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HYDERABAD, TUESDAY MARCH 24, 2020; PAGES 12 `3

}14 REELS PLUS JOINSMAHESH'S NEXT

RNI No. TELENG/2018/76469

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*LATE CITY VOL. 2 ISSUE 163*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

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HYDERABAD DELHI LUCKNOWBHOPAL RAIPUR CHANDIGARH

BHUBANESWAR RANCHI DEHRADUNVIJAYAWADA

www.dailypioneer.comPage 11

HYDERABADWEATHER

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated March 23, 2020 5:00 PM

ALMANAC TODAY

Month & Paksham:Phalguna & Krishna PakshaPanchangam:Tithi: Amavasya: 02:57 pmNakshatram: Uttara Bhadrapada: 04:19 am

(Next Day)Time to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)Rahukalam: 03:23 pm – 04:53 pmYamagandam: 09:21 am – 10:51 amVarjyam: 12:08 pm – 01:56 pmGulika: 12:22 pm - 01:52 pmGood Time: (to start any important

work)Amritakalam: 10:55 pm – 12:43 amAbhijit Muhurtham: 11:58 am – 12:46 pm

FFoorreeccaasstt:: Partly cloudyTemp: 34/22Humidity: 30%Sunrise: 06.16Sunset: 06.27

PNS n HYDERABAD

In the wake of the successfulJanata Curfew and followingimposition of lockdown on thestate, people came out of theirhouses on Monday only tofind prices of vegetables haveskyrocketed.

More than the Coronavirus,citizens appear to be dreadingthe uncontrolled hike in theprices of vegetables.

People turned out in largenumbers onto the streets onMonday to buy provisions

and vegetables. Crowds wereseen at super bazaars andrythu bazaars.

However, consumers werein for a major shock aftertraders started selling essen-tial commodities at exorbitantrates. People blame govern-ment officials for doing pre-cious little, contrary to thepromises, to rein in prices.They found that vegetables arebeing sold at twice the price,compared to the 'normal'days.

With officials of the market-

ing department expressinghelplessness, quarrels havetaken place between peopleand the rythu bazaar offi-cials. Vegetables and othercommodities were being soldat exorbitant prices atGuddimalkapur andMehdipatnam agriculturemarkets.

Tomato was being sold at Rs100 a kg as against Rs 8 earli-er. Similarly, a kg of brinjal isbeing sold at Rs 80 as againstthe previous price of Rs 15.

PV KONDAL RAOn KARIMNAGAR

With evidence of a state-2case, Karimnagar city is rapid-ly emerging as the epicentre ofCoronavirus in Telangana.

Jameel, the man on whoseinvitation the Indonesianpreachers came to Karimnagartown, was on Monday found tobe positive for the virus andwas ordered quarantine by themedical and health officials.

An institute run by Jameelhas about 50 students, who hadmingled with him after the for-eigners stayed in the town. TheIndonesian team was quaran-tined and isolated by theauthorities after being identi-fied as the overseas visitors lastweek. Karimnagar was cor-doned and an area of 3-kmradius from the bus station waslocked down.

The information thatJameel was testedpositive forCoronavirushas sent jittersamong the res-idents ofKarimnagar ashis is a case ofsecondary trans-mission. Jameel is quitewell-known and usually meetsabout 50 to 100 people on aregular basis.

Since this is a communitytransmission, the scope of thevirus spreading its tentacles inthe region has widened and thepreventive measures launchedby the authorities have beenintensified in KarimnagarMunicipal Corporation limits.

Door-to-door checks bymedical and health teams inthe region have been intensifi-ed, with about 100 teams dep-

loyed to screen the people. Initially, the

Karimnagar districtauthorities haveexpected to limit thescreening operations

to just the 3-kmradius, but conse-

quent to the identifica-tion of fresh local trans-

mission case, they haveexpanded screening across thetown and surrounding areas.

PNS n MUMBAI

The Indian stock market suf-fered its worst-ever single-daycrash on Monday, with the be-nchmark indices plunging asmuch as 13.15 per cent, aspanicked investors remained insell-off mode amid lockdownsin several states in the countrydue to mounting Coronaviruscases.

The BSE benchmark Sensexplummeted 3,935 points or13.15 per cent to close at25,981.24; while the NSEbarometer Nifty cracked1,135.20 points or 12.98 percent to settle at 7,610.25.

On the currency front, theIndian Rupee plunged belowthe 76-level (intra-day) forthe first time.

In the very first hour oftrade on Monday, trading onthe BSE and the NSE had to behalted after the benchmarkindices Sensex and Nifty hitthe 10 per cent lower circuit-breaker.

As trading resumed after a45-minute freeze, losseswidened on bourses due tounabated sell-offs across sec-tors.

Global stocks too roiledafter nations across the worldannounced lockdowns in aneffort to mitigate the spread ofCovid-19 pandemic, spikingfears of a mammoth globalrecession.

On the Sensex chart, AxisBank was the top loser, tank-ing over 28 per cent, followedby Bajaj Finance, IndusIndBank, ICICI Bank, Maruti andL&T.

All sectoral indices endedsignificantly lower, with BSEbankex, finance, capital goods,basic materials, industrials andauto indices plunging up to16.82 per cent.

Broader midcap and small-cap indices tanked over 12 percent each.

PNS n DANTALAPALLI

The police on Monday regis-tered cases against four personswho violated the mandatory14-day home quarantine,thereby increasing the risk ofothers contracting theCoronavirus. Recently, twocouples from Qatar visited theresidence of their respectivemothers-in-law in Datla villagein Dantalapalli mandal ofMahbubabad district. Officialshave sensitised the couple andtheir in-laws on the potentialthreat of the virus and advisedthem to stay indoors underhome quarantine. Paying noheed to the advice of officials,the couples left the place to visitother areas.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Paying no heed to the govern-ment's advice to stay indoors,a sizeable number of peoplewere seen going about on theroads on Monday morning.Private vehicles and auto-rick-shaws were seen freely roam-

ing on city roads as if the threatof Coronavirus never existed. People opted to travel in pri-vate vehicles, after the Centrecancelled train services and thestate, bus services, therebythrowing caution sounded bygovernment to the winds.

PNS n KOTHAGUDEM

Acting tough against the for-eign returned people roamingfree, the police on Mondayregistered a case against theDSP here for violating the Ep-idemic Diseases Act of 1897.

The DSP had taken his Lo-ndon-returned son homeusing his office vehicle,instead of sending him toquarantine.

The DSP and his familymembers were subsequentlysent to Warangal Governm-ent Hospital for testing forCoronavirus. The DSP's sontested positive and the newscreated a sensation amongthe police circles.

Moreover, the DSP's fam-ily recently attended a house-warming ceremony atRaghavapuram inChintalapudi mandal of WestGodavari district.

NAVEENA GHANATE n HYDERABAD

With scant regard to societalnorms and even Chief MinisterK Chandrasekhar Rao's state-ment 'We need to protect ourdoctors', society is mistreatingthem.

A doctor working in MGMHospital, Warangal on Mondayalleged: "Many doctors inWarangal were asked to vacatetheir rented homes by their

owners who claim that thehealthcare professions stayingin their homes will make them

more susceptible to the virus.One owner said that we were'dirty'. This was done without

any notice. Most of the doctorsare now stranded on the roadswith their luggage, withnowhere to go. Residents andhouse-surgeons are the mostaffected."

According to the doctor,even campus hostels are conv-erted into isolation wards onthe orders of the collector.

He asked, "What were theclaps and rings yesterday(Sunday) for?"

DRASTIC MEASURES

People ignore lockdown, govtimposes curfew across stateNo movement to be allowed from 7 pm to 6 am expect for medicare

Investors in sell-off mode as recession fears mount

PNS n HYDERABAD

With people ignoring the lock-down, the Telangana state gov-ernment has announced cur-few from 7 pm to 6 am fromMonday.

Chief Secretary SomeshKumar told reporters onMonday that in this timeframe, no movement of per-sons will be allowed for anypurpose expect accessingemergency medical care.Addressing a press conferencehere, Somesh Kumar said thatno shop or establishment,except hospitals and pharma-cies will be allowed to operateafter 6:30 pm. He asked peopleto purchase all essential com-modities in the daytime andconfine themselves to theirhomes by 7 pm.

To restrict movement of

people, the police have set upcheck posts across the state."Not more than one person will

be allowed on a two-wheelerand not more than two peoplewill be allowed in a four-

wheeler," said DGP MahenderReddy.

Karimnagar city emergingas Covid-19 epicentre in TS

A day after Janatacurfew, traffic jams

Son skipsquarantine,DSP booked

People fear costlier vegetables more than the virus Citizens aghast at the dramatic increase in prices overnight, say government negligent

Global death tollcrosses 15k mark PNS n PARIS

The number of deaths aroundthe world from the novel coro-navirus cases stood at 15,189,according to a tally compiledby AFP on Monday from offi-cial sources.

More than 341,300 declaredcases have been registered in174 countries and territoriessince the epidemic firstemerged in China inDecember.

The tallies, using data col-

lected by AFP offices fromnational authorities and infor-mation from the World HealthOrganization (WHO), likelyreflect only a fraction of theactual number of infections.

In worst-ever market crash,Sensex plunges 4,000 points

Case against4 for violatingquarantine

Virus helpline 104 inaccessiblePNS n HYDERABAD

The wait time for an executiveto speak to a caller when 104is dialled seems like forever.With the increasing number ofCorona suspects, the numberof calls to state helpline num-ber has increased.

In spite of tall claims that5,000-plus surveillance teams

are on standby, one has to pullall strings possible to evenreport a suspect.

When this correspondenttried calling 104 twice to reporta suspect, the wait time kept onincreasing by the minute.When contacted, the GreaterMunicipal Corporation ofHyderabad teams, who areclaiming to do door-to-door

fever checks, kept on passingthe buck to one another.

After calling some moreGHMC officials and pleadingfor at least regular temperaturecheck, an official at lastpromised to deploy a team. Butall that happened was that atelephone call came and thesuspect's travel history sought.

Docs told to vacate houses, denied transport

Consumers haggle with traders after thronging to a makeshift market in Hyderabadon Monday to buy vegetables.

A large number of vehicles seen in Hyderabad on Monday, despite a lockdown being in place.

Door-to-door checksby medical andhealth teams in theregion have beenintensified, withabout 100 teamsdeployed to screenthe people.

Most of the doctorsare now on theroads, withnowhere to go.Residents andhouse-surgeons arethe most affected

A traffic jam is witnessed in Hyderabad on Monday as citizens ignore lockdownordered by the state government to curb spread of the dreaded Coronavirus.

SEX WORKERS IN ALIPURDUAR SAYTHEY WON'T WORK FOR 2 WEEKS

Singapore Airlines on Monday said it will cut 96% of its capacity thathad been scheduled up to the end of April due to the tightening ofborder controls around the world to stem the coronavirus outbreak. Thecompany along with its two subsidiaries -- SilkAir and Scoot -- willground 185 aircraft out of a total 196, Singapore Airlines (SIA) said in astatement. The move comes "amid the greatest challenge that the SIAGroup has faced in its existence", it said. The company said it is unclearwhen it can begin to resu-me normal services, giventhe prevailing uncertainty.

CENTRE TO CONSIDER SPENDINGON COVID-19 AS CSR ACTIVITY Spending by corporates to deal with the coronavirus outbreak will beconsidered as CSR activity under the companies law, the governmentsaid on Monday. In India, over 400 people have been infected by thecoronavirus and at least seven people have died, while many states haveannounced lockdown to curb spreading of theinfection. Under the companies law, certainclasses of profitable entities have to shell out atleast 2 per cent of their three-year annual net profittowards Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)activities in a particular financial year.

President Donald Trump hinted strongly on Monday that he is runningout of patience with the economic shutdown caused by massquarantine measures against the coronavirus. "We cannot let the cure beworse than the problem itself. at the end of the 15 dayperiod, we will make a decision as to which way wewant to go!" trump tweeted overnight. The 15 dayperiod he refers to was started last Monday, setting inmotion a series of federal recommendations on socialdistancing and other anti-coronavirus measures. Itconcludes a week from Tuesday.

TRUMP PONDERS EARLY END TOCOVID-19 ECONOMIC SHUTDOWN

SINGAPORE AIRLINES CUTS 96% OFCAPACITY ON TRAVEL DEMAND HIT

Over 100 sex workers in West Bengal's Alipurduar district will not beworking for the next two weeks in the wake of the coronavirusoutbreak, they said on Monday. People from several places, includingneighbouring districts, visit the red light area located in the central part ofthe district town. They said that the stepwas taken to prevent the spread of thedeadly virus. A local NGO that works forthe welfare of the sex workers said itwould provide financial assistance tothese women during the period.

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Quarantine of alarge number ofpeople worriesYediyurappa

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Asian marketssink as pandemicdeaths soar

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TRULY SPEAKING

Modi leadingwar on Covid-19from the front

PNS n HYDERABAD

Chief Secretary SomeshKumar on Monday directedthe districts Collectors toenforce lockdown strictly inthe districts and to follow theinstructions mentioned in GOs45 & 46 with a true spirit tocontrol the spread ofCoronavirus in the State.

Chief Secretary held a videoconference with districtCollectors on Covid- 19 in theState. Chief Secretary asked thedistrict collectors to implementthe Government orders and tosee that not more than oneperson shall be allowed tomove on a two-wheeler andnot more than two personsshall be allowed on a fourwheeler.

Chief Secretary instructedthe Collectors no movement ofany persons shall be permittedfor any purpose other thanaccessing emergency medicalcare during the period from7.00 PM every evening to 6.00AM on the following day.

"The Collectors shouldensure that essential commodi-ties like milk, vegetables, gro-ceries and medicines are avail-able during the lockdown peri-

od. Prices should be monitoredregularly. Allow the movementof essential commodities at thecheck post," he said.

Chief Secretary informedthat a Control Room with 2Senior IAS officers -- RahulBojja, and Anil Kumar wasestablished at Secretariat toguide the officials from time totime. Collectors asked the CS toset up at least two quarantine

centers with required facilities. Shanti Kumari, Special

Chief Secretary, PrincipalSecretary Vikas Raj,Secretaries Rahul Bojja,Janardhan Reddy, Rizvi,Sandeep Kumar Sultania, SanjayJaju, IAS, Ronald Ross, SarfarazAhmed, Director, Prohibitionand Excise, Rajat Kumar Saini,CCLA Director and othersattended the meetng.

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HYDERABAD | TUESDAY | MARCH 24, 2020 hyderabad 02

The Collectors should ensure that essential commoditieslike milk, vegetables, groceries and medicines areavailable during the lockdown period. Prices should be

monitored regularly. Allow the movement of essentialcommodities at the check post

—SOMESH KUMAR, Chief Secretary

In times of crisis, leadershipis exposed. Prime MinisterNarendra Modi set anexample how a leader shouldconduct himself to bring anation out of a crisis .at a timeCoronavirus is looming overIndia. In fact, the Coronavirushas affected over 2 lakh peopleacross 159 nations and has thusfar taken a toll of over 9,000.

In response to a call given bythe PM, the people of thecountry indicated how closethey consider him. The entirenation observed Janata Curfew.

The people expressed theirmoral support to the medicalprofessionals treating the virusby clapping their hands,sounding bells, banging metalplates, blowing conches and soon. Right from the Presidentof India, Governors, UnionMinisters, Chief Ministers andpeople’s representatives to theman on the street, everyoneresponded to the PM’s call.

Rising above personal dif-ferences, people of all hues, bigand small, observed the cur-few in toto. The spirit ofnationalism was reflected in

their response.The mouths of those who

criticised the PM’s call to claphands remained shut upongauging the response. This isindication of credibility Modienjoys among the people.

In fact, Modi took system-atic steps to tackle the virus.Everyone initially assumedthat the virus would berestricted to China.

There was no expectationthat the virus would spreadacross the globe. The issue wasnot a part of the agenda forBudget session of Parliament.Nobody could predict thethreat even in the first 10 daysof the second session.

The PM became alert aftergetting information fromother nations in the first weekof March. He cancelled theHoli Milan programme pro-posed on March 10. He wenton cancelling all his officialappointments. He focussed

on helping Indians stranded inother countries.

Modi got Indians strandedin China airlifted and sentthem to isolated wards. Hetook measures on a war-foot-ing to bring back Indiansstranded in other states on AirIndia flights from March 10onwards.

He took the initiative andaddressed leaders of SAARCnations through video confer-ence on March 15 andexplained the measures to betaken to rein in the virus. Hesuggested to the Saudi Arabiato address G-20 nations too inthe same fashion. Saudi Arabia

followed his example. Heconvened a meeting of CMsand issued necessary guide-lines, held review meetingswith officials on numerousoccasions. He asked the BJPMPs to hold awareness meet-ings in their constituencies tohelp the people.

The WHO also appreciatedthe PM’s measures to controlthe virus. The WHO alsoappreciated the measuresbeing initiated by the ICMR.In fact, almost all countrieshave appreciating India’sefforts.

Father of a stranded womanin Italy Sujay Kadam, a critic of

Narendra Modi, went onrecord stating that Modi treat-ed his daughter as if she was hisown and took steps to bringher to India on March 14.

This stands as testimony onhow fast the government ofIndia responds to meet peoplein trouble. The way Modiresponded from March 10 to

23 exemplifies theresponsibility hefeels for thecountry.

The entireadministrativemachinery andCMs, includingArvind Kejriwal andK Chandrasekhar Rao, cameforward to work shoulder toshoulder with the PM to facethe virus threat.

AP Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy, whoplaced local body electionsfirst over virus, realised the sit-uation and was forced to takeremedial measures.

Almost all states imposedlockdown. International air-ports were shut with effectfrom midnight of March 22.Prior to that, going overseashad been prohibited. In fact,remedial measures to checkspread of Coronavirus in jailshave been implemented.

Last week, the govern-ment prohibited export

of ventilators. A firmbased in Mysuruspeeded up produc-

tion of ventilators withother organisations.

Prominent Pharma compa-nies have been included in theworking group against Covid-19. Efforts are on to allow pri-vate laboratories to diagnosethe virus. The PM is encour-aging pharma industry todevelop a vaccine.

Pharma Industries confed-eration has exuded confi-dence of developing a vaccinefor Coronavirus believing inthe leadership of PM.

All measures to overcomescarcity of ventilators, sanitis-ers, medicines and other med-ical supplies are being initiat-ed. The PM knows well thatit would be difficult to rein inthe virus without the cooper-ation of the people. This is

why he has maintained closerapport with the people andadvised them to observe socialdistance and to confine them-selves to their houses.

Unlike the World Wars, thevirus has affected almost allcountries across the globe.

In the absence of a vaccine,the panacea is to observesocial distance, the PM felt.

He asked people not to becomplacent that the Covid-10would not do them harmand to be prepared to facewith perseverance andpatience.

His words echo the feelingsof over 130 crore people of thecountry. The whole worldappreciates the confidentleader.

Leaders of many countriesemulate Modi. He is alwaysone step ahead in his thoughtprocess. If we observe hissuggestions we will be able toovercome Coronavirus.

Y SATYA KUMAR BJP National Secretary

TRULY SPEAKING

Modi leading war on Corona from the frontThe mouths of those who criticisedthe PM’s call to clap hands remainedshut upon gauging the response. Thisis indication of credibility Modi enjoysamong the people.

CORONA VIRUS FEARGRIPS URBAN DWELLERSK VENKATESHWARLUn HYDERABAD

With Coronavirus spreadinglike wildfire, people residing inurban areas are now looking atrural areas. They are of anopinion that the impact ofvirus is much lesser in ruralareas as compared to urbanareas-cities and towns.

Chavva Venkat Reddy fromHabsiguda and a native ofTirmalgiri (Sagar) said thatstaying in cosmopolitan citylike Hyderabad in these cir-cumstances is nothing butrisking their lives. "I am afraidof the present conditions inHyderabad. Don't know whocame in contact with the virusand how it is spreading. Theforeign returnees are notrevealing their condition vol-untarily and it is creating trou-bles to others. I may go to my

village if things deterioratefurther," he said.

The restrictions imposed bythe government are also mak-ing people to undergo fear psy-chosis. Vegetables pricestouched the roof in a single day.P Varudhini from Chilkalgudaand a native of Choppadandi(Karimnagar) said, "I pur-chased coriander for Rs 20. I

am afraid as to how thingswould change in near future ifthe situation doesn't improve.In just one day, prices of veg-etables touched the roof. Idon't think situation will turnthis bad in rural areas even ifsomething happens," she said.

Also, the spread of fakenews is another factor which ismaking people in urban areas

think of shifting to their nativevillages for some time. VNarsimha Reddy fromMadannapet and a native ofYellapur village near Narsapurin Medak said that he gotscared when he received amessage through WhatsAppstating that the police andmedical staff had shifted anentire family to a hospital intheir area. However, later hecame to know that it was fakenews.

n People want to shift to their native villages till the situation easesThey are of anopinion that theimpact of virus ismuch lesser inrural areas ascompared to urbanareas-cities andtowns

‘Enforce lockdown strictly’

AVINASH DEEPAK PULIn MAHABUBNAGAR

Although the southernTelangana districts didn'treport even a single positivecase of Corona, the officials areleaving no stone unturned andare making every effort totackle the spread of the virus.The Medical and HealthDepartment officials inMahbubnagar, Nalgonda,Medak and Khammam feelthat the non-occurrence ofcases in this part may not beseen as relief for them.

Not even a single case per-taining to quarantining of peo-ple visiting from overseas wasreported from Medak and

Mahbubnagar. The doctorsbelonging to these districtsheave a sigh of relief as the sit-

uation is under control.Especially in Mahbubnagardistrict, the authorities are

gathering the details pertain-ing to the foreign returneesover the last one month andthey are reportedly collectingthe data with the help of thePolice and Law EnforcementDepartment.

In Medak too, a similar sortof response was evident so farand the Police Department andthe Gram Panchayaths of

respective areas are collectingthe details pertaining to theforeign returnees. Since theforeign returnees are the onlycontact persons at the stageone of Corona, the people inMedak region are providingrequired information pertain-ing to their relatives. Also, thebordering villages ofNizamabad, which witnessed

the return of some NRIs dur-ing the past one month, areclosely monitored by the med-ical and Health officials.

The precautionary measuresinitiated in the districts havebeen intense and the districtadministrations have beenproactive in undertakingawareness programmes.Meanwhile, the SiricillaCollector has come out open-ly and warned people againstviolating lockdown. A similarsort of action was undertakenby Sangareddy collector and inthe south Telangana region,the Collectors ofMahbubnagar, Nalgonda alsotook part in similar sort ofaction.

Southern Telangana districts taking no chancesThe officials in Nalgonda,Mahbubnagar, Medak are leaving no stone unturned and are makingevery effort to tackle the spread ofthe Coronavirus

Global deathtoll crosses15k mark Continued from Page 1

Many countries are nowonly testing cases that requirehospitalisation.

Italy, which recorded itsfirst coronavirus death inFebruary, now has more fatal-ities than China with 5,476,as well as having 59,138declared infections with 7,024recoveries.

China -- excluding HongKong and Macau -- has todate declared 81,093 cases,including 3,270 deaths, with72,703 people recovered. Itreported 39 new cases andnine new fatalities sinceSunday.

The third worst hit coun-try is Spain with 2,182 fatal-ities and 33,089 cases, fol-lowed by Iran with 1,812fatalities and 23,049 cases,France with 674 deaths and16,018 cases, and the UnitedStates with 471 deaths and35,224 cases.

Since 1900 GMT Sunday,the Czech Republic, Nigeriaand Montenegro announcedtheir first deaths.

People fear costliervegetables more...

Continued from Page 1

Further, a kg of green chillieshas been priced at Rs 90 asagainst Rs 25 earlier. Carrot,capsicum and bittergourd werebeing sold at Rs 80 per kg,against the earlier prices thatranged between Rs 25 and Rs30. At some places, green chilliwas being traded at Rs 120 a kg.

Violating lockdown rules atNalgonda, people thronged thevegetable market. People havebeen questioning the stated aimof reining in Coronavirus if thissituation continued.

Visitors to the market foundthe prices of vegetables out ofreach of the common man. InNizamabad, the situation ismore or less the same. Tradershave begun exploiting theneeds of the consumers, whohave been demanding the gov-ernment take steps to keep theprices under check.

The situation is not just lim-ited to cities of Telangana likeHyderabad, Warangal,Khammam, Nirmal and

Adilabad, but also prevalent incities in Andhra Pradesh likeVijayawada andVisakhapatnam, where peoplemade a beeline to rythubazaars, super markets, petrolstations and fruit markets.

Traders have jacked upprices of vegetables and fruitsciting drop in arrivals fromother districts andstates.Shopping malls havebeen allowing customers insideonly after testing the people.Employees of malls have beenensuring that the customersobserve social distance in theirfacilities. Labourers were seenwaiting for work at labouraddas at Nampally and Koti inHyderabad. On Saturday, retailtraders flocked to the wholesaleprovisions market at Malakpetand made heavy purchases inanticipation of the prices ofessential commodities rising.Some of the traders say thatthey predict heavy rise in pricesof essential commodities andhence have built maintainingstocks.

In worst-evermarket crash...Continued from Page 1

"With the spread of Covid-19continuing unabated and thefears of global recessionincreasing, the Indian mar-kets crashed.

The markets c losedmuch lower in percentageterms compared to theAsian and European mar-kets , which indicatedincreased uncer taintyregarding the spread of thevirus in India after the gov-ernment indicated that thecountry was in a crucialphase in its fight against thevirus, Vinod Nair, Head ofResearch at Geojit FinancialServices, said.

Further measures andlockdowns are expected aftermanufacturing companiesindicated that they wouldshut down their facilities,which would have an overallimpact on business activityand market confidence, headded.

Virus helpline 104 inaccessibleContinued from Page 1

After initial paranoia aroundreporting themselves, sus-pects finally headed to hospi-tal. However, that wasn't theend of their troubles. An IASofficer said, "You have to waittill 104 answers your call, wecannot help you as the recordsof patients will be tampered."

Several netizens pointedout that even 104 did notrespond when they wanted toreport a person with a travelhistory.

Sharath Chandra, a netizen,said, "I called 104 severaltimes, but was very difficult toconnect as the network wasrestricted. When we dial 100or 108, they disconnect thecall stating that "We can'thelp". Another netizen,Srikanth Nandi said, "Wenoticed that foreign returnsuspects are not maintainingquarantine and roamingabout in the colony. I wasunable to inform about thissituation on toll-free 104 and24651119 as both the num-

bers were engaged for at leasttwo hours. I finally informedthe Neredmet PS."

Khalid Khan, another citi-zen, tweeted: "Please increasenumber of operators for 104helpline. Even after trying morethan five times and waiting forsix minutes, there is noresponse. It defeats the purposeof being an urgent / emergencynumber. Please take appropri-ate action." Etela said, "We aregetting more calls and we have40 lines for 104 helpline, we willadd 20-30 more".

Docs told to vacate...Continued from Page 1

This is not just in Warangal,people are apprehensive abouteven lending their two-wheel-ers to doctors to commute.Not all doctors and healthworkers own vehicles. Withthe lockdown announced, sev-eral health professionals arefacing issues commuting.

Another doctor said thatthere was no hostel for internsand many PGs and doctorsstaying outside were facingsimilar situations.

A doctor posted in the iso-lation ward in Hyderabad, oncondition of anonymity, said,"I wanted to borrow a vehiclebut nobody was willing to lendit to me knowing that I wasattending to Covid-19patients. When we asked ourhigher authorities, theyexpressed helplessness. Whatis the point if you can't providebasic amenities like trans-port?" Etela assured that trans-port facilities will be providedfrom Class-4 employees todoctors working in hospitals.

Karimnagar city emerging...Continued from Page 1

Meanwhile, the socia lmedia is creating tensemoments across the statewith people sharing infor-mation without checkingtheir veracity.

Also, the lacklustre

response to lockdown andventuring out onto theroads were seen as a seriousissue by health profession-als.They say such negli-gence may turn out to belethal in the long run oncethe secondary contact casessee an increase.

A day after Janata curfew, traffic jams Continued from Page 1

Private vehicles were seencrammed with people, some-times one car carrying five tosix passengers. At some places,polite took steps to regulatethem, but failed to fully con-trol the situation.

Violating the governmentand doctor's advice of notmove in groups, people havethrown caution to the winds.Campaigns on social distancehave fallen on deaf ears.Groups of people were seen infront of shopping malls anddepartmental stores.

At some places, liquor shopsdid brisk business violatinggovernment orders. The situ-ation is more or less the sameacross the country leading tothe state and Central govern-ments issuing serious warningto people asking them to fol-low the rules.

HYDERABAD | TUESDAY | MARCH 24, 2020 hyderabad 03

RIME ORNERC Private hospitals to help

corona patient overflowPNS n HYDERABAD

Private hospitals in Telanganaare gearing up to handle theCovid-19 pandemic. They arepreparing 1,000beds and 200-300beds particularly for ter-tiary care. DrBhaskarRao,DrGurava Reddy and otherdoctors of private hospitalsmet Minister EatalaRajenderon Saturday.

DrBhaskarRao of KIMShospital said that the Ministerinstructed on how to handleCovid-19 and that they havebeen in touch with them fromlast two weeks. He said, "Thecases less here because thegovernment has taken rightdecisions in right time. We arescreening people who are com-ing to hospitals. We are readyto face anything along withgovernment, private collegesand private hospitals".

DrGurava Reddy ofSunshine hospital said, "Peopleare afraid that there is no vac-cine, but vaccine is in ourhands. If we stay at home, wecan curb the virus. Social dis-tancing is most important, donot come outunless there isan

emergency. If people keepcoming out, neither the privatehospitals nor the governmentcan do anything. If we are inItaly like situation, no govern-ment can be of help. It is in ourhands, keep washing yourhands".

Eatala said that Corporatehospitals are in touch with gov-ernment since last 20 days."After government facilitiesare filled we will make use ofthe facilities available with theprivate facilities". A committeewill be set up under the direc-tion of Kaloji University VCKarunakar Reddy for coor-dination with privatemedical colleges. TheRDO level officer will bethe nodal officer for eachhospital. The hospitalsrun by the colleges willbe provided with PPEkits, sanitizers andequipments. Eatalasaid that1 5 , 0 0 0beds areb e i n gm a d eav ai l -able.

Minister asks public tomantain social distanceHYDERABAD: MinisterEatalaRajender said that to makeuse of the health serviceseffectively out patients have beentold not to come to hospital.Even the elective and non-essential operations have beenpostponed. The Minister said,"Will dischargecoronaviruspositive patients in a few days

after they are cured. Ifpeople are not

serious, evendoctors andgovernmentcannot protectpeople". Heasked people toconfine tohomes. "After

Italy's

experience, preventive measuresare imperative. Even thoughfinancially we are losing, we wantto protect our people. I don'tunderstand what crisis is forcingpeople to come out of theirhomes". He questioned, "Is yourlife important or coming outsideis important?" He said thatpatients in isolation are askingchicken, mutton and all. "Peopleshould understand this is not 5-star hospital. I have personallyvisited government facilities, theyare doing well", he said.

Even thoughfinancially we arelosing, we want to

protect our people. I don'tunderstand what crisis isforcing people to come outof their homes

—EATALA RAJENDER, Minister

Arvind: GHMC'sRs 5 meal canteensto remain openPNS n HYDERABAD

Principal Secretary ArvindKumar said that the Rs 5meal canteens will remainoperational during lockdownperiod. Hyderabad MPAsaduddinOwaisi requestedthe secretary to continue thescheme. Owaisi posted atweet saying, "Sir ArvindKumar please continue the ?5meal scheme at all the cen-tres of twin cities even dur-ing the lockdown,the poorare hit by economic down-turn also."

Responding to this requestArvind said, "Spoke withGHMC Commissioner andensuring that ?5 meal schemeunder Annapurna shall con-tinue at all centres in the twin

cities during this period".Owaisi thanked Arvind

Kumar and said that the time-ly decision will help the poorpeople to have a decent meal".

Firms ask techies to take desktops homePNS n HYDERABAD

Private firms in Hyderabadare allowing people to takedesktop computers home.Inclusion of IT and ITES ser-vices under emergency serviceshas come under severe criti-cism by people, even thoughbusinesses are hailing it asproactive approach by the gov-ernment. Several companieswho understood the crisis areallowing people to take desk-tops home.

S Ankita working in UKbased company said, "Withpublic transport shut, commut-ing itself is difficult. Moreoveroffice is a place with large gath-ering. So we were given ourdesktops computers to home.Iam glad that they are allowing

now. Some IT companies arestill functioning and seemslike they don't understand theintensity of situation".

But few project teams work-ing in topcompany's likeInfosys, Cognizant, TCS are

not giving work from home forpeople who work on desktops.Even though majority of ITcompanies were asked to workfrom home, those working incontrolled environment have toreach the office to work. An IT

employee said, "Governmentorder is being displayed andalso being given to cab drivers.In fact they asked us to down-load the GO copy in our smartphone and travel so that we arenot stopped by anyone".

Some of them are givingdesktops late and this is caus-ing issue as the lockdown hascome into forc. A techieNaveen Reddy said, "Few com-panies are asking to come tooffice and carry assigned desk-tops to home as the distribu-tion is not yet complete. Howcan we go when the roads arecompletely blocked by thepolice. When shutdown isannounced why exempt 7lakhIT employees?"

Meanwhile, chief secretarySomesh Kumar said IT firmswill be counted under essentialservices and said the ITMinistry will look into ensur-ing that most employees workfrom home. "Only essentialstaff if required can be made toattend office," he stated.

Somesh Kumarsaid IT firms willbe countedunder essentialservices and ITMinistry willensure thatemployees workfrom home

KNOW WHAT'S OPEN AND WHAT'S SHUT!The list of establishments exempted fromthe lockdown declared by Telanganagovernment up to March 31

List of establishmentsthat shall remainclosed include

n Banks/ ATMs.n Production and

manufacturing unitswhich require a

continuous processsuch as

Pharmaceuticals, Food-related units, dairy units,

feed and fodder units.n Print and electronic

media.n IT and ITeS, including

telcom, postal andinternet Services.

n E-commerce(delivery) of essentialgoods including food,

pharmaceutical andmedical equipment.n Sale of food item,

groceries, milk, bread,fruits, vegetables, eggs,

meat and theirtransportation and

warehousing activities.n Take-away/ home

delivery at restaurants.n Hospitals, pharmacies

and optical stores,pharmaceuticals

manufacturing and theirtransportation.

n Petrol pumps, LPGgas, oil agencies, theirgodowns and theirrelated transportoperations.n All security servicesincluding thoseprovided by privateagencies.n Private establishmentsthat support theprovisioning of theessential services or theefforts for containmentof Covid-19.n Department/Offices ofState/centralgovernment whichinclude: DistrictCollectorate/ Divisionaloffices/ Mandal Offices,Police, Health, Urban/Rural local bodies, Fire,Taxation, Excise,Commercial Tax,Transport, Stamps,registration, electricity,water supply,Agriculture, Horticulture,Animal Husbandry,fisheries, agriculturalMarketing, Civil suppliesand Regulatorydepartments

n All Educationalinstitutes andeducation departmentactivities includingvaluationn Anganwadi centresn All shops,commercialestablishments andofficesn Factories,workshops andgodownsn All Public transportservices includingTSRTC buses,SETWIN, HyderabadMetro, taxis, Auto-rickshaws etc.n All state bordersshall be sealed otherthan for themovement ofessential andperishablecommodities andservices.n Operations of allinterstate bus andtransport servicesincluding those bythe private operators.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Commuters who decided toignore the lock down instruc-tions of the government andventure out with their day today activities on Monday weremet with road blocks on busyroads in the city as the policebegan setting up barricades atdifferent parts of the city.

The barricades were set upin the morning on Monday,the first day of the lock down,which has been announced tillMarch 31 for the time being.Though many tried to per-suade the police personnel tolet them past the barricades,citing various reasons, most ofthe requests were turneddown. Emergency services likethe media were however letthrough, though after checkingcredentials.

The stopping of vehicles,however, also triggered trafficsnarls, quite ironic during alockdown, on the SP Road,from near the LifestyleBuilding towards HPS. Thebarricades, which came upnear Greenlands, near theNIMS gate, near the CTO fly-over and at several other spotsacross the city, have a sizablenumber of policemen manag-ing things, apart from seniorofficers also being posted atsome of the important points.For those going out to buymedicines or essential goods,

the police were seen allowingsome, while some were toldabout the importance of thelock down to combat thespread of the coronavirus.

As per the lock downinstructions, no vehicles at allwill be allowed on the roadsafter 7 pm till 6 am. Even dur-ing the day, there will be onlyone person allowed on a two-wheeler, and two persons in a

four-wheeler, and that too,only for essential/emergencyreasons. However, netizenstook to twitter condemning themove as it caused unprecedent-ed traffic jams further hinder-ing the public and emergencyservices alike. Police said thatthey would continue with thebarricading to make sure thatcommuters are off the roadcom.

Cops set up barricades to curb vehicular movement

Entrepreneur offers 20,000masks to Cyberabad policePNS n HYDERABAD

After the Cyberabad Policeposted a video of them clap-ping for doctors and nurses,noticing that they did nothave masks, a urologist andentrepreneur has come for-ward offering 20,000 surgicalmasks for them.

Replying to a video post-ed by the Cyberabad Policein which police personnelincluding the CommissionerVC Sajjanar clapping andshowing gratitude towardsdoctors, nurses, emergencystaff and so on, DrRaghavendra Pradeep, urol-ogist and director of ApricotLabs Private Limited said hewould be 'very happy to give

20,000 surgical masks'."I'm Dr Raghavendra

Pradeep..I'm a Urologist &Director, Apricot LabsPrivate Limited, which isinto pharma, lasers and nowmasks..I will be very happyto give 20000 surgical masksto u..sawur video todaywhere u r clapping for uswithout wearing any protec-tive gear.." said the entrepre-neur in the reply to thepolice's tweet.

The police, thanking thedoctor for his gesture.

However, taking note ofthe large crowd that hadgathered there, one netizenquestioned how police wereallowed to gather in largenumbers.

‘Use digital services for banking facilities'PNS n HYDERABAD

In view of coronavirus out-break, essential and basic bank-ing services are being provid-ed with minimum number ofstaff at the branches, said OPMishra, Chief GeneralManager of SBI HyderabadCircle, Telangana. He hasappealed to all the customersto minimise their visit to thebranches.

As per the guidelines, bankwill deliver the basic servicesonly viz cash deposits, cashwithdrawal, remittances, clear-

ing of cheques and govt trans-actions in its branches fromMarch 23, 2020 onwards tillfurther notification.

Mishra has also advised the

customers to use the digitaland alternate channels likeInternet Banking, YONO andATM services to minimise theneed for the customers to visit

the branches as most of the ser-vices are available on theseplatforms.

In view of the lockdownannounced by state govern-ment, he has requested theircustomers to cooperate and tominimize the visit to branch-es for their safety and to pre-vent the spread of this virus. Healso requested all the cus-tomers and staff to maintainpersonal hygiene and avoidgroup meetings in the branch-es to ensure social distancingand help in containing thecoronathreat.

Shops told to paint footmarksPNS n HYDERABAD

The state government onMonday directed the shopsand establishments in the stateto paint footmarks on thefloor to keep the customerswaiting in line at a distancefrom one another. Accordingto a government order issuedin continuation with the guide-lines for restrict spread ofCovid-19, the owners werewarned of stringent action ifthey fail to take the measuresadvised by the government.

The government orderissued by Special ChiefSecretary A SanthiKumari,says that all shops and estab-lishments shall paint foot-

marks on the floor at a distanceof four feet to indicate loca-tions where customers shall berequired to queue at thecounter. The marks can bemade inside the premises of

the shop or even outside theshop on foot paths in case ofconstraint of space.

The managements will haveensure that the customersmaintain distance.

SOCIAL DISTANCING

IT companyviolates curfew, officials sendemployees out PNS n DUNDIGAL

Violating the Janata Curfew,a software unit inBahadurpalli functioned onSunday leading to govern-ment official's interventionand sending the employeesaway.

On a tip off, DundigalMunicipal CommissionerSuresh visited the IT firmoffice and enquired withthem. The company man-agement is reported to havetold the official that 213employees of the companyare attending to the emer-gency work.

The municipal commis-sioner asked the Informationtechnology unit to stop itsactivities in the wake of theJanata Curfew and sent theemployees out.

Townshipresidentscomplain against trio PNS n HYDERABAD

The Residents of Malaysiantownship in KPHB lodged acomplaint with theCyberabad police againstthree persons who returnedfrom the US and were stay-ing in their complex.

In the complaint to theCommissioner of Police, theresidents shared their plightagainst three stubbornyoungsters, who returnedfrom the US, and decided toquarantine themselves intheir townships despite beingresidents of other areas. Thepresident of the townshipresident welfare associationsaid that youngsters' decisionwas putting at risk a majori-ty of the citizens in the com-plex who were senior citizens.

The three persons arrivedat the township on the 19thof March at 10:30 PM. Theresidents then reported thematter to the local police. ThePolice came and learnt thatthe trio had returned fromthe USA, but not one hadmentioned Malaysian town-ship. The RWA claimed thatthe identification cards ofthe US-returnees like Aadharcards, Passports did not havethe address of MalaysianTownship, and requested thecommissioner to take action.

Man held for selling masks atexorbitant prices

The West Zone Team of theCommissioner's Task Forcecaught a person who wasselling disposable face masks ata higher rate and seized 10,000face masks from him. Thearrested person has beenidentified as 46-year-old GaneshOhatker, a resident of Imampuraof Jiyaguda. Ganesh Ohatker, anative of Hyderabad, studiedupto Class IX and aftercompletion of his studies hestarted doing the business ofmanufacturing and selling ofcup nose masks. Ganesh alongwith his brother has been doingbusiness of manufacturing andselling of cup nose masks sincetwenty years. They used tomanufacture the cup nose maskfor Rs 1.15ps and used tosupply the same for Rs 1.80psto Rs2. About seven monthsago, he went to Bachupally andfound pieces of disposable facemasks (type 2ply: Ear loop/tie)(Blue colour) which are qualityless in white colour plastic bagsand are in incomplete shape.Immediately he took the sameand kept it in his residence.After the virus outbreak, thedemand increasedface masks.Ganesh then decided to sell thedisposable face masks at higherrates to earn easy money. Heprepared the disposable facemasks in complete shape in hisresidence and sold some masksfor Rs 20 each. He knows theGovernment has issued anotification that not to sell themask more than Rs.8 per piecebut he is selling the disposableface mask/pollution mask forRs.20 per piece, said the Police.Ganesh was nabbed by theWest Zone Task Force team onSunday when he was ready tosell the masks.

Police seizevehicles forbreaching rules

On the first day of lockdown,the Hyderabad City Policeseized 948 autos whileenforcing the strict policy ofnot letting anyone out onMonday. Officials also said thatthe enforcement of thelockdown would be very strictduring the night hours withpolice taking stringent actionagainst violators. The Policesaid that no movement wouldbe allowed on Hyderabad roadsat all. Police said that everyvehicle of violators would beseized, including bikes and carsand requested the public toremain indoors from 6:30 pmto 6:00 am. The RachakondaPolice seized 34 two wheelers,66 three wheelers and 14 fourwheelers. A total of 21 e-pettycases were booked and 24 MVact cases were registered. TheMedchal Police registered threecases against a real estateshop owner, an electricals shopowner and an auto driver forviolating government orders.

Fraudster held for Snapdeal lottery scams

The Cyber Crimes Police ofHyderabad nabbed afraudster who cheated innocentpeople in pretext of lottery fromSnapdeal. The arrested personhas been identified as 30-year-old Suresh Kumar, a resident ofKhagaria in Bihar. Officialsreceived a complaint from aman in which he stated that hepurchased a watch on Snapdeal.After receiving that, he got amessage from Snapdeal that hewon a bumper draw of TataStroma vehicle or its worth ofRs 12,60,000. A team of theHyderabad Cyber Crime Policeapprehended the accused atSanhouli of Khagaria District inBihar.

In view of thelockdown,customers wereasked tocooperate andminimize thevisit to banks

HYDERABAD | TUESDAY | MARCH 24, 2020 nation 04SHORT READS

Lok Sabha passesFinance Bill withoutdiscussionNEW DELHI: Lok Sabha passedthe Finance Bill 2020 withoutdiscussion on Monday. TheUnion government said it wasan "extraordinary situation", areference to the coronaviruspandemic, as Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman tabled thebill for passage. The Housenegated amendments movedby Opposition members.Parliament is likely to beadjourned sine die on Monday.

Lok Sabha adjournedsine die amidcoronavirus outbreak

Jharkhand Assemblyadjourned sine dieover coronavirusRANCHI: Jharkhand AssemblySpeaker Rabindra Nath Mahatoon Monday adjourned thebudget session of the Housesine die in the wake of thecoronavirus outbreak. Thedecision to adjourn the Houseindefinitely was taken at ameeting of the BusinessAdvisory Committee. TheDemands for Grants of differentdepartments for the 2020-21financial year were passedthrough guillotine before thespeaker adjourned the House.The budget session, whichbegan on February 28, wasscheduled to end on March 28.The state has been put under alockdown till March 31.

NEW DELHI: Lok Sabha wasadjourned sine die on Monday,nearly two weeks ahead ofschedule in view of thecoronavirus outbreak. Minutesbefore Speaker Om Birlaadjourned the House sine die, itpassed the Finance Bill 2020without any discussion. TwoBills were also introduced in LokSabha. The Budget Session wasscheduled to end on April 3.

PNS n AHMEDABAD

Twelve new coronavirus caseshave been reported in Gujarat,taking the total number ofthose infected by the deadlyvirus in the state to 30, the statehealth department said onMonday. Out of the 12 casesreported on Monday, five arethose of local transmission,while other patients have his-tory of travel to Saudi Arabia,Sri Lanka, France and the UK,it said. With this, cases inAhmedabad have gone up to13, Vadodara-six, Surat-fiveand Gandhinagar-four, whilethere is one case each report-ed from Kutch and Rajkot, thehealth department said.

The state has so far report-ed one death- of a 67- year-oldcoronavirus positive patientin Surat on Sunday. He was suf-

fering from ailments like kid-ney failure, asthma and others.

Gujarat Chief Minister VijayRupani said the 'Janta curfew'on Sunday was just a token andthe coronavirus- affected dis-tricts of the state will have to fol-low the same partial lockdowntill March 31. "Sunday's 'Janta

curfew' was just a token. It isnecessary that people of Gujaratfollow this till March 31.

People should not come outunnecessarily. We are about toenter the third stage where thevirus transmits in communitieswith multiplying effect. Chinais in fifth stage, where recovery

starts," Rupani said in the stateAssembly here.

"Till now, we have put fivemajor cities - Ahmedabad,Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot andGandhinagar - and the entireKutch district under lockdown.Now, we are mulling to stoppeople's movement in all those

districts where cases of coron-avirus emerge in the comingdays. Essential goods will beavailable to people during thepartial lockdown," he said.

In his message to the publicposted online, Rupani said thiswas a "decisive stage", andappealed to public to follow theprotocol related to partial lock-down in Ahmedabad,Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot,Gandhinagar and Kutch, fromwhere cases have been report-ed so far, till March 25.

Rupani said the industrybodies have also extended sup-port to the lockdown.

"We need not fear coron-avirus, but need to fight togeth-er against the pandemic," hesaid. "I once again ask peopleto remain indoors till March31. This is the best way to stopthe spread of coronavirus.

Cases rise to 30, Guj CM urges people to stay indoors

People stock up as Bihargovt announces lockdown PNS n PATNA

A day after the Bihar govern-ment imposed a lockdown inurban areas of the state tocheck the spread of Covid-19,people were seen throngingmarket places and medicalstores to stock up on essentials.

In state capital Patna, resi-dents moved around freely incars and bikes, some of themqueuing up next to petrolpumps and ATMs.

Tea shops and snack stallswere also open throughoutthe day, as people stood nextto each other to relish theircuppa, without following theadvised norms of social dis-tancing.

One or two private busesand auto-rickshaws were alsoseen plying the roads, in vio-lation of the lockdown order.

A vendor at a local marketin the state capital said his cus-tomers were buying vegetablesand milk for a week, as they aresceptical about the availabili-ty of essential items over thenext few days.

Asked what actions werebeing taken against those flout-ing rules, Patna DivisionalCommissioner Sanjay Kumar

Agarwal said 53 vehicles havebeen seized so far for violatingthe order.

The administration will takeappropriate action against thosewho fail to abide by the rules,he asserted. In Muzaffarpur andSiwan districts, too, a few pri-vate buses, with passengers inexcess of their capacity, wereplying the roads.

Airlines to monitor healthof crew who went abroadPNS n NEW DELHI

Amid coronavirus pandemic,Union health ministry onMonday told the civil aviationministry that airlines have totake the responsibility of mon-itoring the health of crewmembers, who flew abroadon duty, during their stay inIndia.

In a letter to Civil aviationministry, the health ministrynoted: "If a laboratory positivecase of COVID-19 is found ina flight, the entire crew has tobe de-rostered for minimum14 days. The crew needs to fol-low home-isolation during thetime at their own country."

The letter enumerated thesteps that need to be taken forcrew members of internation-al flights landing at Indian air-ports.

"The crew has to fill the self-declaration forms, similar tothe passengers. The crew needs

to present the self-declarationforms to the health authoritiesand clear the health screeningat the respective airports," stat-ed the letter.

Coronavirus cases rose to415 in the country on Monday.Seven people had died tillSaturday evening due to thevirus.

The health ministry's letter

stated that if a crew arrives inIndia with COVID-19 symp-toms, then they have to declarethe same to the APHO(Airport Health Organisation)and follow the isolation proto-cols as directed by them.

"During the stay in India, ifthe crew develops anysigns/symptoms of COVID-19,they should immediately

inform APHO for isolationand testing. The airlines shouldtake the responsibility of mon-itoring the health of the crewmembers during their stay atIndia," the letter noted.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Congress leader RahulGandhi on Monday hit out atPrime Minister NarendraModi over the "delay" in thegovernment's decision to banthe export of essential life-saving equipment like venti-lators and surgical masksamid coronavirus outbreak.

The government had onMarch 19 banned export of allventilators, surgical/dispos-

able masks and textile rawmaterial used for making

masks with immediate effectin wake of the coronavirusoutbreak.

"Respected Prime Minister,WHO's advice 1. Ventilator 2.Surgical Mask, why did theIndian government allow theexport of all these things tillMarch 19, instead of keepingsufficient stock? Which kindof forces have encouragedthese games? Isn't this a crim-inal conspiracy?" askedGandhi in a tweet in Hindi.

Rahul targets Modi govt over ‘delay' inbanning export of ventilators, masks

PNS n JAIPUR

Rajasthan Health Minister RaghuSharma on Monday said the gov-ernment has imposed pro-hibitory orders restricting asse-mbly of five or more people toprevent the spread of coronavirus.

He said that people can bebooked under IPC Section 188(disobedience of order) if theyare found violating the order.

"The state government hastaken strict measures like impos-ing a lockdown but I have seenthat people are not taking it seri-ously. The PM himself has saidthat the lockdown should bestrictly implemented," Sharmasaid. He said that in order to dealwith any emergency, the stategovernment has identified one

lakh beds for quarantine inplaces like houses, hotels, hostelsand hospitals.

The minister said that strictaction will be taken againstthose spreading rumours onsocial media and flouting pro-hibitory orders and added thatthe state government has arrest-ed 29 people for such offences.Hoarding and black marketingof masks, sanitiser and foodgrains is also punishable.

The minister said that aCOVID-19 relief fund has beenset up by CM Ashok Gehlotwhere people can make dona-tions. Nursing and paramedicalcouncils have contributed Rs 11lakh each while medical andpharmacy councils have con-tributed Rs 5 lakh each, he said.

Raj bars assembly offive or more people

PNS n BENGALURU

Even as the Karnataka govern-ment toughened measures to haltthe spread of COVID-19 out-break, the Chief Minister B SYediyurappa said on Mondayquarantining the large number ofpeople who have come in con-tact with the coronavirus positivepatients remained the "onlyworry". Yediyurappa requestedexperts, doctors and owners ofprivate hospitals to "serve thepeople through Government"which is serious to implement alltheir suggestions to contain the

spread of the infections of the res-piratory disease."

"Our only worry is: How toquarantine the large number ofpeople who have come in con-tact with the disease", the ChiefMinister said.

The experts, doctors and own-ers of private hospitals the gov-ernment consulted suggested"complete shutdown", Yediyu-rappa said. They suggested tostart fever clinics where prelim-inary checkups will be done."Thirty fever clinics will be start-ed", he said. They suggested themake people understand the

seriousness of the situation, andpopularise the message: 'Stay at

home and prevent getting dis-eases', and strengthening of pub-lic- private partnership to tack-le the COVID-19 outbreak.

These owners came forward tospare the service of doctors andclinic staff working in their hos-pitals, andagreed to spare morethan 100 ventilators.

"My sincere and serious appealto the people staying in urbanareas not to visit villages andhamlets which are till today freefrom COVID-19", the ChiefMinister said.

The Karnataka governmenthas already announced shut-

down of all commercial activitiesbarring essential services, innine districts, where COVID-19cases have been reported, tillMarch 31.

They are: Bengaluru city,Bengaluru Rural, Mangaluru,Mysuru, Kalaburagi, Dharwad,Chikkaballapura, Kodagu andBelagavi.

Six new COVID-19 caseswere confirmed in Karnataka onSunday, taking the total numberof infections to the respiratorydisease to 26 -- the highest num-ber of positive cases in a singleday in the State.

PNS n CHENNAI

Tamil Nadu will be under alockdown till March 31 from 6PM on Tuesday to prevent thespread of coronavirus andCrPC section 144 will beinvoked for its implementation,CM K Palaniswami announ-ced. Making a statement in theassembly on Monday, he saidthat barring essential and emer-gency services, public and pri-vate transportation will notfunction. The announcementcame a day after the COVID-19 cases in the state rose to nine.

TN lockdown:Borders sealedto combatCoronavirus

"The crew has tofill the self-declaration forms,similar to thepassengers. Thecrew needs topresent the self-declaration formsto the healthauthorities andclear the healthscreening at therespectiveairports," statedthe letter

CORONAVIRUS:

Delhi govt to give convictsspecial parole to decongest jails PNS n NEW DELHI

The AAP government informedthe Delhi High Court onMonday that it has decided todecongest prisons to check thespread of coronavirus by provid-ing convicts the options of spe-cial parole and furlough.

Parole and furlough mean atemporary release from jail of aprisoner. While the duration ofparole is not deducted fromperiod of sentence, the timespent on furlough is as it is areward given for good conduct.

The Delhi government told abench of Justices Hima Kohliand Subramonium Prasad thatit was going to amend its prisonrules to provide the options ofspecial parole and furlough.

Another proposal mooted isto amend the prison rules andintroduce the expression of'emergency parole' which shallauthorise the government togrant parole for up to eightweeks in one spell, in additionto the regular parole of one

month, subject to conditions,Delhi government's additionalstanding counsel AnujAggarwal said.

He said a notification wouldbe issued within a day to amendthe prison rules to include thenew provisions.

Parole, under the existingprison rules, means releasing aprisoner for not more than amonth to maintain social ties

after he or she has served min-imum one year of their award-ed jail term.

Under the existing prisonrules, furlough is a leave grant-ed as a reward for good conductto a convict sentenced to fiveyears or more jail term and whohas undergone three yearsthereof. Once eligible, a prison-er is granted 49 days furlougheach year.

Ladakh imposes lockdown till March 31PNS n LEH

The Union Territory of Ladakhhas been placed on lockdown tillMarch 31 to check the spread ofcoronavirus even as the reportsof 16 fresh samples of suspect-ed cases have tested negative, asenior government official saidon Monday.

The lockdown came intoeffect across Ladakh at 8 pm onSunday and will remain in forcetill 6 pm on March 31, officialssaid.

Ladakh has so far recorded atotal of 13 positive coronaviruscases. The District DevelopmentCommissioners of both Lehand Kargil districts haveimposed Section 144 of theCriminal Procedure Code(CrPC), the DisasterManagement Act and theEpidemic Diseases Act underwhich only essential services willbe available to the people tillMarch 31, CommissionerSecretary (Health) Rigzin

Samphel told reporters here.Seeking cooperation of the

people, he said, "We will ensurethat they do not face any prob-lem during the shutdown peri-od".

He said the reports of all 16suspected cases — 12 hailingfrom Kargil and four from Leh— were received from Delhi onSaturday and were negative.

"The test report of a person,

having a recent travel history tothe United States and whoreached Leh on Saturday in avery bad condition with sus-pected symptoms of COVID-19, is likely to reach by this(Monday) evening," he said.

Samphel said all the co-pas-sengers of the person have beencontacted and asked to remainunder home-quarantine for 14days and to ensure no physical

contact with family membersand others.

He said the Leh airport willoperate as usual and there is nochange in schedule of flightsarriving from Delhi or Jammu.

The deputy commissioners ofLeh and Kargil said in the lock-down order that there would bea "complete ban on assembly ofthree or more persons for anyreason, whatsoever, and com-plete shutdown of all shopsand business establishments,educational institutions, marketsand Anganwadi centres".

However, the essential ser-vices and supply chains to main-tain the essential services wereexempted from the purview ofthe shutdown, the officials said.

They said there would becomplete restrictions on themovement of interdistrict andintra-district commercial trans-port and other modes of publictransport, except for authorizedtransport plying for essentialpurposes.

PNS n KOHIMA

With the Nagaland govern-ment announcing a lockdownin the state as a precautionarymeasure to contain the spreadof novel coronavirus, peopleresorted to panic-buying ofessential items on Monday.

Nagaland Chief SecretaryTemjen Toy had assured onSunday that there would be noshortage of essential commodi-ties in the state, despite thelockdown order.

In state capital Kohima, res-idents were seen queuing upoutside grocery stores, ATMsand medical shops, many ofthem without following theadvised norms of social dis-tancing.

Several cars had also linedup next to petrol pumps, evenas private and public buseslargely stayed off the roads.

In the districts, too, peoplethronged market places, stock-ing up on milk and vegetables.Vehicles carrying passengers

from outside will be allowed toenter the state till Mondaymidnight.

The Nagaland government,in its order on Sunday, said allshops and business establish-ments, barring pharmacies,petrol pumps, grocery shops,dairy shops and media offices,shall remain closed March 22midnight.

It had also stated that com-mercial passenger vehicles,both public and private, likebuses, taxis, autos shall not ply

till further orders.All inter-state entry points in

the state have also been sealedwith police personnel manningthe 14 inter-state border checkgates with Assam, Manipurand Arunachal Pradesh.

The chief secretary hadappealed to people to main-tain hygiene, follow socialdistancing norms and remainindoors unless absolutelynecessary. Nagaland hasreported any Covid-19 posi-tive case so far.

People resort to panic buying of essentials in Nagaland People not taking lockdownin Maha seriously: Minister PNS n THANE

Maharashtra Housing Ministerand senior NCP leader JitendraAwhad on Monday said peoplewere not following social dis-tancing or lockdown rules prop-erly and asked Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray to clampcurfew in more areas in the stateto effectively tackle the novelcoronavirus outbreak. Severalmajor cities in the state, includ-

ing Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur andThane, are under partial lock-down with only essential ser-vices being exempted. Awhad,MLA from Mumbra Kalwa inThane district, said he toured hisarea on Monday and found a lotof people and vehicles out on thestreets. The Covid-19 patients inMaharashtra rose to 89 with 15more coronavirus positive casesreported in the last 24 hours,officials said.

Quarantine of a large number of people worries Yediyurappa

Gujarat CM VijayRupani said the'Janta curfew' onSunday was just atoken and thecoronavirus-affected districts ofthe state will haveto follow the samepartial lockdown tillMarch 31

nation 05HYDERABAD | TUESDAY | MARCH 24, 2020

KOLKATARoads and streets of Kolkata wore a deserted look on Monday as the lockdown in the city and several otherareas of West Bengal began at 5 pm, which will continue till March 27, officials said. Police personnel wereseen asking people through public address systems to return homes and shopkeepers to down the shuttersof their business establishments.

KERALATwenty-eight positive cases of coronavirus were reported from Kerala on Monday, taking the total number ofpatients under treatment to 91, following which the left Government has decided to lockdown the state tillMarch 31. Of the 28, 19 are from the worst-affected northern district of Kasaragod, five from Kannur, onefrom Pathnamthitta, two from Ernakulam and one from Thrissur, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told reportersafter a COVID-19 review meeting.

ARUNACHALThe Arunachal Pradesh Government has announced a lockdown in the State from Monday evening till March31 in view of the coronavirus outbreak, officials said. All essential services will continue during the period,according to a notification issued by Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar on Sunday night.

ASSAMAssam will be under lockdown from 6 pm on Tuesday till March 31 in the wake of the novel coronaviruspandemic, Health and Family Welfare Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced. Addressing a pressconference here on Monday, Sarma said essential services like pharmacies, medical, water supply, banking,and petrol pumps would be exempted from the purview of the lockdown.

LADAKHThe Union Territory of Ladakh has been placed on lockdown till March 31 to check the spread of coronaviruseven as the reports of 16 fresh samples of suspected cases have tested negative, a senior government officialsaid on Monday. Ladakh has so far recorded a total of 13 positive coronavirus cases. The DistrictDevelopment Commissioners of both Leh and Kargil districts have imposed Section 144 of the CriminalProcedure Code (CrPC), the Disaster Management Act and the Epidemic Diseases Act under which onlyessential services will be available to the people till March 31, Commissioner Secretary (Health) RigzinSamphel told reporters here.

LOCKDOWNLOCKDOWN

Thrissur(Ker)/Chennai: Ascoronavirus cases in the coun-try surge past 400, a priest inKerala who conducted a mass ata church defying a Governmentorder against public gatheringswas arrested on Monday.

Priest Pauly Padayatti,Vicar of the Lady of PerpetualHelp church at Koodapuzha inChalakudy, conducted themass on Monday morning inwhich at least 100 people hadparticipated, police said. Thepriest was arrested and later letoff on bail.

A case under sections 269IPC (Negligent act likely tospread infection of diseasesdangerous to life) and 118e ofthe Kerala Police Act (causingdanger to public) has been reg-istered against the priest and the100-odd faithful. The totalnumber of COVID-19 cases inthe country surged to 415, aspike from the figure of 360 thenight before. PTI

KUMAR CHELLAPPAN nCHENNAI

The government is expectedto announce economicpackage shortly amid highexpectation of bailout by sec-tors hugely affected by coron-avirus, sources said. Four daysago, during his addressto the nation,Prime MinisterNarendra Modihad announcedthe formationof a special taskforce headed byfinance ministerNirmala Sitharaman.The COVID-19 EconomicResponse Task Force, he said,would take an overview of thesituation and suggest the wayahead.

Ms Sitharaman has alreadydeclared that the donationsmade towards fightingCOVID-19 would be countedas "Corporate SocialResponsibility".

"In view of the spread ofnovel #CoronaVirus in India,its declaration as pandemic bythe WHO, and decision ofGovernment of India to treatthis as notified disaster, it ishereby clarified that spendingof CSR funds for COVID-19 iseligible CSR activity.#IndiaFightCorona," her tweet

read.Her tweets also

announced the relaxationof compliance provisionsby securities exchangeboard SEBI and the

Reserve Bank's decision toconduct variable rate term

repos of ?1,00,000 crores.In a special address to the

nation on Thursday evening,the Prime Minister said thecoronavirus already had a hugeeffect on the global economy.But its impact in India is yet tobe analysed.

Worldwide, the economyhas gone into a tailspin sincethe coronavirus started spread-ing from China' Wuhan. From

large airlines to small traders,all have been hit as travelceased, social distancing start-ed, all shops except essentialcommodities shut and cityafter city came under lock-down.

In the US, the DonaldTrump government has initi-ated a trillion-dollar stimuluspackage for the economy,which, however, has beenblocked by Democrats.

But following the US initia-tive, there have been expecta-tions of a special package fromthe government, which peakedafter it became known that thePrime Minister would addressthe nation on Thursday.

In Parliament today, theCongress demanded a financialpackage, saying the govern-ment should have done it today.But Speaker Om Birla toldCongress's Adhir RanjanChoudhury that the mattershould not be raised as therewas an understanding only topass the finance bill today.

Centre likely to announce bailoutpackage to soften COVID-19 blow

KUMAR CHELLAPPAN nCHENNAI

Opulence, that’s how peopledescribe marriages in TamilNadu. Whether the bride andgroom hail from the rich andpowerful families or from thelower middle class strata, mar-riages in Tamil Nadu are knownfor their extravaganzas, mindboggling entertainments andunique and exquisite spread oflunch and dinner tables. Thenumber of persons attendingthe marriage reception and thekind of swanky cars in whichthe guests arrive are an indica-tion of the social stand of thehosts.

Though the Dravidianmovements in the State claimthat they have revolutionisedTamil society with self-respectmarriages, touted as simpleevents sans Vedic scholars forsolemnising the most importantevent in the lives of youths, it is

all for public consumption. Youmay not see Brahmin punditsofficiating as “God’sRepresentative” during the cer-emony. But there are newavatars of EV RamasamyNaicker (founder of Dravidianmovement who propoundedthe idea of self-respect mar-riages) playing the role of thepundit. The marriages contin-ued to be glittering events wheremusic concerts and westerndance events by the stars ofKollywood played major role.

Not any more. The coron-avirus, which struck TamilNadu early this month, hastaken the glamour and crowdoff the marriages. The last fourdays saw people hailing fromupper middle class familiesdoing away with all opulence,high-end celebrations and theunique spreads during lunchand dinner. Gone are the glit-terati and chauffer driven lim-ousines. And above all, the

venues have been shifted to thesanctum sanctorum of tem-ples! The priest of the templeblesses the couple, whoexchange the garlands (madeout of minimum number offlowers) which are sanitised.The minimum number ofguests who grace the occasionare welcomed not with the tra-ditional sandal waters and pastesbut with sanitisers with whichthey could clean their hands!

The amount of loss sufferedby the catering agents becauseof the corona virus attack isbeyond comprehension.“Usually there would be a min-imum of 6,000 guests for a mar-riage. The coronavirus hasbrought it down. We serve 14 to20 course meals during lunchwhich include vegetablebiriyani, fried rice, parothas,puris, vegetable curries andsweet delicacies,” saidManikandan , a lead catererfrom Ambur near Velore.

Monday saw a youthbelonging to the political outfitled by film star Vijayakanthtying nuptial note in Chennai.He was forced to do away withall celebrations because of theSection 144 but he shifted thevenue to the actor’s residence sothat his “God” could grace theoccasion. A wheel chair boundVijayakanth, who is keepingindifferent health for the last twoyears attended the marriagecovering his face with mask andblessed the couple.

Elsewhere in the State, thebride, groom and their imme-diate relations constitute the listof guests. The same is the casein Kerala with parents of soonto be married youngsters decid-ing to do away with the air-con-ditioned wedding halls, lavishfeasts, and related rituals whichwould help them save a fewlakhs.

COVID virus too has itsadvantages !

Church priestin Keralaarrested forholding massSAUGAR SENGUPTA n

KOLKATA

Even as all the Oppositionparties including BJP, Leftand the Congress hailed ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee forher “impressive performance”in containing the proliferationof the dreaded virus, the State,reported its first corona-infect-ed death with a 57-year-oldRailway employee from DumDum succumbing to his ail-ments late on Monday noon.At least three other relatives ofthe victim, including his wifeand mother, were under obser-vation at a different hospital ofKolkata, Health Departmentsources.

Though any foreign trav-el history of the victim was stillnot established as his wife saidthat they had not visited anycorona-affected country in therecent past, authorities weretrying to find out whether hisinfection had anything to dowith his US-based son.

The relatives of the victimsaid he had recently back trav-elled back from Bilaspur inChhattisgarh by Pune-HowrahAzad Hind Express wonderingwhether he had contacted thedisease while travelling intrain.

“If he did not pick it upfrom his son or if his son hadnot visited India in the pastcouple of months then he couldbe the first such patient whocontacted the virus from thecommunity,” a Governmentofficial said.

There are seven moreCorona-infected patientsundergoing treatment at theBeleghata ID Hospital, sourcessaid adding no new infectionwas reported on Monday.

Meanwhile, even as theurban parts of the State wentinto a complete lockdown theopposition leaders of Bengalon Monday hailed the ChiefMinister for her “impressiveperformance” in containingthe outbreak.

Bengal reportsfirst death PTI n PATNA

Two Indians and 10Kyrgyzstan nationals wereheld in preventive custodyhere on Monday in the wake ofthe coronavirus outbreak andsent to the All India Instituteof Medical Sciences (AIIMS) inthe city for tests, police said.

Acting on a complaint bythe locals, police picked themup from a mosque in Kurji areaof the Bihar capital. The for-eigners were Islamic preachers,Digha police station SHOManoj Kumar said.

The two guides are resi-dents of Uttar Pradesh, hesaid.

Six of them were testednegative for COVID-19 whilereports of the others are await-ed, the police officer said.

Six persons whose reportsare awaited have been quar-antined at a city hotel.

"Initially, we detained themfor medical examination butlater set six of them free," theofficer said, adding all hadvalid travel documents.

Two Indians, 10foreign preachersdetained in Bihar

RS bids farewellto 57 retiringmembers from20 states

Guwahati: The leader of theopposition in AssamLegislative Assembly,Debabrata Saikia, on Mondaywrote to Union HomeMinister Amit Shah expressingconcern over the targeting ofpeople from the north-east fol-lowing the coronavirus out-break.

The Congress leader, in hisletter to Shah, said that he was

bringing to his notice the factthat at a time when the coun-try was struggling to copewith the threat posed by coro-navirus, certain racist ele-ments in some parts of Indiawere abusing and vilifyingpeople with Mongoloid fea-tures who hail from the north-eastern states.

"I have already receivedinformation about several such

incidents, where persons fromthe north-east have beenabused as chinkis, bat-eatingtribe etc," Saikia said.

He said that at a shoppingmall in Pune, a middle-agedwoman abused a young girlfrom the north-east ostensiblybecause she suspected the vic-tim of being a Chinese nation-al, and therefore, responsiblefor spreading the coronavirus.

"Other incidents includeanother young woman fromthe north-east being spat uponby a scooterist in New Delhifor apparently the same rea-son.

A woman named AngelicaAribam was so appallinglyabused on social media that shewas compelled to lodge an FIRwith the Delhi Police against theculprits," he said. PTI

Assam LoP writes to Shah, expresses concern over NE people being targetted

Jammu: The Army on Mondayannounced the postponement ofits 10-day major recruitmentrally slated to take place inRajouri district of Jammu &Kashmir next month in view ofthe coronavirus outbreak. Therally was meant for eligible can-didates of all the 10 districts ofJammu province. "In view ofCOVID-19, Army RecruitmentRally scheduled to be held atALG, Rajouri from April 20 to29 for eligible candidates ofDoda, Kishtwar, Kathua, Jammu,Poonch, Rajouri, Ramban, Reasi,Samba and Udhampur districtsof J&K has been postponed tillfurther order," the defencespokesman said. PTI

Army postponesrecruitmentrally in J&K

MOHIT KANDHARI n JAMMU

After locking down fourmost-affected districts inJammu & Kashmir andLadakh, the administrators onMonday decided to seal inter-state borders with Punjab,Himanchal Pradesh, andLadakh to effectively deal withthe outbreak of COVID-19. Italso ordered release of an addi-tional `40 crore to all deputycommissioners to support theircorona-mitigation effortsbesides two months' advanceration to eligible consumers.

The gateway of Jammu &Kashmir at Lakhanpur was

declared out of bounds byplacing concertina wires on thehistoric bridge connectingJammu & Kashmir withMadhopur in Punjab.

To check movement ofpeople in their personal vehi-cles, the Government alsodecided to restrict inter districtmovement of vehicles but onlypermitted movement of vehi-cles ferrying essential supplies.

A Government advisoryurged public to stay at hometo slow the spread of thenovel coronavirus disease(Covid-19) and advised not toventure out unless it isabsolutely essential.

J&K borders sealed fully,more funds released foranti-virus fight: Official

Patna: Leader of Opposition inthe Bihar Assembly, TejashwiPrasad Yadav, on Mondayoffered his 1, Polo road officialbungalow to the Governmentfor turning it into a makeshiftquarantine camp or a testingcentre for Covid-19.

Taking to Twitter, the RJDleader also said that he woulddonate a month's salary to thechief minister's relief fund tohelp those in need in the wakeof the crisis.

As per the State HealthSocietys bulletin, of the 143samples collected till Sunday, twohave tested positive for Covid-19.

One of them, a 38-year-old man,died at AIIMS, Patna, onSaturday, while the other patientwas undergoing treatment. "Asthe leader of opposition, I havebeen allotted the 1, Polo roadgovernment bungalow. I wouldlike to put it (bungalow) to bet-ter use," Yadav tweeted.

"The bungalow could beused as a quarantine camp or atesting centre, or for setting upisolation wards and increasingthe number of beds. It can alsobe used in any other manner tofight against the coronavirusoutbreak," he wrote on themicroblogging site. PTI

NEWDELHI: The Rajya Sabhaon Monday bid farewell to 57members, including veteranNCP leader Sharad Pawar, whowill retire between April andJuly. One-third of the membersof the Upper House retire everytwo years.

As many as 57 Rajya Sabhamembers from 20 states will beretiring in the next threemonths. Bidding farewell,Rajya Sabha Chairman MVenkaiah Naidu said some ofthe retiring members havebeen re-elected. However, theHouse will continue to missthose who will not be comingback, he said.

Stating that change isinevitable and the only constantin life, Naidu noted,"Membership of the parlia-ment in general and RajyaSabha, in particular, is an hon-our which comes with itsunique set of challenges thatcalls for significant account-ability towards the citizens ofour country."

Tejashwi offers officialbungalow for use as quarantinecamp or virus testing centre

A municipal corporation health worker sprays disinfectant to contain the spread of coronavirus in Jammu on Monday PTI

TN RAGHUNATHA nMUMBAI:

In an extreme measure tocheck the alarming spread ofCOVID-19, Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray on Mondayordered lockdown in entireMaharashtra till March 31 andsealing of all State borders and25 coronavirus-free district bor-ders, even as the pandemicclaimed one more life and thetotal number of confirmedCOVID-19 cas es shot up to 89in the State.

An overnight after theMaharashtra Governmentextended the Prime Minister-called “Janata Curfew” from 9pm till 5 am, the Chief Ministerannounced a slew of measuresunder the Epidemic DiseasesAct, 1897, including lockdownin the entire State, sealing of allState borders and 25 coron-avirs-free district borders andpenal action against those whoare not complying with “homequarantine”.

“As a precautionary mea-sure to prevent the spread ofcoronavirus, we have sealedthe various borders ofMaharashtra. We have also thecollectors of 25 coronavirus-freedistricts to issue orders pro-hibiting any vehicular move-ments into their districts. Themovement of essential and per-ishable commodities have beenspared from the lockdown of

State borders, the district bor-der sealing orders do not applyto medical emergencies,” theChief Minister said.

Meanwhile, theCoronavirus toll in the Staterose to three as a 68-year oldPhilippine citizen man, whoinitially tested positive andlater tested negative after appar-ently after some recovery, diedat a private hospital late onSunday night.

The patient had been admit-ted to the Kasturba Hospital inMumbai ten days ago and post-recovery when he tested nega-tive, moved to a private hospi-tal where he succumbed late onSunday. “The patient was a caseof diabetes mellitus and asthma.He was admitted on March 13.He had developed acute renalfailure and respiratory distress,”a statement issued by the pub-lic health department of theBrihanmumbai MunicipalCorporation (BMC) said.

After the latest death, thetotal number coronavirus-relat-ed deaths rose to three. Earlier,a 63-year-old disease-infectedhad died at the Kasurba Hospitalon March 17, while another 63-year-old male patient, who hadbeen admitted to private hospi-tal in Mumbai on March 19.

With 15 more fresh cases,the total number of confirmedcoronavirus cases in the statejumped to 79 on Monday. “Of

the 15 fresh cases, 14 are fromMumbai and one case is fromPune. The fresh cases include 8close contacts or family mem-bers of earlier positive cases and4 with travel history to affectedcountries,” State Health MinisterRajesh Tope said.

Of the total infected cases inthe state, Mumbai accounted fora maximum of 38 cases, whilePune and Pimpri-chinchwadcities reported 16 and 12 casesrespectively. Nagpur, Yavatmal,Kalyan and Navi Mumbairecorded four infected caseseach, while Ahmednagar districtaccounted for two cases. Panvel,Thane, Ulhasnagar, Aurangabadand Ratnagiri registered oneconfirmed coronavirus caseeach. The State Health Ministersaid that the state stood on thethreshold of a 'multiplicationstage' of the virus and empha-sized the need for people tomaintain ‘social distancing’.

"This is the stage to exerciseextreme precautions since wedon't want to enter from PhaseII to Phase III at any cost," Topesaid