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?=BQ =4F34;78
Hours after Twitter
expressed concerns
regarding the safety of its
employees and “potential threat
to freedom of expression” for its
users, the Centre lashed out at
US-based microblogging site
asking it to stop beating around
the bush and comply with the
rules framed by the Ministry of
Information and Technology.
In a strongly worded state-
ment, the Ministry of
Electronics and Information
Technology (MeitY) said the
statement by the social media
intermediary was an attempt to
dictate its terms to the world’s
largest democracy, and accused
Twitter of trying to undermine
India’s legal system with its
“actions and deliberate defi-
ance”.
The Ministry said it
“strongly controverts” the
claims made by Twitter in its
press release. The statement
has been posted on Koo, the
India-made social media plat-
form, which gained traction
earlier this year after the long-
standing spat between the
Centre on Twitter started
around January-February. It
termed Twitter’s statement
“unfortunate”, totally baseless,
false and an attempt to defame
India to hide their own follies”.
“Twitter needs to stop
beating around the bush and
comply with the laws of the
land. Lawmaking policy for-
mulation is the sole prerogative
of the sovereign and Twitter is
just a social media platform
it has no locus in dictating
what should India’s legal poli-
cy framework should be,” the
Ministry said.
Through its actions and
deliberate defiance, Twitter
seeks to undermine India’s
legal system, it added.
“The Government con-
demns the unfortunate state-
ment issued by Twitter as
totally baseless, false and an
attempt to defame India to
hide their own follies,” the IT
Ministry said.
“Twitter refuses to comply
with those very regulations in
the Intermediary Guidelines
on the basis of which it is
claiming a safe harbour pro-
tection from any criminal lia-
bility in India,” the Ministry
said.
The strongly-worded state-
ment said the only instance of
scuttling free speech on Twitter
is Twitter itself and its opaque
policies. “As a result of this,
people’s accounts are sus-
pended and tweets deleted
arbitrarily without recourse.”
“India has a glorious tra-
dition of free speech and
democratic practices dating
back centuries. Protecting free
speech in India is not the pre-
rogative of only a private, for-
profit, foreign entity like
Twitter,” it added.
0A270=09HC8Q =4F34;78
Taking cue from the
European countries, India
too is considering mix-and-
match doses of vaccines on a
trial basis with the Government
on Thursday saying that there
is no concern if just in case peo-
ple are getting different doses.
Its assertion came following
a recent Spanish study that has
found that vaccinating people
with both the Oxford-
AstraZeneca and Pfizer-
BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines
produces a potent immune
response against the virus
SARS-CoV-2.
“As per the protocol, stick to
the same dose of vaccine as the
first one. If people are getting
different doses there is no cause
for concern, it’s safe. We are
thinking to mix and match
(vaccine doses) on a trial basis,”
said Dr VK Paul, member
(Health) of Niti Aayog at a press
conference here. The mix-and
match option suits the
Government too in view of
supply-chain and shortage
issues affecting its nationwide
Covid-19 vaccination drive,
especially for the second dose.
Dr Paul was replying to a
query if there were health con-
cerns in a case of 20 residents of
a village in Uttar Pradesh who
were administered a different
coronavirus vaccine as a second
dose.
“There should be no cause
of concern and added that any
adverse event is unlikely,” he
said, adding that more scrutiny
was required in the case.
?=BQ =4F34;78
With Antiguan Prime
Minister Gaston Browne
urging neighbouring Dominica
to directly hand over fugitive
businessman Mehul Choksi to
India, agencies here are explor-
ing options to get him extra-
dited to face the law. Choksi is
wanted in the C13,500 crore
PNB credit fraud case.
Choksi was nabbed in
Dominica late on Wednesday
after fleeing from neighbouring
Antigua and Barbuda.
Browne reportedly said
Choksi will be deported to
India and Indian authorities are
in touch with their counter-
parts in Dominica.
Indian agencies were in
touch with Antigua and
Barbuda on the matter and
contact has also been estab-
lished with the Government of
Dominica for repatriation of
Choksi to India, sources here
confirmed.
They said the agencies are
exploring possible legal
recourse to seek his custody at
the earliest.
After reports of Choksi’s
arrest in Dominica, Browne
told the media there that he has
given “clear instructions” to the
Dominican authorities to repa-
triate Choksi to India.
344?0::D?A4C8Q =4F34;78
The anti-BS Yediyurappa
“rebellion” in Karnataka
has fizzled out again as the BJP
central leadership has not been
able to find out a “Lingyat”
leader of Yedyurappa’s stature
even though complaints that
his son was remote-controlling
the administration and run-
ning a “parallel power-centre”
are on the rise in the State.
“Dissidents have not
received support from central
leaders as BSY, despite his age-
related problems, is still the
biggest vote catcher among
the dominant Lingyat com-
munity that forms around 11 to
13 per cent vote bank,” said a
State leader who identified
himself a “BJP loyalist” away
from pro or ant-BSY camps.
He went on to admit that
BSY’s “family” (son) interfer-
ence has adversely impacted
governance and “image” of the
party in the State with the rival
camp levelling charges of cor-
ruption.
The dissidents in
Karnataka, including backward
class leader and State Rural
Development Minister BS
Eshwarappa, have alleged that
the Chief Minister’s son BY
Vijayendra was running the
Government like a de-facto
Chief Minister.
Eshwarappa, a bitter crit-
ic of the BSY, is also a claimant
for the top post.
?=BQ ;D2:=F
When Uttar Pradesh Chief
Minister Yogi
Adityanath called on
Governor Anandiben Patel on
Thursday evening, it gave cre-
dence to the speculation about
possibility of reshuffle or
expansion of the Uttar Pradesh
Ministry.
The Chief Minister was on
an inspection tour of districts
for last three days and
returned to Lucknow on
Thursday at 6 pm and an
hour later he drove down to
the Raj Bhawan to meet
Governor Anandiben Patel,
who is also in charge of
Madhya Pradesh, and had
suddenly returned to Lucknow
on Thursday from Bhopal.
Anandiben Patel went to
Bhopal on May 10 and was
slated to stay there till Saturday
next. The sudden arrival of the
Governor in Lucknow and
her meeting with Yogi
Adityanath was seen as a step
toward finalising details of
reshuffle in the Ministry.
Raj Bhawan officials, how-
ever, said it was a routine
meeting.
?=BQ =4F34;78
The alluring coral archipel-
ago of Lakshadweep is in
turmoil. A series of decisions
initiated by Lakshadweep
Administrator Praful Khoda
Patel, a former BJP leader, have
triggered a huge controversy,
inviting sharp criticism not
only from the Opposition but
also from within the BJP.
Patel’s recall is demanded
by the Opposition parties,
including the Congress, the
CPM and the Nationalist
Congress party (NCP).
The steps taken by Patel
include a ban on beef con-
sumption in the Muslim-dom-
inated Lakshadweep, intro-
duction of a Goonda Act, a
proposal to disqualify pan-
chayat poll aspirants with
more than two children, and
establishment of a develop-
ment authority with powers to
acquire land.
The steps has led to a
sharp division in the
Lakshadweep BJP unit with
president Abdul Khadee Haji
backing Patel but general sec-
retary Mohammad Kasim
describing the administrator
“authoritarian” saying his pro-
posals are against the interests
of islands. Kasim wrote a let-
ter to Prime Minister
Narendra Modi opposing the
proposals.
Kasim is of view that
Patel’s measures would lead to
job losses and harassment of
people.
A094B7:D0AQ =4F34;78
The liquor industry has
reported a decline of 12 per
cent in the sale of the Indian-
made foreign liquor (IMFL)
segment amid COVID pan-
demic and lockdown despite 6
per cent growth in the January-
March quarter in 2020-21.
The total sales of IMFL
were 305 million cases (9 litres
each) products in 2020-21 ---
nearly 12 per cent below the
previous year. Though the sales
picked up in the second half of
2020-21 in most parts, the
States which imposed high
corona cess and other taxes
after the first wave of Covid-19
showed poor recovery.
According to a data com-
piled by the Confederation of
Indian Alcoholic Beverage
Companies (CIABC), the
liquor sales fell by a whopping
42 per cent in first quarter of
the last fiscal, it declined by 9
per cent in the second quarter
and 1 per cent in the third
quarter, before showing a
recovery of 6 per cent in the
fourth quarter.
The top five States in terms
of recovery in sales were
Maharashtra, Goa, Haryana,
Himachal Pradesh and
Uttarakhand, while West
Bengal, Rajasthan and
Chhattisgarh were among the
big States which witnessed
largest declines over the previ-
ous fiscal.
As per the data,
Uttarakhand, Himachal
Pradesh and Haryana reported
over 40 per cent growth in
IMFL sales during the fourth
quarter of 2020-21, while
Maharashtra and Goa report-
ed 23 and 22 per cent growth,
respectively. However, during
the January-March quarter,
sales of IMFL in States such as
Chhattisgarh reported a 31 per
cent decline, 28 per cent in West
Bengal and a 20 per cent in
Rajasthan. The highest decline
of 52 per cent was in Meghalaya
and 43 per cent in the Union
Territory of Daman, Diu and
Silvassa.
In Delhi, the sale of IMFL
fell by 67 per cent in the first
quarters, 8 per cent in the sec-
ond quarters, 3 percent in the
3rd quarter and in the fourth
quarter, it showed recovery of
2 per cent. Andhra Pradesh’s
sales fell by 70 per cent in the
first quarter, 51 per cent in the
second quarter, 19 per cent in
the third quarter and two per
cent in the fourth quarter.
Chandigarh recorded 65 per
cent decline in the sale of
IMFL in the first quarter, 13
percent in the second quarter,
21 per cent in the third quar-
ter. In the fourth quarter the
growth rate was only 4 per cent.
Some States including Delhi,
Assam, Odisha, Chandigarh,
and Madhya Pradesh have
shown positive trend
in sales, but the recov-
eries were not strong
enough, or were
inconsistent through
q u a r t e r s ,
r e f l e c t i n g
i n h e r e n t
fragility in the
market.
According to
C I A B C
D i r e c t o r
General Vinod Giri: “Many
states showed positive trend
through the quarters, and even
though most states were unable
to fully recover volume lost in
first and second quarters,
strong performance in third
and fourth quarters reflects
fundamental strength in the
market.
It also confirms that there
is no lasting shift against alco-
holic beverages in consumption
baskets.”
“Incidentally,themajorityof
these states are ones that
imposed high cess / tax during
the first wave of Covid, and
unlike other states did
not withdraw or
reduceit.WestBengal
and Chhattisgarh also
made changes in the
route-to-market
which may have
suppressed the mar-
ket’s natural uplift”,
he said.
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The Delhi Police on
Thursday said Twitter’s
latest statements on ongoing
enquiry in toolkit are devised
to seek dubious sympathy
when they themselves not
only refuse to comply with the
law but also claim to be in
possession of material evi-
dence which they refuse to
share with legal authority.
The strongly-worded
statement by the Delhi Police
came after Twitter on
Thursday called the visit by
the Delhi Police to its offices
a form of intimidation and
said it was concerned about its
employees and the potential
threat to freedom of expres-
sion.
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Thursday directed States and
Union Territories to continue
the ongoing Covid-19 guide-
lines till June 30 and asked
them to go for intensive and
local containment measures
in districts with a high number
of cases to check the spread of
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Against the backdrop of its
ongoing face-off with the
Centre and the Delhi Police,
Twitter on Thursday
expressed displeasure on the
recent raid at its offices in
Delhi and Gurugram saying it
was concerned with the
“recent events” regarding its
employees in the country and
“the potential threat to free-
dom of expression” for its
users.
In a statement and in a
series of tweets, Twitter said
certain provisions of new IT
rules in India are against the
open public conversations and
wish to have a constructive
dialogue with the Indian
Government.
The microblogging site
expressed displeasure on the
recent raid at its offices in
Delhi and Gurugram.
“But just as we do around
the world, we will continue to
be strictly guided by principles
of transparency, a commit-
ment to empowering every
voice on the service, and pro-
tecting freedom of expression
and privacy under the rule of
law. Right now, we are con-
cerned by recent events
regarding our employees in
India and the potential threat
to freedom of expression for
the people we serve,”said
Twitter’s Policy Division.
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The Indian Medical
Association (IMA) on
Thursday lodged a complaint at
Delhi’s IP Estate police station
against yoga guru Ramdev
over his comment on allopathy.
Police said that they are con-
ducting an enquiry into the
matter.
According to the May 9
complaint of the IMA, Ramdev
has “wilfully and deliberately
spread false, baseless and mali-
cious information” about treat-
ment of Covid patients by
established and approved
methods and drugs.
“In a video which has sur-
faced and is being shared wide-
ly throughout the social media,
Swami Ramdev is seen wilful-
ly and deliberately spreading
false, baseless and malicious
information with regard to the
treatment of various patients
suffering from Covid-19 by
established and approved
treatment methods and drugs,”
it said.
The IMA has also served a
defamation notice on Ramdev
for his alleged disparaging
remarks against allopathy.
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Extending the existing
Covid-19 curbs till June 10,
the Punjab Government on
Thursday decided to provide
some relaxations in view of
decline in the positivity and
number of active caseload. At
the same time, the Chief
Minister has issued instruc-
tions to remain prepared for
the “possible third wave”.
Among other things, the
Government has decided to
remove the limit on number of
passengers in private vehi-
cles, restoring elective surg-
eries, operation of full OPD,
allowing use of oxygen for
essential non-medical use.
The Chief Minister Capt
Amarinder Singh, who took
the decisions taken during
the COVID review meeting,
said that it had been decided
to continue with the curbs on
the advice of experts.
At the same time, he clar-
ified that while the limit on
personal cars and two-wheel-
ers was being removed as
these are used mainly by fam-
ily members and close friends,
those on commercial passen-
ger vehicles and taxis shall
continue to be in place at pre-
sent.
The Deputy
Commissioners will also con-
tinue to be empowered to
make any adjustments in
opening of non-essential shops
as are merited by local condi-
tions, he said.
The Chief Minister has
also directed the resumption
of elective surgeries in both
government and private hos-
pitals, as well restoration of
OPD operations at all
Government Medical Colleges
and Hospitals (GMCHs)
across the State, in view of the
improvement in overall
COVID situation.
Notably, the elective surg-
eries had been stopped from
April 12 to ensure adequate
availability of beds and oxygen
for serious COVID cases, but
the Chief Minister has now
allowed these to be resumed,
“subject to the condition that
there shall, for the present, be
no reduction in beds for Level
III patients in the hospital”.
The state Medical
Education Minister OP Soni
said that three GMCs had
already started 50 percent OPD
operations, which will soon be
scaled up to 100 percent.
Taking strong note of
overcharging by some private
hospitals, the Chief Minister
warned that profiteering and
fleecing of patients amid such
a crisis will not be allowed at
any cost. He directed the
Health and Medical Education
Departments to ensure that
hospitals display huge (11’x5’)
boards at the entrance dis-
playing rates.
Reviewing the COVID sit-
uation with top health experts
and officials, as well as police
and administrative officers,
Capt Amarinder directed the
close and continuous moni-
toring of high risk individuals
and pregnant women in home
isolation through special
teams.
O2 SITUATION COM-
FORTABLE IN PUNJAB
Given the comfortable
Oxygen situation in the State
currently, the Chief Minister
also directed that Oxygen may
now be allowed to be used for
essential non-medical pur-
poses, with a three-day buffer
stock of medical oxygen, how-
ever, to be maintained at all
times. He noted with satisfac-
tion that oxygen concentrator
banks were now present in
every district for post COVID
care patients who have a doc-
tor’s prescription. The control
room had ensured that there
was no shortage of Oxygen in
any hospital, he said, adding
that the demand in the State
had come down from 304 MT
to 236 MT in the last 10 days.
CM ORDERS TO RAMP
UP TESTING, SAMPLING
IN VILLAGES
The Chief Minister also
ordered ramping up of testing
and sampling in the rural
areas to ensure early identifi-
cation and treatment of infect-
ed persons, as part of the
Corona Mukt Pendu Abhiyan.
He expressed satisfaction that
almost 1.4 crore individuals
(37 lakh households) had
already been screened in these
areas. The state Health and
Family Welfare Minister Balbir
Singh Sidhu said that the sit-
uation in the rural areas was
bad mainly because people
were going to hospitals late.
The state Health Secretary
Hussan Lal said that the pos-
itivity rate in rural areas was
four percent with people there
shying from testing and com-
ing forward only when faced
with severe symptoms.
STATE TRYING TO
PROCURE MORE VAC-
CINES
Expressing concern over
vaccine shortage, the Chief
Minister said that the State
Government was trying to
procure vaccines from all pos-
sible sources to meet the sud-
den demand as more and
more people were realizing
that this was the only protec-
tion against the pandemic,
especially in view of the fast-
spreading strain that originat-
ed in UK.
A P P R E H E N D I N G
THIRD WAVE, PUNJAB TO
SEEK 500 PAEDIATRIC
VENTILATORS FROM
CENTRE
Asserting that the State
could not afford to be lax
despite some easing of the sit-
uation, the Chief Minister
directed the Health and
Medical Education
Departments to continue
strengthening the COVID care
infrastructure and facilities to
deal with a possible third wave
of the pandemic.
He asked them to invest
also in augmenting paediatric
care and to seek 500 paediatric
ventilators from the
Government of India. The
meeting was informed all the
809 ventilators received earli-
er under the PM Cares Fund
had been distributed and 136
of them were not working.
The Chief Minister also
ordered creation of more tech-
nical and specialist posts to
meet the demands of the pos-
sible third wave.
Baba Farid University’s
Vice-Chancellor Dr Raj
Bahadur informed the meet-
ing that the recruitment of
doctors and nurses had almost
been completed, while the
process for procurement of
equipment for the makeshift
hospitals had also started. All
mid-level IAS or PCS transfers
in all departments should be
put on hold till the COVID
crisis continues, directed the
Chief Minister.
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After opening eight Covid
Care Centres in Punjab,
the Shiromani Gurdwara
Parbandhak Committee will
start ‘Vaccine Sewa’ at
Amritsar from May 29.
Announcing this, Shiromani
Akali Dal (SAD) president
Sukhbir Singh Badal on
Thursday also announced fur-
ther extension of the Oxygen
Sewa started by the party to
more constituencies in the
State.
Sukhbir, who was in
Abohar to start the Oxygen
Sewa initiative, also released
helpline numbers. “The tech-
nicians hired by SAD would
provide and install Oxygen
concentrators at residences of
the needy persons,” he added.
He said that the SGPC and
SAD were providing vaccines
and medical facilities, includ-
ing Oxygen concentrators, to
the people even as the
Congress Government had
failed to provide quality med-
ical healthcare due to which
the mortality rate was the
highest in Punjab.
“More than 500 concen-
trators had been imported
and the Sewa, which had been
launched in 10 constituencies
presently, would be broad
based further,” he said adding
that the party was now pro-
viding ‘langar sewa’ to COVID
patients and their families in
70 constituencies. Asserting
that the third COVID wave
could be even more severe
than the first two, Sukhbir
asked the Chief Minister Capt
Amarinder Singh to immedi-
ately order vaccines worth Rs
1,000 crore to vaccinate every-
one in the next six months.
“The Congress govern-
ment is befooling Punjabis by
trying to order vaccines from
global companies which have
not been approved by the
Indian Government…Instead
of doing this, the Government
should place its orders for
any number of Covaxin,
Covishield, or Sputnik doses.
The SGPC was able to order
and receive a consignment of
Covaxin within 10 days,” he
added.
6*3WRVWDUW
9DFFLQH6HZDIURP
0DLQ$PULWVDU ?=BQ
270=3860A7
Sh i r o m a n i
Akali Dal
(SAD) on
Thursday con-
demned the
C e n t r a l
Government
for trying to
defame the
kisan andolan
(farmers’ agita-
tion) as well as suppress it by
filing a “politically motivated”
charge-sheet accusing the
farmers of conspiring to turn
the Red Fort into a protest site
on January 26 this year.
“It is shocking that the
Delhi Police has filed a charge-
sheet accusing farmers of try-
ing to capture the Red Fort on
January 26 with the aim of
turning it into a protest site, and
this is furthest from the truth,”
said former minister Daljit
Singh Cheema.
He said: “It is a matter of
record that the entire estab-
lished leadership of the Kisan
Andolan as well as thousands
of protesters took a predeter-
mined route as finalized after
talks with the Delhi Police.
Only a small section of people
reached the Red Fort.”
Cheema said that it was
apparent that the Delhi Police
had not done a professional
investigation into the entire
case. “The factual position on
the ground has not been taken
into consideration while fram-
ing the charge sheet. In fact, it
seems to be motivated by pol-
itics,” he said.
SAD leader asked the
Central Government to take
stock of the situation immedi-
ately and take corrective mea-
sures to ensure no farmer was
victimized due to the partisan
charge sheet filed by the Delhi
Police.
B03R^]ST]b2T]caTU^a
STUPX]V:XbP]0]S^[P]
?=BQ 270=3860A7
More than 91,439 patients
having influenza-like ill-
ness have so far been detect-
ed in over 5000 villages of
Haryana during the ongoing
state villagers general health
checkup scheme.
The door-to-door survey
in villages to identify COVID-
19 patients began on May 15
in the State. Around 8000
multidisciplinary teams were
constituted for conducting
door to door health check-ups
in rural areas. In just a short
span of 12 days, teams consti-
tuted for the survey have con-
ducted the health check-up of
around 1.25 crore people resid-
ing in 25,49,464 houses in
rural areas across the state, said
an official spokesman. He said
that during door-to-door
check-up as many as 91,439
patients having flu-like symp-
toms were identified and got
timely treatment.
As per the data available,
samples of 1,07,852 (90,474
rapid antigen tests and 17,378
RT-PCR tests) have so far
been taken in rural areas under
the Haryana village general
health check-up
scheme(HVGHCS), in which
3781 patients were found pos-
itive.
The strategy of test-track-
treatment certainly proved to
be very effective as the posi-
tivity rate has come down to
3.47 per cent, the spokesman
said.
While conducting these
health check-ups, the teams are
closely monitoring every
patient and those having mild
or moderate symptoms are
being asked to stay in home
isolation, while those who are
not having home isolation
facility are made to stay in iso-
lation centres that are being set
up in the village itself.
Over 160 are admitted in
village isolation centres.
The work of door to door
health check-up is likely to fin-
ish in the next two days, the
spokesman said.
He said that when in the
month of May, India saw a sud-
den spurt in COVID-19 cases,
Haryana Government adopt-
ed proactive strategies coupled
with aggressive surveillance,
stringent containment, focused
clinical management along
with proactive Information
Education and
Communication (IEC) activi-
ties to combat the virus spread
in both urban and rural areas.
While especially empha-
sizing on the villages of
Haryana-NCR districts from
where people are traveling
daily to Delhi and other big
cities for their work, the
Haryana Government started
monitoring all such people
ensuring that the virus spread
is contained and further hot-
spot-like situations do not
arise in such villages, he said.
( #(STcTRcTSfXcW8;Dbh_c^b^eTa
$cTbcTS_^bXcXeTX]7PahP]PeX[[PVTb
?=BQ 270=3860A7
Engaging the state's youth in
its fight against the
COVID-19, Punjab
Government on Thursday
rolled out a new initiative to
take forward the state’s Mission
Fateh 2.0 as a part of the
‘Corona Mukt Punjab Abhiyan’
(COVID-free Punjab
Campaign).
Launching the initiative,
the Chief Minister Capt
Amarinder Singh has directed
the formation of groups of
seven Rural Corona Volunteers
(RCVs) per village or munici-
pal ward as a cadre to fight the
pandemic.
With the villages more
badly affected in the second
wave of COVID, it was impor-
tant to drive a strong campaign
for ‘Corona Mukt Pind’, said the
Chief Minister directing the
Department of Sports and
Youth Affairs and the Deputy
Commissioners to immediate-
ly form such RCVs to be the
torchbearers in the war against
the contagion.
“Existing clubs can also
become RCVs,” he said, adding
that these could work as a pow-
erful support system for the
Panchayats and Municipalities
in the war against COVID.
Interacting with youth
from rural and urban areas
through video conferencing,
the Chief Minister said that as
a result of the people’s support,
the number of cases in the State
had come down from around
9,000 to 4,000-plus in a matter
of about three weeks. “But
given the impact on rural areas
this time, the situation contin-
ues to be grave,” he said.
The Chief Minister tasked
the RCVs with carrying for-
ward the 3Ts drive (Test, Trace
and Treat), taking care of poor
and elderly and connecting
them to the COVID Control
Rooms and helplines, con-
ducting Theekri Pehras in all
villages, promoting COVID
appropriate behaviour, assisting
villagers in accessing adequate
healthcare, discouraging
quacks, encouraging down-
load of COVA App, besides
preparing and displaying ban-
ners and pamphlets.
The youth could also play
a big role also in countering
rumours and false propaganda
on social media, he said, adding
that the State Government will
extend full support to them to
fight the pandemic “and save
Punjab together”.
He also urged the RCVs to
spread awareness among the
people in rural areas on the
proper protocols to be fol-
lowed for COVID treatment,
given the spread of black or
white fungus due to high usage
of steroids.
“Beginning today, the
Department of Youth Affairs
has started distributing one
lakh badges and four lakh car
stickers carrying the message ‘I
Am Vaccinated’,” he said while
urging the RCVs to encourage
people to “flaunt their vacci-
nation status”, and it would dis-
play the spread of our vacci-
nation coverage and motivate
others too. As a reward for their
participation in the war against
Corona, every RCV will be
given a Sports Kit, to be dis-
tributed on August 12
(International Youth Day), said
the Chief Minister, directing
the Department of Sports and
Youth Affairs to immediately
commence the procurement of
15,000 kits.
Expressing the hope that
Mission 2.0 would be the last
battle in the war against
COVID, the Chief Minister,
however, underlined the need
to be prepared for a third
wave. The event was simulta-
neously telecast in all districts,
sub-divisional headquarters,
as well as 500 rural and urban
locations, presided over by
Speaker, Deputy Speaker,
Ministers, MPs, MLAs, DCs,
SDMs, Mayors, presidents of
MCs, chairmen and members
of Zila Parishads, and
Panchayat Samitis or
Sarpanches.
Youth icon and Brand
Ambassador of State's COVID
Vaccine Campaign Sonu Sood
underscored the need to create
awareness amongst people
especially in rural areas about
the importance of vaccination.
He said that he will personal-
ly try to ensure maximum vac-
cine supply from Bharat
Biotech for the State. He also
evinced interest in setting up a
medical oxygen plant in
Government Hospital, Moga.
?=BQ 270=3860A7
Haryana Chief Minister
Manohar Lal Khattar on
Thursday directed to set up
sewage treatment plants (STPs)
at the exit point of all drains
that flow into Saraswati river
and work towards setting up a
power plant on the dam to be
built in Adi Badri.
The Chief Minister was
presiding over the meeting of
the Governing Body of the
Saraswati Heritage
Development Board here.
During the meeting, the
Chief Minister was apprized
that to make this river flow, not
only will the dam be built but
barrage and small reservoirs
will also be constructed. This
will bring the ground water
level up, so that not only will
the area come out of the dark
zone, but it will also be in the
interest of the farmers.
The Chief Minister also
took stock of the progress
related to the construction of
the proposed dam in the
Saraswati project and gave
necessary directions for setting
up a power generation plant
with the dam.
Along with this, he also
asked to settle the pending
matters with Himachal
Pradesh at the earliest.
He said that since dams are
already being constructed, a
large power generation plant
should be set up to produce as
much electricity as possible.
I t
w a s
informed
in the
meeting
that work
is being
done to
promote
tourism
at the
ghats at
A d i
B a d r i
and Pipli.
A cafete-
ria has been established in
Adi Badri with the assistance
of the Tourism Department.
Work is also being done to
build the riverfront to attract
tourists.
The Chief Minister said
that everything should be done
in a time-bound manner and
all works should be completed
within the stipulated time.
Khattar was apprized that
a plan is being devised to con-
struct an underpass on the
National Highway to connect
the ghat at Pipli with the zoo
to attract tourists. This will be
completed soon.
It was also informed that
despite STPs being installed in
many places, they are not
being commissioned and dirty
water is being pumped direct-
ly into the Saraswati river.
Taking strong cognizance
of this, the Chief Minister
directed the Public Health
Department to monitor the
STPs. He also said that in case
of STP, the task of fault-finding
should also be seen by the offi-
cers of the Public Health
Department.
The Chief Minister also
said that the Board will bear the
expenses for the Centre set up
under the Chair at Kurukshetra
University for research on the
Saraswati River.
For this, he asked to ear-
mark Rs 20 lakh annually for
the Chair and for research
works such as water testing and
carbon dating etc.
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- 1. 20?BD;4 34030=A4CDA=B 7405C4A78B5D=4A0; 9PX_da)0#hTPa^[SP] _aTbdTSSTPSbW^fTSd_ dRWc^cWTbda_aXbT^UWXb UPX[hPfTTZPUcTacWThWPS _TaU^aTSPUd]TaP[XbcPZT][h XST]cXUhX]VPSTR^_^bTS R^a_bTPbWXbQ^ShCWTV^^Ud_ c^^Z_[PRTPUcTacWTBcPcTad] A:7^b_XcP[STR[PaTScWTQ^Sh ^UPP]]PTS6^eTaSWP] ?aPYP_PcfW^fPbd]STa caTPcT]cPccWTW^b_XcP[Pb ²d]XST]cXUXTS³P]S[PcTaZPa ;P[6PSd[XP³baT[PcXeTbfa^]V[h c^^Z_^bbTbbX^]^UcWPcQ^ShPc APYbPP]SSXbcaXRcX]APYPbcWP] 6EC=35AC$;C :8=53403B2A814B =Tf3T[WX)CWT2T]caTP__a^eTS UX]P]RXP[PbbXbcP]RTc^UPX[XTb^U !%^aTY^da]P[XbcbfW^ bdRRdQTSc^2^eXS (CWT X]Xbcah^U8]U^aPcX^] 1a^PSRPbcX]VbPXSAb$[PZW PbbXbcP]RTTPRWfX[[QTVXeT]c^ cWTUPX[XTb^UcWTbT% Y^da]P[Xbcb2^XccTTP[b^ R^]bXSTaTSP__[XRPcX^]b^U UPX[XTb^U Y^da]P[XbcbfW^ WPS_PbbTSPfPhSdTc^aTPb^]b ^cWTacWP]cWTX]UTRcX^]XcbPXS ?=BQ =4F34;78 Hours after Twitter expressed concerns regarding the safety of its employees and “potential threat to freedom of expression” for its users, the Centre lashed out at US-based microblogging site asking it to stop beating around the bush and comply with the rules framed by the Ministry of Information and Technology. In a strongly worded state- ment, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) said the statement by the social media intermediary was an attempt to dictate its terms to the world’s largest democracy, and accused Twitter of trying to undermine India’s legal system with its “actions and deliberate defi- ance”. The Ministry said it “strongly controverts” the claims made by Twitter in its press release. The statement has been posted on Koo, the India-made social media plat- form, which gained traction earlier this year after the long- standing spat between the Centre on Twitter started around January-February. It termed Twitter’s statement “unfortunate”, totally baseless, false and an attempt to defame India to hide their own follies”. “Twitter needs to stop beating around the bush and comply with the laws of the land. Lawmaking policy for- mulation is the sole prerogative of the sovereign and Twitter is just a social media platform it has no locus in dictating what should India’s legal poli- cy framework should be,” the Ministry said. Through its actions and deliberate defiance, Twitter seeks to undermine India’s legal system, it added. “The Government con- demns the unfortunate state- ment issued by Twitter as totally baseless, false and an attempt to defame India to hide their own follies,” the IT Ministry said. “Twitter refuses to comply with those very regulations in the Intermediary Guidelines on the basis of which it is claiming a safe harbour pro- tection from any criminal lia- bility in India,” the Ministry said. The strongly-worded state- ment said the only instance of scuttling free speech on Twitter is Twitter itself and its opaque policies. “As a result of this, people’s accounts are sus- pended and tweets deleted arbitrarily without recourse.” “India has a glorious tra- dition of free speech and democratic practices dating back centuries. Protecting free speech in India is not the pre- rogative of only a private, for- profit, foreign entity like Twitter,” it added. 0A270=09HC8Q =4F34;78 Taking cue from the European countries, India too is considering mix-and- match doses of vaccines on a trial basis with the Government on Thursday saying that there is no concern if just in case peo- ple are getting different doses. Its assertion came following a recent Spanish study that has found that vaccinating people with both the Oxford- AstraZeneca and Pfizer- BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines produces a potent immune response against the virus SARS-CoV-2. “As per the protocol, stick to the same dose of vaccine as the first one. If people are getting different doses there is no cause for concern, it’s safe. We are thinking to mix and match (vaccine doses) on a trial basis,” said Dr VK Paul, member (Health) of Niti Aayog at a press conference here. The mix-and match option suits the Government too in view of supply-chain and shortage issues affecting its nationwide Covid-19 vaccination drive, especially for the second dose. Dr Paul was replying to a query if there were health con- cerns in a case of 20 residents of a village in Uttar Pradesh who were administered a different coronavirus vaccine as a second dose. “There should be no cause of concern and added that any adverse event is unlikely,” he said, adding that more scrutiny was required in the case. ?=BQ =4F34;78 With Antiguan Prime Minister Gaston Browne urging neighbouring Dominica to directly hand over fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi to India, agencies here are explor- ing options to get him extra- dited to face the law. Choksi is wanted in the C13,500 crore PNB credit fraud case. Choksi was nabbed in Dominica late on Wednesday after fleeing from neighbouring Antigua and Barbuda. Browne reportedly said Choksi will be deported to India and Indian authorities are in touch with their counter- parts in Dominica. Indian agencies were in touch with Antigua and Barbuda on the matter and contact has also been estab- lished with the Government of Dominica for repatriation of Choksi to India, sources here confirmed. They said the agencies are exploring possible legal recourse to seek his custody at the earliest. After reports of Choksi’s arrest in Dominica, Browne told the media there that he has given “clear instructions” to the Dominican authorities to repa- triate Choksi to India. 344?0::D?A4C8Q =4F34;78 The anti-BS Yediyurappa “rebellion” in Karnataka has fizzled out again as the BJP central leadership has not been able to find out a “Lingyat” leader of Yedyurappa’s stature even though complaints that his son was remote-controlling the administration and run- ning a “parallel power-centre” are on the rise in the State. “Dissidents have not received support from central leaders as BSY, despite his age- related problems, is still the biggest vote catcher among the dominant Lingyat com- munity that forms around 11 to 13 per cent vote bank,” said a State leader who identified himself a “BJP loyalist” away from pro or ant-BSY camps. He went on to admit that BSY’s “family” (son) interfer- ence has adversely impacted governance and “image” of the party in the State with the rival camp levelling charges of cor- ruption. The dissidents in Karnataka, including backward class leader and State Rural Development Minister BS Eshwarappa, have alleged that the Chief Minister’s son BY Vijayendra was running the Government like a de-facto Chief Minister. Eshwarappa, a bitter crit- ic of the BSY, is also a claimant for the top post. ?=BQ ;D2:=F When Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath called on Governor Anandiben Patel on Thursday evening, it gave cre- dence to the speculation about possibility of reshuffle or expansion of the Uttar Pradesh Ministry. The Chief Minister was on an inspection tour of districts for last three days and returned to Lucknow on Thursday at 6 pm and an hour later he drove down to the Raj Bhawan to meet Governor Anandiben Patel, who is also in charge of Madhya Pradesh, and had suddenly returned to Lucknow on Thursday from Bhopal. Anandiben Patel went to Bhopal on May 10 and was slated to stay there till Saturday next. The sudden arrival of the Governor in Lucknow and her meeting with Yogi Adityanath was seen as a step toward finalising details of reshuffle in the Ministry. Raj Bhawan officials, how- ever, said it was a routine meeting. ?=BQ =4F34;78 The alluring coral archipel- ago of Lakshadweep is in turmoil. A series of decisions initiated by Lakshadweep Administrator Praful Khoda Patel, a former BJP leader, have triggered a huge controversy, inviting sharp criticism not only from the Opposition but also from within the BJP. Patel’s recall is demanded by the Opposition parties, including the Congress, the CPM and the Nationalist Congress party (NCP). The steps taken by Patel include a ban on beef con- sumption in the Muslim-dom- inated Lakshadweep, intro- duction of a Goonda Act, a proposal to disqualify pan- chayat poll aspirants with more than two children, and establishment of a develop- ment authority with powers to acquire land. The steps has led to a sharp division in the Lakshadweep BJP unit with president Abdul Khadee Haji backing Patel but general sec- retary Mohammad Kasim describing the administrator “authoritarian” saying his pro- posals are against the interests of islands. Kasim wrote a let- ter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi opposing the proposals. Kasim is of view that Patel’s measures would lead to job losses and harassment of people. A094B7:D0AQ =4F34;78 The liquor industry has reported a decline of 12 per cent in the sale of the Indian- made foreign liquor (IMFL) segment amid COVID pan- demic and lockdown despite 6 per cent growth in the January- March quarter in 2020-21. The total sales of IMFL were 305 million cases (9 litres each) products in 2020-21 --- nearly 12 per cent below the previous year. Though the sales picked up in the second half of 2020-21 in most parts, the States which imposed high corona cess and other taxes after the first wave of Covid-19 showed poor recovery. According to a data com- piled by the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC), the liquor sales fell by a whopping 42 per cent in first quarter of the last fiscal, it declined by 9 per cent in the second quarter and 1 per cent in the third quarter, before showing a recovery of 6 per cent in the fourth quarter. The top five States in terms of recovery in sales were Maharashtra, Goa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, while West Bengal, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh were among the big States which witnessed largest declines over the previ- ous fiscal. As per the data, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana reported over 40 per cent growth in IMFL sales during the fourth quarter of 2020-21, while Maharashtra and Goa report- ed 23 and 22 per cent growth, respectively. However, during the January-March quarter, sales of IMFL in States such as Chhattisgarh reported a 31 per cent decline, 28 per cent in West Bengal and a 20 per cent in Rajasthan. The highest decline of 52 per cent was in Meghalaya and 43 per cent in the Union Territory of Daman, Diu and Silvassa. In Delhi, the sale of IMFL fell by 67 per cent in the first quarters, 8 per cent in the sec- ond quarters, 3 percent in the 3rd quarter and in the fourth quarter, it showed recovery of 2 per cent. Andhra Pradesh’s sales fell by 70 per cent in the first quarter, 51 per cent in the second quarter, 19 per cent in the third quarter and two per cent in the fourth quarter. Chandigarh recorded 65 per cent decline in the sale of IMFL in the first quarter, 13 percent in the second quarter, 21 per cent in the third quar- ter. In the fourth quarter the growth rate was only 4 per cent. Some States including Delhi, Assam, Odisha, Chandigarh, and Madhya Pradesh have shown positive trend in sales, but the recov- eries were not strong enough, or were inconsistent through q u a r t e r s , r e f l e c t i n g i n h e r e n t fragility in the market. According to C I A B C D i r e c t o r General Vinod Giri: “Many states showed positive trend through the quarters, and even though most states were unable to fully recover volume lost in first and second quarters, strong performance in third and fourth quarters reflects fundamental strength in the market. It also confirms that there is no lasting shift against alco- holic beverages in consumption baskets.” “Incidentally,themajorityof these states are ones that imposed high cess / tax during the first wave of Covid, and unlike other states did not withdraw or reduceit.WestBengal and Chhattisgarh also made changes in the route-to-market which may have suppressed the mar- ket’s natural uplift”, he said. RXFDQ¶W GLFWDWHWHUPV RQ,7UXOHV IDOOLQWROLQH *RYWRUGHUV 7ZLWWHU BC055A4?AC4AQ =4F34;78 The Delhi Police on Thursday said Twitter’s latest statements on ongoing enquiry in toolkit are devised to seek dubious sympathy when they themselves not only refuse to comply with the law but also claim to be in possession of material evi- dence which they refuse to share with legal authority. The strongly-worded statement by the Delhi Police came after Twitter on Thursday called the visit by the Delhi Police to its offices a form of intimidation and said it was concerned about its employees and the potential threat to freedom of expres- sion. 4c`T`UZ]VeVRcd a`]ZTVcVSfWW WRVT`_TVc_d *RYWPXOOVPL[ PDWFK RYLGMDEVRQWULDOEDVLV ?`h`ccZVdZW aV`a]VXVeeZ_X U`dVd`WUZWWVcV_e gRTTZ_Vd+5cARf] New Delhi: The Centre on Thursday directed States and Union Territories to continue the ongoing Covid-19 guide- lines till June 30 and asked them to go for intensive and local containment measures in districts with a high number of cases to check the spread of the deadly disease. 4`_eZ_fReZ`_`W 4`gZUXfZUV]Z_VdeZ]] ;f_VV_UdRjd92 8]SXPTg_[^aTb2W^ZbX´b TgcaPSXcX^]Pb0]cXVdP] ?UPe^dabST_^acPcX^] RJLFDOOVRQ*XY VSDUNVVSHFXODWLRQ DERXWDELQHW UHMLJH[SDQVLRQ ATe^[cPVPX]bc 1BHUXii[Tb^dc /RFNGRZQVSLULWVDZDEXHUV ?=BQ =4F34;78 Against the backdrop of its ongoing face-off with the Centre and the Delhi Police, Twitter on Thursday expressed displeasure on the recent raid at its offices in Delhi and Gurugram saying it was concerned with the “recent events” regarding its employees in the country and “the potential threat to free- dom of expression” for its users. In a statement and in a series of tweets, Twitter said certain provisions of new IT rules in India are against the open public conversations and wish to have a constructive dialogue with the Indian Government. The microblogging site expressed displeasure on the recent raid at its offices in Delhi and Gurugram. “But just as we do around the world, we will continue to be strictly guided by principles of transparency, a commit- ment to empowering every voice on the service, and pro- tecting freedom of expression and privacy under the rule of law. Right now, we are con- cerned by recent events regarding our employees in India and the potential threat to freedom of expression for the people we serve,”said Twitter’s Policy Division. 1P]^]QTTUX]db[X S^X]PcTSXb[P]S 8]ca^SdRcX^]^U6^^]SP0RcX] ;PZbWPSfTT_fXcW[^fRaXTaPcT ?a^_^bP[c^SXb`dP[XUh_P]RWPhPc _^[[Pb_XaP]cbfXcW^aTcWP]! RWX[SaT] 4bcPQ[XbWT]c^UPSTeT[^_T]c PdcW^aXchfXcW_^fTabc^PR`dXaT [P]S ;^RP[19?SXeXSTS 7XbaTRP[[XbSTP]STSQh __^bXcX^] BC055A4?AC4AQ =4F34;78 The Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Thursday lodged a complaint at Delhi’s IP Estate police station against yoga guru Ramdev over his comment on allopathy. Police said that they are con- ducting an enquiry into the matter. According to the May 9 complaint of the IMA, Ramdev has “wilfully and deliberately spread false, baseless and mali- cious information” about treat- ment of Covid patients by established and approved methods and drugs. “In a video which has sur- faced and is being shared wide- ly throughout the social media, Swami Ramdev is seen wilful- ly and deliberately spreading false, baseless and malicious information with regard to the treatment of various patients suffering from Covid-19 by established and approved treatment methods and drugs,” it said. The IMA has also served a defamation notice on Ramdev for his alleged disparaging remarks against allopathy. :2]`UXVda]RZ_e RXRZ_deCR^UVg S CfXccTad]STaX]X]V8]SXP³b[TVP[bhbcTfXcW Xcb°PRcX^]bP]SST[XQTaPcTSTUXP]RT± S 0ccT_cc^STUPT8]SXPc^WXST cWTXa^f]U^[[XTb S ?T^_[T³bPRR^d]cbPaTbdb_T]STS P]ScfTTcbST[TcTSPaQXcaPaX[hfXcW^dc aTR^dabT S ?a^cTRcX]VUaTTb_TTRWX]8]SXPXb]^ccWT _aTa^VPcXeT^U^][hP_aXePcTU^a_a^UXcU^aTXV] T]cXch[XZTCfXccTa S CfXccTafX[[P[fPhbaTPX]bPUTX]8]SXP P]ScWTaTXb]^cWaTPcc^cWTXa_Tab^]P[ bPUTchP]SbTRdaXch S CfXccTaP[b^RW^bTc^bW^fcWT VT^[^RPcX^]^URTacPX][^RPcX^]bX] ;PSPZWPb_Pac^U2WX]P S CfXccTaWPb[TSc^°aP_P]c_a^[XUTaPcX^]^UUPZT P]SWPaUd[R^]cT]cPVPX]bc8]SXPP]S8]SXP]b± 4V_ecVEhZeeVc¶d c`hZ_eV_dZWZVd CfXccTabcXRZbc^Xcb Vd]bRaXTbcWaTPcc^ UaTTS^^UTg_aTbbX^] 4`gZU* :?:?5:2 CC0;20B4B) !$###$$ %!'$ 340C7B) '$#'$ A42E4A43) !#''!$# !$ 02C8E4)! ## 070)$%! 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- 2. ]PcX^]! 347A03D=k5A830H k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·VZLOOQRWEHKHOGUHVSRQVLEOHIRUDQNLQGRIFODLPPDGHEWKHDGYHUWLVHUVRIWKHSURGXFWV VHUYLFHVDQGVKDOOQRWEHPDGHUHVSRQVLEOHIRUDQNLQGRIORVVFRQVHTXHQFHVDQGIXUWKHUSURGXFWUHODWHGGDPDJHVRQVXFKDGYHUWLVHPHQWV ?=BQ 270=3860A7 Extending the existing Covid-19 curbs till June 10, the Punjab Government on Thursday decided to provide some relaxations in view of decline in the positivity and number of active caseload. At the same time, the Chief Minister has issued instruc- tions to remain prepared for the “possible third wave”. Among other things, the Government has decided to remove the limit on number of passengers in private vehi- cles, restoring elective surg- eries, operation of full OPD, allowing use of oxygen for essential non-medical use. The Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, who took the decisions taken during the COVID review meeting, said that it had been decided to continue with the curbs on the advice of experts. At the same time, he clar- ified that while the limit on personal cars and two-wheel- ers was being removed as these are used mainly by fam- ily members and close friends, those on commercial passen- ger vehicles and taxis shall continue to be in place at pre- sent. The Deputy Commissioners will also con- tinue to be empowered to make any adjustments in opening of non-essential shops as are merited by local condi- tions, he said. The Chief Minister has also directed the resumption of elective surgeries in both government and private hos- pitals, as well restoration of OPD operations at all Government Medical Colleges and Hospitals (GMCHs) across the State, in view of the improvement in overall COVID situation. Notably, the elective surg- eries had been stopped from April 12 to ensure adequate availability of beds and oxygen for serious COVID cases, but the Chief Minister has now allowed these to be resumed, “subject to the condition that there shall, for the present, be no reduction in beds for Level III patients in the hospital”. The state Medical Education Minister OP Soni said that three GMCs had already started 50 percent OPD operations, which will soon be scaled up to 100 percent. Taking strong note of overcharging by some private hospitals, the Chief Minister warned that profiteering and fleecing of patients amid such a crisis will not be allowed at any cost. He directed the Health and Medical Education Departments to ensure that hospitals display huge (11’x5’) boards at the entrance dis- playing rates. Reviewing the COVID sit- uation with top health experts and officials, as well as police and administrative officers, Capt Amarinder directed the close and continuous moni- toring of high risk individuals and pregnant women in home isolation through special teams. O2 SITUATION COM- FORTABLE IN PUNJAB Given the comfortable Oxygen situation in the State currently, the Chief Minister also directed that Oxygen may now be allowed to be used for essential non-medical pur- poses, with a three-day buffer stock of medical oxygen, how- ever, to be maintained at all times. He noted with satisfac- tion that oxygen concentrator banks were now present in every district for post COVID care patients who have a doc- tor’s prescription. The control room had ensured that there was no shortage of Oxygen in any hospital, he said, adding that the demand in the State had come down from 304 MT to 236 MT in the last 10 days. CM ORDERS TO RAMP UP TESTING, SAMPLING IN VILLAGES The Chief Minister also ordered ramping up of testing and sampling in the rural areas to ensure early identifi- cation and treatment of infect- ed persons, as part of the Corona Mukt Pendu Abhiyan. He expressed satisfaction that almost 1.4 crore individuals (37 lakh households) had already been screened in these areas. The state Health and Family Welfare Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu said that the sit- uation in the rural areas was bad mainly because people were going to hospitals late. The state Health Secretary Hussan Lal said that the pos- itivity rate in rural areas was four percent with people there shying from testing and com- ing forward only when faced with severe symptoms. STATE TRYING TO PROCURE MORE VAC- CINES Expressing concern over vaccine shortage, the Chief Minister said that the State Government was trying to procure vaccines from all pos- sible sources to meet the sud- den demand as more and more people were realizing that this was the only protec- tion against the pandemic, especially in view of the fast- spreading strain that originat- ed in UK. A P P R E H E N D I N G THIRD WAVE, PUNJAB TO SEEK 500 PAEDIATRIC VENTILATORS FROM CENTRE Asserting that the State could not afford to be lax despite some easing of the sit- uation, the Chief Minister directed the Health and Medical Education Departments to continue strengthening the COVID care infrastructure and facilities to deal with a possible third wave of the pandemic. He asked them to invest also in augmenting paediatric care and to seek 500 paediatric ventilators from the Government of India. The meeting was informed all the 809 ventilators received earli- er under the PM Cares Fund had been distributed and 136 of them were not working. The Chief Minister also ordered creation of more tech- nical and specialist posts to meet the demands of the pos- sible third wave. Baba Farid University’s Vice-Chancellor Dr Raj Bahadur informed the meet- ing that the recruitment of doctors and nurses had almost been completed, while the process for procurement of equipment for the makeshift hospitals had also started. All mid-level IAS or PCS transfers in all departments should be put on hold till the COVID crisis continues, directed the Chief Minister. Af_[RSVieV_Ud4`gZUTfcSdeZ]];f_V! ?aT_PaX]VU^a _a^YTRcTScWXaS fPeT AT^eTb[XXc ^]_PbbT]VTabX] _eceTWXR[Tb* ATbc^aTbT[TRcXeT bdaVTaXTbUd[[ ?3^_TaPcX^]b ?=BQ 0170A After opening eight Covid Care Centres in Punjab, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee will start ‘Vaccine Sewa’ at Amritsar from May 29. Announcing this, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Thursday also announced fur- ther extension of the Oxygen Sewa started by the party to more constituencies in the State. Sukhbir, who was in Abohar to start the Oxygen Sewa initiative, also released helpline numbers. “The tech- nicians hired by SAD would provide and install Oxygen concentrators at residences of the needy persons,” he added. He said that the SGPC and SAD were providing vaccines and medical facilities, includ- ing Oxygen concentrators, to the people even as the Congress Government had failed to provide quality med- ical healthcare due to which the mortality rate was the highest in Punjab. “More than 500 concen- trators had been imported and the Sewa, which had been launched in 10 constituencies presently, would be broad based further,” he said adding that the party was now pro- viding ‘langar sewa’ to COVID patients and their families in 70 constituencies. Asserting that the third COVID wave could be even more severe than the first two, Sukhbir asked the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh to immedi- ately order vaccines worth Rs 1,000 crore to vaccinate every- one in the next six months. “The Congress govern- ment is befooling Punjabis by trying to order vaccines from global companies which have not been approved by the Indian Government…Instead of doing this, the Government should place its orders for any number of Covaxin, Covishield, or Sputnik doses. The SGPC was able to order and receive a consignment of Covaxin within 10 days,” he added. 6*3WRVWDUW 9DFFLQH6HZDIURP 0DLQ$PULWVDU ?=BQ 270=3860A7 Sh i r o m a n i Akali Dal (SAD) on Thursday con- demned the C e n t r a l Government for trying to defame the kisan andolan (farmers’ agita- tion) as well as suppress it by filing a “politically motivated” charge-sheet accusing the farmers of conspiring to turn the Red Fort into a protest site on January 26 this year. “It is shocking that the Delhi Police has filed a charge- sheet accusing farmers of try- ing to capture the Red Fort on January 26 with the aim of turning it into a protest site, and this is furthest from the truth,” said former minister Daljit Singh Cheema. He said: “It is a matter of record that the entire estab- lished leadership of the Kisan Andolan as well as thousands of protesters took a predeter- mined route as finalized after talks with the Delhi Police. Only a small section of people reached the Red Fort.” Cheema said that it was apparent that the Delhi Police had not done a professional investigation into the entire case. “The factual position on the ground has not been taken into consideration while fram- ing the charge sheet. In fact, it seems to be motivated by pol- itics,” he said. SAD leader asked the Central Government to take stock of the situation immedi- ately and take corrective mea- sures to ensure no farmer was victimized due to the partisan charge sheet filed by the Delhi Police. B03R^]ST]b2T]caTU^a STUPX]V:XbP]0]S^[P] ?=BQ 270=3860A7 More than 91,439 patients having influenza-like ill- ness have so far been detect- ed in over 5000 villages of Haryana during the ongoing state villagers general health checkup scheme. The door-to-door survey in villages to identify COVID- 19 patients began on May 15 in the State. Around 8000 multidisciplinary teams were constituted for conducting door to door health check-ups in rural areas. In just a short span of 12 days, teams consti- tuted for the survey have con- ducted the health check-up of around 1.25 crore people resid- ing in 25,49,464 houses in rural areas across the state, said an official spokesman. He said that during door-to-door check-up as many as 91,439 patients having flu-like symp- toms were identified and got timely treatment. As per the data available, samples of 1,07,852 (90,474 rapid antigen tests and 17,378 RT-PCR tests) have so far been taken in rural areas under the Haryana village general health check-up scheme(HVGHCS), in which 3781 patients were found pos- itive. The strategy of test-track- treatment certainly proved to be very effective as the posi- tivity rate has come down to 3.47 per cent, the spokesman said. While conducting these health check-ups, the teams are closely monitoring every patient and those having mild or moderate symptoms are being asked to stay in home isolation, while those who are not having home isolation facility are made to stay in iso- lation centres that are being set up in the village itself. Over 160 are admitted in village isolation centres. The work of door to door health check-up is likely to fin- ish in the next two days, the spokesman said. He said that when in the month of May, India saw a sud- den spurt in COVID-19 cases, Haryana Government adopt- ed proactive strategies coupled with aggressive surveillance, stringent containment, focused clinical management along with proactive Information Education and Communication (IEC) activi- ties to combat the virus spread in both urban and rural areas. While especially empha- sizing on the villages of Haryana-NCR districts from where people are traveling daily to Delhi and other big cities for their work, the Haryana Government started monitoring all such people ensuring that the virus spread is contained and further hot- spot-like situations do not arise in such villages, he said. ( #(STcTRcTSfXcW8;Dbh_c^b^eTa $cTbcTS_^bXcXeTX]7PahP]PeX[[PVTb ?=BQ 270=3860A7 Engaging the state's youth in its fight against the COVID-19, Punjab Government on Thursday rolled out a new initiative to take forward the state’s Mission Fateh 2.0 as a part of the ‘Corona Mukt Punjab Abhiyan’ (COVID-free Punjab Campaign). Launching the initiative, the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh has directed the formation of groups of seven Rural Corona Volunteers (RCVs) per village or munici- pal ward as a cadre to fight the pandemic. With the villages more badly affected in the second wave of COVID, it was impor- tant to drive a strong campaign for ‘Corona Mukt Pind’, said the Chief Minister directing the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs and the Deputy Commissioners to immediate- ly form such RCVs to be the torchbearers in the war against the contagion. “Existing clubs can also become RCVs,” he said, adding that these could work as a pow- erful support system for the Panchayats and Municipalities in the war against COVID. Interacting with youth from rural and urban areas through video conferencing, the Chief Minister said that as a result of the people’s support, the number of cases in the State had come down from around 9,000 to 4,000-plus in a matter of about three weeks. “But given the impact on rural areas this time, the situation contin- ues to be grave,” he said. The Chief Minister tasked the RCVs with carrying for- ward the 3Ts drive (Test, Trace and Treat), taking care of poor and elderly and connecting them to the COVID Control Rooms and helplines, con- ducting Theekri Pehras in all villages, promoting COVID appropriate behaviour, assisting villagers in accessing adequate healthcare, discouraging quacks, encouraging down- load of COVA App, besides preparing and displaying ban- ners and pamphlets. The youth could also play a big role also in countering rumours and false propaganda on social media, he said, adding that the State Government will extend full support to them to fight the pandemic “and save Punjab together”. He also urged the RCVs to spread awareness among the people in rural areas on the proper protocols to be fol- lowed for COVID treatment, given the spread of black or white fungus due to high usage of steroids. “Beginning today, the Department of Youth Affairs has started distributing one lakh badges and four lakh car stickers carrying the message ‘I Am Vaccinated’,” he said while urging the RCVs to encourage people to “flaunt their vacci- nation status”, and it would dis- play the spread of our vacci- nation coverage and motivate others too. As a reward for their participation in the war against Corona, every RCV will be given a Sports Kit, to be dis- tributed on August 12 (International Youth Day), said the Chief Minister, directing the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs to immediately commence the procurement of 15,000 kits. Expressing the hope that Mission 2.0 would be the last battle in the war against COVID, the Chief Minister, however, underlined the need to be prepared for a third wave. The event was simulta- neously telecast in all districts, sub-divisional headquarters, as well as 500 rural and urban locations, presided over by Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Ministers, MPs, MLAs, DCs, SDMs, Mayors, presidents of MCs, chairmen and members of Zila Parishads, and Panchayat Samitis or Sarpanches. Youth icon and Brand Ambassador of State's COVID Vaccine Campaign Sonu Sood underscored the need to create awareness amongst people especially in rural areas about the importance of vaccination. He said that he will personal- ly try to ensure maximum vac- cine supply from Bharat Biotech for the State. He also evinced interest in setting up a medical oxygen plant in Government Hospital, Moga. ?=BQ 270=3860A7 Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday directed to set up sewage treatment plants (STPs) at the exit point of all drains that flow into Saraswati river and work towards setting up a power plant on the dam to be built in Adi Badri. The Chief Minister was presiding over the meeting of the Governing Body of the Saraswati Heritage Development Board here. During the meeting, the Chief Minister was apprized that to make this river flow, not only will the dam be built but barrage and small reservoirs will also be constructed. This will bring the ground water level up, so that not only will the area come out of the dark zone, but it will also be in the interest of the farmers. The Chief Minister also took stock of the progress related to the construction of the proposed dam in the Saraswati project and gave necessary directions for setting up a power generation plant with the dam. Along with this, he also asked to settle the pending matters with Himachal Pradesh at the earliest. He said that since dams are already being constructed, a large power generation plant should be set up to produce as much electricity as possible. I t w a s informed in the meeting that work is being done to promote tourism at the ghats at A d i B a d r i and Pipli. A cafete- ria has been established in Adi Badri with the assistance of the Tourism Department. Work is also being done to build the riverfront to attract tourists. The Chief Minister said that everything should be done in a time-bound manner and all works should be completed within the stipulated time. Khattar was apprized that a plan is being devised to con- struct an underpass on the National Highway to connect the ghat at Pipli with the zoo to attract tourists. This will be completed soon. It was also informed that despite STPs being installed in many places, they are not being commissioned and dirty water is being pumped direct- ly into the Saraswati river. Taking strong cognizance of this, the Chief Minister directed the Public Health Department to monitor the STPs. He also said that in case of STP, the task of fault-finding should also be seen by the offi- cers of the Public Health Department. The Chief Minister also said that the Board will bear the expenses for the Centre set up under the Chair at Kurukshetra University for research on the Saraswati River. For this, he asked to ear- mark Rs 20 lakh annually for the Chair and for research works such as water testing and carbon dating etc. 3XQMDELQYROYHVRXWKWRILJKW RYLGXQGHU0LVVLRQ)DWHK 7PahP]P2SXaTRcbc^R^XbbX^]BC?bc^bc^_U[^f^USXachfPcTaX]c^BPaPbfPcX 0bbTQ[hB_TPZTa?aT2WP]S0VVPafP[PSX]XbcTabcWT^PcW^U^UUXRTP]SbTRaTRhc^aTRT]c[hT[TRcTSBP[c;0PWTbW 9TT]PPccWTEXSWP]BPQWP^]CWdabSPhPb2WXTUX]XbcTaCXaPcWBX]VWAPfPcP]S^cWTab[^^Z^] ?X^]TTa_W^c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
- 3. dccPaPZWP]S 347A03D=k5A830H k0H !'!! ?=BQ 347A03D= Continuing the focus on tackling the Covid-19 pan- demic and assisting those affected by it, the Bharatiya Janata Party core group mem- bers have stressed on utilising more resources and maximis- ing the number of people being provided relief. During its meeting on Thursday evening, the BJP state core group discussed the measures taken by the organi- sation so far and the manner in which the third wave of Covid will be faced. The BJP State president Madan Kaushik informed that the party’s state general secretary Suresh Bhatt has been made the in-charge of the Gaon Me Sewa campaign. He will inform by Friday about the villages in which the MPs, MLAs and office bearers will participate in the campaign. The Chief Minister and minis- ters will also participate in this campaign while observing Covid guidelines. The chief minister and ministers will participate in the campaign vir- tually in two villages each. CM Tirath Singh Rawat, former CM Trivendra Singh Rawat, party's state in-charge Dushyant Kumar Gautam and other members were present in the core group meeting. Earlier, the BJP national general secretary (organisa- tion) BL Santhosh, who is on a two-day visit to Uttarakhand, sought feedback from office bearers of all the seven cells of the party and the core group members about the Covid related works being done by the organisation in the state. Informing about the meeting, Kaushik said that the national general secretary had laid stress on the training of party work- ers at the district level. The Kisan Morcha members can study the situation and provide its suggestions to the govern- ment. The government can implement the suggestions as per the geographical condi- tions. The heads of all the cells were also directed to increase communication till the booth level. Separate work targets were given to heads of different cells. The Yuva Morcha was given the target of 2,000 units of blood while the other six cells were given a target of 2,000 units of blood. The Yuva Morcha has also been directed to undertake the Mera Gaon Corona Mukt, Mera Booth Corona Mukt campaign across the state from June 1 to 12. Further, the Yuva Morcha has also been directed to make a list of doctors, nurses, Covid war- riors, laboratory technicians and workers involved in cre- mation and felicitate them as Covid heroes. Such persons should also be brought to the fore who are playing their roles actively even though not visible in the front line. %-3WRVWHSXSRYLGUHOLHIHIIRUWVDFURVV6WDWH 2^aTVa^d__Pach RT[[bSXbRdbb TP]bc^ T]WP]RTTUU^acb PVPX]bc2^eXS ?=BQ 347A03D= Questioning the timing of the meeting of the BJP core group held in Dehradun on Thursday the Uttarakhand Congress has said that the BJP has come into damage control mode. The spokesperson of Uttarakhand Congress, Garima Dasauni said on Thursday that the BJP is the party which always likes to be on poll mode and in view of the upcoming assembly elections it is now try- ing to control the damage caused to it due to inapt han- dling of the pandemic of Covid 19. She said that when the disease was at its peak in the state and disaster prevailed everywhere the BJP leaders and workers had isolated them- selves. Dasauni said that now on the occasion of completion of two years in office of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP is organising a ‘ service day’ and has asked its workers to visit villages which is an inhu- man and insensitive approach. The Congress leader said that thousands of people lost their lives during the pandem- ic due to lack of basic health facilities. She said that though BJP is trying to control the damage, the people of the state would not forgive it for its follies. People of Uttarakhand are determined to show the exit door to the BJP in the assem- bly elections, she claimed. 3_^W*2:@S_bUWb_e` ]UUdY^WQTQ]QWU S_^db_UhUbSYcU ?=BQ 347A03D= Retired Justice B C Kandpal has said immediate inter- vention is needed in West Bengal which is reeling under post poll violence. He was addressing a virtual press conference of ‘Save Bengal’ forum here on Thursday. He said that 16 out of 23 districts of West Bengal are affected by violence and 25 people including women have lost their lives. Kandpal said that 4000 to 5000 people have fled to neighbouring states due to violence and the gov- ernment should provide them a relief package. Terming the violence as an attack on the culture and sovereignty of the country, he said that an inquiry by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) should be ordered into the violence. Major General ( Retd) Ranvir Yadav said that the newly elected West Bengal government has failed in con- trolling the violence, impar- tial investigation of the inci- dences of violence and in acting against the perpetra- tors of violence. He said women are deliberately being targeted to spread fear among the people. Under the Save Bengal forum many prominent retired bureaucrats, retired judges and armed forces vet- erans have written a letter to the President Ram Nath Kovind and requested that the West Bengal violence should be probed by the NIA. ³=80_a^QT]TTSTSU^a F1_^bc_^[[eX^[T]RT´ ?=BQ 347A03D= Drawing flack for non avail- ability of Amphotericin B injections used in the treatment of Mucormycosis patients, the state health department got some relief on Thursday as it received 15000 doses of the injection. The Drug controller Uttarakhand, Tajber Singh said the state government has received 15000 injections from Udham Singh Nagar based company VHB Medicosciences Limited. He said that the injections would be supplied to different hospitals of the state as per requirement. Singh added pur- chase orders for 1190 injections from different medical insti- tutes have been given to dif- ferent drug manufacturers. He said that the state had received 500 injections of Amphotericin B at the start of this week. The drug controller claimed that the state has 400 injections of Tocilizumab available with it and an order for 400 more has been given. The infection of the Mucormycosis (Black Fungus) is steadily increasing in the state. The disease affects the eye and brain of the patients and the threat on their lives increas- es by the infection. The Uttarakhand government has notified the disease under the epidemic act and has mandat- ed 12 Dedicated Covid hospi- tals for its treatment. In the state a total of 155 patients of Mucormycosis are undergo- ing treatment in different hos- pitals and 14 patients of the dis- ease have died. The supply of 15000 doses of the much sought after injec- tion Amphotericin B would help in providing treatment to the patients admitted in the dif- ferent hospitals of the state. Eµ[XQ^TWUdc!% Y^ZUSdY_^c_V1]`X_dUbYSY^2 CWTaTXbPWdVT STP]SU^acWT X]YTRcX^]dbTSX] caTPcT]c^U Q[PRZUd]Vdb ?=BQ 347A03D= On the slow pace of the Covid 19 vaccination and acute shortage of the medicines needed in the treatment of Mucormycosis,theUttarakhand Congress organised a dharna at the state health directorate on Thursday. On the day the Vice President of Uttarakhand Congress Surya Kant Dhasmana and others arrived at the health directorate and staged a sit-in there. Dhasmana said that the vaccination drive in the state has virtually ceased for 18 plus individuals. He said that in all the vaccination centres the posters of no vaccines are greet- ing the people. Dhasmana said that only two percent of the population of Uttarakhand has been vaccinated so far and at the present pace it would require at least three years for vaccination of the population. Dhasmana said that the union government has relieved itself from the responsibility of pro- viding vaccines by loading it on the states. The state govern- ments are not able to procure the vaccines due to which peo- ple are suffering. He also tar- geted the health department for failing to provide injections for the Black fungus. Later he marched into the office of Director General (DG) health servicesDrTriptiBahugunaand questioned her on the non availability of vaccines and injections for treating Black fungus. The secretary of Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) Vikas Negi, Mahesh Joshi and Girish Bhadri and others accompanied Dhasmana. 2^]V_a^cTbcb^eTaePRRX]T 0_W^cTaXRX]1bW^acPVT ?=BQ 347A03D= The graph of the contagion of Covid 19 is continuing on its downward path in Uttarakhand. The state health department reported 2,146 new patients of the disease on Thursday which increased the cumulative count of the patients of the disease to 3,23,483 in the state. The authorities also report- ed the death of 81 patients from the disease on the day after which the death toll has mounted to 6,201. The authorities reported 6306 recoveries on Thursday in the state. A total of 2,72,428 patients have recovered from the disease in the state far. Out of 81 deaths reported on Wednesday, 15 occurred at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Rishikesh, seven at Government Doon Medical College (GDMC) hos- pital Dehradun, six at Sushila Tiwari Government hospital Haldwani and five at HNB base hospital Srinagar. Similarly four patients each died at Himalayan hospital Dehradun, District hospital Rudrapur and Medicity Udham Singh Nagar. Dehradun reported 330 new cases of Covid -19 on Thursday while Nainital reported 261, Pithoragarh 252, Haridwar 219, Udham Singh Nagar 205, Pauri 181, Almora 178, Chamoli 153, Uttarkashi 103, Rudraprayag 98, Bageshwar 74, Tehri 51 and Champawat 41 new cases of the disease on the day. The state now has 39,177 active patients of the disease. Haridwar is the top position in the list of active cases with 7,939 cases. Dehradun is on second position with 5,427 cases, Pauri 4,247, Tehri 4,171, Udham Singh Nagar 3,809, Nainital 2,717, Chamoli 2,384, Rudraprayag 1,943, Almora 1826, Pithoragarh 1,658, Bageshwar 1,233, Uttarkashi 1,032, and Champawat 791 active cases of the disease. To contain the contagion of Covid-19, the state adminis- tration has set up 435 contain- ment zones in different parts of the state. In the ongoing vaccination drive 17,524 people were vac- cinated in 484 sessions in dif- ferent parts of the state on Thursday. A total of 6,82,040 people have been fully vacci- nated while 21,72,760 have received the first dose of the vaccine in the state. 4`gZU*+#%'WcVdYTRdVd )UVReYdcVa`ceVUZ_#%Ycd 0dcW^aXcXTb aT_^acTS%% aTR^eTaXTb^] CWdabSPhX]cWT BcPcT ?=BQ 347A03D= The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Rishikesh has clarified that only the patients having mod- erate symptoms of Covid- 19 would be admitted to the Covid Care Centre (CCC) prepared by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) at IDPL Rishikesh. The 500 bed centre named after Rifleman Jaswant Singh Rawat was inaugurated by chief minister (CM) Tirath Singh Rawat on Wednesday. Trauma surgeon, AIIMS and in-charge of 'Rifleman Jaswant Singh Rawat of IDPL centre, Dr Madhur Uniyal informed that the centre has four wards of 100 oxygen beds each and a centralized oxygen supply is available in these wards. He informed that Covid patients with moderate symptoms would be treated at the centre while 100 ICU beds are available in the AIIMS Rishikesh for proper treatment of critical patients of C o v i d - 1 9 . “Ambulances have been kept ready to transport critical patients from IDPL to AIIMS. The cen- tre also has a facility for admission of children and Mucar patients,’’ he said. A 'Raibaar Desk' has been set up in the centre by which the information about the health of admitted Covid-19 patients can be gath- ered. 'Raibaar' is a word of Garhwali language which means con- veying the message. B4A8DB?0C84=CBC 14CA0=B?AC43C 088B5AC74 24=CA4 ?=B Q =08=8C0; Pulling up the Mussoorie Dehreadun Development Authority (MDDA) vice chair- man and Dehradun municipal commissioner for not sub- mitting a detailed report on buildings being constructed illegally on the foothills of Mussoorie in violation of the foothill policy, the Uttarakhand high court has directed that the report be submitted in the court by June 9. The division bench of chief justice RS Chauhan and justice Alok Kumar Verma issued this direction while hearing on a public interest lit- igation filed by Dehradun res- ident Reenu Paul. According to the case details, finding the buildings constructed on land with more than 30 degree gradient to be in violation of Uttarakhand building bylaws, the division bench had in the previous hearing directed that such constructions should be sealed. The petitioner had also pointed out that according to a 2015 amendment in the Uttarakhaand construction policy, construction of build- ings was not permitted on land with more than 30 degrees gradient. However, in blatant viola- tion of this law, various small- er hills between Dehradun and Mussoorie are being cut and buildings are being con- structed indiscriminately. The petitioner had further contended that such activity is causing damage to the envi- ronment and making the Shivalik mountains unstable. Taking serious cognisance of the matter, the high court had sought a detailed report by May 27. In addition to this, the petitioner had also provided photographs to the court to show how hills were being destroyed indiscriminately for construction of buildings. It is pertinent to mention here that though the issue of indiscriminate constructions on the foothills between Dehradun and Mussoorie was raised earlier too, the author- ities evidently ignored the issue. The previous mayor of Dehradun, Vinod Chamoli had also expressed concern and written about this to the state government while in the mayoral office. 72_d[[bd_^UUXRXP[bbTTZbSTcPX[TSaT_^ac^] dbb^^aXTU^^cWX[[R^]bcadRcX^]bQh9d]T( ?=BQ 347A03D= The noted environmentalist Sunder Lal Bahuguna who passed away on May 21 while bravely battling Covid-19 at the age of 94 years, shared an affectionate bond with Natraj Green bookshop and with its late owner Sohan Lall. They both were born in 1927 and had graduated from the same college in Lahore. Bahuguna had met Lall in the bookshop in the late seventies. Upendra Arora of Natraj had the oppor- tunity of meeting Bahuguna last year after the world was hit by Covid-19 and asked him if he had any message for the nation and also took the oppor- tunity to show him the old pho- tograph of him visiting the bookshop. He recorded his message to telling effect and wrote “say yes to life and no to death”. Bahaguna was always deeply appreciative of the fact that a bookshop dedicated to spreading the message of envi- ronment conservation was pre- sent in the heart of the city. He felt that Natraj would serve as a reminder for all generations to come to protect and save nature. Bahuguna's compas- sion for saving forests, should be a positive reinforcement to us all in these unprecedented times, that nature does have an answer to all ills of society, said Arora. 1PWdVd]P³bTbbPVT aTTQTaTS¯bPhhTb c^[XUT]^c^STPcW ?PcXT]cb^U^STaPcTbh_c^bc^QTPSXccTSX]83?;RT]caT)088BA CWT_TcXcX^]TaWPSP[b^_^X]cTS^dccWPc PRR^aSX]Vc^P! $PT]ST]cX]cWT DccPaPZWPP]SR^]bcadRcX^]_^[XRh R^]bcadRcX^]^UQdX[SX]VbfPb]^c_TaXccTS ^][P]SfXcW^aTcWP]STVaTTbVaPSXT]c ?=BQ 347A03D= In order to step up marketing of organic produce of the state, the Agriculture minister Subodh Uniyal has directed officials to construct oulets for special agricultural organic pro- duce at the earliest. A total of 1,300 outlets will be established as part of this plan. In the first phase, 344 outlets and 20 exclu- sive outlets will be established at the airport, railway stations, bus stations and prominent locations. The exclusive oulets will be set up in Guptkashi, Gangotri, Muni Ki Reti, Joshimath, Devprayag, Jolly Grant, Kotdwar, Ranikhet, Haridwar, Pauri, Pithoragarh, Chinyalisaud, Chitai Golu Devta, Haldwani, Nainital, Dehradun, Mussoorie, Srinagar, Narendranagar and Pantnagar. As part of this scheme, special focus will be laid on the pack- aging, branding, value enhanc- ing exhibition and marketing of the state’s special organic pro- duce. The aim of this scheme is to provide good price to the farm- ers while at the same time facil- itating special organic produce of the state to customers at appropriate price. Removing the middlemen from this process is also a major aim of this scheme. About 6,400 groups will be provided input and training under this scheme which will also aim at inform- ing tourists about the specialty of the state’s organic produce to make them brand ambassadors. 0c^cP[^U ^dc[TcbfX[[QT TbcPQ[XbWTSPb _Pac^UcWXb_[P] =Q[U_bWQ^YS `b_TeSU _edUdcQd UQbYUcd*E^YiQ
- 4. ]PcX^]# 347A03D=k5A830H k0H !'!! ?=BQ =4F34;78 In the last 50 years (1970- 2019), as many as 117 cyclones hit India and claimed over 40,000 lives, according to a study on extreme weather events. However, the study stated that the mortality rate due to tropical cyclones has come down significantly over the past 10 years. A total of 7,063 extreme weather events killed 1,41,308 people during the 50-year period in the country, which included 40,358 (or 28 per cent) due to cyclones and 65,130 (a little over 46 per cent) due to floods, the study said. The research paper pub- lished earlier this year has been authored by M Rajeevan, Secretary of Ministry of Earth Sciences, along with scien- tists Kamaljit Ray, S S Ray, R K Giri and A P Dimri. Kamaljit Ray is the lead author of the paper. The study assumes signif- icance against the backdrop of the back-to-back severe cyclones, Tauktae and Yaas, hitting India's western and eastern coasts respectively, leaving a trail of destruction. The study stated that the number of deaths due to cyclones has come down sig- nificantly in the last two decades, whose latter years have witnessed much improvement in the IMD's weather forecast abilities. In 1971, the study said, four tropical cyclones devel- oped in the Bay of Bengal within a period of about six weeks. Of these, the most destructive one struck the Odisha coast. About 10,000 people were reported to have lost their lives, and more than one million rendered home- less, it said. In 1977, two tropical cyclones developed over the Bay of Bengal during November 9-20, out of which the second one (Chirala cyclone) which was a very severe tropical cyclone with a wind speed of the order of 200 kilometres per hour along with tidal waves 5 metres high, hit coastal Andhra Pradesh, the study said. The estimated mortalities were around 10,000 and total damage to infrastructure and crops was more than USD 25 million. The decade from 1970-1980 alone recorded over 20,000 mortalities due to cyclones. “Overall, the analysis showed that the mortality rate associated with tropical cyclones decreased by almost 88 per cent in the last decade (2010–2019) in comparison to the earlier decade (2000–2009) despite the significant increas- ing trend of severe tropical cyclones during the post-mon- soon season over Bay of Bengal,” the paper stated. India Meteorological Department Director General Mrutunjay Mohapatra said the reason for declining fatal- ities during cyclones over the years was due to improvement in IMD's forecast abilities. Earlier, storm surge was the major reason behind fatalities, but now deaths are caused mostly by the collapse of a tree or a house now, he said. ?=BQ =4F34;78 The Centre on Thursday granted a one-year exten- sion of service to incumbent chiefs of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and Intelligence Bureau (IB), Samant Kumar Goel and Arvind Kumar respectively, who were due to retire on June 30. Goel, a 1984-batch IPS officer from Punjab cadre, would continue to be the Secretary of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) for a one-year period beyond the presence tenure, according to an official order. Likewise, Kumar, an IPS officer of Assam and Meghalaya cadre, will con- tinue as Director of Intelligence Bureau for a peri- od of one year after June 30. The extensions were cleared by the Appointments Committee of Cabinet, read the separate orders, signed by secretary of the ACC and Establishment Officer Srinivas R Katikithala. 8=8=380 FORQHVNLOOHG.LQUV6WXG ?=BQ =4F34;78 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday launched an online medical consultation platform to ensure hassle-free health services for Armed forces' personnel and veterans. Speaking after the virtual launch, he said the online out- patient platform will ensure widespread access to quality health services in remote areas besides reducing the load on the hospitals. This is a very important step taken at a very critical time for the health of service per- sonnel, the Defence Minister said even as he outlined that the Central Government was con- stantly monitoring the Covid- 19 situation and taking appro- priate steps to fight it. He said the second wave of the disease is more dangerous and unpredictable than the first one and lauded the role of the armed forces in contribut- ing to the national effort to meet this challenge. He pointed out that the Central Government has taken steps to improve the supply of medicines, medical oxygen and other equipment through high- level committees and a group of ministers. Chief of Defence Staff(CDS) General Bipin Rawat, Army Chief General M M Naravane and Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh were among those who attended the event. Rajnath also talked about the anti-Covid oral drug 2- deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) developed by the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), a leading laboratory of the DRDO, in collaboration with Dr Reddy's Laboratories (DRL), Hyderabad. He said the drug has yield- ed good results. ][X]TTSXRP[R^]bd[cPcX^] U^a0aTSU^aRTb_Tab^]]T[ eTcTaP]b[Pd]RWTS 4YZVWd`W:3C2HXVed jcVieV_dZ`_`WdVcgZTV ?=BQ =4F34;78 The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday said that conditions are favourable for the onset of monsoon over Kerala around May 31, a day ahead of its usual date. “Monsoon has advanced into some more parts of Maldives-Comorin area, Southwest and east-central Bay of Bengal, most parts of Southeast Bay of Bengal and some parts of west-central Bay of Bengal on Thursday,” the IMD said. The normal onset date of seasonal rains over the Indian mainland is June 1. The IMD has warned that strong winds attaining speeds of 40 to 50 kmph are likely over the Kerala coast till May 29. According to Skymet, a private weather forecaster, cyclone Yaas expedited the advance of monsoon over these parts and the next stop is mainland India anytime soon. Monsoon countdown starts amidst a change of guard over the Pacific Ocean. A La Nina advisory is no longer in effect and ENSO neutral conditions are present. Due to Yaas, Nawana received 28 mm rainfall, Joda- 27 mm, Joshipur-25 mm, Lathikata-21 mm, Jhumpura- 21 mm, Champua-20 mm, Keonjhargarh-20 mm, Panposh-20 mm, Basudevpur- 19 mm, Chandikhol-17 mm, Karanjia-17 mm, Rajgangpur- 14 mm, Mandira Dam-14 mm, Swam-Patna-13 mm, Deogarh- 13 mm, Tiring-12 mm, Udala- 11 mm, Gurundia-11 mm, Barkote-11 mm, Hatadihi-11 mm, Tihidi-11 mm, Pallahara- 11 mm in Odisha. Monsoon is likely to arrive over Kerala on May 31 a day ahead of its normal arrival date of June 1, with a possible error margin of plus/minus four days, IMD had said on May 14. The monsoon season, which begins on June 1, is cru- cial for summer crops and brings about 70% of India’s annual rainfall. It is critical to the country’s agriculture, which is one of the mainstays of its economy. Monsoon spurs farm produce and improves rural spending. It is the lifeline for about 60% of the country’s net cultivated area, which has no irrigation. The monsoon impacts inflation, jobs, and industrial demand. Good farm output keeps a lid on food inflation. Ample harvests raise rural incomes and help inject demand into the economy. 0RQVRRQWRKLW.HUDOD RQ0DVDV,0' 0A270=09HC8Q =4F34;78 The Government is in a fix over the insistence of for- eign vaccine manufacturers, US-based Pfizer and Moderna and JJ, on providing indem- nification or protection from compensation claims in case of adverse events before they roll out the jabs in India, given that the Indian companies, Bharat Biotech and Serum Institute of India (SII), do not enjoy any such legal shield. In other words, any com- pany providing vaccines here will have to follow the rules of the land. The SII’s indemnifi- cation request was turned down by the Government last year itself. The foreign vaccine mak- ers want that “if a person expe- riences severe side-effects after being administered the Covid- 19 jab, he/she cannot sue Pfizer or Moderna in the US as they have been granted immunity from liability. The person can- not slap a legal case against the US government for damages either,” experts explained, adding that the protection is for the next three years. To date, India has not provided any manufacturer of a Covid-19 vaccine indemnity against the costs of compensation for any severe side effects. The experts, however, said that the Government needs to make up its mind quickly as dilly dallying in the matter would only further delay in achieving the vaccination tar- gets. Amid acute shortage of vaccine availability, the Government on Thursday claimed that it is moving towards ensuring at least one crore vaccinations per day soon. “ We made providing 43 lakh doses in a day possible. We should bring it up to 73 lakh in the next 3 weeks. We should make a system to achieve it,” said Dr VK Paul, Member-Health, Niti Aayog. The Government is under intense pressure to provide the vaccine to the people and has been maintaining that as soon as Pfizer indicated vac- cine availability, one can hope for its earliest possible import. Foreign Minister S Jaishankar too is in the US especially for the purpose of ensuring vaccine imports. According to sources, Pfizer has told the Government that its jab has shown high effectiveness against the SARS- CoV-2 variant prevalent in India and on people of Indian ethnicity or nationality, while it is suitable for everyone aged 12 years or above and can be stored for a month at 2-8 degrees. 6_bUYW^fQSSY^U]Q[Ubcµ TU]Q^T_VUWQcXYUT Y^9^TYQUQfUc7_fdY^VYh ?=BQ =4F34;78 The Centre on Thursday came out with a detailed counter to States’ allegations of closure of supply of vaccines to them saying it was the States which wanted “flexibility” and “a say” in procurement of vac- cines and it was in view of their demand that a new “decen- tralised” system was brought in. As per the system, the Government said, the Centre was to procure 50 per cent of vaccines produced domestical- ly for States for free for 45+ group and a special channel was to be created for the remaining 50 per cent which the State Governments and private hos- pitals could purchase. In a statement titled ‘Myths Facts on India’s Vaccination Process’, Dr VK Paul, Member- Health, Niti Aayog, listed out seven ‘myths’ ranging from the Centre abdicating its responsibility to the states, not doing enough to buy vaccines from abroad, not giving enough vaccines to the States and not approving vaccines available globally among oth- ers. He asserted that these are arising due to “distorted state- ments, half truths and blatant lies”. He said the Centre ran the entire vaccine programme from January to April and it was quite well-administrated compared to the situation in May. “But States, who had not even achieved good coverage of healthcare workers and front- line workers in 3 months, wanted to open up the process of vaccination and wanted more decentralisation,” he stressed. “Health is a State subject and the liberalised vaccine pol- icy was a result of the incessant requests being made by the states to give them more power. The fact that global tenders have not given any results only reaffirm what we have been telling the States from day one: that vaccines are in short sup- ply in the world and it is not easy to procure them at short notice,” he maintained against the backdrop of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal com- plaining about foreign vaccine makers not being ready to deal with States and the global ten- ders floated by States not evok- ing a warm response from these manufacturers. Incidentally, a number of Opposition Chief Ministers and leaders had sought for more power to the States in the vaccine procurement process. Facing accusations of delay in placing orders for vac- cines, the government said it has been pursuing Pfizer, JJ and Moderna since mid-2020 for the earliest possible imports, and has even waived local trials for well-established foreign vaccine makers. Buying vaccines internation- ally is not similar to buying ''off-the-shelf'' items, Paul maintained. On allegations by some states that the Centre is not giv- ing enough vaccines to the states, it pointed out that the Centre is allotting enough vac- cines to the states in a trans- parent manner as per agreed guidelines. The behaviour of some of our leaders, who in spite of full knowledge of the facts on vac- cine supply, appear on TV daily and create panic among the people is very unfortunate. This is not the time to play pol- itics. We need everyone to unite in this fight, the state- ment said. The Government also dis- missed a report published by The New York Times on India's Covid death toll and called it completely baseless and false. In its report, the NYT esti- mated that India's real Covid death toll could be way higher than what has officially been reported. 4V_ecVcV[VTedDeReVd¶[RSTYRcXVd ?=BQ =4F34;78 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday chaired a high-level meeting to review the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) that sug- gested that a Unified Health Interface (UHI) should soon be rolled out. Chairing the meet, the Prime Minister said that the mission will bring ease of liv- ing for citizens as they can avail a large number of health ser- vices via it. The meeting expected that the UHI would be soon rolled out. It will allow users to search, book and avail neces- sary healthcare services such as tele-consultations or labora- tory tests. The system will ensure that only verified healthcare providers join the ecosystem, a statement from the Prime Minister's Office said. This interface is likely to unleash a digital health tech revolution with innovations and various services for citi- zens. In such a manner, health- care infrastructure and human resources can also be utilised in a more efficient manner across the nation, the statement said. On August 15, 2020, dur- ing his Independence Day address, Prime Minister had announced the launch of NDHM. Since then, the digital modules and registries have been developed and the mis- sion has been rolled out in six Union Territories. So far, nearly 11.9 lakh Health IDs have been generat- ed and 3106 doctors and 1490 facilities have registered on the platform. The meeting also discussed the concept of UPI e-Voucher developed by National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI). This digital payment option will enable financial transactions linked to specific purposes which can be used only by the intended user. It can be useful for targeted and effi- cient delivery of various gov- ernment schemes and an immediate use of UPI e- Voucher could be healthcare services. Modi directed that steps be expedited to expand operations under the NDHM. He observed that though the tech- nical platform and building up of registries are inevitable essential elements, the utility of the platform to the citizens will be visible only by way of enabling citizens across the country to avail of services like tele consultation with a Doctor, availing services of a lab, trans- ferring test reports or health records digitally to the Doctor and paying digitally for any of the above services. 2E83 (E0228=4?A2DA44=C CQicYdgQcCdQdUcgXYSXgQ^dUTVUhYRYYdi ?=BQ =4F34;78 India is witnessing a down- swing in the second wave of Covid-19 and hopefully it will be sustained even when restric- tions are gently, systematically and cautiously relaxed, the Government said on Thursday as it pointed out a steady decline in new infections recorded in the country for the last 20 days, with 24 States wit- nessing a dip in active cases since the last week. The country continues to note stabilisation of second wave in most parts, both by the number of cases and positivi- ty rate, and despite a sustained and high overall testing cover- age which is “reassuring”, NITI Aayog member (Health) V K Paul said at a Press conference here. “We are achieving this in face of very significant restric- tions in most states in addition to other tools and operations, including testing and Covid appropriate behaviour and vac- cination efforts. Nonetheless, it is reassuring that we are on the downswing of the second wave and we do hope and believe that it will be sustained even when restrictions are gently, systematically and cautiously opened up,” he said. Health ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal said while Covid-19 testing has increased manifold, a steady decline in weekly COVID-19 positivity rate has been seen since the last three weeks. Paul said the vaccination pace should pick up in July. “We have a total of 51.6 crore doses, a large proportion of it is available and has to be used in an efficient manner. Bharat Biotech which started with 90 lakh capacity is ramping up and it is well within our expectation that it can reach ten times the production level to 10 crore per month in the next few months,” he said. Paul said similarly the Serum Institute of India is also ramping up vaccine production from 6.5 crore per month to 11 crore or even more in months to come. Other vaccines in the pipeline are also moving close to increasing supplies such as Sputnik, Zydus and Genova vaccines so steady progress is being made. *RYW 6WDWHVVHH GLSLQDFWLYHRYLG FDVHVVLQFHODVWZHHN CWTX]XbcTa^UBcPcTU^a2d[cdaTP]SC^daXb8]ST_T]ST]c2WPaVT?aPW[PSBX]VW?PcT[PccT]SbPSXbRdbbX^]^]3dQPX4g_^cWa^dVWeXST^R^]UTaT]RX]VX]=Tf3T[WX ^]CWdabSPh?aTbXST]c822A3aEX]PhBPWPbaPQdSSWTP]ScWT36822A3X]TbW:?Pc]PXZP[b^bTT] ?81 8cfX[[P[[^fdbTabc^ bTPaRWQ^^ZP]SPePX[ ]TRTbbPahWTP[cWRPaT bTaeXRTbbdRWPb cT[TR^]bd[cPcX^]b^a [PQ^aPc^ahcTbcb 3QV_bb_Y^W_ed_Ve^YVYUTXUQdXY^dUbVQSUWYfU^
- 5. ]PcX^]$ 347A03D=k5A830H k0H !'!! B0D60AB4=6D?C0 Q :;:0C0 As it takes a natural calami- ty to bring Narendra Modi and Mamata Banerjee to return to the dialogue table the Prime Minister and Bengal Chief Minister will hold a brief dis- cussion on the extent of dam- age left by super cyclone Yaas that on Wednesday hit coastal Bengal and Odisha. The duo will speak to each other for the first time since the Trinamool Congress roared back to power on May 2 defeat- ing BJP in the State Assembly elections which saw unprece- dented washing of dirty linen in public. The Prime Minister would meet her on Friday at Kalaikunda airport from where he would fly off to Delhi after making an aerial survey of Odisha and parts of East Midnapore, Banerjee on Thursday said. Bengal might have suf- fered a loss in the vicinity of C15,000 crore in the super cyclone that conspired with a full moon high tide to burst 134 dams and inundate large tracts of land with saline water leav- ing lakhs of fishes dead, ren- dering thousands of village ponds useless and reducing thousands of hectares of land unworthy of cultivation in four districts of East Midnapore, two 24 Parganas and Howrah the Chief Minister informed. “The Prime Minister is coming to Bengal tomorrow. He will first go to Balasore, Jaleswar and Bhadrak in Odisha and after that, he will land at Kalaikunda in West Midnapore via Digha in East Midnapore to assess the extent of damage, due to cyclone Yaas. He will meet me at Kalaikunda” enroute to Delhi, Banerjee said adding after her meeting with the Prime Minister she would herself go to Digha from where she would make an aerial survey of East Midnapore the next day. Before meeting Modi the Chief Minister Banerjee would make an aerial survey of the vil- lages of North and South 24 Parganas. “Before the meeting with the PM, I will have an aer- ial survey at Sandeshkhali and Hingalganj in North 24 Parganas. Then, I will visit Sagar Island at South 24 Parganas to review the damage and devastation due to post Yaas,” Banerjee said adding though it would not be imme- diately possible to calculate the extent of damage “a pre- liminary ground report received by me puts it at about C15,000 crore considering the loss of both moveable and immoveable properties.” The Chief Minister who on Thursday sanctioned an initial government grant of C1,000 crore said her Government would start “Duarey Traan” (relief at doorsteps) pro- gramme “where a task force of government officials will first visit the localities to assess the damage and accept application forms from the people seeking help and then “after making an assessment the Government will directly send the relief amount to the accounts of the people affected.” Interestingly in an apparent bid to avoid controversy the local TMC leadership and pan- chayats are being kept out of the monetary part of the relief programme one was told. The whole process of assessment of loss and granting of relief would take a month’s time, the Chief Minister said adding sectors like agriculture, elec- tricity, fishery, animal hus- bandry, horticulture were the worst affected due to the cyclone. To avoid allegations, “regarding hoarding of relief materials that embarrassed the state administration,” post cyclone Amphan last “this time the Chief Minister will per- sonally instruct officials and supervise the relief operations and ensure that they reach the affected,” a senior official at the CMO said adding while more than a one crore of people were affected by the cyclone “a total 15 lakh people have been evac- uated and are presently kept at various shelter homes.” B0D60AB4=6D?C0Q :;:0C0 Bengal will extend its lockdown- like restrictions for another fortnight beginning May 31, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Thursday adding the Board exams forClassesCIIandXwouldbeheld between last week of July and the last week of August. “Though I do not consider it a lockdownandwillratherliketocall it restrictions as most of the estab- lishments are open within limited hours the Government will extend suchrestrictionsbeyondMay31till June 15 after which a review will be done,” Banerjee said. Accordingly the markets will remain open from 7 till 10 am everyday whereas saree and jew- ellery shops will open between 12 and 3 pm, Banerjeesaid.Allowingthejute mills will to function with addi- tional 10 percent attendance Banerjee said “there is huge pres- sure for products from Punjab and so we are increasing the atten- dance in jute industries by 10 per- centandhenceforwardtheywillbe allowed to work with 40 percent attendance.” Banerjee also said that the Government would allow con- struction sites to function provid- edtheygottheirworkersvaccinated in private hospitals and made their in-house living arrangements for them. The transports including local trains and metro, schools, colleges and government and private offices would remain closed at least till June 15, the Chief Minister said even as the daily infections in Bengal reported a marked reduc- tionfrommorethan19,000perday to 16,800 cases on Thursday. There were 153 deaths in the past 24 hours. BOARD EXAMS Speaking about Board exams the Chief Minister said “Class XII exams will be held only for the compulsory subjects (numbering 15) in the last week of July.” The examswillbecompletedbythefirst week of August where after the Class X exams would start with reduced syllabus and for reduced hours and for compulsory subjects (numbering seven) only . With this, West Bengal has become one of the first states in the country to announce dates for board exams. “We understand the importance of these two examina- tions and so we are the first state to announce the schedule. Higher Secondary examination (Class XII) will be held ahead of Madhyamik (ClassX)becauseafterClassXIIthe students have to go for higher stud- ies and have to take all-India level entrance tests which is closed by that time,” Banerjee said. While 8.5 lakh students would appear for the HS exams 12 lakh will take the Madhyamik exams, Banerjee said adding both the tests would be of 1.5 hours instead of 3 hours with reduce d syllabus and question, the Chief Minister said. The Class X exam would be held in home centres. 5ZUZe`UZdTfddTjT]`_VUR^RXVhZeYAe`URj ?T^_[TR^[[TRcf^^SUa^PUP[[T]caTTPcPRhR[^]THPPbPUUTRcTSR^PbcP[PaTP^U 3XVWPX]4PbcXS]P_^aTSXbcaXRc^]CWdabSPh ?C8 ?=B Q 90D The Union Territory of Jammu Kashmir on Thursday recorded a positivity rate of 6.25 as it reported 4,352 recoveries and 2,769 fresh cases of coro- navirus. For the second consecutive day less than 40 deaths were reported across JK and the active case load stood at 42,272. In Jammu division, eight out of 10 districts reported less than 100 cases of coronavirus while Jammu district record- ed 384 fresh cases and Reasi 102 cases. A total number of 10 patients suc- cumbed to the virus in Jammu district taking the tally of deaths to 1013 in Jammu district alone. Compared to Srinagar district, the total number of active positive cases were still more in Jammu. According to the media bulletin, 6,631 patients were active positive while Srinagar district had 5,450 active positive cases.. :D0A274;;0??0=Q :278 Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Minister, said that Covid-19 claimed 181 lives in Kerala in the 24 hours ended on Thursday 6 pm, while 24,166 new persons were diagnosed with the pandemic. Thoiugh there has been a fall in the number of new cases, the death toll continues to be high, said Vijayan. Total number of Covid-19 patients across the State as on Thursday stood at 2,41, 966 while 1,35, 232 samples were tested. Across the State 89 health workers were afflicted with the pandemic. The Chief Minister said that the Test Positivity Rate as on Thursday was 17.87, which he said was a sign that situation was improv- ing in the State. 2^eXSR[PXb ' ^aT [XeTbX]:TaP[P :D0A274;;0??0=Q :278 Controversy over develop- mental activities in Lakshadweep islands took a new turn with S Asker Ali, col- lector cum district magistrate and leaders of Opposition polit- ical parties contradicting each other. Collector Ali who flew down to Kochi on Thursday to brief the media was shown black flags by the CPI(M) activists demanding immediate stoppage of all developmental activities in the archipelago. A disclosure by a top marine scientist in Kerala that sea cucumber was being smug- gled out of the islands has added to the chaos. Resentment by non-BJP political parties is increasing day by day and chances of a flare up cannot be ruled out, said intelligence offi- cials. Collector Ali said that 90 per cent of the population was with the Administrator’s initia- tives to develop the islands. “It is true that the administration has ordered beef and chicken off the menu from the meals served theisland’sschool.Thishasbeen done to encourage the children to switch over to fish and eggs which are more protein-rich than beef and chicken,” he told reporters.” He said the administra- tion’s decision to demolish the sheds and buildings along the coastline was in line with the policies enacted with the sole intention of developing and beautifying the islands and atolls. “The crime rate in the islands have gone up and that was why the Goondas Act was enforced. The administration is workingonsettingupthreehos- pitals in the islands and works are progressing fast,” said Collector Ali. Dr S Mohammed Raffi, associate professor department of aquatic biology and fisheries, University of Kerala, said there was large scale smuggling of sea cucumber (a kind of marine animal) from Lakshadweep islands. “These species, widely seen in atolls and coral reefs of Lakshadweep and Guld of Mannar find use in preparing aphrodisiac drugs in China and Japan, “ said Prof Raffi. Another marine scientist in Kochi said that the smuggling of sea cucumber from the islands was on the hike because of the pre- mium commanded by the species in international market. But leaders of opposition parties ranging from Congress, Muslim League and CPI(M) took to the streets on Thursday challenging the move of the administration under the pre- text of development. “The demolition of buildings and sheds owned by fishermen was done without any notice. We do not want any kind of develop- ment proposed by administra- tor Praful Patel in these islands,” said Komala Kasim, CPI(M) leader. :D0A274;;0??0=Q 274==08 The knitwear units in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruppur (known as the Knitwear Capital of India) have the potential to emerge as the global capital of casual dress manufacturing if Government of India comes forward to help the entrepreneurs facing liquidity problems caused by the pandemic, according to a leading indus- trialist. “As on today, the knitwear industry in Tirupur directly employs six lakh work- ers. The pandemic and its impact have opened new vistas to the industry with which we can additionally employ three lakh workers in the next three years if the Government of India listens to our pleas and help us by offering a few crores as loans,” Raja M Shanmugham, an indus- trialist and president of Tirupur Exporters’ Association, told The Pioneer. He said the TEA has written to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman highlighting the chal- lenges and pleading for the extension of Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) 3.0 to the sector. S Sakthivel, executive secretary, TEA, said that there was huge demand for Tirupur products from USA and Europe. “But the work force is moving out fol- lowing the lockdown and the possibilities of it getting extended further,” said Sakthivel. World all over the demand for casual wears is on the rise and this is the moment Tirupur was waiting for, he said. “The Centre has helped us by sanc- tioning as financial packages to tide over the crisis caused by the lock down of 2020. But now the Tamil Nadu Government has declared total lock down taking into account the increasing number of persons afflicted with Covid-19. On Wednesday, Coimbatore had 4,268 new patients while Tirupur had 1,880 new cases. The Chief Minister has said that he was not satisfied with the way things were moving and chances of the extension of lockdown can- not be ruled out,” said Shanmugham. He said that the Union Government should come forward to extend the ECLGS announced along with the Atmanirbhar Bharat Scheme to the knitwear industry also. “The scheme was meant to help specified sectors like tourism and hospitality to tide over the liq- uidity crisis. The Centre should take into account the labour intensive Ready Made Garment Sector and extend the additional liquidity support of 20 per cent so as to quickly revive the MSMEs in RMG sector to save the industry and simultaneously protect the labour sector,” pleaded Shanmugham. He pointed out that though the pan- demic has caused havoc across the world , it has also opened a window of oppor- tunities for the casual wear manufac- turing segment (mostly carried out in Tirupur like cluster) of Ready Made Garment Sector. “The work from home culture has become a new trend and this is sure to energize the garment business. Due to this there is a lot of demand for casual-wear products like T shirts, trousers and track suits. Moreover we wish to emphasis that the Ready Made Garment Sector creates more jobs equivalent to or better than agriculture in our country. Considering this crucial importance, the Ready Made Garment Sector should be protected effectively to revive the coun- try’s economy,” he said. 78C:0=370A8Q 90D The Jammu Kashmir Prisons department is gearing up to launch an intensive vaccination drive for the jail inmates above 45 years of age across both the central jails in Jammu and Srinagar besides one dozen district and sub jails in the region. According to official sources, over 150 jail inmates have been test- ed positive for coronavirus in the recent weeks across different jails. The highest number of 72 inmates tested positive while they were lodged in Udhampur district jail and 53 Rohingyas shifted to a holding centre set up inside sub-jail Hiranagar also tested positive recently. Chief Medical Officer, Kathua Dr Ashok Choudhary said, all 53 Rohingyas have been kept under observation inside the hold- ing centre and have been provided with Corona kits. No one needed hospitalisation as they were asymp- tomatic, he added. According to DIG Prisons Dr Mohd Sultan Lone, out of over 4500 jail inmates 316 prisoners were vac- cinated across different jails till May 26.He said a vaccination camp was organised in Anantnag district jail on Thursday. He said it's a con- tinuous process and we are on the job to vaccinate prisoners belong- ing to different age groups. So far, 38 prisoners have been vaccinated in Central jail Srinagar, 81 in Udhampur, 42 in Bhaderwah, 53 in Rajouri, 10 in Baramulla, 28 in Pulwama, 58 in Kathua and 6 in Reasi jail premises. Earlier, a high powered com- mittee headed by Justice Ali Mohd Magrey of Jammu Kashmir High Court had suggested the UT administration to decongest the prisons in the wake of prevailing circumstances. The Committee was constitut- ed by the Jammu Kashmir Government following an order by the Supreme Court on March 23, 2020 and May 7, 2021, directing the States and the UTs to decongest jails to ensure social distancing among the prisoners. 9:)9PX[X]PcTb c^QTePRRX]PcTS Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh Government extended the provisions of Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) banning all types of strikes and protests in Government-run offices and organisations across the State with immediate effect for the next six months. According to a Government notification issued on Tuesday and made public on Thursday, all strikes in government offices and organisations have been banned for the next six months. “As the provision of ESMA expired on May 24, it was mandatory to extend it,” a government official said. The ban will be enforced in all government departments, including all public services, authorities, corporations under the UP Government. The Essential Services Maintenance Act, 1996 (ESMA) can be invoked by any government in their respective jurisdiction to prohibit striking employees from refusing to work on certain essential services which were necessary and important for maintaining normal life in the region. PNS :;_Wc')^UgSQcUc %HQJDOH[WHQGVRYLGFXUEVWLOO-XQH Jammu: A centenarian in Reasi district of the Jammu division on Thursday set an example for oth- ers to follow when he got his first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine during an inoculation drive organ- ised by the district administration. 118-year-old Sher Mohammad of Mahore Tehsil in Reasi got the first jab of anti-corona vac- cine. After taking the vaccine he feels others should follow the same to tackle the deadly disease. “Today after getting the Covid-19 jab, I feel more confident and protected as the vaccine is the biggest shield against the deadly disease,” he said. Sher Mohammad appealed to the people of the district to come forward and get vaccinated against the infection. He said the vaccine has been advised by top doctors and experts and no one should pay heed to any rumour. “If I at this age can receive the dose, I feel others shouldn’t shy away from getting vaccinated and pay no attention to hearsay,” he said. He also prayed for the good health and safety of the whole mankind. He said till the pandemic is over people should continue to wear masks, maintain social distanc- ing norms besides, follow other SOPs being issued by the Government. PNS 3U^dU^QbYQ^WUdc 3_fYTZQRY^BUQcY C=A067D=0C70 Q D108 In what it called an effort to check the consumption of illicit liquor, plug the huge revenue loss of revenue to the state exchequer and curb the growing crimes, the Maharashtra Government on Thursday lifted the six-year-old ban on the sale and consump- tion of liquor in the naxalite- infested Chandrapur district in eastern Maharashtra. Acting on a report sub- mitted In March this year by a committee headed by retired Principal Secretary Ramnath Jha, the State Cabinet – at its weekly meeting presided over by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray – decided to do away with the ban on the sale and consumption of liquor in Chandrapur district where the liquor ban had come into effect from April 1, 2015. “Keeping in view the increased consumption of illic- it liquor and consequent increase in the crimes, the Maharashtra Government has lifted the ban on sale and con- sumption of liquor in Chandrapur district,” the state government said in a news release after the State Cabinet meeting. In its report submitted to the State Government on March 9, 2021, the Ramnath Jha committee stated that the administration had miserably failed in implementing the ban on sale and consumption of liquor in Chandrapur district. “Illicit liquor was easily available in the district in the black market. This liquor was dangerous to health. The sale of illicit liquor increased in black market. As a conse- quence, the state began to suf- fer huge losses in excise rev- enue. The criminals began to exploit the situation. In a dis- turbing development, women and children began to take part in the illicit liquor business in a big way,” the Committee stat- ed in its report. Another reason based on which the Ramnath Jha-head- ed committee recommended the resumption of sale of liquor in Chandrapur district was that the various NGO and cit- izens – who participated in a poll on the issue —favoured the lifting of the ban on the sale and consumption of liquor in the district. Quoting the crime sta- tistics prior to and after the pro- hibition imposed in April 2015, the committee noted that in all 16,132 crimes were registered between 2010 and 2014. However the number of crimes shot up to 40,381 between 2016 and 2019. While there wereonly 1,729 cases against women before the liquor ban, the number rose to 4,042 after the prohibition was implemented. In addition, it also came to light a large num- ber of children were being used for the illicit liquor trade. ³][h2T]caTRP]WT[_CXad__dac^QTR^TV[^QP[RP_XcP[^URPbdP[fTPa´ ;PZbWPSfTT_2^[[TRc^abPhb(_T^_[Tbd__^ac0SX]´bX]XcXPcXeTb PWP[XUcbQP]^]bP[TR^]bd_cX^]^U[X`d^aX]2WP]SaP_da 83*RYWH[WHQGV(60$ SURYLVLRQVIRUPRQWKV 1T]TUXRXPaXTbU[^dcb^RXP[SXbcP]RX]V]^abPbcWThfPXcc^aTRTXeTcWT2^eXS (ePRRX]TS^bTPcP ePRRX]PcX^]RT]caTX]6dfPWPcX^]CWdabSPh ?C8 5PaTabWPaeTbcZaPX]PUXT[SX]BdaPc^]CWdabSPh ?C8 C=A067D=0C70 Q D108 The daily Covid-19 infec- tions in Maharashtra dropped to 21,273 on Thursday, even as the pan- demic deaths came down to 884 in the State. A day after the State recorded 1,137 fatalities – comprising 601 fresh deaths and 531 previous unaccounted deaths and 24,316 infections, the situation improved in the state as the infections dropped by 3043, the daily deaths rose by 884 — comprising 425 cur- rent deaths and 459 previous unaccounted deaths. With 884 deaths deaths reported on Tuesday, the total number of deaths in the state climbed from 91,341 to 92,225. Similarly, with 21,273 new infections, the total number of cases climbed from 56,50,907 to 56,72,180. As 34,370 patients were discharged from the hospitals across the state after full recov- ery, the total number of people discharged from the hospitals since the second week of March last year increased from 52,41,833 to 52,76,203 on Thursday. The recovery rate in the State rose from 92.76 per cent to 93.02 per cent. 0_PXa^U8]SXP]Qd[[Ua^VbbXcX]PaPX]UX[[TSfPcTaQ^ShX]=PSXP^]CWdabSPh ?C8 0DKDORJV QHZFRURQDFDVHV
- 6. tion, diagnostic and emer- gencypreparednesstrainingto officials and is responsible for appliedresearch,qualitytesting of vaccines and other biologi- cals and providing laboratory supporttotheinvestigationand control of outbreaks. ItsthirdpillaristheIndian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), which is a research- orientedinstitutionresponsible for“theformulation,coordina- tionandpromotionofbiomed- ical research”. This amounts to “undertaking,coordinatingand implementingmedicalresearch and translating medical inno- vationsintoproducts/process- es and introducing them in to the public health system”. In theory, the NDMA ensures that the country is prepared to deal with any dis- aster that may occur, and pro- vides the necessary coordina- tion,expertiseandinputstothe Governmentswhenneeded.In the event of a pandemic, the NCDC sends out teams, con- ductsepidemiologicalresearch andsuggeststhebestcourseof action. The ICMR, on receipt ofepidemiologicaldata,under- takesresearchintovaccinesand processes to counter the virus andalsoassistsintheirmarket- ing, after necessary approvals havebeenobtained.Inpractice, however,politicsandturfwars have ensured a disparate response, leaving citizens to fend for themselves. Clearly, Modi had little time for the NDMA because, sincethecommencementofhis first term, he emasculated it completely. He downgraded the vice-chairman’s post to the level of Cabinet Secretary and politicised its functioning by forcing the incumbent vice- chairman and members to resignonthespeciousgrounds ofhavingbeenappointedbythe previousGovernment,thereby ensuring that the available experience, continuity and expertise were lost. He com- pounded this by failing to appointavice-chairman,which remainsvacanttothisdate,and appointing only five of the authorisedninemembers.The final nail in the coffin was to replaceit,withtheNITIAayog beingmadetheleadforprovid- ing forecasting, coordination and guidance of our response, something it was ill-equipped to do, with neither the experi- encenortheexpertiserequired. As for the scientific thrust of our response to this pan- demic, it appears that the NCDCwasdivestedofitslead rolebytheICMRwhich,aswe haveseen,hasacompletelydif- ferent role. As a result, it has been overwhelmed and has beenunabletodojusticeinful- filling its own mandate. The reasons for this lopsided approach appear to be rooted in bureaucratic wrangling. Probably the fact that the Director General (ICMR) is alsoaSecretaryintheMinistry of Health Family Welfare, under which the NCDC also functions,andwouldobvious- ly have more influence within the Government may have something to do with it. In the final analysis, this once proud nation has been brought to its knees, thanks to one man’s culpability and inabilitytoseebeyondhisown selfish needs. His failure to comprehend the importance of institutions and their role in ensuringeffectiveandefficient governance has resulted in avoidable fatalities. His enablers too must share much of the blame and be held accountable, be they Cabinet colleagues,bureaucratsoruni- formed senior officers. (The writer is a military veteran,whoisaVisitingFellow with the Observer Research Foundation and Senior Visiting Fellow with The Peninsula Foundation, Chennai. 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