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Two days before lockdown4.0 ends, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi
and HomeMinister Amit Shah on Fridaydiscussed about the views
ofChief Ministers on furtheropening up several sectors ofeconomy
with strict social dis-tancing norms if the lockdownwere to be
continued beyondMay 31.
For the past three days, theHome Minister was collectinginputs
and suggestions from allChief Ministers. Highly placedofficials say
the Centre maygive more power to the Statesto decide on opening up
theeconomic activities and defin-ing containment zones.
Many Chief Ministers havereportedly preferred the con-tinuation
of the lockdown, butthere is a near consensus onopening up many
sectors aswell as malls and public trans-
ports, including metro services.
While all Chief Ministersurged the Home Minister tospeed up
economic activitiesand gradual return of publiclife, they also
expressed theirapprehension about beingflooded with surge of
patientswhen the country relaxes thestrict lockdown norms.
As per sources, two specialCovid-19 panels set up by theCentre
have submitted theirrecommendations for the exitstrategy. The
panels have sug-gested that the Centre shoulddo away with all
lockdowncurbs except keeping schools,colleges, movie halls and
reli-gious places closed till situationimproves.
The panel has also recom-mended not to reopen inter-State travel
and said that theefforts should be directedtowards strengthening
con-tainment measures in the
worst-hit districts.The worst-hit 13 districts
are: Municipalities of Mumbai,Chennai, Delhi/New
Delhi,Ahmadabad, Thane, Pune,Hyderabad, Kolkata/Howrah,Indore,
Jaipur, Jodhpur,Chengalpattu (Tamil Nadu)
and Thiruvallur (Tamil Nadu).These 13 districts are hav-
ing 70 per cent of the positive
cases in India. The Centre andthe States of these 13 cities
havealready decided a plan on thegeographical definition of
con-tainment zones.
The Home Minister alsoapprised the Prime Minister ofthe outcome
of the talksbetween the Cabinet Secretaryand 13
MunicipalCommissioners and DistrictMagistrates from the
sensitivecities.
The Central Governmentis expected to announce itsdecision on the
lockdown with-in the next two days. PrimeMinister may speak up on
thison May 31 scheduled “Mann KiBaat”, said officials.
At present, the currentlockdown rules prohibits open-ing up of
hotels, malls, public
transports in containmentszones.
There is expected to be adilution on this and shopsinside the
malls and hotelsmay be allowed to open withlimited number of
entries.
Meanwhile, West BengalChief Minister MamataBanerjee on Friday
said allreligious places will be allowedto open in the State from
June1 but not more than 10 peoplecan pray at a time.
“Temples, Gurudwaras,Mosques and all religiousplaces in the
State are closed.They will open from June 1 butnot more than 10
people will beallowed at any given point oftime. No assembly would
beallowed in religious places,”Mamata said.
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Deaths of large number batsdue to brain haemorrhage,caused by
excessive heat in thelast few days in Delhi, Biharand Uttar Pradesh
havesparked fears as bats are sus-pected to be linked to the
ori-gin of coronavirus in Wuhan inChina.
The forest department offi-cials suspect that bats are dyingdue
to rise in temperature andnon-availability of water as theheat has
dried up the lakes andponds in several parts of thecountry.
The post-mortem reportof the Indian VeterinaryResearch Institute
(IVRI) in
Bareilly said bats died due tobrain haemorrhage, caused
byexcessive heat in Gorakhpur’sBelghat area early this week.
IVRI Director RK Singhsaid there were no traces ofcoronavirus or
rabies in thedead bats. “The bats have ahigh immunity level and
are
not affected by any pathogen -- virus or bacteria -- thoughthey
can be carriers of thevirus,” he said.
Principal ChiefConservator of Forest, DelhiGovernment, Ishwar
Singh toldThe Pioneer that severe heat-wave could be the
reasonbehind death of bats but due tocoronavirus pandemic.
Thecaracass of these bats will besent for postmortem to knowthe
exact reasons of the death,he said.
The Animal HusbandryDepartment of the NDMC haspicked up the bat
remainsfrom the Motilal Nehru Margarea in Delhi to know theexact
reasons of the death.
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In yet another sensationalincident in Uttar Pradesh, apriest and
his son were founddead outside a temple inRasoolpur Sarai village
underthe limits of Nakhasa policestation in Sambhal district
onFriday.
The local residents sus-pected that the two were mur-dered, but
the local policeclaimed that investigationpointed that both the
priest andthe son committed suicide due
to depression and illness. Theysent the bodies for post-mortem
and were waiting forreport before heading furtherwith the
investigation.
Reports said that somelocal residents reached the Shivtemple in
Rasoolpur Sarai vil-lage for darshan on Fridaymorning when they
found thepriest missing.
As they went nearby tolook for him, they wereshocked to see both
the priestand with his son both werelying dead.
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India on Friday overtookChina in terms of corona-related
fatalities and racedtowards 5,000 death count evenas the number of
fresh casessaw third straight day of spikeswith Maharashtra, Delhi,
TamilNadu, Gujarat, West Bengal,Uttar Pradesh registering
hugenumbers.
India has reported a total of1,73,140 coronavirus cases and4,975
deaths till Friday after itreported 7,783 infections anda massive
264 death countfrom across the country onFriday. China which
hadreported the first Covid-19case in December last year
hasregistered over 82,995 cases andaround 4,634 deaths.
Data shows 10,652 peoplehave been treated and dis-charged so
far. The recoveryrate stands at 42.89 per cent.
According to the Ministry’swebsite, more than 70 per centof the
deaths are due to comor-bidities.
On Friday, Delhi, Haryana,Karnatakata, and Uttarakhandreported
biggest single dayspike as Covid-19 continued tospread viciously
across thecountry.
Maharashtra continue toremain headache for the
healthauthorities, as it contributedanother day of big spike
record-ing 2,682 positive cases onFriday, with Mumbai
alonecontributing a total of 35,458cases to the States
tally.Coronavirus has infected atotal 62,228 people in the
finan-
cial capital of the country. Thefatalities in the State have
shotup to 2,098.
Tamil Nadu, after slippingto the third position onThursday,
again disturbinglysurged ahead on Friday toacquire second slot
among theworst hit States. It witnessedhigh number of
coronavirus
cases at 874 taking the totalcount to 20,246 cases on Friday.At
least 9 people have died dueto coronavirus infection in theState
taking the death toll to157.
Delhi recorded its biggestspike in Covid-19 tally in sec-ond
consecutive day at 1,106fresh cases while the number ofactive
coronavirus patients
stood at 17,387. It witnessed 82deaths bringing the total
fatal-ities to 357 in the State.
The national Capital hadrecorded over 1,000 cases in aday for
the first time onThursday since the outbreak.
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The coronavirus-led disrup-tion of Indian economyslowed down the
GDP to 3.1per cent in January-March andto an 11-year low of 4.2
percent for the full fiscal 2019-20amid a drop in consumptionand
investment.
The slowdown is also resultof overall economic decelera-tion
even before theGovernment imposed a lock-down to curb the spread
ofCovid-19 infections fromMarch 25, 2020.
The GDP is expected tocontinue on the downwardjourney and gain
speed in thenext few quarters.
The GDP growth stood at5.7 per cent in the corre-sponding
quarter of 2018-19,according to data released by
National Statistical Office(NSO) on Friday.
The Indian economy grew
at 4.2 per cent during 2019-20as against 6.1 per cent in
2018-19.
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India on Friday denied thatPrime Minister NarendraModi and
President DonaldTrump recently held a tele-phonic talk over the
issue ofLadakh and China. This asser-tion came hours after
Trumpsaid he had spoken to Modiand “he is not in a good moodon what
is going on in China.”
Contradicting the USPresident’s claim, sources said,“There has
been no recentcontact between Modi and USPresident Trump. The last
con-versation between them was on4 April, 2020, on the subject
ofHydroxychloroquine.”
Meanwhile, DefenceMinister Rajnath Singh onFriday held a
telephonic con-versation with his US counter-part Mark T Esper at
the latter’srequest. The two Ministersbriefed each other on
therespective experience of fight-ing the Covid-19 pandemicand
vowed to continue theexcellent bilateral cooperationin this regard,
the DefenceMinistry said.
The two leaders reviewedprogress on various bilateraldefence
cooperation arrange-ments and expressed theircommitment to further
pro-
mote defence partnership. Tothis end, Singh invited Esper
tovisit India. Singh also accept-ed Esper’s condolence overlives
lost in eastern India dur-ing Cyclone Amphan recently,and briefed
him on India’srelief efforts. The two Ministersalso exchanged views
onregional developments ofshared security interest.
Trump made the remarksabout talking to Modi onThursday while
reiterating hisoffer to mediate between Indiaand China on what he
called a“big conflict” going on betweenthe two nations.
He was apparently refer-ring to the tension on the Lineof Actual
Control (LAC) inLadakh with four stand-offsnow on between the
armies ofIndia and China.
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Chhattisgarh’s first ChiefMinister Ajit Jogi suc-cumbed to
cardiac arrest in ahospital here on Friday at theage of 74, doctors
and his fam-ily members said.
Jogi suffered another car-diac arrest around 1.30 pm anddoctors
battled for over twohours to revive him but wereunsuccessful.
He breathed his lastaround 3.30 pm, said a medicalbulletin from
the ShreeNarayana Hospital.
Jogi, who was admitted tothe hospital on May 9 after aheart
attack, had slipped intocoma the next day.Condolences poured in for
theveteran politician.
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Renowned astrologer BejanDaruwalla died at a privatehospital
here on Fridayevening, his family said. Hewas 90.
While speculation was rifethat Daruwalla was admittedto Apollo
Hospital here a few
days ago after he tested posi-tive for coronavirus, his
sonNastur denied it, saying hisfather was being treated onlyfrom
pneumonia.
According to his website,Ganesha Speaks, he had pre-dicted that
Atal BihariVajpayee, Moraji Desai,Narendra Modi will
PrimeMinister.
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Kolkata: West Bengal FireServices Minister Sujit Bosehas tested
positive for coro-navirus, making it the firstsuch case in the
MamataBanerjee-led State Cabinet, awell-placed source in
theGovernment said on Friday.Bose has been advised toundergo home
quarantineafter his test results came.
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China on Friday rejectedUS President DonaldTrump’s offer to
“mediate”between India and China toend their border standoff,
say-ing the two countries are capa-ble of properly resolving
theirdifferences through dialogueand did not require the help ofa
“third party.”
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As lockdown 4.0 ends onSunday, the DelhiGovernment recommendedto
the Union Home Ministryfor lockdown 5.0 as the num-ber of Covid
cases in thenational Capital rose by 1,106with total tally touching
17,387and 82 people dying on Friday.
The Delhi Governmentbelieves that places wherelarge gatherings
take place, likecinema halls, should remainclosed. “Schools and
collegesshould also remain closed,”said Health Minister
SatyenderJain.
The Delhi Governmentwants to speed up all eco-nomic activities
and for thisthe Government had allowedDTC to resume operations
keeping social distancing, busstation hygiene, sanitisation
ofbuses, autos and cabs in mind.
While the decision onmetro is pending but the CityGovernment
wants DMRC tostart its operations.
During discussion withUnion Home Minister Amit
Shah, Delhi Chief Minister isreported to have requested forthe
resumption of Metro ser-vices.
“The Delhi Governmenthas put a request before Centrefor Delhi
Metro. The CentralGovernment will take the call,”a Government
official said.
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Haryana Chief SecretaryKeshni Anand Arora onFriday directed the
Agriculturedepartment and district admin-istrations to take all
necessaryprecautions in advance to tack-le any potential attack of
locustswarms in the state. The chiefsecretary gave the
directionswhile presiding over a reviewmeeting regarding
monitoringand control of locusts in Haryana
with officers of the Agriculturedepartment and other
concerneddepartments here.
During the meeting,Additional Chief Secretary,Agriculture and
FarmersWelfare department, SanjeevKaushal said that Haryana hasalso
been put on high alert afterinsect attacks have been report-ed in
neighbouring Rajasthan.Special supervision teams havebeen
constituted to tackle thesituation and spread the aware-
ness about the same across thestate, Kaushal said.
Further to control thelocust attack, adequate stock ofpesticides
have been madeavailable through HAFED andHaryana Land
Reclamationand Development Corporationand farmers can get the
prod-ucts from these agencies ifrequired, he said. The
officialadded that after locust swarmsattacked crops in
neighbouringRajasthan and few other states,
nine districts in Haryana wherethe insect attack is expectedhave
been put on high alert andadequate arrangements havebeen made in
advance to tack-le any attack.
Kaushal said that theAgriculture department hasstocked enough
pesticides andinsecticides and has alsoformed a farmers'' group
onWhatsApp. The farmers havealso been asked to remain vig-ilant
about locusts, he said. He
informed that though the locustswarms have not entered thestate
till now, all necessary pre-cautions are being taken inadvance
including activation oftractor mounted spraying facil-ities and
constituting a responseteam for close monitoring oflocust control
activities.
Along with this, deputycommissioners have been askedto
coordinate and hold dailymeetings with the response teamfor quick
mobilisation, he said.
The chief secretary wasapprised that Agriculturedepartment
officers are in reg-ular touch with JodhpurCentral Institute for
LocustWarning (Locust WarningOrganisation) for gatheringnecessary
details about theswarms'' movement.
Locusts, popularly knownas "tiddi dal", are
short-hornedgrasshoppers with highlymigratory habits and vora-cious
feeding behaviour.
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Himachal Chief Minister JaiRam Thakur on Fridayurged the Union
Governmentto convert Chaudhary SarwanKumar Himachal PradeshKrishi
Vishwavidalaya (CSKH-PKV), Palampur into CentralAgriculture
University for thebenefit of the entire NorthWestern Himalayan
Region.
In a letter written to theUnion Agriculture MinisterNarendra
Singh Tomar, theChief Minister said that aCentral Agriculture
Universitywas established at Imphal inManipur in 1993 with
con-stituent colleges in six States ofNorth-Eastern
HimalayanRegion. He said that in 2014the Union Governmentplanned to
open one moreCentral Agriculture Universityat Pusa in Bihar.
Thakur said that the NorthWestern Himalayan Region ofthe country
with a populationof 3.1 crore and area 3,31,953square kilometers
comprisethe Union Territories of Jammuand Kashmir and Ladakh andthe
States of Himachal Pradeshand Uttrakhand. He said thatthe region
being rich in biodiversity and natural resources
like minerals, water and forestswas suited for cultivation
ofvarious crops.
He said that HimachalPradesh being a key State inthis region and
major riverbasins like Satluj, Ravi, Beas,Chenab and Yamuna fall in
theState and the State offers hugepotential in agriculture
andallied sectors, the existence ofan institute of higher
learningand research in the form ofCentral Agriculture
Universitywould go a long way to bringmuch needed prosperity to
thepeople of the entire North-Western Himalayan Region.
Chief Minister said thatChaudhary Sarwan KumarHimachal Pradesh
KrishiVishwavidalaya, Palampur wascentrally located and well
con-nected by air, road and rail. Hesaid that it has adequate
exist-ing infrastructure and sprawlingcampus of about 615
hectareswith constituent colleges ofAgriculture, Veterinary
andAnimal Sciences, CommunityScience and Basic Sciencesincluding a
network of about 12regional research stations/substations and eight
Krishi VistarKendras located on 233 hectaresof land in different
agro-climaticzones of the State.
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Haryana, PrincipalAccountant General(Accounts and
Entitlement)Office has launched an onlinegrievance redressal system
forcases related to pension revi-
sion of State Government pen-sioners.
Principal AccountantGeneral, Vishal Bansal onFriday said the
facility hasbeen started to resolve thecases related to revision
ofpension by the Drawing andDisbursing Officer concerned,who will
send their informa-tion to the Accountant GeneralOffice through
online process.
He said that AccountantGeneral's Office will send thepension
authority online tothe Drawing and DisbursingOfficer, Treasury
andPensioner.
In addition, the pensionerscan also obtain the pensionauthority
through user ID cre-ated at their own level. For thisfacility,
pensioners will have toregister themselves on this sys-tem.
Bansal said further pen-sioners can also contact on thetoll free
number 18001023292and can also register theircomplaint on the
online grievance redressal systemthrough their mobile num-bers.
He said that the pensionerwill be informed about thegrievance
redressal on hismobile as well as the grievanceredressal
system.
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From Page 1The other districts which reported cases were Palwal
(7), two
new cases each from Nuh and Bhiwani; one each fromPanchkula,
Sirsa and Kurukshetra; three cases each fromNarnaul, five new cases
each from Hisar, Rewari and CharkhiDadri; seven new cases from
Kaithal. Total numbers of activeCovid-19 cases in the state are
762, while 940 patients have recov-ered.
The State has a recovery rate of 54.62 per cent, fatality rateat
1.10 per cent while tests per million being conducted are 4,376,the
bulletin said. According to the bulletin, Haryana has
tested1,10,940 people, out of which 1, 05, 169 were found negative
whilereports of 4,050 samples were awaited.
As many as 59 patients walked out of hospital from differ-ent
districts of the State on Wednesday. So far, 940 patients havebeen
cured and discharged from hospitals in Haryana, includ-ing the 14
Italian nationals.
Meanwhile, with a sharp increase in the number of coronavirus
cases in Delhi-NCR, Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij onFriday
suggested that the lockdown should continue beyond May31 and
justified the strictness at the Delhi border, saying a freemovement
will lead to a surge in corona virus cases in the state.
Vij said, “If you ask my personal opinion, strictness will
haveto be maintained. Giving more relaxations at this stage can
leadto increase in cases. Because the stage at which corona virus
isright now, need of the hour is that lockdown should be
extend-ed.”
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SAD on Friday took the issueof alleged multi-crore seedscam in
Punjab with the Centre.Party’s MP and the Union FoodProcessing
Industries MinisterHarsimrat Kaur Badal has urgedthe Union
Agriculture andFarmers’ Welfare MinisterNarendra Singh Tomar to
deputea central team to Punjab toconduct an impartial probe intothe
intra-state ‘Seed Scam’.
At the same time, she hasalso recommended suitableaction to save
farmers who hadbeen duped by being sold spu-rious breeder seeds of
paddy atthree times their cost. She hasalso urged that the case be
for-warded to the CBI for a thoroughprobe.Harsimrat, who wrote
tothe Agriculture Minister on theissue, said that a massive
seedscam had been detected inPunjab which besides affectingthe
livelihood of farmers in theneighbouring states, could
havepan-India ramifications also.
“Unscrupulous elementsplaying with the lives of farmersshould be
stopped in their tracksimmediately…there is a need tosafeguard the
interests of farm-ers”, she said.
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Shimla:Himachal Governmenthas given status of second lan-guage
to Sanskrit and nowefforts should be made to makeit more practical
and simple sothat it could be popularizedamongst the masses,
ChiefMinister Jai Ram Thakur saidon Friday.
After releasing theNewsletter of H.P. Board ofSchool
EducationDharamshala, the ChiefMinister said that the effort ofthe
Board in bringing out theNewsletter in Hindi, Sanskritand English
was indeed laud-able.
He said the Governmentwas committed to ensure thatstudies of the
students do notsuffer due to lockdown in thewake of corona
pandemic,adding that the DoordarshanGianshala Programme has
alsobeen launched by the StateGovernment to provide hometeaching
facility to the students.
Thakur also felt the need topromote moral education,vedic maths
and vocationaleducation in school curricu-lum. PNS
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���������������D�!4Chandigarh: In an advisory
issued to the State’s jewellers,banks, gold loan companies
aswell as other establishmentsdealing in cash, the police hasasked
them to ensure that peo-ple entering their premises musttake off
their mask or face cov-ering once in front of a CCTVcamera to
prevent robberies.
The police also urged peo-ple to share information aboutthose
claiming to offer “gen-uine” movement passes amidthe ongoing
lockdown inreturn for money. DirectorGeneral of Police (DGP)
ManojYadava has ordered all districtpolice chiefs to ensure that
jew-ellers, banks, gold finance com-panies etc. in their
respectivejurisdiction display the advi-sory asking people to
removetheir mask in front of theirestablishments. The DGP in
astatement here informed thatwearing of face mask at workand public
places has beenmade compulsory by the gov-ernment in view of the
Covid-19 pandemic.
“Now, with the gradualopening up of the lockdown,there is a
possibility of crimi-nal elements taking advantageof the difficult
times by wear-ing face masks. Not onlyknown habitual offenders,
butnew criminals could alsoindulge in anti-social activitieslike
theft/robbery,” Yadava said.
“If any unfortunate inci-dent happens, the criminals canbe
apprehended with the helpof the photograph captured inthe CCTV
cameras,” he added. PNS
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Violation of Covid-19 safetynorms are all set to cost
theviolators dear in Punjab with theState Government enhancingthe
penalties for violating theinstructions and guidelinesissued to
contain the spread ofthe novel coronavirus.
So, the next time you stepout of your house, make sure towear a
mask and abide thesocial distancing norms as theviolators will have
to shell outfine, ranging between �500and �3,000.
As per the latest order bythe state Health and FamilyWelfare
Department, the penal-ties, imposed by the state gov-ernment vide
order dated May15, 2020, have been enhanced“for better management
andcontrol of Covid-19”.
According to the order,issued by the Director HealthServices
Avneet Kaur, a penal-ty of Rs 500 has been fixed forthose who don't
wear a mask inpublic places or for spitting ina public place.
For violating home quar-antine instructions, a fine of�2,000
will be imposed on theviolators. A penalty of �2000will also be
imposed for vio-
lating social distancing normsby owners of shops or com-mercial
places, and also for vio-lating social distancing normsby car
owners.
However, for violating thesocial distancing norms by theowner of
buses, they have topay a fine of �3000, while forthe same violation
in auto rick-shaws or two-wheelers, thefine has been fixed at
�500.
“The Government hasenhanced the penalties in caseof violation of
instructions andguidelines issued to contain thespread of
coronavirus to fur-ther strengthen the manage-ment and control of
Covid-19,”said the state Health MinisterBalbir Singh Sidhu, in
thehigh-powered review meetingof Health Department.
Taking cognizance of vio-lation reports about theinstructions
and guidelinesconcerning the Covid-19 acrossthe State, Sidhu
pointed outthat penalties need to beenhanced and made morestringent
to keep Punjab safefrom the claws of pandemic.
The Minister made it clearthat an officer, not below thepost of
Block development andPanchayat Officer (BDPO), NaibTehsildar, and
any official autho-rized by the DeputyCommissioners, can impose
thepenalties under the provisions ofEpidemic Disease Act, 1897.
“The non-payment of fineby the violators will attract
legalaction under section 188Indian Penal Code (IPC) as
perregulations framed under the
Epidemic Disease Act, 1897,”said the Minister.
CHANDIGARH SET TOSLAP FINE FOR NOTWEARING MASKS
With neighboring Punjaband Haryana Governments slap-ping fine on
citizens for notwearing masks in public spacesto stave off the
spread of Covid-19, the ChandigarhAdministration may too
followsuit.
While it is mandatory forthe residents to wear a mask orcloth to
cover their faces inpublic places in Chandigarh byan order issued
by UTAdministration on April 9,violations are reported everyday in
the city.
Manoj Parida, Adviser toUT Administrator told ThePioneer “With
several statesimposing the penalty on peo-ple for not wearing mask,
theUT Administration is consid-ering the same. “The finaldecision
in this regard will betaken by the UT AdministratorVP Singh
Badnore,” he said.
Both Punjab and HaryanaGovernments have issued noti-fications
for imposing fine of�500 each for not wearingmask and spitting in
public.
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Punjab Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh on Fridaywelcomed the
Supreme Court’sorder on charging no faresfrom migrant workers,
pro-viding them with food andensuring they don't travel byfoot.
“I am happy that Punjabhas been following these as amandate.
Let's do our best tohelp the needy amidst unprece-dented #Covid-19
crisis,” tweet-ed the Chief Minister.
As of now, Punjab hasfacilitated the journey of morethan 4.84
lakh migrant work-ers through 375 special trainsmaking it amongst
the ‘bestperforming states’ in thisregard. “We would run ninemore
trains tomorrow fromdifferent locations across theState,” said the
nodal officer andPrincipal Secretary (PWD)Vikas Pratap.
Pratap said that already, the
Chief Minister has directedthe State Government to doeverything
possible to ensurethat no migrant worker facesany hardship in
Punjab, espe-cially on account of travellingback to his home
state.
Sufficient trains wouldkeep running on need-basedassessment
carried to ensure allthose who want to return areunited with their
families in ahassle-free manner, he saidadding that the
StateGovernment would continue torun these trains till needed.
As many as 375 SpecialShramik Trains have been runfrom the State
since May 5 tillnow.
The assessment has beencarried out to review the mas-sive
efforts till now and to havea fair idea about trains neededin the
coming days, he added.
Out of total 375 SpecialShramik Trains run so far, asmany as 226
trains have goneto Uttar Pradesh, with anoth-er 123 taking migrants
to Bihar,followed by nine to Jharkhand,seven to Madhya Pradesh
andthree to Chhatisgarh and twofor West Bengal.
One train each has gone to
Maharashtra, Andhra Prasesh,Manipur, Tamil Nadu
andUttrakhand.
Notably owing to proactivearrangements of food and shel-ter
provided by State, lakhs ofmigrants have willingly decid-ed to stay
back in Punjab dur-ing lockdown.
The State Government hasalready spent Rs 26 crores tillnow in
form of cost of thesetrain operations, which arebeing run by the
DeputyCommissioners in collabora-tion with the railway authori-ties
of Ferozepur and AmbalaDivision.
Ludhiana ranks first withmaximum 188 trains beingrun from there,
followed byJalandhar (76), Amritsar (29),Patiala (24), Mohali
(23)besides Ferozepur (15), Doraha(7), Sirhind (6), Bathinda
(3),Gurdaspur (2), and one eachfrom Hoshiarpur, andPathankot.
The state government hasgone the extra mile to mitigatetheir
sufferings of workers andfood, water and other essentialshave also
being provided to allthose travelling back home fortheir
journey.
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With Punjab on Fridayreporting 20 coronaviruspositive cases
having source ofinfection from other states,the state Health and
FamilyWelfare Minister Balbir SinghSidhu asserted that there was
aneed to reduce the domesticflights especially from Mumbaiand
Ahmedabad where highernumbers of Covid-19 caseshave been reported
to containthe spread of contagion in theState.
“Most of the cases report-ed in Punjab are having thetravelling
history from otherStates and countries. So as toprevent the
community spreadlevel, there is a need to putfocus on passengers,
especial-ly coming from high risk statesand countries,” said Sidhu
whilepresiding over theDepartment’s review meeting.
The Minister said that hewould discuss this key issuewith the
Chief Minister in theCabinet Meeting to be held onSaturday.
Notably, the state reported39 fresh cases on Friday, ofwhich 23
have source of infec-tion from outside Punjab — 21from other states
and two fromforeign countries.
Sidhu said that Punjab hasregistered only 2.8 percent pos-itive
cases among 72,468 sam-ples. “It is on record that only
151 positive persons (notknown) in the State don’t haveany
travel history. Of the 99.9percent contact tracing, 1476persons
with travel historyhave been found positive,which is about eight
percent,”he said.
At the same time, theMinister issued the instructionsto ensure
maximum samplingof passengers to trace theaffected persons.
The Minister said that the
State would conduct a thor-ough audit of all deaths to fur-ther
control the death rate inPunjab. “So far, 40 unfortunateinstances
have been reported,occurring mostly in patientsover 50 years.
Almost all wereafflicted with serious underly-ing illness like
end-stage kidneydisease and Cancer, HIVbesides uncontrolled
diabetesand high blood pressure,” hesaid/
Sidhu instructed theDirector Health Services DrAvneet Kaur to
table the file ofvacant posts of Medical andparamedical staff, that
wouldbe put up in the next Cabinetmeeting to overcome the short-age
of staff.
“Earlier, the people didn’thave the faith in the
HealthDepartment. But, with thequality health services provid-ed by
the State Government inthe health establishments, nowthey have full
faith in statehealthcare services,” he said.
The Minister also asked theofficers present in the meeting
tofurther strengthen the manage-ment and control of Covid-19.He
added that the Governmenthas enhanced the penalties incase of
violation of instructionsand guidelines issued to containthe spread
of corona virus.
The Civil Surgeons havebeen directed to strictly
ensurecompliance of guidelines intheir jurisdiction, he added.
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The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) on Fridayissued separate
ProvisionalAttachment Orders attachingassets worth USD 50.90
million(equivalent to �385.44 crore) ofaccused Rajiv Saxena
underPrevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA) inAgusta Westland
chopper scamand Moser Baer Bank Fraudcase.
The attached assets includea villa in upscale Palm
Jumeirah,Dubai worth 20 million AEDand balances in five Swiss
bankaccounts amounting to USD45.55 million of Saxena.
Saxena was deported toIndia from UAE on January 31last year for
his involvement inthe multi-crore VVIP chopperscam and was arrested
underPMLA.
Investigations under PMLAwere initiated by ED on thebasis of
separate FIRs registeredby CBI in connection with theAgusta
Westland ChopperScam and Moser Baer BankFraud cases.
The CBI had registered theAgusta Westland chopper scamunder IPC
Sections relating tocriminal conspiracy and cheat-ing besides
relevant provisionsof the Prevention of CorruptionAct against
former Air ChiefMarshal SP Tyagi and others.
The CBI had registered aseparate FIR against MoserBaer India
Ltd. and its Directors,unknown public servants andunknown private
persons underIPC Sections relating to crimi-nal conspiracy, forgery
andcheatings and provisions ofPrevention of Corruption Act ina bank
fraud case.
“Investigation under PMLA
revealed that accused RajivSaxena is a Hawala operator
andaccommodation entry providerwho runs the accommodationentry
business in Dubai throughnumerous companies known asMatrix Group
companies andhas laundered proceeds of crimein the cases of Agusta
WestlandChopper Scam and Moser BaerBank Fraud case,” the ED saidin
a statement.
Saxena created structuresfor laundering proceeds ofcrime
generated by accused ofboth cases either for the kick-backs in
Agusta Westland caseor defrauding banks by mis-util-ising the loans
given to MoserBaer India Ltd and its sub-sidiaries. Saxena manages
theproceeds of crime and taintedfunds of many high profile andhigh
net worth individuals.
In the case of Agusta Westland helicopterscam, Letter of Request
to SwissConfederation was sent torestrain his Swiss bank
accountsand ensure that Saxena did notshift/transfer/dispose-off
thesuspected proceeds of crime.Saxena has admitted to laun-dering
the proceeds of crime notonly of Agusta Westland dealbut also
various other defencedeals.
The proceeds of crime havealso been transferred to the per-
sonal accounts of Rajiv Saxenaand his wife Shivani Saxena(also
an accused in AgustaWestland case).
In Moser Baer Bank fraudcase, proceeds of crime belong-ing to
Deepak Puri, amountingto USD 16.33 million have alsobeen
attached.
The accounts of Moser BaerIndia Ltd. were classified as
aNon-Performing Asset in theyear 2014. “Investigation in thecase
has revealed that the pro-ceeds of crime generated byDeepak Puri
out of bank fraud were received and kept by Rajiv Saxena till 2018
throughaccounts maintained forDeepak Puri and also equity hasbeen
transferred from an undisclosed entity based inBahamas. From the
analysis ofdigital evidences and accountsof Puri family maintained
bySaxena,, it was revealed that theamount of USD 16.33 million
isproceeds of crime in the hands of Saxena belonging toDeepak Puri
and is parked inthe accounts of companies ofMatrix Group,” the
agency said.
Likewise, proceeds of crimebelonging to Ratul Puri, nephewof
Congress leader Kamal Nath,and transferred to Rajiv Saxenafrom an
undisclosed foreignentity have also been attached.
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Underlying ailments arealready known to haveexpedited the
Covid-19 attack.However, now the researchershave found that one in
tenCovid-19 patients suffering withdiabetes dies within 7 days
ofhospital admission, and one infive is intubated and mechani-cally
ventilated.
Age, though, is the biggestdetermining risk factor for
deathamong those with either form ofdiabetes who get Covid-19,
saidthe researchers as they foundthat two-thirds (65 per cent )
ofCovid-19 patients with diabetesadmitted to hospital are men,and
the average age of allpatients is 70 years.
Under-40s have a very lowrisk compared with those over40, and
especially comparedwith older, said the researchersin their study
published inDiabetologia (the journal of theEuropean Association
for theStudy of Diabetes [EASD]).
The findings hold impor-tance for India which is knownas
diabetes capital of the World.There are around 50 millionpeople
with diabetes in Indiawhose number is likely to touchto 87 million
by 2030, becauseof various reasons, sedentarylifestyle being the
major one.
Professor Bertrand Cariouand Professor Samy
Hadjadj,diabetologists at l'institut duthorax, University
HospitalNantes, INSERM, CNRS, andUniversity of Nantes, France,and
colleagues in their studysaid that blood sugar controldid not seem
to impact apatient's outcome, however thepresence of diabetic
complica-tions and increasing ageincrease the risk of death,
andincreased BMI is associatedwith both increased risk ofneeding
mechanical ventila-tion and with increased risk ofdeath.
The study analysed 1,317patients admitted to 53 Frenchhospitals
(public and private)between 10 and 31 March 2020.The majority of
hospitalisedsubjects had type 2 diabetes (89per cent) (caused by
sedentarylifestyle) while only 3 per centhad type 1 diabetes
(autoim-mune factor), with other typesof diabetes in the
remainingcases. In 3% of cases, diabeteswas actually diagnosed
duringhospitalisation for Covid-19.
Microvascular complica-tions (eye, kidney and nerves)were found
in 47 per cent of thesubjects in the study, whilemacrovascular
complications(arteries of the heart, brain,legs) were present in 41
percent. Across all patients, by day7 one in five (20.3 per cent)
hadbeen intubated and placed ona ventilator in intensive care,and
one in 10 (10.3 per cent)had died. A further 18 per cent
had been discharged home atthis point.
The presence of microvas-cular or macrovascular com-plications
each more than dou-bled the risk of death at dayseven. Advanced age
also sub-stantially increased the risk ofdeath, with the group
ofpatients aged 75 years andmore than 14 times more like-ly to die
than younger patientsaged under 55 years, while
patients 65-74 years old werethree times more likely to diethan
those under 55 years.
The presence of the respi-ratory condition obstructivesleep
apnoea almost tripledthe risk of death at 7 days, asdid the
presence of dyspnoea symptoms (shortness ofbreath).
The study also confirmedthat insulin, and indeed alltreatments
for modifying
blood sugar, are not a risk fac-tor for severe forms of Covid-19
and should be continued inpatients with diabetes.
Encouragingly, there wereno deaths in patients under 65years old
with type 1 diabetes,but the authors highlight therewere only 39
patients with type 1 diabetes in this studyand other work is
ongoing toestablish the effect of Covid-19in this specific
population.
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Persons with intellectual anddevelopmental disabilities(IDD) are
more likely to diefrom Covid-19 than those with-out IDD, according
toresearchers from SyracuseUniversity and SUNY UpstateMedical
University. More so,because usually individuals withIDD have a
higher prevalence ofcomorbid circulatory, respira-tory, and
endocrine diseases.
Published inScienceDirect's Disability andHealth Journal, the
study saysthat the disparity is likelyrelated to a higher
prevalenceof comorbid diseases amongthose with IDD, and/or ahigher
percentage of peoplewith IDD are living in con-gregate residential
settings.
IDDs are disorders that
are usually present at birth andthat negatively affect the
tra-jectory of the individual'sphysical, intellectual,
and/oremotional development. Manyof these conditions affect
mul-tiple body parts or systems..
The study, "Intellectualand Developmental Disabilityand Covid-19
Case-FatalityTrends: TriNetX Analysis,"included 30,282 people
whowere identified as Covid-19positive in the TriNetX Covid-19
Research NetworkPlatform.
“More attention is neededto this vulnerable health pop-ulation
in order to ensuretheir safety and well-beingduring this pandemic,
includ-ing careful attention to theimpact of public policies suchas
PPE prioritisation andfunding streams on the abili-
ty of residential serviceproviders to guarantee quali-ty care
during this time," saidresearcher Scott Landes.
He is an associate profes-sor of sociology at
SyracuseUniversity's Maxwell School ofCitizenship and Public
Affairsand a research affiliate for theLerner Center for
PublicHealth Promotion.
The study was conductedby Landes and threeresearchers from
SUNYUpstate Medical Center inSyracuse, N.Y.: Dr. MargaretTurk,
professor of physical medicine and reha-bilitation; Dr.
MargaretFormica, associate professor ofpublic health and
preventativemedicine and associate pro-fessor of urology ;
andKatherine Goss from theDisability & Health Research
Team.Every individual in this
study had Covid-19, so ratesare case-fatality rates that gavethe
researchers an idea of theseverity of the disease amongboth groups.
Among ages 0-17, for every 100 individualswith Covid-19, 1.6 with
IDDdied and less than one withoutIDD died. Among ages 18-74,for
every 100 individuals withCovid-19, 4.5 with IDD diedcompared to
2.7 without IDD.Rates were similar for those 75and over - for every
100 indi-viduals with Covid-19, 21.1with IDD died and 20.7 with-out
IDD died.
The researchers also foundthat individuals with IDD hada higher
prevalence of comor-bid circulatory, respiratory,and endocrine
diseases acrossall age groups.
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In just two months since thelockdown was imposed tocontain the
Covid-19 infection,the pandemic has left theIndian private
healthcare sec-tor gasping for survival, a sur-vey said on Friday
adding thatthe healthcare facilities in thecountry have witnessed
at least80 per cent fall in average rev-enue.
The survey was conductedby healthcare industry bodyNATHEALTH in
251 healthcarefacilities across 9 states and 69cities to assess the
impact ofCOVID-19 on the domestichealthcare industry
especiallyamong small and medium-sizedhospitals, which are now
facing
existential challenges post thelockdown from March 4, 2020.
The findings showed that 90per cent of the surveyed health-care
facilities are facing financialchallenges with 21 per
centfacilities facing an existentialthreat.
According to the survey,hospitals in tier 1 and tier 2 citiesare
experiencing a 78 per centreduction in OPD footfalls, anda drop of
79 per cent in in-patient admissions.
The study found that 90 percent of organisations requiresome
form of financial assis-tance.
The findings indicated thateven after the lockdown lift,
thesituation will remain difficult forthe hospitals and nursing
homes
as patients will hesitate from vis-iting hospitals.
Dr Sudarshan Ballal,President NATHEALTH, saidthere is a need to
address the on-going challenges faced by theIndian Healthcare
industry.“Low financial performance,shutdown of OPDs, prohibitionon
elective surgeries, and ban oninternational travel have led tolow
footfalls from national andinternational patients in the lastthree
months,” he said..
Besides this, Covid-19 out-break has significantly impact-ed
cash flow in all organizations.There is a need for a
stimuluspackage to revive the Indianhealthcare industry These
mea-sures will be crucial to imple-ment to provide much needed
relief to the healthcare sectorwhich is the frontline defense
inthis fight against Covid, sug-gested Ballal.
The survey findings indicatethat even after the lockdown
lift,the situation will remain difficultfor the hospitals and
nursinghomes as patients will hesitatefrom visiting hospitals.
Hospitalsare working towards adapting tomodern healthcare
techniquesand are providing consultationthrough telemedicine, but
theproblem related to OPD footfallwill remain for some time.
“Theother challenge of increase incost of operations is also a
majorconcern given more stringenthygiene and
containmentrequirements post Covid,” saidthe NATHEALTH
President.
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Indian Army's Major SumanGawani, who served as apeacekeeper with
the UnitedNations Mission in SouthSudan (UNMISS) in 2019, hasbeen
selected for the presti-gious “United Nations MilitaryGender
Advocate of the yearAward.”
She will receive the awardfrom the UN Secretary GeneralAntonio
Guterres during anonline ceremony being organ-ised at the UN
Headquarters,New York on Friday on the occa-sion of international
day ofUnited Nations Peacekeepers,the Army said here on Friday.She
will be receiving this awardalong with a Brazilian Naval offi-cer
Commander Carla Monteirode Castro Araujo.
Major Gawani served as amilitary observer in UNMISSfrom November
2018 toDecember 2019 where she wasthe principal focal point of
contact for gender issues for mil-itary observers in the
mission.“The officer encouraged partic-ipation in joint military
patrolsto maintain gender balance,irrespective of the
hardshipsunder extreme field conditions,”the Army said adding she
also strived to inte-grate gender perspective into theplanning and
military activity inthe mission.
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The United Nation’s Foodand AgricultureOrganization (FAO)
haswarned that several successivelocusts invasions are
expecteduntil July in Rajasthan witheastward surges across
north-ern India as far as Bihar andOdisha followed by
westwardmovements and a return toRajasthan on the changingwinds
associated with the mon-soon. In its latest update, theFAO said
locust swarms havemoved into northern India butthere are less
chances of migra-tory pest to reach southernparts of India, Nepal,
andBangladesh.
The Directorate General ofCivil Aviation ( DGCA) alsoissued an
operation circular forstakeholders like pilots andengineers saying
locust pose athreat to aircraft in the criticallanding and takeoff
phase of a
flight and advised that flightsshould be avoided through
anyknown locust swarms.Himachal Pradesh, JammuKashmir and Goa
tooissuedalert in the wake of possibleinvasions.
India is currently wit-nessing its worst locust attackin almost
five decades withswarms of locusts havingarrived earlier than they
usu-ally and have reached farther.In the past few days, therehave
been movements of adultgroups of locusts in India,Oman, the UAE,
and Uganda. Spring-bred immature adult groups andswarms that arr
ived inRajasthan from the west con-tinued to move east in
theeastern portion of the stateand to the central states ofMadhya
Pradesh andMaharashtra.
As of 26 May, at least oneswarm had reached to the
northeast of Bhopal. Much ofthese movements were asso-ciated
with strong westerlywinds from Cyclone Amphanin the Bay of
Bengal.
Swarms are forming in thespring breeding areas andmigrating east
to the Indo-Pakistan border ahead of themonsoon rains, it said.
Thesemovements will cease asswarms begin to breed andbecome less
mobile, it said.
According to the FAO,desert locusts are breeding400 times than
usual due tofavourable climatic conditions.
This explosive multiplica-tion may spell disaster forlarge parts
of Asia andAfrica.Favourable breedingconditions have resulted
in
their multiplication that is 400times more than usual.
While the rabi crops,recently harvested, survivedthe onslaught,
the locusts cantake a heavy toll on India’skharif produce if not
con-trolled by the time the harvestseason arrives.
India is battling the worstdesert locust invasion in morethan 21
years.
The crop-destroyingswarms first attackedRajasthan and have now
spreadto Punjab, Gujarat,Maharashtra and MadhyaPradesh.
In its guidelines, theDGCA said "Generally, locustsare found at
lower levels andtherefore pose a threat to air-craft in the
critical landing andtakeoff phase of the flight.Almost all air
intake ports ofthe aircraft will be prone toingestion in large
numbers, ifthe aircraft flies through a
swarm (areas like engine inlet,air-conditioning pack inletetc,”.
DGCA said pilot are
required to share informationof locust swarm they spot inthe
course of flight. "Air traf-
fic controllers when aware of locust presencein the vicinity of
their
aerodrome are advised to sharethe information with all arriving
and departing flights.Being a day time phenomena , the pilot is
alsorequired to share informationof locust swarms.
It is strongly advised thatflight should be avoidedthrough any
known locustswarm,” it said.
According to Ministry ofAgriculture, the Rajasthan gov-ernment
has deployed 778tractors and 50 fire brigadevehicles, Madhya
Pradesh - 72tractors and 38 fire brigadevehicles, Uttar
Pradeshdeployed 6 tractors and Punjabdeployed 50 tractors and 6
firebrigade vehicles for locust con-trol. “The Centre is in
closetouch with the affected states of Rajasthan,Punjab, Gujarat,
MadhyaPradesh, Uttar Pradesh andMaharashtra and an advisoryhas been
issued,” it said.
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Aviation regulator DGCAon Friday issued guide-lines for
stakeholders likepilots and engineers on howto deal with locust
swarms,saying they pose a threat toaircraft in the critical
landingand takeoff phase of a flight.
India is battling the worstdesert locust invasion in morethan 21
years. The crop-destroying swarms f irstattacked Rajasthan and
have
now spread to Punjab,Gujarat, Maharashtra andMadhya Pradesh.
“Generally, locusts arefound at lower levels andtherefore pose a
threat to air-craft in the critical landingand takeoff phase of the
flight.Almost all air intake ports ofthe aircraft will be prone
toingestion in large numbers, ifthe aircraft flies through aswarm
(areas like engine inlet,air-conditioning pack inletetc.)," the
regulator said in its
circular.Pitot and static sources
can also get partially or fullyblocked while flying
throughlocust swarms, theDirectorate General of CivilAviation
said.
“Blocked pitot and staticsources lead to erroneousinstrument
indications, espe-cially unreliable air speed andaltimeter
indications," it said.
A pitot tube in airplanesis used to measure the flowspeed of the
wind.
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The Congress on Fridayalleged that the economy is"sinking" but
the Governmentis consistently "shrinking" thesavings and income of
thecommon man by reducing thesavings bank deposit and fixeddeposit
rates of public sectorbanks.
The party also questionedthe Supreme Court's silenceover the
remarks made by theSolicitor General (SG) a dayearlier and alleged
that theGovernment was autocratic inits functioning.
“The impact of interestrate cut decision on March 31amounts to
loss of �19,000crore income per year for thedepositors,” Congress
chiefspokesperson RandeepSurjewala said in a statement.
“Middle class and lowermiddle class is in "economicgrief ". The
decision to reduceinterest rates and discontinueRBI Bonds during
lockdown is
"brainless, heartless and shame-less," he said adding due to
thealready existing economic cri-sis worsened by COVID-19 theincome
of the people is down.
The interest rate cuts inPPF, KVP, NSC and other sav-ing
instruments further hit thealready shrinking savings
ofapproximately 30 crore depos-itors, who have deposited Rs 14lakh
crore in various savingsschemes, he said.
The latest blow for middlesclass, farmers, pensioners andwomen
is discontinuation of7.75 per cent RBI bonds andfurther reduction
of interestrates by SBI, said Surjewala.
In the last two months, thetotal combined reduction inincome of
30 crore depositorsin saving schemes (PPF, NSC,KVP etc) and 44.51
croreaccount holders of State Bankof India (SBI) depositors is
Rs44,670 crore annually (fromreduction in interest rates onsavings
scheme and reductionin SBI savings, fixed deposit
interest rates), he claimed.�44,670 crore is 24 per cent
of actual fiscal stimulus mea-sures announced (Rs 186,650crore)
by the government. Soaround one-fourth of whatev-er is announced is
alreadytaken back by the governmentby reduction in interest
rates.If we include other PublicSector Banks this figure
willincrease by at least 3 times," hesaid.
The Congress demandedthat interest rates on all smallsaving
schemes, fixed deposits(FD) and savings bank depositsmust be
restored immediatelyto pre-March 12 level.
On the matter of SGTushar Mehta, who onThursday stated in the
SupremeCourt that there were a hand-ful of people - "prophets
ofdoom" - who were always scep-tical about everything,Surjewala,
said, "Modi Govt's'New Definitions' in SC -1)'Some High Courts are
run-ning a parallel Govt' 2).
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In an indication of gradualopening of ‘lockdown onpolitical
activities’ which hadturned ‘digital’ over a period,BJP would
conduct PhysicalPress Conferences in all Stateunits while observing
the firstanniversary of the second runof the Modi-Government at
theCentre.
BJP is expected to high-light the fulfilment of itspromised
political agenda,including the scraping of arti-cle 370 and
splitting of Jammuand Kashmir in union territo-ries and passing of
parliamen-tary legislation making tripletalaq an illegal and a
criminaloffence ,as the party would tryto impress upon its
“success” incontaining Coronavirus pan-demic in the country
throughmedical measures and theeconomic packages and con-cessions
announced since the
lockdown on March 25.One of the main pro-
grammes which is to tick-offthe series of party activitieswould
be BJP president J PNadda’s address to the partyworkers through
Facebook Liveon Saturday
Nadda would detail “ser-vices” rendered by the BJP inlast
three-months in fightingthe pandemic in different statesand may
also counter opposi-tion charges over alleged mis-handling of
stranded migrantworkers.
BJP National Spokespersonand Rajya Sabha member PVLNarsimha Rao
said the partywould be organising physicalpress conferences in all
stateunits from Sunday onwards.Actual face-to-face conferenceswere
done away with by theBJP by the middle of theFebruary after
pandemic beganto take threatening shape inthe country.
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In more trouble for TablighiJamaat, the CBI has regis-tered a
Preliminary Enquiryagainst the Islamist outfit’sorganisers and
other unknownpersons on a complaint alleg-ing that the
organisation's Trustindulged in dubious cash trans-action by using
illegal meansand non-disclosure of receipt offoreign funds to the
competentauthority under the ForeignContribution (Regulation)
Act.
The PE was initiated on thebasis of a written complaintfrom the
Foreigners Division ofthe Union Home Ministryalleging that the
organisationhas violated FCRA provisions.
Through the PE, the CBIwill seek to unravel the largerconspiracy
behind insidiousfunding of the Tablighi Jamaat’sTrust and gather
evidence tosubstantiate the allegations inthe complaint, sources
said.
Once prima facie eviden-tiary materials are gathered, theagency
may convert the PE intoa Regular Case of FIR in policeparlance.
The latest move followsinvestigation by the CrimeBranch of the
Delhi Police thathas registered over three dozencases including
against TablighiJamaat chief Mohammad Saadunder the Epidemic
Diseases Actand Indian Penal Code (IPC)Sections relating to
culpable
homicide not amounting tomurder.
The Tablighi Jamaat is alsobeing probed by theEnforcement
Directorate (ED)for alleged violations under thePrevention of
MoneyLaundering Act.
Earlier this week, the DelhiPolice filed multiple
chargesheetsagainst the Tablighi Jamaat, itschief Maulana Saad
Kandhalviand members of the outfit from14 other countries.
In March, the police evacu-ated more than 3,000 peoplestaying at
the Tablighi Jamaatheadquarters here at theNizamuddin for a
religious con-gregation.
Scores of the Jamaat’s mem-bers were tested Covid-19 pos-itive
and they had fanned outacross the country for allegedlyspreading
the pandemic. In theDelhi police FIR, the outfit wasaccused of
organising the eventin violation of governmentorders to avoid mass
gatheringsin the wake of coronavirus out-break.
On its part, the Jamaat hasdenied the allegations.
After registering the PE, theCBI has collected all
thechargesheets filed by the DelhiPolice in connection with
theJamaat event as also the copy ofthe report relating to the
outfit’sfinancial dealings through mul-tiple bank accounts
includingcash transactions, sources added.
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With 874 persons testingpositive on Friday, thenumber of persons
afflictedwith coronavirus in TamilNadu reached 20,246. The
onlyconsolation for the authoritiesis the number of patients
dis-charged from various hospitalsin the State. Friday saw 765
per-sons getting cured and dis-charged from hospitals andthis made
the total number ofactive cases in the State as8,776.
Nine persons were declareddead on Friday and the fatali-ties
reached 154 all over theState. The efforts by theGovernment to
contain thepandemic continued without
any hold back as 71 laborato-ries were working round-the-clock
to test the samples.According to the medical bul-letin issued by
the Tamil NaduGovernment, 11, 334 personswere tested on Friday
whichtook the total number of per-sons tested till date to 4,66,
550.
Chennai continued to bethe epicenter of covid-19 inTamil Nadu
with 13,662 per-sons testing positive till date.There are 6,353
active cases inthe district which is closely fol-lowed by
Chengalpattu (545).There are districts likeNamakkal, Nilgiris
andPerambalur which do not haveeven a single coronaviruspatient.
Dharmapuri, whichsucceeded in containing thepandemic reported three
caseson Friday.
62 persons tested positive
for coronavirus in Kerala onFriday, according to ChiefMinister
Pinarayi Vijayan.Speaking to reporters atThiruvananthapuram, the
chiefminister said that the hike incoronavirus cases was mainlydue
to expatriates and personsfrom other States whoreturned to
Kerala.
“Out of the 62 tested pos-itive today, 33 were from for-eign
countries, and 23 fromother States. Number ofhotspots in the State
increasedto 101,” said the Chief Minister.But he had some news of
com-fort to the people of the State.“The instances of virus in
every100 tests done in Kerala is 1.7per cent and this is the best
inthe country,” claimed Vijayan.He also ruled out the possibil-ity
of community/social trans-mission in the State.
���������������� � 12!�/
MP Veerendrakumar, member of Rajya Sabha andleader of Lok
Tantrik Janata Dal breathed his lastlate Thursday night. The most
colourful politician whonever compromised on his stance against the
SanghParivar and the kind of politics practiced by the BJP,
wasgiven a State funeral at the sprawling Puliyarmala
Estatecompound, his ancestral home in Wynadu district.
Veeran , as he was known, was 84 and is survivedby his wife and
four children. He was also the chairmanand managing director of
Mathrubhumi, a popularMalayalam daily and owned the satellite news
channelby the same time.
The Rajya Sabha member, though shared power inthe State in
company of the Congress and the CPI(M),stood for socialism,
secularism and liberalism in synchwith the kind of education he
received from abroad. Sonof a planter by name Padmaprabha Gowder,
Veeran isdescribed as Raja by the people of Wynadu district. Hewas
twice member of the Lok Sabha and a was a min-ister of state for
company affairs in the government head-ed by Deve Gowda.
Author of more than a dozen books ranging frompolitics to
ecology to spirituality, Veerendrakumar wasinstrumental in
encouraging journalists to travel wideacross the country as his
mission to make the youthunderstand the nook and corner of India.
He has wona number of honours like Sahitya academy award
and“Vayalar Award”, Kerala’s highest literary prize.Veerendrakumar
had established through his book“Sorrow of Rama” that there ever
existed any Ram tem-ple in Ayodhya. “He stood for socialism and
secularismand never could get along with the BJP and Sangh
Parivarbrand of politics. We will miss him very badly,” saidChioef
Minister Vijayan, a long time friend of the
lateparliamentarian.
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There is no respite fromdomestic returnees withrespect to
Covid-19 inKarnataka. As many as 92 percent of the 178 cases in the
past19 hours were returnees, most-ly from Maharashtra, raisingthe
State's tally to 2,711, an offi-cial said on Friday.
“New cases reported fromThursday 5 p.m. to Fridaynoon, 178,”
said a health offi-cial. Among the 164 domesticreturnees, 156 or 95
per centreturned from Maharashtra,India's largest COVID suffer-ing
state.
Recently, Karnataka saw amajor spike in cases in Udupi,Yadgir,
Bengaluru Urban,Kalaburagi and Raichur.
Raichur suffered 62 infec-tions and Yadgir, 60, both
con-stituting 69 per cent of the casesin the past 19 hours.
A 35-year-old man fromBengaluru is suffering fromInfluenza Like
Illness (ILI).
A 68-year-old woman fromDavangere is also sufferingfrom the same
condition.
One more patient, a 32-year-old man fromChikkaballapura, is also
suf-fering from ILI.
A 68-year-old man fromthe same place is sufferingfrom Severe
Acute RespiratoryInfection (SARI).
Meanwhile, 35 patientswere discharged in the past 19hours, 30
from Hassan, threefrom Uttara Kannada and oneeach from
Chikkamagaluruand Mandya.
Among the cases, 1,793 areactive, 869 discharges and
47deaths.
Lucknow: Continuing his efforts to promote indus-trialisation in
the state, Uttar Pradesh Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath has now
issued directions to amendthe revenue code which will make it
easier to acquireland in the state.
The amended code will make it possible to leaseagricultural land
for industrial units and industrialparks. The Land Acquisition Act
of 2013 will also beamended to simplify the procedure for acquiring
landwithin a distance of 1 km on either side of an express-way.
This will also provide for additional means of rev-enue generation
for the industrial developmentauthorities. According to a
government spokesperson,the state government will also develop an
electroniccity near the Jewar International Airport for which
alarge land parcel will be acquired.
“At a meeting between the Chief Minister andsenior officials, it
also was decided to auction the landsof closed public sector units.
A legal verification theland will have to be carried out for the
purpose,” hesaid. If a revenue village comes under an
industrialdevelopment authority, it has been decided that thepublic
land in these gram sabhas will be vested withthe respective
authority.
Under the Industrial Development Zone Act, allot-ment of a plot
will be cancelled if a unit is not set upthere after a stipulated
period of time.
Meanwhile, it has also been decided that land ofclosed units
under the Industrial DevelopmentDepartment and plots allotted to
closed units of otherdepartments, such as sugar mills and Central
gov-ernment undertakings, will be acquired for the landbank.
IANS
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While the Jammu &Kashmir Government isstill contemplating
whether toallow pilgrimage to theAmarnath cave shrine for ashorter
duration in the secondweek of July this year, the totalnumber of
coronavirus casesare spiraling up without show-ing any declining
trend, espe-cially in Kashmir valley.
The Government, which istied up with containmentefforts to check
the furtherspread of deadly virus, isalready under pressure
fromseveral quarters to allow annu-al pilgrimage to the cave
shrinefor a limited period of atleasttwo weeks.
The final decision in thisregard is expected to be takenduring
next week by theChairman of the ShriAmarnath Shrine Board
afterholding threadbare discussionswith members of the board
andtaking in to account the feed-
back from the Union HomeMinistry.
Earlier, Shri AmaranthShrine board authorities haddecided to
suspend the yatrathis year but later recalled theirdecision
claiming the finaldecision would be taken aftertaking a fresh
review of the pre-vailing circumstances.
Due to heightened securi-ty concerns, the authorities inJammu
& Kashmir cannot takea unilateral decision as it has toensure
safety and security ofthe pilgrims during the yatraperiod.
Secondly, till the time lock-down guidelines are relaxedand
smooth movement of pil-grims is permitted the pil-
grimage cannot take place evenfor a limited period of time.
Asenior government functionarysaid, “we are waiting for thecentre
to take a final call on theissue of holding annual pil-grimage to
the Amarnath caveshrine”.
“Once we receive a greensignal, other yatra logistics,clearing
yatra track, setting uptemporary shelter points,arranging
refreshment, regis-tration of pilgrims as per theguidelines can be
initiated”.
On the other hand, anoth-er famous shrine of Shri MataVaishno
Devi is also awaitingfinal nod from the union govtto restart yatra
for local pil-grims. Shri Mata Vaishno Deviyatra was suspended on
March18, 2020 ahead of the nationwide lockdown from March 23.
Meanwhile, on Friday, onemore patient died due to toCovid-19 in
Srinagar while128 new cases were detected in
Jammu and Kashmir, takingthe total tally to 2164 cases. Outof
these, the total number ofactive cases are 1261, 332 inJammu
division and 929 inKashmir division.
According to the mediabulletin, out of 128 new posi-tive cases,
36 were reportedfrom Jammu division and 92from Kashmir
division.
All the 36 cases fromJammu were returnees. Highestnumber of 14
cases werereported from the border dis-trict of Poonch while
sevencases were reported fromJammu, and six each fromKathua and
Rajouri districts.
In Kashmir valley, thehighest number of 27 caseswere reported
from Srinagar,followed by 19 cases fromKulgam, and 18 from
Kupwara.According to media bulletin, 76percent active cases in
Kashmirvalley are localised in onlyfour districts of
Srinagar,Kulgam, Anantnag andKupwara.
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Watching the public’s andthe Union and StateGovernments’
responseto the COVID-19 pan-demic and the devastat-ing progress of
the cyclone Amphan, Iwas reminded of Charles Dickens’famous
sentence in A Tale of Two Cities,“It was the best of times, it was
the worstof times, it was the age of wisdom, it wasthe age of
foolishness, it was the epochof belief, it was the epoch of
incredulity,it was the season of Light, it was the sea-son of
Darkness, it was the spring ofhope, it was the winter of despair,
we hadeverything before us, we had nothingbefore us, we were all
going direct toHeaven, we were all going direct the otherway — in
short, the period was so far likethe present period, that some of
its nois-iest authorities insisted on its beingreceived, for good
or for evil, in thesuperlative degree of comparison only.”
There are parts of the sentence thatare generally relevant to
the times we livein India but not to the specific context weare
talking about. Some parts do apply.For example, it is “the best of
times” interms of the courage, compassion andgenerosity shown by a
number of peopleto help migrant workers, rendered unem-ployed by
the lockdown. One of them isPappan Singh Gehlot, a mushroomfarmer
in Delhi’s Tigipur village, who hasbought air tickets worth �68,000
toenable his migrant workers to return totheir village in Bihar. He
has also giveneach of them a cash advance of �3,000 sothat they do
not face any hardship onreturn, besides getting them medical
cer-tificates needed to fly. According toreports, Gehlot, who has
been taking careof their food and accommodation sincethe lockdown
began on March 25, did notwant them to walk home given the
risks,including those of accidents, involved.Interestingly, one of
the reports hasquoted him as saying that he had madeseveral
attempts to send them back totheir home States by a Shramik
Specialtrain but could not manage to do so.
Another shining example is that ofAkshay Kothawale, a
30-year-old autodriver in Pune, who is spending the�200,000 he had
saved for his weddingto feed migrant workers and those in dis-tress
in the streets. With the help of hisfriends who have chipped in, he
is feed-ing 400 people every day besides ferry-ing senior citizens
and pregnant womento clinics.
Another example is that of thealumni association of the
Bengaluru-based National Law School raising fundsto charter an Air
Asia Boeing A-320 air-craft to send 169 migrant workers andfive
children home from Mumbai toRanchi in Jharkhand. According toSheyl
Trehan, one of those involved in the
venture, it was carried out incooperation with Priya Sharmaof
the Department ofHumanities and Social Sciencesof IIT, Mumbai.
There are many other exam-ples of individuals and NGOsgoing out
of their ways to helpmigrant labourers and urbanpoor. They,
however, constitutea small slice of the population.The overwhelming
majoritycould not care less or are hostile.The indifference is
manifesteven in the case of the havocwrought by the
super-cycloneAmphan, which has devastatedhuge tracts in West Bengal
andparts of Odisha. West Bengalbore the brunt of it. There werenot
more than 86 deaths thanksto the State Government’s excel-lent work
in evacuating people.The physical damage has beencrippling. The
Sunderbans, theworld’s largest mangrove forestand a wildlife
sanctuary, has vir-tually been destroyed. Hundredsand thousands of
people havebeen rendered homeless. Cropsover thousands of square
kilo-metres have been lost.According to the KolkataMunicipal
Corporation, over5,000 trees have been uprootedin the city — the
figure may havebeen as high as 10,000 if theadjacent areas are
included.Hundreds of lamp posts havebeen destroyed. Yet, having
sat-isfied their voyeuristic instincts
in front of television sets, theoverwhelming majority
outsideWest Bengal and Odisha is nowobsessed with COVID-19 andthe
threat the pandemic poses tothem.
And this despite the factthat COVID-19, the first case ofwhich
was reported in India onJanuary 30, 2020, has beenkilling far fewer
people com-pared to road accidents andother causes. Thus, according
tothe latest figures, there havebeen over 166,000 cases,
71,196cures and 4,706 deaths. Thismeans, on a rough average,over 36
deaths per day sinceJanuary 30. In sharp contrast,there are on an
average 1,214traffic accidents and 377 deathsfrom such mishaps,
every day.There were 5.45 crore cases of,and 28 lakh cases of
deaths fromcardiovascular diseases in Indiain 2016.
It is this hysteria worked upover the COVID-19 pandemicwhich is
one of the main reasonsmaking this “the worst of times”in terms of
the cruelty arisingtherefrom, and also thehypocrisy laid bare by
the mis-match between official expres-sions of concern for
migrantworkers and their inhumantreatment on the ground. It isnot
just the fiasco of the effortsto take them home by specialtrains
earmarked exclusivelyfor them. It is also the widely
manifested attitude of not beingsympathetic to the terrible
suf-fering of migrant workers onhighways, roads, airports, rail-way
stations and inter-Stateborders — and regarding themas untouchables
to be con-signed to the peripheries of theirvillages or
neighbourhood bylocals fearing them spreadinginfection. And this
despite widedissemination through media ofthe fact that COVID-19
infectsone only through close person-al contact and home
quarantineis good enough. Even singlewomen and children are
notspared!
The basic reason is fear and,in its fundamental sub-stra-tum,
that of death. This isunderstandable. There is neithercure nor as
yet a vaccine forCOVID-19. Exaggerated fear, inthe teeth of the
availability ofinformation, which shows itslack of basis, is,
however, irra-tional and unwarranted. Like allfears, it should have
been coun-tered by an application of will.This has not happened.
Instead,the majority of people in thiscountry has been enveloped
bya wild terror that has had thebetter of their humane instinctsand
rationality.
This leads to two other seg-ments of Dickens’ observation,“It
was the age of wisdom, it wasthe age of foolishness,” and “itwas
the spring of hope, it was the
winter of despair.” It is the age ofwisdom in the sense that
thepeople are beginning to realisethat what many had taken
forgranted — that humans are themasters of the universe — is
nottrue and that rationality is a frag-ile attribute. It is the age
of fool-ishness in that the majoritycannot still apply reason in
atime of crisis. The hope lies inthe shining conduct of a minor-ity
and the compassion andcourage shown by even peoplefrom the most
disprivilegedsections, the despair from theselfishness and worse of
themajority and the attitude of theUnion and most of the
StateGovernments to the plight ofmigrant workers.
It is a remarkable com-mentary on the state of affairsthat the
Supreme Court, onThursday, had to forbid the rail-ways and the
StateGovernments from extractingtrain or bus fares from strand-ed
migrant waiting to returnhome. The railways had to pro-vide them
with food and waterduring train journeys, whilethe States from
which theywere boarding would have totake care of their meals
andwater during bus journeys. Oneonly wishes the order came
ear-lier.
(The writer is ConsultantEditor,