JOURNALISM OF COURAGE

SINCE 1932

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TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2020, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 14 PAGES
DEEPEST CUT IN EXPENDITURE SINCE STATE WAS FORMED
CoronavirusepicentreMaharashtrafreezesall
developmentspendforayear,nonewhiring
67% cut in schemes expenditure as
state fears revenue loss of ` 50,000 cr
SANDEEP ASHAR
MUMBAI, MAY 4
MAHARASHTRA, the state
worst-hit by the Covid-19 pan-
demic in the country, Monday
declared a freeze on new capital
works till March next year.
The state, whose Budget size
is the second biggest after Uttar
Pradesh, imposed a 67 per cent
cut in development (scheme)
spend for 2020-21. “This is the
deepest ever cut in expenditure
since the state was formed in
1960,” an official said.
As on date, the state had
12,974confirmedCovidcases,ac-
counting for 30 per cent of all
casesinthecountry,andhadreg-
istered548deaths,almost40per
cent of all deaths in the country,
according to the Ministry of
Health and Family Welfare.
Less than two months back,
the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress
government had presented a
Rs 4.34 lakh crore budget for
2020-21, an increase of 4.1 per
cent over the revised estimate
for 2019-20. The only other state
with a bigger budget than
Maharashtra is Uttar Pradesh
The capital outlay (spending
which leads to asset creation)
was estimated at Rs 45,124 crore
for this year, 2.6 per cent lower
than in 2019-20.
Barring procurements of in-
frastructure and items required
forcombatingthepandemic,the
15-yr-old held
in South Delhi,
police probe
online chats
MAHENDER SINGH
MANRAL
& SOMYA LAKHANI
NEW DELHI, MAY 4
THE DELHI Police Cyber Cell has
lodged an FIR following a com-
plaint about a private Instagram
group, where teenage boys from
prominent South Delhi schools
discussed girls’ body parts and
shared their photos. Police have
also apprehended a 15-year-old
boy and are probing the matter.
Purported screenshots from
the group, called ‘Bois Locker
Room’, had been shared widely
on Twitter and Instagram on
Sunday.TheCyberCellthentook
suomotucognizanceof themat-
ter and filed an FIR. A senior po-
lice officer said, “On Monday, we
found out that the administra-
tion of a prominent private
school had filed a complaint at
Saket police station.”
The officer said, “In their
complaint,schoolauthoritiesre-
quested police to investigate the
incident. Police, using technical
surveillance, got the registered
number of the 15-year-old, who
had allegedly shared a photo-
graph on the group. His phone
was switched off. After finding
his address, he was appre-
hended on Monday evening.”
Police have so far found that
some students of leading South
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
BUSINESS AS USUAL
BY UNNY
THE WORLD
EUROPE’S LONGEST
LOCKDOWN EASES:
WORK RESUMES
IN ITALY PAGE 12
E
E X P L A I NE D
Brakes on
● spending
STALLING ALL develop-
ment works for the full
year shows the massive
impact of the lockdown
on state finances. With
almost zero revenues in
April, the state expects its
tax revenues to shrink by
at least 25 per cent, giv-
ing it very little fiscal
space to undertake any
new capital works, bar-
ring those critical in its
fight against Covid.
state has ordered departments
towithholdtendersfornewpur-
chases and approvals for new
development works. To ensure
continuity in administration
during the outbreak, it has also
put a stop on all departmental
transfers.
As the country entered its
third phase of the nationwide
lockdown, Maharasthra’s
Finance Department estimated
its own loss in tax revenues of
about Rs 50,000 crore. For the
current financial year, the state’s
own tax revenues were bud-
getedatRs2,25,071crore.Senior
officialssaidthelosseswereonly
likely to increase further.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
From capital to labour to credit, small firms
on the brink, have emergency wishlist for govt
PRANAV MUKUL,
AANCHAL MAGAZINE,
PRABHA RAGHAVAN
& AASHISH ARYAN
NEW DELHI, MAY 4
REVENUE, LABOUR, capital, ac-
cess to raw materials, overheads,
anddemand—thequestionmark
over each is getting bigger by the
day as the lockdown and its
graded easing affect firms in the
Micro,SmallandMediumenter-
prises sector (MSME), in both
manufacturing and services.
While each case is unique, all
are united over the basics they
want the government to ensure:
cheaperbankloanstohelpthem
Migrant trains: Paying
85%, says Centre as Sonia
tells Cong to pick up tab
AVISHEK G DASTIDAR,
ABANTIKA GHOSH
& MANOJ CG
NEW DELHI, MAY 4
AS A political storm raged on
Monday over stranded migrant
workers being made to pay for
their journey home, the Central
government stood firm on the
farepolicyforitsShramikSpecial
trains,andsaiditwasbearingthe
bulk of the cost.
Sources in the Railways said
that there was no move to re-
vise the guidelines or Standard
Operating Procedure issued on
Saturday vis-à-vis fares, and
that the Railways would con-
PAGE 1
ANCHOR Babies stuck in surrogacy hub, parents wait for travel nod
ADITI RAJA
VADODARA, MAY 4
AMONG THOSE stranded due to
the nationwide coronavirus
lockdownare several newborns.
More than a dozen such babies
have been waiting, some for
more than a month, at the
Anand surrogacy hub in Gujarat,
waiting for their biological par-
ents to take them home.
Dr Nayna Patel of the
Akanksha Infertility Centre, one
of thebiggestsurrogacyfacilities
DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA
A man is stopped by police in East Delhi for buying “over the limit” as liquor shops opened to
long queues and chaos across the country on Monday. Praveen Khanna
Curve flattened, but no dip
is a concern: AIIMS chief
KARISHMA MEHROTRA
NEW DELHI, MAY 4
WHILE THE lockdown has
“helpedinflatteningthe(COVID-
19) curve” and provided a buffer
for the country to upgrade its
medical infrastructure,
Dr Randeep Guleria, Director, All
IndiaInstituteofMedicalSciences
(AIIMS), expressed concern over
the fact that “the curve has not
shown a downward trend”.
MSME
SOS
AN EXPRESS SERIES
PART 3
tide over the working capital
problem, permission for longer
daily working hours in major
business districts during initial
weeks, and easing of supply-
chainconstraintstoensureavail-
ability of inputs and outflow of
finished goods and services.
Given that this sector is re-
sponsible for an estimated 11
crore jobs and accounts for 30
per cent of the GDP, and a pro-
tinue to charge states, at whose
request these trains were being
run, for tickets.
Fifty-eight Shramik Special
trains have been run so far, in-
cluding 13 on Monday from
cities like Bengaluru, Surat,
Sabarmati, Akola, and Kota.
In the face of criticism, the
government said that through
the fares, it was asking states to
pay only 15 per cent of the over-
all cost incurred by the Railways
to run these trains.
“Government of India or
Railways never said anything
aboutchargingthemigrants.We
said we will bear 85 per cent of
the cost and states will bear 15
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
in the country, said that of the 27
surrogate babies born at their
hospital during the lockdown,
only 10 had been handed overto
parents.“Itisaverydifficulttime.
Ourstaff andtheNICUdoctorare
taking care of the babies. The
doctor is spending hours to-
getheransweringqueriesof par-
entsoverthephone.Wealsoun-
derstand the emotional toll on
the parents,” said Dr Patel,
adding that the administration
was doing its best to help.
Other centres in Anand also
have babies and parents simi-
JOURNALISM OF COURAGE
SINCE 1932
Dr Guleria, a renowned pul-
monologist, is part of the core
team of top officials reviewing
andmonitoringthepandemicin
the country. He is involved in
building strategies for preven-
tion, containment and manage-
ment of COVID-19.
Speaking at the online
Express Adda, hosted by The
Indian Express on Monday, he
said: “While the lockdown has
helped in flattening the curve,
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
longed crisis could infect the en-
tire economy.
Zeroproductionincompanies
higher up the supply chain has
had a crippling effect on many
MSME firms, which are almost
fullydependentonthemfortheir
business. One of the hardest hit
hasbeentheautoancillarysector,
given that in April, passenger car
andtwo-wheelermanufacturers
clocked “zero” domestic sales.
Said Milind Kamble, founder
of the Dalit Indian Chamber of
Commerce and Industry: “The
automobile sector is completely
shut and most of the SME and
MSMEinIndiaareintheautoan-
cillary business.Sincethere is no
demandfromthebiggerplayers,
In freshviolence inSurat,workersclashedwithpoliceMonday,
leavingtwopersonnelinjured. Hanif Malek
larly stuck.
Among the lucky parents are
a Bengaluru couple, aged 43 and
39, who were able to reach the
Akanksha centre just in time for
the birth of their son on April 16,
after spending three days and
1,600kmontheroad.Theyspent
another14daysinquarantinebe-
fore being allowed to hold him.
The couple say they were
stopped at multiple checkposts
across Karnataka, Maharashtra
and Gujarat, and spent 11 hours
in their car at Valsad alone, wait-
ing for police to okay the “per-
REPORTSPAGE3
Dr Guleria at e-Adda Monday
it has trickled down and de-
prived the MSMEs of any busi-
ness,” Kamble said.
Moreover, as consumers
across the country cut down on
discretionary spending, sale of
cars or electronic items, even af-
ter the lockdown is lifted, is un-
likely to pick up soon.
According to Aakanksha
Bhargava, CEO and President of
PM Relocations, a Gurugram-
based logistics company, since
cashflowisthebiggestissue,the
governmentcouldconsiderpro-
viding some sort of refund or
money transfer linked to pay-
ment history of income tax or
GST by the company. The SME
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
REPORTSP5
At the NICU in Akanksha Infertility Centre, Anand. Express
`6.00 (`8 PATNA & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
Corona cess:
Liquor prices
up 70% from
today in Delhi
SOURAV ROY BARMAN
NEW DELHI, MAY 4
THE PRICE of liquor, across cate-
gories, will go up by 70 per cent
in the national capital from
Tuesday, with the Delhi govern-
mentimposinga“specialcorona
fee” on alcohol.
Alate-nightnotificationstates
the excise will be “70 per cent of
the maximum retail price on all
categories of liquor sold through
retail licensees”.
On Monday, government-
run alcohol shops in Delhi
opened for the first time since
March23.Butdespiteappealsby
authorities for social distancing,
there was crowding outside
many of the 150-odd outlets. In
some areas, police used lath-
icharge to force shops to shut.
Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal warned that violations
may lead to complete sealing of
areas. Union Health Minister
Harsh Vardhan also said Delhi, a
‘red zone’, may have rushed into
opening liquor shops.
The government amended
theDelhiExciseAct,2009,forthe
specialfees.Aspokespersonsaid
the new rates will start Tuesday.
Delhi earns around Rs 500
crore per month from the sale
of liquor.
EXPLAINED
SIMPLY PUT
WHY LIQUOR
MATTERS TO
STATES PAGE 11
INSIDE
BIGGEST SURGEIN
CASES, DEATHS
PAGE 5
CORONA COUNT
42,836 1,389
CASES DEATHS
11,762 RECOVERED
11,07,233 samples have
been tested as on May 4
Fresh encounter in Handwara, three
CRPF men killed in militant firing
ADIL AKHZER
HANDWARA, MAY 4
A DAY after five security person-
nel, including two senior Army
officers, died in a gunbattle with
militants, three CRPF personnel
were killed in an attack by mili-
tants in North Kashmir’s
Handwara Monday evening, of-
ficials said. Security forces also
recovered the body of a 14-year-
old boy, who was “killed in
crossfire”.
“Three personnel of 92 Bn
CRPF attained martyrdom,” a
CRPF spokesperson said. The
three,allofthemconstables,have
been identified as Ashwani
Kumar from UP, and
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
New Delhi
Highest death rate,
low testing, number
mismatch: Central
team red-flags Bengal
DEEPTIMAN TIWARY
& ATRI MITRA
NEW DELHI, KOLKATA, MAY 4
THEINTER-MINISTERIALCentral
Team that visited Kolkata,
Howrah and certain other dis-
tricts in West Bengal, to check its
coronaviruspreparation,hassaid
thatat12.8percent,thestatehas
thehighestmortalityrateamong
Covid-19patientsinthecountry,
and accused it of low testing,
weak surveillance and discrep-
ancies in reporting cases.
Headed by Ministry of
Defence Additional Secretary
Apurva Chandra, the team com-
pleted its two-week tour of
West Bengal on Monday, send-
ing the above as “Final
Observations of the IMCT” in a
letter addressed to state Chief
Secretary Rajiva Sinha.
With West Bengal changing
protocol since April 30 to reflect
all Covid-19 patients in daily sta-
tistics and death certificates, the
IMCT praised this as well as the
increase in the daily testing in
the state from 400 to 2,410, but
flagged the non-cooperation of
thestatebureaucracy.Yettosub-
mit its final report to the Centre,
it urged the state to take its sug-
gestions “in the right spirit”.
Reacting to the letter, Chief
Secretary Sinha said,
“Unfortunately, every time, two
hours before I get the letter, it is
After nudge, how Bengal
tightened the lockdown,
finetuned its fightback
RAVIK BHATTACHARYA
& ATRI MITRA
KOLKATA, MAY 4
WHEN TWO Inter-Ministerial
Central Teams (IMCTs) landed in
Kolkata on April 21 to assess the
situation in seven Covid-hit dis-
tricts of West Bengal, the ruling
TMC reacted angrily, saying the
Centre was fighting states when
states were fighting the coron-
avirus.
But that was then.
Ever since the arrival of the
IMCTs, there hasbeenanunmis-
takable change in the state’s ap-
proach to the pandemic.
It has tightened measures on
thegroundtocontainthespread
of the virus, enforced lockdown
rules strictly in containment
Lashkar regroups in Valley
as The Resistance Front
BASHAARAT MASOOD
SRINAGAR, MAY 4
IN OCTOBER last year, a grenade
thrown at a street market in
Srinagar city exploded wound-
ing a few vendors. An unknown
militant outfit, The Resistance
Front (TRF), claimed responsi-
bility, but the security agencies
trashed it as an “act of
miscreants” to force a
shutdown in the Valley.
Six months later, the little-
knownoutfitistakingtothecen-
trestage of militancy in Kashmir
mission” they had got from the
authorities in Bengaluru. The
mother said the note they were
carrying said “travelling for the
birth of their baby”, due on April
16, and police repeatedly said
she didn’t look pregnant.
It was difficult to explain
them about surrogacy, she said.
Her husband, a software profes-
sional, said, “Most of the police-
men thought we were lying. At
Valsad, the Gujarat Police told us
to apply for permission from the
state administration. We did so
digitallybutthefirstrequestwas
At a Kolkata hospital. Be
transparent, don’t downplay
virus, says IMCT letter. Express
distributed among the media.
Weareworkingonitandwillan-
swer approprately.”
In his letter, Chandra said,
“The IMCT notes that the state
government has on 30.04.2020
made a pronouncement that
henceforth all death of COVID
patients would be indicated in
the daily statistics and the death
certificate would be issued by
hospitals with the Committee of
Doctors examining random
samples. This is a big step to-
wardstransparency.Atthesame
time, it raises the total death
count of COVID patients in the
state to 105 on 30.04.2020. For a
total reported number of 816
Covidpatients,themortalityrate
of 12.8percentisbyfarthehigh-
est in the country. This ex-
tremely high mortality rate is a
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
zones, increased testing of sam-
ples, given hospitals a free hand
in treatment of patients,
changed the format of its med-
ical bulletins to reflect real-time
casedata,andorderedalldistrict
magistrates to submit daily re-
ports on containment zones.
Consider the following:
■ In two red zones that ac-
counted for more than 50 per
cent of the positive cases in the
state, guard rails came up in ar-
eas like Belgachia, Narkeldanga,
Rajabazar, Park Circus,
Metiabruz, Tangra, Beltala, parts
of Patuli in Kolkata; and Howrah
Maidan, Kazipara, Shibpur,
Tikiapara, Salkia, Netaji Subhash
Road in Howrah.
■Several congested markets
were shifted to open fields in
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
The body of Col Ashutosh
Sharma, killed on Saturday,
in Jaipur. Rohit Jain Paras
with its involvement in the re-
cent encounters that resulted in
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
rejected in three hours. I had to
make a second request.”
Akankshahasmadearrange-
ments for the parents to stay at
a residential society nearby.
However, Dr Patel said, they
faced much opposition from the
locals. “They created a human
chaintoprotest...Later,withhelp
from the administration, things
were resolved. However, we do
understand the concern every-
one has about the pandemic. It
is a helpless situation and most
people are being guarded and
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
 2 THE SECOND PAGE
FROM PAGE ONE
Maharashtra
StateFinanceMinisterAjitPawar
had earlier approached the
CentreseekingaRs50,000crore
package for the state economy.
The Centre has not committed
anything so far.
Projectingtheeconomicsitu-
ation to remain gloomy this year,
andasharperosioninitsownrev-
enues, the state government has
stayedallnewworksexcept“op-
erationalexpenses”forCOVID-19
control measures. Till the time
that the curbs are lifted, only five
departments - public health,
medicaleducation,foodanddrug
administration,foodandcivilsup-
plies,andreliefandrehabilitation
-havebeenauthorisedtocommit
to new spending. But even they
will be required to restrict them-
selvesonlytopurchasesforcom-
bating the outbreak.
Besides the 67 per cent cut in
schemeexpenditure,thestatehas
also frozen fresh recruitment till
furtherorders.“Departmentsec-
retaries have been asked to re-
view all ongoing schemes. Only
thosethatareunavoidablewillbe
takenuponpriority.Someothers
willbestayed.Others thatcan be
avoided will be cancelled,” said a
senior official.
For Centrally-sponsored
schemes(CSS),departmentshave
been asked to sit for a collective
review with the finance depart-
ment.“CutsinexpenditureonCSS
would depend on the amount of
the state’s share and also the
scheme’soverallimportance,”the
order stated. Departments have
also been barred from releasing
funds to loss-making corpora-
tions for now.
Objecting to development
fundslyingunspentwithdepart-
ments or such corporations,
Mehta asked the finance depart-
mentnottoreleasenewgrantstill
these are either surrendered or
utilised. Further, departments
have been asked to cap adminis-
trative expenses at 75 per cent of
the budgeted amount, with re-
strictions announced for expen-
diture on office renovation, sta-
tionery, consultancies, and rents
amongothers.Departmentshave
beenaskedtoprioritisespending
oncommittednon-developmen-
tal liabilities, including salaries,
pensions, and servicing of debt.
Online chats
Delhi schools created the
Instagram group in the last week
ofMarchandstartedaddingtheir
friends. “A few members are in
college. Some of the teens al-
legedly started sharing photos
posted by schoolgirls on their
Instagram accounts, and passing
sexually explicit comments,” an
officer said, adding that the pur-
portedchatsalsoincludedthreats
of sexual violence.
DCP (Cyber Cell) Anyesh Roy
toldTheIndianExpress,“Afterwe
came to know, we registered an
FIR under Sections 465 (forgery),
471 (using as genuine a forged
document or electronic record),
469(forgeryforpurposeofharm-
ing reputation), 509 (word, ges-
ture or act intended to insult the
modesty of a woman) and
Sections 67 (publishing or trans-
mittingobscenematerialinelec-
tronicform)and67A(publishing
or transmitting of material con-
taining sexually explicit act in
electronic form) of the IT Act. We
are probing the matter and col-
lecting all technical evidence.”
So far, names of four private
schoolsfromSouthDelhiandone
from Noida have been linked to
the group. The Indian Express
reached out to the principals of
four schools. While one said she
“didn’t want to comment”, two
did not take calls or respond to
messages.Theprincipalof oneof
theDelhischoolssaid:“Itappears
that some of the students who
werepartofthegroupwerefrom
our school. By the time we got to
know, a complaint had already
reached police. It does come as a
shocktousaswehaveanatmos-
phere in school that encourages
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discussion around issues of gen-
der and respect, as well as cyber
crime.Wehavehadseveralwork-
shops. Schools try to build a se-
cure but open space for children
wherediscussionisencouraged.I
alsobelievethattheinvolvement
of parentsintheirchildren’slives
is very important when it comes
to things like these. Parents need
totakeontheseroles,andnotjust
that of disciplining or leaving the
child alone altogether. They are
ready to give children unfettered
access to smartphones but, in
many cases, the discussions
aroundresponsibilityandrespect
are missing.”
In a statement, a Facebook
spokesperson said, “We ab-
solutely do not allow behaviour
that promotes sexual violence or
exploits anyone, especially
women and young people, and
have actioned content violating
ourCommunityStandardsaswe
were made aware of it. We have
policiesthatdisallowthesharing
of non-consensual intimate im-
agery, as well as threats to share
suchimageryandwetakethisis-
sue very seriously. Ensuring our
community can express them-
selvesinasafeandrespectfulway
is our top priority.”
A source at Instagram con-
firmed police have got in touch.
Mumbai-based Shubham
Singh, founder of Cyber World
Academy, who routinely assists
Mumbai Police in cases, mean-
while said he has been ap-
proached by a few Instagram
users, who were outraged by the
screenshots. “We are trying to
track down details of the mem-
bers,” he said.
WITHINPUTSFROM
SUKRITABARUAH
Small firms
Chamber of Commerce has
written to the Prime Minister
seeking exemption from inter-
est payment till June end,
besides a moratorium on loans
till December.
There’s a growing worry
among employers about the re-
luctance of workers to return.
Bhargavasaidlabourlawsshould
be tweaked to support busi-
nessestoallowmeasuressuchas
overtime to be permitted for
next few months.
MSME exporters across sec-
tors face a “huge” liquidity issue
that has contributed to their in-
ability to restart operations. This
is due to orders getting cancelled
orheldup,whichhavealsoham-
peredtheirabilitytobuyrawma-
terials for manufacturing.
“Most of their orders have
been cancelled. Some of them
have been delayed because the
buyer is asking to hold back the
orders. They are saddled with
fixedcharges,includingwagesto
theirworkers.Thatisthebiggest
challenge they are facing at this
time,” said Federation of Indian
Export Organisations director
general Ajay Sahai.
For MSMEs suffering due to
dwindling export numbers, the
governmentisworkingonaplan
to extend the interest equalisa-
tion scheme, under which ex-
porters get 3-5 per cent subsidy
on loans for specified items. The
industrybelievesmoremeasures
may be required to bail the
MSMEs out of this situation.
Sahai saidmanyMSMEspaid
their workers during March and
Aprildespitenoworkinthehope
they would stay on when opera-
tions restarted. What is disap-
pointing for the industry is that,
nowwhentheyareclosetoopen-
ing again, the workers are going
back,”hesaid.“Whenproduction
starts, they will be searching for
workers,” he said.
Barely 25 percent of FIEO’s
MSME members across sectors
like apparel, leather, gems and
jewellery, handicraft and carpets
are operational in green and or-
ange zones at the moment.
A report released by Crisil
points out how SMEs are hit
when the economy moves into a
low-growthtrajectory.Thereport
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No downward trend still: AIIMS director
the curve has not shown a
downwardtrend.Thatisacause
forconcern.That’swhythenext
four to six weeks will be very,
very important because the
lockdown cannot be there for-
ever.Theideal,thedreamwould
betohavezerocases.ButIdon’t
see that happening. The num-
ber of cases is still increasing
everyday. But the rise in the
curve is not so sharp that we
can’t handle it.”
He was responding to a
question on what further steps
need to be taken, given that
India has not been able to push
the curve down even after 40
days of lockdown.
With the lockdown being
extended by another two
weeks, with easing of restric-
tions, Dr Guleria said the most
important data point to watch
Highest mortality: Central team’s note to Bengal
clear indication of low testing
and weak surveillance and
tracking.”
The letter also alleged dis-
crepancy in various Covid-re-
lated data released by the state
government. It said that in one
instancethestate’smedicalbul-
letinputthetotalpatientsat744,
butonthesamedaygavethefig-
ure of 931 in a communication
totheUnionMinistryofHealth.
“Thestateneedstobetrans-
parentandconsistentinreport-
ingCovidfiguresandnotdown-
playthespreadof thevirus.The
says that when the economy
moves from normal to low
growth rate, current asset days
(howquicklyacompanyisableto
convert its current assets into
cash) for large companies rises
from139daysto143days,formi-
croandsmallcompaniesitjumps
from 189 days to 220 days.
With the economy on slow
laneformorethantwoyearsnow,
credit information firm
TransUnionCibilsaidloansworth
Rs232,000croreofMSMEsareat
a higher risk of becoming non-
performing assets.
InLudhiana’sindustrialbelt,a
hubofMSMEsmanufacturingcy-
cleparts,autoparts,textilesprod-
ucts,factoriesoperatewithinmu-
nicipal limits and have to follow
stringent guidelines.
“The lockdown uncertainty
has led to export orders being
put on hold. We are also not get-
ting payments easily, leading to
exhaustion of our bank limits. In
such circumstances, payment of
wages is very difficult especially
since the government has or-
dered to pay full salaries. With
resources being depleted, how
will we pay salaries?” said Jatin
Chadha, Director at Ludhiana-
based Shiv Forgings, an MSME
manufacturer and exporter of
hand tools.
Given the relatively smaller
sizeofoperations,MSMEsaretra-
ditionally known to manage ex-
penses and turnovers on a short-
term basis. Therefore, the
lockdown hurts them harder.
One estimate of the relief
package comes from K E
Raghunathan, Chennai-based
SME owner and former National
President, All India
Manufacturers’Organisation.The
averagedailyturnoverofMSMEs
is Rs 30,000 crore, said
Raghunathan. A lockdown of 40
days implies a loss of Rs 12 lakh
croreturnover.“Assuming10per
cent profit margins, MSMEs
would have got Rs 1.2 lakh crore
in their hands. The government
shouldconsidergivingthis10per
centorRs1.2lakhcroretoMSMEs
to use it for payment of salaries
and loans,” he said.
If not upfront funding sup-
port, the government can con-
sidersplittingthepackageindif-
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE FIRST PLAGUE IN HISTORY
Inthissix-partseries,Indianexpress.comwillchartouthowmajorepidemicsofthepasthavealteredthe
courseofhistoryintheworld.Eachofthesebeganasabiologicalphenomenon,butsoonturnedinto
economic,social,orpoliticalones
LONG QUEUES OUTSIDE
LIQUOR STORES
Seen outside liquor
shops after the Centre
allowed sale of alcohol
out for, ahead of May 17, is the
cases reported in the hotspots
and reclassification of zones.
“The solution is to identify
the areas where the maximum
number of cases are coming,
andfocuscontainmenttobring
down the number of cases, and
convertthemtoorangeorgreen
zones. At the same time, con-
tinue surveillance in green
zones. You have to make sure
thereisrestrictedmovementor
nomovementfromredzonesto
green zones. What the lock-
down has done is prepare our
health facilities. It gave us time
becausethenumberofcasesdid
notrisesharply.Becauseofthat...
wearebetterpreparedthanwe
were before,” he said.
Thistypeofvigilancewillre-
quire individual-level engage-
ment, he said, underlining that
bulletinsof 1stand2ndMaydo
not even mention the total
number of cases and deaths in
the state,” the letter said.
It added that while the
state has claimed very high
level of daily surveillance, no
database was shared with the
IMCT. During the stay of the
team, for example, 50 lakh
people would have been sur-
veyed in the four districts
which it visited. While the col-
lation of such data would re-
quire a robust system, the let-
tersaid,“nosuchevidencewas
ferent ways: interest waiver on
workingcapitalloansatleastfor
aquarter,moratoriumonrepay-
ment for three quarters, some
taxrelief suchasacutinGSTrate
to 5 per cent, safety net to work-
ers such as part-payment of
wages, PF contributions for mi-
cro and mini enterprises, and
easing labour laws allowing
them to let staff work overtime.
Bengal fightback
different parts of the state and
those near containment areas
were shut down.
■ From April 21, Chief
Minister Mamata Banerjee hit
the streets of Kolkata, speaking
directly to the people, urging
them to stay indoors.
■OnApril24,Chief Secretary
Rajiva Sinha disclosed the find-
ing of the special audit commit-
tee on Covid-related deaths. He
said there had been 57 deaths
but only 18 were due to COVID-
19 and the rest were those with
comorbidity.
■ The state stepped up test-
ing efforts. From 400-450tests a
day,thedailyaverageclimbedto
800 April 21 onward. It reached
2201 on May 4.
■ On April 29, the Chief
Minister formed a cabinet com-
mittee to deal with COVID-19 in
the state. Top state officials were
inductedintothepanel.Thecom-
mittee was formed after doctors,
at a meeting with the CM, red-
flagged the situation in the state.
■ On April 30, an advisory
was issued to all hospitals, pri-
vateandstate-run,clarifyingthat
“no government approval is re-
quired for admitting and treat-
inganypatientinanyhealthcare
facilityorfortestinganindividual
for COVID as per ICMR testing
protocols”. Hospitals were also
told not to turn away patients.
■ On April 30, the Chief
Secretarytoldapressconference
that there had been 105 deaths
but only 33 could be directly at-
tributed to COVID-19.
■Thedeathauditcommittee,
Sinhasaid,wouldnolongereval-
uate all deaths and doctors were
beingadvisedtofollowprotocols.
“TheDeathAuditCommitteehas
recommended that Health
Departmentofficialsshouldkeep
CORONAVIRUS
thepandemic “hastobe fought
at thecommunity level,notthe
hospital level”.
Emphasising that this is not
thetimeto“relaxourguard”,he
recalledIndia’sexperiencewith
theSpanishFlu,sayingthatmost
ofthe7milliondeathshappened
in the second wave. “What we
are doing today was what was
done at that point in time.
Schools were closed and stadi-
ums were converted into halls.
There was a lockdown and that
lockdown was followed very
well.Butafterthelockdownwas
lifted,theystartedgoingbackto
normal... We have to learn from
history,”hesaid.
To mitigate the economic
impact of the lockdown, the
classificationstrategyshouldbe
moregranular,withfocusonlo-
calhotspotareasratherthanan
available during our stay or
field visits”.
It also accused the state of
non-cooperation, saying it was
notgivenaccesstoofficials,bar-
ring the Principal Secretary,
Health. “In short, the state has
takenanantagonisticview,and
has not supported the IMCT in
performing its duties. This con-
tradicctswiththeexperienceof
the IMCTs in other states.”
The Centre had constituted
10IMCTstotourcertaindistricts
in states such as West Bengal,
Rajasthan, Maharashtra,
more records of patients and ad-
visedthemtoimprovetheproce-
dureofkeepingrecords.Thecom-
mittee also advised that there
shouldbeauniformformattois-
sue death certificates. The com-
mitteeadvisedthatthedeathcer-
tificate should have immediate
cause of death, antecedent cause
of death and underlying cause of
death,” Sinha said.
■ChiefMinisterBanerjeetold
reportersonApril29: “Peopleare
raising a hue and cry over who is
issuing what kind of order. We
havetocorrectourselvesbecause
we make mistakes.”
■ On April 30, the Medical
Superintendent of Murshidabad
MedicalCollegeandHospital,was
transferred, five days after a duty
roster he signed said “in case of
Covid positive, no mention of
covid D/C (death certificate)”.
■ On May 4, Chief Secretary
Sinha,whileannouncingthatthe
state government will hence-
forth release information on the
total number of Covid-infected
patients instead of active cases,
said hospitals will now hand
death certificates. But he said
hospitals have been told not to
report co-morbidity deaths.
■“We found that the report-
ing structure of our state was
highly complicated. All cases
were not being recorded prop-
erly. We thought the process
was dynamic, but it proved oth-
erwise. So, we changed the
structure and made a system on
real-time data,” Sinha said.
■Inthelast24hours,thestate
tested 2201 samples. Till date,
25,116sampleshavebeentested,
4,860 people are in government
quarantine centres and another
5,755 in home quarantine.
Migrant trains
per cent, and the process was set
in place based on the states’ re-
quest to send limited migrant
labourersforsomeveryparticular
reasons, back to their states. All
states are coordinating this
process accordingly, except one
or two,” Lav Agarwal, joint secre-
taryintheMinistryofHealth,told
reportersattheofficialbriefingon
COVID-19 measures.
Sources said the calculation
offeredbytheRailwayswasbased
MEET THE KHANS OF
BEGUMPET
A family in the
forefront of the battle
against the virus
entire district labelled as a red
zone, he said.
Dr Guleria underlined that
while India’s case count and
mortalityrateremainrelatively
low,“wewillhavetolearntolive
with COVID-19 for quite some
time. We will have to have
strategieswhichwillworkwith
COVID being around. Whether
it’stravelorwork,itwillhaveto
be with COVID-19 being
around,” he said.
Whileplasmatherapyiscon-
sidered a potential treatment, it
cannotbethe“magicbullet”,he
said.AsfordrugslikeRemdesivir,
he said “it’s still early days but
trying something is better than
not having anything available.”
The e-Adda was moderated by
Ravish Tiwari, Political Editor,
andKaunainSheriffM,Principal
Correspondent.
Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat
and Madhya Pradesh.
The teams — which the
Centre said had to be consti-
tuted because there were “rou-
tine violation of lockdown
guidelines” in these states —
weresupposedtomakeon-the-
spotassessmentofthesituation,
suggest redress and send a re-
port to the Centre.
West Bengal had called the
move“againstthespiritoffeder-
alism”, with multiple instances
of exchange of words between
the Centre and state over it.
on the fact that the trains were
runningatonlytwo-thirdscapac-
ity, and returning empty to their
bases after each run. Each rake is
being sanitised upon return.
Also, passengers were being
providedfood andwater for free
every 12 hours during the jour-
ney. Each train was being es-
cortedbytheRailwayProtection
Force (RPF), which was adding
to the cost, officials said.
The non-AC Sleeper Class
fare for all passengers adds up to
only 15 per cent of the running
cost of the train, which the
Railways is seeking from the
states, these officials said.
Early in the day, Congress
president Sonia Gandhi an-
nounced that state units of her
partywouldpayforthemigrants’
fare.Thegovernmenthaddenied
workers and migrant labourers
theopportunitytoreturntotheir
homes by announcing the lock-
down without notice, she said,
andhadthenforcedthemtowalk
severalhundredkilometreswith-
out food, medicines, or money.
“Whatisparticularlydisturb-
ingisthatthecentralgovernment
andtheRailMinistryarecharging
them for train tickets in this hour
of crisis,” she said. Earlier, RJD
leader Tejashwi Yadav an-
nouncedonsocialmediathathis
partywouldpayfor50suchtrains
to get workers from Bihar home.
Officials said that in the nor-
malcourse,theRailwaysearns44
paise per passenger kilometre
(pkm)onaveragewhileincurring
a cost of 90 paise per pkm. The
earning in the non-AC Sleeper
Classisabout45paise/pkm,while
in the General (unreserved)class
it is 31 paise/pkm.
Freight earnings subsidise
passenger operations. On every
ticket that it issues, the Railways
declares that it recovers only 57
percentofthecostoftravelonav-
erage from fares.
While the total fare amount
payable by states for each
ShramikSpecialtrainisdifferent
based on distance and occu-
pancy,aseniorRailwayMinistry
official said that the receivables
fromthefirst34ShramikSpecial
trains had been calculated to be
around Rs 3.5 crore.
A Railway Ministry
New Delhi
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2020
How ‘Shramik special’
trains are transporting
migrants back
NEWEPISODEEVERYDAY
In today’s episode of the 3 Things podcast,
we look at what went behind getting these
trains to run and who is paying for them
spokesperson told The Indian
Express:“Wearenotchargingpas-
sengers. We are charging state
governments. Officials said the
guidelinesonlyspecifythatstates
would “collect the total fare and
hand over the total amount to
Railways”; it was up to the states
to raise the money.
Railway sources said more
“destinationstates”suchasBihar
and Chhattisgarh had expressed
willingness to pay for the tickets,
and talks were on with others.
The senior Railway official
said that the Shramik Specials
were running “at Rajdhani
(Express) speeds”, covering dis-
tances such as the nearly 3,000
kmfromKozhikodetoKatihar,in
much less time than usual. “And
we are bringing back empty
rakes. What the Railways is re-
covering is nowhere close to its
cost,” the official said.
BJP Rajya Sabha MP
Subramanian Swamy was the
firsttomentionthe“85-15”figure
on Monday morning before BJP
functionaries too started tweet-
ing about it.
“Talked to (Railway
Minister) Piyush Goyal office.
Government will pay 85 per
cent and state government will
pay 15 per cent. Migrant labour
will go free. Ministry will clarify
with an official statement,”
Swamy posted on Twitter soon
after slamming the government
in a tweet for “charging... half
starved migrant labourers”.
Handwara
C Chandrasekar and Santosh
KumarfromAurangabadinBihar.
CRPF Special DG (J&K Zone)
Zulfiquar Hasan told The Indian
Expressthatmilitantsfiredatper-
sonnel deployed on law and or-
der duty at a joint checkpoint at
Wangam in the Qaziabad area of
Handwara in Kupwara district.
“TheCRPFretaliatedpromptly
but three of our men lost their
lives. The boy was killed in cross-
fire. Further details are being as-
certained,” he said.
The boy’s family members
said he had gone to graze cattle
alongwithothersfromthevillage
when the shootout took place.
“Hehaddifficultywalking.When
thefiringstarted,theothersman-
agedtoescapebuthecouldn’t,”a
relative told The Indian Express
overphone.TheCRPFspokesper-
son said the “area has been cor-
doned off and a search operation
is on”. A senior official in
Baramulla said that one of the
CRPFmenwasbroughttothedis-
trict hospital where he was de-
clared brought dead.
This is the second attack on
theCRPFinNorthKashmirwithin
a month. On April 18, three per-
sonnel were killed and two oth-
ers injured after militants at-
tackedajointcheckpointof CRPF
and J&K Police in Sopore.
OnSunday,theCommanding
Officer of a counter-insurgency
battalion,aMajorandaJ-KPolice
Officer were among the five
personnel killed in Handwara.
Two militants, including a
Pakistan national, were also
killed in the gunbattle.
LeT regroups
heavy damage to army and
paramilitaryforces.The security
officials, however, say the mili-
tant outfit is a front of Lashkar-
e-Toiba, working together with
other militant outfits and is new
only in its name.
“After the abrogation of
Jammu Kashmir’s special status,
Pakistanwasunderpressuretodo
something from its constituency
in Kashmir. So it decided to in-
crease the pitch of militancy in
Kashmir,” a senior police official
and an expert in counter insur-
gency operations told The Indian
Express.“ButwithFATF(Financial
Action Task Force) timelines on
thebackofitsmind,ithasdecided
to cast a new militant outfit that
is secular in its name,” he said.
The police officer claims TRF
is a new name given by Pakistan
toLashkar-e-Toiba.“Lashkarand
Jaish-e-Mohammad had reli-
gious connotation and Pakistan
didn’t want that,” he said. “They
wanted to secularise the
Kashmir militancy and make it
appear indigenous. Hence they
opted for ‘Resistance’ — that has
somecurrencyintheglobalpol-
itics — in its name.”
The first signs of TRF emerg-
ing as a strong militant group
were visible when the J-K Police
busted a module of over-ground
workers (OGWs) in Sopore - the
town was a strong Lashkar base
in the Valley before it yielded its
position to Hizb and Jaish-e-
Mohammad, and Kupwara. The
police recovered a cache of arms
and ammunition, dumped by
militantsneartheLineof Control
(LoC) at Keran. The arrested
OGWs revealed they were “re-
cruitingyouthforthenewoutfit”.
Barely two weeks later,
Keran witnessed the first major
gunfight in several years. In a
fierce hand-to-hand gun-battle,
fiveTRFmilitantswerekilledbut
notbeforetheywipedoutanen-
tire team of the army’s Special
Forces -five commandoesof the
elite Para unit.
A week later, the TRF mili-
tantstargetedaparamilitaryve-
hicle in Sopore killing three
Central Reserve Police Force
(CRPF)Personnelandwounding
two. The TRF, in its telegram
channels, also claimed that the
twomilitantskilledinHandwara
were affiliated to it. Four army
personnel, including a colonel
and a major and a police officer
were killed in the gunfight.
Police sources say while the
heavy damage to the army and
paramilitary forces in the past
one month could be coinciden-
tal, the recruits of the militant
outfitarehighlytrainedandbat-
tlehardened.“Asfarasweknow,
they are trained for at least six
months before being inducted,”
another police officer said. “The
outfit has amixof both local and
foreign militants so that it looks
indigenous. The surprising part
isthatthelocalmilitantsarealso
very well trained in Pakistan,”
the officer said. Sources said
most local militants associated
with TRF have crossed over to
Pakistan through Wagah on a
valid visa for training.
Police sources said while TRF
is a front of Lashkar-e-Toiba, it is
also working jointly with other
militant outfits in the Valley.
Surrogacy hub
helping as well.”
The Bengaluru couple said
they had been approached by
otherparentsinthecity,seeking
to know if it was okay to travel.
“There are so many couples like
us... The lack of awareness
among the administration and
law enforcers is making it diffi-
cult for surrogate parents to
travel,” he said.
Another couple, 40 and 37,
have been stranded in Pune, a
Covid-19 hotspot, unable to
meet their daughter, born in
March end. The father said he
hadmadethreerequestsforper-
mission to travel to Anand but
the Maharashtra government
was yet to approve any.
“My wife and I have been
waitingforababyfor12years.We
underwentseveralIVFcyclesun-
successfully, which took a toll on
my wife physically and mentally.
She is extremely disturbed and
frustrated about this situation.
Thehospitalsendsuspicturesand
videos every day, but it is no con-
solation,”saidtheITprofessional.
He added that the charge
they are running up due to the
extra stay of the baby at the hos-
pital is also weighing on their
minds. Couples pay upwards of
Rs 8 lakh for surrogacy treat-
ment. Parents seeking the treat-
ment may face a longer wait,
with the government introduc-
ing a Bill in July last year to ban
commercial surrogacy and al-
lowing only altruistic surrogacy.
FULLREPORTSON
www.indianexpress.com

3 THE OUTBREAK
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2020
A queue outside a liquor shop in Vasant Vihar’s C-Block Market on Monday, when the capital partially re-opened after a 40-day lockdown. Tashi Tobgyal
DISAPPOINTED, SAYS KEJRIWAL
CM warning: Will seal areas over crowding
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE
NEW DELHI, MAY 4
THE DELHI government will be
forced to seal areas where peo-
ple violate social distancing
norms, Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal said Monday, express-
ing concern over reports of
crowding across many parts of
the capital, especially in front of
liquor shops, on the first day of
lockdown relaxations.
Addressing a webcast,
Kejriwalsaidpeopleshouldkeep
inmindthatbyindulginginsuch
violations, they were endanger-
ing their own lives and that of
their family members. The onus
of ensuringsocialdistancingalso
lies with shopkeepers, he said.
Governments alone cannot
defeatcoronavirus,hesaid,seek-
ing cooperation from people.
Kejriwal'sremarkscameona
day Delhi partially re-opened af-
ter a complete lockdown that
lasted over 40 days. With the en-
tire city classified as a red zone,
public transport, market com-
plexes and malls remained shut,
but private offices opened with
curtailedstaff andself-employed
individuals like domestic helps
andelectriciansreturnedtowork.
“Iwasalittledisappointedto-
day.Crowdsassembledinfrontof
some shops. People violated so-
cial distancing. Who will suffer
due to this? You will suffer.
Imagine if two-three people had
coronainthatcrowd,youwillalso
contract the virus and endanger
not just your life, but that of your
family as well,” said Kejriwal.
The CM said such violations
were unacceptable. He urged
peopletostrictlyfollowhandhy-
giene, wear masks and maintain
social distancing at all costs: “No
shop is going to shut down. They
willopeneventomorrowandthe
day after. But if we come across
violations of social distancing
anywhere, we will have to seal
thatareaandwithdrawtherelax-
ations.Wewillbeleftwithnoop-
tion but to take strong measures.
"The relaxations, Kejriwal
said, are aimed at gradually re-
opening the city and restarting
economic activities. “For how
longwillwebeunderlockdown?
It's been one-and-a-half months
already.Wemustactresponsibly.
And if there are reports of viola-
tionsinaparticularshop,wewill
seal that shop. Shopkeepers will
have to take responsibility,” he
added.
Meanwhile, Union Health
MinisterHarshVardhanMonday
said the Delhi government
rushedintoopeningliquorshops
and added that it should review
its decision in view of huge
crowds outside these outlets
whichincreasestheriskofspread
of COVID-19.
Delhi’s dry spell ends in chaos, lathis
MAHENDER SINGH
MANRAL &
ABHINAV RAJPUT
NEW DELHI, MAY 4
CHAOS PREVAILED outside
some liquor vends on Monday
after 158 outlets opened up
across the city for the first time
since the lockdown was an-
nounced by the Delhi govern-
ment on March 23.
On Monday evening, the
Delhi government decided to
levy a special Corona fee — 70%
of the maximum retail price —
on alcohol across all outlets.
Police sources said the chaos
was due to a communication
gap between the Delhi Excise
Department and the force re-
garding the decision to open a
Betrayed in lockdown, migrants On domestic helps, RWAs
say will head home, not to work overrule Delhi govt order
JIGNASA SINHA
NEW DELHI, MAY 4
EVEN AS reopening of some fac-
tories, shops and companies be-
comes possible with partial lift-
ing of the lockdown, contractual
workers and labourers in Delhi,
who spent over a month with-
out job, pay and in many cases
food,saytheywouldratherhead
home than rejoin work.
Complaining about how the
lockdown period had turned
them into “beggars”, many
labourers The Indian Express
spoketosaidtheyarewaitingfor
trainstostartleavingfromDelhi.
Mohammed Jamal (30), who
worked at a pressure cooker
manufacturing unit, is currently
putting up at a school in Sarai
Kale Khan along with other
workers from UP and Bihar. He
earned around Rs 8,000 per
month before the lockdown. He
said his employer, the govern-
mentandthesocietyatlargehad
let him down.
“Icalledthemaalik hundreds
of times. He didn’t take my call.
The government gives food
packetsbutthesearesmallpoly-
bags, filled with stale rice and
dal. I have lived in Delhi for over
10 years but not a single neigh-
bour or friend came to help me.
I don’t even have the money to
buy wheat and rice. I want to go
back to my family in Bihar. My
wifescoldsme;shedoesn’twant
few shops.
Information regarding the
state government’s decision to
open the shops was communi-
cated to the police on Monday
by Excise Commissioner Ravi
Dhawan. “Government corpo-
rations (the four that are al-
lowed to open shops, provided
they are not located in malls
and market complexes) have in-
formed that the local police are
not allowing shops to open... It is
requested that directions may
be conveyed to the field func-
tionaries that liquor vends of
the four government corpora-
tions… should be allowed to
function from 9 am to 6.30 pm,”
Dhawan wrote to the
Commissioner of Delhi Police.
Several liquor vends had to
be shut down hours after they
At the Yamuna Sports Complex, Monday. Most migrants are
still waiting for trains to go home. Praveen Khanna
me to suffer anymore.”
With easing of restrictions in
the capital, many migrants got
calls from employers offering
them their old jobs back — but
not everyone was keen to take
up the offer. Jamal was one of
them.
At Yamuna Sports Complex,
too, most migrant workers are
waiting for the much talked
about trains.
Satish Kumar, a construction
worker, said, “ My uncle and I
have worked in Delhi for five
years; we came here after my fa-
ther fell sick. Now, we have no
place to live and no money for
food.Theemployersnowexpect
At the liquor shop in Vasant
Vihar, Monday. Tashi Tobgyal
reopened as scores of people
huddled outside. In some areas,
police resorted to lathi charge
to disperse crowds.
Delhi Police's Special Branch
later prepared a report and sug-
gested that the timing for sale
us to work for a month and get
wageslater.Ithinkfarminginmy
villageisn’ta bad option; it’sbet-
ter to struggle with your fam-
ily… I don’t trust the govern-
ment and its lockdown. They
might extend it till July. I tried to
go back to UP but the police
caught us and sent us here. We
will wait but won’t work.”
KumarhailsfromBahraichin
UP, and would earn Rs 5,000 be-
fore the lockdown.
Over the past month, more
than 400 daily wage migrant
workers have been caught by
police while trying to leave the
capital. A Delhi Police
spokesperson said they are fi-
of alcohol be extended. “The
timing for sale of wine may be
extended to avoid the crowd
and sufficient stock of liquor
should be available in shops as
people will purchase more than
their requirement,” the report
said.
On Sunday, CM Arvind
Kejriwal had said Delhi was
ready to reopen businesses and
it was bleeding financially with-
out any income. Delhi earns an
average of Rs 500 crore from ex-
cise collections each month.
Sources told The Indian
Express that several district po-
lice forces had a meeting last
evening where they discussed
opening essentials services, but
there was consensus that liquor
shops should not be opened.
In areas such as Mayur Vihar,
nalising the modalities of how
the men can be sent back home,
and also helping them with food
and ration.
Apart from anger with em-
ployers,manyworkersalsocited
coronavirus being more wide-
spread in Delhi than back home.
At Radha Soami Satsang, Ajit
Mishra, a security guard, said, “ I
worked for a small restaurant in
Connaught Place and earned
around Rs 7,000 per month, but
Ihavenojobnow.Isawthenews
a week back; security guards are
getting infected and dying be-
cause of reckless people. My
daughter and wife have been
calling every day from Haryana.
I have also been getting calls
from my company; they even
paid me for March. But I don’t
want to work. I want to be safe
and perhaps I will open a small
shop back home.”
Patwari(37),afatherof three,
is among those who has been
trying to leave Delhi for the past
month. He had moved to the
capital in February. “I got a job at
a packaging company and was
earning only Rs 1,000 when the
lockdown was announced. We
were happy in Sitapur, UP. We
earned smaller wages but my
family was satisfied. Here food
shopswereclosedandwhatwas
served at the shelter homes was
bad. My children are depressed
and they don’t talk to me. Do I
have any option but to go back?”
he said.
The City
Vasant Vihar, Dwarka, Jyoti
Nagar, Dayalpur, Karol Bagh,
Darya Ganj and DB Gupta Road,
shops were shut as people
failed to maintain social dis-
tancing norms.
Some shops were allowed to
reopen on the condition that
staff would make sure norms
were followed.Many areas, in-
cluding Rohini, Krishna Nagar
and Karol Bagh saw people
queuing up since 7 am.
At Trilokpuri and Vishwas
Nagar, police had to resort to
mild lathi charge. Most liquor
shops capped sales to seven
bottles per person to prevent
hoarding.
A staff member at a store in
Mayur Vihar said, “If the idea is
to ensure social distancing, all
shops should be opened.”
SHIVAM PATEL
& SOMYA LAKHANI
NEW DELHI, MAY 4
INSTALLING THE Aarogya Setu
app, tracing whether they come
from containment zones or a
complete ban altogether — resi-
dents' welfare associations
(RWAs) across the city have im-
posedvariousrestrictionsfordo-
mestichelpswhostartedreturn-
ing to work Monday.
A circular issued by the Delhi
government said that services
provided by self-employed per-
sons, including domestic helps,
arepermittedMondayonwards.
ForRWAs,thedirectiveledto
queriesfromsocietyresidentson
whether they can call their do-
mestic helps back to work.
"Domestic helps here do not
come from one particular area,
but from places that are around
containment zones," said Dr
Naresh Chandra, the secretary of
an RWA in East Delhi's
Vasundhara Enclave. "We don't
know who is the carrier and the
infectioncanalsospreadthrough
asymptomatic persons. So... we
decided not to allow helps into
the society for at least another
week."
Dr Chandra is also the joint
secretary of a forum comprising
around47residentialsocietiesin
Vasundhara Enclave, out of
which only one or two have al-
lowed the entry of domestic
helps, he said.
New Delhi
Employers in a fix:
How to open with
no workforce
ANANDMOHANJ
NEW DELHI, MAY 4
FOR THE past 20 years, C P
Sharma (45) has been turning
paper reels into syringe disposal
boxes. He owns a printing and
packaging unit at Narela
Industrial Area, and is now try-
ing to figure out how to reopen
his unit with just three workers.
Hehadprocured20,000kgof
paper reels from a buyer in
Haryana’s Rai Industrial Area,
apart from other raw materials
that cost Rs 5 lakh before lock-
down.Thecostofproductionwas
another Rs 2 lakh. "But now, the
Haryana border has been sealed,
cutting off my raw material sup-
ply.AndIhad15workers,mostof
whom left for their villages. Only
three remain," Sharma said.
The reopening of the indus-
trial areas in Delhi is likely to be
an unprecedented challenge,
with a sizeable chunk of the
workforcehavingleft,disruption
in supply of raw materials, and a
credit-based system in which fi-
nal payment usually comes two
months after dispatch.
Akshit Bansal (30), who runs
an import-export unit in
MayapuriIndustrialArea,arrived
outside his unit on Monday to
find not a single one of his 10
workerstomovehisstock.Bansal
deals in metals procured from
Dubai, US, Canada, and several
other countries. Twelve contain-
ers with goods worth Rs 12 lakh
are stuck with a shipping line
company,andhewillincuracost
of Rs 1.2 lakh per day unless he
takes delivery. "I won’t take the
raw material if the charges ex-
ceeds its cost. But if I don’t take
raw materials, I won’t be able to
sell anything," Bansal said.
YogeshGoyalownsaunitpro-
ducingcorrugatedboxes,printed
material, catalogues and
brochures.Hebuyspaperandink
from Chawri Bazaar in Old Delhi,
andalsodependsonsupplyfrom
Workers at East Delhi’s Patparganj Industrial Area, Monday.
Amit Mehra
A circular issued by the
Delhi govt said that
services provided by
self-employed persons,
including domestic
helps, are permitted
from Monday
At South Delhi's Geetanjali
Enclave cooperative residential
society, the Aarogya Setu mobile
app is a must for domestic helps
anddrivers.GirirajKhanna,vice-
president of the society, said
some of the workers don’t have
smartphones."Wehaveallowed
the entry of drivers and helps as
required... There will be thermal
scans and hand sanitisers at the
gate. We have also asked them
to install the Aarogya Setu app,
so we will know if they are com-
ing from near a containment
zone," Khanna said.
In Vasant Kunj, an affluent
South Delhi neighbourhood,
some RWAs have opened gates
to house helps, while others
have decided to hold back and
"test the waters" for a few days.
VernonD'Souza, presidentof
anRWAinVasantKunj,said,"We
are screening domestic helps
and have told residents that it's
their responsibility to find out
the areas they are coming from
and that they are provided
masks. We are providing them
masksatthegatesif residentsdo
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
paper mills based in UP and
Gujarat.Hehademployedaround
30 workers, most of them are
skilled,drawingasalarybetween
Rs 15,000-20,000. "It will take 12
months for us to normalise our
output to pre-lockdown levels. I
havetopayanEMIofRs1lakhper
month, which is difficult consid-
ering the operating cost is Rs 6
lakh a month,” he said.
Sanjeev Madan, owner of an
industrial wax-making unit, said
hewaslookingforwardtoselling
his stock in textile industries
based in Rajasthan. He procures
different types of waxes from
Bawana and Mundka, spending
Rs1lakhpermonth."Beforelock-
down, it would take me two
months to get payment. Now I
can’t calculate when that will be.
I still have to pay the salaries of
four workers," Madan said.
At Jhilmil Industrial area, the
FlatedFactoryAssociationmem-
bershavenotallowedanyunitto
open until they get permission
from local authorities.
The hub of micro industries
located in multi-storey flats, fac-
toryownershaveappealedtoau-
thorities to waive electricity bill,
property tax, and maintenance
charges for at least six months.
Gurmeet Singh (48), who
runs a unit that repairs injection
mouldingmachines,usuallygets
ordersfromHimachalPradesh."I
have three workers who left for
home.Andif therelaxationkicks
in, unless there is a robust trans-
portsystem,myorderswillnever
reach the buyer," Singh said.
Manish Kapoor (49), who
makesinvertersystemsdelivered
to markets in Surat, Jodhpur and
Kanyakumari, said he has a
month's worth of raw materials
purchasedfromBhagirathPalace,
but no workers. "It had become
difficult to find workers even be-
forethelockdown.Mostworkers
here are from Northeast Delhi,
where the riots took place. Now,
with the virus, many small scale
units will die," Kapoor said.
not have them... We have also
asked residentswhohavethree-
four helps to keep just one."
In Defence Colony, Major
(retd) Ranjit Singh, the RWA
president, said, "The RWAs can't
dictate anything... I have sent a
circular to residents asking for
details of the house helps, how
theemployerplanstochecktheir
temperaturedailyandif theywill
give masks and gloves to helps.”
Singh said he will go through
each address, and, if the help
comes from an area close to a
containment zone, or areas such
as Nizamuddin and Sangam
Vihar,where caseshavebeenre-
ported from, they won't be al-
lowed to enter for a while.
RajivKakria,RWAmemberof
Greater Kailash-I, said residents
have been told “better to wait 10
days before staff (cooks, helps)
are allowed inside home”. He
said the RWA is not stopping
people from asking their helps
to return, but "we have asked
them to avoid it".
The Sarvodaya Enclave RWA
has sent an advisory saying "en-
try/exit of nursing staff, private
security guards, helps, drivers,
plumbers, electricians, carpen-
ters shall only be allowed from
May5fromgatenumber3only".
In East Delhi'sKrishna Nagar,
BSVohra,presidentof EastDelhi
Joint RWA Front, said, "We are
entirelyagainstthisandhavead-
vised residents to refrain from
asking helps to return for a few
more days."
 4 THE OUTBREAK The City WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2020

349 fresh cases as
Delhi’s corona tally
inches to 5,000
Delhi government employees, who returned to work on
Monday, undergo testing. Prem Nath Pandey
ASTHA SAXENA
NEW DELHI, MAY 4
DELHI REPORTED 349 fresh
COVID-19 cases Monday, taking
the total number of cases to
4,898.Nodeathwasreportedfor
thesecondconsecutiveday,with
the toll remaining at 64.
tion is already overburdened
with cases, so the role of the
healthcare provider will be to
coordinate with both of them.
A regular call will be made and
if required, a team of health of-
ficers will visit the patient at
home,” said a senior health de-
partment official.
As curbs were relaxed in the
HC DIRECTS GOVT TO ENSURE SWIFT TESTING, FASTER RESULTS
Behind city’s Covid spike, govt points
to increased testing, delayed reports
PRITAM PAL SINGH,
MALLICA JOSHI &
ASTHA SAXENA
NEW DELHI, MAY 4
INCREASED TESTING, more
hotspots, and delay in receiving
reports — these are among the
factors that the Delhi govern-
mentisattributingtothesudden
jump in COVID-19 cases in the
city, with over a third of the total
4,898casesbeingseeninaweek.
TillMonday,Delhihadtested
over 64,108 people. Pendency of
tests has been a persistent prob-
lem over the past two weeks,
withmanypeoplehavingtowait
around 10 days for their reports.
Delhi is testing close to 2,800
people per million population,
higher than other states like
Maharashtra, where the testing
rate per million is 1,237. In
As shops in Delhi-NCR open,
Mumbai,itisaround890permil-
lion. “The number of cases has
jumped suddenly as several
pending reports have come in
overthepastweek.Pendencyhad
reached over 9,000 but came
downtoaround3,700in3-4days.
Moreover, testing rate in Delhi is
thehighest.Ourstrategyistotest
as many people as we can to iso-
latethosewhohavetheinfection
andreturntonormalcy.Thenum-
berofcasesincontainmentzones
isrising,butsincetheyaresealed,
chances of an uncontrolled
spread are not very high,” said a
Delhi government official.
On Monday, the Delhi High
Court directed the Delhi govern-
ment to ensure swift testing of
samples and declare results be-
tween 24-48 hours of collecting
them. “It is further directed that
the Delhi government continue
updatingitswebsiteonaregular
basistoreflectcorrectnumberof
testsbeingconductedforCOVID-
19,mentionnumberof casesthat
arepositiveornegativeandstate
number of pending results after
tests are conducted,” a bench of
Justice Hima Kohli and Justice
Subramonium Prasad ordered.
Over the past few days, the
government had stopped mak-
ingpublictheinformationonthe
number of pending tests.
Delhi government’s
Additional Standing Counsel
Satyakam told the court that till
Sunday evening, 3,790 tests
were still pending with private
andgovernmentlaboratoriesau-
thorised to analyse samples. The
maximum pendency is at
National Institute of Biologicals
(NIB), Noida, he said. The Delhi
government has sent close to
11,000 samples to the body.
The lab, meanwhile, stopped
accepting new samples till May
6.Ithastested15,000samplesso
far.Seniorofficialsfromtheinsti-
tute said the decision was taken
to make sure bio-safety compli-
ance for the equipment is main-
tained.“Themachineshavetobe
maintained.Serviceswillresume
aftertwodaysbutwewillrestrict
thenumberof samplesasperca-
pacity,” said an official.
Theinstitutehasacapacityto
test around 800 samples a day
andgetssamplesfromfourstates
—Delhi,UP,MadhyaPradeshand
Rajasthan. “As the pendency in-
creased,somesamplesweresent
backtolabsinDelhiwhileothers
were tested at the institute,”
added the official.
Delhi stopped sending sam-
ples to the overworked lab a
weekago.Theunionhealthmin-
istryhasalsopulledupstategov-
ernmentsoverpendency,which,
Paramilitary forces in
it said, increases the chance of
peopleawaitingresultsinfecting
others.
The court, meanwhile, was
hearing a plea by advocate
Rakesh Malhotra, who said the
Delhi government was not tak-
ing expeditious steps to furnish
reports after conducting tests.
Counsel Satyakam said there are
23 accredited labs that under-
take COVID-19 testing in Delhi.
“Of these, 10 are in the public
sector and 13 in private sector.
Thecollectivecapacityof thelabs
are 3,000-3,500 tests per day,”
he said, adding that reports will
be received within 1-2 days of
samples being received by labs.
The court disposed the plea,
saying it was “satisfied that ade-
quate remedial measures have
been taken by the Delhi govern-
ment to expedite receipt of re-
ports for testing patients”.
Delhi govt
seals two
branches of
pvt school
for hiking fee
SUKRITA BARUAH
NEW DELHI, MAY 4
THE DELHI government
Monday passed orders to seal
two branches of the Apeejay
Schools franchise for hiking
their fees in an unauthorised
manner.
The order for sealing the
Sheikh Sarai and Saket branches
of Apeejay Schools was issued
Monday evening, invoking the
directives on fee collection that
had been issued by the Delhi
government in the light of the
national lockdown.
The government had
issued orders that all city private
schools can only collect fees on
a monthly basis during the lock-
down, and that there can be no
increase in fees during the lock-
down.
Even before these orders
were issued, they had been is-
sued specifically to the manage-
ment of Apeejay Schools after

city record 200 cases

After guidelines for home
isolation of patients were re-
leased, 438 people have been
isolated at homes. In its first
Cabinet meeting after offices re-
opened Monday, the govern-
ment decided to hire home
healthcare providers to care for
these patients.
A training manual has been
designed, which will be given to
all patients and their caregivers.
According to sources, the gov-
ernment will hire healthcare
providers through a private
company.
“A team of health workers
will call each patient and edu-
cate them on best practices for
home isolation. This will be fol-
lowed by a daily call to track im-
portant vitals of the patient and
answer all their queries. The pa-
tients would also get automatic
SMS alerts for testing to be done
after14daysof isolation,”astate-
ment by the government stated.
For home isolation, a person
should be clinically assigned as
pre-symptomatic or a very mild
casebythe treatingmedicaloffi-
cer. As per guidelines issued by
the Delhi government, there
should be regular communica-
tion between the caregiver and
hospital.
“The hospital administra-
capital on Monday — the begin- complaints from parents that
ning of the third lockdown —
OPDs at several hospitals saw a
surge in the number of patients.
some confusion remains the store were among the first to
studentswerebeingbarredfrom
online classes over non-pay-
ment of fees.
“Our OPD services have been lockdown. “I don’t know why DEEPTIMAN TIWARY testpositive.Theyappeartohave The principals of both
functional for patients but the SUKRITA BARUAH this is the case. Other shops can NEW DELHI, MAY 4 contracted the virus from veg- branches said they had all
numberwascomparativelyhigh & SAKSHI DAYAL also open. This is just a residen- etablesuppliers.Theyaretheonly requisite approvals from the
today. Patients in need of imme- NEW DELHI, MAY 4 tial colony with some shops, not THESPREADof COVID-19among outsiders who come to the Directorate of Education for the
diate medical help are being at- a market,” said Shakti Singh, paramilitaryforcesisfastbecom- camp,”saidanITBPofficer,adding feestheycharged,andthatama-
tended by the staff," said Dr Anil JITENDER SALUJA supervised as who had opened his electrical ing a cause for concern, with the that over 50 people from the jority of parents have paid the
Agarwal,directorof GBPanthos- his assistant carefully painted a store in Malviya Nagar’s F block total cases among personnel in camp have been quarantined. present monthly fee.
pital. white circle outside his cooler Monday afternoon. As of 1.30 Delhi alone touching 200. Two more tested positive "Almost all parents are with
Undertherelaxationsoffered shop in Kotla Mubarakpur on pm,he was yet to see customers. After CRPF and BSF, a high from Battalion 50, which had us and understand the situation.
by the Delhi government, OPDs Monday morning. He was open- Another small business to number of cases have been de- been put on law and order du- Only a handful of parents have
and clinics have been allowed to ing his business after 43 days. open up in residential areas was tected in the Indo-Tibetan ties at Shastri Park. An entire beencomplaining, motivated by
open. After the Delhi government Shops open in Laxmi Nagar, neighbourhood press-walas. Border Police (ITBP) and company of around 100 person- vested interests. Unfortunately,
AIIMS is also chalking out a announced different categories Monday. Amit Mehra Deepak,whoreceivedtwosetsof Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB). nel has been quarantined. the current Force Majeure situ-
plan to restart the OPD services. of shops which can be opened clothes at his stand in Hauz Khas While 21 ITBP personnel have At the BSF, the headquarters ation has again promoted them
“All departments are work- during the third phase of the Enclave, said: “I saw in the news testedpositiveinDelhi,13tested has been sealed and sanitised. to agitate on the fee issue," said
ing on it and a decision will be lockdown, shops in neighbour- keepers like me who came to thatsmallenterprisesincolonies positive at SSB’s Ghitorni camp. The CRPF headquarters at the Apeejay Sheikh Sarai principal
taken soon. Every step will have hoods across the city opened open today but now police are canopenagainsoIcamefrommy On Monday, two more CRPF CGO complex is out of bounds Ritu Mehta.
to be taken carefully to their shutters on Monday, amid telling us to close. We’ve been houseinChattarpur.I’llheadback personnel tested positive, taking and was sanitised on Monday. “Access to online classes is
maintain social distancing. some doubts and hesitation. closed for over a month and homeaftercompletingthesetwo thetotalcasesattheforce'sMayur They will remain shut Tuesday. being given to all students.
Once OPD services start, we While Saluja busied himself thought we would get some re- sets and delivering them.” Vihar camp to 137. One BSF per- Sources said the BSF ADG, in There could have been some
will also have patients who will with getting his wares in place lief now,” said Prakash. In neighbouring Gurgaon, sonnel, posted at its CGO whose office a constable tested technical glitches causing some
need to be admitted. So, it will forcustomers,VedPrakash,who Police manned the cramped where similar orders for shops Complex headquarters and at- positive,hasbeenaskedto gofor disruptions. Presently, all issues
happen in phases,” said Dr D K runs a hardware store across the lanes of the urban village, asking were passed, Gaurav Bansal, who tached to the office of an testingandwilllikelybequaran- related to it have been resolved
Sharma, medical superinten- narrow lane, brought down his shopkeeperstoremovewareson owns ‘The Gift Shop’ in Sector 14 AdditionalDG,testedpositivelate tined. Tracing of their contacts is and all our students are receiv-
dent of AIIMS. shutters shortly after he had un- displayoutsidestores,andpeople market,spentthedaycleaning.His on Sunday night, taking the total on, sources said. “Identification ing online education without
Meanwhile, 11 more health- locked them. “Sirf pankhe, cooler tomaintainsocialdistancing.Only helperhadgonetohisvillageprior numberofcasesintheforceto54. of secondary and tertiary con- any interruption. We started
care workers at Dr Baba Saheb aur stationery ke dukaan khu- stationery, electric appliances, tothelockdown.“Hardlyanybody FourteenofthesecasesintheBSF tacts as per protocol is being car- online classes immediately
Ambedkar Hospital have tested lenge,” blared a loudspeaker grocery and medical stores were cametopurchaseitemstoday...but havebeenreportedfromTripura. ried out,” said BSF spokesperson once the lockdown had been
positive. from a police van driving past. open in the long line of houses I will clean up the shop for when Sources said a majority of the Shubhendu Bharadwaj. announced with our long-term
In Delhi, over 320 healthcare “Thereisalotof confusion.As with stores at the bottom floor. customersarrive,”hesaid. infections in the ITBP have been All 13 personnel of the SSB, use of technology. Our teachers
workers working in COVID and per the government's orders, Across different localities of At a salon on New Railway reported from its Tigri camp in whichguardstheIndo-Nepaland and support staff have been
non-COVIDhospitalshavetested hardware shops can open start- South Delhi, The Indian Express Road, the owner said: “All eight SouthDelhi,where19havetested Indo-Bhutan border, belong to working 24/7 to ensure all stu-
positive so far. ing today. There are other shop- found stationery and electrical staffers went to their villages in positive. The infection is sus- 25thbattalionwhichhasitscamp dents have access and are sup-
stores to be the most readily UPduringthelockdown.Wecan’t pected to have spread from the atGhitorni.Itisnotclearhowthe ported,” said Apeejay Saket
openonthefirstdayof amilder resume work till they return.” in-housegrocerystore.“Peopleat infection reached the camp. principal Smita Amit.
GOVERNMENT OF ANDHRA PRADESH
REVENUE (DM) DEPARTMENT
ANDHRA PRADESH DISASTER RECOVERY PROJECT
WORLD BANK CREDIT NO: 5694-IN
INVITATION FOR BIDS (IFB)
IFB No.: 03 to 4/APDRP/APSDMA/2020 Dated 01.05.2020
The Government of India has received credit from the International
Development Association (IDA) for an amount equivalent to US$ 201.38
million towards the cost of Andhra Pradesh Disaster Recovery Project
(APDRP) and intends to apply a part of the proceeds of the credit to cover
eligible payments under the contract for which this Invitation to bid has been
issued. The bidders from India as defined in the IDA and IBRD Guidelines
are eligible to bid for the project. Bidders are advised to note the eligibility
and qualification criteria specified in the Bidding Document to qualify for the
award of the contract. The Project Director, PMU, APDRP invites "on line e-
bids" from eligible bidders for the Activities shown below, through website of
Central Public Procurement Portal http://eprocure.gov.in from 06/05/2020.
The IFBs are also available at the website www.apdrp.ap.gov.in and UNDB TENDER NOTICE
web site www.devbusiness.com Sr. No. : 01
NAME OF BOARD/CORP./AUTH: PT. B. D. SHARMA UHS, ROHTAK
IFB No. Activity Activity Name Bid Period of NAME OF WORK NOTICE TENDER: DEPLOYMENT OF AGENCY FOR PROVIDING BEARER SERVICES FOR
ONE YEAR WHICH IS EXTENDABLE ON QUARTERLY BASIS TO A MAXIMUM OF ANOTHER ONE YEAR SUB-
No. in Security contract in JECT TO THE SATISFACTORY SERVICES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HEALTH SCIENCES (UHS) ROHTAK.
STEP months OPENING DATE CLOSING DATE (TIME): CLOSING DATE 28.05.2020
AMOUNT / EMD (APPROX.) IN RUPEES: 31 LACS
1 2 3 5 6 WEBSITE OF THE BOARD CORP./AUTH: a) www.uhsr.ac.in b) www.etenders.hry.nic.in
NODAL OFFICER/CONTACT DETAILS/EMAIL: 01262-281311 mspgimshry@gmail.com
03/ICB/ 79865 Procurement of Services for INR 46 Sr. No. : 02
APDRP/ Supply, Installation and 102.00 Lakhs NAME OF BOARD/CORP./AUTH: PT. B. D. SHARMA UHS, ROHTAK
NAME OF WORK NOTICE TENDER: (A) DEPLOYMENT OF ANY AGENCY OR (B) COOP. LABOUR AND
APSDMA Commissioning of Integrated Or CONSTRUCTION SOCIETIES CONSISTING OF ALL SCHEDULED CASTE MEMBERS FOR PROVIDING
/2020 Public Alert and Warning US $ MECHANIZED SANITATION SERVICES FOR ONE YEAR WHICH IS EXTENDABLE ON QUARTERLY BASIS
TO A MAXIMUM OF ANOTHER ONE YEAR SUBJECT TO SATISFACTORY SERVICES AT UNIVERSITY OF
System for Andhra Pradesh 146,000.00 HEALTH SCIENCES (UHS), ROHTAK.
State with Wireless Emergency OPENING DATE CLOSING DATE (TIME): CLOSING DATE 28.05.2020
Alert Platform and Alert AMOUNT / EMD (APPROX.) IN RUPEES: 24.12 LACS
WEBSITE OF THE BOARD CORP./AUTH: a) www.uhsr.ac.in b) www.etenders.hry.nic.in
Aggregation Tool [AP-ALERT] NODAL OFFICER/CONTACT DETAILS/EMAIL: 01262-281311 mspgimshry@gmail.com
04/NCB/ 171401 Supply, Installation, 3.72 Lakhs 39 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION KINDLY VISIT:
APDRP/ Commissioning and Operation 80776/HRY. www.haryanaeprocurement.gov.in or www.etenders.hry.nic.in
APSDMA of Multi-Touch Video Wall for the
/2020 State Emergency Operation
Centre of Andhra Pradesh State
Disaster Management Authority
Sd/-
R.O. No.: 31PP/CL/ADVT/I/I/2020-21 Dt. 04.05.2020 Project Director, APDRP

GOVERNMENT OF TAMILNADU
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT
Buildings (C&M) Circle,(Medical Works),Madurai– 625 002.
EXTENTION NOTIFICATION NO.:01SE/BCMC (MW) /MDU/2020-2021,DATE: 04.05.2020
Last date for submission of Pre-Qualification application mentioned in the
EXTENTION NOTIFICATION NO : 19SE/BCMC (MW) /MDU/2019-2020/Dt: 01.04.2020 & 20SE/BCMC
(MW) /MDU/2019-2020/Dt: 15.04.2020
Extended as follows:
Pre-Application Meeting - 20.05.2020 at 11.00 am in The Superintending Engineer, The Tamil Nadu Public
Works Department, Buildings (Construction & Maintenance) Circle, Medical Works, PWD Compound,
Thallakulam, Madurai - 625 002.
Last date for submission of pre-qualification application - 10.06.2020, 3.00 pm.
Pre-qualification opening date - 10.06.2020, 3.30 pm.
Further details may be downloaded from the following websites
www.dgmarket.com, www.tenders.tn.gov.in, www.tntenders.gov.in
Superintending Engineer, PWD
DIPR / 1713 / TENDER / 2020 Buildings (C&M) Circle, M.W,Madurai

GOVERNMENT OF TAMILNADU
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT
3rd EXTENSION NOTIFICATION DATE: 04.05.2020
Tamil Nadu Urban Health Care Project (Supported by JICA)
Name of work: Construction of New Secondary Care Hospital Block and additional facilities
including furniture and furnishing excluding medical equipments at Proposed Avadi Secondary
Care Hospital, Thiruvallur, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
Last date for submission of Pre-Qualification Application mentioned in the Notice NIT No. 45/2019-
2020/BCMC/MW/CHENNAI Dated: 16.03.2020.
Extended as follows:
Pre-Application Meeting - 20.05.2020 at 11.00 A.M
Last date of submission of Pre-Qualification Application - 10.06.2020 upto 3.00 PM.
Pre-Qualification Application opening date - 10.06.2020 at 3.30 PM.
Further details may be downloaded from the following websites.
http://www.tenders.tn.gov.in, and www.tntenders.gov.in.,
Superintending Engineer, PWD., (i/c)
DIPR / 1714 / TENDER / 2020 Buildings (C&M) Circle, M.W.,Chepauk, Chennai-5.

New Delhi
 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

5 THE OUTBREAK
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2020

Nation

In Rajasthan, pvt buses ferrying migrant New single-day

workers charge 3 times fare fixed by govt corona high:
DEEPMUKHERJEE
JAIPUR,MAY4
WHILE THEY are finally being al-
lowed to return to their home
states, migrant workers in
Rajasthan have alleged that pri-
vate bus operators are charging
more than three times the fare
fixed by the government.
Mehboob, 35, a resident of
Supaul district in Bihar who was
working in a garment factory in
Jaipur, said he had to sell his cell-
phone to arrange for the bus fare.
“TheprivatebuschargedusRs
4,500 per person. Before leaving
Jaipur, government officials told
us not to pay more than Rs 2,400.
But as soon as we entered the
highway, the driver stopped the
bus at the first petrol pump and
saidthatunlesswepaidRs4,000-
4,500,thebuswouldn’tleave,”he
said.Thebus,whichhadabout30
passengers, left Rajasthan on
SaturdaynightandreachedBihar
on Monday morning.
“AfterbeingstuckinJaipurfor
over one-and-a-half months, I
didn’thaveenoughmoneyforthe
busfare.Ihadtosellmycellphone
forRs5,000;IhadboughtitforRs
12,000,” said Mehboob.
“We have fixed Rs 32 per km
for non-AC and Rs 40 per km for
ACbuses,asthecollectivefarefor
theentirebus.Only30peopleare
being allowed in buses which
have a capacity of about 50 seats,
in order to ensure social distanc-
ing. We are also in the process of
fixingindividualfareforeachpas-
senger,” said Ravi Jain, Rajasthan
Transport Department
Commissioner and Secretary.
According to this rate, a jour-
ney to Supaul, about 1,275 kms
fromJaipur,shouldcostRs40,800
fortheentirebus.Ifthebushas30
passengers, each person should
have to pay about Rs 1,360.
While the Rajasthan State
Road Transport Corporation
(RSRTC) is ferrying labourers for
free, its services are restricted to
within the state.
“Our buses went to
Uttarakhand once — the
Uttarakhandgovernmentwillpay
usthefare.Apartfromthat,forfer-
rying those stranded within the
stateanduptothestateborder,no
fareisbeingcharged,”saidNaveen
Jain, Chairman and Managing
Director, RSRTC.
So, workers from outside the
state have no option but to take
the private buses.
MohammedYousuf,32,alsoa
resident of Bihar’s Supaul district
whoworksasatailorinanexport
houseinJaipur,saidhehadtobor-
row Rs 3,000 from an acquain-
tancetopayRs4,000asbusfare.“I
hadregisteredonthegovernment
portal for migrants, but didn’t re-
ceive any message. There are a
limitednumberoftrains,wemay
have to wait 15-20 days. We did-
n’t have any money. We had to
leave,” he said.
HetooleftJaipuronSaturday,
and reached Bihar on Monday.
Some workers who reached
Biharsaidtheywerealsocharged
toll tax. Mohammed Hasim, a
resident of Bihar’s Araria district
whoworksinasewingfactoryin
Jaipur, is yet to leave for home.
“The bus operators told us that
we have to pay for the return
journey as well. I am the sole
breadwinner in my family. Since
we don’t have any work, I don’t
have any money,” he said.
Buttransportdepartmentof-
ficials said private buses are not
supposed to charge for the re-
turn trip. “The rate of Rs 32 per
kmisonlyforthejourney,notfor
the return trip... This is a bal-
anced fare as every sector is un-
der economic distress at pres-
ent,” said R C Yadav, Additional
Transport Commissioner (Tax,
HSRP and Rules).
Transport Commissioner and
Secretary Ravi Jain said action is
being taken on individual com-
plaints, and they will take a deci-
sion on fixing individual fares.
Meanwhile, activists said
manymigrantscouldnotevenaf-
ford Rs 32 per km.
“Atthismoment,whenthou-
sandsofmigrantsarereturningto
their homes after spending all
their money on sustenance dur-
ing the lockdown, the govern-
ment should ensure that they
have to pay as little as possible...
Therehastobeanofficialmecha-
nism or a nodal officer to prevent
such exploitation,” said Mukesh
Goswami of the Mazdoor Kisan
Shakti Sangathan.
In an official release, the state
government said about 15 lakh
migrants had registered till
Sunday. According to the state-
ment, about 60,000 migrant
workers from other states had
been sent home, while another 1
lakh had returned home to
Rajasthan so far.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot
saidthatfollowingCongresschief
Sonia Gandhi’s instructions, the
state government had decided to
pay their train fare.
“Those who have registered
online, it will take some time to
arrangetrainsandbusesforthem.
Atpresent,themigrantlabourers
leavingbytrainsaremostlythose
who are from institutional facili-
ties and were living at shelter
homes...Thosewhoareleavingby
private vehicles have made their
own arrangements... We haven’t
received any complaints of peo-
ple charging excess fare so far,”
said Ashok Kumar, Additional
District Magistrate, Jaipur.
2,573 cases
and 83 deaths
Govt: Nature of infectious diseases to
increase with geometric progression
ABANTIKA GHOSH
NEW DELHI, MAY 4
AS THE dailycount of novelcoro-
navirus(COVID-19)casescrossed
2,000 for the third day in a row
and the deaths touched a new
high at 83, the Ministry of Health
and Family Welfare said on
Mondaythatitisinthe“natureof
infectious diseases to increase
with geometric progression”.
While 2,573 new cases were
however, said the governmentis
lookingatapeakinthenextcou-
ple of months. In a presentation
shared with states in a meeting
chaired by the Cabinet Secretary
last week, the Centre had pre-
dicted that the total cases would
touch 65,000 on May 15;
1,65,122 on May 31; 3,95,727 on
June 15; 11,22,839 on June 30;
31,85,952 on July 15; 96,90,715
on July 31; and 2,74,96,513 on
August 15.
Agarwal also said that in-

BJP calls it politics as Lockdown 3.0 begins, migrants protest

reportedinthelast24hours—the stead of calling the extension of
highest so far — there were 2,487 lockdown,witheasingof restric-
new cases on Sunday, and 2,411 tions, ‘Lockdown 3.0’, “we
on Saturday. The total COVID-19 should call it easing out 2.0”.

Cong triggers debate in Gujarat and Kerala: ‘Take us home’ count is now 42,836, of which
1,389 have died and 11,761 have
“As the Prime Minister has
said, jaan bhi, jahan bhi. We have

on migrants’ train fare

EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, MAY 4
INAsurprisemovewhichseemed
to have pushed the government
on the backfoot, Congress presi-
dent Sonia Gandhi on Monday
slammed the Railways for charg-
ing fares from stranded migrants
returning home in special trains
andannouncedthattheCongress
will pay for their travel.
Former Congress president
Rahul Gandhi also slammed the
government, saying he is unable
to understand why the Railways
donatedRs151croretoPMCARES
and then charged fares from mi-
grant workers.
Sonia’s move and Rahul’s at-
tack triggered a sharp response
from the BJP, which accused the
opposition party of indulging in
politics.BJPspokespersonSambit
Patra tweeted, “Rahul Gandhi ji, I
haveattachedguidelinesof MHA
which clearly states that ‘No tick-
ets to be sold at any station’.
Railways has subsidised 85% &
State govt to pay 15%. The State
govt can pay for the tickets
(MadhyaPradesh’sBJPgovtispay-
ing). Ask Cong state govts to fol-
low suit.”
Targeting Sonia, BJP
spokesperson Shahnawaz
Hussain said, “Instead of spread-
ingincorrectinformation,itwould
have made more sense if the
Congress had instructed its state
governments to foot the bill.
Governments of Punjab,
Rajasthan politicising the issue.”
Earlier, Sonia said the govern-
ment denied migrant labourers
the opportunity to return home
by announcing the lockdown
Sonia
Gandhi
without notice, forcing them to
walkseveralhundredkilometres
without food. “Even today, lakhs
ofworkersandmigrantlabourers
are languishing in different parts
of the country... but there is nei-
ther adequate money nor provi-
sion for free transport. What is
particularly disturbing is that the
Central Government and the Rail
Ministry are charging them for
train tickets...” she said.
Arguing that workers and
labourersaretheambassadorsof
India’s growth, she said “When
ourgovernmentcanrecogniseits
responsibilitybyarrangingfreeair
travel for our citizens stranded
abroad, when the government
can spend nearly Rs 100 crore on
transportandfoodetc.forjustone
public programme in Gujarat,
when the Rail Ministry has the
largesse to donate Rs 151 crore to
the PM’s Corona fund, then why
can’t these essential members of
ournation’sfabricbegivenafrac-
tion of the same courtesy, espe-
ciallyfreerailtravel,atthishourof
acute distress?”
She said the Congress has
“taken a decision that every
Pradesh Congress Committee
shallbearthecostforrailtravelof
every needy worker and migrant
labourer...” Sources said the AICC
hasalreadytransferredmoneyto
the state units. Calling the party
president’s decision historic, for-
mer Finance Minister P
Chidambaram said it “puts the
Government of India to shame”.
KAMAAL SAIYED,
VAIBHAV JHA
& SHAJU PHILIP
SURAT,AHMEDABAD,
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM,MAY4
THE FIRST day of the third phase
of the national lockdown saw
migrant workers in Gujarat and
Kerala come out on the streets
Monday, demanding that they
be sent back home and protest-
ing against landlords demand-
ing rents.
In Gujarat, hundreds of mi-
grants gathered to protest at two
locations in Surat, and in
Ahmedabad. In Surat’s Vareli vil-
lage,theworkersclashedwithpo-
lice, leaving two policemen in-
jured and several vehicles
damaged.
In Kerala, a group of at least
200 workers from West Bengal
staged a protest on the
Kozhikode-Mangalore highway
afterbeing“misledbyfalseinfor-
mation”thattrainticketswerebe-
ing distributed, police said.
Both Gujarat and Kerala had
started sending migrants, mostly
from UP, Bihar, Jharkhand and
Odisha, back home on special
trains last week. Gujarat has
emerged as a COVID-19 hotspot
with over 5,500 cases so far.
Kerala, on the other hand, is way
down the chart with 500 cases.
The start of the second phase
of the lockdown last month had
witnessed similar protests in
Surat, and also in Maharashtra
where nearly 2,000 people gath-
eredoutsidetheBandraWestrail-
way station in Mumbai.
In Vareli, a senior officer said
migrants from UP and Bihar,
working in the textile dyeing and
printing units of Kadodara GIDC
Migrant labourers clash with police in Vareli village, Surat, on Monday. Hanif Malek
and powerloom units, pelted
stonesatagroupoffivepolicemen
whotriedtodispersethem.Police
resortedtoalathichargeandused
teargasshellstodispersethemob.
Atleast100personshavebeende-
tained, the officer said.
“There is no work here, and
we are struggling to get food.
Now,houseownersaredemand-
ing rent. We came to know that
train and bus services have been
started from Surat to Odisha,
Bihar,JharkhandandUP.Wewant
toreturnandworkinthefieldstill
the situation becomes normal,”
said Dhaniram Dubey, from
BandainUP,whowasworkingin
a dyeing and printing mill in
Kadodara GIDC.
DySPBhargavPandyasaidthe
situationhasbeenbroughtunder
control. “We tried to pacify them
andtriedtogettheirlocalleaders
to persuade them to return to
their accommodation. But the
mob pelted stones at police. The
condition of the injured police-
men is stable,” he said.
Another group of around 500
migrant workers protested
against their landlords demand-
ing rent in the Palanpur area of
Surat city. Reinforcements were
sent to pacify the mob, said DCP
PrashantSumbe.“Theywantedto
go back. We assured them that
complaints will be registered
against houseowners who de-
mand rent at this time,” Sumbe
said.Atleast20weredetainedand
FIRsregisteredagainst100others.
In Ahmedabad, over 150 mi-
grantworkers protestedoutsidea
local revenue office near Lal
Darwaza,claimingthattheywere
unable to register on a govern-
ment portal for the special trains.
“We went to the Mamlatdar
officetoaskforhardcopiesof the
formbutwewerenotallowedin-
side.Wehavetogohome,thereis
nomoneyleft,”saidMohammad
Saddam (25), who hails from
Kolkata and was working in a
plastic factory in Ahmedabad.
In Kozhikode’s Koyilandi, po-
lice said they had to resort to a
“mildlathicharge”todispersethe
protesting workers. Station
House Officer K Unnikrishnan
said the workers from Uttar
Dinajpurdistricthadbeencamp-
ing at Moodadi village.
“Lists of migrant workers
wanting to return are being pre-
paredbyrevenueauthorities.But
we haven’t officially given them
anyinformationabouttrains.We
chased them away when they
triedtopeltstonesfromarailway
track nearby,’’ he said.
Moodadi panchayat presi-
dent Sheeja Patteri said the vil-
lage has 870 migrants, including
500fromWestBengal.“Wehave
been supplying them with food
kits. Someone misguided them.
Evenduringthelockdown,many
of them are getting work at con-
struction sites,’’ she said.
recovered.
Responding to a question on
why the daily count was increas-
ing, Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary,
HealthMinistry,said:“Itiscritical
tounderstandthatinfectiousdis-
eases spread in geometric pro-
gression.Lockdown,physicaldis-
tancing, containment — through
a combination of all these, we
haveincreasedthedoublingtime
from 3.4 days to 12 days.
Lockdown and containment are
yielding results, the challenge
now is to better it as we continue
to ease out, with continued sup-
port from the community.”
This is the first admission by
the government that “breaking
the chain of transmission” —
which was said to be the goal of
the lockdown — is unlikely to
happen soon.
On April 24, the Press
Information Bureau (PIB) had
tweeted a graph that showed
cases coming down to zero by
May 16. “Decision of lockdown
was timely, curve has begun to
flatten.Thenationhasshownthat
lockdown has been effective,
#SavingLives, containing
#COVID19 infection and slowing
down doubling rate. We need to
build on these gains - Chairman,
Empowered Group 1 “The Aspirational Districts
#IndiaFightsCOVID19,”ittweeted.
ThereferenceistoDrVKPaul,
member (health), NITI Aayog,
who chairs the empowered
group on medical emergency
management plan.
Askedabouttheprojectionof
a second wave in May-end or
June, Agarwal said: “Talking
about a peak is not the right way
of looking at things. We need to
see how to prevent the disease,
saveourselvesandworktowards
it.If wesucceed,theremaynever
be a peak.”
Top government sources,
to look at how to revive systems
withcommunityownershipand
behaviour change so that the
norm of social and physical dis-
tancing becomes a part of our
life,” he said.
He said the outcome ratio
(recoveries versus deaths) has
improvedsinceApril17.Itisnow
90:10, as compared to 80:20
earlier.
Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh
Kant, who heads the empow-
ered group on civil society or-
ganisations, NGOs and develop-
ment partners, industry
partners, and international or-
ganisations, gave details of the
private sector’s participation.
“The private healthcare sec-
tor has been deeply committed
in partnering the government to
fight the crisis, offering capabil-
ities even amid the compelling
situation. Manufacturing com-
panies are coming forward and
utilising their plant, machinery
and skilled manpower to mass
manufactureequipment.Forex-
ample, CII has launched a coali-
tion of high-end manufacturing
companies in automobile, ma-
chine tools and defence sectors
to mass-manufacture ventila-
tors,” he said.
Programme piloted by NITI
Aayog has been a phenomenal
success in uplifting the lives of
millions in 112 most backward
(aspirational)districts.Asof now,
there are about 610 cases in 112
aspirational districts, which is
consideredfairlylowat lessthan
2 per cent of the national level of
infections. Of these, six districts
have reported their first case af-
ter April 21. The major hotspots
are Baramulla (62), Nuh (57),
Ranchi (55), YSR (Kadapa) (55),
Kupwara (47) and Jaisalmer
(34),” said Kant.

IPS officer, 17 more cops

Fare play: who pays for
the migrants’ trip home
Amid a political row over fares for special trains carrying
migrants home, a look at how the states are pitching in
GUJARAT
So far, 21,500 passengers have been sent
from the state by 18 trains, and it is the passen-
gers who are paying for the journey, according
totheGujaratgovernment.Thestateisnotyetin
discussion with the receiving states about the
payment to Railways.
Thepassengerswere initiallyidentifiedwith
the help of NGOs or village sarpanches. From
Monday night, two call centres were activated
for people seeking to register to take the train
home.
MAHARASHTRA
Theticketfareisbeingpaidbymigrantwork-
ers. A group leader for a batch of 25 people col-
lects the fare and is allowed to buy tickets on
their behalf a few hours before the train leaves.
So far, 35,000 migrant workers have been sent
— 10,000 on trains and others on buses and
other modes of transportation.
The state has requested the Centre to waive
the fares. Madhya Pradesh government, mean-
while, has conveyed it will bear the cost of mi-
grant workers travelling there from Maharash-
tra. Maharashtra on Monday received a
communication from the Centre saying it will
bear 85% of the travel cost. Now the state is in
the process of issuing a notification announcing
free travel for migrants.
JHARKHAND
CM Hemant Soren said his government has
decided against charging students and labour-
ers coming to their home state. The state gov-
ernment is paying for the journey. It has cleared
its dues for trains coming to Jharkhand. Around
3,600 people have come from other states since
the lockdown extension was announced.
KERALA
Since Friday, 13,818 migrant workers
boarded special trains from six destinations in
Kerala to Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha. They
were asked to pay the fare of Rs 850-950. Many
who found it difficult to pay were helped by lo-
cal employers or village representatives.
The Kerala labour department had arranged
for registration of workers intending to return
to their home states. Most of the train services
weretoBihar,butsomewerepostponedfollow-
ing a request from the Bihar government.
BIHAR
Migrants are paying the train fare as of now.
ButCM NtishKumar has announcedthat all mi-
grantswouldbereimbursedfortheirtraintravel
expenses, and each would be given Rs 500 extra
after the 21-day quarantine. In case of students,
Bihar will pay back the fare to the Centre.
Bihar has received about 5,000 migrants
MigrantworkerswhowerestrandedinMaharashtrareachCharbagh railwaystationin
LucknowonMonday. Vishal Srivastava
from Rajasthan and Kerala.
The state government has data on 25 lakh
peoplewhoarestuckoutsideandwhohavereg-
istered for assistance of Rs 1,000. The others are
being registered at originating states.
MADHYA PRADESH
So far, one train carrying 319 migrant work-
ers from Nashik reached Bhopal on Saturday.
They were charged for the trip. Now, MP has an-
nounced that workers will not be charged.
Collectors will coordinate with their counter-
parts in other states and Railways to ensure this.
MP has drawn up a plan to receive 31 trains
from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana, Goa and
Delhi. Workers will be screened before board-
ing and after reaching MP.
WEST BENGAL
Thestategovernmentisyettodecideonpay-
ing for migrant labourers entering and leaving
the state. The government is in talks with the
sending and receiving states.
Thestateisbringingbackover1,000migrant
labourers from Rajasthan by a special train that
was to leave Ajmer on Monday. Steps have also
been taken to bring back workers from Kerala.
To send labourers, the state government has
an online registration system. For interstate res-
idents stuck in WestBengal and for West Bengal
residents stuck in other states, the government
hashelpline numbers. They also have toregister
on the state government website.
RAJASTHAN
CM Ashok Gehlot announced on Monday
that the state government will bear the cost of
transporting migrants via trains. The amount,
Gehlot said, will be paid to Railways. This will
be applicable to migrant labourers, pilgrims,
tourists, students etc.
As of Monday afternoon, 10 trains had been
sentfromRajasthanwith10,591passengers.Pa-
ssengers were identified based on clusters. ENS
test positive in Mumbai
Mumbai: A Deputy
Commissioner of Police (DCP) in
Mumbaiandatleast17otherpo-
licementestedpositiveforCOVID-
tested positive. The corporator
wasactivelyinvolvedinfooddis-
tribution.
Those who tested positive on
19 on Monday. The DCP, the first Mondayinclude12policeperson-
IPS officer in the state to test pos- nelfromJJpolicestation,anassis-
itive,isasymptomaticandunder- tant police inspector from the
went tests after his driver tested Economic Offences Wing (EOW)
positive two days ago. The DCP is and four other policemen posted
currently in home isolation. at Tilak Nagar police station.
A former deputy mayor and Sofar,211MumbaiPoliceper-
Shiv Sena corporator from Worli sonnel have tested positive, of
and her husband have also whom, three have died. ENS
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New Delhi
 6 THE OUTBREAK WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2020

‘Water availability good but states will

now find it difficult to spend on projects’
DELHI CONFIDENTIAL
JAL SHAKTI Minister GAJENDRA
SINGH SHEKHAWAT speaks to
LIZ MATHEW on the water
availability in the country amid
the lockdown and how the
COVID-19 outbreak will hit wa-
ter-related projects
How do you see the water
situation in the country now?
Althoughwaterisastatesub-
ject and the states are managing
it primarily, out of the 5500 plus
reservoirs, 138 are being moni-
SURPRISE MOVE tored by the Centre. Those have
the capacity of 66 per cent of the
CONGRESS PRESIDENT Sonia Gandhi’s announcement that total capacity... Fortunately, this
the party’s state units will bear travel expenses of migrant
workers surprised many senior party leaders. While many
year, as on April 30, we have the
capacity of 56 per cent more wa-
leaders described it as a deft political move, some are won- ter and if I compare last 10 years’
deringwhethershewasinspiredbyDKShivakumar,president average, water availability is 46
of the Karnataka unit of the Congress. On Sunday, he an- per cent more... This gives us an
nounced that the party has given Rs 1 crore to the state road idea that in the reservoirs across
transport corporation for ensuring free transport for workers. the country, we would have a
good amount of water to cater to
ourdomesticanddrinkingneeds
OFFICE TRIP and agricultural demands.
Secondly, in the Himalayan sys-
WITH LOCKDOWN restrictions eased, BJP president J P Nadda tem, snow on the peaks is un-
visited the party headquarters, which was closed all this while. precedentedly high.Neverinthe
Nadda, who has been in touch with organisation office bearers last 50 years, peaks had this
overvideoconference,reachedthepartyofficeatnoonandspent amount of snow at this time. So
two hours there. BJP general secretary (organisation) B L thewaterfromthemeltingof the
Santhosh and general secretaries Bhupender Yadav and Arun snow will also come in high
Singh also came to the office and Nadda had some discussions quantities, especially in Bhakra,
with them while maintaining social distancing, sources said. NangaletcaswellasinGangaand
Yamuna...we are in a better posi-
won’t face a situation like what
we faced in Chennai this year.
The National Infrastructure
Pipeline task force’s report
put fresh water as one of the
vital challenges for the 2025
infrastructure vision. How do
you see the situation now?
Nowwaterhasbecomemore
significant. In any case, it is the
lifeline of all development and
the centre of policy planning in
agrarian countries like ours. In
thepost-COVID19era,thesitua-
tion in the world is going to
change...Indiawillhavemoreop-
portunities.Ourwaterresources
and its sustainability is very crit-
ical. We have that in mind.
You are heading the Jal Jeevan
Mission to provide functional
tap water connection to every
household in the country by
2024 which is closely linked
to the housing for all
programme. Do you see such
missions getting affected by
the coronavirus situation?
There is no idea of reviewing
targets now. The targets wehave
fixed for this financial year, we
will see that we are on our tar-
gets. No doubt the COVID-19 sit-
uation has had an impact on
everything. To deal with the sit-
THE EXPRESS
INTERVIEW
WITH
GAJENDRA SINGH
SHEKHAWAT
JAL SHAKTI MINISTER
have requested all the states... I
have spoken to all the state min-
isters and we have had video
conferences with the water re-
sources ministers, drinking wa-
ter ministers, officials,engineers
etc to complete DPR and project
planning with the available data
so that we can begin work im-
mediately after the lockdown.
The government has already re-
laxed the restrictions on con-
tivities. We have spoken to the
statestoinitiatework...andwork
on low-hanging fruits to see that
water is stored and reserved.
Are you concerned about the
expenditure cuts in the wake
of the current crisis?
Certainly. I am not so con-
cerned about the government of
India even though the crisis will
affect its resources and expendi-
ture.Iammoreconcernedabout
the states. The states are going to
face a difficult situation. In Jal
Jeevan mission, barring the
Himalayan states and the
Northeastern states or the UTs,
all states. are working on proj-
ects on a 50:50 quotient. For
states to spare such budgetary
allocationinthe nextthreeyears
in this condition looks very dif-
ficult to me... I think the states
should fix their priorities and
water should be at the top.
One positive impact
highlighted by most
environmentalists is how the
COVID-19 crisis helped the
earth clean itself. How far
would it help your mission on
clean water?
Undoubtedly it has helped.
Pollutionlevelshavedippedasin-
dustrial effluents have come
departmentstostudythechange
in the quality of the water in
GangaandYamunafromthefirst
dayof lockdown.Wearecompil-
ingallthestudiesandanalysing...
it’s not just because of the lock-
down. It’s also because of the
NamamiGange Project. Also, the
rainfall during the lockdown has
increased the water flow in
Yamuna.Withlessfarmingactiv-
ities,waterquantityhasincreased
from an average 300 cusecs this
time to 3000 cusec. This is how
nature heals itself. It’s a point of
introspection for all of us.
There has been much
discussion on the Bhilwara
model in Rajasthan’s fight
against COVID-19? What’s
your view on it?
In Bhilwara, it was all initi-
ated by a doctor’s family.When
they started having symptoms,
they reported it to district ad-
ministration and they worked
well. If somebody has been ap-
plauded, it’s the public. They be-
haved responsibly and followed
all instructions... But the state
government became compla-
cent. They could not address
similar situations in Jaipur and
Jodhpur. Why have they failed in
these places?
FULLINTERVIEWON
Aman Mani Tripathi
UP legislator
arrested for
violating
lockdown curbs
LALMANI VERMA
DEHRADUN, MAY 4
UTTAR PRADESH Police have ar-
rested independent legislator
AmanManiTripathiforallegedly
violating lockdown rules and for
obtainingpermissiontotravelto
Badrinath in Uttarakhand on
false grounds.
Tripathi, the MLA from
Nautanwa in Maharajganj dis-
trict, had sought permission for
travelling to Badrinath and later
to Kedarnath to attend the post-
deathritualsof UPChief Minister
Yogi Adityanath’s father Anand
Singh Bisht, who had died last
month. The permission granted
was valid from May 2 to May 7,
withtheconditionthatnotmore
than three person will travel in
any vehicle, and masks and san-

PLANNING NEXT STEP

tion this year and hopefully we uation,duringthislockdown,we structions on water-related ac- down... I have already asked my www.indianexpress.com itizers would be available in all
three vehicles.
When Tripathi and his com-
WITHTHElockdowneasedabit,Oppositionleaderswhohave
been critical of the government’s response to the coronavirus
outbreak are exploring the possibility of a meeting. CPM gen-
PM at NAM summit: panions were stopped at the
Vyasi check-post late Sunday
night while they were returning
eral secretary Sitaram Yechury has spoken to leaders of the
Congress and others like Sharad Pawar and Sharad Yadav. He
hasalsosharedwithOppositionleadersaneconomicroadmap
terrorism, fake news to UP, “12 persons were found
travelling in three cars. They had
no masks and permission was
preparedbytheCPM.ThedocumenthasbeensenttoCongress
president Sonia Gandhi, SP’s Akhilesh Yadav, RJD’s Tejashwi
YadavandDelhiChief MinisterArvindKejriwal,amongothers.
‘deadly viruses’ also obtained on wrong
grounds”,UttarkhandPolicesaid
in a statement.
the fight against COVID-19. They were released after
SHUBHAJIT ROY Calling it the “most serious three hours after a notice under
NEW DELHI, MAY 4 crisis” humanity has faced in CrPC Section 41 was issued.
UPSC defers civil services IN HIS first address to the Non-
decades, Modi underlined that
at this time, NAM can help pro-
OnMondayevening,Tripathi
and six of his associates were ar-

exam as lockdown extended AlignedMovement(NAM)sum-

EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, MAY 4
THECIVIL Services(Preliminary)
Examination,2020,scheduledto
be held on May 31 has been de-
ferred after the Union Public
Service Commission took stock
of the situation after the second
phase of the nationwide lock-
down Monday.
Taking note of the extension
deferred,agovernmentstatement
said.TheUPSCwillreviewthesit-
uation again on May 20.
As and when dates are de-
cided for all the tests deferred
due to the lockdown, the UPSC
will notify them on its website
andgivecandidatesa30-dayno-
tice, it has been decided.
TheUPSChasalreadydeferred
thepersonalitytestforremaining
candidates for Civil Services
Examination,2019;notificationfor
mitsinceassumingofficein2014,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
on Monday flagged the issues of
“terrorism”and“fakenews”,call-
ing them “deadly viruses” at a
time when the world fights the
novel coronavirus.
Modisaidtheyshoulddevelop
WAITING FOR THEIR TURN a platform for NAM countries to
pooltheir“experiences,bestprac-
tices, crisis-management proto-
People sit in queues as they wait for a medical check-up at Navi Mumbai Municipal Hospital cols, research, and resources”.
on Monday. Narendra Vaskar “NAM should call upon the
international community and
the WHO to focus on building
moteglobalsolidarity.“NAMhas
often been the world’s moral
voice. To retain this role, NAM
must remain inclusive.”
He added that COVID-19 has
shownlimitationsof theexisting
internationalsystem.Inthepost-
COVID world, a new template of
globalisation, based on fairness,
equality,andhumanityisneeded,
he said. “We need international
institutions that are more repre-
sentative of today’s world.”
The online NAM Contact
GroupSummiton“Unitedagainst
COVID-19”washostedbycurrent
rested from Nazibabad area of
UP’s Bijnor district. Police have
also seized two SUVs in which
they were travelling.
Nazibabad Circle Officer
Praveen Kumar Singh said,
“When police asked from them
valid documents from them for
travellingduringlockdownthey
failed to produce any.” The offi-
cer added that Tripathi and his
associates would be produced
before a local court of Bijnor
Tuesday.
Tripathi was unavailable for
comment.

As Haryana relaxes curbs,

of restrictions, the commission Indian Economic Service/ Indian health-capacity in developing NAM Chairman and Azerbaijan Meanwhile, the UP govern-
decided that it will not be possi- Statistical Service Examination, countries. We should ensure eq- President Ilham Aliyev. ment in a statement said,
ble to resume examinations and 2020; notification for Combined uitable , affordable and timely Over 30 Heads of State and “Neither CM nor the state gov-
interviews at the moment. Medical Services Examination, access to health products and otherleadersjoinedthesummit. ernment has authorized MLA

minister says: ‘Dar lagta hai’

This examination also serves
asthescreeningtestfortheIndian
ForestServiceExamination,sothe
schedule for the IFS exam is also
2020; notification for Central technologies for all,” he said. The Summit was also addressed Aman Mani Tripathi to go
ArmedPoliceForcesExamination, “Even as the world fights by UN General Assembly presi- Uttarakhand. Tripathi himself is
2020, and NDA and Naval COVID-19,somepeoplearebusy dent Prof Tijjani Muhammed responsible for his act.”
AcademyExamination,2020. spreading other deadly viruses. Bande, UN Secretary General -INPUTSFROMENSLUCKNOW
view” on relaxations, he said, Such as terrorism. Such as fake Antonio Guterres, African Union
VARINDER BHATIA “People will have to follow the news, and doctored videos to di- chairpersonMusaFakiMahamat,

Classifieds No new case in CHANDIGARH, MAY 4 norms of social distancing and vide communities and coun- EU High Representative Josep Bihar barber
other instructions. There is no tries,” he said. Borrell, as well as WHO chief
Kerala for 2nd ON A day the third phase of na- other option.” This was the first time Modi Tedros Ghebreyesus. shot dead for
PERSONAL tionwide lockdown began with On sealing the borders with participatedinaNAMsummit— “Following the Summit, lead-
I, Jagdish Lal S/o Shri Rupu Lal
consecutive day easing of certain restrictions, neighbouring states, Vij said, “I he had become the first Indian ers adopted a Declaration under- refusing services
R/o 00, Bawai Post-Bawai, Haryana minister Anil Vij ex- wascompelledtotakesuchade- Prime Minister to skip the NAM lining the importance of interna-
Rudraprayag Bawai, Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala on pressed strong reservations cision.Yesterday,66peoplewere summit in 2016 and in 2019 too. tionalsolidarityinthefightagainst
Uttarakhand-246442, inform Monday recorded no fresh coro- against the relaxations saying tested positive, a majority of The NAM leaders announced COVID-19. Leaders also an- EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
that Jagdish Lal & Jai Singh navirus cases — the second con- that he fears, its “consequences them had come from Delhi. It is creationof ataskforcetoidentify nounced the creation of a ‘Task PATNA, MAY 4
both are one & the same
person.
secutive day that the state has will be devastating”. Haryana Health and Home right that all of us have to fight a requirements of member coun- Force’ to identify needs and re-
recordednonewCOVID-19case. “People are not yet used to Minister Anil Vij united battle against this pan- triesthroughacommondatabase quirementsofmemberStates...,”a A BARBER at Mainva village in
0040537285-2
A record 61 people were de- maintaining socialdistancing,or demic, but I am responsible for reflectingtheirbasicmedical,so- statement by the Ministry of Bihar’s Banka district was shot
clared recovered from the dis- wearing a mask. Others talk people of my state also”. cial and humanitarian needs in External Affairs said. dead after he refused to offer his
PUBLIC NOTICE ease on Monday. from their mind, I talk from my fore relaxations in the lockdown About the spread of COVID- services to his fellow villagers.
Of the 499 confirmed cases heart. Dar lagta hai,” Vij, who were announced, Vij said, “No, I 19 in Haryana, Vij said, According to the FIR filed by
PUBLIC NOTICE inthestatesofar,only34arecur- holds both the home and health was not consulted. “Coronavirushasgoneasympto- DineshThakur’swifeMusoDevi,
MY CLIENTS SH. SAHAB SINGH &
SMT. RATNI DEVI BOTH R/O H. NO:
rently under treatment. portfolios in state cabinet, told “But, had I been consulted, I matic. It has become difficult to the villagers had been pressur-
189, HOLAMBI KALAN, NEAR Afterattendingareviewmeet- The Indian Express. would have definitely raised my findoutwhoisinfectedandwho ing him to cut their hair and
PRAJAPAT CHOPAL, HOLAMBI
KALAN, DELHI-110082 SEVERE ALL ing, Chief Minister Pinarayi “Theprimeministersaidthat concerns. Even if my concerns is not. There is a possibility that shaveevenduringthelockdown.
RELATIONS, DEBAR THEIR SON
LALIT KUMAR FROM ALL MOVABLE-
Vijayantoldthemediathatsofar, people have to follow social dis- were turned down, yet I would thepersonsittingnexttousisin- She said on Saturday, Thakur
IMMOVABLE PROPERTY(S) DUE TO Keralahastested33,010samples, tancing norms. He also said that have strongly raised my point.” fected and the virus may be was summoned by one Bipin
HIS MISCONDUCT, MISBEHAVIOUR
AND BEING OUT OF CONTROL. MY of which 32,315 tested negative Jaanbhi,jahaanbhi.Botharenec- Commenting on the state transmittedtous.Thatistherea- Das. The next day, his body was
CLIENTS WILL NOT BE for the virus. On Monday alone, essary. We have to ensure health government’s decision of easing son, social distancing is a must”. found in the village pond with
RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS ANY ACTS
IN FUTURE. 1,249 samples were tested, he and safety of our people, but si- restrictions in the third phase of Haryanahaswitnessedama- two bullet marks.
VIKASH BHARDWAJ
Sd/-
said. Besides, as part of sentinel multaneouslyitisalsoimportant lockdown,Vijsaid,“Thedecision jorspikeinthenumberof COVID Amarpur police station in-
ADVOCATE surveillance, 2,431 samples were to run the economic activities. was taken by the chief minister. cases in the last four days. In the charge Kumar Sunny told The
CH.NO: 722, ROHINI COURT, DELHI
separately collected from people That is why if we breakthe rules, He must be having a broader vi- last 24 hours, Haryana recorded Indian Express: “The main ac-
inthehigh-riskgroup-healthcare if we do not follow the instruc- sionthanme.Imaynotbeableto 75 new cases. cused Bipin Das is absconding.
workers, migrant labourers and tions, the consequences will be match his thought process, but Till three days ago, the state We have arrested three persons
thosewithhigherpubliccontacts devastating. There will be too as far as my thoughts go, I feel had a recovery rate of 72.72 per PM Narendra Modi attends the Non-Aligned Movement so far... We have been talking to
-of whom1,846havetestedneg- much damage,” Vij added. scared.” cent, which dipped to 49.13 per Summit via video conferencing in New Delhi. ANI villagerstoknowmoreaboutthe
ative, he said. SHAJUPHILIP Askedif hewasconsultedbe- Hintingatapossibilityofa“re- cent on Monday. incident.”

DEBTS RECOVERY TRIBUNAL-I, DELHI

4TH FLOOR, JEEVAN TARA BUILDING, PARLIAMENT STREET, NEW DELHI-110001
OA NO. 1093/2018
BSF driver with Central team
PUNJAB AND SIND BANK
Sh. Ajai Prakash Gupta & Others
VERSUS Applicant
Defendants.
1. Sh. Ajai Prakash Gupta S/o Sh. Gyan Swaroop Gupta, R/o H. No. 31, Ground Floor,
Sushant Lok-3, Block-H, Ansal Flexi Homes, Sector-57, Gurgaon-122011
in Kolkata tests positive
Also At: Natra Management Consultant (P) Ltd. B-466, LGF, Sushant Lok, Phase-I, systems and lockdown imple- A BSF officer from Bengal
Gurgaon, Haryana. DEEPTIMAN TIWARY mentationandsendareportto said, “Although this driver was
2. Smt. Ratna Gupta W/o Sh. Ajai Prakash Gupta, R/o H. No. 31, Ground Floor, Sushant NEW DELHI, MAY 4 the Centre. not in direct contact with the
Lok -3, Block-H, Ansal Flexi Homes Sector-57, Gurgaon-122011
Also At: Natra Management Consultant (P) Ltd. B-466, LGF, Sushant Lok, Phase-I, SincetheIMCTsinitiallydid IMCT members and all drivers
Gurgaon, Haryana. NEARLY50personnelfromthe not get adequate cooperation had been directed to stay put
3. Smt. Anu Gupta, D/o Sh. Ajai Prakash Gupta R/o H. No. 31, Ground Floor, Sushant, BSF’s Kolkata headquarters from the state, they stayed at in their vehicles when the
Lok-3, Block-H, Ansal Flexi Homes, Sector-57, Gurgaon-122011.
Also At: Natra Management Consultant (P) Ltd. B-466, LGF, Sushant Lok, Phase-I,
have been quarantined after theBSFguesthouseandmoved IMCT was out doing its work,
Gurgaon, Haryana. the driver of a BSF escort vehi- aroundinBSFvehicles.Sources we are tracing all contacts and
4. Sunehra Apna Ghar Co-operative Group Housing Society Ltd. cle accompanying the Centre’s saidtheinfecteddriverwasac- takingnecessaryprecautions.”
Plot No. GH-63, Sector-55, Gurgaon Haryana (Through Its Authorised Officer)
Inter-Ministerial Central Team companying the IMCT sent to TheIMCTshavegivenanun-
Whereas the above named applicant has instituted a case for recovery of Rs. 31,37,975.39 (IMCT) in West Bengal tested take stock of the situation in flatteringreportofthesituation
(Rupees Thirty One Lacs Thirty Seven Thousand Nine Hundred Seventy five And Pasia Thirty
Nine Only) against you and whereas it has been shown to the satisfaction of the Tribunal that it is
positive for COVID-19. Kolkata.ThisIMCTisheadedby in the state and even said the
not possible to serve you in ordinary way. Therefore, this notice is given by advertisement Two IMCTs had been sent AdditionalSecretary(Defence) mortality rate (12.8%) is the
directing you to make appearance before Ld. Registrar on 01.06.2020 at 10.30 A.M. to West Bengal to monitor Apurva Chandra. highest in West Bengal. In con-
Take notice that in case of your failure to appear on the above mentioned day before this Tribunal,
the case will be heard and decided in your absence.
health systems and COVID It is not clear yet whether trast, the home ministry has
Given under may hand and seal of the Tribunal on this 6th Feb. of 2020 containment measures in the the MHA has asked the West claimed the IMCTs sent to
By order of this Tribunal state. The teams were sup- Bengal IMCT members to go Gujaratpraisedtheeffortsofthe
For Registrar
posed to identify gaps in care for testing. state in fighting COVID-19.

New Delhi
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2020 EXPRESS NETWORK 7
Evacuation CHENNAI

of Indians Vegetable market reports 300

stuck abroad
from May 7
SHUBHAJIT ROY
NEW DELHI, MAY 4
THEGOVERNMENTwillbeevac-
uatingIndiannationalsstranded
overseas from May 7 onwards.
Making the announcement
Monday, the Union Home
Ministry said the Indians who
have “compelling” reasonstore-
turn would be brought back in a
“phased manner”.
Sources said the process is
expected to begin from the Gulf,
wheretherearenearlyeightmil-
lion Indians living and working.
The return of those stranded
will be faciliated on “payment”
basis, the government said, with
only those who are asympto-
maticandclearamedicalscreen-
ing to be allowed on board. They
wouldbetransportedonaircraft
and naval ships.
As reported by The Indian
ExpressonApril26,thiscomesaf-
ter weeks of petitions by the
stranded Indians, with the sup-
portofseveralstategovernments.
ItcouldbeIndia’slargestevac-
uation ever, with up to two lakh
expected to seek return. Sources
saidtheywouldprioritisepassen-
gers on the basis of factors such
as their need, medical condition,
urgencyandastategovernment’s
capacity to handle those return-
ing in terms of COVID protocols.
A Standard Operating
Protocol has been prepared for
theevacuation,theministrysaid.
“Indian Embassies and High
Commissionsarepreparingalist
of distressedIndiancitizens.This
facility would be made available
on payment-basis. Non-sched-
uled commercial flights would
be arranged for air travel,” the
statement said.
During the journey, the pas-
sengerswouldberequiredtofol-
low protocols issued by the
Ministry of Health and Ministry
of Civil Aviation. “On reaching,
everyone would have to register
ontheArogyaSetuapp.Everyone
would be medically screened.
After scrutiny, they would be
quarantinedfor14days,eitherin
a hospital or in an institutional
quarantineonpayment-basis,by
theconcernedStategovernment.
COVID test would be done after
14daysandfurtheractionwould
betakenaccordingtohealthpro-
tocols,” the government said,
adding detailed information
wouldbesharedbytheMinistries
of External Affairs and Civil
Aviation on their websites.
The Home Ministry said it
was also in touch with states
overarrangementsfortheirtest-
ing, quarantine and onward
movement home.
cases; shut for disinfection
ARUN JANARDHANAN
CHENNAI, MAY 4
HAVING REGISTERED a sharp
spike in COVID-19cases over the
past 48 hours, the Koyambedu
wholesale market complex —
one of the largest perishable
goods markets in the country,
spread across over 250 acres in
Chennai — has authorities
scrambling for corrective action.
The market was shut down on
Monday for a massive disinfec-
tion drive.
Authorities point to the den-
sity of people and vehicles in the
market and a lack of basic facili-
ties.Eventhoughmeasureswere
implemented since the last
week of April, they fear that the
action may not suffice.
The market area has around
500 shops — each with 3-10
workersandhandlingupto300-
400 vehicles each day. It is the
largestsourceofperishableprod-
ucts for Chennai, districts in
northernTamilNaduandTirupati
and Nellore in Andhra Pradesh.
On an average day, the market
gets 50 per cent of its products
fromKarnataka,AndhraPradesh,
Kerala,GujaratandMaharashtra,
among other states.
As the number of cases from
the market rose over the past
week, the Greater Chennai
CorporationandthestateHealth
Department have been putting
in place control measures in the
area. On Monday, an IPS officer
who was handling operations at
Koyambedu also tested positive.
While92caseswerereported
from the market on Sunday, the
SC reserves order on pleas
on mobile Internet in J&K
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, MAY 4
THESUPREMECourtonMonday
reserved its order on petitions
demandingthatmobileInternet
speeds be upgraded from 2G to
4G in J&K with the Centre and
the Union Territory administra-
tion opposing the demand, cit-
ing national security concerns.
Responding to arguments
that 2G speed was making it dif-
ficult for people to access infor-
mation on the Internet or con-
sult doctors online in the wake
of the COVID-19 and lockdown,
Attorney General K K Venugopal
told a bench of Justices N V
Ramana,RSubhasReddyandBR
Gavai that “it’s about protection
of the lives of the entirety of the
Koyambedu market area has around 500 shops. Express
totalnumberof casesonMonday
shotupto300.Thetotalnumber
of cases in Tamil Nadu touched
3,550with527casesreportedon
Monday, the highest single-day
figure in the state.
A senior functionary in the
government said a survey of
people who worked at the mar-
ketisstillinprogress.“BySunday
evening, we identified some
7,500 people who worked there
and left Chennai for their native
villages. We have alerted all dis-
trict administrations, shared de-
tails to trace and quarantine
them...,” he said.
S Chandran of the Periyar
Market Management
Committee, a licensed mer-
chants association at
Koyambedu, said restrictions
hadbeenputinplaceinthemar-
ket after the authorities held a
meeting on April 27-28. “They
had evicted hundreds of retail
vendors. Fruits and vegetables
population of J&K and not just
the patients”.
“Wecankeepacheckonwho
is giving information and dis-
seminating terrorist propa-
ganda,” Venugopal said, adding
that the petitions have to be ex-
amined against larger public in-
terest of national security.
When the court asked how
the government was taking care
oftheCOVID-19situationwithre-
gard to the restrictions, Solicitor
General Tushar Mehta replied
that health services are working.
The SG replied there are
other areas too in the country
where there is eitherno Internet
or onlythe availability of 2G, and
that there is no information that
someone has died of COVID be-
cause they didn't have Internet
access.
shopswereshiftedtoanotherlo-
cation, Madhavaram. Only
wholesale shopsare functioning
now. But ever since the lock-
down started, the number of
workers has been steadily de-
clining... Massive job loss due to
the ban of retail vendors also af-
fected many. Fresh cases being
reported from districts are these
workers who left for their
homes,” he said.
Even as basic measures were
implemented taken to disinfect
the market area, a senior police
officerwhohadbeenmonitoring
situation for over a month said a
rise in cases was inevitable. “The
CMDA should have acted earlier,
the market should have been
shut partially. But nobody acted
till the third week of April. What
theyhaddecidedtodointhelast
week of April should have been
done in March itself," he said.
FULLREPORTON
www.indianexpress.com
IAS officer quits,
cites ‘personal
safety on govt
duty’ as reason
Chandigarh:A2014-batchIASof-
ficer of the Haryana cadre re-
signed Monday, citing “personal
safety on government duty” as
the reason. Rani Nagar an-
nounced her resignation in a
post on her Facebook page. She
also posted her resignation let-
ter on social media. She later left
Chandigarh for her hometown
Ghaziabad.
Nagar(38)waspostedasaddi-
tional director of Haryana social
justiceandempowermentdepart-
ment, apart from the additional
charge of director of archives de-
partment. Neither Nagar nor
Haryana Chief Secretary Keshni
Anand Arora were available for
comment. ENS

Maharashtra govt moves OBITUARY

apex court, says Arnab
browbeating investigators
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, MAY 4
THE MAHARASHTRA govern-
ment has approached the
Supreme Court, accusing
RepublicTVeditor-in-chief Arnab
Goswami of “browbeating” in-
vestigators by “creating fear
psychosis”.
An FIR was filed against
Goswami in connection with a
news show on April 21 in which
he posed questions to Congress
presidentSoniaGandhiregarding
thelynchingof sadhusinPalghar.
The petition, filed on May 2,
has sought a direction “to insu-
late the investigating agency
fromanypressure,threatandco-
ercion” and to enable it to carry
out its obligations in a “fair and
transparent manner” and to re-
strain Goswami from “abusing
the interim protection” granted
by the court.
The plea has referred to a
show on Republic TV’s Hindi
channel and said “statement on
his debate… are aimed at brow-
beating, terrorizing and intimi-
dating the investigating officer”.
Accusing Goswami of abus-
ing his position as a journalist, it
said, “...he has repeatedly used
his position as well as his chan-
nel to make unjustified and un-
warranted disparaging, ridicul-
ing, false (as per record) and
derogatory statements against
thepoliceincludingthecommis-
sioner of police," the plea said.
“This appears to be aimed
solely at browbeating the inves-
tigatingofficersbycreatingafear
psychosis that they would also
face dire consequences and
would be publicly ridiculed...”
On April 24, the apex court
granted protection to Goswami
against any coercive action for
three weeks in connection with
the FIRs lodged against him.
Corps of Signals salutes its following Signallers who left us
for their heavenly abode during the month of Mar & Apr 2020
(a) IC-71172Y Maj Ankit Budhraja
(b) JC-388132M Nb Sub Shri Man Dubey
(c) 15396437N Hav Balbir Singh
(d) 15688176P Hav Ranajeet Singh
(e) 15712438F NK Dhayanidhi K
(f) 15719552F LNk Rajesh M
(g) 15705277F LNk Jai Prakash Singh
(h) 15723272L Sigmn Ravi Yadav
(i) 15746639M Sigmn Chavhan Gautam Rangrao
(j) 15733049P Sigmn Patil Sandep Prakash
(k) 15385963M Hav Patil Gama Dagadu
(l) 15693059N LNk Sageer Ahmad
(m) 15718017 LNk Mithun Kumar
(n) 15721297Y Sigmn Vivek Kumar
On behalf of the Corps, we sincerely pray to Almighty for
peace to departed souls & strength to the bereaved families
to bear this irreparable loss.

Punjabi singer practises

shooting with cop’s AK-47;
9 booked, DSP suspended
Chandigarh: Punjab Police Monday booked contro-
versial Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala and eight
others,includingfivepolicemen,afteravideoshow-
ing him firing shots from the AK-47 of a police per-
sonnel at a shooting range went viral.
Punjab DGP Dinkar Gupta also placed on sus-
pension Sangrur DSP (Headquarters) Daljit Singh
Virk, who facilitated the shooting a few days ago, at
a time when the entire state is under curfew over
coronavirusoutbreak.Thosebookedincludeatleast
three “professional shooters”, one of then being na-
tional level skeet shooter Karam Singh Lehal.
A senior Punjab police officer told The Indian
Express that the shooting range where Moosewala
fired shots from official AK-47, the weapon of one
of the gunmen, belonged toLehalin Barnaladistrict
where the case was registered.
NAVJEEVANGOPAL

New Delhi
 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

8
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2020

THE EDITORIAL PAGE

WORDLY WISE
“All oppression creates a state of war.”
— SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR

The moral contagion

FOUNDED BY
§

§
RAMNATH GOENKA
Why the work of a writer in France of another era strikes
BECAUSE THE TRUTH INVOLVES US ALL
a chord with our present predicament

TICKET TO RIDE Nirupama Subramanian

Statesmustpayformigrants’return.It’sonestrandinsafetynet AS WE STUMBLE through a pandemic for themselvesinaverydifficultsituation, while would have had the same resonance across
which there is yet no cure, telling ourselves therichlackedforpracticallynothing...infact the world, read at different times during the
forurbanpoor—tohelpthemtideovercrisis, comebacktowork this too shall pass, and we will resume life as it heightened the sense of injustice in the last 70 years to draw parallels with several

M
it used to be, while knowing inside all that is
ORE THAN A month after the national lockdown was imposed, migrant lost and can never be regained, it is scarcely
labourers across the country are beginning to board the Shramik Special believable there was someone more than 70
trains to return to theirhomes. Whilethe decisionto allow special trains years ago who wrote about the human con-
to ensure their safe passage home is indeed welcome, asking the mi- dition as it is today — so exactly and in such
grants — many have lost their jobs and don’t have the cushion to stay on in the city — to detail that it seems he is right here now,
watching, seeing, and speaking to us.
bear the cost of their evacuation during this period of acute financial distress is both un-
The Plague by Albert Camus, published in
fair and short-sighted. Both the Centre and state governments have repeatedly stressed 1947, is about an outbreak of bubonic plague
on the need to alleviate the distress of the labourers. Yet they also vacillate over who will in a small town in French Algeria. But the
bear the cost. This indecision could — and should — have been avoided. Fears that “free” story is also read as an allegory of Nazi
rides might be taken advantage of are misplaced as only those who are desperate are Germany’s occupation of France during the
travellinginthesetimes andthereisstrictscreening andvetting of passenger lists.Aticket second World War, and the Vichy regime’s
collaboration with it.
shouldneither be seenasacharitynorfreebie, thestate governments mustbearthecosts.
Reading it today is like driving down both
The migrant labourers’ decision to go back home was, in crucial senses, imposed on sidesofatwo-waystreetatonce.Theallegory
them by factors beyond their control. With revenue plummeting during the national has to be read literally for the amazing exact-
lockdown, cash-strapped businesses, especially the small and medium enterprises in the nesswithwhichitdescribestheworldatthis
informal sector, are unable to pay wages. For daily wage earners with non-existent safety time,thoughthecoronavirusisfarlessdeadly
nets, a sudden drop in incomes can push them back into poverty. And this further prods than the plague, while the underlying story
about human conduct in war-time France
them to seek the security of their homes. There is also the pull factor. With India’s vil-
holds up to us a mirror about the moral dis-
lages relatively spared the debilitating effects of the coronavirus — the virus hotspots are eases of our own times — the relentless “oth-
largely concentrated in urban centres — there is an added safety in villages for this sec- ering”, the search for someone to blame, for
tion of the labour force with limited access to health services. Thus, in the absence of a so- enemies within and outside, communal dis-
cial security architecture that provides relief for loss of incomes, and ensures access to tancing, false equivalences, and the abysmal
shortage of a human quality called empathy.
health services, the lure of home is entirely understandable and predictable.
Atthesametime,itisalsotruethattheunplannedandforcedexitof themigrantwork- Oran is the Algerian seaside town in
which Camus set this story. When dead rats
forceputsaquestionmarkoveritsre-entry,sonecessaryforthewheelsof theurban,indus-
start showing up in the town, there is, in
trial economy to keep turning. Migrants are likely to re-enter the city only if their safe exit Oran, at first bewilderment, then denial,
from it is assured, and in the absence of such guarantees, they may even fall off the labour bravado and finally, the moment of coming
map — they may be constrained to opt out of the urban labour force. How this reverse mi- face to face with the truth. Hospitals over-
grationplaysoutwillbevisibleonlywheneconomicactivitygathersmomentum.Fornow, flow, schools and the stadium have been
there is a strong economic argument, therefore, for state governments to bear the costs of takenover.Peopleprotestatbeingtakeninto
quarantine, and the police have to accom-
their exit — in order to facilitate their re-entry and help them reach a safer place. The costs
pany doctors as they search house to house
incurred now are not only for alleviating the humanitarian distress of those most vulnera- for the infected. No ships are stopping at
bleinapublichealthemergency,theyareacrucialinvestmentinasharedeconomicfuture. Oran, and none sailing out to France. There
is the wait for a vaccine, and a lockdown that
hangs heavily over the town as it sucks the
life out of the townspeople. Some forage
Oran is the Algerian seaside
town in which Camus set
this story. When dead rats
start showing up in the
town, there is, in Oran, at
first bewilderment, then
denial, bravado and finally,
the moment of coming face
to face with the truth.
Hospitals overflow, schools
and the stadium have been
taken over. People protest at
being taken into quarantine,
and the police have to
accompany doctors as they
search house to house for the
infected. No ships are
stopping at Oran, and none
sailing out to France. There
is the wait for a vaccine, and
hearts of men. They had the not unreason-
able feeling that they should have been al-
lowed to leave”.
There are bodies and rules for their dis-
posal — after no land is left to bury people,
they have to be cremated. “Victims died far
from their families, and the ritual watch over
the dead was banned”. There are doctors at
thefrontline,andotherswhoplungeintothe
work of fighting the disease because being
an onlooker is not an option; there are un-
likely heroes and unlikelier profiteers. Even
the timing is eerily similar. Winter turns into
spring,springgiveswaytosummer,summer
to autumn. There is even a doctor who pins
his hopes on the cold weather bringing bet-
ter news.
In reallife, Oran, todaythe second biggest
city in Algeria, never saw an epidemic.
During the war, it was a Vichy France-
German outpost that the Allies captured in
1942.
When Penguin Books published a new
translation of The Plague in 2001, the histo-
rian Tony Judt, who wrote the introduction,
said in a November 2001 essay in The New
York Review of Books that The Plague “takes
on fresh significance and a moving immedi-
acy”. He was referring to the 9/11 bombing
of the Twin Towers. Judt wrote that Camus’s
“unwaveringgraspof thedifferencebetween
good andevil,despite hiscompassionfor the
doubters and the compromised, for the mo-
tives and mistakes of imperfect humanity”,
showed up “in unflattering light... the rela-
tivisers and trimmers of our own day”.
ThePlagueisadeeplyreflectiveworkabout
the human condition. It was criticised at the
time of its publication for not being political
enough, or forthright about what had to be
condemned.ThereisnomentioninThePlague
about the Nazis, or the Vichy regime, or even
moral contagions that have plagued us.
In2020India,whereanalreadyresurgent
communal virus has locked on to the coron-
avirus in the way a heat-seeking missile
latches on to its target, when blame for a bi-
ologicalcontagionthathasnotdifferentiated
betweenreligion,race,orcasteissoughttobe
pinned on one religious community, when
socialdistancingbecomesthenewuntouch-
ability against Muslims or against the poor -
at such a time, what can we learn from this
work by a French writer from another era
whose work strikes a chord at so many lev-
els with our present situation?
Asidefromtheremarkablesimilaritiesbe-
tweencolonialFranceandpresent-dayIndia,
downtothedepartmentof Infodocthatdaily
puts out the numbers of infected people,
whatcomesthroughisthefirmconviction—
the moral of the story — that it is vital to first
“callthe disease by its proper name”in order
to be able to deal with it in the right manner,
and then do everything to resist it even
thoughsucheffortsmayprovefutile;thatvic-
tory,if achieved,maybringnosatisfactoryso-
lutions.“AllIsayisthatonthisearththereare
pestilencesandtherearevictims—andasfar
as possible, one must refuse to be on the side
ofthepestilence,”saysTarrou,oneofthemain
characters in the book.
As the plague recedes a year after it be-
gan, as “unaccountably” as it had appeared,
andOranlimpsbacktonormalcyanditspeo-
ple start smiling and laughing again, the
novel leaves us with a final ominous proph-
esy,literallyorotherwise.“[T]heplaguebacil-
lus never dies or vanishes entirely. it can re-
main dormant for dozens of years in
furniture or clothing... it waits patiently in
bedrooms,cellars,trunks,handkerchiefsand
old papers, and perhaps the day will come
when, for the instruction or misfortune of

GRIM REMINDER from office to office for a rare permit to leave

the town, though the welcome at the other
end is uncertain. Others are shot down as
they try to scale the gates and flee.
Handwara encounter is a wake-up call — there is no room for There is hunger. “Poor families. found
complacency, or let-up in addressing unresolved crisis in J&K
a lockdown that hangs
heavily over the town as it
sucks the life out of the
townspeople.
the year in which it is set, though it is widely
understood to be in the early 1940s and the
fictional shutting down of Oran as the prison
mankind, the plague will rouse its rats and
send them to die in some well-contented
city”.
France had become under Nazi occupation.
Had he been more explicit, Judt wonders if it nirupama.subramanian@expressindia.com

T
HE ENCOUNTER IN Kashmir in which five security personnel, including a
colonel, a major, a J&K police officer, and two soldiers, were killed by mili-
tants,isadisturbingreminderinthemidstof thecoronaviruspandemicof the
Valley’s unresolved crisis. Last August, when the government stripped J&K of
its special status and bifurcated it into two Union Territories, an impression was created
that all problems of Kashmir had been resolved, and the way cleared for J&K’s march to-
LET’S LIGHTEN THE BURDEN
wards peace and prosperity. In fact, in the nine months since August 2019, Kashmir has Impasse caused by pandemic offers room to rethink board exams, find alternatives
been under two kinds of lockdown. The first one, imposed on August 3, in the wake of the
abrogation of Article 370, has segued into the second,imposed toprevent the coronavirus
from spreading. But militant groups in the Valley have not vanished. Security forces killed Disha Nawani
45 militants from August 2019 to March 2020. More than 200 others remain active. In
IT REQUIRED the COVID-19 pandemic to dis- of rewards and penalties (promotion,deten- pusheschildrenoutatdifferentschoollevels.
recent months, some of the spike in shelling across the Line of Control has been attrib-
rupt the smooth rhythm of Class 10 and 12 tion of students, financial aid to school) con- There could be innumerable reasons for fail-
uted to attempts at cross-border infiltration. As the snow melts, there are likely to be board examinations — an indispensable an- tingentonstudents’performances,andmost ures, but exams singularly fix the responsi-
more such attempts. nualritualof theIndianschoolsystem.Under importantly, justified success and failure. bility on the child alone, linking it to the ab-
A new group —The Resistant Front — hasbeguntakingresponsibilityfor attacks in the the present circumstances, since the choice Almost every committee set up to evalu- sence of merit and effort in the child.
Valley. The incident in Keran, in which five elite commandos of Para 4 were killed in hand was between conducting them as per the atetheIndianeducationsystem,particularly Examinationresultsof differentboardsshow
to hand combat, and Saturday’s incident in Handwara, have been claimed by this new scheduleorriskingone’slife,thedecisionwas examinations, commented on the futility of thesystematiceliminationof studentsevery
not that difficult. However, what remains to suchasystemwhichputenormouspressure year,butnosocialunrestiseverreportedfol-
group. Security agencies believe it to be a front of the Lashkar-e-Toiba, which has gained
be seen is whether the various Boards of onchildren,wasskewedinitsemphasis,and lowing their declaration. Students denied of
notoriety internationally and has also been under some pressure due to the monitoring SecondaryEducation(BSE)willbecourageous ultimatelyreducedthemeaningof education awards because of their performance in the
of Pakistan-based terror groups by the Financial Action Task Force. enough to scrap these exams completely for to memorisation and regurgitation of sterile boardexaminationsrarelyquestionorresent
Two things should worry security agencies and the government. One, there are no ri- this year or rush to “somehow” conduct the information in textbooks. Suggestions were the fact that it is the limited number of seats
val claimants for such attacks as there would be in the past when a new group made a remaining ones once the lockdown is lifted. offered but nothing was done to implement which is the real problem — not their per-
claim — it may indicate that groups are now co-operating with each other. Even those Board exams are part of the painful col- them.Morerecently,theNationalCurriculum formance.Themessagewhichgoesacrossis,
lectivememoryof notjustschool-goingchil- Framework, 2005 reiterated the need to link “you get what you deserve”.
eager to announce themselves at every opportunity, al Qaeda-linked Ansar Ghazwat ul
dren but their parents and teachers as well. assessmentwithlearningratherthanhaveit Theboards/examiningbodiesneedtore-
Hind,andtheIS,aresilent. Two,inHandwaraasinKeran,local youthwereamongthemil- Theyareassociatedwithfearandanxietyfor One needs to examine and as a stand-alone event. The Central Board of flect on ways to address this impasse and al-
itants. The double lockdown, and the complete absence of a political process, and the the following reasons: Performance in them understand the resilience of Secondary Education (CBSE) made Class 10 lay the fears and anxieties of students. While
new definitions for who is eligible for domicile in J&K — seen as an attempt to change the is linked to rewards and penalty; the burden board exams optional for some time. The itmay be morechallenging to find aquickal-
the board exams. In a grossly
demography of the Valley — have not won the government any friends among the peo- of memorising a vast body of knowledge RighttoEducationAct,(RtE)2009mandated ternativefor Class 12,sinceitmarks the tran-
(read information) within limited time and unequal society like India, noboardexaminations,nodetentiononfail- sition from school to college, there is no rea-
ple. Even the new J&K Apni Party has retreated into silence. Handwara should be a wake-
up call to the government that it cannot continue to muddle through the Valley with the expressing it under stressful conditions. The they serve a very important ure,andcontinuousandcomprehensiveeval- son why at least for this year, Class 10 boards
bureaucracy propping up the August 5, 2019 decisions on one side and the security forces
stakesarehighandthereisnosecondchance. social function of uation of students till Class 8. These were cannot be suspended. Students seeking ad-
The board or public exams were intro- landmarkdecisions,butsuchwastheauthor- mission to the same school should be ac-
on the other. maintaining cohesiveness
duced by the colonial government in its at- ity enjoyed by board exams, that eventually cepted unconditionally and those desirous
tempttostandardiseIndianschooleducation. among people who are theRtEActwasamendedtore-establishtheir of changing schools may be asked to appear
Allimportantmattersrelatingtoschoolsuch hierarchically positioned and supremacy and re-introduce detention. for an entrance test/interview. News about

THE INSEPARABLES
asprescribingthecurriculum,fixingtheaca-
demic calendar, use of textbooks and most
importantly,conductingexaminationstoas-
sessstudents’ learningwent out of thehum-
The author of ‘Nausea’ held his nose when shown a manuscript ble local school master’s control to an elabo-
rate bureaucratic apparatus. Such exams
by Simone de Beauvoir. In hindsight, it was pretty dumb achieved several purposes — they imbued
therefore, differentially
rewarded. Since the number
of aspirants far outweigh the
opportunities available,
exam results prevent a large
One,therefore,needstoexamineandun-
derstand the resilience of the board exams.
In a grossly unequal society like India, they
serve a very important social function of
maintaining cohesiveness among people
whoarehierarchicallypositionedandthere-
fore, differentially rewarded. Since the num-
howthe differentboardsareconsumedwith
somehow conducting the remaining exams,
getting the answer scripts evaluated quickly
and sending powerpoint presentations to
children urging them to meditate/exercise
will not help — adoption of student-sensi-
tive decisions will.

J
schoolsandtheirsystemsof assessmentwith
number of students from ber of aspirants far outweigh the opportuni-
JEAN-PAUL SARTRE AND Simone de Beauvoir rest side by side in the Montmartre a degree of objectivity, fairness and neutral- fulfilling their aspirations of ties available, exam results prevent a large The writer is professor and dean,
cemetery in Paris, with a common headstone. Pilgrims from all over the world visit ity (by making the examiner and examinee moving up the social ladder. numberof studentsfromfulfillingtheiraspi- School of Education, Tata Institute of Social
the existentialist couple every day, and leave behind votive offerings of flowers, anonymoustoeachother),madedistribution rationsof movingupthesocialladder.Failure Sciences, Mumbai
Metro tickets and rude notes urging de Beauvoir to tell Sartre to stuff it in the after-
life, if such a thing exists. The message sought to be conveyed by the Metro tickets is an
eternal enigma — perhaps it is a modern tribal practice — but one does take flowers to
cemeteries. And the feelings expressed in the notes is understandable. Sartre was less MAY 5, 1980, FORTY YEARS AGO
than kind to his lifelong companion. Now, an unpublished work by de Beauvoir is to ap-
pear. Sartre had “held his nose” when she showed it to him, according to her autobiog- MARSHAL TITO DEAD IRAN UNFAZED AASU WARNING
raphy, Force of Circumstance. The avalanche of rudeness in Montmartre will acquire fresh THE YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT, Marshal Josip IT NOW APPEARS that the Khuzistan gun- THE ALL-ASSAM STUDENTS’ Union (AASU)
vigour. Broz Tito, died at the age of 87, the Yugoslav men who seized the Iranian embassy in warnedthecentralgovernmentthatthecur-
It is generally accepted that Simone de Beauvoir laid the foundations of modern fem- news agency Tanjug announced. The tragic London last Wednesday with some 20 per- rent agitation would be intensified if no so-
announcement read as follows: “The central sons as hostages are in a mood for compro- lution was found to the foreign nationalist
inism in The Second Sex, the 1,000-page broadside against the patriarchy which appeared
committee of the League of Communists of mise, provided the Khomeini-Bani-Sadr issue on the basis of 1951 as the base year.
in 1949. Many arbiters of literary taste suspected it to be pornographic, and the Catholic Yugoslaviaandthepresidencyof theSocialist regime agrees to negotiate their demands in The warning was contained in a statement
church promptly put it on its list of banned books. Five years after that, she finished Les FederativeRepublicof Yugoslaviaannounced oneformoranother.Oneof thekeydemands by the AASU president, Prafulla Kumar
Inséparables, a short coming of age novel about the passionate relationship between two tonight the following declaration: To the of thegunmenisfullautonomyforthesouth- Mahanta, and its acting general secretary,
young women, based on her own friendship with Elisabeth ‘Zaza’ Lacoin, who died of worker class/ to the working people and cit- western region of Iran, Khuzistan, which has BharatNarah,rejectingPrimeMinisterIndira
encephalitis at the age of 21. Sartre, with whom de Beauvoir began a personal and philo- izens/tothepeoplesandnationalities/of the Iran’s richest oil fields. The Iranian leaders Gandhi’s charge that their movement was
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia/ have categorically said that they would not markedbyviolence.StronglyreactingtoMrs
sophical relationship when she was 21, sniffed at it.
ComradeTitohasdied.”Titohadbeenhospi- even acknowledge the existence of their de- Gandhi’sremarksyesterdayatBhubaneswar,
The moral of the story is that even if you have written Nausea and are regarded as the talised in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana mands and that they were free to blow up he alleged that she was “trying to crush the
authorityonestrangementandthesicknessof thehumancondition,itisneveragoodidea sinceJanuary12whenhewasadmittedwith not only their London embassy but also the present popular and peaceful movement by
to hold your nose when you are presented with a book by Simone de Beauvoir. a blood circulation blockage in his left leg. hostages (“who will go straight to heaven”). giving a distorted picture”.

New Delhi

9
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2020
THE IDEAS PAGE
The real common man
Cocoonof theprivilegedispuncturedbypandemic. Denialof equalityanddignitytothosewithoutwhose
helpurbanIndiacannotmove,mustbeaddressed
Prasoon Joshi
IN THE DAYS prior to the “lockdown”, driv-
ing past the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, giving at
best a hasty glance, one scanned the prome-
nade, the haze blocking a clear view. There,
forlorn, against the backdrop of the grey sea,
stands the statue of R K Laxman’s “common
man”,symbolisingthesilentmultitudeof our
country. Are those whom he represents still
as silent? Or is another narrative emerging?
Joining the advertising industry in the
post-liberalisation 1990s, one witnessed the
markets expanding and new segments ris-
ing. One also realised — something which I
was hesitant to vocalise even humbly at that
point — that the profession truly required
peoplelikemewhowerefrugallybroughtup
in the heart of India and carried the smell of
the earth — “those” from different milieus.
For, a large segment of the industry whose
primary reason for existence should’ve been
their grasp of, and the ability to communi-
catewith,thetargetaudiencewasnotinsync
with the ground reality. Words like “they”,
“them”, “those people” peppered thediscus-
sions. It was even strangely cool to be not as-
sociatedwiththelarger masses,withtheun-
dertonesof thelatterbeing“downmarket”.It
struck a discordant note with some of us be-
cause there is a difference between a healthy
distance that helps objectivity and a worry-
ing disconnect.
Whilst things changed, thankfully, to a
very large extentin our industry, in a broader
contextperhaps,theyambledon.Infact,over
the years, I have felt the distance, between
the one who is defined as “common man”
and those who use this definition, only in-
crease when it comes to relatability.
Let’s take a look at the portrait of the so-
called common man from some vantage
points. For those who live in the metros and
larger cities, the common man is, willy-nilly,
theonewhoprovides theservices: The milk-
man, the watchman,the grocery-store deliv-
ery boy, “the bhaiyas”. He lives in some
makeshift tenement or a “jhuggi” or “god
knows where”, arrives miraculously every
morning to provide the services and disap-
pears into oblivion until the next day. Of
course,sometimesthenames of thebaisand
maids who work part-time are known,
sometimes a photocopy of the Aadhaar card
kept folded in some drawer as identity proof,
a vague reference nestled in the mind about
him /her living near “that bridge” or behind
“that mandi”. Other personal details are
scanty,notsomuchbecausetheyareunavail-
able but because the desire to know simply
does not exist.
Inthesmallercitiesandtowns,whereour
parentsorolderrelativesreside,thecommon
man is often deemed as the villager who has
come to their comparatively large city to
work. His wife and children rarely have dis-
tinct names and are heard of either in the
context of falling ill or getting married. It’s a
given that his only dream is to come to the
city and find employment. This is the arche-
type surviving from the Premchand classics
or remnants of our feudal past.
Another popular reference of a common
Amit Sibal
THE DAMAGE to the global economy from
COVID-19 threatens to far exceed that of the
recession of 2007-2009 and could, accord-
ing to the International Monetary Fund, trig-
ger the worst recession since the Great
Depression of the 1930s. Governments des-
perate to reopen moribund economies are
nowtiptoeing aroundthe lockdown to avoid
the dreaded “second wave” of the virus.
However,aslockdownexitstrategiesturn
their attention to saving livelihoods, there is
pressure on governments to lower environ-
mental standards, suspend environmental
monitoring requirements and reduce envi-
ronmental enforcement, in the belief that
thisisnecessarytosalvageeconomicgrowth.
Yet, it would be a mistake to assume that
there is a trade-off between saving liveli-
hoods and protecting the environment. The
crisis of COVID-19 has highlighted that im-
provingthequalityof airinourcountryisnot
a matter of choice but an emergency.
At the end of March, the US announced a
significant reduction in fuel efficiency stan-
dards for new cars, which could result in in-
creased gasoline consumption by 80 billion
tonnes, pumping increased carbon emis-
sions into the atmosphere. The US
Environmental Protection Agency has an-
nounced that it will not be enforcing com-
pliance with routine monitoring and report-
ing obligations of environmental protection,
for an indefinite period.
On April15, the UNspecial rapporteur on
man is created by cinema and the media. For
them, there is a sense of amusement regard-
ing this common man. We often see him in
the so-called real cinema in a caricatured
form — hell-bent on using only his dialect or
regional tongue, spouting juicy abuses or
risqué witticisms, possibly paan-chewing,
and hypothetically protected from all refer-
ences to the contemporary in terms of dress
or behaviour.
He’s a suspended island and should stay
“authentically regional” — a misfit who en-
tertains and amuses. After all, he is “them”
and the more one spices up this character
with clichés, the more the satisfactionof get-
ting to “figure who these people are”.
Voluntarily cut off from ground reality, a
large section of the society’s interaction is
with the reel-life version of the common
man. And rarely are there any qualms in ad-
mittingthatthereisnottheslightestof desire
in them to know or engage with the real.
Altered reality is a wonderful cocoon.
Apart from those who have constantly
engaged meaningfully, this wonderful but
artificial cocoon has been cracked in the
times of COVID.
Apart from the heroes of healthcare, we
started hearing words like “frontline war-
riors”,essentialservices staff, the selfless “ef-
ficient sanitary workers of the municipality”
andsoon.Memesandvideosarepouringout
onsocialmediaaboutthedesperatewaitand
value of the missing maids and bais. Yes, the
plight of migrant workers and their heart-
wrenching, desperate quest to reach home
shookeventhosewhotill thenhadmanaged
to remain somewhat removed.
The state of the real common man, sans
urban India’s privileged indulgent lifestyle
noise, is clearer than today’s sky.
Thankfully,manyhavesteppedforwardin
this crisis with money, time, resources and
services.Thekeyispledgingthatwewillgobe-
yondtheservingofmealsformigrantsandpro-
viding for some months of ration to a cluster
or locality or contribution to relief methods.
Morethanever,weneedtomakealong-term,
sustainable impact. A more humane impact.
Perhaps we can start at home. With our
household help. All those people without
whose help urban India can’t move an inch.
Something significant needs to happen here.
While we were talking about a lockdown
in the country and the affluent were busy or-
ganising the safety and travel of their loved
ones return home, we almost forgot the ex-
istence of a section of people who also have
families and who also feel equally for the
safety of their own.
It’s not economy vs clean air
Covid must not be used as an excuse to ignore environment protection
human rights and the environment, David
Boyd, condemned such steps as “irrational,
irresponsible, and jeopardiz[ing] the rights
of vulnerable people”, emphasising that
COVID-19 must not be used as an excuse to
weaken environmental protection. Thirteen
European climate and environment minis-
ters, including those of Italy and Spain, the
countries worst affected by the virus in
Europe, wrote as recently as on April 9 that
“we should resist the temptations of short-
termsolutionsinresponsetothepresentcri-
sis” and stressed the need to maintain and
strengthen EU’s effective regulatory tools to
stick to its 2030 climate goals.
Indiahasevengreater reasontoresistthe
temptation to put clean air on the back-
burner. First and foremost, people living in
areas with higher levels of air pollution face
increased risk of premature death from
COVID-19. New Delhi was the world’s most
polluted capital city for the second straight
year in 2019, and India was also home to 21
of the world’s 30 most polluted cities, Swiss-
based group IQ AirVisual said in a recent
study.
The State of Global Air 2019 Report finds
air pollution responsible for over 1.2 million
deaths in China and India each, based on
2017 data. Whereas China succeeded in re-
ducingairpollutioninitscitiesby32percent
on average in four years from 2014-2018,
India has had little success. Again, continued
air pollution directly translates to mortality
The harsh truth of life is that
there have always been class
differences. But the
difference has become
staggering. While the West
has gradually moved towards
a professional approach, we
are stuck somewhere in the
middle. Neither do we share
the deep emotional and
generational bond with the
household help that was
there in joint families nor
have we professionalised
these services fully.
under COVID-19.
Second, there is enormous inequality in
the impact of the COVID-19 fallout. Those
whosufferthemostfromairpollutionarethe
millions who live and toil in the open, who
cannot afford air-purifiers or other mitigat-
ingmeasures,asalsotheelderlyandchildren.
Third, there is good evidence that three-
quarters of the emerging infectious diseases
migrate from wild or domesticated animals
into humans. This includes Ebola, SARS,
MERS and now COVID-19. Deforestation, in-
dustrial agriculture, illegal wildlife trade, cli-
matechangeandothertypesof environmen-
tal degradation increase the risk of future
pandemics.
Fourth, from Delhi to Sao Paulo, Bangkok
to Bogota, the dramatic improvement in the
quality of air and water in the most polluted
cities around the world has been transmit-
ted by social media. This may well result in a
groundswell of public support for measures
to protect the environment.
Fifth, it is possible that the cataclysm of
corona will jolt the markets into giving a
clean, healthy and sustainable environment
the economic value it deserves. As Mark
Carney, former governor of the Bank of
England, wrote in The Economist: “.the tra-
ditional drivers of value have been shaken,
new ones will gain prominence, and there’s
apossibilitythatthegulf betweenwhatmar-
ketsvalue,andwhatpeoplevalue,willclose.”
For all these reasons and more, the pan-
C R Sasikumar
There is way too much of a difference in
the lives of these people and the average ur-
ban household. Urban India’s lifestyle has
grown in leaps and bounds and this success
has not equally been shared.
Theharshtruthof lifeisthattherehaveal-
waysbeenclassdifferences.Butthedifference
has become staggering. While the West has
gradually moved towards a professional ap-
proach, we are stuck somewhere in the mid-
dle. Neither do we share the deep emotional
and generational bond with the household
help that was there in the joint families nor
haveweprofessionalisedtheseservicesfully.
The pretence around the proverbial
“Deenu Kaka”, who was at least given an im-
pression of being a family member, is over.
Youdon’tsee“DeenuKakas”anymore.What
we have in return is a lopsided, insensitive
and transactional relationship, which is sur-
viving in strange ways.
Sure, generosity is shown at times dur-
ing an illness, accident, marriage or paying
for education for children or a loan given
with the scant expectation of being paid
back.Butatbest,thesearesporadicanddone
more as a “retention” strategy, later bandied
as “look how much I have done for you”.
But in my humble opinion, this shall not
last and should not.
Many,perhapsmorepalpablyinMumbai
where therealityandthebubble— thehigh-
rise and the slum — rest cheek to jowl, have
beengettingincreasinglyuneasy.Oscillating
between concern about inequality and the
guilt of overconsumption.
The gross inequality across India means
that going ahead, the needy will still be the
ones with servile and underpaid jobs.
However, let’s recognise that today more
than ever, we live in amuch more connected
world where hiding truths and rampant un-
fairnessintermsof expectationsandreturns
does not seem feasible.
We need to work out a system that is fair
and respectable. Starting with a monthly
salarythatismorethanthehousehold’sdin-
ingoutexpenses,helpingoutandpayingpre-
miums for accident insurance, a medical
check-up,aloanextendedwithunderstand-
ing, the annual holiday extended with grati-
tudewithgrace.Itwouldbenicetoknowthe
namesof theirchildrenandspousealongthe
way. Also, perhaps next time the municipal
workers cordon off the lane near your home
instead of honking impatiently, send down
some tea. Not just for the sake of the dignity
of labour but also dignity in our own eyes.
Joshi is a writer, poet and chairman, CBFC
demic is an urgent call to action on the envi-
ronment — air pollution in particular — on a
warfooting.Inthepast,wehavenevertreated
air pollution as a national emergency, failing
to coordinate between the Centre and state
governments.TheCOVIDpandemichasbeen
declared a national disaster in India, under
theNationalDisasterManagementAct,2005.
Thislegislationmandatesthedisasterauthor-
ities at the national, state and district levels
undertheAct,aswellastheCentralandstate
governments,coordinateamongthemselves
and take measures for the prevention and
mitigationof thepandemic.Airpollutioncre-
atesmedicalconditionsthatgravelyincrease
the risk of fatalities from COVID-19.
Preventing and mitigating the risks of
COVID-19,therefore, means the mandate for
the disaster authorities is also to tackle air
and other forms of pollution head-on.
The NDMA is aplatform which shouldbe
used to combat air pollution as an emer-
gency, with a framework for coordination
between different levels of the government.
Similar coordination will be required at an
international level to continue to work to-
wards reduced emissions under the Paris
Agreement. It is a great pity that it takes a
pandemic to bring the realisation that eco-
nomic growth versus clean air is a false di-
chotomy.
The writer is a senior advocate,
Supreme Court of India
WHAT THE OTHERS SAY
“Life is far easier for those with quiet space at home for everyone to work,
laptops or tablets for each family member, and generous broadband packages.”
Diplomacy in a
virtual world
SouthBlockisturningtheCovidcrisisintoan
opportunitytoconductdiplomatic
engagementonline
RAJA MANDALA
by C Raja Mohan
NOT MANY in Delhi’s political, bureau-
cratic, and chattering classes will be able to
find a nation called Saint Vincent and
Grenadines on a large world map. But
External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam
Jaishankar was on a call last week with the
foreignministerof thissmallnationformed
by many islands.
Die-hard cricket fans will object to my
proposition on Saint Vincent and
Grenadines. They will say it is part of a
group called the Windward Islands and
that its cricketers play for the West Indies
team. Some of them might tell you a for-
mer wicket-keeper, Mike Findlay, hailed
from Saint Vincent.
Beyond cricket, island nations like
Dominica, St Lucia, and Saint Vincent and
Grenadines rarely feature on India’s diplo-
matic radar. They are sovereign states and
members of the UN. Some of them are part
of institutions like the Commonwealth. All
of themareinimportantregionalorganisa-
tions in the Caribbean and Latin America.
Jaishankar was on line with all three last
week, as part of a comprehensive global
outreach.
When travel across borders came to a
grinding halt a few weeks ago, it seemed
theforeignofficeswouldbeoutof business.
For much of their work is about engaging
other governments. Being in the same
room with counterparts in different cor-
ners of theworld was essential.Atleastun-
til now.
The South Block is turning this adver-
sity into an opportunity — to conduct a lot
of routine diplomatic engagement online.
TheForeignOfficeismerelyfollowingother
professionsthatareadaptingtorestrictions
on travel across borders and within them
by the corona crisis. Work that was consid-
ered deeply inter-personal, like teaching,
hasnowgonevirtualas universitiesmoved
tocopewiththemassivedisruptionintheir
academic schedules. Diplomacy is another
profession that requires facetime for both
formal and seemingly informal work.
Negotiations or consultations of any
kind required sitting across a table in a
chancellery. Diplomats also work in less
formal settings — say signalling a nuance
in a quiet corridor conversation. They also
assess the political mood in the host capi-
tal over drinks and dinner with local lead-
ers. Remember the old quip about diplo-
macy being a mix of protocol and alcohol.
Official meetings involve a lot of detailed
agreementsonformandstructure.Anditis
easier to discuss complicated issues in a
pleasant setting.
Delhi took the lead in getting the South
Asian leaders to meet through video to ex-
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
ONLY PUBLIC
THIS REFERS TO the editorial, ‘Self-
Isolated’(IE,May2).Mostprivatehospi-
talslackthewherewithaltohelpthegov-
ernment fight COVID-19. Further, they
are profit-driven and expensive. Health
emergenciescanbestbehandledunder
apublichealthcaresystemwhereauni-
fiedcommandarchitectureenablesaco-
ordinatedresponse.Chinaisthebestex-
ample, where the pandemic was
addressed effectively due to state-con-
trolled healthcare.
S K Prabhakar, Gurugram
SORRY STATE
THIS REFERS TO the article, ‘From the
bellyof aconcretemixer,emerge14mi-
grantsheadedfromMaharashtratoUP’
(IE, May 3). Behind the jokes and viral
videos,therearesorrylockdownstories
and one has to be sensitive enough to
seethroughthedesperationof thosein-
volved. Has the phrase “home is where
the heart is” been of more significance
thanitisrightnow?Orisitjustforthose
more privileged?
Anita Sharma, via email
MISPLACED NOTIONS
THIS REFERS TO the article, ‘A new line
ofaction’(IEApril30).Thewriter’sglobal
ambitions are amusing at a time when
what India needs is immediate mould-
ing of a new order domestically. The
coronavirus has exposed India as a land
where a majority of its citizens are de-
New Delhi
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
— THEGUARDIAN
plore cooperation in combating the corona
crisis. Delhi also pressed for a G-20 video
meeting. Since then the UNSC, EU and
NATO have all conferred through video.
And the NAM summit began on Monday.
Besides the conversations with foreign
leaders, senior officials of the South Block
are engaging foreign embassies in Delhi
through video. Diplomatic missions in
Delhi have long complained that they
barely get access to the MEA.
The Indian missions abroad have the
same problem — of the GoI’s radio silence
on responding to queries from foreign gov-
ernments. Delhi is trying to make amends
with the new medium. The EAM has be-
gun regular engagement with ambassa-
dors in various regions and sub-regions in
recent days.
PM Modi had set the tone by reaching
out to the heads of missions on the ques-
tions of safety and security of Indians
abroad. Union Minister Piyush Goyal has
followedthrough by interacting with com-
mercial officers at the Indian embassies.
Hopefully, other ministers and senior offi-
cials will make interaction with the em-
bassies a regular affair.
To be sure, there is some resistance
across the world’s foreign offices against
virtual diplomacy. There are some real dif-
ficulties,technicalandsubstantive,thatwill
have to be overcome. When the first cable
reached London in the mid 19th century,
theforeign secretary,LordPalmerston,was
supposed to have moaned that telegrams
will kill diplomacy.
Foreign offices, however, have learnt to
work with new technologies, whether it
wasthe trans-oceaniccableortheinternet.
As COVID-19 changes the world of diplo-
macy, South Block is getting ahead of the
curve. What about bilateral summits?
Could they be done online?
ThereisspeculationthatPMModicould
conduct a virtual summit with Prime
Minister Scott Morrison. The Australian
leader had cancelled his visit to Delhi ear-
lierthisyearbecauseof forestfiresathome.
It should not be impossible for Modi and
Morrisontosignajointstatement,finalised
by officials, at the end of video conversa-
tion. We could have the two leaders take a
few questions from the press. Morrison
could address business leaders in Delhi,
Mumbai and Chennai via Zoom. What
about the Australian first lady, Jennifer
Morrison? It will be good to have Mrs
Morrison, a former nurse, interact with
Indian health workers on the frontline of
the corona crisis.
Much of MEA’s energy goes into organ-
ising visits, but the follow-up has always
been hard. Virtual diplomacy makes high-
level engagement less burdensome.
Involving the whole government should
maketheimplementationof summit-level
decisions a bit easier. An India that reboots
after the lockdown could do with all the
diplomatic efficiencies it can generate.
The writer is director, Institute of South
Asian Studies, National University of
Singapore and contributing editor on
international affairs for
The Indian Express
LETTER OF THE
WEEK AWARD
To encourage quality reader
intervention, The Indian
Express offers the Letter of
the Week award. The letter
adjudged the best for the
week is published every
Saturday. Letters may be
e-mailed to
editpage@expressindia.com
or sent to The Indian
Express, B-1/B, Sector 10,
Noida-UP 201301.
nied basic human rights. The stories of
how poor patients were unable to find
hospital beds, while the affluent man-
aged with ease, point to the lop-sided
development of healthcare in India.
Santosh Karmarkar, Mumbai
LEGEND LOST
THISREFERSTOtheeditorial,‘Creatorof
magic’(IE,May2).Withthepassingaway
of legendaryfootballerChuniGoswami,
wehavelostanotherformidablepillarof
Indianfootball’sgoldenera.Thefamous
forward line trio — Chuni Goswami,
Pradip Kumar Banerjee and Tulsidas
Balaram — played an effective role in
Indian football’s flourishing.
Chanchal Nandy, West Burdwan
 10 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2020

Government of India E-TENDERING

Ministry of Road Transport & Highways
Through PRESS NOTICE
Government of Karnataka The Executive Engineer, CD-XII,
Irrigation & Flood Control Department,
Public Works, Ports & Inland water transport Department (NATIONAL HIGHWAYS)
GNCTD Opp. ESI Hospital, Basai
Office of the Executive Engineer, National Highway Division, Darapur Office Complex New Delhi-
Vishweshwarnagar, Hubballi Tele/Fax : 0836-2357420 & 0836-2357577 110027 invites on behalf of the President
Email : eenhd_hbl@rediffmail.com of India, online Item rate tender from
approved and eligible contractors for the
No/EE/NHD/HBL/Junction Impr Hubli/NIT/2019-20/2890 Date : 31-03-2020 following works :
NOTICE INVITING TENDER (Two Cover System) 1. NIT No. EE/CD XII/20-21/03- (ID No.
2020_IFC_190398_1)-HOA-2711- A/R &
The Executive Engineer, National Highway Division, Hubballi on behalf of the Chief Engineer, M/O Drains. SW- Profile correction and
N.H. Bangalore invites bids from eligible bidders for the following project on Single stage Two removal of obstruction of Madanpur Drain
cover system through the website : www.eprocure.gov.in on EPC mode. by maintenance earthen section
Estimated Comple- Mainte including jungle clearance from side
EMD slope and bank from RD. 0 m. to RD.
State Name of Work Cost tion nance
Declaration 4100 m. E.C. Rs. 22,93,281/- Earnest
(Rs. in Cr.) period period money Rs.45,866/- period of
1 3 4 5 6 7 completion 90 Days. (Date of
submission & opening of bid on
Karnat Construction of Elevated Corridor from Km 206.19 Bid Security 36 10 OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF PRISON 11.05.2020 at 3:00 P.M. & 3:30 P.M
aka 135.650 to 136.450 on NH 63, from Km (Excluding declaration has (Months) Years PRISON HEAD QUARTER: respectively). AE-II.
249.00 to 250.050 on NH4 and from km GST) to be submitted
193.800 to 193.350 on NH 218 for as per NEAR LAJWANTI GARDEN CHOWK Note :-
JANAK PURI: NEW DELHI 1) Details of above mentioned works &
Decongestion of traff ic at Rani Appendix-II of eligibility criteria can be seen and
Chennamma Circle in Hubli City / Taluk in RFP PROVISION BRANCH downloaded from the web site
the state of Karnataka on EPC mode. F-21(13)/CD003582225/DS(Prov)/Tender for BMW/2019-20/106 Dated: 28.4.20 https://govtprocurement.delhi.gov.in.
(1) Date & Time of start of sale of Tender documents (through online) : 16.04.2020 at 11:00 Hrs Tender ID No.: 2020_CJT_190403_1 2) Amendment(s)/ alteration(s)/corrigen-
e-TENDER NOTICE dum if any, will be available at website
(2) Date & Time of close of sale of Tender documents (through online) : 30.05.2020 upto 16:30 Hrs
only.
(3) Last Date & Time for Receipt of Pre-bid queries : 11.05.2020 upto 11:00 Hrs (4) Date of Pre-bid For and on behalf of the President of India, e-tender (online
3) EMD in the form of Banker's Cheque
meeting : 12.05.2020 at 15:30 Hrs (5) Last Date & Time of submission of bids (hard copy) : procurement website https://govtprocurement.delhi.gov.in) are
or Demand Draft or Fixed Deposit
01.06.2020 upto 16:00 Hrs (6) Date & Time of opening of Technical Bids : 01.06.2020 at 16:30 Hrs invited for procurement of sharp disposal destroyer system required as Receipt (drawn in favour of EXECUTIVE
The bidders shall also submit a copy of Online Receipt of payment made through web site per guideline of bio medical waste (management and handling) rule ENGINEER, CD XII, I&FC DEPTT.,
www.bharatkosh.gov.in towards payment of cost of bid document of Rs. 10,000=00 (Rupees 2016 in Tihar Jail. for 02 year from the date of issue of rate contract GNCT OF DELHI) shall be scanned and
Ten Thousand only) and 18% GST Rs. 1800=00 (Rs. One Thousand and Eight Hundred only) (extendable upto 03 months). The NIT has been uploaded and uploaded to the e-tendering website
Total Rs. 11800=00 (Rupees Eleven Thousand and Eight Hundred only) to (“Regional Pay & available along with terms and conditions and detailed specifications. All within the period of bid submission. The
the tenderers participating in e-tendering and should have a Digital original EMD should be deposited in the
Accounts Officer, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Bangalore payable at Bangalore).
Signature / Smart Card and should apply online before the Last Date office of EXECUTIVE ENGINEER, CD
Special attention may be paid to select PAO Code 034807-PAO(NH) Bangalore, under that select
and Time. In case 27.05,2020 is being declared govt. Holiday the XII, I&FC DEPTT., GNCT OF DELHI
RO civil Bangalore DDO Code 234809 – Superintending Engineer, Online Receipts of tender next working day will be treated as next tender date. within the period of bid submission.(The
document fee shall be uploaded compulsory in the e-portal. EMD document shall only be issued from
Estimated Cost of Work : Rs. 01 crore (Approx)
Original Bid Security declaration has to be submitted as per Appendix-II of RFP along with the place in which the office of receiving
other Annexure are to be uploaded in e-portal during uploading the tender documents and along Date of release of tender through E- : 06.05.2020 division office is situated).
with the Technical Bid uploaded documents (Except Financial Bid) has to be submitted to the procurement website Sd/-
Office of Executive Engineer, National Highway Division, Hubli after the last date for submission https://govtprocurement.delhi.gov.in EXECUTIVE ENGINEER/CD-XII
of tender and before opening of the Technical Bid. Last date / Time of receipt of tenders : 27.05.2020 at 12:00 DIP/SHABDARTH/0027/20-21

The amount quoted in the Bill of Quantities should be exclusive of GST. 12% provision for through e-procurement solution Noon
GST is made in the sanctioned estimate and will be paid separately. The details of Machinery Date of on line opening of Pre- : 27.05.2020 at 12:30 PM
required, work qualification certificate and detailed notification / conditions & e-tendering process qualification bids
can be obtained by logging on to website https://eprocure.gov.in. Sd/- Executive Engineer,
Sd/-
DIPR/DWD/2020-21/42/MCA National Highway Division Hubballi Superintendent: PHQ-II
DIP/Shabdarth/0026/20-21 Tihar, New Delhi
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la0 la[;k /kujkf'k jkf'k ewY; (#0 esa vof/k due to any reason, no Corrigendum will be published in News
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»fJ³fD õfSf d³f¸³f C´fIZ ³ýi IZ d³f¸ffʯf WZ °fb dQ¹fZ ¦f¹fZ Hiring of 01 No. 32 Seater
Official website i.e. https://pspcl.in.
d½f½fS¯ff³fbÀffS EI ¸fbV°f Àf¸f°f»f E½fa C´fIZ ³ýi IZ T-01@ Sd/- Dy. CE/EMC, GHTP,
Shift Bus and 01 No. Bolero 365
d³f¸ffʯf WZ °fb C´f¹fb¢°f AfI fS ¸fZÔ ·fcd¸f I e Af½fV¹fI °ff 1. t0fo0m0[k0 8.90 17800.00 1180.00 PSPCL, Lehra Mohabbat.
@2020&21
Jeep for HGD, Khara (Model fnu GHTP-26/2020 Ph. No. 0164-2756427.
W` Ü 1- 220/132 IZY.½fe. CX´fIZY³ýi dIYSXf½f»fe: 2016 or later) 777-C/Pb.

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04.05.2020
T-02@ Fixing of Hose reel Discharge
2. t0fo0m0[k0 pipe in Switchyard to Quench
@2020&21 the Fire in the Vicinity of the
Switchyard in Khara Power
House
T-03@ Execution of teaching work of
3. t0fo0m0[k0 class VI to X for 11 months,
@2020&21 HGD Khara
T-04@ Supply, manufacturing new
4. t0fo0m0[k0 pinion and retrofitted gear box
@2020&21 asse mbly with bear ing at
Babail P.H.
U.P. RAJYA VIDYUT
UTPADAN NIGAM LTD
PARICHHA THERMAL
POWER PROJECT
PARICHHA JHANSI 1- E-
Tender- ET-04/CMD-II/PTPP/2020-
21 work of “Cleaning of jungle and
grass cutting inside power house area
of 2x210 & 2x250MW, Plant PTPP,
Parichha.” Estimated Cost Rs.
6,25,664.00 e-bid Submission dt.:
26.05.20 up to 13:00 Hrs. 2- E-
Tender- T-03/SD-B/BTPS/2020-21
work of “Loading, unloading, shifting
and stacking of material of Store
Division B & C and Lubricant/
Transformer oil barrel, different types
of steel plate, structure steel etc. in
yard/stores of Store Division B & C
and vice-versa AND general
housekeeping of All stores, Cleaning
of ground in stores and various sites
of stores in Store Division B & C in
PTPP Parichha.” Estimated Cost Rs.
3,00,298.00 e-bid Submission dt.:
21.05.20 up to 16:00 Hrs. 3- E-
Tender- ET-01/CMD-IV/PTPP/2020-
21 work of “Cleaning of the dense
jungle and wild grass along path of
the main drain and the area around its
vicinity outside colony campus upto
the turn it takes towards Parichha
Village at PTPP, Parichha.”
Estimated Cost Rs. 2,33,927.50 e-
bid Submission dt.: 18.05.20 up to
16:00 Hrs. 4- E-Tender- T-01/O&MC-
IX/C&IMD-V/2x250MW/PTPP/2020-
21 work of “Round the clock
running/preventive/breakdown
maintenance of field instruments of
Main plant related to Auto control
Loops, Interlock & protection of
auxiliaries in Yokogawa DDCMIS
system, CW/ACW Pump House,
Dosing system, Compressor house,
Hart management system, GPS
Master Clock, Unit control panel with
Annunciation system and Vibration
system of 6.6 KV auxiliaries for unit
No. 5 & 6 in 2x250MW, PTPP,
Parichha.” Estimated Cost Rs.
400 22,09,990.00 e-bid Submission dt.:
07.05.20 up to 12:00 Hrs. 5- E-
Tender- T-02/O&MC-III/C&I-I/ 2x250
45
4.39 9000.00 590.00
fnu
11
5.58 11200.00 590.00
ekg
180
40.34 81000.00 5400.00
fnu
vf/k'kklh vfHk;Urk
MW/ PTPP/2020-21 work of “Routine
maintenance of AC Distribution Board
Panel. Inter-panel cable loop
checking, testing & replacing from
ACDB to all SG and TG Panel system
equipments in DCS Panel room &
electronics test bench of Unit No. 5 &
6, 2x250MW, ‘C’ PTPP, Parichha.”
Estimated Cost Rs. 2,96,100.00 e-
bid Submission dt.: 26.05.20 up to
14:00 Hrs. 6- Following
Corrigendum of E-Tenders:- (i) E-
Tender- T-93/O&MC-VIII/AHD-III/
2x250 MW/PTPP/2019-20 extended
as follows:- e-bid Submission dt.:
08.06.20 at 14:00 hrs. (ii) E-Tender-
T-02/BMD-II/PTPP/ O&MC-II/ OH#
3/2020-21 extended as follows:- e-
bid Submission dt.: 05.05.20 at
13:03 hrs. (iii) E-Tender- T-01/CSD-
II/PTPP/ 2020-21 extended as
follows:- e-bid Submission dt.:
16.05.20 at 16:00 hrs. (iv) E-Tender-
T-32/CPD-II/ PTPP/2019-20
extended as follows:- e-bid
Submission dt.: 21.05.20 at 16:00
hrs. (v) E-Tender- T-08/ CPD-
II/PTPP/ 2020-21 extended as
follows:- e-bid Submission dt.:
21.05.20 at 16:00 hrs. The other
terms and conditions and place of
hard copies submission and opening
shall remain same/ unchanged.
NOTE:- 1.The details of tender cost,
earnest Money and submission of
bids/tender Extension are available in
the bid document uploaded on the e-
procurement website http://etender.
up.nic.in. 2. The bidders are required
to be registered with U.P. Electronics
Corporation, Ashok Marg, Lucknow
by depositing requisite fees for
participation in the e-Tendering. The
bidder must also be registered with
their Digital Signature Certificate
(DSC) in the e-bidding system. Date
of Opening of: 2nd Price Bid shall be
declared later on. “SaveElectricity”
EXECUTIVE ENGINEER TSD-I,
PTPP, PARICHHA PATRANK
NO.12/T.S.D.-ADMN./PTPP DATED:
04.05.2020
IYF¹FFÊÕX¹F A²FeÃF¯F Ad·F¹Fa°FF,
ÕXûIY d³F¸FFʯF d½F·FF¦F, SXF¹F´FbSX ¸F¯OXÕX IiY¸FFaIY 2 (LXØFeÀF¦FPÞX)
BÊ-´Fiû¢¹FbSX¸FZÔMX d³Fd½FQF ÀFc¨F³FF
(dõ°Fe¹F AF¸FaÂF¯F) dQ³FFaIY 30.04.2020
d³F¸³FFadIY°F IYF¹FûÊ WZX°Fb AFG³FÕXFBʳF d³Fd½FQF kkOXell ßFZ¯Fe E½Fa Ad²FIY ßFZ¯Fe IZY NXZIZYQFSXûÔ WZX°Fb
AF¸FadÂF°F IYe ªFF°Fe W`XÜ d³Fd½FQF OXFCX³FÕXûOX IYSX³FZ IYe Aad°F¸F d°Fd±F 14.05.2020 W`XÜ
E³F.AFBÊ.XMXe IYF¹FÊ IYF ³FF¸F IYF¹FÊ IYe
IiY/ A³Fb¸FFd³F°F ÕXF¦F°F
d³Fd½FQF IiY (ÕXFJ ¸FZÔ)
1 2 3
NIT NO. 06 ²F¸F°FSXe A³Fbd½F·FF¦F IZY A³°F¦FÊ°F d½Fd·FÖF °Fe³F ¸FF¦FûÊ ´FSX ÷Y. 62.12 ÕXFJ
Tender No.63422
OXF¸FSX ³F½Fe³FeIYSX¯F IYF IYF¹FÊÜ
NIT NO. 07 ¦FdSX¹FF¶FaQ A³Fbd½F·FF¦F IiY.-1 IZY Aa°F¦FÊ°F IYÀF-WXQeÊ ÷Y. 35.95 ÕXFJ
Tender No.63423 ¸FF¦FÊ dIY.¸Fe. 1/2 ÀFZ 3/6=2.60 dIY.¸Fe. ¸FZÔ OXF¸FSX
³F½Fe³FeIYSX¯F IYF IYF¹FÊÜ
NIT NO. 08 IbY÷YQ A³Fbd½F·FF¦F IZY A³°F¦FÊ°F IbY÷YQ-¨FSXFÊ-LXF°Fe- ÷Y. 92.74 ÕXFJ
Tender No.63424 CXOZÞ³FF-dÓFdSX¹FF-IaYOZXÕX-·Fû±FÕXe-ÀFa¶FÕX´FbSX ¸FF¦FÊ IZY
dIY.¸Fe. 2/2 ÀFZ 3/4=1.40 dIY.¸Fe. E½Fa 3/6 ÀFZ
5/10=2.60 dIY.¸Fe. ¸FZÔ ¶Fe.MXe. dSX³Fe½FÕX IYF IYF¹FÊÜ
NIT NO. 09 IbY÷YQ A³Fbd½F·FF¦F IZY A³°F¦FÊ°F d½Fd·FÖF °Fe³F ¸FF¦FûÊ ´FSX ÷Y. 120.59 ÕXFJ
Tender No.63425 OXF¸FSX ³F½Fe³FeIYSX¯F IYF IYF¹FÊÜ
NIT NO. 10 IbY÷YQ A³Fbd½F·FF¦F IZY A³°F¦FÊ°F IbY÷YQ-¨FSXFÊ-LXF°Fe- ÷Y. 142.12 ÕXFJ
Tender No.63426 CXOÞZ³FF-dÓFdSX¹FF-IaYOZXÕX-·Fû±FÕXe-ÀFa¶FÕ´FbSX ¸FF¦FÊ IZY
dIY.¸Fe. 5/6 ÀFZ 9/6=4.20 dIY.¸Fe. 9/8 ÀFZ
14/2=4.20 dIY.¸Fe., 14/4 ÀFZ 18/4=4.20
dIY.¸Fe., 18/6 ÀFZ 22/6=4.20 dIY.¸Fe.¸FZÔ ¶Fe.MXe.
dSX³Fe½FÕX IYF IYF¹FÊÜ
dªFÕXF ¸FWXFÀF¸Fb³Q IZY A¨FF³FIY´FbSX ÀFZ JOÞXCX´FFSX ¸FF¦FÊ ÷Y. 116.70 ÕXFJ
NIT NO. 11
Tender No.63427 ÕaX¶FFBÊ 1.00 dIY¸Fe. IYF d³F¸FFʯF IYF¹FÊÜ
NIT NO. 12 ¸FWXFÀF¸Fb³Q A³Fbd½F·FF¦F IiY.-1 IZY A³°F¦FÊ°F ¸Fb£¹F dªFÕXF ÷Y. 159.68 ÕXFJ
Tender No.63428 ¸FF¦FûÊ E½Fa ¦FiF¸Fe¯F ¸FF¦FûÊ ¸FZÔ ¶Fe.MXe. dSX³Fe½FÕX IYF IYF¹FÊÜ
Qb²FF½FF-³F¦FSXe-¶FFÀFe³F ¸FF¦FÊ (SXFª¹F ¸FF¦FÊ IiY. 06) IZY ÷Y. 96.39 ÕXFJ
NIT NO. 13
Tender No.63429 dIY.¸Fe. 67/8 ÀFZ 70/10=3.40 dIY.¸Fe. E½Fa
dIY.¸Fe. 71/2 ÀFZ 72/4=1.40 dIY.¸Fe. ¸FZÔ ¶Fe.MXe.
dSX³Fe½FÕX IYF IYF¹FÊÜ GURU HARGOBIND THERMAL PLANT, LEHRA MOHABBAT-151111
NIT NO. 14 ³F¦FSXe A³Fbd½F·FF¦F IZY A³°F¦FÊ°F d½Fd·FÖF Qû E¸F.OXe.AFSX. ÷Y. 127.17 ÕXFJ Regd. Office: PSEB Head Office, The Mall, Patiala-147001
Tender No.63430
¸FF¦FûÊ ´FSX OXF¸FSX ³F½Fe³FeIYSX¯F IYF IYF¹FÊÜ Corporate Identity Number: U40109PB2010SGC033813
Website: www.pspcl.in
NIT NO. 15 d´F±FüSXF A³Fbd½F·FF¦F IZY A³°F¦FÊ°F SXFª¹F ¸FF¦FÊ, ¸Fb£¹F ÷Y. 183.43 ÕXFJ NOTICE INVITING TENDER
Tender No.63431 dªFÕXF ¸FF¦FÊ, E½Fa ¦FiF¸Fe¯F ¸FF¦FÊ ´FSX ¶Fe.MXe. dSX³Fe½FÕX IYF
Tender Enquiry No. 514/GHTP/EMC/SGMC-W4/Vol-29 Dated: 04.05.2020
IYF¹FÊÜ SHORT DESCRIPTION: Routive, Preventive, Breakdown & shutdown
NIT NO. 16 SXFáÑXe¹F SXFªF¸FF¦FÊ IiY. 06 IZY Aa°F¦FÊ°F ÀFSXF¹F´FFÕXe ¾FWXSXe ÷Y. 158.53 ÕXFJ Maintenance of 6.6 KV & 415V AC Switchgears, 220V & 24V DC Power
Tender No.63432 ÃFZÂF IZY dIY.¸Fe. 2(90), 1/4 ÀFZ 1/10 Supply System, ESP Control Panels and other local control Panels and
Associated Equipments, Battery Banks, Battery chargers, local push but-
(100)=0.79 dIY.¸Fe. E½Fa 2/2(100), 2/4- ton Stations and Power receptacles, HT & LT Power and Control Cables
6,4/6 dIY.¸Fe. ¸FZZa ¸FªF¶Fb°FeIYSX¯F IYF¹FÊÜ installed at various locations under Switchgear Mtc. Cell of 2x210 MW
Stage-I and 2x250 MW Stage-II, Guru Hargobind Thermal Plant, Lehra
NIT NO. 17 d½FIYFÀFJaOX ÀFSXF¹F´FFÕXe IZY ¾FFÀFIYe¹F WXFBÊÀIcYÕX ·F½F³F ÷Y. 38.14 ÕXFJ Mohabbat, District Bathinda, Punjab as per details given in the tender
Tender No.63433 ¶FFaªFe¶FWXÕX ¸FZÔ d¾FÃFIY AF½FFÀF ¦FÈWX IYF d³F¸FFʯF IYF¹FÊÜ specifications for a period of one year.
EMD: Rs. 3,15,000 (Fixed Rs. Three Lakhs Fifteen Thousand only).
Last date & Time for bid submission : 11.06.2020 upto 11.30 hrs.
CX´FSXûöY d³F¸FFʯF IYF¹FûÊ IYe d³Fd½FQF IYe ÀFF¸FF³¹F ¾F°FZÊ, ²FSXûWXSX SXFd¾F, d½FÀ°FÈ°F d³Fd½FQF d½FÄFd´°F,
d³Fd½FQF QÀ°FF½FZªF ½F A³¹F ªFF³FIYFSXe BÊ-´Fiû¢¹FûSX¸FZÔMX ½FZ¶F ´FûMÊXÕX
Date & Time of opening of Fee stage bid : 18.06.2020 upto 12.00 hrs.
Tender Specification can only be downloaded from e-tendering website:
https://eproc.cgstate.gov.in A±F½FF d½F·FF¦Fe¹F ½FZ¶FÀFFBMX https://eproc.punjab.gov.in.
Note: 1. The prospective bidders can obtain clarification regarding tender
https://eproc.cgstate.gov.in ÀFZ OXFCX³FÕXûOX IYe ªFF ÀFIY°Fe W`XÜ specifications from this office. For Registration of Digital Signatures and
uploading of tender information may be sought from M/s. GEPNIC contact
WXÀ°FF/-
No. 91-(120)-4001002/5.
A²FeÃF¯F Ad·F¹Fa°FF, 2. It is informed that in case tender process is not completed due to any rea-
ÕXû.d³F.d½F., SXF¹F´FbSX ¸F¯OXÕX IiY. 2 (LX.¦F.) son, no Corrigendum will be published in News papers. Detail regarding
Corrigendum may be seen on PSPCL Official website i.e. https://pspcl.in.
Sd/- Dy. CE/EMC, GHTP,
80430 AF´FIYe ±Fe ¨FFWX, WX¸F³FZ ¶F³FFBÊ SXFWX GHTP-25/2020
776-C/Pb.
PSPCL, Lehra Mohabbat. Ph. No. 0164-2756427.

New Delhi
 E EXPLAINED
11
CORONAVIRUS DASHBOARD
191,827
United Kingdom
THE WORLD
165,745
Germany
168,962
France
1,166,083
US
101,826
Brazil 217,466
Spain
TOTAL CONFIRMED: 3,544,281
Source: Johns Hopkins University, updated at 11 pm on May 4
In antibodies from llamas,
scientists see COVID hope
PAPER
CLIP
NEW RESEARCH
IN A llama named Winter, researchers
have found an unlikely ally in the hunt
for an effective treatment for COVID-
19,theUniversityofTexasatAustinsaid
in a statement. The researchers linked
twocopiesofaspecialkindofantibody
producedbyllamasandcreatedanew
antibody, which binds tightly to a key
proteinonthenovelcoronavirusSARS-
CoV2. This protein is the spike protein,
shapedlikeacorona(crown)thatgives
coronaviruses their name. It is also the
protein that allows the virus to break
into human and animal cells.
Initial tests with the new antibody
and cultured cells indicated the anti-
bodyblocksviruseswiththisspikepro-
tein from infecting cells. The re-
searchers are from the University of
Texas at Austin, US National Institutes
of Health and Ghent University in
Belgium.Theyhavereportedtheirfind-
ings in the May 5 issue of the journal
Cell.Thepaperisonlineasa“pre-proof”
INDIA COUNT: 42,836 (1,389 DEATHS)
TOP 10 STATES REST OF INDIA
AndamanandNicobarIslands33
2,886
4,549 Delhi
Rajasthan
2,742 UP
2,942 963
MP West Bengal
5,428
Gujarat
1,082
Telangana
12,974
Maharashtra 1,650
Andhra Pradesh
3,023 Tamil Nadu
UnionHealthMinistryupdateasof 11pm,May4.Somestatesmayhave
reportedhighernumbers.Onlystates/UTswithatleastonecaselistedabove.
11,762 PATIENTS DISCHARGED IN 30 STATES AND UNION TERRITORIES
Have a question on the COVID-19 outbreak and what you should/should not do?
Write to explained@indianexpress.com
Does nicotine help fight COVID-19? The science behind a novel hypothesis
KABIR FIRAQUE
NEW DELHI, MAY 4
SMOKING KILLS. So doesCOVID-19, and if a
smoker contracts the disease,conventional
wisdom shouldsuggest that he or she faces
a higher risk of severe illness or death.
Now, researchers in France have turned
thatconventionalwisdomonitshead.They
haveputforwardahypothesisthatthepres-
ence of nicotine actually equips the body to
fight COVID-19. And they are conducting
trials to test the hypothesis.
What is the basis of the hypothesis?
It has been postulated by researchers
from a number of leading French institu-
tions — the government research institutes
CNRS and Inserm, the hospital network
Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris,
SorbonneUniversity,CollègedeFrance,and
Institut Pasteur. They have described the
hypothesis in a paper written for the jour-
nalComptesRendusdeBiologiedel’Académie
des sciences, and published a version on a
pre-print server.
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2020
211,938
Italy
126,045
Turkey
Why liquor matters to states
Queues after easing of restrictions, and a price hike in Delhi, are pointers to the importance of liquor as a
source of revenue. How much does liquor contribute to states’ coffers, and which state earns how much?
145,268
Russia
HARIKISHAN SHARMA
98,647 NEW DELHI, MAY 4
Iran
FOLLOWINGTHEeasingof restrictionsinthe
third phase of the nationwide lockdown,
someof themoststrikingimagesonMonday
DEATH COUNT: 248,816 showed long queues outside liquor stores
aroundthecountry.Bytheevening,theDelhi
government announced a 70% hike in the
price of liquor across categories in the capi-
tal, starting Tuesday. Delhi’s “special corona
fee” on alcohol underlines the importance of
liquor to the economy of the states.
Manufacture and sale of liquor is one of the
major sources of their revenue, and the re-
opening comes at a time when the states
have been struggling to fill theircoffers amid
the disruption on account of the lockdown.
How do states earn from liquor?
Liquorcontributesaconsiderableamount
to the exchequers of all states and Union
Territories except Gujarat and Bihar, both of
which have enforced prohibition. Generally,
states levy excise duty on manufacture and
saleof liquor.Somestates,forexampleTamil
Nadu, also impose VAT (value added tax).
States also charge special fees on imported
foreign liquor; transport fee; and label &
brandregistrationcharges.Afewstates,such
as Uttar Pradesh, have imposed a “special
duty on liquor” to collect funds for special
purposes,suchasmaintenanceof straycattle.
A report published by the Reserve Bank
Scientists were inspired by of India last September (‘State Finances: A
antibodies produced by this Study of Budgets of 2019-20’) shows that
llama, named Winter. Tim Coppens state excise duty on alcohol accounts for
via University of Texas at Austin around 10-15 per cent of Own Tax Revenue
of a majority of states. In fact, state excise du-
ties on liquor is the second or third largest
—meaningitispeer-reviewedbutun- contributor to the category State’s Own Tax
dergoing final proofreading. revenue; sales tax (now GST) is the largest.
The teamisnowpreparingtocon- This is the reason states have always wanted
duct preclinical studies in animals liquor kept out of the purview of GST.
such as hamsters or nonhuman pri-
mates, with the hopes of next testing How much do the state governments
in humans. The goal is to develop a earn from excise on liquor?
treatment that would help people TheRBIreportshowsthatduring2019-20,
soon after infection with the virus. the 29 states and the UTs of Delhi and
Winter, the llama, is 4 years old, fe- Puducherry had budgeted a combined Rs
male,andlivingonafarmintheBelgian 1,75,501.42 crore from state excise on liquor.
countrysidealongwithapproximately This was 16% higher than the Rs 1,50,657.95
130 other llamas and alpacas. crore they had collected during 2018-19.
SOURCE: UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS On an average, the states collected about
AT AUSTIN
THIS WORD MEANS: COVID TOE
ArunachalPradesh
Assam
1
43
Toes show discolouration, but is COVID the cause?
Bihar 517
Chandigarh 94 MEHR GILL
Chhattisgarh 57
NEW DELHI, MAY 4
Goa 7
Haryana 442
HimachalPradesh 40 SOFAR,themostwidelyreportedsymptoms
JammuandKashmir 701 of COVID-19 have been those one would as-
Jharkhand 115
sociate with a respiratory infection, such as
Karnataka 642
Kerala 500 fever,cough,sorenessof thethroat.Now,der-
matologists have begun to look at skin con-
Ladakh 41
Manipur 2 ditions too. One of the conditions that have
Meghalaya 12
emerged has earned itself the description
Mizoram 1
Odisha 163 “COVID toe”, with cases reported from Spain
Puducherry 8 and the United States.
Punjab 1102
Tripura 16 What it looks like
Uttarakhand 60
The skin condition causes purple, blue or
red discolouration of the toes (and some-
times fingers). A study in the International
JournalofDermatology(IJD)hasdescribedthe
condition as chilblain-like lesions. The IJD as
well as the British Journal of Dermatology
(BJD) have publishedseparate studiesdetail-
ing such cases in Spain.
In the United States, images of the condi-
tionare poppingup all over the country,der-
“Theresearchers’hypothesisisbasedon
the combination of two different but com-
plementary scientific approaches,” Institut
Pasteur said in a statement. One of these
two approaches is based on a statistical
analysisof COVID-19deathsinaFrenchhos-
pital, and the other on the biochemistry of
the human body.
What is the statistics-based approach?
It draws from an observation of the pro-
portion of smokers among patients who
died of COVID-19. These were patients at
Pitié Salpétrière University Hospital, Paris.
“In the hospitalised in-patients vs less se-
vere out-patients, a smoking rate of 4.4% vs Schematic diagram shows nicotine (or
5.3%wasfound,bothverylowagainst25.4% acetylcholine) binding to receptors in
in the general population. This finding has the cell (triangles). These receptors are
been confirmed by an independent study,” at the centre of the hyopthesis that the
neuroscientist Jean-Pierre Changeux of prsence of nicotine helps resist the
Institut Pasteur said in an interview pub- coronavirus SARS-CoV2. Institut Pasteur
lished by the European research initiative
Human Brain Project.
The statistical study was led by Prof tine hypothesis. Changeux is also a pioneer
ZahirAmouraof thesamehospital,together in the study of a key chemical structure in
with Changeux. The two are among the au- thebody,onethatformsthebasisof thesec-
thors of the study that describes the nico- ond part of the hypothesis.
SIMPLY PUT QUESTION &ANSWER
Queue outside a shop in Pune on Monday. Pavan Khengre
WHAT STATES EARNED AS EXCISE DUTY (IN ` CRORE)
2018-19 (RE)
All states + 2 UTs 1,50,657.959
Uttar Pradesh 25,100
Karnataka 19,750
Maharashtra 15,343.085
West Bengal 10,554.36
Telangana 10,313.685
Top 5 earners listed above.
Source: State Finances: A Study of Budgets of 2019-20; RBI
Rs 12,500 crore per month from excise on
liquor in 2018-19, which rose to about Rs
15,000crorepermonthin2019-20,andwhich
was further expected to cross Rs 15,000 crore
per month in the current financial year. This
projectionwasbeforetheCOVID-19outbreak.
“Uttar Pradesh collected a monthly aver-
age amount of Rs 2,500 crore from liquor in
the last financial year and we hope get about
Rs 3,000 crore in the current financial year,”
said a top official with the UP government.
Which states collect the highest
matologist Dr Amy Paller said in a statement
released by Northwestern University. These
imagesarebeing collected as part of a USna-
tional paediatric dermatology registry.
TheBJDstudylookedat“unexplained”skin
manifestationsin375patients,includingcon-
firmed and suspected COVID-19 cases. They
described five patterns of skin conditions;
among these, COVID toe was observed in 19%
(71of375).Andamongthese71cases,29(41%)
had confirmed infection with SARS-CoV2.
Is there a COVID link?
That is a hypothesis, as of now, but scien-
tists have called for more evidence. “Our hy-
pothesis is that these lesions could be a late
manifestation of COVID-19. This theory is
based on the fact that the lesions appeared
weeksafterreachingthepeakof infectionsin
Spain but not at the beginning so far as we
are aware,” researchers wrote in the IJD.
In the study in the BJD, the researchers
said the lesions could be associated with the
disease, but also noted these lesions appear
later in the evolution of the disease and are
What is this chemical structure?
Itisakindof “receptor”.Intheconversa-
tion around COVID-19, we have been hear-
ing a lot about receptors. These are struc-
turescomposedof protein,andtheyreceive
signalsthatmaybeintegratedintothebody.
These signals can come from various sub-
stances, such as a hormone, a drug, or an
antigen. For example, the surface of the hu-
man cell has receptors called ACE2, which
open the door for the novel coronavirus
SARS-CoV2 to enter the body.
At the centre of the nicotine hypothesis
isareceptorthatrespondstonicotineaswell
asachemicalcalledacetylcholine.Henceits
name:“nicotinicacetylcholinereceptor”,ab-
breviatedasnAChR.Itisfoundinpartsof the
nervous system, muscle and certain tissues
of organisms including humans. Changeux
has researched this receptor for decades,
with one paper dating back to 1965.
How does this receptor fit into the
hypothesis about nicotine?
Since nicotine is known to bind with the
nAChR receptor, the second part of the hy-
pothesis goes like this: If nicotine is pres-
@ieExplained
#ExpressExplained
If there are questions of current or contemporary relevance that you would like
explained, please write to explained@indianexpress.com
2019-20 (BE)
1,75,501.422
31,517.41
20,950
17,477.388
11,873.65
10,901
amounts in this form of revenue?
There is a time lag in the compilation of
revenue data from the states, so full-year fig-
ures are available only up to 2018-19. During
that financial year, the five states that col-
lected the highest revenue from excise duty
on liquor were Uttar Pradesh (Rs 25,100
crore), Karnataka (Rs 19,750 crore),
Maharashtra (Rs 15,343.08 crore), West
Bengal (Rs 10,554.36 crore) and Telangana
(Rs 10,313.68 crore). For amounts collected
as VAT and special fees on import for foreign
liquor, state-wise figures are not available.
Chilbalin-like lesions. Landa, Mendieta-
Eckert et al, International Joournal of Dermatology
ent on the receptor, and the novel coron-
avirus arrives, then the nicotine would
block the interaction.
In existing scientific knowledge, there is
apossiblepointer.Therabiesvirusisknown
to bind with the same receptor, and this in-
teraction is driven by a sequence of genetic
material that exists in the envelope around
therabiesvirus.“Amazinglythereisarather
similar sequence in the envelope of SARS-
CoV2. Its role is presently under investiga-
tion,” Changeux said in the interview.
And how will the researchers test their
hypothesis?
Clinical studies are in progress, Institut
Pasteur said. A Reuters report described the
nature of the trial. It will involve groups of
healthcare workers and patients wearing
nicotine patches, and other groups wearing
placebopatches.Therewillbe1,500health-
careprofessionalsinthetrial,whichwillseek
to assess whether those wearing the nico-
tine patches are more resistant to COVID-19
than those wearing the placebo patches.
How does this hypothesis sit against
New Delhi
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
One reason why UP collects the highest
is that it levies only excise duty on manufac-
ture and sale of liquor. It does not collect VAT
separately, unlike states such as Tamil Nadu,
whose VAT collections do not reflect in the
excise duty collections.
With Bihar and Gujarat having prohib-
itedliquor,Biharhad‘nil’revenuefromliquor
in 2018-19 and 2019-20, while Gujarat’s
liquor revenue was negligible. Andhra
Pradeshtooannouncedprohibitionlastyear;
however, sale of the liquor has been allowed
with “prohibition tax” from Monday.
What exactly is state excise?
State excise is levied mainly on liquor and
other alcohol-based items. Revenue receipts
fromstateexcisecomemainlyfromcommodi-
ties such as Country Spirits; Country
Fermented Liquors; Malt Liquor; Liquor;
Foreign Liquors and Spirits; Commercial and
Denatured Spirits and Medicated Wines;
Medicinal and Toilet Preparations containing
Alcohol, Opium etc; Opium, Hemp and other
Drugs; Indian Made Foreign Liquors; Spirits,
and Sales to Canteen Stores Depots. Besides, a
substantialamount comes fromlicences,fine
and confiscation of alcohol products.
What are the other sources of revenue
for the states?
The states’ revenues comprise broadly
two categories — Tax Revenue and Non-Tax
Revenue.Taxrevenueisdividedintotwofur-
thercategories:State’sOwnTaxRevenue,and
Share in Central Taxes. Again, Own Tax
Revenue comprises three principal sources:
TaxesonIncome(agriculturalincometaxand
taxesonprofessions,trades,callingsandem-
ployment); Taxes on Property and Capital
Transactions (land revenue, stamps and reg-
istration fees, urban immovable property
tax);andTaxesonCommoditiesandServices
(salestax,statesalestax/VAT,centralsalestax,
surcharge on sales tax, receipts of turnover
tax, other receipts, state excise, taxes on ve-
hicles, taxes on goods and passengers, taxes
and duties on electricity, entertainment tax,
state GST, and “other taxes and duties”).
According to the RBI report, in 2019-20,
stateGSThadthehighestshare,43.5%,instates’
Own Tax Revenue, followed by Sale Tax at
23.5% (mainly on petroleum products which
areoutof GST),stateexciseat12.5%,andtaxes
on property and capital transactions at 11.3%.
“less commonly associated with virologic
confirmation”, so it is possible that the con-
dition may not be related to COVID-19 at all.
DrPallerofNorthwesternMedicine,anini-
tiative affiliated to Northwestern University,
saidinthestatementthatshehasseenimages
of approximately 30 cases of this condition.
She said more testing is needed to definitely
know what is causing the condition.
Is it in India?
Doctors The Indian Express spoke to have
not yet found such cases among COVID-19
patients. “We haven’t seen such manifesta-
tion in 50 cases we have treated. We are ob-
serving blood clots and pulmonary em-
bolism more often now. Some have
neurologicalmanifestations,”saidinfectious
disease expert Dr Tanu Singhal.
Dr Pravin Amle, another infectious dis-
ease expert, said in Mumbai, “We have come
across literature on COVID toe in the West,
butitseemstobeveryrare.Wehaven’tcome
across such a case in Mumbai.”
(INPUTS FROM ENS, MUMBAI)
conventional views about smoking?
Thewidelyacceptedviewisthatthelungs
of smokersarealreadycompromisedtovar-
iousextents,hencetheyarelikelytobemore
vulnerabletoadiseasethatattackstherespi-
ratory system. Some researchers have sug-
gested, in fact, that the lower mortality rate
amongwomenpatientsofCOVID-19isafall-
outof thefactthatmentendtosmokemore.
Again, the nicotine hypothesis involves
the nAChR receptor, when SARS-CoV2’s
maininteractionsarewithadifferentrecep-
tor:ACE2.Astudylastmonth,infact,looked
at the expression of ACE2 among smokers
andnon-smokers.Peoplewhohavesmoked
showed a 25% increase in ACE2 expression
as compared to non-smokers, researchers
reported in the American Journal of
Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. They
suggested that smoking increases entry
points for the novel coronavirus.
The Indian Express sent a mail to
Changeuxasking,amongvariousquestions,
how far the cohort of COVID-19 patients in
the statistical analysis of deaths was repre-
sentative of the general population. He was
yet to respond at the time of filing.

12 THE OUTBREAK
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2020
PANDEMIC
WATCH
Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe. AP
JAPAN
Emergency
stateextended
toendofMay
Tokyo: Japan's Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe an-
nounced Monday the on-
going state of emergency
will be extended for
about a month until the
end of May. Abe, citing
experts'evaluationonthe
current situation on the
infections, said that the
measure, currently
through Wednesday,
shouldstayinplaceasthe
rise in the number of pa-
tients has not decreased
significantly enough and
hospitalsarestilloverbur-
dened. He said there is a
possibility of an early lift-
ing of the measures if
data at mid-May show
improvement. Japan has
more than 15,000 cases
with over 500 deaths.
NEW ZEALAND
Nonewcasesfor
firsttimesince
mid-March
Wellington: New Zealand
on Monday recorded no
new cases of coronavirus
for the first time since
March 16 and less than a
week after the nation
ended a strict lockdown
that appears to have con-
tained the outbreak.
Director General of
Health Ashley Bloomfield
said the result was cause
for celebration, noting
the death toll remained
at 20. “It is symbolic of
the effort everyone has
put in,” Bloomfield told
reporters. “This is the first
day we had no new cases
and we want to keep it
that way.”
PAKISTAN
Coronavirus
casessurge
past20,000
Islamabad:Pakistan'stally
of the coronavirus cases
crossed the 20,000-mark
on Monday after 1,083
newinfectionswerediag-
nosed, the health min-
istry said. In the last 24
hours, 1,083 new cases
were reported, taking the
total to 20,186 patients.
There were 22 deaths
during this period, up-
ping the fatalities to 462.
A total of 5,590 patients
have recovered in the
country, the ministry
said. The authorities have
so far conducted 212,511
tests,including9,522dur-
ing the period. Pakistan's
total COVID-19 tally so far
stood at 20,186.
BANGLADESH
Lockdownnow
tillMay16;case
count10,000
Dhaka: Bangladesh on
Mondayextendedthena-
tionwide lockdown till
May 16 as the number of
cases crossed the 10,000-
mark in the country. The
Ministry of Public
Administration an-
nounced the govern-
ment's decision in a
gazette notification, the
Dhaka Tribune reported.
The government initially
declaredageneralholiday
on March 26 for 10 days.
Later, that was gradually
extended till April 25 as
the country kept seeing a
riseinthenumberofcases
and deaths from COVID-
19. Bangladesh later ex-
tended the nationwide
shutdown until May 5.
Europe’s longest lockdown eases as
families unite, work resumes in Italy
AGENCIES
MAY 4
GRANDPARENTS hugged their
grandchildren, toddlers rushed
excitedly through parks and fac-
tories revived their long-stalled
production lines as Italy started
the slow process of unwinding
Europe’s longest lockdown.
Nearly two months after or-
deringItalianstostayhomeinan
effort to slow one of the worst
outbreaks of the new coron-
avirus in the world, the govern-
ment on Monday cautiously
eased a few restrictions, while
keeping many others in place.
Despite almost 29,000
Italians dying of COVID-19 since
the outbreak emerged on
February 21, some people have
nonethelesscomplainedthatthe
rollback is too timid, while oth-
ers worry that complacencywill
leadtoafreshwaveof infections.
Many are simply overjoyed
to get some of their old life back.
“Iwokeupat5.30am.Iwasso
excited,” said Maria Antonietta
Galluzzo, a grandmother taking
her 3-year-old grandson for a
walk in Rome’s Villa Borghese
park — the first time they had
seen each other in eight weeks.
The unkempt grass towered
above the boy’s head and the air
was full over the sound of lawn-
mowersasparkstaff begantore-
store some order to one of Italy’s
most elegant gardens.
“Hehasgrownbythismuch,”
she said, holding up three hori-
zontal fingers to show the spurt.
“It is wonderful.”
Under the new rules, 4.5 mil-
lion Italians can clock back in,
construction work can resume
and relatives can reunite. More
Forced away from key Apple, Google ban use of location
roles over beards, UK tracking in contact tracing apps
Sikh doctors protest
ADITI KHANNA
LONDON, MAY 4
BRITISH SIKH doctors are cam-
paigning for a better procure-
ment strategy by the National
Health Service for personal pro-
tective equipment required on
thefrontlinesof thepandemicin
hospitalsafteranumberof them
were forced away from key roles
due to their beards.
The Sikh Doctors Association
had reports of at least five Sikhs
being moved out of their usual
shiftrotaatthe NHShospitalsfor
refusing to shave their beards
and failing aso-called“fit test” of
critical facial protective gear.
“These doctors got in touch
with us in some distress for be-
ingforcedoutof theirusualroles,
which was causing tension
among colleagues as they had to
cover their work,” said Dr
Sukhdev Singh, chairperson of
the Sikh Doctors Association.
“The problem arose due to a
shortage of specialist facial pro-
tective masks called Powdered
Air Purifying Respirators
(PAPRs), which is a hood respi-
rator required in critical areas
such as intensive care units. The
‘fit tests' and equipment need to
begearedtowardsallstaff needs,
including orthodox Sikhs with
turbans and beards,” he said.
CHILDREN ARE THE OPENING BEAT FOR AN AFTERNOON SOUNDTRACK
Five weeks into lockdown, ‘Magic Hour’ in Australia’s Sydney
DAMIEN CAVE
SYDNEY, MAY 4
AT NIGHT, the crickets make my
street sound like the wilderness.
In the morning, I hear the birds
chirping at top volume from sun
up until deep into what used to
be rush hour.
But in late afternoon, the
sounds of nature in a city where
eightmillionpeopleareworking
fromhome,ornotworkingatall,
give way to something else: a
burst of welcome human noise.
In neighbourhoods once de-
finedbycarsandbusyschedules,
kids rush out of front doors and
garages, roaming free on bikes,
Commuters crowd Cadorna train station in Milan, Italy, on Monday. AP
importantlyforsome,cafeswere
allowedtoreopenfortakeaways,
with customers sipping their
coffees on the pavement.
“This is my first proper coffee
for eight weeks,” said Riccardo
Monti,theCEOofane-commerce
company. “Perhaps it is the thing
Imissedmost.Thebaristhefocal
point of our social life so to see
them closed was a trauma.”
While some old rituals re-
turned, many curbs stayed in
place to try to prevent a resur-
gence of COVID-19 that has
killed almost 29,000 Italians.
Friends are still barred from
meeting up, the cause of much
grumbling on social media,
UK: OVER A FIFTH
OF WORKERS
FURLOUGHED
London: More than a fifth
of employees in Britain
have been furloughed,
with 8 billion pounds
($9.9 billion) claimed
from the government to
sustain their wages dur-
ing the coronavirus lock-
down,taxauthoritiessaid
on Monday.
HM Revenue and
Customs said on Twitter
that 6.3 million workers
from 800,000 employers
had been furloughed, cit-
ingfiguresuptomidnight
(2300 GMT) on Sunday.
That accounts for 23%
of Britain's 27.9 million
employees, according to
the most recent labour
market data. REUTERS
All the individual cases of the
five British Sikh doctors have
since been resolved through ac-
quisition of PAPRs. The regular
cloth FFP3 masks would not
work with beards, a factor that
couldimpactothercommunities
such as Muslims as well. PTI
scooters and skateboards,
screaming down empty streets.
Literallyscreaming,asif theyjust
escaped from prison.
“Three, two, one, go!” I heard
a young neighbour yell the other
day, goading a sibling to speed
over a tree limb they’d dragged
intothestreet,leadingtoacrunch
ofbiketiresonbranchesfollowed
by shouts of “Whoooaaaa!”
Five weeks into Australia’s
coronavirusisolation,childrenare
theopeningbeatforanafternoon
soundtrack that also includes
barking dogs, shouting parents
and buff 20-somethings jogging
while talking about lust and love
at volumes that belong onstage.
The time may shift — some-
most shops must stay shut un-
til May 18, and schools, cinemas
and theatres remain closed in-
definitely.
At least 12 countries began
easing restrictions on public life
on Monday, as the world tries to
figureouthowtoplacaterestless
populations tired of beinginside
and reboot stalled economies.
Themeasures,whichincluded
reopening schools and allowing
airports to begin domestic serv-
ice, offer a preview of how areas
that have managed to blunt the
tollofthecoronavirusmightwork
toward resuming pre-pandemic
life,thoughwithstrictparameters
around what will be allowed.
REUTERS
LONDON, MAY 4
APPLE INC and Alphabet Inc’s
GoogleMonday saidthey would
ban the use of location tracking
in apps that use a new contact
tracingsystemthetwoarebuild-
ing to slow the spread of the
novel coronavirus.
AppleandGoogle,whoseop-
erating systems power 99% of
smart phones, said last month
CLASSROOM CHECKS
A teacher checks her students’ temperatures before class in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Monday.
Students across Vietnam return to school after three months of studying online. AP
Many beaches in Sydney are off limits for all but exercise. NYT
times the noise rises at 3 pm,
sometimes later — but the swell
of sound signals the start of
MEASURES IN SOME OTHER COUNTRIES
SPAIN on Monday kicked
off a four-stage plan to
return to a ‘new normalcy’
by late June, with small
stores and businesses like
hairdressers reopening
GERMANY, where
widespread testing helped
keep the pandemic under
control, will see some
children return to schools
AUSTRIA also plans to
restart its school system
theywouldworktogethertocre-
ate a system for notifying people
who have been near others who
havetestedpositiveforCOVID-19.
Both companies said that
privacy and preventing govern-
ments from using the system to
compile data on citizens was a
primary goal. The system
uses bluetooth signals from
phones to detect encounters
and does not use or store GPS
location data.
But the developers of coron-
Magic Hour, that ad hoc inter-
ludewhenourveryhumanneed
to move and chatter, even at a
The World
LEBANON will see bars and
restaurants reopen
SOUTH KOREA has also
begun limited reopenings.
Restaurants and art
galleries are returning to a
semblance of normalcy
OTHER COUNTRIES
planning to lift restrictions
on Monday include:
Belgium, Greece, Iceland,
Hungary, Monaco, Nigeria,
Poland, Portugal
avirus-related apps in severalUS
states told Reuters last month
that it was vital that they be al-
lowed to use GPS location data
in conjunction with the new
contact tracing system in order
to track how outbreaks move
and identify hotspots.
The decision will require
public health authorities who
want to use GPS location data to
rely on unstableworkaroundsto
detect encounters using
Bluetooth sensors.
distance, breaks through the
routine of quiet isolation.
And let’s be clear: It is heav-
enly. Actual voices! Kids!
Couples! Arguments! What I
hear outside my home office
window, or passing by when I
run, is the elevator music I never
used to notice, and now eagerly
anticipate for connection and to
mark the passage of time.
The Magic Hour is by no
means unique to Sydney. It can’t
be a coincidence that the cheers
for health workers in New York,
theblockpartiesinSanFrancisco
and the mass singing in Italy all
tendtooccurjustbeforedusk.As
sociologists are quick to note,
manyof usfeelcompelledtoend
New Delhi
President Trump during a virtual town hall event. Reuters
EVEN AS IT PRESSES STATES TO RE-OPEN
In private, US govt
estimates 3,000 daily
deaths by early June
NEW YORK TIMES
NEW YORK, MAY 4
AS PRESIDENT Donald Trump
presses for states to reopen their
economies, his administrationis
privately projecting a steady rise
in the number of cases and
deaths from coronavirus over
the next severalweeks, reaching
about3,000dailydeathsonJune
1, according to an internal docu-
ment obtained by The New York
Times, nearly double from the
current level of about 1,750.
The projections, based on
modeling by the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention
and pulled together in chart
form by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency, forecast
about 200,000 new cases each
day by the end of the month, up
from about 25,000 cases now.
The numbers underscore a
soberingreality:WhiletheUShas
beenhunkereddownforthepast
seven weeks, not much has
changed.Andthereopeningtothe
economy will make matters
worse.“Thereremainsalargenum-
berofcountieswhoseburdencon-
tinuestogrow,”theCDCwarned.
“While mitigation didn’t fail,
I think it’s fair to say that it didn’t
work as well as we expected,”
Scott Gottlieb, Trump’s former
commissionerof foodanddrugs,
said Sunday on the CBS program
Face the Nation. “We expected
that we would start seeing more
significant declines in new cases
and deaths around the nation at
this point. And we’re just not
seeing that.”
‘Tiananmen-like global
backlash over virus’:
Internal Chinese report
REUTERS
BEIJING, MAY 4
AN INTERNAL Chinese report
warns that Beijing faces a rising
wave of hostility in the wake of
the coronavirus outbreak that
could tip relations with the
UnitedStatesintoconfrontation,
people familiar with the paper
told Reuters.
The report, presented early
last month by the Ministry of
StateSecuritytotopBeijinglead-
ers including President Xi
Jinping, concluded that global
anti-China sentiment is at its
highest since the 1989
Tiananmen Square crackdown,
the sources said.
As a result, Beijing faces a
wave of anti-China sentiment
ledbytheUnitedStatesintheaf-
our days of pandemic loneliness
with some kind of connection.
“The more formal arrange-
ments, from sports to events, are
off the table, and even the infor-
mal interactions in shops and
bars—that’sgonetoo,”saidDavid
Rowe, a sociologist at Western
Sydney University. “People are
findingthattheyneedtointeract
with someone even if it’s just
someonewalkingaroundagreen
space with you. You just want
some kind of shared purpose.”
After a rapid government re-
sponse,Australiahassuppressed
the virus. Testing is widespread,
community transmission is low,
and new cases emerge by the
handful not the hundred.
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
Fearsover
re-opening
THE PROJECTIONS come
even as experts have
voiced fears that reopen-
ing the economy would
lead to another spike in
cases and deaths. The
shutdown in parts of the
US has led to a stabilisa-
tion of the COVID-19 fig-
ures. However, this can-
not necessarily be seenas
an improvement in the
overall situation, experts
said — one which could
rapidly deteriorate.
SOON,ORDERTOBUY
U.S.-MADEPRODUCTS
■ US President Donald
Trump plans an executive
order soon to address the
lack of medical product
manufacturing in the US,
the White House said
■ Trump trade adviser
Peter Navarro said an
order would soon require
federal agencies to
purchase US-made
medical products, saying
the outbreak exposed
reliance on China
termath of the pandemic and
needs to be prepared in a worst-
case scenario for armed con-
frontation between the two
globalpowers,accordingtopeo-
ple familiar with the report’s
content, who declined to be
identifiedgiventhesensitivityof
the matter.
The report was drawn up by
ChinaInstitutesofContemporary
InternationalRelations(CICIR),a
think tank affiliated with the
Ministryof StateSecurity,China’s
top intelligence body.
Reuters has not seen the
briefing paper, but it was de-
scribed by people who had di-
rect knowledge of its findings.
“I don’t have relevant infor-
mation,”theChineseforeignmin-
istryspokesperson’sofficesaidin
a statement responding to ques-
tions from Reuters on the report.
Prime Minister Scott
Morrison said that starting this
month, children in Sydney will
be returning to school one day a
week, rotating groups of stu-
dents to minimise the risk of
spreading the disease.
Fornow,though,ourcooped-
up lives continue to produce an
afternoon collage of sound that
is a reminder of what we’re
missing and used to ignore.
Outside my window, I hear pup-
pies,Iheartoddlers,Ihearlaugh-
ter, and I hear friends.
“Gottagetoutintheday,”one
woman said last week after run-
ning into a neighbour at a sunny
4:17 pm. “We can’t touch but we
can talk.” NYT

13 ECONOMY
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2020
COVID-19 EFFECT
INSURANCE
Corporates may
not get business
interruption claims
GEORGEMATHEW
MUMBAI,MAY4
COMPANIES THAT suffered
business interruption losses
due to the coronavirus pan-
demic and lockdown are un-
likelytogetanycompensation
frominsurancecompanies.
Whilecorporateshadshut
their factories due to the lock-
down, there’s no provision to
coversuchlossesinthepolicy.
Thenetresultisthattheymay
not get any insurance claim
fromtheinsurancecompanies
under the Standard Fire and
Special Perils Policy, com-
monlyknownaspropertypol-
icy. “If the insured plant or of-
fice is shut down due to any
damageorfire,thecompanyis
eligibleforclaims.Butnow,fac-
tories are shut due to lock-
down. Any business interrup-
tionlossoutoflockdownisnot
covered under the policy
terms,”saidanofficial.
However, insurers have
given relief to corporates,
whichshuttheirunitsformore
than a month. Their policies
will be allowed to be opera-
tionaldespitetheclausethatif
a unit is shut for 30 days con-
tinuously,thepolicycoverwill
lapse. The General Insurance
Council (GI Council), the offi-
cial representative body of
generalinsurers,hasmanaged
to get this relief for India Inc
from the general insurers for
the “unoccupied properties”
for more than one month till
May3underthepropertypol-
icy.Thismeanscompaniescan
claiminsuranceiftheproperty
is damaged due to fire or any
otherlossevenifthefactoryor
unit is not operational during
theperiodtillMay3.
As per the GI Council, a
Property Policyspecifiesif the
buildinginsuredorcontaining
theinsuredpropertybecomes
unoccupiedandsoremainsfor
a period of more than 30 days
(not applicable for dwellings),
the insurance claims may not
After Facebook, now Silver Lake
to invest `5,656 cr in Jio Platforms
ENSECONOMICBUREAU
MUMBAI, MAY 4
US-BASED TECHNOLOGY in-
vestorSilverLakehasproposedto
invest Rs 5,655.75 crore in Jio
Platforms, the subsidiary of
Reliance Industries Ltd.
This investment values Jio
Platforms at an equity value of Rs
4.90 lakh crore and an enterprise
valueofRs5.15lakhcroreandrep-
resents a 12.5 per cent premium
to the equity valuation of the
Facebookinvestmentannounced
on April 22, 2020, RIL said.
On April 22, Facebook had
agreed to buy a 9.99 per cent eq-
uity stake in Jio Platforms for Rs
43,574 crore, with an eye on the
country’s6croresmallbusinesses
and a huge digital customer base
of 1.3 billion users.
With approximately $40 bil-
lion in combined assets under
management and focus tech
NBFCs, MFIs take up liquidity, MSME loans worth `2.32L cr
moratorium issue with RBI at risk of defaulting: Cibil
ENSECONOMICBUREAU
MUMBAI,MAY4
NON-BANKING FINANCIAL com-
panies,includingmicrofinancein-
stitutions,onMondaytookupthe
issueofliquidityandmoratorium
on term loans in a meeting with
Reserve Bank of India Governor
andDeputyGovernors.
NBFCs, which were not given
the moratorium facility by banks,
sought implementation of three-
monthmoratoriumonrepayment
ofloaninstalmentsannouncedby
the RBI. However, banks have so
farrefusedtoprovidethemorato-
riumtoNBFCsandMFIs.
AccordingtotheRBI,theavail-
abilityofliquidityfrombanksand
other financial institutions and
post lockdown strategies for sup-
SENSEX: 31,715.35 ▼ 2002.27 NIFTY: 9,293.50 ▼ 566.40 NIKKEI: 19,619.35 ▼ 574.34 HANG SENG: 23,613.80 ▼ 1,029.79 FTSE: 5,764.00 ▲ 0.94 DAX: 10,510.33 ▼ 351.31
NOSUCHPROVISION
Whilecorporateshad
shutdowntheir
factoriesduetothe
lockdown,there’sno
provisiontocoversuch
lossesinthepolicy.
beapplicableifthepropertyaf-
fected—beforetheoccurrence
of any loss or damage — ob-
tains the endorsement and
continuationof coverage.
“However,weareallgoing
throughanunprecedentedsit-
uationoflockdown.Weunder-
stand that in the current crisis
it may not have been possible
forsomepolicyholderstosend
communication to insurance
companiesforcontinuationof
coverage and obtain endorse-
ments. Therefore it has been
decidedthataone-timerelax-
ationisgiventoallpolicyhold-
erswhosepropertyisunoccu-
piedonorafterMarch25,2020
till May 3, 2020. Properties of
such policyholders will be
deemed to be covered subject
to the policy being in force. All
other terms and conditions of
the policy remain unaltered,”
GICouncilsaid.
“Thegeneralinsurershave
been advised by IRDAI to in-
formthepolicyholdersofhow
the relevant clause (s) would
apply beyond May 3, 2020 in
all policies and what action is
neededbythepolicyholdersto
avail of uninterrupted cover-
age,”IRDAIsaid,addingthein-
surers need to take a reason-
able and suitable approach
depending on the local situa-
tionindifferentgeographies.
The Insurance Brokers
Association of India had writ-
tentoIRDAI,pointingoutasthe
current lockdown period cu-
mulativelyhasbeenextended
beyond 30 days, insurers
should take cognizance of the
currentstateofaffairsandtreat
itasan‘extraordinaryandone
off situation’.
EQUITY VALUE
`4.9L cr
■ This investment values Jio
Platforms at an equity value of
Rs 4.90 lakh crore and an
enterprise value of Rs 5.15 lakh
crore and represents a 12.5 per
cent premium to the equity
valuation of the Facebook
investment announced on
April 22, 2020, RIL said.
and tech-enabled opportunities,
Silver Lake is a leading player in
large-scale technology invest-
ing. “Its mission is to build and
grow great companies by part-
nering with world-class man-
agement teams. Its investments
have included Airbnb, Alibaba,
Ant Financial, Alphabet’s Verily
and Waymo units, Dell
ply of credit, including working
capitaltoMSMEs,tradersandbot-
tom of pyramid customers in
semi-urban,ruralandurbanareas
were discussed in the meeting.
The implementation of three-
monthmoratoriumonrepayment
ofloaninstalmentsannouncedby
the RBI and strengthening griev-
ance redressal mechanisms were
alsodiscussed,itsaid.
In another meeting with rep-
resentatives of the mutual fund
industry,theimpactof measures
taken by the Reserve Bank with
regard to the provision of liquid-
ity and review of the functioning
ofthebondmarketsandplansfor
thewayforwardwerediscussed,
the RBI said.
The RBI opened a Rs 50,000
crore liquidity window last
week.
RUPEE FALLS 64 PAISE TO SETTLE AT 75.73
Sensexcrashes2,002pointson
tradetension,lockdownextension
ENSECONOMICBUREAU
MUMBAI,MAY4
DOMESTIC MARKETSonMonday
dived close to 6 per cent as weak
globalcuesafterthelatestflare-up
in US-China tension and yet an-
otherextensionofthenationwide
lockdown hit investor sentiment.
The benchmark Sensex plum-
metedby2,002pointsto31,715.35
inthesellingavalanche,whilethe
NSE Nifty Index fell 566 points to
9,293.50,evenasthemanufactur-
ingPMIIndexshowedasharpde-
clineinApril.
The rupee fell 64 paise to set-
tle at 75.73 against the US dollar,
amid the heavy selloff in domes-
ticequitymarketandstrengthen-
ingof thegreenbackoverseas.
Autostocksplungedupto12.5
per cent after top carmakers, in-
cluding Maruti Suzuki, reported
zero monthly domestic sales for
thefirsttimeinApril,afterthena-
tionwidelockdownhaltedoutput
and shut sales network. The BSE
Autoindexfell6.88percent.
Analysts said the third exten-
sion of the lockdown is expected
GDP to contract up to
20% in June quarter: Icra
After the government announced graded relaxations in the
lockdown, Icra estimated that the country’s GDP might
contract by as much as 20 per cent in the June quarter
EARLIERFORECAST
GDP was expected to expand
by 1 per cent or contract by
1 per cent in 2020-21
GOVTMEASURES
Thegovernmenthasalready
announceda`1.7-lakhcrore
packagetofighttheCOVID-19
crisis
The strict norms in major urban
centres will result in the pace
of activity remaining
Forecasts have projected a heavy impact on the already sagging growth —
India was supposed to grow at a decadal low in 2019-20 as per official
estimates — because of the COVID-19 pandemic that has chilled all activity
Technologies, Twitter and nu-
merous other global technology
leaders,” RIL said.
Mukesh Ambani, chairman
and managing director, Reliance
Industries Ltd, said, “Silver Lake
has an outstanding record of be-
ingavaluablepartnerforleading
technologycompaniesglobally...
We are excited to leverage in-
sights from their global technol-
ogy relationships for the Indian
DigitalSociety’stransformation.”
RelianceJioInfocomm,which
providesconnectivityplatformto
over388millionsubscribers,will
continue to be a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Jio Platforms. Egon
Durban, Silver Lake co-CEO and
managing partner, said, “The
market potential they are ad-
dressingisenormous,andweare
honoured and pleased to have
been invited to partner with
MukeshAmbaniandtheteamat
Reliance and Jio to help further
the Jio mission.”
ENSECONOMICBUREAU
MUMBAI,MAY4
TRANSUNIONCIBILhassaidloans
worth Rs 2,32,000 crore of micro,
smallandmediumenterprisesare
at a higher risk of becoming non-
performingassets(NPAs).
The NPA rate for MSMEs has
increased continuously over last
fewyearstoreach12.6percentas
of December 2019, Cibil said in a
report. “The number of MSMEs
falling in the highest risk bracket
ofCMR-7toCMR-10hasoutstand-
ing credit balances of Rs 232,000
crore, which is at a higher risk of
goingintoNPA,”Cibilsaid.
Ofthese,themicrovertical(ag-
gregate credit exposure of less
thanRs10lakh)inthehighestrisk
Global cues
to dominate
market trend
ALTHOUGHTHEmajormarketsinJapanandChinawere
closedforholidays,stocksinotherAsianmarketsfellas
tensionbetweentheUSandChinaweighedoninvestor
sentiment.Thesentimentsalsoremaineddownbeatafter
Indianmanufacturingactivitygrowthdeclinedsharplyinthe
monthof April2020amidnationallockdownrestrictionsto
helpstemthespreadof thecoronavirusdisease.Withno
majordevelopmentonthelocalfront,globalcueswould
continuetodictatethemarkettrend.
to further damage the economy.
“The ongoing lockdown and the
slumpinconsumerspendingwill
furtherhittheeconomy.Thegov-
ernment should allow the econ-
omy to function,” said BSE dealer
PawanDharnidharka.
“Although the major markets
inJapanandChinawereclosedfor
holidays, stocks in other Asian
markets fell as tension between
the US and China weighed on in-
vestorsentiment.Thesentiments
constrained
OUTLOOK
GDP to contract by 16-20 per
cent in Q1FY21 (first quarter
of 2020-21), which implies
that a full-year contraction of
1-2 per cent is inevitable
Likelihood of mismatches in
labour availability and sectors,
such as manufacturing,
construction, trade, hotels and
transport
J. Crew files for
bankruptcy as
retailer succumbs
to COVID-19
REUTERS
BENGALURU,MAY4
J. CREW Group filed for bank-
ruptcyprotectiononMondaywith
a plan to hand over control to
lenders, adding to a list of brick-
and-mortarretailerspushedtothe
brinkbywidespreadstoreclosures
inresponsetothepandemic.
The New York-based chain,
known for preppy clothing at
times worn by former first lady
Michelle Obama, filed for bank-
ruptcy in a Virginia federal court
with an agreement to eliminate
$1.65 billion of debt in exchange
forcedingownershiptocreditors.
J. Crew is the first high-profile
retailertoseekbankruptcyprotec-
tion since the coronavirus spread
across the globe, prompting gov-
ernment officials to order busi-
nesses deemed nonessential to
temporarilyclose.
NPARATEAT12.6%
■TheNPAratefor
MSMEshasincreased
continuouslyoverlast
fewyearstoreach12.6
percentasof December
2019,Cibilsaid.
bracketofCMR-7toCMR-10com-
prises credit outstanding of Rs
13,600 crore. TransUnion CIBIL
MD and CEO Rajesh Kumar said,
“The pandemic poses new chal-
lengestobusinesses,especiallyfor
micro enterprises ... We are com-
mitted to working closely with
banks and credit institutions to
support them on adjusting their
MSMElendingpolicydecisions.”
also remained downbeat after
Indian manufacturing activity
growth declined sharply in the
monthofApril2020amidnational
lockdownrestrictionstohelpstem
thespreadof thecoronavirusdis-
ease,”saidNarendraSolanki,head-
equity research, Anand Rathi
Shares&StockBrokers.
The selling in domestic mar-
kets was led primarily by finan-
cials, metals and auto stocks with
almost all the major sectoral in-
RBIMEASURES
■ The Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) has cut the
key policy rate (repo) by a
steep 0.75 per cent and
also taken a slew of
unusual measures to
make liquidity available
for the needy sectors of
the economy with a view
to push growth
Source:
Icra/PTI
Lockdown effect: ‘Manufacturing
PMI shrinks at fastest pace ever’
ENS ECONOMIC BUREAU
MUMBAI, MAY 4
INDIA’S MANUFACTURING ac-
tivity witnessed an unprece-
dented contraction in April as
the lockdown to combat the
rapid spread of the coronavirus
led to a slump in demand and
massive supply chain disrup-
tions, according to the IHS
Markit purchasing managers
index (PMI) survey.
At 27.4 in April, the season-
ally adjusted IHS Markit India
Manufacturing PMI fell from
51.8 in March. “The latest read-
ing pointed to the sharpest de-
terioration in business condi-
tions across the sector since
data collection began over 15
years ago. The decline in oper-
ating conditions was partially
driven by an unprecedented
contraction in output,” IHS
Markit said.
Vijay Mallya files
appeal against
extradition order
PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA
LONDON,MAY4
VIJAYMALLYAonMondayfiledan
applicationseekingleavetoappeal
in the UK Supreme Court, exactly
two weeks after the embattled
liquor baron lost his London High
Court appeal against an extradi-
tion order to India on charges of
fraud and money laundering re-
lated to unrecovered loans to his
now-defunctKingfisherAirlines.
The64-year-oldbusinessman
had14daystofilethisapplication.
“The leave to appeal has been
filed. We have until May 14 to re-
spond,”saidaspokespersonforUK
CrownProsecutionService,which
representsIndianauthorities.
GOLD
`41,705
Note: Spot gold markets shut due to lockdown in major states. *Indian basket as on March 19, 2020
dicesendinginredexceptpharma.
Ajit Mishra, VP-research,
Religare Broking: “Bears took
chargeastheIndianmarketregis-
teredasharpdeclineduetofeeble
globalcuesandsubduedearnings
season.” The broader markets
were also not spared as both the
indicesregisteredlossesof4.3per
centand3.1percent.“Theabrupt
end of the recovery has certainly
caught the participants com-
pletelyoff-guardandwemightsee
the index drifting further lower
ahead. With no major develop-
mentonthelocalfront,wefeelthe
globalcueswouldcontinuetodic-
tatethemarkettrend,”hesaid.
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones
dropped for the third session on
MondayfollowingaUS-Chinaspat
about the origins of the coron-
avirus outbreak. At 11:21 a.m. ET
Dow Jones was down 207.46
points, or 0.87 per cent, at
23,516.23.
Oilpricesfellonworriesthata
global oil glutmaypersistevenas
coronaviruspandemiclockdowns
start to ease. Brent crude was
down 7 cents, or 0.3 per cent, at
$26.37at1339GMT.
Apple and Google
ban use of location
tracking in contact
tracing apps
REUTERS
SANFRANCISCO,MAY4
APPLE AND Google on Monday
saidtheywouldbantheuseof lo-
cation tracking in apps that use a
new contact tracing system the
twoarebuildingtoslowthespread
of thenovelcoronavirus.
Apple and Google, whose op-
eratingsystemspower99percent
of smartphones, said last month
they would work together to cre-
ate a system for notifying people
who have been near others who
havetestedpositiveforCOVID-19.
Thecompaniesplantoonlyallow
publichealthauthoritiestousethe
technology.Bothsaidprivacyand
preventinggovernmentsfromus-
ingthesystemtocompiledataon
citizenswasaprimarygoal.
US factory
orders post
record drop
Washington:Newordersfor
US-made goods suffered a
recorddeclineinMarchand
couldsinkfurtherasdisrup-
tions from the novel coron-
avirus fracture supply
chains and depress exports,
asperaCommerceMinistry
report. REUTERS
Economists and global rating
firms have already said eco-
nomic growth is set to decline
sharply below the 1 per cent
level. “The result came amid na-
tional lockdown restrictions to
help stem the spread of the
coronavirus disease, which in
turn led to widespread business
closures. In an environment of
Double special window for
funding stalled affordable
housing projects, says EY
ENSECONOMICBUREAU
NEWDELHI,MAY4
ASREALestateisonethemostim-
pacted sectors by the lockdown,
lack of availability of finance and
slowdown in economy, EY India
hascalledfordoublingofthe“spe-
cialwindowforfundingstalledaf-
fordable and middle-income
housing projects” to Rs 50,000
crore,andalsocalledforawaiverof
interest for 3 months on home
loans taken for projects under
PMAY,amongothers.
Asperthereport,construction
accounts for 11-per cent share in
GDP and 11.8-per cent share in
employment and real estate &
New Delhi
RUPEE
`75.73
Hero MotoCorp
restarts operations,
carmakers prepare
to get plants running
ENSECONOMICBUREAU
NEWDELHI,MAY4
AS THE government has relaxed
lockdownrestrictionsandauthor-
itieshavestartedgrantingpermis-
sionstocompanies,theIndianau-
tomobile industry — which
clockedzerosales(barringtractor
sales) in April and is one of the
largestemploymentgeneratorsin
the country — is now gearing up
to restart operations, albeit with
limited capacity. While Hero
MotoCorp—thecountry’slargest
two-wheelermanufacturer—an-
nounced it resumed operations
across three of its manufacturing
plantsbeginningMonday,several
leading manufacturers are now
doingtheirplantpreparationsand
getting ready to start production
overthenext8to10days.
While a senior executive at
Hyundai Motors said it will start
their plant from May 6, Toyota
KirloskarMotorssaidtheywillbe-
gin plant preparations including
trainingofstaffbeginningTuesday.
The largest passenger vehicle
manufacturer,MarutiSuzukiIndia
Limited, has begun the process of
seekingpermissionsfromauthor-
itiesasitplanstostartlimitedpro-
ductionoverthenextfewdays.
Earlier, Hero MotoCorp said
it started operations at its three
plants in Gurgaon, Dharuhera
(Haryana) and Haridwar
(Uttarakhand). The company
said its Global Parts Center at
Neemrana in Rajasthan has re-
sumed operations.
“We are now ready to hit the
ground sprinting as we com-
mence the reopening of our facil-
ities.Thewellbeingof thecitizens
continues to be our focus and the
running of our economic engines
iscrucialtoensuretheirhealthand
prosperity,” said Pawan Munjal,
chairman, Hero MotoCorp. He
added he was optimistic “that
businessandtheeconomywillbe-
ginthetrajectoryofitsgradualre-
coveryfromhere.”
HeroMotoCorpsaidthecom-
panyhasobtainednecessaryper-
missionstoreopenitsotherplants
and their operations will com-
menceoncesupplychainpartners
get requisite permits to restart.
severely reduced demand, new
business collapsed at a record
pace and firms sharply reduced
their staff numbers,” it said.
Meanwhile, both input costs
and output prices were lowered
markedly as suppliers and man-
ufacturers themselves offered
discounts in an attempt to se-
cure orders, IHS Markit said.
Eliot Kerr, economist at IHS
Markit, said: “After making it
through March relatively un-
scathed, the Indian manufac-
turing sector felt the full force of
the coronavirus pandemic in
April. In the latest survey period,
record contractions in output,
new orders and employment
pointed to a severe deteriora-
tion in demand conditions.”
There was evidence of un-
precedented supply-side dis-
ruption, with input delivery
times lengthening to the great-
est extent since data collection
began in March 2005, Kerr said.
ownership of dwellings account
for another 7-per cent share in
GDPand0.2-percentshareinem-
ployment.
“It will also require close
monitoringof projects,immedi-
ate discussions with lenders on
postmoratoriumoptionsandex-
ploration of rescue/revival capi-
talforstressedprojects.Thenew
capitalwouldbeavailabletoonly
those projects which are effi-
ciently managed, and which can
demonstrate complete visibility
of cash flows,” said Gaurav
Karnik, partner and national
leader–real estate, EY India. It
called for states to waive off
stamp duty in major metropoli-
tan areas for the next 9 months.
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
OIL SILVER
$26.15 `38,100
*International market data till 1900 IST
Maruti Suzuki India has
begun the process of
seeking permissions
from authorities as it
plans to start limited
production
BesidesHaryanaandUttarakhand,
the company has plants at
Neemrana (Rajasthan), Halol
(Gujarat) and Chittoor (Andhra
Pradesh).
A source said while show-
rooms in some areas have re-
opened with relaxation in lock-
downandauthoritieshavestarted
granting permissions, all manu-
facturers will start their produc-
tionoverthenext10days,“though
initially with only one shift or
roughly25-30percentoftheirca-
pacity,” said an executive with a
leadingmanufacturer.
Hyundai Motors said it “plans
to restart preparatory operations
intheIrungattukkottai-basedfac-
toryonthe6thofMay2020while
adhering to guidelines laid out by
the government authorities ...
HMIL confirms complete adher-
encetoallthesafetyguidelinesset
out by the central, state govern-
ments,andlocalauthorities.”
Toyota Kirloskar Motors is
seeking special permission for
employee movement as it pre-
pares to restart operations. In a
statementissuedonMonday,the
company said that “TKM has de-
cided to start preparations at the
plant beginning tomorrow so as
to be able to support resumption
of production.”
The TKM spokesperson fur-
ther said: “TKM intends to restart
operationsattheearliest. Within-
putsfromvariousstakeholders,in-
cludingthegovernmentagencies,
we have released a detailed
“Restart Manual” in this regard.
Thechallengethatliesaheadofus
is that for the sector to start pro-
duction, it is necessary our entire
value chain starts operating. Our
valuechainconsistsnotonlyofour
suppliers but our dealers as well
whoarebasedindifferentpartsof
the country including cities that
arestillunderseverelockdown.”
BRIEFLY
BHELinvites
globalOEMsto
useitsfacilities
New Delhi: BHEL said it has
invited expression of inter-
est from global original
equipment manufacturing
firmstoleverageitsfacilities
and capabilities and to shift
their production base to
Indiaamidthepandemic.
Indiastockpiles
oil;petrolsales
down61%
New Delhi: India has stored
asmuchas32milliontonnes
of oil in underground stor-
ages, Petroleum Minister
Dharmendra Pradhan said.
As per provisional data,
petrol sales were down 64
per cent in the first half of
April but ended the month
witha61percentfall.
‘Marketservice
providerstobe
operational’
NewDelhi:Sebihassaidenti-
ties providing capital and
debt market services will
continue to be operational
duringthelockdown. PTI
Worldleaders
pledge$8bn,
USsteersclear
Brussels: World leaders and
organisations pledged $8
billiontoresearch,manufac-
ture and distribute a possi-
ble vaccine and treatments
for COVID-19 on Monday,
buttheUnitedStatesrefused
tocontributetotheglobalef-
fort. REUTERS
 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

14 SPORT
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, TUESDAY, MAY 5, 2020
SWIMMING WORLDS MOVED TO 2022
The swimming world championships, scheduled for summer
2021 in Japan, have been pushed back until May 2022 following
the postponement of the Olympics. The world championships
were due to be held in Fukuoka next year from July 16-August 1
but will instead take place from May 13-29 in 2022.

INTERVIEW: SANJU SAMSON

‘An IPL can change mood of the country’
NIHAL KOSHIE
NEW DELHI, MAY 4
WICKETKEEPER-BATSMAN SANJU Samson
would have been on the non-stop IPL tread-
mill with the Rajasthan Royals if the pan-
demic hadn’t brought life to a stop. The 25-
year-old is innovating when it comes to
practicebutisalsolearningtodonothingand
enjoy the idleness. In a chat with The Indian
Express, the talented youngster talks about
being moved by the plight of migrant work-
ers during the lockdown, why he considers
himself fortunate,andthechallengesof stay-
ing away from the game. Excerpts:
How have you managed to stay active dur-
ing the lockdown? Have you been able to
access a gym to maintain fitness?
I was lucky enough to get some training
equipment just before the lockdown, like a
gym cycle, weights and bars. Most of the
evenings, I train on my terrace. Nothing new
or special. I like to keep it simple and follow
programmes given by my trainer.
What about cricket skills? Have you been
able to practise in isolation?
That’sthemainconcernforme.Ihavenot
been able to bat for so many days. And I can’t
stay away from something which I love so
much for so long. So, I have created a small
area on my brother’s terrace, fully covered
with nets, and I play with tennis balls and hit
my shots. Or work on things which I wanted
to work on.
Wicket-keeping drills is a bit of fun with
tennis balls and walls, where you keep
throwing the ball at the wall and then keep
catching it with one hand like a ’keeper.
Howdoyoustayfresh?TheIPLwouldhave
been on during this time and you would
have been playing non-stop.
Yes, absolutely. For the last 7-8 years, I
have been doing the same, playing IPL in this
period of the year. Yes, it’s a different feeling.
Being at home and doing nothing and noth-
ing much to look forward to. It’s a challenge
to keep yourself fresh and happy in these
kindsof situationsbutthat’swhatwehaveto
do. The first couple of weeks were a bit chal-
lenging but now I have found ways to deal
with it.
During the lockdown, Sanju Samson has been training on the terrace of his
brother’s house with makeshift nets in place. Express
What have you done to ensure you stay in
the right frame of mind?
Meditation plays a huge role and I ensure
I do it almost every alternate day. It has huge
benefits if you do it the right way. And these
times are almost perfect for something like
meditation.IamreadingSteveWaugh’sbook
andwatchingalotof Rajinikanthmoviesand
a lot of Malayalam movies which are my
favourites.
How have you been dealing with corona-
related news from around the world?
It’s been so heart-breaking when you lis-
tento the news andunderstand what is hap-
pening around the world. Basically, I am not
a big fan of reading newspapers or watching
news on tv but now I do to learn how things
are going on and hoping everything will set-
tle down soon. It’s so unbelievable that a
small virus has made the whole world com-
pletelystill.Itrulybelieveweallhavetolearn
something from this situation we all are go-
ing through. We have to realise it’s a bless-
ing to live in this wonderful world and we
must do our part to keep it safe and healthy
for us and for the generations to come.
What is your opinion on the way Kerala
(home state) has managed the crisis?
Kerala has done a very good job. The gov-
ernment here took the needed precautions
and actions at the right time and everyone
in Kerala has come together as a team and
are working towards this situation. Be it the
politicalleaders,policemen,doctors,nurses...
almosteverysinglepersonandeventhepeo-
ple sitting idle at home and following the
guidelines properly are also contributing to-
wards the fight against corona.
Is there anything you have seen or read
which has troubled you during this pan-
demic? What are your thoughts on how
migrantworkersaroundthecountryhave
had to manage without work or a steady
incomeduringAprilandhadtowalkmiles
to try and reach home?
Yes, it’s very sad to understand the situa-
tionofmigrantworkers.Lifeistoughforthem.
It’smucheasierforpeoplelikeustositathome
and listen to all this news. It brings up a lot of
emotions and feelings to do something for
them from my side, to help them and make
theirsituationabitbetterthanwhatitisnow.
And at the same time, almost every one of us
keepscomplainingaboutthingsnotworking
out in our life or this and that. But if we look a
bit into these lives, we all have to understand
and realise how grateful we all should be.
Isthereanythingyouaredoingduringthis
pandemic to help the local community?
Definitely, yes. I believe whatever noble
things you do, it has to be done privately. So
'yes' will be a good answer.
How are you staying in touch with other
cricketers?
I have had some video calls and chats
with my India teammates and Rajasthan
Royals teammates and, more importantly,
during this period, I went back and con-
nected with my Kerala U-13 teammates and
reached out to everyone. Created a
Whatsapp group and now we have a lot of
funny moments in the group and it was so
nice to get back in touch with the people I
started playing cricket with at the state level.
Is there a new skill you have learnt during
the lockdown?
Thenewthing which I have learntis to sit
idle and do nothing and be happy with that.
Yes, it’s a very hard thing to do, from the day
Irememberanything inmylife,Iamrunning
here and there, playing matches, practising,
training and everything. But never have I sat
quietly for a few days and did nothing. So I’m
trying that these days.
When sport returns it is likely to be played
in front of empty stands. Your opinion?
My opinion as a sportsman is to start
sports as soon as possible. Because person-
ally,that’stheonlythingwhichIdoandIlove
the most and I just want to go out there and
play, but also by respecting the guidelines
given by the responsible authorities. And I
believe an IPL can change the mood of the
entire country.
Chawla, key accused in
fixing scandal, gets bail
PRITAMPAL SINGH
NEW DELHI, MAY 4
SANJEEV CHAWLA, key accused in the 2000
cricket match-fixing scandal involving late
South African captain Hansie Cronje, walked
out of Tiharjail onMondayevening.Director
General (Prisons) Sandeep Goel said,
“Chawla was released from jail at 8:30 pm
on Monday”.
AdvocateJagjitNandal,whohasbeende-
fending the accused in the trial court and the
Delhi High Court told The Indian Express that
Chawla was released since there was no stay
from the high court on the operation of the
trial court’s April 30 order.
The trial court had ordered Chawla’s re-
leaseonfurnishingapersonalbondof Rstwo
lakh with two sureties of the same amount.
OnSaturday,theHighCourthadreserved
its order on Delhi Police’s appeal against the
trial court’s decision to grant bail on the
ground that Chawla is a British national and
it took 20 years to bring him to India and
there was likelihood of him fleeing from jus-
tice.Chawla’scounsel,however,hadopposed
the police’s claim before the high court, say-
ing the accused is in judicial custody since
February 12 and has spent 76 days in jail.
Hearing the arguments of both sides, the
court in its May 2 order had said, “in case the
accused (Chawla) submits his bail bond and
surety bonds, the Duty MM (Metropolitan
Magistrate) will ensure that an undertaking
is alsosimultaneously filedseparately by the
accused and sureties to the effect that they
will be bound by the decision of this court.”
Chawla’s counsel said that they have
La Liga training to start this week
Barcelona:Spanish soccer began the path
back towards normality on Monday as
organisers said clubs would resume
training this week for the first time since
activitywashaltedduetothecoronavirus
pandemic and targeted resuming the
season in June. Organising body La Liga
said clubs in the top two divisions would
return to individual training following a
protocolithadagreedwithSpain'ssports
and health authorities and which guar-
anteed the safety of players and staff.
Sanjeev Chawla was released from jail
at 8:30 pm on Monday. File
completed the formalities before the trial
court, following which he was released on
Monday evening.
The counsel said, if the high court sets
aside the trial court’s order, Chawla will have
to surrender. The court is scheduled to pass
its order this week. As per the police, Chawla
and Cronje were named in the chargesheet
filedonJuly 23, 2013 by theCrime Branch for
‘fixing matches played between India and
South Africa from February 16, 2000 to
March 20, 2000 in India’.
The case is pending trial before the court
and the next hearing is on May 14.
The match-fixing scandal broke in April
2000, when Delhi Police intercepted a con-
versation between Chawla and Cronje, in
which it was learnt that the latter had ac-
cepted money to lose matches. Chawla has
also been accused of offering money to two
England players in August 1999.
The protocol obliges players to un-
dergo testing for the novel coronavirus
before they can return to training facili-
ties. "These measures cover a period of
approximately four weeks with different
phases that, in any case, will be subjectto
the de-escalation process established by
the government," said the statement.
“Together with the medical tests carried
outbyclubs,astaggeredreturntotraining
hasbeenimplementedthatwillstartwith
players training alone.” REUTERS

OVER THE HEDGE by Michael Fry & T Lewis

CROSSWORD 4109 DAY TODAY BY PETER VIDAL
ARIES (Mar 21 - Apr 20) LIBRA (Sep 24 - Oct 23)
There are The fact that you are
temptations aplenty, prepared to talk
but while the stars about your plans, but
are urging you to not your actions or
take a risk, you might be better feelings, may be as perplexing
advised to do just the opposite. to you as to other people. It's all
In fact, the more regular a question of distinguishing
your routine, the safer you’ll between what is relevant and
be. It’s all a question of what is not. And that, as it
balancing your gut instincts happens, is easier said
with a hard-headed sense of than done.
what is best.
SCORPIO (Oct 24 - Nov 23)
TAURUS (Apr 21 - May 21) The chances of a
There’s a tension in futile confrontation
your chart which is are reaching a peak,
CALVIN & HOBBES by Bill Watterson very hard to avoid,
although it's
but don’t be
dismayed. A positive reading of
impossible to see whether it’s your chart reveals that with
you who will be feeling cool, calm sincerity and a
under the weather, or a partner, willingness to listen, you will
parent or child. One way or soon clear up a major mystery -
ACROSS Down another, you should find or even a cause of deep
1 Footnote to troops used in 1 Gets on with the passengers ways to bring a little light into uncertainty.
pincer movements (7) (5) your life.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov 24 - Dec 22)
5 Earls involved in intense 2 The birdsong that wakes you The fact that the
GEMINI (May 22 - June 21)
concentration (5) at dawn? (7,6) Moon alters its
The central issue no
8 It takes a turn for the better 3 Always the first to set out for longer concerns position by early
(8,5) the mountain (7) money. Instead evening may arouse
9 She goes round in a radiant 4 It joins in operations family relationships some of your Sagittarian social
glow (5) (6) will become more important, sensibilities but, during the day,
10 Book gets cool reception (7) 5 Statute has two points that evoking attitudes and opinions professional and other worldly
need cutting (5) which date back many years. It tasks should take first place. The
11 They’re aimed at tourist
may therefore be very difficult last thing you should do is
attractions (6) 6 See newer light giving driver
to establish the real, root cause neglect your friends.
12 Can use new time for paying guidance (8,5)
of current discontent. Perhaps
15
foreign bills (6)
Succeed with a will in their
7 Ease lever, perhaps, that is
put in (7) MARVIN by Tom Armstrong there is no reason.
CAPRICORN (Dec 23 - Jan 20)
A trio of planets,
resolve (7) 11 Insults having little point? CANCER (June 22 - July 23) Mercury, Mars and
17 Vessels Drake refused to (7) Today’s planetary the Moon, is urging
abandon (5) 13 A national topic of discussion pattern is quite you to consider the
(7) challenging, but as ethical considerations, and you
19 Though yellow at heart, it
far as your solar may soon be prompted to take a
won’t run (4-6,3) 14 Steps inside (6)
chart is concerned, all pressures moral stand on an issue you’ve
20 Flapping sails of hemp fibre 16 A rising member of society always taken for granted. As
(5) (5) are indirect. You may therefore
be involved only when other you'll find out, questions of
21 Makes a home that gradually 18 Stories that may be read right and wrong are far from cut
people require your sympathy
sinks (7) anyway (5) and dried.
and support. Actually, they may
have earned a favour from you. AQUARIUS (Jan 21- Feb 19)
SolutionsCrossword4108:Across:1Crown,8Original,9Sleet,10Reformed,11 If you can make a
Acute,12Alb,16Bleats,17Apache,18Her,23Sneak,24Trotters,25Abeam,26 LEO (July 24 - Aug 23)
Reigning,27Plate.Down:2Rollcall,3Wheatear,4Orwell,5Aglow,6Gnome,7 You may make major partner understand
Slide,12Ash,13Bar,14Cannibal,15Pheasant,19Errand,20Stork,21Toxin,22 decisions by all what you’re talking
Stone. means, but do take about, you’re a very
them in the interests lucky person indeed. All the
of the world as a whole. You indications suggest that other
don't require any assistance, but people will be basically talking
JUMBLED WORDS DifficultyLevel2s other people do, and they can to themselves, rather than to
SOLUTION SUDOKU 4199

benefit from your breadth of each other. Some would say

Instructions vision. Plus, if you play fast and that’s the problem with the
Givenbelowarefourjumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemto TosolveaSudokupuzzle, loose with the rules— you will world today.
therespectivesquaresbelow.Selectthelettersintheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtoget everydigitfrom1to9 do so at your own risk.
SUDOKU 4200

theanswerforthegivenquip. mustappearineachofthe PISCES (Feb 20 - Mar 20)

Thesurestplanto___amanis,___himso.-JamesRussellLowell(4,..,5) VIRGO (Aug 24 - Sep 23) Difficulties at work
nineverticalcolumns,in
Many times in the do seem to involve
eachoftheninehorizontal an excess of
past you have been
MZAEI EORTHM rowsandineachofthe
called upon to help ambition, so it’s all a
nineboxes. matter of getting the balance
partners at great cost
to yourself. Now, with Venus right. There may be an
and Mars in your sign, it is argument over a legal or moral
GILNT AAMRKK DifficultyLevel your hopes, desires and issue, but please do remember
1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy; feelings which are important. that the two are not necessarily
3s=Medium;4s=Hard; Others’ interests may have the same thing. Perhaps you
5s=VeryHard;6s= to take a back seat, just for should leave others to work out
Answer:The surest plan to make a man is, think him so. - James Russell Lowell Genius a while. the finer points.
SOLUTION: MAIZE, GLINT, MOTHER, MARKKA

Vol LXXXVIII No. 151 Regd.No. DL-21046/03-05

R.N.I. No.506/57. Printed and Published by R.C. Malhotra on behalf of The Indian Express (P) Limited and Printed at The Indian Express (P) Limited Press, A-8, Sector-7, Noida - 201301 and Published at The Indian Express (P) Limited, Mezzanine Floor, Express Building, 9 & 10, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi-110002. Editorial office:
The Indian Express (P) Limited, Mezzanine Floor, Express Building, 9 & 10, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi-110002. Phone: 0120-6651500. Advertising office: The Indian Express (P) Limited, B1/B, Sector - 10, Noida - 201301. Phone: 0120-6651291. Chairman of the Board: Viveck Goenka, Chief Editor: Raj Kamal Jha, Editor: Unni
Rajen Shanker, Editor (Delhi): Rakesh Sinha ** **Responsible for selection of News under the PRB Act. Copyright: The Indian Express (P) Limited. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any manner, electronic or otherwise, in whole or in part, without prior written permission is prohibited. The Indian Express®

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