PNS n HYDERABAD

A home guard from Malakpettraffic police was caught bySpecial Branch officials onSunday while he was trans-porting liquor.

Officials identified theaccused as R. Anil Kumar. Hewas apprehended by theAssistant Sub Inspector ofSpecial Branch, Shankaraiah.

“We found him in posses-sion of six 1 litre Blender'sPride reserved collection bot-tles, five more Blender's Pridefull bottles, nine full bottles ofSignature brand liquor, and 16full bottles of Royal Challengealong with Rs 14,110 net cash.He was transporting theliquor in an Ertiga car,(Registration No TS 29 G6198),” said the officials.

The accused, along with

seized liquor bottles and thevehicle, was handed over toVanasthalipuram police forfurther legal action.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Chief Minister K ChandrasekharRao on Sunday provided much-neededsuccour to various sectionsin the state affected by the lock-down since March 22.

Addressing a press conferenceat Pragathi Bhavan after the statecabinet meeting, the ChiefMinisterdirected landlords in thestate not tocollect house rentfrom people for three monthsfrom March to May. He said thatthe direction was being issuedunder the NationalDisasterManagement Act andthose violating it would be bookedunderthe Act.KCR said that thedecision had been taken sinceeveryone wasf a c i n gfinancialprob-lemso n

account of the lockdown. The Chief Minister asked

people to dial 100 andlodgecomplaints against landlordswho demandhouse rents for theMarchto May period. KCRasked landlords to collect thedeferred three months' rent laterininstallments and not to levyany interest for the defermentperiod.

The Chief Minister providedrelief to pensioners by announc-ing to pay 75 percent pensionthis month, against 50 per centcut imposed last month. Hemade it clear that the 75% paycut for public representa-tivesand 50% pay cut for gov-ernment staff would continuein April also.

However, full salary wouldbe paid for staff in health,policedepartments this month,besides sanitary workers inlocal bodies, likelast month.In

addition, they would get cashincentive as CM's gift this month

too.The Chief

M i n i s t e r

announced payment of fullsalary to ground level staff inpowerdepartment (operationsand maintenance, artisans)this month against50%pay cut imposed lastmonth.

The penalty on prop-erty tax for delayedpayment for 2019-20has been waivedoff. People can payproperty tax with-out penalty tillMay31.

About 87.7lakh ration cardholders will getfree 12 kg riceper headandeach householdholding rationcard will beextended Rs1,500finan-cial assis-tance in May forthe second con-secutive month.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao onSunday directed all the privateschools in the state not to hikefees for academic year 2020-21.

He also directed manage-ments of private schools tocollect only

tuition fee, making itclear that no miscellaneous

fee whatsoever, in the name ofother heads would be allowed.

The Chief Minister alsoordered private schools to

collect tuition fee only onmonthly basis and said thatthe government will not allowterm fee or full-year fee.

KCR categorically statedthat all private schools in thestate would have to strictlyadhere to these directionsand any violation would beviewed very seriously.

He warned the manage-ments of private schools thatthey would be booked underNational DisasterManagement Act (NDMA) ifthey violate the orders.

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RNI No. TELENG/2018/76469

Established 1864

*Late City Vol. 2 Issue 189*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

Published FromVIJAYAWADA DELHI LUCKNOW BHOPALRAIPUR CHANDIGARH BHUBANESWAR

RANCHI DEHRADUNHYDERABAD

}NOW, NAVEEN JOINS REGINA AND NIVETHA{

Page 11

n Directs landlords not tocollect house rent for threemonths from March to May

n Penalty scrapped on delayedpayment of property tax

n Power bills deferred forindustries for April, May

n Rebate offered on powercharges

n Pensioners to get 75% payagainst 50% cut last month

n 75% salary cut for publicrepresentative, 50% cut forstate govt employees tocontinue

n Health, police, sanitarystaff, lower rung power staffto get full pay again besidescash incentive as CM gift

n Ration card holders to getRs 12 kg rice per head, 1,500per ration card in May

n Gachibowli Covid hospitalnamed a TIMS, to bedeveloped as world-classmedical and researchinstitution

2

Govt stops e-com-merce platformsfrom selling non-essential items

5

8

Farmers told todig canals alongtheir fields

4

RBI measuresunlikely to boostcredit flow tobroader economy

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated April 19, 2020 5:00 PM

ALMANACTODAY

Month & Paksham:Chaitra & Krishna PakshaPanchangam:Tithi: Trayodashi: 03:11 am (Next Day)Nakshatram: Purva Bhadrapada 07:23 am Time to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)Rahukalam: 07:33 am - 09:07 amYamagandam: 10:41 am – 12:15 pmVarjyam: 06:11 pm - 07:58 pmGulika: 01:48 pm - 03:22 pmGood Time: (to start any important

work)Amritakalam: 04:58 am - 06:46 amAbhijit Muhurtham: 11:50 am - 12:40 pm

HYDERABADWEATHERForecast: Partly cloudyTemp: 36/24Humidity: 47%Sunrise: 05.56Sunset: 06.33

PEOPLE CARING KCR PROVIDESSUCCOUR TO ALL SECTIONS

CM junks Modi'spartial lockdown orderL VENKAT RAM REDDY n HYDERABAD

Seeking to adopt a strikingly different path on handlingCovid-19, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Sundayannounced the extension oflockdown in Telangana as it is tillMay 7 and made it loud and clear that thestate governmentwould not exempt any sector from lockdown curbsfromApril 20. This stance of the TRS government is at

variance with the position of the Centre, which hasissued guidelines for easing lockdown

restrictions in green zones and non-hotspotswith effect from Monday. At a presser post

the cabinet meeting on Sunday atPragathi Bhavan, KCR asserted that thelockdown would be enforced strictly

with no relaxations whatsoever forany sector till May 7. In the context,

he suggested that travellersshouldavoid having Hyderabad on theiritinerary till May 7 even if the

Centre permitsflights after May 3.The GMR International Airport officialsin

Hyderabad would be asked not to operateflights till the stategovernment lifts lockdown,

he added. KCR reasoned that the decision to extend thelockdown was taken following feedbackfrom various sections ofsocietyin all districts. Ninety-five per cent of those who gave feedbackfavouredextension of the lockdown as it is. Surveys conductedbyvarious media organization also revealed the same.

Home guard caughttransporting liquor

One more constabletests positive forCovid-19 in cityPNS n HYDERABAD

One more constable attachedto the Chikkadpally policestation tested positive forCovid-19 on Sunday, a dayafter his colleague was diag-nosed with the infection.

The 38-year-old policeconstable is the second per-sonnel from the police sta-tion under the HyderabadCommissionerate limits,after a constable tested pos-itive for the virus onSaturday and is the thirdcase of police personnel test-ing positive for the virus inthe state.

After the first positive case,the officials had got all theprimary contacts tested andthe results revealed anotherpositive case.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Medical and academic staff ofNiloufer Hospital here havebeen asked to quarantinethemselves. An order to thiseffect was issued by the hospi-tal superintendent reportedlyafter a 45-day-old baby admit-ted to the facility tested posi-tive for coronavirus.

According to reports, thebaby from Narayanpet, with noknown travel history or prima-ry/secondary contact withCovid-19 patients, was referredto Niloufer Hospital by theMahabubnagar GovernmentHospital, where the patient wasinitially admitted for fever.

The Covid-19 positive babyhas now been shifted toGandhi Hospital.

The order issued by theNiloufer Hospital superinten-dent directed all professors,assistant professors, postgrad-uates, house surgeons, nursingstaff, para medical staff, sani-tation staff and security

employees to quarantine them-selves immediately. The orderapplies especially to those whowere on duty on the night ofApril 15 and staff that workedthree shifts on April 16 andApril 17.

However, hospital authori-ties say it is a regular procedureas doctors who work for 10days at a stretch do quarantinethemselves for 5 days.

"As per protocol, staff after

they work for 10 days periodare given quarantine for 5-dayperiod. This is a routine orderwhich is being followed whileputting the duty roster of theStaff of Niloufer Hospital. Thisorder was given to raise con-fidence and support of thestaff. All the staffers are giventotal protection by PPE kitsand N95 masks round theclock.

Niloufer staff asked toquarantine themselves

No Iftar, Ramzan this year: WHO advicePNS n HYDERABAD

Amid the global Coronavirusoutbreak, the World HealthOrganisation (WHO) onSunday issued guidelines forthe holy month of Ramzan thatis likely to begin on April 23.

In view of the ongoingCovid-19 pandemic, with strictsocial distancing norms inplace in several countries, theWHO advised that severalsteps should be followed dur-ing Ramzan to mitigate theimpact on public health.

The world health body rec-ommended that cancellingsocial and religious gather-ings is a must when the pan-

demic has claimed more than1.5 lakh lives around the world.

"A standardised risk assess-ment exercise must be followed

while taking a decision toeither modify or cancel, or pro-ceed with holding a mass gath-ering," said the guidelines.

Health authorities acrossthe globe have been directed totake a comprehensive approachtowards the ongoing pandem-ic. Instead of the mass gather-ings, virtual alternatives can beadopted, for example, usingmediums such as television,radio or the internet. Religiousleaders should be involvedearly in decision making, sothat they can be activelyengaged in communicatingany decision affecting eventsconnected with Ramzan.

The WHO recommendedthat people should practisephysical distancing by main-taining a distance of at leastone metre at all times. "To

avoid physical contact, othermeans of greeting can beadopted such as waving, nod-ding or putting the hand overthe heart. Unwell and old peo-ple should take extra precau-tions and avoid attending anygathering whatsoever. Thosewith pre-existing medical con-ditions such ashypertension/diabetes havealso been asked to avoidevents," the advisory added.

The agency also said that anygathering during Ramzanshould be held in an outdoorsetting and that smaller serviceswith fewer people should bepreferred over large gatherings.

n Schools should collect onlytuition fees, that too monthlyn No term fees or full-year

fee will be allowedn Miscellaneous fee should

not be collected

n Asks parents to dial 100 ifschools violate govt orders andlodge complaintsn Warns schools to book under NDMA act if they violateorders

n Extendslockdown inTS as it is tillMay 7

I also interactedpersonally with several persons in all districts, who sought extensionoflockdown. In fact, several persons sought extension of lockdowntill May end

— K CHANDRASEKHAR RAO, Chief Minister

Officials identified theaccused as R. Anil Kumar.He was apprehended bythe Assistant SubInspector of SpecialBranch, Shankaraiah.

PM thanks shopkeepers,traders for ensuring dailyessentials reach people PNS n NEW DELHI

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Sunday took toTwitter to thank small shop-keepers and traders for ensur-ing people get essential sup-plies during the coronaviruslockdown.

"Imagine what would havehappened if these smalltraders and shopkeepers didnot risk their lives and deliv-er everyday essentials?" Modisaid in a series of tweets inHindi.

In this time of crisis, peo-ple are able to follow thelockdown, for which manysections of society have playeda positive role, he said.

"Small shopkeepers havecontributed significantly inmaintaining the entire socialsystem. The society and thecountry will always remembertheir contribution," he said.

He said he realises howchallenging it is to followsocial distancing and get oth-

ers to follow it."In future also, shops should

follow social distancing, wehave to ensure this.All shop-keepers and traders deservecongratulations for their con-tribution in the hour of crisis,"he said

COVID-19 casesin India cross 16KPNS n NEW DELHI

A one-and-a-half-month-oldbaby boy in Delhi has died ofcoronavirus becoming thecountry's youngest victim ofthe infection which also affect-ed a 12-day-old infant girl inBhopal, as COVID-19 casesjumped by over one thousandfor the sixth straight day onSunday prompting authori-ties to scale up rapid antibodybased blood tests.

Coronavirus infectionscrossed 16,000 with 1,324cases being reported in the last24 hours and the death tollsurpassed 500, according tothe Union Health ministrydata, as Uttar Pradesh becamethe seventh state afterMaharashtra, Delhi, Tamil

Nadu, Madhya Pradesh,Rajasthan and Gujarat torecord over 1,000 COVID-19infections. 2

2

2

22

Imagine what wouldhave happened if these

small traders and shopkeepersdid not risk their lives anddeliver everyday essentials?

— NARENDRA MODI Prime Minister

Iftar Dinner File Photo

TS reports 18 morecases, 3 deathsHYDERABAD: Telangana onSunday reported 18 freshcorona positive cases and 3deaths. With this, the totalnumber of corona positivecases in the state has increasedto 858 and the death toll to 21.Eleven of the new caseswerereported in GHMC limits. Thereare 651 active cases inTelangana as on date.As manyas 186 patients have beendischarged post recovery.

The order issued by theNiloufer Hospitalsuperintendent directedall professors, assistantprofessors, postgra-duates, house surgeons,nursing staff, paramedical staff, sanitationstaff and securityemployees to quarantinethemselves immediately.

Schools will be taught a lesson if they harass: KCR

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HYDERABAD | MONDAY | APRIL 20, 2020 hyderabad 02

Even if governments donot make it mandatoryto wear masks, Covid-19

is sure to spread so much fearin the weeks ahead that peo-ple would eventually makemask a part of their regularattire. In fact, people mayconsider the average person ill-dressed if he is found at a pub-lic place without a mask on,but showing his or her pearlywhites. No wonder, amid thetransition to a masked world,fashionistas have stepped in topush masks of varied coloursand attractive (to people, notvirus) designs! Designer out-lets are coming forward to cashin on the rising demand forthese masks. It is true that peo-ple’s eyes first buy the stuff andthen comes the money aspect.Youngsters are browsing likeCovid-19 is going to stay for-ever to hit upon the most novelvarieties of masks on e-tailingplatforms. A woman memberof a self-help group says theyare planning to make masks

attractive and cool so that thewearer can stand out. Oneonly hopes that these young-sters, in their hunt for funkycolours and designs, do notlose sight of the basic require-ments of masks. If masks arenot as per standards and donot ensure your safety, nodesign or colour is fine.

Scribe in the soup A scribe attached to a

Telugu news channel is in thesoup for giving what the policeclaim is ‘baseless’ informa-tion. The information in ques-tion is about district collectorMusharraf AlI and Covid-19test. The police took the mat-ter seriously and booked thescribe under various sections.Some say the scribe could bearrested soon. That is not all.The police have warned thatcases would be filed against

any person who circulatesinformation with mala fideintention.

Siesta becoming popular Siesta is allowed and

encouraged in some coun-tries to increase productivity.In a gig economy post coronatimes, people do not have towait for a nod from theirbosses to take a nap, which athigher echelons, is called‘power nap’. They can simplywind down and steal fortywinks or have siesta whileworking from home withoutfeeling guilty. The only thingthey have to ensure is that theiroutput is not affected in termsof efficiency and numbersbecause of the siesta. Apartfrom those working fromhome, even people in ruralareas have gone back to thetraditional habit of taking a

nap post lunch. Police and rev-enue officials at work in reha-bilitation camps and for lock-down enforcement say thatpeople are taking siestas seri-ously. This makes the officialsbreathe easier.

Cops filling the gap

Things have turned upsidedown in corona times. Janatacurfew, lockdowns 1.0 and2.0, containment zones andclusters this and that havekept people indoors and con-sequently most of the crimeshave come down. Instead of

rapes, murders, robbery etc.,one gets to hear only aboutpolice beating up people whoviolate lockdown regulations.On the whole, it appears as ifcops are filling the gaps. Theyjust can’t afford to see a quietworld!

Mask over helmetThe chances of a helmetless

two-wheeler rider losing his orher life due to a head injurymay be relatively remote, com-pared to what would most like-ly happen if a person does notwear a mask in these danger-ous corona times. Still, youthin the twin cities of Hyderabadand Secunderabad are thesedays giving cops a tough timeby not wearing both mask andhelmet while stealing ridesduring curfew hours. Whenconfronted by exasperatedcops at intersections, they

come up with cock and bullstories. If they run out of theirrepertoire of stories, they citetheir family members’ need formedicines, provisions or veg-etables.

Sales of essential commodi-ties up

The demand for essentialcommodities has gone up sig-nificantly in both urban andrural areas over the past onemonth plus. With some indi-viduals and many charitableorganizations taking uponthemselves the noble task ofdonating rice, wheat, pulsesetc. to migrants and margin-alized sections, the sales ofthese items have increased. Inparticular, the sales of rice,dhal and oil, which every fam-ily needs most, have morethan doubled.

Shutterbugs out of focus“Distance lends enchant-

ment to the view,” goes aproverb. Not so for videogra-phers on duty in these trou-bled times. Going a step fur-ther from implementing socialdistancing norms duringpressers, the authorities havestarted barring videographersfrom attending press meets.The reason is that it hasbecome difficult for shutter-bugs to maintain distance;that is, if they have to ‘focus’on their job. With cameraskept perforce so close as toblock one another, the mem-bers of the electronic mediahave suddenly become per-sona non grata.

Contributed by Sumit Onka, Ramakrishna

Perala, Bakka Tennyson,Pradeep Ch

Kolishetty Venkateshwarlu,Avinash Deepak Puli and

Naveena Ghanate

REPORTERS’

D ARY

Colourfully designed masks the in thing now!

FIRST TIME IN 250 YEARS!

PNS n MUMBAI

What blood-thirsty terroristscouldn't succeed in doing, theinvisible coronavirus pandem-ic has achieved. For the firsttime in its nearly 250 years his-tory, Mumbai's world-renowned and iconic'Mohammed Ali Road streetfood bazaar' is poised to weara deserted look this Ramzanmonth, starting April 23.Incidentally, it was workingnormally even after the March12, 1993 serial bomb blasts, butit's fate in Ramzan 2020 will beknown only after May 3.Missing would be the enticing,mouth-watering aroma of over400 non-vegetarian cuisineitems on offer, plus around 100assorted desserts and bever-ages, making it the monthlongmecca for food lovers - irre-spective of religion - throngingthere.

"This is a sad truth. We areplanning to request MumbaiPolice Commissioner to atleast grant us permission fortwo hours during the evening'iftaar'. The morning 'sehri'people will somehow man-age," a worried Abdul RehmanKhan said. Khan is owner ofthe decades-old landmarkrestaurant, 'MashaallahCuisine', nestling under the

shadow of the 250-year historicMinara Masjid (TowerMosque), from where it allstarted.

For 70-year old ShabbirAjmanwalla, from the adjacentBohri Mohalla, the spectre of'sehri' and 'iftaar' without thegoodies from the roadsideeateries is akin to blasphemy."My father, in the 1920s, usedto tell us many stories of thefood market. Later, in the 1960s,as young boys, my friends andI would hop onto a tram forpurchases to break our daylongfast," he reminisced. In thosedays, trams plied in southMumbai from Colaba to DadarTram Terminus (Dadar TT, asit is known even today aftertrams stopped in 1964!), tra-versing through congestedPydhonie, Nagdevi Street, andMohammed Ali Road. The

street-food market's history isdirectly entwined with that ofthe imposing Minara Masjid,said local Urdu scribe, AejazAhmed Ansari, quoting legendshanded down by forefathers.

"The 24x7 Ramzan marketstarted as tiny food stallsaround this mosque and keptexpanding over the centuries.But in the past six-sevendecades, it acquired a cult-sta-tus for the sheer variety offood, their unique preparationstyles and memorable taste,attracting people from aroundthe world," Ansari said.According to 62-year-oldKarim Patel, a local business-man with a shop near theMinara Masjid, Muslims com-prise barely 25 percent of thepatrons, the rest comprisearound 60 percent non-Muslims and remaining for-

eigners or tourists. "Certainvarieties of food and dessertsare specially prepared or avail-able only during Ramzan, sopeople make it a point tocome and savour these. A feware handed down by familiesfrom generations and are trulyunique," Patel said with asmile.

The markets are thronged bycommoners and celebs, diplo-mats, domestic and foreigntourists, and hungry hopperswho drive down from places in200-300 km range like Surat,Bharuch, Nashik, Pune, Satara,Goa, for a 'culinary wild nightout' and drive back home thenext morning, said Nagori.However, most local restaura-teurs confide they don'tencourage celebs as "they dis-turb the whole market withtheir brief appearance",although many bigwigs quiet-ly wait in their dark-tinted glassvehicles, collect their packedfood without any fanfare andquietly retreat to enjoy theirfood elsewhere.

Among the notable Ramzanregulars are Salman Khan,Katrina Kaif, Sanjay Dutt,Ayesha Takiya-Azmi, RemoD'Souza, Nawaz Siddiqui, andin the past there were DilipKumar, Dev Anand, RajendraKumar, Raj Kapoor, et al.

Investors continue to bank on goldPNS n HYDERABAD

Amidst fresh round of allega-tions and counter-allegationsbetween the USA and Chinaover the missile tests conduct-ed by the latter, the equallyimportant issue of containingfurther spread of Covid-19has taken a back seat.However, the historic crash ofthe global economy remainedunabated.

Gold continued to be thefirst preference of investors. Itclosed at US dollars 1700 (peroz). It would be no surprisein the given situation if theyellow metal crosses dollars1,900 mark in a very nearfuture. Silver also remainedfirm and closed at dollars15.13. Platinum and palladi-um closed at Rs.21,000(per 10 gms) andRs.53,603 respectively.

Other economicparameters were asfollows: ForeignExchange rates:

US dollarR s . 7 6 . 3 0 ,B r i t i s hP o u n dRs.95.70, Euro Rs.83.19, SwissFranc Rs.79.16, UAE DirhamRs.20.83, Saudi RiyalRs.20.37, Canadian DollarRs.54.64, Australian DollarRs.48.68, Kuwaiti DinarRs.245.32, Omani RiyalRs.198.57 and SingaporeDollar Rs.53.78.

Sensex and Nifty 50 closedat the levels of 31,588.72 and9266.75 points, while Ny Mexclosed at 18.12. MCX Goldand MCX Silver closed atRs.45,735 (per 10 gms) andRs. 42,806 (per kg) respec-tively. Brent closed at dollars28.25 (per barrel) and Crudeoil dipped further and closedat Rs.1,436 (per barrel).Copper closed atRs.402.15(per kg).

The crisis in OPEC wasresolved amicably on April12. As per an agreementarrived by the OPEC plusother countries, there will bea production cut of 10 percent globally. In absolute

terms, the production will becut by 9.7 million barrels perday. This development hascome to the rescue of the oil-rich nations as, by restrictingthe supply of petrol andpetroleum products, the oilexporting countries will be ina position to maintain theprice line. The effect hasalready started showing onthe prices of Brent and Crudeoils.

COMMODITIESThe wholesale commodity

markets in Risala Abdullah,Osmangunj, Mir AlamMandi, General Bazar,Maharajganj and Bowenpallyconducted brisk businessduring the lockdown period.NAFED has begun off-load-

ing cereals and buying oper-ations for wheat through-out the country.

The arrivals of chill-ies, turmeric and

coriander inwholesale markets

continued at anaccelerateds p e e d .Garlic crop

is ready for harvest. Tradeenquiries from Indonesia,Malaysia, Taiwan,Bangladesh, Sri Lanka etc.have begun pouring in.

Despite restrictions, tradersand workers are leaving nostone unturned to ensure thesmooth supply of food grains.Almost 96 per cent of retailshops have sufficient stocks ofessential commodities to copewith demand. Though therehave been stray incidents ofover-charging by someunscrupulous business ele-ments, the overall situationon the price front is quite sat-isfactory.

The NECC wholesale eggprice remained volatile. InHyderabad, the week-endclosing price recorded a fur-ther increase of Rs.10 at theclosing price of Rs.375 (per100). The highest price ofRs.450 was recorded inChennai, while Ajmer record-ed the lowest price of Rs.270.

WEEKLY MARKET REVIEW

Mumbai's famed Ramzanfood market to be off menu

HC UPADHYAY n HYDERABAD

The 'apolitical' opinion ofCongress leader Rahul Gandhi,expressed at a presser on April16 on the prevailing nation-wide lockdown, that the lock-down is just like a pause but-ton, has all the potential to sendout a wrong message to peoplewho could eventually defy thegovernment's orders on lock-down and social distancing.

The advice, supposedly per-sonal, made against the bannerof the Congress party, hasmade it clear that the viewsconstitute the official opinionof the grand old party. In nor-mal circumstances, thereshould have been no reason tobe wary of such opinion.However, in the given situationof world-wide medical emer-gency, any opinion or advice(that too, by a non-medicalperson) against the medicaladvice rendered by the expertsin the field, including theWHO, has to be examinedfrom different angles.

True, even though theCongress leader acknowl-edged the need to be unitedand follow the instructions ofthe authorities in fightingagainst Covid-19, his com-ments on lockdown are sureto be construed as the untolddirections to the cadre andother party supporters to justbelittle the lockdown andsocial distancing norms. Suchirresponsible commentsought to have been avoidedby Rahul Gandhi. Had theynot been made, then theICMR would not have had toexplain at length, the needand relevance of lockdownand social distancing in thedaily press briefing the sameday.

The Congress' view that theentire population of the coun-try should be tested forCoronavirus is not feasible dueto the gigantic size of the coun-try and the huge ocean ofhuman beings living in ourcountry. Besides, it has beenclarified by experts that such anexercise is not required. Again,

about the late receipt of the sur-veillance kits from China,directly and indirectly theCongress is to be blamed.Directly, because so far RahulGandhi has not offered anyexplanation about his secretvisit of China some time agoeven without informing theauthorities in ourcountry and indirect-ly, with whose bless-ings China was paint-ed in black in theinternational arenawhich antagonizedChina, resulting in thedelay in supplying themuch- needed rapidantibody diagnostic kits.

In this column, only lastweek, we have seen how at leastone such outfit, the ICJ compa-

ny, made a representation tothe UNHRC blaming China forthe Covid-19 pandemic andsought a hefty compensation.

As it gave out an impres-sion that the said ICIcompany expressed theopinion of the

Government of India,our govern-

ment had toissue a clari-

fication. This is notan isolated case where

India-baiters haveattempted to bring dis-repute to the country,but a whole lobby hasbeen burning the mid-

night oil to tarnish the coun-try's good image by plantingfake news in the media andresorting to filing petitions in

courts and abusing the freedomof expression on national andinternational forums.

Therefore, mere lip serviceis not enough. It indeed,augurs well that some opposi-tion leaders like ArvindKejriwal (Delhi CM), K.Chandrasekhar Rao(Telangana CM) and CaptainAmarinder Singh (PunjabCM) have risen above partylines. Still, much more needsto be done. People are waitingfor the all-round condemna-tion of Jihadi and anti-nation-al elements who see an oppor-tunity in the Covid-19 pan-demic to shatter the countryinto pieces. The left parties andthose ride piggy back on them,separatists and AIMIM areduty-bound to condemn inone voice, all those who spit onhealth workers and police,abuse and assault them, andindulge in criminally spread-ing the Coronavirus.

At the same time, let there beno let-up in the efforts to curbthe activities of the Jihadi andanti-national elements. It is of

utmost importance to nab suchcriminal elements and startprosecutions under stringentprovisions of criminal laws atthe earliest in order to instillconfidence in the minds ofpeople that the rule of law hasnot gone into drain.

Sorry, we are not ‘onlyEnglish’: AP HC

In a jolt to English languagezealots and as a shot in the armfor lovers of vernacular lan-guages, the Andhra PradeshHigh Court has struck downG.O Nos. 81 and 85 by whichEnglish as the medium ofinstruction in schools through-out Andhra Pradesh was madecompulsory.

The court, in its judgementpronounced on April 15, heldthat the said GOs were in con-travention of section 29(2) ofthe Right to Education Act(RTE Act), section 7(3) and (4)of the A P Education Act,1982, Rules 8 and 23 of CentralRules and Rule 25 of the StateRules.

The GOs were challenged by

way of a PIL plea by SudhishRambotla, a BJP leader,Dr.Guntupalli Srinivas and oth-ers.Indeed, a good develop-ment which will go a long wayin getting the Indian languagestheir rightful place in the fieldof learning.

TS releases 100 prisonersFollowing orders of the Apex

Court and subsequently of theHigh Court, the TelanganaPrisons Department hasreleased some 100 under-trialprisoners on furnishing person-al bonds. The selection criteriawere as per directions of thehigher courts. Only such of theunder-trial prisoners have beenreleased who are charged withoffences that attract less thanseven years’ imprisonment uponconviction. Those prisonerswho are facing serious chargessuch as murder, dacoity etc.have not been released.

The released prisoners will beunder the strict vigil of thepolice and any breach of condi-tions will be viewed seriously.The apex court order cites con-

gestion in prisons as one of thereasons for releasing en massethe under-trials.

Brands battle amidst war onCovid-19

While the whole world,including India, has beenengaged in fighting a waragainst Covid-19, two majorbrands of soap and sanitizerhave locked horns over copy-rights and other commercialissues. The manufacturer ofLifebuoy brand soap and sani-tizer, Hindustan Unilever Ltd(HUL) has knocked on thedoors of the Bombay HighCourt seeking injunction againstReckitt Benckiser, the companymanufacturing Dettol brandsoap and sanitizer alleging thatthe Detoll brand owners haveviolated its copyrights and alsoindulged in disparaging it prod-ucts. However, after the respon-dent gave an assurance to thecourt that it would suspend theimpugned advertisement untilApril 21, the matter wasadjourned by Justice K RShriram.

LEGALROUNDUP

The advice, supposedly personal, madeagainst the banner of the Congressparty, has made it clear that the viewsconstitute the official opinion of thegrand old party

‘Pause button' politics may boost defiance of lockdown!

‘Will paycompensationfor cropdamages'PNS n RAJANNA-SIRCILLA

District Collector D KrishnaBhaskar on Sunday said farm-ers need not to worry aboutcrops damaged due to unsea-sonal rains since the govern-ment would pay suitable com-pensation to the farmers.Farmer-wise crop damagedetails would be preparedafter a detailed survey and thereport will be sent to the gov-ernment, Bhaskar said, afterinspecting fields damageddue to unseasonal rains inAdavipadira of Veernapalliand Avunur of Mustabadmandal. He interacted withthe farmers and sought toknow their problems.

Continued from page 1

The Chief Minister alsourged parents to ‘Dial 100’and lodge complaints againstany school that violates theseorders and assured that thegovernment would initiatestringent action against themanagements.

KCR’s statement came inthe wake of reports of privateschools fleecing parents byresorting to large scale feehikes and burdening parentswith miscellaneous fees inthese difficult times whenthe hapless citizens are fac-ing severe financial con-strains.

Schools willbe taught alesson if...

Continued from page 1

For industries, KCRannounced deferment ofpower charges for April andMay. They will be allowed topay these charges later with-out any penalty. Similarly, forindustries, which were per-mitted to operate duringlock-down, he announced oneper cent rebate on powercharges.

Aasara pensioners will getamount as usual in May with-out any cuts.

People caringKCR providessuccour...

CM junks Modi's partial lockdown...Continued from page 1

"I also interactedpersonallywith several persons in all dis-tricts, who sought extensionoflockdown. In fact, several per-sons sought extension of lock-downtill May end," heobserved with a catch.

The Chief Minister statedthat the cabinet would meetagain on May 5 to decide the-

course of action post May 7.The Chief Minister said that

operations of food deliverychains like Zomato,Swiggy etc.would not be permitted in thestate from Monday,consideringthat some delivery boys hadcontracted coronavirus insome states. The decision hadbeen taken in view of thegravity of the corona situatio-nand the increasing cases in

Hyderabad and other districts.The Chief Minister men-

tioned that the total number ofcases in Telangana hadincreased to 858 as onSunday,of which 651 were active.

Three more deaths werereported on Sunday, takingthe death toll in Telanganato21. Till date, another 186patients have been dischargedafter their recovery.

KCR said only four districtsin the state, namely Warangal(rural),YadadriBhuvanagiri,Wanaparty and Siddipetahavenot reported a singlecoronacase. Dropping hints that thelockdown could be extendedfurther (beyond May 7), KCRdetailed the findings of surveysthat suggested things may notimprove until the end of May.

Nilofer staff asked toquarantine themselvesContinued from page 1

Presently there are no coro-na cases at Niloufer Hospital,"said the Superintendent ofNiloufer Hospital.

This being so, a staff nurseat NIMS tested Covid-19 pos-itive. According to sources, shecame in contact with a Covid-

19 positive patient who hassince been shifted to GandhiHospital for treatment.

As a precautionary measure,several other health care work-ers from NIMS who wereinvolved in treating the coro-navirus patient are in quaran-tine and undergoing diagnos-tic tests.

One moreconstable testspositive for...Continued from page 1

The constable was rushedto the Gandhi Hospital andhis family members werehome quarantined, the offi-cials said. The staff at theChikkadpally police stationare taking precautionarymeasures to protect them-selves apart from tracing outwho the constable might havebeen in contact with.

No IftarRamzan thisyear, WHO...Continued from page 1

"In case an ill person isidentified at an event, imme-diate contact tracing must befacilitated," it said, also layingdown several other measuresto be followed — all attendeesensuring proper physicalhygiene such as hand wash-ing, both inside and outsidemosques; the presence ofcovered dustbins at venues toensure safe disposal of tissues;regular cleaning of mosquesand premises; and regularsanitisation of frequentlytouched objects such as lightswitches or staircase railings.

The WHO said that phys-ical distancing must also bepractised while offering'zakat', or charity, to theneedy.

HYDERABAD | MONDAY | APRIL 20, 2020 hyderabad 03

NAVEEN KUMAR n HYDERABAD

Humans have vanquished pastpandemics with much lowerdegree of medical advance-ments and with medical sci-ence today at its pinnacle,there is a hope for a cure in thenear future. However, life maynot be the same for the publicpost the lockdown as the fearfactor will very much keepthem at an edge.

We are amidst the first bigwave of this sea of troubles, andall of us need to do our part tohelp get through this.Aggressive measures have beenenacted to slow the spread ofthe virus. Painful as these are,they seem to be keeping thedisease from overwhelmingus.

If and when the governmentlockdowns eases, only if weadapt to the coronavirus bybehaving responsibly andaccepting some limitations, wewill be able to have a fair bit ofnormalcy. On the other hand,

if we try to live just as before,we may find the virus makinga comeback, with strict govern-ment regulations right behindit.

"If we want to maintain ourfreedom after the restrictionsare lifted, we will need to livein ways that limit the spread ofthe disease as well as providingextra protection for the mostvulnerable. Some measureswill be relatively easy to keepup, such as effective sanitation

and hygiene. Washing handsfrequently is not hard andavailability of hand sanitisershould be everywhere," expertsopined.

Speaking about what mightchange post lockdown, an offi-cial from city police said, "Weshould continue to wear masksin public and encourage peo-ple to wear them in crowdedpublic spaces while the pan-demic persists. It will also beimportant to continue to prac-

tice social distancing. Whenbars, clubs and restaurantsreopen, they and their patronswill still need to find ways tokeep people spaced out.Additionally, business and pub-lic places where people will bepacked together should consid-er screening people beforeentry. Transmission from thosewho are asymptomatic willstill be a threat, but we canreduce the risk by sendingthose with fevers or coron-avirus symptoms home.

Screening should also be insti-tuted to protect the most vul-nerable; nursing homes, assist-ed living facilities, senior cen-tres and similar places shouldbe checking everyone whocomes through their doors."

"The levels of tolerance thatour culture has to indisciplinewill probably change. Whenone individual endangers thelives of others with irresponsi-bility, people will not hesitatefrom forcing behaviouralchange. This is not the samething as spitting in public ormisbehaving in traffic. Each ofus are now responsible for theothers. That is the biggestchange that is being forced onus. One hopes that it is for thebetter that this disaster altersour reality from the morningof the day lockdown ends"said a psychologist.

"As lockdowns end, ourchoice is simple: either weadapt and impose responsiblebehaviour on ourselves, or itwill be imposed on us by thegovernment," added the police.

PNS n HYDERABAD

The buzz at the NehruZoological Park in the oldcity of Hyderabad is absent asvisitors to the current lockdown period is come tonaught.

Ecstatic cries of childrenvisiting the zoo also disap-peared. Usual commotionassociated with those whotravel by the battery-run vehi-cles and toy train is also miss-ing.

Silence has enveloped thezoological park region creatinga forest like environment in thepark where animals in thezoo appear to be relaxed withno visitors.

The zoological park person-nel are taking precautions toprevent spread of Coronavirusto the animals in the enclo-sures and taking all steps toprovide respite to the animalsfrom summer heat.

Daily animal keepers andveterinary doctors inspect theanimals in their enclosures.The animals are provided foodaround 10.30 am. They spendtime in enclosures up to 4 pmand then send back to nightshelters.

It is pertinent to note herthat a tiger called Saina gavebirth to three cubs, while jack-al produced six babies.

The officials here becamealert on learning that a tiger inNew York zoo was infected

with Corona virus. The zoostaff regularly cleans the ani-mal enclosures and spray sodi-um hypo chloride. The animalkeepers and other staff weargloves and sanitise their handsfrom time to time. They alsoobserve social distance duringtheir daily chores.

The precautions are beingobserved since one month onthe directions from the CentralZoo Authority and PCCF.

Thermal scanning is being

performed at the zoo gate forthe zoo staff. A foot bath facil-ities were provided near theenclosures. Anti-virus pow-der is being sprayed in theenclosures. Sprinklers arespraying water in enclosure tocool off the summer heat. Thezoo curator is obtainingreports on health status ofanimals from vets on twohourly basis.

Though there are no visitorsat this time, there are 120staff employed in the zoo.Besides subjecting them tothermal screening, the officialsmix Glucon-D in water,coconut water is mixed. To giveC vitamin to the animals,water melon and oranges arebeing fed.

The zoo officials are moni-toring health of animals withthe help of the veterans andimplementing preventive mea-sures to keep the virus at bay.

Life may never be the same againAfter the lockdowneases, only if webehave responsiblywe will be able to have a fair bit of normalcy. If wetry to live just asbefore, we mayfind the virusmaking acomeback

PNS n HYDERABAD

The World Liver Day observedamid the coronavirus pan-demic, medical experts havewarned that excessive liquorconsumption weakens theimmune system, making onemore vulnerable to infectionslike Covid-19.

A substance called ethanolor ethyl alcohol present inalcoholic beverages harms theimmune system of an individ-ual. Other toxic substancesthat smell like ethanol are alsoadded to adulterated beverages.

Ethyl alcohol is also one ofthe key ingredients to preparehand disinfectants that are inhigh demand in the wake of theCovid-19 pandemic.

"Social media is filled with

memes and messages aroundconsumption of alcohol to killviruses inside a human body,but the fact remains that con-suming alcohol will increasethe risk of contracting infec-tions," said Santosh KumarEnaganti, Senior ConsultantMedical Gastroenterologist andHepatologist at ContinentalHospitals.

"Liver is a sensitive yet vitalorgan and there are numerousrisks like jaundice, cirrhosis,liver failure, liver cancer etc.caused due to heavy consump-tion of alcohol. In fact, binge-indulgence with alcohol resultsin significant bodily impair-ment. Hence, it is best advisedto stay away from alcohol,avoid risks, at least duringthese times when a pandemic

is knocking on the doors," hesaid.

Alcohol and smoking areassociated with the dangerousprogression of Covid-19. Thosewith existing liver disease andthose above 60 years of ageshould be extra careful as thesepatients are more likely to

have adverse outcomes if theycontract Covid-19.

According to SudheerVinnamala, ConsultantG a s t r o e n t e r o l o g i s t ,Hepatologist and TherapeuticEndoscopist at KIMSHospitals, Kondapur, liver dis-eases can result from several

causes such as alcohol, viralinfections (hepatitis B, hepati-tis C), autoimmune drug/ med-ications etc.

"Every year 10 lakh patientsare diagnosed with liver cirrho-sis around the world. WHOdata shows liver disease relat-ed deaths in India has reached259,749 per year that is A2.95%of total deaths," saidVinnamala.

He pointed out that there isa shift from traditional infec-tion related liver disease to the21st century causes like weightgain, decreasing exercise,increased alcohol consump-tion, increased incidence of di-abetes and longer life expectan-cy leading to advanced liverdisease in patients with multi-ple other comorbidities.

Liquor consumption increases risk of virus

PNS n HYDERABAD

Home Minister MohdMahmood Ali appealedMuslims to perform Namaz attheir residences during theRamzan period.

Home Minister supervisedthe disinfectant sprinklingwork undertaken by theTelangana State DisasterResponse and Fire Departmentat Charminar on Sunday.

Charminar MLA MumtazAhmed khan, HyderabadCommissioner of PoliceAnjani Kumar, DirectorGeneral of Fire ServicesDepartment Sanjay KumarJain, regional fire officer VPapaiah and other fire depart-ment officers have participat-ed in this programme.

In order to control thespread of Covid-19, FireDepartment staff has beenspraying disinfectant all overthe state.Mahmood Ali super-vised the programme alongwith MLA, fire and policeofficials.

Home Minister said thatthere is no medicine or vaccinefor this virus and lockdown isthe best solution. He request-ed Muslims should perform

Namaz in the coming Ramzanseason at their houses only. Hesaid the Fire Department hasbeen engaged in sprinklingSodium Hypochlorite inTelangana. Besides sprayingSodium Hypochlorite, the FireDepartment is educating thepublic regarding the precau-tions of the coronavirus.Minister appealed the public tofollow the guidelines issued bythe state government in con-

taining the spread of theCoronavirus and urged peopleto stay at home. He stated thatthe state government under thedynamic leadership of ChiefMinister K ChandrashekarRao has been taking all theneeded measures in preventingthe spread of Covid-19.

Anjani Kumar said publicshould cooperate wholeheart-edly to implement lockdownsuccessfully.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Municipal Administration andUrban Development MinisterKT Rama Rao on Sundayinspected the progress of steelbridge works at Punjaguttaand directed GreaterHyderabad MunicipalCorporation (GHMC) offi-cials to complete the bridge ina month.

The Municipal Corporationhas taken up the bridge workswith a cost of Rs 23 crore tofacilitate easy flow of traffic. Aspart of the works, the carriage-way on either side of the roadat the crematorium atNagarjuna circle is also beingwidened.

The Minister along withMayor Bonthu Rammohan,Municipal Administration andUrban Development PrincipalSecretary Arvind Kumar andother senior officials inspect-ed the iron girder installation

works at the site on Sunday.Making use of lockdown

and traffic-free roads, the con-tractor has deployed moremen and machinery at the siteand is executing the works theround the clock.

Nearly 50 per cent workspertaining to the steel bridge,widening the carriageway oneither side of the road havebeen completed, GHMC chiefengineer R Sridhar informedthe Minister.

Complimenting GHMC andcontractors, the Ministerdirected the officials to adoptmore precautionary measuresand deploy advanced machin-ery.

Once completed, the bridgewill facilitate in easing trafficcongestion at Nagarjuna Circle,which is among the high traf-fic zones in the city. Due tonarrow carriageway, vehiclemovement invariably slowsdown at the circle.

Minister urges Muslims to offer prayers at home during Ramzan

Home Minister Mahmood Ali sprays disinfectant while supervising disinfectantdrive at Charminar on Sunday.

KTR reviews ongoing steel bridge works at Punjagutta

Medical fraternity too under Corona threatPNS n HYDERABAD

At least 14 medical personneluntil now were tested positivefor Coronavirus under theGHMC limits causing concernamong the medical fraternity.

On Friday, doctor and twonurses of a private hospitaltested positive for the virus.Meanwhile, on Saturday astaff nurse and house-keepingworker in NIMS tested posi-tive for the virus.

Earlier, an assistant profes-sor and three resident doctorsin emergency wing and threeresidents in general medicinewing of the NIMS have beenquarantined as they wereexposed to the virus whiletreating a patient who testedpositive.

Allegations are that the N-95 masks, gloves and PPE kitsare being supplied to thosewho work in Corona isolationward, but not to those whowork in emergency, out-patient and other wards.

Mother and wife of aSomajiguda-based corporatehospital doctor who testedpositive for the virus acquiredit from him. Lab technicanwho works in a private hospi-tal spread virus to his moth-er, father and brother.

Doctor and a staff nurse ina corporate hospital ofGachibowli tested positive forthe virus. A medical techni-cian who is posted in airporttested positive for the virus.

Many patients visiting hos-pitals are not disclosing symp-toms like cold, cough andfever and hence doctors treat-ing them as normal patients.As pneumonia did not appearto subside, the patients arethen tested for Covid-19 lead-ing to they testing positive forthe virus. Thus, the virus isspreading to medical staff,staff nurses and other paramedical personnel. They areresponsible for their familymembers getting infected withthe virus.

CP reviews containment clusters in Hayathnagar PNS n HYDERABAD

Rachakonda PoliceCommissioner Mahesh MBhagwat on Sunday visited theCovid-19 containment areas inMunagnoor village inHayathnagar and reviewedthe arrangements.

The Commissioner accom-panied by VanasthalipuramAssistant PoliceCommissioner, local munici-pal authorities visited the con-tainment zone and reviewedthe security arrangements,

supply of food and otheressentials to the residents dur-ing the lockdown.

Bhagwat instructed the offi-cials to set up more barricadesand ensure door-to-doordelivery of essentials for resi-dents of the containment zoneapart from regular announce-ments on the complete lock-down. The Commissioner alsovisited the fruit market beingdeveloped in Koheda village ofAbdullapurmet and instruct-ed the officials to set up apolice outpost at the site.

Essentials should be distributedthrough GHMC officials: MayorPNS n HYDERABAD

Good Samaritans planning todonate or distribute essentialcommodities and food to theneedy during the lockdownperiod should do the samethrough designated GreaterHyderabad Municipal Cor-p-oration nodal officers, saidMayor Bonthu Rammohan.

Several individuals and vol-untary groups have come for-ward to provide food andessential commodities to thepoor families, he said andadded that to ensure orderlydistribution and maintainingof social distancing, the civicbody has appointed the nodalofficers.

Bonthu Rammohan accom-panied by Civil SuppliesCorporation Chairman MSrinivas Reddy, MLA B SubashReddy and Medchal-Malkajg-iri District Collector VasamVenkateswarlu distributed 12kg rice and Rs 500 each to the

migrant workers at Cherlapallydivision on Sunday.

Speaking on the occasion,the Mayor said the State gov-ernment has taken up steps toensure the poor and themigrant workers does not suf-fer due to the lockdown.

Residents of Lal Talim lane in Rezimental Bazar of Secunderabad on Sunday greet police officials with rose petals and Harathiin recognition of their services in the prevention of Covid-19

FRONTLINERS FFELICITATED

The officials aremonitoring healthof animals withthe help of vetsand implementingpreventivemeasures to keepthe virus at bay

Narayana group donates Rs 1 cr to CM relief fund PNS n HYDERABAD

The Narayana Group ofEducational Institutions hascome forward to help the stategovernment of Andhra Pradeshin this hour of crisis when thedeadly Coronavirus is causinghavoc across the world. Lakhsof people have got infected andmany thousands are dying inalmost all the countries. Even asthis corona virus is spreadingacross the Telugu states and cre-ating a deadly scare among thepeople, Government has madeall arrangements to fight thisvirus by implementing largescale measures on a war foot-ing, including a nationwidelockdown.

In this connection, executivedirector of the Narayana Groupof Educational Institutions KPuneet told the press that inview of the prevailing lockdownregulations, the NarayanaGroup has made an onlinedonation of Rs 1 crore today tothe Andhra Pradesh Chief

Minister's Relief Fund. Managing director of

Narayana Group Dr SindhuraNarayana said that as the pre-sent situation is critical, it is vitalfor everyone to follow theguidelines and stay home. Sheadded that that all of us need tocooperate with the govern-ment so that the nation can tideover the crisis in a short time.

Narayana Group of Edu-cational Institutions has alwaysbeen in the forefront in timesof crisis and has always comeforward to help the authoritiesas a corporate citizen. TheGroup donated Rs 1 crore to TSCMRF on April 8.

Hyderabadisuccumbsto Corona in JeddahPNS n HYDERABAD

A Hyderabadi NRI fromBowenpally succumbed tocoronavirus on Saturdaynight in Saudi Arabia, mark-ing second mortality fromTelangana state in SaudiArabia in less than threedays. There were total nineIndians dead in the countryas of Sunday.

According to sources, thedeceased, Mohammed Sadiq,was working as technician ina maintenance company inairport for the last few years.He was living in a companyshared accommodation,where he was screened bylocal health authorities in arandom check up campaignand found positive.

The NRI was shifted tohospital where he died onSaturday evening, he said.The death was confirmed byIndian consulate.

Narayana Grouphas always beenin the forefront intimes of crisis andhas always comeforward to help theauthorities

Humans locked out fromzoo, animals get a breather

PNS n HYDERABAD

A bumper harvest of paddy hasbrought cheers to Telangana inthe otherwise gloomy envi-ronment due to coronavirus-induced lockdown, resulting inthe state's revenues coming toalmost nil. Thanks to comple-tion of some key irrigationprojects, including prestigiousKaleswaram and 24X7 electric-ity supply, India's youngeststate, once described as mostbackward and parched, is onthe way to emerge as the newrice bowl of India.

With record cultivation ofpaddy on nearly 40 lakh acresduring the ongoing Rabi sea-son, the state expects a yield ofmore than one crore tonnes, thehighest for the season since cre-ation of the state six years ago.While opening nearly 7,000centres in villages to procurepaddy directly from farmers,Telangana is also catering torequirements of other stateswith the supply of rice from thewarehouses of FoodCorporation of India (FCI).

About 2.52 lakh tonnes ofrice has been supplied to TamilNadu, Kerala and Karnataka.FCI officials are also working tomeet the requirement fromWest Bengal. Telangana alsodistributed 3 lakh tonnes of freerice among people living belowpoverty line as part of its aid forthe lockdown period.

These developments havebrought into focus howTelangana turned around itsstory. In fact, the jump inpaddy production is the second

biggest achievement by thestate since it was carved out ofunified Andhra Pradesh in2014. Overcoming electric-ity shortage was the firstmajor achievement. It wasremarkable considering theapprehensions voiced bysome people before bifur-cation that the new statewould plunge into dark-ness.

The government saysTelangana is the only state inthe country offering 24x7power supply to agricultureserving 24.16 lakh farmers.This enabled farmers to irrigatetheir farms at their desiredtiming. Construction of majorprojects like Kaleswaram, com-pletion of the on-going projects,revival of tanks under MissionKakatiya besides round-the-clock free power to farmershave all resulted in farmers aregetting water in abundance,says Chief Minister K.

Chandrashekhar Rao.The area under paddy culti-

vation was 18.35 lakh acres inRabi season of 2018-19 and ithas more than doubled to 39.12lakh acres now. This was only12.23 lakh acres in 2014-15.The state expects paddy culti-vation in 55 to 60 lakh acresduring Kharif season whichbegins with monsoon. It was40.7 lakh acres last year and a

mere 22.7 lakh acres in 2014-15. This is expected to go up toat least 70 lakh acres next year.

KCR, as Rao is popularlyknown, is confident ofTelangana cultivating 2.25crore tonnes paddy everyyear. This means the yieldwill be over one croretonnes in each season.

Agriculture Minister SNiranjan Reddy believes that

the state will emerge as the ricebowl of India in three years.

According to him, the com-pletion of Kaleshwaram LiftIrrigation Scheme (KLIS) con-tributed mainly to the extent ofpaddy cultivation doubling injust one year.

Ever since forming the firstgovernment after achieving thegoal of statehood to Telangana,KCR accorded top priority tobuilding irrigation projects withthe slogan of 'Bangaru (golden)Telangana' with an aim to irri-gate one crore acre. The target

was achieved last year. Thiscoupled with the uninterrupt-ed power supply, financial assis-tance towards farm inputs andother support systems encour-aged more and more farmers totake to paddy cultivation.

In normal days Telanganawould have celebrated the occa-sion. As KCR himself said peo-ple would have danced to cel-ebrate it, but outbreak of coro-navirus and subsequent lock-down created a challenge bothfor the state and the farmers.Though the governmentexempted agriculture opera-tions the unavailability oflabourers due to coronavirusscare and shortage of harvest-ing machines affected the oper-ations.

The agriculture market yardsin towns were shut to avoidlarge gatherings. As the situa-tion had the potential to causelarge-scale distress amongfarmers, KCR assured themthat the government will buythe entire paddy and corn,together cultivated over 50 lakhacres during the current seasonby opening procurement cen-tres in villages.

"The government is ready tobuy every single morsel fromfarmers and hence the farmersneed get panic," KCR said. Hesaid the government gave bankguarantee for Rs 30,000 crore tobuy the entire paddy and corndirectly from farmers. "Noother state government everpurchased the entire paddyand corn grown in a season.Telangana is the first statewhich is doing this."

Jubilee Hills MLA Maganti Gopinath distributing 12-kg rice and Rs 500 to the migrant labourers in Krishna Nagar

HELPING HHAND

HYDERABAD | MONDAY | APRIL 20, 2020 hyderabad 04

Bumper paddy harvest in TS

AVINASH DEEPAK PULI n MAHBUBNAGAR

Self-medication is one of thecomponents of self-care, whichmay treat the disease or resultin worsening of the conditiondue to irrational use of drug. Inrural areas, self-medication isa common practice as it pro-vides a low-cost alternative forpeople who cannot afford thehigh cost of clinical service.

However, that's not the casenow. People in rural areasacross the state are adoptingscientific approach and aresimply following the direc-tions of administration andpreferring to stay indoors dur-ing the lockdown period. Itmay be astonishing but true.People in rural areas haveembraced science now. They

are now following the tips ofhealthcare experts and are tak-ing no chances in self-medica-tion.

Even the small ailments suchas fever, cold and cough alongwith the issues pertaining tothe body pains were wiped outtotally in many parts including

the interior corners duringthis crucial phase. However,these ailments are treated withAyurvedic kind of remedies inthe remote places connected tothe border districts ofTelangana -Andhra Pradeshand Maharashtra. A cursoryglance in the remote, rural,

semi urban and urban parts ofthe Telangana districts revealthat the Coronavirus was neverseen as an implication of super-stition even in the familiesthat are regarded as the prac-titioners of sorcery. Duringthe testing time, villagers gen-erally offer prayers to localdeities seeking remedies butthis time, the people have con-fined to their homes and did-n't participate in any religiousevents.

In Raigudem village, thetoddy tapper community post-poned their Katama Raju fes-tival. The festival was sched-

uled to be celebrated on thevery day of commencement oflockdown. The communityelders have fixed the date afortnight ago. But that festivalwas deferred indefinitely andthe toddy tapper communitystayed indoors as per theinstructions of the govern-ment. "What we require now isto contain the virus. IfKatamaraju is to be worshippedwe should remain alive," saidThallapalli Venkataiah, a Goudcommunity leader. Similarly,worshipping of Yellamma con-necting the forest belt was sus-pended indefinitely.

Rural folks adopt scientific approach

Thearea under

paddy cultivationwas 18.35 lakh

acres in Rabi seasonof 2018-19 and it hasmore than doubled

to 39.12 lakhacres now

Middle-class familiesworry about school feePV KONDAL RAOn WARANGAL

With each passing day, Coronacases in the state are on therise. The state has been consis-tently reporting high numbersover the last five days.The lat-est development will onlymake things harder for thegovernment, which has beenhoping to flatten the curve ofthe virus. To contain the virus,the state government has alsoestablished 209 clusters wherecontainment zones have beenset up to avoid further spreadof the disease.

Except for the essential ser-vices, almost everything cameto a halt not only in the statebut across the country. Thestate government had evenannounced that students fromClass 1 to 9 of all public andprivate schools will be promot-ed to the next class. However,the private school manage-ments are allegedly harassingthe parents to pay the fee forthe next academic year inalmost all the districts acrossthe state. Especially, the stu-dents of CBSE pattern arebeing compelled to take onlineclasses and the parents wereallegedly asked to pay the nextacademic fees much beforethe resumption of their stud-ies.

Some parents working inprivate sector say that they hadlost their jobs due to theCorona impact. They say thatthere are not in a position topay the fees for their children.

Ratnakar of Warangal usu-ally pays the term fees ontime. However, the Coronaimpact has turned his plansupside down and now he wasforced to defer the fee pay-ment. “Our prime concernnow is to remain alive withoutany problem and the Coronacrisis is looming large on us.This aspect should be consid-ered by the school administra-tions and they should bedirected accordingly,” he said.

Though a direct pressure isnot being mounted on theparents by the school manage-ments, a report from almost allthe districts reveal that 70-80per cent of the private acade-mic institutions are issuingonline notices and remindersto the parents to pay the feeson time. Raji Reddy ofMahbubabad says that eventhe non detention type of pro-motions accorded in the Statesyllabus schools is promptingcertain managements to issuethe fees details and fees sched-ule to the parents.

“Some schools are indirect-ly advising the parents to taketo online classes during thissummer vacation period andthey are seeking online pay-ment of fees towards theseclasses. In districts likeKarimnagar, where the acade-mic expenses are higher com-paratively in the industrialzones like coal belt, the parentswere directed to pay the fees ontime,” he said. Though thepayment process and remittalof fees could not be skipped inthe regular process, the presentsituation should also be takeninto consideration, opinedArunadevi.

On Sunday, Chief Ministerinformed that the privateschools across the state shall notproceed with the hike in theschool fee. He informed that thestate cabinet has taken a deci-sion not to allow more than10,000 private schools to hikefee for the academic year 2020-2021. He also told that allschools shall only collect tuitionfee on month-wise basis.

People in rural areas across are strictlyfollowing the directions of theadministration and are staying indoors

UNTIMELY RAINS

PNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana BJP chief BandiSanjay Kumar on Sunday con-doled the death of farmers whodied in the lightning when theywent out to save their paddyfrom rain. He demanded thestate government to extend helpto the kin of the deceased.

Sanjay said that farmers havedied due to thunderstorm inKarimnagar, Nizamabad andNalgonda districts when theywent to their fields to protecttheir crops from unseasonalrains. He asked the state govern-ment to extend financial help tothe bereaved families besides theCentre's financial help.

Sanjay also demanded thestate government to purchasethe grains soaked with unsea-

sonal rains by giving minimumsupport price. Sanjay asked thestate government to extendcompensation to the lost cropdue to unseasonal rains.

The BJP State president lashedout at Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao for giving

hype over the rabi crop outputbut failed to do justice to thefarmers in buying their paddycrop after ensuring them to har-vest the crops in time. Heblamed the officials concernedfor showing apathy for the croploss and the death of farmers.

Farmers told to dig canalsalong their fieldsPNS n HYDERABAD

Finance Minister T HarishRao on Sunday compared theState government's effort tocomplete Kaleshwaram Projectto irrigate lakhs of acres inTelangana with the secondphase of the separate Statehoodmovement. Stating that thepeople's dream of achievingStatehood for Telangana cametrue under the leadership ofChief Minister KChandrashekar Rao, theMinister said construction ofKaleshwaram project was nolesser an effort than the 14-year Telangana movement,which forced the Centre tocarve out Telangana State.

Harish Rao said both theissues - statehood forTelangana and constructionof Kaleshwaram - would nothave been possible withoutChandrasekhar Rao. "Wewould have organised grandfestivities in Siddipet district tomark the arrival of Godavariwater to the district but forcoronavirus affecting the Stateand the subsequent lockdown,"

he said. Asserting that it willremain the most satisfyingday in his political career,Harish said the Godavari waterwill bring great changes in thelives of the people in these partof the State. As the Irrigationdepartment was preparing torelease Godavari water intoRanganayaka Sagar, construct-ed at Chandlapur ofChinnakodur Mandal in dis-trict, the Minister has inspect-ed the works along the LeftBank Canal on Sunday. He hasstarted his visit at 6.30 am andcontinued until 11.30 am cov-

ering dozens of villages inChinnakodur, Narayanraopetand Siddipet rural Mandalstravelling over 70-KM. He hadmade a similar visit to villageson the right bank canal onSaturday to get the officials,public representatives and peo-ple be prepared.

The 3 TMCft storage capac-ity project will irrigate 1.10lakh acres in Siddipet besidesmeeting the drinking waterneeds. The Minister has askedthe farmers to dig canals alongtheir fields to get them irrigat-ed with Godavari water.

Purchase damaged paddy: Bandi

MRO comesto the rescueof migrantsPNS n HYDERABAD

Bandlaguda MRO FarheenShaik on Sunday distributed12-kg rice and gave away Rs500 to around 150 migrantlabourers. The TelanganaYouth Congress leadersbrought the issue to the noticeof the MRO. The migrantlabourers hail from AndhraPradesh, Karnataka, UttarPradesh, Maharashtra, WestBengal, Odhisa and otherstates.

The distribution pro-gramme was organised at aprivate function hall located atChatrinaka. Later YouthCongress leaders SP KranthiKumar and S Shailaja haveorganised free food distribu-tion in which MRO FarheenShaik, Chatrinaka CI R VidyaSagar Reddy distributed foodpackets to the migrants. Onthis occasion, HyderabadParliament ConstituencyYouth Congress vice-presi-dents S Shailaja and SPKranthi Kumar felicitatedMRO Farheen Shaik for help-ing the migrants.

CPI tells Modito take cuefrom KeralaPNS n HYDERABAD

CPI national secretary Dr KNarayana on Sunday took up'deeksha' from 10.00 AM to05.00 PM at his residence inHyderabad demanding theCentral and State govern-ments to immediately set upfree food and public healthdistribution facilities at allthe Police stations, Panchayator Local bodies offices anddirectly serve food and othersto the needy people.

"The central governmenthas allocated funds which isjust 0.6 per cent of the GDP,whereas other countries allo-cated funds up to 20-26 percent of their GDP to tackle thepandemic," he said.

The CPI leader demandedthe central government toincrease the funds allocation.Narayana suggested theCentral Government to takeup Kerala as role model in thisregard.

The Kerala government incoordination with theOpposition is working effi-ciently to tackle the spread ofthe virus, he said.

Narayana also demandedthat necessary funds for thesame purpose should be allo-cated by the respective gov-ernments. Narayana said thatthere are lakhs of tonnes offood stocks are available inFCI godowns and if a meagerpart of stocks are released,those are enough for the poorand vulnerable sections ofpeople for the next threemonths.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana Congress leadersalleged that the state govern-ment has denied rice and finan-cial assistance to lakhs of poorpeople across the State on var-ious pretexts. "The ChiefMinister had announced onMarch 22, 2020 that sovernmentwill supply free 12-kg rice perperson and Rs 1,500 to each ofthe 87.59 lakh white ration cardholders in the state. However,some of these ration card hold-

ers were denied the 12 kg ricesaying that their cards havebeen cancelled due to non-drawal of rations for threemonths. All such cards should

be immediately restored and ricesupplied to them immediatelyby making an announcement tothat effect," Telangana PradeshCongress Committee (TPCC)president and MP N UttamKumar Reddy, CLP leaderBhatti Vikramarka and TPCCCOVID-19 Task Force chair-man Marri Shashidhar Reddysaid in their open letter to ChiefMinister K ChandrashekharRao on Sunday.

Uttam pointed out that therewere two other categories of

poor people who are not a partof the above 87.59 lakh cardholders. "Firstly, there are about18 lakh pending applicationsfrom eligible people for whiteration cards, which were can-celled in the past. They shouldbe immediately given rationcards and should not be deniedrations during these difficultdays. Secondly, there is alsoanother category of about 4.5lakh poor people who neitherhave cards nor have any pend-ing applications.

Lakhs of poor families did not get rice, cash: Uttam

Congress: TRS, BJP usinglockdown for political gainsK VENKATESHWARLUn HYDERABAD

Telangana Congress is goingthrough one of the worst phasethese days. The lockdown hasfurther worsened its woes.Now, the Telangana Congressis of the opinion that the TRSand the BJP, which are inpower at the state and at theCentre respectively, are takingpolitical advantage in the statein the guise of Coronaviruslockdown. According tosources, party senior leadershave expressed the same dur-ing the video conference helda couple of days ago, in whichleaders like N Uttam KumarReddy, Komatireddy VenkatReddy, RC Khuntia and sever-al others participated.

During a video conference,few leaders stated that theCongress is lagging behindthe ruling TRS and BJP in thestate. It is learnt that theTelangana Congress leader-

ship reacted stating that it willdiscuss the issue further withother leaders and take a finaldecision in this regard to chalkout an action plan.

Senior leaders like BhongirMP Komatireddy VenkatReddy and former PCC chiefV Hanumantha Rao have con-veyed their feelings to theTelangana Party leadershipstating that the TRS and BJPleaders were moving freelyacross the state during thelockdown. The police are notobjecting the ruling TRS partyleaders. However, the samepolice are not allowing theCongress leaders to movefreely across the state. More so,the police are filing casesagainst the Congress leaders. Itis learnt that KomatireddyVenkat Reddy requested theparty leadership and the cadreto go to the people and extendhelp to the needy. He report-edly asked them to take up dis-tribution of essential goods,

vegetables, food and otheritems on a war-footing basis.Otherwise the party will facemore troubles after the lock-down, he said.

It is learnt that VH highlight-ed about how the ruling partyis not taking opposition partiesinto consideration even duringthese testing times. "EvenPrime Minister Narendra Moditook suggestions from TDPchief N Chandrababu Naidubut KCR is not taking opposi-tion parties into considerationin the state. This is not the timefor politics, but TRS and BJPare indulging in politics. TheTRS is using Ministers andMLAs and other leaders forpolitical gains in the name ofpublic service. The police arenot even filing cases if TRSleaders visit red zones areas.However, the same police filedcases at him for paying tributesto Dr BR Ambedkar statue,which is not in red zone area,"he said.

HYDERABAD | MONDAY | APRIL 20, 2020 nation 05SHORT READS

Two journos testpositive forcoronavirus in TNCHENNAI: In a first in TamilNadu, two city-basedjournalists on Sunday testedpositive for coronavirus, morethan a month after the firstcase was reported in the state,authorities said. A reporterworking for a Tamil daily and asub-editor with a Tamil newstelevision channel have testedpositive for coronavirus,officials said. While the reporterhas been admitted to the RajivGandhi Government GeneralHospital, the other is beingtreated at Government StanleyHospital, they said adding bothare in 'stable' condition. "Weare tracing their contacts andcontainment measures in theirrespective areas are on," anofficial said. The first positivecase was reported in TamilNadu on March 8.

No active COVID-19case in Goa, all 7patients discharged

Woman killed by tigerin Bhandara districtNAGPUR: A 38-year-oldwoman was killed by a tiger inPaoni forest in Bhandaradistrict of Maharashtra early onSunday, officials said. This isthe fourth such incident thathas happened within a week inVidarbha region of the state,they said. The incident tookplace in Mouza Sawarla forestrange between 5 am and 6 amwhen the woman had gone tocollect mahua flowers. Theplace is around 2.5 kms fromher village, the forestdepartment said in a statement."She had gone to collect theflowers along with her husbandwhen a tiger attacked her andkilled her on the spot," it said.After being alerted about theincident, Deputy Conservator ofForests (Bhandara), VivekHoshing, and other forestdepartment staff rushed to thespot. The woman's body wassent for post-mortem and animmediate financial assistanceof Rs 25,000 was given to thefamily of deceased, thestatement said.

PANAJI: All seven COVID-19patients in Goa have recoveredfrom the infection and havebeen discharged, state healthminister Vishwajit Rane said onSunday. The last of the sevencases in the coastal state wasdetected on April 3, and sincethen all have been dischargedafter their samples testednegative post treatment. "We areproud to announce that all thepatients that were reportedpositive in the state of Goa haverecovered from the COVID-19.The active number of cases inGoa now stands at zero," hetweeted. "While we currently donot have any active case in thestate, it is our responsibility tokeep in mind the importance oflockdown, maintain socialdistance, increase the scope oftesting and adhere to norms andguidelines issued by bothCentral and state government,"he added. He thanked thedoctors in the frontline tocombat the outbreak, CMPramod Sawant, Chief SecretaryParimal Rai and HealthSecretary Neela Mohanan.

Govt stops e-commerce platformsfrom selling non-essential itemsPNS n NEW DELHI

The government on Sunday pro-hibited e-commerce platformsfrom selling non-essential itemsduring the lockdown, four daysafter allowing the companies tosell mobile phones, refrigeratorsand ready-made garments.

Union Home Secretary AjayBhalla issued an order excludingthe non-essential items fromthe cart of e-commerce compa-nies.

The order said the followingclause -- "e-commerce compa-nies. Vehicles used by e-com-merce operators will be allowedto ply with necessary permis-sions" -- is excluded from theguidelines.

Asked why the governmentmade a U-turn on the matter,Joint Secretary in the home min-istry Punya Salila Srivastava saidthe Covid-19 situation has beenvery dynamic and the govern-ment is taking decision on a day-to-day basis.

When the government hasrealised that allowing non-essen-

tial commodities to sell throughe-commerce platforms mayaffect the proper implementationof the lockdown, the decision wasreviewed and reversed, she saidat a daily joint briefing on theCOVID-19 outbreak.

The April 15 order had said e-commerce platforms wereallowed to sell such items fromApril 20.

The reason for reversing theorder was not known immedi-

ately, but there was a talk of someretail traders mounting pres-sure on the government that localshops be also allowed to sell non-essentials items, like e-commercegiants.

E-commerce platforms, how-ever, are allowed to sell essentialcommodities such as food, phar-maceutical and medical devices.

The previous order said,"Supply of essential goods isallowed, as under: All facilities in

the supply chain of essentialgoods, whether involved in man-ufacturing, wholesale or retail ofsuch goods through local stores,large brick and mortar stores ore-Commerce companies shouldbe allowed to operate, ensuringstrict social distancing withoutany restriction on their timing ofopening and closure."

A day later, Home Ministryofficials said electronic itemssuch as mobile phones, TVs,refrigerators, laptop computers,ready-made garments, stationeryitems for schoolchildren wouldbe available on the e-commerceplatforms from April 20.

Following that directive, a fewe-commerce companies statedaccepting online orders.

Later on Sunday, the homesecretary wrote a letter to thechief secretaries of all States andUnion Territories giving a clari-fication on the subject.

"...I would like to clarify thatwhile operations of e-commercecompanies for non-essentialgoods stands prohibited, howev-er they will continue to operatefor essential goods as has beenallowed earlier and continue tobe allowed," he said.

Bhalla also requested the chiefsecretaries to clarify this to all thefield agencies and also adequate-ly disseminate amongst the gen-eral public so as to ensure smoothmovement of the entire supplychain of essential goods, includ-ing by e-commerce.

PNS n BHUBANESWAR

The Odisha government onSunday declared some areas inBalasore as containment zonesto conduct active surveillanceand contact tracing, a day aftera 58-year-old man tested posi-tive to COVID-19 in the town,officials said.

Three wards located inNiliabag area of BalasoreMunicipality have been sealedand all the entry and exit pointswill remain closed initially for aweek, Balasore District CollectorK Sudarshan Chakravarthy said.

Describing Niliabag as adensely populated area, the col-lector said it requires intensivemeasures for active surveillanceand contact tracing. Residents ofthe area would not be allowed tomove out and people from out-side are prevented from enter-ing into the locality as a precau-tionary measure. The movecomes after a 58-year-old manfrom the area tested positive forCOVID-19 on Saturday. Theman has been admitted to a des-ignated Covid hospital for treat-ment, said an official.

Odisha has 61 COVID-19positive cases. Intensive preven-tive and disinfection measureshave been launched in the local-ity from where one patient hasbeen found COVID-19 positive.The entry and exit points havebeen sealed to restrict move-ment of people.

Separate teams have beenengaged to conduct medicalcheck up of over 400 familiesresiding in the area, while firebrigade has started disinfectiondrive since morning, saidDeputy Collector NiluMahapatra. Arrangements havebeen made to provide essentialcommodities, medicines and

other assistance to the peopleresiding in the containmentzone, said the official.

Detailed contact history of thepatient is being collected, whilehis family members and peoplewho came in contact with theman are being placed underquarantine to prevent spread ofthe deadly disease, he said.

Meanwhile, restrictionsimposed in two containmentzones Charampa and Erein inBhadrak town for contact trac-ing and active surveillance havebeen lifted, according toBhadrak district CollectorGyana Das.

However, the lockdownrestrictions will continue to be inforce at these places and peoplewould have to adhere to theguidelines, he said. Three placesin Bhadrak-Puruna Bazaar, Cha-rampa and Erein had been decla-red as containment zones afterthree persons tested positive forCOVID-19 in the town. Contai-nment restrictions have earlierbeen lifted from Puruna Bazaararea on April 15, sources said.

Odisha declares someareas of Balasore ascontainment zones

Sustained lockdown drives many inunorganised sector to sell veggies, fishPNS n KOLKATA

For two weeks, MohammadIrfan went to bed on a half-empty stomach, making surehis children get three squaremeals a day, but with the exten-sion of the lockdown, the rick-shaw-puller in the city'sPaikpara area knew it was timeto look for an alternative sourceof income.

Irfan, these days, wakes upat 4 am and rushes to whole-salers' hub - Mechhua Bazar -to procure vegetables andfruits, which he then sells in hisneighbourhood.

Much like Irfan, taxi drivers,small shopkeepers, tea stallowners and other vendors inthe city, who mostly trade innon-essential items, have takento selling vegetables, fruits andfish, with the COVID-19-induced lockdown havingdried up much of theirresources.

West Bengal ConsumerAffairs Minister SadhanPandey, when asked about thistrend, said if the traders abideby the norms, the governmentsees no reason to stop them."They can surely opt for analternative source of income inthis hour ofcrisis... Just that theyshould do business between 8am and 4 pm," he said.

Nirmal Kumar, a shoe shop

owner-turned-fish seller inBehala, expressed hope that hewould be able to send moneyto his ailing parents inBurdwan this month, as hisnew trade was picking up pacein Manton area.

"I couldn't send moneyhome last month as I had usedup half of my savings to buy acycle van. Now, I visitChowbaga fish market every

morning and buy some staplevarieties for sale in Manton.Many residents place orders onphone, and I deliver them totheir doorsteps," he said.

The story is no different forRatan Halder, the owner of afast food stall in Baguiatiarea, who has started sellingvegetables from his kiosk.The 45-year-old, who pooledin money from relatives to sethis alternative trade rolling,cycles 30 km up and down to

buy fresh produce fromPolerhat in South 24Parganas district.

"I had recently spent Rs3,500 to buy raw materials formyfast food stall. It has all gonewaste... Not once did I foreseethis month-and-a-half-longlockdown," Halder said.

A senior official of a retail-ers' body said more vegetablevendors would mean moreoptions, and people no longerhave to stand in queues.

WB Consumer Affairs MinisterSadhan Pandey, when asked aboutthis trend, said if the traders abideby the norms, the government seesno reason to stop them. "They cansurely opt for an alternative sourceof income in this hour ofcrisis...Just that they should do businessbetween 8 am and 4 pm," he said

PNS n PATNA

Work on about 40,000 projectswill start in more than 8000panchayats of Bihar fromMonday, as part of the state'sefforts to live up to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi'smantra of "jaan bhi, jahaan bhi"(life as well as livelihood),Deputy Chief Minister SushilKumar Modi said on Sunday.Taking to Twitter, he said overfive lakh labourers will getjobs as soon as work on thepending projects commencesin 8,386 panchayats of thestate. Sushil Kumar Modi, whois also state's finance minister,noted that temporary centreswould be set up in the villagesto facilitate the process of link-ing bank accounts of labourerswith their Aadhaar cards foreasy withdrawal of money, es-pecially during times of crisis.

Work on 40Kprojects tostart today

PNS n PORT BLAIR

Three more people testedpositive for COVID-19 inAndaman and NicobarIslands, taking the total num-ber of cases in the UnionTerritory on Sunday to 15,officials here said.

All three are family mem-bers of a government employ-ee, who was found to havecontracted the disease twodays ago, said Avijit Roy, thenodal officer for COVID-19in the UT. A resident ofBambooflat area in SouthAndaman, the 49-year-oldman had been keeping unwellsince April 10. One of thethree people who tested pos-itive on Sunday is the govern-ment employee's wife. Theyare all undergoing treatmentat the GB Pant Hospital here,officials said.

3 more testpositive for inA&N Islands

Pregnant women battle anxiety,restlessness in lockdownPNS n NEW DELHI

Sadhna, a 28-week pregnantwoman, is having sleeplessnights and terrified to visit ahospital. Pooja, who is set todeliver her baby in June, attimes suffers from anxiety andrestlessness. Like them, manyexpecting mothers feel extraor-dinarily pressured by the uncer-tainty the coronavirus pan-demic has brought in its wake.

And the lockdown has aug-mented the troubles as visitinga doctor for even the periodicconsultancy or being withfamily and relatives is not thesame as it were before the out-break. Also, stepping out of thehome to visit a hospital raisesthe risks manifold for not onlythe expecting mother but alsofor the one who is yet to born.

"I am away from my parents

who live in Bangalore. I wassupposed to be with my hus-band in Mumbai but my flightwas cancelled. I am alone hereand trying to keep myself calmthrough meditation," said Pooja.

Emerging evidence, accord-ing to the Indian Council ofMedical Research, suggeststhat transmission of coron-avirus from mother to babybefore birth or during delivery

is possible although the propor-tion of pregnancies affectedand the significance to theneonate is yet to be determined.

Sadhna said she is not surehow bad the situation will getbefore it starts to improve. “Ihave been depressed and anx-ious... I am scared for my child.”

Amid lockdown, DelhiPolice provides rationto Manipuri studentsPNS n NEW DELHI

The Delhi Police came to therescue of three Manipuri stu-dents staying in the nationalcapital by providing them freeration after they ran out offood and money amid theongoing lockdown, a seniorpolice officer said.

The male students are pursu-ing their graduation from aDelhi University college andstaying at a rented accommoda-tion in Chirag Delhi, police said.

On Saturday, an SOS wasreceived through ManipurPolice following which thestudents were contacted, theysaid. "The students told us theywere running out of essentialsand did not have money to

buy food or grocery. A policeteam from Malviya Nagarimmediately visited them andgave them the required ration,"the officer said.

The students were providedwith 15 kg rice, flour, dal, oiland other essentials and weretold to contact police in caseof any emergency or distress,he said.

PNS n SRINAGAR

Kashmir has received the firstbatch of 9,600 rapid test kits asthe valley is trying to ramp uptesting in its fight to containthe spread of COVID-19, offi-cials said on Sunday.

The rapid test kits helpexamine whether a personhas developed antibodies intheir blood stream to fight thenovel coronavirus, which indi-cates whether a person hasbeen exposed to or hasCOVID-19.

The results of these teststake around 30 minutes.Doctors and healthcare work-ers can then determine thenumber of people who couldbe infected in a populationsample.

The kits would be used inthe 83 red zones in the valleyon a priority basis to help the

administration expand thetesting in these designatedareas, the officials said.

“We have received the firstbatch of 9,600 rapid testingkits,” Director, HealthServices, Kashmir, Dr SamirMattoo said.

Mattoo said the kits werebeing dispatched to red zonesin the valley and it would bedistributed to each such con-tainment zone. The kits pro-vide the results on the spot andwould cut the time taken todetermine the results, he said.

9,600 rapid test kitsarrive in Kashmir valley

Kerala's Kasaragod beatsodds to battle coronavirusPNS n KOCHI

Kasaragod, Kerala's COVID-19hotspot, is the only district in thesouthern state lacking adequatehealth infrastructure.

In spite of treating the high-est number of COVID-19patients in the state with meagreinfrastructural facilities and evenwithout the support of a medicalcollege in the north Kerala dis-trict, no deaths have been report-ed due to coronavirus.

The state health departmentviews the performance of MKunhiraman and his team, con-sisting of Janardhana Naik andKrishna Naik, at the Generalhospital in Kasaragod as a suc-cess story. "Not only did theycontrol the situation quicklywith minimum infrastructure,they also started turning out alarge number of negative caseswithin a few weeks and cred-itably ensured zero mortality.

This can be showcased as abest global model," Chairman of

the Information Education andCommunication (IEC)Committee and Project DirectorKerala State Aids ControlSociety, R Ramesh said.

Recalling the ordeal,Janardhana Naik said his firstmajor challenge was the physi-cal examination of a patientwith suspected COVID-19.

"Even with the PPE kit,nobody knew how effective theywere and it took a whole 30 min-utes to wear them properly.

But as time passed, we gotaccustomed to it," he said. Thetraditional method of dealingwith a patient involved knowinghis or her history, observationand physical examination.

For hundreds of years, thehands-on body approach hasbeen the soul of the doctor-patient relationship -- takingthe pulse, tapping on and listen-ing to the chest, feeling lumps.

With the onset of COVID-19all that has changed.

PNS n CHENNAI

Food at low-cost Amma can-teens will be served free of costin Salem district from Mondaywith the ruling AIADMK's localunits deciding to bear the cost ina bid to help daily wage earnersand others, who largely dependon the eateries, during theCOVID-19 lockdown.

The decision, which will be agreat boon to these sectionswhose livelihood has been hit bythe lockdown, was announcedby AIADMK joint co-ordinatorand Tamil Nadu Chief MinisterK Palaniswami on Sunday.

"The canteens are largely usedby daily wage earners and indi-gent people and they do not haveadequate earnings due to thecoronavirus situation," he said ina party release.

He said the urban and ruralparty units in the district, his

native, will bear the entire costof food served at mornings andnoon in the canteens, a petscheme of late AIADMK supre-mo and chief ministerJayalalithaa, who was fondlycalled

"Amma" by her followers.Besides, the party will provide

10 kilo rice and masks to each ofthe about 2,500 sanitary work-ers in Salem district till the end

of the lockdown on May 3, hesaid.

Days ago, MunicipalAdministration Minister S PVelumani had said the districtparty unit will bear the expen-diture of providing food at all the15 Amma canteens inCoimbatore. In Salem district, asmany as 11 Amma Canteens arefunctioning in the Corporationareas and four in municipalities.

AIADMK will foot the food billin Amma canteens in Salem: CM

The reason for reversing the order wasnot known immediately, but there was atalk of some retail traders mountingpressure on the government that localshops be also allowed to sell non-essentials items, like e-commerce giants

"I am away from myparents who live inBangalore. I wassupposed to be withmy husband inMumbai but my flightwas cancelled. I amalone here and tryingto keep myself calmthrough meditation,"said Pooja

Describing Niliabagas a densely popu-lated area, the colle-ctor said it requiresintensive measuresfor active surveilla-nce and contacttracing. Residents ofthe area would notbe allowed to moveout and people fromoutside are preven-ted from enteringinto the locality as aprecautionarymeasure

Even after the conclusion of the firstphase of the three-week nationwidelockdown imposed by theGovernment and its further exten-sion up to May 3 to curb the spread

of Coronavirus, signs are emerging that thevirus is not going away anytime soon. Thisis grim news for the country from both thehealth and economic perspective, especiallyfor the female population, which is likely tosuffer on multiple fronts due to the spread ofthe virus and the resultant need for the peo-ple to stay indoors.

The first category of affected women arehealthcare staff, including nurses, AccreditedSocial Health Activists (ASHAs) and angan-wadi workers, who have been holding the fortagainst the disease all across the country. AGovernment of India report of 2015 revealedthat 88.9 per cent of the support and ancil-lary staff among health workers, primarilynurses, midwives and ASHAs, are female. Thisis corroborated by earlier data from the 68thround of the National Sample Survey on the“Employment and Unemployment Situationin India” (July 2011 to June 2012). With hos-pitals facing an influx of Coronavirus patientsand given the need for active contact tracingof positive cases, these workers have becomefrontline warriors in times of crisis.

The World Health Organisation (WHO)reported that globally, too, women comprisea majority of the healthcare staff, accountingfor 70 per cent of the total in 107 countries,including India. The COVID-19 outbreak isa physical and emotional nightmare for manyhealthcare workers. Eleanor Holroyd, current-ly Professor at New Zealand’s AucklandUniversity of Technology, recounts her inter-actions with student nurses when she was pro-fessor of nursing at the Chinese University ofHong Kong during the SARS epidemic in2003. A large section of these nurses experi-enced confusion, anxiety and stress from thelong days of caring for patients and seeingmany of their colleagues, too, contracting thedisease in the process. “There’s the idea thatif there’s a gap in the health system, the nurs-es will fill it. Their duty is to be ever-presentand visible, offering empathy and care… Addthat to a sick child or husband or parent andthe very uncertain nature of an epidemic, itcan be hard [for the nurse] to hold on,” saysHolroyd.

The crisis is also likely to affect womendisproportionately because of the alreadydeclining female labour force participation(FLFP) rate in India, which according to theEconomic Survey of India of 2017-18, fellfrom 36 per cent in 2005-06 to 24 per centin 2015-16. The India Human DevelopmentSurvey (IHDS), conducted in two waves in2004-05 and 2011-12, too, reported a fall inthe FLFP from 31.12 per cent in 2005 to24.77 per cent in 2012. The IHDS is a multi-topic survey jointly conducted by theNational Council of Applied EconomicResearch (NCAER) and the University ofMaryland, covering 41,554 households in

1,503 villages and 971 urbanneighbourhoods across India.This survey also suggests that thedecline in FLFP could be due tothe lack of demand for femalelabour rather than that of laboursupply. The paucity of demandfor women workers could bereinforced in the comingmonths after the real impact ofthe Coronavirus becomes appar-ent in various sectors of theIndian economy.

Another category of womenlikely to be impacted by the pan-demic are salaried workers, manyof whom are currently working-from-home but could eventual-ly face the prospect of lay-offs andpay cuts once their employersreturn to the normal work rou-tine in a recessionary economy.The temporary or permanentclosure of many businesses is like-ly to have a severe adverse impacton a range of professions domi-nated by women, such as flightattendants, tour operators, salesassistants and frontline hotelstaff and cleaners.

Academics, who have stud-ied past pandemics, includingEbola, Zika, SARS, swine flu andbird flu, report their deep andpersistent effects on genderequality. According to JuliaSmith, a health policy researcherat the Simon Fraser University,Vancouver, Canada, these out-breaks affected everyone’sincomes but “men’s incomereturned to what they had made

pre-outbreak faster than women’sincome.” This outcome is com-pounded by the already-existingwage discrimination in many sec-tors. For example, in the health-care sector, overall, womenreportedly earn 11 per cent lessthan their male counterparts.Anganwadi and ASHA workersreceive salaries in the range ofmerely ̀ 3,000-4,500 per month,which is even below the mini-mum wage, without any addi-tional benefits like pension andmaternity leave. These womenmay not lose their jobs but anydecline in their family incomesdue to the pandemic will makethem an equal part of the eco-nomic crisis looming ahead.

Even women, who are out ofthe workforce and traditionallystay at home, are facing a hugechallenge emanating from thelockdown with their alreadyextensive care-giving duties mul-tiplying even further due to thereverse migration of householdservice providers like maids,cooks and nannies to their nativevillages. A 2015 survey by theOrganisation for EconomicCooperation and Developmentfound that an Indian womandoes far more “unpaid work”,almost six hours per day on anaverage, than her peers in mostother countries. The correspond-ing figure for men is just 52 min-utes per day.

In fact, as per an Oxfamreport titled, “Mind the Gap”,

released in March 2019, Indianwomen do the most unpaid careand domestic work in any coun-try, barring Kazakhstan, largelybecause patriarchal norms,which dictate tasks such ascooking, cleaning, looking afterchildren and the elderly andfetching water and firewood,have to be performed by womenalone.

Data for the first wave ofIHDS also highlights the domes-tic drudgery for women, especial-ly in rural areas. The surveyfound that women in India’s vil-lages were spending an averageof 240 minutes per week collect-ing firewood and 66 minutes perday fetching water as comparedto much lower corresponding fig-ures of 136 minutes per week and29 minutes per day, respectively,spent by men in the household.

Last but not the least is theissue of domestic abuse, the inci-dence of which is believed to goup exponentially in any kind ofcrisis, especially the current onethat mandates people to practisesocial isolation and stay at homefor sustained periods. What isworse, in a lockdown situation,women in violent relationshipsare unable to seek help as the per-petrators of the violence arealways around, whereas thosewho can help the victims areinaccessible.

The US, the UK and Chinahave witnessed a significant risein domestic violence since the

advent of the Coronavirus. InIndia, the National Commissionfor Women (NCW) reporteddouble the usual number ofdomestic abuse cases since theimposition of the lockdown.According to the NCWChairperson, Rekha Sharma, atotal of 257 complaints related tovarious offences against womenwere received during the periodMarch 24 to April 1, out of which69 complaints were related todomestic violence. The UNSecretary General AntonioGuterres has, in fact, urgedGovernments “to make the pre-vention and redress of the hor-rifying [domestic] violenceagainst women a key part of theirnational response plans forCOVID-19.”

These gender-based conse-quences of Coronavirus make itimperative for both the admin-istration and social networks toensure that the pandemic doesnot negate the gains of genderequality achieved over the pastfew decades. Diah Saminarsih,Senior Adviser on Gender andYouth to the WHO Director-General, avers that tackling thisissue will be top priority in theWHO’s forthcoming study on theconnections between gender andCOVID-19. It remains to be seenhow well women will be able toride out the Corona storm.

(The writer is ConsultantEditor at NCAER. Views expressedin this article are personal)As ever-increasing numbers of people test

positive for Coronavirus daily, Indian scien-tists, medical professionals and researchers

are toiling round-the-clock to create a vaccine totreat and cure people. Researchers at the Councilof Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) believethat they may be on the threshold of a watershedmoment in the fight against the Novel Coronavirus.The scientists are testing a multi-purpose vaccinethat has in the past proven to be effective againstleprosy and which boosts immunity, too. Having

received the approval of the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), the MWVaccine is now being tested. Work is going on in developing the RNA and recom-binant DNA vaccines. CSIR is also working towards synthesising the drug Favipiravirthat is currently under trial in Japan. Two more approvals are awaited and oncethese are secured, trials will begin. However, the process of making a vaccineis a lengthy one as it is done in multiple stages till it reaches human trials. Onceit proves successful in multiple human trials, it will take months for enough vac-cines to be created and an even longer time before they hit the market. The time-line given by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for the development of anyvaccine meant to specifically tackle the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is 12 monthsor maybe even longer. Meanwhile, a desperate race is on, not just in India butalso in the US and China, to come up with a cure in the form of a vaccine ordrug but no definitive results have been shared with the world as yet. In a bid tounderstand the way the virus functions, Indian scientists are working on its genomesequencing which should help understand and trace its place of origin and thepath through which it spreads. They also aim to understand with the help of genomesequencing whether or not the virus is mutating and developing any form of resis-tance to the drugs being used against it.

What is foxing the scientific community is the fact that there are around sixto seven strains (of the Coronavirus) in the world. It is simply too early to accu-rately determine just how many strains may be present in the country and sci-entists are racing against time. They are only too aware that each day that pass-es brings with it an increasing number of cases, making it that much harder fora nation already suffering from an economic slowdown to go about its businessas usual. As the COVID bomb continues to tick, Pune’s National Institute of Virologyhas completed 25 sequencings and the CSIR 30. The aim is to complete between500 to 1,000 genetic sequencings in the next two weeks. This race against timeis also a pointer on why we need to prioritise R&D, give adequate grants to thesector, incentivise our scholars and disseminate their findings widely. If home-grown scientists are working with the world now, it is clear that there is no dearthof talent and innovation. As we have said before, health and education budgetsin a post-COVID world will be the real deal.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is doinga lot in trying to inject some liquidity andmore crucially, some confidence into the

Indian economy, which is currently sufferingfrom the ill-effects of the Coronavirus-imposed nationwide lockdown. In a desper-ate bid to stop the economy from slipping intoa deep recession, for the second time in a row,the Central bank, headed by Shaktikanta Das,sought to plug the gaps where it erred beforeand introduced yet another liquidity packageto help businesses stay stable and ensure that

the money reaches to those most vulnerable. However, banks have been unwill-ing to start lending aggressively. Measures include `50,000 crore liquidity sup-port for National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), SmallIndustries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and National Housing Bank (NHB),another `50,000 crore for banks for funding and a quarter-percentage-point cutin its reverse repo rate, which has now been lowered by 25 basis points to 3.75per cent. It is more than obvious that the Central bank wants to fund the finan-cial institutions so that they can then forward it to businesses, big and small,and the most vulnerable — all of whom have been facing the pangs of theCoronavirus in some form or the other. But the Central bank can just fund theTreasury. As any student of history, like the RBI Governor was, knows, histori-cal events have a habit in determining how we act today. Indian banks, both pri-vate and public, which got their hands (and the Indian taxpayer) burnt with badloans handed out a decade ago, have been unwilling to really start lending asevidenced during previous rate cuts before the lockdown began. Of course, itwould be unwise to predict just how banks will behave once the COVID-19 pan-demic is over but with no clear end in sight, talk of an extended lockdown andthe subsequent economic impact hanging in the air, we do not know just howbanks will react. It is likely that their risk-averse nature will continue. What is alsosure is the fact Indian entrepreneurs and industrialists will be unwilling to reallystart borrowing. However, both the RBI and the Government are desperate tomake sure that when things do improve on the public health front, the econo-my is not beyond redemption. Unfortunately, with the Indian economy alreadyhaving been on the back foot even before this crisis started, things could actu-ally get a lot worse before they get better. What is needed right now is a stimu-lus package that can help the economy breathe. With the Coronavirus leadingto a huge gap in demand and supply, there’s a glut in the market, leading to short-age of revenues.

This is because bankers and businessmen alike have no idea of what thingswill be like when we tide over the present crisis. This is not just the case in Indiabut across the rest of the world. Banks are parking with RBI on a daily basis.So whatever money they have with them and whatever they are getting fromRBI, the banks are giving back to the central bank instead of investing or lend-ing it. Cheaper rates may not encourage thousands of businesses to start bor-rowing but it is possible that the Government could start doling out money tomillions of Indians. This might really get things going and people will spend “freemoney” once this is over. Again, there is no idea of the efficacy of that strategyas well. People and companies have both incurred losses. Talks have gone fromlosing increments to actual worry about large-scale job losses across white col-lar, blue collar and informal sector jobs as well. At the end of the day, it all comesdown to confidence. There might be no winner from this war, because we arenot sure when the Coronavirus will finally be conquered. However, we have tostart planning for the future from today. While the plans may not be perfect, sincewe do not know an end date for the start, we have to be prepared for it. We arealready paying the price for having a woeful public health system.

Persuasion is hard

Flattening the curve

Sir — It is heartening to know thatKerala reported more recoveriesthan new cases in the past week.Out of 387 total recorded cases,218 people recovered so far. Ashort while ago, the largest num-ber of infected patients belongedto this State. But growth rate isnow completely under controland is declining rapidly.Statistically speaking, the well-being rate is about 42 per cent,which is a bit higher than in theentire country. The death rateamong the victims is also quite lowhere. This sends positive signalsthat it will be able to dip the infec-tion curve. According to theKerala administration’s statement,the State is being healed accord-ing to certain rules. Other Statesmust apply the same rules to getover this painful pandemic.

Mamun HasanAssam

Merit in US move

Sir — This refers to editorial,“WHO vs Trump” (April 17). It isunfortunate that US PresidentDonald Trump has halted funding

to the World Health Organistaion(WHO) over its handling of theCoronavirus pandemic. But hedoes have some justification forthis attack on the global body andits leader Tedros Adhanom, whomTrump has accused of being a

Chinese lapdog.Post this development, China

hinted that it would step up its con-tribution to the WHO. It must benoted that a lion’s share of the con-tribution to the WHO comesfrom the US and it is the largest

single Government donor in theworld. China or any other coun-try is far behind here. In this sense,he who pays the piper calls thetune. The US has been devastatedby the spread of the COVID-19pandemic and Americans are

falling dead en masse due to thisdisease. It is, therefore, natural forthe US to be offended due to theWHO’s irresponsible behaviour.

But why did China refuse todivulge details about the diseaseto the outside world even whenhundreds of its own people fellprey to the pandemic? These arequestions to which no definiteanswers have been offered byChinese authorities so far. Theworld body has to initiate a probeinto this matter.

TK NandananChennai

Rumour-mongering

Sir — Rumours are known to begreat disruptors. The COVID-19pandemic is no exception to it.Various false narratives have beenspread to tarnish the name of aparticular community. Despitediversity being India’s strength,the evil spreading on social mediaand caustic ideologies gravelydamage our syncretism. The statemust act responsibly.

Akash DhimanVia email

P A P E R W I T H P A S S I O N

www.dailypioneer.comfacebook.com/dailypioneer | @TheDailyPioneer | instagram.com/dailypioneer/

op nionHYDERABAD | MONDAY | APRIL 20, 2020

06

Women the biggest losers

ANUPMA MEHTA

Gender-based consequences of Coronavirus make it imperative for both the administration andsocial networks to ensure that the pandemic does not negate the gains of gender equality

While the whole world isfocused towards fightingCovid-19, Pakistan-insti-gated terrorists have beentargeting innocent civiliansin the hinterland.

Army chief—MM Naravane

His (Jackie Shroff’s) energyis unmatchable. Nobody canmatch up to his swag. He ishumble, easy to work with,quick with his shots and agreat actor.

Actor—Disha Patani

The pandemic-induced econom-ic contraction is having disas-trous consequences. Covid-19could trigger the worst down-turn in the global economysince the Great Depression.

UN Secretary-General—Antonio Guterres

S O U N D B I T E

L E T T E R S T O TT H E E D I T O RMasking home truths

This refers to the editorial, “WHO vs Trump” (April17). The world is in the midst of fighting a terriblepandemic and there is no other news than that about

the disease itself. US President Donald Trump is miffedwith the World Health Organisation (WHO) for he feelsthat its chief “sided” with China during the ongoing pan-demic. He also accused the body for “politicising” thepandemic and backing Beijing more than what wasexpected. But exactly how much is China forking out tohave attained apparent influence? Well, nowhere nearthe US, which contributes 10 times the amount Chinadoes. Even if for argument’s sake we believe that theworld health body failed to gauge the enormity of thevirus, it is puzzling how the US handled its outbreak. Morethan 26,000 people have lost their lives due to the virusand the number of infected is much more. On the otherhand, after the virus made its first appearance in Wuhanand then subsequently spread all across the world, caus-ing unprecedented devastation, China took stock of thesituation and could tide over the crisis, slowly but sure-ly. Why did it have to wait for instructions from the WHO?It’s more than clear that the US was caught napping.

President Trump's awaited response to the virusallowed the situation to snowball. Trump's “ineffective”leadership has increasingly come under fire. While he

believes that the WHO kept the US in the dark about theinitial escalation of the virus, the fact of the matter isthat he is not wanting to take responsibility for inaction.The unanimous opinion among the scientific and diplo-matic fraternity is that the US stumbled over the fine lineof anticipation and new cases. Trump's diatribe againstthe WHO is all but a frustrated rant by a man increas-ingly on a slippery slope, especially when the US hasno seat in the WHO. Either way, Trump would have donea world of good to his image and the cause of COVID-19 control had he waited for the pandemic to wane.

Ganapathi BhatAkola

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

The hunt for a vaccine

We need to mobilise ourhuge pool of scientists,engineers and data expertsto work on innovative solutions needed during the crisis.

Congress leader—Rahul Gandhi

The RBI is imploring banks to start lending but recentmemory is still hobbling bankers’ confidence

Our scientists are working on a multi-purpose antidote. Thishighlights the need to fund R&D in a post-COVID world

A global war on bio threat

GOVERNMENT MUST PUSH TESTING AGGRESSIVELY.MAXIMISE TESTING AND USE TESTING

STRATEGICALLY, TO ASSIST STATES IN THEIR FIGHT. —CONGRESS LEADER

RAHUL GANDHI

I AM LAUGHING STRATEGICALLY AND ROLLING ON THE FLOOR DYNAMICALLY.—BJP SPOKESPERSON SAMBIT PATRA

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

In the prevailing period of uncertainty, unpre-dictability and ambiguity of every aspect ofhuman life, in fact, of life itself, is it a war that

we are fighting and what kind of a war is this? Thetraditional understanding of conflict is violent activ-ity between two or more nations or groups over aperiod of time, bringing death and destruction inits wake. The world has, however, seen other typesof battles. For instance, the war on poverty, class wars,trade wars and so on. So, is our ongoing fight forexistence against COVID-19 to be termed a war?The significance is not merely of the word but theprinciples which should govern this fight.

In the spectrum of conflict, at the lower end islow-intensity engagement and at the highest levelthere is nuclear warfare. Chemical and biologicalwarfare can also be grouped with nuclear conflict.While chemical weapons have repeatedly been usedin some conflicts in the 20th century, the use of bio-logical weapons is relatively less and mostlyunproven. But biological weapons are the easiest andcheapest to manufacture and can adversely affect theentire enemy population. (A biological weapon canbe as simple as dropping a body in the village wellor a town’s water supply.) However, possibly due tomorality aspects and more importantly, the inabil-ity to control the fallout of a biological weapon, itsuse on a large scale has been precluded, though manycountries are reported to have had biologicalweapons programmes in the past.

The present crisis would definitely fall under thecategory of biological warfare. The commencementof this war could be both, natural or man-made. Atthis point of time, due to inadequate credible infor-mation, it would be inappropriate to pronounce adecision as to who is responsible for the commence-ment of this war. However, it is of extreme impor-tance to analyse inputs when available and reach aconclusion on its genesis because, many aspects ofthe post-COVID world, including possibly the worldorder, would depend on it. If this be a biological war,we need to see the scale of it. It is perhaps the firsttime in history that the entire human race, withoutany exception, is combatting a common enemy, theCOVID-19 virus. Though there have been pan-demics in the past, like the Spanish Flu in 1918 andthe Asian Flu in 1957, a global catastrophe of thisscale is unprecedented. It is not only the sickness anddeath which the virus-affected world suffers, seem-ingly at an exorbitantly large scale, but also the eco-nomic devastation that is likely to ensue in its wakein the globalised world, which makes this crisis atruly unparalleled one. Additionally, in all previousbattles whether conventional or otherwise (war onterror, price wars and so on), there have always been“sides.” In this unprecedented situation, the entiremankind is on one side and the virus is on the other.It is therefore, a true Global War On a BiologicalThreat (GWOBT).

Considering this to be a war, the “Principles ofWar” need to be applied to defeat it. While these fun-damentals have been enunciated by different mili-tary theorists from Sun Tzu to Clausewitz and dif-ferent countries have adopted their own dictumsbased on their national and strategic requirements,it is intended to elucidate these principles which aregenerally acceptable. Let’s deliberate upon them inthe context of the GWOBT.

Selection and maintenance of aim: This is thesingle-most important maxim as all actions will

depend upon the aim selected. My expe-rience in the Siachen Glacier and otherbattle situations is that, it is necessary firstto survive to defeat the enemy. A dead manis good to nobody. In the existing situa-tion wherein no treatment is available, theaim must remain focussed on survival.

Concentration of force: Since theentire human race has one deadly enemy,all national boundaries, religions, beliefs,ethnicities, caste, creed and gender areirrelevant in this war. All efforts of thehuman race must, therefore, be concen-trated on defeating the virus. Solidarityand synergy of all resources of the worldwould be necessary to defeat this enemy,which has humbled mankind.

Administration/sustainability: Tobe able to fight the war successfully, thehuman race, especially the economicallydeprived, has to be able to sustain itselfthrough the entire period that the battleis fought. The administration has to beperfected to take care of essential needs,especially food and medical assistance.Though this is already partly visible butit has to be ensured over a long period tillit is business as usual.

Security: In military terms, it meansthat an appropriate environment must becreated and maintained, which will enablenecessary freedom of action to achieveobjectives. In the GWOBT, it wouldentail creating an overall internationalenvironment wherein those scientists, doc-tors and researchers, who are involved infinding a solution, feel fully energised andmotivated to find avaccine/solution/drug/protocol, to end thiscrisis. One of the perils identified by theUN Secretary General on April 9 was ofextremist threats, including bio-terroristattacks. Such dangers need to be dealt withthrough an effective international responseand nipped in the bud. Otherwise these

will seriously hamper our efforts at find-ing a solution.

Economy of effort: With limitedresources, especially in the less developednations and the end not clearly in sight,all efforts must be economised. This wouldbe applicable to both, employment ofmanpower as also utilising resources,including foodgrain. The inability toimplement this dictum will result in seri-ous social disturbances, which willadversely affect preventive measures tocontain the virus.

Offensive action: The key to militaryvictories lies in relentless offensive action.In the current situation, too, bold decisionsby the leadership, which are in tune withthe selected aims and based on availabledata, would be the drivers of victory.Complacency or delay in decision-mak-ing can prove catastrophic.

Flexibility: The world is mostlygroping in a relatively unknown domain.The outcome, results and impacts thatemerge in the changing situation, must befactored in by the leadership in finding theroad ahead. One example is how the ubiq-uitous anti-malaria drugHydroxychloroquine has changed theway the world is looking at possible futureprevention.

Cooperation: Partnership amongall, cutting across boundaries, political ide-ologies and religion, will hold the key toa solution. It is also very important that,post-COVID financial benefits accruingto a nation or company, must not be thekey criterion. A competition at this stagehas the potential to ruin or delay successwhereas, collaboration will speed up theprocess, which in turn can benefit allnations.

Morale: These are times which mostof the present generation would not haveever faced earlier. A positive state of mind

in this situation needs to be created. Asense of well-being, group cohesion andthe feeling that the nation is firmlybehind every individual, need to be reit-erated. An inspired leadership — at theinternational, national, State and local level— is the need of the hour.

India has a lot to contribute to theworld in the current situation. The way thesecond-most populous country on theplanet is controlling the pandemic, willdefinitely be watched globally. The lock-down decision, albeit delayed, is beingappreciated by many the world over. Thesense of discipline in most areas and a highstate of morale, despite the extended shutdown which the country can ill-affordright now due to its precarious econom-ic situation, are examples for the world tofollow.

India has also set the example of inter-national cooperation by releasing theHydroxychloroquine tablets to manynations. In the field of research and find-ing a vaccine/treatment as also finding asolution through traditional methods,India can be a world leader.

Despite all the challenges that thenation is facing today, especially the eco-nomically deprived citizens, India couldbe at the forefront in this GWOBT andthereby be an important contributor in thepost-COVID world.

As in war, leadership in all spheres andat all levels — political, judicial, executive,legislative, military and at the national,State and local levels, will be judged by themanner in which they handle the crisis.

History has also shown us that fromthe ashes of war, great economic giantshave risen. Remember Germany, Japanand more recently Vietnam?

(The writer is a retired military veteran and former Director-General

of the National Cadet Corps)

It is perhaps the first time in history that the entire human race, without anyexception, is combatting a common enemy, the COVID-19 virus

analysis 07F I R S T C O L U M N

Choosing livesover livelihoods

GWYNNE DYER

Nations that have got the infection rate down and havetesting/tracing teams ready can start reopening,

although there will be a low but steady stream of deaths

ANIRUDDHA CHAKRAVARTY

THE PRESENTCRISIS WOULD

DEFINITELY FALLUNDER THE

CATEGORY OFBIOLOGICAL

WARFARE. THECOMMENCEMENT

OF THIS WARCOULD BE BOTH,

NATURAL OR MAN-MADE. ATTHIS POINT OFTIME, DUE TOINADEQUATE

CREDIBLEINFORMATION, IT

WOULD BEINAPPROPRIATETO PRONOUNCE

A DECISION AS TO WHO ISRESPONSIBLE

FOR THECOMMENCEMENT

OF THIS WAR.HOWEVER, IT IS

OF EXTREMEIMPORTANCE TOANALYSE INPUTSWHEN AVAILABLE

AND REACH ACONCLUSION ON

ITS GENESISBECAUSE, MANYASPECTS OF THE

POST-COVIDWORLD,

INCLUDINGPOSSIBLY

THE WORLDORDER, WOULD

DEPEND ON IT

Wuhan, the Chinese city where it all started, was locked downfor 79 days before the restrictions on movement were final-ly lifted last week. A bit overcautious perhaps but in China

the Coronavirus does really seem to be under control — not totallyeradicated but controllable without extreme measures. If President DonaldTrump “reopens” the US at the end of this month, then California anda few other States will have been under lockdown for only half thatmany days and some States for much less time or even none. Farfrom being under control, the COVID-19 virus is killing a huge num-bers of Americans, with 37,175 casualties on March 18 and the num-ber is still rising daily. These two giants define the extremes of the “livesvs livelihoods” debate but almost every other country is having it too.Everybody knows that you can’t shut the economy down indefinite-ly but nobody wants to risk a second wave of infections by movingtoo soon. Well, almost nobody. The toddler-in-chief in the White Houseis frantic to reopen the economy because he has an election comingup in six months, and he will lose it if the economy has not recoveredby then.

Dr Anthony Fauci, the American physician and immunologist whohas served as the Director of the National Institute of Allergy andInfectious Diseases, has doubtless explained that lifting the restrictionson movement on May 1 will cause a second wave of deaths and asecond lockdown before November. But Trump doesn’t retain that sortof information for long. His attention span is not only short but selec-tive: He forgets unwelcome information very quickly. Trump might actu-ally order the country to reopen on May 1, as he believes that: “Whensomebody is the President of the United States, the authority is total.”But most States beg to differ and wouldn’t obey his command. AsNew York Governor Andrew Cuomo said: “We have a Constitution …we don’t have a king … the President doesn’t have total authority.”

Elsewhere, some countries are cautiously reopening theireconomies a bit at a time but they either had a very high death rateearly and have now wrestled it down again — China, Italy and Spain— or responded hard and early and never had a high infection rate,like Germany, Denmark, Austria, the Czech Republic and New Zealand.

We should also note two countries that never closed theireconomies down at all, because they could test, identify the infectedand trace their contacts fast enough to break the chains of infectionand keep deaths low: Taiwan and South Korea.

All three of these groups have one vital thing in common. Theyhave the ability to “test, test, test”, as the World Health Organisation’s(WHO’s) Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, put it a month ago,warning countries that they “cannot fight a fire blindfolded.” And theycan follow up the tests with contact-tracing teams and apps so thatnot just the individual who tested positive but the whole cluster of otherpeople who had contact with him/her can be isolated.

Any countries that have their infection rate down and have theirtesting and tracing teams ready can start reopening their economies,although there will be a low but steady stream of deaths until a vac-cine is found. France, Canada and Australia can probably do it nextmonth. Countries like Turkey, Russia and South Africa are more debat-able, because they gave the virus a head start. But their medical infra-structure is strong enough, so they could think about letting their cit-izens go back to work by July. However, the US, the UK, Brazil andIndia are very worrisome. India is doing the right things but it startedlate. Its medical resources are limited and given its population of awhopping 1.3 billion, the sheer number of victims may overwhelmthe system. Brazil has the reckless Jair Bolsonaro in charge, who notonly wants to open up the country’s borders but also fired his HealthMinister Luiz Mandetta for wanting to encourage social distancing forwhat Bolsonaro calls a “little flu.” Post Mandetta’s exit, many peoplein the healthcare system may fall victim to Bolsonaro’s bullying ways.

As for the US and the UK, they both reacted very late to the threat,which guarantees that their casualties would be considerably abovethe rich-country average. Worse, they do not have the testing and track-ing resources in place that would make reopening the economy a rel-atively safe proposition. On April 3 the British Health Secretary, MattHancock, pledged 1,00,000 Coronavirus tests per day by the end ofthe month. Half the month is gone and the maximum number of testscarried out on a single day has been under 15,000. The US situationis harder to judge, since there is not a unified healthcare system buta highly fragmented “healthcare sector.” However, nobody has spot-ted evidence of nationwide preparations for extensive testing and track-ing once everybody goes back to work, so a second wave of deathslater in the year is practically guaranteed. Finis Trump, perhaps but ata high price.

(Gwynne Dyer’s new book is ‘Growing Pains: The Future ofDemocracy and Work’)

As cases of the rapidly spread-ing Coronavirus increase,the world has come to a

standstill. COVID-19, the diseasecaused by the virus which has so farinfected over two million people andkilled 154,388, has also causedsome severe economic and socialdisruptions. Experts believe thesemay lead to political upheavalseven after the spread is somehowneutralised.

In the line of fire are regimeswho seem to be fumbling inaddressing the spread of COVID-19.Over the last two weeks, the inter-national media has specifically tar-getted the bombastic neo-populistregimes that came to power in var-ious countries after 2014.

Unable to comprehend an issuewhich does not fit their blatheringnarratives, such governments inIndia, the UK, the US, Brazil,Hungary, Philippines, Iran andPakistan are now constantly on thereceiving end of criticism. But thisdoes not mean that countries thatseem to be doing a better job of han-dling the crisis know when or howthis crisis will recede; they arebeing forced to think on their feet.Such is the elusive nature of thisvirus.

On March 12, Dr ZhongNanshan, a Chinese pulmonologistwho has been at the forefront of hiscountry’s fight against the pan-demic, told Reuters that the spreadof COVID-19 can be “contained” byJune this year but only if govern-ments continue to enforce strictsocial distancing through lock-downs.

This does not mean that even ifthe world somehow succeeds tocheck the spread in the next twomonths, everything will automati-cally return to normal. First of all,what was considered to be normal

before the outbreak will change,leading to a new normal. But eventhis won’t emerge unless an anti-COVID-19 vaccine appears.

Vaccines usually take up to 10years to develop for mass usage. Butrecent advances in virology havehelped scientists to greatly shave offyears of required testing and launchanti-viral vaccines in much shorterperiods of time.

Pharmaceutical companiesworking frantically in China,Europe, India and the US believethat an effective anti-COVID-19vaccine can appear in the next 12months. That’s still a whole year.However, the US pharmaceuticalgiant Merck was able to produce avaccine against the 1968 influenzapandemic in four months.

Vaccines have saved the humanrace on numerous occasions. Buttheir historic importance always getsdwarfed by other, more glamorousscientific feats. Human beings havebeen victims of catastrophic viralbreakouts for centuries but the firstvaccine wasn’t developed till the18th century.

In the late 18th century, aBritish doctor, Edward Jenner,noticed that those in England’s vil-lages who had contracted cowpox,became immune to smallpox. Forcenturies, smallpox had been one ofthe deadliest and most painful dis-eases that killed millions. It wascaused by a highly contagious virus.Cowpox, on the other hand, was rel-atively mild and not fatal.

In The Life and Death ofSmallpox, Ian and Jenifer Glynnwrite that Jenner drew some matterfrom a sore of a woman sufferingfrom cowpox. He then injected itinto an eight-year-old boy who hadcontracted smallpox. After severaldays, the boy recovered. Jennerthen injected the boy with mattertaken from a fresh smallpox patientto see if he had developed immuni-ty. He had. Compared to modern-day practices of lab sciences, thismethod seems rather cruel but inthe 18th century, it turned Jennerinto a celebrity.

By the 19th century, smallpoxvaccination became compulsory invarious European countries and in

some American States. Almost a 100years after Jenner’s discovery, aFrench biologist, Louis Pasteur, wassuccessful in developing a vaccineagainst another painfully fatal dis-ease, rabies. Caused by a virus thatenters the human body through aninfected animal bite, it can cause ahorrific death. In 1885, Pasteursuccessfully cured a rabies casewith a vaccine. He used the atten-uation method, in which the virusis weakened in the lab and injectedin the patient to prompt the body’simmune system to work harder.

Building on the works of Jennerand Pasteur, the 20th century saw arapid growth in the introduction ofvaccines against ailments that wereonce incurable and contagious. In1914, a vaccine against typhoidbecame common in the US; in 1921,French bacteriologists developed avaccine for TB; in 1939, US doctorsdeveloped a vaccine against whoop-ing-cough; in 1954, an anti-poliovaccine was successfully tested byAmerican scientists; in 1958, thefirst measles vaccine was intro-duced and in 1966 an anti-mumps

vaccine was launched in the US.Between the late 1960s and

1970s, robust vaccination pro-grammes were highly successful inchecking and, in some cases, erad-icating the spread of some of theworst contagious diseases known toman. However, scientists havealways been running a tricky raceagainst flu viruses because they con-tinue to mutate. This means scien-tists have to always be on their feetto readjust flu vaccines according tofresh mutations.

A problem governments havefaced in checking the spread of con-tagious diseases is the continuousexistence of “anti-vax” segments insome societies. These are groupswithin a population who are againstforced vaccination. The WorldHealth Organisation (WHO) hasdescribed them as a “threat” to pub-lic health.

The roots of this phenomenoncan be traced back to the 19th cen-tury when the British Governmentintroduced compulsory smallpoxvaccination. Some groups refused toget their children vaccinated, fear-

ing it was against their religiousbeliefs.

In 1926, newspapers in the USreported attacks on vaccinationteams in certain conservative ruralareas of the country. Even recently,anti-polio vaccination workers wereattacked in some areas of Pakistanby those who believe that polio vac-cines contain harmful chemicals.

According to a June 27, 2016article in Healthline by Dr DeborahWeatherspoon, the “anti-vax” mind-set is often the result of a mistrustof science in some groups whobelieve that pharmaceutical compa-nies are enhancing the fear of oth-erwise benign diseases to sell theirmedicines, or that such sciences areopposed to religious beliefs, or that“natural” cures through homeopa-thy or other traditional means aremore effective.

Among these are also some whoinsist that vaccines stunt the repro-ductive capabilities of men.Ironically, this perception is mostprominent in some of the world’smost densely populated regions.

(Courtesy: Dawn)

An agonising wait for the Coronavirus cureVaccines have saved the human race on numerous occasions even though their historic importance was always

dwarfed by more glamorous scientific developments

NADEEM PARACHA

HYDERABAD | MONDAY | APRIL 20, 2020

www.dailypioneer.com

HYDERABAD | MONDAY | APRIL 20, 2020 money 08

CAPSULE

GoAir employees togo on leave withoutpay till May 3Mumbai: Majority of 5,500-odd employees of GoAir willnow be on "leave without pay"(LWP) till May 3 as its entirefleet remains grounded in thewake of the extendedlockdown, the airline has said.In March, the Wadia Group-owned airline asked itsemployees to go on LWP on arotational basis besides cuttingtheir salaries. "The lockdownhas been further extended tillMay 3, and with this extension,our fleet continues to becompletely grounded. Hence,we are constrained to requestyou to proceed on 'leavewithout pay' till May 3," GoAirsaid in a communication to itsemployees on Saturday. Thegovernment has extended thelockdown till May 3, whichwas to end on April 14.

McDonald's suspendsoperations in Singapore PNS n SINGAPORE

Fast food giant McDonald's onSunday suspended operations inSingapore till May 4 after sevenof its employees were detectedwith coronavirus last week. Thesuspension decision will includedrive-through and delivery ser-vices. The American fast foodchain had suspended its take-away operations on Saturday,Channel News Asia reported.

In a release, McDonald's saidit has been advised by theMinistry of Health that it shouldsuspend restaurant operations,including delivery and drive-through, till May 4 as preven-tive action against COVID-19.The circuit-breaker period ends

on May 4 in the city-state.During this period heavyrestrictions are placed againstcrowding and large gatherings.Last week, seven employees ofMcDonald's tested positive forcoronavirus.

"These are indeed unprece-dented times for all of us. Wehave done all we can to put inplace every safety precautionarymeasure to keep our employeesand customers safe – and willcontinue to do our part to flat-ten the curve," said managingdirector of McDonald'sSingapore Kenneth Chan.

"We thank our customersfor their continued support andlook forward to serving themagain on May 5," he added.

Mumbai: SpiceJet has decidedto send employees earningmore than Rs 50,000 per monthon leave without pay on arotational basis, sources said onSunday amid flight servicesremaining suspended till May3.This arrangement would be inplace for three months, theyadded. The sources also toldPTI that the salary for April islikely to be paid to staff for thedays they were on duty.Commercial flights remainsuspended since March 25 dueto the nationwide lockdown tocurb spreading of coronavirusinfections. The lockdown hasbeen extended till May 3.

PNS n KOLKATA

The prolonged lockdown hasbadly hit the travel, tourismand logistics verticals of diver-sified PSU Balmer Lawrie andCo Ltd and the company isbracing itself for a drop in prof-it this fiscal, an official said.

Travel, tourism and logisticsare the strategic business units(SBUs), which contribute about40 per cent of overall annualrevenue of the city-headquar-tered company and 60 percent of its profit, he said.

"Among the six verticals ofthe company, travel, tourismand logistics businesses arethe worst-hit," Balmer Lawrie

CMD Prabal Basu told PTI.All travel and tourism relat-

ed bookings have been can-celled since March 14, and peo-

ple are scared of the coron-avirus pandemic, he said.

"Confidence is low andnobody wants to come out,"

he said. In case of logistics,there is a global problem,and imports from China, USand Europe countries came toa standstill as these nations arein crisis due to the coron-avirus outbreak, he said.

"The logistics services hasbeen badly affected," Basusaid, adding that its lubricantmanufacturing factories arealso closed due to the lock-

down. Only the industrialpackaging division of thecompany is now working butin a small scale with restric-tions on manpower, and allnorms relating to health safe-ty and social distancing arefollowed, he said.

Basu said the economy isgoing through a "challengingtime" and will "take at leastone year to stabilise".

PNS n MUMBAI

The Reserve Bank of India'sdirective asking banks to make10 per cent provisions on allmoratorium loans will shave atleast Rs 35,000 crore off theirprofitability in financial years2019-20 and 2020-21, accord-ing to a report.

On Friday, the central bank,in its second set of liquidity-enhancing measuresannounced Rs 1 lakh crorespecifically targeted fund infu-sion to small- and mid-sizedshadow banks, home financiersand micro-lenders, which willultimately go a long way inoffering some succour to thesmall and medium enterpris-es.

"While the liquidity boosterswill help the small lenders, theRBI has also stipulated banksto create a 10 per cent provi-sioning on all loans that areoverdue but not yet NPAs(non-performing assets)wherein the moratorium ison, over the March and Junequarters. This will impact theirprofitability by Rs 35,000 crorein the March and June quar-ters," Brickwork Ratings said in

a weekend note.The new provisioning

requirement has to be made forthe March and June 2020 quar-ters and this will impact theirprofitability in 2019-20 and2020-21.

The agency said its assess-ment is based on its assump-tion that at the system-levelbanks' ability to manage assetquality in the near-term post

t h e

m o r a t o r i u mremains a criticalmonitorable con-cern even thoughthey could be ableto manage thefunds for the provi-sioning by adjustingagainst the provisioningfor slippages to NPAs in thefinancial year 2020-21.

Banks will have to cate-gorise the moratorium loans asspecial mention accounts(SMA) wherein loans are in the0-90 days overdue buckets.

"As per our estimates, thestipulation on additional 10 percent provisioning couldincrease total provisioning byRs 35,000 crore in the Marchand June quarters. Thisassumes SMA accounts arearound 4 per cent of total sys-tem level advances and are inmoratorium.

"Such a large hit on prof-itability will also impair thecapital positions of banks,especially state-run banksmany of which continue toreport losses for nine monthsending December 2019. It mayalso necessitate further capitalinfusion into them," the agencysaid.

After pumping in almost 3.2per cent of GDP worth liquid-ity into the system since theFebruary 6 monetary policyto help the economy fight theCOVID-19 pandemic spawndisruption, last Friday, theRBI announced another Rs1 lakh crore of liquidity

boost specifically for NBFCs,housing finance companies(HFCs) and MFIs, which ana-lysts and shadow bankers willultimately help small business-es the most.

PNS n NEW DELHI

After the government barreddelivery of non-essential itemsthrough e-commerce plat-forms, Amazon India onSunday said the new guidelineswill disappoint consumerswhose list of essentials hadexpanded to 'work from home'and 'study from home' prod-ucts, as well as small business-es, sellers and manufacturers.

The company asserted thatit will continue to follow theguidelines and deliver essentialproducts and work closelywith authorities for expeditedprocesses to make safe deliver-ies of priority products possi-ble.

Stating that Amazon India isfully committed to the visionof the government to keep thecitizens healthy, a companyspokesperson emphasised thatthe need of the hour is toensure the safety of citizensfirst, serving their needs whilethey stay at home.

"The new guideline will dis-appoint not only the con-sumers whose list of essentialshad expanded to work fromhome and study from homeproducts but also the thou-sands of small businesses, sell-

ers and manufacturers acrossthe country, who had gearedup in the last 48 hours to pro-vide millions of people withsafe access to products," thespokesperson said.

Amazon India further saidthe company, on behalf ofconsumers and sellers, hopesthat "this situation is rectifiedsoon so that the urgent need ofconsumers is met and thatthere is revival of economicactivity". "We will continue tofollow the guidance and deliv-er essential products and workclosely with all central, stateand local authorities for expe-dited processes to make safe

deliveries of priority productspossible," the spokespersonadded. Four days after allow-ing e-commerce companies tosell non-essential items, thehome ministry on Sundayissued an order saying the fol-lowing clause -- "E-commercecompanies. Vehicles used by e-commerce operators will beallowed to ply with necessarypermissions" -- is excludedfrom the guidelines issues.Players like Paytm Mall haveurged the government to expandthe ambit of essential goods toinclude products like laptopsand mobile phones to facilitatepeople working from home.

Balmer Lawrie's businesses hit by lockdownPNS n NEW DELHI

Kerala-based ESAF SmallFinance Bank has expressed itscommitment for going publicby listing its stock in line withthe RBI's requirement and themoney raised will help supportthe country's economy hithard by the COVID-19 pan-demic.

Currently, promoters andpromoter group together hold77.94 per cent stake in thebank, which commenced itsoperation in March 2017.Besides, SIDBI TrusteeCompany Ltd-A/C SamridhiFund holds 12.24 per centstake in the bank.

Speaking to PTI, ESAFSmall Finance Bank Managing

Director K Paul Thomas said,"We have got the approvalfrom Sebi for the initial pub-lic offering only in March. Wehave time till March 2021 andwe hope that things will benormal by that time."

Thomas, who holds 7.29per cent stake in the bank inhis individual capacity, saidthat making any predictionabout the timeline at this point

of time is difficult but goingforward, things shouldimprove.

In terms of the licensingguidelines, a small financebank is required to list itsequity on the stock exchangeswithin a period of three yearsfrom reaching a net worth ofRs 500 crore.

Talking about various effortsundertaken by the bank to helppoor and hapless during theongoing nation-wide lock-down, Thomas said, "We arenot only providing bankingservice but engaging to supportunderprivileged especiallystranded migrant workers inmeeting daily needs under thecorporate social responsibilityinitiative.

10 pc provisioning may shaveRs 35,000 cr off bank profits

ESAF Small Finance Bankexpresses commitment for listing

PNS n NEW DELHI

Six of the 10 most valueddomestic companies togetheradded Rs 53,702.27 crore inmarket valuation last week,with ICICI Bank and TCSemerging as the biggest gain-ers. Reliance IndustriesLimited (RIL), HUL, BhartiAirtel and ITC were the othergainers from the top-10 list,while HDFC Bank, HDFC,Infosys and Kotak MahindraBank witnessed erosion fromtheir market capitalisation (m-cap) for the week endedFriday.

ICICI Bank's valuationjumped Rs 21,561.16 crore toRs 2,43,350.46 crore.

The market cap of TataConsultancy Services (TCS)advanced Rs 15,347.25 crore toRs 6,77,980.87 crore and thatof Bharti Airtel zoomed Rs7,201.34 crore to Rs2,74,005.37 crore.

RIL's valuation rose by Rs3,711.77 crore to Rs7,76,595.26 crore and that ofITC gained Rs 3,380.36 croreto reach Rs 2,31,216.87 crore.

Hindustan Unilever Limited(HUL) added Rs 2,500.39crore to its m-cap to stand atRs 5,16,196.27 crore.

In contrast, the valuation ofKotak Mahindra Bankplunged Rs 17,211.29 crore toRs 2,26,972.43 crore.

Likewise, HDFC Bank'smarket capitalisation droppedRs 7,621.77 crore to Rs4,99,198.40 croand that ofHDFC fell by Rs 3,732.56crore to Rs 2,91,053.28 crore.

The m-cap of Infosysdipped Rs 3,534.97 crore to Rs2,68,018.40 crore.

In the ranking of top-10firms, RIL remained the mostvalued firm, followed by TCS,HUL, HDFC Bank, HDFC,Bharti Airtel, Infosys, ICICIBank, ITC and KotakMahindra Bank.

‘Online-to-offlinestrategy to getprominence’PNS n NEW DELHI

More and more retailers will bebound to cling to e-commerceplatforms and mobile apps asthe prevailing situation amidcoronavirus lockdown isexpected to lead to shift in con-sumer behaviour, accordingto LOTS Wholesale Solutions.Subsequently, there will be aneed to have an omni channelstrategy -- Online to Offline(O2O) -- for the retail indus-try in order to cater to thechanging needs of consumers.

LOTS Wholesale Solutions,a wholly-owned subsidiary ofSiam Makro Public Co Ltd -

Thailand's leading cash andcarry operator, said there willbe an impact on its businessdue to the current situation asboth industry and suppliers arefacing problems ranging fromshutdowns, labour shortages,supply chain disruptions, etc."No doubt, there will be someimpact of this current situationin the near future. However, inphase-II of the lockdown thesituation will normalise withtime and the retail sector willembark on its journey towardsrecovery, albeit slowly," LOTSWholesale Solutions ManagingDirector Tanit Chearavanonttold PTI.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Reserve Bank of India's(RBI) measures to help facili-tate funds to the NBFC sectorare unlikely to boost the cred-it flow to the broader econo-my as NBFCs would shore uptheir own liquidity rather thanon-lending to customers,Moody's Investors Service saidon Sunday.

Moody's Investors ServiceVice-President (FinancialInstitutions Group) AlkaAnbarasu said the measureswill soften the near-term cred-it negative impact on non-banking financial companies'(NBFCs) funding and liquid-ity.

On Friday, the RBI said itwill conduct second tranche oftargeted long-term repo oper-ation (TLTRO 2.0) for anaggregate amount of Rs 50,000crore, to begin with. Underthis, banks can access three-year funding from the RBI thatshould be invested in invest-ment grade bonds, commercialpaper and non-convertibledebentures of non-bankingfinancial companies, with atleast 50 per cent of the total

amount availed going to smalland mid-sized NBFCs andmicrofinance institutions(MFIs).

"Although the RBI measurewill help facilitate funds to theNBFC sector, we don't expectthis measure to boost the cred-it flow to the broader econo-my as we expect NBFCs to pri-oritise liquidity over balancesheet growth in the near term,"Anbarasu told PTI.

She said the targeted long-term repo operation will helpfacilitate funds to NBFCs withwell-established franchises, forexample those with long-oper-ating histories, or to thosebacked by strong corporategroups.

"Nevertheless, we expect

funding conditions for otherNBFCs to remain under pres-sure given the risks to theirasset quality," Anbarasu added.

Under the TLTRO 2.0 win-dow, banks availing funds willhave to invest 10 per cent insecurities issued by MFIs, 15per cent in securities issued byNBFCs with asset size of Rs500 crore and below, and 25per cent in securities issued byNBFCs with asset size of Rs500-5,000 crore.

The RBI announced the liq-uidity facility under theTLTRO 2.0 window for NBFCsand MFIs after these institu-tions failed to get fundingunder the earlier TLTROscheme announced late inMarch.

PNS n BENGALURU

Tanishq, the jewellery brandfrom the house of Tata, onSunday announced its plans oftaking Akshaya Tritiya salesonline this year with jew-elleries shut due to theCOVID-19 lockdown.

The offer is on from April18 to April 27 on its e- com-merce platform; www.tan-ishq.co.in.

Once the situation returnsto normalcy and servicesresume, the customers caneither opt to go to the storeand pick up their jewellery orget it delivered to theirdoorstep, Tanishq said in astatement.

Akshaya Tritiya is also a tra-ditional anchor for a lot ofTanishq's customers, withnearly 54 per cent of its regu-

lar Akshaya Tritiya buyersexpressing their interest topursue the tradition of bring-ing gold as a harbinger of goodtimes, it said.

Ajoy Chawla, CEO,Jewellery Division at TitanCompany Limited, said:Contactless shopping experi-ence throughout will be anew experience for us and forour customers as well. We havetrained our retail team in theprocess. They are prepared todeal with our customers in thevirtual world.

PNS nMUMBAI

Small businesses will benefitthe most from the Rs 1 lakh-crore targeted liquidity boostto small and mid-sized non-banking lenders, housingfinanciers and micro-lenders,say the shadow banking indus-try leaders.

Non-banking financial com-panies (NBFCs), housingfinance companies (HFCs)and micro-finance institutions(MFIs) -- which have beenstarved of finances ever sinceIL&FS went belly up afterlarge-scale fraud and misman-agement by top managementcame to light in September2018 -- have finally heaved asigh of relief after the ReserveBank on Friday opened twodurable liquidity windowsworth Rs 1 lakh crore for

them.The latest measure has come

as two of its most innovativeliquidity measures worth Rs 2lakh crore since February 6 didnot elicit the desired effect.

On Friday in the secondCovid booster dose, the RBIannounced a new TLTRO,under which it will pump in Rs50,000 crore into the system

and made it mandatory forbanks to invest 50 percent ofthe money in lower-rated debtbeing issued by small andmedium NBFCs, HFCs andMFIs.

Apart from the new TLTROwindow, the RBI has alsoopened another Rs 50,000crore in refinance window forNabard, Sidbi and NHB.

SMEs to gain maximum fromliquidity boost to NBFCs, HFCs

All travel and tourism relatedbookings have been cancelled sinceMarch 14, and people are scared ofthe virus

Six of top-10 firmsadd Rs 53,702 cr inm-cap; ICICI leads

SpiceJet to sendselect staff on leavewithout pay

New Delhi: The finance ministryon Sunday said there will be nocut in pensions to centralgovernment employees. Theministry clarified its positionafter reports that thegovernment is planning to cutpensions. "It is being reportedthat a 20 per cent cut in centralgovernment pensions is beingplanned. This news is false.There will be no cut in pensiondisbursements.

No cut in pension tocentral govtemployees: FinMin

French retailer FnacDarty gets 500million euro PNS n PARIS

Electronics' retail giant FnacDarty announced on Sunday ithad secured a 500 millioneuro loan guaranteed by theFrench state "to secure cashflow" and prepare for recoveryafter the coronavirus crisis.Finance Minister BrunoLemaire said the guaranteed$544 million facility was "thefirst that the French state hasgranted to a major Frenchcompany" to help it over thecrisis. The group reported"very strong growth in e-com-merce, in all countries, duringthe lockdown" but in the firstquarter of the year revenueplunged 7.9 percent.

RBI measures unlikely to boostcredit flow to broader economy

‘Barring delivery of non-essentialswill disappoint consumers, small biz’

New provisioningrequirement hasto be made for theMarch and June2020 quarters andthis will impacttheir profitability

Amazon asserted that it will continueto follow the guidelines and deliveressential products

Tanishq brings AkshayaTritiya online this year

isinfectant tunnelshave been much-talked-about, thesedays. One of thebiggest discussionsfollowing the

Coronavirus outbreak hasbeen about these tunnels onwhether or not they’re effec-tive to kill the virus.

A disinfectant tunnel is a setup of a passage filled withnozzles that spray a disinfec-tant cloud of tiny waterdroplets on a person whowalks through the tunnel to kill bacteria and theCOVID-19 virus.

The recent introduction ofthese tunnels across the coun-try led to the development of

one such tunnel in Hyderabadtoo. On the current status ofsuch a resource in the city,Sathvika Gupta, Safety andHealth officer, tells us thatmany health experts providedminute details about this latestinvention being safe onlywhen sprayed on surfaces. “Ifsprayed on man, it createshealth hazards. Ranging fromskin disorders, burning of theskin, redness to blisters, etc.,the disinfectant tunnel is notadvisable to be sprayed onhumans,” the health officersays.

Comprising of 2-3 per centsodium hypochlorite, thischemical compound can beused as an oxidizing agent as

the main ingredient to wardoff sterilisers using a disinfec-tant tunnel as suggested by the

medical experts.Condemning the recent

incident of drenching migrant

workers with bleach disinfec-tants the health officer says,“These disinfectants containcertain chemical compositionsthat cause an increased risk ofdeveloping health hazardsincluding eyesight loss, rashes,etc. I don’t think crossing apassage of disinfectant for 5-10 seconds will kill the virus.”

Sathvika Gupta says that shehas currently withdrawn herservices from the disinfectanttunnels set up in the city andat the same time urges theTelangana government to dis-mantle the tunnels.

As per the reports, theWorld Health Organisationhas also issued a notice onminimal usage of sodiumhypochlorite chemical anddisinfectant tunnels that causeharm to humans in publicplaces. While they may workon material surfaces, the maincomponent, which is bleach,does not help sanitise humans.

D

Follow us on@TheDailyPioneerfacebook.com/dailypioneer

MondayApril 20, 2020

YouTubers are making the most of thelockdown period to create awareness

among public about the ongoingpandemic by making relatable

content infused withhumour, finds V SATEESH

REDDY

he lockdown called dueto Coronavirus pan-

demic has peoplelocked indoors for

months. And with thenationwide lockdown

having been extended till May 3,boredom is all most people fear,

after the virus itself. But thanks to the time and the

internet, YouTubers are makingvideos on various issues relating to

the lockdown. And netizens aremore than happy to consume

entertainment via the internet.During the lockdown, people

have been witnessing manychanges like preferring home-

cooked food, improving their culi-nary skills, lifestyle changes and

others. To show what’s happeningduring the lockdown — the quar-

antine difficulties, work fromhome, love, fear of virus -

YouTubers are covering them all, ina funny way. They're also using

these videos to educate and createawareness among people.

In one of the videos titled WhatIf Virus Is A Person by a reputed

YouTube channel, the makers triedto explain the virus’ point of viewabout the current pandemic. The

video shows how people have nowbecome conscious about health and

hygiene and warns people abouttheir eating habits.

YouTuber Harika Alekhya says,“People are depressed with theextension of the lockdown. We

want to take them out of this situa-tion and that’s how What If Virus Is

a Person happened. This is tospread positivity among people. I

also did a video called MyQuarantine Time to show how to

utilise free time at home. I usedthis time to draw and advised myfollowers on social media too, to

follow the same.”Another video titled

Bhayam VadilesiJagrathapadadaam

chronicles thelife of

two roommates, one who fears thevirus to a point where he develops

an OCD against unclean and unhy-gienic places and lifestyle while theother is unaffected and irritated by

his roomate’s irrational fears. Allthis, with humour. Jones Katru,

one of the makers of the video says,“We are all making videos in our

respective homes. It is very impor-tant for us to stay safe during timeslike these. Our government is striv-ing hard to eradicate the virus and

we must obey the rules. We believethat our videos will help create the

much needed awareness.”Another YouTube channel madea series of videos on Work From

Home, Lockdown, Love InQuarantine and more. The series

narrates the difficulties of variouskinds of people in a satirical way.

Kids interrupting their parents’conference calls and other such

instances make these videosinstantly reliable and funny. Someof the videos also cover problems

faced by people surviving long dis-tance relationship.

Another YouTuber Shobanshares, “We’re making videos

showing what’s happening aroundus during this time. We’ve seen

people venturing out and endingup being thrashed by the police

and made some videos on thesame. We are also giving smart

solutions to celebrate birthdays athome.”

Due to the lockdown, peoplehave begun to do their own chores.

Celebrities and politicians too, aredoing things all by themselves,thanks to househelps not being

able to get to work. Thus came outanother video on the importance of

maids and other workers in ourlives. Titled Side Effects of

Quarantine, the video informs,educates and teaches one to respect

workers from all strata. All in all, these YouTubers are

doing the job of educating and cre-ating awareness among netizens,

albeit with humour.

T

People are depressed withthe extension of the

lockdown. We want to takethem out of this situation and

that’s how What If Virus Is aPerson happened. This is to

spread positivity among people.I also did a video called My

Quarantine Time to show howto utilise free time at home.

— HARIKA ALEKHYA

CREATING AWARENESS WITH A DASH OF HUMOUR

You-Tubers are

doing the job ofeducating and

creating awarenessamong netizens, albeit

with humour

Are disinfectant tunnelsharmful to mankind?

SHIKHADUGGAL speaks

to SathvikaGupta, Safety

and Healthofficer on all

the hypesurrounding the

DisinfectantTunnels

SIDE EFFECTSOF A

DISINFECTANTTUNNEL:

COUGHING AND

SORE THROATSTOMACH ACHEBURNINGSENSATIONDIARRHEAVOMITING

From skin disorders,burning of the skin,redness to blisters, allcan be caused due todisinfectant tunnels.It is not advisable tobe sprayed on humans

10

Hyderabad Monday April 20 2020 what’s brewing

FUN

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

CALVIN AND HOBBES

l Each row and column cancontain each number (1 to 9)exactly once.

l The sum of all numbers inany row or column mustequal 45.

Yesterday’s solution

he lockdown peri-od has led to aboom in the tele-vision and OTTmarkets all overthe world, with

Indians getting their dose ofentertainment through fic-tion tales, historical pieces,mythological stories andsupernatural thrills.

According to a recentreport by Broadcast AudienceResearch Council (BARC), TVconsumption in India grewby 38 per cent over the pre-COVID period. People arenow watching TV for allseven days with an increaseof 47 per cent viewership.

The report also stated thatthe consumption of Hindi asa language has grown, withmythology driving thegrowth — thanks to the re-runs of classic shows likeRamayan and Mahabharat.This week, the Hindi GECattained an all time highviewership of four billionsince 2015 in HSM (Hindi

Speaking Market) Urban.Another trend which was

spotted was the resurgence ofEnglish movies category.English movies has shown an83 per cent growth in thelockdown period.

When it comes to OTT,the disruption caused byCOVID-19 gave a big fillip toeducation apps, along withstreaming services. The topcontent picked by the audi-ence includes fiction, thriller,history, news, supernatural,and mythology.

The growth of TV and

OTT was spotted byGlobalWebIndexEntertainment flagshipreport as well.

It stated that in every agebracket, “internet users watchmore broadcast TV thanonline TV, despite year-on-year drops in broadcastengagement”.

“Online TV has capturedmore and more daily mediatime among internet userssince 2012, climbing from the45 minute per day mark to itscurrent standing of 1 hour 17minutes,” it added.

According to the reportthe average time spent watch-ing linear TV in India is 1hour and 34 minutes, andonline TV on a typical day is1 hour and 31 minutes.

It is important to note thatwhile Netflix and AmazonPrime Video might havefound a strong ground inIndia, the report states thatIndian market is not asmooth sail for foreign play-ers.

Netflix engagement overthe past year in India,increased by 14 per centpoints to 58 per cent. It isfurther strengthening itsposition by widening itsIndian slate, and gettingBollywood biggies like ShahRukh Khan, PriyankaChopra Jonas and AnushkaSharma on board.

“India’s streaming marketis one of the biggest andfastest-growing in the world,and at the same time, one ofthe most resistant to penetra-tion from global players,” thereport said.

That explains the recentgrowth of Indian OTT play-ers, which include Voot,AltBalaji, Zee5, and MXPlayer.

“The country’s video mar-ket is valued at over $700million and is expected togrow to $2.4 billion in valueby 2023, with the over-the-top (OTT) industry projectedto be with the highest growthrate,” it explained.

Covid 19: TV viewershipINCREASED BY 47%T

here is an ele-ment of simplis-tic joy that drivesFour More ShotsPlease, and it’s aquality that

endears you to the show.Beneath the grit driving itsadmirably unapologeticprotagonists, it has a fairy-tale spirit propping the nar-rative. Same-sex love orbusiness woes, broken mar-riages or cheating partners— within the realism thatthis series sets up, thedrama invariably flowswith abundant feel-goodzest.

Perhaps it is meant to bethat way. The four heroinesof the show have, after all,learnt to comfortably coex-ist with their flaws and life’sworries. The new seasontakes the individual storiesof these four women for-ward with more introspec-tive edge and the sameirreverent wit that we lovedthe first time around.

Season two takes off afew months after the firstseason ended, and startswith a rather unnecessarycheck on where each leadcharacter currently stands,

before taking off with theirindividual stories.

Damini (Sayani Gupta),Anjana (Kirti Kulhari),Siddhi (Maanvi Gagroo)and Umang (Bani J) arestill dealing with familiarcrises. Damini, reelingunder the loss of her web-site, has turned her atten-tion to writing a book thathas the potential of stirringup a storm. Umang, afterouting herself to the world,wants to give her relation-ship with Samara (LisaRay) a proper shot. Anjanawants to patch up with herex-husband, while Siddhi istrying to make it as a

stand-up comedian.While Nupur Asthnana

takes over from AnuMenon to direct seasontwo, the overall uniformityin the unique mix of dramaand humour probably owesitself to the fact that DevikaBhagat returns as writer forall 10 episodes of the newseason. Bhagat keeps up theintrigue factor about eachof the leading ladies byreiterating their quirkyflaws from season one.

This is a show brought tolife by an all-women crew.Beyond Asthana andBhagat, the narrative is suf-ficiently enriched by IshitaMoitra's dialogues. Thewriting of characters aswell as the lines they get tospeak, blend well withAsthana’s tack as a film-maker.

It is something that letsthe cast relish the job athand. Sayani Gupta, KirtiKulhari, Maanvi Gagrooand Bani J are actuallymore impressive in theirrespective roles this season.They seem to have settleddown comfortably in theirscreen avatars.

The male cast, really the

supporting acts here, arehowever impressive in well-penned roles. MilindSoman, Pratiek Babbar andNeil Bhoopalam are back infamiliar roles, while SameerKochhar and PrabalPunjabi join the cast, too.The men are particularlyuseful in triggering off theconflict points in the livesof the show’s four femaleleads, with their many huesbetween black and white.

Sure, season two has itsflaws. The start of the sea-son, for instance, need nothave wasted time withrecap, and straightawaytaken us into the currentlives of the four heroines.After a while, many of thestock plot points keep com-ing back, rendering someof the middle episodeswithout pace at times.

Still, you come out of theexperience happier — ifonly because Damini,Anjana, Siddhi and Umang have adamantlydecided they won’t let neg-ativity enter their world, nomatter what. Despite thefeel-good simplicity, theirworld continues to benuanced.

T

Four More Shots Please Season 2:

A HAPPIER HIGHCAST:

SAYANI GUPTA,KIRTI KULHARI,

MAANVI GAGROOAND BANI J;

DIRECTION: NUPURASTHANA;

RATING: 3.5

The average timespent watchinglinear TV in Indiais 1 hour and 34minutes, andonline TV on atypical day is 1hour and 31minutes

orona Crisis Charity, which hasbeen formed nearly three weeks ago,is continuing to receive aid from thefraternity. Tamannaah Bhatia is thelatest celebrity to have pledged Rs 3

lakhs to the CCC, which is distributing gro-ceries to daily-wage workers and their fam-ilies belonging to the industry. The actresssent the money through RTGS to CCC onSaturday evening.

Likewise, Mega Super Good filmsproducers RB Chowdary, NV Prasadand Paras Jain donated Rs 5 lakhs toCCC. Producer Mohan Cherukurilauding the efforts of CCCannounced a sum of Rs 5 lakhs to it.Mohan, who was a part of MythriMovie Makers earlier, also appreci-ated the governments of Telugustates and the centre in the waythey are battling Covid-19. Heappealed to people to stay athome and ensure that surround-ings are clean.

ith health authoritiesfacing severe shortageof blood, in view of thelockdown, MegastarChiranjeevi has given acall to fans and general

people to donate blood andcome to the rescue of needypatients. “The responsibility lieswith us. We shouldn’t come

across reports where people havepassed away because of dearth ofblood,” the actor said. Leading byexample, he donated blood at hisblood bank in Hyderabad onSunday. Responding to Chiru’scall, actor Srikanth, his sonRoshan, Srimitra Chowdary andhis children donated blood atChiranjeevi Eye and Blood Bank.

Chiru also suggested that hisfans need not fear that policewill beat up donors. “Nobodywill stop you if you are on theroad to donate blood. Once youaccept to donate blood, yourmobile will get a code fromblood bank. You can show it tocops,” he said addressing hisfans.

lready a part ofexciting projectslike Miss India,Virataparvam 1992and Varun Tej’snext, actor Naveen

Chandra, The Pioneer haslearnt from multiplesources, has landed a keyrole in Sudheer Varma’snext, a remake of 2017South Korean action com-edy film MidnightRunners. ReginaCassandra and NivethaThomas are spearheadingthe film, which was to rollearlier this month butcouldn’t, due to Covid-19outbreak.

A source close to thedevelopment tells us,“Naveen will be seen asthe film’s baddie who theleading ladies are after. It’san intense role for theactor who also gets to tryhis hand in some hard-core and hand-to-handcombat action. Like theleading ladies, he toobegan training for thepart. Naveen also liked thefact that Sudheer has justtaken the plot of the origi-nal while giving his own

spin to the story.”Interestingly, this will

be second time thatNaveen, who tasted suc-cess with Tamil film Pattasearlier this Sankranti, willbe sharing screen spacewith Regina and Nivetha.While he did the very suc-cessful Evaru with Reginalast year, with Nivetha, hehad done Juliet — Lover ofIdiot.

Suresh Babu andSunitha Tati, who pro-duced the successful Oh!Baby, starring Samantha,are producing this unti-tled film, in partnershipwith Korean productionhouse Kross Pictures.Richard Prasad has beensigned on as the cam-eraman.

The Korean origi-nal, which was a bigbox-office draw, toldthe story of how twopolice academycadets’ race againsttime to bust anorgan traffickingracket and rescuekidnapped girlchildren.

The actor has landed akey role in Sudheer

Varma’s next, a remakeof 2017 South Korean

action comedy filmMidnight Runners,

finds Nagaraj Goud

11

Hyderabad Monday April 20 2020tollywood

Chirudonates

bloodW

Ane of Tollywood’sbiggest hits, AlaVaikuntha-purramuloo, starringAllu Arjun, PoojaHedge, Tabu,

Jayaram and Sushanth, isgoing north India. While its

old newsthat

original producers AlluAravind and S Radha Krishnawill be shepherding the Hindiremake as well under theirrespective production housesGeetha Arts and Haarika &Hassine Creations, the latest isthat it will be fronted byKarthik Aryan and directedby Rohit Dhawan, son offilmmaker David Dhawan.

Reports emerging fromMumbai point out thatKarthik was narrated thestory over a video call in thepresence of both the Teluguproducers and impressed withit, he gave his nod pronto.The fact that the original isalso a blockbuster in Teluguwas another reason. Rohit iskeen on tweaking the scripthere and there to suit thetastes of Hindi audiences.

With Karthik’s diarypacked for the next five-sixmonths, Rohit wants to usethe time to fine-tune thescript further and completethe pre-production by then,including the casting.

When we reached outto a source close to S

Radha Krishna, heconfirmed the devel-

opment, saying thatthe plan to remakethe film in Hindiis on withKarthik. He did-n’t dwell into fur-ther details

though.The original,

directed byTrivikram Srinivas,

told the story ofa youngster

Bantu (played byArjun) who finds

his world shakenafter he learns that

he was swapped atbirth with a million-aire’s son. He laterfinds a way to enterVaikunthapurram,

the home of his realparents and confront

those who threaten his family.The film has minted a shareof more than Rs 150 crore atthe box-office and in the pro-cess stood as Arjun’s career-best film revenue-wise.

Interestingly, Allu Arjuntoyed with the idea ofremaking Karthik Aryan-starrer Sonu Ke Titu KiSweety last year but withTrivikram informing thathe has on original idea,the actor dropped theremake plans. Buzzabout Ala... Tamilremake with SivaKarthikeyan in the leadis also doing the roundsfor the past one week.

O

C

CCC gets more donations

Now, NAVEENjoins Regina and Nivetha

Ala Vaikunthapurramlo

GOES TO HINDI

Music director Koti takes to actingusic director Koti, who is inthe news for composingsongs on coronavirus pan-demic, is debuting as a lead

actor with a new film titledSugreeva. Incidentally, the film isinspired by the heroics of the policeforce who are working round theclock to ensure that lockdown is fol-

lowed everywhere. It will tell thestory of one such “sincere, dashingand a powerful cop,” according tothe film’s director Siva Nagu. To rollonce the industry shutdown is lifted;it is a production venture of MNRChowdary. Interestingly, Koti, whowas one half of the successful musicjodi Raj-Koti in ‘90s, is making his

debut as a lead actor with Devineni,where he is playing KS Vyas, thesuperintendent of police ofVijayawada back then in 1983.Thefilm revolves around the life andtimes of TDP leader DevineniNehru (played Tarakaratna) and hisfeud with political rival VangaveetiRanga (Banerjee).

M

SWATHI clears the air

ith rumours suggesting that she is headed for adivorce after the sudden disappearance of her pic-tures with husband Vikas Vasu from her Instagramaccount, Swathi chose to clear the air in a cryptic

video. Turns out, the Swamy Ra Ra actress has saved thepictures in the archives folder of her account. Indirectly,she has also hinted — in an interesting analogy over aconversation between Dobby and Harry Potter — thatshe saved them because she can view them whenever shefeels like. Well, that should put all rumours to rest!

Swathi married Vikas Vasu, a pilot who hails fromKerala, in 2018. It was an arranged marriage. She hassubsequently decided to stop acting. She was in the newsrecently for being attached to reprise her part fromKarthikeya in its sequel.

W

sport 12HYDERABAD | MONDAY | APRIL 20, 2020

PTI nMUMBAI

Former Australian pacerJason Gillespie was veryimpressed with Ishant

Sharma’s “thirst for knowledge”when he played English countyunder his coaching, despite beingan established international crick-eter.

Ishant, who has so far picked297 wickets from 97 Tests, playedfor Sussex in 2018 with Gillespieas the coach.

“You know what really struckme about Ishant was his thirst forknowledge, his willingness to lis-ten, ask questions, try new things,because sometimes you can getsenior players, experienced play-ers who will just go about and dotheir thing,” Gillespie said on achat-show Cow Corner Chronicles.

In fact, during the last first-class season, Ishant acknowl-edged that every one spoke abouthis problems but it was Gillespiewho provided solutions.

“They know what they needto do and that’s fine. But Ishantwas very much...He knew what heneeded to do to bowl well. He alsoknew he wanted to get better,”remarked Gillespie.

India toured England laterthat season in 2018 and Gillespiefelt Ishant was better for theexperience.

“Knowing that he had anopportunity at Sussex, knowingthat India were going to be play-ing in England, later on, I thinkhe saw it as a very good oppor-

tunity, to learn and bowl inEnglish conditions, and test him-self. Look he was fantastic with usat Sussex,” added Gillespie.

Gillespie also said that Ishantmade impact on Sussex players.

“The Sussex players were real-ly impressed with Ishant’s workethic. He fitted in really well in the

dressing room. His work ethic inthe nets, or on the track was phe-nomenal. It was really good for ouryoung seam bowlers at Sussex tosee, that this is what it takes for aTest bowler,” he added.

Gillespie, who worked withanother Test specialistCheteshwar Pujara, whom he

coached at other county sideYorkshire, also praised the latter.

“We had Pujara at Yorkshire,when I was head coach there. Weneeded a batsman in the top threewho could do a job for us insometimes challenging condi-tions, Someone with a very goodtemperament, someone whocould absorb some very goodbowling.

“Pujara fitted that bill perfect-ly. He found it a challenge, theearly season in county cricket withthe duke cricket ball movingaround in English conditions. Hefound that a challenge. I think that

was really a good test for him asa player. A good learning curvefor Cheteshwar,” said Gillespieabout Pujara’s first stint withYorkshire in 2015.

Gillespie feels the countystint helped Pujara, who hasamassed 5840 runs from 77 Tests,immensely.

“I think he grew as a player.He learnt more about his game.He adapted to conditions inEngland which can be quite chal-lenging for top three-top fourbatsmen at the best of times. So,I thought he did wonderfullywell,” Gillespie signed off.

NEW DELHI: Indian boxing’s High PerformanceDirector Santiago Nieva expects the nation-al camp to resume at least partially nextmonth and foresees no hiccups in fans rush-ing back to live sport in the age of social dis-tancing as he feels people always “look forrisks”.

The seasoned coach, who has been withthe Indian team since 2017, is quite optimisticof things improving by the beginning of nextmonth despite the rising COVID-19 cases.

“I think the camp will restart nextmonth. If not full strength, then at least thecore group,” he said.

The core group comprises the ones whohave already qualified for the Olympics andthose who are seen to be strong contendersto make the cut in future qualifiers.

Asked what gives him the belief thatcamps would be good to go if the nationallockdown ends, the Swede said, “That’s myhunch. Of course I can be wrong but I thinkwe will be able to restart early next month.”

“Humans have the ability to adapt to dif-ferent situations. And I think here, people arefacing up to the reality quite well even thoughit is an unprecedented crisis.”

Talking of the crisis and its impact onsports, Nieva said things would never be thesame again but asserted that people will notgive up on live sports either.

“In amateur boxing, we are used to fight-ing in empty halls, so no fan concerns for us,”he joked.

“But seriously speaking, yes, there will bemore restrictions on movement of people, thesecurity is going to be tighter, it won’t be thateasy to travel. But fans, they are going to rushback at the first opportunity,” he predicted.

“People don’t care. I think they should bemore careful but mostly they are not. Theywill come back easily because they have beenconfined at homes for too long. PTI

PTI n CHENNAI

Mahendra Singh Dhoni’sintelligent recruitment

policy of roping in interna-tional captains who can con-tribute stretagically, was one ofthe biggest reason for ChennaiSuper Kings’ stupendous suc-cess in IPL, feels former SouthAfrica captain Faf du Plessis.

CSK has been a part of 10out of 12 seasons of IPL andhave never finished lowerthan semi-finals or play-offs.

“A great thing that CSKhas done over the years, andthat’s credit to MS and(Stephen) Fleming the coach,is they have targeted captains— (Brendon) McCullum,myself, (Dwayne) Bravo, obvi-ously MS, (Suresh) Raina’scaptained a bit — becausethey want thinking crick-eters,” the 35-year-old toldCSK’s website.

“So, there’s a lot of leaderswithin group, that experienceof thinking cricketers is whatthey want and obviously it hasproven to be very successful,”he added.

“Chennai Super Kings isa great franchise to be a partof. MS has got such strongleadership. He leaves a mas-sive hole when he’s not on thefield,” the former SA skipperwaxed eloquent about Dhoni.

Du Plessis, who has beenpart of CSK, also spoke abouthis passion for fielding, addingthe team had a few very goodfielders.

“I love going to positionson the field where the ballgoes all the time. We arelucky at CSK that we got a fewvery good fielders. Jaddu(Ravindra Jadeja) is incredible,he has got the strongest armin world cricket. Jaddu wantsthem to try and run. He jogsto the ball because he knowsif you run, you are out,” headded.

LONDON: Brighton owner TonyBloom believes that relegationshould be scrapped if thePremier League season cannotbe completed, claiming itwould be “unfathomable” thata club could be doomed by “0.2points”.

Most teams in the topflight still have nine games toplay while June 30 has beenmentioned as a potential cut-off date for the season to end.

“I don’t foresee a situation,if the season’s not played out,that teams will get relegated ona points-per-game basis,”Bloom said.

“I just don’t think it’s fath-omable that a team which is notallowed to play out the seasonmay lose out on 0.2 pointsbased on this system, and alsoit does not take into account thestrength of the team you havenot played.”

If the season ended early,

Brighton would stay up as theysit two points above drop zone.

Bournemouth, Aston Villaand Norwich were in the rele-gation places when the leaguewas suspended.

“You may get a title win-ner, obviously Liverpooldeserve it, you may use thatcriteria for European qualifica-tion but I do not see how any-one can vote for that, certain-ly the per cent needed (70 percent), for teams to get relegat-ed. I really cannot foreseethat,” added Bloom. AFP

LONDON (IANS): Former ManchesterUnited and Real Madrid midfielderDavid Beckham rates Barcelona’s LionelMessi higher than Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ronaldo succeeded Beckham asManchester United’s No 7 before arriv-ing at Real Madrid two years after theEngland captain left the Spanish giants.

Beckham has also experience ofplaying against a young Lionel Messi inthe latter’s initial years with Barcelona andfaced him once while he was playing forParis Saint-Germain.

“He [Messi] is alone in his class as aplayer, it is impossible that there isanother like him,” Beckham told Telam.“He, like Cristiano Ronaldo, who is notat his level, are both above the rest.”

Beckham recalled his last matchagainst Barca in 2013 Champions Leaguequarters. PSG were ahead at one stage atCamp Nou when Messi came on as a sub-stitute. Eventually, Pedro scored andBarca went through on away goals rule.

“We were leading before Messi camein, and once he came in, Barca scored,”Beckham said. He was 37 years old bythen and ended his illustrious playingcareer at the end of season but Beckhamsaid that he did not enjoy losing that tie.

“Although I enjoyed playing at thatlevel at my age, I do not like to lose. Ourteam played well. In both matches, we didthings we should be proud of. We didn’tlose against Barcelona, and that is some-thing that should motivate us,” he said.

AFP nMUNICH

Bayern Munich captain andgoalkeeper Manuel Neuer

told German media onSunday he has become “irri-tated” with negotiations toextend his contract, whichhave reportedly stalled inrecent weeks.

“All talks I have had sinceI have been here have beenconfidential... nothing hasever leaked,” the 34-year-oldtold Germany’s most populardaily Bild.

“But now, details aboutthe current talks are con-stantly appearing in the media,and are often untrue. That irri-

tates me. It’s not something Iam used to at Bayern.”

The veteran goalkeeper’sunusually candid commentscome amid widespreadreports that his current con-tract negotiations have hitthe rocks.

If the talks fail, club cap-tain Neuer could be free toleave Bayern in June andattract the interest of thePremier League clubs.

Bayern have recentlyextended the contracts of for-ward Thomas Mueller andhead coach Hansi Flick, bothuntil 2023.

Neuer hailed Flick as a“super coach” and said that the

55-year-old’s extension hadconvinced him too to stay onat Bayern.

“I want to have a contractwhich is a win-win situationfor me and Bayern. I want toperform, be there for theteam... and give 100 percent,”he said.

“The conditions have tobe right (for that),” he added.

Neuer, who helpedGermany win the 2014 WorldCup title, has been namedworld goalkeeper of the yearfour times.

He has kept 191 cleansheets in 373 appearances forBayern since joining fromSchalke in 2011.

MONTEVIDEO: Real Madrid’sUruguayan midfielderFederico Valverde has cred-ited manager ZinedineZidane for giving him theself-confidence to flourishwith the Spanish giants.

After playing 25 match-es in his first full season as aReal Madrid player in 2018-19, Valverde has alreadymade 32 appearances in thiscampaign, mostly as a starter.

“He gives you confidencein a way that few other coach-es do,” Valverde said anInstagram Live.

“Everyone has greatrespect for him because, apartfrom being the manager, he’sa legend on a world scale,”Valverde said. “You have tokeep what he tells you insideyour head. Sometimes in agame he’ll tell you to changesomething or give you a sug-

gestion. Or he might criticizeyou. If he says it, you have tolisten and try to get the mostout of it.”

Valverde also praisedReal Madrid midfield col-leagues Luke Modric,Casemiro and Tony Kroos.He described Kroos as a ref-erence for all players, citingthe Germany World Cupwinner’s “admirable compo-sure” on the ball. IANS

GENEVA: European football’sgoverning body UEFA ismulling to continue theChampions League matches,suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, on August 7-8.

According to a report onSky Sports Italia, the first of theremaining matches in theRound of 16 will be played onAugust 7 and 8 after whichthere will be matches everythree days until August 29when the final is scheduled tobe held.

The semi-final will be onAugust 18-18 and 21-22 beforethe final in Istanbul.

This would also result inthe group stage of the 2020/21season of the ChampionsLeague being postponed toOctober 20. It was initiallyrumoured that a deadline ofAugust 3 has been set for thefinal to be held but UEFA Prezdenied that. IANS

LONDON: Wayne Rooneymay be ManchesterUnited and England’srecord goalscorer but hestill believes he shouldhave found the back ofthe net more often dur-ing his career, eventhough he was not a nat-ural finisher.

Rooney, a teenagesensation at Everton,joined United in 2004and went on to score 253goals in 559 appearancesduring a 13-year spell forthe Old Trafford clubthat saw the Red Devilspile up the trophies.

Rooney surpassed1966 World Cup-win-ner Bobby Charlton asUnited’s all-time lead-ing scorer, just as he didfor England with a tallyof 53 goals.

Despite those fig-ures Rooney, writing inhis Sunday Times col-umn, insisted: “I’m goingto be honest — and thismight surprise you —but I’m not a naturalgoalscorer.”

The 34-year-old,now a player-coach atsecond-tier DerbyCounty, added: “I was

never a Gary Lineker or aRuud van Nistelrooy; I neverlooked at myself that way.

“I hold the goal records forManchester United andEngland and am very proudabout that — yet there havebeen better No 9s than me.

“How did I become arecord-breaker if I wasn’t a nat-ural scorer? Time,” Rooney

explained. “I played for Unitedfor 13 years, England for 15years. I had time to break thoserecords — and looking back Ishould have scored more.”

Rooney backed HarryKane to break his Englandrecord, although he would likethe Tottenham Hotspur strik-er “to stay high as that No 9”after seeing him drop deeperin during the past two seasons.

“I don’t think it will takelong for Harry Kane to claimmy England record and itwould be a proud moment forme,” Rooney said.

“I’ve never been a selfishplayer and it would be great forEngland for Harry to get there.Bobby Charlton had to wait 50years (for Rooney to break hisEngland record) — I hope it’snot so long for me.

“The United record mightlast longer simply becauseplayers don’t stay at clubs aslong as they used to. AFP

AFP n MONACO

Novak Djokovic on Saturdaysaid that he, Roger Federer

and Rafael Nadal are organising aidfor players struggling with theparalysis of the game due to thecoronavirus pandemic.

“I spoke to Roger and Rafa afew days ago,” Djokovic, the worldnumber one, said in an Instagramchat with friend and rival StanWawrinka on Saturday.

“We had a long conversationabout the near future of tennis,what is going to happen, how wecan contribute and how we canhelp especially lower-ranked play-ers, who are obviously strugglingthe most.”

“The majority of the playerswho are ranked between 200, 250in the world, and the 700th or1,000th do not have federationsupport, do not have sponsors.They are completely independentand left alone,” he said

“Guys who are ranked between200-250, especially to 700...arethinking of leaving tennis rightnow.”

He said players, the ATP and

the four Grand Slams “would allget together and will contribute toa player relief fund that ATP willdistribute.”

“It looks, hopefully, that therewill something between $3 million(2.75 million euros) and $4.5 mil-lion that is going to be distributed,”

he estimated.Djokovic said the cash could

come from the prize money for theseason-ending World Tour Finalsor the final bonus pools for topplayers.

‘FUTURE OOF TTENNIS’“Maybe if we don’t have any

tournaments this season, we cantake a certain percentage from ourprize money form Australian Openin January,” he said.

“These guys are the grass rootsof tennis. The future of tennis. Weneed to show them they still canrely on support of the top guys.”

According to reports in tennismedia, Djokovic, as president ofthe ATP Players' Council, whichalso includes Federer and Nadal,proposed to members that playersin the top 100 for singles and thetop 20 in doubles contributeaccording to their rankings.

The proposed scale runs from$30,000 for a top-five player to$5,000 for those between 51 and100.

That would raise approximate-ly $1 million and the ATP wouldmake a similar contribution.

IANS n LONDON

World No 1 Novak Djokovic saidthat rival and Swiss great Roger

Federer’s ability to come up with serveand volley is somewhat underrated andnot talked about enough.

In an InstagramLive chat with for-mer world No 1 Andy Murray, Djokovicsaid that Federer is one of the most com-plete players to have ever played thegame.

“Roger. I mean he would definitelybe there. I mean he is one of the mostcomplete players ever to play the game,”said the Serb.

“We all know how great he is. I thinkit is a bit underrated. I don’t know if peo-ple really talk about his ability to comeup with serve and volley; accurate playat the most challenging times in thematch, against us (great returners).

“He was really not intimidated somuch by the return. He would place,especially on the quicker surfaces, hewould disrupt your rhythm.”

The pair have played a number ofmatches over the years that have decid-ed Grand Slam titles, the latest of whichincluded the 2020 Australian Opensemifinal and the epic 2019 Wimbledonfinal, both of which Djokovic won.

PTI n PANAJI

Goa Sports MinisterManohar Ajgaonkar on

Sunday said the state govern-ment will seek clarification fromthe Indian Olympic Associationover the fate of the much-delayed 36th National Games inwake of COVID-19 pandemic.

The coronavirus outbreakhas brought all sporting activi-ties to a grinding halt worldwide.In India, major events like theIPL have been postponed indef-initely.

The pandemic has alsoraised doubts over the theNational Games, scheduled to beheld in the state from October20 to November 4.

Goa has reported a total ofseven positive cases, of which sixhave recovered.

“My department has writtento the Chief Minister onSaturday urging him to seekclarification from IOA over thefate of National Games,”Ajgaonkar said.

The minister said the stateis prepared to host the games,but need at least three monthsadvance notice.

“We were all set to host the

National Games in November2020. Now, with this kind of sit-uation, we are not sure what willhappen,” he said

“Our infrastructure for theGames is ready. Our grounds areready. We can host nationalgames any time. But we need tobe informed three months inadvance about the date. Somesmall time tenders needs to beadvertised.”

The minister added thatthe ongoing works on the infra-structure creation are in the finalphase and can be completedwithin a month.

Goa was earlier supposed tohost the 36th edition of theNational Games in November2018. However, the state later setaside dates for the event fromMarch 30 to April 14 last year,but then expressed its inabilityto host the Games during thatperiod owing to the general elec-tions.

Earlier this month, IOApresident Narinder Batraexpressed optimism that theNational Games will go ahead asper schedule and will provide aperfect preparatory platformfor the Tokyo Olympics-boundIndian athletes.

Ishant’s thirst for knowledge impressed Gillespie‘SACHIN WAS HARDER TODISLODGE THAN LARA’MUMBAI: It was difficult to getboth of them out, but SachinTendulkar was a bit harder todislodge than Brian Lara, saidformer Australia pacer JasonGillespie.

The Aussie ratedTendulkar along side Lara asthe toughest batsman to dis-miss in his career.

“Two different types ofplayers, two equally difficult toget out. I always felt, Sachin wasprobably a little bit harder todislodge, in terms of getting hiswicket, but I didn’t feel hewould take you apart, in quitethe same way as Brian.

“I always felt I was in with

more of a chance to get Brianout because he was a bit moreexpansive, with his game. ButI found Sachin’s defence wasvery hard to get through,”Gillespie said.

“Look two fine players, Iam just really glad that I don’thave to bowl to them anymore.They were just far too good.

“It’s quite an honour forme to be able to sit here andtalk to you and say that Ibowled against these guys.

“It was a wonderful time tobe a cricketer, got to bowlagainst the best in the world.For me that was very satisfy-ing,” added Gillespie. IANS

Faf reveals secret ofDhoni’s IPL success

NEW DELHI: It is common forany captain to have afavourite player and when itcame to Mahendra SinghDhoni, it was Suresh Raina,who enjoyed unstinted back-ing from the former Indiacaptain, feels Yuvraj Singh.

One of India’s greatestlimited-overs cricketers,Yuvraj remembered howDhoni faced selection dilem-ma when he had to choosetwo out of him, Yusuf Pathanand Raina in the playing XIduring the 2011 World Cup.

“Suresh Raina had a lotof support then, because MSused to back him. Everycaptain has a favourite play-

er and I think Mahi reallybacked Raina at that time,”Yuvraj told Sports Tak.

Ultimately all three play-ers made the playing XI(although Yusuf was droppedfrom playing XI later) withYuvraj playing a pivitol rolein winning the title.

“Yusuf Pathan was alsoperforming well at that timeand even I was doing welland was also picking wickets.And Raina was not in agood touch then,” he said.

“They did not have a left-arm spinner at that time andI was picking wickets so theydid not have any choice,” headded. PTI

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