10 11 03 12

Trump WPI UT There was

alleges inflation Administrator SNOWFALL IN
LAHORE LAST
WHO COVER-UP COOLS TO FOUR- REVIEWS YEAR: AKHTAR
WITH CHINA ON MONTH LOW OF 1 PC
COVID-19, STOPS IN MARCH AS FOOD ARRANGEMENTS IN RESPONDS TO
THE CITY GAVASKAR
FUNDING PRICES EASE

4.00
CHANDIGARH
THURSDAY
16 APR 2020
VOLUME 5
ISSUE 105

www.dailyworld.in

Dailypick Fresh lockdown directives: Ind units China slams Trump

for withdrawing
in rural areas to function from Apr 20
NORTH
Health Ministry funding for WHO;
identifies 170 NEW DELHI Industrial units in rural
hints at stepping
districts in India areas will be allowed to function from
April 20 provided they follow social
up contribution
as hotspots 05 distancing norms while all kinds
of public transport will be barred
BEIJING China on Wednesday expressed “serious
concern” over US President Donald Trump’s
and public places closed till May 3, decision to suspend funding for the World
according to guidelines issued on Health Organisation and hinted at stepping
SUDESH VERMA Wednesday to enforce the second up its monetary contribution to the UN health
Don’t defame phase of the lockdown.
Wearing masks/face covers in
agency.
Trump on Tuesday announced halting Amer-
migrant workers public places is now compulsory
across the country. Besides, spitting
ica’s funding of the WHO while a review is be-
ing conducted to assess the health agency’s in
for your politics 06 in public has been made a punishable
offence and a strict ban enforced on
“severely mismanaging and covering up” the
spread of the deadly coronavirus.
the sale of “liquor, ‘gutka’ tobacco The Trump administration has accused WHO
etc” under the new Ministry of Home of taking side with China in the coronavirus
High turnout in Affairs guidelines that come a day
after Prime Minister Narendra Modi
outbreak that has brought America’s economy
to a standstill.
South Korean announced the extension of the na-
tionwide lockdown till May 3.
American taxpayers provide between USD
400 million and USD 500 million per year to
election despite The prime minister also said neces- the WHO, in contrast, China contributes roughly

virus fears
SEOUL Millions of South Koreans wore masks
and disposable gloves as they voted in par-
liamentary elections Wednesday, the highest
turnout in nearly three decades despite the
coronavirus.
The government resisted calls to postpone
the elections billed as a midterm referendum
on President Moon Jae-in, who enters the
final two years of his single five-year term
grappling with a historic public health crisis
that is unleashing massive economic shock.
Exit polls conducted by TV stations indi-
cated that Moon’s Democratic Party and a
satellite party it created to win proportional
representative seats would comfortably com-
bine for a majority in the 300-seat National
Assembly.
While South Korea’s electorate is deeply
divided along ideological and generational
lines and regional loyalties, recent surveys
showed growing support for Moon and his
liberal party, reflecting public approval of
an aggressive test-and-quarantine program
credited with lowering fatality rates for the
coronavirus compared to China, Europe and
North America. The long lines that snaked
around public offices and schools followed
record-high participation in early voting
held on Friday and Saturday, and defied
expectations of a low turnout because of
fears of contracting the virus. PAGE 8 >
sary activities will be allowed from
April 20 in identified areas of the
country. A three-week lockdown to
contain the spread of COVID-19 came
into effect after his announcement
on March 24. Laying out the dos
and don’ts for phase two of the pan
India lockdown, the guidelines state
that all work places should make ad-
equate arrangements for temperature
screening and must provide sanitisers
at convenient places.
Services provided by self-employed
electricians, IT repair personnel,
plumbers, motor mechanics and
carpenters will be allowed from April
20. While inter-state, inter-district
movement of people, metro, bus
services will be prohibited till May 3,
the government has allowed indus-
trial units located in rural areas to
function from April 20 by observing
strict social distancing norms.
Manufacturing, industrial units
with access control in SEZs, export
oriented units, industrial estates,
industrial townships will also be al-
lowed to function from that date.
Educational institutions, coach-
ing centres, domestic, international
air travel, train services will remain
suspended, the ministry said.
Public places such as cinema halls,
malls, shopping complexes, gymna-
Workers of Ordnance Clothing Factory stitch Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for doctors and health workers during a nation-
wide lockdown in the wake of coronavirus pandemic, in Chennai, Wednesday, April 15, 2020. / PTI
siums, sports complexes, swimming
pools and bars will be shut too till
May 3. All social, political, sports,
religious functions, religious places,
places of worship will also be closed
till then, according to the guidelines.
However, highway ‘dhaba’ (eateries),
truck repairing shops, call centres
for government activities will remain
open from April 20.
Shops selling agriculture machin-
ery and those dealing with spare
parts, supply chains and repairs as
well as ‘custom hiring centres’ re-
lated to farm machinery will also
be open from that day. Activities
permitted five days from now include
those related to agricultural and the
horticultural sectors, farmers and
farm workers in the field as well as
procurement of agri products.
Units manufacturing drugs, phar-
maceuticals, medical devices, medi-
cal infrastructure, including manu-
COVID-19 hotspots/containment
zones. The document specifies that
Units manufactur- state/UT governments shall not di-
ing drugs, pharma- lute guidelines in any manner but
may impose stricter measures in
ceuticals, medical accordance with local requirements.
devices, medical The Home Ministry said permitted
industries must make arrange-
infrastructure, ments for the stay of workers within
including manufac- their premises or in adjacent build-
ings by observing social distancing
ture of ambulances, norms.
will be open from It said Defence, paramilitary,
Health and Family Welfare, disaster
April 20. management, NIC, FCI, NCC, Nehru
Yuva Kendra and Customs offices will
facture of ambulances, will be open function without any restrictions.
from April 20. The guidelines state Other ministries and departments
that grocery stores, fruits, vegetables will function with “100 per cent at-
shops/ carts, milk booths, poultry, endance” with deputy secretary
meat and fish shop will remain open and above rank officers. “Remain-
during the lockdown. ing officers and staff to attend up to
However, exemptions given from 33 per cent as per requirement,” it
April 20 will not be applicable in said. / PTI /
USD 40 million a year and even less, Trump
said. “China expresses serious concern over
the US announcement to halt its funding to
WHO,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman
Zhao Lijian said.  PAGE 8 >
EU unveils virus
exit plan
BRUSSELS The European Union moved Wednes-
day to head off a chaotic and potentially disas-
trous easing of restrictions that are limiting
the spread of the coronavirus, warning its 27
nations to move very cautiously as they return to
normal life and base their actions on scientific
advice.
With Austria, the Czech Republic and Den-
mark already lifting some lockdown measures,
the EU’s executive arm, the European Commis-
sion, rushed out its roadmap for members of
the world’s biggest trade bloc to coordinate an
exit from the lockdowns, which they expect
should take at least a few months and involve
large-scale testing.
Some 80,000 people have now died in Eu-
rope from the disease — about two-thirds of
the global toll — according to the European
Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
The commission said those scientists should
be relied upon to guide national exit strategies
in the weeks and months to come. PAGE 9 >

Dailyheadlines

57 foreigners related to Jamaat in Bihar arrested 07

COVID-19: China shuts down largest makeshift hospital in Wuhan 08

A year after blaze, Notre Dame restoration halted by virus 09

European, African leaders call for massive help for Africa 10

Long-duration NEW YORK Long-duration space

travel could lead to permanent
space travel
brain volume changes as well as
pituitary gland deformation in
astronauts, warns a study.
could change For the study, published in the
journal Radiology, the research-
of Texas Health Science Center at
Houston, US.
12 Indians tested
for coronavirus
“White matter expansion in
fact is responsible for the larg-
est increase in combined brain in Nepal
and cerebrospinal fluid volumes SHIRISH B PRADHAN / KATHMANDU The Las Vegas Strip is deserted as casinos and other business are closed because of the coronavirus
outbreak, Tuesday, April 14, 2020, in Las Vegas. AP/ PTI
postflight,” Kramer said.

astronaut
ers performed brain MRI on 11 MRI also showed alterations to TWELVE INDIAN nationals, who

Day after protest, cops arrest man

astronauts, including 10 men and the pituitary gland, a pea-sized participated in the Tabligi Jamaat
one woman, before they trav- structure at the base of the skull congregation in Delhi last month,

brain volume eled to the International Space

Station (ISS).
The researchers followed up
with MRI studies a day after the
astronauts returned, and then at
several intervals throughout the
ensuing year.
MRI results showed that the
long-duration microgravity ex-
posure caused expansions in
the astronauts’ combined brain
and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)
volumes.
CSF is the fluid that flows in
and around the hollow spaces of
the brain and spinal cord.
The combined volumes re-
mained elevated at one-year
postflight, suggesting permanent
alteration.
“What we identified that no
one has really identified before
is that there is a significant in-
crease of volume in the brain’s
white matter from preflight to
postflight,” said study lead author
Larry Kramer from the University
often referred to as the “master
gland” because it governs the
function of many other glands in
the body. Most of the astronauts
had MRI evidence of pituitary
gland deformation suggesting
elevated intracranial pressure
during spaceflight.
“We found that the pituitary
gland loses height and is smaller
postflight than it was preflight,”
Kramer said.
The researchers also observed
a postflight increase in volume, on
average, in the astronauts’ lateral
ventricles, spaces in the brain
that contain CSF. However, the
overall resulting volume would
not be considered outside the
range of healthy adults.
The changes were similar to
those that occur in people who
have spent long periods of bed
rest with their heads tilted slightly
downward in research studies
simulating headward fluid shift
in microgravity. / PTI /
were tested for coronavirus in Ne-
pal on Wednesday after they were
found taking shelter in a mosque,
according to a media report. Ac-
cording to the lockdown regula-
tions, all foreign nationals must
self-quarantine and not visit public
places. The Indian Muslim men were
initially taken in police custody after
it was reported that they were tak-
ing shelter in a mosque in eastern
Nepal’s Udayur district.
Swab samples of the men were
collected for COVID-19 tests and they
have been quarantined, Setopati
newsportal quoted Assistant Chief
District Administrator of Udaypur
Bhimprasad Bhattarai as saying.
The Indian nationals had taken
part in the Tabligi Jamaat congrega-
tion in Delhi before entering Nepal
in March. At least 9,000 people
participated in the religious congre-
gation in Nizamuddin last month,
which has become the biggest
hotspot for the spread of corona-
virus in India.  / PTI /
over posts, book TV scribe
MUMBAI Left red-faced after
a protest bymigrant workers
during lockdown, authori-
ties in Maharashtra moved
to take action in the matter
as they arrested a man on
Wednesday for offensive
social media posts and reg-
istered an FIR against a TV
journalist over a false news
report.
A Navi Mumbai resi-
dent was arrested on early
Wednesday for posting mes-
sages on his social media
accounts which allegedly
led to hundreds of migrant
workers, stuck in Mumbai
due to the lockdown, gather-
ing near suburban Bandra
railway station on Tuesday
afternoon, police said.
The accused, Vinay
Dubey, was produced in a
court which remanded him
in police custody April 21, a
police official said.
Dubey had uploaded a vid-
eo on social media in which
he demanded that the Ma-
harashtra government make
travel arrangements for mi-
grants, who are stranded due
to the coronavirus-enforced
lockdown and want to go
back to their native places,
he said.
He had also tweeted about
the issue and called for a
national-level protest if trains
are not arranged till April 18
to ferry migrants workers to
their native places, he said.
Dubey has been booked
under IPC Sections 153 A
(promoting disharmony, en-
mity or feelings of hatred
between different groups),
117 (abetting commission of
offence), 188 (disobedience
of order by public servant),
269, 270 (negligent and ma-
lignant act likely to spread
infection of disease danger
to life) and provisions of the
Epidemic Diseases Act, he
said.
In a related development,
an FIR has been registered
against a television journalist
over his report that trains
would restart, which may
have prompted the gathering
in Bandra, a second police
official said.
The accused, Rahul
Kulkarni, based in Os-
manabad district of Maha-
rashtra, has been detained
and police are in the process
of bringing him to Mumbai,
he said.  / PTI /
 2

Thursday 16 april 2020

chandigarh
punjab & HARYANA www.dailyworld.in

COVID travel curbs: NRIs stuck in Punjab long to return home
Jalandhar On a visit to connect
with family and friends in Punjab,
NRIs settled in the US, UK, Canada
and Europe are finding it difficult to
cope with the unplanned stay ne-
cessitated due to coronavirus travel
restrictions worldwide.
Thousands of Non Resident In-
dians usually visit Punjab during
winters London-based NRI Satnam
Singh Birring, who came to meet
his parents in Jalandhar on January
23, was all set to return on March
25 but a spike in coronavirus cases
and restrictions on travel put a
brake on his plans.
“My wife was also planning to
come to India on March 16 as we
had plans to go back together. Nei-
ther could she come, nor was I
able to go back to London. I even
approached the British High Com-
mission in India and the Indian
High Commission in UK for a ticket
in the chartered flights arranged
by the UK government but all the
tickets were sold out within 15-min-
utes! I am eagerly waiting for some
solution”, he said.
US-based Avtar Singh Dhillon,
who came on a 28- day leave to
attend a wedding in Punjab in
February, is among those stuck.
“My family is stuck in Tracey
city in California while I am stay-
ing with my parents. Thankfully, I
didn’t come on a return ticket as my
father was unwell but I had plans
to go back by April end but now I
am stuck here. Even my family is
living under lockdown in the US
due to COVID-19 cases”, he added.
US-based Sukhvir Singh said that
his mother had travelled to San
Francisco to attend his wedding
and was planning to go back to
India in April but was stuck now.
“My brother back home in Ja-
landhar is eagerly awaiting my
mother’s return”, he said through
email.
NRI from Greece Ram Lubhaya,
who is in Jalandhar to meet his
family, said, “I came to India on
January 28 and my return flight
was on March 21 but by that time
the Indian government imposed a
ban on international flights”.
“The Greece government has
announced some measures to as-
sist its work force and I could not
even avail that,” he said.
Another Jalandhar-based family,
Briefly
Rakesh Mahi, the father of Punjabi
singer Ginni Mahi has been stuck in
Rome since March 4. Mahi said that Two more COVID-19
he was accompanying his daughter
on a musical tour in Europe, when
cases surface in
the situation turned bad. Punjab; total
“We would have landed in In- count 186
dia by April 13 but all plans were
changed due to COVID-19 pandem-
ic...We are eagerly waiting for the
situation to improve”, he shared
through email.
However, some NRIs were lucky
enough to reach their destination
well on time. Simran Kaur, who
came from Canada to meet her
parents in Hoshiarpur district in
February, returned to Vancouver
on March 15, the time when the
Canadian government announced
a ban on international travel. / PTI /

Punjab, Ola develop mobile

Chandigarh The number of coro-

25 cops chosen for DGP

app for e-passes to farmers
Farmers threshing harvested crop using a thresher machine at a field, in Bathinda on Wednesday, April 15, 2020. / PTI
DW Bureau / Chandigarh
The Punjab government has developed
a mobile application with cab aggrega-
tor Ola to issue e-passes to over 17 lakh
farmers, in a bid to prevent overcrowd-
ing at state grain markets during the
procurement of wheat. The procurement
The app, installed on mobile phones
of farmers, will alert them about ‘rush
spots’ to check overcrowding.
The centralised dashboard of the app,
an initiative aligned to the social dis-
tancing guidelines of the Union Ministry
of Health and Family Welfare, will also
give alerts on pass issuance, expiry and
Secretary, Development, said apart from
e-passes , an mPass system has also been
developed in the ePMB mobile applica-
tion.
A unicode SMS is sent to every commis-
sion agent at the time of pass issuance.
The arhtiya can allocate passes to farm-
ers through the in-built mPass system.
Honour in Punjab
Chandigarh As many as 25 po-
lice officials have been chosen
for the coveted ‘Director General
of Police Honour’ for their ser-
vices to the society during the
ongoing lockdown in Punjab.
The awardees include four su-
perintendent of police, one as-
sistant superintendent of police,
one deputy superintendent of
police, six inspectors, four sub-
inspectors, three assistant sub
inspectors, two head constables
and four constables.
The award honours those who
have done outstanding work by
going beyond the call of their
duty in extending various hu-
manitarian services to people,
said an official release here.
DGP Dinkar Gupta said they
were selected from various
nominations sent by the com-
missioners of police and SSPs,
for the award introduced on the
initiative of Chief Minister Ama-
rinder Singh.
He said over 45,000 policemen
UT Admn to name and
have been working relentlessly
across the state, along with social
and religious organisations, to
realise his resolve that ‘no man
will sleep hungry in Punjab’.
ASP Nakodar, Vatsala Gupta did
pioneering work in reaching out
to the poor and underprivileged
slum dwellers of Nakodar town,
while DSP Varinder Jit Singh of
Rupnagar ensured the supply of
essential goods to the poor and
needy by mobilising volunteers.
SI Jatin Kapoor of Rupnagar
motivated panchayats to impose
a voluntary lockdown on their
villages.
SHO Bhagwant Singh of Kharar
(Mohali) proactively carried out
the tracking and tracing of sus-
pect coronavirus cases.
Similarly, SI Neeraj Chaudhary
of SBS Nagar took the risk of visit-
ing the isolated corona patients
to trace their contacts where
patients had refused to cooper-
ate with the epidemiologist and
other doctors.
SI Shohrat Mann of Pathankot
is doing commendable work
for the welfare of the people of
Pathankot by providing food to
the poor.
SI Shakunt Chaudhary of Fate-
hgarh Sahib has done commend-
able work as incharge of a critical
‘police post, said the DGP.
The other awardees include
Moga SP Ratan Singh Brar, Ludhi-
ana SP Deepak Pareek and Hoshi-
arpur Inspector Kartar Singh./ PTI /
navirus cases rose to 186 in Punjab on
Wednesday with two more people testing
positive for the infection. So far, the
infection has claimed 13 lives in the state.
The fresh cases were reported from
Patiala and Sangrur, a medical bulletin
said. Mohali is the worst-hit district
in the state with 56 cases followed by
Jalandhar from where 25 cases have been
reported till date. The state government
had started rapid testing, a kind of blood
test that gives quick results, in both
districts on Tuesday. According to the
bulletin, 22 cases has been reported from
Pathankot; 19 in Nawanshahr, 11 each in
Ludhiana, Mansa and Amritsar; seven in
Hoshiarpur; four in Moga; three each in
Rupnagar, Patiala, Sangrur and Faridkot;
two each in Fatehgarh Sahib, Kapurthala
and Barnala; and one each in Muktsar
and Gurdaspur. One patient is critical
and is on ventilator support while 27
people have been discharged after treat-
ment. A total of 5,193 samples have been
taken so far in the state, of which 4,404
tested negative for the infection while
reports of 603 are still awaited. / PTI /
53,865 people
examined in Amritsar
for COVID-19
Chandigarh A door-to-door screening
against COVID-19 was carried out in Pun-
jab’s holy city Amritsar in which 53,865
people were examined in the past three
days, an official said on Wednesday.
“Hotspot areas from where positive cases
of Nirmal Singh and Jaswinder Singh
had come were covered”, Special Chief
Secretary K.B.S. Sidhu, who is in-charge
to monitor statewide coronavirus cases,
informed in a tweet. Nirmal Singh and
Jaswinder Singh were among the 11 coro-
navirus cases reported in the city. Both
succumbed to COVID-19. They include
Jodh Nagar, ESI Hospital vicinity, Kangra
Colony and Mustafabad. The massive
operation covered 12,401 households.

shame VIPs violating

of wheat in the state mandis started on
Wednesday amid the lockdown imposed
to check the coronavirus spread.
According to an official release, the
application will help in the online manage-
ment and regulation of all tractor-trailers
and vehicular movement
procurement in the mandis.
It removes all un-
necessary bias and favouritism, thus
bringing transparency to the process,
the release said.
Under the initiative, all arhtiyas (com-
mission agents) will be given one pass
per wheat trolley, which they will further
give to farmers.
Farmers will come to the mandis on
a given date at the designated procure-
ment centre.
Mammoth exercise in Punjab to
validation.
This mobile app has been adopted
by the Punjab Mandi Board to launch
an e-pass system with the help of the
Department of Governance Reforms and
Public Grievances in an effort to stream-
line the procurement operations in the
backdrop of the COVID-19 crisis, said the
official release.
The software generates the required
number of passes automatically based
on the past data available with the mandi
board. The passes for a particular day are
provided three days in advance to arhtiyas
to prevent any kind of rush.
The farmer will also receive an SMS
with a pass number and a link to down-
load the app.
Vishwajit Khanna, Additional Chief
The drivers can then download the mPass
using the SMS received on his number,
and use this at various police nakas for
permitted mobility, the release said.
The online vehicular management shall
help the board maintain law and order
protocols in the mandis, said Khanna.
Ravi Bhagat, Secretary, Punjab Mandi
Board, the unique technology solution
will help the government manage mandi
operations well.
Pranay Jivrajka, co-founder of Ola, in
a release said, “By helping the govern-
ment connect with farmers using our
technology platform, we are able to put
our capabilities to the best use when
the nation requires innovation and col-
laboration to quickly come out of this
national crisis.”
Khanna said the cash credit
curfew orders
DW Correspondent / Chandigarh
In a step which is first of its kind in
03 on the direction of the Govern-
ment of India .
One suspected case was found, whose
test report has come out to be nega-
tive, he said. The whole operation was
conducted by 42 teams, managed by 10
supervisory officers. Additional Deputy
Commissioner Himanshu Aggarwal told
the media the medical teams screened all
members of each family. They main-
tained travel history of people to trace
their contacts. If anyone was found to be
symptomatic, he or she was tested. Tak-
ing its battle against Covid-19 to the next
level, the state government on Tuesday
launched rapid testing in two hotspot
districts -- Mohali and Jalandhar -- with
the aim to eventually cover all the 17
hotspots in a phased manner. The facility
was launched by Health and Family Wel-
fare Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu at Dera
Bassi town in Mohali district. Additional
Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan said the
state government has received 1,000
rapid testing kits from the Indian Council

procure wheat amid pandemic

limit of Rs 22,900 crore has India the Chandigarh administration The curfew was imposed to stop of Medical Research (ICMR). / IANS /
been approved by the Centre has decided to make the names of the spread of the virus further .The

Chandigarh A mammoth
two-month exercise in Pun-
jab began on Wednesday to
procure approximately 135
lakh tonnes of wheat, a re-
cord of sorts, amounting Rs
26,000 crore for which the
government has made elabo-
rate arrangements amid the
coronavirus pandemic.
The state, which contrib-
utes 30-35 per cent wheat to
the national kitty, is expect-
ing harvest about 185 lakh
tonnes and the market arrival
is likely to be about 135 lakh
tonnes.
Chief Minister Amarinder
Singh has appealed to the
farmers and staff of procure-
ment agencies to wear masks
compulsorily and observe so-
cial distancing and wash their
hands frequently for which
necessary arrangements have
been made.
Food and Civil Supply Minis-
ter Bharat Bhushan Ashu told
IANS that 1,867 procurement
centres and 1,824 rice mills
have been declared as yards
where the procurement would
be carried out daily from 10
a.m. to 6 p.m.
The minimum support price
(MSP) of wheat is Rs 1,925.
Meanwhile, the Chief Minis-
ter has written to Prime Minis-
ter Narendra Modi, reiterating
his demand for incentive or
bonus to farmers bringing in
their produce after April 30
to check overcrowding at the
markets.
The Chief Minister said the
Centre should immediately
announce a bonus of Rs 100
per quintal over and above
the MSP for bringing wheat for
marketing after May 1 and Rs
200 per quintal after May 31 in
order to compensate them for
the additional cost for handling
the produce for staggering the
marketing and the reduction
in yield.
Amid COVID-19, the cost in
paying the incentive bonus
would be offset by the re-
sultant saving in the cost of
healthcare, which otherwise
would have to be incurred in
case of spread of the virus,
wrote the Chief Minister.
It could not be overempha-
sized that the farmers must
be encouraged to follow the
health advisories in this ex-
traordinary situation the na-
tion is facing, while ensuring
the national food security
necessary procurement ar-
rangements are in place ac-
cordingly, he said.
Additional Chief Secretary
(Development) Viswajeet
to ensure prompt procurement
in all 22 districts.
He said nearly 137 lakh
tonnes of wheat is expected
to arrive, out of which 135 lakh
tonnes would be purchased by
government agencies and the
remaining by private traders.
A total of 17,500 combine
harvesters would be operat-
ing for harvesting the crop in
the state.
Against the total require-
ment of 4.82 lakh gunny bales,
3.05 lakh have already been
made available.
To avoid crowding, Khanna
said an action plan has been
prepared to undertake pro-
curement by staggering arrival
of produce in the markets by
issuing coupons fixed with ho-
lograms to the farmers through
commission agents.
With each coupon, a farmer
will be entitled to bring one
trolley of about 50 to 70 quin-
tals of wheat. A farmer will be
entitled to take multiple cou-
pons each day or on different
days depending on space in
the purchase centre in order
to avoid rush in the mandis.
About 27 lakh such coupons
would be issued by the market
committees to the commission
agents. / IANS /
the prominent persons ( VIPs) public
who violate the curfew order and
take morning an evening walk .
The announcement was made by
the Adviser to the administration
Manoj kumar Parida today through
his twitter account . He said that
first the officials will warn the VIPs
violating the curfew and take the
action against them if they fail to
follow the curfew order.
Sources said that Adviser took
the decision after he received feed-
back from the law enforcement au-
thorities that they find it difficult to
deal with the VIPs during the curfew.
The decision of the adviser received
overwhelming support from the
residents who followed him on
the twitter. Most of the residents
said that the step is the need of the
hour. Sources in the administration
said that the dealing with the VIPs
at the moment of the crisis is not
easy for the officers . An officer of
the administration on the condi-
tion of the anonymity said some of
the VIPs failed to understand that
the curfew was imposed for their
safety. Any laxity or the relaxation
may undo the entire effort of the
administration in dealing with the
corona virus challenge.The Chandi-
garh Administration had imposed a
curfew in the Union Territory start-
ing midnight of March 24, 2020 . It
has now been extended till May
administration has imposed the
curfew with the stern hand. Sources
said that the while the common
people understand the gravity of the
situation and decided to stay home
and defer their unnecessary works
the VIPs are still not understanding
the situation. This has posed the
greater challenge to them. While
the administration has decided to
issue curfew passes only to those
performing emergency duty or in
extreme urgency. But many VIPs
took it otherwise.
They started demanding the
passes for their maids and the ser-
vants also. The strictness shown
in implementation of the curfew
has made it possible for the ad-
ministration to control the spread
of the corona virus cases in the
city. While the administration has
been able to control the movement
of the residents in the city it has
started facing the challenge from
the neighboring states. The areas
close to the city like Mohali and
the Panchkula are reporting higher
numbers of the positive cases of
the corona virus in comparison
to the city.
Keeping in view of the gravity of
the situation Parida has written has
written a letter to the chief secretar-
ies of the Haryana and Punjab to
allow minimum numbers to travel
in the city .
Jhajjar stays safe
despite proximity to
Delhi, Gurugram
Gurugram Despite proximity to Delhi
and Gurugram, considered as sensitive
zones, Jhajjar is one district in Haryana
that has no coronavirus case. It’s also
significant as over 400 Covid-19 pa-
tients from Delhi have been admitted to
Jhajjar AIIMS, located near Badli on the
Gurugram-Jhajjar state highway. Jhajjar
District Magistrate Sanjay Joon attributed
it to strict following of lockdown norms
by the locals. “The residents of Jhajjar
have also applied old-age practice of
‘thikri pehra’ in their localities to avoid
coronavirus infection. “The awareness
and sensitivity of the people have played
a huge role in keeping the district in safe
zone,” Joon said. The ‘thikri pehra’ is
similar to the ‘janata curfew’ on March
22, announced by PM Narendra Modi.
Listing the district administration’s ef-
forts to contain Covid-19 infection, Joon
said all the grocery stores, vegetable
shops, hawkers and milk distributors
were identified and registered with the
control room. These registered people
were issued passes and their mobile
numbers were also disseminated to every
house by way of mapping. Also, the gro-
cery and vegetable vendors of the district
have been classified into 306 groups and
collective passes been issued for their
work-related movement, he said. / IANS /
 3

www.dailyworld.in NORTH THURSDAY 16 APRIL 2020

CHANDIGARH

‘Covid-19 is one UT Administrator

reviews
of the darkest arrangements in
episode in the City
modern history’

DW CORRESPONDENT / CHANDIGARH

NEW DELHI The Union Minister of Health and
Family Welfare, Dr Harsh Vardhan has termed
the outbreak of novel coronavirus as one of the
darkest episodes in modern history.
Harsh Vardhan, while interacting with the
bigwigs of Confederation of Indian Industries
(CII), said, “It is one of the darkest episodes in
modern history of the world and mankind has to
come out of it and salvage good things from it.”
The meeting was held through video con-
ferencing on Tuesday which was attended by
over 50 Industry leaders, including Chandrajit
Banerjee, Director General of the CII, Dr Naresh
Trehan, Chairman of CII National Healthcare
Council and CMD of Medanta Hospital, Sunil
GOVERNOR OF Punjab and Administrator
Chandigarh, VP Singh Badnore on Wednes-
day presided over the daily war room meet-
ing. The meeting was attended to by Manoj
Parida, Adviser, UT, Chandigarh and Sanjay
Beniwal, Director General of Police at Raj
Bhawan. The Administrator also inter-
acted with Arun Gupta, Principal Secretary
(Home), A K Sinha, Finance Secretary, Sh K
K Yadav, Commissioner, CMC and Mandip
Singh Brar, Deputy Commissioner, Chan-
An aerial view of ITO-Vikas Marg during the nationwide lockdown, imposed as a preventive measure against the coronavirus pandemic, in New Delhi, Wednesday, digarh, Deputy Commissioners of Mohali
April 15, 2020. / PTI and Panchkula, Director, PGIMER, Director
Health Services and Director Principal,
GMCH through Video Conferencing.

20 Haryana districts in ‘Red Zone’

Kant Munjal, Chairman, Hero Enterprise, Vinita
Bali, Former Chair, Global Alliance for Improved
Nutrition (GAIN), Dr Pawan Goenka, Managing
Director, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd etc.
Briefing the industry on the various relief
measures being undertaken by the Govern-
ment in response to COVID-19, the minister
exhorted them to keep their spirits high and
make best use of the ‘Make in India’ opportuni-
ties in Healthcare sector so that country comes
out more resilient and self-reliant in providing
critical health care equipment while dealing
potently with the pandemic.
He informed them that the government is
deliberating as to “how to resume industrial
activities in a phased and safe manner at the
earliest.”
Further, Dr Harsh Vardhan thanked all the
participants for standing by the Government
in testing times and contributing liberally and
graciously to the PM-CARES fund.  / IANS /
Haryana mustard
farmers left in the
DW BUREAU / NEW DELHI
SIXTY-EIGHT BLOCKS in
twenty districts of Haryana
have been marked under the
red zone, as per the data pub-
lished by the state govern-
ment on Wednesday.
States across the country
are being divided into red,
yellow and green zones based
on high, limited or no cases
of Covid-19. The division is
being done in a bid to allow
limited services to function
in the safe zones.
In all the districts under
the red zone in Haryana, over
5,996 people are kept under
surveillance while a total 181
people are infected with the
deadly coronavirus.
Nuh, Palwal, Faridabad
and Gurugram are the worst
affected districts in the state.
In Nuh, 45 people have tested
positive so far, 29 in Palwal,
31 in Faridabad and 32 in Gu-
rugram, according to the data
accessed by IANS.
Meanwhile, in Jind block,
607 people have been kept
under the surveillance, which
is the maximum among all
the districts. Panipat, Panch-
kula, Karnal and Bhiwani area
also followed Jind’s lead,
though marginally.
According to the state gov-
States are being ernment’s data, the number
of cases during the first two
divided into weeks of spread of coronavi-
red, yellow rus remained considerably
and green low as compared to the sub-
sequent weeks.
zones based on Besides this, 49 blocks and
high, limited towns in 17 districts in the
state have been kept under
or no cases the yellow zone. Even though
of Covid-19. these districts have no posi-
The division tive cases, Bhiwani Munici-
pal Corporation in Bhiwana
is being done district and Uchana Block
in a bid to and Municipal Corporation in
Jind district are affected the
allow limited most with 50 people under
services. surveillance in each region.
Meanwhile, 66 blocks in 17
districts have been marked
under the green zones with
no positive cases and consid-
erably less people under the
surveillance. Among these
districts, Karnal’s Assandh
Block and Municipal Corpo-
ration has 12 cases, which is
the highest in the green-zone
region.
The total number of con-
firmed cases of novel corona-
virus in India have mounted
to 11,439 with 337 deaths. On
a global front, the death toll
has crossed over one lakh,
while there are over 1.8 mil-
lion confirmed cases.
The Administrator was briefed about the
decisions of Government of India declaring
Chandigarh as a Hotspot district, which
requires strict restrictions in the city. The
Administrator directed all officers to ensure
that the instructions received from Central
Government be strictly implemented and
supervised. He further ordered total ban of
spitting in public places. Principal Secretary
(Home) was directed to issue necessary
notification in this regard.
The Administrator was informed that as
on date, 12 Active Corona Cases are under
treatment in Chandigarh. He directed all
the three Medical Institutions to ensure that
the safety of the doctors and health workers
is given top priority. He suggested use of
new technology for quick testing of cases
as authorized by Indian Council of Medical
Research. Deputy Commissioner, Mohali
was directed to maintain strict containment
norms in Jawaharnagar and Jagatpura.
Dr. G. Dewan, Director Health Service
informed that 5,75,670 Lakh persons have
been covered in Door-to-Door survey for
screening suspect cases. Areas like Kaimb-
wala, Raipur Kalan, Manimajra, Ramdarbar,

lurch by reduction Haryana fears losing Rs 4,600 cr revenue in April Meanwhile, with mustard and
wheat procurement respectively com-
Khuda Alisher etc. were covered on Tuesday.

in procurement DW BUREAU / CHANDIGARH which implies “the treasury is the Rs 4600 crore.” Khattar said some mencing from April 15 and 20, Khattar

Briefly
backbone of administration”, and expenditures like salaries and pen- reiterated that “we will procure every

centres: Cong
DW BUREAU / CHANDIGARH
THE CONGRESS on Wednesday accused the
Haryana government of leaving mustard farm-
ers in the lurch by reducing the number of
procurement centres for the crop at the last
minute. The state government had pushed the
Haryana fears losing a whopping Rs
4,600 crore revenue in April due to
the ongoing coronavirus-triggered
lockdown, which has brought all
economic activities in the state to a
grinding halt. The stamp duty alone
generated Rs 600 crore revenue every
month in Haryana but no money is
expected to accrue to the state coffer
on this count in April as no land deals
and other property transactions are
taking place amid the lockdown.
Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khat-
tar on Wednesday too voiced the
revenue loss fear during a televised
address on the day to the people of
the state.
“Kosh Muloo Dand”, said Khattar,
citing the crucial economic mantra
occurring in Kautiliyan Arthshastra,
pointed to the revenue losses that
the state has been facing due to the
lockdown. “…We were expecting a
Stamp duty of Rs 600 crore, but as
no property transactions are taking
place, no money will come. We are
expecting only about Rs 100 crore
from Excise Duty as against nearly
Rs 1,000 crore while from nearly
Rs 782 crore from VAT collections,
a maximum of Rs 100 crore is ex-
pected,” he said.
The chief minister said as against
Rs 6,200 crore monthly revenue in-
come from various sources, “a maxi-
mum of Rs 1,600 crore is expected
due to the coronavirus-triggered
lockdown, which has brought all
economic activities to a grinding
halt. We are falling short by nearly
sions are fixed and these have to be
met.
Nearly Rs 1,850 crore goes towards
meeting salaries of government em-
ployees, Rs 750 crore towards pen-
sions, Rs 650 crore towards social
security pension that includes the
money for the old, widows and physi-
cally challenged persons.
An amount of Rs 1,700 crore goes
towards servicing debts which the
state has borrowed.
In view of the current situation,
the BJP-JJP government in the state
had also announced a special finan-
cial aides to help the poor and people
in low income groups like daily wa-
gers, labourers, street vendors and
construction workers who have been
adversely hit.
single grain of the farmers”.
He appealed to the ‘arhatiyas’ or
commission agents to extend a help-
ing hand to farmers during this time
of crisis. He asserted that it was only
a matter of time before “we win the
battle against corona”.
“In our country, everyone is fight-
ing this battle. The problem is big. It
is like a traffic signal which has turned
red where all of us have stopped and
are waiting for it to turn green and
then we will move on. No matter
how much challenge it throws, we
will overcome it and come out of it.
“I have been saying this ‘Haryana
say corona harega, bharat say bhage-
ga’ (coronavirus will be defeated in
Haryana, eradicated from India),”
said Khattar.
MATHS TEACHER
TURNS INNOVATIVE,
USES YOUTUBE TO
TEACH HER STUDENTS
NEW DELHI A Delhi government school
teacher is ensuring that students do not
miss out on blackboard teaching during
the lockdown. Meet Rashmi Jha, a teach-
er at Rajkiya Pratibha Vikas Vidyalaya on
Raj Niwas Marg, who is giving Mathemat-
ics classes through her YouTube channel
‘’Ganit Pathshala’’. Jha started her You-
Tube channel three-four days ago to help
class X students study Mathematics at
their own time and convenience during
this time when schools are closed.
“We had received an advisory from Delhi

Indian Railways to refund Rs 1,490 crore for COVID cases

procurement of the crop by two weeks, starting
from April 15 in the wake of the coronavirus
outbreak.
In an order issued on April 11, the Food and
Supplies Department earmarked 192 procure-
ment centres, but in another order two days
later, their number was reduced to 163, said
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh
Surjewala in a video conference with reporters.
“The question is where will farmers go and
when will they know about their new procure-
ment centres. What is the reason of reducing
number of centres,” asked Surjewala.
The Congress leader said the BJP-JJP govern-
ment in state has meted out a step-motherly
treatment to farmers.
“It seems their priority is to get liquor fac-
tories running instead of ensuring a smooth
procurement of wheat and mustard. Its proof
came on the first day of the mustard procure-
ment when the Haryana government reduced
the number of procurement centres from 192
to 163,” he said.
Surjewala said everyone knows that mustard
is the main crop of Mahendergarh, Dadri, Bhi-
wani, Rewari, Gurugram, Mewat, Hisar, Sirsa
and Fatehabad districts of the state.
But the government reduced the procure-
ment centres, which is a proof of their failure
and incompetence, he said.
Surjewala further claimed that even before
the procurement was to start, many farmers
were forced to sell their crop below the mini-
mum support price.
They sold their crop between Rs 3,500 and
Rs 3800 per quintal as against the MSP of Rs
4,425 per quintal, he claimed.
Surjewala also said the state government was
involving farmers into technicalities.
Farmers have been asked to register them-
selves on the Meri Fasal, Mera Byora portal,
but 95 per cent of them do not have access to
the Internet, he said, asking how will they be
able to fill their details on this portal, that too
during the lockdown.
cancellation of 94 lakh ticket bookings
NEW DELHI Indian Railways will
forgo around Rs 1,490 crore in rev-
enue as it is refunding the amount
towards cancellation of a whopping
94 lakh ticket bookings made by
passengers prior to the imposi-
tion of the nationwide lockdown
to prevent the spread of corona-
virus.
Top Railways officials told PTI
that an amount of Rs 830 crore will
be refunded for 55 lakh bookings
made for travel between March
22 and April 14. The Railways had
largely suspended its passenger
train services on March 22, three
days before the 21-day lockdown
came into force.
Another amount of Rs 660 crore
SPITTING IN PUBLIC NOW AN OFFENCE
UNDER DISASTER MANAGEMENT ACT: MHA
NEW DELHI Spitting in public
without caring two hoots for regu-
lations may not be so easy now
with the Union Home Ministry
making the act a punishable of-
fence under the strict Disaster
Management Act in its revised
guidelines for lockdown issued
on Wednesday to contain CO-
VID-19. The guidelines issued by
the ministry also make wearing
of face masks in public places
mandatory.
Spitting in public is an offence
under municipal laws in various
will be returned for around 39 lakh
bookings made for travel between
April 15 and May 3, they said.
India went under a total shut-
down of 21 days from March 25
to April 14. On Tuesday, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi announced
extending the lockdown till May 3.
The Railways had not stopped
bookings for journeys beginning
April 15.
It said that all passengers will
get a full refund for tickets booked
for the period during which pas-
senger train services have been
suspended.
The national transporter added
that the money would be automati-
cally refunded to online customers,
cities, but it is hardly taken seri-
ously by the people in the country.
The Brihan Mumbai Municipal
Corporation has imposed a fine of
Rs 1,000 if anyone is caught spit-
ting in public. Similar measures
are also in place in municipal
corporations of Delhi, and several
other states.
Bihar, Jharkhand, Telangana,
Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Ma-
harashtra, Haryana, Nagaland and
Assam have already issued orders
on the ban of use of smokeless
tobacco products and spitting in
while those who booked tickets at
the designated reservation coun-
ters could claim the refund till
July 31.
Following the prime minister’s
announcement, the Indian Rail-
ways extended the suspension of
all its passenger services till the
end of the lockdown.
According to official data, a stag-
gering 20 million people travel
daily on nearly 15,000 passenger
trains across the country.
The Railways said no advance
reservation of train tickets, includ-
ing e-tickets, will be allowed till
further orders, though the facility
of online cancellation will remain
functional.  / PTI /
public places amid the COVID-19
outbreak.
Under the consolidated re-
vised guidelines issued by the
Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)
on Wednesday in the wake of the
extension of lockdown till May 3,
spitting has been made punish-
able with a fine under Section
51 (b) of the Disaster Manage-
ment Act.
“Spitting in public spaces shall
be punishable with a fine. There
should be a strict ban on sale of
liquor, ‘gutka’, tobacco etc, and
spitting should be strictly pro-
hibited,” the national directives
issued by the ministry said. / PTI /
rise to 190 in
Haryana
DW BUREAU / CHANDIGARH
CORONAVIRUS CASES in Haryana rose
to 190 on Wednesday, with six more
persons testing positive for infection
in various parts of the state. Worst-hit
district Nuh reported three fresh cases
while Panipat, Panchkula and Sonipat
each reporting one new case.
Out of total 190 positive cases, the
total number of active cases in the state
is 146, with 42 patients getting cured
and discharged, said the state health
department’s daily bulletin, the state has
recorded two COVID-19 related deaths.
As many as 7,098 samples have been
tested so far, out of which 5,291 have
tested negative. Reports of 1,617 samples,
however, are awaited.
Among the total coronavirus cases
reported in Haryana, 10 are foreign
nationals while 64 are from other states,
as per the bulletin.
The worst affected districts of the state
with maximum number of positive cases
are Nuh (48), Gurugram (32), Faridabad
(33) and Palwal (29).
Bhiwani, Jind, Hisar, Kaithal and Ku-
rukshetra have so far reported two cases
each while Rohtak district has only one
coronavirus case.
Health Minister Anil Vij has been
saying that the spike in corona-positive
cases was due to a number of Tablighi
Jamaat members testing positive.
On Tuesday, he had said 110 of the
Jamaat members had tested positive.
 / PTI /
government to teach students online
using Zoom app or WhatsApp. “I teach
a section of students who do not have
access to 24*7 internet and also Math-
ematics is a subject in which you just
can’’t send PDFs and students can study
them,” she said. To ensure that students
can study at their own convenience,
she decided to start a YouTube channel.
“Using a blackboard teaching, I explain
various concepts in short videos and
send the link to students. Whenever they
have internet access they can study,” she
said.  / PTI /
GOVT FACILITATES
RETURN OF 180
PAKISTANIS TO THEIR
HOMES
NEW DELHI In a humanitarian gesture,
the Central government on Wednesday
decided to facilitate the return of 180
Pakistanis stranded in India amidst a
nationwide lockdown to their home
country. The Pakistani nationals will
cross over to Pakistan from the Attari-
Wagah international border in Punjab
on Wednesday morning. This is the first
movement of people from the border
since all the international borders were
sealed following the outbreak of novel
coronavirus pandemic. Official sources
said the High Commission of Pakistan
had requested the government for assis-
tance to facilitate the return of Pakistanis
in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and
Punjab. Even as Pakistan has engaged
in several ceasefire violations along the
Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir,
amid the coronavirus pandemic, the gov-
ernment decided to help the Pakistani
nationals on humanitarian grounds,
sources said.  / IANS /
 4

THURSDAY 16 APRIL 2020

CHANDIGARH
NORTH www.dailyworld.in

Jamaat leader booked Death toll due to COVID-19 rises to Briefly

for culpable homicide
after attendees die of
COVID-19: Delhi Police
NEW DELHI Tablighi Jamaat
leader Maulana Saad Kandhalvi
has been booked for culpable
homicide after some of the
attendees of the religious con-
gregation died due to coronavi-
rus, police said on Wednesday.
Kandhalvi had organised the
religious gathering at Niza-
muddin Markaz last month
against the social distancing
protocol imposed by the Cen-
tre to curb the spread of the
deadly disease.
An FIR was registered
against the cleric on March 31
at Crime Branch police station
on a complaint of the Station
House Officer of Nizamuddin.
He was earlier booked for
holding the event, police said.
“After several attendees of
the Tablighi Jamaat event suc-
cumbed to coronavirus, we
added IPC section 304 (culpa-
ble homicide not amounting to
murder) in the FIR against the
leader,” a police official said.
Some foreigners who attend-
ed the event have also been
booked for violation of visa
norms. In an audio message,
Kandhalvi had said that he was
exercising self-quarantine after
several hundreds who visited
the Tablighi Jamaat congrega-
tion at Nizamudddin Markaz
tested positive for coronavirus.
The FIR registered against
the Tablighi Jamaat event says
that the Delhi Police contacted
the authorities of Nizamud-
About 3,500 jurists, artistes slam FIR against Editor, call it attack on press freedom
Villagers show the way, win accolades
in fight against coronavirus
392; cases climb to 11,933: Ministry PREDICTING SEVERE
WEATHER CONDITIONS
IN PARTS OF HP, MET
OFFICE ISSUES ALERT
FOR APR 17
SHIMLA Predicting severe weather condi-
tions accompanied by thunderstorm in
several parts of Himachal Pradesh, the
Meteorological Department here issued
a yellow alert for April 17, an official said
on Wednesday. The weather office issues
colour-coded warnings to alert people
ahead of severe or hazardous weather
that has the potential to cause “dam-
age, widespread disruption or danger
to life”. The yellow warning, the least
dangerous of all weather alerts, indicates
the possibility of severe weather over
the next a few days. The Shimla meteo-
rological centre has forecast rain in the
state from April 16 to 21 but it issued the
yellow weather warning for only April
din Markaz on March 21 and 17, the day thunderstorm accompanied
reminded them of the govern- by lightning, hailstorm and gusty winds
ment order which prohibited is expected in several parts of the state.
any political or religious gath- Meanwhile, light rainfall was witnessed
ering of more than 50 people. at some place in the state. / PTI /
It says that despite repeated
efforts, the event organisers
failed to inform the health de-
UP: MAN SHOT AT
partment or any other govern- AFTER HE COUGHS
ment agency about the huge
gathering inside the Markaz
DURING LUDO GAME
and deliberately disobeyed NOIDA (UP) Coughing in times of coro-
government orders. navirus is bound to invite fearful stares,
“The sub district magistrate NDMC firefighters spray disinfectants on a street at Birla Mandir during a nationwide lockdown in the wake of coronavirus pandemic, in New Delhi, Wednes- but when a 25-year-old man in Greater
of Defence Colony inspected day, April 15, 2020. / PTI Noida coughed during a ludo game, he
the premises several times was shot and injured by a fellow villager
and found that around 1,300 NEW DELHI The death toll due fatalities, followed by Madhya compared to the number of Bihar has reported 70 cases, who accused him of “trying to spread
people, including foreign na- to the novel coronavirus rose to Pradesh at 53, Delhi and Guja- deaths announced by different while Odisha has 60 coronavi- the disease”, according to police. The
tionals, were residing there 392 with 39 fatalities reported rat at 30 each and Telengana states, which officials attribute rus cases. Thirty-seven people incident occurred around 9 pm on
without maintaining social since Tuesday evening, while at 18. Punjab has reported 13 to procedural delays in as- were infected with the virus in Tuesday at a temple in Dayanagar village
distance. It was also found the number of cases saw a jump deaths, Tamil Nadu 12 while Ut- signing the cases to individual Uttarakhand, while Himachal under Jarcha police station, where four
that there were no arrange- of 1,118 to go up to 11,933 cases tar Pradesh and Karnataka have states. Pradesh, Assam and Chhattis- people, including the man who received
ments of hand sanitizers and on Wednesday, according to the reported 11 deaths each. According to the ministry’s garh have registered 33 cases gunshot injuries, were playing the board
face masks,” the FIR adds. Union Health Ministry. Andhra Pradesh has reported data updated in the evening, the each. game. The injured man, Prashant Singh
The Nizamudddin centre, at- The number of active COVID-19 nine fatalities followed by West highest number of confirmed Jharkhand has 27 cases, Chan- alias Pravesh, was hospitalised, and is
tended by thousands, turned cases stood at 10,197, while as Bengal with seven deaths. cases in the country are from digarh has 21 cases and Ladakh now out of danger, while the accused, Jai
out to be a hotspot for spread many as 1,343 people have been Four persons have lost their Maharashtra at 2,687 followed has 17, while 11 cases have been Veer Singh alias Gullu (30), is yet to be
of coronavirus not only in the cured and discharged, and one lives to COVID-19 in Jammu and by Delhi at 1,561 and Tamil Nadu reported from the Andaman and arrested, the police said on Wednesday.
national capital, but the entire has migrated, it said. Kashmir while Kerala, Haryana at 1,204. COVID-19 cases have Nicobar Islands. Both are residents of Dayanagar village
country. More than 25,500 The total number of cases in- and Rajasthan have recorded gone up to 1,005 in Rajasthan fol- Meghalaya,Goa and Puducher- and engaged in agriculture, according to
Tablighi members and their clude 76 foreign nationals. three deaths each. Jharkhand lowed by 987 in Madhya Pradesh, ry have reported seven COVID-19 the police. “Prashant and three others
contacts have been quaran- Thirty-nine deaths have been has reported two deaths. 735 in Uttar Pradesh and 695 in infections each, Manipur and Tri- were playing ludo at the village temple
tined in the country after the reported since Tuesday evening, Meghalaya, Bihar, Himachal Gujarat. pura have two cases each, while on Tuesday night when Gullu arrived
Centre and the state govern- of which 18 deaths were reported Pradesh, Odisha and Assam have Telengana has 647 cases, fol- Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh there. An argument broke out between
ments conducted a “mega from Maharashtra, six from Uttar reported one fatality each, ac- lowed by Andhra Pradesh at 503 have reported a case each. Prashant and Gullu when the former
operation” to identify them. Pradesh, four from Gujarat, three cording to ministry data. and Kerala at 387. “State-wise distribution is coughed. “Gullu got angry thinking
At least 9,000 people from Madhya Pradesh, two each However, a PTI tally of figures The number of novel coro- subject to further verification Prashant / PTI /
participated in the religious from Delhi and Karnataka, and reported by various states as on navirus cases has risen to 278 and reconciliation,” the ministry
congregation in Nizamuddin.
Later, many of the attendees
one each from Telengana, Tamil
Nadu, Punjab and Meghalaya.
Wednesday showed at least 11,946
cases and 405 deaths.
in Jammu and Kashmir, 277 in
Karnataka, 213 in West Bengal
said on its website. The website
also mentions that a patient from
CIVIC BODY MEMBERS
travelled to various parts of Of the total 392 deaths, Ma- There has been a lag in the and 199 in Haryana. Punjab has Nagaland has been shifted to As- CONCEALING
the country.  / PTI / harashtra tops the tally with 178 Union Health Ministry figures, reported 186 infections so far. sam.  / PTI /
INFORMATION ABOUT
OUTSIDERS TO FACE
FIRS: DC KANGRA
DHARAMSHALA The Kangra district ad-
ministration on Wednesday warned all
NEW DELHI About 3,500 jurists, ment said. The signatories to it include endangers not just free speech, but ceremony at the Ramjanmabhoomi rural civic body members of penal action
academics, actors, artistes, writers former Supreme Court judge Madan the public’s right to information,” the site in Ayodhya during the nationwide in case they shield information about
and people from other walks of life B Lokur, former Madras High Court statement said. lockdown to contain the spread of people returning homes in their areas
have slammed the Uttar Pradesh judge K Chandru and former Patna The signatories called upon the coronavirus. from abroad or other districts and states.
government and police for filing an High Court judge Anjana Prakash. Uttar Pradesh government to with- The statement said the target of Kangra Deputy Commissioner Rakesh
FIR against Siddharth Varadarajan, Two former chiefs of naval staff -- draw the FIR against Varadarajan this action was a factual story on the Prajapati issued the warning while
the founding editor of web portal Admiral Ramdas and Admiral Vishnu and The Wire, and drop all criminal Tablighi Jamaat and its exposure to asking all sub-divisional magistrates in
The Wire, and demanded that all Bhagwat -- are also among the sig- proceedings. COVID-19. the district to strictly enforce curfew
criminal proceedings against him be natories, along with former finance They also called upon the media “Towards the end, the impugned provisions in their jurisdiction. Any gram
dropped. In a joint statement on Tues- minister Yashwant Sinha. not to communalise the pandemic. article merely pointed out that ‘Indian panchayat pradhan and secretary who
day, they called the registration of the The statement expressed shock The Uttar Pradesh police booked believers’ more generally have been fail to provide information regarding
FIR against Varadarajan an attack on at the action of the Uttar Pradesh Varadarajan this month over com- late to adopt precautions and avoid people of their areas who got back to
press freedom. government under Chief Minister ments on Twitter, claiming that the congregation, recalling UP Chief Min- their homes from abroad, other states or
They also urged the central and Yogi Adityanath and police in filing day the Tablighi Jamaat event was ister Yogi Adityanath’s plans, as late as district or have participated in Tablighi
state governments not to use the CO- criminal charges against The Wire held in Delhi, Adityanath had insisted March 18, to proceed with a religious Jamaat meet would invite action,” he
VID-19 pandemic as a cover to trample and one of its founding editors for an that a Ram Navami fair will take place fair at Ayodhya and his flouting of added. He emphasised that there was a
upon the media’s freedom. “entirely factual story on COVID-19 as usual. the national lockdown and social complete ban on entry or exit of any one
A medical emergency should not and religious events”. The FIR against the journalist also distancing norms by taking part in a in the district. / PTI /
serve as a pretext for imposition of a “This attack on media freedom, mentioned his remark questioning Ad- religious ceremony along with others
de facto political emergency, the state- especially during the COVID-19 crisis, ityanath’s participation in a religious on March 25,” the statement said. / PTI / LOW-KEY AFFAIR
ON 73RD HIMACHAL
Freed after 8 months in Tihar on April 4, Vishal told
IANS over the phone.
ing steps to decongest prisons
in the wake of coronavirus
DAY AS CM UNFURLS
TRICOLOUR IN SHIMLA
Tihar, this man becomes Revealing what happned
after his release, Vishal said,
expressed its deep anguish
after it found that no steps

NAVNEET MISHRA / NEW DELHI solution. The villagers have been

AMID A nationwide lockdown
due to the coronavirus pandemic,
residents of a number of villages
across India have emerged as role
models and earned accolades for
strictly following government
guidelines to prevent the spread
of the disease.
The poor in these villages have
been ensured food while houses
and streets and bylanes sanitised
to keep the residents out of the
harm’s way. Every villager has
been provided face masks and
sanitisers by their respective pan-
chayat heads.
Even weekly or daily local mar-
kets are allowed to function to
ensure uninterrupted income for
the vulnerable sections, albeit with
strict observance of the physical
distancing norms.
Due to these commendable ac-
tivities, these villages have earned
praise even from the Panchayati
Raj Ministry.
Take the case of Makkasar vil-
lage in Hanumangarh district of
Rajasthan, where residents carry
out sanitisation exercise daily by
spraying sodium hydrochloride
provided face masks and sanitisers
while the owners of dairy cattle
have been provided fodder.
Many villages in Katak, Bhu-
baneswar and Bhadrak districts of
Odisha have also ensured activities
on similar lines. Each poor family
in Bhandaripokhri village has been
given ration worth Rs 1,000 each
to tide over the crisis.
Villages in Sadar development
block have even roped in the fire
brigade to sanitise their respec-
tive areas.
In Bhadrak district, local ag-
ricultural markets have been al-
lowed to operate to help vegetable
growers, again by following physi-
cal distancing norms.
Heads of villages in Bamta
development block in Bilaspur
have not only ensured sanitisation
of schools, temples, and village
houses etc, but also provided ra-
tion items to migrant labourers.
Villagers in Sonal in North Goa
have deployed a group of youths
to keep a vigil on its outskirts to
prevent the residents from ventur-
ing out. Also, essentials are being
provided to the villagers at their
doorsteps.  / IANS /
lockdown victim
NEW DELHI Since the out-
break of the coronavirus in In-
dia and the lockdown coming
into force, a lot of people have
been affected, one of them
is a former Tihar inmate -- a
software professional in the US
who was lodged in the Tihar
Jail. He was accused of quarel-
ling with a man on Facebook
and now finds his freedom a
difficult affair.
While the stories of migrant
labourers and many others are
flooding the newspapers, in
an unsual incident, a prisoner
who was released early from
Delhi’s Tihar Jail is not able to
go home as he has been stuck
here due to the lockdown.
Vishal Sharma, narrating
his journey from the US to
the Tihar Jail, said, “A com-
plaint was lodged by a man
in 2013 after I had a quarrel
with him on Facebook under
the provisions of the Informa-
tion Technology (IT) Act. In
2018, when the case reached
the court, I did not claim trial
and pleaded guilty following
which I was awarded an year
of imprisonment.
However, only aftter three
months, I got bail and went
to Dubai for official purposes.
When I came back to India in
2019, I again surrended so as
to complete my remaining
term. Though, I was supposed
to be released in May, the jail
authorities upon seeing my
conduct decided to release
me early and I walked out of
“The day I walked out of Ti-
har’s Jail number 7, I called
up my parents and they were
shocked to hear the news of
my release, however, I refused
to return home as the only way
to reach my home in Jaland-
har is by driving and since my
parents are old and there was
no curfew pass, I didn’t want
to trouble them.”
When asked about the con-
dition of the prisons since the
lockdown has come in place,
he said that awareness cam-
paign is done by the Deputy
Jail Superintendent and doc-
tors inside the jail about how
hygiene should be maintained
and also about the social dis-
tancing norms.
“But, nobody is following
the social distancing norms
and even the food was also
being prepared without much
precautions. Prisoners were
standing closely in the line
to fetch food and everyone is
having water from the same
tap,” Vishal said.
Vishal is currently residing
inside a shelter home in Tihar
Gaon near Tiak Nagar area.
Recently, a high-powered
committee constituted for tak-
were taken to implement its
resolution for various steps
to be taken to decongest the
prisons including remission
of sentence to the convicts.
The committee headed by
Delhi High Court judge Justice
Hima Kohli and also compris-
ing Tihar Jail DG Sandeep Goy-
al, Principal Secretary (Home)
Satya Gopal and Kanwaljit
Arora, was set up pursuant
to the orders of the Supreme
Court in order to decongest
the prisons.
After Justice Hima Kohli ex-
pressed displeasure, Principal
Secretary (Home) apprised
her that on the basis of reso-
lution, the Delhi government
has passed the necessary or-
ders “granting remission of
sentence”.
He further assured the
court that the said orders
will be communicated to
D.G.(Prisons) during the
course of the day.
Goyal said he will expedite
the process within two-three
days of receipt of the orders
from the government of NCT
of Delhi in order to achieve the
objective, for which the com-
mittee is constituted./ IANS /
SHIMLA Himachal Pradesh Chief Minis-
ter Jai Ram Thakur unfurled the national
flag at the Ridge in Shimla marking the
73rd Himachal Day on Wednesday in a
low-key affair amid the COVID-19 pan-
demic. The celebrations were modest
as Thakur presided over the symbolic
state-level function and and took salute
from the police contingent. Education
Minister Suresh Bhardwaj, Shimla Mayor
Satya Kondal, Deputy Mayor Shelander
Chauhan, Chief Secretary Anil Khachi,
Director General of Police S R Mardi
were also present during the function
along with the chief minister. Felicitating
the residents of the state, Governor Ban-
daru Dattatreya unfurled the Tricolour
in Raj Bhavan complex by keeping social
distance. Officials of Raj Bhavan were
also present on the occasion. The gover-
nor also greeted former chief ministers
Virbhadra Singh, Shanta Kumar and
Prem Kumar Dhumal on the occasion of
Himachal Day while talking to them
on the phone, a spokesperson said. / PTI /
 NORTH
5

THURSDAY 16 APRIL 2020

www.dailyworld.in H I M AC H A L P RA D E S H / U T TA R P RA D E S H / D E L H I / U T T RA K H A N D / J & K CHANDIGARH

Ensure strict compliance of lockdown guidelines: Home secy tells states, UTs
NEW DELHI The Home Ministry
has asked all states and union
territories to ensure strict imple-
mentation of lockdown guidelines
to contain the COVID-19 pandemic
in the country, failing which relax-
ations, which are likely to be an-
nounced on April 20, to mitigate
hardships would be withdrawn.
The guidelines were issued by
the ministry on Wednesday, a day
after Prime Minister Narendra
Modi announced extension of the
nationwide lockdown till May 3 to
stem the spread of coronavirus.
Union Home Secretary Ajay
Bhalla, in a letter to all chief sec-
retaries of states and administra-
tors of union territories, called
for strict implementation of the
consolidated revised guidelines.
“The activities allowed under
the consolidated revised guide-
lines will be withdrawn imme-
diately if any of the lockdown
measures are violated, risking the
spread of COVID-19. All entities,
in the government and private
sectors, and members of the pub-
lic should follow the guidelines
strictly,” Bhalla said in his order.
Under the new guidelines,
select additional activities will
be permitted from April 20 to
mitigate hardship to the public
during the lockdown which is
now stretched from the initial 21
days to 40 days.
“...these additional activities
will be operationalised by States/
Union Territories (UTs)/District
Administrations based on strict
compliance to the existing guide-
lines on lockdown measures.
“Before operating these relax-
ations, States/UTs/District Ad-
ministrations shall ensure that all
preparatory arrangements with
regard to social distancing in of-
fices, workplaces, factories and
establishments, as also other sec-
toral requirements are in place,”
Bhalla said.
The home secretary, who is also
the chairperson of the National
Executive Committee under the
Disaster Management Act, made it
clear that the activities mentioned
in the consolidated revised guide-
lines (para 5 to para 20) shall not
Briefly
apply in containment zones within
hotspots demarcated by states, COVID CASES RISE TO
UTs and district administrations as
per the guidelines of the Ministry 190 IN HARYANA
of Health and Family Welfare.
“If any new area is included
in the category of a containment
zone, (all) the activities allowed in
that area till the time of its cate-
gorisation as a containment zone,
will be suspended except for those
activities which are specifically
permitted under the consolidated
revised guidelines,” he said.
Bhalla said the states and union
territories cannot dilute any of the
lockdown guidelines announced CHANDIGARH Coronavirus cases in
by the ministry to contain the Haryana rose to 190 on Wednesday, with
spread of COVID-19 pandemic in six more persons testing positive for
the country. / PTI / infection in various parts of the state.
Worst-hit district Nuh reported three
fresh cases while Panipat, Panchkula

Health Ministry identifies 170

and Sonipat each reporting one new

India seeks Swiss bank case. Out of total 190 positive cases, the
total number of active cases in the state

details of Ratul Puri, his is 146, with 42 patients getting cured

districts in India as hotspots

and discharged, said the state health

father & offshore cos; department’s daily bulletin, the state has
recorded two COVID-19 related deaths.

Switzerland issues notices

NEW DELHI The Union Health Ministry
has declared 170 districts as COVID-19
hotspots and 207 districts as non-
hotspots, officials said on Wednesday,
reiterating that there has been no com-
munity transmission of the disease in the
country so far.
Addressing the daily briefing to provide
updates on coronavirus situation in the
country, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of
Health Lav Agarwal said that states have
been asked to classify districts witness-
ing higher number of cases as hotspots,
districts where some cases have been
found as non-hotspots, and those which
have reported no cases as green zones.
Hotspots are those districts which are
reporting more number of cases or where
the rate of growth of COVID-19 cases is
high, Agarwal said, adding a detailed
direction has been issued to states stat-
ing consolidated efforts are required to
utilise this period of lockdown to curb
the spread of the virus.
“As per data till yesterday, 170 districts
have been classified as hotspot districts.
Non-hotspot districts where cases have
been reported are 207 in number,” Agar-
wal said.
“Cluster containment plan needs to be
implemented in those 207 non-hotspots as
they can develop as potential hotspots,”
the official said.
“There is no community transmission
in the country so far. What we are seeing
is some local outbreaks and clusters,
where cluster and outbreak containment
strategies are being adopted,” he said.
The districts which have not reported
any cases yet have also been directed
to work on cluster containment plans,
he said.
In order to break the chain of transmis-
sion, focus needs to be on contact tracing,
monitoring and clinical management.
States have been asked to uniformly
implement the containment plan in every
district across the country, Agarwal said.
He said the cabinet secretary held a
video conference on Wednesday with all
chief secretaries, DGPs, health secretaries,
collectors, SPs, municipal commissioners
and CMOs where hot spots was discussed
and orientation on field level implementa-
tion of containment strategy was given.
They were told about large outbreak
containment strategies, cluster contain-
ment strategies. Delineation of buffer and
containment zone, parameter mapping,
defining of entry and exit points were
also discussed in detail, he said.
The joint secretary said movement of
people will not be allowed in containment
zones, except for those related with es-
sential services, and special teams will
search for new cases and samples will
be collected and tested as per sampling
criteria.
The officials said that health facilities
in buffer zone outside the containment
zone will be oriented and people facing
Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI)
and influenza-like symptoms will be
tested there.
“Special teams have been formed
which will work in containment zone and
do contact tracing and house-to-house
surveys. Cases of fever, cough and breath-
lessness will be identified in the survey
and requisite action will be taken as per
protocol,” Agarwal said, adding that there
has been no community transmissions
so far but some local outbreaks.
“We have told states that besides the
hotspots identified by the Centre, states
who are fighting the battle at field level
may declare additional districts as hotspot
districts and take required action accord-
ingly,” he said.
Besides health staff, services of local
revenue and corporation staff and volun-
teers will also be utilized in the special
teams which will do contact tracing,
survey and surveillance.
Even in those districts which are not
infected, community engagement needs
to be undertaken to upgrade health infra-
structure and dedicated COVID hospitals
need to be set up, the official said, adding
monitoring and testing of cases with SARI
and influenza-like illness (ILI) symptoms
need to be done. / PTI /
NEW DELHI/BERNE Switzerland’s
tax authorities on Wednesday
issued public notices for Indian
businessman Ratul Puri, his fa-
ther and two offshore firms linked
to them after India sought details
of their Swiss bank accounts for
allegedly having illicit funds. In
separate notices published in
the Swiss government’s federal
gazette, Ratul Puri and his father
Deepak Puri have been asked to
notify Switzerland’s Federal Tax
Administration within 10 days
about their authorised repre-
sentatives in case they want to
appeal against “administrative
assistance” requested by India.
An administrative assistance
typically involves sharing of bank-
ing and other financial details by
Swiss authorities after it prima
facie finds the request made by a
foreign jurisdiction involving an
individual or company suspected
to have indulged in tax evasion
or other financial irregularities.
In the first step towards pro-
viding such an assistance, the
Swiss government issues a notice
in the name of the concerned
individual or company, giving 10
days’ time to appoint a represen-
tative, followed by further one-
month period to appeal against
the decision.
If the appeal is found to be
without merit, the requested
information is shared with the
foreign jurisdiction.
Similar notices have been is-
sued to Hendon Global Limited
and Bronson Financial Inc, two
British Virgin Islands (BVI)-based
entities that are being probed by
Indian authorities for alleged
money laundering by the Puris
who have been at the centre of a
major investigation in connection
with the Rs 3,600-crore VVIP
chopper scam and also a separate
bank fraud case.
Ratul Puri, nephew of former
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister
Kamal Nath and Chairman of Hin-
dustan Powerprojects, has been
accused of money laundering and
is being probed by the Enforce-
ment Directorate (ED) and the
Income Tax Department, among
other agencies and regulators.
There was no immediate re-
sponse by Puri and his group
regarding the Swiss government
notices, though they have been
denying association with the
scam or any other wrongdoing.
On its website, Hindustan Pow-
erprojects describes itself as an
independent power producer
with a portfolio of 6,000 MW in
projects under various stages,
amounting to an asset size of USD
2 billion and employing more
than 800 associates across sites.
Puri was arrested in August
last year under the Prevention
of Money Laundering Act (PMLA)
in connection with a bank fraud
case, while he was still being
probed in the AgustaWestland
VVIP chopper scam. However, he
was granted bail on December 2,
2019, in the AgustaWestland case,
followed by another court order
on December 13 by which he was
released on bail in the bank fraud
case as well. / PTI /
As many as 7,098 samples have been
tested so far, out of which 5,291 have
tested negative. Reports of 1,617 samples,
however, are awaited. Among the total
coronavirus cases reported in Haryana,
10 are foreign nationals while 64 are
from other states, as per the bulletin.
The worst affected districts of the state
with maximum number of positive cases
are Nuh (48), Gurugram (32), Faridabad
(33) and Palwal (29). Bhiwani, Jind,
Hisar, Kaithal and Kurukshetra have so
far reported two cases each while Rohtak
district has only one coronavirus case.
Health Minister Anil Vij has been saying
that the spike in corona-positive cases
was due to a number of Tablighi Jamaat
members testing positive. On Tuesday,
he had said 110 of the Jamaat members
had tested positive. / PTI /
INDIA FACILITATING
RETURN OF 180
STRANDED PAKISTANIS
NEW DELHI India is facilitating the re-
turn of 180 stranded Pakistani nationals
to their home country, official sources
said on Wednesday. The Ministry of
External Affairs has been helping a
number of foreign missions to evacuate
their citizens stranded in India after it
closed the border crossing points and
restricted operation of passenger flights
as part of measures to fight the corona-
virus pandemic. “We understand from
the High Commission of Pakistan that
180 of their nationals currently in India
want to go back. We are coordinating
with authorities concerned to facilitate
their departure,” a source said. The
Pakistan High Commission here has been
in close contact with the Indian side to
ensure expeditious and safe return of
stranded Pakistanis. Last month, five
Pakistan nationals returned home via
the Attari-Wagah border point. Most of
the Pakistani nationals came to India on
medical visas. / PTI /
AAROGYA SETU
BECOMES WORLD’S
FASTEST APP TO REACH
5 CR DOWNLOADS
NEW Delhi Government’s mobile app
Aarogya Setu, developed for tracking
coronavirus patients, has become the
world’s fastest app to reach 5 crore
downloads in just 13 days, Niti Aayog
CEO Amitabh Kant said on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his
address to the nation on April 14 ap-
pealed to people to download the app.
“Telephone took 75 years to reach 50

J&K border residents hit by double

million users, radio 38 yrs, television 13
yrs, Internet 4 yrs, Facebook 19 months,
Pokemon Go 19 days. AarogyaSetu,

whammy of COVID-19, Pak shelling

POONCH With the threat of
coronavirus looming large and
intense shelling by Pakistan,
villagers living along the Line
of Control (LoC) and Interna-
tional Border (IB) in Jammu
and Kashmir are struck be-
tween the devil and the deep
sea.
For the last month, Pakistan
has targeted villages and army
posts along the LoC and IB
in the union territory killing
and injuring several people
besides damaging more than
two dozen houses.
While several attempts were
made by infiltrators in the last
few days to enter India along
the LoC in Kupwara, Poonch
and Rajouri districts of Jammu
region with Pakistani army
providing cover fire to them.
There is heightened fear in
the villages under the three
districts especially after three
civilians were killed last week
in Kupwara due to shelling by
Pakistan.
“I was seriously injured in
the shelling by Pakistan… On
one side we are fighting to save
our families from the threat of
coronavirus and on the other
they (Pakistan) are targeting
us in our houses,” Showkat,
a resident of village Kasba in
Poonch district said.
“We are caught between the
devil and the deep blue sea,”
he added.
Corroborating his views,
Balakote resident Mumtaz Bibi
said the villagers have urged
the administration to build
bunkers for them but their
plea seems to have fallen on
deaf ears.
“We had demanded that
bunkers be built so that we
can save our families from
Pakistan shelling. We met
district officials but nothing
has been done yet. Three shells
hit our houses recently and we
narrowly escaped,” she said.
“We can still save our fami-
lies from coronavirus by fol-
lowing all guidelines but how
do we protect ourselves from
mortar shells?” asked Mumtaz
who said that her home had
been “totally damaged” due
to shelling.
However, a district officer
said the process of setting up
bunkers along the LoC in all
the border districts had been
initiated sometime back but
the due to the coronavirus
pandemic, work had to be
stopped.
“We will ensure that bun-
kers are built for people living
along the LoC,” he said.
Shahzad Malik, a social
worker active in the border
belt of Rajouri-Poonch said
people living along the LoC
and IB in Kupwara, Rajouri,
Poonch, Samba and Kathua
districts are a terrorised lot
and in trouble. “The border
situation is very tense and
along with people, hundreds
of animals have been killed…
We want the shelling to stop.
The coronavirus outbreak has
only added to the woes of the
people,” he said.  / PTI /
India’s app to fight COVID-19 has reached
50 mn users in just 13 days-fastest ever
globally for an App,” Kant said in his
Poonam Negi, a shop owner at the Tibetan Market in Janpath has been feed- tweet. The death toll due to coronavirus
ing the street dogs for the last five years. Nationwide lockdown due to Coro- rose to 377 while the number of cases in
navirus pandemic has not stopped Poonam from feeding them daily outside the country climbed to 11,439. Aarogya
her shop in the afternoon where she gets them cooked rice with chicken or Setu app alerts people if any known or
vegetables with milk. in New Delhi on Wednesday./ T. NARAYAN
person in their vicinity has tested posi-
tive. / PTI /
COVID-19: HC restricts its, district 20 LAKH JOBS AT RISK
courts functioning till May 3 IN INDIAN AVIATION,
NEW DELHI The Delhi High Court
on Wednesday decided to restrict
The order also said that all pend-
ing matters before the High Court
DEPENDENT SECTORS
its and district courts’ functioning which were to be heard between NEW DELHI More than 20 lakh jobs are
to urgent matters only till May 3, in April 16 to May 2 are adjourned to at risk in India’s aviation space and de-
view of the lockdown announced by corresponding dates between June pendent sectors in the wake of the coro-
the central government in the wake 16 to July 2, respectively. navirus pandemic, according to global
of COVID-19 pandemic. The High Court had on March airlines’ grouping IATA. Commercial
The Administrative and General 25 restricted its and district courts’ flight services have been suspended till
Supervision Committee of the High functioning till April 14. In its order May 3 as the government has extended
Court, headed by Chief Justice D N regarding functioning of district the nation lockdown in continuing efforts
Patel, decided the restriction would courts, the High Court said matters to curb spreading of coronavirus infec-
be in place till May 3 and the urgent listed in the lower courts between tion, which has already affected more
matters would be heard by video April 16 to May 2 would also be than 11,000 people in the country. Faced
conferencing. The committee, in its adjourned “en bloc” and “infor- with challenging business conditions,
order, also said that the number of mation in this regard be uploaded some domestic airlines have resorted
benches, hearing matters through on District Court website”. It also to leave without pay and layoff of expat
video conferencing, would be in- said that the District and Sessions pilots. Against the backdrop of the cur-
creased further.Till Wednesday, one Judges (DSJs) concerned, as already rent situation that has also resulted in
division bench and two or three directed, may permit the judges and substantial economic disruptions, the
single judge bench were hearing other staff officials to work from IATA said airlines in India are also not
the urgent matters. home, wherever possible.  / PTI / spared. / PTI /
 6

editorial
“When we love, we always strive
to become better than we are.
When we strive to become better
than we are, everything around us
Thursday 16 april 2020
becomes better too.”
chandigarh Paulo C o e lho

The Zoo Don’t defame migrant workers

tragedy for your politics

W
The visitors to the zoo have dropped following
the lockdown and with this there are consequences
hy Defame Mi-
for the animals and animal lovers too. While there grant Work-
are fears that the coronavirus may keep visitors away ers? What
from animals there are fears that the zoos may be happened in
Bandra West
forced to euthanise animals or even feed herbivores is a glaring
to the expensive carnivores to keep the zoo afloat. example of
In Germany the authorities are seriously consider- vested inter-
ests playing foul to bring India down at
ing this as the cost of keeping the zoo going in the a time when the world is praising our
lockdown is mounting daily. The zoo animals need efforts to fight Corona (Covid-19). Who
to be fed and even if the zoo operates on a skeleton were these people? Why did they come
on the streets? Why certain sections of
staff the cost of feeding the animals with no revenue political people and media was more
coming in is mounting. interested in asserting that there was
The animals are unhappy too and the pandas and a chaos than fear the result of such
gathering? Are they so bitter that even
great apes are undergoing depression as they do not in this crisis, they would allow their
get to see humans ogling them. Something which animosity to create a fake narrative?
they used to enjoy earlier. So unless the German In the morning at 1015 am, the Prime
Minister announced extension of the
zoo gets huge donations or there are funds coming lockdown till 3 May. Almost all the
in from the government they may have to feed the States and well meaning people had
zebra and the deer to the tigers and leopards and demanded that it be extended. Certain
developments helped spread the virus
even shut down the air conditioning for the tropical and containment was the only way out.
animals section and euthanise them. Maharashtra and many other States,
What is happening to the zoo will soon hit the other that had advocated extension, had
already announced unilateral exten-
businesses of the world and lead to huge setbacks sion till 30 April. There was no room
for many industries that were dependent on visitors. for any confusion. How did then a large
This will include tourism and travel and the resort number of people gather at Bandra West
Railway Station in Mumbai?
and liesure business. Gyms may longer be the best Vested interests tried to argue that
places to be seen in and the world could move towards they were migrant workers desperate
to go home. Also, there was food dis-
Yoga and home fitness equipment. The key word in tribution taking place and the crowd
the industry today is flexigility and the ability to be became non-manageable. A question
both flexible and agile will decide what emerges as that was rightly argued in many Tele-
vision debates was if they were really
the money spinner in the future. the migrant workers desperate to go
There will be companies selling food and edible oil home? If so, why did they go to the
and rural products and they will continue to do so. station without any luggage? Also, if
these workers wanted to go to Uttar
There will be companies that will sell medicine and Pradesh or Bihar, Bandra was not the
they will continue to do so. There will be companies right railway station. Also, why migrant
that will sell rooms and tourist packages and travel workers closer to other railway stations
in Mumbai did not turn up there?
destinations and they may see a windup or euthanasia As per the 2011 census, Mumbai and
in the near future. Delhi together have close to one crore
The corporate world is in for a shake up as IT migrant workers which is one-third
of the total of 29.2 million. Majority
companies move forward to address the challenge of of migrant workers come from Uttar
the world for the next three years which will decide Pradesh and Bihar. Those who came
how things focus. out and gathered near the mosque at
the railway station certainly did not act
And commercial real estate could be the biggest on their own. They were clearly follow-
loser and may end up in jeopardy.
/ Sudesh Verma /
ing rumours spread by vested interests
keen to show the central government
in poor light.
Whether it was the event involving
migrant workers’ agitation in Surat a
few days back or in Delhi when the
lockdown was first announced, the
pattern was same. The workers were
given an impression that they would
be able to reach home and they got
misguided. Vested interests after failing
in Delhi and Gujarat, tried the trick in
Mumbai and used the gullible minority
community.
Let us see some of the tweets that
came during the day. It appeared
they were celebrating the supposed
semblance of chaos. Just when the
crowd was being reported on Tele-
vision, Mr Sanjay Jha, spokesperson
of the Congress tweeted: “When you
have lockdowns without creating any
support systems for migrant labor, Mr
Prime Minister, #Bandra will happen.
There is panic and we need human
empathy here”. (6.03 pm on 14 April).
The target of attack should have been
the Congress-NCP-Shiv Sena govern-
ment in Maharashrta because this task
falls within the purview of the State
government.
He came out with another tweet a
little later that was more revealing:
“Let’s be clear: #Bandra happened
because of the disastrous unprepared-
ness of the NDA government after PM
Modi’s repeated lockdownsÂ…. Now a
word from PM on the human suffering
of migrants. No solutionsÂ….Why is
India surprised? I repeat, BJP cannot
govern. Period!” (8.56 pm, 14 April).
The cat is out of the bag. The real
design is exposed. Instead of fighting
Corona, try to defame the Prime Min-
ister. None in the country can dare say
that the BJP cannot govern when the
whole world is lauding the governance
delivered. A few days back the same
person wrote an article on how to re-
juvenate the Congress. So the priority
is not to fight the corona shoulder to
shoulder but think about strengthening
the Congress. And it cannot happen till
Modi’s image is intact.
What he said is part of the larger
narrative of the Congress. On 28 March,
Congress president Sonia Gandhi ar-
gued that migrant workers should be
allowed to go home in special trains.
On 2 April she charged that unplanned
implementation of the lockdown was
causing chaos and pain. The same nar-
rative was picked up by her supporters
who went a step ahead to depict chaos.
One just needs to see the tweets that
came from people identified with anti-
CAA groups on 14th evening.
A young man Vinay Dubey, known
for his anti-CAA protests, has been ar-
rested by Mumbai police for circulating
a video message asking workers to come
to railway station. Many similar people
must have acted through grapevines to
bring those people to the venue. After
all, they have to support the narrative
of chaos. Modi should not succeed. The
casualty figures must increase. How can
India be safe despite adverse situation?
Trying to use migrant workers to
suit their political interest is injustice
to these honest labourers, who live life
of dignity through hard work. They
are not less patriotic than any one of
us and they support the call of their
Prime Minister. They beat the utensils
and light lamps to tell India they are
with everyone. But they are innocent
people, not much educated and get
easily misguided by vested interests.
If anyone goes and asks them if they
want to go home, the natural answer
will be yes. If they are given food and
shelter they would never violate the
consensus.
For those who argue that the lock-
down was not planned, they should
know that lockdown has to be sudden so
that all those people should stay where
they are. One should blame the Central
government if the State Governments
have not been given enough supplies
to take care of people. It is dishonesty
of the State Government that has led
to the crisis. They wanted to send mi-
grants home and get rid of the burden
of providing for these people. In fact,
this was a pay off time for them. These
migrant workers have worked hard to
make these States prosperous. Also,
if they get the disease, the facilities to
fight the virus is much better in these
cities than their villages back home.
The much easier option for the Cen-
tral government was to provide free
train travel to these migrant workers.
But that would have defeated the fight
against Corona. It would have literally
meant taking corona carriers to their
respective villages and helping Corona
to multiply. The State Governments
need to be imaginative. People by and
large are law abiding. They just need
motivators who would tell them that it
is just a matter of few weeks. Give them
food at their places and other facilities
and keep telling them that this was to
save their lives and lives of the fellow
Indians. / IANS /
Sudesh Verma is a panel spokesperson
of the BJP and in-charge of the party’s
media relations. He has worked as a pro-
fessional journalist for more than two
decades in Delhi. He has written a book
on Narendra Modi called Narendra
Modi: The GameChanger. The views
expressed are personal

Bad new for Policy moving forward post corona

T
TAPONEEL MUKHERJEE globally. On the supply side, where businesses are provided In an unprecedented scenario breadth of the supply chain.

Bacchus
For lovers of Bacchus and his
leopards there is bad news as all
liqour shops will remain shut dur-
ing the lockdown however there
are some areas where there will
be relaxations to ensure that the
rural economy is not derailed. This
will include truck movement and
highway dhabas and work on har-
vesting and packing the crop.
Meanwhile meat and poultry and
vegetables shall be easily available
after a few days and so will the items
of daily use.
However of late a host of new
brands which did not sell earlier
are selling today as there is little
in form of options for the buyer.
Those who want edible oil may
not get the brand of their choice
and those who want a particular
bread may not get the bread of
their choice however it would be
better if they were not fussy for a
few days right now.
The relaxations to the rural econ-
omy mean that food will continue
to come in for the tables or the
urban dweller and the government
he policy respons-
es globally to the
coronavirus pan-
has to learn much from the Atta demic-induced
Dal scheme of the Punjab Govern- dire economic sce-
ment which had been begun by the nario has treaded
former CM Prakash Singh Badal. the familiar path of infusion
During that time the Congress of money into the financial
ruled states were busy dispensing system. As India braces itself
rice and wheat to the poor but Pun- for the longer-term economic
jab insisted on distributing wheat impact of the lockdown, it is
and pulses instead for the simple pertinent to reflect upon spe-
reason that it made a full meal. The cific policy issues that will re-
poor can have dal with roti but can- quire careful attention from
not eat rice with roti was the logic the industry and the govern-
behind the scheme. Therefore it ment alike.
would be advisable that the govern- Governments and the cen-
ment agencies distributing grain tral banks globally have re-
keep in mind the diet requirements sponded with increased mon-
of the people while doing so. ey supply into the economic
There have been complaints from system to stem the short-term
some persons that they are not cash flow problem. In the long-
getting strawberries and they are run, policies in India must look
not getting their favourite gourmet to ensure that a sustainable
food. They would be best advised recovery is on the cards by
to bear with the fact that a national tackling issues on both the
tragedy has struck and demands demand and supply side. As
hardships from everyone. They too the economic machinery has
have to do their bit for the nation stopped working, unemploy-
and if it means going without bakers ment and lower incomes will
bread for a few days they must put result in a drop in aggregate
up with the hardship. demand not just in India but
disrupted supply chains will
necessitate higher input prices
and processing times in pro-
duction.
Essentially, the government
will have to look beyond the
policy measures announced so
far to effectively provide busi-
nesses “bridge-capital” to tide
over the extreme shock fol-
lowing total demand collapse,
and supply chain disruption
that the corona virus-induced
lockdown has caused. Pro-
viding this “bridge-capital”
to businesses will be critical
to reviving the economy, that
too at a rapid pace. Sugges-
tions from experts on how
to give businesses the fillip
have ranged from tax breaks
to business grants. While the
exact mechanisms utilised may
vary by sector, the realisation
that the procedure needs to be
both implemented well and
practically is vital for all to
understand.
In providing businesses
with “bridge-capital”, the
government needs to ensure
that the issue of moral haz-
ard is avoided. For instance,
with the option of deferring
a specific component of tax
payments (with no interest
penalty), then it is vital to com-
municate to the businesses
that this is tantamount to an
interest-free loan that must be
repaid in the future. The aim
must be to assist businesses to
become more efficient going
forward. It must be under-
scored that in an economic
downturn, not all companies
can be saved. Economic down-
turns are preceded by a crisis
and ensure that certain inef-
ficient businesses are weeded
out, a natural concomitant of
the economic cycle. “Survival
of the efficient” is the strategic
dictum. The government must
ensure that businesses have
both clarity and incentives to
realign or even redesign their
businesses for greater efficien-
cy and growth to forge ahead
in the post-corona world.
The practicality of the gov-
ernment efforts to boost the
Indian economy must factor
in the core issue, that the gov-
ernment’s capacity to provide
businesses capital is limited.
where the economic wheels
come to a complete halt or
have stopped turning to a
large extent, the government
can only provide money to a
limited extent. The key is to
provide businesses access to
extra capital is to do so with
clarity of purpose, judged on
the touchstone of having ef-
ficiency.
Additionally, it is also vital
that policies carefully address
the long-term implications and
intricacies of the economic
linkages in the system. As
far as possible, policies that
look to ameliorate short-term
pains must not do so at the cost
of creating more significant
problems down the road in
the longer run. For instance,
if certain payments to a sector
are to be delayed one needs to
be mindful of the fact that the
industry that will get delayed
payments may also have poten-
tial liabilities that in turn need
payments to be made and so
on. Therefore, a delayed pay-
ment schedule for one part of
the supply chain has implica-
tions for the entire length and
That government policy and
expenditure must be directed
to jump-start the recovery in
both India, and indeed the
world over is evident from
the policy measures such as
central bank balance sheet
expansion and government
grants and loans to busi-
nesses being announced all
around. More importantly,
removing roadblocks to the
flow of money through effec-
tive policymaking is the key to
emerging stronger from the co-
rona virus-induced economic
slowdown. In the long run, the
capacity to remove inefficien-
cies that impede the flow of
money by cleverly designed
policies can serve as the pro-
verbial silver lining in the cloud
for India. / IANS /
The views expressed in this
article are personal and that
of the author. The author
heads Development Tracks, an
advisory firm. You can contact
him at taponeel.mukherjee@
development-tracks.com or @
Taponeel on Twitter

Bird’seyeview

How COVID-19 helped rediscover hope and goodness

R
ising global con-
cerns on the vast
implications of the
COVID19 outbreak
on our future is
obvious with anxi-
eties mounting on economies,
Gautam jobs and the very existence of
mankind.
Adani However, amidst the gloom,
there are several small discov-
eries that are worth cherishing.
Who could have thought that
MyLab Discovery Solutions, a
small startup in Pune would
become the first Indian firm
to produce indigenous Coro-
novirus testing kits?
At a time when India is in
dire need of high-quality and
cost-effective testing gears,
the kit that takes months to
develop was produced in a
few weeks. What is even more
inspiring is the story of Minal
Dakhave Bhonsale, the virolo-
gist who headed this project.
According to a BBC news re-
port, Bhonsale managed to
deliver the project amid an
advanced stage of pregnancy.
The project was completed
a day before she delivered a
baby girl.
Hundreds of such incred-
ible stories that demonstrate
resilience, hope, and power of
the human spirit are unfolding
around us every day. Look at
the ports sector, for instance.
Everyone understands the
critical role played by ports
in anchoring essential supplies
in a country, which demands
the presence of trained work-
force at sites. How does one
ensure their safety? A team of
engineers at the Adani Port in
Vizag took us by surprise. In
just about 4 hours, the team
created a sanitized water
shower for everyone to use.
Instances like these reinstate
what I have always believed.
Difficult times bring us closer
and make us stronger to face
any eventuality. We must be
able to look around ourselves
and find these narratives.
You need not look too far
to get inspired. I have come
across several inspiring nar-
ratives on my social media
timelines or by simply observ-
ing people in my immediate
neighbourhood. Several fami-
lies from different sections of
the society have invested their
lockdown time in aggregat-
ing essentials for the under-
privileged. These are common
people leading humble lives
but what makes them extraor-
dinary is their intent to care for
others. Domestic helps, daily
wage earners and scores of
people who earn their living
by doing odd-jobs are being
looked after, not just by gov-
ernments, large corporations
or charitable organisations,
but by common people liv-
ing around them. There are
also virtual groups of animal
lovers who are feeding strays
and ensuring that they find
safe shelter.
Recently, I read about
Naveen MS, a civil service
aspirant who took up the re-
sponsibility of creating aware-
ness and dispelling myths on
Coronavirus among rural
communities in Karnataka.
According to a report in the
Hindustan Times, the young
man from Chitradurga district
became a part of a social media
group that helped people with
limited access to authentic in-
formation on the pandemic.
What was most admirable was
his vision. He thought that for
the economy to resurrect it
was essential that people’s
minds stay healthy. In fact, I
feel gratified to see the com-
munity outreach work being
delivered by young volunteers
at the Adani Foundation. Over
the past three weeks, millions
settled in the remote corners of
the country have been touched
and empowered to stay safe
against the COVID19 outbreak.
I don’t think this collective
goodness and love for each
other has erupted suddenly.
It was always there within us.
The COVID19 crisis has only
presented an opportunity for
us to reflect upon this feeling
of compassion and worked as
a trigger to unite people.
However alarming the post-
Coronavirus world might seem
to appear, it does not pull me
down. Instead, by looking
around I get great hope and
confidence to bounce back.
The Coronavirus can restrict
our movement but it cannot
contain our urge to fight and
help each other. It cannot stop
us from being positive about
the future.
Global economic history is
full of major ups and downs.
India’s domestic economy has
always stood as a great shield
in protecting the country from
global economic headwinds. I
have no doubts that the nation
will be able to rise above this
crisis. It might take time but
there is ample optimism to
show that it is possible.
Together, let us stay resilient
and hopeful. / IANS /
Gautam Adani is Chairman
of Adani Group. The views
expressed are personal
 7

www.dailyworld.in
east & west south
ra ja s t h a n / g u ja rat / n o rt h e a s t / M P / b i h a r / w e s t b e n g a l / o r i s sa / j h a r k h a n d g oa / m a h a ra s t ra / t e l a n g a n a /
Thursday 16 april 2020
chandigarh
s e e m a n d h ra / ka r n ata ka / ta m i l n a d u / k e ra l a

Briefly We sought trains

No special trains for migrants, Centre
for stranded
migrants: Railways
didn’t respond:
clarifies yet again Minister

Hyderabad In the backdrop of the

Bandra incident in Mumbai, the South
Central Railway (SCR) has yet again clari-
fied that there is no proposal to operate
special trains for migrants stranded in
the railway division that predominantly
serves the states of Andhra Pradesh,
Telangana, Maharashtra and parts of
Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Madhya
Pradesh. The SCR clarification on
Wednesday comes following reports in
certain quarters that the particular zone
is preparing to start services for migrant
labourers in its area of operations. Tak-
ing to Twitter on Wednesday, SCR stated:
“CLARIFICATION: A communication
related to internal planning of SCR to
Mumbai The Maharashtra
government had demanded
special trains from Mumbai
to some places in Bihar and
Uttar Pradesh to allow migrant
workers to return to their na-
tives places, but the Centre
did not respond to it, a state
Jharkhand Police and CRPF jawans recover several arms and ammunitions along with daily use items during a joint search operation in the Naxal-affected minister said on Wednesday.
dense forest of Bokaro district, Wednesday, April 15, 2020. / PTI
More than 1,000 migrant
workers, most of them from
“That was the first time, we
had requested the Centre to
run special trains, he said.
On March 29, when Maha-
rashtra Chief Minister Uddhav
Thackeray said his government
had set up some 163 centres
across the state to provide
food, water and temporary
shelter to the migrant labour-
ers, the state administration

57 foreigners related to Jamaat

assess demand for train services is being Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West was able quantify the approxi-
misinterpreted in some sections as deci- Bengal, gathered near Bandra mate figures of migrant labour-
sion to run spl trains for migrant labour. railway station here on Tues- ers. “The figure was between
“There is NO such proposal & ALL Pas- day afternoon. five to six lakh - of people who

senger Trains stands CANCELLED till
03.05.2020” Late on Tuesday evening
too, SCR issued a media release stating
that all passenger trains remain suspend-
ed till May 3, on account of the extended
lockdown due to COVID-19. However
with reports emerging that special trains
are being operated for migrants, SCR
hastened to clarify and avert any law
and order situations. On Tuesday, large
crowds of migrants had gathered at
the Bandra railway station in Mumbai,
following rumours of special trains be-
ing arranged to transport them to their
homes in other states. The railways have
been rushing to clarify that no such
moves are being initiated. / IANS /
HC backs Mumbai
police’s order
against fake social
media posts
Mumbai The Bombay High Court on
Wednesday said the Mumbai police’s
order prohibiting dissemination of fake
messages on social media was issued to
protect citizens from incorrect infor-
mation about COVID-19. Justice R K
in Bihar arrested
Patna The Bihar government
seems to tighten the grip over
those who attended the congre-
gation in Delhi’s Nizamuddin
Markaz, as 57 foreigners of dif-
ferent countries were arrested
in Patna, Buxar, Kishanganj and
Araria for violating visa rules.
According to the police, all the
arrested were associated with
Tablighi Jamaat.
18 have been arrested from
Araria while 17 from Patna and 11
each from Kishanganj and Buxar.
All of them were tested of coro-
navirus but they tested negative.
Kishanganj Superintendent
of Police Kumar Ashish said 10
Indonesia and one Malaysian
were arrested from near the
Khanka Mosque a few days ago.
They were tested of coronavirus
however, they tested negative but
still we kept then in quarantine in
the Mosque itself. FIR has been
lodged against them and all of
them were arrested on Tuesday,
after their quarantine period was
over, for violating visa rules.
Similarly, seven Indonesian
and four Malaysian from Naya
Bhojpur in Buxar district.
Buxar Superintendent of Po-
lice Upendranath Verma said
these foreign tourists had come
to India on tourist visas and were
preaching religion. They also
participated in the congregation
organised by Tablighi Jammat.
After being caught from a
Mosque in Bhojpur area in March,
all of them were sent to a quaran-
tine centre. After the quarantine the court.
period got over, a FIR was lodged
against them and they were sent and nine Bangladeshi, were ar-
to jail after being produced in rested from Araria also for violat-
ing visa rules. Of 18, nine were
staying at Jama Masjid in Araraia
18 have been while nine were at Revahi Mosque
arrested from in Narpatganj.
Earlier, on March 23 a FIR was
Araria while 17 registered against 17 foreigners
from Patna and for violating visa rules.
Among the foreigners sent to
11 each from jail, nine are from Kyrgyzstan,
Kishanganj and seven from Malaysia and one
from Kazakhstan.
Buxar. All of Senior Superintendent of Patna
them were tested Police Upendra Kumar Sharma,
of coronavirus
said, “FIRs against seven have
been registed in Fulwari Shareef
but they tested and against 10 in Digha for vio-
negative.
lating visa rules. All the accused
came on tourist visa but were pro-
moting religious congregation.”
Police sources said, all of them
18 foreigners, nine Malayasian were associated with the Tablighi
Jammat and the police is investi-
gating the case. / IANS /
They were demanding that
the state government make
transport arrangements so that
they can go back to their native
towns and villages.
The migrants were dis-
persed after a couple of hours
and were assured accommoda-
tion and food till the lockdown
lasts, a police official earlier
said. “The state government
was well aware of the demands
of migrant labourers that they
wanted to return their home.
It is evident that if there is no
work, no one will allow them
to stay at their current tem-
porary accommodations in
Mumbai or other parts of the
state, the minister told PTI.
Just before the announce-
ment of lockdown last month,
there were reports of how
migrant labourers from Ut-
tar Pradesh and Bihar were
rushing to board any train
heading towards their home-
towns, he said.
had approached the state run
centres. Some of them had al-
ready started walking towards
their hometowns while some
tried to hide inside contain-
ers or tankers to reach their
homes,” a Shiv Sena MP from
Mumbai said.
A fresh update was shared
with the Centre, but “it was
turned down” again, he said.
“We informed the Centre
that we will provide enough
food to these migrants so that
they could reach their homes.
With most of the rail routes
closed, the trains leaving from
Mumbai to Uttar Pradesh and
Bihar would have reached in
much shorter time, he said.
A basic list of stations was
also prepared with the help of
local contractors of migrant
labourers about their current
location in Mumbai and at
which particular station they
would alight in Uttar Pradesh
or Bihar, he said. / PTI /

One-man Chouhan ministry in MP leans heavily on bureaucracy

Deshpande refused to grant interim relief
in a petition filed by one Pankaj Rajma-
chikar, challenging the police’s April 10
order that prohibited dissemination of
fake information through messages and
posts on social medial platforms like
WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook, Tik Tok,
Instagram and so on. The object of issu-
ing the order was to genuinely protect
people from false and incorrect informa-
tion being provided about COVID-19, the
court said. / IANS /
Maharashtra’s
7 districts are
corona-free oases
Mumbai A welcome relief for the state
health authorities, Maharashtra has
seven out of 35 districts which are free of
COVID-19 infections -- with not a single
case reported till April 15, officials said.
They are: Bhandara, Chandrapur, Gad-
chiroli, Parbhani, Wardha, Nanded, Nan-
durbar. There’s Solapur district, which
has no case so far, though the Solapur
city has reported one case, as per the
latest government data. These untainted
districts are designated as the ‘Green
Zone’ in the state and now all-out efforts
are underway by the district and state
authorities to ensure they remain free of
the corona scourge. Surprisingly, most of
these districts are practically encircled
by other districts, which have been af-
fected by COVID-19, some of them badly,
like Nagpur -- which is bordered by three
clean districts, Bhandara, Chandrapur
and Wardha. / IANS /
Migrants’ protest
in Mumbai:TV
journalist held for
news report
Mumbai A television journalist wasar-
rested from here on Wednesday over his
report on resumption of special trains,
which might have prompted gathering
of migrant workers in suburban Bandra
on Tuesday amidst the coronavirus
lockdown, a police official said. The
accused, Rahul Kulkarni, was detained
in Osmanabad in Marathwada region,
where he is based, and brought to
Mumbai where he was formally arrested.
The arrest of Kulkarni, who works with
a Marathi news channel, was announced
by state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh
on his Twitter handle. “Police arrested
journalist Rahul Kulkarni for giving
news report, due to which rumour was
spread,” Deshmukh tweeted. / PTI /
Lockdown breach: ED
seeks cancellation of
Kapil Wadhawan’s bail
Mumbai The Enforcement
Directorate on Wednesday
moved the Bombay High
Court seeking cancellation
of bail of DHFL promoter
Kapil Wadhawan, who is an
accused in a money laun-
dering case, for violating his
bail conditions and travel-
ling during the coronavirus
lockdown.
Advocate Purnima Kan-
tharia of the Enforcement
Directorate (ED) mentioned
the application before high
court Justice P D Naik.
The court then issued no-
tice to Wadhawan and posted
the matter for further hear-
ing on April 23.
Kapil Wadhawan, the
46-year-old chairman and
managing director of Dewan
Housing Finance Limited
(DHFL), was arrested on
January 27 this year by the
ED for his dubious dealings
with gangster Iqbal, who
died in 2013, and was booked
under provisions of Preven-
tion of Money Laundering
Act IPMLA).
Bhopal With the coronavirus pan-
demic assuming frightening pro-
portions in Madhya Pradesh, the
23-day-old Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) government has handed the
micro-monitoring to 10 IAS officers
who will report to the Chief Secre-
tary daily.
The government has also set up a
technical advisory committee, head-
ed by Health Department Director
Sudam P. Khade (IAS), which will
prepare an action plan to control
the pandemic.
It’s the third committee within a
month. Before this, two high-level
committees were formed to advise
how to revive activities to improve
the economic situation.
The new committee will submit
Mahabaleshwar.
Kantharia said the ED
sought an urgent hearing of
its application after it came
to light that Kapil Wadha-
wan violated the conditions
imposed upon him by the
special PMLA court while
granting him bail.
“The accused (Kapil Wad-
hawan) was directed to ap-
pear regularly before the ED
to ensure he does not leave
the city.
However, it was recent-
ly learnt that he travelled
outside the city and thus,
He was granted bail on violated the bail conditions,
February 21 by a special
PMLA court in Mumbai.
Kantharia said.
She said this was an added
Kapil Wadhawan, his ground for the prosecution
brother Dheeraj Wadhawan to seek urgent hearing into
and other family members its application requesting
travelled to their farmhouse cancellation of bail granted
at Mahabaleshwar hill sta- to Wadhawan.
tion in Maharashtra’s Satara According to the ED, Kapil
district last week, in alleged Wadhawan laundered money
breach of the lockdown im- from DHFL as part of an il-
posed to check the spread legal property deal with Mir-
of coronavirus. chi. It alleged that Rs 12,773
Subsequently, the ED on crore was siphoned off from
Friday issued orders for sei- DHFL on the pretext of pro-
zure of five luxury vehicles in viding loans to one lakh ficti-
which they travelled to Ma- tious customers.
habaleshwar from Khandala. A part of this loan was
The Wadhawan brothers used to make payments to
and 21 others, including Mirchi, who died in 2013
their family members, are in London, the agency
at present in quarantine in claimed. / PTI /
daily analysis of the situation and
information about the action to Mo-
hammed Suleman, Additional Chief
Secretary, Health Department.
There is no cabinet and Chief Minis-
ter Shivraj Singh Chouhan has shown
no urgency to form one. Suggestions
from within the BJP to at least appoint
Health Minister, Home Minister and
Food and Civil Supplies Minister have
been shrugged off.
Chouhan has been marshalling the
bureaucrats to deal with the crisis that
has overshadowed everything else.
The stress is on keeping the regional
party satraps engaged in a process
that would normally be handled by
the council of ministers.
In the 22 days since Prime Minister
Narendra Modi first announced a
Rumour led to
migrant protest,
curb confusing
messages: Pawar
Mumbai NCP president Sharad
Pawar onWednesday termed as
unfortunate the gathering of mi-
grant workers outside the Bandra
railway station and stressed such
incidents should not recur in the
face of the COVID-19 crisis.
He said people gathered outside
the suburban station on Tuesday
afternoon after somebody circu-
lated the rumour that trains services
will resume, and called for taking
precaution to ensure such confusing
messages are checked.
The former Union minister also
urged political parties to desist
from scoring points over each other
during the ongoing health crisis
and asked them to defeat COVID-19
collectively.
Unfortunate incident took place
outside the Bandra railway station
yesterday.
“Somebody circulated rumour
that the train services will resume
and that you (the migrant workers)
have the chance to travel out of
the state and thousands of people
turned up there.
Unfortunately, instructions re-
garding social distancing were not
observed there, Pawar said during
his address via Facebook. / PTI /
‘janata curfew’ and then nationwide
shutdown, the state has seen the crisis
turning from bad to worse.
The state reported its first coronavi-
rus death on March 25, two days after
the new government took charge. In
three weeks, the toll has touched 50.
During the same period, the Covid-19
has infected nearly 800 people.
With 32 people testing positive
a day, the state stands next only to
Maharashtra.
Chauhan has allocated 49 of the
51 districts to 10 IAS officers. They
will review independently the per-
formance in the assigned districts
as per the Covid-19 strategy.
The status of Indore, Bhopal and
Ujjain is being reviewed at the state
level.
Lockdown sloppy, says Bengal Guv;
Mamata asks him to shun politics
Kolkata Unhappy over the way
thelockdown is being enforced in
West Bengal, Governor Jagdeep
Dhankhar Wednesday said police
and civil officials not following
protocol be shown the door and
deployment of central paramili-
tary forces be considered, draw-
ing a sharp reaction from Chief
Minister Mamata Banerjee, who
advised Raj Bhavan to eschew
politics in times of crisis.
“Lockdown protocol has to
be thoroughly implemented to
ward off #coronavirus. Police and
administration @MamataOfficial
failing to effect 100% #SocialDis-
tancing or curbing religious
congregations be shown door,”
Dhankhar tweeted.
“Lockdown must succeed-ex-
amine central para forces requi-
sitioning!” the governor added.
The governor’s remarks did not
go down well with the chief min-
ister, who smelt politics in them.
Why do we need paramilitary
forces? There have been instances
where military personnel them-
selves have been infected with the
virus. Some people are trying to
fish in troubled waters. I would
urge everybody this is not the
time for politics. This is a crisis
Manu Srivastava has been as-
signed Sheopur, Morena, Bhind,
Datia and Gwalior; Neeraj Mand-
loi (Betul, Hoshangabad, Harda
and Sehore); Rashmi Arun Shami
(Ratlam, Shajapur, Agar, Mandsaur
and Neemuch); Dipali Rastogi (Dhar,
Alirajpur, Jhabua, Khargone, Bad-
wani and Burhanpur); Nitesh Vyas
(Sagar, Damoh, Panna, Chhatarpur
Tikamgarh and Niwari); D.P. Ahu-
ja ( Jabalpur, Katni, Narsinghpur,
Khandwa and Chhindwara); Mukesh
Gupta (Seoni, Mandla, Dindori and
Balaghat); Pawan Sharma(Dewas,
Rewa, Singrauli, Sidhi and Satna);
Kavindra Kiawat (Guna, Ashoknagar,
Umaria, Shahdol and Anuppur) and
B. Chandrashekhar (Raisen, Rajgarh,
Vidisha and Shivpuri) / IANS /
situation, Banerjee said, but did
not name the governor.
The Union Home Ministry had
also recently flagged “gradual di-
lution” of the lockdown in some
parts of the state.
Most of these localities are mi-
nority-dominated, and the state
BJP unit has repeatedly alleged
that lockdown was not being
properly enforced in these areas.
The home ministry also said
despite the Centre issuing orders
from time to time under the Disas-
ter Management Act, 2005, these
were not being followed.
Reacting to the Centre’s letter,
Banerjee had said the Union gov-
ernment was only interested in
“extra vigilance in some specific
areas”. “We are not fighting any
communal virus, we are fighting a
disease spreading through human
contact. Wherever we find any
problem, steps will be taken to
ensure that the lockdown is im-
posed there, but that doesn’t mean
shops would remain closed... We
are keeping a close watch,” she
had said.
Dhankhar has been at logger-
heads with the state government
over a host of issues ever since
taking office in July last year. / PTI /
 8

Thursday 16 april 2020

chandigarh
asia www.dailyworld.in

US ambassador: China not blocking 'Provincial, federal govts should fight three killed as roof of house
medical supply exports unitedly against COVID-19 ' collapses due to heavy rains in
The US ambassador to China said Wednesday that Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Wednesday once northwest Pakistan
he doesn’t believe Beijing is deliberately blocking ex- again called for the provincial and federal governments to get A family of three was killed on Wednesday when
Newsmakers

ports of masks and other medical supplies to fight the on the same page to tackle challenges arising out of the coro- the roof of their house collapsed due to heavy
coronavirus, and that the shipment of 1,200 tons of navirus epidemic in the country. "During our meeting with the rains in northwest Pakistan, police said. The
such products to the US could not have been possible federal government yesterday, we asked for a uniform policy incident occurred at Khanpur village in the Dir
without Chinese support. Ambassador Terry Brans- to deal with the situation," Shah said while addressing a press district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. A man,
tad also said the US has concerns about how China conference in Karachi. "It was decided in Tuesday's meeting his wife and their two-year-old daughter were
initially handled the virus outbreak in the central city that the lockdown in the country would be extended for 14 killed when the roof of their mud house collapsed
of Wuhan, but that such issues should be addressed days. All the provinces were unanimous in the decision that due to heavy rains, police said, adding that local
after the pandemic has been brought under control. the lockdown should be extended," he said. people retrieved the bodies from the debris.

Pak’s coronavirus
tally nears 6,000
Sajjad Hussain / Islamabad
The number of coronavirus cases in Paki-
stan approached 6,000 after 272 new infec-
tions were reported, the health ministry
said on Wednesday as Prime Minister Imran
Khan extended the ongoing lockdown until
the end of this month to fight the pandemic.
The number of coronavirus patients in the
country rose to 5,988, with 272 new cases
and 11 deaths during the last 24 hours.
The Ministry of National Health Services
said that Punjab reported 2,945 cases, Sindh
1,518, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 865, Balochistan
240, Gilgit-Baltistan 236, Islamabad 140 and
Pakistan-occupied Kashmir 46.
So far, 1,446 people have recovered from
the disease and 107 deaths have been re-
ported in the country.
The authorities has so far conducted
73,439 tests, including 3,380 in the last 24
hours. Usman Buzdar, Chief Minister of
Punjab province, tweeted that 89 more cases
of the novel coronavirus were reported,
taking the provincial tally to 2,945.
He also said the death toll in the province
has now reached 28 and 43,565 coronavirus
tests have been conducted so far.
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa health de-
partment tweeted 65 new coronavirus
cases, taking the number of infections in
the province to 865.
Prime Minister Khan on Tuesday ex-
tended the lockdown till April 30, say-
ing that the the ongoing restrictions have
helped contain the spread of the deadly
coronavirus. / PTI /
High turnout in South Korean
election despite virus fears
Seoul: The main opposition United Future Party’s candidate Hwang Kyo-ahn, center, and his party members watch TVs broadcasting results of
exit polls for the country’s parliament election at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea onWednesday. / AP/ PTI
Seoul Millions of South Kore-
ans wore masks and disposable
gloves as they voted in parlia-
mentary elections Wednesday,
the highest turnout in nearly
three decades despite the
coronavirus.
The government resisted
calls to postpone the elections
billed as a midterm referen-
dum on President Moon Jae-
in, who enters the final two
years of his single five-year
term grappling with a historic
public health crisis that is un-
leashing massive economic
shock.
Democratic Party and a satel-
lite party it created to win pro-
portional representative seats
would comfortably combine
for a majority in the 300-seat
National Assembly.
While South Korea’s elector-
ate is deeply divided along
ideological and generational
lines and regional loyalties,
recent surveys showed grow-
ing support for Moon and his
liberal party, reflecting pub-
lic approval of an aggressive
test-and-quarantine program
credited with lowering fatal-
ity rates for the coronavirus
and defied expectations of a
“They checked low turnout because of fears
of contracting the virus.
my temperature In an initial count, the Na-
and handed tional Election Commission
said more than 17.2 million
me gloves, but people voted Wednesday.
it wasn’t as Combined with the 11.8 million
who cast their ballots during
bothersome early voting or by mail, the
as I thought it overall turnout was 66.2 per
cent, the highest since 71.9 per
would be.” cent turnout in a 1992 general
election.
The long lines that snaked Analysts struggled to find
around public offices and explanations for the unex-
schools followed record-high pectedly high turnout. Some
any theory for this,” said Yul
Shin, a professor at Seoul’s
Myongji University. “When
turnouts are high, voters are
usually trying to lay down judg-
ment on a government that
disappoints them. But the exit
polls predict a crushing win for
the ruling party.” “We are
going through difficult times,
but the coronavirus and poli-
tics are two different things,”
said one voter, Lee Kum.
Another Seoul resident,
Chung Eun-young, said she
arrived at the polling station
just after it opened at 6 a.m.
to avoid crowds.
“They checked my tempera-
ture and handed me gloves,
but it wasn’t as bothersome as I
thought it would be,” she said.
The voting draws a contrast
with an upended election cycle
in the United States, where
some states have pushed
back presidential primaries
or switched to voting by mail.
To hold the elections as
scheduled, South Korean of-
ficials and health authorities
carefully prepared safeguards
to reduce the risk of the virus
being transmitted.
Duct tape or stickers
marked a meter (3 feet) of
social distancing space from
nearby streets to ballot booths.
Masked poll workers checked
temperatures of arriving vot-
ers and whisked anyone with
a fever or not wearing a mask
to separate areas to vote, sani-
tizing the facilities after each
one. Voters who passed the
fever screening were given
sanitizing gel and disposable
plastic gloves before entering
booths.
The government also
mapped out a voting pro-
cess for those quarantined in
their homes, a number that
ballooned after the country
began enforcing two-week
China slams
Trump for
withdrawing
funding for WHO;
hints at stepping
up its contribution
K J M Varma / Beijing
China on Wednesday expressed “seri-
ous concern” over US President Donald
Trump’s decision to suspend funding for
the World Health Organisation and hinted
at stepping up its monetary contribu-
tion to the UN health agency. Trump on
Tuesday announced halting America’s
funding of the WHO while a review is
being conducted to assess the health
agency’s in “severely mismanaging and
covering up” the spread of the deadly
coronavirus.
The Trump administration has accused
WHO of taking side with China in the
coronavirus outbreak that has brought
America’s economy to a standstill.
American taxpayers provide between
USD 400 million and USD 500 million
per year to the WHO, in contrast, China
contributes roughly USD 40 million a
year and even less, Trump said.
“China expresses serious concern over
the US announcement to halt its fund-
ing to WHO,” Chinese Foreign Ministry
spokesman Zhao Lijian said.
Putting up staunch defence of WHO
and its Director-General Tedros Adhanom
Ghebreyesus, Zhao said, “as the most au-
thoritative and professional international
organisation in global and public health
security, the WHO plays an irreplaceable
role in dealing with global public health
crisis, especially since the outbreak of the
COVID-19”. “Led by Dr. Tedros, WHO is
fulfilling its responsivity and playing a
central role in coordinating international
efforts which is highly recognised by the
international community,” he said.
With the efforts to contain COVID-19 is
at critical situation in the world, “this US
decision will weaken the WHO capability

Briefly
Exit polls conducted by TV compared to China, Europe participation in early voting simply gave up. quarantines on all arrivals and undermine international coopera-
stations indicated that Moon’s and North America. held on Friday and Saturday, “Sorry, I really don’t have from overseas on April 1. / AP / tion”, he said. / PTI /

China didn’t warn COVID-19: Pak court adjourns hearing against Saeed is responsible for carrying out posed a fine of Rs 15,000 in each

in terror financing cases for indefinite period

public of likely
pandemic for 6 key
days
Wuhan In the six days after top Chinese
officials secretly determined they likely
were facing a pandemic from a new coro-
navirus, the city of Wuhan at the epicen-
ter of the disease hosted a mass banquet
for tens of thousands of people; millions
began traveling through for Lunar New
Year celebrations. President Xi Jinping
warned the public on the seventh day,
Janaury 20. But by that time, more than
3,000 people had been infected during
almost a week of public silence, according
to internal documents obtained by The
Associated Press and expert estimates
based on retrospective infection data.
That delay from Jan 14 to Jan. / AP /
Six arrested for
cow slaughter in
Nepal
Kathmandu Six persons were arrested
on Wednesday for allegedly slaughtering
a cow in central Nepal, police said.
Cow is the national animal of Nepal and
its slaughter is strictly prohibited in the
country. According to police, the six per-
sons were arrested from Hetauda city in
central Nepal. They are in the age group
of 20-63, police said. / PTI /
UAE releases 400
Pakistani prisoners
in view of virus out-
break
Dubai/Peshawar Around 400 Pakistani
prisoners have been released from jails
across the United Arab Emirates in view
of the coronavirus pandemic, which has
claimed 28 lives and infected over 4,900
people in the Gulf kingdom so far. The
released Pakistanis were jailed for minor
offences, the Pakistani Embassy in Abu
Dhabi said on Tuesday, adding that the
UAE government was arranging special
flights to repatriate them. Of the 400
prisoners, 189 people already reached
Peshawar on a FlyDubai flight, the Dawn
newspaper reported on Tuesday. The sec-
ond flight is expected to land in Faisala-
bad. All the repatriated prisoners would
be kept in isolation till they are tested for
COVID-19, Additional Deputy Commis-
sioner Ashfaq Khan told the daily. / PTI /
the 2008 Mumbai attack that case. A total of 11 years sentence
killed 166 people, including six will run concurrently.
Americans. The US welcomed the convic-
sentenced to 11 years in jail in He said the court had ad- virus outbreak until the end of The US named Saeed as a tion of Saeed and described it as
Zulqernain / Lahore
two terror financing cases in journed the hearing for an in- this month. Saeed underwent Specially Designated Global Ter- an “important step forward” for
An anti-terrorism court in February. The 70-year-old fiery definite period. angioplasty at a hospital here rorist, and the US, since 2012, Pakistan in meeting its interna-
Pakistan has adjourned for an cleric was arrested on July 17 and ‘It is likely that the proceed- last month after he complained has offered a USD 10 million re- tional commitments to combat
indefinite period the hearing is lodged at the high-security Kot ings in these cases may resume of chest pain. The Counter Ter- ward for information that brings terror financing and not to al-
against Mumbai terror attack Lakhpat jail here. once the issue of coronavirus rorism Department (CTD) of Saeed to justice. He was listed low non-state actors to operate
mastermind and Jamat-ud-Dawah “Lahore’s anti-terrorism court is settled,” he said, referring to Punjab police had registered as a terrorist under the UN Se- from its soil. The crackdown on
chief Hafiz Saeed in four terror has not been holding hearing the COVID-19 pandemic that has 23 FIRs against Saeed and his curity Council Resolution 1267 Saeed’s outfit last year followed
financing cases in the wake of in four terror financing cases killed 113 people and infected accomplices on the charges of in December 2008. a warning by the international
the coronavirus outbreak in the against Hafiz Saeed and other JuD more than 6,200 others in the terror financing in different cities In February, Lahore’s anti- terror financing watchdog to
country. Saeed, a UN designated leaders for the last one month or country. The Pakistan govern- of the province. terrorism court sentenced Saeed Pakistan to deliver on its com-
terrorist whom the US has placed so because of COVID-19,” a court ment on Tuesday extended the Saeed-led JuD is the front or- and his close aide Zafar Iqbal to mitments to curb terror financing
a USD 10 million bounty on, was official told PTI on Wednesday. ongoing lockdown due to the ganisation for the LeT which five and a half years each and im- and money laundering./ PTI /
Coronavirus: COVID-19: China shuts down largest New disinfection
robot to aid
Nepal Police takes makeshift hospital in Wuhan cleaners in
action against personnel in Hubei to deal with the
COVID-19 fight
2,427 lockdown outbreak which was first reported
in Wuhan, the provincial capital.
Singapore Scientists have developed
a semi-autonomous robot that can
violators The government began serious
action to curb the outbreak by
disinfect large surfaces quickly, and
reduce the risk of cleaners picking
imposing the lockdown in Wuhan up the novel coronavirus from po-
Shirish B Pradhan / Kathmandu from January 23. The lockdown tentially contaminated areas.
was lifted on April 8. The researchers from Nanyang
Nepal Police on Wednesday took action Over 3,000 medical workers Technological University (NTU) in
against over 2,400 residents here for defying were reported to have been in- Singapore are planning to have public
government guidelines and roaming outside fected with the virus. trials to support the fight against
their homes without any valid reason amid The hospital was closed as no COVID-19. Named eXtreme Disin-
the ongoing countrywide lockdown to contain new confirmed cases of the novel fection roBOT (XDBOT), it can be
the spread of the novel coronavirus, which has
infected 16 people in the country.
coronavirus disease were reported
in the province on Tuesday.
wirelessly controlled via a laptop or
tablet, removing the need for clean-
The Nepal government on Tuesday extended The province, however, reported ers to be in contact with surfaces, the
the lockdown period from April 15 to April 27
as the Himalayan nation continued to witness
one death, bringing the total num-
ber of fatalities caused by COVID-19
researchers said.
The new robot differs from other
increase in the number of coronavirus cases. K J M Varma / Beijing/Wuhan on Wednesday as the coronavirus to 3,222 in Hubei. disinfection robots currently on the
However, many people continued to defy epidemic wanes, state-run Xinhua The provincial health commis- market that are primarily intended to
the lockdown order. With the number of coronavi- news agency reported. sion said that 32 asymptomatic clean and vacuum floor surfaces and
On Wednesday morning, 2,427 lockdown rus cases sharply falling, China It was one of the two over a cases were reported on Tuesday are unable to disinfect odd-shaped
violators were made to stand for nearly three on Wednesday shutdown one of 1000-bed capacity hospitals built in Hubei, taking the total number surfaces or anything above ground
hours on streets after they were found roaming its largest makeshift field hospi- in 10 days in February to treat the to 619. All are under medical ob- level, they said. Comprising a semi-
outside without any valid reason. tals built in just 10 days to treat COVID-19 patients amid a glare of servation. autonomous control unit with mo-
The law enforcement personnel also lectured the surging COVID-19 infections national and international publicity Asymptomatic cases are those torised wheels, XDBOT has a six-axis
them on the coronavirus threat, the sensitivity in Wuhan, the epicentre of the to curb the virus. where people test positive for the robotic arm that can mimic human
of the situation and the importance of staying pandemic. Besides the two hospitals, China virus but develop no symptoms movement to reach awkward loca-
indoors in this time of crisis, Deputy Inspector Thousands of medical workers also built 14 additional makeshift such as fever, cough or sore throat. tions such as under tables and beds,
General Bishwa Raj Pokharel told reporters here. deployed in the capital of central health centres to quarantine and They are infectious and pose a risk as well as doorknobs, tabletops and
Police also seized 320 two-wheelers and 50 Hubei province from across the treat the COVID-19 patients. All of of spreading the disease to others. light switches. Instead of a conven-
four-wheelers for violating the lockdown order. nation also left Wuhan after com- them were closed down recently. Hubei has so far reported 67,803 tional pressure-spray nozzle, it uses
The novel coronavirus, which originated from pleting their mission, the official Also, the last group of medical confirmed COVID-19 cases, includ- an electrostatic-charged nozzle to
Wuhan City of central China’s Hubei province media reported. workers sent to Hubei to fight the ing 50,008 in Wuhan. ensure a wider and further spread
in November last, has so far killed at least The makeshift Leishenshan outbreak also left Wuhan, state-run The total death toll due to the of the disinfectant, behind and over
1,19,000 people globally, including more than (Thunder God Mountain) Hospital China Daily reported on Wednes- virus in China went up on Tuesday hidden surfaces, according to the
25,000 in the US, according to Johns Hopkins ceased operation in Wuhan, capital day. to 3,342 with one death reported researchers. / AP /
University. / PTI / of central China’s Hubei Province, China deployed 42,000 medical in Hubei. / PTI /
 9

www.dailyworld.in
europe & Australia Thursday 16 april 2020
chandigarh

UK coronavirus death toll UK minister hails India-UK ties in One million coronavirus cases
rises 761 to 12,868: official COVID-19 fight as paracetamol hits shelves reported in Europe: AFP
The number of people who have died The British government has hailed India-UK trade ties as the More than one million cases of the coronavirus have been
in hospital in Britain from the corona- first consignment of 2,800,000 packets of paracetamol from detected in Europe, just over half the global total, accord-
Newsmakers

virus has risen to 12,868, according India is set to be distributed across the country’s supermar- ing to a tally compiled by AFP from official sources at
to health ministry figures published kets and retailers to stem the spread of the coronavirus pan- 0830 GMT Wednesday. With at least 1,003,284 cases, in-
on Wednesday. This is an increase of demic. The shipment followed India’s decision to lift export cluding 84,465 deaths, Europe is the worst hit continent.
761 on the previous day and official restrictions on essential drugs, but further discussions were Globally, 1,991,019 COVID-19 infections and 125,955
figures also showed that the number required for the UK’s urgent need for paracetamol. “This will deaths have been registered. The tallies, using data col-
of people who have tested positive mean nearly 3 million more packets of paracetamol on British lected by AFP from national authorities and information
for COVID-19 has now reached supermarket shelves,” UK International Trade Secretary Liz from the World Health Organization (WHO), probably
98,476. Truss said in a statement on Tuesday. reflect only a fraction of the actual number of infections.

Global stocks, oil price sink on grim forecasts Briefly

London Global stocks and oil
prices tumbled on Wednesday
after the International Monetary
Fund said the world’s economy
will suffer its worst year since the
Great Depression of the 1930s due
to the coronavirus pandemic.
Indexes in London and Frank-
furt were down about 2 per cent
and benchmarks in Shanghai,
Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney
closed lower. Wall Street futures
were down by over 1.5 per cent.
The price of oil hit a new 18-
year low the International Energy
Agency said demand will drop by
9.3 million barrels per day in 2020
overall. Demand in April will hit
its lowest since 1995, it said.
The drop came despite an
agreement over the weekend
Unaccompanied children refugees from the overcrowded migrant
camps on the north Aegean Sea islands, Greece, walk towards the among OPEC and other oil pro-
gates of the Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport in Athens to ducers to cut output to reflect
travel to Luxembourg, on Wednesday, April 15, 2020. / AP / PTI collapsing demand.
EU unveils virus exit some time, and when hospitals
can cope with more patients.
Benchmark US crude lost 40
cents to USD 19.71 per barrel.
Brent crude, the international
standard, declined USD 1.02 to
USD 28.58 per barrel in London.
The IMF said this year’s global
economic output will shrink by 3
per cent, a bigger loss than 2009’s
0.1 per cent decline during the
financial crisis. That was a sharp
reverse from the Fund’s January
forecast of 3.3 per cent growth
before the virus prompted gov-
ernments to shut down factories,
travel and other industries.
“The IMF forecast a deep eco-
nomic winter,” said Hayaki Narita
of Mizuho Bank in a report.
The IMF’s chief economist,
Gita Gopinath, said the loss to
global gross domestic product, the
broadest gauge of economic out-
put, could amount to USD 9 tril-
lion, or more than the economies
A year after
of Germany and Japan combined.
In Europe, London’s FTSE 100
lost 2.3 per cent to 5,661 and the
DAX in Frankfurt declined 2.1
per cent to 10,473. The CAC 40
in France retreated 1.9 per cent
to 4,437.
On Wall Street, the future for
both the benchmark S&P 500
and the Dow industrials sank 1.6
per cent.
On Tuesday, the S&P climbed
3.1 per cent. The index surged 12
per cent last week but is about
16 per cent below its February
all-time high.
In Asia, the Shanghai Com-
posite Index lost 0.6 per cent
to 2,811.17 and the Nikkei 225 in
Tokyo declined 0.5 per cent to
19,550.09. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng
was off 1.2 per cent at 24,145.34.
The S&P-ASX 200 in Sydney lost
0.4 per cent to 5,466.70 while In-
Aditi Khanna
dia’s Sensex added 0.9 per cent to New Zealand PM
30,982.37. New Zealand advanced takes pay cut as
2.5 per cent while Jakarta lost 1.7
per cent and Singapore retreated virus hits economy
1.3 per cent.
Investors are focusing on how
and when authorities may begin
to ease business shutdowns and
limits on people’s movements
imposed to slow the spread of
the coronavirus.
US President Donald Trump has
been discussing how to roll back
federal social distancing recom-
mendations.
US governors are collabo- Wellington New Zealand Prime Minis-
rating on plans to reopen their ter Jacinda Ardern announced Wednesday
economies in what is likely to be she will take a 20 percent pay cut in a
a gradual process to prevent the symbolic act of solidarity with people
coronavirus from rebounding. struggling financially during the corona-
The discussions follow signs virus pandemic. Ardern said her personal
the outbreak may be levelling off salary, those of her fellow ministers and
in some of the hardest-hit areas, of top public servants would be slashed
including New York City. / AFP / by a fifth for six months. The move
will see Ardern’s annual pay fall from
around NZ$470,000 (US$285,000) to
NZ$376,000, costing her about NZ$47,000
over the six-month period. “While it in
itself won’t shift the government’s overall

plan, hoping to avoid

While the commission, which
proposes EU laws and ensures
blaze, Notre Scammers using
fiscal position, it is about leadership,” she
told reporters. “This was always just going
that they are enforced, does
Dame restoration COVID-19 ‘hook’ to to be an acknowledgement of the hit that

more chaos not spell out exactly how EU

Brussels The European Union
moved Wednesday to head off
a chaotic and potentially di-
sastrous easing of restrictions
that are limiting the spread of
the coronavirus, warning its
27 nations to move very cau-
tiously as they return to normal
life and base their actions on
scientific advice.
With Austria, the Czech Re-
public and Denmark already
lifting some lockdown mea-
sures, the EU’s executive arm,
the European Commission,
rushed out its roadmap for
members of the world’s big-
gest trade bloc to coordinate an
exit from the lockdowns, which
they expect should take at least
a few months and involve large-
scale testing.
Some 80,000 people have
now died in Europe from the
disease — about two-thirds of
the global toll — according to
the European Centre for Dis-
ease Prevention and Control.
The commission said those sci-
entists should be relied upon to
guide national exit strategies in
the weeks and months to come.
Brussels is deeply concerned
about the damage that could be
done if each EU nation charts
Virus sends Germany into recession, to last to mid-year
Berlin Europe’s econom-
ic powerhouse Germany
plunged into recession
in March, with the slump
sparked by the coronavi-
rus pandemic likely to last
until the middle of the year,
the economy ministry said
Wednesday.
“Falling global demand,
interruption of supply
chains, changes in consum-
ers’ behaviour and uncer-
tainty among investors”
had all made themselves
UK will
recover
‘quickly and
strongly’
after
COVID-19
crisis: Rishi
Sunak
its own course, given the panic
that ensued after the pandemic
first spread in Italy, with unan-
nounced border closures that
sparked massive traffic jams
and export bans that deprived
hard-hit countries of medical
equipment.
And the EU is very much split
in its approach. Despite the
ravages the illness is wreaking
on their economies, France this
week renewed its lockdown un-
til May 11, and Belgium appears
headed in a similar direction.
Spain also recently renewed
its state of emergency for the
second time for an additional
two weeks.
“This is not - it is not - a signal
that confinement, containment
measures can be lifted as of
now,” European Commission
President Ursula von der Leyen
told reporters, highlighting the
need for clear communication
across the bloc as countries
emerge from quarantine.
Warning that lifting restric-
tions will “unavoidably lead to a
corresponding increase in new
cases,” the commission said
that this should only start when
the spread of the disease has
dropped significantly and for
felt in the export giant, the
ministry said.
The economic blow from
the virus fell just as Germany
was beginning to recover
from a 2019 marked by the
impact of trade wars and
Brexit fears. Industry in
particular had seen rises
in new orders and activity
as 2020 got underway, the
ministry noted. But “given
the massive demand and
supply shock at home and
abroad from the coronavirus
Aditi Khanna / London
The economic impact of the CO-
VID-19 crisis would be “significant,
but temporary”, UK’s Indian-origin
finance minister Rishi Sunak has
said, exuding confidence that Brit-
ain’s economy will bounce back
“quickly and strongly” once the coro-
navirus pandemic is brought under
control.
The UK Chancellor on Tuesday led
the daily Downing Street briefing soon
after the Office of Budget Responsibility
(OBR), Britain independent spending
watchdog, released its forecast that
the crisis-hit economy would shrink
by a record 35 per cent as a result of
the lockdown.
Sunak, the son-in-law of Infosys chief
Narayana Murthy, said the forecast
was only one possible scenario, but it
is still important that the government
is honest with people about what is
happening with the economy.
“These are tough times, and there
will be more to come. This is going to
be hard, our economy’s going to take
countries should make the
transition, the roadmap does
halted by virus commit fraud in UK
many New Zealanders will be taking at the
moment.” The centre-left leader said the
cut would not be implemented across the
underline that their “action Paris Notre Dame Cathedral stands crippled public service. “Many people in our pub-
should be gradual.” and alone, locked in a dangerous web of warped lic sector are frontline essential workers --
“A lack of coordination in lift- scaffolding one year after a cataclysmic fire nurses, police, healthcare professionals,”
ing restrictive measures risks gutted its interior, toppled its famous spire Ardern said. / AFP /
having negative effects for all and horrified the world. Some of the 40,000
member states and creating
political friction,” the document
metal bars — erected for an earlier renovation
project — melted in the intense blaze on April 15,
Struggle, fear and
said. 2019. The unstable scaffolding now endangers heartbreak for
Business operations should
be phased in by sectors, based
the Gothic jewel that for many embodies the
soul of France. The restoration of the landmark
medical staff on
on things like how much can from the 12th and 13th centuries has been virus frontline
be done over the internet, the halted and the workers sent home because Rome Doctors, nurses and healthcare
economic importance of the of France’s coronavirus lockdown that began The UK’s National Crime Agency on workers have become the unwitting
industry, or the kinds of shift March 17, thwarting plans to start removing the Wednesday warned that scammers are in- heroes of the coronavirus pandemic,
work that could be introduced. 250 tons of scaffolding. So even Notre Dame creasingly using the coronavirus pandemic winning applause from balconies and
Social distancing should be has been left in isolation by the pandemic that as a “hook” to defraud and urged people streets around the world. From Yaounde
maintained and there should has affected so many people across France. to be vigilant against these new forms of to Rome to New York, the pandemic has
be no general return to work, The 13-ton bell in the south tower, named crime. infected more than 1.9 million people
it says. Emmanuel, that traditionally rings on solemn The warning came as a pharmacist and a and claimed 118,000 lives. Hospital
Shops could gradually re- occasions will sound at 8 p.m. Wednesday, surveyor were arrested on suspicion of il- workers are dealing with a huge influx
open, with possible limits on joining the nightly rounds of applause for over- legally selling coronavirus testing kits in two of patients, while also facing a lack of
the number of people who stretched health workers. recent NCA investigations. equipment in many cases and the fear
could enter, and school could On Good Friday, Paris Archbishop Michel “COVID-19 is increasingly being used as of becoming infected themselves. Often,
start again, although the com- Aupetit led an exceptional but tiny gathering a hook to commit fraud – and we think these they face heartbreaking decisions while
mission recommends smaller inside the church, at the foot of the huge golden offences are likely to increase during the treating their patients. AFP journalists
classes to allow students to cross that remains intact. pandemic,” said Graeme Biggar, Director spoke to healthcare workers around the
work at a safer distance from “Today, we stand in this half-fallen cathedral General of the NCA’s National Economic world to find out what it’s really like to
each other. Lunch breaks could to say that life is still here,” Aupetit said in Crime Centre. “Individuals and businesses be on the frontline in the coronavirus
be set at different times and the televised ceremony. The gathering in the need to be fully prepared for criminals try- pandemic. In Italy, one of the worst af-
internet learning should be fragile church was meant to raise the spirits ing to turn the pandemic to their advantage fected countries, dozens of doctors and
preferred where possible. of a nation in distress. “The message of hope by scamming them out of money. Law nurses have died from COVID-19 and
Brussels says a gap of around is especially important for our compatriots at enforcement, government and the private thousands of healthcare workers have
one month should be left be- a time when we are particularly affected by sector are working together to protect the become infected. / AFP /
tween any steps to monitor the coronavirus, which is sowing anguish and public and combat these offenders,” he said.
their impact. / AP / death,” the archbishop told reporters. / AP / The NCA said as part of the agency’s pro-
active response against criminals trying to
Germany records
exploit the COVID-19 pandemic, it has also highest COVID-19
fatalities in 24
shut down a website trying to fool victims
into buying suspected
non-existent personal pro- hours
pandemic, economic devel- April), growth will remain ers’ wages if their employer UKdiary tective equipment (PPE) Berlin Germany on Wednesday
opments reversed course” very muted and only revive slashes hours. London through phishing emails. confirmed 285 COVID-19 fatalities in 24
for manufacturers, it said. bit by bit,” the economy min- The BA federal labour This followed arrests hours, recording its highest daily death
At home, Germany has istry forecast. agency said some 725,000 under the UK’s Fraud Act toll from the disease, health authorities
been in progressively tighter To cushion some of the companies had applied 2006 of a pharmacist and surveyor in Lon- reported. The 285 new deaths - surpass-
lockdown since mid-March, blow, Berlin has passed a for the assistance, adding don who made false and misleading claims ing the previous record of 266 last Friday
with Chancellor Angela rescue package totalling 1.1 that the number of work- about COVID-19 testing kits. - brought the total from 2,969 to 3,254,
Merkel set to discuss with trillion euros, ranging from ers affected will likely be “Criminals capitalise on fear and anxiety an increase of 9.6 per cent, Daily mail
state premiers Wednesday guarantees for bank lending “significantly” above the 1.4 and they will exploit any opportunity, no reported. The spike in deaths comes de-
whether to extend restric- to business to a state fund million helped in the 2008-9 matter how awful, to line their pockets,” said spite a slowing infection rate which has
tions beyond the present that could buy up stakes in financial crisis. Nikki Holland, NCA Director of Investiga- prompted scientific advisers to call for
April 19 cutoff date. stricken companies if nec- Berlin estimates that tions. “Illegally selling testing kits com- a re-opening of schools ‘as soon as pos-
“Even if the first pro- essary. The federal govern- around 2.1 million workers pletely undermines the nation’s collective sible’. Germany also has a keen eye on
tective measures can be ment also eased access to a will have to fall back on the response to the pandemic and actually en- the rate of contagion, known as R, which
loosened somewhat (after scheme that tops up work- support. / AFP / dangers lives. Anyone thinking of trying to shows how quickly the virus is spreading.
profit in this way should take note of these The rate is currently around 1.2, meaning
arrests and that bringing these offenders to that each person with the virus infects
While the UK economy would con- justice and ceasing their activities is a key another 1.2 people on average. “It is
tract by 12.8 per cent this year under
this scenario, it is expected to get back
priority across law enforcement,” she said.
The NCA has found that offenders are
really in our interest that this R rate goes
below 1, or is at 1. That is an important
to its pre-crisis growth trend by the
end of 2020.
targeting people trying to buy medical sup-
plies online and have been sending emails
factor,” said Lothar Wieler, head of the
Robert Koch diseases institute. / IANS /
“The OBR have been clear that if offering fake medical support and scamming
we had not taken the actions we had, people who may be vulnerable or isolated EU blasts Trump’s
the situation would be much worse.
In other words our plan was the right
at home.
WHO funding cut,
Frauds have also been attempted by
plan,” said Sunak.
Besides the economy, the Cabinet
trying to lure victims with offers that look fears it worsens
too good to be true such as high return
a significant hit and as I’ve said before minister gave the latest health update investments, “healthcare opportunities” or pandemic
that’s not an abstract thing, people
are going to feel that in their jobs and
and revealed a daily rise of 778 to the
country’s COVID-19 death toll, taking
appeals to support bogus charities.
Tariq Sarwar, Head of Operations for
Geneva Nations around the world reacted
with alarm Wednesday after President
in their household incomes,” said the
minister. “But I think the measures
the total to 12,107.
Sunak said the figures were a daily
Enforcement at the Medicines and Health-
care products Regulatory Agency (MHRA),
Donald Trump announced a halt to the
sizable funding the United States sends
we’ve put in place will help and then reminder about the importance of the said: “The use of products for the diagnosis to the World Health Organization. Health
as we get through this it will mean that British public continuing to comply of coronavirus infection in community experts warned the move could jeopardize
we can recover quickly and strongly with the government’s strict social settings, such as pharmacies, for home use, global efforts to stop the coronavirus pan-
and get our lives and economy back distancing measures in place. is not at present advised by Public Health demic. At a briefing in Washington, Trump
to normal,” he said. Professor Stephen Powis, the Medi- England. said he was instructing his administration
In its report, the OBR said a three- cal Director for the National Health “The safety, performance or quality of to halt funding for WHO pending a review
month lockdown followed by three Service, said there was increasing the products cannot be guaranteed and this of its role “in severely mismanaging and
months of partial restrictions would evidence now that the number of poses a health risk. Always make sure you covering up the spread of the coronavi-
trigger an economic decline of 35.1 hospital admissions is stabilising and are buying your medicines from a registered rus.” The United States is WHO’s largest
per cent in the quarter to June alone, plateauing in London and other ar- pharmacy or website and your medical single donor, contributing between $400
following growth of 0.2 per cent in the eas of the country as a result of the devices from reputable retailers.” / PTI / million and $500 million annually to the
first three months of this year. lockdown. / PTI / Geneva-based agency in recent years. / AP /
 10

Thursday 16 april 2020

chandigarh

Now not the time to reduce resources

canada & USA Scientists discover six new 99-year-old WWII veteran beats
www.dailyworld.in

for WHO as it fights COVID-19: Guterres coronaviruses in bats coronavirus in Brazil

Now is “not the time” to reduce resources for the Scientists have discovered six new corona- A 99-year-old World War II veteran in Brazil
World Health Organization (WHO) as it fights the viruses in bats in Myanmar -- the first time was released from hospital with military
Newsmakers

COVID-19 pandemic, UN chief Antonio Guterres these viruses have been found anywhere honours Tuesday after recovering from the
said after US President Donald Trump announced to in the world. The findings, published in the coronavirus. Second Lieutenant Ermando
halt America’s funding of the world body and blamed journal PLOS ONE, will help understand Piveta, who served in the Brazilian artillery
it for “severely mismanaging and covering up the the diversity of coronaviruses in bats and in Africa during the Second World War, was
spread of the coronavirus.” The Trump administra- inform global efforts to detect, prevent and brought out of Brasilia’s Armed Forces Hospi-
tion has accused WHO of taking side with China in respond to infectious diseases that may tal to trumpet music and applause. Wearing an
the coronavirus outbreak that has brought America’s threaten public health, particularly in light army-green side cap, he raised his arms in the
economy to a standstill. of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. air as he left after eight days as a patient.

Coronavirus: Pompeo
says China did not
give Americans
access when needed
the most
Lalit K Jha / Washington
China did not give Americans access when it
was needed the most in the beginning, US Secre-
tary of State Mike Pompeo has said, demanding
answers and transparency from Beijing over its
handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
Pompeo also criticised the World Health Orga-
nization (WHO) for taking an awfully long time
in declaring the COVID-19 a global pandemic.
“The Chinese Communist Party didn’t give
Americans access when we needed it in that
most timely point at the very beginning. The
President talked about that today. And then we
know they have this lab. We know about the
wet markets. We know that the virus itself did
originate in Wuhan. So all those things come
together,” Pompeo told Fox News on Tuesday.
He was apparently referring to a secret re-
search lab in Wuhan city in China, which ac-
cording to a report in a leading American daily,
the US State Department has long been worried
about its “risky studies” on coronavirus.
He was referring to a research lab in Wuhan
city in China, which according to a report in a
leading American daily, the US State Depart-
ment has long been worried about its “risky
studies” on coronavirus.
There’s still a lot that the US does not know,
Pompeo said. “We need to know answers to
these things. We still have this virus out there.
You talked about trying to get the economy
going not only here in the United States but
around the world,” he said.
“We need answers to these questions, we need
transparency, and we need the World Health
Organization (WHO) to do its job, to perform
its primary function, which is to make sure
that the world has accurate, timely, effective,
real information about what’s going on in the
global health space. And they didn’t get that
done here,” Pompeo said. / PTI /
Trump alleges WHO cover-up with
China on COVID-19, stops funding
President Donald Trump listens as Warner Thomas, president and CEO of Oschner Health, speaks about the coronavirus in the Rose Garden
of the White House, Tuesday, April 14, 2020, in Washington. At back from left are, Sam Hazen, CEO of HCA Healthcare, Rick Pollack, presi-
dent and CEO of American Hospital Association, and Dr. Tomislav Mihaljevic, president and CEO, Cleveland Clinic, listen. / AP/ PTI
Lalit K Jha / Washington
President Donald Trump
has announced halting Amer-
ica’s funding of up to USD
500 million annually to the
World Health Organization
while a review is being done
to assess its role in “severely
mismanaging and covering
up” the spread of the dead-
ly coronavirus when it first
emerged in China.
The novel coronavirus,
which originated in the cen-
tral Chinese city of Wuhan
in Hubei province in Novem-
ber, has so far killed at least
1,19,000 people globally, in-
cluding more than 25,000 in
the United States, according
to Johns Hopkins University.
“Today I am instructing
my administration to halt
funding of the World Health
Organization while a review
is conducted to assess the
World Health Organization’s
role in severely mismanaging
and covering up the spread
of the coronavirus. Every-
body knows what has gone on
there,” Trump told reporters
at his daily White House news
conference on the pandemic
on Tuesday.
Trump and his senior offi-
cials have previously accused
the Geneva-based UN health
body of taking side with China
in the coronavirus outbreak
that has brought America’s
economy, the world’s largest,
to a standstill.
Reacting to Trump’s re-
marks, UN Secretary-General
Antonio Guterres said now
was “not the time” to be cut-
“The WHO
failed in this
basic duty and
must be held
accountable.”
ting resources for the WHO.
American taxpayers pro-
vide between USD 400 mil-
lion and USD 500 million per
year to the WHO, in contrast,
China contributes roughly
USD 40 million a year and
even less, the president said.
“As the organisation’s lead-
ing sponsor, the United States
has a duty to insist on full
accountability, one of the
most dangerous and costly
decisions from the WHO was
its disastrous decision to op-
pose travel restrictions from
China and other nations,”
Trump alleged.
“They were very much op-
posed to what we did, fortu-
nately, I was not convinced
and suspended travel from
China saving untold numbers
of lives...thousands and thou-
sands of people would have
died,” he said.
The world, he asserted,
depends on the WHO to work
with countries to ensure that
accurate information about
international health threats
is shared in a timely manner.
“The WHO failed in this
basic duty and must be held
accountable,” he emphasised.
The president alleged
that WHO failed to investi-
gate credible reports from
sources in Wuhan that con-
flicted directly with the Chi-
nese government’s official
accounts. There was cred-
ible information to suspect
human-to-human transmis-
sion in December 2019, which
should have spurred the WHO
to investigate and investigate
immediately, he observed.
“Through middle of Janu-
ary it parroted and publicly
endorsed the idea that there
was not human-to-human
transmission happening
despite reports and clear
evidence to the contrary,”
he said.
According to Trump, the
delays the WHO experienced
in declaring a public health
emergency cost valuable
time.
The inability of the WHO to
obtain virus samples to this
date has deprived the scien-
tific community of essential
data. New data that emerges
across the world on a daily
basis points to the unreliabil-
ity of the initial reports and
the world received all sorts
of false information about
transmission and mortality,
he said.
Trump alleged that the
silence of the WHO on the
disappearance of scientific
researchers and doctors
and new restrictions on the
sharing of research into the
origins of COVID-19 in the
country of origin is deeply
concerning, especially when
the US gives by far the larg-
est amount of money to the
global health body.
“Had the WHO done its job
to get medical experts into
China to objectively assess
the situation on the ground
and to call out China’s lack of
transparency, the outbreak
could have been contained...
with very little death...,”
he said. / PTI /
Warren becomes
latest ex-presidential
rival to back Biden
Washington Elizabeth Warren endorsed
Joe Biden on Wednesday, the latest of the
former vice president's onetime White
House rivals to back him as the Demo-
cratic Party moves to project unity against
President Donald Trump going into the
November election.“Joe Biden has spent
nearly his entire life in public service. He
knows that a government run with integrity,
competence, and heart will save lives and
save livelihoods,” Warren said in a nearly
four-minute video announcing her decision.
“And we can't afford to let Donald Trump
continue to endanger the lives and liveli-
hoods of every American.” The Massachu-
setts senator rose to brief front-runner
status in the Democratic race last fall but
suspended her campaign last month af-
ter a disappointing “Super Tuesday” that
included a third-place finish her home
state. Warren left the race without en-
dorsing Biden or her fellow progressive
Bernie Sanders — but the dynamics changed
substantially in subsequent weeks, with
campaigning forced into a hiatus amid the
coronavirus outbreak.  / AP /
NYC death toll
surpasses 10,000 after
city includes probable
cases not tested
positive for COVID19
New York The death toll from the novel
coronavirus surpassed 10,000 in New York
City after health authorities included more
than 3,700 people who were presumed to
have died due to COVID-19 but never tested
positive. The New York City Health Depart-
ment changed the way in which it counted
the number of people who died from the
virus. It will now include those who did not
have a confirmed COVID-19 test but will
be presumed to have died from the virus.
This change dramatically increased the
death toll in the city from the virus.
Prior to the adjustment, the death toll was
6,589 and it now stands at 10,367. New York
is the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic
in the US and has seen the highest number
of cases and fatalities so far.
Of the 601,472 confirmed coronavirus
cases in the US, 199,756 are in New York
State, according to estimates by the Johns
Hopkins University. / PTI /

middle east & africa

Briefly
29 killed in two
attacks in restive
eastern
Beni (DR Congo) Twenty-nine people
have been killed in two attacks in east-
ern DR Congo, a region in the grip of
militia violence, officials said Wednes-
day. “CODECO assailants attacked the
people of the village of Koli while they
were asleep, killing 22 civilians,” said
Adel Alingi, head of the Djugu adminis-
trative region in Ituri province, referring
to an armed group targeting the Hema
ethnic community. The raid took place
overnight Saturday-Sunday. In the
second attack on Tuesday, two soldiers,
a civilian and five militiamen were killed
in Beni, in neighbouring North Kivu
province, the army said. / AFP /
Iran parliament:
Virus deaths nearly
double reported
Tehran The death toll in Iran from the
coronavirus pandemic is likely nearly
double the officially reported figures,
due to undercounting and because not
everyone with breathing problems has
been tested for the virus, a parliament
report said. Iranian health officials
offered no comment on the report,
released Tuesday, which represents the
highest-level charge yet from within the
Islamic Republic’s government of its
figures being questionable, something
long suspected by international experts.
Iran on Wednesday put the death toll at
4,777, out of 76,389 confirmed cases of
the virus — still making it the Mideast’s
worst outbreak by far. The report comes
as Iranian President Hassan Rouhani
continues to push for a slow reopen-
ing of the country’s economy, which
remains targeted by crushing US sanc-
tions. If its own figures offered to the
World Health Organization are wrong, it
adds to fears by some that encouraging
people to return to work will spark a
second wave of infections. / AP /
Mideast eco
battered by
virus, oil prices
and conflict
Dubai The Middle East, already wracked by
high numbers of unemployed youth, unrest,
conflict and large numbers of refugees, will
sink into a recession this year sparked by the
double shock of the coronavirus outbreak
and low oil prices, the International Mon-
etary Fund said Wednesday. The impact of
COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus,
threatens to leave in its wake significant
economic turmoil across the region, the
international lender says. If governments
mishandle the outbreak, the IMF warns
this will sow the seeds for even more social
unrest and instability. Given the magnitude
of the global crisis, the lender is calling on
governments to prioritize health care spend-
ing, regardless of fiscal capacity, in order
to contain the crisis as swiftly as possible.
In Lebanon, which had been roiled by
protests over the state of the economy be-
fore the pandemic, the IMF projects a 12%
contraction of the economy, nearly double
last year’s recession rate. In Libya, torn by
years of conflict and rival governments, the
international lender projects a whopping
59 per cent contraction this year. Iran was
already in deep economic recession due to
U.S. sanctions that were reimposed after
President Donald Trump pulled America
out of Tehran’s nuclear deal with world
powers in 2018.
It is now struggling to manage the out-
break of the virus. The country’s economy
is expected to contract this year by 6 per-
cent, according to the IMF. The Middle East
has recorded more than 172,000 cases of
the virus, and over 6,500 deaths, most of
them in Iran. Globally, the IMF expects the
world’s economy to shrink 3% this year be-
fore rebounding in 2021 with 5.8% growth.
Prospects for a rebound, however, are far
from certain. / PTI /
European, African leaders call for
massive help for Africa
Johannesburg Nearly 20 European
and African leaders have made a joint
appeal for a massive international
effort to boost Africa’s coronavirus
response, saying that “only a global
victory that fully includes Africa can
bring this pandemic to an end.”
The appeal signed by the lead-
ers of France, Ethiopia, Germany,
South Africa and other nations, pub-
lished in the Financial Times, calls for
dramatic measures that include an
immediate moratorium on all debt
payments, public and private, until
the pandemic is over.
It comes ahead of a meeting
Wednesday by finance ministers of
the G20 forum on economic coopera-
tion, which includes the US, China,
India and others. African officials
have assertively joined forces in re-
Israel’s
Netanyahu, Gantz
face midnight
deadline to form
unity govt
Jerusalem Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu and parlia-
ment speaker Benny Gantz faced a
midnight deadline on Wednesday
to form a unity government or risk
prolonging the country’s unprec-
edented political crisis.
The right-wing premier Netan-
yahu and centrist Gantz, Israel’s
former army chief, have gone head-
to-head in three stalemate elections
over the past year. Following the
most recent vote last month, both
men fell short of a majority and
neither had a clear path toward
cent days to appeal for billions of
dollars in financial assistance and
improve their position in the global
competition with richer countries for
badly needed medical equipment.
The African Union has appointed
four special envoys to mobilize sup-
port and created a platform to help
the continent’s 54 countries bulk-buy
medical goods at more accessible
prices. While virus cases among Af-
rica’s 1.3 billion people total more
than 16,000, health experts have
said the continent is weeks behind
the U.S. and Europe in the pandemic
and the rise in cases looks alarmingly
similar to Europe’s.
As the world braces for potential
waves of the virus, the joint appeal
says no region will be safe if Africa,
with largely weak health systems, is
a viable governing coalition. With
the COVID-19 pandemic raging,
including more than 12,000 con-
firmed infections in Israel, there
have been widespread calls for an
interim emergency alliance.
A Netanyahu-Gantz deal would
give the Jewish state its first stable
government since December 2018
and offer a rare period of political
calm amid a global health crisis that
is taking a devastating economic toll.
If the two cannot reach a deal by
President Reuven Rivlin’s midnight
deadline, Israel’s parliament, or
Knesset, will likely be asked to nomi-
nate a candidate to become prime
minister. Throwing the decision to
the Knesset would almost certainly
create further uncertainty and could
push Israel towards another elec-
tion. Gantz, who heads the Blue and
Virus choking off
supply of what
Africa needs
most: Food
left to fend for itself.
An “unprecedented effort” is re-
quired, the appeal says, directly ad-
dressing the World Bank and IMF.
“We must deploy a huge economic
stimulus package of at least $100
billion” to give Africa the resources
it needs to fight the virus.
The IMF on Monday approved
$500 million to cancel six months of
debt payments for 25 of the world’s
most impoverished countries, includ-
ing 19 African ones, so they can help
tackle the pandemic.
Such calls for assistance have been
growing at the highest levels. In his
Easter message, Pope Francis called
for debt forgiveness for the world’s
poorest countries, saying they are
being hardest hit by the pandemic
and must not be “abandoned.” / AP /
White alliance, was given a mandate
for four weeks to form a govern-
ment following the March vote after
receiving a majority of recommenda-
tions from the 120-member Knesset.
But he was unable to do so given
the bitter divisions within the anti-
Netanyahu parliamentary bloc. After
being elected Knesset speaker, Gantz
pledged to use the remainder of his
mandate to seek a deal with Netan-
yahu. Minutes before the mandate
expired at midnight on Monday,
Gantz and Netanyahu asked Rivlin
for an extension, insisting they were
close to a deal. Rivlin gave them until
the end of Wednesday. Israel is shut
down for the final day of Passover
until Wednesday evening, meaning
Gantz and Netanyahu will have less
than five hours to talk before the
deadline. / AFP /
Harare (Zimbabwe) In a pre-dawn raid
in food-starved Zimbabwe, police enforc-
ing a coronavirus lockdown confiscated
and destroyed three tons of fresh fruit
and vegetables by setting fire to it.
Wielding batons, they scattered a group
of rural farmers who had travelled over-
night, breaking restrictions on movement
to bring the precious produce to one of
the country’s busiest markets.
The food burned as the farmers went
home empty-handed, a stupefying mo-
ment for a country and a continent where
food is in critically short supply.
It was an extreme example of how
lockdowns to slow the spread of the coro-
navirus may be choking Africa’s already-
vulnerable food supply.
Lockdowns in at least 33 of Africa’s
54 countries have blocked farmers from
getting food to markets and threatened
deliveries of food assistance to rural popu-
lations. Many informal markets where
millions buy their food are shut.
About one in every five people in Africa,
nearly 250 million, already didn’t have
enough food before the virus outbreak,
according to the Food and Agriculture
Organisation. A quarter of the population
in sub-Saharan Africa is undernourished.
“This is double any other region,” said
Sean Granville-Ross, director for Africa
at the aid agency Mercy Corps. “With
lockdowns, border closures and the abil-
ity to access food curtailed, the impact of
COVID-19 on Africa could be like nothing
we have seen before.” Lockdowns without
provisions to help the poor “may affect
us very, very much”, said Lola Castro,
regional director in southern Africa for
the UN World Food Programme.
The Kibera slum in Kenya’s capital,
Nairobi, is at a breaking point already.
Last week, thousands of desperate people
scrambled for food aid at a distribution
point, causing a stampede. The World
Food Program was already feeding mil-
lions in Africa, mainly rural people, due
to a myriad of disasters: Floods, drought.
armed conflict, government failures, even
plagues of locusts. / AP /

www.dailyworld.in
Growth may slip into negative in
Q1:Rangarajan on lockdown
Predicting that the growth rate in the first quarter of
the current fiscal may slip into negative, former RBI
Newsmakers
governor C Rangarajan on Wednesday expressed the
view that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s lockdown
extension announcement should have included plans
to address the issues of migrant labourers and daily
wagers. Rangarajan said though there may be nega-
tive growth in the GDP during the first quarter, if the
situation recovers during the next three quarters, the
growth rate may be closer to 3.5 per cent.
Stocks languish
as macro risks
pile up; banking,
financials lead fall
Mumbai Equity benchmarks reversed early
gains to finish in the negative territory on
Wednesday as risk-off mood prevailed amid
grim prognoses of the economic fallout of the
Covid-19 pandemic. Weak global markets and
the rupee plunging to its all-time low against
the dollar further weighed on sentiment, trad-
ers said.
After gyrating over 1,346 points during the
day, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended 310.21
points or 1.01 per cent lower at 30,379.81.
Similarly, the NSE Nifty settled 68.55 points,
or 0.76 per cent, down at 8,925.30.
Kotak Bank was the top loser in the Sensex
pack, cracking 6.23 per cent, followed by Hero
MotoCorp (4.83 per cen), Bajaj Finance (4.63 per
cent), HDFC (3.61 per cent), HDFC Bank (3.57
per cent) and Maruti Suzuki (3.55 per cent).
On the other hand, HUL, HCL Tech, ITC and
Nestle India were among the gainers, rising up
to 6.07 per cent.
Despite opening on a positive note, domes-
tic stocks gave up all gains in a highly volatile
session following negative sentiment in global
equities amid projections of major slump in
economic growth, traders said.
The IMF on Tuesday slashed India’s projected
GDP growth to 1.9 per cent in 2020 from 5.8
per cent in January, as the global economy
is seen hitting the worst recession since the
Great Depression in the 1930s due to the raging
coronavirus pandemic.
Meanwhile, the government on Wednesday
said industrial units in rural areas will be al-
lowed to function from April 20, provided they
follow social distancing norms, while all kinds
of public transport will be barred and public
places closed till May 3. / PTI /
Nirav Modi’s next
extradition hearing
in PNB fraud case
on April 28, faces
additional CBI
charges World oil demand forecast
Aditi Khanna / London
A UK court has extended the judicial remand of
fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi, fighting
extradition to India on charges over the nearly
USD 2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud
and money laundering case, for a hearing to
take place on April 28. It also emerged that
Modi faces two additional charges of “causing
the disappearance of evidence” and intimi-
dating witnesses or “criminal intimidation to
cause death”, brought by the Central Bureau
of Investigation (CBI) and certified by UK Home
Secretary Priti Patel in February.
The 49-year-old, who has been lodged at
Wandsworth Prison in south-west London since
his arrest last year, appeared via videolink from
prison for his regular 28-day call-over hearing
before Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot at
Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London.
“The case is next listed for a case management
on April 28, when he is to appear via videolink
again,” a court official said on Tuesday.
Modi’s legal team and the Crown Prosecution
Service (CPS), representing the Indian govern-
ment in the extradition proceedings, held a
“lawyers-only” case management hearing in
the case earlier on Tuesday, ahead of a five-day
trial scheduled between May 11 and 15.
The CPS said the two additional charges
brought by the CBI have not been joined up to
the main extradition case yet and are likely to
be heard separately, unless the May trial itself
is rescheduled and all charges clubbed together
for a hearing later in the year. / PTI /
business & finance
A freight train approaches the Anand Vihar Station in New Delhi on Wednesday. Railway freight trains remain operation during the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown. / PTI
WPI inflation cools to four-month low
of 1 pc in March as food prices ease
New Delhi Wholesale price
inflation eased to a four-
month low of one per cent in
March on sharp fall in prices
of food and fuel items as de-
mand slowed.
The Wholesale Price In-
dex (WPI) based inflation was
2.26 per cent in February and
3.10 per cent in March, 2019.
As per Commerce and In-
dustry Ministry data, food
inflation fell to 4.91 per cent
in March from 7.79 per cent
in the previous month.
Fuel and power basket wit-
nessed deflation of 1.76 per
cent, while manufactured
products witnessed inflation
of 0.34 per cent in March.
The government said, due
to outbreak of coronavirus
and national lockdown, the
to suffer biggest drop ever
London Global demand for oil
will fall this year by the most ever
due to the economic lockdowns
enforced around the world to con-
tain the coronavirus pandemic, the
International Energy Agency said
Wednesday.
An estimated drop in demand of
9.3 million barrels a day this year is
equivalent to a decade’s worth of
growth. The agency, which advises
nations on energy use, expects the
slide in demand to be the most in-
tense this month, calling it a “Black
April” for the energy market.
“We may see it was the worst
year in the history of global mar-
IMF calls on all countries to
refrain from putting restrictions
on exporting medical supplies
Lalit K Jha / Washington
The IMF has called on all
countries to refrain from put-
ting restrictions on exporting
medical supplies in view of
their massive requirement
across the globe to combat the putting restrictions on export- this does not become a feature
coronavirus pandemic that has ing medical supplies. It is really where we reverse all the
killed at least 119,000 people
and infected nearly two mil-
lion.
Medical supplies like surgical tion is necessary. This is not a
masks, gowns and ventila-
tors are required in massive
number across the globe
because of the coronavirus
pandemic that surfaced in
central China’s Wuhan city last here ahead of the annual
year and spread to at least 185 spring meeting of the IMF and the last thing that we want
countries and territories.
The coronavirus pandemic
11
Thursday 16 april 2020
chandigarh
Exports dip by 34.57 pc in March; total Gadkari holds talks with MSME
shipment at USD 314 bn in 2019-20 industry members, assures help
India’s exports dipped by 34.57 per cent to USD Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday held
21.41 billion in March, while it declined by 4.78 per talks with the representatives of the micro, small and
cent to USD 314.31 billion for 2019-20. medium enterprises (MSME) industry and assured
Trade deficit narrowed to USD 9.76 billion in march all possible help from the government to tide over
this year from USD 11 billion in the same month last the challenges created by the coronavirus-enforced
year. It was USD 152.88 billion in April-March 2019- lockdown. The MSME Minister held separate meet-
20 compared to USD 184 billion in the previous ings via video conferencing with the members of the
fiscal. The decline in exports has been mainly due to All India Plastic Manufacturers Association (AIPMA),
the ongoing global slowdown, which got aggravated and the PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry,
due to the current Covid-19 crisis. from his residence in Nagpur.
Briefly
Investors flock to
Amazon, Jeff Bezos
richer by $6.5 bn in
a day
Seattle Despite gloom all over, Amazon
saw its stock zooming over 5 per cent to
an all-time high of over $2,283 per share
leaving the ecommerce giant with $1.1
trillion worth and adding $6.5 billion to
its Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos fortune.
Amazon has been a favourite among
sheltered-at-home’ investors because of
an unprecedented surge in online orders
and the company keeping its workflow
going despite health fears among its
warehouse workers. According to a
Forbes report on Tuesday, Amazon stock
surged 5.3 per cent on Tuesday, hitting a
new record close of $2,283 per share. The
stock is now up over 20 per cent so far
this year, outpacing the benchmark in-
dex. “Amazon is the first major company
to rebound from the coronavirus market
selloff, which started in late February: It’s
one out of only 28 stocks in the S&P 500
to do so,” said the report. / IANS /
provisional figures of WPI for monetary policy. the month and the inflation
Apple makes Maps
March are computed with low
“The figures The RBI had last week said number for April is likely to users’ mobility data
response rate. “The figures
are likely to be revised in a are likely to
that its inflation outlook looks
benign, with risks around
be even lower.
ICRA Principal Economist
available to fight
significant manner during re-
be revised in inflation project being bal- Aditi Nayar said March WPI COVID-19
lease of final month,” it said. anced. With softening of food should have seen a deflation Cupertino In a bid to help health
The WPI inflation in March a significant prices, sharp fall in crude if the index levels fully re- authorities further mitigate the impact
is the lowest since November
2019 when it was 0.58 per
manner during prices and normal monsoon,
RBI expects inflation for cur-
flected the plunge in prices
of commodities like minerals,
on COVID-19 globally, Apple has released
users mobility data trends tool from
cent. release of final rent fiscal to be in the range crude oil and natural gas, in Apple Maps that will provide aggregated
Inflation in vegetables fell
sharply to 11.90 per cent in
month.” of 3.6-3.8 per cent.
It said the impact of Co-
the aftermath of the Covid-19
outbreak.
mobility data to public health officials.
This mobility data can provide helpful
March from a high of 29.97 vid-19 on inflation is ambigu- “For April 2020, while food insights to local governments and health
per cent in the previous in the previous month. ous, with a possible decline inflation may undergo an up- authorities and may also be used as a
month. Onion prices con- Data released earlier this in food prices likely to be tick, the lagged correction in foundation for new public policies by
tinued to rule high with infla-
tion at 112.31 per cent during
week showed retail inflation,
based on consumer price in-
offset by potential cost-push
increases in prices of non-
prices of various commodi-
ties would push the WPI into
showing the change in volume of people
driving, walking or taking public transit
March.
Pulses was the only item
dex, fell to four-month low of
5.91 per cent in March from
food items due to supply
disruptions.
disinflation. At present, we
expect the WPI to record a
in their communities. The new Apple
‘Mobility Data Trends’ website is more
in the food articles category 6.58 per cent in February. The nation-wide lockdown disinflation of 1.5 per cent like the earlier Google initiative that is
which saw rise in rate of in- The Reserve Bank of India which started on March 25 in FY 2021, in contrast to the now offering user location data via its
flation at 12.12 per cent in (RBI) takes into account retail would have had an impact mild inflation of 1.7 per cent Maps to help public health officials spot
March, from 11.42 per cent inflation while formulating its on the data collection for in FY 2020,” Nayar said. / PTI / increase or decrease of movement across
high-level categories of places, to help
them flatten the curve of coronavirus
travel and business, many consum-
ers are unable to take advantage
Lockdown: pandemic. / IANS /
of the low prices anyway.
Birol said that the recent deal
Bandhan Fitch Group
kets,” said Fatih Birol, head of the by OPEC and other countries to Bank sees no pledges USD 50,000
towards Give2Asia
problem in loan
IEA. reduce global output by some
The price of crude has fallen 9.7 million barrels a day will help
coronavirus relief
about 60% since the start of the
year due to a pricing war between
stabilize the situation somewhat.
On top of those cuts, countries repayments fund
Saudi Arabia and Russia and then like China, India, South Korea and
the economic devastation wrought the United States will look to buy Kolkata Private lender Bandhan Bank New DELHI Fitch Group has said it has
by the virus outbreak. more oil to store away in strategic does not apprehend any repayment is- pledged USD 50,000 to Give2Asia to fight
While the cheaper energy can be reserves. sues owing to the nationwide lockdown coronavirus pandemic. Funds from Fitch
helpful for consumers and energy- And the slide in oil prices is al- to contain the spread of COVID-19, a top and other donors will help towards the
hungry businesses, it is below the ready reducing production in many bank official said. purchase of medical supplies, construc-
cost of production. That is eat- non-OPEC countries as the cost of Recovery, however, has been halted tion of hospitals, and providing frontline
ing away at the state finances of pumping crude exceeds the return at present due to the curbs. staff with food, lodging and subsidies.
oil-producing countries, many of from selling it on the market. Such MD and CEO of Bandhan Bank Chan- Give2Asia is an international non-profit
whom are relatively poor econo- declines in the U.S., Canada, Brazil drasekhar Ghosh said repayments should organisation that coordinates funding
mies, and pushing companies to and Norway amount to a decline not be a cause for concern as borrowers’ between global donors with charitable
bankruptcy. With broad limits on of 3.5 million barrels a day. / PTI / businesses are continuing. projects and social enterprises across
“Recovery of micro loans from borrow- the Asia-Pacific region. It has launched
ers have stopped from March 23,” Ghosh a campaign to support frontline health
told PTI. He said since bank personnel workers and hospitals responding to the
terms of globalisation for deal- cannot physically go to collect the loan outbreak, including partnerships with
ing with this pandemic. repayment amount, the outstanding will several non-governmental organisations
There has been a restriction remain at the previous level. in China. In a statement Fitch Group
on travel of people around the Ghosh said interest will be recovered has said “it has donated USD 50,000 to
globe. There has been because at the time of repayment, irrespective Give2Asia in support of the organisa-
that has infected nearly two of the fact that people cannot of whether the customer opted for the tion’s crisis response to the outbreak of
million people and killed at go to work, the factories, three-month RBI moratorium. Covid-19”. / AFP /
least 119,000 globally. there has been a breakdown “We are explaining to our customers
Indian-American Gita Gopi- of global supply chains, so this
nath, the IMF Chief Economist, is a result of this crisis that we
that the costs involved in opting for the
moratorium are high since the interest
10.2 lakh refunds
told reporters here “We call have seen, she said. will be compounded at the time of repay- worth Rs 4,250 cr
on all countries to refrain from “But it is very important that
ment,” another bank official said.
In case of micro-finance, repayments
made, says CBDT
are made on a weekly basis (equated New Delhi In pursuance to the
essential, and this is the one, gains that we have got from weekly instalments), and not as EMIs. government decision to issue pending
you know, one of the many globalisation,” the IMF Chief The official said most of the bank’s income-tax refunds up to Rs 5 lakh to
areas where global coopera- Economist said. customers are apprised of the costs of help taxpayers in the Covid-19 pandemic
“Now, the world needs a opting for the moratorium and are agree- time, the Central Board of Direct Taxes
time to restriction the trade of healthy recovery, it needs a able to repay as per schedule. (CBDT), here on Wednesday, said it had
medical supplies and essential strong recovery, and that will Earlier during the start of the bank made 10.2 lakh refunds worth Rs 4,250
equipment around the world. not come about if the world in August 2015, exposure to the micro- crore as on April 14, 2020. It’s over and
Addressing a news confer- de-globalises because that banking sector was almost 80 per cent above the 2.50 crore refunds worth Rs
ence at the IMF headquarters would severely reduce produc- of total advances. Ghosh had earlier said 1.84 lakh crore made in FY20 till March
tivity in the world and that’s the lender’s aim is to lower the micro- 31. Around 1.75 lakh refunds would be
banking exposure to 50 per cent. After made this week, the CBDT said and
the World Bank, Gopinath said at this time,” Gopinath said in its merger with Gruh Home Finance, the added, they would get credited in the
that these are difficult times in response to a question. / PTI / exposure had come down to around 61 taxpayers’ bank accounts in 5-7 business
per cent as on December 31. / PTI / days from issuance. / IANS /
 12

THURSDAY 16 APRIL 2020

CHANDIGARH www.dailyworld.in

CAN’T PICK BETWEEN PINK BALL FIFER AND
LORD’S SHOW: ISHANT
Fast bowler Ishant Sharma said that he can’t pick
between his seven-wicket haul at Lord’s in 2014
Newsmakers
COUNTY CRICKETERS LEFT FRUSTRATED AUSTRIAN GOVERNMENT NOT AGAINST
DUE TO COVID-19, SAYS BUTTLER GRAND PRIX WITHOUT FANS
England wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler Sports Minister and Vice Chancellor of the
said that it is in periods like these that cricket- Austrian government, Werner Kogler, is not

and the fifer he took in India’s maiden pink ball Test
against Bangladesh in November 2019. “Both of
them are equally memorable,” Ishant said in a video
tweeted by his Indian Premier League side Delhi
Capitals. “Taking seven wickets at Lord’s is obviously
something I can’t forget. And taking those five wick-
ets with the pink ball also I can’t forget because after
12 years I had taken a five-wicket haul.”
ers realise how lucky they are to play the against the idea of this years Formula One
game. Cricket, like almost every other major Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring taking place
sport in the world, has been under a near total without spectators, he has said. “We don’t
shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic want to get in the way,” Kogler told reporters
and all future tournaments, including the when asked if the government would allow the
2020 Indian Premier League (IPL) and the race to take place. Kogler said travel restric-
2020 T20 World Cup, are under a cloud of tions could be a bigger hurdle than social
uncertainty. distancing rules.

Won’t agree to Asia Cup cancellation to There was and Pakistan should play a bilateral series to
raise funds in the fight against coronavirus

snowfall in
for both countries. Gavaskar however said

accommodate IPL: PCB Chairman Mani

in a Youtube chat with former Pakistan
captain Ramiz Raja that any possibility of

Lahore last
such a series happening is next to nothing.
“There are more chances of snowfall in La-
KARACHI Pakistan Cricket Board chair- tournament. It is important for many ute their shares from the tournament. hore than bilateral series between India and
man Ehsan Mani has asserted that
the PCB will not agree to cancelling
countries who are members of the
Asian Cricket Council,” he added in a
Many countries including Pakistan will
feel the pinch,” he admitted. year: Akhtar Pakistan,” said Gavaskar in a Youtube chat
with former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja.

the Asia Cup, scheduled in the UAE
in September, to make room for the
Indian Premier League, which has
been postponed due to the COVID-19
pandemic. The IPL was to be held
from March 29 to May 24 but has been
postponed indefinitely because of a
extended lockdown to combat the
deadly virus in India.
“I have read and heard about these
speculations but right now just remem-
ber that having or not having the Asia
Cup is not a decision between Pakistan
and India it involves other countries as
well,” asserted Mani here on Tuesday.
Pakistan were to host the event but it
was shifted to Dubai and Abu Dhabi af-
ter India expressed reluctance to come
here owing to security concerns and
the strained diplomatic ties between
the two countries.
“...it is important to have the Asia
Cup if cricket activities resume by
then because development of Asian
cricket depends on funding from the
podcast released by the PCB.
However, he also conceded that
holding the Asia Cup this year is a
big challenge because right now “we
don’t know if it can be held or not.”
“But if the conditions change and we
can have the Asia Cup, it must be held
as earnings from it are distributed as
development funds to member coun-
tries for next two years,” he said.
He said reports about the Asia Cup
being hosted by Bangladesh or UAE
were mere speculation at this stage.
Speaking about another big event,
Mani warned that if the T20 World
Cup, to be held in Australia in October-
November, is postponed, the financial
fallout will be big for many countries.
“The financial impact will be felt by
many countries if the ICC can’t distrib-
Mani confirmed that Pakistan was
to receive around USD 7 to 8 million
in June and January.
“Pakistan is fortunate it has good
financial controls in place and in short
term, it will be better off than most
countries if the lockdowns continue
because of the coronavirus pandemic,”
he claimed.
“We are to get 7 to 8 Million dollars
from the ICC in June but we know they
might not come so we have planned
accordingly,” he added.
On whether Pakistan’s forthcoming
tours to Holland, Ireland and England
between late June and August will
gohead, Mani said the PCB was pre-
pared for disruptions. But he ruled out
resumption of international cricket in
empty stadiums.  / PTI /
responds to
Gavaskar
LAHORE Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib
Akhtar responded to Sunil Gavaskar after
the former India skipper said that it was
more likely to snow in Lahore than a bilat-
eral series to take place between India and
Pakistan any time soon. Akhtar pointed out
in a tweet that there was indeed snowfall in
Lahore last year.
“Well Sunny bhai, we did have a snowfall
in Lahore last year.. So nothing is impossi-
ble,” said Shoaib in his tweet which included
an image of Gavaskar with his quote and an
image of snow in Lahore.
Akhtar was the first to suggest that India
“Both teams will keep on meeting in World
Cups and ICC tournaments, but a series
between them seems unlikely right now.”
Earlier, Akhtar’s suggestion got backing
from his former teammate Shahid Afridi.
But India’s 1983 World Cup winning captain
Kapil Dev said that the match wasn’t needed
because India doesn’t need funds.
“The entire world is fighting against coro-
navirus and we need unity in our region to
defeat this common enemy. Such negative
comments don’t help at all. I don’t see any-
thing wrong with Shoaib Akhtar’s suggestion
for Pakistan and India to play cricket.
“Kapil’s reaction has surprised me. I ex-
pected better from him and feel one should
not talk like this in these crisis times. Sport
is supposed to bring people together and
build bridges. It is pretty disappointing,”
Afridi had said.  / IANS /

Creating database of
past performance to be
ready for another shot
at Olympics: Ashwini
AMIT KUMAR DAS / NEW DELHI
INDIAN SHUTTLERS Ashwini
Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy
have finally got some time to
pause and reflect due to the
COVID-19 pandemic and they
are making the most of it by
creating a database to analyse
their past performances while
waiting for another shot at
Olympic qualification.
The coronavirus outbreak has
left over 1.2 lakh people dead
and infected nearly 2 million
globally, and brought all sports
activities, including badmin-
ton, to a halt after countries
imposed lockdowns.
Ashwini and Sikki are dou-
bles specialists and endured
an underwhelming season last
year. The time at hand has
given them a chace to analyse
the past performances.
“We don’t have any one to
sit and do analysis for us, so
now that we have time, I’m
doing some analysis of our per-
formance. I am jotting down
points, about areas where I
can improve. I started with
my matches and then other
players on tour,” Ashwini, who
represented India at the Lon-
don and Rio Olympic Games,
told PTI.
“You can always watch and
analyse and understand the
patterns but it is different
when you see things on paper.
It is more concrete. So trying
to set up a complete database.
My brother will help me out.
He made an app for me in the
past.” Ashwini and Sikki fell
at the first hurdle 13 times in
20 tournaments last year, and
exited from the second round
thrice.
Ashwini also picked up a calf
injury during the Syed Modi
International but the duo was
still confident of qualifying by
performing well in the remain-
ing Olympic qualifiers. / PTI /

TOUR DE FRANCE POSTPONED

TO AUGUST 29-SEPTEMBER 20
PARIS The Tour de France will take place from August
29 to September 20, organisers announced on
Wednesday, postponing the race originally slated to
start on June 27 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The new dates, the latest ever for the Tour founded in
1903, follow French President Emmanuel Macron’s
extension on Monday of a ban on public gatherings
until mid-July. While the news comes as a relief to
professional cycling teams and fans, it moves the
three-week race out of its traditional slot during the
summer holidays where festive roadside crowds of
around 12 million would be expected.  / AFP /

As a child, obviously because of all the

I was an
Arsenal fan
because of
Henry: Pogba
PARIS Manchester United
star midfielder Paul Pogba
has said he was an Arsenal
fan as a child, mainly due to
his favourite player and fellow
Frenchman Thierry Henry.
“I will be honest. So, at the
start, I was an Arsenal fan -
French players, you know,”
Pogba told United’s official
podcast as quoted by Sky
Sports. “Me and my brother
were but my other brother
was a Manchester United fan.
“I couldn’t say anything
so I used to love Henry and,
because of him, I was an Ar-
senal fan. Then I changed and
went on to choose with my
other brother. No Arsenal, I
went with the other one, the
United fan!”
France World Cup winner
Pogba missed most of the
2019/20 season due to injury
and recently said that he is rar-
ing to go now that he is all but
fully fit. “I’m already training
and touching the ball,” Pogba
had told the club’s podcast
earlier in the week.
Pogba said that he misses
the matchday routine amid
the COVID-19 crisis. “I don’t
even know how it feels like any
more. I can’t wait to have this
feeling again. I miss it because
that’s my job, to play football.
I really enjoy playing football,”
he said. / IANS /

Printed and Published by Hardeep Singh Gujral on behalf of Daily World Communications Pvt Ltd, printed at the IE Press, C-5, Institutional Area, Sector 6, Panchkula 134109, Haryana and published at SCO 133-134-135, 4th Floor, Sector 17 C, Chandigarh 160017.
Editor-in-Chief: Manish Tiwari* (*Editor for the purpose of PRB Act, 1867). Copyright: Daily World Communications Pvt Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Corporate Office: SCO 133-134-135, 4th Floor, Sector-17 C, Chandigarh, Phone: 0172-4650244, Email: editor@dailyworld.in. RNI No. CHAENG/2016/65924.
 CHANDIGARH
THURSDAY 16 APRIL 2020
VOLUME 5, ISSUE 105

said she was given chloroquine -- a drug

used to treat malaria and certain inflam-
matory conditions -- to help with her fe-
ver, which she shared was close to 102 by
day nine of her fighting the virus, reports
etonline.com.
“I know people have been talking
(about) this drug, but I can only tell you
that I don’t know if the drug worked or
it was just time for the fever to break,”
Wilson said.
“My fever did break, but the chloro-
quine had such extreme side effects.”
“I was completely nauseous and I had
vertigo,” she continued. “I could not walk COVID-19: Shah
and my muscles felt very weak. I think
people have to be very considerate about Rukh Khan to
that drug. We don’t know if it’s helpful in
this case.” be part of global
event honouring
She believes they both contracted
COVID-19 at the same time rather than

frontline health-
infecting one another.
“It was somebody they said that Tom

care workers
and I were both exposed to at the same
time,” she shared. “We don’t know when

B
that could have been or where, but all I
can say is all of our close contacts -- our ollywood superstar Shah Rukh
family, our work team -- no one has tested Khan will join artistes from
positive.” around the world for a vir-
Meanwhile, 63-year-old Hanks has also tual event to support healthcare

Surviving COVID-19: been spreading positivity after recovering

from the coronavirus. He recently deliv-
ered a monologue shot entirely at his own
workers who are battling it out against
the coronavirus pandemic. The actor
took to Twitter on Tuesday to announce

A
house for “Saturday Night Live: At Home”. his participation in the ‘One World:
“Now, my wife and I, we’re doing fine, Together At Home’, a virtual concert
we’re doing great,” Hanks shared. “We’re organised by the World Health Organiza-

Rita Wilson
ctress Rita Wilson has opened up about her
experience after testing COVID-19 positive.
Wilson and her husband, Hollywood star
hunkered down like all of us should be. tion (WHO) and international advocacy
In fact, this suit, this is the first time I’ve organisation Global Citizen.
worn anything other than sweat pants Curated by pop star Lady Gaga, the
since March 11. And my wife had to help concert will stream on April 18 on mul-

on ‘extreme
Tom Hanks, had tested positive during an
Autralia tour but have since then recuperated.
Wilson recalls experiencing extreme
chills and body aches, and says she lost
me put it on, because I forgot how buttons tiple global platforms such as Facebook,
work.” Instagram, Alibaba, Amazon Prime
“Stay safe. We are in this for the dura- Video, Apple.
tion and we will get through this together. “Health care workers on the frontlines

side effects’ of
her taste and smell while battling the
virus.
Wilson and Hanks were two of the
first celebrities to reveal their positive
We are going to thank our hospital of the #COVID19 crisis need our support.
workers, our first responders and all the That’s why I’m standing in solidarity with
helpers, the supermarket stockers, the @glblctzn and @WHO for One World:
people who deliver our food, the people #TogetherAtHome — a one-night special

chloroquine
diagnosis last month, which happened
while they were in Australia. Hanks was
filming an untitled Elvis Presley film in the
country.
The couple are now back in Los An-
geles, and in a recent interview, Wilson
talked about her recovery process. She
DEMI LOVATO
D
emi Lovato admits she is
"not friends with" Selena
IS 'NOT FRIENDS Gomez, although the
two pop stars worked to-
WITH' SELENA gether quite early in life as children
in the same show.
GOMEZ Lovato said she never really felt
close to Gomez, even though they
worked together as children on the
show "Barney & Friends" before
finding success with their own pro-
grammes, reports aceshowbiz.com.
Lovato told Harper's Bazaar:
"When you grow up with some-
body, you're always going to have
love for them, but I'm not friends
who are making takeout for us, the men
and women who are keeping this country
going at a time when we need them more
than ever before,” Hanks said.
“We’re going to take care of them and
we’re going to take care of each other.”
 / IANS /
event on April 18,” Shah Rukh wrote on
Twitter.
The special event, ‘One World: To-
gether At Home’ will see performances
from Gaga, Adam Lambert, Billie Joe
Armstrong, Camila Cabello, Chris
Martin, David and Victoria Beckham,
Ellen DeGeneres, Idris and Sabrina Elba,
Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer Hudson, Lilly
Singh, Oprah Winfrey, Paul McCartney,
Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Taylor Swift,
Vishal Mishra among others.
Like many film personalities, Shah
Rukh has been doing his bit to contribute
to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Monday, the star provided 25,000
kits of personal protective equipment
(PPE) kits to the frontline medical staff
in Maharashtra fighting to contain the
novel coronavirus pandemic in the state.
He has committed to donate the same to
West Bengal.  / PTI /

R
with her. I will always have love for
her, and I wish everybody nothing anveer Singh is a rare Bol-
but the best." lywood superstar who loves
But the "Solo" hitmaker always sharing his own memes on
considers Miley Cyrus a friend, a regular basis, and he has
calling the "Wrecking Ball" done it again!
singer "awesome". In a new meme that he shares, the
She added: "I love her to actor has turned into Joe Exotic from
death and always will, always the popular Netflix series "Tiger King:
have. But I think she's kind of Murder, Mayhem And Madness".
the only one from that era that Amid the lockdown, Ranveer, an
I still stay in touch with." / IANS / ardent social media user, took to his
Instagram story to share a photo-
shopped picture himself. In the im-

P
op star Selena Gomez has
admitted that there was a
time in her life when fame
“got out of control” and gos-
sip was “killing” her.
Gomez opened up about dealing
with media scrutiny from the time
she was a teen during a conversation
with Amy Schumer for Interview
magazine, reports hollywoodre-
her. As a survivor of lupus and her
recent bipolar diagnosis, Gomez
said she wants to help those who
have suffered similar experiences.
“I’ve gone through a lot of medi-
cal issues, and I know that I can
reach people who are going through
similarly scary things -- an organ
transplant, or being on dialysis,
or going away for treatment,” said
age, he can be seen posing with a Ti-
ger. His face has been photoshopped
into the original picture of Joe Exotic,
an American ZooKeeper.
He captioned it: "Who did this."
"Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and
Madness" is penned and directed by
Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin.
It focuses on the life and crimes of
Ranveer Singh Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage,
also known as Joe Exotic. He is a

is Joe Exotic of
porter.com. Gomez, who underwent a kidney former country musician, Oklahoma
“My intention was never to be- transplant in 2017 due to lupus zookeeper, gun enthusiast and big-cat
come a tabloid,” the 27-year-old said complications. keeper.

while talking about living life under
constant media scrutiny, adding: “So
when things kind of happened that
way, it got out of control. And then I
'Tiger King' in
“A huge part of why I have a plat- On the work front, Ranveer will
form is to help people. That’s why I next be seen starring as cricketer
think I’m OK with the magnitude. I Kapil Dev in "83", Kabir Khan's ac-
mean, I’m not really OK with it -- but
new meme count on India's first-ever cricket

SELENA
was like, ‘Wait, none of this is true’.”
Gomez got stardom in 2007 at
age 15 through “The Wizards of
Waverly Place”. She said that “the
I’m going to say that I am because World Cup victory in 1983.  / IANS /
it’s worth it. I know that I’m making
someone somewhere feel good, or
feel understood or heard, and that’s

GOMEZ:
way the media has sometimes tried
to explain things has made it sound
worth it for me,” she added.
Gomez also spoke about return- DEEPIKA fans in complete awe.
In the image, Deepika is
really bad”.
“When in reality, there’s nothing
ing to music, with her third album,
“Rare”. PADUKONE looking cute in a glamorous
black dress with matching
wrong with the fact that I needed “I wrote it at the beginning of 'STARTED YOUNG' shoes and a hat, and is posing

FAME GOT OUT to go away or that I fell in love,” she

said, referring to her stints at mental
last year and had just gotten out of
treatment,” she said, adding: “It
AS A STYLE DIVA! like a pro with a big smile.
"Started young…," she

B
health facilities and her relationships was a moment when I came back, ollywood actress wrote as caption for the

OF CONTROL with former boyfriends like Justin

“I had to start opening up
because people were taking
away my narrative, and it
was killing me,”
Bieber and The Weeknd.
“I had to start opening up because
people were taking away my nar-
rative, and it was killing me,” she
said, adding: “I’m so young, and
I’m going to keep changing, and no
one has the right to tell me how my
life’s going.”
Gomez confessed that she makes
a conscious effort to raise awareness
for causes that are meaningful to
and I was like, ‘I’m ready to go into
the studio with people I trust and
start working on songs.’ There was
Deepika Padukone
has been a diva since
childhood, and she
picture.
Amid the lockdown, the
actress has turned into a
an air around it where people were has shared a picture to prove "masterchef", and is treating
very happy because it was like I it. her husband and actor Ran-
was going to finally be me. But I The actress on Wednesday veer Singh to scrumptious
didn’t necessarily see it that way at took to Instagram to post meals. They keep on giving
the time. When I wrote the song, I
was basically saying that I needed
a vintage childhood image
to prove that her career
their fans a glimpse into their
private moments through
to hit rock bottom to understand "started young", leaving her social media.  / IANS /
that there was this huge veil over
my face.”  / IANS /
2
THURSDAY 16 APRIL 2020
CHANDIGARH
Three Miss
Worlds unite to
fight COVID-19
stigma
JACQUELINE nounced on Wednesday.
The thriller, which stars
FERNANDEZ- Fernandez in the titular
STARRER ‘MRS role, is directed by Shirish
SERIAL KILLER’ Kunder and produced by
TO STREAM
his filmmaker-wife Farah
Khan.
ON MAY 1 See you on the
premier on 1st of May
M Ayushman Bharat
rs Serial Kill- for 'Mrs Serial Killer',"
er", featuring Fernandez said in a video
Jacqueline with co-star Manoj Ba-
Fernandez, is
set to debut on Netflix on
jpayee, which was shared
on Netflix India's Instagram
May 1, the streamer an- account.  / PTI /
space where I want to do some-
thing, I don’t do it. It is a battle
with myself,” Fatima told PTI
in an interview.
In case of her forthcom-
ing releases including An-
urag Basu’s “Ludo” and
“Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari”,
Fatima said the reasons to do
these two movies were the script
and her co-stars.
The actor will be seen opposite
Rajkummar Rao in “Ludo”, in “Suraj
Pe...”, she stars with Manoj Bajpayee
and Dijit Dosanjh.
Talking about working with sea-
soned co-stars, Fatima said, “What
I have understood by working with
all of them is that all these people
are so good at their job and they have
one thing in common – passion for
their work.
“The way they approach each film
with a childlike excitement, that is
something I would like to retain. I
really hope I never lose that passion
for my work.” After a sports drama
like “Dangal”, the actor featured in
action-adventure “Thugs of Hind-
ostan”. Now while “Ludo” is a dark
anthology comedy, “Suraj Pe …” is an
out-and-out comedy.
For Fatima, the story matters, not
the genre.
“If it strikes a chord with me, I do it.
If I like something I just want to jump
FEEL FORTUNATE
into it even if it is out of my league.
Like ‘Dangal’ was out of my league, I
TO BE OFFERED
never thought I would be able to do
so many stunts. But I really wanted
to be part of it so I worked hard and
CHARACTERS OF did it.” Every film poses a different
kind of challenge to an actor, she said.
SUBSTANCE, SAYS Besides getting the comic timing
right, for “Suraj Pe…”, she had to learn
the Marathi accent, and in the case of
FATIMA SANA
“Ludo”, she relied on the instructions
of her director.
SHAIKH “In comedy it is all about reacting
A
to the situation and your co-stars. It
ctor Fatima Sana Shaikh, who broke
into the Bollywood scene with 2016
is about being spontaneous, which
doesn’t come naturally to me but
blockbuster “Dangal”, says she is that is what I have learnt and I am
blessed to be getting great scripts glad I got this opportunity.” “Ludo”
to choose from. The 28-year-old actor’s was scheduled to hit the theatres on
last cinematic outing was 2019’s “Thugs of April 24.
Hindostan”, which could not register a strong The actor said given the coronavirus
performance at the box office. pandemic, she isn’t even thinking
“I feel fortunate I am getting great scripts, about the film’s release.
where the characters are not weak and there “Right now we are battling some-
is more substance to it. Though there are thing that is so grave”.
quite a few projects being offered but not Set in a quintessential Indian metro,
all of them excite me. “Ludo” follows four different stories
“It is not all about professional (reasons) with people dealing with unavoidable
but emotional too. If I am not in an emotional jeopardies of life.  / PTI /
T Ayushmann
hree former beauty
queens -- Miss World
2017 Manushi Chhil-
lar from India, Miss
World 2016 Stephanie
Del Valle from Puerto
Rico and Miss World 2018 Vanessa
Ponce from Mexico -- have come
together to raise awareness on
coronavirus and discuss how to
battle the stigma of infection that
is on the rise.
"At a time like this, whatever
each one of us can do to raise as
much awareness about COVID-19
in our respective countries and
communities will be key to stop
the virus in its tracks. I wanted
to tell people that we are in this
together and what is happening in
India is also happening in the rest
of the world," Manushi said.
The platform will have the three
former Miss Worlds, who are
also vocal about social issues and
work in the fields of education,
menstrual hygiene, discrimination
and racism, speak about the need
for the world to unite to fight the
pandemic.
"The pain we are witnessing
with the loss of lives, the struggles,
the hardships of Indians are simi-
lar to what is happening in every
country of the world and the Miss
Worlds from Mexico and Puerto
Rico will speak the same. We are
one world and we can fight and
heal collectively. That's the intent
of this exercise," she added.
Manushi has already been roped
in by the Haryana State Govern-
ment and UNICEF India to raise
awareness about COVID-19 among
the people of India. The three
beauty queens will also discuss the
importance of mental health at a
time like this.  / IANS /
spreads the word on
DESIGNER FARAH
KHAN ALI'S HOUSE
STAFF MEMBER
TESTS POSITIVE FOR
COVID-19
J
ewelery designer Farah Khan Ali
has revealed that a member of
her in-house staff has been tested
positive for the coronavirus. In a
Twitter post on Tuesday, Farah said the
staff member was taken to a hospital
post his COVID-19 diagnosis.
"COVID news spreads faster than
the virus. An in-house staff of mine
tested positive today and so am moving
him to a facility. Have all tested all at
home today as well and are going to be
quarantined. Be safe yet strong. This too
shall pass," she tweeted. In a later post,
Farah, who is the daughter of Bollywood
veteran Sanjay Khan, praised the local
municipal body, Brihanmumbai Munici-
pal Corporation (BMC) and the team of
doctors for the way they dealt with the
patient.
"Have to say the @mybmc and their
docs in Mumbai is amazing with dealing
with COVID patients. The way they
handled the situation and picked up my
staff and took him to a facility was swift
and timely. They showed kindness & hu-
manity & treated him with dignity. Way
to go @AUThackeray," she added. / PTI /
www.dailyworld.in
Khurrana plays
'Bella Ciao' of
'Money Heist'
on piano
I
t seems actor Ayushmann Khurrana
is a big fan of the hit Spanish show
"Money Heist", originally titled "La
Casa de Papel".
Taking to Instagram, Ayushmann post-
ed a video that shows him playing "Bella
Ciao", the title track of the show, on his
piano. Not only this, he also shared that
he wants to essay the role of the Professor
(played by Alvaro Morte) in the series .
""I want to be the Professor. That's why
I'm wearing similar glasses and playing
Bella Ciao. I want to put this out in the
universe. Hello reverent filmmakers, are
you listening? Please! I'm dying to do
something like this. I'm itching to go on
sets and work, like each and every human
on this planet. We all want to go out and
work. But patience is a virtue they say.
Till then Bella Ciao. #MoneyHeist," he
captioned the video.
Reacting to Ayushmann's version of
"Bella Ciao", actress Shilpa Shetty com-
mented: "Binged on 'Money Heist' and
now bingeing on this... beautiful."
Rapper Badshah wrote: "Someone
needs to do it and make me a part of it
too."
"Money Heist" is back on Netflix for
part 4. While part three was about the
surviving members of a misfit band of
bank robbers getting the band back to-
gether, the fourth part showcases Tokyo,
the Professor and the whole gang, back to
clean out the Bank of Spain.  / IANS /
COVID-19:
Chitrangda Singh
scheme
T
he government's Ayushman
Bharat scheme has started
providing free testing kit and
treatment for COVID-19 to
over 50 crore poor people in India.
Bollywood actress Chitrangda Singh
has taken the initiative of spreading
the word.
On Tuesday evening, Union Health
and Family Welfare Minister Dr Harsh
Vardhan tweeted a video where Chi-
Gul Panag to
trangda Singh is speaking about the
same.
In the video, the actress says in
Hindi: "We get a lot of takes to make
a shot perfect while shooting films, narrate stories of
but this coronavirus pandemic will
not give you a second chance. One courage of India’s
armed forces
mistake can make us, our families
and neighbours pay the price. Please
A
don't step out of your homes unless
it is extremely necessary." ctress Gul Panag will serve as a
"In such difficult times, we need to narrator of the podcast "Special
stand by our poor brothers and sisters Mission", which is a tribute to
who are extremely vulnerable. Also, India's armed forces.
people who serve us throughout the "As a daughter of an army officer, this
year -- such as our watchmen, veg- theme is extremely close to my heart.
etable vendors, washermen, cooks Growing up, I have seen how unpredict-
and drivers -- we must help them," able life can be for those who serve the
she added. nation, and I am so thrilled to narrate
"Under the government's Ayushman their stories of courage and valour on this
Swasthya Yojana, over 50 crore poor new Spotify podcast," said Gul.
people get free treatment upto Rs 5
lakh every year. Under this scheme,
"I've known Sidin (the show's producer
Sidin Vadukut) for years now, so when he
testing and treatment for COVID 19 will reached out with this project, there was
be completely free," said the actress.
Sharing the video, the minister
only one answer - yes! I grew up listen-
ing to these stories, and I think podcasts
wrote: "Thank you @IChitrangda ji! are a great medium to pass on the legacy
#COVID__19 treatment is free under of those heroes, capturing the challenge
#AyushmanBharat for its 50 crore they overcome," she added.
beneficiaries ! I request @ayushmannk She hopes people are inspired by these
@TheShilpaShetty @Neenagupta001 individuals to 'live fiercely, value life, and
to #PassItForward & help us #Save- of course, honour those who sacrifice so
Lives". / IANS / much to keep us safe".  / IANS /
OPRAH WINFREY its impact on "black America",
reports aceshowbiz.com.
TO ADDRESS Winfrey wrote on Twitter:
COVID-19 IMPACT "This coronavirus is shaking
up the world. I hope you'll join
ON BLACK me to understand why CO-
COMMUNITY VID-19 is having such a deadly
impact on black America as I
T
alk show host-pro- speak to leaders in our com-
ducer-philanthropist munity and family members
Oprah Winfrey will be who are having to bury their
addressing issues af- dead alone."
fecting the African-American During the TV event, which
community amid the COV- will air on the Oprah Winfrey
ID-19 pandemic as part of her Network and AppleTV+,
latest TV special. Winfrey will sit down with
The upcoming episode of "leaders, doctors, journalists,
"Oprah Talks COVID-19" will & real people suffering in this
focus on the deadly virus and pandemic."  / IANS /