Several migrant workers died in road accidents in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh on Saturday, while one was beaten to death by police in Surat, Gujarat for violating social distancing norms. The number of COVID-19 cases in India rose to over 90,000 with major surges reported in states like Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. The donations received by the PM Cares Fund to provide relief during the pandemic crossed Rs. 8,800 crore, lower than expected. Various economic reforms were announced by the government including opening up coal mining to the private sector and increasing FDI limit in defence.

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At least 32 migrant workers
were killed in three sepa-
rate road accidents on Saturday
even as reports of these hapless
labourers dying of hunger,
snakebites, and police beating
poured in from different parts
of the country.
In two separate incidents in
UP — first in Auraiya and sec-
ond in Unnao — 27 persons
were killed while five others
were killed in Sagar in Madhya
Pradesh. At the same time, a
migrant worker from Ganjam
district in Odisha was beaten to
death by police in Surat for
allegedly violating social dis-
tancing norms. The deceased
has been identified as Satya
Swain.
In the first road accident in
Uttar Pradesh, 25 migrants
were killed and 36 others
injured when a trailer rammed
into a stationary DCM truck in
the Auraiya-Kanpur Dehat
stretch of National Highway 2
in Auraiya early on Saturday
morning.
Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath ordered the sus-
pension of two station house
officers (SHOs) of Auraiya and
sought clarifications from the
district police chiefs of Mathura
and Agra and two senior super-
visory officers.
The CM announced C2
lakh each as compensation to
the families of the deceased and
C50,000 to the injured. He also
directed the Divisional
Commissioner and IG Kanpur
to visit the site and submit a
detailed report on the cause of
the accident.
As per reports, a trailer
laden with limestone and fer-
rying migrant workers rammed
into a stationary mini-truck
outside a dhaba at Chiruhali
Miholi village in Sadar police
station area around 3.30 am on
Saturday. Both vehicles ferry-
ing around 70 workers over-
turned and slipped into a road-
side ditch.
On being informed, the
police along with locals extri-
cated the victims and rushed
them to Auraiya district hos-
pital, where 25 were pro-
nounced dead upon arrival.
96?8:8AB7=0=Q =4F34;78
After 50 days of its inception,
the PM Cares Fund creat-
ed for accepting donations for
the Covid-19 relief and reha-
bilitations has received below
C9,000 crore.
The special fund was
announced by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on March 28
and money started pouring in
the initial week. By the second
week of April 3, around C6,500
crore were received as dona-
tions. According to highly
placed officials, the initial
enthusiasm has fizzled out and
now the donation is limited to
an average C40 crore per day in
the account opened in SBI.
According to officials who
monitor the PM Cares Fund,
the total donations received
crossed C8,800 crore by Friday
(May 15). Citing the “thrifty
nature” of the Indians, they
point out that Prime Minister’s
National Relief Fund (PMNRF)
got below C2,200 crore for the
past five years till 2019 March.
The overall corpus in
PMNRF, which was set up in
1948, is currently below C4,000
crore. This might have been the
reason for Prime Minister
Modi to create a separate fund
to tackle corona crisis.
The Centre recently allot-
ted C3,100 crore from the PM
Cares Fund for purchasing
ventilators, welfare of migrant
labours and vaccine research.
“Out of C3,100 crore, a
sum of approximately C2,000
crore will be earmarked for the
purchase of ventilators, C1,000
crore will be used for care of
migrant labourers and C100
crores will be given to support
vaccine development,” PMO
said in a statement on May 13,
a day after Modi announced
the C20 lakh crore package for
self reliant India.
Film star Akshay Kumar
was one of the first to donate
C25 crore soon after Modi
announced the new Fund on
March 28.
Many corporates, includ-
ing Ratan Tata, Mukesh
Ambani, Azim Premji, Anil
Agarwal announce sizeable
donation to the Fund. It is
learned that many corproates
made provisions for separate
fund for their research and pro-
duction related to the health
care activities in relation to
Covid-19 apart from making
donation to PM Cares Fund.
The PM Cares fund trig-
gered a big controversy with
Opposition parties like
Congress and Left questioning
the need for it and seeking
transparency in its operation.
?=BQ =4F34;78
Aday before the end of third
phase of nationwide lock-
down, with more than 4,500
new cases reported by the States
on Saturday, the number of
coronavirus cases in India rose
by over 10 per cent over the past
three days to reach 90,398 with
2,862 deaths so far. There is a
massive surge of coronavirus
cases in Gujarat, Maharashtra
and Tamil Nadu.
With 1057 cases, Gujarat
saw its biggest single day spike,
followed by Maharashtra with
1,606 cases in the last 24 hours.
Delhi is fourth in the list with
433 new cases and a total of
9,333 cases
and 129
deaths. Madhya Pradesh report-
ed 195 new cases taking its total
to 4,790 with 239 deaths.
At the rate of compounded
daily growth in the past 12 days,
the number of cases could
cross 1,000000 by next Tuesday.
Gujarat witnessed a record
number of 1,057 cases in a sin-
gle day taking the total number
to 10,989 cases. Total 20 deaths
reported in the last 24 hours.
Ahmedabad reported 973 new
cases and 14 deaths in the 24
hours, taking the total tally to
8,144 cases followed by Surat
with 34 new cases taking the
total number to 1,049 cases.
With 19 new cases, Vadodara
reported 639 cases. Gandhi
Nagar reported 163 cases so
far while Bhavnagar report-
ed 107 cases. In
Ahmedabad, at least 700
“super spreaders” were found
coronavirus positive in a
massive screening of veg-
etable sellers and shopkeep-
ers conducted in a week.
Maharashtra has report-
ed 1,606 coronavirus cases in
24 hours, taking the total past
the 30,706-mark, adding 67
people who died because of
the disease in a day.
Mumbai's aggregate reached
18,555, with 884 positive
cases being reported on
Saturday.
BC055A4?AC4AQ =4F34;78
Congress leader Rahul
Gandhi on Saturday talked
with a group of migrant
labourers near the Sukhdev
Vihar flyover here and asked
them about their problems as
they walked home amid the
coronavirus-induced lock-
down.
Rahul sat on the pavement
and gave the migrant workers
a patient hearing and assured
them of help in reaching their
homes. Dressed in black pants
and white kurta, he talked to
the workers and heard their
grievances.
Rahul had an impromptu
hour-long meeting with a
group of 20 migrants, includ-
ing women and children, walk-
ing from their work site near
Ambala to their village near
Jhansi.
?=BQ =4F34;78
Finance Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman on Saturday
opened up the coal sector for
private investment and allowed
74 per cent foreign direct
investment (FDI) in defence
sector through automatic route
from the present 49 per cent.
The Centre also
announced privatisation of six
more airports and opening up
of more air space as part of the
Government’s push to revive
the economy in the wake of
coronavirus crisis. The
Government also unveiled sev-
eral other structural reforms
and policy simplifications.
In her fourth tranche of the
economic package, she said
commercial mining will be
done on revenue sharing mech-
anism instead of the regime of
fixed rupee/tonne. She said
the difference between captive
and non-captive mines will be
done away with and a C50,000-
crore plan for evacuation of the
mined fuel will be put in place.
Nearly 50 coal blocks will
be offered for bidding, she
said. This is being done to
reduce import of substitutable
coal and increase self-reliance
in coal production.
Also, the Government will
invest C50,000 crore for build-
ing evacuation infrastructure.
Coal gasification and liquefi-
cation will be incentivised
through rebate in revenue
sharing, she said adding coal
bed methane (CBM) produc-
tion would also be encour-
aged.
“Many sectors need policy
simplification, to make it sim-
pler for people to understand
what sector can give, partici-
pate in activities and bring
transparency. Once we decon-
gest sectors, we can boost the
sector, for growth and jobs,”
Siharaman said.
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They quarantined them-
selves against coronavirus
but had not accounted for
deadly snakes.
Two persons, one each from
Gonda in Uttar Pradesh and
Balangir in Odisha were bitten
by snakes at the quarantine
centres. While the victim in
Gonda succumbed to the
snakebite, the other one at
Balangir has survived and is out
of danger.
The incident at Gonda
occurred at 11 pm on Thursday
when a boy Mahendra Kumar
(16) was bitten by a snake on
his hand at a quarantine cen-
tre located at a middle school.
New Delhi: With no possi-
bility of coronavirus-forced
lockdown and the resultant
curbs on public transport
ending so soon, a large num-
ber of migrant labourers
with families, including
women, children and elder-
ly, have started to walk home.
Chennai: The Madras High
Court has said it is not only
the duty of the native States
of migrant workers but also
the duty of the States where
they work to take care of
them, but this was not the
case. The court said the
migrant workers and agri-
cultural workforce are a
neglected lot in this crisis.
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Seeking for a strong India-US
friendship, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on Saturday
thanked US President Donald
Trump for his decision to
donate ventilators to “friend”
India.
“I am proud to announce
that the United States will
donate ventilators to our
friends in India,” Trump tweet-
ed on Friday.
“Thank you @POTUS
@realDonaldTrump. This pan-
demic is being fought collec-
tively by all of us.
In such times, it’s always
important for nations to work
together and do as much as
possible to make our world
healthier and free from
Covid-19. More power to
India-US friendship,” Modi
tweeted.
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Q WhatattractedyoutoplayFarooqAli
in Hotstar Special’s Special OPS?
Itisacombinationofall—thescript,
the character and ofcourse the director,
Neeraj Pandey. The team gave me the
narration before my second round of
auditions with them and since I was
hookeduponthecharacter.Thecharacter
that Farooq is and the journey that it has
I was instantly drawn towards it. Also,
Neeraj sir has written and directed it, so
itwasaneasychoice.Ididn’thavetothink
about it twice. Infact, I was feeling
fortunateenoughtobesittinginhisoffice
and discussing the project forward.
Q Since you were making a comeback
with this web series, was there extra
pressure on you to choose the right
project?
Thepressurewasnotinchoosingthe
project.ItwaswhenIstoppeddoingdaily
soaps, that’s when I took the real pressure
and realised that okay I am at the peak
of my TV career at the moment and I
have to take a step back. That’s when the
pressure was. You know that you are
currentlyworkingandoffersareflooding
in then there’s money and to leave all that
behind and taking the risk to make the
next big step was a real pressure. I never
thought that I have to pick a certain kind
of project because I have left TV. The
reason why I stopped doing daily soaps
was because I wanted to work on better
content and with better makers. It is very
difficult for a TV actor to break into
Bollywood scenario where you are
directed by famous directors. And it is
difficult to make people forget that you
are from TV because in our industry
there is a major stigma related to talent
from TV. It was not as if I was not getting
projects but I was on a lookout for what
I wanted.
Q Whattookyousolongtoventure out
into the digital space?
I ventured into this very early. I
hosted a web series called Remix for
Amazon Prime. It won multiple
international awards for Best Fiction
DigitalShow.ButlikeIsaid,withthekind
of makers thatI wanted towork withand
the kind of stories that I wanted to tell,
take took a while to crack. Because your
first project paves the way for the rest of
the career. This is the hope that I have.
So I was constantly on a lookout to get
the right script where I could showcase
my craft. And this project allowed me
that. There’s so much to play with the
character.
Q Was acting always on cards?
Not really. I was a business student.
I helped my father in his business all
through my childhood. Acting didn’t
naturally come to me but it happened by
theway.Butthefactofthematteriswhen
it happened, I fell in love with it. And I
knew that this is what I wanted to do for
the rest of my life.
Q How did the transition happen?
It happened ironically. It was not at
all planned. It was in around 2008 when
the world was hit by recession and we
suffered a huge financial loss. To
overcome that, I did whatever was in my
stride, to uplift my family. It was a tough
time. I tried my hands at different
things,Ievenappliedatanairlineandgot
through. That time, street casting was on
a high and I was always fascinated by it.
IfIhadneversufferedthatfinancialcrisis
back then, I would never thought that I
would become an actor.
Q One good and bad thing about the
industry.
There are so many good things. It is
a craft that I love and that’s why I never
feel that I am working. I always enjoy
doing it. One thing that is tough to deal
with is the general uncertainty of your
career. After every project, you are
holdinguparesumeforthenextjob.This
requires a great emotional balance to
make it to the next project.
A funny thing that I would like to
add here is when the Special OPS teaser
was launched, I was receiving lot of
messages from people that how they love
it and ironically at the same time I was
waiting to audition for my next job. This
is another good thing about the industry
that even while you are celebrating
something, it keeps you grounded by
putting a question mark on your next
project.
Q Whatiskeepingyoubusyduringthis
quarantine period?
I am a morning person and exercise
isthefirstthingthatIdo.Formeworking
out is important so I sweat it out for one
hour and have breakfast. Rest of the time
passes by in doing ghar ke kaam, jhaadu
karna aur pocha marna. I go for walks
in the evening and I think everyone is
follwing similar routine.
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Flying carpets, magic lamps,
fairies, kings and what not
—who doesn’t miss the
gripping tales of 1001 Arabian
Nights brimmed with morals
and values. To give you a taste
of the tales again, Dangal TV
has brought Alif Laila on TV.
With Shiny Doshi and Ankit
Arora paired as the leads, the
show makes for a must watch.
Doshi who plays Seher
tells you that it is pure destiny
that got her on board the
project. “I was initially called to
audition for another show on
Dangal TV, but ended up
bagging the lead in Alif Laila.
I have done daily soaps and
mythology-based shows, but
this was something that excited
me. Apart from playing Seher,
every time I get into another
story with the king, there are
new characters that come in.
This helps me try and explore
different roles and characters
bringing in the element of fun.
In the first story I was playing
Vargina, while in the second
story I was playing Noor, and
so on. This helps me to explore
myself better. Every day, I get
to learn something new on set,”
she says.
Doshi didn’t have to put in
too much of efforts for the role,
however maintining her weight
was a challenges. “Playing the
role wasn’t that difficult.
However, this is my first show
wherein I am supposed to
speak a lot of urdu words with
proper pronunciation. While I
am still learning to excel in it
considering some words are
too difficult to pronounce, my
creative team on the set helps
me with my diction. The
challenge for me was to
maintain my weight. The
character’s requirements are
such that, I cannot afford to
gain weight and therefore I did
go on a diet to maintain my
look,” she tells you.
For actors, often their on-
screen team becomes a
offscreen family and so is the
case with Doshi, who feels
fortunate to work with such a
loving team. “The environment
on the sets is nice and
comfortable. I am glad to be
working with a loving and
warm team. Everyone on the
set is like a family. Every time
when we step into a new
story, we get the opportunity
to work with different
actors. Off screen we
are a small Alif Laila
family,” she says.
She adds that she
have grown up
watching the show
and that it is
important for
today’s generation
to be in sync with
these classics. “Alif
Laila has always
been close to my
heart. I feel, today’s
generation needs to
watch such classic
tales. Keeping the
current generation in
mind, we have tailor
made our show with
variations and
twists. We
want the
youth to
know about the
classic old
shows and enjoy
them,” Doshi says.
Arora who plays
Saharzaad says that
there was no
reason to turn
down the project.
And that he is
getting to play a
prot agonist
after a long
time.
“I was at
that stage of my
career where
after my first role
which was 12 years
ago, I played only
n e g a t i v e
characters.
I wanted to do
s o m e t h i n g
different and that is
when I was offered
Alif Laila. I had multiple
reasons to accept the
role. It is a versatile
show and the fact
that I was offered
the lead positive
character, there was
no chance I would
deny it. I have grown up
watching the show and
therefore I was elated to be a
part of it. Secondly, when you
play numerous negative
characters, you tend to get
typecast. With this role, I
wanted to break the monotony
and took it as a challenge.
Also, the fact that I have
worked with Nikhil Sinha and
his team in the past and that we
share a great bond, I was
confident about this role,” he
tells you.
He agrees with Doshi and
is quick to point out that the
warm atmosphere on the sets
is what makes the experience
all the more enriching. “We are
like family. The warm loving
atmosphere on the set not just
with my co-actors but with the
entire team is what makes its
beautiful.
We share a good rapport.
We sit together to rehearse the
lines which helps us to deliver
dialogues better on screen.
Since we end up spending
more than 12 hours a day on
the set, it has become a second
home,” Arora says.
He tells you that since the
show demands different
characters, it becomes quite
challenging. “The television
industry is a different ball-
game when you compare it
with movies or theatre. The
pace in doing a television show
is very swift. It is even faster in
a daily soap.
There are days when you
get the script on the same day
of shoot. So you have to think
and improvise it on the spot.
You have to be prepared for any
and all kinds of situations. For
instance, you could be shooting
scene five of the 45th episode
and after the break, you end up
shooting for scene nine of the
48th episode.
In Alif Laila, it is quite
challenging because I play
different roles. We try our best
to do rehearsals or have a
conversation with the directors,
producers, actors and creative
team so that we are prepared
and have a flow in mind which
helps us to portray a particular
character effectively,” Arora,
who is missing work during the
lockdown, tells you.
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?=BQ 347A03D=
Though people have started
working under certain
restrictions in the third
extended lockdown with more
relaxations expected in the
fourth phase of the lockdown,
several people are facing
challenges in commuting from
their homes to the workplace
every day. Some are going to
their workplace on foot while
those who cannot walk for
long are taking cabs. I live in
Ladpur but I work in Paltan
Bazaar. Since there are no
Vikrams or city buses allowed,
I wake up at 5 AM and start
walking by 6 AM to reach my
workplace around 7AM. Since
the stores are not opening
every day, I get some rest as it
would not be possible to walk
so much daily. For now, the
driver from our store is
dropping the employees in the
evening, said a local resident
Neelam Sharma. A
Sahastradhara Road resident
Tara Rai said that she has to
book a cab twice a day to travel
between her home and office.
Almost half of my salary will
be spent on commutation this
month. Most of my colleagues
have the same problem too. We
cannot skip any work too
because we do not want to lose
our jobs, said Rai.
Though people are having
difficulties without public
transport, some of them opined
that it also poses certain
advantages like less air and
noise pollution and traffic
congestion on the roads.
Public transport is necessary
but obviously we do not need
thousands of public transport
vehicles on the roads if people
can manage to travel with
fewer such vehicles. People
just want more and more in
everything but the lockdown
has taught us that we can live
satisfactorily even with fewer
resources. A major portion of
our city's air pollution is due to
vehicles and undoubtedly
public transport is a big part of
it, opined banker Deepak
Muyal.
According to the locals, it
would be a great challenge to
operate the public transport
while maintaining social
distance after the lockdown.
The COVID-19 disease is not
going to just vanish even if the
lockdown ends soon. Everyone
will need to continue the use of
masks, sanitisers besides
following social distancing
protocol. Therefore, travelling
in public transport would be
risky too. I think the
government should allow some
businesses like clothing stores
to open on certain days even
after lockdown so that people
would not travel unnecessarily
to the markets. This way, the
noise and air pollution will
reduce besides the traffic
congestion in the city, said
local teacher Aniruddh
Sharma. Many of them
suggested that like Delhi, the
Uttarakhand Government
should also allow CNG based
vehicles which are cheaper
than petrol and also cause less
pollution.
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?=BQ 347A03D=
While most of the public
transport vehicles are
not currently allowed to
operate, many e-rickshaws can
be seen on the roads of the city
carrying passengers. According
to some locals, those who
cannot afford to book cabs or
walk to their work are
compelled to hire the services
of e-rickshaw drivers who
overcharge them for every
ride.
I work near Tehsil Chowk
but I neither own a vehicle nor
can I walk much due to knee
pain. Though my neighbours
sometimes drop me to my
office, this week
I had to use e-
rickshaw thrice.
For the first ride
in the morning,
the driver
charged me
C180, the next
day C200 and in
the evening he
charged me
C230. When I
question them
about the extra
charges, they say
they have to pay
fine to the police
too if they catch them with any
passenger. Some e-rickshaw
drivers are exploiting helpless
people like me during the
lockdown,” said a local
resident Sonu Pal.
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?=BQ 347A03D=
The number of novel
Coronavirus (Covid-19)
patients in Uttarakhand jumped
to 91 on Saturday with state
health department reporting
nine new cases of the disease.
This is the highest ever number
of cases reported on a single day
in the State. On the day four
patients were reported from
Dehradun district while a
similar number of patients
surfaced in Udham Singh Nagar
district. In the state 51 patients
have so far been discharged
from the hospitals after winning
the battle with the disease.
However to the
discomfiture of the state health
department 19 new cases have
been reported in last three
days. In Dehradun, son and
wife of a positive patient, a
resident of Dalanwala were
tested positive for the disease on
Saturday. Similarly a 15 year old
boy, son of a female patient of
Mussoorie (reported on May
14) was also found positive for
the disease. A 49 year old man,
a resident of IT park areas of
city was also found positive for
the disease on the day. In
Udham Singh Nagar district
two youngsters of 18 years of
age each were found infected
with the disease on the day. One
of them had recently returned
from Maharashtra while other
had come back from
Gurugram. Similarly a 41 year
and a 23 year old male patient
were also reported from Jaspur
town of Udham Singh Nagar
district. In Nainital district, a 20
year old male patient was
reported on the day.
A truck driver from Punjab
who had traveled to
Uttarakhand and was admitted
in Sushila Tiwari hospital
Haldwani recovered from the
disease and was discharged
from the hospital.
The additional secretary,
state health department, Yugal
Kishore Pant said reports of 470
samples were found negative for
the disease on Saturday while
nine were found positive. He
added that reports of 680
samples are still awaited by the
department. On Saturday, a
total of 549 samples were
collected for COVID -19
testing. The authorities have so
far taken swab samples of 12597
suspected patients for COVID-
19 test. Out of the total samples
taken, 0.79 percent samples
have been found positive for the
disease. On Saturday the rate
of recovery from the COVID-
19 in the state was at 57.95
percent. Incidentally the
recovery rate was about 67
percent few days ago.
A total of 1457989 people
have so far downloaded the
‘Aaroggya Setu App’ on their
smart phones.
The state now has 39 active
cases in the state with Dehradun
and Udham Singh Nagar
districts are at top of the table
with 15 cases each of the disease.
Nainital has five active cases
while Haridwar, Uttarkashi,
Almora and Pauri districts have
one active case each.
?=BQ 347A03D=
The migrant triggered spike
in the Covid-19 contagion
in Uttarakhand has worried
the health experts. In last
eight days, 26 patients of the
disease have surfaced and all
of them have been reported
from among those who have
returned to the state from
other parts of the country.
An analysis of the Covid-
19 data also shows that the
week which has just ended
(May 10 to May 16) witnessed
24 cases of the disease which
is highest for a week in the
State.
Earlier the highest cases
reported in a week were in
Week number 3 (March 29 to
April 4 ) when 16 cases were
reported and Week number 4
( April 5 to April 11) when 13
cases were reported in the
state.The first case of the
disease was reported on March
15 in Dehradun when a
trainee IFS officer was found
infected. In last 63 days, the
Covid-19 count in
Uttarakhand has scaled to 91.
Social activist, Anoop Nautiyal
said that at 2 pm on Saturday,
the active cases in the state
stood at 36 which is highest
ever point.
He said that earlier peak in
Covid-19 cases was almost a
month ago when on April 18
and 19, the active cases were
33. Incidentally the sample
testing has also picked up
pace in the state. When the
first case of the disease was
reported, there was no sample
testing facility in the state and
the suspected samples were
send to the National Institute
of Virology (NIV) Pune.
Later testing facility came
up at Government Medical
College Haldwani, All India
Institute of Medical Sciences
(AIIMS), Rishikesh,
Government Doon Medical
College (GDMC), Dehradun
and Government Medical
College, Srinagar.
A private laboratory
(Ahuja Lab) in Dehradun has
also been approved by the
Indian Council of Medical
Research (ICMR) to conduct
tests. In the week first ( March
15 to 21) only 110 samples
were tested while in the week
which has just ended ( May 10
to 16) 2352 samples were
tested. The experts however
feel that in view of huge
number of returning migrants
the state government should
increase the number of tests so
that the disease is kept under
control in the state.
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Announcements made by
the Union Finance
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
on Saturday will establish new
dimensions in development,
opined Chief Minister
Trivendra Singh Rawat.
The CM said that a strong
foundation will be laid through
structural reforms for a self-
reliant India. These reforms
will prepare the nation for stiff
competition while fast track
investment will also increase
investments. New avenues of
employment for the youth will
open apart from development
of new champion sectors.
Rawat said, “Important reforms
have been made in coal,
mining, defence, civil aviation
and nuclear energy sectors.
The nation will be self-reliant
in meeting the coal
requirement. A sum of C 50,000
crore will be spent on
infrastructural improvements
in the coal sector. Similarly,
structural reforms in mining
will increase private investment
in this sector. This will increase
production and employment
while enabling the use of state
of the art technology.
Important decisions have also
been taken to make the nation
self-reliant in the defence
sector. This will reduce our
dependence on other nations
for defence equipment.
Airspace management will
enhance efficiency in the civil
aviation sector.
Further, a provision of C
8,100 crore viability gap
funding has been made to
encourage private investment
in social structural sphere.
Private participation will be
encourage in the space sector
too,” said the CM, adding that
these announcements will
establish new dimensions in
development of the nation.
?=BQ 347A03D=
The Union Finance
Minister has unveiled a
prudent and impactful
package under the fourth
tranche of the C 20 lakh crore
fiscal stimulus on Saturday,
opined the Confederation of
Indian Industry (CII)
northern region chairman
Nikhil Sawhney.
The package attempts to
cushion the economy reeling
under the effect of Covid-19
and the lockdown situation in
the country, he said.
According to Sawhney,
the fourth phase targets the
key sectors of coal, minerals,
defence production, airspace
management, airports, MRO,
power distribution companies
in union territories and space
sector among other major
areas that are impacted.
The most important
announcement of introducing
commercial mining in the
country’s coal sector and
removing Government
monopoly is a welcome move.
The fourth tranche of
economic stimulus package is
aimed at boosting growth,
create jobs and promises to
stabilise the conditions after
the Covid-19 crisis.
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?=BQ 347A03D=
The Uttarakhand director
general of police Anil
Kumar Raturi has warned that
legal action will be taken
against returning migrants who
do not observe the 14 day
home quarantine condition
after their return to the State.
The DGP has also asked
citizens to inform the police in
case they find any person not
observing the home quarantine
as directed to prevent the
further spread of Covid-19 in
the state.
Raturi said that people
across the nation and state are
facing difficulties due to the
Covid-19 pandemic.
The State administration is
facilitating the return of the
migrants from Uttarakhand
back to their native State.
He said, “A large number of
migrants have already been
brought back to the state and
have reached their villages and
cities.
One of the important
points of this procedure is
that those returning have to
remain under mandatory
home quarantine for 14 days so
that the contagion does not
spread. However, anyone
found acting irresponsibly and
violating the quarantine by
coming out will face legal
action under the Disaster
Management Act.” The DGP
also appealed the general
public to inform the police on
112 with details in case they
know of anyone violating
home quarantine. Raturi
reiterated that in this difficult
time, the administration wants
to ensure the good health of
the public in the state and the
nation. Hence, the mandatory
home quarantine must be
observed properly by all those
returning to the state, failing
which appropriate action will
be taken as per the law.
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Arrangements for thermal screening of
returning migrants should be made in
the districts they are returning to so that
the screening load is lightened in the
border areas of Uttarakhand. Personnel
should be deployed to regularly monitor
those being home quarantined. Chief
minister Trivendra Singh Rawat issued
these directions while chairing a meeting
with officials on Saturday regarding
effective control of the Covid-19
pandemic.
Stating that a large number of
Uttarakhandis are returning home from
various States, Rawat said that regular
monitoring of their place of quarantine
should be ensured. Personnel should be
deployed for this purpose.
The mandatory requirement for social
distancing and wearing of masks should
be implemented strictly and the availability
of masks with people should also be
ensured. Those who do not wear masks or
spit in the public should be penalised.
Rawat further said that if migrant workers
from other states present in Uttarakhand
want to return to their native states,
arrangements should be made to send
them in the vehicles coming from the states
concerned.
The CM directed officials to ensure
compilation of complete data of those
returning to Uttarakhand, including where
they are quarantined. This will enable
tracing of others in case any of them is
found positive for Covid-19.
The police should facilitate the sending
of SMS for alerts to the people concerned,
said Rawat.
He also stressed on the need for
further strengthening the state control
room and IT sector. Referring to those
being quarantined in rural areas, he said
that the Gram Pradhans are doing good
work and cooperating fully. Chief secretary
Utpal Kumar Singh, additional chief
secretary Om Prakash, DGP Anil Kumar
Raturi, secretaries Amit Singh Negi, Nitesh
Jha, Shailesh Bagauli and the director
general of health, Dr Amita Upreti among
others were also present in the meeting.
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?=BQ 347A03D=
Uttarakhand Congress has
termed the financial
assistance of C10,000 from
Chief Minister’s relief fund to
the village Pradhans as
inadequate. The vice president
of Uttarakhand Congress,
Dhirendra Pratap said that the
decision of the state
government to provide C
10,000 per Pradhan from CM
relief fund via the district
magistrates (DM) is very less as
compared to the requirement.
He said that if in any village
panchayat 15 people are
needed to be quarantined for
14 days, then a sum of C1,500
per day is needed only to
provide them food. As these
people are needed to be taken
care for 14 days, an amount of
C22,000 would be spent only on
arranging for their food. Pratap
said that the Pradesh Congress
Committee (PCC) chief Pritam
Singh has suggested that a
revolving fund of C2 lakh
should be provided to each
village panchayat so that proper
arrangements are made for the
migrants returning from the
other parts of the country. He
added that for the smaller
villages, this revolving fund can
be of C1 lakh.
The general secretary of
the Uttarakhand Congress,
Vijay Saraswat also termed the
amount inadequate.
He said that the
government should understand
that the village Pradhans would
have to make arrangements for
food, stay, health and sanitizers
of the migrants and it is not
possible to make all these
arrangements with C10000.
Saraswat added the
government should provide an
assistance of C10000 for every
labourer during this time of
crisis. The Congress leaders
also said that the battle with
Covid -19 is a long one and
government should make its
plan accordingly.
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In the backdrop of decline in
the daily count of new cases
over the past four days, Punjab
Chief Minister Capt
Amarinder Singh on Saturday
announced replacement of the
strict curfew with a lockdown
till May 31 in the state, while
indicating resumption of
limited public transport and
maximum possible relaxations
in the non-containment zones
from May 18.
The containment zones
would be strictly sealed to
enable resumption of shops
and small businesses in the
non-containment areas, he
announced, adding that details
of all relaxations would be
announced by Monday, taking
into account the new guidelines
of the Centre for Lockdown
4.0. He, however, made it clear
that educational institutes
would continue to remain
closed in the interest of the
safety and security of the
children.
Capt Amarinder appealed
to the people to be cautious and
continue to support his
government as the state moves
into a relaxed lockdown in
place of the stringent curfew
restrictions of the past 55 days.
At the same time, he again
urged the Opposition not to
indulge in petty politics over
the grave issue of Covid, and to
cooperate with the state
government in this hour of
crisis, as they had promised
earlier.
The Chief Minister said
that in its suggestions to the
Union Home Minister, as
sought by the Prime Minister,
the state had recommended
that the nationwide lockdown,
in a relaxed form, should also
be extended to May 31.
Favouring a simple
containment/non-containment
zone categorisation instead of
the Green/Orange/Red zone
classification of the central
government, the Chief Minister
said the state had suggested the
same to the Centre. He pointed
out that at present, the district
as a whole is a single zone or
at the most, there are 2 units i.e.
municipal corporation area
and non- municipal
corporation area. As per the
current system, Covid cases in
one part of the district can
result in classification of the
entire district as red zone, thus
putting severe restrictions on
industry, shops etc, he noted,
underlining the need to scrap
this system and go for a
Containment-focused strategy.
In a live FB interaction, as
part of his #AskCaptain
initiative, the Chief Minister
said the daily number of new
cases in the state had come
down during the last 4 days or
so, after the recent upsurge due
to the arrival of pilgrims from
Nanded, students from Kota
etc. He thanked the people for
their cooperation, enabling the
state to control the Covid cases,
whose doubling rate was now
44 days, as against of several
other states.
?=BQ 70A83F0A
Inspired by the
secretary of
Niranjani Akhada,
Ravindra Puri,
M a h a n t
Someshwaranand
Giri handed over a
cheque for Rs 1.20
lakh for Covid-19
relief efforts. About
200 poor and needy
people in the district
will be given ration kits from
this amount.
Mahant Ravindra Puri said
that to serve humanity was the
greatest religion and the
Akhada continues to do so.
Cabinet minister Madan
Kaushik expressed gratitude
to the two ascetics for their
contributions.
?=BQ 70A83F0A
A12-year-old boy sustained
a gunshot wound and eight
others were injured when a
fight broke out between two
groups in Kotwal Alampur
village of Jhabreda in Roorkee
late on Friday night.
Jhabreda police station
officer Ravindra Shah said that
few days ago a person named
Shahnawaz was attacked after
which he lodged an FIR against
three unidentified people.
The police called two
suspects for questioning and
after returning from the police
stations, these two suspects
and others allegedly entered
into a fight with the
complainant’s side.
Shah said that the
Pradhan’s brother Yaqub and
Ehsan have had a rivalry for a
year now.
These two sides were
fighting on Friday night and
when the police reached the
site, they pelted stones at the
police.
A 12-year-old watching
the fight was shot but is
reported to be out of danger
while eight others were also
injured.
The police have booked a
case under IPC and Disaster
Management Act against 30
unidentified people.
Haridwar superintendent
of police (Rural) Swapan
Kishore Singh said that a
case has been registered on
the basis of complaints
received from both sides.
Efforts are on to arrest the
culprits.
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Himachal Chief Minister Jai
Ram Thakur on Saturday
said 1.15 lakh people have
arrived in the State from
various parts of the country
and about 60,000 more have
registered for returning to the
State.
Addressing Panchayat
Pradhans of various Gram
Panchayats through video
conferencing from Shimla, he
said mass arrival of people
from different parts of the
country has resulted in increase
in the number of COVID-19
patients. He said that there was
only one active patient on 1st
May, which today has gone
upto 34 today, assuring that
there was no need to panic as
Government was fully prepared
to fight the virus and with the
help of people of the State,
Himachal Pradesh would soon
become a corona free state in
the country.
Thakur said that collective
efforts were required to tackle
the situation, adding that
Pradhans must educate people
regarding importance of home
quarantine and no one should
be allowed to jump home
quarantine.
Rural Development and
Panchayati Raj Minister
Virender Kanwar said adequate
funds have been made available
for panchayats, adding that
works under MNREGA would
be taken in hand in large scale
at the earliest and the same
should be expedited.
MORE TRAINS TO BRING
BACK STRANDED HP
RESIDENTS TODAY
Two more special trains
will bring back Himachal
Pradesh residents stranded in
Mumbai and Goa due to the
c o r o n a v i r u s - i n d u c e d
lockdown, whereas one train
will ensure the return of West
Bengal natives stranded in HP.
The two trains with
stranded HP natives will arrive
from Mumbai and Goa at Una
on May 17 at 10.55 pm and
May 18 at 2.40 am respectively,
Una Deputy Commissioner
Sandeep Kumar said. The two
trains are scheduled to arrive at
Una railway station within a
gap of four hours.
The district administration
is making arrangements to
receive them at Una railway
station by ensuring social
distancing norms and
providing them food packets,
hand sanitisers and face masks
upon arrival, he added.
Earlier, 2,128 HP residents
stranded in Goa and Karnataka
returned to their state in two
special trains.
While 642 people returned
to HP from Bengaluru in a
special train on May 13, 1,486
people stranded in Goa arrived
in Una in another train on May
15.
The DC said a special train
will depart on May 20 in the
morning from Una to West
Bengal with its last destination
at Howrah railway station, he
added. The West Bengal
residents stranded in various
districts of HP may get
themselves registered with
deputy commissioners
concerned to return to their
state in the train, he added.
ONE MORE COVID-19
CASE REPORTED IN HP
One more person tested
positive for COVID-19 in
Himachal Pradesh on Saturday,
taking the total number of
coronavirus cases to 78 in the
state, a senior official said. The
36-year-old man from
Hamirpur's Badsar area is
asymptomatic and returned
from Mumbai on May 13,
Special Secretary (Health)
Nipun Jindal said. There are 35
active cases in the state now,
while 39 people have recovered
from the infection, he said.
Four persons have lost their
lives due to the virus. Of the
active cases, 14 are in Kangra,
six in Chamba, five in
Hamirpur, four in Bilaspur,
two each in Una, Sirmaur and
one each in Mandi and Shimla.
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The PGIMER here on
Saturday added 12 more
corona conquerors to its list of
declared cured and recovered
patients, taking the total count
of those recovered crossing
the half century mark at 53.
Of the 12 recovered
residents of Chandigarh, 10 are
from Bapu Dham cluster,
comprising eight men in the
age group of 17 to 50 years, and
two women aged 21 and 27
years.
Celebrating their successful
recovery, the Postgraduate
Institute of Medical Education
and Research (PGIMER)
COVID-19 team had lined up
in good strength to cheer the
corona conquerors as they
were ushered one by one
towards the exit, some excited
and some emotional but all of
them happy and in 'high
spirits'.
PGIMER Director Jagat
Ram was personally present at
the send-off ceremony, greeting
them with flowers and gifts.
Most of these people have
made incredible recoveries,
said Jagat Ram. It definitely is
a matter of jubilation for them
and their families. But it also
marks a milestone for our
frontline warriors, giving them
a reassurance, a reiteration of
faith that their incessant efforts
can help their patients can
win this battle of COVID-19.
With this increased pace
of recoveries, we hope to
continue to send off other
patients as well to their homes
soon, he said. Detailing about
the issues in treating COVID
patients with co-morbid
conditions, G. D. Puri, Head of
the Department of Anaesthesia
and Intensive Care, said,
Treating COVID patients
along with co-morbid
conditions is a huge challenge
for the treating team due to
compromised immunity owing
to other ailments.
Expressing their gratitude
to PGIMER, recovered people
Ashared their sentiments as
one of them summed up on
their behalf, When I came to
know I was diagnosed with
COVID-19, I was initially
angry and frustrated but later
became very hopeless and my
morale was extremely low.
But the medical team here
at PGIMER not only treated
and cured me but they also
kept my spirits also very high
with their constant
motivation.
We are deeply indebted
and owe our recovery to
PGIMER team only, the
recovered people said in unison
as they settled in their home-
bound ambulances.
Though discharged from
the PGIMER, the cured patient
will be home quarantined for
14 days as per the standard
protocol to be followed by all
Covid-19 patients.
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Awhopping 65 coronavirus positive cases
were reported on Saturday taking the total
number to 737 in the State.
The new cases included 31 in Jajpur district,
13 in Ganjam district, six in Cuttack district, four
in Kendrapada district, three in Khordha
district and two each in Mayurbhanj and
Nayagarh districts.
Out of the 65 positives, 63 were lodged in
different quarantine centres following their
return from various States like Gujarat, West
Bengal and Jharkhand. And the remaining two
patients were under home quarantine, informed
the Health and Family Welfare Department.
The 33 new cases in Jajpur included 30 West
Bengal returnees and a Jharkhand returnee.
With the new cases, the total number in Jajpur
district reached 121. After Ganjam and Baleswar,
Jajpur is the third district to cross the 100-mark.
However, amid the spurt in positive cases,
30 more patients recovered from the disease on
Saturday. With this, the total recoveries reached
196 in the State.
The total 737 included 586 active cases, 196
recoveries and three deaths.
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Chief Minister Hemant
Soren today said that the
district administration officials
and Jharkhand Police ensure
that no person whether from
Jharkhand or any other State
walks to his destination on foot.
“All officers form groups taking
full care of all such people with
full sensitivity, checking their
health and transport them
safely to their destination by
buses and other big vehicles.
Taking full care of the migrants
of other states also, make
arrangements to contact them
with the nodal officer of their
home State and send them
safely.
It is our duty to take full
care of any labourers on the
border of Jharkhand,” he said.
Following the orders of
the Chief Minister, Director
General of Police MV Rao
has directed all the
Superintendents of Police /
Senior Superintendents of
Police to coordinate with
their Deputy Commissioners
to ensure compliance of the
instructions on priority
basis.Meanhile, the CM
expressed deep grief over the
death of workers in a road
accident in Auraiya, Uttar
Pradesh. He said that the
news is heartbreaking. “All the
states will have to collect
information to help the people
forced to walk in their states
and share it with the
concerned State for further
action. Workers are the main
pillars of the country and
their service and safety is the
first duty of all of us,” he said.
Earlier in the day,
Programme Officer of
Transforming Rural India
Foundation (TRIF) and
subsidiary of Tata Trust,
Kareem Mallik and Shyamal
Santra met the CM at his
residence and helped the
government by providing 8400
PPE kits and other health
equipment to fight COVID-19.
On the occasion, the CM
said that the Tata Trust
Group's initiative to maintain
health facilities in the State is
commendable. PPE kits,
masks, thermal scanners,
other machines etc. are being
supported by this group. He
said that many industrial
institutions, voluntary
institutions, social
institutions and others in the
state are also coming forward
to tackle the worldwide
epidemic corona.
I thank all these
organizations.
The CM said, “In this hour
of crisis, all of us will unite and
win this fight from Covid-19
on the strength of mutual
support. From the point of view
of safety of doctors, nurses
and other health workers
working in the treatment of
corona infection patients in the
State, other medical devices
including PPE kits are being
made available by the
government with commitment.
The benefit of medical
equipment being provided by
the voluntary institutions will
also be available to the health
security personnel working
in different districts of the
State.
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At least two new cases of
COVID-19 infection were
reported in Jharkhand on
Saturday – one each from
Garhwa and Ranchi, health
officials said. The suspect who
tested positive in Ranchi on
Saturday is from Itki, which
means, no cases surfaced from
Hindpiri, the only large
containment zone in Ranchi,
they added.
Two suspects tested
positive for COVID-19 today
(Saturday). Both are migrant
workers who returned home,
said Health Secretary Nitin
Madan Kulkarni. All the new
patients found in the past eight
days are migrant workers, he
added. Saturday's findings take
the total count of COVID-19
cases in Jharkhand to 217, a
bulletin released by the
National Health Mission
(NHM) said. However, there
are only 101 active cases in
State as per the bulletin released
on Saturday late evening.
By now, 113 COVID-19
patients have recovered from
the viral infection and
discharged from hospital, the
NHM bulletin said. At least 11
patients recovered in Ranchi
on Saturday and the count of
active patients in the capital
reduced to 18 – a
development that officials
consider an achievement
given the sudden spurt in
cases here last month.
While 110 of the 217 cases
reported in Jharkhand by
Wednesday evening are in the
age bracket of 11 to 30 years.
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The Government on
Saturday prepared a blue-
print for the 30 high Covid-
19 case load municipal areas
contributing 80 per cent of
the total cases of the country.
It asked the States to maintain
high vigilance and monitoring
in areas of old cities, urban
slums and other high-densi-
ty pockets along with camps
for migrant workers and trace
cases to manage COVID-19
in urban areas.
These 30 municipal areas
are from Maharashtra, Tamil
Nadu, Gujarat, Delhi, Madhya
Pradesh, West Bengal,
Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh,
Telangana, Andhra Pradesh,
Punjab and Odisha which are
reporting spurt in cases each
passing days.
As per Government offi-
cials, the geographic area of
the containment zones has to
be defined based on factors
such as mapping of cases
amp; contacts, geographical
dispersion of cases and con-
tacts, area with well-demar-
cated perimeter and enforce-
ability.
A decision in this regard
was taken at a high-level
review meeting held here
under the chairmanship of
Union Health Secretary Preeti
Sudan.
The officials of these 30
municipal areas were
informed about the manage-
ment of indicators such as the
high doubling rate, high case
fatality rate and high confir-
mation percentages seen in
the containment zones.
The Health Secretary also
emphasized that along with
the containment and man-
agement of COVID-19 cases,
the issue of continuing all
essential non-COVID health
services in the urban localities
such as RMNCHA+N care,
cancer treatment, TB surveil-
lance, immunisation efforts
and vector control measures
in view of the ensuing mon-
soon need to be ensured.
The Health Ministry
asked the municipal areas to
focus on effective risk com-
munication in order to build
trust and confidence. The
ministry asked the officials
concerned to engage with
community leaders and local
opinion leaders who could
accompany the local surveil-
lance teams to encourage
cooperation from the local
communities.
It was also highlighted
that especially in the densely
populated urban areas, more
challenges need to be consid-
ered such as poor socio-eco-
nomic conditions, limited
health infrastructure, lack of
social distancing and issues
faced by women among oth-
ers factors, said the officials.
According to the min-
istry, a total of 30,150 people
have been cured. In the last
24 hours, 2,233 patients were
found cured.
This takes the total recov-
ery rate to 35.09%.
The total number of con-
firmed cases is now 85,940,”
they said.
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As the Government’s entire
healthcare system is
focused on management of
Covid-19, non-coronavirus
surgical care is now getting the
least priority. As many as
5,80,000 planned surgeries here
might be cancelled or delayed,
according to a study conduct-
ed by CovidSurg Collaborative,
a research network of over
5,000 surgeons from 120 coun-
tries.
The study, led by members
based in the UK, Benin,
Ghana, India, Italy, Mexico,
Nigeria, Rwanda, Spain, South
Africa and the US, has been
published in the British Journal
of Surgery.
“During the COVID-19
pandemic elective surgeries
have been cancelled to reduce
the risk of patients being
exposed to COVID-19 in hos-
pital, and to support the wider
hospital response, for example
by converting operating the-
atres in to intensive care units,”
said Aneel Bhangu, from the
University of Birmingham.
“The risks of exposing
patients to perioperative SARS-
CoV-2 infection by performing
surgery during outbreaks are
high, but must be weighed
against the risks of protracted
treatment delays,” the study
states.
“Governments should mit-
igate against this major burden
onpatientsbydevelopingrecov-
ery plans and implementing
strategies to safely restore sur-
gical activity.”
The modelling study indi-
cates that each additional week
ofdisruptiontohospitalservices
will be associated with a further
2.4 million cancellations.
In a best-case scenario,
benign surgeries may be worst
hit with 80 per cent (5,05,864)
procedures being cancelled or
postponed, followed by cancer
surgeries (60 per cent or 51,134
procedures) and orthopedics
(30 per cent or 27,740 proce-
dures).
The study also estimated a
backlog of 5,56,998 surgeries
which would take 93 weeks to
clear if surgical volume
increased by 10 per cent.
The researcher used data
from previous studies on elec-
tive surgery volumes, and then
projectedcancellationratesfrom
a response survey with senior
surgeons who either estimated
best and worst case scenarios or
reported the actual figures.
Expert responses in India came
from Cims Hospital, National
Institute of Mental Health
Neurosciences, and Tata
Memorial Centre.
“Although essential, can-
cellations place a heavy burden
onpatients and society. Patients’
conditions may deteriorate,
worsening their quality of life as
they wait for rescheduled
surgery. In some cases, for
example cancer, delayed surg-
eries may lead to a number of
unnecessary deaths,” said
Bhangu.
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India can add 17 days of addi-
tional delay to reaching the
peak of novel coronavirus
cases, and prevent 72 per cent
of projected new cases by clos-
ing down its red light areas till
a Covid-19 vaccine is devel-
oped, scientists have said.
According to the National
Aids Control Organization
(NACO), India has close to
6,37,500 sex workers, and over
5 lakh customers visit the red-
light areas on a daily basis.
Based on modelling stud-
ies, the researchers including
those from Yale School of
Medicine in the US, said clos-
ing down these places of sex
work may reduce projected
Covid-19 death toll increase in
India by 63 per cent post the
easing of lockdown measures.
They said Indians are at a
much lower risk of getting
Covid-19 if red light areas are
kept closed after the lockdown
until an effective treatment or
vaccine is developed.
They have recommended
a continued closure of red-light
areas beyond full nation-wide
reopening.
They believe this can
reduce the number of cases by
72 per cent in a period of 45-
days, and delay the peak of
Covid-19 cases by 17 days.
This delay, according to the
researchers, will provide the
Government more time and
opportunities to plan and exe-
cute measures to protect pub-
lic health and economy, as
India moves in Lockdown 4.0.
There could be a 63 per cent
reduction in the number of
deaths in the first 60 days after
the lockdown ends, if red-
light areas are kept closed, the
report said.
Their research said that if
the red-light areas start oper-
ating, the disease will spread
extremely quickly and infect a
very high percentage of sex
workers and customers. The
scientists said the high trans-
mission rate is because social
distancing is not possible in
sexual interactions. Infected
customers could spread the
disease to lakhs of other citi-
zens, the scientists warned.
Hence they believe that these
red light areas have a combi-
nation of factors that can cre-
ate a major hotspot.
Our study findings show
that there is a strong effect of
the red-light area closures,
especially immediately follow-
ing the lockdown, said study
co-author, Jefferey Townsend,
Professor of Biostatistics at
the Yale School of Medicine.
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As hundreds of migrants
continue to travel long dis-
tances to get back to their
homes in this COVID-19 cri-
sis, Union Food Minister Ram
Vilas Paswan on Saturday
appealed to State Governments
to immediately lift food grains
and pulses from the godowns
and distribute them for free
within a fortnight to 8 crore
migrants who neither have a
centre nor State's ration card.
According to the Food
Ministry, about 142 lakh
migrants will benefit in Uttar
Pradesh and in Bihar (86.45
lakh), Maharasthra (70 lakh),
West Bengal (60.1 lakh),
Madhya Pradesh (54.64 lakh),
Rajasthan (44.66 lakh),
Karnataka (40.19 lakh), Gujarat
(38.25 lakh), Tamil Nadu
(35.73 lakh), Jharkhand (26.37
lakh), Andhra Pradesh (26.82
lakh) and Assam (25.15 lakh).
In the national Capital,
about 7.27 lakh migrants will
get free 5 kg food grains per
person and 1 kg chana per fam-
ily for May and June. If the
number of migrants exceeds
the current estimation of 8
crore, the Centre is ready to
provide additional grains for
free supply but the identified
person should be genuine
which state governments have
to validate, Paswan said.
The allocation has been
made considering 10 per cent
of the existing 81 crore bene-
ficiaries under the NFSA (
National Food Security Act).
The free food distribution
to 8 crore migrants for two
months was announced by the
Centre on May 14 as part of an
economic package to help those
who bore the brunt of the
clampdown to fight the
COVID-19 crisis.
The Centre will bear the
cost of this intervention, esti-
mated at C3,500 crore. This
decision is in the interest of
migrants. Congress may say
give more quantity of food-
grains for free. The NFSA,
under which 5 kg per person
subsidised grain is given to 81
crore through PDS, was framed
during the UPA time. But, the
Modi government is doing
maximum. This is not the end
of all. The Prime Minister is
sensitive and aware of the sit-
uation, Paswan noted.
Paswan, an NDA ally, fur-
ther said his ministry has made
all arrangements for distribu-
tion of free ration to migrants,
but the state governments
which have to implement at the
ground level, have to be proac-
tive and lift the ration from
godowns and begin distribu-
tion immediately.
An allocation of 7.99 lakh
tonne of foodgrains has been
made for distribution for two
months for free. Of this, the
maximum would be rice 6.95
lakh tonne which would be
easy for migrants to consume,
while the rest 1.04 lakh tonne
is wheat, he said. According to
the Food Ministry, both rice
and wheat have been allocated
to Delhi and Gujarat, only
wheat to Rajasthan, Punjab
and Chandigarh, while rice to
rest of the states and union ter-
ritories.
?=BQ =4F34;78
CPI(M)’s All India Kisan
Sabha on Saturday said
the Centre’s agriculture pack-
age was “yet another great
betrayal of peasantry” by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and
Finance Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman. The Kisan Sabha
said that the dilution in the
Essential Commodities Act
will lead to increase in the
prices in the market and this
will only benefit the middle-
men and traders and not the
farmers.
“The package did not heed
the demands of peasantry for
immediate provision of
C7,500/ month to peasant and
agriculture workers house-
holds, comprehensive loan
waiver to free the peasant
households from indebted-
ness, assured procurement at
MSP atC2+50 % for all crops
and 200 days of work under
MGNREGS with C300/daily
wage as well as free ration and
essentials till the lockdown is
over. Nothing has been done to
compensate the losses in
income of peasantry and agri-
cultural workers due to crop
losses and loss of employ-
ment,” said Kisan Sabha lead-
ers Hannan Mollah and Ashok
Dhavale.
“Who will be benefitted
out of these reforms is pretty
clear, not the peasantry and
rural workers. The agribusi-
ness corporate houses and
multinational corporations
will take the advantage. The
Agriculture Produce Market
Committees will be sidelined
and the powers of the state
governments will be eroded.
The peasantry at large will be
at the mercy of the Agri
Business Corporations since
there will not be any arrange-
ments for price support and
price stabilisation for crops,”
said Kisan Sabha leaders.
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Congress leader Rahul
Gandhi on Saturday said
the Centre should stop acting
like a money lender for its
children by giving them cred-
it instead of cash, and asked
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
to reconsider the COVID-19
economic stimulus package.
Rahul said a 'storm' was brew-
ing on the economic front
that will cause damage and
hurt many.
The storm has not come
yet, it is coming and will cause
big economic damage and hurt
many, he said. While Rahul
also expressed his deepest con-
dolences to the families of the
migrant labourers killed in the
road accidents, his sibling and
general secretary in the party,
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra sought
permission from Uttar Pradesh
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath
to run 1,000 buses for the
migrant workers wanting to
return home given the fatalities
in road accidents during the
last couple of days. Priyanka
said the All-India Congress
Committee will bear the entire
expenses.
The Congress had earlier
offered to bear the expenses of
train tickets of the migrants.
Priyanka said the party wants
to run 500 buses each from
the Gazipur (Ghaziabad) and
Noida borders for the
migrants.
Rahul, who also met
labourers on their way to
their destinations, said it is
heart breaking to see millions
of our people walking on the
highways with no food, no
water.
He said he was trying to
put pressure on the govern-
ment for generating demand
by putting money into the
accounts of the poor and vul-
nerable sections of society.
The Congress leader asserted
that if demand is not gener-
ated, the country will suffer a
bigger loss economically than
from the novel coronavirus. It
is important to lift the lock-
down intelligently without
sacrificing the old and vul-
nerable population to the dis-
ease, he added.
Interacting with journal-
ists of regional media via
video conferencing, Rahul
also warned of an impending
economic crisis, and asked the
Modi Government to at least
temporarily, if not perma-
nently, implement
Congress-proposed NYAY,
minimum income scheme, to
give money directly to the
marginalised section of soci-
ety.
Stating that the biggest
migration since independence
is underway triggered by
policies divorced from India's
ground realities and ignoring
the needs of our most vul-
nerable brothers and sisters,
he asserted yet, till today, the
government has not been able
to tell us what it plans to do
for this huge mass of people,
whose livelihoods have been
cut off, as a result of the
nationwide lockdown.
He said the Government
should not worry about what
the foreign agencies are going
to say, but should have faith in
our small and medium
businesses and in our people,
farmers, workers who are
walking on the streets and
immediately give them money
in their pockets, without a
single thought.
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?=BQ =4F34;78
CPM’s former Politburo
member K Varadarajan
passed away on Saturday. He
died this afternoon at Karur,
Tamilnadu, following a respi-
ratory problem. He had gone to
visit his son in Karur where he
was caught in the lockdown.
He was 73 years old, said
CPI(M) Politburo in a state-
ment.
Varadarajan, trained as
civil engineer, was active in
trade union and farmers’ union
activities in Tamil Nadu for the
past 50 years. “He was elected
to the Central Committee of
the Party in 1998 and to the
Central Secretariat in 2002.
He was elected to the Polit
Bureau at its 18th Congress in
2005. He functioned from the
Party Centre in Delhi as a
member of the Central
Secretariat and as a Polit
Bureau member from 2005 to
2015. Varadarajan was a very
affable comrade, simple in
nature and had frugal require-
ments,” the CPI(M) statement
maintained.
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Housing and Urban Affairs
Minister Hardeep Singh
Puri on Saturday said the
Government has taken several
steps so that real estate sector
survivesthesituationarisingout
ofCOVID-19.Atawebinarwith
stakeholders celebrating 3rd
RealEstateRegulatoryAuthority
(RERA) Day, Puri said the reg-
ulatory authorities need to play
a crucial role to revive the sec-
tor so that it can thrive and con-
tribute to the country’s growth.
Providing details of the suc-
cessful implementation of
RERA, the Minister informed
that 31 States/UTs have notified
rules under RERA. While 30
States/UTs have set up Real
EstateRegulatoryAuthorityand
24 States/UTs have set up Real
EstateAppellateTribunal.“More
than 52,000 Real Estate Projects
and 40,517 Real Estate Agents
have registered under RERA
across the country. More than
46,000 complaints have been
disposed-off by the Real Estate
Regulatory Authorities across
the country”, he further added.
He said his Ministry has
issued advisory to all states and
UTsandtheirregulatoryauthor-
ities for issuance of orders to
automatically extend the com-
pletion date or revised extend-
ed completion date for all real
estate projects registered under
RERA for a period of 6 months,
where completion date expires
on or after March 25 this year.
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The CRPF has ordered
immediate withdrawal of
scores of its personnel attached
as “helping staff” (orderlies) to
officers who have retired or
been repatriated from the para-
military due to apprehension
that they may contract Covid-
19 infection.
The move comes amid
shortage of manpower owing to
Covid-19 infection in the ranks
and number of personnel being
quarantined in the barracks or
homes.
The shortage of manpow-
er has further aggravated due
to the ongoing lockdown,
which has led to the extension
of leave of a number of per-
sonnel amid the countrywide
efforts to break the chain of
coronavirus infection.
Due to the spread of
Covid-19 pandemic, many per-
sonnel have tested positive for
the viral infection and several
others have been subjected to
quarantine. A number of per-
sonnel are one leave and can-
not rejoin duty due to the
lockdown.
“Due to this, offices/units
of Delhi/NCR are badly suf-
fering from acute shortage of
manpower. NS (Northern
Sector of CRPF) has provided
many helping staff to the offi-
cers retired/repatriated from
CRPF. As the helping staff may
become vulnerable to Covid-19
during the above period, com-
petent authority has directed to
withdraw all such personnel
immediately in view of the
Covid-19 pandemic the larger
interest of the health and well
being of all concerned and to
prevent the chain of spread,”
according to an order issued on
Friday and reviewed by The
Pioneer.
In keeping with the deci-
sion, the CRPF headquarters
has directed all the offices in
Delhi and the national capital
region to furnish the details of
all such personnel attached
with the retired/repatriated
CRPF officials who are essen-
tially Indian Police Service
(IPS) officers.
The information of such
personnel has been sought to
be furnished by 3 PM on
Sunday in a certain format
which will include the Force
Number, rank and name of the
staff attached as orderlies. The
format will also detail the Unit
of the attached personnel, the
name of the retired officer
with whom the personnel is
attached, duration of attach-
ment and authority for attach-
ment, according to the docu-
ment.
The order has been circu-
lated to the CRPF offices in
Delhi and Greater including
those of the Northern Sector
and Parliament Duty Group.
While the authorisation
for helping staff is only for one
month after retirement/repa-
triation of the top IPS officials,
they continue to avail the facil-
ity at taxpayers’ expense for
years together.
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?=BQ =4F34;78
Union Home Ministry on
Saturday directed States
to regularly update the details
of migrant labour, stranded
persons and those left to home
States in the new portal devel-
oped by the National Disaster
Management Authority
(NDMA) on real time basis.
Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla
told the States to upload the
details on real time basis at
NDMA’s newly developed
online Dashboard, named as
National Migrant Information
System.
“States can upload batch
file of individual data on the
portal…..The mobile numbers
of the persons can be used for
the contact tracing and move-
ment during Covid-19. A
Unique ID is generated for each
migrant, which can be used for
all transactions,” said the Home
Secretary, issuing a series of
guidelines on the working of
the new Dashboard.
?=BQ =4F34;78
Lieutenant General PS
Rajeshwar, Commander-
in-Chief, Andaman and
Nicobar Command, commis-
sioned INLCU L57 into the
Indian Navy at Port Blair on
Friday. This ship is the seventh
Landing Craft Utility (LCU)
MK-IV class to be inducted
into the Indian Navy. The
ship has been indigenously
designed and built by the pub-
lic sector Garden Reach
Shipbuilders and Engineers
(GRSE), Kolkata. The com-
missioning of INLCU L57 is
yet another manifestation of
the country’s indigenous
design and ship building capa-
bility.
The LCU MK-IV ship, is
an amphibious vessel with a
designated primary role of
transporting and deploying
Main Battle Tanks, Armoured
Vehicles, troops and equip-
ment from ship to shore.
Based at the Andaman and
Nicobar Command, these
ships can be deployed for
multirole activities like beach-
ing operations, search and
rescue, disaster relief opera-
tions, supply and replenish-
ment and evacuation from
distant islands, officials said
here on Saturday.
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Recovery of Covid-19 pos-
itive cases in paramilitary
forces has improved with the
BSF recording recovery of 135
out of 345 infected persons
and 51 patients out of a total
of 285 testing negative in the
CRPF. Likewise, the BSF has
208 active cases at present
after recovery of 135 person-
nel and deaths of two person-
nel. The BSF has recorded a
massive recovery to the tune of
40 per cent.
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