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KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR

KEJRI URGES CENTRE NOT WELCOME

MOURNERS BID ‘JUST DON’T RUB
TO ROLL BACK LG'S IN U.S.
FAREWELL TO KOHLI UP THE
NEW COVID ORDER
RAYSHARD BROOKS WRONG WAY’
P4 P6 P10 P12

WEATHER

Generally cloudy sky. Moderate

India, China agree
to abide by 6 June
Over 73.5 lakh samples
tested in India till 23 June
rain/thundershowers. The maximum and

understanding
minimum temperatures would be around
36 and 28 degrees Celsius respectively.
RAINFALL: 14.6 MM
RELATIVE HUMIDITY Currently, three lakh samples for coronavirus can be tested per day, say ICMR officials
Max.100% Min. 70%
TEMPERATURE SNS & PTI
Max: 34.6°C (-3) Min: 28.2°C (0) NEW DELHI, 24 JUNE Country sees
worst spike

O
SUN RISES SUN SETS
05:26 hrs 19:23 hrs ver 73.5 lakh sam-
MOON RISES MOON SETS ples have been of nearly
10:14 hrs 22:54 hrs tested for Covid-
19, of which 2.15 4,56,183 16,000 cases
lakh were done on Tuesday,
the highest in a day since NEW DELHI, 24 JUNE

THUMBNAILS
ASHOK TUTEJA
NEW DELHI, 24 JUNE
commanders of the two
countries held marathon
the beginning of the pan-
demic, ICMR officials said
1,83,022 India witnessed on
talks in the wake of the vio- on Wednesday. Wednesday a spike of

At their diplomatic-level
talks in the midst of the bor-
der stand-off, India and
China today resolved to
‘expeditiously’ implement
lent clash last week between
India and Chinese troops
that led to the martyrdom
of 20 Indian soldiers at
the Galwan Valley.
15,968
The apex health research almost 16,000 fresh
body on Tuesday validat- cases of the novel Coro-
ed the 1,000th testing lab- navirus in the past 24
oratory, ramping up the hours, taking the total
capacity for detection of in the country to 4.5

the understanding reached
between senior military
commanders of the two
countries on 6 June on
disengagement and de-
escalation in Eastern
Ladakh.
A tailor displays cloth masks for sale at his shop The two countries
amidst measures to fight against the spread of agreed that implementa-
coronavirus, in Mumbai on Wednesday. �AFP tion of this understanding,
in accordance with the
bilateral agreements and
TMC MLA dies of Covid-19: Trinamul Congress protocols, would help
MLA, Tamonash Ghosh, who had tested positive ensure peace and tran-
for Covid-19 in May, died at a hospital in Kolkata quility in border areas and
on Wednesday, party sources said. Ghosh, who the development of broad-
was 60 years old, was a three-time MLA from er relationship between
the Falta Assembly constituency in South 24- them, the External Affairs
Parganas district. It was learnt from sources Ministry said at the end of
that the MLA had several complications related a three-hour meeting of the
to the heart and the kidney. Bengal CM Mamata India-China Working
Banerjee tweeted, “Very, very sad. Tamonash Mechanism for Consulta-
Ghosh, 3-time MLA from Falta & party treasurer tion and Coordination
since 1998 had to leave us today. Been with us (WMCC) on border affairs
for over 35 years, he was dedicated to the held through video-con-
cause of the people & party...” ference.
This was the 15th meet-
ing of the WMCC at which
Reform trajectory continues, says PM on Cabi- the Indian side was led by
net decisions: The “landmark” decisions taken by Naveen Sinha, Joint Sec-
the Union Cabinet on Wednesday are aimed at retary (East Asia) in the
accelerating economic growth and the coun- External Affairs Ministry
try’s strides in space, besides assisting farmers, while the Chinese delega-
and villages, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has tion was led by Wu Jiang-
said. In a series of tweets, he said crores of Indi- hao, Director General
ans will gain from these decisions. “The reform (Boundary and Oceanic
trajectory continues,” he tweeted, referring to Affairs) at the Chinese For-
the decision to allow participation of the private eign Ministry. The meeting
sector in the entire range of space activities. came two days after top
At today’s meeting, India
conveyed to China its con-
cerns over the violent 15
June face-off and empha-
sised that both sides should
respect the Line of Actual
Control (LAC). The exist-
ing situation at Eastern
Ladakh was discussed in
detail by the diplomats
from the two countries.
They also took note of the
discussions in the second
meeting of the senior com-
manders held on Mon-
day. They recalled the con-
versation last week between
External Affairs Minister S
Jaishankar and Chinese
State Councillor and For-
eign Minister Wang Yi and
agreed to maintain com-
munication both at diplo-
matic and military level,
including under the frame-
work of WMCC, to resolve
the existing situation peace-
fully.
Sources, meanwhile,
said the Indian side used
maps, charts and old
treaties to make the Chi-
nese side understand how
PLA’s claim on the border
was wrong and why the sta-
tus quo ante that existed
in early May ought to be
restored in the interest of
peace in the border areas.
Covid-19 in the country.
Currently, three lakh
samples can be tested per
day, an official said.
“A cumulative total of
73,52,911 samples have
been tested up to June 23,
with2,15,195 samples being
tested on Tuesday,” the
apex health research body
said.
Of the 2,15,195 tests
conducted on Tuesday,
1,71,587 were done in gov-
ernment laboratories and
43,608 in private ones, the
Union health ministry said,
adding the private facilities
have also reached the high-
est per-day sampling with
this quantity.
Of the 1,000 Covid-19
testing laboratories, 730
are in government setups
while 270 are in the private
sector. This includes 557 RT-
PCR labs, 363 TrueNat Labs
and 80 CBNAAT Lab.
“However, in spite of
these developments, access
to testing still remains a
huge challenge in a large
country like India. There is
a definite need to increase
the outreach of testing by
introducing rapid point of
care diagnostic tests,” the
ICMR noted in its adviso-
ry issued on Tuesday.
Also, sero survey with
IgG-based antibody tests
can be conducted in cer-
tain situations, officials
said.
It is now suggested to
include additional testing
methods to improve access
and availability of testing
in various parts of the
country, the health research
body said. The real-time RT-
PCR is the gold standard test
for detecting cases of Covid-
19 and the average time
between receipt of sample
and getting the result is
around four to five hours.
“The advantage of this
platform lies in its accura-
cy of detection as well as
ability to run up to 90 sam-
ples in a single run. In view
of the requirement of a
specialised laboratory setup,
this test cannot be per-
formed at every district-level
lab which does not have
molecular virology facili-
ties,” the ICMR said.
The TrueNat and the
CBNAAT systems have also
been deployed for diag-
nosis of Covid-19 in view
of availability of customised
cartridges.
These platforms have
widespread availability
even at district and primary
health centre-levels as these
are widely used for diagnosis
of tuberculosis and other
infectious diseases. These
platforms have a quick
turnaround time (30-60
minutes) but only one-
four samples can be test-
ed in one run, limiting the
maximum number that
can be tested to 24-48 sam-
ples per day only, the ICMR
said. The ICMR recently also
approved the use of rapid-
antigen test for coronavirus
infection that gives results
in 30 minutes.
It has recommended
deployment of rapid anti-
10,495
14,476
UNION HEALTH MINISTRY
FIGURES AS OF 8.00 A.M.
WEDNESDAY 24 JUNE 2020
gen detection test for Covid-
19 in combination with
the RT-PCR test in all con-
tainment zones, central
and state government med-
ical colleges and govern-
ment hospitals, private
hospitals approved by the
National Accreditation
Board for Hospitals and
Healthcare (NABH), and all
NABL-accredited and
ICMR-approved private
labs for Covid-19 testing.
The apex health research
body has also advised that
the rapid antibody test for
Covid-19 should be per-
formed only for surveil-
lance purposes, and not
diagnosis, to help allay
fears and anxiety of health-
care workers and employ-
ees. IgG antibodies gener-
ally start appearing after two
weeks of onset of the infec-
tion once the individual has
recovered, and these last for
several months.
lakh with 465 new
deaths, according to
data from the Union
Health and Family Wel-
fare Ministry.
With the highest
single-day spike so far
of 15,968 new cases, the
total tally of Covid-19
patients reached
4,56,183 so far.
The data revealed a
spike of over 1,000 cases
from Tuesday, when
14,933 new Covid-19
cases were reported.
The death toll due
to the viral infection so
far is 14,476, according
to the Health Ministry
data.
However, a total of
1,35,663 more people
have recovered than
the number of active
cases. There are cur-
rently 1,83,022 active
and 2,58,685 recover-
ies.
The number of
patients recovering
from Covid-19 contin-
ues to rise.
The recovery rate
has further improved
to almost 56.38 per
cent amongst the
Covid-19 patients. SNS

Army chief visits Eastern Ladakh to Lockdown

review operational preparedness
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI/ JAMMU, 24 JUNE
Chief of the Army Staff, Gen
M M Naravane today visited
forward locations in eastern
Ladakh where India and Chi-
nese troops have been
involved in a fierce stand-off
for over 50 days. He reviewed
the operational prepared-
ness of the Indian Army on
the ground with top com-
manders.
“Gen M M Naravane, COAS
visited forward areas in East-
ern Ladakh and reviewed
operational situation on the
ground. COAS commended
the troops for their high
morale and exhorted them to
continue working with zeal
and enthusiasm,” the Indian
Army tweeted.
The Army chief ’s visit
comes close on the heels of
the 15 June violent clash
between Indian and Chi-
nese troops at the Galwan Val-
ley in which 20 Indian sol-
diers, including the Com-
manding Officer of the 16
Bihar regiment, were mar-
tyred. Nearly 76 Indian sol-
diers were injured in the
clash. The Army chief had vis-
ited them yesterday in hos-
pitals in Leh.
The Army chief today
awarded commendation
cards to the soldiers who
were injured in the face-off.
He lauded the valour of the
soldiers deployed on the
frontlines amid harsh weath-
er conditions and challeng-
ing terrain. Today is the sec-
ond day of Army Chief’s visit
to Ladakh and Kashmir.
Yesterday, the Army chief
had also interacted with the
lone local MP Jamyang Tser-
ing Namgyal. Also present dur-
ing the interaction were
Northern Army Comman-
der and Leh Corps Com-
mander. He was also briefed
by Lt Gen Harinder Singh, the
14 Corps Commander, on
the latter’s talks with his Chi-
nese counterpart, Maj Gen Lin
Liu, commander of the South
Xinjiang Military District,
aimed at de-escalation. India
is believed to have insisted on
the restoration of the status
quo ante that existed in early
May during the talks.
Even as Gen Naravane
was visiting Ladakh, China
again blamed India for the 15
June clash.
“The responsibility for
the China-India border con-
flicts lies entirely with the Indi-
an side, and China hopes to
maintain peace and stabili-
ty in the border areas,” Wu
Qian, a spokesperson of the
Chinese Ministry of Nation-
al Defence, was quoted as say-
ing by the local media.
extended till 31
July in Bengal
KOLKATA, 24 JUNE
The Bengal government has
decided to extend the lockdown
till 31 July along with the exist-
ing relaxations in view of the
rising Corona cases across the
country, said chief minister
Mamata Banerjee after seek-
ing opinion from representa-
tives of all political parties
during the all-party meeting at
Nabanna Sabhaghar today.
“The existing lockdown is till
30 June, and now we have
decided to extend it till 31 July.
The existing relaxations will
continue along with the stag-
gering working hours in govt
offices. The Coronavirus cases
are on a rise so we have to
check the spreading of the
virus. The educational institu-
tions are already closed till 31
July. We sought opinion on
extension of lockdown from
all the parties,” said the CM after
the all-party meeting. SNS

In a first, diesel price exceeds petrol price in Delhi

STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, 24 JUNE
Diesel, which was once con-
sidered poor man’s fuel since
it was mostly used by farm-
ers or transporters, on Wednes-
day surpassed the petrol price
in Delhi though only Rs 0.12
costlier than petrol.
Though diesel is still cheap-
er in Kolkata, Mumbai and
Chennai, the gap between
petrol and diesel prices has
reduced drastically. On
Wednesday, Oil Marketing
Companies increased the
diesel prices for the eighteen-
day ~ making it Rs 79.76 a litre
for petrol and Rs 79.88 for a
litre of diesel in Delhi.
One look at the price hike
in the past eighteen days
revealed that Oil Marketing
companies have increased
petrol prices by Rs 9.40 a litre
and Rs 10.58 a litre for diesel
in Delhi. This hike is proba-
bly the highest in just 18 days.
Such hike was not announced
even when the crude oil price
had crossed more than $100
a barrel.
The Oil Marketing com-
panies (OMCs) had adopted
a practice to increase petrol
prices marginally every day so
as it did not attract any major
opposition from the public.
Normally the daily increase is
between 50 paise to 70 paise
a day to avoid any immediate
attention.
It all started from the first
week of June when the gov-
ernment announced unlock-
down-1 and economic activ-
ities started picked up after the
lockdown. The present price
of petrol in Delhi, Kolkata,
Mumbai and Chennai is Rs
79.76, Rs 81.45, Rs 86.54 and
Rs 83.04 respectively. Similarly,
diesel price is Rs 79.88, Rs 75.06,
Rs 78.22, and Rs 77.17 for
Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and
Chennai respectively.
Normally diesel prices used
to be 20 to 40 per cent cheap-
er than petrol a decade ago due
to less excise and the sales tax
on diesel. But over the years,
the excise and sales tax on
diesel increased narrowing
the gap between the two.
In June 2014, soon after the
Narendra Modi government
took charge in its first stint
at the Centre, petrol and
diesel were retailing at Rs 71.51
a litre and Rs 57.28 a litre
respectively in Delhi. There
was a price gap of Rs 12
between the two fuels at a
time when the price of crude.
One can make out the
increase of taxes on diesel
from the fact that when Modi
government took over in
2014, excise duty on diesel was
mere Rs 3.56 and today it
almost Rs 32 for a litre of diesel.
Similarly, the tax on Petrol in
2014 was about Rs 9.40 that
has been increased to Rs
32.98 litre in June 2020.