First India-Lucknow Edition-04 May 2021

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LUCKNOW l TUESDAY, MAY 4, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. UPENG/2020/04393 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 143
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD & LUCKNOW
PROTESTS AFTER 24 DIE DUE TO ‘OXYGEN
SHORTAGE’ IN KARNATAKA HOSPITAL
Chamarajanagar: As
many as 24 Covid-19 pa-
tients died in the last 24
hours after a govern-
ment hospital in Karna-
taka’s Chamarajanagar
allegedly ran out of
medical oxygen.
ChamarajanagarDep-
uty Commissioner Dr
MRRavi,however,saidit
is yet to be ascertained
whether the pa-
tients died from
lack of oxygen.
“We can’t say
whether all have
diedduetolackof
oxygen,” he said.
The family members
of the deceased staged
a protest in front of the
hospital demanding ac-
tion against officials.
Karnataka CM BS Yedi-
yurappa said he spoke
to Chamarajanagar
commissioner and also
called an emergency
Cabinet meeting on
Tuesday evening.
District in-charge
and Minister for Pri-
mary and Secondary
Education Suresh Ku-
mar said, “I have asked
the administration for a
detailed report on the
exact reason for the
death.” , Karnataka
Congress president DK
Shivakumar alleged
that it is criminal negli-
gence that led to the
deaths. —Agencies
Relatives grieve after 24 Covid-19 patients died, allegedly due
to shortage of oxygen cylinders, in Chamarajanagara District
of Karnataka on Monday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Centre,Guv seek report as post-poll violence
kills many in Bengal; Didi appeals for peace
SC to Raj pvt schools:
Charge 15% less fees
First India Bureau
Jaipur: The Supreme
Court Monday directed
36,000 private unaided
schools of Rajasthan to
charge 15% less annual
fees from students in
academic session 2020-
21 and made clear that
no students be barred
from attending virtual
or physical classes and
their results be not
held up due to non-pay-
ment of fees. SC upheld
Rajasthan HC’s judg-
ment in rejecting chal-
lenge to validity of Ra-
jasthan Schools (Regu-
lation of Fee) Act, 2016
and Rules framed un-
der law governing fixa-
tion of school fees by
the govt-mandated pro-
cedures.
Kolkata: West Bengal
was in the throes of
widespread violence on
Monday that allegedly
left several BJP workers
dead and injured in
clashes, and shops being
looted, prompting the
UnionHomeministry to
seek a factual report
fromthestategovernent
on incidents of attack
on opposition workers.
Videos of arson at a
BJP office with bamboo
poles and roof tiles
burning amid worried
cries of people running
away from the premises
were shared by the par-
ty. Photos of dead men,
and people scampering
with apparel looted
from a shop were every-
where on social media.
BJP claimed at least
six of its workers and
supporters including a
woman was killed in at-
tacks the party blamed
on the TMC.
The BJP shared a
video with journalists
showing a ransacked
party office in Nandi-
gram where piles of
documents, posters, and
broken furniture lay
scattered everywhere.
Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee Turn to P6
Fin Min calls for sharing of vax technologies;
says there is no space for vaccine nationalism
New Delhi: Stressing
that there cannot be any
vaccine nationalism, Fi-
nance Minister Nirma-
la Sitharaman on Mon-
day urged nations to
share technologies on
COVID vaccines amid
the pandemic. She also
pitched for examining
Trade-Related Aspects
of Intellectual Property
Rights (TRIPS) agree-
ment in the light of the
coronavirus pandemic.
“Countries will have to
be open Turn to P6
DOUBLE WHAMMY
PM decides to rope in med interns,MBBS
students to help India fight Corona war
New Delhi: Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi, on Monday,
took some decisions
that will boost the
availability of medical
personnel in COV-
ID duty. The PM
decided to post-
pone NEET-PG
for at least four
months; the
exam will not
be held before
August 31, 2021.
Students will also be
given atleast one
month of time after
the announcement of
the exam before it is
conducted. This will
make a large number
of qualified doctors
available for COVID
duties. It was also de-
cided to allow the de-
ployment of medical
interns in COVID-
management duties
under the supervision
of their faculty
, as part
of the internship rota-
tion. The services of
Final Year MBBS stu-
dents can be utilised
for providing services
like tele-consultation
and monitoring of
mild COVID cases af-
ter due orientation by
and under the supervi-
sion of faculty. This
will reduce the work-
load on existing doc-
tors engaged in COVID
duty and provide a
boost to efforts of tri-
aging. Turn to P6
‘11 CR VAX TO GOVT
IN NEXT FEW MTHS’
SC: REVISIT VAX
PRICING POLICY
New Delhi: Adar Poona-
walla the SSI CEO on
Monday ruled out pos-
sibility of ramping up
production overnight,
saying vaccine making is
a specialised process. He
added that 11 crore vac-
cines would be supplied to
government over the next
few months.
New Delhi: Supreme
Court has directed Centre
to revisit its Covid vaccine
pricing policy, saying it
would prima facie result
in a detriment to the right
to public health. SC said
compelling states to nego-
tiate with manufacturers
would result in serious
detriment for people.
READ
must
must
‘MUMBAI COULD
BE SAFER BY
JUNE 1, IF... MAMATA MEETS GOVERNOR, TENDERS
RESIGNATION AS CM; OATH ON MAY 5
Kolkata: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee
tendered her resignation as the CM to Governor
Jagdeep Dhankhar at Raj Bhavan here on Monday.
“Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called on me and
submitted her resignation as the chief minister
and the same has been accepted. She has been
requested to continue till alternative arrangements
are made,” tweeted Governor’s office. She is slated
to take oath as CM on May 5 while her cabinet
will take oath on May 6. Meanwhile, Mamata has
vowed to move court over Nandigram result.
Mumbai: Covid fatalities
likely to reduce con-
siderably in Mumbai
by June 1 provided vax
drive continues without
any hindrance and there
is no onset of a new
Covid variant, noted
an analysis carried
by scientists of Tata
Institute of Fundamental
Research. Mathematical
model closely analyzing
reasons for 2nd wave
in Mumbai predicts that
fatalities will peak in 1st
week of May but by July
1 city will be in a posi-
tion to open schools.
SC: No student be barred from virtual
or physical classes; their results be not
held up due to non-payment of fees
TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee met West Bengal Governor
Jagdeep Dhankhar at Raj Bhavan, in Kolkata on Monday.
—PHOTO
BY
PTI
Monday’s IPL match between Kolkata Knight Riders
and Royal Challengers Bangalore in Ahmedabad
has been postponed after two KKR players -- Varun
Chakaravarthy and Sandeep Warrier -- tested positive
for COVID-19, an official release stated. Delhi Capitals
have been asked to quarantine by BCCI.
COVID SCARE: MONDAY’S
IPL MATCH BETWEEN KKR
& RCB POSTPONED
CM Yogi salutes frontline workers with 25% honorarium rise
First India Bureau
Lucknow: In a bid to
encourage and honour
the tireless contribu-
tion of all frontline and
healthcare workers of
the State Health Depart-
ment, the Yogi Adity-
anath government in
Uttar Pradesh has an-
nounced to raise their
monthly honorarium
by 25 percent.
“During such chal-
lenging and testing
times, the frontline and
healthcare workers
stood like a shield, bat-
tling courageously and
selflessly to protect and
save the people and im-
prove the condition of
thestate.Theircontribu-
tion cannot be put into
words,” said the CM
while praising the con-
stant and consistent ef-
fortsof theMedicalStaff
here on Monday
. He said
that the government is
committed to provide all
support and will contin-
ue to encourage the
frontline workers.
Emphasising that
vaccination is the big-
gest weapon in the fight
against coronavirus, he
urged the doctors to en-
courage more and more
patients to get vaccinat-
ed. While highlighting
the contribution of the
frontline and health-
care workers, CM Yogi
also mentioned that not
only because of their
constant efforts, the
state has been Turn to P6
CMYogi has been spearheading UP’s fight against the dreaded coronavirus
for which he has garnered appreciation from multiple corners.
LOCKDOWN
EXTENDED
BY TWO
DAYS IN UP
Lucknow: Amid
a surge in coro-
navirus cases,
the Uttar Pradesh
government on
Monday decided
to increase the
duration of
the weekend
lockdown by 48
hours. “The co-
rona curfew from
Friday 8 pm to
Tuesday 7 am has
been extended for
48 hours. Now it
will continue till
May 6 till 7 am,”
ACS Information
Navneet Sehgal
said. More on P3
POCKET FRIENDLY MOVE
In UP, those serving as volunteers to
treat Covid-19 patients, will get an
increased 25 percent honorarium from
the prevailing NHM rates per day

UTTAR PRADESH
LUCKNOW | TUESDAY, MAY 4, 2021
02
First India Bureau
Prayagraj: The Rash-
triya Swayamsevak
Sangh has started help-
ing Corona positive peo-
ple and their attendants
during these testing
times.
It has started to deliv-
er free of cost homeo-
pathic medicine kits to
corona positive patients
living in home isolation-
and has also prepared
allopathicmedicinekits.
The Sangh is also ar-
ranging food for needy
people for past two days
besides providing food
to attendants of
Covid patients.
Apart from this, doc-
tors are providing ad-
vise on telephone to
helpthoseinhomeisola-
tion. Along with distri-
bution of homeopathic
medicine kit, medical
consultationtooisbeing
provided to the people.
A Sangh official said
the kit has been pre-
pared as per suggestion
of Dr Manish Tripathi
in-charge officer of RRT
Covid-19, Varanasi.
Similarly kits of al-
lopathic medicines
were also being made
which contains drugs
such as Azithromycin,
Ivermectin, Paraceta-
mol, Zincovit, Vitamin
C tablets, etc.
Sangh officials in-
formed that if a per-
son was able to pay
for medicines, then
only 70 %of total cost
of medicine was be-
ing taken from him
and if a person was
unable to pay meoney
for medicines, then
the medicine kit is
provided free of cost.
A group of RSS vol-
unteers are contacting
people in different lo-
calities to distribute
these medicines.
On Sunday food was
provided to 500 people
by Seva Bharati, a sub-
sidiary organization of
the Rashtriya Swayam-
sevak Sangh. The vol-
unteers provided food
to poor and needy peo-
ple near Bailey Hospi-
tal, Hanuman Mandir,
Civil Lines, Bus Station
Civil Lines, Sangam
Area, Rambagh Rail-
way crossing areas of
the city. The campaign
was led by Nagendra
Jaiswal, head of the
pranth seva.
SEWA-BHAV
FORM SPL TEAMS ON LINES
OFTEAM-9INDISTRICTS:CM
First India Bureau
Lucknow: CM Yogi Adi-
tynatah has directed set-
ting up of special teams
in each district on the
lines of his state-level
Team-9 to battle the pan-
demic thatis fast spread-
ing its tentacles from
city to rural areas now.
Issuing instructions
for establishing these
teams in all 75 districts,
the CM said accounta-
bility of all officials
should be fixed and all
the committees of the
state-level Team-9
should work actively
and their daily report
should be made availa-
ble to the CM’s Office.
Yogi also asked the
Minister of State for
Health to conduct a sur-
prise inspection of Luc-
know’s Integrated Com-
mand and Control Cen-
tre (ICCC) to ensure it is
functioning smoothly
.
Similarly, he said, all
DMs and CMOs should
be in constant contact
with the representatives
of their district and the
regional public. To fur-
ther strengthen COVID
management, sector
system should be imple-
mentedmorevigorously
in districts and sector
magistrates should con-
tinuouslytakeroundsin
their respective areas.
“They should also
visit areas outside hos-
pitals and help people in
distress. An eye should
be kept on all big and
small needs of people.
They should provide all
facilities and help to
people as per policies.
This system will be
helpful in the public in-
terest,” he said.
UP CM said, all neces-
sary efforts were being
made to improve oxygen
supply in the state. Yes-
terday, seven hundred
metric tons of oxygen
was supplied. The pro-
cess is also underway to
make oxygen gas from
the nitrogen plant by
making necessary tech-
nical changes.
“Special trains are
being operated for
smooth supply in Ba-
reilly and Moradabad
and adjoining areas.
Oxygen is also being
transported by air
service to Agra. Oxy-
gen Express will come
with 40 tonnes of oxy-
gen from Jamnagar
(Gujarat) within the
next one or two days.
Similarly
, a train with
10 tankers from Jam-
shedpur will start the
journey today. Tank-
ers are also bringing
oxygen from West
Bengal”, he said.
CM’S OFFICE TO REVIEW DAILY REPORTS
Preparefordriveagainst
Covid-19invillages:CM
First India Bureau
Lucknow: With Cov-
id-19 now threatening to
engulf rural UP, CM
Yogihasemphasisedthe
need for special vigi-
lance towards the vil-
lages.
Consequently, an ex-
tensive drive to test peo-
ple for corona infection
will be launched in all
the 97,409 revenue vil-
lages from May 5.
To effectively run the
campaign, a special two-
day training is being
provided to the ASHA
(Accredited Social
Health Activist) and
Aanganwadi workers.
“There is a need for
special vigilance to-
wards the villages. In
such a situation, a mas-
sive campaign of Covid
Testing should be con-
ducted in all the 97409
revenue villages of the
state”, said the Chief
Minister while presid-
ing over a high level re-
view meeting.
As per his instruc-
tions, as many as ten
lakh antigen tests will
be conducted in rural
areas while ten lakh
medical kits will also be
distributed during the
campaign.
The initiative of CM
Yogi aims to drive down
Covid-19ratesandtrans-
mission in the rural
area by identifying posi-
tive cases.
The CM has in-
structed to increase
the number of RRTs
(Rapid Response
Teams) to check COV-
ID-19 spread in vil-
lages across all dis-
tricts of UP
.
Members of RRTs
should make door-to-
door visits and check
body temperatures
through infra-red ther-
mometers, record oxy-
gen level with the help
of pulse oximeters and
check other symptoms
in people. After this, an-
tigen testing of those
found with Covid symp-
toms will be done, Yogi
Adityanath instructed.
He also ordered the De-
partment of Health to
complete preparations
for the successful imple-
mentation of this large
testing drive that is slat-
edtobeginfromWednes-
day
, May 5 onwards.
Testings continue on a full fledged mode in cities such as Lucknow. —FILE PHOTO
MORE TESTS
Aanganwadi
Asha workers
get trained
Health experts to
advise team 9 on
pandemic control
Yogi gets death threat
on 112 WhatsApp no.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Death threat
was received at UP 112
control room’s What-
sApp number following
with alert was issued.
FIR was filed in Sushant
Golf City police station
on complaint of Control
room headquarter 112
Operation commander
Anjul Kumar.
Sources said that sev-
eral teams have been-
formed to nab the cul-
prit and surveillance
team has been deployed
to trace location of the
perpetrator.
In message, it was
mentioned that the
person will kill Uttar
Pradesh Chief Minis-
ter Yogi Adityanath
within five days and
has challenged the po-
lice to do whatever
they can in four days.
Earlier, threat calls
for CM Adityanath were
received in September,
December months of
the year 2020. Police had
arrested one person for
making such call but he
was reported to be men-
tally challenged.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The Yogi
government is going to
set up a team of health
experts to advise the
team-9 to control the
pandemic that has cost-
ed many lives across the
state.
The Team-9 consist-
ing of ministers and
senior officers is the
core team to address the
issuesinthewakeof Co-
rona crisis and meets
daily under the chair-
manship of Chief Min-
ister Yogi Adityanath.
The reputed medical
specialists from SGPGI,
KGMU, Atal Bihari Vaj-
payee, RML Institute
will join the advisory
committee of Team 9.
The Chief Minister
has instructed the Med-
ical Education and
Health Department to
take necessary actions
with regards to the
same.
“In some cases, it has
been observed that Cov-
id’s TruNat, Antigen or
RTPCR test is not con-
firmed even though CT
scans show that his
lungs are affected by
Covid. Such a problem
has also been observed
in people without symp-
toms,” he pointed out
stressing upon having
medical expertise to
make further strategy
.
Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath further said
that an advisory panel
of health experts should
be prepared at the state
level for effective con-
trol and necessary strat-
egyonCovid,whowould
make strategies to con-
trol the pandemic.
Principal Secretary,
Medical Education,
Alok Kumar, said, “Test,
track, and treat is the
mantra to deal with the
oandemic. With around
1.30 lakhs RT-PCR test,
the State is making all
efforts to fast track test-
ing and treatment.”
A health worker vaccinating a girl at Civil Hospital of the city.
—PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR
CM Yogi calls upon sportspersons to
spread awareness against Covid-19
First India Bureau
Lucknow: UP CM Yogi
Adityanath on Monday
called upon the sport-
spersons to spread
awarness and motivate
people to adhere to Cov-
di-19 protocol and take
necessary precautions
by issuing special ap-
peals and messages.
The CM made the ap-
peal while interacting
withtheplayersthrough
virtual medium here to-
day
. He said that Corona
can be defeated by work-
ing with team spirit
with the cooperation
and coordination of all.
It is the responsibili-
ty of all of us to join the
government, society,
various organizations
and make their active
contribution in the fight
against Corona.
He said that the infor-
mation department and
the sports department
should coordinate with
the players and publi-
cize their messages in
the media. This will
spread positivity in the
society
.
During the virtual
dialogue, Suresh Raina
(cricketer) appreciated
the steps being taken by
the state government to
curb the pandemic. Vi-
jay Singh Chauhan
(Athletics) said that
there was a lot of confu-
sion in minds of people
on Covid related info.
Some people are spread-
ing negativity
. We have
to be careful with them,
he said. Ashok Dhyan-
chand (hockey) said that
a restrained lifestyle is
of great importance in
fighting Covid. The
more fit one is, the less
risk it is, he said.
RSS on help mode for Covid patients, relatives
CM Yogi presiding over a virtual meeting with noted sportspersons
including cricketer Suresh Raina, on Monday.
Yogi Speaks
Yogi Speaks
Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath has
expressed shock and
grief over the death of
Prashant Kumar, sub-
divisional magistrate,
Bareilly, who suc-
cumbed to Covid-19
on Monday.
CM has mourned
the death of
senior journalist Ram
Naresh Tripathi in
Prayagraj and Hemlata
Kulshreshtha, mother of
Sanjay Kulshrestha of
New Nation Network.
Uttar Pradesh
Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath has
deeply mourned
the death of senior
BJP spokesman, Dr
Manoj Mishra here on
Monday.
CM Yogi said that
a record of 736
MT of oxygen has
been supplied in the
state and proposals
to establish oxygen
plants in 61 districts
have been sent to the
Centre.
CM Yogi. —FILE PHOTO
Chief Minister Yogi has appealed to all to follow Covid protocols. —FILE PHOTO
—FILE PHOTO

UTTAR PRADESH
03
KEY
Highlights
COVID
VACCINE
A newly appointed PCS officer Prashant Kumar who was deputed as
SDM, Bareilly in the year 2020, passed away while being treated at
hospital. He required an air ambulance to be air lifted which couldn’t be
arranged for two days. CM Yogi has expressed shock over his death.
Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday accused
the ruling BJP government in Uttar Pradesh of remaining in “isola-
tion” and said that the frightening pictures coming from hospitals
are exposing the tall claims of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
The Bokaro Steel Plant (BSL) of SAIL has supplied
4,694.51 metric tonne of liquid medical oxygen to various
states of which, 1,561.53 tonne has been supplied to Uttar
Pradesh so far.
GB Nagar recorded 13 more fatalities linked to COVID-19,
while neighbouring Ghaziabad added five as the cumula-
tive death toll in the two districts in western Uttar Pradesh
crossed the 500-mark on Monday, official data showed.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: There are
alarming reports of
surge in Covid-19 cases
in rural areas. People
with Covid-19 symp-
toms are rushing to doc-
tors at PHCs and CHCs
which are virtually ill-
equipped to tackle the
situation.
In view of the emerg-
ing crisis the Chief
Minister Yogi Adity-
anath has ordered for
testing and tracing of
virus-hit people in vil-
lages from May 4, which
in view of poor medical
infrastructure in vil-
lages is going to be gi-
gantic task.
In this connection the
Chief Minister has
asked to constitute
monitoring teams at the
district level. During
the last one year the vil-
lagers, not taking the
pandemic seriously
considered the virus as
urban phenomenon and
did not bother to take
protective measures.
No doubt despite arriv-
al of around 25 lakh mi-
grants to rural areas,
the villages were unex-
pectedly safe from the
pandemic. But the re-
cent surge has started
consuming the lives of
people in villages. Ac-
cording to information
in the absence of trac-
ing and testing majority
of deaths are being at-
tributed to “fever and
cold” with local un-
trained doctors han-
dling the cases. From
rural areas of Saharan-
pur in west to far off
villages in Purvanchal,
cases are surfacing fast
which has also led to
rush to district hospi-
tals and private nursing
homes.
Commenting of the
situation Dr Kausar
Usmani of KGMU said
“during the first wave
we could quickly iden-
tify any new case and
isolate them as there
was lockdown and the
movement was restrict-
ed.” He said panchayat
election have also made
people to travel from far
off areas to their vil-
lages and as the virus
was this time more vir-
ulent the spread too was
faster in rural areas.
No doubt the state
election commission on
the instruction of the
SC had issued strict
guidelines to follow cov-
id protocol during poll-
ing and counting but
the images emerging
from the rural areas
presented altogether
different picture with
the local police being a
mute spectator.
Virus surge in rural areas: Village hosps ill-equipped to tackle menace

CM Yogi has
ordered for
tracing of virus-
hit people in
villages from
May 4, which in
view of poor
infrastructure in
villages to be
a gigantic task PHCs and CHCs are ill-equipped to tackle the situation.
WHEN IRONY STRIKES: Body of a man, who died of Covid-19 complications, lying on a stretcher at KGMU premises after his poverty-stricken family members couldn’t
afford an ambulance to ferry it. A commoner later came to their rescue and the family took away their loved one from there. —PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR
Despite government’s claim, shortage of
oxygen haunts hosps in Uttar Pradesh
Flipkart donates 30 ventilators to
medical institutes in Lucknow
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Despite of
state government’s
claims that there is no
shortage of oxygen or
medicines in Uttar
Pradesh, scarcity of
oxygen was major prob-
lem for the patients suf-
fering from Corona in-
fection.
Patients have to wait
for more than 12 hours
to receive oxygen sup-
ply though government
has managed supply
from Bokaro,
Jharkhand and Uttara-
khand. It was reported
that people were wait-
ing for refill of their
oxygen cylinders for
more than a day at cen-
tres and hospitals were
rejecting to admit pa-
tients due to disruptive
oxygen supply
.
Either its govern-
ment hospital or a pri-
vate hospital both were
failed to provide proper
oxygen supply to pa-
tients at ventilators.
Private hospitals were
charging huge amount
but even they were un-
able to provide consist-
ent oxygen supply to
patients. It was report-
ed that hospitals were
asking to shift patients
in case of oxygen short-
age but patients were
unable to move another
place as problem re-
mains same at almost
every hospital. Patients
who were home -isolat-
ed with oxygen support
were struggling to get
their cylinders refilled
but after waiting 17-18
hours in queue most of
the time their hands
were empty
.
It was also reported
that aged patients and
critical condition were
refused to get admis-
sion in hospitals.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Inspired by
UP Governor Anandi-
ben Patel, 30 ventilators
were made available by
an ecommerce giant
Flipkart to five medical
institutes in Lucknow
through MD of UP Med-
ical Supply Corpora-
tion Limited, Kanchan
Verma. On the occa-
sion, the UP Governor
said that during the pre-
sent Corona crisis these
ventilators will prove as
a boon for patients.
While giving detailed
information about ven-
tilator distribution, the
Managing Director in-
formed that seven ven-
tilators each were given
to SGPGI and KGMU
while 5 ventilators each
were given to RML and
Cancer Institute Luc-
know and six ventila-
tors to Balrampur Hos-
pital, Lucknow.
People have a long day at an oxygen factory to refill cylinders as stocks
exhausted at the factory, in Talkatora area in lucknow on Monday.
Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel
COPS CLUELESS
CENTRE SHOULD BEAR EXPENSES: MAYA
COVID CURFEW EXTENDED
RESTRICTIONS HAVE BEEN
EXTENDED IN STATE BY
TWO DAYS AND WILL BE IN
PLACE TILL 7 AM ON MAY 6
First India Bureau
Lucknow: In a bid to
tackle the second wave
of the Covid-19 pan-
demic, the Uttar
Pradesh government
on Monday extended
the partial Coronavirus
curfew imposed in
the state.
The restric-
tions have been
extended in the
state by two
days and will be
in place till 7 am
on 6 May, ACS Infor-
mation Navneet Sehgal
said.
The decision has
been taken for breaking
the chain of Covid-19,
he said. All shops and
establishments will
now remain closed till
Thursday 7 am.
During this period,
all essential services
will be allowed and the
Covid-19 vaccination
drive will continue.
Earlier on Thursday,
the UP government had
extended the weekend
curfew by 24 hours to
cover Mondays too
amid a sharp rise in the
number of Cov-
id-19 cases in the
state.
On April 29,
the state gov-
ernment had an-
nounced that week-
end lockdowns will now
cover Mondays too. Ut-
tar Pradesh on Monday-
recorded 288 more coro-
navirus deaths and
29,192 infections, the
Health Department
said. The toll has risen
to 14,447, while the tally
reached 13,42,413. There
are 2,85,832 active cases,
according to a health
bulletin.
COVID-19 UPDATE
TOTAL CASES
13,42,413
TOTAL DEATHS
14,447
NEW CASES
29,192
NEW DEATHS
288
Lucknow 3058
Varanasi 1,497
Kanpur 1311
Moradabad 1404
Gorakhpur 1096
Gautam Buddh 1446
NAGAR 1470
Amroha 1082
RECOVERED 38,687
ACTIVE CASES 2,85,832
DEAD BODIES RUSH AT
CREMATORIUMS COUNTERS
STATE’S OFFICIAL NUMBERS
FAMILY MEMBERS
CREATE RUCKUS
AT PVT HOSPITAL
UP BJP
LEADER
DIES OF
COVID IN
KANPUR
Even though the state’s official death count
due to Covid-19 says that 288 people died of
Covid-19, crematoriums across all major cities
and towns are flooded with bodies throughout
the day on Monday. In Lucknow and Kanpur
alone, sources said that there were more than
800 deaths as per the number of bodies brought
here for cremation. Meanwhile, UP on Monday
recorded 288 more Covid-19 deaths which
pushed the toll to 13,447 while the infection tally
rose to 13,42,413 with 29,192 fresh cases, an
official statement said. Of the fresh Covid-19
deaths, Lucknow reported 26 followed by Alla-
habad (25), Jhansi (21), Gorakhpur (19), Kanpur
and Chandauli (17 each), Gautam Buddh Nagar
(13), Varanasi (11), and Meerut (10), it said. Of
the new cases, 3,058 were reported from Luc-
know, 1,446 from Gautam Buddh Nagar, 1,404
from Moradabad, 1,311 from Kanpur, 1,222 from
Saharanpur, 1,097 from Gorakhpur, 1,082 from
Amroha and 1,022 from Varanasi, the statement
said. As many as 38,687 patients have recovered
from the disease in state taking the total number
of discharged patients to 10,43,134. The number
of active cases in the state stands at 2,85,832.
Family members of
COVID-19 patients
created ruckus after five
succumbed to the disease
at a private hospital in
Meerut on Sunday. The
relatives have alleged that
the patients died due to
disruption in the oxygen
supply. “I had a talk with
the doctors here. They
said that the patients who
died were co-morbid.
Family members alleged
that the oxygen supply
was disrupted for some
time. The allegations are
a matter of investiga-
tion,” said CMO of Meerut
Akhilesh Mohan. “The
oxygen supply is very
tight,” he added.
Spokesperson of Bharatiya
Janata Party in Uttar Pradesh
Manoj Mishra died due to
COVID-19 in the wee hours on
Monday. He was admitted to a
hospital in Kanpur after he had
tested positive for COVID-19.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath condoled his demise.
“Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath ji has expressed deep
grief on the demise of Dr Manoj
Mishra, senior spokesperson of
the Bharatiya Janata Party,” read
a statement issued by the Chief
Minister’s office. —Agency
Manoj Mishra

l Vol 1 l Issue No. 143 l RNI NO. UPENG/2020/04393. Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Amar Ujala Ltd. B-5 Amausi Industrial Area Kanpur Road Lucknow.
Published at 98, Friend’’s Colony, Raheem Nagar, Dudouli Road, Madiyaon, Lucknow (UP). Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra. Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act
PERSPECTIVE
04
‘KHELA SHESH’
FOR BJP AS
BENGAL VOTES FOR
MAMATA AGAIN
f the five states that went to polls
West Bengal and Kerala threw up
results which proved how wrong
Exit polls can be. Some pollsters
gave Mamata Banerjee a slender
edge while others predicted a lead for the
Bharatiya Janata Party. Eventually people
of the state voted for the Bengali pride with
a thumping two-thirds majority to prevent
‘outsiders’ from trampling the state’s syn-
cretic culture. With the Election Commis-
sion playing blind to the BJP aggressively
playing the Hindutva card, the party fared
badly in Hindu dominated Purulia,
Jhaadgram, Bankura, East Midnapore and
West Midnapore districts which have close
to 90 percent Hindu population. If this was
a strong rebuff to the politics of religion and
jumlas, then all AIMIM candidates losing
their deposits is a stronger repudiation of
communal politics. West Bengal is not the
only state which gave thumbs down to poli-
tics of hate --- the BJP did not win a single
seat in Kerala where it played the Sabari-
mala and love jihad cards in the hope of
coalescing Hindu votes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit
Shah had made West Bengal elections a pres-
tige issue. The Election Commission blatant-
ly danced to the BJP’s tune to ensure victory
for the party but failed. That the CEC was
made the Governor of Goa a day after his
retirement is enough to shatter one’s faith in
the democratic system as it exists now. The
only consolation the BJP got in the end was
its controversial victory in Nandigram.
Mamata played for the match and not a point.
“Khela hobe” she said and emerged the win-
ner. “Didi, khela shesh hobe,” Modi slammed
Mamata. The game did end, but for the BJP.
Now it has to be seen how long the BJP will
take to start its favourite “khela” of grabbing
power through the back door, the way it did
in Goa, Manipur and Madhya Pradesh. There
will be no dearth of Brutus’s hungry for
money and a ministerial berth. One can only
hope that the BJP won’t drive the proverbial
final nail by undermining electoral politics
in that manner.
With this stupendous performance Mama-
ta may emerge as the fulcrum of opposition
unity minus the Congress at the national
level. By clinging on to the Gandhis the Con-
gress has made itself irrelevant anyway.
Pinarayi Vijayan, the Kerala Chief Minister
who created history by leading the Left Dem-
ocratic Front to power for a second consecu-
tive term in the 40-year history of Kerala,
has shown his inclination for a national
grouping minus the BJP and the Congress.
But that can wait.
Already facing its toughest test because
of mishandling of the pandemic, the elec-
tion results have come as a double whammy
but the party’s communal strategy is un-
likely to change even if it means losing Ut-
tar Pradesh in 2022.
IN-DEPTH
O orldwide, third May is celebrat-
ed as press freedom day, how-
ever, do we truly have press
freedom in India? Some ideolo-
gists who are not comfortable
with Modi Government’s act
and action, feel that their free-
dom of speech and sabotaged in
some way or the other. Accord-
ing to World Press Freedom In-
dex, 2021 India has been listed
under countries considered
“bad” for journalism and is
among the most dangerous
places in the world for journal-
ists. Whether this is true or not,
it is a subject of debate but it is
also a fact that certain elements
took undue privilege during
UPA government are now un-
employed or their existence is
totally finished. No country in
worldenjoysfreedomof speech,
like in India, be it either citi-
zens or media persons. After
Independence of India and till
date, Narendra Modi is the only
leader in our nation who has
faced maximum criticism and
abuses. Then, how can we say
that freedom of press is under
kind of threat from the ruling
Government.
It is quite clear that media in-
cluding print, electronic and so-
cial media has always been to-
tally free to speak up against
ModiGovernment.Forinstance,
duringfarmerprotest,revokeof
article 370 in Kashmir, even in
Covid-19 situation, all platforms
have been flooding with criti-
cism. Then how can fear mon-
gers spread wrong information
that freedom of media is con-
trolled by the government?
Professional journalism, as-
sociations, individual news or-
ganizations, and journalists
themselves often have their
own “code of ethic”, however,
most share these basic princi-
ples: truthfulness, accuracy,
objectivity, impartiality, fair-
ness, and public accountability
.
Whether these ethics are being
followed by us? We as a media
person need to ask our-self.
Media is now referred to as
an industry and we are not ex-
pected to own ethics. In fact,
certain media houses are actu-
ally a side business venture of
owners of alternate profes-
sions. The journalists of such
organizations have to blindly
follow directions of their boss-
es to earn their bread and but-
ter. Recently an open letter
from the former and current
employees of a reputed media
organization become viral on
social media. It directly blamed
the management for not allow-
ing ethics of journalism to sur-
vive. If it was true, then it is
very unfortunate. In this the
current scenario, role of media
becomes questionable and cred-
ibility goes down. Who is re-
sponsible here?
Many journalists also abide
by the principle of “limitation
of harm” which means that
they have a responsibility to
not harm others while report-
ing a story. This is one major
difference between profession-
al journalists reporting for
“reputable” news organiza-
tions as opposed to fringe news
sources and fake news crea-
tors. Nowadays these ethics are
forgotten, views are given more
than news in print and elec-
tronic media both.
Why credibility of media is
decreasing day by day is a topic
we should ponder upon as a me-
dia fraternity
. Some media or-
ganizations extremely favour
Government while other ex-
tremelyopposetheGovernment.
In this scenario, social media
has evolved as a powerful tool;
but in wrong hands, it can do
moreharmthangoodbyspread-
ing unverified and fake news.
Mahatma Gandhi looked
upon journalism as a means to
serve the people. He said in his
autobiography: “The sole aim
of journalism should be ser-
vice. The newspaper is a great
power, but just as an unchained
torrent of water submerges
whole countryside and devas-
tates crops, even so an uncon-
trolled pen serves to destroy
.”
The power and significance
of media in a democratic soci-
ety is illustrious. The media
works as a watchdog of the gov-
ernment and carries each re-
port of the actions of adminis-
tration thereby keeping the in-
dividuals acquainted with the
day to day happenings that are
going down around them. For
appropriate functioning of a
democratic system, there
should be transparency and au-
thority. Democracy cannot be
successful without free press.
Free press is an indivisible part
of democracy as it is also the
voice of the people. Freedom of
speech and expression is one
such right that the citizens are
entitled to. Media is the sword
arm of democracy; it plays a
very significant role in Indian
democracy
. Every individual is
a medium of expression. Media
plays very emphatic role in
awakening people against
many evils prevailing in the so-
ciety like child marriage, kill-
ing of female unborn child, the
evil practice of child labour etc.
Modern media i.e. electronic
and social media has enhanced
the quality of democratic pro-
cess by providing a platform for
public participation on issues
of national or social concern in
a manner that is able to influ-
ence the Government.
In the Manu Sharma matter,
SupremeCourtof Indiapointed
out the dangers of a “media
trial”. It observed that there ex-
isted a serious risk of freedom
in so far as carrying out parallel
trial procedures without being
held up to any standard.
Media reporting during Su-
shant Singh Rajput death case
was also criticised amongst all
corners. In race of TRP, elec-
tronic media has somewhere
forgotten their actual role.
India is not a country like
Iran,Iraq,AfghanistanorChina
wheremediahousesdonothave
completefreedomof journalism
but the challenge before us is
how to save our own credibility?
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
DO WE HAVE PRESS
FREEDOM IN INDIA?
W
Professional
journalism,
associations,
individual news
organizations,
and journalists
themselves often
have their own
“code of ethic”,
however, most
share these basic
principles:
truthfulness,
accuracy,
objectivity,
impartiality,
fairness, and
public
accountability.
Whether these
ethics are being
followed by us?
We as a media
person need to
ask our-self
MEDIA IS NOW
REFERRED TO AS AN
INDUSTRY AND WE ARE
NOT EXPECTED TO
OWN ETHICS. IN FACT,
CERTAIN MEDIA
HOUSES ARE ACTUALLY
A SIDE BUSINESS
VENTURE OF OWNERS
OF ALTERNATE
PROFESSIONS
SANNGEETA
SSHUKLA
THE WRITER IS
FREELANCER COLUMNIST
emories are of-
ten considered
very personal
and private.
Yet, in the past
few years, people have got
used to notifications from
social media or phone gal-
leries telling them they
have a “memory”.
These repackaged ver-
sions of the past affect not
just what we remember but
also the attachments we
have with those memories.
In a new study, we found
social media has the poten-
tial to change how people
feel about their memories.
Social media metrics
such as Facebook “likes”
can negatively impact how
people feel about certain
memories, especially if
these memories are shared
without getting many
likes. Beyond this, the an-
ticipation of social media
judgements about the past
can also impact on what
memories people share
and how.
With the aim of under-
standing the everyday
presence of these automat-
ed memories, we drew
upon detailed interviews
and focus groups with
around 60 social media us-
ers. In particular, we
looked at how people use
features such as Timehop,
Facebook memories and
Apple memories.
We asked participants
about their experiences of
being reminded of memo-
ries by these different fea-
tures. While some found
the features to be creepy
and invasive, others found
them a useful reminder of
previous experiences they
had forgotten.
We also asked whether
the number of likes a
shared memory received
had any impact on them. In
some cases, participants
felt differently about their
memories depending on
the number of likes.
VALIDATION
For some, memories have
come to be validated, in
part, through social media
likes, which are felt to be a
judgement on a memory’s
worth. For instance, one
participant noted that, al-
though a memory is spe-
cial to the individual, “you
are constantly depending
on others and what they
think of your memories”.
On the other hand, not
getting enough likes could
sometimes erode the per-
sonal value attached to
memories. Another par-
ticipant said if he shared a
memory and only got three
likes, that a low number of
likes would become part of
the memory
.
The participants were
aware this is happening,
but said it was hard to
break from what has been
described as the “like econ-
omy”. Even though partici-
pants acknowledged their
memories were personal
and shouldn’t be affected
by social networks, some
still found they were think-
ing differently about an
event because of its social
media reaction. As one
participant noted, “You
find yourself, almost in
spite of yourself, caring
about the likes number.”
Of course, not all memo-
ries were impacted by so-
cial media metrics. Some
were considered too small
to be of wider interest. As
one participant said, “If
it’s just a picture of you
and your friend doing some
dumb thing and it gets no
likes, you are like “what-
ever”.” Yet, for other types
of shared memories, the
number of likes still
seemed to be an inescapa-
ble judgement.
SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION
Facebook ‘likes’ change how you feel about your memories
M
Now to him who is able to do
immeasurably more than all
we ask or imagine, according
to his power that is at work
within us. —Ephesians 3:20
Spiritual
SPEAK
Top
TWEET
Piyush Goyal
@PiyushGoyal
Facing the once in a century
challenge of COVID-19 head
on, 20 #OxygenExpress trains
have completed their journey,
delivering 1,125 metric tonnes of
Oxygen. 7 more Oxygen Express
trains are on the run with 422
metric tonnes of Oxygen.
Anand Sharma
@AnandSharmaINC
A Constitution bench of the
Supreme Court should decide
on the Composition , qualifying
criteria for the appointment of
CEC & EC’s and firm guidelines
for the conduct of free and fair
elections as per the Constitution.

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INDIA
06
CM Yogi salutes ...
able to conduct the
maximum amount of
COVID tests, which
played an important
role in bringing down
the transmission levels
of the infection, but
also the state has been
improving in terms of
recovered patients as
the recovery rate has
been getting better con-
sistently
.
President of UP
Pharmacist Federa-
tion, Sunil Yadav and
General Secretary of
Government Nurses’
Association, Ashok Ku-
mar have expressed
their special gratitude
to CM Yogi and have
welcomed the State
Government’s decision.
The government has
also undertaken sever-
al measures to increase
manpower in the hospi-
tals and also to deal
with the shortage of
staff. The Frontline and
Healthcare workers of
the State Health De-
partment have ex-
pressed their immense
gratitude to Chief Min-
ister Yogi Adityanath
for increasing their fi-
nancial incentives.
Intensifying meas-
ures to curb the spread
of the deadly virus and
to increase the man-
power in the hospitals,
the Yogi Government
has announced to rope
in final year medical
and paramedical stu-
dents. The State gov-
ernment has also an-
nounced a special pack-
age to encourage their
contribution to equip
the state with a trained
man force. The final
year students will not
only be able to gain ex-
perience but will also
be provided many other
fruitful opportunities
along with encouraging
incentives.
PM decides...
The services of Final
Year PG students (broad
as well as super-special-
ities) as residents may
continue to be utilised
until fresh batches of
PGstudentshavejoined.
Apart from it, BSc/
GNM-qualified nurses
may be utilised in full-
time COVID nursing du-
ties under the supervi-
sion of senior doctors
and nurses.
The individuals pro-
viding services in COV-
ID management will be
given priority in forth-
coming regular govern-
ment recruitments after
they complete a mini-
mum of 100 days of
COVID duty
.
The medical stu-
dents/professionals
sought to be engaged in
COVID-related work
will be suitably vacci-
nated. All health profes-
sionals thus engaged
will be covered under
the insurance scheme
of the government for
health workers engaged
in fighting COVID-19.
Allsuchprofessionals
who sign up for a mini-
mum of 100 days of
COVID duty and com-
plete it successfully will
also be given the PM’s
distinguished COVID
National Service Sam-
man from the Govern-
ment of India. —PTI
Fin Min...
about sharing vaccine-
based technologies. The
TRIPS agreement will
have to be looked at in
the context of the pan-
demic. There cannot be
any more vaccine na-
tionalism, countries
will have to be flexible
about it,” she said at the
annual meet of the
Asian Development
Bank (ADB).
TheTRIPSagreement
is a legal pact between
all the member nations
of the World Trade Or-
ganization (WTO). It es-
tablishes minimum
standards for regulation
by national govern-
mentsof differentforms
of intellectual property
as applied to nationals
of other WTO member
nations.
Centre, Guv...
had Sunday lost the seat
to her former lieuten-
ant-turned-adversary
Suvendu Adhikari.
Governor Jagdeep
Dhankhar summoned
state Home Secretary,
DGP and Kolkata Com-
missioner of Police and
directed them to restore
peace. He discussed
with them the situation
following the incidents
that took place a day af-
ter the ruling TMC re-
turned to power with an
overwhelming majority
crushing the BJP. He
alsoseparatelymetDGP
P Nirajnayan and Police
Commissioner Soumen
Mitra and directed them
to restore law and order.
“MHAhasaskedWest
Bengal Government for
a report on the post-elec-
tion violence targeting
opposition political
workers in the state,” a
spokesperson from the
ministry tweeted.
BJP leader Kailash
Vijayvargiya on Mon-
day accused Mamata
Banerjee of “sponsor-
ing” violence against
his party workers fol-
lowing the TMC’s win in
the state polls, and as-
serted the results can-
not be deemed a setback
for the saffron party as
it has made “unprece-
dented” gains despite
the defeat.
FROM PG 1
New Delhi: Senior Ad-
vocate Rahul Mehra,
appearing for the Delhi
government, on Mon-
day informed the Delhi
High Court that Deputy
Chief Minister of Delhi
Manish Sisodia has
written to Union De-
fence Minister Rajnath
Singh for the assistance
of Army to handle
COVID-19.
Senior Advocate
Mehra read the Delhi
Government letter be-
fore the Delhi High
Court. He informed the
court that the Delhi gov-
ernment wrote to the
Minister for lending
services of armed forc-
es to set up and opera-
tionalise COVID facili-
ties with about 10,000
oxygenated non-ICU
beds and 1000 ICU beds.
A Division Bench of
Justices Vipin Sanghi
and Rakha Palli asked
the Central government
counsel to take instruc-
tion on the communica-
tion by Delhi’s Deputy
CM to Union Defence
Minister.
Earlier today, a Pub-
lic Interest Litigation
(PIL) was moved in the
Delhi High Court seek-
ing for handing over of
management of oxygen
supplies, including lo-
gistical aspect, in and
around Delhi to Armed
Forces for ensuring un-
interrupted supply to
hospitals and COVID
facility
.
Delhi HC is already
hearing a matter re-
garding the supply of
oxygen in Delhi hospi-
tals and other related
issues.
The public interest
litigation was men-
tioned before the divi-
sion bench for urgent
listing today by Senior
Advocates Abhinav Va-
sisht, Sacchin Puri, and
Jagdeep Singh Bakshi.
The petition titled as
Manish Gupta Vs.
GNCTD has been filed
by advocates Praveen K
Sharma, and Kamil
Khan.
The petition has
sought for handing over
the management of 02
supplies to the Forces.
—ANI
Delhi govt seeks Army’s help
to set up hosp with ICU beds
Urgent need for 20 mn vaccine to
cover supply interruption: WHO
Sisodia wrote to Raksha Mantri to help run Covid health facilities in National Capital
Covid-19 patients on oxygen support provided by Gurdwara as an “oxygen langar” for patients.
New Delhi: India reg-
istered a slight dip in
COVID-19 cases as it
registered 3,68,147
new coronavirus in-
fections and 3,417 re-
lated deaths in the last
24 hours, informed the
union health ministry
on Monday morning.
With this, the cumula-
tive count of the cases
has gone up to
1,99,25,604. The daily
spike had reached its
peak of over four lakh
cases on May 1 but
came down to 392,488
cases yesterday. The
cumulative death toll
has mounted to
2,18,959. Currently,
there are 34,13,642 ac-
tive cases of COVID-19
in the country, as per
the government data.
The country also
witnessed as many as
3,00,732 recoveries in
the said period, taking
the cumulative recov-
eries to 16,29,3003.
According to the In-
dian Council of Medi-
cal Research (ICMR),
as many as 29,16,47,037
samples have been
tested for COVID-19
up to May 2. Of these
15,04,698 samples were
tested on Sunday
.
The total doses of
the COVID-19 vaccine
administered stand at
over 15,71,98,207, in-
formed the health
ministry
.
India is currently
dealing with a devas-
tating second Covid-19
wave that has swept
through the nation,
crushing the coun-
try’s health infra-
structure and over-
burdening frontline
medical workers. —ANI
India reports 3,68,147
new COVID-19 cases
SLIGHT DIP
Family members mourn the death of a COVID-19 victim
New Delhi: Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Monday said
that the vaccination against Covid-19 has begun 301 centres for benefi-
ciaries aged 18-44 across the national capital. “Vaccination has started at
76 schools of Delhi government today. With this, vaccination has begun
at 301 centres for the 18-45 age group. Our target is to make 10 centres
at every school. We will continue to expand the number of centres as we
receive more vaccines,” said Sisodia after his visit to vaccination centre.
New Delhi: The Delhi HC on Monday dismissed a PIL seeking direction to take
an undertaking from the receiver of plasma that once recovered, he would
donate the plasma within 14 to 28 days after being tested negative instead of
first asking them to find a donor. “Failure to do so shall lead to legal proceed-
ings,” the plea stated. A bench of Justice DN Patel and Justice Jasmeet Singh
on Monday while dismissing the plea raised several questions.
New Delhi: The Delhi government on
Monday rushed ten D-type oxygen
cylinders to the IBS hospital in Lajpat
Nagar after an SOS was received
regarding the shortage of medical
oxygen. “We have rushed 10 D-type
oxygen cylinders from our SOS
reserves to IBS hospital in Lajpat
Nagar, which would help them tide
over the crisis,” AAP MLA Raghav
Chadha said on Twitter.
Pune: Doctors and
health care staff across
the world have been at
the forefront in the fight
against coronavirus . In
one such instance, a
doctor at Pune’s Sanjee-
van Hospital Dr
Mukund Penurkar lost
his father to COVID-19
on April 26. Not only
that, his brother and
mother got infected
with coronavirus at the
same time.
Assam: Jailed anti-
CAA activist Akhil Go-
goi became the first As-
samese to win an elec-
tion without hitting the
campaign trail, as he
clinched the Sibsagar
constituency, defeating
his nearest rival Surab-
hi Rajkonwari of the
BJP by a decisive 11,875
votes. The founder of
the newly floated Raijor
Dal — arrested in Dec
2019 over sedition
charges — bagged
57,219 votes as an Inde-
pendent, garnering sup-
port from 46.06 per cent
of the electorate. “Go-
goi won because he
identified with People’s
sentiments,” Rahman
Barbhuiya told PTI.
New Delhi: US pharma giant Pfizer
has donated medical supplies worth
$70 million, including drugs to treat
Coronavirus disease (Covid-19), to
India, the company said in a state-
ment on Monday, adding it was in
talks with the Indian government to
expedite its Covid-19 vaccine ap-
proval in India. The supplies of items
that are a part of Covid-19 treatment.
New Delhi: Amid the shortage of
medical oxygen across the country
due to a massive surge in COVID-19
cases, Delhi has got its first COVID
care centre with its own oxygen plant
at the Commonwealth Games village
Sports complex. The oxygen plant
can supply oxygen to 18-20 patients
simultaneously. Dr Anurag Mishra,
Clinical Manager at the COVID care
centre, told ANI.
New Delhi: Indian Railways has
stated it has delivered 1125 Met-
ric Tonnes (MT) of Liquid Medical
Oxygen (LMO) in 76 tankers to vari-
ous states. It noted that 20 Oxygen
Expresses have completed their jour-
neys till now. The Indian Railways
added that currently 7 more loaded
Oxygen Expresses are carrying 422
MT (approx.) of LMO.
COVID-19 VACCINATION BEGINS FOR 18-45 AGE GROUP
DELHI HC DISMISSES PIL SEEKING PLASMA DONATION
DELHI GOVT PROVIDES 10 O2
CYLINDERS TO IBS HOSPITAL
Pune doctor
works even as
his father die
Gogoi first to
win election
from jail
PFIZER DONATES $70 MN
MEDICAL SUPPLIES
DELHI’S 1ST COVID CENTRE
WITH OWN OXYGEN PLANT
RAILWAYS DELIVERED
NEARLY 1125 MT OF LMO
Bhopal: CM Shivraj
Singh Chouhan on
Monday declared all
journalists as frontline
workers. Shivraj Singh
Chauhan informed that
the vaccination drive
against COVID-19 for
people aged 18 to 45 will
not begin from May 1 in
MP as vaccines are not
available. While speak-
ing at a press confer-
ence, the CM said the
state government had
spoken to both the coun-
try’s COVID-19 vaccine
manufacturers - Serum
Institue of India and
Bharat Biotech, and
were informed that
they would not be able
to provide doses of the
vaccine. According to
the state health depart-
ment, Madhya Pradesh
reported 12,662 new
COVID-19 cases on Sun-
day, taking the tally of
Covid positive cases to
5,75,706. Earlier today,
Odisha CM Naveen Pat-
naik and Bihar Chief
Minister Nitish Kumar
declared the same for
working journalists.
New York: COVAX, the
global alliance to en-
sure equitable access to
COVID-19 vaccines, ur-
gently needs 20 million
doses to cover interrup-
tions in supply trig-
gered by increased de-
mands for jabs in India,
which is the main sup-
plier of the AstraZene-
ca vaccines, the World
Health Organisation
said on Monday.
Pune-based Serum
Institute of India (SII),
the world’s largest vac-
cine-maker by volume,
is manufacturing Cov-
ishield, the coronavi-
rus vaccine developed
by Oxford University
and British-Swedish
pharma major Astra-
Zeneca.
“COVAX urgently
needs 20 million doses
during the second
quarter of 2021 to cover
interruptions in supply
triggered by increased
demands for vaccines
in India where COV-
AX’s main supplier of
the AstraZeneca prod-
uct is based,” accord-
ing to a WHO press re-
lease.
India is struggling
with a second wave of
the pandemic with
more than 3,00,000 dai-
ly new coronavirus
cases being reported in
the past few days.
Meanwhile, Sweden
on Monday announced
to share one million
doses of AstraZeneca
vaccine with the COV-
AX facility, a move wel-
comed by WHO Direc-
tor-General Dr Tedros
Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Meanwhile, with In-
dia widening the vac-
cine net to include eve-
ryone over 18, there is
pressure on the centre
and state governments
to find enough doses for
everyone eligible. —PTI
Shivraj Singh Chouhan declares
journalist as frontline workers
Young beneficiaries pose after getting the first dose of COVID-19
vaccine in New Delhi on Monday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Shivraj Singh Chouhan

NEWS
07
24-YEAR-OLD
PRADHAN
WHO QUIT PCS
PREPARATIONS
One of the
surprising
results was the win
of Anshita Sharma,
a PCS aspirant
who decided to
follow politics
while leaving behind her dream of
becoming a PCS officer. She said
that while cracking PCS is her
dream, it is also her duty to
improve the bad condition of her
village. Anshita Sharma (24),
comes from a village named
Bhairampur said that her village
being deprived of basic facilities
forced her to put her foot into
politics hoping to change the
condition of her village. She said
that she returned from Prayagraj
from where she was pursuing
PCS exam after Corona cases
started increasing. She added that
she was criticized by many of her
knowns when she went to file her
nomination but said that it didn’t
deter her. Anshita’s determination
was well supported by the
villagers as they ensured that she
went on to become the Gram
Pradhan of Bhairampur village.
Anshita said that she wants to
transform her village into a model
village and will also follow her
PCS dream when the right time
comes. The D-day of the 3-tier
Panchayat elections threw some
expected as well as some
surprising results with many well-
known faces not getting elected
while at the same time young
leaders grabbing some important
positions in the elections.
—Amit Baliyan
ON WEDDING
DAY, BRIDE
BECOMES BDC
Abride who upon receiving
information of her win in the
Panchayat election rushes to
counting station mid-wedding.
Poonam, daughter of
Gangasaran of the village
Mohammadpur Jadid in the
Rampur region had her wedding
to take place on the same day as
the day of counting of the votes
for the Panchayat elections in
the state. As per schedule, her
wedding was taking place in the
village of Bafari Buzurg, Bareilly.
Poonam who was taking part in
the rituals, when told that she
had become the BDC after
defeating her nearest rival
Shakuntala by 31, Poona’s
happiness knew no bound as
she rushed to the counting
station unable to contain her
excitement. The news of her
winning had made her forget
that she was about to be married
in a few hours and after reaching
the counting station, received
the certificate of victory
personally. Poonam, speaking to
reporters after receiving the
certificate said that she was very
happy to be elected as the BDC.
She added that she had won on
the same day as her wedding
which makes it even special.
Poonam said that while the
wedding was almost done only
the exchanging of vows were
remaining. Poonam after
receiving the certificate got
married in her village and
exclaimed that she would never
forget this memorable moment.
— Ahtesham Siddiqui
First India Bureau
Gorakhpur: Utter cha-
os is prevalent in Covid
Hospital in Baba Ra-
ghavdas Medical Col-
lege. Lack of providing
information pertaining
to status of patients by
help desk has added to
the chaos. After death
of patient, handing
over bodies to family
members is delayed by
5 to 6 hours.
Reports revealed,
post death of patients,
their bodies are not be-
ing shifted from the
ward and continue to
remain on bed, which is
causing immense prob-
lem to nearby patients.
Request to doctors,
nurses and ward boys
fail to provide relief to
attendants of patients.
A woman died in Cov-
id Hospital on Saturday
evening, information
about which was given
to family members.
After waiting for an
hourfor the body
, family
contacted the nurse at
the help desk who asked
them to wait.
However, after four
hours the body could
not be handed over to
family members, who
after losing their cool
started protesting out-
side the hospital, result-
ing in arrival of police.
The body of the woman
was handed over to fam-
ily at 12:30 pm.
Similarly, mobile
phone of a young man
admitted in Covid Hos-
pital, at Baba Raghav-
das Medical College
stopped receiving calls
during night. In the last
call he had informed
about his serious condi-
tion and requested for
being taken away from
the hospital. Owing tol-
ack of communication,
family members of the
man approached the
help desk seeking infor-
mation about him who
were asked to wait.
No information was
provided by help desk
all through the night
and finally in the morn-
ing the man died. The
family members re-
quested for his body
which could be handed
over in the afternoon.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Prof Naray-
an Prasad, Head of De-
partment of Neurology
,
Sanjay Gandhi Post
GraduateInstitute(SGP-
GI) said that peak of Co-
rona was nearing its end
and advised for taking
precaution for next 14
days. He said number of
Corona infected people
was decreasing as the
number was reduced to
half. A look at statistics
of Covid India in Luc-
know revealed that the
recovery rate was con-
tinuously increasing
and the number of in-
fected patients was de-
creasing.
In past five days, 6000
cases were coming up
daily
, which has now de-
clined to around 3000.
Awareness was the big-
gest thing behind the de-
clineinCoronacases.All
the traders decided on
their own to close down
shops while people
stopped leaving their
homes. Even without
lockdowninthemarket,
thenumberseemedtobe
low.Alongwiththis,peo-
ple were also following
rules like wearing mask
and maintaining social
distance.
Prof Narayan said the
next 2 weeks were very
important to maintain
the trend and everyone
had to work together to
keep this trend intact.
Everybody should wear
mask besides avoid go-
ing to the market. Prof
Narayan said that if
someone showed symp-
toms in the house, then
he should be isolated
which would save other
family members from
the infection.
He said not to avoid
taking the vaccine be-
sides if a person was in-
fected, he should take
medicines do yoga. Only
some people may have
trouble like thopse suf-
fering with blood pres-
sure and diabetes.
Prof Narayan Prasad
said that the incubation
period (time for symp-
toms to appear after the
virus enters the body) of
Coronavirus was two
days to 14 days. The
chain could break if the
person was isolated im-
mediately after symp-
toms of infection, from 2
to 14 days. Two weeks’
precaution should be
strictly followed.
Mismanagement at
BRD delays handing
over bodies by 6 hrs
Corona peak nearing
end,takeprecautions
for next 14 days: Doc
IN RAIN TO GET A JAB
People above 18 queue at a vaccination center for Covid-19, at Moti Lal Nehru Medical College in Prayagraj on Monday.
Case against 150 under Epidemic
Act for gathering at counting centre
First India Bureau
Sitapur: Police have
registered case against
150 persons for violat-
ing Covid protocol and
guidelines repeatedly
at counting centre in
Green Field Academy
in Hargaon town.
Police sources here
said that after repeated
warning from police
supported of Pradhan
candidates were violat-
ing Corona protocols
and ignoring the warn-
ings. On complaint of
sub-inspector Umakant
Savita case was regis-
tered against 150 uni-
dentified persons un-
der Epidemic Diseases
Act 1897.
In his complaint SI
Umakant said that hun-
dreds of miscreants
were ignoring the
warnings of adminis-
trative officers and po-
lice personals to follow
the Corona guidelines.
After several warnings
cases was registered
against 150 unidenti-
fied perpetrators and
further actions would
be taken after investi-
gations.
It was reported that
police had to detain sev-
eral persons to main-
tain law and order at
the centre. They were
released after strict
warning. Also, several
supporters were with-
out mask and creating
panic among others
they were warned to
wear mask or leave the
place immediately
.
SGPGI, Lucknow.
BRD Hospital, Gorakhpur.
First India Bureau
Noida: Doctors in Gau-
tam Buddh Nagar will
not ask attendants to ar-
range oxygen for their
COVID-19 positive pa-
tients at private hospi-
tals, which will have to
bear the onus of making
such arrangements,
Chief Medical Officer
Deepak Ohri said on
Monday
.
The development
comes in the wake of
multiple hospitals in
Noida and Greater Noi-
da claiming shortage of
medical oxygen and sev-
eral people facing acute
difficulties in procuring
their patients in hospi-
tals and home isolation.
However, the district
administration has re-
futed such claims and
said it has made ade-
quate availability of ox-
ygen and medicines and
scaling up its efforts for
more as the second wave
of the pandemic hit peo-
ple hard.
All private doctors
are being directed to not
ask relative or attendant
of any patient to pro-
cure oxygen cylinders
because it leads to prob-
lematic situation and
causes trouble to every-
one. Hence, it is being
stopped with immediate
effect, the CMO stated in
an order issued Monday
evening.
Ohri said the direc-
tion has been issued to
prevent causing incon-
venience to attendants
of COVID-19 patients as
the responsibility for
oxygen arrangement
has been fixed on pri-
vate hospitals.
The attendants of
COVID-19 patients are
already in trouble and
some hospitals have
asked them to arrange
which they run pillar to
postandstandinqueues
for hours. This cannot
be allowed to happen.
Now the hospitals will
have to ensure availabil-
ity of oxygen for pa-
tients and they can use
their own staff to fetch
cylinders if need be,
Ohri told PTI.
Asked about the situ-
ation of oxygen availa-
bility in hospitals of
Gautam Buddh Nagar,
the CMO said, Hospitals
are being provided oxy-
gen in adequate quanti-
ty and there is no need
for panic. More patients
are admitted to hospi-
tals depending on the
availabilityof resources
in them. Gautam Buddh
Nagar is one of the
worst-hit districts in Ut-
tar Pradesh with 250
deaths linked to COV-
ID-19 and 7,982 active
cases while its overall
infection tally stood at
45,792, according to offi-
cials figures on Monday
.
DOCTORS IN GAUTAM BUDDH NAGAR WILL NOT
ASK ATTENDANTS TO ARRANGE OXYGEN: CMO

08
2NDFRONT
M Tariq Khan
Lucknow: The Covid
-19 has hit civil serv-
ants hard not only in
Uttar Pradesh but also
those posted outside
the State, who are now
seeking transfer back
home on grounds of
‘personal hardships.’
The latest officer to
get the nod of the Ap-
pointment Committee
of Cabinet under DoPT
is Anand Prakash Ti-
wari, an IPS officer of
2004. Presently posted
in Assam-Meghalaya
cadre, Tiwari had
sought his transfer
back to his home state
on grounds of personal
hardships for three
years.
According to the
sources in the ap-
pointments depart-
ment confirm that
they have been be-
seeched by bureau-
crats requesting inter-
cadre transfer to their
home state, mostly on
health grounds. The
DoPT revealed, they
has adopted a sympa-
thetic approach in
this hour of crisis for
the officers and so far
approved more than
half-a-dozen such re-
quests for transfer
from UP cadre IAS
and IPS officers.
Prominent among
those who have sought
inter-cadre transfer on
‘health and personal
grounds’ are Shruti
Singh, Pinky Jowel,
Hrishekesh B Yashod
and Brahma Deo Ram
Tiwari etc. More than
a dozen senior IAS of-
ficers in UP have test-
ed positive and there
number is increasing
by the day.
The biggest jolt to
the fraternity came
on April 29, when one
of its most senior of-
ficers Deepak Trivedi
of the 1985 batch fell
victim to the deadly
virus just a day before
he was to hang up
boots as chairman of
UP Revenue Board.
The post has been ly-
ing vacant ever since.
COVETING INTER-CADRE TRANSFER ON C-SCARE
lll
Sources confirm
that they have
been beseeched
by bureaucrats
requesting
inter-cadre
transfer to their
home state,
mostly on
health grounds LOK BHAWAN —FILE PHOTO
IN THE HOUR OF CRISIS
UP: Pandit Deendayal hospital
demands `8000 for dead body
UP hospital declares woman
dead, family claims she was alive
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Corona out-
break continues in Ut-
tar Pradesh. At the
same time, there are
many reports of profi-
teering of hospitals. A
similar case has come to
light from Pandit Deen-
dayalUpadhyayhospital
in Aligarh. It is alleged
that a son was asked for
Rs 8,000 at Deendayal
Hospital to collect his
mother’s body
.
The hospital imme-
diately handed over the
woman’s body when
the case went viral on
social media. Later, a
written statement is-
sued by the DM office
said that no staff per-
sonnel had demanded
Rs 8,000 from him, but
was demanded from
him by an unidentified
person. The investiga-
tion into the case has
been handed over to
SDM Coal. Shankar’s
mother from Aligarh
died on April 30 at Pan-
dit Deendayal Hospital
due to corona infection.
The youth has been vis-
iting the hospital ever
since to collect the body
of his deceased mother.
The youth alleged that
he was demanded Rs
8,000 in return for giv-
ing the mother’s body.
The victim’s son says
hospital staff are not
allowing him to go to
the near mother’s body.
The youth said that an
rs 8,000 was demanded
by the hospital worker
in the name of crema-
tion expenses. When
the matter went viral
on social media, the
matter came to the no-
tice of the district col-
lector in charge.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: In a shock-
ing incident, a 53-year-
old woman, who was
declared dead by a re-
puted medical institute
in the state capital, was
later found breathing
when her ‘body’ was
taken home.
The incident took
place on Sunday when
the doctors premature-
ly pronounced her dead
and withdrew the life
support system. A vid-
eo shot by the family,
which lives in In-
diranagar, went viral
in which the patient
was seen on an oxygen
concentrator at home
and kin frantically try-
ing to help her breathe.
The kin can also be
seen showing a pulse
oximeter on the pa-
tient’s finger with nor-
mal readings and
claiming that she was
still alive. The patient’s
son, Sunil Kumar, told
reporters “My mother,
who was under treat-
ment in the hospital for
the past three days, was
declared dead on Sun-
day. We brought her
home, but upon notic-
ing that her heart was
still beating, we put her
on oxygen support but
by the time we could
reach a private hospi-
tal, she died.”
Denying the allega-
tion, the hospital
spokesperson present-
ed the patient’s ECG
report showing a cardi-
ac flatline as evidence
that she died in the hos-
pital and subsequently
discharged. All neces-
sary treatment was
given, but she died of
cardiac arrest,” he said.
—FILE PHOTO A grab from a video shot by the family that went viral.
WHEN MOURNING REPLACES CHEERS
Janardan Misra
Lucknow: Several
Pradhan candidates
were elected unopposed
while some of them
won elections but lost
their lives before decla-
ration. It was reported
that Corona was major
cause of death while in
few cases, it was due to
some other reasons.
State election com-
mission will conduct re-
election where elected
candidates died due to
various reasons. De-
spite of Apex court’s
order and strict direc-
tions of election com-
mission, several win-
ning candidates con-
ducted celebratory
marches after winning
their seats while at
some places followers
of winning candidates
were distressed due to
death of the candidates.
A woman candidate
Pinki Devi in Mainpuri
district had died before
even counting started. It
was reported that she
was fallen ill during
election campaigning
and her family mem-
bers shifted her to hos-
pital after campaigning
but she succumbed in
hospital before count-
ing started.
Pinki Devi registered
victory from Nagla Usar
village panchayat area
with 115 votes but she
died a day before. Elec-
tion commission will
conductre-electionfrom
this seat, said officials.
In Varanasi district Su-
nara, Devi registered
victory with only three
votes but she died with-
in an hour after the an-
nouncement of her vic-
tory
. Sunara Devi was
contesting from Nan-
dapurvillageinPindara
block and she got 294
votes while her close op-
ponent Premsheela got
291 votes. She was ad-
mitted in hospital few
days back during cam-
paigning and she died
on the day of counting.
In Khanaura village
Pradhan candidate
Savita Devi registered
victory with 165 votes
but her family members
and supporters were
mourning her death as
she collapsed on Friday
nigh due to Corona in-
fection. It was reported
that she had huge sup-
port in her village and
her supporters were
saddened after her
death. Also, Pradhan
candidate Vimla Devi
registered victory from
Kapuri Ekauna village
Panchayat but she had
collapsed on Sunday
.
Counting for the UP Panchayat elections is still underway after it began on Sunday but several
candidates who won the elections died before the results were announced because of Covid-19 Counting still
underway for UP
panchayat polls
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Even af-
ter passage of 36
hours, the Uttar
Pradesh State Elec-
tion Commission
(SEC) could not com-
plete the counting of
ballot papers of the
three tier panchayat
polls. According to
the SEC, till monday
evening, results have
been declared of
232612 gram pan-
chayat members,
38317 pradhans, 55926
block development
council (bdc) mem-
bers and 181 district
development council
(ddc) members.
There are a total of
829 counting centres
which will decide the
fate of 12,89,830 can-
didates. Counting
comnenced at 08:00
hours on Sunday
amid strict covid
guidelines. Already
319317 candidates
have been elected un-
opposed which in-
cluded 178 pradhans,
317127 gram panchay-
at members, 2005 bdc
members and 7 ddc
members. However
unofficial figures of
ddc elections, which
is the bone of conten-
tion between the po-
litical parties, ruling
BJP and Samajwadi
Party candidates
were neck to neck of
the total 3050 DDC
seats in the state.
Counting have been
completed in 2357
seats in which BJP
had won in 699 places,
SP in 689, BSP in 266
and Congress in 66.
Independents too
have won in 637 seats.
Among the total seats
and candidates of
the panchayat polls
in UP, 44397 candi-
dates were in contest
for 3050 DDC seats,
342439 candidates for
75,852 BDC seats
46,4717 candidates
for 58176 Pradhan
seats and 438277 can-
didates for 732485
gram panchayat
members seats.
Counting is
underway but
due to Covid
norms, the
announcement
of results have
been delayed
When the country is reporting an unprecedented upsurge in the number of Coronavirus cases, election
candidates and party supporters are seen floating Covid-19 safety protocols during a roadshow.
Life is too short for ego and
anger, we must learn to let go
and focus on being happy and
building healthy, loving relationships.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India

very once in a while we
enjoy the comforts of be-
ing appreciated through
our appearance, even if
we do not belong to the
fashion industry, but,
we have been at home
long enough to keep our fa-
vourite dresses at bay and have
missed the essence of getting up
to groom ourself for the day
. But,
who says we cannot sway our
way at home, since in the inside
world or the out, we have been
working hard each day
.
The fashion of long tees came
into existence a long time ago,
where we were ditching our
pants and were at the best of our
comfort zone. It would be rather
now when we can fully embrace
this trend. Here’s why I think
they are the best choice of attire
for work from home fashion:
EVERYONE AT EASE
We have no control over our
schedule these days, who wishes
to worry more about how we look
as we just get up and stick our
eyes in front of
the com-
puter. We just need to be in a re-
laxed state and feel good about it.
SARTORIAL SWAG
You may just become the coolest
one at home, by swaying around
in your long tee as you turn the
monotonous trend of wearing
pants each day to no pants at
work from home.
ALMOST A DRESS
Yeah, we prefer a little bit of
sparkle when we dress up
for a party, but, how do we
evolve into the new defi-
nition of partying at
home? The answer is, long tees!
MONOCHROME OR NOT
Maybe you stick to one colour or
maybe you don’t, totally your
choice. You may even get a per-
sonalized pattern as per your
wishes. Keep it simple, but, I
would say, keep it surprising.
SHOPPER’S DAY OUTFIT
It’s true, we don’t get
out often these
days, only when it
is required to buy
necessary items
at home. Now,
who cares about being judged by
our looks these days, we better
sling it.
We can bring this trend into
our everyday routine and follow
it afterwards when the new nor-
mal begins once again. It could
be a little awkward for us per-
haps, for most of us in the begin-
ning, but, hey why not just try
.
LUCKNOW, TUESDAY
MAY 4, 2021
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
LONG LIVE
LONG LIVE
THE TEES
THE TEES
SUSHMITA AIND
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
E
STRAP: IT’S BEEN A WHILE SINCE WE HAVE BEEN OUT NOW, WE MISS
OUR FRIENDS, OUR PROFESSIONAL LIFESTYLE, OUR DAILY PLANS, BUT,
MOST IMPORTANTLY FASHION. CITY FIRST BRINGS YOU THE
MINIMALIST WAY TO SLICK AT HOME!

iruses have sud-
denly become the
most defining
things in our life.
In a way, they have
started controlling
human behaviour
and, unfortunately, the life
span of so many hapless
victims of their invasion.
The human race might now
be in a continuous struggle
with the viruses and the
certainty of life may be-
come a thing of the past.
The existing Covid19 pan-
demic will change the life-
style forever if it is allowed
to stay for a couple of years.
The pre - covid lifestyle
might be very difficult to
achieve in near future and
maybe, never again. This
gloomy picture is not my
futuristic projection but the
stupidity of global leader-
ship indicates this possibil-
ity. The virus may go on
mutating as myopic leaders
might not be able to see the
broader picture because of
their egoistic attitude. I, as
a frontline clinician against
Covid19, see a bleak future
for so many families and
individuals as the virus go
on mutating because some
people want to control the
seats of power at any cost
and this can only be
achieved by mobilising hys-
terical crowds at politico-
religious congregations.
But what power? The real
power lies with the virus at
this point and no worldly
armaments can defeat this
invisible live particle. The
only power which can neu-
tralize this destructive de-
mon lies within the human
body and that one is called
active immunity which
when acquired by a large
percentage of people is
termed as population im-
munity or herd immunity
.
We need powerful pop-
ulation immunity because,
in a viral invasion like Cov-
id19, our body has to fight
on two fronts almost simul-
taneously. The virus in-
vades the body and causes
immense cellular destruc-
tion and may even get de-
stroyed in this process. But,
during this short period of
3 to 4 days, large loads of
debris of dead tissue be-
come food for opportunistic
bacteria and these bacteria,
in the case of Covid19, are
responsible for the deadly
atypical pneumonia. There
is significant damage to the
liver and heart as well. All
this makes a mighty man
just a sitting duck. This is,
hence, of paramount im-
portance that the public
should know about herd im-
munity
.
Population immunity
is achieved when between
60 to 70 per cent population
develops antibodies against
the virus either by getting
infected or by receiving the
vaccination. These 60 to 70
per cent antibody carrying
people shall now protect the
remaining vulnerable pop-
ulation, mainly the elderly
and children. Here, the vi-
rus can not spread across
people, can not mutate free-
ly and hence becomes sub-
dued. It may cause sporadic
infections but that is always
manageable. So, in the case
of Covid19, it is the race
against time especially in
countries like India. The
mammoth nation has a his-
tory of poor planning and
botched up implementation
of policies and pro-
grammes. It might take
years before a significant
population is vaccinated
properly and scientifically.
As far as my opinion is con-
cerned, I think India will
achieve its herd immunity
via infection rather than
vaccination. This would be
a painful situation and so
many lives would be lost
prematurely. The country
claims that it has immu-
nised its senior citizens by
the first shot of vaccination
but has anybody raised the
issue of immunosenes-
cence? I’m surprised that
specialists other than pre-
ventive medicine people are
at the forefront giving their
biased opinion regarding
the success of vaccination
but would that save the
lives? Would the country be
able to achieve what it in-
tends to achieve? The pic-
ture presentation of VIPs
getting a jab won’t serve the
purpose. Immunosenes-
cence means that older peo-
ple lose a significant ability
to respond to vaccination,
their immune system is not
as responsive and active as
that of children and young-
er people say below 40 years
of age. The human immune
system goes on losing its
power to produce antibod-
ies quickly as a person ad-
vances in age. Elderly peo-
ple need more frequent vac-
cine shots than children
and young adults and, as
per some studies, should be
vaccinated early in the
morning for better immune
response. Are these norms
being followed? Are these
basic scientific observa-
tions visible or well-pub-
lished? It is a pandemic of
immense proportion, no
doubt, but a botched up pro-
gram is, in reality, no pro-
gram.
If India fails in its vac-
cination program, the hu-
man cost might be beyond
comprehension as there is
a significant risk of third
or even fourth wave. Three
or four state elections aren’t
far away and we all know
what our leaders can do.
Then people always remain
in denial mode and gather
as a crowd on the slightest
pretext. Religious competi-
tiveness has the power to
suppress every sane voice.
It is high time that people
change the way they have
been living for decades. The
social norms need to
change. The political par-
ties should use television
and social media for the
election campaign. The
journey to spiritual enlight-
enment is individual, a
crowd gathers just for a
hack of it. It is time to ac-
cept the power of the virus
and our limited options
against it. Furthermore, it
may appear as a negative
commentary but vaccine
against Flu viruses can not
be as effective as it was
against more stable viruses
like polio and smallpox and
may require more frequent
shots at shorter intervals at
least initially. Now the
question arises about the
availability of so many dos-
es of vaccine in such a
short period. Thus, vaccine
as a saviour appears to be a
difficult goal to achieve as
far as India is concerned.
Mask could have been
more effective provided
worn properly but the way
people wear it is laughable.
The quality of the mask
and methods of wearing it
makes the mask a complete-
ly useless measure. As a
clinician, I’ve stopped plac-
ing my hopes on the mask
as a containment tool.
My maximum stress is
on body distancing and
avoidance of crowd forma-
tion at all cost. The mar-
riage can be held strictly as
an ‘only family’ function,
faithful can easily commu-
nicate with their Gods at
home and media can be eas-
ily used as a method of po-
litical communication. All
these things are doable and
highly cost-effective. Out of
all the options available to
us, this one can be done im-
mediately and can save
thousands of lives. Popula-
tion immunity alone is ca-
pable of taming Covid19,
try developing it or be ready
to perish.
10
ETC
F
A
C
E
O
F
T
H
E
D
A
Y
EVELYN ESPADAS, Blogger
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
You manage to keep people
who matter on your right
side on the social front.
There are many who will
support you when you really require
them. Meeting friends and relatives,
you hit out well with is indicated
today. Acquisition of property is in the
pipeline for some.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
You are likely to remain
socially active by meeting
whoever you can and
expanding your circle. A
property owned by you is likely to
give you good returns. Job seekers
may be in for a long wait for getting a
suitable job. Love and care bestowed
on partner is set to make the day.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
Professionally, you may
feel on the top of the world
as things move favourably.
Excellent showing on the
academic front will help you join the
lead pack. Your image on the social
front shines bright, as you remain at
your helpful best. Marriage of
someone in the family will get fixed.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
This is one of your luckiest
days in which you are
poised to achieve the
unachievable! This is a
rewarding day to grab the benefits.
Your performance on a specific task is
likely to come up for praise by those
who matter. Salary increase may
become a reality for some.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
This is an excellent day
that promises to boost
your image both on the
social and professional
fronts. Winning a lucrative deal on
the business front is indicated and
will help in furthering your interests.
Taking some time off from the
routine will help you rejuvenate.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
Someone can ask you for a
favour on the professional
front. You are likely to settle
well in your work routine
today. At times it is best to keep your
opinions to yourself. A positive
influence on health by changed lifestyle
will be quite apparent. This is an ideal
day for planning an outing.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
You continue to excel on
the academic front.
Appreciation comes to you
for something achieved on
the professional front. A deeper
understanding with the one you love
can be expected and help strengthen
the loving bonds. You may find a
juicy gossip session fulfilling!
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
Those trying to raise a loan
will meet with success.
Moonlighting promises to
earn good money for
some. Choosing healthy alternatives
over junk food is likely to have a
positive effect on your health. Handle
an off-mood family elder with tact.
Your helpful nature will reward you.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
A get together with cousins
and friends will bring in the
fun element. Those looking
for jobs may have to pull
up their socks to prepare for the
upcoming interviews. Your hard work
will be quite visible in bringing a
project to success. This is a good
day to meet people in your circle.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
Your standing on the social
front may get the boost it
deserves. A comparatively
cooler time at work may
come as a big relief to some.
Someone with his or her self-interest
in mind is likely to appease you. You
cannot help but appreciate your rival
on the social front.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
A financially sound
investment is likely to
come your way. Your hard
work is likely to be
recognised and get you back into the
rat race. Initiatives taken by you on
the professional front are likely to be
appreciated by all. Good earning is
set to improve your quality of life.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Financial front grows
stronger as you come
across big money. TV stars
may have to wait for some
more time to fetch new projects.
Students are likely to add a feather in
their cap by bringing in brilliant
results in the studies. Timing is the
key for you to achieve goals.
YOUR
DAY
Horoscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
POPULATION IMMUNITY
AND COVID19
DR RAMAWTAR
SHARMA
ramawatarf132
@gmail.com
V

B
ringing forth her first album in five
years, English musician Birdy pays
tribute to love with Young Heart.
While there’s a lot to like in the al-
bum, the title track surprisingly appears
to pale when compared to the rest of the
songsinthe16-trackoffering.Arath-
er ballad-like quality is expected to
enhancethethemeof heartbreak,
but Birdy appears to struggle
withsettingapacethatcanbeap-
pealing. —Agency
Chitrangda Singh revealed
mid the extended lockdown
in Maharashtra, people are
forced to stay inside and be
safe. Actress Chitrangda Sin-
gh shared a video on her Ins-
tagram handle and showed
how she is spending her days
and calls it stress buster. Sharing it on
feed, she captioned it as ‘Lockdown
pastimes with buster.’ In the video,
she is seen playing with her dog.
—Agency
A
A
merican actor Justin Hartley who
has witnessed a divorce twice, re-
cently sparked rumours that he’d
tied the knot again after the actor
and his girl-
friend, Sofia
Pernas, were
both spotted
wearing bands
on their left
ring fingers.
The ‘This Is Us’
star and Per-
nas - who both
starred on the
CBS soap
‘TheYoung
and the
Restless’ -
were photo-
graphed Satur-
day. The two were spotted at the beach in
Malibu wearing wide smiles and the ru-
mour-inducing jewellery
. Adding fuel to the
fire, Pernas had on a white top. —Agency
A
major fash-
ion event is
making a
c o m e b a ck
this year after being
halted due to COV-
ID-19. This Septem-
ber, the Met Gala is
all set to return and
you will be surprised
to find out who is in
talks for being the co-
host for the show. As
per the latest reports,
actor Timothée
Chalamet may be one of the hosts for the
fashion-forward evening. The Met Gala 2021
will also mark Chalamet’s debut at the event.
—Agency
I
ndia is witnessing the second
wave of the deadly Coro-
navirus. It is badly af-
fecting the lives of
common people as the
casesareonthesurge.
However, amid this
pandemic situation
reports of fake medi-
cation being sold are
coming in. This news
has made actor Farhan
Akhtar sad. Reacting
to this news, the ac-
tor called those sell-
ing fake COVID 19
medication a
‘monster’.
—Agency
CITY FIRST
P
ooja Hegde had an-
nounced that she
had tested positive
for Covid-19 a few
days ago and had isolated
herself immediately. The
actress is keeping herself
busy with activities to
keep a positive frame of
mind. A source
close to the ac-
tress shared,
“Pooja has
been doing yoga
and meditation
and is also read-
ing more positive
books to stay calm
and energised during
this time.”
ETC
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia LUCKNOW | TUESDAY, MAY 4, 2021
11
Sound Check
E
nglish singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding has
welcomed her first child with her husband
Caspar Jopling. The 29-year-old new dad
announced the news on his Instagram
Story on Sunday. He wrote, “Mum and baby
both healthy and happy
.” Jopling added, “I
don’t ever address the public attention that
comes with Ellie’s job. But during this
magical and personal moment, we
would really appreciate being able
to enjoy our privacy .. Thank you
x.” He also shared a screengrab
of a Google search about the
“world population 2021,”
crossing out the number and
including addition of his
own. —Agency
J
anhvi Ka-
poor enjoys
a massive
fan follow-
ing. Amid the lock-
down, she is watch-
ing films and has
been sharing
glimpses on her Ins-
tagram. And in the
latest one, she
shared scenes of the
film ‘Life in a Metro’
starring the late Ir-
rfan Khan, who
passed away last year,
and Konkona Sen
Sharma. Taking to
her official Insta-
gram handle, the
actress shared
two scenes
and called
h i m
‘Iconic’.
The newlyweds
S
ugandha Mishra and Sanket Bhosale,
who got married in an intimate ceremo-
ny last week, have been sharing some
unseen pictures and videos from their
wedding on their respective Instagram profiles.
The new glimpses of their big day have been
trending on social media since Sunday and we
are not at all surprised - all thanks to Sugandha
Mishra’s beautiful bridal look. —Agency
40th death anniversary
Reopening in June
Wedding rumours?
The new Host
Huge Criticism
A
A POSITIVE
POSITIVE
frame of mind
frame of mind
‘Iconic’
‘Iconic’
STAR
STAR
—Agency
Blessed Baby
N
argis Dutt
passed away
in 1981, only
three days
before her son San-
jay Dutt’s Bollywood
debut film Rocky’s
release. May 3, 2021,
marked her 40th
death anniversary.
Rajkumar Hirani’s
Sanju captured the
highs as well as the
lows of Sanjay Du-
tt’s life. The biopic
did not just focus on
his professional life but also drew light on his
personal life. As the highest-grossing film of
2018, the movie beautifully explained the life
story of Sanjay Dutt and also showed his con-
nection with his mother Nargis. —Agency
L
os Ange-
les’ New
B e v e rl y
Cinema,
which is pos-
sessed and
worked by film-
maker Quentin
Tarantino, has
set a resuming
on June 1. In a
post common on
its web-based
media channels and site Saturday, the most
notable restoration theatres declared de-
signs to return. No further subtitles were
given, yet the auditorium prodded that more
data would be not far off. —ANI
Ellie Goulding
...Caspar Jopling’s post
Timothée Chalamet
Sofia Pernas and Justin Hartley
New Beverly Cinema
Birdy
Sugandha Mishra and Sanket Bhosale
Chitrangda Singh
Late Nargis Dutt
Janhvi Kapoor Farhan Akhtar
Pooja Hegde

12
CITY BUZZ
GET VACCINATED
STAY MASKED
RELIGIOUSRELIEF
TO COVID PATIENTS
nce filled with
devotees, the
t e m p l e s ,
mosques, gu-
rudwaras of
India are now,
shut down
amid the Covid-19
health crisis. But in
these times of crisis,
the religious shrines
have joined the battle
against the raging Cov-
id-19 pandemic and
have opened their
doors for Covid pa-
tients in dire need of
medical care. The tem-
ples, synagogues,
mosques and gurud-
waras have trans-
formed it into Covid
care centres proving
all religions serve hu-
manity.
City First has made
an effort to highlight
the spirit of humanity
and bravado of these
shrines serving the
community during the
corona catastrophe.
BEAUTY AT
ITS BEST!
H
arshita Bhamb-
hani, is doing
wonders around
the world, with
her talent, enthusiasm
and dedication. In an
exclusive interview
with City First, Har-
shita shared her jour-
ney of representing
India in Miss Eco In-
ternational sponsored
by the United Nations.
“If there’s anything
that I’ve learnt from
the whole experience is
that hard work won’t
ever let you down. Do
not think about the
outcome. Just keep on
going in that direction
and you’ll find your
crown right there sit-
ting on a table,” she
said.
Talking about the
journey, Harshita said,
“The biggest challenge
that we faced was the
Eco Dress. I and mom
would sit the whole
night and stuff the
mask and sew them on
the outfit which was
designed by my very
favourite designer
Shruti Misra and the
beautiful jewellery by
the Aasan jewels. My
Eco outfit is a tribute
to the doctors across
the world who played a
crucial role while the
pandemic.”
“My vision is my
mission and it is pro-
viding menstrual hy-
giene knowledge, waste
disposal and inventing
extremely low-cost
pads only for under-
privileged females,”
the 19-year-old said.
Her advice to the
younger ones is, “Nev-
er lose yourself while
all the hustle. Never let
anyone tell you, you’re
not beautiful. You have
a heart of gold and
that’s what makes you
unique!”
Comics that brought joy, hope and help
I
spent a large part of my
weekend battling cock-
roaches and digging
through boxes of comics
I’d collected since I was
six. There were newspaper
clippings of Baal Bhaskar
and Chotu Motu from the
young world; issues of
Amar Chitra Katha’s The
Mahabharata; several yel-
lowing Tinkles; and a
whole lot of puffy Archies.
But the ones that really
grabbed my attention were
the Pinky
, Billoo, Champak
and Muthu Comics I’d ‘bor-
rowed’ from my relatives
or parlour aunty – it’s not
stealing when you’re six
and don’t know better.
These slim, cheaply pro-
duced comics were about
the daily life struggles of a
kid, pirates, cowboys, de-
tectives, superheroes and
mad scientists, and while
growing up, they were eve-
rywhere. Coquettish
southerners spoke Tamil,
James Bond uttered punch
dialogues, cowboys were
given the most Indian
names. But how on earth
was this possible? City
First takes you back to the
late ’50s, when comics first
started appearing in news-
papers and magazines!
India started its comic
journey by translating and
serialising international
comics and publishing
them in dailies or maga-
zines. They were an in-
stant hit with Indian read-
ers, and as the medium
grew in popularity, there
was soon a need for stories
to be told using the comic
medium.
Cut to a few years later,
and enter Indrajal Comics
which syndicated, trans-
lated, and published west-
ern comics like The Phan-
tom, Mandrake and Flash
Gordon. For the very first
time, Indians could buy an
entire comic book, instead
of having to wait for news-
papers and magazines to
finish a story
.
The golden age
In the span of the next few
years, there was a flood of
original Indian comics,
such as Pran Sharma’s
Chacha Chaudhary, which
started in the late ’60s and
has sold over 10 million
copies. The comic indus-
try had finally taken off,
and magazines and comic
publishers mushroomed
throughout the ’70s. Dia-
mond Comics came into
existence and created
Fauladi Singh, a space
hero; the detective duo
Lambu and Motu; and Bil-
loo the school student.
The ’70s was when small-
er, regional comic pub-
lishers set up shop across
the country, introducing
an entire generation of
Indians to zombies and
superheroes.Comics have
been used successfully in
science communication
during the current Cov-
id-19 pandemic. Many
terms such as ‘social dis-
tancing’ and ‘flattening
the curve’ went from text-
book jargon to household
conversation in a matter
of days to weeks around
the world.
TV AND SOCIAL MEDIA MAY HAVE ENDED THE GOLDEN ERA OF THE 1990s,
BUT THE WORLD OF COMIC BOOKS MAY REIGNITE READERS’ INTEREST!
MITALI DUSAD
mitalidusad01@gmail.com
MONICA
PRABHAKAR
cityfirst@firstindia.co.in
One of the major goals of various sects and religions around the globe is to serve
humanity. And in such distressing times, it is quite evident as several Temples,
MosquesandGurudwarashavetransformedtheirpremisesintoCovidCareCentres!
O
BAPS SWAMI
NARAYAN
TEMPLE,
VADODARA,
GUJARAT
The age-old tem-
ple has converted
its Yagnapurush
Sabhagruh into a
Covid-19 facility. The
Covid-19 care centre
is equipped with 500
beds, oxygen facili-
ties like liquid oxygen
tanks and piped oxy-
gen lines, ICU beds
and ventilators. The
temple management
has also arranged for
a pharmacy store,
restrooms and sepa-
rate rooms for the
medical staff.
THE DAARUL
ULUUM
TANDALJA
MOSQUE,
VADODARA,
GUJARAT
To help the people
running from pillar
to post for medi-
cal supplies and
beds with oxygen,
The Daarul Uluum
Tandalja Mosque
has also started
a 140-bed facil-
ity for COVID-19
patients. The
mosque aims to
extend its facilities
to 300 beds, with
the government’s
approval.
SHRI GURU
SINGH SABHA
GURDWARA,
GHAZIABAD, UP
As breathless
patients arrived
seeking oxygen, the
street outside the
Shri Guru Singh
Sabha Gurdwara
resembled the
emergency ward
but crammed
with cars, not bed
trolleys. With the
help of Khalsa Help
International, an
NGO, the gurdwara
is now serving
‘Oxygen Langar’
in mobile vehicles
such as cars, bikes,
rickshaws cabs.
They have set up
an oxygen line at its
doorstep.
THE PAWAN
DHAM TEMPLE,
MUMBAI,
MAHARASHTRA
The temple has once
again converted its
four-storey build-
ing into a Covid-19
quarantine centre
equipped with 100
beds. Out of the 100,
50 beds are equipped
with oxygen concen-
trator units, oximeters,
pulse metre, portable
BP apparatus, monitor
machine among oth-
ers. These makeshift
hospitals come when
the country is fighting
an invisible enemy
and gives us hope that
humanity will trump
the lethal virus.
IAS Ravikumar NG and
IPS Harish Chander
celebrated their birthdays
on Monday, May 3. We
wish them all the best!
HAPPY B’DAY!
SAFE AND SOUND!
CELEBRATION!
IAS Mahesh Gupta,
Additional Chief
Secretary to Governor
celebrated his birthday
on Monday, May 3.
Amid the pandemic,
the celebration was
kept low-key. His
friends, family and
well-wishers extended
their warm wishes on
the occasion. There has been a drastic increase in the number of Covid-19 cases. ADG Zone Lucknow has taken an initiative to keep their warriors safe at every cost, by installing a Covid-19 helpdesk at
Police Lines, Lucknow, followed by an inspection of the premises.
KARISHMA
GWALANI
karishma.gwalani@
firstindia.co.in
Shri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara, UP The Pawan Dham Temple, Maharashtra
Harshita Bhambhani representing India in the beauty pageant: Miss Eco International
Pinki Chotu Motu Chacha Choudhary Young Bhaskar
Harshita Bhambhani

First India-Lucknow Edition-04 May 2021

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