ask them to isolate themselves.He said the oxygen level of thesuspected COVID-19 caseswould be checked by the teamsand in case the need arosethey would be admitted tohospital.

The most threateningaspect is the mass exodus of vil-lagers of Kalyanpur, Sarsaul andBidhnu to the city for treatmentand hospital facilities. WhenKanpur medical authorities areunable to cater to the need ofbeds and oxygen for the citypatients, one can imagine whatwill be the situation with theinflux of patients from therural areas where the pan-chayat elections ended onTuesday.

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Incharge of Health Centreand head of University

Institute of Health Sciences, DrPravin Katiyar, while inaugu-rating a vaccination camp at theChhatrapati Shahu Ji MaharajUniversity on Wednesday saidtoday the Health Centre vacci-nated people in the age groupof 45 and above.

He said on Tuesday thevaccination was for peoplefrom 18 to 44 years of age. Hesaid the response of peopleturning up for vaccinationwas quite encouraging.

He allayed all apprehen-sions of people that there wasany risk in being vaccinated.He said in fact it was just theother way as once a person gotboth the doses of the vaccine,the person’s immunity wasstrengthened to fight thedeadly disease.

He said the Indianvaccines were highlyeffective and had a bigdemand abroad.

When asked what couldbe the reactions after beingvaccinated, he said there couldbe mild-to-moderate sideeffects like a low-grade fever

or muscle pain, which wasnormal and not a cause foralarm.

He said in fact they weresigns that the body’s immunesystem was responding to thevaccine, specifically the anti-gen which triggered animmune response andwas gearing up to fight the

virus.He, however, stated that if

one had an immediate allergicreaction after getting a shot ofCovid vaccine, one shouldnot take the second shot ofthat vaccine, even if the aller-gic reaction was not severeenough to require emergencycare.

He said an immediateallergic reaction happenedwithin four hours of gettingvaccinated and may includesymptoms such as hives (spotsof allergy), swelling, andwheezing (respiratory dis-tress). He said in such casesone should seek medical helpbut not panic.

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District Magistrate AlokTiwari carried out sur-

prise inspection of several pri-vate hospitals on Wednesdayand categorically said that nopatient could be denied admis-sion in any private hospitaleven if the patient’s kin werenot able to pay advance chargesat that time.

He directed the privatehospitals to admit and startquick treatment of the patientand not deny admission just onthis ground.

He said it was mandatoryfor private hospitals to brief thekin about the condition of thepatients every day. He warnedthe hospital administrationsto refrain from overbilling orelse strict action would betaken against them. He thenmade random calls to the kinof the patients admitted in thehospital and took feedback ifthey were being briefed aboutthe condition of their patientsand if there was any com-plaint of inflated billing.

The district magistrate first

reached JL Rohtagi Hospitalwhere the administrationinformed him that 75 patientswere admitted there. He thenreminded the hospital admin-istration to timely and regularlybrief the relatives about thecondition of their patients. Hethen directed the static magis-

trate to make random calls tothe kin of the patients for aproper feedback. However, thefeedback of the relatives wassatisfactory and there were nocomplaints against the hospitalmanagement.

The district magistratethen visited Mariampur

Hospital and here also he maderandom calls to the relatives ofthe patients to enquire if theywere satisfied with the treat-ment. He then visited LLRHospital where he carried outa surprise check and took feed-back from the ICU. He wasaccompanied by ADM (City).

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In view of the acute shortageof oxygen and life support

equipment all over the country,the Startup Incubation andInnovation Centre of theIndian Institute of TechnologyKanpur has launched MissionBharat O2, a 45-day open chal-lenge for manufacturing high-quality indigenous, rapidlyscalable oxygen generationunits to help combat the emer-gency.

It may be recalled that lastyear also, the SIIC had sup-ported its incubated compa-nies to develop indigenousproducts like Swasa N-95masks and Noccarc V310 ven-tilator.

The task force of thismanufacturing challenge willbe led by Prof AmitabhaBandyopadhyay, professor in-charge of IIT-Kanpur SIIC,Srikant Sastri, president ofTiE Delhi-NCR, and RahulPatel, head of strategic initia-tives, IIT-Kanpur SIIC.

IIT-Kanpur Director ProfAbhay Karandikar hasappealed to entrepreneurs toapply for the challenge.

Prof Bandyopadhyay said,“SIIC and IIT-Kanpur have ahistory of delivering qualityproducts as per the country’sneeds. We did it with theNoccarc ventilator; we will doit again with Mission BharatO2. We urge young innovatorsto come up in large numbers

to support the nation at thistime.”

Oxygen concentrator is amedical device with limitedscope for product innovationand hence the SIIC plans todecentralise the manufactur-ing process by engaging qual-ity SMEs across states.

An ideal case scenariowould be to work with a set ofmanufacturers in differentregions with the target pro-duction capacity of 100 unitsper day initially and scale it upgradually.

Srikant Sastri said,“Entrepreneurs usually getcarried away by a big ideawithout acknowledgingwhether the problem it solvesis as big. With Mission Bharat

O2, the SIIC IIT-Kanpur hastaken a step towards solving amajor crisis the country isgrappling with today. Webelieve the team will make amark with its combined entre-preneurial experience andvision to serve the nation.”

All eligible Indian SMEmanufacturers can applyonline on the websitehttps://www.bharato2.in toparticipate. The initiative willhelp ease the pressure on hos-pitals and save lives.

Mission Bharat O2 makesa strong case for leveraginglocal, indigenous talent toinnovate the manufacturingand supply chain for oxygenconcentrators and plants, headded.

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Dozens of ambulance dri-vers hit out at the district

administration for not check-ing the black marketing ofoxygen in the city. Alleging thatthe 108 and 102 ambulanceswere not being provided oxy-gen cylinders, the drivers saidif oxygen cylinders were notgiven to them on genuine pricethey would park their ambu-lances.

President of the ambu-lance drivers association,Priyanshu Pathak, alleged thatoxygen cylinders which cost Rs300 were being openly sold inblack between Rs 800 and Rs1,000. He said the ambu-lances had to maintain certainnorms and without an oxygencylinder they were not allowedto ferry a COVID-10 patient.

He said the district admin-istration’s claim that there wasan adequate supply of oxygenwas totally wrong as peoplewere running from pillar topost for oxygen.

Dr Vinod Pandey ofWellness Hospital said severaldrivers were unable to procureoxygen cylinders and thus theyhad to purchase it in black. He,however, said that as per therules ambulances should beidentified specifically for fer-rying suspected COVID-19patients or those who devel-oped complications to the hos-pital. He said generally therewere two kinds of ambulancesone ALS (with ventilator) andBLS without a ventilator. Headded that it was mandatory tosanitise ambulances before car-rying a patient but few driverssanitised their ambulances.

It may be mentioned herethat as per the rule, 102 ambu-lances cannot be used for car-rying COVID-19 patients asthey are exclusively meant forpregnant women and children.However, the ambulance dri-vers are openly flouting thenorm and ferrying all patients,including those suffering fromOVID-19. Shockingly, the dri-vers wear masks only on theirchins and rarely wear PPTkits.

=����������������������������������KANPUR (PNS): A retireddefence employee committedsuicide by hanging himself inhis house in Govind Nagarpolice station area late Tuesdaynight. He was identified asMurari Lal (70), son of lateBudhai and resident of Dabauliin Govind Nagar.

His brother Umesh Prasadsaid Murari Lal had retiredfrom the Field Gun Factory. Hesaid on Tuesday night, Lal wassleeping with his wife SumanDevi in a room on the groundfloor but suddenly he went tothe room on the first floor andhanged himself from the ceil-ing fan.

When Suman Devi wokeup on Wednesday morning,she found her husband hang-ing from the ceiling fan.

Police sent the body forautopsy. The kin of thedeceased said that Murari Lalwas upset after undergoingsurgery twice.

NABBED: The Pankipolice arrested a notoriouscriminal involved in stealingmotherboards from mobiletowers. He was identified asAbhishek, son of KailashdharDwivedi and resident ofRatanpur Colony in Panki.

Police recovered 12 stolenmotherboards worth Rs 8 lakhfrom his possession.

A report was lodged by thetechnician of Reliance JioInfocomm about the theft ofmotherboards from mobiletowers installed in Panki, PankiParao and Telephone Colony.He said the cost of one moth-erboard was around Rs 70,000.

The police were scanningthe CCTV footage to identifythe thief when the cops weretipped-off that a youth was topass through Ratanpur on aPulsar motorcycle with stolenmotherboards. The policeimmediately rushed toRatanpur Shatabdi trisectionand arrested the youth at thebarrier and recovered 12 stolenmotherboards from his pos-session. The police team thatmade the arrest was led byPanki Station House OfficerAtul Kumar Singh. ADCP(West) Abhishek Agarwalpraised the efforts of Pankipolice and congratulated it forthe good work done by it.

Page 7: $cU hRgV Z_VgZeRS]V Z_ :_UZR - Daily Pioneer

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Stepping up the tempo ofoperations to ferry oxygen,

the Navy has diverted nine ofits ships to various portsabroad extending from Kuwait in the west toSingapore in the East.

Meanwhile, the IAF onWednesday airlifted 352 emptyoxygen cylinders fromSingapore in its IL-76 trans-port aircraft to Delhi facing an acute shortage ofmedical oxygen.

As regards the naval effort,Deputy Chief Vice AdmiralMS Pawar said here onWednesday as part ofOperation Samudra Setu-IIto bring in by sea oxygen andassociated medical suppliesfrom friendly foreign country,as many as nine warships werediverted to various ports.

In the ongoing effort, INSTalwar arrived at the NewMangalore Port on Wednesdaywith the first consignment of54 tons of liquid oxygen fromBahrain, officials said here. Infact, it is the first of the ninenaval ships to return to Indianshores with oxygen.

“Even as INS Talwarreached our shores, anothership INS Airavat left Singaporecarrying 3,600 oxygen cylin-ders and eight 27 ton oxygentanks and is homebound now,”they said.

Moreover, at the westernseaboard, INS Kolkata,deployed in the Persian Gulf

and diverted to Kuwait foroxygen departed from thereferrying two 27 ton oxygentanks, oxygen bottles and con-centrators, they added.

INS Kolkata and INSTalwar were the first batch ofships that were immediatelydiverted for the task and hadentered the port of Manama inBahrain on April 30.

Giving details about thedeployment, they said INSKolkata, Kochi, Talwar, Tabar,Trikand, Jalashwa, and Airavatare at present ferrying themuch-needed oxygen.

INS Kolkata and INSTalwar, initially deployed in thePersian Gulf, were diverted toBahrain and Kuwait for themission.INS Jalashwa waspulled from a scheduledupgrade period and deployedfor fetching medical supplies.INS Kochi, Trikand, and Tabar,which were initially deployedin the Arabian Sea, were alsodiverted to various ports in themiddle-east for loading oxygentanks, they said.

In a related development,the Defence Research andDevelopment Organisation(DRDO)set up the 500-bedAtal Bihari Vajpayee CovidHospital in Lucknow in recordtime. The hospital is equippedwith 20 KL Oxygen Tank foruninterrupted supply besides

dedicated power backup andbio medical and other wastemanagement system.

The State Governmentplayed a stellar role in quickoperationalisation of the facil-ity by facilitating all majorfunctions such as supply ofessential amenities to run thehospital including oxygen,patient management and wastedisposal. The hospital will pro-vide free medicines and mealsto all patients, officials said.

The hospital is being runby a team from Armed Forcescomprising of doctors of manyspecialities along with nursesand paramedic staff.

The medical staff has beenflown in from all across thecountry. Intensive training,quality checks of installedequipment and covid proce-dures and protocols have beencompleted prior to commis-sioning of the hospital.

The admission to the hos-pital will be controlled throughan Integrated Control Centreat Lucknow established by theState Authorities.

The hospital underlinesthe commitment of thedefence ministry and the stategovernments to synergise theirefforts for enhancing thehealth infrastructure in states to provide succour to thecitizens.

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Amid Covid gloom, theElection Commission on

Wednesday deferred be-elec-tions of three Parliamentaryand eight AssemblyConstituencies in MadhyaPradesh, Himachal Pradesh,Dadra and Nagar Haveli,Andhra Pradesh, Haryana,Meghalaya and Rajasthan.

“The Commission hasreviewed the matter today andhas decided that due to outbreakof the second wave of Covid-19in the country it would not beappropriate to hold be-elec-tions till the pandemic situationsignificantly improves and con-ditions become conducive tohold these be-elections,” the ECin a statement on Wednesday.

The bye-elections in threeseats include Dadra & NagarHaveli, Khandwa in MadhyaPradesh and Mandi, Fatehpur inHimachal Pradesh and eightvacancies in AssemblyConstituencies including Kalkain Himachal Pradesh, Ellenabadin Haryana, Vallabhnagar inRajasthan, Sindgi in Karnataka,Rajabala and Mawryngkneng(ST) in Meghalaya, and Badvel(SC) in Andhra Pradesh.

The poll body further stat-ed that as per the provisions ofsection 151A of theRepresentation of the PeopleAct, 1951, the vacancies arerequired to be filled, throughbye-elections within six monthsfrom the date of occurrence ofthe vacancy, provided that theremainder of the term in rela-tion to the vacancy is one yearor more.

“There are few more vacan-cies of seats for which reportsand notifications are awaitedand being confirmed. TheCommission will take a decisionin the matter at the appropriatetime in the future.

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In the face of yet another elec-toral loss in local bodies elec-

tions in Uttar Pradesh, Congressgeneral secretary PriyankaGandhi will face her big — andin some way also the first —electors’ challenge in next yearAssembly election in UttarPradesh of which she is incharge.

While the grand old party issmarting under a series of elec-toral defeats and panchayat elec-tions in Uttar Pradesh has givenno relief to Congress, talks arethere within the party whetherto put forth Priyanka as theparty’s Chief Ministerial face inthe State.

While there may be talksabout the dismal performance ofthe Congress in just concludedpanchayat polls, the mood with-in the State unit is upbeat as UPCongress communicationdepartment claimed that 270party backed candidates securedwin , while it remained secondon 570 pockets and third at 711seats across the State.

However, results availablefor 3,050 district panchayatwards showed SP at 760 wards,BJP at 719, BSP at 381 andCongress just at 79 whileIndependents and smaller par-ties secured victories or led in1,114 wards.

AICC sources said duringthe last two days Priyanka wasin touch with party workers toassess the performance of theparty in panchayat polls..hPriyanka had repeatedly writtenmany times to UP state author-ities not to conduct the pan-chayat polls in the wake ofsurge on covid cases in theState.

The panchayat election isbeing seen as a barometer forpolitical parties including theincumbent BJP for assemblyelections scheduled next year. Inthe 2017 assembly elections,poll strategist Prashant Kishorwhom the party hired, had sug-gested Priyanka’s name to beprojected as CM face which theSonia Gandhi family declinedthere after name of SheilaDikshit was proposed.

Samajwadi Party has alreadyindicted it doesn’t favour a 2017type pact with Congress and in

all probability Priyanka willhave to enter into the electionson her own. Priyanka forayed asfull time politician and cam-paigned extensively in UPalongwith her brother and thethen Congress President RahulGandhi during the GeneralElections 2019. After a dismalshow, Priyanka did not leave theUP turf and had been regular tothe State and also worked in re-establishing the Nehru legacy.

“A brahmin face for CMpost is on cards. Last assemblyelections former Delhi CM LateSheila Dikshit was made the CMface,” said a senior AICC leaderwhen asked about the party’s fateafter suffering a jolt in the pan-chayat elections.

Media Convenor of UPCongress Lallan Singh saidassembly elections are totally adifferent ball game and thistime under the leadership ofPriyanka Gandhi will see a res-urrection.

“Most of the workers inmiddle of the panchayat elec-tions engaged themselves inreaching out for medical needsof the needy people soonerthere were a surge in the pan-demic cases in the State. We gota direction to give priority tohealth of people than politics.Yet we fared excellent whencompared to ruling BJP so thenext assembly elections will befought between Congress andSP. There is a widespread resent-ment against the Yogi andCentral Governmentboth for complete fail-ure of the system andhandling of the coro-na pandemic “Singh told ThePioneer overphone.

A UPCongress officebearer recalled ashow PriyankaGandhi during a meet-ing with the newlyappointed Office bear-er on October 22 atRae Bareli had indi-cated that the grandold party will go soloin the UP Assemblypolls scheduled for2022

Once a strong-hold in UP, Congresshas not been in power

in the State for the last threedecades. After winning 269seats in the 1985 Assembly polls(prior to the creation ofUttarakhand as a separate Statein 2000), it’s presence has onlydeclined.

The party won only 46 seatsin 1991 at the peak of Mandal-Kamdal politics and finallyended with worst ever perfor-mance in 2017, when it won justseven seats in the State’s 403assembly seats when it went topolls as an alliance partner withthe then sitting CM and SP chiefAkhilesh Yadav. Poll strategisthad indicated that a truck withCongress affected the prospectsof SP as well.

As per the data from the2019 Lok Sabha polls while BJPpolled a whopping 49.6% of thevotes, the SP and the BSP got18% and 19.3% respectively,while the Congress netted ameagre 6.3% share and worst itlost the home turf of party chiefRahul Gandhi at Amethi.

While the reorganizationof the AICC has remained mere-ly on talks for months, Priyankainitiated the overhauling processwith appointment of Ajay

Kumar Lallu as Statechief by replacingRaj Babbar whor e p r e s e n t e dCongress twotimes as Lok

Sabha memberfrom the State.

The Congress alsochanged 51

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presi-dents.

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India on Wednesday strong-ly condemned the terrorist

attack in Logar province inAfghanistan and renewed itscall for a permanent and com-prehensive ceasefire in the con-flict-ridden country.

Ministry of ExternalAffairs Spokesperson ArindamBagchi said there is a need toend the terrorist safe havensand sanctuaries which lead toattacks like the one in Logar.

“India strongly condemnsthe terrorist attack in Logarprovince of Afghanistan inwhich 21 innocent people diedand more than 100 wereinjured during the month ofRamadan,” he said.

The terror attack in Logarcame as the US has begun towithdraw its troops from thecountry after nearly twodecades.

“India stands firm withthe families of victims andwith the people of Afghanistanin this hour of grief,” Bagchisaid.

He reiterated the urgentneed for a permanent andcomprehensive ceasefire thatcould lead to a sustainablepeace in Afghanistan.

“India has been steadfast inits call to end the terrorist safehavens and sanctuaries whichlead to attacks like these,”Bagchi said.

“India stands with the peo-ple of Afghanistan and salutethe courage of brave Afghanforces in their continued fightagainst terrorism,” he added.

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Congress on Wednesdayalleged that the Centre is

hiding data regarding foreign aidreceived during the unprece-dented surge in Covid-19 casesin the country. While formerCongress chief Rahul Gandhiasked why there is no trans-parency regarding medical sup-plies sent from across the world,his party colleague and PunjabFinance Minister ManpreetBadal demanded immediateconvening of a GST Councilmeeting for a serious mid-termcorrection on tax issues.

“Questions about Covidforeign aid: What all supplieshas India received? Where arethey? Who is benefiting fromthem? How are they allocatedto states? Why no transparen-cy? Any answers, GOI?” Rahultweeted.

Earlier in the day, quotinga news report about the Centrefor Monitoring IndianEconomy (CMIE) data regard-ing the unemployment rate inthe country, Rahul slammedthe Modi government and saidit failed in the fight againstCOVID-19.

“There are neither vaccinesnor employment. The public isfacing the brunt of the coron-avirus pandemic. The Modi-gov-ernment absolutely failed,” Rahultweeted in Hindi. He has repeat-edly criticised the handling of theCOVID-19 pandemic by theCentral government and PrimeMinister Narendra Modi. He alsotargeted the government over itsgoing ahead with the central vistaproject even as the country hasbeen hit by a second wave ofCOVID-19, saying the amountcould be used for fully vaccinat-ing 45 crore Indians or forprocuring one crore oxygencylinders.

In a letter to FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharaman,

Congress said it is writing on theGST issue when the country isin the middle of battling the newwave of COVID which is moredevastating in many ways thanthe one before. “With interestrates down by close to 200 basispoints, shouldn’t we cut downinterest rates under GST law (asalso under other tax laws),”Badal asked in his letter.

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The National InvestigationAgency (NIA) on

Wednesday filed a supplemen-tary chargesheet against threeoperatives, including aPakistani, of the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT) in the LeTonline recruitment modulecase before the NIA SpecialCourt, Kolkata.

Tania Parveen aliasIsranoor of Malayapur hasbeen charged under BaduriaPolice Station of North 24Parganas district in WestBengal under various IndianPenal Code Sections relating tocriminal conspiracy, wagingwar against the Governmentamong others besides provi-sions of the Unlawful Activities(Prevention) Act.

The two other accusedcharged on the same counts areSayyad M Idris alias Idris ofBachagamva village of UttarKannada district, Karnatakaand absconding accused

Ayesha alias Ayesha Burhan ofGali Barhwali, Kotmomen,Zilla Sargoda, Province Punjab,Pakistan.

The case was initially reg-istered as FIR No. 13/2020dated March 18, 2020 atBaduria police station of North24 Parganas relating to arrest of

Tania Parveen, a member ofproscribed terrorist outfit LeTby the State Police.

The NIA had re-registeredthe case on April 5 last year andtook over the investigation.Earlier, the NIA had filed achargesheet against accusedTania Parveen under various

sections of the UnlawfulActivities (Prevention) Act.

Accused Tania Parveenwas a college student and wasradicalised and recruited incyberspace by Pakistan-basedcadres of LeT.

She was co-admin of vari-ous social media groupsespousing secessionist ideason Kashmir with accusedAyesha Burhan, a Pakistan-based cadre of LeT’s Women’swing. Tania Parveen, in asso-ciation with other accusedmembers of LeT in India andPakistan, indulged in unlawfulactivities, radicalised, recruit-ed and motivated other peoplethrough cyberspace for Jihadagainst India, the NIA alleged.

“She and other accusedwere brainwashing impres-sionable youth and propagatingthe ideology of LeT and con-spired to wage war against theState,” it said.

Further investigation forunearthing the wider conspir-acy in India continues, it added.

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The outcomes of the India-UK virtual summit have

marked a transformation in thebilateral relationship as it pavedthe way for expansion of coop-eration in a range of areas liketrade and investment, climatechange and migration, BritishHigh Commissioner Alex Ellissaid on Wednesday.

At the summit on Tuesday,Prime Minister Narendra Modiand his British counterpartBoris Johnson unveiled a‘Roadmap 2030’ to elevate tiesto a comprehensive strategicpartnership and announcedenhanced trade cooperation.

Under the trade partner-ship, the two sides are to beginnegotiations later this year fora balanced free trade agreementincluding an interim pact fordelivering early gains.

“The summit and theagreements have marked atransformation in the UK-India relationship,” he said at a

virtual media briefing.Ellis said the summit

reflected the resolve of bothsides to make a new beginningof deeper cooperation in aplethora of areas.

On the implementation ofthe partnership on migrationand mobility, the high com-missioner said its provisionswill be implemented under anefficient mechanism.

He said the UK wants itsexpeditious implementationbut at the same time added thatthe process has to be carriedforward ensuring that it islegally correct.

The India-UK migrationand mobility partnership,finalised on Tuesday, providesfor enhanced employmentopportunities for around 3,000Indian professionals annually,but it mandates New Delhi totake back the Indians whohave been staying illegally inBritain.

At a media briefing, JointSecretary in the Europe West

division in the Ministry ofExternal Affairs SandeepChakravorty said after thesummit that Indian nationalswho are undocumented, orare in distress abroad and notbeing given nationality or res-idence permits, have to betaken back.

Asked about two mem-bers of the Indian delegationattending the G7 foreign min-isters’ meeting in London test-ing positive for COVID-19, thehigh commissioner did notgive a direct reply.

“These are questions betteranswered by my colleagues inLondon,” he said, adding thereare laid down protocols in deal-ing with such situations.

He said the approach by theUK authorities will be guidedby the advice of Public HealthEngland. To a query on distri-bution in India of COVID-19medical aid provided by theUK, he said the supplies werebrought in as specified by theIndian authorities.

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The Union Home Ministryon Wednesday issued

advisory to States for prepar-ing plan of action to preventthe fire incidents in hospitals.The Union Home SecretaryAjay Kumar Bhalla in hiscommunication to ChiefSecretaries said that in thecontext of recent fire incidentsand particularly in view of theimpending summer season,must have a preventive planand highlighted that no fire incident occurs in any ofthe health facilities both in thegovernment and private sec-tor.

“The States and UTs havebeen requested to conduct adetailed review with officialsfrom the Health, Power andFire Departments, and pre-pare a detailed plan of actionto ensure that fire safety mea-sures are in place in all hos-pitals and health facilities.

“The States & UTs havealso been requested to issuedirections to the concernedofficials at various levels, thatheath facilities should be vis-ited by field level officials, toexamine internal wirings andavailability of functional safe-ty equipment as per fire safe-ty guidelines, within thesefacilities, and necessary reme-

dial action be taken immedi-ately in case any deficienciesare found,” said the advisory.

The Ministry of HomeAffairs has also drawn atten-tion to the recently issuedadvisory of the DirectorGeneral (Fire Services, CivilDefence and Home Guards),MHA on fire safety in hospi-tals and nursing homes.

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As the hospitals across thecountry crumble under

Covid-19 crisis, theGovernment hopes that tele-consultation services can do abit to reduce the burden byreaching out to those seekingguidance for the virus infectedpatients confined at homes.

VK Paul, member of NITIAayog,on Tuesday exhortedphysicians fraternity across theStates to come forward to pro-vide tele-consultation in a bigway to the patients and theirfamilies who require guidanceabout the Covid-19 as well asother diseases.

“Lot of patients are con-fined in homes and need med-ical guidance on Covid-19 thatcan be beneficial to them,” saidDr Paul calling for a supportsystem for those in need.“Clinics are closed and it is not

necessary that everybody haspersonal contact with the doc-tors. Hence, we must popularisevoluntary or even paid telehealth services by the medicalfraternity,” he said.

There are patients who aresuffering from mild Covid-19and simple medical consulta-tion can resolve their medicalissues which would ensure earlytreatment as well as cut downburden on the hospitals.

In fact, StepOne, a non-

profit volunteer driven collec-tive of 7,000 doctors, hasalready launched a NationalCovid Telemedicine Helpline,offering 24x7 access to health-care experts, free of cost.

The helpline, +91-9745697456, is now live andavailable in seven languagesincluding English, Hindi,Kannada, Tamil, Marathi,Telugu and Punjabi and pro-vides Telemedicine services forCovid related cases, mental

health and video consultationsfor non-Covid related cases.

Similarly, at least 40 doctorsfrom the Bihar chapter of theIndian Medical Association havevolunteered to offer their servicesby providing free medical con-sultation over the phone to thosein dire need as COVID-19 casesrage on in the state. Dr AjayKumar, senior vice-president,and Dr Sunil Kumar, general sec-retary of IMA said that the doc-tors have decided to make them-selves available in two shiftsfrom 10 am to 12 pm and 4 pmto 6 pm.

Not keen to leave behind,the Union Defence Ministryhas urged the veteran officers ofArmed Forces Medical Services(AFMS) to offer teleconsultationto citizens amid the pandemiccrisis asking them to registerthemselves on the e-Sehat Portalwherein they can offer theirguidance, counselling and adviceto help provide succour those inneed.

Dr Alexander Kuruvilla,chief health strategy officer ondigital health app ‘Practo’, a dig-ital healthcare network notedthat the number of requests fortele consultation has increased byseveral times in the Covid-era.

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Page 8: $cU hRgV Z_VgZeRS]V Z_ :_UZR - Daily Pioneer

born, the TLP has gainedimmense ground and nowconfronts the State head on.Some observers say this isleading to a situation worsethan in even neighbouringAfghanistan. Pakistan’s inter-nal order is far from stable.Imran is clearly reluctant to actagainst the TLP, symptomaticof the fault lines in a nuclearweapon State. It appears thatthe TLP is either powerfullybacked or is actually popular.

Regardless of the currentagitation, Pakistan’s econom-ics have been steadily eroding.Take a micro aspect; PresidentAyub Khan had in the 1960sapprehended that the countrywould run out of beef unlessconsumption was restrained.So, he declared Fridays asmeatless days. Over time,American aid to Pakistan roseto $4 billion. This US largessemight have helped importessentials other than militarypurchases. Life in Pakistanwent along merrily, but even-tually this aid declined andended, forcing it to turn toChina. The Chinese alternativeis proving exorbitant in termsof interest payments as well asthe likely dilution of sovereign-ty. Pakistan has never had thehabit of paying taxes. Any rev-

enue from those who paid waswelcomed by the State.

The Pakistan Army isexorbitantly expensive due toits commercial ventures. Seniorofficers are not only soldiersbut also run profitable enter-prises. Since the advent topower of General Zia-ul-Haq,many institutions in Pakistan,particularly the military, under-went radicalisation. The armedforces, like their Indian coun-terparts, inherited a fine tradi-tion from the British but havenow become part-soldiers andpart-Islamists. Many countriesmix religion and Government,but mixing religion with theArmy is fraught with disaster.

None of this should comeas a surprise. Qaid-e-AzamMA Jinnah was an excellentadvocate and a politicaldebater, but knew no gover-nance. In any case, he wasdying with tuberculosis whenPakistan came into being.His successor Liaquat AliKhan was a zamindar, not anation-builder, and was assas-sinated before long. It waspolitical musical chairs there-after, with no Prime Ministerlasting for long. General AyubKhan seized power, a decisiveproof of governance failure.

Ayub was replaced by

General Yahya Khan whopresided over the secession ofEast Pakistan, now Bangladesh.Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as the PMplayed for himself and not forPakistan. He tricked and mur-dered his way to electoral vic-tory. Zia-ul-Haq overthrewhis Government and hangedhim to become the President.Zia Islamised Pakistan, butdid nothing beyond. Pakistanhas had three Constitutions, allof which begin by stating thatthe country’s sovereigntybelongs to Allah the Merciful,something even Saudi Arabia’sConstitution does not do.

Pakistan has had threelong phases of direct militaryrule. General Musharraf, on themorrow of the September 11,2001, terror attacks in NewYork, switched from Islam toAmerica. He had no choice. Bythen Pakistan was already amess and nothing could bedone to reform or reorganiseit. Pakistan, by its very nature,is an artificial State, created bya brilliant lawyer who knewnothing of history, politics andgovernance. All he wasobsessed with was his place inthe hall of history.

(The writer is a well-knowncolumnist and an author. Theviews expressed are personal.)

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There is an unreportedcivil war raging inPakistan. The countryis on the boil as never

before, except when its easternwing rebelled and seceded in1971. Several weeks ago, therewere huge processions in theSindh towns, with a few Indianflags too being waved. Recently,violent crowds were on therampage in Karachi, Rawalpindiand Islamabad. This agitationhas already killed 100-odd peo-ple, including at least fourpolicemen; others were injuredand some abducted. PrimeMinister Imran Khan’s regimehas blocked social media accessacross the country, reflecting thestate of affairs. These protestsare ostensibly because of theFrench Government’s stand thatthe Charlie Hebdo cartoons ofProphet Muhammad, publishedin 2013, are an inalienable partof the freedom of press.

The rioting in Pakistan isbeing orchestrated by theTehreek-e-Labbaik-e-PakistanYa Rasool Allah (TLPYRA).One of the new extremist outfits,also called the TLP, it is a Barelviparty founded in 2015 by a vir-ulent cleric, Khadim Rizvi. It isan extremist Sunni organisationadvocating hatred of all others,including Shias. Khadim passedaway in November 2020 but his26-year old son, Saad Rizvi, nowleads the agitation. The TLP alsocontested elections; it got 22lakh votes in the 2018 polls.

The rioting has made mostFrench citizens leave Pakistan.Whether Islamabad’s misrule isapproaching its climax, is notIndia’s business. What is ourbusiness though, is the apprehen-sion of desperate common folkcrossing over into Rajasthan. Weare familiar with infiltration fromPakistan’s former eastern wingand have not been able to domuch about the millions illegal-ly settled in India. Do we wish torisk another episode, this timefrom the western wing? The areabeyond Jaisalmer in Rajasthan isnot fenced, while other portionshave barbed wire fencing.

What should worry Pakistanis that within five years of being

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��������������������� �����������Sir — This refers to the editorial ‘Emphaticvictory’ (May 4). In West Bengal, the BJP hasindeed managed to make inroads at the costof the Left and the Congress, whose major-ity vote share has gone to the saffron party.In spite of the BJP using all its might,Mamata Banerjee single-handedly managedto win the “khela”. She played wisely by nottrying hard to stop the defectors — who lefther just before the elections — to join therival camp. No wonder except a few, mostparty-hoppers were punished by the voters.

The Bengal elections also offer somelessons to the PM and other BJP leaders whocrossed all limits while attacking the two-term Chief Minister. The women voter, inparticular, have taken the PM’s catcalls like“Didi O Didi” as an insult to the womanconsidered the “daughter of Bengal”. Thisproved counterproductive to the BJP. Also,the State’s people felt that leaders like AmitShah shared meals with the poor only for aphoto-op. However, Mamata has enormousresponsibility now; she can no longer allowcorruption or “cut money” kind of gover-nance. It would be better to keep her nephewat an arm’s length. She must realise that theBJP is the sole Opposition now and shouldbe treated with the same respect as she her-self expects from the PM. At the same time,she must keep working to check the BJP’sfurther growth in the State.

N Nagarajan | Secunderabad

�� ����� ����������������� ���Sir — This has reference to your editorial‘Sticky wicket’ (May 5). The results of thelocal panchayat polls hold a warning for theYogi Adityanath Government in UttarPradesh. The SP and the Independents havescored well. The spike in the COVID cases,large number of deaths, non-availability ofvaccines, oxygen and hospital beds alldirected the anger of the people towards theBJP. It is also a cause for its poor perfor-mance in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu andKerala. To tide over the pandemic situation,the Centre should concentrate more on allo-cation of medicines and other essentials tothe States without any politics.

Furthermore, along with Punjab andUP, some six States are likely to go to pollsin 2022. So it should read the writing onthe wall. Already the BJP has been brand-ed as a communal party. It should strive fordevelopment of the have-nots in the Stateand provide jobs to its unemployed youth.The BJP should do introspection. It shouldstart working towards course correction andchange its political strategy. If it fails to changeits image and help the needy, 2022 will real-ly be a sticky wicket for the BJP in UP.

Sravana Ramachandran | Chennai

������������������������Sir — The recent West Bengal Assemblyelection results have given a clear messageto the turncoats who had switched sidesfrom their mother party, the TMC, to theBJP for selfish interests, including designa-tions and money. The muscle power and

abuse of Government machinery can’t alsobe ruled out by the Central Government.The people have given a clear message tothe political parties that they never vote forthe opportunists, while those who reallywork for the public get its support.

The results have also come as a lessonto the national leaders to pivot their atten-tion only to the issues of national interestand to limit their role in the Assembly elec-tions. It is a matter of concern that the BJPopted to focus its time and energy on theAssembly polls. Had it done so much hardwork to control the pandemic, our countrywould not have been suffering from thisgrave situation; thereby saving the valuablelives of thousands of citizens.

Navneet Seth | Punjab

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Rushing from one home to another in Wadgaonvillage of Yavatmal in northern Maharashtra,health worker Babybai Fakira Shinde cannot

afford to take a breather. Working to keep COVID-19 at bay, while caring for others, Babybai racesbetween households to meet her job targets. AnAccredited Social Health Activist — or ASHA, anacronym that translates as “hope” in Hindi — is theGovernment’s recognised health worker who is usu-ally the first port of call for any health-relateddemands in rural India, where healthcare facilitiesare scant and medical professionals can be hard tofind. In many villages there are 1,000 to 1,500 peo-ple in each ASHA’s care.

India features close to the bottom in interna-tional rankings in most health indices. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the fundamental prob-lems plaguing the healthcare system, be it physicalinfrastructure, manpower or health management.At least two-thirds of India’s 1.3 billion peopledepend on the public healthcare system, but thecountry has only 8.5 hospital beds and eight physi-cians per 10,000 people. Compare this with Japanand South Korea, who have 120 and 130 beds per10,000 people respectively. As a result, manyIndian communities, especially women and chil-dren, rely on ASHAs for primary healthcare.

On account of the burgeoning costs of privatehealthcare and the inability of public healthcare torespond to the needs of the huge population, India’sremote villages have been traditionally relying onindigenous health systems of basic care supportedby community agents. Community health workersare greatly improving the life of millions of peoplewhere doctors and nurses don’t go. Communityhealthcare providers, like paramedics, are taughtessential services such as maternal and childhealthcare. The strategy is to move beyond doctorsand nurses and shift down to lay people, peers andfamily.

Any visitor to a village where these communi-ty healthcare models are the primary drivers ofawareness will marvel at the ability of the ASHAsto connect with and explain things to women. Theirlack of a degree is not a handicap, it is an advan-tage. They understand how to reach the people whomost need reaching out to: The illiterate, vulnera-ble and poor village women. They know how theythink and live, because they are one of them.

The efficacy of the ASHAs can be seen in theimpact they have made on India’s healthcare indi-cators. Their efforts have contributed to a 59.9 percent decline in maternal mortality and a 49.2 percent decline in infant mortality. Under their aegis,immunisation rates for the country increasedfrom 44 per cent to 62 per cent and institutionaldeliveries doubled from 39 per cent to 78 per cent.This example underscores that there is scope todevelop frontline cadres in other sectors as well. Thewater and agriculture sectors, in particular, wouldbenefit significantly from stronger involvement offrontline cadres.

In an administrative unit, four to five ASHAworkers report to one Auxiliary Nurse-Midwife(ANM). They go door-to-door in their signaturepink saris educating people about maternal and childhealth, contraception, immunisation and sanitation,as well as enrolling them in health programmes andmonitoring the results.

Currently, India has approximately 9,00,000

ASHA workers and they performseveral other duties that make theirrole peripatetic. For the work thatASHAs do, they are paid an hono-rarium and performance-linked top-ups. A typical monthly honorariumis �2,000-�4,500 depending on whichState they belong to. Over and abovethis honorarium, they receive smallincentives for completing specific“recurring” tasks. They receivereceives �100 for vaccinating a childagainst measles, mumps and rubel-la, �40 for reporting a child death,�300 for accompanying a woman toa hospital for childbirth, �600 fordelivering a baby for a family livingbelow the poverty line and �1,000 foradministering TB treatment over six-seven months. They are being paidan additional �1,000 for COVID-19interventions.

Be it heading up village mater-nal care or running vaccination dri-ves, ASHA workers are a linchpin.But they face a number of challengesin performing their jobs, includinginsufficient training, high work-loads, poor support for home visits,poor credibility in the community,difficulty addressing sensitive topicswith families and little or no feedbackabout performance. They are treat-ed like volunteers, not even entitledto minimum wages.

This model has been inspired byinnovative experiments like that ofSEARCH (the Society for Education,Action and Research in CommunityHealth), in the district of Gadchiroli,and the Comprehensive Rural HealthProject, in the district of Jamkhed.

The promoters of these innovationsbelieve that sicknesses in rural areascould be prevented with clean water,proper waste-disposal systems andmore diverse farming. They believethat they do not need experts. Anarray of women like village healthworkers is enough, if they are prop-erly trained and supported. Boththese local healthcare providersrecruit ordinary women to take careof their village’s health. The healthworkers create awareness abouthand-washing, nutrition, breast-feeding and simple home remedies.

Technology can enable India toleapfrog into an advanced healthcaresystem that fulfils the vision of thenational health policy of promotingwellness, universal access and afford-able care for all Indians. The NationalDigital Health Mission (NDHM)seeks to enable this by bridging theexisting gap among different stake-holders of the healthcare ecosystemthrough digital highways. ManyASHA workers are graduates andothers are educated to at least Class10. Basic training on technologyalong with access to tablets or smart-phones can transform the ASHAworker into a Digital Health Agentto deliver healthcare solutions to themasses.

While ASHA workers have thepotential to play a wider role in ruralhealthcare their service conditionsneed to be improved. ASHAs do nothave regular salaries, partly becausetheir work is supposed to be volun-tary and part-time. Even though theCode on Social Security, 2020 aims

to include formal and informal sec-tors under a social safety net, itexcludes several categories of work-ers, including ASHA and Anganwadiworkers. The Code on Wages, too,has left this constituency out of itscoverage, depriving employees of afixed minimum wage.

The ASHAs are identified moreas facilitators for appropriate care andthe community has less acceptancefor their curative role. In future, theASHAs could be leveraged intensive-ly on diagnosing health conditions topromote a comprehensive commu-nity health management approach.The more capable among themcould be trained to handle moreadvanced problems. This will be rel-evant for cost-effective elderly careand settings with increasing chron-ic disease burden.

The ASHA programme couldmotivate and empower the local laywomen on community health issues.The desire to gain social recognition,a sense of social responsibility andself-efficacy enhances the motivationof ASHAs. Linking their incentivesdirectly with each activity ensurestheir performance. The improve-ments in the healthcare delivery sys-tem might further enhance theirmotivation and enable them to gainthe community’s trust. The manage-ment of ASHAs needs to change withadequate supportive supervision,skill and knowledge enhancementand enabling working modalities ifwe want them to become an effec-tive grassroots cadre that is bothresilient and impactful.

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The devastating impactof COVID-19 last yearcaused the world

economies to shrink by threeper cent, the steepest slow-down since the GreatDepression of the 1930s.These grim economic condi-tions, trying as they were, alsoprovided a rare opportunityto reset the equation betweeneconomic growth and envi-ronmental conservation —paving the way for a morenature-inclusive economicgrowth.

As the world tried tostagger to its feet, nationspledged trillions of dollars inCOVID relief in the process,creating a once-in-a-genera-tion chance to make planet-friendly investments —andsave the Earth from a loom-ing environmental catastro-phe. But one year down theline, economic recoveryseems to have more or less

started but “green” recovery isnowhere in sight.

As per the GlobalRecovery Observatory (GRO)report that has been compiledin association with theOxford University EconomicRecovery Project, the UnitedNations EnvironmentProgramme (UNEP) andDeutsche Gesellschaft fürI n t e r n a t i o n a l eZusammenarbeit (GIZ), onlya meagre 2.5 per cent of thetotal COVID-19 recoveryspending is on reducinggreenhouse gas emissionsand protecting natural capi-tal. The report further discov-ered that green spending isconcentrated in wealthiercountries, thus threatening toreinforce dangerous pre-pan-demic inequities.

This is a pity and a lostchance because COVID-19recovery funding was a mas-sive opportunity to accelerate

action on the three crises fac-ing humanity : Climatechange, biodiversity loss andpollution.

The GRO report pointsout that despite the severity ofthe air pollution, which caus-es up to nine million deathsannually, only 16 per cent ofthe total recovery spending isdeemed to potentially reduceair pollution.

While on the front ofpreserving natural capital orthe global stock of naturalresources and reversingecosystem degradation, onlythree per cent of recoveryspending is deemed to havean impact on this sphere.Looking at the findings of thereport it becomes clear thatthe world is still unwilling tolearn lessons from the pan-demic and refuses the oppor-tunity to invest in green cap-ital in order to safeguard theenvironment.

As the world prepares torevert to the old template ofputting the economy firstand the environment sec-ond, India must steer clearand chart a more ecological-ly responsible economicrecovery strategy that is basedon investing in the environ-ment.

It is a popular opinionthat economic growth runscontrary to ecological preser-vation, but the pandemicperiod has shown that soleeconomic growth in theabsence of ecological safe-guards is prosperity withoutinsurance. India must buildon this learning by shiftingthe focus away from thescarcity of raw materialstowards the deterioration ofnatural regulatory functionssuch as the climate system,water cycle and biodiversity.This is critical because we canfind substitutes for scarcenatural resources, but wecannot replace a natural reg-ulatory system, which isincredibly complex and formsan integral part of the nation’senvironmental green capital.

As a part of conservingthe natural regulatory system,India must also develop amethod to assign value to the

costs of damage to these reg-ulatory functions of natureincurred in the course ofachieving economic growth.This change in perspectivejustifies innovations like thecarbon tax, which addressesnot the scarcity of carbon butthe inability of the atmos-phere to absorb largeamounts of carbon withoutupsetting the climate system.

This approach to naturalresources will not only ben-efit both businesses and theenvironment, but will alsohelp quantify the loss to theenvironment in monetaryterms on account of eco-nomic progress.

India’s environmentalinvestment initiative muststart with its urban spaces.Rapid urbanisation, coupledwith incoherent policies andinadequate urban infrastruc-ture have made our citiesamong the most vulnerable to

climate change and a deteri-orating environment.

The outbreak has alreadyshown how global shockscan further unearth the evilsof decades of mismanage-ment of cities. Ironically, butnot surprisingly, urban resi-dents of slums and squattersettlements bear the maxi-mum brunt and this, in turn,exacerbates existing socio-spatial gaps in our cities.Investment into green infra-structure as a developmentpriority can remedy India’surban sprawls and help cre-ate liveable, environmentallysustainable and efficient citiesfor all citizens.

India must set a globalexample whereby investmentsin the well-being of the envi-ronment should occupy thetop spot. This will ensure aneconomically and ecologi-cally secure future of thenation.

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Script Open High Low LTPLUPIN 1072.00 1209.95 1069.50 1200.50ADANIPORTS 775.00 779.00 733.00 738.20CADILAHC 570.00 607.50 565.20 601.55SBIN 356.90 357.60 348.00 355.35TATASTEEL 1081.20 1088.85 1047.00 1068.95BAJFINANCE 5656.00 5708.90 5453.00 5517.00SAIL 132.50 134.40 126.60 130.20SUNPHARMA 645.00 687.60 640.00 683.30CIPLA 885.00 899.00 869.55 888.70RELIANCE 1919.70 1937.90 1908.15 1919.75ADANIENT 1277.00 1290.00 1240.30 1267.85BHEL 53.45 57.65 53.15 56.60HDFCBANK 1404.80 1409.00 1381.70 1402.45TATACHEM 708.30 715.40 694.70 698.75BHARTIARTL 559.00 565.00 553.60 559.90ICICIBANK 596.00 604.25 584.75 602.65TATAMOTORS 293.90 293.90 288.60 291.50PNB 38.10 38.70 37.15 37.45INDUSINDBK 922.30 934.35 909.10 931.35JSWSTEEL 724.50 733.15 713.00 717.50ONGC 112.15 114.00 110.50 111.05DRREDDY 5109.00 5200.00 5068.30 5160.60ADANIPOWER 96.25 98.75 96.10 97.00UPL 625.00 643.00 619.00 640.40BANKBARODA 71.90 72.95 70.90 72.35APOLLOHOSP 3215.60 3356.50 3172.95 3336.40WOCKPHARMA 521.00 556.95 518.30 534.80AXISBANK 708.10 718.85 700.00 717.15HINDALCO 365.40 373.65 363.25 367.25KOTAKBANK 1741.95 1786.65 1722.00 1770.30SBILIFE 992.00 1020.00 966.00 972.70VEDL 259.20 269.80 256.60 265.00HDFC 2393.15 2402.95 2354.10 2378.25NMDC 161.00 168.20 160.05 167.40INFY 1337.35 1343.70 1328.00 1341.60RBLBANK 179.45 186.75 179.45 184.20AUROPHARMA 962.90 1025.00 956.00 1018.10JSWENERGY 111.80 121.00 109.35 119.25JINDALSTEL 439.75 443.10 433.20 439.25IDBI 36.95 39.50 36.75 37.95BAJAJFINSV 11000.00 11185.00 10915.4511108.80CANBK 143.25 147.85 142.35 145.55WIPRO 485.95 495.85 484.65 490.80SRF 6820.00 6909.00 6654.00 6841.30ASIANPAINT 2620.20 2620.20 2546.00 2567.65IDEA 8.33 8.43 8.28 8.37SRTRANSFIN 1302.00 1312.60 1272.70 1286.75GAIL 147.00 148.80 143.10 145.00BPCL 421.20 431.35 421.20 424.75TECHM 970.00 970.00 954.05 961.70HCLTECH 906.00 911.85 900.50 909.70BEL 133.20 138.50 132.55 137.90GLENMARK 558.50 577.90 555.85 573.40HINDUNILVR 2424.65 2428.65 2369.50 2394.90GRASIM 1425.00 1455.00 1405.15 1419.50DEEPAKNI 1868.00 1927.65 1846.00 1906.80AUBANK 922.00 952.00 910.00 942.00NAUKRI 4836.00 4860.40 4672.55 4842.45TATAPOWER 102.85 102.90 100.30 102.00AARTIIND 1730.10 1750.00 1652.20 1718.15TITAN 1409.75 1431.95 1404.00 1427.65SCI 109.30 117.85 108.05 116.15L&TFH 86.30 86.80 84.70 85.55TATAELXSI 3918.00 3944.55 3806.70 3848.10MARICO 465.00 467.60 451.90 455.20DIVISLAB 4000.00 4064.35 3973.40 4035.25MOTHERSUMI 220.00 221.70 211.80 219.90ICICIPRULI 555.20 574.60 551.65 559.20BALRAMCHIN 305.00 324.70 305.00 318.15LAURUSLABS 493.00 498.75 486.80 491.35BIOCON 375.00 382.45 370.15 381.30M&MFIN 156.50 157.50 151.70 153.85GESHIP 350.00 413.40 350.00 402.40TCS 3077.80 3100.00 3053.70 3096.35EIDPARRY 388.40 426.35 388.40 421.55PFIZER 5280.00 5494.00 5260.05 5444.95GRANULES 334.00 354.30 330.05 352.45RCF 74.80 78.70 74.30 76.90ATGL 1289.00 1299.00 1236.00 1265.05IRCTC 1774.25 1780.00 1685.05 1716.55MARUTI 6510.00 6600.00 6481.70 6591.90BANDHANBNK 321.00 322.00 310.15 311.45PEL 1680.00 1732.95 1680.00 1721.10IBULHSGFIN 179.90 181.00 177.25 179.65LT 1335.00 1346.00 1324.20 1338.20LTI 3950.00 3962.00 3812.40 3912.75AMARAJABAT 766.00 776.95 766.00 769.65TATAMETALI 1179.00 1195.90 1099.05 1153.00DIXON 4147.90 4208.90 4060.00 4114.25NATIONALUM 67.25 68.30 66.40 66.65ASHOKLEY 111.10 112.50 109.90 112.05ALKEM 2835.00 2964.45 2814.05 2900.10SBICARD 958.00 975.00 946.15 965.65GRAPHITE 742.00 755.95 732.25 738.00PARAGMILK 116.35 138.00 115.00 134.15APOLLOTYRE 221.20 221.30 212.00 215.10ADANIGREEN 1058.50 1080.40 1030.00 1065.85ITC 199.60 202.05 199.45 201.55ATUL 8250.00 8314.95 8158.40 8290.25MINDTREE 2141.00 2186.85 2120.45 2165.95IOC 92.20 93.50 91.80 92.20APLLTD 1003.00 1003.00 948.00 956.00PIIND 2519.50 2700.80 2486.35 2672.80HEG 2266.00 2270.00 2183.50 2193.75AMBUJACEM 311.00 312.10 307.35 311.20TORNTPHARM 2523.95 2632.95 2486.60 2623.50IDFCFIRSTB 56.20 56.90 55.75 56.20M&M 742.25 751.85 737.35 747.50

TATACONSUM 654.90 656.65 640.10 649.40ZEEL 184.00 184.65 181.05 182.95SIEMENS 1878.00 1887.90 1830.20 1837.05MRF 79150.00 79337.05 77500.3078241.60HDFCAMC 2730.00 2754.45 2715.25 2728.55STAR 846.95 873.20 841.05 852.35GODREJPROP 1285.50 1308.15 1211.00 1225.75BHARATFORG 642.00 642.90 623.25 639.45GREAVESCOT 145.10 149.90 136.75 138.20FORTIS 218.95 224.60 215.50 221.15INDIAMART 7430.05 7649.40 7370.00 7469.00FSL 123.95 130.80 122.60 127.50ESCORTS 1125.10 1133.60 1112.00 1122.70CEATLTD 1380.05 1417.00 1350.70 1377.65INDIGO 1629.00 1663.15 1596.35 1649.80MEGH 150.60 153.05 146.50 148.35FEDERALBNK 80.20 81.10 79.05 80.05VOLTAS 979.30 993.20 965.55 971.80HDFCLIFE 670.30 675.70 667.00 674.05CARBORUNIV 599.00 610.00 551.00 556.95LTTS 2619.00 2619.00 2560.00 2568.65RAIN 182.30 182.85 178.50 179.60HFCL 31.90 33.15 31.30 32.90NTPC 103.70 105.65 102.80 103.80BEML 1167.00 1192.75 1167.00 1184.55COLPAL 1498.00 1503.00 1485.50 1494.25LINDEINDIA 1735.00 1843.15 1650.60 1817.00COALINDIA 133.90 134.60 132.50 133.00HINDCOPPER 156.00 156.00 150.55 151.30DLF 247.50 253.45 247.00 248.55TVSMOTOR 608.00 617.85 602.40 604.05

SUNTV 492.10 508.60 492.10 500.65TAKE 52.70 57.35 51.65 56.55SPARC 171.95 187.80 171.35 185.50PRESTIGE 268.20 274.00 268.15 271.45DMART 2884.00 2889.00 2854.15 2875.65ALKYLAMINE 8180.00 8196.50 7700.80 7817.75HSCL 45.35 46.65 45.35 46.15IEX 385.20 397.00 385.00 386.45HEROMOTOCO 2775.00 2799.80 2768.55 2787.00ULTRACEMCO 6349.95 6399.00 6293.00 6377.30BANKINDIA 70.00 70.75 68.80 69.15UFLEX 421.90 456.90 417.55 444.05PFC 109.00 110.00 108.05 109.20NAVINFLUOR 3435.00 3521.00 3326.45 3469.85DISHTV 11.97 12.55 11.49 11.66MGL 1154.00 1178.25 1133.00 1144.35IBREALEST 77.55 79.60 76.05 77.35ASTERDM 143.10 154.40 142.80 151.80LALPATHLAB 2870.00 2886.30 2828.00 2835.20BRITANNIA 3434.50 3457.90 3434.50 3451.30CHOLAFIN 555.00 559.90 545.35 558.65ADANITRANS 1091.65 1104.40 1064.00 1088.45GNFC 363.70 368.55 357.00 364.50BAJAJ-AUTO 3821.15 3851.60 3786.00 3843.65ABFRL 177.10 179.35 171.60 172.85ADVENZYMES 450.10 468.05 439.90 456.55JUBLPHARMA 815.00 839.10 802.00 835.10HAVELLS 989.35 1005.30 980.30 997.95AJANTPHARM 1865.00 1972.00 1847.35 1946.50LICHSGFIN 408.25 415.00 406.25 412.65TATACOFFEE 144.20 145.60 140.60 142.50PETRONET 239.00 243.70 238.85 242.60EICHERMOT 2370.00 2388.20 2358.00 2371.45FRETAIL 47.80 49.00 47.80 47.80INDIANB 117.50 117.50 113.40 114.35UNIONBANK 36.60 37.10 36.00 36.50PVR 1133.00 1133.00 1092.05 1111.45GDL 248.90 263.80 243.25 253.90CUMMINSIND 847.60 858.20 834.45 852.65POWERGRID 218.05 220.20 216.75 218.10BATAINDIA 1358.80 1368.00 1354.15 1359.55HINDZINC 291.00 295.75 287.15 288.15JKPAPER 143.95 146.35 140.90 141.90TRENT 790.00 809.45 776.55 798.20IDFC 53.30 55.70 52.20 52.50HINDPETRO* 241.50 246.40 241.00 244.90PERSISTENT 2232.70 2292.50 2180.25 2253.85UJJIVANSFB 29.15 30.40 28.70 29.70NBCC 43.90 44.50 42.65 44.20INDHOTEL 112.50 113.00 109.75 111.75JUBLFOOD 2770.30 2832.00 2750.00 2797.05JUSTDIAL 840.00 845.00 813.15 816.30GRINDWELL 1023.00 1060.00 999.00 1044.95OFSS 3497.15 3567.60 3497.15 3543.55ASTRAL 1576.00 1595.60 1557.15 1571.50ISEC 455.60 475.75 451.00 468.50DCBBANK 92.15 92.25 89.35 89.65BERGEPAINT 708.00 714.50 705.95 711.20MANAPPURAM 150.05 150.05 147.05 149.10PGHH 13415.05 13685.75 13194.3013561.65

SUZLON 5.15 5.16 5.03 5.07ACC 1870.00 1897.00 1870.00 1887.90JINDALSAW 89.45 90.35 87.20 88.90METROPOLIS 2270.00 2344.95 2270.00 2320.30MAHABANK 25.00 25.45 23.90 24.15DELTACORP 151.00 152.65 148.00 148.85IPCALAB 2105.00 2135.00 2090.00 2109.75ABCAPITAL 117.00 117.00 113.75 114.25GMRINFRA 22.95 23.85 22.95 23.70TATACOMM 1095.55 1111.00 1068.75 1086.70EXIDEIND 183.80 183.80 181.05 182.75SOUTHBANK 8.07 8.23 8.07 8.17ASTRAZEN 3775.00 3872.25 3761.65 3822.00SWSOLAR 313.30 314.45 302.20 307.75PIDILITIND 1815.00 1816.00 1794.55 1812.05CCL 299.40 310.00 295.00 306.75MUTHOOTFIN 1156.15 1164.75 1145.15 1150.75ICICIGI 1450.00 1472.00 1441.40 1452.45TRIDENT 13.99 14.20 13.83 13.87COFORGE 2877.50 2905.00 2837.00 2892.45IGL 511.00 515.55 504.05 508.75GUJGAS 530.50 538.95 526.10 531.45NATCOPHARM 935.00 944.65 926.90 932.30SPICEJET 61.60 63.55 61.25 62.90AMBER 3060.05 3095.50 3029.70 3044.55SYMPHONY 1122.00 1144.80 1090.55 1096.30INDIACEM 169.30 169.30 165.10 165.70INDUSTOWER 258.50 258.50 251.10 253.60NOCIL 198.35 202.50 194.10 195.35CONCOR 575.00 577.45 565.45 568.70HAL 984.90 984.90 964.00 968.60FINEORG 2927.00 2970.00 2845.20 2891.75DCAL 157.00 165.80 156.50 162.25CROMPTON 372.00 383.70 370.15 375.05GODREJCP 699.70 709.00 695.00 708.15DCMSHRIRAM 730.00 730.00 696.70 703.25GSFC 95.45 97.65 93.85 96.55GALAXYSURF 2855.00 2984.95 2817.40 2890.85FINOLEXIND 155.60 160.10 150.45 158.55RVNL 28.45 28.60 28.10 28.30INDOCO 325.00 348.00 320.85 345.45BAJAJCON 271.55 276.00 268.50 269.90CUB 167.70 171.00 166.00 169.55GUJALKALI 409.10 428.00 409.10 419.55CENTRALBK 17.10 17.20 16.65 16.80RAJESHEXPO 519.90 521.80 501.45 506.60MFSL 894.30 906.65 875.35 888.95STLTECH 230.90 236.85 224.45 226.70GMM 4247.00 4247.00 4100.00 4109.30JKTYRE 119.00 121.55 116.20 117.80JSL 89.50 94.60 89.25 91.25CARERATING 523.10 535.00 523.10 525.90CASTROLIND 125.00 125.00 122.85 123.85KANSAINER 575.95 596.55 573.00 591.90BALKRISIND 1801.00 1805.60 1776.00 1797.75SANOFI 7550.00 7735.00 7550.00 7691.45KEC 392.75 393.05 380.30 385.80TV18BRDCST 33.50 33.90 33.00 33.20DABUR 541.00 542.00 536.90 541.20PAGEIND 29690.70 29704.40 29284.8029651.20AEGISLOG 328.40 332.65 322.00 326.85CYIENT 799.00 799.00 755.00 764.75COCHINSHIP 366.70 379.15 366.70 372.15JSLHISAR 163.10 167.00 162.00 164.85SHREECEM 27779.20 28046.00 27504.8527842.10VBL 1025.00 1026.75 995.60 1000.20BLUEDART 5348.95 5455.20 5275.00 5319.80MPHASIS 1762.30 1779.00 1736.15 1749.75RECLTD 131.60 131.60 128.80 130.00RALLIS 297.00 299.90 288.70 293.90POLYCAB 1465.00 1465.00 1426.45 1440.60AFFLE 5471.15 5585.45 5439.00 5505.30NESTLEIND 16585.00 16602.00 16457.8016550.20RAMCOCEM 967.65 983.40 966.35 973.95UBL 1198.45 1215.20 1190.90 1206.85ABB 1378.65 1386.30 1367.00 1370.95POWERINDIA 1811.00 1842.25 1700.50 1752.85SUPREMEIND 2179.95 2181.75 2127.00 2149.15MRPL 44.25 44.75 43.15 43.60SUNDRMFAST 739.00 754.00 721.20 727.80J&KBANK 24.45 25.10 24.45 24.60TASTYBIT 15599.65 15794.95 15101.1015574.60GSPL 267.70 273.25 267.45 271.30MMTC 42.10 43.25 42.10 42.55TORNTPOWER 409.05 412.50 402.40 410.40AVANTI 473.05 485.40 473.05 477.10SUDARSCHEM 644.00 660.65 633.90 638.05CENTURYTEX 481.95 485.95 470.00 472.55BOSCHLTD 13259.00 13420.00 13259.0013346.55UJJIVAN 203.00 207.70 201.20 202.50ECLERX 1241.70 1324.00 1234.35 1296.85CHAMBLFERT 216.90 218.30 214.20 216.70ASHOKA 80.00 80.80 78.75 78.90RELAXO 895.05 905.00 885.00 897.75FDC 317.15 323.00 313.80 318.60VINATIORGA 1715.05 1741.45 1703.40 1709.45NIACL 156.00 157.95 153.40 154.35CSBBANK 254.95 269.25 253.70 263.35WELCORP 141.50 143.50 139.15 140.75CGCL 431.75 457.50 431.35 450.15MOTILALOFS 649.10 661.00 643.80 659.65WELSPUNIND 83.90 84.50 82.50 82.85SUNTECK 264.00 264.90 256.20 257.45WABAG 249.60 249.60 240.00 243.95MCX 1491.45 1495.00 1473.40 1480.55ENGINERSIN 75.00 75.00 73.80 74.15KPITTECH 210.00 210.00 201.65 202.55JKLAKSHMI 416.00 420.00 409.85 415.90NBVENTURES* 82.00 86.00 81.55 83.15

ITI 106.15 113.30 106.15 110.80THYROCARE 1049.95 1063.45 1032.00 1051.35TIMETECHNO 82.00 82.00 76.80 77.00BSOFT 244.50 247.20 241.35 244.20HERITGFOOD 362.70 364.25 351.30 356.70

CHENNPETRO 110.00 114.45 109.95 111.50MAHINDCIE 169.65 175.00 169.65 172.65SYNGENE 575.00 576.15 565.00 567.40FCONSUMER 6.85 6.85 6.72 6.79PHILIPCARB 207.00 208.90 203.10 204.75SHK 148.30 148.95 144.05 146.15ABBOTINDIA 15298.90 15442.30 15223.1015395.70KRBL 213.00 215.15 206.75 209.35SWANENERGY 131.65 132.35 128.70 130.15TATAMTRDVR 127.50 127.80 125.80 126.20HONAUT 42610.00 42995.20 42000.0042153.90UCOBANK 11.55 11.65 10.87 11.17WHIRLPOOL 2238.80 2238.80 2156.30 2177.00CAPPL 516.40 529.95 511.00 523.80EQUITAS 82.60 85.20 81.75 84.60JAMNAAUTO 71.20 71.45 69.45 70.10CERA 3814.00 4138.20 3801.70 4042.50APLAPOLLO 1317.00 1333.50 1287.50 1300.95VAIBHAVGBL 4329.90 4329.90 4205.20 4288.65ORIENTCEM 113.00 113.00 108.70 111.10DBL 537.00 537.00 524.00 532.05THERMAX 1495.00 1530.90 1453.35 1501.95BOMDYEING 67.10 67.90 66.70 67.15COROMANDEL 726.90 737.30 725.00 731.25DHANUKA 791.00 816.50 791.00 802.55IRCON 87.75 88.35 87.55 87.75IOB 16.05 16.15 15.75 15.85BAJAJELEC 1179.00 1179.00 1133.00 1150.80BASF 2309.65 2380.00 2289.70 2317.00JBCHEPHARM 1405.00 1441.85 1396.80 1416.30RADICO 569.00 569.00 550.10 553.85GARFIBRES 2680.00 2680.00 2568.20 2624.45DALBHARAT 1561.15 1589.95 1531.00 1539.15PTC 81.75 83.60 81.75 83.30ORIENTREF 314.05 327.80 314.05 319.85MAHLOG 510.00 518.70 503.00 515.25BLISSGVS 103.00 106.15 102.90 103.15TIINDIA 1255.15 1259.20 1226.00 1246.05HATHWAY 23.45 23.50 22.95 23.05SIS 373.40 373.40 365.50 370.50FLUOROCHEM 808.35 810.30 784.80 796.25KALPATPOWR 360.45 370.95 348.55 351.20NH 401.10 420.80 395.50 409.60PGHL 6350.00 6375.00 6206.60 6312.75MINDAIND 509.65 524.95 508.30 511.00INFIBEAM 37.80 38.45 37.60 37.65TIMKEN 1382.80 1392.10 1368.50 1379.65GICRE 208.15 210.10 205.00 205.65PNCINFRA 226.00 226.00 221.00 223.10INTELLECT 711.80 711.80 690.95 696.20GODFRYPHLP 868.00 875.00 858.00 864.75GEPIL 258.30 272.00 256.85 270.25SKFINDIA 2252.05 2278.30 2220.80 2229.75BIRLACORPN 915.00 935.90 915.00 933.80CANFINHOME 537.85 537.90 530.90 532.40IIFLWAM 1135.00 1295.00 1120.80 1181.15SHRIRAMCIT 1613.55 1685.00 1575.00 1655.70RITES 240.00 240.15 237.15 237.70VENKYS 1589.65 1643.40 1588.00 1617.25JAICORPLTD 89.00 89.00 86.80 87.45ENDURANCE 1317.00 1317.00 1293.00 1303.80PNBHOUSING 363.65 366.15 357.25 358.80MOIL 168.45 168.90 163.55 164.05VGUARD 225.00 228.25 222.40 226.80BALMLAWRIE 130.80 130.80 125.15 126.45HUDCO 43.75 43.75 42.75 43.00SONATSOFTW 582.00 585.00 575.00 577.10RAYMOND 325.00 332.85 323.60 325.25IIFL 259.00 259.00 244.10 253.35GMDCLTD 61.20 61.90 60.25 60.50NCC 76.90 76.90 74.15 74.85BBTC 1179.10 1190.00 1165.00 1168.653MINDIA 25800.00 25800.00 24900.0024968.65TCNSBRANDS 505.15 527.00 501.45 511.20NHPC 24.65 24.90 24.30 24.40DEEPAKFERT 264.40 265.50 260.00 262.55NAM-INDIA 342.55 342.55 336.30 339.10EPL 224.40 229.50 221.80 227.10CESC 615.45 635.05 615.45 632.85

QUESS 625.00 629.00 613.90 621.65GODREJAGRO 505.80 523.40 505.05 517.45CENTURYPLY 367.30 375.00 358.05 361.30NLCINDIA 49.20 49.20 48.15 48.30GHCL 236.85 239.05 234.60 235.70BAYERCROP 5371.25 5435.70 5284.90 5340.40SCHNEIDER 91.90 92.90 91.10 91.35HAWKINCOOK 5450.00 5499.65 5425.00 5430.65REPCOHOME 342.00 361.00 342.00 347.85OIL 123.45 124.55 121.50 122.10EDELWEISS 57.95 57.95 56.90 57.00MIDHANI 185.90 186.15 183.60 183.95BRIGADE 253.00 258.60 250.70 255.65KAJARIACER 938.00 938.00 916.65 923.80GLAXO 1465.90 1498.00 1453.00 1467.05NILKAMAL 2026.95 2106.10 1966.00 1988.80ERIS 589.00 601.10 586.50 598.05MINDACORP 104.40 104.40 99.50 102.90GRSE 173.10 176.25 171.40 174.40EMAMILTD 495.55 496.50 482.45 488.10ZYDUSWELL 2061.00 2126.00 2061.00 2097.35SUMICHEM 303.60 303.60 298.00 299.45KTKBANK 63.10 63.85 62.65 62.75SPANDANA 576.10 607.80 576.10 596.15LAXMIMACH 6300.15 6425.45 6211.80 6248.80AAVAS 2310.00 2310.00 2236.00 2240.65HIMATSEIDE 154.40 158.80 154.15 156.55LUXIND 1893.05 1919.75 1890.65 1912.00VTL 1216.45 1274.85 1194.50 1264.55IRB 105.10 105.60 102.50 103.05FINCABLES 366.95 366.95 356.65 361.05GODREJIND 507.40 511.00 505.10 507.95VIPIND 336.25 337.60 334.15 335.95JMFINANCIL 82.55 82.80 79.50 80.50ZENSARTECH 262.35 267.80 261.80 264.10BLUESTARCO 835.00 847.00 830.65 836.30IFCI 10.85 11.20 10.85 10.97KPRMILL 1474.00 1480.20 1447.95 1456.35GPPL 96.15 96.15 92.35 92.60PHOENIXLTD 765.40 765.40 741.25 747.90JYOTHYLAB 142.00 143.60 141.25 141.90KNRCON 199.00 201.55 197.30 198.35GET&D 118.00 120.50 116.00 119.05AKZOINDIA 2227.75 2243.90 2195.00 2206.65SHANKARA 379.40 381.00 369.50 372.95CREDITACC 613.60 618.75 587.00 600.70INOXLEISUR 265.50 269.30 265.50 268.65BAJAJHLDNG 3470.00 3482.70 3411.40 3435.75TTKPRESTIG 7452.40 7477.00 7395.00 7424.55KEI 522.50 524.45 518.70 522.90TEAMLEASE 3286.75 3416.35 3276.80 3354.40JAGRAN* 56.55 57.70 55.65 56.65NESCO 498.10 501.80 490.70 493.10WESTLIFE 430.00 432.60 428.45 431.15SJVN 25.75 25.75 25.30 25.35WABCOINDIA 6825.00 7000.00 6809.05 6926.05SOBHA 481.00 490.00 481.00 485.85KSB 875.90 885.55 862.60 865.80JCHAC 2315.10 2320.65 2284.00 2288.90AIAENG 1877.70 1885.80 1856.35 1874.60OBEROIRLTY 551.45 554.00 548.05 550.30TNPL 145.95 146.85 142.35 143.05SCHAEFFLER 5250.00 5250.00 5121.50 5173.95VSTIND 3255.00 3255.00 3152.55 3169.45BDL 334.70 344.00 332.75 334.85ITDC 338.15 339.00 327.90 330.20ARVINDFASN 138.50 140.50 134.50 138.40PRSMJOHNSN 135.00 135.00 130.50 133.05MAHSEAMLES 292.90 294.10 288.05 288.95HEIDELBERG 238.30 243.45 238.30 243.10NAVNETEDUL 75.00 75.90 74.00 74.95SOLARINDS 1230.00 1255.00 1212.05 1232.60SUPRAJIT 255.15 260.05 253.00 254.95IFBIND 976.00 980.50 955.10 959.70GILLETTE 5519.25 5519.25 5442.00 5448.40MAHSCOOTER 3599.00 3610.00 3541.65 3553.45PCJEWELLER 23.70 23.70 23.00 23.15REDINGTON 175.35 180.65 175.35 177.75TATAINVEST 1036.95 1048.85 1033.00 1043.15ORIENTELEC 270.20 274.20 270.20 272.65TCIEXP 878.10 916.75 878.00 904.60SOMANYCERA 424.95 430.30 410.65 422.35VRLLOG 220.95 222.00 216.25 219.15RATNAMANI 1925.00 1950.35 1925.00 1941.05ESABINDIA 1793.20 1861.15 1783.40 1807.65TVSSRICHAK 1816.45 1830.00 1793.95 1798.75TVTODAY 284.00 287.40 283.05 285.00ALLCARGO 125.80 127.85 123.40 123.65FORCEMOT 1137.00 1146.00 1104.10 1109.40STARCEMENT 102.90 102.90 100.55 101.15LEMONTREE 36.50 36.50 35.25 35.60DBCORP 83.00 83.55 80.80 81.40JKCEMENT 2778.20 2785.60 2768.30 2775.25INDOSTAR 304.95 309.95 298.00 304.00MHRIL 208.05 211.70 208.00 210.50MASFIN 794.35 806.80 792.10 798.90SFL 2024.25 2036.85 2012.85 2034.10EIHOTEL 88.30 88.80 88.00 88.55GULFOILLUB 700.00 702.00 690.00 697.55MAHLIFE 496.40 496.40 475.50 476.95VARROC 370.30 379.15 370.30 375.05CRISIL 1890.00 1898.90 1877.35 1892.10LAOPALA 216.85 223.75 216.85 220.70JTEKTINDIA 82.80 82.90 81.50 81.70VMART 2738.15 2738.15 2689.20 2705.30CHOLAHLDNG 570.15 574.50 568.40 572.95SHOPERSTOP 195.75 197.40 195.65 196.35OMAXE 69.15 69.15 68.50 68.65

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SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY 50 14604.15 14637.90 14506.60 14617.85 121.35SUNPHARMA 642.25 687.90 642.25 683.00 37.85UPL 621.70 643.00 616.65 640.40 29.15INDUSINDBK 923.00 934.75 909.30 933.05 22.90AXISBANK 709.00 719.05 700.00 717.95 17.60KOTAKBANK 1741.00 1778.00 1721.90 1775.45 42.80ICICIBANK 595.30 604.80 584.70 604.00 12.45DRREDDY 5110.00 5202.00 5070.00 5169.00 101.75TITAN 1406.00 1431.90 1403.40 1429.65 26.75WIPRO 484.80 496.00 483.30 491.00 9.05HINDALCO 367.00 373.70 364.30 368.30 5.75TCS 3070.00 3099.40 3052.40 3095.75 46.00ONGC 112.40 114.00 110.50 111.30 1.65CIPLA 885.00 899.00 869.00 891.10 12.65SBIN 356.50 357.45 348.00 356.45 4.95DIVISLAB 3999.00 4064.55 3975.00 4040.50 55.15BHARTIARTL 556.90 564.95 554.00 560.00 7.55ULTRACEMCO 6344.95 6400.00 6294.40 6380.00 83.55MARUTI 6557.70 6599.00 6483.00 6590.00 81.75HDFCBANK 1401.00 1409.60 1381.70 1405.85 17.50ITC 201.45 202.00 199.50 202.00 2.40TATACONSUM 649.00 656.00 640.05 652.00 6.75IOC 92.80 93.45 91.80 92.35 0.95INFY 1341.10 1343.90 1327.80 1343.00 13.60HCLTECH 903.95 910.80 900.60 910.15 9.20TATAMOTORS 293.50 293.90 288.50 292.25 2.80M&M 743.15 749.00 737.35 748.30 7.15BAJAJFINSV 11111.00 11194.65 10915.20 11090.00 103.55HDFCLIFE 670.05 675.80 667.00 673.90 6.05BPCL 422.05 431.60 421.00 424.80 3.35HEROMOTOCO 2786.90 2800.00 2768.00 2796.00 19.25TATASTEEL 1084.00 1088.35 1047.00 1071.05 7.20COALINDIA 133.00 134.50 132.50 133.50 0.70BAJAJ-AUTO 3842.20 3852.60 3784.10 3849.00 18.65SHREECEM 27850.00 28044.40 27713.30 27874.50 121.20JSWSTEEL 723.00 733.00 713.10 718.50 3.10BRITANNIA 3441.10 3458.90 3436.25 3449.00 13.15EICHERMOT 2377.00 2387.20 2356.55 2375.10 7.10HDFC 2392.00 2403.00 2354.00 2384.25 7.05RELIANCE 1923.35 1938.50 1908.05 1921.50 4.90GRASIM 1420.10 1454.95 1405.00 1419.00 3.05POWERGRID 218.05 220.35 216.80 218.50 0.45NTPC 104.75 105.65 102.80 103.80 0.05TECHM 972.60 972.60 953.75 960.50 0.10NESTLEIND 16561.05 16610.00 16457.45 16548.00 1.40LT 1342.20 1346.75 1324.00 1337.55 -0.05HINDUNILVR 2434.00 2434.00 2368.65 2395.00 -12.65ASIANPAINT 2617.00 2617.00 2546.10 2571.75 -15.40SBILIFE 989.95 1019.80 965.00 969.95 -12.95BAJFINANCE 5683.00 5700.00 5452.40 5515.00 -100.75ADANIPORTS 772.00 774.80 732.70 741.00 -27.75

SE 500B

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SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY NEXT 50 35185.55 35550.20 35024.75 35496.20 574.75LUPIN 1078.10 1209.00 1068.95 1203.00 145.05AUROPHARMA 957.10 1024.90 955.80 1024.20 67.70NMDC 160.90 168.20 160.25 168.20 10.50CADILAHC 571.05 607.75 565.50 602.05 32.90TORNTPHARM 2526.80 2635.00 2484.95 2623.00 116.80APOLLOHOSP 3199.80 3357.00 3176.15 3329.00 147.75ALKEM 2805.00 2964.85 2803.00 2910.00 111.40VEDL 258.35 270.05 256.50 268.30 9.75PEL 1689.00 1733.00 1674.35 1720.00 55.45MCDOWELL-N 530.70 545.00 526.00 541.60 15.50BIOCON 375.00 382.60 370.15 382.20 9.00PETRONET 239.50 243.85 238.55 243.70 5.50INDIGO 1633.00 1664.00 1596.60 1659.00 37.05ADANIGREEN 1059.00 1080.80 1047.35 1064.00 18.90ADANITRANS 1082.20 1104.95 1065.80 1084.00 18.65LTI 3903.35 3964.95 3810.30 3910.00 63.60MOTHERSUMI 218.75 221.60 211.80 220.20 3.40AMBUJACEM 310.90 312.30 307.15 311.60 4.65GAIL 147.30 148.85 143.00 145.90 2.15GODREJCP 704.35 709.00 698.25 707.20 9.60DLF 248.80 253.50 246.80 248.70 2.80SBICARD 960.00 975.00 946.00 965.50 9.75BERGEPAINT 706.00 714.90 705.00 713.50 7.20NAUKRI 4800.00 4861.00 4672.00 4835.00 46.50HAVELLS 990.00 1006.60 980.10 995.55 9.60HINDPETRO 242.80 246.50 239.00 243.85 2.35ACC 1875.00 1897.95 1870.10 1886.10 17.10PIDILITIND 1806.60 1816.80 1794.60 1814.80 14.65DABUR 538.80 542.45 537.05 541.80 4.25UBL 1207.50 1215.20 1191.00 1210.00 8.30ABBOTINDIA 15309.00 15425.00 15233.60 15420.00 105.20JUBLFOOD 2785.30 2810.00 2750.00 2798.60 18.35IGL 508.40 515.60 504.00 506.50 3.30ICICIPRULI 561.00 574.70 551.50 556.60 2.90MUTHOOTFIN 1164.00 1165.00 1145.00 1154.00 4.80ICICIGI 1457.75 1472.00 1440.90 1448.00 4.80HDFCAMC 2728.00 2750.00 2715.05 2734.95 6.60COLPAL 1498.50 1504.60 1485.40 1494.00 3.30BOSCHLTD 13225.00 13434.15 13225.00 13350.00 26.85INDUSTOWER 256.95 256.95 251.10 253.50 0.45ADANIENT 1274.40 1288.25 1240.25 1263.50 1.00DMART 2878.70 2889.60 2855.00 2859.95 1.55YESBANK 13.95 14.05 13.80 13.85 0.00PNB 38.55 38.70 37.15 37.30 -0.15MRF 79299.95 79398.95 77751.00 78250.00 -364.50BAJAJHLDNG 3457.05 3499.00 3410.20 3417.15 -40.70MARICO 466.00 467.65 451.65 454.00 -6.75PGHH 13500.00 13695.00 13100.15 13544.00 -257.55BANDHANBNK 321.00 322.20 310.20 311.70 -5.95SIEMENS 1874.00 1890.00 1829.55 1838.00 -41.15

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The RBI on Wednesdayallowed certain individual

and small borrowers more timeto repay their debt and pro-vided a �50,000 crore specialwindow to banks to lend tovaccine makers, hospitals andCovid-related health infra-structure as it looked to cush-ion the pandemic’s blow to theeconomy.

The loan recast of up totwo years will be available toindividuals and small andmedium enterprises that didnot restructure their loans in2020 and were classified as

standard accounts till March2021, RBI GovernorShaktikanta Das said.

This facility will be avail-able to borrowers with a totalexposure of �25 crore.

As much as 90 per cent ofthe total borrowers will becovered by this restructuring,according to Indian Banks’Association.

Last year, the RBI hadallowed banks to restructureloans of small borrowers byextending repayment periodfor up to 2 years.

In the present recast,banks have been allowed torestructure loans throughmeans such as extending tenureor renegotiating interest rate.

Das said RBI will give Rs50,000 crore of liquidity sup-port to banks to lend to thehealthcare sector, includingvaccine manufacturers,importers/ suppliers of vaccinesand priority medical devices,with tenors up to three years atthe repo rate.

This facility will be avail-

able until March 31, 2022. He also announced that

RBI will buy Rs 35,000 crore ofbonds under the GovernmentSecurities AcquisitionProgramme (G-SAP) -- India’sversion of quantitative easing -- on May 20.

Also announced was aspecial three-year long-termrepo operation of Rs 10,000crore for small finance banks(SFBs), and banks beingallowed to maintain lowerreserves for advances made tosmall borrowers.

Just as the economyappeared to be inching back tonormalcy, India was hit by asecond wave of infections inearly April, prompting statesand cities to restrict publicmovements and impose lock-downs, which have hit somebusinesses hard.

India added 3,82,315 viruscases over the last 24 hours toreach a total of 2.06 crore, whiledeath toll rose by a record 3,780to 226,188, health ministrydata showed.

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Reserve Bank onWednesday announced a

slew of measures includingloan restructuring for indi-vidual and small businesses hithard by fresh Covid-19 wave.

To augment supply ofgoods for Covid care, the cen-tral bank opened �50,000crore on-tap window to easeaccess to emergency healthservices to boost provision ofimmediate liquidity for ramp-ing up Covid-19 relatedhealthcare infrastructure andservices in the country.

This liquidity window isbeing opened till March 31,2022, he said, adding thatunder the scheme, banks canprovide fresh lending sup-

port to a wide ranging ofentities including vaccinemanufacturers, importers andsuppliers of vaccine and med-ical devices, hospitals and dis-pensaries and suppliers ofoxygen and ventilatorsimporters and also patients fortreatment.

“Banks are being incen-tivised for quick delivery ofcredit under the scheme,through extension of prioritysector classification to suchlending... And these loans willcontinue to be classified underpriority sector till repaymentor maturity, whichever is ear-lier,” he said an unscheduledpress briefing.

With regard to restruc-turing he said, borrowers thatare individuals and micro,small and medium enterpris-

es (MSMEs) having an aggre-gate exposure of up to Rs 25crore would be consideredfor the new scheme.

This would be for thosewho have not availed restruc-turing under any of the earli-er frameworks, including theResolution Framework 1.0 ofRBI dated August 6, 2020, andwho are classified as standardas on March 31, 2021, shall beeligible for the ResolutionFramework 2.0, he said.

Under the proposedframework, bank may beinvoked up to September 30,and shall have to be imple-mented within 90 days afterinvocation, he added.

RBI has also introducedRs 10,000-crore special long-term repo operation for smallfinance banks.

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Banking stocks onWednesday gained after

the RBI unveiled a slew ofmeasures to support the econ-omy facing headwinds due tothe second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Kotak Mahindra Bankjumped 2.42 per cent, AxisBank 2.41 per cent, IndusindBank 2.33 per cent, ICICIBank 1.88 per cent, CityUnion Bank 1.65 per cent,RBL Bank 1.35 per cent, StateBank of India 1.07 per cent,HDFC Bank 1 per cent andFederal Bank 0.88 per cent onthe BSE.

Tracking gains in thesestocks, the BSE Bank indexgained 1.67 per cent.

The 30-share BSE indexalso gained 424.04 points or0.88 per cent to close at48,677.55.

The RBI allowed certainindividual and small borrow-ers more time to repay debtand allowed banks to give pri-ority loans to vaccine makers,hospitals, and COVID-relat-ed health infrastructure as itannounced support measuresto cushion the pandemic’sblow to the economy.

RBI GovernorShaktikanta Das also said thecentral bank will buy Rs35,000 crore of bonds underthe Government SecuritiesAcquisition Programme (G-SAP) -- India’s version ofquantitative easing -- on May20.

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The BSE Sensex darted upon Wednesday after three

days of losses after the RBIunveiled a slew of measures tosupport the economy facingheadwinds due to the second

wave of the Covid-19 pan-demic.

Banking, pharma and ITstocks led the rebound, evenas a depreciating rupeecapped the gains, traders said.The 30-share BSE indexjumped 424.04 points or

0.88% to close at 48,677.55.Similarly, the broader NSENifty surged 121.35 points or0.84 per cent to 14,617.85.Sun Pharma was the top gain-er in the Sensex pack, soaring5.94%, followed by KotakBank, Axis Bank, IndusInd

Bank, ICICI Bank, DrReddy’s, Titan and TCS.

Only three index stocksclosed in the red -- BajajFinance, Asian Paints andHUL, slipping up to 1.75 percent. Earlier in the day, theRBI allowed certain individ-

ual and small borrowers moretime to repay debt andallowed banks to give priori-ty loans to vaccine makers,hospitals and COVID-relatedhealth infrastructure as itannounced support measuresto cushion the pandemic’s

blow to the economy. RBI Governor

Shaktikanta Das also said thecentral bank will buy Rs35,000 crore of bonds underthe Government SecuritiesAcquisition Programme (G-SAP) -- India’s version of

quantitative easing -- on May20. RBI also allowed banks todip into their floating provi-sions to set aside money forbad loans. Domestic equitiesrebounded mainly supportedby financials, IT and pharma.Notably, announcement of

liquidity supports by the RBIGovernor to tackle the chal-lenges coming from secondwave of COVID-19 crisisaided financials to rebound,”said Binod Modi, HeadStrateg y at RelianceSecurities.

Page 11: $cU hRgV Z_VgZeRS]V Z_ :_UZR - Daily Pioneer

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Nepal's embattled PrimeMinister KP Sharma Oli-

led government on Wednesdaylost majority support in theHouse of Representatives afterthe CPN (Maoist Center) led byPushpakamal Dahal"Prachanda" officially with-drew support to it.

The party submitted a let-ter to this effect to theParliament Secretariat, inform-ing about its decision to with-draw support to the govern-ment, according to a seniorleader of the party, GaneshShah.

Chief Whip of the MaoistCenter Dev Gurung handedover the letter to officials at theParliament Secretariat, he said.

After handing over the let-ter Gurung told the mediapersons that the party decidedto withdraw support to the Oligovernment as the govern-ment had breached theConstitution and the govern-ment's recent activities haveposed threat to democraticprocedures and national sov-ereignty.

After the withdrawal ofsupport, the Oli governmenthas lost its majority in theHouse of Representatives.

The decision of the Maoistparty to withdraw support tothe government comes twodays after Oli announced thathe will seek a vote of confi-dence in Parliament on May 10.

The Maoist Center has atotal of 49 lawmakers in thelower house. Since the rulingCPN-UML has a total of 121lawmakers, Prime Minister Oliis short of 15 lawmakers to savehis government in the 275-member House.

Meanwhile, Prime MinisterOli on Wednesday visited theresidence of main Oppositionleader Nepali CongressPresident Sher Bahadur Deubaat Budhanilkantha, 10 kmNorth of Kathmandu, to seekhis support to save the gov-ernment.

The two leaders discussed

the latest political develop-ments in the country, accord-ing to sources close to NepaliCongress.

Nepal plunged into a polit-ical crisis on December 20 lastyear after President Bidya DeviBhandari dissolved the Houseand announced fresh electionson April 30 and May 10 at therecommendation of PrimeMinister Oli, amidst a tussle forpower within the ruling NepalCommunist Party (NCP).

Oli's move to dissolve theHouse sparked protests from alarge section of the NCP led byhis rival 'Prachanda', also a co-chair of the ruling party.

In February, the apex courtreinstated the dissolved Houseof Representatives, in a setbackto embattled Prime MinisterOli who was preparing forsnap polls.

A five-memberConstitutional bench led byChief Justice CholendraShumsher JBR annulled thegovernment's decision to dis-solve the lower house ofParliament and ordered thegovernment to summon theHouse session within the next13 days.

Oli repeatedly defendedhis move to dissolve the Houseof Representatives, saying someleaders of his party wereattempting to form a "parallelgovernment".

As many as 13 writ peti-tions were filed at the apexcourt seeking the restoration ofthe lower house of Parliament.

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Myanmar's security forcesmoved in and the street

lamps went black. In houseafter house, people shut offtheir lights.

Huddled inside her homein Yangon, 19-year-old Shwedared to peek out her window.A flashlight shone back, and aman's voice ordered her not tolook. Two gunshots rang out.Then a man's scream: “HELP!”

When the military's trucksfinally rolled away, Shwe andher family emerged to look forher 15-year-old brother.

“I could feel my bloodthumping,” she says. “I had afeeling that he might be taken.”

Across the country,Myanmar's security forces arearresting and forcibly disap-pearing thousands of people,especially boys and young men,in a sweeping bid to crush athree-month uprising against amilitary takeover.

In most cases, the familiesof those taken don't knowwhere they are, according to anAssociated Press analysis ofmore than 3,500 arrests sinceFebruary. UNICEF, the UNchildren's agency, is aware of

around 1,000 cases of childrenor young people who havebeen arbitrarily arrested anddetained, many without accessto lawyers or their families.

It is a technique the mili-tary has long used to instill fearand crush pro-democracymovements. The boys andyoung men are taken fromhomes, businesses and streets.Some end up dead.?Many are

imprisoned and sometimestortured. Many more are miss-ing.

“We've definitely movedinto a situation of massenforced disappearances,” saysMatthew Smith, cofounder ofthe human rights group FortifyRights, which has collectedevidence of detainees beingkilled in custody.“We're docu-menting and seeing widespread

and systematic arbitraryarrests.”

The AP is withholdingShwe's full name to protect herfrom retaliation by the military.

The autobody shop inShwe's neighborhood was aregular hangout for local boys.On the night of March 21, herbrother had gone there to chillout like he usually did.

As Shwe approached the

shop, she saw it had been ran-sacked. Frantic, she and herfather scoured the building forany sign of their beloved boy.

But he was gone, and thefloor was covered in blood.

Ever since Myanmar's mil-itary seized control in February,faces of the missing have flood-ed the Internet. Recently, pho-tos of young people detained bysecurity forces also have beguncirculating online and on mil-itary-controlled television, theirfaces bloodied, with clearmarkings of beatings and pos-sible torture.

At least 3,500 people havebeen detained since the mili-tary takeover began, more thanthree-quarters of whom aremale, according to an analysisof data collected by theAssistance Association forPolitical Prisoners, which mon-itors deaths and arrests. Of the419 men whose ages wererecorded in the group's data-base, nearly two-thirds areunder age 30, and 78 areteenagers.

Nearly 2,700 of thedetainees are being?held atundisclosed locations, anAAPP spokesman said.

“The military are trying to

turn civilians, striking workers,and children into enemies,”says Ko Bo Kyi, AAPP's jointsecretary. “They think if theycan kill off the boys and youngmen, then they can kill off therevolution.”

After receiving questionsfrom the Associated Press, themilitary, known as theTatmadaw, called a Zoom pressconference, during which itdubbed the AAPP a “baselessorganization,” suggested itsdata is inaccurate, and deniedsecurity forces are targetingyoung men.

“The security forces are notarresting based on genders andages,” said Capt. Aye ThazinMyint, a military spokes-woman.

“They are only detaininganyone who is rioting, protest-ing, causing unrest, or anyactions along those lines.”

Some of those snatched bysecurity forces were protesting.Some have links to the mili-tary's rival political party.Others are taken for no dis-cernable reason. They are typ-ically charged with Section505(A) of the Penal Code,which, in part, criminalizesany comments that “cause fear.”

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Teams of experts are pro-jecting Covid-19’s toll on

the US will fall sharply by theend of July, according toresearch released by theGovernment on Wednesday.

But they also warn that a"substantial increase" in hospi-talizations and deaths is possi-ble if unvaccinated people donot follow basic precautionssuch as wearing a mask andkeeping their distance fromothers.

The Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention paperincluded projections from sixresearch groups. Their assign-ment was to predict the courseof the U.S. epidemic betweennow and September under dif-

ferent scenarios, depending onhow the vaccination drive pro-ceeds and how people behave.

Mainly, it's good news.Even under scenarios involvingdisappointing vaccination rates,Covid-19 cases, hospitaliza-tions and deaths are expectedto drop dramatically by the endof July and continue to fallafterward.

The CDC is now reportingan average of about 3,50,000new cases each week, 35,000hospitalisations and over 4,000deaths.

Under the most optimisticscenarios considered, by theend of July new weekly nation-al cases could drop below50,000, hospitalizations tofewer than 1,000, and deaths tobetween 200 and 300.

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President Joe Biden set anew vaccination goal to

deliver at least one shot to 70%of adult Americans by JulyFourth as he tackles the vexingproblem of winning over the"doubters" and those unmoti-vated to get inoculated.

Demand for vaccines hasdropped off markedly nation-wide, with some states leavingmore than half their availabledoses unordered. Aiming tomake it easier to get shots, Bidenon Tuesday called for states tomake vaccines available on awalk-in basis and he will directmany pharmacies to do likewise.

His administration for thefirst time also is moving to shiftdoses from states with weakerdemand to areas with strongerinterest in the shots.

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Bangladesh on Wednesdaytemporarily suspended the

registration for Covid-19 jabsdue to the vaccine shortage in thecountry, amid a delay in thetimely arrival of shipments fromIndia, a senior health official said.

Bangladesh is a primerecipient ofOxford/AstraZeneca vaccinesproduced by India's SerumInstitute, but the alarmingsurge in the positive cases inIndia has created uncertaintyover its expected availability inBangladesh in due time.

India in January gifted 3.2

million doses of domesticallymanufactured coronavirus vac-cine to Bangladesh as part of its'Neighbourhood First' policy.Dhaka also purchased 30 mil-lion doses of the India-madevaccine and under an agree-ment received seven milliondoses in two consignmentsuntil February. The third con-signment, which was expectedin March, is yet to reach.

"We have temporarily halt-ed the registration as theexpected supply of vaccineshave not reached yet in linewith the agreement (fromIndia)," Directorate Generalof Health Services (DGHS)Additional Director GeneralProfessor Meerjadi Sabrinatold a media briefing here.

The existing vaccine stockswould be used to administerthe second dose among therecipients of the first doses, shesaid.< � �� <���$�

Germany and the WorldHealth Organization say

the country will set up and hosta global monitoring center tohelp prepare for and preventfuture public health threatslike the Covid-19 pandemic.

The “global hub for pan-demic and epidemic intelli-gence” based \in Berlin wasannounced Wednesday and willbe coordinated by WHO. Itaims to collect data, monitorrisks and help drive innovations.

“The current Covid-19pandemic has taught us that wecan only fight pandemics andepidemics together,” saidGerman Chancellor Angela\Merkel, saying the hub willbring together governmental,academic and private sectors.

WHO Director-GeneralTedros Adhanom Ghebreyesussays the pandemic has “exposedgaps in the global systems forpandemic and epidemic intel-ligence.”

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Canada's health regulatorhas authorised Pfizer's

Covid-19 vaccine for ages 12and older. Dr Supriya Sharma,chief medical adviser at HealthCanada, on Wednesday con-firmed the decision for the agesto 12 to 15 and said it will helpchildren return to a normal life.

The vaccine was previous-ly authorised for anyone 16 orolder. The US Food and DrugAdministration is also expect-ed to authorise \Pfizer's vaccinefor young people by next week,setting up shots for manybefore the beginning of the

next school year. Theannouncement comes barely amonth after the companyfound that its shot, which isalready authorised for those age16 and older, also provided pro-tection for the younger group.

Pfizer in late Marchreleased preliminary resultsfrom a vaccine study of 2,260US volunteers ages 12 to 15showing there were no cases ofCovid-19 among fully vacci-nated adolescents comparedwith 18 among those givendummy shots.

Sharma said the evidence isthere that the vaccine is safeand effective in that age group.

It is the first vaccine approvedfor children in Canada.

Sharma said about one-fifth of all cases of Covid-19 inCanada have occurred in chil-dren and teenagers, and havinga vaccine for them is a criticalpart of Canada's plan.

She said while most kidsdon't experience serious illnessfrom Covid-19, a vaccine alsohelps protect their friends andfamily who may be at higherrisk of complications.

"It will also support thereturn to a more normal life forour children, who have hadsuch a hard time over the pastyear," she said.

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James Cook was an enthusi-astic supporter of Scottish

independence, but now he's notso sure.

As Scotland holds an elec-tion Thursday that could be astepping stone to the breakupof the United Kingdom, theseafood wholesaler has moreurgent things on his mind.Britain's exit from theEuropean Union and the coro-navirus pandemic have causedeconomic upheaval, and hesays it's not the right time togamble on independence.

“A third major event couldbe cataclysmic for us,” Cooksaid.

Kathmandu: Authorities inthe Nepalese capital onWednesday extended the lock-down in Kathmandu and sur-rounding districts till May 12due to the spike in Covid-19cases.

Nepal on Tuesday record-ed yet another highest single-day rise of 7,660 new cases ofthe coronavirus. The healthministry also confirmed 55new deaths in the past 24hours, which is so far the high-est number of fatalities record-ed in a single day.

The local authorities haveextended the ongoing pro-hibitory orders in theKathmandu Valley till May 12.

The decision to extend thelockdown by another one weekin three districts Kathmandu,Lalitpur and Bhaktapur comesas the Covid-19 cases contin-ue to rise every day acrossNepal, authorities said. PTI

Johannesburg: South AfricanHealth Minister Zweli Mkhizehas sought to allay fears of peo-ple after netizens expressed con-cerns over the entry of IndianCovid-19 variant in the countryfollowing crew of two ships- onecoming from India and anoth-er on its way there-tested posi-tive for the deadly virus.

The remarks on socialmedia intensified after 14 crewmembers of a cargo carrier fromIndia, which arrived in Durban,on Sunday tested positive.

The 14 were among theentire crew that was testedafter the ship arrived in Durbanon Sunday. AP

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In the second wave, the country iswitnessing around 2.4 per cent day-on-day growth in infection with over 3.82lakh new cases reported in a day. OnTuesday, India reported a record 3,780deaths, the highest daily toll since thepandemic began, pushing total fatalitiesto 2,26,188.

Member, NITI Ayog, Dr VK Paulwas of the opinion that the response tothe changing virus remains the same.“We need to follow the Covid- appro-priate behaviour such as mask, dis-tancing, hygiene, no unnecessary meet-ings and staying at home,” Dr Paul said.

Some States, including Karnataka,Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu,West Bengal, Rajasthan, and Bihar, areshowing an increasing trend in dailyCovid-19 cases. “There are some areasof concern,” Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretaryof the Union Health Ministry said.

Bengaluru reported around 1.49lakh cases in the last week. Chennaireported around 38,000 Covid-19 cases.Some districts have recorded further andspeedy cases, including Kozhikode,Ernakulam, Gurgram, he added.

An increase in deaths has beennoticed too, the health official said,

adding Maharashtra, Karnataka, AndhraPradesh, Delhi, and Haryana reportedmore death cases.

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saw 58 persons succumbing to thepandemic and the test positivity ratetouching 25.69 per cent. Ernakulam dis-trict which diagnosed more than 6,000patients during the last 12 hours hasbecome a serious concern.

The second wave of coronavirusinfection continued to ravage UttarPradesh with 357 deaths and 31,165fresh cases being recorded in the past 24hours. However, there was some solacein 40,852 recoveries during the sameperiod while the number of active casescame down to 2,62,474 in the State.

Meanwhile, patient care facilitiesprovided to the Covid-19 patients insideGovernment Medical college hospital inJammu have come under the scannerfollowing increasing number of deathsof patients, including those with nocomorbidities.

On Wednesday 28 patients suc-cumbed to the virus across Jammuregion and 24 across Kashmir while

4,716 fresh cases of coronavirus weredetected taking the tally of active pos-itive cases to 39,628.

Since May 1, a total number of 146patients have succumbed to the coron-avirus across Jammu region and 82 inKashmir while 6,656 patients tested pos-itive across Jammu division and 13845across Kashmir division.

According to the media bulletin,“Majority of these deaths have beenreported in GMC Jammu”.

Several caretakers on Wednesday,while waiting outside the mortuary ofthe hospital complex leveled seriousallegations against the poor patientcare facilities provided to the patients.

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Kalyanam lived like a true Gandhianand was particular about simplicity.cleanliness, gardening, discipline anddiligence. He never appointed any assis-tants to help him and did all works byhimself, whether it is cooking or clean-ing or washing. Till his last breath, hehad kept a cheque issued by theMahatma in his favour as a settlementof a debt. Though antique collectors hadapproached Kalyanam with dream

prices, he stood his ground and did notpart with it. During the 2013 agitationlaunched by Anna Hazare against cor-ruption, Kalyanam was in the forefrontof the demonstration held in Chennai.

He is survived by two daughtersMalini and Nalini. Born in 1922,Kalyanam shares his birthday withIndependent India.

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A magisterial probe has beenordered into the incident, HaridwarDistrict Magistrate C Ravishankar saidon Wednesday.

The Karnataka Government hasappointed retired High Court judgeJustice BA Patil as the one-man com-mission to inquire into the death of 24Covid patients in Chamarajanagar dis-trict on May 3 allegedly owing to oxy-gen shortage. A notification regardingthe appointment of Justice Patil wasissued by the Additional Chief Secretaryin the Home Department, RajneeshGoel on Wednesday. The office of thecommission has to submit its report inone month.

At least 12 patients, including the

HOD of the gastroenterology depart-ment, of Batra hospital died when aprominent hospital ran out of oxygen onMay 1. Outside hospitals, families ofpatients who can’t find a bed are strug-gling to get hold of portable cylinders- sometimes standing in queues for upto 12 hours.

Similarly, 21 died allegedly owing tooxygen shortage at Jaipur Golden hos-pital last week. But the Delhi govern-ment in the High Court said they suc-cumbed to comorbidities, not oxygenshortage. The Delhi Government hasreceived 48 SOS calls from hospitals toprovide oxygen in the last 24 hours.Several big hospitals in Delhi are rely-ing on daily oxygen supplies but they arenot getting enough to keep some asbackup in case of emergency.

In stern remarks, the AllahabadHigh Court on Tuesday observed thatthe death of Covid-19 patients just fornon-supply of oxygen to hospitals is acriminal act, “not less than a genocide”by authorities entrusted the task toensure the oxygen supply chain is main-tained.

The remarks were made on somenews items doing the rounds on socialmedia regarding the death of Covid-19patients due to lack of oxygen inLucknow and Meerut districts. The

court also ordered a probe into the inci-dents.

Earlier, 18 people, including twohealthcare workers were killed in a fireat a Covid-19 hospital in Bharuch inGujarat and 15 patients have died aftera fire broke out in the intensive care unitat Vijay Vallabh hospital in the Virar innorth Mumbai last month.

A fire mishap in March was due toan overheated ventilator machine inSafdarjung hospital on March 30. Nocasualties were reported. There wasfire at Rajdhani Super Specialty Hospital,Raipur, on April 18 but no casualtiesreported in the incident.

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identified negative by rapid antigentesting should be linked with RT-PCRtest facility, should go for the test, saidthe ICMR while making it mandatory toenter the information of vaccination sta-tus in the testing form for RAT or RT-PCR.

“This information is of criticalimportance,” the ICMR said. This comesin the wake of people testing positiveafter one or both doses of the vaccines.

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Aditya Chopra has come for-ward to vaccinate the daily

workers of the entire Hindi filmindustry. YRF has urged theMaharashtra Chief Minister,Uddhav Thackeray, to allow thecompany to purchase 60,000COVID-19 vaccines and takecare of all the expenses related tothe immunisation programmefor these workers.

YRF has sent a letter to theFederation of Western India CineEmployees (FWICE) stating,“With the film industry goingthrough an unprecedented time,there is an urgent need to restartat the earliest so that thousands ofworkers can start earning theirlivelihood again and protect theirfamilies. Yash Raj Films, throughThe Yash Chopra Foundation,

would like to offer its support inthis regard. We have sent a requestto the Honourable Chief Ministerof Maharashtra to allocate andallow us to purchase COVID-19vaccines for 30,000 registeredworkers, who are members of thefilm industry’s federation inMumbai at the earliest.”

The letter further adds, “TheYash Chopra Foundation willbear all other costs too associat-ed with vaccinating the workerssuch as raising awareness, trans-portation of workers and settingup of all the required infrastruc-ture for the immunisation pro-gramme. We hope our kindrequest is approved which willenable our members to be safeand also get them back to work atthe earliest.”

Disha Patani is all geared upfor her upcoming release

Radhe: Your Most wanted Bhai,alongside Salman Khan. Theactress’ latest song, Seeti Maarwhich saw Disha grooving tofunky beats, has received loveand appreciation from theaudience.

Reacting to the lovereceived from the audiences,Disha shares, “I was very excit-ed to be performing on thissong (Seeti Maar) under theguidance of Prabhudeva sirand Jaani Master. I was superexcited and nervous before thesong released but the audi-ence’s response put all myworries to rest and I am filledwith gratitude when I see theresponse that Seeti Maar is get-

ting. The song was a hit. It gar-

nered more than 32 millionviews in just 24 hours, acrossall platforms, making it themost viewed video globally.The song was trending at the

#1 spot on Twitter and domi-nating the trends for quitesome time on its first day.

She further adds, “I’m soglad that the audience is lov-ing it. I want to thank all myfans and the audiences for all

the lovely comments andappreciation”

Radhe will release on May13th in theatres and digitalplatforms. Apart from this,Disha also has Ek VillainReturns in the pipeline.

Pooja Hegde had announced that she had tested pos-itive for Covid-19 a few days ago and had isolated

herself immediately. The actress is keeping herself busywith activities to keep a positive frame of mind.

A source close to the actress shares, “Pooja is com-pletely isolated due to Covid and that can get reallystressful for a person so Pooja isdoing motivational activities dailyto keep a positive frame of mind.She has been practising yoga andmeditation and is also readingmore of positive books to staycalm and energised during thistime.”

She had also done a live ses-sion with a yoga coach some daysback on breathing exercises andpranayama to help build lungcapacity urging all her fans toshare the same with theirfriends and family as it is veryhelpful during the current situation.

The actress has been keepingeveryone updated on her healththrough her social media regular-ly where she first announcedthat she had tested positive andlater told her fans there wasnothing to worry as she hadmild symptoms and wasrecuperating well.

The actress has beenhaving a busy year work-ing on films across indus-tries including RohitShetty’s Cirkus withRanveer Singh, hernext with SalmanKhan, Radhe Shyamwith Prabhas,Acharyaa withChiranjeevi andRam Charan,Most EligibleBachelor aswell asThalapathy65 withThalapathyVijay.

Producer, director and the jointmanaging director and creative

head of Balaji Telefilms Limited,Ekta Kapoor has produced contentthat was ahead of its time. She isalso known for presenting oppor-tunities to budding talents. She hasgiven a break to several actors butwhat’s not known is that she has

given a platform to severalbudding writers as well.

Recently, Ekta Kapoorshared her take on giving oppor-

tunities to new writers, “I need to hear

the story. First of all, I don’t readit easily. I like stories being told,I believe in that very old schoolway. I believe when a writer nar-rates a story it gets a life of itsown. Many a times, when I’veliked the idea I get a writer to thecore and I’ve probably liked thestory-telling and the way thewriter’s empathy towards hischaracter comes through. Iremember these new Gujaratiwriters with no body of work.One of them worked in a bankand Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi BahuThi came out of it. So, I don’tbelieve in the concept of body ofwork.”

She stressed that it is thematerial brought on board by thewriter that should be worthtelling to the audiences. Herexpertise in the domain is ofcourse unmatched. Her recentproduction release The MarriedWoman on ALTBalaji gained alot of praise and appreciationfrom all over.

Nushrratt Bharuccha and Abhishek Banerjeewere recently seen in their latest release,

Ajeeb Daastaans. The duo shared a great chem-istry on-screen in their film and Nushrratt opensup on the reason behind the same.The actressshares, “It was truly a blessing that AbhishekBanerjee was cast in the Ajeeb Daastaansalongside me. I have given so many auditionsat his casting agency since the time I started mycareer, he would enact the scenes with me as myco-actor and give me the necessary critique. Icould easily discuss about my character and storywith him.”

She adds, “He was like a bouncing board forme literally, where I could easily bounce off myideas on how to enact a particular scene and hewould also improvise along with me. Whileshooting for Khilauna, I could put in extra effortin my character with his help, because I couldeasily run my thoughts through him, and I knewhe would give me honest feedback.”

Nushrratt had earlier worked with Abhishekin Dream Girl and their impeccable camaraderieoff screen can be credited to their friendshipwhich goes long back to the time when the twopracticed lines with each other for auditions.This is the reason that the two shared such agreat chemistry in their first film, AjeebDaastaans opposite each other.

Nushrratt also has other projects like RamSetu with Akshay Kumar and JacquelineFernandez, Vishal Furia’s Chhori and Hurdangwith Vijay Varma and Sunny Kaushal in thepipeline.

Over half of all Indians sur-veyed in a recent poll saythat they have become

conscious of the environment —including growing plants andbecome more prudent about con-serving energy — as a direct resultof the pandemic and the subse-quent lockdown.

‘The Little Things We Do’, thelatest research from GodrejGroup, analysed the daily rou-tines, habits and gestures adopt-ed by citizens during the 10months of lockdown last year tomake their life more tolerable.

When the country is reelingunder the mutated virus andlockdown in many states, theresearch is a reminder of theduties of responsible citizens andorganisations to support thecountry, even though the second-wave lockdown doesn’t seem asexciting to many. It revealed 44per cent have participated incommunity activities such as vol-unteering and helping the lessprivileged, during the same peri-od.

According to the data, con-finement and other restrictionshave also liberated India’s creativeside: more than one-in-fiveIndians (22.9 per cent) are nowmore likely to cook, paint, sketch,or pursue other creative hobbiesto keep themselves happy. Nearlya quarter (23.2 per cent) foundsolace reading or listening tomusic during periods of lock-down.

These findings correspond toanother research, by SEMrushthat highlighted that betweenFebruary and March 2020 search-es such as ‘how to bake a cake’,rose by a staggering 238.5 percent. In April, the percentage

increase in the number of timesthese keywords were searchedgrew by 81 per cent and a further190 per cent the following month.

Other insights revealedthrough the research include:

More than half donated ‘lit-tle things’ such as sanitisers, foodpackets, old clothes, blankets,medical devices and more tothose in need; 40 per cent madefinancial donations to the under-privileged.

Men and women seemed tohave different priorities when itcame to making decision on ‘lit-tle things’, as almost 31 per centof male respondents preferred tospend time with their family tokeep themselves content duringthe lockdown as compared to

almost 19 per cent female respon-dents. At the same time, 32.8 percent women saw cooking as asource of comfort and happinesscompared to just 12 per cent ofmen. More men switched on theTV for comfort.

Social media also revealeditself as a source of happiness dur-ing lockdown period, as manyremained connected with friendsand family through social media;watched funny memes andvideos, and attended InstagramLive concerts; explored their cre-ative side by making content forsocial media; and learnt newskills such as cooking, paintingand more through DIY videoscreated by influencers.

Confinement also benefitted

Indian households in other ways.Thirty six per cent of respondentsclaimed to now spend more timewith their families because of theabsence of long commutes, whilealmost three in 10 now take reg-ular breaks throughout the day tode-stress and maintain work-lifebalance. Nineteen per cent claimthat they are more efficient atwork — completing tasks withinallotted working hours — becauseof the absence of distractions.Also, 16 per cent believe thatworking from home has helped toimprove their time managementskills.

Tanya Dubash, ExecutiveDirector and Chief Brand Officer,Godrej Group, described theresearch as a unique insight into

resilience, altruism and capacityof our citizens to adapt to, inmany instances, extremely chal-lenging circumstances. “Ourresearch reveals the little thingsand daily routines that can makea huge difference to people’s well-being. The situation of the pan-demic has really highlighted theoften overlooked role which rit-uals play in our overall health andwell-being,” she said.

She added, “It also reveals thepositive side of such trying cir-cumstances, with long-standingroutines being reassessed: 36.2 percent of respondents claim to havequit unhealthy habits, while astaggering 58.2 per cent are nowengaged in activities which sup-port their mental and physical fit-ness such as yoga, walking ormeditation.”

—IANS

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The VIT EngineeringEntrance Examination

(VITEEE) 2021 will be con-ducted as online remote proc-tored examination on May 28,29 and 31 due to COVID-19pandemic. The applicationswill be closed on May, 20.Candidates are requested tocomplete the application atthe earliest and take the exam-inations in a safe environ-ment. Further details areavailable in the VelloreInstitute of Technology (VIT)website “www.vit.ac.in”.

During the lockdown period, NDMC strivedto increase the number of online services

to facilitate the citizens as well as its employ-ees, thereby eliminating the need for them tophysically come to NDMC offices. Several IT-based initiatives through technology interven-tion for strengthening of e-Governance and m-Governance during to improve efficiency andeffectiveness in providing Civic Services to cit-izens in an equitable, non-discretionary andtransparent manner were introduced.

NDMC has introduced 49 Online Serviceson the NDMC website to facilitate the citizens.It has also implemented the Single SignOn(SSO)/Identity Access Management to improvethe user experience and enhance security to cit-izens/employees/pensioners and others (as andwhen required) accessing applications throughthe internet and intranet. In this solution, 39citizen services and three NDMC employeesservices have been placed for access to avail theservices through single login after making theregistration. NDMC is the first municipalitywhich has implemented the Single Sign On(SSO) services to impart the services to citi-zens as well as their employees.

The unprecedentedCoronavirus pandemic hasresulted in great pain and

distress. It has adversely affectedlives and livelihood. Whileundoubtedly lives are more impor-tant than livelihood, the latter,which is linked to the overall econ-omy, also needs the government'surgent attention. Loss of livelihoodtoday can lead to loss of livestomorrow.

As the first wave of Covidstarted subsiding, the economyslowly moved towards recovery.However, now with the onslaughtof the second wave, all effortsundertaken to revive the economygot derailed.

It was expected that the easeof supply that came with the lift-ing of lockdown would lead to aV-shaped recovery, but that didnot seem to happen. The policyinitiatives undertaken by the gov-ernment were all supply-side andfocussed on improving liquidityand strengthening capacity.Despite the lifting of the lock-down, the industries were func-tioning at below total capacity, andthat is because the real devil in thegame is low aggregate demand.

Aggregate demand has fourcomponents: Private consump-tion, private investment, govern-ment expenditure, and nete x p o r t s ( C + I + G + X - M .Consumption, investment andnet exports have slumped.Government expenditure has seenan upward trend but this alonecannot drive the growth.

The economy was experienc-ing low demand even before thepandemic; probable reasons wereDemonetisation and GST imple-mentation. However, this pandem-ic has aggravated it.

Now is the time to address theproblem of inadequate demand,without which a strong recoveryis not possible.

������First, due to strict lockdown,

demand for non-essential itemshas fallen by at least 50 percent.Also, precautionary savings haveincreased due to uncertainties inthe economy and growing healthissues. Second, consumer senti-ment is weak, which is evident bya fall in ‘consumer confidence’ asper the survey conducted byRBI. Looking at the uncertaintiesin the economies, consumerslacked confidence in the system.Third, rise in unemploymentand a fall in income as 43.8 mil-lion people were involuntaryunemployed in India in March2021, said Vyas of CMIE. Theunemployment rate was 8.2 per-cent in the first week of Aprilcompared to 6.7 percent duringthe end of March, as per dataprovided by CMIE.

�� ���According to Keynesian eco-

nomics, when demand for goodsand services falls, the investorsdecrease their investment, lead-ing to decreased production.Investors reduce the wage rates,and people are laid off to cutcosts due to lower productionand sales. The increase in unem-ployment leads to a cutting downof consumption, and the econo-my finds itself in a vicious cycle,which harms the economy'sgrowth. For the revival of theeconomy now, the only way outis to break this vicious circle bystimulating demand. Theincrease in demand will make thebusiness profitable and motivateinvestors to invest. A similar sit-uation was experienced duringthe great depression of 1929-30and the world economy couldrecover by increasing thedemand. After this experience,people realised the importance ofthe demand side of the economy.

���������Even before the pandemic,

the economy was already slowingdown, with deficiencies evident inconsumption and investmentdemand. These two componentsare the foremost crucial part ofaggregate demand and growthdrivers. Lack of demand, bothconsumer demand and invest-ment hit all segments no mattertheir economic nature. The onlyway to revive and boost the econ-omy is by stimulating demand. Itcan then feed into the longer-term investment cycle throughthe multiplier effect.

According to NationalAccounts Statistics, approximate-ly 55 per cent of the working classare employed with informal sec-tors and are badly affected by thepandemic. Several Direct BenefitTransfers (DBT) covering morepeople are required to spice upthe demand. Earlier, economistslike Abhijit Banerjee and RathinRoy made strong argumentsfavoring such transfer by sayingthat providing income supportand preventing wealth disrup-

tions are necessary to cater to thisextraordinary situation. The pan-demic has hit the poor and a size-able section of the workers whodon't have any Social Security.While it's true that identifying theaffected population may be adifficult task, it'll not be impos-sible, either, using Aadhaar and acoordinated effort between cen-tral and state governments.Temporary income support forsix months through DBT can fur-ther augment consumption andaggregate demand.

Second, to stimulate the con-sumption demand, the govern-ment should provide employ-

ment guarantees to migrantlabourers. The MarginalPropensity of Consumption(MPC) of the lower-incomegroup is high and therefore, it willboost the market and help therevival of the economy. The mul-tiplier is directly related to MPC.Higher the MPC higher will bethe multiplier effect.

Third, the governmentshould attempt to tap the debtmarket by issuing COVID bondsat floating rates, assuming thatrates will be lower for some time.Because many significant funds,institutional and high net worthindividuals, may opt for an assured return (guaranteed by thegovernment of India) COVIDbond even at a relatively lower rate of interest. Part of the fiscal deficit can be monetised by borrowing from the RBI at a fixedrate lower than the repo rate anda longer duration (at least 10-year).

—The authors are Professorsof Economics, VIPS & Dhruv

Jain-Management student, DU)

Amusic video, Wafa Na RaasAayee, by T-Series featuringArushi Nishank, Himansh

Kohli and Rohit Suchanti wasreleased on April 23 on the officialYouTube channel. The song hasbeen sung by Jubin Nautiyal anddirected by Ashish Panda.

Wafa Na Raas Aayee marks thedebut of Arushi Nishank and wasshot in Kashmir. The internationalkathak exponent Arushi has per-formed in more than 15 countrieswithin 17 years. She said, “As theprime location was Srinagar, westarted early in the morning toavoid snowfall. It was really challeng-ing because of the weather but myco-actors Himansh and Rohit arevery fine actors and I have enjoyedmy journey. I worked hard inextreme climate condition as this ismy first project. Wafa Na RaasAayee is a beautifully-composedsong about heartbreak. I will alwayscherish the experience we had sincethe time I heard the song, to shoot-ing it in Kashmir to now presentingthe song to the audiences. Hope thatthe audience will love the track." Themusic video also features HimanshKohli, the Yaariyan actor.

Bhushan Kumar says, “This is asimple, melodious track that isbound to touch audiences. Wafa Na

Raas Aayee has been beautifullysung by Jubin Nautiyal and bothHimansh and Arushi have con-veyed the emotions of the track flaw-

lessly.”Talking about the song Jubin

says, “I love and connect with songsthat touch your heart and make you

reminisce about your love. Wafa NaRaas Aayee is a soulful compositionwith lyrics that make your heartwrench with sadness. It is not onlya song, it's a story and an artist canonly express art when it is comingfrom some truthful place."

Add Meet Bros, “Heartbreaksongs are the flavor of the season andthis one especially will pierce yourhearts as the melody is touching andat the same time simple and catchy.The video will make you cry forsure."

Arushi Nishank is also an envi-ronmentalist and is specially con-cerned about the wellbeing of riverGanga. She is a part of SparshGanga, which promotes environ-mental awareness about Ganga. Sheis an active promoter of NamamiGanga and works for womenempowerment.

In the wake of the presentpandemic situation, the

Kolkata Metro Railway hastaken several initiatives tomake commuters awareabout the importance of theuse of mask in stationpremises and trains.Posters and banners arebeing displayed at all Metrostat ions and frequentannouncements are beingmade through the PublicAddress System requestingpassengers to wear maskproperly, sanitise theirhands at a regular intervaland maintain social dis-tancing in the Metro

premises.The Metro RPF and

other station staff have beenconducting ‘No Mask - NoMetro’ campaign at Metro

platforms and also insidethe running Metros. Theyare requesting all com-muters to wear mask andco-operate with the Metro

Authority to fight againstthe spread of COVID-19virus. The commuters areappreciating this campaigntaken up by the Metro.

The Regional Office (South) ofPower Finance Corporation

Limited, Chennai, was inspected bythe Second Sub-Committee of theParliamentary Committee onRajbhasha in Bengaluru.

During the inspection, theCommittee appreciated the workdone by the Regional Office (South),Chennai and gave valuable sugges-tions.

On this occasion, senior officialsof Power Finance CorporationLimited Headquarters, New Delhi,

including Shri G. Jawahar, ChiefGeneral Manager (Rajbhasha), MrArun Kumar Srivastava, GeneralManager (Rajbhasha), Mr ArunGautam, Chief Manager(Rajbhasha) and Mr KevalaKrishna, Senior Counselor(Rajbhasha) along with ChiefGeneral Manager of RegionalOffice (South), Chennai, MrGaddam David, Deputy ManagerMr P Prakash and Mr K KManjunath, Officer, PFC werepresent.

Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghelresponded immediately to

the demands and directedCollectors to ensure free allot-ment of hand sanitisers and masksto mitanins and health workers.The announcement was madewhile addressing the virtual meet-ing of mitanins and health work-ers from Bastar and Sarguja divi-sion today. The Chief Minister hasdirected all the District Collectorsto ensure free of cost availabilityof masks and hand sanitisers formitanins and health workers.

The Chief Minister hasadvised all the mitanins andhealth workers to compulsorily

use masks and sanitisers duringthe field visits. Even while check-ing SPO2 level and pulse rate of

COVID patients, they have beenadvised to be careful about theirown safety and sanitisation.

The Chief Minister hasacknowledged and appreciatedthe dedicated and consistentefforts of mitanins and ruralhealth workers in Chhattisgarh tosave lives of COVID patients. Headded that the mitanins haveplayed an important role in sav-ing lives of COVID patients andin the prevention of Coronainfection during the second wavein the state. Baghel has advisedthem to regularly monitor thehealth condition of people intheir respective villages.

BJP’s massive victory in NorthernBengal became possible due to the

well-planned strategy of CabinetMinister Prahlad Singh Patel in coor-dination with the Prime Minister andthe rest of the team. The TMC couldnot open its seat in Darjeeling andAlipurdwar.

While Mamta Banerjee (known asDidi which means elder sister) has wonWest Bengal Assembly elections butthe massive victory of BJP in thenorthern part of West Bengal has lefther astounded. The Union Minister ofState for Culture and Tourism(Independent Charge) Prahlad SinghPatel, who was in charge of this area,worked hard at the ground level whichpaid off. Patel was in charge of 42assembly seats of Northern part ofWest Bengal and BJP won 25 of theseseats with a landslide victory.

In Darjeeling and Alipurdwar theTMC could not even open its accountas all the 10 seats were won by BJP.Though the contest was close in someconstituencies but all the stalwarts ofTMC lost election.

The strategy had been plannedwith the support of local leaders andparty workers to win each booth.Patel, along with his supporters andparty workers, organised several toursand performed road shows in the spe-cific areas and the hard work paid off.His strategy of chai par charcha, whichwas popularised by the Prime Minister,worked very well. It enabled him toconnect well with local populace anddiscuss local issues extensively. Hemade door to door visits and humblyappealed to the people to help the BJPcandidates win.

He worked with the same strate-gy in Phansideva assembly area wherehe organised a road show with theparty candidate and other prominentpeople of the area. A massive crowdwas during this where Patel appealedto the voters to support the BJP can-didate.

He organised a social programmein Upper Bagdogara where he said,“We will not tire till the time we winthe election.” Raju Bisht, Member ofParliament of Darjeeling, was also pre-sent. Patel also inspected the groundwhere PM Narendra Modi would visitfor a rally later.

Patel organised many meetingsand programmes in the Naxalbari areawhere he worked with the local lead-ers and supporters. He encouraged thelocal people by saying that their effortswill pay in the victory of BJP. AtGhoshpukur party office several villageheads and respected people regis-tered themselves on account of hishard work. BJP candidate AnandmayBurman won over the TMC candidateRajen Sundas with huge difference.

The Cabinet Minister not onlyinspected the rally ground in Siliguribefore the PM’s rally but also ensuredits success as lakhs of people were pre-sent. Patel showed his concerns aboutviolence at the Cooch Bihar electionbooth and criticised Mamta Banerjeefor it.

He visited the historical Devi

Chaudharani Temple. On seeing theburnt idols of Bhawani Pathak andDevi Chaudharani, he expressed hisconcern. This place was the epicentreof Sanyasi Revolution. He criticisedMamta for the dilapidated conditionof this temple and stated that she hadhumiliated the author, BankimChandra Chattopadhaya by not takingcare of this temple. Patel alsoannounced a mega event in his mem-ory.

Patel was not allowed to organiseroadshow in several areas of WestBengal so he either went back to hisoffice like he did in Shantipada orappealed to the voters during a footmarch. At Jalpaiguri Sadar assemblyarea Patel campaigned for the BJP can-didate Saujit Singh.

In Nagarakata Patel held a meet-ing with people and organised manyroad shows in Banarhaat assembly areaof Dhoopguri.

He was part of many rallies andpublic meetings which were addressedby Home Minister Amit Shah and MPof Coochbihar Nisith Pramanik. Patelvisited MJN Hospital in Cooch Biharto meet many injured party workerswho were wounded in a scuffle withthe TMC.

In Siliguri, Patel met with peopleof Gorkha community and patientlylistened to their problems andpromised that these would be eradi-cated when BJP came to power. Patelwas successful in winning over theconfidence of Gorkha people as BJPdefeated Bimal Gurung of GorkhaJanamukti Morcha even after the sup-port of TMC.

Patel listened to the problems ofthe labourers of tea gardens andassured them of eradicating everyproblem as well as implementation ofminimum wage as early as possible.

Patel attended a cultural pro-gramme just before Bengal electionwhere Governor Jagdeep Dhankharwas the chief guest. The DarjeelingMP, Raju Bisht and MLA NeerajTamang were also present.

After winning more than 50 percent seats in Northern Bengal, Patelhas proved his worth. Before this hewas in charge of Manipur electionwhere BJP registered a victory.

While the Bengal election was wonby TMC, the success of BJP can’t beignored. In the previous Assemblyelections, BJP could manage onlythree seats but this time the numberhas risen to 77. This is an increase ofmore than 200 per cent which showsthat BJP has fought assembly electionswith great valour and courage.

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Pep Guardiola saidManchester City’s first

ever Champions League finalhad been five years in themaking after Riyad Mahrez’sdouble saw off Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 on Tuesday toseal a 4-1 semi-final aggre-gate win.

City will look to set theseal on a third PremierLeague title in the past fourseasons in the coming daysas they remain on course fora treble, having already lift-ed the League Cup.

But their previous fourChampions League cam-paigns under Guardiola

ended in anguish before thesemi-final stage.

Guardiola has won thecompetition twice before asa coach during his time atBarcelona. However, theCatalan has also endured adecade of disappointmentin Europe’s premier clubcompetition since.

“It is for all of us and theclub. I’m incredibly proud,”said Guardiola. “Getting tothe final now makes sense ofwhat we have done in thepast four or five years. Everyday these guys have beenconsistent and this is remark-able.”

Mahrez’s goal also decid-ed the first leg and theAlgerian, who grew up in theParisian suburbs, hauntedhis home town team againwith two clinical finishesearly in each half.

The final in Istanbul onMay 29 against Real Madridor Chelsea is the culminationof City’s rise since an Abu

Dhabi takeover in 2008transformed the club’s for-tunes.

Meanwhile, four years

on from making Neymarand Kylian Mbappe theworld’s two most expensiveplayers, PSG’s wait for a first

Champions League title goeson.

Mbappe could onlywatch on from the stands

due to a calf injury as, justlike in last week’s first leg, hisside imploded after an excel-lent first-half performance.

The visitors were left torue huge missed chances byMarquinhos and Angel DiMaria in between Mahrez’sstrikes before Di Marialashed out at Fernandinho toleave PSG down to 10 menfor the final 20 minutes.

“We started really well,creating chances and domi-nating Manchester City,” saidPSG coach MauricioPochettino. “That’s not easy.Not many teams can domi-nate a team like ManchesterCity.”

However, the Argentine,who had to come onto thepitch to calm his playersafter Di Maria saw red,admitted his side’s indisci-pline had cost them.

Idrissa Gueye was alsosent off late in the first leg fora shocking challenge on IlkayGundogan.

“Over the 180 minutes,for 40 or 45 minutes weplayed with 10 men,” addedPochettino. “That’s a massiveadvantage.”

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The Englishmen were thefirst ones out with eight ofthem landing in London,

while the Australians awaited anescape to Maldives as the now-suspended IPL’s foreign recruitscharted their way back homeassisted by the BCCI onWednesday.

Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow,Sam Curran, Tom Curran, SamBillings, Chris Woakes, MoeenAli and Jason Roy landed inLondon to begin a 10-day quar-antine before heading to theirrespective homes. The leaguewas suspended indefinitely onTuesday after multiple Covid-19 cases in its bio-bubble.

England skipper EoinMorgan, Dawid Malan andChris Jordan are expected toboard a flight to London with-in the next 48 hours.

“I can confirm that 8 of the11 England players in Indiamanaged to get on a flight to

Heathrow last night and havelanded this morning,” anEngland and wales CricketBoard spokesperson said.

“They will now quarantinein Government approvedhotels. The remaining three —Jordan, Malan, Morgan —should leave India within thenext 48 hours,” he added.

The Australians, on theother hand, were still waiting toknow when they can fly out toMaldives, where they will stayfor a few days before flyinghome. The detour has beenforced by the AustralianGovernment’s travel ban onIndia till May 15 because of theexplosion of Covid-19 caseshere.

“All Australians are assem-bling in Delhi and from therethey will head to Maldives by acharter flight,” a franchise offi-cial told said.

CA’s interim chief NickHockley said the BCCI is help-ing in every possible way to

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The recently-suspended IPLwitnessed potential corrup-

tors plugging an accreditedcleaner at Delhi’s Feroz ShahKotla ground for doing “pitch-siding” which helps ball-to-ballbetting, BCCI Anti-CorruptionUnit chief Shabbir HussainShekhadam Khandwawala hasrevealed.

The new modus operandiwas observed during one of theIPL games at New Delhi wherea designated cleaner was usingthe time lag between actualmatch action and Live TV cov-erage to help in ball-by ball bet-ting, which is also known ascourt-siding or pitch siding.

Pitch-siding is the practiceof transmitting informationfrom sporting events for the pur-pose of gambling, or directlyplacing bets.

“One of my ACU officerscaught a person and handedover the details to Delhi Police.While that particular offendermanaged to flee leaving behindhis two mobile phones, ACUlodged a complaint with theDelhi Police,” Hussain, a formerDG of Gujarat Police, said onWednesday.

“We are thankful to DelhiPolice that in a separate incidentthey caught two other personsfrom the Kotla on ACU tip-off.”

The Delhi Police arrestedtwo people with fake accredita-tion cards during the IPL match

between Rajasthan Royals andSunRisers Hyderabad on May 2.

“So on two separate days,these people managed to getaccess to Kotla. The one whofled came in the garb of a clean-er. However, we have all hisdetails as he was employed forthe tournament. His AadharCard details have been handedover to Delhi Police,” Hussainsaid.

“I am confident that he willbe nabbed in a day or two. Heis a small fry working for a cou-ple of hundred or some thou-sand bucks may be,” the ACUsupremo said.

But he did agree that lower-rung staff might be used by abigger syndicate since, becauseof Covid-19, there is no accessto hotels given the bio-securemeasures.

“...As situations and cir-cumstances change, so does themodus operandi of crime. Butwe are up for it,” Hussaid said.

He also said that during theMumbai leg, the hotel in whichSunRisers Hyderabad team wasstaying had three people withquestionable past record andwhose names were there inACU database. However, theycouldn’t come in contact of theplayers. “The moment we hadinformation, we got in touchwith Mumbai Police. The PoliceCommissioner of Mumbai tookimmediate cognisance and theMumbai Police got hold ofthose three,” he added.

ensure a smooth return for the14 players, members of thecoaching staff and commenta-tors, who are in India right now.

“What the BCCI is workingto do is to move the entirecohort out of India where theywill wait until it’s possible toreturn to Australia,” Hockleytold reporters in Sydney.

“The BCCI has been work-ing on a range of options. That’snow narrowed down to theMaldives and Sri Lanka. TheBCCI is committed not only tothe first move but also to puttingon a charter to bring them backto Australia,” he added.

In another development,Chennai Super Kings battingcoach Michael Hussey, who test-ed positive on Tuesday night, willstay in India to serve out hisquarantine while others headback in the next few days.

‘TWEAKED FEW THINGS’Australia pacer Pat

Cummins feels the IPL organis-ers, in hindsight, could have‘tweaked a few things’ afterdeciding to host the league inIndia amidst a raging Covid-19pandemic.

Cummins, a key part of theKolkata Knight Riders team,said previous edition held inUAE was incredibly ‘well-run’and the organisers pushed it ‘lit-tle step further’ by organising itat home this year.

“Last year we had the IPLheld over in the UAE and thatwas an incredibly well-run tour-nament,” Cummins toldFoxsports.

“This year, they tried topush it that little step further andhave it over here in multiple citiesin India. I’m sure looking backthey might have tweaked a fewthings.”

Cummins, however, didn’tspecify what exactly could havebeen done differently in hiscomments.

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Pakistan batsmen Babar Azamand Fakhar Zaman were on

Wednesday nominated for theICC Player of the Month awardfor April following their stupen-dous performance in the limited-overs series against South Africa.

The ICC on Wednesdayannounced the nominees torecognise the best performancesfrom both male and female crick-eters across all forms ofInternational cricket and for thefirst time, the list didn’t featureany Indian.

Besides the Pakistan duo,Nepal batsman Khushal Bhurtelwas the other player to be nom-inated in the men’s category, theICC stated in a media release.

The nominees among thewomen’s cricketers comprisedthe Australian duo of AlyssaHealy and Megan Schutt andNew Zealand’s Leigh Kasperek.

Last month, Pakistan captainBabar had become the No 1ranked ODI batsman, endingIndia captain Virat Kohli’s longreign at the top of the charts.

Babar’s match-winning 82-ball 94 in the third ODI against

South Africa helped him gain 13rating points to reach a career-best 865 points.

He also contributed 122 from59 balls in Pakistan’s successfulchase in the third match of a T20Iseries against the same opposi-tion.

His compatriot Fakhar alsoproduced stellar performancesduring the month, scoring twocenturies in the ODI series vic-tory over South Africa, includinga magnificent 193 in the secondmatch in Johannesburg.

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Outgoing Bayern Munichtrainer Hansi Flick is the

hot favourite to becomeGermany’s next head coachafter receiving the backing ofOliver Bierhoff, who will ulti-mately decide Joachim Löw’sreplacement, in a podcast onWednesday.

Flick, Löw’s assistant coachwhen Germany won the 2014World Cup, has told Bayern hewants to leave at the end of the

season despite winning seventitles in the last 18 months.

Löw will step down after 15years in charge of Germanyafter the Euro 2020 finals andlast week the German FA (DFB)said they want to speak to Flickabout taking over.

In a podcast by Germandaily Bild, Bierhoff, director ofthe Germany team, replied “youcould say that” when asked ifFlick is his favourite to replaceLöw.

Bierhoff worked alongsideFlick as team manager in Löw’scoaching staff which master-minded Germany’s World Cuptriumph in Brazil seven yearsago. “Now the way is clear to talkto him. We know each othervery well and you don’t have tobe a great expert to say thatHansi would make an excellentnational team coach,” Bierhoffadded.

“Hansi Flick knows the(German Football) Association.He is someone who createsatmosphere and brings peopletogether.”

Bierhoff made it clear he isunder no time pressure to namea head coach before their WorldCup qualifiers in September.

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Fans will return to Premier League stadiums forthe season’s final two rounds of fixtures later this

month, subject to the UK Government’s expected eas-ing of lockdown restrictions.

Under the Government’s roadmap out of lock-down, crowds of up 10,000 or 25 percent of capac-ity will be permitted from May 17.

As a result, the Premier League has altered itsfixture schedule to ensure that each of the 20 teamsgets the opportunity to host at least one home matchwith a crowd.

“The Premier League has today confirmed thatthe final two Matchweeks of the 2020/21 season willbe limited to home fans, subject to the Governmenteasing lockdown restrictions in the United Kingdom,”the Premier League said in a statement onWednesday.

“Matchweek 37 will now be played on 18-19 May,with the final matches of the season kicking off at16:00 BST (1500GMT) on Sunday 23 May asplanned.”

No away fans will be allowed to ease operationalchallenges, but the English top-flight clubs are hope-ful of a return to full stadiums for the start of nextseason.

A crowd of 21,000 will see the FA Cup finalbetween Leicester and Chelsea on May 15.

Wembley is also set to host eight matches at Euro2020 with at least 25 percent capacity.

There is hope the crowd for the Euro semi-finalsand final could rise to 50 percent capacity at the90,000 seater home with a further easing of restric-tions expected across England on June 21.

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Ashleigh Barty will take onPaula Badosa in the semi-

finals of the Madrid Open afterbeating Petra Kvitova 6-1, 3-6,6-3 on Wednesday.

World No 1 Barty is chas-ing her fourth singles title of theyear after her triumph inStuttgart 10 days ago.

In the men’s draw, secondseed Daniil Medvedev, return-ing to the circuit afer testingpositive for Covid-19 in mid-April, picked up his first win onclay for two years when he cameback from a set down to beatAlejandro Davidovich Fokina 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Fifth seed Alexander Zverevswept past Kei Nishikori instraight sets 6-3, 6-2.

World number nine DiegoSchwartzman was dumped outby Aslan Karatsev 2-6, 6-4, 6-1.

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New Zealand cricketersinvolved in the now sus-

pended IPL, including captainKane Williamson, are likely toremain in India at least till May10 before flying to England fornational duty, their players’union chief said onWednesday.

The remaining players aswell as the support staff in var-ious IPL teams and commen-tators could return home bycharter flights arrange by thefranchises, New ZealandCricket Players’ Associationhead Heath Mills said.

Mills is expecting a revi-sion in the travel restrictionsfor incoming travellers fromIndia by the BritishGovernment.

Only British nationals

are allowed to travel fromIndia in the current sce-nario and they need toserve out a 10-day quaran-tine at a Governmentapproved facility.

“Due to the UK bor-der restrictions, thatgroup cannot getinto England untilMay 11. It is obvi-ously challengingfor them to waitfor another fewdays (in India),”Mills toldESPNcricinfo.

B e s i d e sWilliamson, theUK-bound groupincludes TrentBoult, KyleJ a m i e s o n ,Mitchell Santner,Chris Donaldson

(trainer), Tommy Simsek(physio), along withLockie Ferguson, JimmyNeesham and Finn Allen.

The last three willfeature in the T20 Blast in

the UK starting June9. Williamson willalso be a part ofThe Hundred, tobe played from

July 21.New Zealand

play England in atwo-match Test series,beginning on June 2,before they face Indiain the World TestChampionships finalsat Southampton fromJune 18.

Those returninghome from India areStephen Fleming,Brendon McCullum,

Kyle Mills, Shane Bond, MikeHesson, Tim Seifert, AdamMilne, Scott Kuggeleijn andJames Pamment.

Mill said a few franchisesare contemplating organising acharter flight for this group.

“The group going home toNew Zealand is a real chal-lenge. Might be one or two ofthe franchises might put themon a charter plane, which willbe fantastic,” he said.

“We’ll have that confirmedin the next 24 hours,” he added.

“But there still might beplayers who aren’t part ofthose groups and trying to getthem back via commercialairlines is a real challengebecause there aren’t too manyflights out of India.”

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

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