PNS n HYDERABAD

The Telangana government,having urged the Centre toextend lockdown, is rollingout its cluster containmentplan, which is a sort of lock-down within a lockdown.

According to sources, the TSgovernment's cluster contain-ment planhas married theCluster Containment Strategyconsidered by the Centre withthe 'Bhilwara model' that suc-ceeded in Rajasthan, as part ofits own exit strategy post lock-down.

Towards this end, theTelangana government hasidentified 12clusters inHyderabad as consti-tuting the epicentreof the Covid-19 pan-demic in state, wherea total of 101hotspots have beeni d e n t i f i e d .Residents in theseclusters would bevirtually locked intheir houses, withtheir daily essen-tials being sup-plied by theauthorities.

A contain-ment zone is onewhere Covid-19positive casesare found andsuch areas areconsidered con-taminated andtherefore sealed off.

Explaining the significance,Minister EatalaRajender said,"To stop coronavirus spread,based on WHO and ICMRguidelines, we are defining zones,call it 'red zone', 'containment

cluster'or 'hotspot'.

People in these areashave to confine to

their houses. We will sup-ply everything, from milk to gro-ceries, they are not supposed tocome out. Our main goal is tomake sure they don't come out.We will screen every house forsymptoms like fever and takesteps accordingly."

Public who areresiding in these clus-

ters should not comeoutside their houses.

Outside people or othersshould not visit those areas.ASHA workers, self-helpgroups, GHMC workers willensure that screening is doneand essential items are madeavailable in these areas.

Chief Secretary SomeshKumar said, "A special phonenumber will be allocated tothose who are inside to conveytheir problems. GHMCCommissioner has to nominate

a nodal officer to monitor theimplementation of the contain-ment rules. Also,zonal and dep-uty Commi-ssi-oners toimplementgovernmentdirections."

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RNI No. APENG/2018/764698

Established 1864

*Late City Vol. 2 Issue 179*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

Published FromVIJAYAWADA DELHI LUCKNOW BHOPALRAIPUR CHANDIGARH BHUBANESWAR

RANCHI DEHRADUNHYDERABAD

}CHAY-PARASURAMFILM TO ROLL

NEXT YEAR{Page 11

ODISHA FIRST TO EXTENDLOCKDOWN TILL APRIL 30

Oil demand in the world's third-biggest consumer has collapsed by asmuch as 70 per cent as India endures the planet's largest national

lockdown, according to officials at the country'srefiners. The estimate for the current demand loss is astark reminder of the challenge facing oil producers asthey haggle over a deal to cut supply and prop upthe global energy industry. Consumption for theentire month could average about 50 per centbelow last year's levels but that's based on India'sthree-week lockdown ending April 15 as planned,according to the officials.

DELHI'S BENGALI MARKET SEALED OVER 3COVID-19 CASES, 35 FOUND ON SHOP ROOFAnew coronavirus scare has emerged in Delhi after 35 workers were

found on the rooftop of a pastry shop at Bengali Market, a popularfamily haunt in the heart of the capital. Bengali Market has been sealed offalong with the 20 virus hotspots in Delhi after threepersons were diagnosed with COVID-19. An FIRhas been filed against Bengali Pastry Shop forendangering lives by defying the lockdown tocheck the spread of COVID-19. Asserting that itwas closed, the iconic shop, in its defence, saidit had provided shelter to workers who hadnowhere to go.

ANew York couple has seen the cityscape outside their Brooklynapartment change dramatically in recent weeks, as refrigerated

trucks line up in the lot below to receive the remains ofCOVID-19 victims as they exit the Wyckoff HeightsMedical Center. Alix Monteleone, a 28-year-oldaccount supervisor, who lives in a trendy part ofBushwick with her 33-year old fiance, Marc Kozlow,described what the two have witnessed peering outtheir window. "We have a bird's eye view," Monteleonesaid, during a recent interview conducted by Reutersvia Skype.

‘STOPPED COUNTING’: NEW YORK COUPLESEES TRUCKS REMOVING COVID-19 VICTIMS

WORLD'S BIGGEST LOCKDOWN SLASHESOIL DEMAND BY 70% IN INDIA

The Odisha government today announced it has extended the lockdownover the COVID-19 pandemic till April 30, becoming the first state to do

so as the number of patients infected by the novelcoronavirus continues to rise across the country. ChiefMinister Naveen Patnaik has asked the centre not to starttrain and air services till April 30. "Odisha cabinet decidesfor extension and also recommends to union governmentto do the same," the state government said in astatement. "Coronavirus is the biggest threat that thehuman race has faced in more than a century. Lifewill not be the same ever.

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated April 08, 2020 5:00 PM

ALMANACTODAY

Month & Paksham:Chaitra & Shukla PakshaPanchangam:Tithi: Tritiya: 09:31 pmNakshatram: Vishakha: 09:54 pmTime to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)Rahukalam: 10:44 am – 12:17 pmYamagandam: 03:22 pm – 04:55 pmVarjyam: 1:37 am – 03:06 amGulika: 07:39 am - 09:12 amGood Time: (to start any

important work)Amritakalam: 01:58 pm – 03:24 pmAbhijit Muhurtham: 11:52 am – 12:42 pm

HYDERABADWEATHERForecast: Partly cloudyTemp: 36/24Humidity: 72%Sunrise: 06.05Sunset: 06.30

22

Strength of fed-eralism has givenmajor boost tofight againstCOVID-19: Soren

5

8

Surplus FCIstocks can beutilized toengage, feedhungry millions

2

RBI hopes monetary, fiscalmeasures to spureconomic activity

Shaikpet Yousufguda

AlwalKukatpally Qutubullapur-Gajularamaram

Miyapur

Ramgopalpet

Malakpet (Santosh Nagar)

Chandrayangutta

Shaikpet

If the area where you stay is part of a containment zone, itmeans that you are not allowed to step outside your house.

There is a nationwidelockdown anyway…

Yes, but it does not bananyone from stepping out tobuy vegetables, grocery items,medicines and other essentials.Then how to get essentialsupplies?

Do not panic. The localadministration has tied up withResident Welfare Associations(RWAs) and marketassociations to provide door-to-door supply of essential items.Areas where such associationsare not active, civic volunteerswill be roped in.

Will any shop stay open?Nothing, including banks will

be open. Even if you needmedicines, it is to be deliveredto you.

Who is allowed to enter orleave a containment zone?

No one other than officials ofthe local administration, police,health officials and municipalityworkers. Serious medical caseswill be exempt, but after dueverification. Entry and exit ofevery person, including thosefrom enforcement agencies,will be registered in therecords. Media will not beallowed to enter these places,but journalists and othersinvolved in essential servicesstaying in these areas will beallowed to go their workplaces.But they have to undergoscreening for Covid-19symptoms each time they enteror exit a containment zone.

What does this mean?

PNS n KAMAREDDY

A woman travelled fromBodhan to Nellore of AP andback on her two-wheeler, cov-ering a distance of 1,400 km tofetch her son stranded inNellore, crossing innumerablecheck-posts, hurdles, policepatrols, fences erected by farm-ers and so on.

The woman’s journey at atime the entire world is lockeddown, and her display ofcourage, has not only earnedher praise from all quarters, butalso reminded everyone that amother’s love knows no bounds.

Razia Begum set out on her1,400-km journey on April 6and reached Nellore on April

7. She started her return jour-ney on the evening of April 7and reached Bodhan on April8, a tedious job for even thehardcore roadie, let alone a

woman teacher. Razia Begum lives in Bodhan

of Kamareddy district. Eversince the death of her husband12 years ago, she shouldered the

responsibility of bringing upher son. She works as a teacherin a Government school.

Her youngest sonMohammad Nizamuddin com-pleted Intermediate in Bodhanand is preparing at NarayanaMedical Academy in Hyderabadto get a seat in MBBS.

Nizamuddin had struckfriendship with a youth ofNellore while he was pursuing

Intermediate in Bodhan. In March, the duo visited

Bodhan from Hyderabad totake the Intermediate supple-mentary examinations.

Meanwhile, Nizamuddin’sfriend got a message that hisfather was unwell, and leftBodhan for Nellore.Nizamuddin also accompa-nied him.

L VENKAT RAM REDDYn HYDERABAD

People from lower-incomegroups living in cramped hous-es appear to have contributedto the spike in Coronaviruscases in Telangana, as socialdistancing is impossible insuch dwellings. Of the over 400cases reported in the state sofar, about 100 pertain to thosefrom same families who live in

cramped houses comprisingone or two rooms with five to10 family members.

A single infected personliving in such a dwelling caninfect other family memberswithin no time. Family mem-bers living in such dwellingsshare same rooms and com-mon toilets naturally are morevulnerable to infections andcontract the virus more easily.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Majority of over 45 lakh peo-ple in the organised sector areyet to get their salaries,though we are in thesecond week ofApril.

N o r m a l l y ,firms in theorganised sectorpay wages totheir employees inthe first week ofevery month.However, this month,majority of them are yet toreceive their wages.

Most of the organisations inthe organised sector are

schools, colleges, institutesand coaching centres. At least,20 lakh people are employedin them.

Following the nationwidelockdown, many

organisations andi n s t i t u t i o n s ,including schoolsand colleges,downed theirshutters and the

situation will con-tinue till April 14.

Financial problems arestaring at these organisa-

tions as their day-to-day oper-ations have come to a grind-ing halt.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Racism raised its ugly head ina city store, but the problemwas nipped in the bud onThursdaywith the arrest of thestore manager and two of itsemployees, following outragein social media and officialalacrity.

Enquiries revealed that twonatives of Manipur weredenied entry into a supermar-ket by its staffers, who toldthem they looked like "foreign-ers".

The incident occurred atStar Supermarket inVanasthalipuram onWednesday. The incidentgained traction on socialmedia, when a user posted onTwitter clips that showed hisfriends, who had gone to thesupermarket to buy groceries,being denied entry and sent

back home empty-handeddespite production of theirAadhaar cards.

The Twitter user Jonah@jtrichao, in his post, askedwhy an Aadhaar card was notenough to prove Indian citi-zenship. "My questions to myfellow Indians: 1. Is this thenew India? 2. Why are werequired/forced to prove ourcitizenship to gain access to

basic necessities? 4. Is Aadhaarcard not enough to prove anIndian citizenship?#SayNoToRacism" (sic) wroteJonah in the tweet.

None of the onlookers triedto intervene and help them."What surprises me is that theotherbystanders did nothing tohelp them out too. This isappalling by any standards.Racism still has a place in our

society even in the midst of thispandemic. Sadly, we are fight-ing two pandemic(#COVID?19 & Racism)" (sic).

The Rachakonda Policeresponded immediately andsought details from Jonah.

Earlier, many prominentpersons, including the Ministerof State for Youth Affairs andMinority Affairs Kiren Rijijuresponded to the tweet, askingJonah for "details of the loca-tion of the incident".

Telangana Principal Secretary(Municipal Administration andUrban Development) ArvindKumar also responded toJonah's tweet, saying the inci-dent was unfortunate and apol-ogized for the incident."Collector RR dist has informedthat FIR is registered against themanager of this outlet and thatthe accused are in custody.

Manipuris denied entry in city store Salaries pending tolakhs of people inorganized sector

Of the 665 peopletested today, only 18

were positive. This number islikely to decrease further. Allthe patients except one arehealthy. All who come fromMarkaz will be discharged byApril 22. Total 388 cases weretested positive who visited

Markaz or contactedsuch persons

— EATALA RAJENDERHealth Minister

Mother travels 1400 km on two-wheeler to fetch son Withdrawal symptomsamid lockdownDAVE BENNETT SILVERY n HYDERABAD

Courtesy lockdown, theInstitute of Mental Health atErragadda here has recorded800 cases of liquor addictsshowing varying degrees ofwithdrawal symptoms, withmore than 170 of them beingadmitted to the institute fortreatment.

The prolonged closure of allwine and toddy shops acrossthe State due to the nationwide

lockdown has hit personsdependent on intoxicatingsubstances like alcohol andtoddy. In the absence of theirdaily fix, they are losing theirbalance and showing with-drawal symptoms.

According to doctors, theinstitute, which used to seefour or five alcoholics perday, has suddenly begun toreceive too many cases, withmore than 100 cases reportedon Monday alone.

800 liquor addicts report at mental health hospital

Enquiries revealedthat two nativesof Manipur weredenied entry intoa supermarket byits staffers, whotold them theylooked like"foreigners"

Telanganareports onemore deathPNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana State reportedanother Covid-19 death onThursday, taking the deathtoll in the state to 12.

Telangana has so farreported 471 cases, of which414 are active. On Thursday,18 people tested positive forCoronavirus. MinisterEtelaRajender said that testshad been completed for allthose who had returned fromMarkaz and their contacts.

The number of cases islikely to drop drastically fromtomorrow. Etela said, "Weare controlling people's move-ments in areas where there arepositive cases. We have iden-tified 101 centers in the state.

CONTAINMENT ZONES ACROSS TSRESTRICTIONSn No person is allowed to go out ofcontainment zone; nor are othersallowed to enter it

n A special phone number will beallocated to those who are inside toconvey their problems

n Government will supplyeverything, from milk to groceries tothose who need it

n Enhanced surveillance by policewill be in place with barricades

wherever necessary

n Police not to allow any localto move out

without avalid

reason

The woman’s journey at a time the entire worldis locked down, and her display of courage, hasnot only earned her praise from all quarters, butalso reminded everyone that a mother’s loveknows no bounds

2

2

22

2

22

2

Out of 400 cases reported inTS, 100 from same family

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HYDERABAD | FRIDAY | APRIL 10, 2020 hyderabad 02

The Covid-19 pandemichas shattered the lives ofmillions of migrant

labour, those employed in theunorganized sector, daily wage-earners and petty vendors.Apart from medical attention,what these people need most isfood, which, under normalcircumstances, they earn on aday-to-day basis without anykind of social security netwhatsoever.

Still, given the urgency ofthe present situation, thereare ways in which their basicneeds can be met now andpost lockdown. We can pro-vide them emergency reliefusing surplus stocks of foodgrains lying with the FoodCorporation of India in itsgodowns. This is perhaps theeasiest way in which theCentre can reach out to themigrant labour and otherswho are jobless and hungry inurban and rural areas.

As things stand, the prob-lems facing these sections ofpeople are likely to multiply,with people eating into theirlittle stores of essential com-modities and exhausting theirmeagre savings. Before thingsget out of control, we need toutilize FCI stocks of foodgrains by engaging voluntaryorganisations that areequipped to supply cookedfood, gurudwaras, NGOs likeAkshaya Patra etc. Even hotelsand canteens could be roped into make and distribute food,using food grains supplied byFCI. Select NGOs could beasked to oversee the arrange-ments, including earmarkingareas for distribution and tyingup with the hotels and rations.All they need to mobilizeadditionally are additionalinputs required like vegetables,cooking oil etc. These suppliescould be arranged throughgovernment agencies wher-

ever possible or by involvingother NGOs.

The country will have to revup the economy as soon aspossible to productively engagelarge sections of unemployedpopulation. The toll of Covid-19 on daily-wage earners andcontract labour, employees ofservice sectors like malls,shops, hotels, shopkeepers,street hawkers, skilled trades-men like construction workers,job-work factory labour, etc isalready visible. In the daysahead, unless a miracle takesplace, the problems will creepup to embrace employees offactories and bigger business-

es across the board. Clearly, no establishment

can afford to pay salariesindefinitely to its employees ifthey cannot be productivelyengaged, more so in employ-ment-oriented and serviceindustries. Despite theGovernment of India's exhor-tation to employers to pay fullsalary for this month, severalstate governments have resort-ed to pay cuts.

In rural areas, the effects ofthe lockdown are just emerg-ing. In some areas, crops areripe, but labour for harvestingis not available. Farms aredrying up for want of watering.

Elsewhere, farm produce isrotting for want of transportand marketing avenues.

Mechanisms like DirectBenefit Transfer and schemeslike MNREGA should beviewed as part of a safety netthat buys us the time requiredfor isolation and treatment-

related issues. We have nochoice but to restart econom-ic activity as quickly as possi-ble.

Successful easing of thelockdown is no mean task.Given the complexitiesinvolved, resumption of eco-nomic activity has to be cau-tious, measured, and graded indiffering geographies.

The experience of some for-eign countries can be instruc-tive. Countries like Italy andthe UK initially downplayedthe magnitude of the problemand are now facing the conse-quences. Countries likeTaiwan and the CzechRepublic have rigorouslyenforced masks and socialdistancing, allowed essentialservices like trains and tramsto run, and permitted limitedeconomic activity. Japan andSweden have allowed mosteconomic activities, while tak-ing due precautions of mask-

ing and maintaining mini-mum social distances. Thesecountries have concentratedon testing and quarantiningpeople coming from outsidetheir borders, while allowingthose inside to pursue eco-nomic activities without goinginto a total lockdown.Singapore too initiallyachieved considerable successin controlling the spread of thevirus, despite keeping itsschools, offices, markets,restaurants and public trans-port running. Of late, it hasseen a slight increase in infec-tions and it responded imme-diately by tightening restric-tions and closing all schoolsand most workplaces.

As India comes out of thelockdown, it would help vast-ly if we could identify zones inthe country as A, B and C toreflect totally virus free, fewercases and more cases respec-tively, and then dovetail a

range of economic activities.We need to have strict controlson intra-zone movements. Thedetails of the economic activ-ity in states and UTs must befinalised in consultation withmedical experts and state govts.Complementary measures likeenforced wearing of maskswhile travelling and at work,social distancing, allowing only50% occupancy in trains,buses, restaurants, and encour-aging e-commerce and doordelivery of goods may help.

The foregoing steps canyield results only with thewhole- hearted participation ofall stakeholders - theGovernment of India, the StateGovt. including the districtadministration at the grass-roots level and above all peo-ple themselves right down tothe panchayat level.

(The author is formerUnion power secretary)

ANIL KUMAR KUTTY, IAS (Rtd)

As things stand, the problems facingthese sections of people are likely tomultiply, with people eating into theirlittle stores of essential commoditiesand exhausting their meagre savings.

Surplus FCI stocks can be utilised to engage, feed hungry millions REVVING UP ECONOMY POST LOCKDOWN

Across districts, lockdownviolators under watchAVINASH DEEPAK PULIn MAHBUBNAGAR

Gadwal town, which fig-ures in the list of 'Red Zone' isunder the scanner as the Policeand officials concerned arethoroughly monitoring themovements of the public in thisarea.

Two persons from the town,who attended Markaz inNizamuddin, tested positive forthe virus. Around 250 peoplecame in contact with the duo.Since the primary contactswere also regarded in the viruscontact list, the district author-ities have alerted all the peoplein the town to remain agile andalert to overcome the crisis bystaying indoors.

Stringent measures havebeen announced and the policewarned the public of filingcases against them if they vio-late lockdown rules. Ayija isanother town where four wardshave been on Red Zone list.Shadnagar town also recordedmore number of positive cases

adjoining this district but sinceAyija is among the Red Zone,the authorities have alertedthe public not to step outside.Entire Mahbubnagar was puton alert following the incidentwhere an infant tested positivefor the virus. In Warangal,police stepped up the efforts onThursday and the youths

roaming without any validreason were being monitoredby the police forces with the aidof CC Cameras. The CC cam-era network with the com-mand control in the Warangalpolice headquarters has beenenlisting the violators with theaid of camera network and theviolation list is circulated

through internet by the policeto the patrol parties.

In all, about five to six thou-sand odd bikes were seized forviolating the lockdown rulesand the rural Telangana policewere taking necessary steps toimpose and promulgate thestrict orders of the govern-ment. Reports from Nalgondasay that the Minister Jagadishwas seriously monitoring thelockdown rules and advisingthe people not to violate theorders of the official machinery.

In Warangal,police stepped upthe efforts onThursday and theyouths roamingwithout any validreason were beingmonitored by thepolice forces withthe aid of CCCameras.

MALLANNA SAGAR PROJECT

Officials told to fast-trackland acquisition worksPNS n SIDDIPET

Finance Minister T HarishRao on Thursday appealed tothe local public representativesto put in collective effortswith the Revenue andIrrigation Department offi-cials to expedite land acquisi-tion pertaining to Left andRight bank canals of MallannaSagar project, distributarycanals and minor canals.

Speaking at a review meet-ing with public representativesand officials in Siddipet, theMinister also reviewed theprogress of packages 10 and 11under Ranganayaka SagarProject and Left and Rightbank canals under theMallanna Sagar project work.

Harish said that there wasserious need to complete theland acquisition at Yellaipally,Vitalapur, Machapur,Gangapur, Chandlapur,Ramancha, Puduru,Chinnagundavelli, Burgupally,Ensanpally, Irkode,Venkatapur, Bandarupally,Yellareddypet, Ghanpur, andTukkapur villages for minorcanals which are intended tosupply drinking water to thevillages. The Minister askedthe local public representativesto help the officials complete

the process of land acquisitionso that their villages can getGodavari water soon.

Terming the construction ofKaleshwaram Project, reser-voirs and canals as a historicalwork in the history ofTelangana, the Minister urgedthem to play a vital role incompleting such an importantwork. Since they were diggingup canals to supply Godavariwater to all the villages by fill-ing lakes and irrigation tanksbesides improving the ground-water table, Rao observed thatthe efforts they put in wouldchange the face of the villagesforever.

The Minister further

instructed the officials to con-tinue the works of all theimportant projects in Siddipetdistrict even as they follow theguidelines of the lockdown.When the officials raised theneed for 150 trucks of cementto continue the work for dou-ble bedroom houses, under-ground drainage in Siddipet,and drinking water works,Rao asked the Police to issuespecial passes to vehicles tohelp these departments to getthe required cement.Additional Collector, MPadmakar, MunicipalChairman, KadaverguRajanarsu and others werepresent.

The Ministerfurther instructedthe officials tocontinue theworks of all theimportantprojects inSiddipet districteven as theyfollow theguidelines of thelockdown.

Withdrawal symptoms amid lockdownContinued from Page 1

After years of addiction totoddy (which is usually spikedwith other prohibited sub-stances as well), when peoplesuddenly stop consumingtoddy (instead of being grad-ually weaned away), they suf-fer a lot of physical and men-tal health issues.

Speaking to The Pioneer, DrUma Shankar, Superintendentat the institute, said that 170patients with severe symptomsof alcohol withdrawal had beenadmitted. The silver lining to

that is that 100 of those patientshave been discharged uponbeing treated successfully.Depending on the patient'scondition, they are eitheradmitted to the in-patient wingor handled as out-patients.

The withdrawal symptomssurface after about 24 hours offorced, sudden stoppage ofconsumption of alcohol.Initially, the symptoms aremild such as anxiety,headaches, nausea, vomiting,insomnia and sweating. Someof the patients admitted at thehospital also displayed symp-

toms of hallucination, delusion,confusion, hypertension, feverand heavy sweating, said DrShankar.

Mild cases are treated withsaline as their bodies experi-ence dehydration. Other caseswould require treatment withdrugs as required, said DrShankar.

"We are admitting patientswho are coming to us withsevere symptoms. I also wantto urge persons who are strug-gling to handle withdrawalsymptoms to seek help in State-run mental healthcare facilities

in the districts, where an ade-quate number of doctors areavailable," said Dr UmaShankar.

Family members shouldfocus on those showing alcoholwithdrawal symptoms anddivert their attention by mak-ing them practice yoga, medi-tation, and exercise and playgames such as carrom andchess. It would strengthen theirmental capability. Family mem-bers should also spend moretime with them and ensure thatthey get no idea of taking anyextreme step, said doctors.

Manipurisdenied entry...Continued from Page 1

Also, request people to comeout in support of our broth-ers and sisters from NE at thispoint esp," (sic), ArvindKumar tweeted.

Taking cognizance of theincident, the working presi-dent of the Telangana RashtraSamithi and Minister ofMA&UD, Industries andIT&C KalvakuntlaTarakaRama Rao wrote: "This isabsolutely ridiculous andunacceptable. Racism in anyform should be dealt withsternly Request@TelanganaDGPGaru toinstruct all PoliceCommissioners &Superintendents of Police totake up these issues serious-ly with retail association &send out a clear message."

The Rachakonda Policehave detained the manager ofthe supermarket and two ofits guards for the incident. Acase has been booked undersections 153,188 and 341 ofthe Indian Penal Code.

Mother travels 1400km on two-wheeler ...Continued from Page 1

While Nizamuddin was inNellore, the whole countrywas locked down due toCoronavirus pandemic.

With her son stuck inNellore, Razia Begum began toworry, her anxiety mountingwith each day. She decided thatthe only way she could ensureNizamuddin’s return wasbringing him back herself.Razia Begum called onBodhan ACP Jaipal Reddyand explained the situation tohim. She obtained a letterfrom the ACP, giving her per-mission to travel. Armed withthe letter, she set out on her

journey of 700 km to reachNellore on Monday. She man-aged to reach her destinationon Tuesday afternoon. Thesame evening, Razia Begumset out for Bodhan andreached home on Wednesday. When the media spotted hertravelling on her two-wheeleralong with son in Bodhan, sherevealed her adventure.

Razia Begam said that shewas stopped at many places bythe police, but was allowed toproceed after she produced theletter given by the BodhanACP. She thanked police forallowing her to undertake herjourney.

Containmentzones across TSContinued from Page 1

The Chief Secretary advisedall the district collectors thatevery household in the con-tainment clusters has to bechecked twice on a dailybases and any suspect casesshould immediately bereferred for treatment.

Further, there will be policepicketing to ensure that thereis no human movement hap-pening in these zones. Thelanes surrounding the con-tainment zones would be cor-doned off and cops posted atall entry and exit points.

Hyderabad Commissionerof Police Anjani Kumar said,"We are ensuring that all theessential items are madeavailable to roughly 4,000 to7,000 households in each ofthese containment areas. 12to 15 areas have been identi-fied in which we have con-structed 8 feet to 10feet bar-ricades".

Sources said that the cre-ation of containment zones ispart of the exit strategy postlockdown. The idea is thatthese cluster containmentzones will not come out ofthe lockdown, though theremaining areas will be rela-tively free of lockdown.

The government hasleaned on the Bhilwaramodel due to the assured out-comes. In Bhilwara, curfewwas imposed stopping allessential services. This wasfollowed by extensive screen-ing and house-to-house sur-veys to check for possiblecases. Besides, there wasdetailed contact tracing ofeach positive case.

What does this mean?How long will it continue inHyderabad?

The containment plans willstay in place “till the potentialthreat of Covid-19 is not ruledout” in these areas.How do I know if my housefalls in a containment zone?

The local administrationhas issued a list of theseareas. Additionally, it isinforming residents usingpublic address systems. Ifyour house falls in a contain-ment zone, all entry and exitpoints in that area have beencordoned off or sealed bynow. And still, if you step outunknowingly, you will bestopped by the police andinformed about the lock-down.

What do I expect dur-ing this time?

There could be multiplescreening by health officials,police and civic bodies. Peopleliving in containment zones areput under surveillance to trackif any person has developed thesymptoms of Covid-19 (fever,sore throat ,etc.).

How large is a contain-ment area?

It can be as small as onelane in a residential colony orit can be a wider area com-prising an entire ward ormore. The size of a contain-ment zone is directly propor-tional to the population den-sity of the cluster in questionand the scale of the out-break.My area has beendeclared a containmentzone. Does it mean I livein a Covid-19 hot spot?

Not necessarily. While allhot spots are turned into con-tainment zones, all contain-ment zones are not always hotspots. Some lanes and neigh-bourhoods can be declaredcontainment zones even ifthere is a single case of Covid-19. A hot spot is an area wheremultiple cases emerge from alocality

What is the differencebetween a hot spot and acontainment zone?

A hot spot is a potentialthreat area identified by

authorities after multiplecases emerge from that place.Following this, a contain-ment strategy is devised toprevent further spread of theinfection and to break thetransmission chain. Underthis strategy, a containmentzone is declared.

What about cleanliness ina containment zone?

Sanitizing the area declaredunder the containment plan isa top priority for the localmunicipal corporation. It dis-infects every nook and cornerof the declared area multipletimes a day.

What happens if one vio-lates the rules?

The person may be warnedat the first instance. But viola-tors can be booked under var-ious sections of DisasterManagement Act, 2005, aswell as the Epidemic DiseasesAct, 1897, and provisions ofthe Indian Penal Code. Thepunishment can be jail sen-tence up to two years and/or afine decided by the enforcingagencies.

Telanganareports onemore deathContinued from Page 1

We appeal to people thatthey cooperate with medicalstaff ".

He urged donors to givegoods and not money. Eetelasaid, "Many people are givingmoney to CMRF. We appealto you to provide aid in theform of goods, not money.Today we reviewed this withMunicipal Minister K TarakaRama Rao and we are lookingfor goods worth Rs 70 crore".

Salariespending to ...Continued from Page 1

In many organisations, theprocess of disbursal of wagesfor the month of March is yetto begin. The state govern-ment sanctioned paid leavefrom March 22 to April 14 foremployees engaged in theorganised sector. As per rules,the employees are entitled tofull wages. However, manyinstitutions and firms didnot credit wages into thebank accounts of employeeseven on April 7.

However, some institutionshave embarked on payingwages to employees. TheLabour Department's statis-tics suggest that so far 30 percent of the institutions form-ing part of the organised sec-tor have disbursed wages toemployees across the state.But many institutions havepaid only half of the wages.Payment of wages in theorganised sector will be intune with the rules of theLabour Department.

Some institutions do notprovide ESI and PF facility toemployees, but pay wagesaccording to the number ofworking days. In view of thelockdown since March 22, thecompanies and institutionshave been paying full wagesup to March 22.

Cramped ...Continued from Page 1

Officials have identifiedinfected people living insuch cramped houses in var-ious districts and shiftedthem to quarantine centresto check the spread ofCoronavirus.

In Hyderabad, nine peoplefrom the same family wereinfected. When the officialsvisited the spot for inquiry,they found that the familylives in a cramped house inChandrayangutta. Two ofthem had attended theTablighi Jamaat conventionat Nizamuddin in Delhi,where they were infected.The other seven members ofthe family, who shared thesame rooms and toilets con-tracted the infection.Officials shifted all of themto quarantine centres later.

Another family of fivemembers, again inChandrayangutta, wasinfected. Officials inquiringinto the incident found thatone of the family memberswas initially infected. Asother four family membersreside in the same house,they too contracted the virus.

HYDERABAD | FRIDAY| APRIL 10, 2020 hyderabad 03

RIMEORNERC

STUDENT JUMPSOFF TERRACE

An engineering studentallegedly committed suicide

by jumping from a multi-storied building atSerilingampally on Thursdaymorning. Police are stillinvestigating the reason for thesuicide. The victim wasidentified as 21-year-old PoojaAmbika. A resident of RajivSwagruha in Serilingampally,she was studying computerscience in a private college andstayed with her parents,Yedukondalu andSamanthakamani, both tailorsby profession. Ambika wasalso working in a privatecompany while studying, saidthe police. According to thepolice, Ambika went to theterrace of her apartment andallegedly jumped from there.She fell on the ground anddied on the spot due to themultiple severe injuries shesustained. The apartmentresidents found her dead andinformed the police. TheChandanagar Police booked acase of suspicious death andare investigating the incident.The body was shifted to theOsmania General Hospital foran autopsy.

Adaily soap actor of locallanguage was found dead

under suspicious circumstancesat her house in SR Nagar policestation area on Thursday.According to the police, thedeceased was identified asVishwa Shanti alias Shanti, 35,who was staying alone at anapartment in Yellareddyguda forthe last couple of years. OnThursday, the apartmentwatchman got a call from arelative of Shanti informing thatshe was not taking phone callsfor the last two days, andrequesting him to enquire at herflat. "The watchman who wentand knocked the door on notgetting any response, alerted thebuilding residents associationsecretary Venkateshwar Raoabout it" said the police. Afterreceiving information, the SRNagar Police reached the placeand broke open the door. "Wefound Shanti lying in the room.After investigation we shifted thebody to the Gandhi Hospitalmortuary for post-mortem," saidD Krishnaiah, sub inspector, SRNagar police station. "We haveseized the mobile phone ofShanti for investigation. Oncethe family members come here,we will question them to knowmore about her. The cause ofthe death will be known onlyafter the post-mortemexamination," he added. A caseunder Section 174 of CrPC wasregistered by the police andinvestigation taken up.

TV ACTRESS FOUND DEAD

ZOOM BOMBING

As video conference meetingssurge, hackers play spoilsportNAVEEN KUMAR n HYDERABAD

As the world is going digitalwith social distancing andlockdown, the crowd workingfrom home and attendingclasses online are heavily rely-ing on video conferencingapplications, particularlyZoom, which picked heavytraction in the last two weeks.However, researchers havebranded the application asunsafe as it allegedly let's yourpersonal data out for hackers.

Multiple counts of "ZoomBombing" attacks, which basi-cally means hackers findingtheir way into your conferenceon the Zoom VTC, wasreported by the public on theapplication's comment sec-tion.

According to check pointresearchers, hackers began tar-geting the platform as use hasdramatically increased withthe pandemic. There have alsobeen a significant number ofmalicious domains registeredin the last month that are tiedto Zoom and other video-conferencing platforms.

"The Zoom platform itselfhas come under fire several

times last month for a host ofprivacy-related concerns,including the Zoom Bombingincidents and for sharing datawith Facebook," said a citybased data analyst.

However, in response tothese reports, Zoomannounced that it was haltingsoftware development for thenext three months to focus onprivacy and security concerns,as it's seen more than 200 mil-lion daily meeting partici-

pants, both free and paid,during March alone.

"We are using the platformeveryday for group calls as ithas a friendly interface. Evenmy kids back home are usingthe same application on theiriPads and mobiles to tuneinto virtual classes," said SaiPrasad, an employee ofCognizant.

To get ahead of these con-cerns, the FBI has providedkey recommendations for

organisations to defend againstthese attacks. "It's important toverify that meetings are notmade public. Through Zoom,users can either require ameeting password to gainaccess, or employ the waitingroom feature to control theadmittance of guests. Links tothese teleconferences shouldnot be made publicly availablethrough social media posts.Rather, the link should beprovided to the intendedguests," said their statement.

The FBI also remindedorganisations to managescreensharing options. InZoom, that means changingthe screensharing settings to"Host Only."

"In January 2020, Zoomupdated their software. Intheir security update, the tele-conference software provideradded passwords by default formeetings and disabled theability to randomly scan formeetings to join" report said.

With lockdown extensionnews floating around, theseapplications will be more indemand than ever and one hasto take the precautionary mea-sures to avoid maliciousattacks on their devices.

With lockdown extension news floatingaround, these apps will be in demandand one has to take the precautionarymeasures to avoid malicious attacks

Telemedicine in demand intimes of Covid-19 pandemicPNS n HYDERABAD

With Covid-19 cases spreadingacross the country, face-to-faceconsultations can be risky forboth patients and doctors.Under the circumstances,remote consultations over thephone or video calls can helppatients access health carewhile also limiting their anddoctors' exposure to the dis-ease.

The irrational fear of con-tracting the disease, also calledNosophobia has seen a riseamong the citizens as they arebeing exposed to informationrelated to Coronavirus con-stantly.

Under these circumstances,The Forum for Peoples Healthhas started a free telemedicineservice in both the Telugu-speaking states.

Ramesh Bhimireddy said,"In just a week that welaunched, 5,000 families haveutilised the services of medicalhelpline and took prescriptionsand guidance from doctors.More than 500 patients areseeking medical advice fromhelpline in a day. Doctorsfrom various multi-specialityhospitals are giving free con-sultation. All kinds of peopleare reaching us on the helplineincluding pregnant womenand handicapped people."

Telemedicine was confinedas pilot project in Telangana aspart of T-Fibre initiative foralmost two years.

A list of doctors from vari-ous streams has been pre-pared with the timings they areavailable. District Collectorsrequested the people to give acall to the doctor based on thetimings.The consultation isalso free and ensures that peo-ple stay at home.

It may be mentioned herethat as per guidelines issued bythe Ministry of Health and

Family Welfare and the IndianMedical Council, the practiceof remote delivery of medicalservices during the lockdownperiod is allowed and doctorscan write prescriptions basedon telephonic, textual or videoconversations - chats, images,messaging,emails, fax and oth-ers. Sunshine Hospitals,Medicover Hospitals, SrikaraHospitals & AIG Hospitals areusing mfine, an AI poweredhealthcare service whichenables medical consultationsto connect with their patients.

Cops warn strict actionon lockdown violatorsPNS n HYDERABAD

The Hyderabad Traf f icPolice have warned peoplemoving aimlessly on theroads of strict action includ-ing seizure of their vehicles.Anil Kumar, AdditionalCommissioner (Traffic), saidthe traffic police have set upcheck points in the city tocurb unnecessary movementof public on the roads.

"Unless very necessary,do not come out on theroad If at all you come,

maintain social distance andfollow the lockdown rules,"he said.

Anil Kumar along withother traffic officials visitedseveral areas in the city andinteracted with the trafficpolice personnel on duty.

He was accompanied by KBabu Rao, DCP (Traffic).

“Polite requests to thepeople for to return homewas not working and hencethe administrat ion hasdecided to be stern,” an offi-cial said.

Home Minister distributes essentials items to needyPNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana Home MinisterMohammed Mahmood Alialong with his family membersdistributed essential commodi-ties including rice, dall, onionsto the poor at Azampura con-secutively for the second day.

The Home Minister said, "Itis the state government underthe leadership of Chief MinisterK Chandrasekhar Rao on thevery first day of imposition oflockdown in the state decidedto issue essential commoditiesto poor people over 87 lakh

holding white ration card andalso those poor who do nothave food security card/rationcard free of cost for one month."

Accordingly, the state gov-ernment have been distributingthe essential commodities sothat no one in the state face star-

vation. He states that due toimposition of lockdown in thestate as well as in entire coun-try as a measure of containingthe spread of coronavirus, manyNGOs and people have beencoming forward to help theirmite with distributing food,food grains to the poor peopleand others who depend ontheir daily wages and have gonejobless and facing many prob-lems. As a part of helping thepoor people,Mahmood Ali hasbeen distributing essential itemsto the poor personally from hisfamily and others, he stated.

The Forum for Peoples Health hasstarted a free telemedicine service inboth the Telugu-speaking states.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Indian Institute of TechnologyHyderabad has been providing100 litres of hand sanitisers perday to the Sangareddy DistrictAdministration since April 4 tohelp the local communityagainst Coronavirus.

The hand sanitisers weredeveloped by a research groupled by Dr Jyotsnendu Giri,Associate Professor,Department of BiomedicalEngineering, IIT Hyderabad.They are being handed over tothe Sangareddy Collectorate,which facilitates disseminationof the product to the local pop-ulation.

Dr Jyotsnendu Giri's researchgroup developed their owncompositions of hand sanitiser,which includes

I s o p r o p a n o l / e t h a n o l ,Mecetronium Ethyl Sulphate,Glycerol, Brilliant Blue andFragrance.

Speaking about this initiative,Prof BS Murty, Director, IITHyderabad said, "Amid theCoronavirus crisis, IITHyderabad, as a premier acad-emic institution, is geared up tocontribute to the society, thenation and the world at largethrough its research and offersupport to the local communi-ty. To combat Coronavirus, theInstitute initially prepared handsanitisers for internal usage. Inview of the scarcity of this prod-uct for the public at large, theInstitute is now preparing anddelivering about 100 litres ofhand sanitiser every day to theSangareddy District Collector'soffice for local distribution."

IIT-H provides sanitisers forSangareddy administration

Usual hustle bustle missing at RGIAPNS n HYDERABAD

The usual hustle bustle of pas-sengers and screaming noise oflanding and taking-off aircraftsis missing for more than 15 daysat Rajiv Gandhi InternationalAirport, one of the busiest air-ports in the country which hasnow turned into a virtual park-ing lot for the flying machines.

About 50 aircraft belonging tovarious airlines can be seenparked at parking bays near themain runway, which remainsoperational to handle evacuationand cargo flights.

Aircraft of Air India, IndiGo,Vistara, GoAir and a couple ofinternational airlines are seenparked in several rows.

The swanky airport, located atShamshabad, about 30 km fromthe city, was handling 550 airtraffic movements and about60,000 passengers daily before

Covid-19 induced lockdowncame into effect last month.

Billed as the world's thirdfastest growing airport in thecategory of 15 million passen-gers in the world, it is also thebest-connected airport in southand central India, connecting 55non-stop domestic destinations.

Airport sources told thatever since the lockdown came

into effect, all activity related topassenger operations came to ahalt. However, skeletal work-force continued to report forduties every day for essentialservices like maintenance ofACs, data server, security andsanitation.

"We can't shut the airport. Wehave to maintain certain sys-tems so that they don't collapse

and remain ready whenever theflight operations resume," theysaid.

Air Traffic Control (ATC)and Air Navigation staff are alsoattending the duties as the air-port continues to handle evac-uation and cargo flights."Employees are passing throughthermal screening and all safe-ty measures are being taken,"they said.

The lockdown has providedan opportunity to airportauthorities to take up large-scale sanitation works in theentire airport. During normaloperations, some of the areasare not properly covered due to

continuous movement of pas-sengers.

The airport, operated byGMR, continues to handlerelief flights during lockdown.A special Air India flight onApril 7 airlifted 99 US citizensstuck in Hyderabad. It carriedthe US citizens to Mumbai,from where they were connect-ed with Delta Airlines to theirfinal destination in the US.

On March 31, the airporthandled a group of 38 Germannationals who flew by a specialflight of Air India which ferriedthe passengers from Chennai,Hyderabad and Mumbai toFrankfurt.

RGIA was handling 550 air trafficmovements and about 60,000passengers daily before Covid-19induced lockdown came into effect

Police intensify security at containment clustersPNS n HYDERABAD

The police have stepped upsecurity at the 12 containmentclusters identified in the city soas to help health and GHMCauthorities carry out surveysand disinfection works in theseareas.

The GHMC had identified12 containment clusters after89 Covid-19 cases were iden-tified from the areas.

While the Health andGHMC authorities are con-ducting a survey of houses inthe containment zone, apartfrom sanitation and sprayingdisinfectant, the police has

taken steps to prevent unau-thorised entry of outsidersinto the area.

City Police CommissionerAnjani Kumar visited a fewcontainment areas in the cityon Thursday and inspected thesecurity arrangements andasked the police not to allowany outsider into the area orallow any local to move outwithout a valid reason.Policemen will be manning thetemporary gates of contain-ment clusters round the clock.

Chief Secretary SomeshKumar interacted with theinspection team through tele-conference.

Meanwhile, the police offi-cials has upped the securityand safety measures in thedepartment after the first caseof Coronavirus was reportedwithin its staff.

A 54-year-old head consta-ble of Saifabad police station,was tested positive forCoronavirus earlier this week.He was reportedly stationed atTelugu Talli flyover junctionand started showing symp-toms of Coronavirus. After hewas tested positive, being thefirst such case from HyderabadPolice, social media platformswent abuzz with the news.ACP of Saifabad, C Venu

Gopal said that they haveincreased safety measures andhad sent the other staff whoworked with him under quar-antine.

"Nobody are showing symp-toms of the virus. The patientis responding well to the treat-ment. The police departmentis taking extra measures tocurb the spread in general butafter our staff was tested pos-itive, we are asking the men tobe cautious while in publicplaces and asked them to fol-low mandatory hand washing.They are all provided withmasks, sanitisers and temper-ature devices," said the official.

GHAIL steps upto feed migrantlabourersPNS n HYDERABAD

With the Covid-19 pandem-ic and the resulting totallockdown having broughtIndia virtually to a standstillposition, many migrantlabourers are facing a toughtime in coping with the situ-ation. With neither money in theirhands nor any safe shelteravailable during the currentlockdown, the migrant laborare the most affected duringthese tumultuous times.Recognising the importantrole played by these migrantlabourers in keeping theeconomy running, GMRHyderabad InternationalAirport Ltd. (GHIAL)believes that it is our society'scombined civic duty to sup-port them in their hour need.

UoH studentsroped in forCoronavirussurveillance PNS n HYDERABAD

Students of Public Health ofcity-based University ofHyderabad have been draft-ed in by the government tocarry out epidemiologicalfield work in various districtsacross the state as part of itscontainment strategy againstthe spread of Covid-19.

About 15 students of thesecond-semester MPH cour-se of the university who havevolunteered for the workhave been issued orders bydistrict authorities to partic-ipate in active and passivesurveillance teams, a releasefrom UoH said.

In addition, four researchscholars and another 30 stu-dents, including currentMPH seniors and alumni,have submitted their creden-tials to the government andoffered to work for thehumanitarian cause, it said.

University of HyderabadVice-Chancellor Prof AppaRao lauded the students'motivation to serve voluntar-ily in this hour of crisis.

Police officials set up barricades in the containment zons to stop people fromleaving or coming in, in the wake of Covid-19 outbreak in the city

Former MP Kalvakuntla Kavita has come forward to provide food to the doctors treating Coronavirus patients. She isproviding food to the doctors, patients’ attendants and stranded migrant workers under the aegis of ‘Jagruti’. JagrutiNizamabad district president Avanti Rao, Nizamabad District Headquarters Government Hospital superintendent DrNageswara Rao, in-charge doctor Jalagam Tirupati Rao commenced the free meals programme on Thursday.

CORONA WWARRIORS

hyderabad 04HYDERABAD | FRIDAY | APRIL 10, 2020

Secretariat employeestaking no chancesPNS n HYDERABAD

Following the rise in numberof Corona positive cases in thestate, the secretariat employeesare taking a slew of measuresto protect themselves from thenovel Coronavirus. Besidesprotecting themselves by usingsanitisers and wearing masks,the officials concerned areconducting thermal screeningon the employees visiting thesecretariat at BRKR Bhavan.

It may be recalled that earli-er this month, the Secretariatwas thrown into chaos after anofficial from AnimalHusbandry Department, whohad attended the Markaz andreturned to the state, continuedto perform his regular duties.The official attended the reli-gious congregation in theNizamuddin Markaz, but uponhis return he continued toattend all official meetings ofsecretaries and the matter cameto light only after a list of Delhireturnees was made where hisname was mentioned. However,he was tested negative.

The incident has left thestaff at the Secretariat panic-stricken. The premises of the

BRKR Bhavan were thorough-ly disinfected. Following thisincident, the state governmenttook several. The governmenthas strictly prohibited out-siders from visiting the place.

The officials had set up twothermal scanners -- one at themain gate and another at theemployees lift. The security

staff are allowing the employ-ees only after thermal scanning.Anyone who has cough andcold besides fever is being sentto quarantine. To contain thespread of the virus, the statedirected the secretariat employ-ees to work on rotation basis.

In every department, theAssistant Secretary or Deputy

Secretary and the higher offi-cials are attending the dutiesevery day. Cadre belowAssistant Secretary and DeputySecretary like Section Officers,ASOs, Record Assistants,Attenders and others areattending only 20 per centevery day. One of the officer oncondition of anonymity said,"We are working to see thatthere is no pending work. Weall are in touch over phone.Due to this arrangement, I amattending once after nine daysas our department has 30 sec-tion officers," he said.Telangana Udyogula Sanghampresident A Padma Chary saidthat the government was tak-ing all measures to ensuregood health of the employees.

One of the senior officers,who is attending his office atsecretariat every day, said thathe is using sanitiser frequent-ly besides wearing mask. "I amtaking bath immediately afterreaching the house. I believe infortune these days as the situ-ation is dreadful. Otherwise, itis not possible to work bycoming to office. BeforeCorona, it is the fear which killsus," he said.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Chief Secretary SomeshKumar directed the districtCollectors to take all measuresto contain the spread of thevirus to protect and safeguardpublic in the districts. ChiefSecretary on Thursday held avideo conference with theDistrict Collectors on con-tainment clusters, governmentquarantine, surveillance ofhome quarantine and reliefmeasures taken up for migrantworkers in the districts andothers .

The Chief Secretary advisedall the district Collectors thatevery household in the con-tainment clusters has to bechecked twice on daily basesand any suspect cases shouldimmediately be referred fortreatment. Chief Secretaryinstructed to strictly ensurethat no person is allowed tomove freely in barricaded area.

He asked them to ensure thatdisinfectant is spread twicedaily in the containment areas.He said that any foreignreturnees or persons belongingto other states, who do not havehomes, should be allowed tostay in government quarantine.

The CS said that any viola-tion by home quarantine per-sons has to be dealt with strict-ly. He also asked them toensure that essential com-modities are delivered at thedoor steps of the people incontainment clusters. He saidthat surveillance of local teamsis more important particular-ly for home quarantine per-sons. He asked district collec-tors to arrange control roomand also publish pamphlets inlocal languages with instruc-

tions to follow during thisperiod.

Santhi Kumari, special ChiefSecretary to Health, ArvindKumar, Principal Secretary toGovt. (MA&UD), Vikas Raj,Principal Secretary to Govt.(GAD), Sanjay Jaju, CentralNodal Officer for Telangana

State(COVID-19), SandeepKumar Sultania, Secretary toGovt, PR&RD, Ronald Ross,Secretary, Finance, SarfarazAhmed, IAS, Director,Prohibition and ExciseDepartment, Rajat KumarSaini, CCLA, Director andothers participated.

COVID-19 SCARE

Earlier this month, the Secretariat wasthrown into chaos after an official whohad attended Markaz and returned to TS,continued to perform his regular duties

CS talks tough on lockdown violators

CS seeks people's supportPNS n HYDERABAD

Chief Secretary SomeshKumar urged the people tosupport the government intackling the spread ofCoronavirus in the state.

Chief Secretary onThursday visited Mallepallyarea in Khairathabad Zonealong with local MLA JaffarHussain Miraj, DGPMahender Reddy, MA&UDPrincipal Secretary ArvindKumar, GHMCCommissioner DS LokeshKumar, Hyderabad CollectorSwetha Mohanthy,Commissioner of PoliceAnjani Kumar.

The Chief Secretary saidthat 12 containment clustershave been identified to com-bat Covid-19 spread in thecity. He urged public residingin these areas not to come out-side of their houses. The ChiefSecretary also indicated that

outsiders should not visitthose areas. A special numberwill be allocated to those whoare inside to convey theirproblems, the Chief Secretarytold. The Chief Secretaryinstructed GHMCCommissioner to nominate anodal officer to monitor theimplementation of contain-ment rules. He also instruct-ed Zonal and deputyCommissioners to implementgovernment directions intact.He said that people are com-pletely supporting to the gov-ernment's decision imposelockdown. ZonalCommissioner Praveenya,Corporater Majid Hussainwere also present.

Civic bodyoffice getsdisinfectanttunnelPNS n WARANGAL

Greater WarangalMunicipal Corporation(GWMC) Mayor GundaPrakash Rao said the civicbody was taking all steps tocheck the spread of thenovel coronavirus in thecity.

He a long withCommissioner PamelaSatpathy has inauguratedthe disinfectant tunnelinstalled at the GWMCoffice here on Thursday.

Speaking on the occa-sion, he said that five moresuch tunnels would beinsta l led each atBalasamudram vegetablemarket, Laxmipuram mar-ket, Jubilee Market, Kazipetand Excise Colony RythuBazaars in the city.

"We have already madeproposals for setting up thedisinfectant tunnels at theseplaces.

They would be installedsoon. All the visitors mustpass through the tunnel inorder to make themselvesfree from the virus," he said.

Municipal Health OfficerDr B Raja Reddy, EEVidyasagar, Deputy EERavinder, AE Harikumar andothers were also present.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Ministers Niranjan Reddy andGangula Kamalakar onThursday asked the officialsconcerned to not to compro-mise on the issue of cleanli-ness and social distancing atpaddy procurement centresacross the State. They saidfarmers would not be put toany inconvenience during theprocurement.

Reviewing the status of theongoing procurement processin the State, the Ministerssaid 713 centres had startedoperations so far and morecould be added based on thephased paddy harvestingprocess in the State. It was alsoobserved that there would bemore paddy available for pro-curement as harvest wouldspeed up within a week.

The Agriculture, Marketingand Civil SuppliesDepartments were directedto provide basic amenitiesand also take all necessarysteps for the smooth function-ing at the centres. The reviewmeeting also discussed stepsto further improve the quali-ty of rice cultivation in the

State and opined that therewas a need to set up a com-mittee under theCommissioner of theAgriculture Department withactive consultation with theVice-Chairman of the StatePlanning Board.

The meeting also discussedthe need to expand the capac-ities of rice mills and storagesand the encouragement thatthe rice milling industryshould receive from the Stategovernment. Similarly, it wasfelt that the food processingindustry in the State must be

encouraged following theadvice of experts from thatdomain. The Ministers alsodiscussed the plan of action infront of the Civil Supplies,Agriculture and MarketingDepartments as the paddyand corn procurement hadpicked up in the State.

State Civil SuppliesCorporation ChairmanMareddy Srinivas Reddy, CivilSupplies Commissioner PSatyanarayan Reddy and RiceMillers Association presidentNagender and others attend-ed the meeting.

713 centres started procuring paddy

The review meeting also discussedsteps to further improve the quality ofrice cultivation in the State

‘Release White Paper on lockdown’PNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana Pradesh CongressCommittee (TPCC) presidentN Uttam Kumar Reddy askedparty leaders and cadre to pre-pare a plan for extensive reliefoperations as the ongoing lock-down due to Coronaviruswould have a long lastingimpact on common people.

Addressing senior leadersof Congress party through avideo-conference on Thursday,Uttam feared that normalcymight not return to the Stateimmediately after the end oflockdown period which is mostlikely to be extended. Therefore,he said that the Congress lead-ers should prepare a compre-hensive plan to extend help andrelief to people affected due tolockdown. While the immedi-

ate priority is supply of food todaily wage earners, migrantworkers, homeless and otherpoorer sections, he said that theCongress leaders would alsoneed to work out a plan to helpthose who lost their livelihoodor jobs due to lockdown.

He said all Congress work-ers should try to inculcatehope and confidence amongpeople who might be experi-

encing extreme trauma andpain due to loss of jobs andsources of earnings.

He said that the fear ofCoronavirus and the impact oflockdown would leave a neg-ative impact on a sizable pop-ulation and all Congress work-ers should play a pro-activerole in bringing out peoplefrom that mindset.

Uttam advised the partyleaders to carry out relief worksin an organised manner. Hesaid Control Rooms estab-lished in different districtsshould coordinate with themain Control Room at GandhiBhavan and everyone involvedin relief works should be con-nected through separateWhatsApp Groups. He askedthem to keep the TPCCControl Room updated about

their daily activities andrespond to the requests beingforwarded to them for helpingthe people who are approach-ing Control Room.

Uttam also demanded thatthe State government release a'White Paper' disclosing thereal statistics pertaining toCoronavirus in TelanganaState besides disclosing factson the financial situation ofTelangana State. He said it wasunfortunate that people havestarted raising apprehensionsthat State Government washiding real statistics ofCoronavirus patients, suspectsand deaths. He said suchapprehensions were triggereddue to the failure of authoritiesin releasing Media Bulletins onnumber of cases on regularbasis.

ITI, DRDO to sign pact for producingportable ventilators PNS n NEW DELHI

Adani Wilmar, which sellsedible oils and other fooditems under Fortune brand,on Thursday said it has tiedup with online food aggrega-tor Swiggy to deliver essentialfood items to customers inview of the nationwide lock-down to contain coronavirus.

Logistics and supply chainshave been disrupted due to theongoing lockdown.

While the current lock-down is slated to end onApril 14, there is no claritywhen the situation will returnto normal.

"Our tie-up with Swiggy isto ensure that our customerscan access our whole range ofproducts without stepping out

of their homes and puttingthemselves at risk of coron-avirus," said Angshu Mallick,deputy CEO, Adani Wilmar.

The deliveries of Fortunerange of products by Swiggydelivery persons are expectedto commence in Lucknowand Kanpur by next week, thecompany said in a statement.Adani Wilmar aims to expandthe facility to 13 more cities,including Delhi, Gurgaon,Mumbai, Chennai, Pune,Hyderabad, Bengaluru,among others.

We are confident that theconvenient mode of deliverythrough Swiggy and the excel-lent quality of our productswill ensure that the service isvery well received by our cus-tomers, Mallick said.

Three lakh tonnesof maize producedin Khammm: AjayPNS n NEW DELHI

Nearly three lakh tonnes ofmaize was produced inKhammam and steps to pro-cure the entire produce weretaken, said Transport MinisterP Ajay Kumar.

Inaugurating maize andpaddy procurement centres atdifferent villages in SathupalliAssembly constituency inKhammam and inAswaraopet Assembly con-stituency in BhadradriKothagudem on Thursday,the Minister said maize wascultivated in about 88,000acres across the district thisyear and that the State govern-ment ensured a minimumsupport price of Rs 1,760 perquintal. Nearly 40 lakh gunnybags were made available forprocuring the produce.

The Minister said paddywas cultivated in about 2.34lakh acres from which abouteight lakh tonnes yield was

expected. Elaborate arrange-ments were already in placefor procurement, he said

The Minister urged farmersand officials to ensure socialdistancing at the procure-ment centres to contain thespread of coronavirus.

MP Nama Nageswar Rao,Kothagudem ZP ChairmanKoram Kankaiah, MLC BLakshminarayana, MLAsSandra Venkataveeraiah andM Nageswar Rao, StateMarkfed Vice-Chairman BRajashekar, DCMS chairmanR Seshagiri Rao and otherswere present.

Medical teamsconduct surveyPNS n KARIMNAGAR

Medical teams carried outhealth survey in Karimnagarand Huzurabad towns onThursday. Teams comprisingdoctor, supervisors, ANMsand ASHA workers visitedeach and every house and test-ed people with infrared ther-mometer.

Around 21 medical teamsconducted survey inMukarampura andKashmirgadda areas ofKarimnagar, where tenIndonesian preachers touredlast month. A total of 4,005persons staying in 1,207 hous-es were tested. Meanwhile,

health checkup was done on5,053 persons of 1,402 hous-es in Huzurabad where threepositive cases were reported.Though surveys were alreadycarried out in these areas, itwas repeated on Thursday tocheck spread of coronavirus.

On the other hand, 31 per-sons, who were in SatavahanaUniversity quarantine facility,have now been shifted tohome quarantine as they weretested negative for coronavirusafter 14 days of isolation.While discharging them fromquarantine, they were asked tostay at home and approachdoctors if they developedcough, cold and fever.

Liquor still available at a premium during lockdownPNS n HYDERABAD/CHENNAI

Lockdown days have beentough for people across thestates in terms of movement,food and grocery. The dayshave been tougher for thoselooking for their daily stock ofliquor. How do they manage?Tightened security may havemade liquor smuggling diffi-cult, but the availability is com-ing at a premium in severalplaces. Wine shops are beinglooted while some innovatorsdon't mind using milk cans orvegetable-laden vehicles tosmuggle in the bottles.

In Uttar Pradesh, since thelockdown began on March 22with the Janata Curfew, only afew people have been arrestedfor liquor smuggling.

According to police sources,barely a dozen persons havebeen arrested in various dis-tricts for smuggling liquor dur-ing the lockdown.

Two persons were arrestedon April 1 in the Para localityin Lucknow, who were workingas carriers in the liquor smug-

gling racket. The third accom-plice managed to escape. Twocrates of liquor were recoveredfrom their possession with 96pouches of country liquor.

On Wednesday, in theChandauli district of UttarPradesh, thieves broke into aliquor shop and decamped with

liquor worth lakhs of rupees.The incident took place atAlinagar where the thievesbroke into the shop from therear gate.

In Telangana and AndhraPradesh, no consolidated fig-ures of the number of peoplearrested and cases booked bythe Excise Department wereavailable. However, both thestates have reported sporadicincidents of sale of liquor dur-ing the lockdown.

In some cases, the owners of

the liquor shops were foundviolating the rules. For instancein Hyderanagar area inHyderabad, police raided aliquor outlet that was operatingillegally during the lockdown.The owner of the shop wasarrested and over 100 liquorbottles were seized.

Liquor bottles worth Rs26,000 stolen from a wine shopin Gandhi Nagar area. Thewine shop owner complainedto police that the offenderdrilled a hole and committed

the burglary. ExciseDepartment booked three casesof illegal sale of 'gudumba' orillicit liquor in the Dhoolpetarea of Hyderabad. InMahbubnagar district, excisepolice seized alcohol worth Rs31,000 and arrested three per-sons for procuring the alcoholfrom Goa. In Khammam,police seized liquor bottlesworth Rs three lakh and took awine shop owner into custodyfor illegally selling the liquor.

People in other parts ofKhammam and Bhadradri-Kothagudem districts com-plained that some wine shopowners are illegally selling theliquor bottles for three timesmore than MRP and eventransporting it to neighbouringAndhra Pradesh.

In Mahbubnagar district, excisepolice seized alcohol worth Rs31,000 and arrested three personsfor procuring the alcohol from Goa

Covid-19tests: HCseeks reportsPNS n HYDERABAD

The Telangana High Courton Thursday directed theState and Central govern-ments to f i le detai ledreports in a Public InterestLitigation (PIL) on theimposition of charges ofupto Rs 4,500 for perform-ing Covid-19 tests onpatients by private labora-tories during the ongoinglockdown situation.

The petition was filed byadvocate P Thirumala Raoseeking direction from theHC to the State and Centralgovernments to providediagnosis and treatment toCoronavirus affectedpatients free of cost.

Arguing the case throughvideo conference, the peti-tioner told the High Courtthat the Supreme Court hasonly ordered for conductingfree tests for all Covid-19patients. He also said thatthe imposit ion of thecharges by private laborato-ries were not only arbitrarybut also grossly discrimina-tory.

He said that the acts ofthe laboratories would frus-trate and defeat the verypurpose of the two govern-ments. He said that bothgovernments ought toassure and undertake fullresponsibility to providethe covid-19 treatment freeof cost to all the people ofthe state at private labora-tories and private medicalestablishments.

A division bench of theHigh Court comprisingof the Chief Justice oft h e S t a t e Ju s t i c eR a g h av e n d r a S i n g hChauhan and Justice TA m ar nat h G ou d l at e rposted the matter to April15 for further hearing.

HYDERABAD | FRIDAY | APRIL 10, 2020 nation 05SHORT READS

GB Pant Hospitalremoved from list ofCOVID-19 facilitiesNEW DELHI: GB Pant Hospital,a designated COVID-19 facility,will no more be on the list ofsuch hospitals in view ofproblems being faced bygeneral patients, according toa Delhi government orderissued on Thursday. The orderissued by the healthdepartment said GB PantHospital will continue tofunction as it was before beingmade a designated facility. Fivehospitals, including LNJPHospital combined with GBPant Hospital, were recentlymade as designated COVID-19facilities. The decision toremove GB Pant Hospital fromthe list has been taken in viewof the problems faced bygeneral patients who arereceiving treatment in thesuper speciality stream, theorder said. LNJP Hospital willcreate additional 500 beds byutilising OPD space and anewly-constructed block, inlieu of beds designated at GBPant Hospital, it said.

COVID-19: UP govtorders fire safetychecks of hospitals

COVID-19 lockdownhits Goa's poultrysupplyPANAJI: Goa's poultry supplyhas been hit by the COVID-19lockdown, after over 50,000birds belonging to the state'spoultry owners remained stuckat Belagavi in neighbouringKarnataka. Several poultryowners in Goa prefer to havetheir breeding farms in Belagavibecause of its favourableweather. "Before the Goagovernment sealed the stateborders on March 22, we werein the process of bringing in50,000 birds to the state," saidJaikrishna Naik, president of AllGoa Poultry Owners Associa-tion. The poultry is still stuck atBelagavi and the state govern-ment has not shown anyinterest in allowing transporta-tion of the same, he said. Thebiggest worry for the poultryfarmers is that the birds needto be fed regularly and it coststhem Rs 2 lakh on an averageevery day for their feedings,Naik said. "If this situationcontinues, we will have todispose them off in Karnatakaand the entire trade will suffer ahuge loss," he said.

LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradeshgovernment has ordered firesafety checks for allgovernment and privatehospitals handling COVID-19cases, an official said onThursday. "State homedepartment has ordered firesafety checks of all medicalcolleges, government hospitalsand private hospitals taken forCOVID-19. The check is to bedone on Thursday itself,” saidDirector General, Firedepartment, RK Vishwakarma.He said directives have beenissued to all the fire officers inthis regard. After the safetychecks of hospitals, the Firedepartment officials will presenttheir findings to the head ofthese establishments,Vishwakarma said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Pakistan is aiming to score nar-row political goals by attempt-ing to bring India's initiativesto collectively fight the coron-avirus pandemic in theSAARC region under the for-mal umbrella of the grouping,government sources said onThursday.

On Wednesday, Pakistanboycotted a video conferenceof trade officials of the SAARCcountries to discuss ways tominimise the economic cost ofthe pandemic.

Islamabad said such initia-tives could only be effective ifspearheaded by the group'ssecretariat instead of India.

In such a scenario, thesources said, Pakistan will geta free hand to block India's ini-tiatives and proposals by usingthe SAARC charter of provi-sions and rules of procedure.

"It is an attempt to score nar-row political goals while peo-ple of the region are facing thecoronavirus crisis," said asource on Thursday.

The trade officials of theSAARC countries onWednesday broadly agreed toidentify new ways to "sustainand expand" the intra-region-al trade to offset the huge eco-nomic cost of the coronaviruspandemic.

The officials also deliberat-ed on creating a larger frame-work of trade facilitation and

highlighted the need toenhance the quantum of intra-SAARC trade as the pandem-ic is likely to have a consider-able impact on the region.

The deliberations took placeas a follow up to an India-ini-tiated video conference ofSAARC leaders on March 15.Prime Minister NarendraModi had suggested in theconference that the membernations of the bloc shouldcome together to jointly fightthe pandemic.

The South AsianAssociation for RegionalCooperation (SAARC) is aregional grouping comprisingAfghanistan, Bangladesh,Bhutan, India, the Maldives,Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

All the SAARC membernations are reeling underadverse social and economicimpact of the coronavirus pan-demic.

Pak aiming to score narrowpolitical goals thru Covid-19

Strength of federalism has given majorboost to fight against COVID-19: SorenPNS n NEW DELHI

The strength of federalism hascome to the fore in the fightagainst the coronavirus pan-demic with many chief ministerscoordinating with each other tohelp out people stranded outsidetheir home states, JharkhandChief Minister Hemant Sorensaid on Thursday.

Soren said he spoke withchief ministers of various states,including Kerala, Maharashtraand Delhi, where people ofJharkhand were working andthey promised all support.

In an interview to PTI, hesaid based on the total callsreceived at the migrant helplinebeing run by the state's labourdepartment, there are about 7lakh Jharkhandis who are cur-rently outside the state,

Soren said lifting the lock-down is a "big challenge" andmust be given a consideredthought. Though the spread ofthe coronavirus has been kept incheck in Jharkhand, things could

change if a large number of peo-ple return to the state from var-ious parts of the country, he said.

"The prime minister(Narendra Modi) did not askthe states while imposing thelockdown and now he is ask-ing states for suggestions toopen the lockdown," he said.

The nationwide lockdownwas imposed from March 25 bythe Centre to prevent thespread of the coronavirus that

has claimed 166 lives andinfected 5,734 people across thecountry.

Soren said his governmentstarted work early and that hadhelped in keeping COVID-19cases in check.

"About two lakh people cameinto our state after the lock-down somehow, but we had putmechanisms in place to dealwith the situation. Now detailsof 1.75 lakh out of those peo-

ple are with us. Some peoplebelong to Jharkhand, whileothers are from West Bengaland other states," he said.

They are in home quarantineand information on themcould be obtained as the com-mittees were formed by thestate government at the district,block, village and panchayatlevels, Soren said."We have also set up informa-

tion centres. There is one forpeople within the state and theother is for people from ourstate stuck in other states," hesaid.

The chief minister also saidJharkhand was largely depen-dent on the Centre forresources and would need adedicated financial package todeal with the crisis.

"Due to the imposition of theGST, the central governmenthas already broken the back ofstates. We would need a dedi-cated package from the Centre.We would also need morehealth equipment," he said.

Soren said the Centre hadgiven about Rs 250 crore toJharkhand from the packageannounced by it nationally andit also received some pendingdues, but that is not enough.

The Jharkhand chief minis-ter also asserted that India'sfederalism had manifested itselfduring the COVID-19 crisisand many chief ministers werecoordinating with each other.

PNS n MUMBAI

The Maharashtra Cabinet onThursday decided to recom-mend Chief Minister UddhavThackeray's name for beingnominated as member of thestate Legislative Council fromthe Governor's quota.

Thackeray, who is currentlynot a member of either of theHouses of state Legislature,was not present at the Cabinetmeeting where the decisionwas taken. At present, there aretwo vacancies in the LegislativeCouncil from the Governor'squota after MLCs RahulNarvekar and Ram Wadkutequit the NCP to join the BJPbefore the Assembly polls inOctober last year.

The term of these twovacant seats is till mid-June.

Maharashtra ParliamentaryAffairs Minister Anil Parabtold PTI that the decision torecommend Thackeray's nameas MLC from the Governor'squota was taken at the state

Cabinet meeting."Governor Bhagat Singh

Koshyari has been requestedto appoint Uddhav Thackerayfrom one of the two vacantseats," he said.

Thackeray was not presentat the Cabinet meeting whichwas chaired by Deputy ChiefMinister Ajit Pawar at thestate secretariat. MinorityAffairs Minister Nawab Maliktold reporters that Thackerayhad been advised not to attendthe meeting, since the Cabinetwas to recommend his nameto the governor for appoint-ment as MLC.

Maharashtra Cabinetnames Thackeray'sfor MLC post

COVID-19 fallout makes Indian philosophy of‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' more relevant: ICCRPNS n NEW DELHI

With people globally feeling"very lonely and frustrated" inthe confinement of their homesamid the COVID-19 pandem-ic, the ICCR is contemplatingoffering classes on the basics ofIndian philosophy as the credoof 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' isall the more relevant now, itspresident Vinay Sahasrabuddhesaid on Thursday.

On a day the India Councilfor Cultural Relations, India'scultural arm to strengthen itsexternal affairs outreach,observes its 70th foundationday, Sahasrabuddhe told PTIthat in the six years of the Modigovernment, this organisationhas become more result-orient-ed and productive.

In the wake of the coron-avirus outbreak, all ICCR cen-tres abroad have started e-tutorials on a variety of subjects

including yoga, classical dances,music and even Sanskrit andHindi languages, he said.

In fact for music and danceclasses, YouTube and Skype-type platforms are proving tobe more effective at someplaces, he added.

To a question if the ICCR isrecaliberating its agenda due tothe disruption brought by thepandemic, Sahasrabuddhe, who

is also a senior BJP leader anda Rajya Sabha member, notedthat people are likely to feel verylonely and frustrated in thesedays of remaining confined tothe four walls of their homes.

COVID-19 has been a hugedisruptor, he noted.

"In a situation like this, rela-tionships become very impor-tant and Indian philosophy ofVasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the

world is one family) becomesall the more relevant. Theuniqueness of our philosophyis, even while recognising indi-viduality of personal space,we have been emphasisingmore on collectivism.

"The understanding of boththese features have the potentialof providing a healing touch inthese circumstances and that iswhat is needed. May be, class-

es on basics of Indian philoso-phy could be an activity worthcontemplating," he said.

Setting the bar high for theorganisation going forward,he said when it comes to softpower, its efforts must be com-pared with that of BritishCouncil and American Center.If ICCR activities are looked atfrom that angle, then "werealise that we have miles to gofurther".

"And if we take a longer per-spective and understand theenormity of this subject, werealise that strengthening softpower can't be left to an insti-tution alone. All citizens, allgovernment or non-govern-ment agencies with some con-nection with people abroad, canvery well significantly con-tribute in this mission. Creatingawareness about this collectiveresponsibility is also one of ourpriority areas," he said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Delhi High court Thursdaydecided to suspend its summervacation this year, slated fromJune 1 to 30, to make up for theloss of working hours due to thecoronavirus pandemic lock-down.

The high court has also can-celled the summer break of sub-ordinate courts in June this year.

The decision was taken at ameeting by Delhi High CourtChief Justice D N Patel andother judges considering thesevere hardship and difficultiesbeing faced by litigants onaccount of the lockdown andconsequent suspension of func-tioning of the courts that arecurrently hearing matters ofextreme urgency only throughvideo conferencing.

The high court has beenhearing only urgent matterssince March 16. Besides, all theinterim orders passed by it andthe trial courts earlier, whichwere to expire by March 16 orthere after, have already beenextended till May 15. The highcourt resolved Thursday that thecourts shall continue function-ing during the entire vacation

month of June 2020."This decision has been taken

by the Full Court on April 9, tomake up for the loss of courtworking hours and to ensurerestoration of normalcy in thefunctioning of the courts at theearliest," said a statement issuedby the high court.

The resolution said, “Sinceduring the period of suspensionof work, the hearing is limited tothe matters of extremely urgentnature or urgent nature, there isnegligible fresh filing of cases, less-er disposal and correspondingescalation in arrears, resulting inextreme hardship to litigants."

It said the September 16, 2019notification, which had declaredthe period of the summer vaca-tions for the high court and trialcourts here in June this year, ismodified.

Delhi HC suspends summerbreak to make up work loss

PNS n MUMBAI

An empty tent is a circus group'sworst nightmare but the nation-wide lockdown due to the coro-navirus has compounded theproblems of an already strugglingbusiness, says Sujit Dilip, the pro-prietor of Rambo Circus, whohad to put out an appeal for help.

Dilip said he was initially"embarrassed" to ask for help butdecided to reach out to public asthey were grounded in Airoli,Navi Mumbai from March 13,when the state and later thenation announced the lock-down due to the pandemic.

With no shows possible andthe responsibility of around 80artistes and 20 animals, Dilipsaid they were staring at anuncertain future as the pandem-ic has taken away their chanceto earn money during the peak

summer season."We were about to start our

circus when the CM announcedthe lockdown from March 13and we had to close. It'll take atleast three-four months for thesituation to settle down but bythen monsoon will start and it'llbe a bad time for us again," Diliptold PTI in an interview.

Circuses in the country, Dilip

said, have two primary seasons:the summers and Diwali.

Last year, Rambo Circusbraved the Aurangabadfloods—which damaged theirtents and lights—faced heavyrainfall in Pune and finallyarrived in the suburban Maladhere during Diwali to make upfor the losses.

"I had to sell off my flat to bail

out the circus. But even the fes-tive period earning was hit. Sowe finally decided to focus onthe summer of 2020. Whowould've thought this wouldhappen?" he wondered.

A 'MOVING VILLAGE' STOPS:

Rambo Circus faces heat amid coronavirus outbreak

PNS n THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

Kerala is set to become thefirst state in the country tocommence convalescent plas-ma therapy, which uses anti-bodies from the blood of curedpatients, to treat critically illCOVID-19 cases on a trialbasis.

The Indian Council ofMedical Research (ICMR) hasgiven its nod to the state gov-ernment for the first of its kindproject, initiated by the pres-tigious Sree Chitra TirunalInstitute for Medical Sciencesand Technology (SCTIMST), atop official said.

SCTIMST, an Institution ofNational Importance underthe Union Department ofScience and Technology, isexpecting to start the trials bythis month end once therequired approvals from theDrugs Controller of India andthe Ethics committee arereceived.

"We have received theapproval from the Indian

Council of Medical Research(ICMR) to conduct it as a clin-ical trial", Director of the city-based institute Dr AshaKishore told PTI.

"This is a form of convales-cent plasma therapy. The tech-nique is to use (blood) plasmaof patients who have complete-ly recovered from COVID-19as it will be rich in antibodies",she said.

In COVID-19, some small

studies have been done inChina and United States wherethey had tried this treatmentmethod -- taking the plasma ofa patient who is cured andwhose blood contains lot ofantibodies to fight the virus,she said.

Their plasma is collectedand infused into COVID-19patients who are critically illand whose immune systemcannot fight the virus.

30 workers found living onterrace of a shop inBengali Market, owner heldPNS n NEW DELHI

An FIR was lodged against apastry shop owner in BengaliMarket here after his 30 work-ers were found living in unhy-gienic conditions and notadhering to social distancingnorms to contain the spread ofcoronavirus, police said onThursday.

The Bengali Market, alongwith 20 other COVID-19hotspots in Delhi, was sealedafter three members of a fam-ily tested positive for the dead-ly virus there.

As a preventive measure,police, along with a medicalteam, members from NewDelhi Municipal Corporationand the District Magistrate,conducted home-to-homeverification in Bengali Marketon Thursday, a senior policeofficial said.

Police found 30 workers ofa pastry shop living either on

the terrace of the shop orbehind it at shelters providedto them in unhygienic condi-tions without maintainingsocial distancing, he added.

Subsequently, An FIR wasregistered at Barakhamba roadpolice station under section188 (disobedience to orderduly promulgated by publicservant), 269 (negligent actlikely to spread infection ofdisease dangerous to life) ofthe Indian Penal Code andsection 3 of the EpidemicDiseases Act against the shopowner, police said.

PNS n LUCKNOW

BSP supremo Mayawati onThursday demanded strictaction against a BJP MP whohad allegedly beaten up aDalit officer, saying suchbehaviour was "shameful".

Revenue officer ArvindKumar was allegedly beaten bythe BJP's Kannauj MP SubratPathak and his supporters onTuesday.

"Manhandling and misbe-havior with a dalit 'tehsildar,who was discharging his dutyhonestly, by the BJP MP inKannauj recently is veryshameful," Mayawati said in atweet in Hindi.

In a separate tweet she said,"It's saddening that instead ofgoing to jail, this MP is roam-ing outside due to which dalitemployees are agitated. Insuch circumstances, the chiefminister should initiate strictaction against this MP so thathe does not repeat such anincident in the future."

"BSP demands strict action

against the MP so that suchbehaviour is not meted out toany other Dalit employee inthe state," she said.

Kumar had alleged thatPathak was pressurising himto sanction some projectswhich flouted rules and whenhe refused, the leader verbal-ly abused him on the phoneand later arrived at his resi-dence along with his support-ers and beat him up.

Pathak, however, said theofficial had failed to properlydistribute food among thepoor and also misbehavedwith his supporters.

Mayawati demandsaction against BJP MP

Kerala to start clinical trial of plasmatherapy for COVID-19 treatment

The nationwidelockdown wasimposed fromMarch 25 by theCentre to preventthe spread of thecoronavirus thathas claimed 166lives andinfected 5,734people acrossthe country

To a question if the ICCR isrecaliberating its agenda due tothe disruption brought by thepandemic, Sahasrabuddhe, whois also a senior BJP leader and aRajya Sabha member, noted thatpeople are likely to feel verylonely and frustrated in thesedays of remaining confined tothe four walls of their homes

With no showspossible and theresponsibility ofaround 80 artistesand 20 animals, Dilipsaid they werestaring at anuncertain future asthe pandemic hastaken away theirchance to earnmoney during thepeak summer season

It has often been said, yet it bears repeat-ing: The Coronavirus epidemic will, inall probability, leave the world lookingsignificantly different from the one weinhabited prior to the outbreak of the

infection. The global nature of COVID-19has ensured that this realisation is not lim-ited to only a few but finds resonance acrossborders. India’s response to the outbreak hasbeen comparatively swift. Credit, therefore,must be given to all parties, who have fought,and continue to fight the notorious virus.

While praise is well-deserved, we mustensure that our response to this novelthreat is swift and decisive. We cannot affordto be reactive. This is where I would like todraw a distinction between “reaction” and“response.” For the purpose of this article,the latter refers to a well-calibrated decision,one that considers all factors and puts thingsinto the context while also keeping in mindthe consequences of the former. This shouldbe a decision that utilises the slow thinkingpart of our brain. A “reaction,” on the otherhand, is, as the word suggests, “reactive.” Itis our first response to the problem, wherewhat is right in front of us is the only thingwe react to. Such a “reaction” is intuitive andborn from the fast-thinking part of our brain.In this particular case of Coronavirus, thebig thing in front of us is that it is one of thebiggest pandemics of our times.

For example, our obsession with theCoronavirus and the news surrounding it isunsurprising. However, it must be put intocontext. Tuberculosis kills an estimated1,200 people per day in India. Compare thiswith the number of Coronavirus deaths,which currently is as low as 10-30 per day.However, our “reaction” to the Coronavirusis much more severe than the one to tuber-culosis. Of course, this is an oversimplifica-tion of the problem and I do not want to bemisunderstood in saying that the currentpandemic requires any less effort, vigilanceor focus. This could be a terminal mistakefor the country and we must exercise asmuch caution and care as suggested by ourleaders and healthcare professionals. Afterall, any negligence could cost the lives of sev-eral other people and we owe a duty of careto each other during these difficult times.

However, the human mind is reallystrange. We tend to focus a lot more onthings that evoke strong “reactions.” Forexample, terrorism and murders areimmense social evils. They take up a chunkof the time of television news hours, spaceof newspapers and are a hot topic for socialdiscussion. But globally, the number of peo-ple who die due to suicide in a year, is almosttwice the number who die due to homicide.Yet, we do not as yet have as frequent dis-cussions or serious debates about address-ing mental health issues. Instead, we end upfocussing more on the problem that evokesgreater emotions. We are humans, after all.

In the fight against Coronavirus though,we cannot afford the same reaction. We must

be thoughtful rather than emo-tive in our response. One aspectof the fight against COVID-19is the immediate decision toimpose a nationwide lockdown.There is no denying the fact thatthis is the only “true” way to fightthis dreaded virus at this partic-ular time. However, while imple-menting the lockdown, we can-not ignore the fact that cure runsthe risk of causing more harmthan the disease.

Over 76 per cent of Indianworkers are engaged in “vulner-able employment.” This wasstarkly visible when millions ofmigrant workers from all overthe country tried to make theirway home on foot. WhileGovernments and civil societygroups have come forward in acommendable way to help andensure that the workers do notdie due to hunger, we cannotexpect this to be a long-termsolution.

A large part of the workingforce in our country are eitherdaily wagers or contractualworkers. While even for a shortperiod of time, a lockdown ismore palpable for salary earnersand business owners, for dailywage earners, it is a daily strug-gle of life and death. Therefore,in my opinion, a complete lock-down will have the effect ofpushing the country 25 yearsback. We cannot, therefore, givein to our intuition.

We must think of morenovel and nuanced wayswhereby this problem can be

tackled. Whether it is about tar-getting specific hotspotsthrough sealing drives, as beingdone in certain parts of thenational capital by ensuringdoorstep delivery of essentials,or something else, ourapproach cannot afford to besimplistic and carte blanche.

The other thing we must dois, carry forward this delibera-tive approach, going forward.What this means is that we mustensure that Governments spendmore on healthcare and educa-tion rather than on statues. Wemust look at ways by which ourspending can be better utilisedand how social goals can beachieved more efficiently.Health, for example, has a closecausal relationship with cleanli-ness. In order to enforce clean-liness, we cannot merely rely onadvertisement campaigns orjust be content with building arecord number of toilets. Boththese measures have beenproven to not nudge the peopleto do the right thing. Instead,what has proven problematic isnot the existence of toilets inmany areas but the fact that theyare often dirty and lack properwaste disposal measures. Thisdissuades the people from usingthe toilets even if there may bemany around them.

Therefore, the focus needsto be on understanding whatare the behavioural reasonsbehind the people who do notadopt clean habits. Only afterunderstanding these cues can

an effective strategy be imple-mented. One way of ensuringthat we understand these socialbehaviour and calibrate theefficacy of our systems is byensuring that maximumamount of accurate informa-tion is at our disposal. This can-not be done solely by theGovernment.

Every Government (just asevery person) has an incentiveto show itself in the best light.Therefore, we must encouragecivil society and the media toprovide ground-level feedback.Here, too, there is a chance ofbias and fake news being circu-lated as we have seen from timeto time. Thus, any supply orencouragement of fake orunsubstantiated data must besoundly punished.

In the case of Coronavirus,just as in every sphere of ourlives, we have our blind spots,too. Unfortunately, for our elect-ed leaders, there is little scope forsuch blind spots while dealingwith a pandemic and balancingour economic interests on thesame scale. We must, therefore,be unafraid of diverse views andencourage open communica-tion. The virus does not affectjust a few of us but all of us inone way or the other. Therefore,we have little option but tocome together to try and ensurethere is some light at the end ofthis long tunnel.

(The writer is a former IPSofficer, a former MP and currently a member of the AAP)

There will be several societal and behav-ioural changes in the next few years thatwe will all be able to ascribe to the impact

of the Coronavirus pandemic. A global phe-nomenon of wearing masks might take offbeyond East Asia where it had normalised afterthe SARS pandemic. Personal hygienechanges will almost certainly become a norm.Everybody will wash hands more often andcarrying a small personal hand-sanitiser willbecome a must. But what about shopping?With major outlets closed, traditional retail has

taken a hit across the world, one, which coupled with the rise of online com-merce, might make it difficult for the industry to recover. But some of the changesin online commerce, especially in India in Corona times, are noteworthy. Oneis the support that some online chains, from Amazon to Zomato, are gettingfrom the public authorities in deliveries, especially to quarantined zones. Theother major change is the way the delivery services are working. Small kiranaoutlets are making local area deliveries of bread, milk and eggs as well as freshproduce like fruits and vegetables. While some parts of major cities have decentaccess to provisions despite the lockdown, the fact that certain hotspots arebeing sealed as well as the news that the lockdown might continue for sever-al more days mean that such deliveries are becoming even more vital. In timesof restricted customer mobility, a smooth functioning of such platforms can helpserve high demands. But for that, it is essential for them to remain automat-ed and mechanised, they need to ensure adequate sanitisation of personnel andproducts and strive to drive innovation in the last mile. These new models, whichmarketing experts would describe as “competitive collaboration,” might be theway forward for the growth of e-commerce in India. This is because social andphysical distancing might also become a norm across huge swathes of the nation.

Of course, it is too early to predict when the nationwide lockdown will becompletely lifted; it may be a month before some areas of the country areopened up. It is also impossible to predict which business models will sur-vive the lockdown. Business as usual, as this paper has noted in the past, isover. That is also going to be the case with e-commerce. But will this collab-orative model be the best way out of the lockdown rut for e-commerce com-panies? One will have to wait and watch.

First things first. India has no choice butto develop its own template of protect-ing itself from the monstrous attack of the

Coronavirus. That means in a densely popu-lated country like ours, we will need to min-imise the rush of people in danger of conta-minating each other. Hence a protracted spellof lockdown and a behavioural monitoring, forexample, at markets. The other is harvestingavailable resources in a poorly developed healthframework to treat the sick, which meansaggressive testing in clusters and faster serol-

ogy tests besides pool tests in virgin areas. In other words, a tiered approachto the problem. Then there is the larger challenge of enabling the economy atthe local level through staggered permits for agriculture and production. And givenIndian doctors and researchers have gone on to achieve world acclaim, it is timefor us to trust home-grown experience and expertise to fight our battle, both onthe medical and economic fronts. Simply because nobody else will fight it forus. Certainly not the World Health Organisation (WHO), which has bungled inestimating the extent of the Wuhan contagion and led many countries to believethat it was a local problem. US President Donald Trump has threatened to cutfunding to the world body, saying while his nation keeps it alive, it had been guid-ed by Chinese projections of the virus. While transactional politics should cer-tainly not be the order of the day in this test of survival of the human race, thefact is that the WHO did mislead us by changing its own advisories and delay-ing the classification of the virus as a pandemic. Had we gone by all its advi-sories, then we could have gone under. Already the spiral, largely the result offocussed testing, shows how deeply the disease has spread in the hinterlandand how an early warning system could have helped us shut down internation-al flights at least two weeks earlier. As late as January 30, WHO Director-GeneralTedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he would not recommend travel restrictionsto China. Yet on the same day, WHO’s International Health Regulations EmergencyCommittee raised a global alert on the need for containment, surveillance, detec-tion, isolation and even contact tracing. India’s first advisory on avoiding non-essential travel to China came before but by then hotspots had sprung up inEurope and the US.

The Government, while taking note of the WHO advisories, has totally reliedon the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and in a collaborative effortis sharing the experience of several State Governments — be it Kerala, Rajasthan,Maharashtra or Uttar Pradesh. The aggressive containment, cluster isolation,aggressive testing and minute observation at hotspots is a story of learning andsharing that has made cooperative federalism the new credo. The all-party con-sultative meetings are back, too. The Government, alarmed by reports in theUS that droplets of infected people could hang in the air for a while, made mask-wearing mandatory while stepping outdoors although the WHO argued againsta directive on face covers, saying masks were needed for those who are symp-tomatic, health workers or caregivers. And while the WHO stuck to the “test,test, test” formula, the ICMR countered that with “isolate, isolate, isolate,” giventhat we cannot afford to let precious test kits go waste even as we indigeniseproduction. In fact, some States adopted voluntary quarantine even before thenational lockdown based on this advice. Simply because the airport screeningwas not effective in identifying carriers and spreaders. This may not entirely flat-ten the curve but at least won’t let it bulge and break either, considering we areyet assessing the depth of seepage at the community level. While testing is goingon according to parameters, the rapid antibody tests in “areas reporting clus-ters and in large migration gatherings/evacuee centres” are a faster way of datacollection and establishing the right graph. And though the WHO did not rec-ommend a treatment protocol, doctors in Jaipur tried out two anti-virals — lopinavirand ritonavir — in saving patients. Doctors here also worked out a combina-tion of hydroxychloroquine and the antibiotic azithromycin to slow down theprogress of the disease. A vaccine and cure are far away and Indian researchersare part of global trials on the disease. But till then, smart COVID managementand a ground-up, felt approach will be our only saviour.

Ear to the ground

Take the call soon

Sir — Many States are demand-ing extension of the 21-day lock-down to allay fears and to miti-gate the spread of the virus. Theimpact of the current lockdownhas been such that it has affect-ed the economy drastically,including slowing the growth,migration, closure of public trans-port and rising unemployment.The Government should make aquick decision either to lift thelockdown soon or extend thesame. This will dispel fake mes-sages and rumours now doing therounds on social media.

An early decision by theGovernment will not only helpthe citizens gear up for comingdays but also help the agencies tobe better prepared to fight thepandemic by staying abreast ofthe situation. A prompt decisionwill also help them procure nec-essary Personal ProtectiveEquipment (PPE) kits, ventilatorsand medical supplies, amongother things in sufficient quanti-ties if the need so arises. Timelyharvesting of the wheat crop, too,is essential for the farmers.

Varun DambalBengaluru

Make a phased exit plan

Sir — Over the last few days, therehas been a demand in the mediato stretch the current lockdownperiod beyond April 14. AssamFinance Minister Himanta BiswaSarma said that everything shouldnot be opened on April 15; ratherthe lockdown should be lifted sys-

tematically and scientifically toavoid chaos. Union MinisterPrakash Javadekar, after a recentmeeting of the Cabinet, said thata decision would be taken “in thenational interest” at the right time.

India is monitoring the worldsituation to be able to fight thehighly contagious virus effec-tively. My personal opinion is that

the lockdown should be with-drawn in a phased manner. Thatis because saving lives is moreimportant than the economy.Lifting the lockdown unsystem-atically will certainly increasethe incidence of COVID-19 infec-tion. Therefore, the Governmentmust take a considered step sothat people do not face the kind

of situation many Western coun-tries are facing.

AL Nadwi Bengaluru

Putting heads together

Sir — This refers to the report,“PM, Opp concur on more lock-down” (April 9). For a change, theruling Government andOpposition parties are on thesame page in the battle againstCoronavirus. Yes, an extension ofthe lockdown will be tough formillions of Indians, especially fordaily wagers and poor people, butthe Government will have totake a hard decision in the larg-er interest of the nation.

While the Prime Ministerhas spoken to Opposition parties,economists, business tycoons andother stakeholders, State ChiefMinisters can also give feedback.A collaborative approach will beof immense help. A staggered lift-ing of the lockdown is essential.Areas not/less affected by theinfection can be opened up first.

Bal GovindNoida

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 | FRIDAY | APRIL 10, 2020

06

Light at the end of tunnel

AJOY KUMAR

While dealing with the Coronavirus epidemic, India must draw a fine line betweenreaction and response. Its measures must be thoughtful rather than emotive

While forces are servingthe needy amid the prevail-ing situation in the country, the border deployment has not been affected inany manner.

BSF Director-General —SS Deswal

I don’t have the expertise inthat department, I lack the skillto market myself. Some peoplehave it and they are blessedbut I don’t think I have expertise to promote myself.

Actor—Kay Kay Menon

I would like to reopen the USeconomy with a big bang butthe death toll from Coronavirus needs to be on the down slope before that can happen.

US President—Donald Trump

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 R

Locking India is the safest option

It is clear from the rising number of cases in India thatwe have not at all reached a stage of containment or“flattened the curve” to lift the 21-day nationwide lock-

down on April 14. To put it simply, the extension of thelockdown has become not just essential but inevitable.The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is report-ed to have advised the Government to stretch the lock-down. Given the mode of transmission of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is human-to-human, it is commonsense that “physical distancing” needs to be maintainedto stop the spread of the virus and save lives.Considerations of survival must override all other con-cerns. While “sustained and uninterrupted lockdown”is needed, we shouldn’t be thinking in terms of “stag-gered exit”, “periodic relaxation” or “hot spot strategy.”

The pandemic has necessitated staying indoors; allexcept healthcare workers, police personnel andproviders of essential goods and services must stayindoors. Of course, we can step out to fetch foodgrainsand groceries but “social distancing” must be maintained.This is important in view of the potential of the conta-

gion to engulf clusters of human populations overwhelm-ingly. It will become very hard to manage if “commu-nity transmission” takes place. In these difficult andunsettled times our collective efforts, marked by our ratio-nal and responsible behaviour, alone will overcome thekiller virus. In the name of resumption of economic activ-ities or economic renewal, we cannot afford to cast pru-dence to the winds and imperil lives.

G David MiltonMaruthancode

UNFORTUNATELY,FOR OUR ELECTED

LEADERS, THERE ISLITTLE SCOPE FOR

SUCH BLIND SPOTSWHILE DEALING

WITH A PANDEMICAND BALANCINGOUR ECONOMIC

INTERESTS ON THESAME SCALE. WE

MUST, THEREFORE,BE UNAFRAID OFDIVERSE VIEWS

AND ENCOURAGEOPEN

COMMUNICATION

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

E-commerce to rescueGovernment has given relax-ations, farmers will not haveto face problems during thelockdown. Shops of agricul-ture machinery and equipmentwill remain open at highways.

Union Minister—Narendra Singh Tomar

Ignore the politics but WHO did misread the pandemic as itevolved. India has done well to rely on its field assessment

With deliveries getting going once again, but now supportedby physical stores, is the way India shops going to change?

Locked down with a predator

IT’S PRETTY CLEAR THAT THE WHO HASN’T BEENABLE TO ACHIEVE WHAT IT WAS DESIGNED TO. WEJUST CAN’T CONTINUE TO PERMIT THAT TO GO ON.

—US SECRETARY OF STATE MIKE POMPEO

SOLIDARITY AT THE GLOBAL LEVEL AND LEADERSHIPFROM THE US AND CHINA. THE MOST POWERFULSHOULD LEAD THE WAY. QUARANTINE COVID POLITICS.—WHO DIRECTOR GENERAL TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

In the run-up to the announcement of a nation-wide lockdown starting from March 25, therewere several areas where the Government

failed to craft a strategy to address its possible fall-out. One such aspect that was completely ignoredwas the way to deal with incidents of domestic vio-lence (DV) against women and children in the coun-try during the 21-day shut down. The checks andbalances that needed to be in place for victims ofDV to resort to in their hour of need were unheed-ed.

The term “domestic violence” (DV) is used inmany countries to refer to intimate partner violence(IPV) but it also encompasses child or elder abuse,or abuse by any member of a household. Accordingto the World Health Organisation (WHO), one inevery three women across the globe experiencephysical and/or sexual violence by an intimate part-ner or sexual violence by any perpetrators in theirlifetime: At least 30 per cent of all women who havebeen in a relationship have experienced physicaland/or sexual violence by their intimate partner.

It has been seen that violence against womentends to increase during every type of emergency,including epidemics. So, not surprisingly it hasincreased globally during the lockdowns enforcedby governments to combat the spread of COVID-19. It is fuelled by social distancing, economic uncer-tainties and anxieties caused by the Coronaviruspandemic.

For instance, countries like China, the UnitedStates (US), the United Kingdom (UK), Brazil,Tunisia, France, Australia and many others havereported cases of increased DV/IPV. India is alsoshowing symmetrical trends, especially when it isinfamous for being the fourth-worst country (afterthe United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia)for gender equality (ranked by perception).

According to the Crime in India Report, 2018,published by the National Crime Records Bureau(NCRB), every 1.7 minutes a crime was recordedagainst women in India, every 16 minutes a rapewas committed and every 4.4 minutes a child is sub-jected to domestic violence.

Within a few days of the lockdown, theNational Commission for Women (NCW) noteda rise in the number of DV/IPV complaintsreceived via e-mails. The NCW Chairpersonbelieves that the real figure is likely to be more sincethe bulk of complaints comes from women in thelower strata of society, who send their complaintsby post. In March and up to April 5, the NCWreceived 310 grievances of DV. During this period,a total of 885 complaints were received by the NCWfor other forms of violence against women (exam-ple: Bigamy/polygamy; denial of maternity bene-fits to women; dowry deaths; harassment of mar-ried women/dowry harassment; outraging themodesty of women/molestation; rape/attempt torape; right to live with dignity; sexual assault andsexual harassment). Several women’s rights organ-isations have also been receiving numerous DVcomplaints since the enforcement of the lockdown.

The number of cases reported might not be pro-portional to the actual rise in the number of DV/sex-ual abuse cases. This is because the woman/childlocked down with the abuser does not get accessto a mobile phone or the space and time, with lim-ited access to financial resources and social networksor even the courage when s/he could call up for help.In other words, all options of escape for the formerfrom their situation of despair are impaired.

Thus, the intensity of the impediments s/hewould normally face has been exacerbated by the

pandemic and the lockdown.While the NCW Chairperson has

urged women to contact the police orreach out to State Women’s Commissionsif they face DV or their children are beingabused, it must be noted that theremight be chances where the police aredelayed in such rescues. This is becausethey are already handling challenges ofenforcing the lockdown, ensuring deliv-ery of essentials to vulnerable sections andin several places assisting health workersin the discharge of their duties. Further,women have felt additionally unsafe inapproaching the police because theythink that if their husbands are arrested,they could be harassed by in-laws, or oncetheir husbands return, they or their chil-dren would be tortured even more.

With partners and children potential-ly trapped at home during the COVID-19 lockdown, the rate and intensity ofabuse could get even worse and extendto child abuse. Repeated acts of physicalviolence, such as slapping, hitting, kick-ing and beating; sexual violence, includ-ing forced sexual intercourse and otherforms of sexual coercion; emotional(psychological) abuse, such as insults,belittling, constant humiliation, intimida-tion (e.g. destroying things), threats ofharm, threats to take away children; con-trolling behaviour, including isolating aperson from family and friends; monitor-ing their movements; restricting access tofinancial resources, employment, educa-tion or medical care, often result indepression, panic attacks, other anxietydisorders and even suicides.

It often has lasting impacts on the sur-vivors as research suggests that the mem-ory of abuse persists long after the vio-lence has stopped. This often results inchronic health problems and developingrisks of many diseases that arise from pro-longed stress.

In the critical situation of trying tocombat a pandemic, an increased num-ber of women/children are faced with the

plague of DV within their households. Itmust not come as a surprise because DVtopped in the category of violence againstwomen/girls in 2018. As per the data, atotal of 89,097 cases related to crimesagainst women/girls were registeredacross India in 2018. The figures indicatethat not much has improved when com-pared to the figure of 86,001 cases regis-tered under this head in 2017. The crimerate per lakh women/girl populationwas 58.8 in 2018 in comparison to 57.9in 2017.

The National Family Health Survey(NFHS-4), 2015-16 highlighted that 30per cent of women/girls in India in theage group of 15-49 experienced physicalviolence since the age of 15.

Among married women experienc-ing physical, sexual or emotional violence,an alarming 83 per cent claimed that theirhusbands were the main perpetrators ofsuch forms of abuse, followed by abusefrom the mothers (56 per cent), fathers(33 per cent) and siblings of the husbands(27 per cent). The major crimes report-ed by women in India are — cruelty byhusband or relatives (32.6 per cent),assault on women with intent to outrageher modesty (25 per cent), kidnappingand abductions (19 per cent) and rape(11.5 per cent).

The above crime statistics are unableto capture the data on violence againstwomen in its entirety. This is primarilydue to the prevalence of orthodox socialnorms and the stigma that is placed onsurvivors of DV/sexual abuse whichleads to such cases being grossly under-reported. The report also shows thatunemployment and alcoholism of themale partner are highly associated withDV/sexual abuse on women/girls.

In addition to the direct healththreat posed by the Coronavirus, the pan-demic and restrictions aimed at checkingits spread have heightened anxieties,right from apprehensions of catching thedisease, to financial worries, to social con-

cerns. There is also a concern thatDV/sexual abuse would further increasewith job losses and other economic pres-sures. An added challenge has been theimportance of intertwined negative psy-cho-social impact on mental health ofwomen/girls.

In the attempt to flatten the COVID-19 curve, women’s equality and physicaland mental health seem to have suffereda collateral damage. The Governmentoverlooked the need to formally integrateDV/sexual abuse and mental healthrepercussions into the public health pre-paredness and emergency response plansagainst Coronavirus. In fact, theSustainable Development Goal (SDG)that seeks to “eliminate all forms of dis-crimination and violence against womenin the public and private spheres and toundertake reforms to give them thesame rights to economic resources andaccess to property by 2030”, is being enor-mously compromised.

Members of the community must bemade aware about the increased risks towomen’s/girls health and life in the lock-down days. They must develop the ethosto condemn violence and shoulder theresponsibility of offering all possibleassistance to ensure their safety. In itsefforts against COVID-19, theGovernment must allow civil societyorganisations, counsellors, mental healthorganisations and providers to come tothe rescue of the women/girls facingDV/sexual abuse. Reaching out towomen/girls in distress and the need toaddress the various forms of violenceagainst them need to be classified as an“essential service” by the Government.Finally, the perpetrators of DV/IPV/sex-ual abuse must be brought to trial andrepeat offenders must be dealt withstrictly as per the provisions of law.

(Simi is CEO and Editorial Director,IMPRI, Balwant is Fellow at IHD, Co-Founder and Visiting Senior Fellow, IMPRIand Kumar is Director, IMPRI)

In its bid to flatten the COVID-19 curve, the Govt overlooked the need to formally integratedomestic violence/abuse into the public health preparedness and emergency response plan

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

A Catch-22situation

MARKANDEYKATJU

DHRUTIKAPADIA

While short lockdowns would be valid, long shutdowns would not be good for the people or

the economy of the country

SIMIMEHTA

ARJUNKUMAR

BALWANTMEHTA

IN ITS EFFORTSAGAINST

COVID-19, THEGOVERNMENTMUST ALLOWCIVIL SOCIETY

ORGANISATIONS,COUNSELLORS,

MENTAL HEALTHORGANISATIONSAND PROVIDERSTO COME TO THE

RESCUE OF THEWOMEN/GIRLS

FACINGDV/SEXUAL

ABUSE. REACHINGOUT TO

WOMEN/GIRLSIN DISTRESS AND

THE NEED TOADDRESS THE

VARIOUS FORMSOF VIOLENCE

AGAINST THEMNEED TO BE

CLASSIFIED AS AN‘ESSENTIAL

SERVICE’ BY THEGOVERNMENT

Should the lockdown be ended after the three-week period announcedon March 24 by the Prime Minister expires on April 14, or should itbe continued thereafter? This is the Catch-22 situation which the author-

ities in India are facing. Some States are already putting pressure on NarendraModi to extend the lockdown while Odisha has gone ahead and extend-ed its shutdown till April 30. The PM will take a call on extending the shutdown in other States on April 11. So let’s look at the alternatives beforethe Government and their consequences.

The consequences of lifting the lockdown: Ending the lockdown mayresult in a huge surge in Coronavirus cases and many more deaths. Tillnow the number of infected people in India is 5,865 and we have seen -169 deaths so far. Globally, the effect of the pandemic has been felt moreby the developed nations and the number of cases worldwide has touched15,36,205 with 89,887 deaths. Nations are fighting over medicines theythink can help them stop the march of the Coronavirus as it is universal-ly accepted that as yet there is no vaccine or cure for the disease (thoughresearch is going on at a war footing worldwide). Till now the only waywe know how to stop the spread of the virus in through social distanc-ing. The 21-day lockdown in India forced people to observe social dis-tancing and this meant that a Corona-positive person could not infect oth-ers. This enforced social distancing will end when the shutdown is liftedas people will start meeting each other in schools, factories, offices, busi-ness houses, media houses, courts, malls, restaurants, cinema halls, reli-gious places, trains, buses and so on, thereby spreading the disease.

If there is anything that we know about the Coronavirus with certain-ty is the fact that it is highly infectious and spreads rapidly when socialdistancing is not maintained. A single person may infect half a dozen oth-ers and each one of these may infect half a dozen more and so on, tillthousands of people are sick. This is like a chain reaction in an atomicbomb. So, if the Government lifts the lockdown, it will be endangering mil-lions of people who will start going about their business as usual, becauseeven if one or two in the crowd is a COVID-19 vector, they will set off thechain-reaction of infection, till it spreads to lakhs of people.

The biggest problem that India is facing is that there is little medicaltesting in the country for the Coronavirus as we simply do not have enoughtesting kits/equipment and so on, to meet the requirement of 1.3 billionpeople. Hence, it is difficult for us to plug the gaps and it is easy for per-sons infected with the Coronavirus to fall through the cracks as the dis-ease is asymptomatic for the first 15 days. It is because of the fear of anexplosion in Coronavirus cases that States are reluctant to lift the lock-down. While Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao is in favourof extending the shut down in his State, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh(UP), Assam, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand have indicated that they wouldnot fully lift the restrictions after April 14. In fact, in UP 15 districts havebeen sealed as they have emerged as COVID-19 hotspots.

The consequences of not lifting the lockdown: To continue with theshutdown may result in poor people dying of hunger in large numbers asthey are deprived of food, work and money, like the immigrant workers incities who had to trek hundreds of kilometres on foot to their villages. Awhopping 80-90 per cent of Indian workers are in the unorganised sec-tor of the economy and these are daily wage earners, having no securityof tenure. The shutdown has hit these workers and their families the hard-est. Reports are coming in from rural areas that farmers cannot sell theirproduce as there is no transport available to take it to the wholesale mar-kets, besides the fact that no one is coming to them. Hence their produceis often perishing unsold. Also, this is harvest time but the labourers whoused to work fields are not available, as they mostly used to come fromtowns or nearby districts, but are unable to do so because of the lock-down. Hence, farmers will suffer major harvest losses. The police forceseems to have become baton-happy these days and there are reports ofcops beating people found outside their homes, no matter what their rea-son for doing so. Consequently, people are afraid to step out of their hous-es. Many village shops have run out of stock as shopowners cannot replen-ish their goods. So people cannot buy essentials like medicines and gro-ceries. Business houses are suffering as the economy, which was alreadyin a bad shape prior to the lockdown, is crumbling even further. Internationalexports have taken a steep dive. Huge infrastructure projects are at a stand-still due to the lockdown. Many industries and sectors have closed downputting lakhs of workers out of jobs.

Government must strike a balance: Article 19(1)(b) of the Constitutiongrants citizens the right to assemble peacefully, Article 19(1)(d) grants themthe right to move freely throughout India and Article 19(1(g) grants themthe right to practice any profession, trade or vocation. No doubt these rightsare subject to reasonable restrictions, but it is well settled that for a restric-tion to be valid, it must not be excessive. While short lockdowns wouldbe valid, long shutdowns would not be good for the people or the econ-omy. Man is a social being. Human beings cannot survive for long in iso-lation since we are dependent on others for our existence. Hence socialdistancing may be possible for short periods but not for long ones. Indiais thus caught in a catch-22 situation, with hard choices to make.

(Katju is former Judge, Supreme Court and Kapadia is Advocate andSolicitor, Bombay High Court and Advocate on Record, Supreme Court)

No person shall be deprived of lifeor personal liberty exceptaccording to procedure estab-

lished by law,” says Article 21 of theIndian Constitution. The ability of ourgovernments to respond to the pan-demic must be extolled. Some heads ofStates, shedding their differences,appealed to humanity to fight united-ly against the Coronavirus.

As of now, all options are open,right from the use of ArtificialIntelligence (AI) to biotechnology towin the battle against the Coronavirus.

As the world is literally in a lockdown,Governments, right from China to theUS, are allowing private AI and dataanalytics firms to sweep through per-sonal data on phones for locations andso on. Facial recognition technology isalso deployed to search for people withCoronavirus. It is reported that com-panies like Tencent and Alibaba areworking with the Chinese Governmentto deploy these technologies andBeijing is using apps to collect travelhistory, time spent in infected placesand details of an individual’s interac-tions. So, in short, they know every per-sonal detail of an individual they wantto track, with the help of AI and apps.

In India, too, various Coronaapps are being made popular as ascreening and tracking tool.

In China, once the information iscollected, algorithms assign peoplehealth codes. These yellow, red andgreen codes notify whether one is tobe quarantined or not, whether one canuse the public transport or not. Most

of this data collection is not by choiceof the citizen. AI reports back to theGovernment if the individual hasgiven inconsistent answers or simplylied. Coercive actions follow that.The Government has superseded allprivacy conventions and is freelyallowing private companies to look intophones, computers, public cameras toachieve the results. The Chinese Statehas an extensive and often-called“Black Mirror-esque and dark” socialcredit system, which allows for mon-itoring of each action and behaviour.If the behaviour is aligned with theState, you are rewarded, otherwise youcan’t even board a train.

Looking Westward, in England SkyNews reports, “The Government isworking with mobile network O2 toanalyse anonymous smartphone loca-tion data to see whether people are fol-lowing its social distancing guidelines.”Israel is using mobile surveillance tosend users customised messages aboutwhether they are infected or not.

Social media firms like Facebook,Google and so on, are doing their bit,too, by giving Governments our data.So no matter where you are, theCoronavirus crisis has given “BigBrother” an excuse to watch you all thetime. And remember it is for “publichealth and your own good.” And ofcourse we have nothing to hide.

The stakes are getting higher as theUS-China trade wars have entered anew horizon of AI-based technology.Both nations are cognisant of the enor-mous power of AI-based surveillanceand medical technology. No friend ofthe Silicon Valley, US President DonaldTrump now has taken assistance froma company called BlueDot to create amass surveillance system to monitorpeople for COVID-19. The USGovernment last year had alreadytried to outlaw encryption and forcedFacebook to give it access to WhatsAppmessages. It is only a matter of timebefore other Silicon Valley giants likeMicrosoft and so on begin their dal-

liance with the White House to birththe most sophisticated reconnaissancesystems engineered to feed theGovernment your per-minute heartrate. Emergency legislations are intro-duced across the world to expedientdata collection and give theGovernment “war-like situation” pow-ers. In a statement, Kamran Khan ofBluedot told the media, “We know thatgovernments may not be relied uponto provide information in a timely fash-ion. This reflects the larger disbelief ingovernments and democratic institu-tions at large by this class of tech-nocrats.”

I don’t doubt the noble intentionsof our Governments and private com-panies in their efforts to controlCOVID-19 but the AI-based systemsthey are creating do force us to beg thequestion, what happens to mass sur-veillance-based systems after COVID-19 goes away? Will the mass surveil-lance, too, go away or evolve further?Can citizens of the world be certain it

won’t be misused? Coupled with 5G technology, this

system will be extremely powerful andits master will be the overlord of ourplanet. One can only think of AbrahamLincoln’s warning that, “Nearly allmen can stand adversity but if you wantto test a man’s character, give himpower.” What will happen to our lead-ers when they can pry into our lives onthe touch of a button. This system willopen up a Pandora’s box of control.People of the world must be very care-ful, for under the garb of remedies ofCOVID-19, lurks a far sinister danger.AI-based mass surveillance slithers intoour lives with our approval. As fearreigns, neighbour has already turnedagainst neighbour. People of Asiandescent are becoming Hitler’s Jews. Asnews of racial hatred is rising, we areglobally descending into chaos. Wehave to ensure the virus doesn’t aidanother holocaust of hate and fearempowered by technology. From thegas chambers to the nuclear bomb, they

were all cutting-edge science of theirtime and yet they served Satanic ends.Champions of technology and sciencelike Elon Musk and Stephen Hawkingalong with other scientists, have alreadycautioned the world against AI. In factMusk goes on to say that, “AI is moredangerous than nuclear weapons.” Weneed to curb indiscriminate use of AI-based technology, especially applica-tions that loot our privacy and rights.Democracy, privacy and humanityare threatened by private technocrat-ic tools like AI-based surveillance. Thecrisis is not an excuse to free them fromregulation, we need to have a “pre-nup-tial” agreement with these firms andtechnology.

We all agree that the Corona cri-sis must be stopped by all means nec-essary but we should be very carefulthat our remedies don’t seed the nextdisease — a mass surveillance State.

(The writer is Programme Directorfor Policy and Outreach at the NationalSeed Association of India)

Big Brother is watching behind COVID maskWe all agree that the Coronavirus crisis must be stopped by all means necessary but we should be very careful that our AI-based

remedies don’t seed the next disease — a mass surveillance State

INDRA SHEKHAR SINGH

HYDERABAD | FRIDAY | APRIL 10, 2020

www.dailypioneer.com

HYDERABAD | FRIDAY | APRIL 10, 2020 money 08

CAPSULE

HMSI pledgesfinancial support todealers amidlockdown

JSPL promotercompanies repay Rs391 crore debtNew Delhi: Three promotercompanies of JSPL have repaidan amount totalling Rs 391crore to the lenders, said acompany official. Thecompanies are OpelinaSustainable Services Ltd, OPJTrading Private Ltd and GaganInfra Energy Ltd. "Thesepromoter companies haverepaid loans of around Rs 391crore out of total debt amountRs 747 crore as on December3, 2019," the official said. Thesaid promoter companies havealso informed the exchangesabout the development, hesaid. "With this repayment, thecurrent debt at promoter levelunder loan against sharesstands at only Rs 356 crore,"he said. Part of the USD 25-billion OP Jindal Group, JSPLhas presence in steel, power,mining and infrastructuresectors.

New Delhi: Honda Motorcycleand Scooter India (HMSI) onThursday said it has lined up aslew of measures, includingbuyback of unsold BS-IVstock, in order to support itssales partners during theunprecedented nationwidelockdown due to thecoronavirus pandemic. Thetwo-wheeler major said itplans to buy back the BS-IVinventory lying unsold withfew dealers, majorly in Delhi-NCR area, and provideadvanced payments ofincentives andreimbursements across thethree functions -- sales,service and spare parts. Thecompany will also entirely bearthe interest cost of BS-VIinventory (physical plustransit) with the dealers for the21 days of the lockdown, itadded.

Covid-19: Nasscom seeksgovt help for BPM, GCCsPNS n NEW DELHI

IT industry body Nasscomhas sought a relief packagefrom the government, includ-ing allowing bench employeesto be paid only minimumwages, to prevent job losses inbusiness process management(BPM) and global capabilitycentres (GCC) sectors.

Nasscom said BPM, GCCand parts of IT industry areoperating at maximum 70 percent capacity utilisation inwake of the lockdown imposedto contain the spread of thecoronavirus infection in thecountry.

Assuming that 20 per cent ofthe industry is idle, salarycosts would be huge for com-panies that employ lakhs ofworkers, it added.

Nasscom urged that theyshould be allowed to pay benchemployees only minimumwages along with statutorilyentitlements.

"In the absence of work, itwill be difficult for companiesto pay regular incomes to theemployees on bench. This willensure such employees arepaid as per the statutoryrequirements along with other

entitlements," it added.Employees on bench are

those who aren't working onany project for the time beingbut remain on the rolls andreceive regular salary from thecompany.

Nasscom suggested intro-duction of a furlough scheme,like one in the UK where forthe period of lockdown,employee stay on the rolls ofthe companies without salaries.

During this period, the gov-ernment pays 50 per cent of the

employees' salary (no furthercontribution from company)and during that period, theaccruals of the employee alsocease.

This is required immediate-ly to prevent job losses whichwill be the case after April 15,Nasscom argued.

It has also asked the govern-ment to expand its scheme forbearing employer and employ-ee contribution towardsProvident Fund for the nextthree months.

"This (present scheme) is forthose establishments whichhave up to 100 employees and90 per cent of them earn lessthan Rs 15,000. Suggest thatthis be extended to all estab-lishments without the cap of100 employees and 90 per centof them earning less than Rs15,000.

"Government may, however,cap the contribution of 24 percent up-to a wage amount notexceeding Rs 15,000," it said.

This will provide a signifi-cant benefit particularly toB P M / I T - e n a b l e dservices/GCCs companies, itadded.

The industry body suggest-ed that an option be providedto employers for a one-timePF/ESI opt-out option toreduce the costs, withoutaffecting take home salarypresently. This, it said, willenable greater take home salaryfor employees as pay hikes aredifficult.

The coronavirus outbtreakacross the globe has had a dis-ruptive impact on businesses,demand and supply of prod-ucts, services as also cash flowof firms due to slowing eco-nomic activity.

Nasscom said BPM, GCC and parts of ITindustry are operating at maximum 70per cent capacity utilisation

PNS n NEW DELHI

The domestic cement indus-try is likely to face yet anoth-er decline in demand inFY21 after posting negativegrowth last fiscal, IndiaRatings and Research said.

The ratings agency expectsa "washout" in April 2020 dueto the ongoing lockdown,followed by demand declineof around 40 per cent in May.However, it expects a gradualrecovery thereafter.

The agency expects a lowsingle-digit growth in Q2(July-September) period anda significant recovery hap-pening only in Q3 (October-December).

Cement demand haddeclined in FY20, which was

only the second instance of adecline in the past 15 years,after the demonetisationaffected FY17.

India Ratings andResearch expects successivedeclines in cement demandFY21, following the FY20trend, with growth plungingto a historical low of negative4-5 per cent yoy given thenation-wide lockdown till14 April 2020," it said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Micro, small and mediumenterprises (MSME) exporterswill be impacted more by thecurrent lockdown on accountof COVID-19 pandemic asthe sector accounts for over 45per cent of the country's totaloutbound shipments, accord-ing to trade experts.

They said the magnitude ofthe impact on MSMEexporters can be gauged fromthe statement of the WorldTrade Organisation (WTO)which has projected that glob-al trade in goods is set todecline steeply between 13 percent and 32 per cent in 2020as countries across the worldare battling the pandemic.

The sector also contributesabout 25 per cent to the coun-try's GDP (Gross DomesticProduct) from service activi-ties and over 33 per cent to themanufacturing output ofIndia. Biswajit Dhar, a profes-sor of economics at JawaharlalNehru University, said thegovernment should immedi-ately come out with an incen-tive package for exporters asthe current crisis will 'severe-ly' hit the MSME sector.

"India will suffer very badlyand the biggest impact will beon the MSME exporters. They

will also face issues in callingback their workers as severalof them have migrated totheir villages and towns," hesaid. He said several countries,including the US, Japan andGermany, have announcedincentive packages,

"Incentives will helpexporters to resume the workimmediately after things startgetting normal, otherwisethey will not be able to restoretheir global buyers," Dharadded. Rakesh Mohan Joshi,professor at Indian Institute of

Foreign Trade (IIFT), saidthe outbreak of COVID-19has put economies across theworld on a virtual standstill.

"India's major export itemssuch as petrochemicals, gemsand jewellery, automobiles andauto components, cotton yarnsand textiles, apparels, marineproducts, bovine meat amongothers are likely to receive a joltprimarily due to slump indemand in its major marketsand disruption of supplychains which are integratedacross countries," he said.

‘Ready to fight invisible, invasive Covid-19’PNS n NEW DELHI

The CRPF is all geared to"fight the invisible and invasiveenemy" in the form of the coro-navirus pandemic in the coun-try, the chief of the force saidon Thursday.

In a communication to histroops on the occasion of the'Valour day' of the force, CRPFDirector General (DG) A PMaheshwari asked them to bestrong and fit for serving thecountry during these toughtimes.

"Dear friends, when goinggets tough, the tough getsgoing. Toughness is our trade-mark..."

"Today, the entire nation isfacing a tough time due toCOVID-19. I am happy thatbeing tough yourself, you allhave geared up to help peoplefight the invisible and invasive

enemy," he said.The DG said "all pro-

grammes related to the day arefor the time being suspended"in view of the viral outbreak.

"However, we in ourthoughts and ethos uphold thedignity of the day," he said.

It was on April 9,1965 atSardar Post in Gujarat that onlytwo companies of CRPF heroesproved tough enough for a full

brigade of Pakistani army,making them bite the dust,Maheshwari said.

"We are and will always beproud of their valour and sac-rifice for the motherland," hesaid.

President Ram Nath Kovindsaid the Central Reserve PoliceForce men, who were killed inaction, wrote a "golden histo-ry" on this day with their

extraordinary bravery, patrio-tism and sacrifice.

He also paid his tributes tothe martyrs in a message issuedover Twitter.

Prime Minister NarendraModi also lauded the braveryof the force.

"The courage of @crpfindiais widely known. On CRPFValour Day today, I salute thisbrave force and remember thebravery of our CRPF person-nel in Gujarat's Sardar PatelPost in 1965. The sacrifices ofthe brave martyrs will never beforgotten," the PM tweeted.

Union home minister AmitShah wished the force, sayinga small contingent of the force

created history by defeating theinvading enemy army that wasseveral times larger than them.

"Congratulations to every-one and salute to our bravemartyrs of CRPF. 'Shauryadivas' is a symbol ofindomitable courage, valourand sacrifice," Shah said onTwitter.

The fight-back by the force,which was posted for borderguarding duties that time, ismentioned as one of the glori-ous chapters in military histo-ry of the nation when only twocompanies (about 150 person-nel) of the force stood theirground and repulsed thePakistani attack.

PNS n MUMBAI

Equity benchmark Sensex ral-lied over 1,265 points onThursday, led by robust buyingin auto, financial and IT stocksamid hopes of a second stim-ulus package from the govern-ment to mitigate the blow ofthe Covid-19 lockdown.

After hitting a high of31,225.20 during the day, the30-share BSE barometer ended1,265.66 points or 4.23 per centhigher at 31,159.62.

Similarly, the NSE Niftysoared 363.15 points, or 4.15per cent, to 9,111.90.

Mahindra and Mahindrawas the top gainer in theSensex pack, surging over 16per cent, followed by Maruti,

Titan, Bajaj Finance, HDFC,Bajaj Auto and HeroMotoCorp.

On the other hand, HUL,Tech Mahindra, IndusIndBank and Nestle were the lag-

gards."Indian markets started trad-

ing on a positive note takingupbeat cues from its Asianpeers in the morning session aspolicymakers discussed the

process of reopening the glob-al economy as data showed aslowing spread of Covid-19,"said Narendra Solanki, Head-Equity Research(Fundamental), Anand Rathi.

During the afternoon ses-sion, market further strength-ened on back of expectations ofsecond stimulus package esti-mated at around Rs 1 lakh croreand focus on helping small andmedium businesses, which led toboth broad-based buying andalso triggered some short cover-ing, he added.

A Bank of America Securitiesreport said the Centre may soonannounce another fiscal packagewhich may be almost similar tothe Rs 1.75 lakh crore stimulusunveiled last month.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Apparel retailers are expectedto offer large-scale discounts toclear old stocks and also perkup consumer sentiments oncethe lockdown is lifted, accord-ing to industry players.

A series of lockdownsaround the world has severe-ly impacted the fashion retailecosystem as stores all over theworld shuttered, resulting incancellations of late Summerand Autumn merchandise anda build-up of unsold Summer2020 within the business, theysaid.

Benetton India ManagingDirector and CEO SundeepChugh told PTI that although"there is certainly no specificdiscounting strategy post lock-down, as a brand we wouldwant to uplift the sentiments ofour consumers through a wel-come-back strategy encapsu-lating season specific offers andengagements at our stores".

Chugh further said,"Weanticipate the lockdown wouldbe lifted by/during mid-sea-son, and that's the time whengenerally mid-season offersprevail and we would mostlyalign with the same as per themarket ecosystem."

Moreover, he said,"Benetton

is trying to fully adhere to gov-ernment regulations and wewant to take all decisions intandem with the government'sinstructions.”

Spykar Lifestyles CEOSanjay Vakharia also said thesituation would depend entire-ly on how long does the lock-down continue and when therestrictions would be eased.

"Also whether lifestyle busi-nesses will be the last to openor they will open along withthe rest is to be seen. But if thelockdown is lifted in thismonth we may be at the begin-ning of the Spring Summerseason, not necessitating anearly end of season sale.However, if opening is delayed,the Spring summer will be ondiscount then," he said.

Giving a global perspective,Forever New CountryManager Dhruv Bogra saidCOVID-19 crisis seriously dis-rupted the global supply chainfor fashion early this year.

Covid-19 pandemic to hit MSMEexporters more: Trade experts

Godrej Consumer partnersZomato, ShopKirana, Zoomcar PNS n NEW DELHI

FMCG major GodrejConsumer Products Limited(GCPL) on Thursdayannounced partnership withfood delivery app Zomato,B2B supply chain startupShopKirana and car rentalcompany Zoomcar for deliveryof essential goods during lock-down.

Zomato will deliver GCPLproducts directly to consumersat their doorsteps whileShopKirana will deliver themto individual retailers by con-necting with GCPL directly,said a statement.

Zoomcar, self-drive mobil-ity platform, will facilitatetimely delivery of various

essential products under thepersonal care, hair care, homecare and household insecticidecategories, to distributors, itadded.

Earlier three FMCG makers- ITC Foods, Marico andBritannia - had announcedpartenships with several firmsto get their products deliveredat consumer's doorsteps byusing the service of app-based

aggregators."We have embarked on three

unique collaborations toempower communities andcontribute to the greater causeof curbing this pandemic'sspread," GCPL CEO - India &SAARC Sunil Kataria said.

GCPL's home delivery ini-tiative will be listed underZomato's new app feature'Zomato Market'.

Worldwidesemiconductorrevenue todecline 0.9%PNS n BENGALURU

Due to the impact of thecoronavirus on semicon-ductor supply and demand,worldwide semiconductorrevenue is forecast todecline 0.9 per cent in 2020,according to Gartner Inc.

This is down from theprevious quarters forecast of12.5 per cent growth, theresearch and advisory firmsaid.

The wide spread ofCOVID-19 across the worldand the resulting strongactions by governments tocontain the spread will havea far more severe impact ondemand than initially pre-dicted, said RichardGordon, research practicevice-president at Gartner,was quoted as saying in astatement.

Blue Dartcuts retailtariff rates by25 per cent PNS n NEW DELHI

Express logistics servicesprovider Blue Dart Expresson Thursday said it hasreduced retail tariff prices by25 per cent, aiding the coun-try in its fight against thecoronavirus crisis.

Blue Dart Express, part ofDeutsche Post DHL Group(DPDHL), operates six ded-icated Boeing 757 freighterseach with a capacity of 34tonnes.

These aircraft have beenoperating during the lock-down period across Indiancities enabling essential ship-ments like medical equip-ment and pharmaceuticalproducts reach the firstresponders in hospitals andmedical institutions with thepromise of secure and time-ly deliveries.

Apparel retailers likely to offer hugediscounts after lifting of lockdown

The sector also contributes about 25per cent to the country's GDP (GrossDomestic Product) from serviceactivities

RBI hopes monetary,fiscal measures to spur eco activity PNS n MUMBAI

Amid lockdowns and globalslowdown adversely impactingthe economic activity, the RBIon Thursday expressed hopethat recent monetary and fis-cal measures will mitigate theimpact of COVID-19 ondomestic demand and spurgrowth once the normalcy isrestored.

Observing that it was diffi-cult to make growth projec-tions at this point of time, theReserve Bank in its MonetaryPolicy Report said the lock-down following the outbreakof COVID-19 and expectedcontraction in global outlookwould weigh heavily on thegrowth outlook.

It said prior to the outbreak,the outlook for growth for2020-21 was looking up.

The RBI noted that thebumper rabi harvest and high-

er food prices during 2019-20provided conducive condi-tions for the strengthening ofrural demand, the transmis-sion of past reductions in thepolicy rate to bank lendingrates has been improving, andreductions in the tax rates andmeasures to boost rural andinfrastructurespending weredirected at boosting domesticdemand more generally.

"The COVID-19 pandemichas drastically altered thisoutlook," the report said, andadded the global economy isexpected to slump into reces-sion in 2020, as post-COVIDprojections indicate.

NIIT’s free course tofight against Covid-19PNS n NEW DELHI

Skills and talent developmentcompany NIIT Ltd onThursday said it has speciallydesigned and launched a'Remote Work Excellence Kit'course to support the fightagainst Covid-19 crisis. Aimedat helping facilitate remoteworking for adults, the RemoteWork Excellence Kit is suitedfor corporate executives, smalland medium businesspersons,and management students, astatement said.

The online course coversareas such as how to set up aremote office, establishing aremote presence, setting upand running virtual meetings,time management while work-ing from home, remote busi-ness etiquettes, and also best

practices, it added."It is abundantly clear that

the COVID-19 pandemic notonly poses a massive healthchallenge, it will also lead toeconomic slowdown and achange in how businesses areconducted worldwide,” NIITLtd Vice Chairman andManaging Director VijayThadani said. In the immedi-ate term, work from home isimportant to not only main-tain social distancing but alsoas a means of keeping theeconomy ticking, he pointedout.

Going forward, it has thepotential to become a normrather than an exception andthe team has been able toquickly develop this usefuland timely Remote WorkExcellence kit, Thadani said.

Cement industry to seesuccessive decline

Sensex rallies over 1,265 pts; Nifty reclaims 9,100 level

A series oflockdowns aroundthe world hasseverely impactedthe fashion retailecosystem

CRPF DG AP Maheshwari asked them tobe strong and fit for serving the countryduring these tough times

Follow us on@TheDailyPioneerfacebook.com/dailypioneer

FridayApril 10, 2020

Muskurayega Hyderabad!s the world bat-tles theCoronaviruspandemic, peo-ple are bom-barded with sad

and negative news often.Most of the news covereddaily tends to spread fear,panic, and hopelessness.And at a time when half-world is locked up indoorsfor weeks together, this isthe last thing one wouldwant to hear and feel.

To address this, bloggersfrom the city came up witha unique concept to bringsmiles on people’s faces.Aptly titled ‘MuskurayegaHyderabad,’ the idea is toboost the morale ofHyderabadis and let themknow that “this too shallpass.”

Muskurayega Hyderabadis the brainchild of citybloggers Namrata Sadhvaniand Shweta Parihar, whoaim to encourage their fel-low citizens to write about

their delightful momentsduring these times of dis-tress and panic with a pic-ture that represents hope.

Namrata Sadhvani tellsus, “We want people toextend their support toeach other in times

of crisis.The idea serves as an excel-lent way to spread smiles.”

Shweta seconds her say-ing, “People are fed up withnegative news and as socialmedia influencers, we’remaking the right use of our

popularity by widening thechances of hope.”

Sab Saath Hasenge tabhitoh#MuskurayegaHyderabad isinspired by

#MuskurayegaIndia cam-paign, reminding people ofall the happy times they’veseen and that we’ll all getthrough this too, soon.

Motivated by TelanganaChief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao’s

speech, both the bloggersbelieve social media mustpropagate more positivity.“All we know is that hope isthe most powerful compo-nent in these times of suf-fering and we are all in thistogether. We will be overthis, soon,” says Namrata.

In an attempt to bringpositivity amid this virus,Muskurayega Hyderabad issending out a message thatevery person, whether richor poor, regardless of theirreligion, can contribute andovercome this pandemic.“It’s a way to show solidari-ty while also spreadinghope and smiles,” they say.

To participate in the#MuskurayegaHyderabad,all you have to do is post ahappy picture of yourself inquarantine on your socialmedia handle with the#MuskureyegaHyderabadand mentioning that onething you’re looking for-ward to indulging in, oncethe lockdown ends.

While people arelocked inside homeand are exposed to

news that iscreating panic

about the ongoingpandemic, some

bloggers in the cityare using social

media platforms tospread smiles and a

message of hope, finds

SHIKHADUGGAL

A

TIPS TO KEEP PETS ENGAGED

Meet the brothersLIFTING SPIRITS with short videos

nspiration pushespeople to achievetheir goals andguides them toreach heights.Many people give

up easily on what they’vestarted without realising thepower they possess inachieving their dreams. ThisHyderabad-based youth whois suffering from MND(Motor Neuron Disease) isfighting the disease everyday and is setting an exam-ple to many people thatnothing can stop them fromachieving what they desire.Inspired by the way hisbrother is fighting the dis-ease, Sandeep along with hisbrother Phanideep started aYouTube channel TeluguGeeks and are making shortvideos to encourage andmotivate people aroundthem.

Speaking about his broth-er Phanideep, who suffersfrom MND that left himparalysed, Sandeep says, “Weare a happy-go-lucky family.All of a sudden, MND struckmy brother. Doctors told us

that he can survive only forsix months left. ButPhanideep defied destinyand is living happily formore than seven years sincethe disease hit him. He is aninspiration to many whogive up on life. He can’t con-verse or move properly but isdoing all he can to inspirepeople through our YouTubechannel.”

On how ‘Telugu Geeks’took shape, Sandeep shares,“We wanted to encourageand motivate people aroundus that are suffering withvarious issues. We started thechannel in 2016 and havebeen making short videosabout various psychologicalissues and how to deal withthem in life ever since. Webelieve that when we openup about our issues withsomeone, there is a sense ofrelief. Thus, we share storiesof people who defied all oddsto succeed in life.”

The duo reads manyinspirational and self-helpbooks to collate and sum-marise important pointsfrom them and use these

points to make a ten-minutevideo. “We read real-life sto-ries of people and under-stand how they overcamevarious problems beforeattaining success. We com-pile important points fromtheir lives and summarisethe book. Later, we work onhow to make put thesepoints into a video formatand then work on preparingthe script. My brotherPhanideep helps with theediting while I do the voice-over,” Sandeep explains.

The brothers also narratebiographies of people likeSteve Jobs and other promi-nent ones who are an inspi-ration to many. “All ourefforts are aimed at remov-ing negativity from peopleand inspiring them to takeup what they want to achievein life. We have been receiv-ing good feedback from ouraudience. They tell us ourvideos helped them get overcertain issues in their life. Itgives us utmost satisfactionknowing our efforts havebeen fruitful,” Sandeep con-cludes.

Hyderabad-based brothers Sandeep and Phanideepstarted a YouTube channel — Telugu Geeks — tohelp people deal with psychological issues, finds V SATEESH REDDY

Lockdown‘tails’

Most of the world isunder lockdown right

now to control thespread of

Coronavirus. But onething that plagues

the minds of peopleis the health of theirdogs. The lockdownhas not only brought

human’s life to agrinding halt, but

also that of our furryfriends.

K RAMYA SREEtalks to pet parentsand vets to find out

how we can keep ourpets safe and

entertainedat home

ver since Indiaentered lockdown,people have beenworried sick overthe impact of con-fining their pets at

home. The dogs and cats whichwere accustomed to going topet parks and for long eveningwalks, are now having tomake do with just a shortwalk, enough to justattend nature’s call, aspet parents preferreturning home assoon as possible.Animals, boththe ones at ho-me and strays,need your loveduring thesetrying times.

This 21-daylockdown peri-od is a goldenopportunity forpet parents toteach their furryfriends new com-mands and tricks. But afew burning questions onpets health that has beenhaunting people are: Can youtake them outside? How canthey exercise? Are they suscep-tible to contracting and spread-ing the virus?

Answers to these questionsare still unclear as medical pro-fessionals search for solutions.While there is nothing muchone can do than staying home,we spoke to a few pet loversand activists on steps to ensurethat your furry friends’ healthdoes not get affected duringthe lockdown.

Sajan Chowdary, member ofan animal welfare board andparent to a German shepherdand Indie says, “It’s been proventime and again that pets aren’tcarriers. So why quarantinethem? One can take safety mea-sures like wiping their pawswith a sanitiser or a medicatedsoap but the onus mainly lieson humans as we have this sub-standard habit of spitting on theroads. This can in turn end upsticking to their paws and canenter your home.”

Sajan makes sure his pets are

being vaccinated routinely evenduring these distressing times.“Showering your pet withtreats and love is not enough.Without exercise, pets, espe-cially the larger breeds, tend toget obese easily,” he adds.

K Navya,parent to a Pomerenian and atechie by profession talks aboutways to keep one’s pet healthy.She says, “One of the mostcommon ways to exercise yourdog is taking them for a walk. Ifyou’re healthy enough, walkingand running your pet is recom-mended. When you go outside,avoid touchingunnecessary surfacesand wash yourhands as soonas you

return home. Wash your pet’spaws when you return home.”

“If you are scared to ventureon to the streets even for 30minutes, making your pets runor play fetch on your building’sterrace or parking lot is also agood option,” she adds.

Speaking about ways to keepone’s pet active despite avoid-

ing walks, T Anusha Reddy, apet parent and an actor by

profession says, “Pets arecurious in nature and

love challenges, espe-cially ones thatreward them. Tryhiding treats orstuff their favouritefood inside one oftheir toys. Theyalso like games likehide-and-seek. Tryto entertain them

by playing suchgames.”

While the questionstill remains if animals

can contract the virus, DrRP Singh, a veternarian

tells us steps to ensure thepets are safe. He said, “Avoidtaking your dog to places wherethere are many people. Even ifyou are taking them for walk,take them during uncommonhours. Ensure you wipe theirpaws and clean their coat. Alsoensure you avoid taking themto places where there is grassand moisture. Social distancingis necessary for pets too.”

E

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND:o Entertain your pets with toys or anything possible. Don’t

let them remain idle.o Keep your pet supplies in stocko Train your pets to urinate in the backyard if you are

unable to go out completelyo Keep two metres distance while taking them for a walk

and avoid crowded placeso Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds when you

return home.o Don’t let your pet lick surfaces outside.

(With inputs from Shikha Duggal)

I

Anusha Reddy

K Navya

scar-winningcomposer ARRahman andlyricist PrasoonJoshi don’tseem happy

with a new recreated ver-sion of their 2009 gem,Masakali. The duo hadcreated the song forRakeysh OmprakashMehra’s film Delhi-6, andon Thursday joined agrowing band of socialmedia users who haveconveyed their disap-pointment over the newnumber.

Without mentioning thename of Masakali 2.0,Rahman tweeted: “Noshort cuts, properly com-missioned, sleepless nights,writes and re-writes. Over200 musicians, 365 days ofcreative brainstormingwith the main aim to pro-duce music that can lastgenerations. A team of aDirector, a Composer, anda Lyric supported byactors, dance directors anda relentless film crew.”

Along with it, Rahmanshared a link of the origi-nal song, which makes it

obvious what he isreferring to.

Sonam Kapoor, onwhom the original songwas picturised, retweet-ed Rahman’s tweet.

Lyricist Prasoon Joshiurged fans to stand fororiginality. “All songswritten for #Delhi6including #Masakaliclose to heart, sad to seewhen original creation of@arrahman@prasoon-joshi_ &singer@_MohitChauhan insen-sitively utilised,”Joshi wrote.

inger Kanika Kapoor,who had tested posi-tive for Covid-19 lastmonth, has finallyreturned home aftertreatment Kanika was

being treated at a Lucknow hos-pital for almost two weeks.

Kanika’s brother Anurag con-firmed the news. “Yes, Kanikais back. We all are very happy.She is doing fine now,” he said.He added that she has notbeen advised any precautionsby her doctors and is doing

well.Anurag also mentioned how

no one that she came in con-tact with since her return

from UK has tested positivefor the disease. “We areglad Kanika has recov-ered and what’s even bet-ter is that none of thepeople who she came

in contact with havetested positive,” hesaid.

Kanika was dis-charged from hos-pital on April 6after her sixthoverall and sec-

ond negative testfor Coronavirus. Shewill now be interro-

gated by the UttarPradesh Policeafter she com-pletes the 14-dayquarantine peri-od, as advised

by the doc-tors.

10

Hyderabad Friday April 10, 2020 what’s brewing?

O

Kanika returns home, no one

she came in contact with tested

+ve for Covid-19, says brother

Sis newtrackLoca iswowingthe fans,and pop

star Yo Yo HoneySingh is already allset to come up with

his next song, titledMoscow Suka. The

upcoming number,featuring Neha Kakkar,will be a mix of Punjabiand Russian language.

“Moscow Suka com-ing on April 12. Yougonna love it,” he wrote.

The Russian vocals weregiven by EkaterinaSizova.

Earlier on Wednesdayafternoon, Honey Singhshared that he is comingup with a new bilingualsong and asked fans toguess which interna-tional language he hasused in the track.

“The song I am drop-ping is going to be aPunjabi and interna-tionalcollaboration....comingsoon,” Honey Singhposted.

Honey Singh gainedinstant stardom withhits such as Main shara-bi, Angrezi beat andLungi dance.

He was missing fromthe limelight around2016-2017 but he madea stunning comebackwith the hits Dil choriand Chhote chhote pegin the film Sonu Ke TituKi Sweety.

His latest numberLoca has garnered over84 million views onYouTube at the lastcount.

Honey Singh to come

up with a bilingual song

h

ollywood star VarunDhawan will be huntingfor the best talent amongyoungsters across thenation through an onlinetalent hunt show titled

Entertainer No 1.Sharing the details of the show,

Varun said, “Through this newshow, we are seeking to entertainmillions of fellow Indians as webring in some much-needed pos-itivity. I’m looking forward todelivering the best entertainmentin collaboration with people fromacross India. Our country is a

treasure trove of talent and I trulybelieve that anyone should havethe opportunity to showcase theirentertainment skills.”

The stay-home reality show islaunching on Flipkart video incollaboration with Varun. Theactor believes that such concep-tual shows are important to staypositive as the world is goingthrough a tough time due to theCOVID19 pandemic.

Anyone who is 13 years orabove can record their perfor-mance video and upload thevideo directly in the Flipkart

video section andover the period ofeight weeks Varun,along with a panelof judges, will gothrough the processof deciding upon thebest talent.

Varun said, “Giventhe unique format ofthe show, I’m lookingforward to some excitingentries from across Indiaand can't wait to get on thisentertaining rollercoaster ridethat begins next week.”

BVarun Dhawan in onlinetalent hunt show

Rahman, Prasoon Joshi upset withrecreated version of Masakali

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

ith Parasuramset to directsuperstarMahesh Babuup next,rumours about

his proposed project withNaga Chaitanya (tenta-tively title NageswaraRao) shelved completelyhave done the roundssometime back. Chay fanswere particularly unhap-py with the fact that thedirector gave a coldshoulder to their actorafter formally announcingthe project last December.However, we have learntfrom multiple sourcesthat the director will beworking with Chay —immediately after hewraps up Mahesh’s film.

While ideally directorswho work with stars ofMahesh’s standing tend todo their next with stars ofsimilar repute, Parasuramhas assured Chay that hewill be directing the actorcome what may next year.A source close to thedevelopment tells us, “Itwas an unfortunate situa-

tion that Parasuram sawhimself in earlier thisFebruary. He got the nodof Mahesh for a project lastyear itself but as the actorwas committed to VamshiPaidipally’s next after he

wraps up SarileruNeekevvaru, he toldParasuram that he candirect a new film in theinterim and can come backto him towards the secondhalf of 2020. However, littledid he think that Maheshwould reject Paidipally’s

script and would approachhim later! As it has beenhis wish to direct a star ofMahesh’s stature for thepast two years, he acceptedthe offer.”

The next stop forParasuram was to have aword with Chay to ensurehis smooth transition toMahesh’s film. “It wasn’t asif the director acceptedMahesh’s offer withoutinforming Chay. Being agentleman that he is, hemet Chay multiple timesand told him about hiswish of taking the nextleap in his career. Chayunderstood it. At the sametime, he informed Chaythat there is no waythat he would missan opportunity todirect him, as thestory of NageswaraRao is dear to him.They both mutuallyagreed to team upnext year for 14 ReelsPlus. So the questionof Nageswara Raobeing shelved alto-gether doesn’t arise,”the source concludes.

Parasuramhas assuredChay thathe will bedirecting theactor comewhat maynext year,findsNAGARAJGOUD

Hyderabad Friday April 10, 2020

W

11

tollywoodChay-Parasuram

film to roll NEXT YEAR

THE DIRECTORINFORMED CHAYTHAT THERE ISNO WAY THAT HEWOULD MISS ANOPPORTUNITY TODIRECT HIM, ASTHE STORY OFNAGESWARA RAOIS DEAR TO HIM

MEGA BROTHERSbond over Lord Hanuman

peculations aboutMaruthi Dasari doinghis next with RamPothineni have beenrife for the past onemonth or so. With

Ram too not announcing hisnext yet, having wrapped up theshoot of Red sometime back,speculations only gained fur-ther momentum. However, thedirector chose to put a lid on allrumours. Taking to Twitter, heclarified that he is still penning

the script of his next and hasn’tmet any actor in this regard. “Sawfew articles about my next film ina section of media. Thanks forthe interestbut I am

still writing script and it will takesome time to finish it. I will letyou know once I am done with it.This is the only news I have,” thedirector posted.

The director, who has deliv-ered his biggest hit last year

with Prathiroju Pandage, isbelieved to collaborating

with GA2 Pictures andUV Creations again.

n a series of tweets,Megastar Chiranjeevi,who has taken tosocial media like a fishto water, explained hisconnect to Lord

Hanuman on HanumanJayanthi. “I won a picture ofLord Hanuman in a lottery in

1962. I’ve preserved it and itis with me the way it waswhen I first won it. Whenmy dad saw the picture,he told me that its facialfeatures resembled tomine. Decades later in2002, Bapu (director)

gifted me a Hanuman picture.He told me later, ‘I could drawonly your features as I starteddrawing it. Which is why, Ididn’t change it’. I reproducedhis picture on a marble stoneand got it placed in my prayerhall,” Chiru, an ardent devoteeof Lord Hanuman, postedgoing down the memory lane.His posts were an instant hit asthey received many likes andre-tweets.

On Thursday, replying tohis elder brother’s tweet,Pawan Kalyan shared an inter-esting anecdote. “Hanumanji

worship came into our homethrough my brother-Chiranjeevi garu; & that mademy father to transform froman atheist& communist toLord Rama Devotee. I used torecite Chalisa 108 times in cer-tain days of my teen age.JaiHanuman (sic),” he posted onTwitter.

Meanwhile, Chiru hasinformed that food essen-tials—raised through fundsfrom Corona Crisis Chairty—are being door delivered to thedaily wage employees of theindustry with due care.

I

S THE DIRECTORCLARIFIED THAT HE ISSTILL PENNING THESCRIPT OF HIS NEXTAND HASN’T MET ANYACTOR IN THIS REGARD

MARUTHI dismisses reportsabout his next with Ram

MOHAN BABUdistributes 2

tonnes of veggies

oing his bit to help people who have been hit badly byCoronavirus, actor Mohan Babu has donated vegetables weigh-ing two tons to three villages of Andhra Pradesh. With the helpof his staff from Vidyanikentan educational institutions, whichhe runs in Tirupati, the actor distributed vegetables inRangampeta, Pullaiahgaripalli and Ramireddy Pally panchayats

recently.D

NIDHHI AGERWAL wantsto have an arranged marriage

ike many actors,iSmart Shankargirl NidhhiAgerwal admitsto be missingfilm sets. “I am

missing shoot so much youhave no idea.. I cannotwait to get back on set.. myhappy place (sic),” was theactress reply when a fanasked her if she is missingshooting. She participatedin a #AskNidhhi season onWednesday evening whereshe engaged with her fanson her personal life, com-

petition and much more.Insisting that she is ‘single’,the actress informed toone of her fans that shewould prefer an ‘arrangedmarriage’ in life.

When asked about her

go-to fashion item, shestated, “A good pair ofshoes.. give a girl the rightpair of heels and she canrule the world. to be pre-cise I’m obsessed with@LouboutinWorld.”

To a question as to whoshe feels is her competitorin Telugu cinema, shewrote, “There are so somany talented actresses inTollywood.. but I think ouronly competition is our-self. Everybody has theirown goal and path.” Shealso revealed that her stintwith modeling had some-thing to do with landing achance in films.“Modelling was a way ofgetting into movies. It hasalways been only theMOVIES (sic).”

LSHE PARTICIPATED IN A #ASKNIDHHISEASON ON WEDNESDAY EVENINGWHERE SHE ENGAGED WITH HERFANS ON HER PERSONAL LIFE,COMPETITION AND MUCH MORE

sport 12HYDERABAD | FRIDAY | APRIL 10, 2020

AFP n MILAN

ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi on Thursdaysaid he hopes the clay-court season and French

Open can be played in September as tennis scram-bles to salvage a season in danger of being wiped outby the coronavirus pandemic.

“If we manage to start again in August, we’ll savethree Slams and six Masters 1000, otherwise theproblems will increase tenfold,” Gaudenzi said in aninterview with several Italian media outlets.

“We are working on the hypothesis of four weekson clay after the US Open, with Madrid and Romebefore Roland Garros.”

Tennis has been in lockdown since early lastmonth and is not scheduled to return until July 13at the earliest following the cancellation ofWimbledon for the first time since World War II.

The decision to axe the sport’s oldest and mostprestigious Grand Slam event followed the FrenchOpen’s unilateral switch from its traditional May-Juneslot to September-October.

Gaudenzi said no sanctions would be takenagainst Roland Garros for taking the decisionalone to postpone.

“Now we are working together,” Gaudenzi, whotook over as ATP chief in January, told Gazzetta DelloSport.

“Tennis needs unity, Paris acted out of fear, mak-ing a mistake. But they have recognised this.”

All this will depend on the virus which hasinfected over 1.5 million with the United States andEurope hit hard.

“We have made 50 versions of the calendar thatwe change day by day,” said Gaudenzi.

“I am confident that the season in America canbegin with the August Masters 1000 in Toronto andCincinnati and then the US Open.

“In this way three Slams and six Masters 1000would be played (there are also Shanghai and Bercy)and the season would be 70 percent safe.

“Of course, if the whole American slot were toskip, the difficulties would increase tenfold.”

Gaudenzi said the options were being examinedin conjunction with the ATP Player Council includ-ing Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

He stressed it was hoped to maintain the ATPFinals, scheduled for London in November 15-22.

“The 02 Arena is only available in the weekalready fixed. I don’t like closed doors, it’s the lastresort.”

LONDON: Clubs outside thePremier League cannot resumetraining till “May 16 at the ear-liest” due to the coronaviruspandemic but the season can becompleted in “56 days” EnglishFootball League chairman RickParry informed them in a letter.

The 72 clubs have been kick-ing their heels since the EFL sus-pended the campaign in theChampionship, League One andTwo on March 13.

All 24 sides in theChampionship still had ninematches to play.

Some clubs in League Onehave 12 games remaining, whilein League Two, teams have eithernine or 10 matches remaining tocomplete the regular season.

However, Parry said follow-ing a EFL board meeting onThursday they were confident

once there was a resumption theleague fixtures and the promo-tion play-offs could be complet-ed within two months.

“The EFL Board determinedthat to provide a level of certain-

ty, clubs should not recommenceany training activity with playersuntil May 16 at the earliest,” Parrywrote.

“Whenever the decision istaken that it is safe to resume, we

currently estimate that theLeague will require 56 daysapproximately to complete theoutstanding matches in the sea-son (including Play-Offs).”

Parry said it is probable thematches will be played behindclosed doors due to the BritishGovernment’s social distancingmeasures.

“It is our working assump-tion at this stage that matches willbe played behind closed doorswhen we eventually return,” hesaid.

His letter also suggested thedelayed resumption of the pre-sent season could impact on thestart of the 2020/21 campaign.

“We will ensure there is asuitable break between the two,so as to allow clubs and staff suf-ficient time to regroup and pre-pare accordingly,” he said. AFP

GLASGOW: Rangers stronglycriticised plans to terminate thedivisions below Premiership,warning of “severe conse-quences for the Scottish game”.

With play halted due to thecoronavirus, the ScottishProfessional Football League(SPFL) announced proposals todetermine final placings bypoints per game in leaguematches played to date by eachclub.

The resolution, to be votedon by clubs, also recommendsthe top tier remains postponedfor the time being, althoughfinal placings would be deter-mined by the same system ifthe SPFL’s board determinesmatches cannot be played.

That would see Celticcrowned champions for theninth successive season andHearts relegated, but the imme-diate impact of the plans wouldbe relegation for Partick Thistlefrom the second-tierChampionship and Stranraerfrom League One.

Steven Gerrard’s second-placed Gers, 13 points behindCeltic, said in a statement theywould oppose “in the strongestpossible terms” any attempt torailroad changes to existingrules.

They said they wouldimmediately propose a mem-ber’s resolution that wouldrelease prize money to be dis-tributed to all clubs throughoutScotland urgently.

Rangers said forcingthrough change “without duecare and attention” would havesevere consequences for theScottish game.

Partick, bottom of theChampionship, said theywould not accept the propos-al as it stood, adding it neededmore scrutiny and debate.

Dundee United would bepromoted to the Premiership ifthe resolution passed, whileRaith Rovers would move up tothe Championship and CoveRangers would join LeagueOne. AFP

AFP n BERLIN

Bruno Labbadia will succeedJurgen Klinsmann as head

coach of Hertha Berlin, theBundesliga club announced onThursday, confirming earlierreports in the German media.

“With Bruno, we have someonewho knows the Bundesliga wellfrom his many years as a player anda coach and has shown that he canstabilise teams and lead them backup the table,” sporting directorMichael Preetz said.

According to newspaper Bildand football magazine Kicker, 52-year-old Labbadia will sign a con-tract until 2022 to oversee prepa-rations should the German leagueresume next month after being halt-

ed on March 13.The former Wolfsburg and

Hamburg coach will be the fourthdifferent person to occupy theHertha dugout this season, and willcharged with saving a miserableseason for the capital city club.

Hertha, who are backed by awealthy investor, are 14th in thetable, six points from the relegationplaces with nine games left.

PARIS: For the Tour de France, oneof the last of the summer’s majorsports events still standing in theface of the coronavirus pandemic,the stop-watch is ticking.

While the Tokyo Olympics,the Euros, tennis and golf majorsand the Giro d’Italia have alreadybeen postponed or even cancelled,the Tour is still scheduled to start onJune 27.

Christian Prudhomme, theTour director, made clear thatbefore the race he wants “twomonths of exposure for the riders.”

That means training rides andraces and with most prospectivecompetitors confined, the chancesof their getting back on the road by

late April look slim.The race also needs France to

end its lockdown, not just so the rid-ers can ride but because the Tourattracts 10 to 12 million spectatorswho stand by the roads to watch.

Last week, when he announcedthe postponement of the Dauphine,an eight-day Tour warm-up stagerace in the southeast of France dueto start on May 31, Prudhommesaid: “The most important word inTour de France is France, andhealth concerns come first.”

The situation across Europesuggests that a postponement isincreasingly likely.

Prudhomme is not prepared todiscuss alternative plans in public,

but said: “As of today, the dates ofthe Tour de France are maintained.But it would be a lie to say that weare not studying other hypotheses.”

Behind the scenes, it is learnt,the organisers have sounded out

cycling teams as well as Frenchpoliticians and broadcasters abouta postponement to August.

Sports Minister RoxanaMaracineanu talked of banningspectators. But the idea seems tohave died.

The Tour is fuelled by its fansand it would be hard to prevent peo-ple coming out of their houses whenthe race passes by.

Welshman Geraint Thomas,the winner in 2018, and JulianAlaphilippe, France’s hero of the2019 Tour after wearing the leader’sjersey for 14 days, used almost iden-tical words. “Without the fans, itwouldn’t be the Tour de France,” washow Thomas put it. AFP

PTI n NEW DELHI

The complete lack of live action due tothe COVID-19 pandemic is a “good

break” for modern cricketers spendingmost of their time on the road, feels leg-endary Pakistan batsman Zaheer Aabbas.

The international calendar, in hisplaying days, was not as crammed as it istoday.

“I think it is a good break for them.They always live on suitcases, play toomuch cricket, and rarely get time to be athome. Now they have got a chance tospend time with family,” Abbas said.

“I would suggest them to introspect,keep working on fitness and do whatev-er they were not able to because of theirbusy schedule. It will also keep themrefreshed for the future,” added the formerskipper.

PTI n HOBART

The Australian cricket team avoidsprovoking “any fight” with Virat

Kohli, concedes Test skipper Tim Painebut he also asserts that it’s a strategy tokeep the Indian captain’s bat quiet, nota ploy to save IPL contracts, as claimedby his predecessor Michael Clarke.

Paine rejected Clarke’s claims thatthere was a phase in Australian crick-et when the side “sucked up” to Kohlito land fat deals with IPL franchises.

“I certainly didn’t notice too manypeople being that nice to Virat or nottrying to get him out or anything likethat,” Paine told ESPNCricinfo.

“I’m not sure who was going easyon him; we certainly had a thingwhere we didn’t want to provoke anyfight with him because we think that’swhen he plays at his best,” he said.

India are scheduled to tourAustralia from October, 2020 toJanuary, 2021 to play four Tests, threeODIs and three T20 matches.

“Who knows what will happen thisseries and, as we saw in the documen-tary, there was still quite a lot of heatin some of those games. I certainly was-n’t holding back, but again the IPL’s nota huge draw for me at the moment, soI had nothing to lose,” Paine said.

“But anytime our guys go out andplay a Test match for Australia, they’llbe giving their absolute all and I’m pret-ty sure they’re not thinking about an

IPL contract when they’re running in,bowling to Virat.”

In November, 2018, Clarke hadslammed attempts to improveAustralian cricket’s image owing to theinfamous ball-tampering scandal, say-ing the national team “won’t win agame” by “worrying about being liked”.

Paine said verbal wars cannot winmatches unless one displays the requi-site skills on the field.

“What you say on the field is irrel-evant 99 per cent of the time,” Painesaid. “Sometimes you can get a littleinside someone’s head or something likethat, but if you’re not batting well andnot bowling well, all the talk in theworld doesn’t mean anything,” he said.

Rejecting a one-size-fits-all kind ofapproach to planning, Paine said strat-egy has to formulated keeping theopposition’s strengths in mind.

“There’s no doubt our first focus ison executing our skill and being as goodas we can possibly be in that area andthen sometimes things happen on acricket field and you’ve got to go in,you’ve got to change your tack, or you’vegot to have a few words.

“As we’ve seen the last 12 or 18months, we still do that, we still stickup for each other, we still fight as hardas any Australian team, but we’veprobably just had to move with thetimes and I’ve been really proud of theway we’ve played out cricket,” heexplained.

PTI n JOHANNESBURG

South Africa’s ODI series victo-ry over Australia was the

“light at the end of the tunnel” forTeam Director Mark Boucher,who remains optimistic aboutrebuilding a strong Proteas sidedespite a tough summer.

The former wicketkeeper-batsman took over in mid-December ahead of the Englandtour which saw South Africa losea Test and T20 series whiledrawing a rain-affected ODIseries.

The Proteas then suffered ahome T20 series defeat toAustralia before a young Quintonde-Kock-led side registered a 3-0 win over Aaron Finch’s men inthe ODIs.

“If I look back over the sum-mer and reflect on the team’s per-formances and progress, especial-ly against England and Australia,I think it was quite disappointing

to be honest,” Boucher toldCricket South Africa.

“Especially against England,we didn’t perform like we want-ed to perform. In saying that Ithink we, as a new coaching staff,asked some questions and Ithink we got some answers.Some were good and some werebad.”

The 43-year-old is delightedwith the team’s performance inthe shorter formats of the gamebut reckons the Test side needsrebuilding.

“The nice thing for me aboutthe whole summer was the lightat the end of tunnel, especially inour short formats. I think wehave a lot of work to do with ourTest cricket still, there’s probablya lot of rebuilding in that respect.”

PTI n NEW DELHI

The legendary Kapil Dev onThursday slammed Shoaib

Akhtar’s idea of a made-for-tele-vision three-match ODI seriesbetween India and Pakistan toraise funds for the COVID-19pandemic, saying “India doesn’tneed the money” and it is notworth risking lives for a cricketmatch.

Akhtar on Wednesday pro-posed a closed-door series tojointly raise funds to fight thedeadly virus both in India andPakistan. Dev said the propos-al is not feasible.

“He is entitled to his opin-ion but we don’t need to raise themoney. We have enough. For us,what is important right now isthat how our authorities worktogether to deal with this crisis.I am still seeing a lot of blamegame on television from thepoliticians and that needs tostop,” Dev said.

“Anyway, the BCCI hasdonated a hefty amount (`51crore) for the cause and is in aposition to donate much moreif the need arises. It doesn’t needto raise funds.

“The situation is unlikely toget normal anytime soon andorganising a cricket game meansputting our cricketers at riskwhich we don’t need to,” said the

World Cup-winning formercaptain.

Dev said cricket should noteven matter for at least the nextsix months.

“It is just not worth the risk.And how much money can youmake from three games? In myview, you can’t even think ofcricket for the next five to sixmonths,” he said.

Dev said the focus, at themoment, should only be on sav-ing lives and taking care of thepoor who are struggling tomake ends meet in a lockdownsituation.

“Cricket will resume whenthings get normal. The gamecan’t be bigger than the country.The pressing issue is to look afterthe poor, the hospital workers,the police and all other peoplewho are on the frontline of thiswar,” said the 61-year-old.

NEW DELHI: Star India batsmanCheteshwar Pujara’s deal withGloucestershire for the first sixmatches of the County C’shiphas been cancelled due to

COVID-19 pandemic.The 32-year-old Indian,

who has scored 5840 runs at anaverage of 48.66 in 77 Tests, wassupposed to play six CountyC’ship matches for the club at thestart of the county’s first seasonback in Division One.

However, Gloucestershireon Thursday said that the dealis off now given the globalhealth crisis, which has forcedthe ECB to suspend all profes-sional cricket until May 28.

“We will also now miss theopportunity to see ChetshwarPujara play for the mighty Glosin the 2020 season which weknow our supporters were real-ly looking forward to,” the clubsaid in a statement. PTI

Kapil rejects Akhtar's proposalfor Indo-Pak series

Gloucestershire call off Pujara deal

Avoid fights with Kohli to keep him quiet, not to save IPL contracts: PaineTest skipper rubbishes Clarke’s statement on Australia being nice to Virat

Indian skipper Virat Kohli and Australian captain Tim Paine in action during India’s tour of Australia for four-match Test series in 2018-19 AP/File Picture

LONDON: Australian cricketershad gone “out of control” andturned “pretty average people”two-three years before the ball-tampering scandal, says formerICC Elite Panel umpire IanGould, who was the TV officialin the infamous Cape Town Testof 2018.

Gould, who retired after lastyear’s World Cup, relayed whathad been spotted on the TV —Cameron Bancroft puttingsandpaper down his trousers —to the on-field umpires.

“If you look back on it now,Australia were out of controlprobably two years, maybe threeyears, before that, but not in thissense. Maybe — behavioural,chatty, being pretty averagepeople,” Gould told the Daily

Telegraph while promoting hisautobiography Gunner — MyLife in Cricket.

The fallout of the NewlandsTest was huge.

Then captain Steve Smithand his deputy David Warnerwere slapped with a one-yearinternational ban while Bancroftwas suspended for nine monthsby Cricket Australia for theirrole in the scandal. It alsoprompted a cultural review intoAustralian cricket.

“... I didn’t realise what therepercussions would be,” Gouldsaid.

“But when it came into myearpiece I didn’t think the prime

minister of Australia was goingto come tumbling down onthese three guys. All I thought

was — Jesus, how do I put thisout to the guys on the field with-out making it an overreaction.

“It was a bit like onMastermind when the light ison top of you and you’re going— oh dear, how do I talkthrough this?”

Ball-tampering was classedas a level two offence under theICC Code of Conduct, but it hassince been elevated to a levelthree category, which carries aban of up to six Tests or 12ODIs.

Gould admitted he could-n’t quite believe what he was see-ing on TV, but said what cameout of it was good for the game,especially Australian cricket.

“When the director said,‘He’s put something down the

front of his trousers,’ I startedgiggling, because that didn’tsound quite right. Obviously,what’s come from it is for thebetterment of Australian crick-et — and cricket generally,” heobserved.

Gould said that he still hasthe balls that were used in theNewlands Test.

“If you saw the balls, youwould get it completely wrong.At the end of the day, the sand-paper didn’t get on that ball.

“They were working to getthe ball to be pristine. Oncethey’d got one side bigger andshinier, that’s when the sandpa-per was coming in.” PTI

Aussies were out of control well before ball-tampering scandal: Gould

ATP chief hoping forRoland Garros and clay-court season in Sept

Rafael Nadal in action during Roland Garros tourney in 2019 ATP

Rangers blast plans to endScottish season early

Boucher optimist about rebuilding strong SA side Pandemic unwanted but‘good break’ for cricketers

Tour de France racing against time, and losing

Mid-May possibility for League clubs to return to training: EFL Labbadia succeedsKlinsmann at Hertha