161972379130042021 first india lucknow

Lucknow: UP will now
go under complete
lockdown starting Friday
evening till Tuesday
morning – increasing
the weekend restriction,
which was till Monday
earlier, by a day. “The
weekend closure will
now be applicable from
Friday 8 pm till Tuesday
7 am,” said ACS (Home)
Awanish Awasthi. He
added that consequent
to the decision, all shops
and establishments will
now remain closed
during this period. P2
WEEKEND LOCKDOWN
EXTENDED TILL
TUESDAY IN UP FROM
TODAY EVENING
Karma-Yogi CM floats global tender for vaccine ahead of May1
MAX-VAX
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The Yogi
Adityanath govern-
ment has decided to
float a global tender to
buy 4 crore covid-19
vaccine vials from glob-
al manufacturers for
arranging shots re-
quired for the third
phase of vaccination
for the 18-44 age group,
beginning May 1.
The State govern-
ment has already
placed an order with
Bharat Biotech and Se-
rum Institute of India
for supply of 50 lakh
each Covaxin and Cov-
ishield. But the state is
yet to get the supplies
from Indian manufac-
turers casting doubts
over the launch of the
third phase drive from
May 1. UP becomes the
second State after after
Maharashtra, which
had similarly placed
orders for Russia’s
Sputnik vaccine earlier.
Amid uncertainty
over the availability of
a large number of Indi-
an vaccine doses re-
quired for the massive
upcoming third phase,
the authorities have
now decided to import
vaccines. A decision to
this effect was taken
during a meeting of the
Suresh Khanna Com-
mittee, set up to draft a
plan for making the
third phase Turn to P6
CM Yogi working from isolation as he recovers from Covid-19.
lll
The State
government has
already placed
an order with
Bharat Biotech
and Serum
Institute of India
for supply of 50
lakh Covaxin
and Covishield
each
UTTAR PRADESH LOSES TWO PROMINENT
PERSONALITIES TO COVID-19
Senior bureaucrat and Revenue Board Chairman and
Chairman of the Uttar Pradesh IAS assocition Deepak
Trivedi (59) Former UP minister Haji Riyaz Ahmad
succumbed to Covid-19 on Thursday. Trivedi died
while getting treated at Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate
Institute of Medical Sciences, while the Samajwadi
Party (SP) leader Ahmad (69) died at a hospital in Ba-
reilly on Thursday morning, his son-in-law Arif said.
Trivedi was admitted to the hospital about a fortnight
ago. CM Yogi Adityanath has condoled the deaths.
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
LUCKNOW l FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 2021 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. UPENG/2020/04393 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 139
FORMER PM MANMOHAN SINGH DISCHARGED
FROM AIIMS AFTER FULLY RECOVERING FROM
COVID-19. HE WAS ADMITTED ON APRIL 19
MAHA POLICE FILE FIR AGAINST FORMER
MUMBAI POLICE COMMISSIONER PARAM
BIR SINGH OVER CORRUPTION CHARGES
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD LUCKNOW
COVAXIN DOWN AT `400
New Delhi: A day after
the Serum Institute of
Institute slashed the
rate of its Covishield
vaccine for states, Hy-
derabad-based Bharat
Biotech on Thursday
followed suit by an-
nouncing that its Cov-
id-19 vaccine — Covax-
in — will be made avail-
able to state govern-
ments at a reduced
price of Rs 400 per dose.
Expressing “deep
concern” over the criti-
cal pandemic situation
in the country, the vac-
cine maker said it rec-
ognises the enormous
challenges to the public
healthcare system.
Earlier, Bharat Bio-
tech had decided to
charge state govern-
ments Rs 600 for a dose
of its Covaxin vaccine
and Rs 1200 per dose for
private hospitals. As
per this rate, the states
would have had to pay
four times what the
Centre will be paying to
procure its shots.
The decision to slash
rates comes days after
the Central government
asked the Serum Insti-
tute of India and Bharat
Biotech to lower the
price of their Covid-19
vaccines amid criticism
from several states who
haveaccusedthecompa-
niesof profiteeringfrom
the crisis. Turn to P6
After SII, now Bharat Biotech reduces vaccine price for state govts
CORONA
CATASTROPHE
INDIA
UP
3,79,308
New cases
35,156
New cases
3,645
New fatalities
298
New fatalities
Health workers wearing PPE suits, sit on a bench during a break
from cremation of covid victims in Noida on Thursday.
Justify or make
amends: Court
on oxygen crisis
New Delhi: States like
Madhya Pradesh and
Maharashtra were giv-
en more oxygen than
they asked for, but
Arvind Kejriwal gov-
ernment’s repeated ap-
peals were not granted,
the Delhi High Court
said on Thursday, ques-
tioningtheCentreabout
the rationale involved.
The Central govern-
ment has to either show
justification for this or
“make amends”, said
the two-judge bench of
Justices Vipin Sanghi
and Rekha Palli.
“What’s happening in
Delhi? Why are we
struck in 490 metric
tonnes here? People
closetousarenotgetting
oxygen beds. You too are
aware of it. Turn to P6
After Kumbh fiasco, U’khand
suspends ‘Char Dham Yatra’
Dehradun: The Uttara-
khand government on
Thursday suspended
the ‘Char Dham Yatra’
in the wake of rising
Covid-19 cases across
the state.
“Conducting the
yatra amid the raging
pandemic is not possi-
ble. Only priests of the
four temples at Badri-
nath, Kedarnath, Yamu-
notri and Gangotri will
perform rituals and
puja,” Chief Minister
Tirath Singh Rawat said
while announcing the
decision.
This comes after Utta-
rakhand recorded the
highest single-day spike
of 6,054 Covid-19 cases,
taking the cumulative
tally to 1,68,616, while
108 deaths pushed the
toll to 2,417.
There are 45,383 ac-
tive Covid-19 cases in
the state, while 1,17,221
have recovered, a state
health department bul-
letin.
Speaking about
measures that are being
taken to contain the
pandemic, Rawat add-
ed, “We are conducting
as many tests as possi-
ble. I would like to urge
people to always wear
masks whenever they
step out.”
When asked regard-
ing the death rate that
has spiked in the last
few weeks, he said, “We
are surrounded by
Himachal Pradesh,
Haryana and Uttar
Pradesh from where
critical patients often
travel to Uttarakhand
for treatment. As such,
it becomes difficult for
us to save them. Hence,
people should get tested
as soon as they feel any
symptoms so as to avoid
severities.”
Conducting the yatra amid the raging
pandemic is not possible. Only priests of the
four temples at Badrinath, Kedarnath,
Yamunotri and Gangotri will perform rituals and puja.
—Tirath Singh Rawat, Uttarakhand Chief Minister
Will didi descend on Bengal again?
...or can Modi-Shah make big kill in 5 states, Exit Polls tell tale before verdict
T
ABP-C-Voter exit
poll survey has
predicted a re-
turn to power for
Mamata Banerjee-led
Trinamool Congress for
a third consecutive
term in West Bengal
with 152-164 seats in the
294-seat Assembly. In
Assam, the India Today-
Axis My India voter
s u r v e y
has pre-
dicted a
return to
power for
the BJP
with 75-80
seats. In
the southern states, the
CPM-led LDF is likely
to beat anti-incumben-
cy and retain the power
in Kerala. In Tamil
Nadu, the DMK-Con-
gress alliance is pre-
dicted to upstage the
ruling AIADMK-BJP
alliance in the state.
The exit polls were re-
leased after Turn to P6
MAMATA TO
RETAIN POWER;
BJP IN 3-DIGITS
SEE-SAWBATTLE
ON BETWEEN
NDA AND UPA
STALIN’S DMK
GEAR UP FOR
THUMPING WIN
BJP-LED NDA
FAVOURITE TO
GRAB POWER
COMBACK FOR
VIJAYAN’S LDF;
BJP NO SHOW
TMC 152-164
BJP 109-121
LF+INC+ISF14-25
West Bengal 147 to Win
294
SEATS
NDA 58-71
UPA 53-66
OTHERS 0-5
Assam 64 to Win
126
SEATS
DMK 160-172
AIADMK 58-70
OTHERS 0-7
Tamil Nadu 118 to Win
234
SEATS
NDA 19-23
UPA 6-10
OTHERS 1-2
Puducherry 16 to Win
30
SEATS
LDF 71-77
UDF 62-68
BJP+ 0-2
Kerala 71 to Win
140
SEATS
EXIT POLLS
2021
BENGAL CLOCKS 76.07% IN EIGHTH PHASE
Kolkata: A voter turnout of 76.07 per cent was recorded in the eighth and final
phase of the West Bengal assembly elections, the Election Commission said on
Thursday. The commission said that “peaceful” polling was concluded across
11,860 polling stations in 35 assembly seats in the last phase of the elections.
7.6 TIMES MORE SEIZURE THAN 2016 POLLS
Kolkata: 11,860 Ballot Units (BUs), 11,860 Control Units (CUs) and 11,860 VVPATs
were used in last phase. During Bengal polls, seizure of Rs 339.45 crore were
reported. The figures, which includes seizure of cash, liquor, narcotics and freebies,
was 7.65 times of total seizure of Rs 44.33 cr in 2016 assembly polls.
COUNTING ON
MAY
2

UTTAR PRADESH
LUCKNOW | FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 2021
02
First India Bureau
Lucknow: District
Magistrate Abhishek
Prakash visited Haj
House in Lucknow for
increasing capacity of
institutional medical
treatment of Covid-19
patients. Here Covid
Hospital of 255 bed ca-
pacity and L-3 facility
was being set up in col-
laboration with Hindu-
stan Aeronautic Lim-
ited and State Govern-
ment. The DM along
with officials and ex-
perts inspected the up-
coming Covid Hospital
at Haj House and direct-
ed officials to start the
Hospital without any
delay for providing bet-
ter medical facilities to
Covid patients in Luc-
know.
DM said this Covid
Hospital was being set
up with 255 beds with
oxygen facility wherein
100 H.F.N.C. and 25 ven-
tilators were being in-
stalled. Medicines, doc-
tors and paramedical
staff were also being
deployed and the hospi-
tal would in next 10 days
begin functioning.
He said information
about patients should
be provided to attend-
ants. The DM also visit-
ed Cancer Institute at
Chak Ganjariya where
L-2 facility Covid Hospi-
tal was being set up. He
instructed that all ar-
rangements for the 100
bedded L-2 facility
should be completed in
one week.
Especially for the bet-
ter treatment of Covid
patients, availability of
necessary equipment,
medicines etc. should
also be ensured. During
the inspection, Addi-
tional District Magis-
trate (Administration)
Amar Pal Singh, Chief
Medical Officer Dr San-
jay Bhatnagar, Director
Dr Shalini besides med-
ical expert team and
other officials were pre-
sent.
The District Magis-
trate said currently 6200
beds for treatment of
Covid were present in
district and capacity
was being increased
continuously
. In next 10
days, about 2000 beds
would be increased in
Lucknow.
Along with this, door-
step medical kit deliv-
ery was also being done
on a war footing for
Covid patients living in
home isolation.
District Magistrate Abhishek Prakash visits Haj House
ENSURING O2 SUPPLIES
Lucknow DM Abhishek Prakash and Divisional Commissioner Ranjan Kumar dispatching two
tankers of Linde by air to Ranchi. They also felicitated the truck drivers who drove from Ranchi
to Lucknow to ferry the all important gas.
Decision came a day after UP on Thursday reported the highest single-day surge in death toll
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Amid the
rise in Covid-19 cases,
Uttar Pradesh will now
go under complete lock-
down starting Friday
evening till Tuesday
morning – increasing
the weekend restric-
tion, which was till
Monday earlier, by a day
.
“The weekend clo-
sure will now be appli-
cable from Friday 8 pm
till Tuesday 7 am,” said
Additional Chief Secre-
tary (Home) Awanish
Awasthi. He said that
consequent to the deci-
sion, all shops and es-
tablishments will now
remain closed during
this period.
The decision was tak-
en at a review meeting
chaired by Uttar
Pradesh Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath and
will be implemented
across the state. All es-
sential services, howev-
er, will be allowed and
vaccination drive will
continue, the official
said, but refused to term
it a ‘lockdown’, prefer-
ring ‘closure’ instead.
The chief minister, ac-
cording to a statement,
said ‘corona curfew’ in
night (from 8 pm to 7 am)
should be implemented
across the state strictly
.
Hesaidthattheavailabil-
ity of Remdesivir drug
wasbeingensuredfreeof
cost in government hos-
pitalanditwasalsobeing
suppliedtoprivatehospi-
tals. The district admin-
istrations were asked to
keep the entire details of
demand and supply
, the
statement said. The
DRDOissettingupahos-
pital each at Lucknow
and Varanasi with all fa-
cilities, the CM said, add-
ing it will start function-
ingsoon.“Oxygensupply
is improving every day
.
Oxygen Express (trains)
and air route are also
used to bring in oxygen,”
he said, adding attempts
are being made to double
the number of hospital
beds. He also reiterated
that strict action should
be taken against those
involvedinblack-market-
ing of oxygen cylinder
and medicines like Rem-
desivir.
The CM directed offi-
cialstoconstituteapanel
of doctors to make peo-
pleawarethatthereisno
need to stock medicine
andoxygenoutof fearor
panic. He said that UP
hasbecomethefirststate
tohaveconducted4crore
coronavirus tests now
attempts are being made
rampupthetestingfacil-
ity to double. On com-
plaints of certain hospi-
tals and doctors over-
charging coronavirus
patients, CM said action
should be taken against
them.
Yogi Speaks
‘UP to have 125
O2 plants soon
from CSR funds’
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Chief Min-
ister Yogi Adityanath
has directed the Excise
and Sugarcane Depart-
ment to set up at least
two Community Health
Centres and one Oxygen
plant in each district in
consultation with the
Chief Medical Officer
and District Magistrate.
The UP CM, who held
a virtual meeting here
on Thursday with sen-
ior officials said 125 oxy-
gen plants would be set
up soon from Corporate
Social Responsibility
(CSR) funds in the State.
He directed the officials
to double the number of
ICU and HCU beds in all
the level 2 and 3 (L-2 and
L-3) hospitals, especial-
ly the sensitive ones, in
addition to the existing
capacity of the beds.
The beds in all dis-
tricts shall be equipped
with oxygen facilities.
In addition to this, spe-
cial instructions have
been issued to increase
as many as 1,500 to 2,000
beds in the state capital
in the coming week.
“Hindustan Aero-
nautics Ltd in collabo-
ration with state gov-
ernment will set up a
255-bed L-2/L-3 tempo-
rary covid hospital at
theHajHouse,forwhich
the preparations are be-
ing carrying out on a
war-footing,” informed
District Magistrate, Ab-
hishek Prakash adding
that “over 100 Covid
beds will also be added
in the Super Speciality
Cancer Hospital, Chak
Ganjaria City
.”
There are currently
more than 1,16,000 L-1
beds over 65,000 L-2
and L-3 beds in the state.
Besides, a total of 5,500
beds are currently func-
tional in the state capi-
tal. The CM instructed
that sufficient ICU beds
should be made availa-
ble in districts with a
high number of active
Covid cases.
Oxygen supplies being sent to different states.
‘Virus transmits
mostly through
human contact’
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The state
government has issued
updated guidelines after
the Ministry of Home
Affairs, Government of
India issued new guide-
lines for effective con-
trol of Covid-19 in the
country
. Chief Secre-
tary, Uttar Pradesh Ra-
jendra Kumar Tiwari
said that since the Co-
rona virus transmits
mostly through human
contacthenceitisneces-
sary to come up with
strategies which inhibit
the spread of virus by
avoiding human con-
tact. The Chief Secre-
tary re-iterated that
wearing masks, main-
taining social distance
of 6 feet, periodically
sanitization of hands
and not being in a
crowded place are the
most effective ways to
control the spread of vi-
rus. He added that peo-
ple who show Covid like
symptoms should quar-
antine themselves im-
mediately and get them-
selves tested.
ALL IN READINESS
A view of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Covid Hospital coming up at Awadh Shilp Gram, Lucknow, and being built by the DRDO. The entrance is studded with posters
of BJP’s four stalwarts-Former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, PM Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajath Singh CM Yogi Adityanath —PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR
Join the fight
against Covid:
CM toAYUSH
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Chief Minis-
ter Yogi Adityanath on
Thursday exhorted all
AYUSH practitioners of
the state to join the bat-
tle against Covid-19 and
provide medical facili-
ties at the grass-root
level. Interacting with
AYUSH practitioners
through video-confer-
encing, the UP CM said
that they had played an
important role in deal-
ing with the first wave
of Corona through
their traditional medi-
cal system.
And now their ser-
vices were needed
again to fight the pan-
demic. He said the Aay-
ush Kavach app should
be used to increase pub-
lic awareness about
health and in increas-
ing immunity of people
through household
remedies.
The CM said over
2.52 lakh people were
in home isolation. “It
should be our endeav-
our that all these peo-
ple should get the ad-
vice of AYUSH, Homeo
and Unani practition-
ers. The Ayush Depart-
ment should prepare
and implement an ac-
tion plan to provide
Ayush ‘Kadha’ (decoc-
tion) from door to
door,” he said.
Rajendra Kumar Tiwari
YOGI GOVT EXTENDS WEEKEND
LOCKDOWN TILL TUESDAY
WEEKEND CURBS
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath
Iam shocked over the
demise of senior IAS
officer and chairman
of Revenue Board,
Deepak Trivedi due to
Covid on Thursday.
Iwill virtually commu-
nicate with sugarcane
farmers of the State
on Friday.
Ihave donated Rs one
crore from my MLA
LAD fund to Covid Care
Iam deeply mourned
the death of Kishore
Gupta SDM, Sahas-
wan in Budaun and
conveyed his condo-
lences to the bereaved
family.
Ithank electronics
major VIVo India
for contributing Rs
2 crore to CM Relief
Fund for fight against
Covid-19.

UTTAR PRADESH
03
UP: DEATH TOLL AT 298
ALARMING: FATALITIES IN UTTAR PRADESH SHOW UPWARD TREND DURING 10 DAYS
NEW CASES
TOTAL CASES
TOTAL DEATHS
35,156
12,17,955
298
12,241
LUCKNOW 4,126
VARANASI 1,598
KANPUR 1,650
MEERUT 965
PRAYAGRAJ 984
GAUTAM BUDDH
NAGAR 1478
G’BAD 898
25,613
RECOVERED
3,09,237
ACTIVE CASES
SWEAR
TO WEAR
COVID-19
UPDATE
FACT
FILE
CM Yogi said pro-
posal for setting up
oxygen plants in 61
districts has been
sent to the Centre
and the process
of site selection
should be done
on priority to start
work immediately.
Chief Engineer,
Mathura-Vrindavan
Nagar Nigam, LN Sin-
gh passed away on
Thursday after losing
the battle to Covid-19.
The whole of NN fra-
ternity slumped into
sadness upon hearing
the news.
Congress leader Pri-
yanka Gandhi Vadra and
SP supremo Akhilesh
Yadav demanded a
compensation of Rs 50
lakh each to families of
officers and teachers
who died due to Covid
while performing their
duty in P’yat polls.
Amid the surge in
Covid-19 cases in
Madhya Pradesh,
the MP state
government has
suspended the
movement of pas-
senger buses from
Uttar Pradesh till
May 7.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: In an alarm-
ing trend in Uttar
Pradesh, the death toll
in the state has picked
an upward trend for the
last 10 days recording
yet another high on
Thursday
.
A record single-day
rise of 298 Covid-19 fa-
talities in the state have
now pushed the death
toll to 12,241.
With this, the
number of Cov-
id-19 positive
patients, which
saw a marginal
decline for
three days, sky
rocketed yet again on
Thursday to 35156, add-
ing more than 7000 cas-
es within 24 hours. Ut-
tar Pradesh’s total in-
fection tally now stands
at 12,17,955.
A total of 25,613 peo-
ple have recovered from
the disease in the past
24 hours, while the ac-
tive cases stand at
3,09,237.
So far, 8,96,477 pa-
tients have recuperated
from Covid-19 in the
state, Additional Chief
Secretary Amit Mohan
Prasad said here.
More than 2.25 lakh
samples were tested for
Covid-19 in the past 24
hours, taking the total
samples tested so far to
4.03 crore, the highest
in the country, Prasad
said.
Among the active
cases, 2,38,856
are in home iso-
lation, while
7,663 are un-
dergoing treat-
ment in private
hospitals and rest
of them are in govern-
ment hospitals, Prasad
said.
However, despite
state government’s
claims of number of
discharges being on a
higher side, people are
finding it hard to get
beds in the hospitals
withmanybeingturned
away by hospitals in Ut-
tar Pradesh
A policeman stands guard to an Oxygen tanker that arrived in
Lucknow on Thursday.
As Lucknow grapples with the increased need of Oxygen, the city has received quite a big chunk from Bokaro in Jharkhand. Here, a hospital worker is seen raking the
empty Oxygen cylinders at RML Hospital, Lucknow on Thursday.
5 CHCs to be
converted into
Covid centres
Isolation ward
for cops, family
in Prayagraj
Agra: Agra district admin-
istration has decided to
convert five Community
Health Centres (CHCs)
into Covid-19 centres
each having 30 beds with
oxygen support. Criti-
cal Coronavirus patients
(L2) would be admit-
ted to such centres,
which will also
have paramedical
staff and a team
of doctors and
other health staff,
officials said. The health
department had delisted
20 private hospitals in the
city, which were earlier
recognised as Covid cen-
tres. The hospitals faced
the severed action after
various anomalies were
found with them.
Prayagraj: An isolation
ward has been set up in
gymnasium of the Police
Line here for policemen
and their family members
if they get exposed to
Covid. Oxygen supply for
patients will be provided
at the isolation ward.
The doctors team and
required medical
equipment were ar-
ranged for hospital.
In the adverse time
when hospitals were
unable to provide beds
to patients, this isolation
ward will be helpful for
policemen. The police-
men were allotted one
or 2 room apartments in
police line and several
policemen were residing
in barracks.
Over 4.88 lakh identified with
Covid symptoms in UP villages
Covid patient commits
suicide at SGPGI hosp
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The sur-
veillance commit-
tees set up to main-
tain a vigil in rural
areas to prevent the
spread of Covid-19
have identified over 4.88
lakh people with Covid
symptoms in various
villages. Of these
1,47,729 people are mi-
grants who have re-
turned to their native
villages due to pandem-
ic. “Covid symptoms
were identified in
around 4,88,393 people
by these committees.
Testing of 16,98,958 per-
sons was carried out, of
which81,245werefound
to be infected and 75,985
persons were isolated,”
said an official.
With their reactiva-
tion on April 7, in just
20 days, these watchdog
committees have been
screening migrants in
the districts and are
also creating awareness
among the people. On
the instructions of the
Chief Minister, around
60,569 mohalla surveil-
lance committees have
been set up in 58,194
gram panchayats and
12,016 in urban areas to
provide relief and time-
ly medical facilities to
the common people
against the deadly sec-
ond wave.
Members of these
committees include
representatives of
ASHA (Accredited So-
cial health activist),
Civil Defence, RWA and
regional personnel.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: A Covid pa-
tient Kamal Kishore
(35) on Thursday com-
mitted suicide by jump-
ing off the fourth floor
of the Covid hospital at
SGPGI.
Sources here said de-
ceased had informed
his father that he was
not getting proper treat-
ment in the hospital be-
fore committing sui-
cide. He was not getting
meal, medicines and
other treatment on
time, his father alleged.
Manohar Lal, father
of deceased said,Kamal
Kishore was suffering
from kidney disease
and he was undergoing
treatment in SGPGI
from the past three
years. He was tested
positive on April 18 and
he was under depres-
sion after his Covid
positive reports.
It was reported that
Kamal called his father
and told him that he
was not getting proper
treatment in hospital.
Doctors on duty in-
formed police that pa-
tient was under depres-
sion and he was cooper-
ating with the staff
members.
Police have taken
statements of doctors
on duty and further in-
vestigation was on.
Around 60,569 mohalla surveillance committees have been set
up in 58,194 gram panchayats and 12,016 in urban areas.
Janardan Misra
Lucknow: More than
2500 patients have re-
ceived expert advice by
highly qualified doctors
of the King George
Medical University in
past 15 days under OPD
e-Sanjeevani scheme.
During Corona time,
patients as well as doc-
tors were reluctant to
reach hospitals for
health advice but in se-
vere condition patients
have to take advice for
medicines and other
treatment. More than 23
experts of the KGMU
have started providing
advice on phone under
tele-medicine pro-
gramme. It was report-
ed that more than 2500
people were benefited
from tele-medicine ser-
vice -- e-Sanjeevani,
since April 10 only
.
Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath had started
speciality OPD e-San-
jeevani app recently,
which has proved a
boon for patients.
KGMU senior doctors
and specialists are pro-
viding consultation to
patients at home from
Monday to Saturday in
morning 9:00 AM to 2:00
in noon. Experts from
medicine, cardiology,
surgery, respiratory
medicine, obstetrician
gynaecologist, skin and
other departments pro-
vide consultation to pa-
tients.
Dr Sheetal Verma,
nodal in-charge of tele-
medicine hub said that
e-Sanjeevani OPD has
benefited more than
one lakh patients dur-
ing Corona period. She
said that all other speci-
ality OPD of KGMU
were shifted to e-Sanji-
vani.Doctors were pro-
viding e-prescriptions
to all patients. As every
patient was getting per-
sonal treatment it has
increased response on
e-Sanjeevani scheme.
Even patients of cancer
and gynaecology de-
partments were taking
expert consultation
through e-Sanjeevani
she pointed out.
Covid time: e-Sanjeevani OPD proves a boon for patients at home
EXPERTS ADVICE

CM Yogi
had started
speciality OPD
e-Sanjeevani
app recently,
which has
proved a boon
for patients
seeking advice
at home KGMU senior doctors and specialists are providing consultation to patients at home.
Kamal was not getting
meal, medicines and
other treatment,
father alleged
NEW DEATHS

l Vol 1 l Issue No. 139 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
Promoted by First India
News International Pvt. Ltd.
he gap between
the number of
vaccines ad-
ministered in
rich countries
and in the developing
world “is growing every
single day, and becoming
more grotesque every day”,
declared Tedros Adhanom
Ghebreyesus, director-gen-
eral of the World Health
Organization, on March 22.
The latter statement re-
ferred to the fact that only
0.1% of the doses of vac-
cines distributed in the
world had been received by
the 29 poorest countries,
which represent 9% of the
global population.
AMBITIOUS
SCALING-UP PLAN
However, as early as April
2020, the Bill Melinda
Gates Foundation, the Eu-
ropean Commission and
France together with WHO
supported the implementa-
tion of Covid-19 Vaccines
Global Access or COVAX ,
an international solidarity
mechanism.
Led by the GAVI vaccine
alliance and Coalition for
Epidemic Preparedness In-
novations, in partnership
with UNICEF and Pan-
American Health Organi-
zation, COVAX’s mission is
to purchase vaccines for
equitable distribution in 98
participating high-income
countries and 92 low- and
middle-income countries.
At the end of February,
the first 504,000 and 600,000
doses were delivered to
Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana
respectively. At the begin-
ning of April, more than 38
million doses had already
been received by 100 coun-
tries, 61 of which benefit-
ingfromasubsidyfinanced
by a dedicated fund. In the
coming months, the expect-
ed scale-up of COVAX is
ambitious, with a stated
objective of 337 million
doses to 145 countries by
the end of June, and at
least 2 billion doses by the
end of 2021, including 1.3
billion at no cost to low-in-
come countries, where up
to 27% of the population
could be vaccinated.
Even if this objective is
met, it will not be sufficient
to bring the pandemic un-
der control. To achieve
this, a much higher per-
centage of the population
must be immunised. Re-
cent modelling has esti-
mated that if a vaccine
prevents transmission of
the virus in 90% of cases,
then nearly 67% of the pop-
ulation needs to be vacci-
nated to achieve – at least
temporarily – herd immu-
nity, and return to “nor-
mal” life. Such a threshold,
applied to a world popula-
tion of 7.7 billion people,
leads to a production target
of between 5.2 billion doses
in the most favourable situ-
ation of a single-dose vac-
cine, and twice as much, or
10.4 billion doses, if two
shots are needed.
VACCINE FOR ALL
In addition to producing
new vaccines at an unprec-
edented scale, it is neces-
sary to vaccinate every-
where in the world, in the
shortest possible time, be-
fore new variants compro-
mise the initial results.
This imperative is reiter-
ated by GAVI and CEPI, the
co-leads of COVAX, as well
as by UNICEF and PAHO,
in charge of procurement
and logistics. In the words
of Jeremy Farrar, director
of the Wellcome Trust: “If
left to spread unchecked in
large parts of the world,
the virus risks mutating to
an extent where our vac-
cines and treatments no
longer work – leaving us all
exposed.”
The distribution of vac-
cines is complicated by
early commercial agree-
ments concluded by gov-
ernments with the indus-
try, when no product was
yet approved, in some cases
for more doses than need-
ed. For example, by mid-
November 2020, pre-orders
from Australia, Canada
and Japan together exceed-
ed 1 billion doses. In total,
high-income countries
alone are estimated to have
pre-ordered 4.2 billion dos-
es for 2021.
SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION
How Covid-19 vaccination can be accelerated globally
T
If you propose to speak
always ask yourself, is it true,
is it necessary, is it kind.
—Buddha
Spiritual
SPEAK
Top
TWEET
Ravi Shankar Prasad
@rsprasad
Represented India at the G-7
Digital and Technology Ministerial
Meeting. Spoke about India’s
efforts to bring digital inclusion
and empower ordinary citizens
through the use of technology
under #DigitalIndia programme.
Piyush Goyal @PiyushGoyal
Had an engaging discussion
with Executive Vice President
of the European Commission @
VDombrovskis ahead of the Flag
of India Flag of European Union
Summit. India is committed to
mutual cooperation with the EU
on Trade Investment to ensure
greater integration between our
democratic economies.
t’s a matter of pride for India
that Indian Ocean is the only
ocean ontheplanetearthwhich
has been named after a country
.
The Indian Ocean is the hub of
sea trade and logistics routes
and India has the longest coast-
line on this ocean. These geo-
graphical features provide In-
dia an immense strategic and
locational advantage in Inter-
national trade and resultant
geopolitics. In British Era, In-
dia was the center of a huge
network of trade and communi-
cation. Unfortunately, post-in-
dependence, India squandered
this advantage due to its limited
ability to dominate the blue wa-
ters. India’s strategy for in-
creasing its influence in Asia
must be guided by its location
and consequently domination
of Indo Pacific region.
IMPORTANCE OF
INDO-PACIFIC REGION
Admiral Alfred T. Mahan said-
“Whoever attains maritime
supremacy within the Indian
Ocean would be a prominent
player on the international
scene”. India’s strategic loca-
tion at the center of the Indian
Ocean gives it a superb strate-
gic importance and helps in
maintaining contact with the
rest of the world. India is fortu-
nately also blessed with abun-
dant natural resources and
manpower reserves in EEZ.
India now acknowledges the
untapped growth and power
potential of this region. Pres-
ently, India has no major rivals
in this region, but China has
been making concerted efforts
to flag its presence in this area.
INCREASING
FOOTPRINTS

z ANDAMAN NICOBAR TRIS-
ERVICES COMMAND India has
positioned its first tri-services
command at Port Blair, Anda-
man Nicobar island. This
tri-services command will act
as a fulcrum for Indian Navy op-
erations and also friendly naval
forces, within the Indo-pacific
region. This Command also
becomes a pivot for India’s joint
operations within this region.

z OFFSHORE BASES India is
increasing its footprints within
the blue waters of the Indio-
Pacific Ocean region. Strategi-
cally located islands within the
Indian Ocean is suitably de-
veloped as bases on strategic
chokepoints and trading routes.
These islands will provide
advantages for strategic, logis-
tic, and joint anti-submarine
warfare missions.

z LISTENING POSTS The Indian
government has set up listen-
ing posts and established
Naval surveillance facilities in
Madagascar and Mauritius. A
small land ALAGELA, located
North of Mauritius is being
developed as a listening post
and offshore base by India and
Mauritius jointly. In recent
years, India has sought to fur-
ther develop its military access
to the south-west Indian Ocean
and Mozambique Channel by
building a replacement naval
and air facility on Seychelles’
remote, Assumption Island.

z JOINT USAGE OF BASES India
has negotiated agreements
with several states within the
littoral IOR to get military
access to their bases. India
has also engaged with powers
outside the IOR, deepening co-
operation with France and USA
through logistics agreements,
which grant India access to
port facilities at the U.S. base
on Diego Garcia, Japanese
Djibouti base and French Re-
union Island. Agreements and
understanding with Australia
has been reached to use Cocos
islands for joint naval surveil-
lance of sea routes.
NEED FOR BLUE
WATER NAVY
Given the geopolitical nuances
within the Indian Ocean, the
Indian Navy must transform
itself into a blue water navy.
Atmanirbhar route is the ideal
way to achieve nation-building
through shipbuilding, in pur-
suit of our dreams of becom-
ing blue water navy
. Neverthe-
less, India still retains a fo-
cused desire to build a naval
force capable of fulfilling its
strategic goal of emerging as a
significant global player and
regional superpower.
WAY AHEAD
Increasing the footprints and
dominance in Indo-Pacific Re-
gion by having strategically
placed bases and an enhanced
role for Tri-Services Joint Com-
mand at Port Blair, is a move in
the right direction. The Indian
Navy should emerge as a multi-
dimensional, well-networked
bluewater naval force, which is
able to combat any maritime
challenge in the 21st century
.
Collaborationwithotherfriend-
lycountrieslikeQUAD willalso
pavethewayforIndiatoacquire
anexcellentpowerstatuswithin
the coming years. The Indian
Ocean is critical for India’s stra-
tegic interests and India should
work towards making it as the
‘INDIA’S OCEAN’.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
DOMINANCE
OF INDIAN OCEAN REGION
I
Given the
geopolitical
nuances within
the Indian
Ocean, the
Indian Navy
must transform
itself into a blue
water navy.
Atmanirbhar
route is the ideal
way to achieve
nation-building
through
shipbuilding, in
pursuit of our
dreams of
becoming blue
water navy.
Nevertheless,
India still
retains a focused
desire to build a
naval force
capable of
fulfilling its
strategic goal of
emerging as a
significant
global player
and regional
superpower
THE INDIAN NAVY
SHOULD EMERGE AS A
MULTI-DIMENSIONAL,
WELL-NETWORKED
BLUEWATER NAVAL
FORCE, WHICH IS ABLE
TO COMBAT ANY
MARITIME CHALLENGE
IN THE 21ST CENTURY
MAJ GEN
CP SINGH, RETD
The writer is a scholar soldier
accredited with MA, MSc, LLB,
MBA, M Phil (Def Mgt) and M Phil
(International Strategic Affairs)
IN-DEPTH
CLIMATE CHANGE VS.
TECHNO-UTOPIA
umanity has never faced a collective
challenge as daunting as climate change.
Net global greenhouse-gas (GHG) emis-
sions must be reduced to near-zero with-
in the next three decades to give us even
a fighting chance of keeping the temperatures
within 2° Celsius of pre-industrial levels. The fur-
ther we exceed that threshold, the more likely we
are to run into truly catastrophic scenarios. With
the United States back in the Paris climate agree-
ment, this is the time for the world to reengage
with these epochal challenges.
Bill Gates’s highly respected voice is thus a wel-
come addition to these efforts. In his new book,
How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We
Have and the Breakthroughs We Need, Gates ar-
gues that we need more experimentation with new
ideas and technological innovations if we are to
find a solution. But his push for solar geoengineer-
ing is a step in the wrong direction, because it may
undermine the incentives that are needed to meet
the challenge of climate change.
The idea behind solar geoengineering is simple:
If we cannot limit the amount of GHGs in the at-
mosphere, perhaps we can block the sunlight that
generates heat, for example by creating a reflective
cover. Volcanic eruptions do this naturally
. Follow-
ing the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philip-
pines in 1991, large amounts of sulfuric acid and
dust settled into the stratosphere, temporarily re-
ducing the amount of sunlight that the Earth re-
ceived. Over the next three years, temperatures
dropped by about 0.5°C globally, and by 0.6°C in the
northern hemisphere. SOURCE: PROJECT SYNDICATE
H
HIGH COURTS STEP
IN TO SAVE PEOPLE
fewdaysbackDushyantDavequestioned
the Supreme Court for its decision to
take a suo motu case over the Covid-19
situation in the country
. “I deprecate the
move by the Supreme Court to take these
matters into its own hands. Having slept over these
issues over the last several months, the Supreme
Court suddenly decides to take suo motu cogni-
zance when High Courts are in session of the mat-
ter,” Dave said. The CJI Justice SA Bobde, now re-
tired, countered the allegation with “you have im-
puted motives to us without reading our order”.
Compared to the Supreme Court, the high courts
are exhibiting a lot more spine than the Supreme
Court in flagging the system and some institutions.
One expected the Supreme Court to have the cour-
agetotakeapro-peoplestand which,allegedly
,it did
not do. One will not recall any order of the Supreme
Court pulling up a state government for its mishan-
dling of the Covid-19 crisis. See what the Delhi High
Court observed on a day 20 people died at Jaipur
Golden Hospital recently
. The court said it would
“hang” anyone found obstructing oxygen supply
.
The Madras High Court went a step further and
castigated the Election Commission for allowing
political rallies during the Covid-19 surge. In a
stinging observation, the court said, “Your institu-
tion is singularly responsible for the second wave
of Covid-19. Election Commission officers should
be booked on murder charges probably
.” The court
warned that it will stop counting on May 2 if the
Election Commission does not prepare a proper
protocol for that day
.
A

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INDIA
06
Karma-Yogi...
vaccination drive suc-
cessful. “We have taken
a decision to float a
global tender for im-
porting at least 4 crore
vaccines from global
manufacturers to meet
the state’s require-
ment,” said Siddharth
Nath Singh, the Cabinet
minister for MSME and
a government spokes-
man. The tenders are
likely to be floated in a
day or two. Global vac-
cine manufacturers like
Pfizer, Moderna, Jhon-
son and Jhonson, Rus-
sia’s Sputnik are likely
to participate in the ten-
der.While the registra-
tion process was opened
for the 18-44 age group
from Wednesday, Uttar
Pradesh is among other
states which do not
have vaccine vials to
launch the drive from
May 1. It has the largest
population of 18-44 age
group category and will
require an estimated 7
to 8 crore vaccine shots
over a period of time to
make the drive success-
ful. Till date, only 1.2
crore people have so far
been vaccinated. Out of
the total number, only
21,13,088 have taken the
second dose. Chief Min-
ister Yogi Adityanath
has asked officials to
ensure that the vac-
cines are not wasted.
“Only those who are to
be vaccinated should be
allowed entry in vacci-
nation centres. The vac-
cination of those above
45 years will continue,”
he said.
Will didi...
the polling for the
eighth phase of West
Bengal elections con-
cluded. The last phase
of the election was held
amid an unprecedented
Covid spike. West Ben-
gal went to polls in eight
phases, whereas Assam
had three phases. All
eyes would be on the
294-seat West Bengal
Assembly where a
straight contest is ex-
pected between the rul-
ing Trinamool Con-
gress and main chal-
lenger BJP. The CPI
(M)-Congress-ISF alli-
ance is also expected to
give a tough fight to the
BJP and TMC on some
seats.
Covaxin down...
The issue of vaccine
pricing was discussed
at a meeting chaired by
Cabinet Secretary Rajiv
Gauba on Monday. Of
the 15 crore people vac-
cinated, just over 9 per
cent have received Cov-
axin. Its safety and effi-
cacy results from its fi-
nal analysis will be
available in June.Both
vaccines are available
to the Central govern-
ment at a rate of Rs 150
per dose.
Under the govern-
ment’s new vaccine
policy applicable from
May 1, 50 per cent of
doses will be available
in the open market,
from where both state
governments and pri-
vate vaccination cen-
tres would have to pro-
cure to vaccinate the
18-44 age group. Private
vaccination centres
will have to dip into the
same basket for doses
for the priority group
of 45+ as well.
Meanwhile, given the
limited doses available,
some Opposition states
have red-flagged differ-
ential pricing and the
silence of the Centre on
how private manufac-
turers will decide on
distribution. The Con-
gress termed the new
policy as “discrimina-
tory and insensitive”,
and accused the govern-
ment of allowing vac-
cine makers to profiteer
to the tune of Rs 1.11
lakh crore.
Justify or...
We are getting calls for
oxygen beds, hospitals.
Even you must be get-
ting calls,” the court
said. “We have to rise as
Indians. This is the sin-
gle biggest challenge
India has faced,” the
judges pointed out. So-
licitor General Tushar
Mehta, who was repre-
senting the Centre,
said, “If there is any
extra allocation to Mad-
hya Pradesh, it is be-
cause of the surge in
cases in two of their
districts. It is not NDA
government versus oth-
ers. It is the Centre
which is working with
the states”. Delhi had
sought an urgent order
on the oxygen alloca-
tion, saying though its
present allocation was
490 metric tonnes, it re-
ceived only 400 metric
tonnes yesterday. This
is up from the 300 met-
ric tonnes received last
week, Delhi said, add-
ing, “Without your lord-
ships, we wouldn’t have
got it”. Delhi govt,
which is logging 24K to
28K cases for nearly 2
weeks, has sought 780
MT of oxy. Delhi’s re-
quirements were pro-
jected at 700 MT last
week, but allocation
was 480 MT. which was
later increased to 490. In
at least one hospital,
doctors attributed the
deaths of 25 patients to
the shortage. Other hos-
pitals have periodically
stopped new admission
when the shortage was
grave.
FROM PG 1
New Delhi: Chief of
Army Staff General
MM Naravane called on
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi on Thursday
.
They discussed various
initiatives being taken
by the Army to help in
COVID management,
saidthePrimeMinster’s
Office (PMO).
According to the
statement released by
the PMO, General MM
Naravane informed the
PM that the medical
staff of the Army is be-
ing made available to
various state govern-
ments. He also briefed
the Prime Minister that
the Army is setting up
temporary hospitals in
various parts of the
country
, the PMO said.
It further informed
that General MM Nara-
vane apprised PM Modi
that Army is opening up
its hospitals for civil-
ians wherever possible,
adding that citizens can
approach their nearest
army hospitals.
General MM Nara-
vane informed the PM
that the Army is helping
with manpower for im-
ported Oxygen tankers
and vehicles where spe-
cialised skills are re-
quired to manage them,
the PMO said. —ANI
PMModireviewsArmy’sreadinessinCovidmgmt
New Delhi: Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi on
Thursday demanded
free Covid-19 vaccina-
tion for all Indians, add-
ing the dictionary
meaning and the usage
of the word ‘free’ to em-
phasise his point.
Calling the govern-
ment’s vaccination pol-
icy discriminatory,
Gandhi and other Con-
gress leaders have been
demanding free vac-
cines for everyone.
In his tweet on Thurs-
day
, the Congress leader
posted, “free /fri/ adjec-
tive, adverb — costing
nothing, or not needing
to be paid for,” and then
went on to illustrate the
usage of word “free”
through two examples
relevant to his de-
mands, “India must get
free Covid vaccine. All
citizens must receive
the inoculation free of
charge.” “Let’s hope
they get it this time”.
Gandhi’s tweet
comes a day after
the Centre started
registrations
for Phase 3
of the
vacci-
nation drive, which has
been opened up for all
adults. Over 11.6 mil-
lion people had regis-
tered for vaccination on
CoWIN, the govern-
ment’s vaccine registra-
tion website, on
Wednesday. The Way-
anad MP had attacked
Modi government just a
day ago, saying,
“People’s mon-
ey was given
to vaccine
companies to
develop Covid
vaccines,” he
had tweeted.
—ANI
Let’s hope all citizens
get free Covid vax
this time, says RaGa
FIR against Param Bir
Singh, 26 others over
corruption charges
Law students write to CJI over drug black marketing
New Delhi: Requesting
to pass immediate di-
rections and orders for
uniform guidelines on
certain matters related
to the Covid-19 pandem-
ic, a group of law stu-
dents from across India
has sent a combined let-
ter petition to the Chief
Justice of India (CJI)
Nuthalapati Venkata
Ramana.
The group led by Adi-
tya Kashyap, a final
year law student at Na-
tional Law University
(NLU), Punjab, has
pleaded to the CJI to
pass immediate appro-
priate directions
against rampant black-
marketing of critical
medicines, and how to
provide oxygen cylin-
ders to the people in
need.
“Scarcity of the life-
saving drugs namely
Remdesivir injections,
Tocilizumab and the
oxygen cylinders is a
major problem being
faced by the majority of
ailing patients during
this second wave of the
pandemic in India. In
the current situation,
black-marketing and il-
legal hoarding has be-
come rampant thereby
denying accessibility to
the needy and under-
privileged. This has fur-
ther added extra pres-
sure on the already bur-
dened supply chain,”
the letter petition said.
—ANI
Mumbai: Maharash-
tra police have filed an
FIR against former
Mumbai police com-
missioner Param Bir
Singh after a police in-
spector levelled cor-
ruption charges
against him, a senior
official said on Thurs-
day.
The FIR has been
registered at Akola in
Vidarbha against Sin-
gh, DCP Parag Manere
and 26 other police-
men.
The city Kotwali po-
lice in Akola registered
the FIR against the po-
lice personnel under
various sections rang-
ing from criminal con-
spiracy, destruction of
evidence and sections
of the Scheduled Caste
and Scheduled Tribe
(Prevention of Atroci-
ties Act), 1989.
Akola police filed a
Zero FIR (mode of lodg-
ing FIR in any police
station irrespective of
the offence committed
in that area or any oth-
er area) at the Kotwali
police station and it
has been transferred to
the Thane city police,
the official told PTI.
Police inspector
Bhimrao Ghadge in his
complaint had made a
series of allegations of
corruption against
Singh and other offic-
ers, in the period when
the former Mumbai CP
was posted with the
Thane police. —PTI
New Delhi: As voters
continue to exercise
their franchise in the
last phase of West Ben-
gal elections, the ruling
Trinamool Congress
has written to the Elec-
tion Commission of In-
dia (ECI) citing ‘inade-
quacies’ in its direction
for counting of votes on
May 2. The TMC has
stated that no provi-
sions have been made
for submission of nega-
tive RT-PCR test by poll-
ing officers and CAPF
personnel. This comes
aftertheECIonWednes-
day made it mandatory
for candidates and their
agents to show negative
RT-PCR test reports or
vaccination reports.
In the letter, TMC has
claimed that no provi-
sion has been made for
submission of negative
RT-PCR tests by polling
officers present in
counting halls. —PTI
Mumbai: Market
benchmarks Sensex
and Nifty ended mar-
ginally higher as
monthly derivatives ex-
pired on Thursday amid
a largely positive trend
in global equities.
After gyrating 840
points during the day,
the 30-share BSE index
finished 32.10 points or
0.06 per cent higher at
49,765.94.
Similarly, the broad-
er NSE Nifty advanced
30.35 points or 0.20 per
cent to 14,894.90.
Bajaj Finserv was the
top gainer in Sensex
pack, rallying nearly
7%, followed by Bajaj
Finance, Axis Bank, Re-
liance Industries and
IndusInd Bank. On the
other hand, Bajaj Auto,
HDFC, HCL Tech
LT were among the
laggards. Barring met-
als, financials phar-
ma, most of key secto-
ral indices were in red.
—PTI
THE UPDATE
Rahul Gandhi
@RahulGandhi
free /fri/
adjective, adverb
costing nothing, or
not needing to be
paid for. e.g.-
• India must get
free COVID vaccine.
• All citizens must
receive the inocula-
tion free of charge.
Let’s hope they get it
this time. #vaccine
New Delhi: Former
Prime Minister Man-
mohan Singh has been
discharged from AIIMS
Trauma Centre in Del-
hi, after recovering
fromCovid-19,anAIIMS
Official said as reported
by ANI.He tested posi-
tive for covid-19 and was
admitted to AIIMS on
April 19. He had mild
symptoms of fever.
Manmohan Singh, 88,
had been admitted to
the AIIMS trauma cen-
tre, which is a dedicated
COVID facility
. Officials
had said that Singh had
a mild fever later test-
ed positive for COV-
ID-19. Dr Singh had
taken both the doses of
COVID-19 vaccine.
General Naravane apprised PM Modi that the army is opening up its hospitals for civilans wherever possible. —PHOTO BY PIB
Manmohan
discharged
from AIIMS
New Delhi: Depart-
ment for Empowerment
of PwDs requested
Health Ministry to issue
directions to states
UTs to make a special
provision in COVID-19
testing, vaccination,
treatment centres for
priority in attending to
treatment of per-
sons with disabilities.
Union Minister of Social
Justice Empowerment
Thawarchand Gehlot
tweeted. “#DEPwD
took up matter with @
MoHFW_INDIA to issue
appropriate instructions
to Central, State health-
care authorities to give
priority to #Divyangjan
in #COVID19 testing,
treatment, vaccina-
tion. #sabkasaathsabko-
vaccine @PIB_India.”
New Delhi: The govern-
ment allowed the import
of 17 medical devices
for three months with
mandatory declara-
tions immediately after
customs clearance and
before the sale of such
products in the domes-
tic market. An order in
this regard has been
issued by the Food and
Consumer Affairs Minis-
try. “Government under
the leadership of PM@
Narendra Modiji permits
importers of medical
devices for making
mandatory declarations
required under Legal
Metrology Rules, 2011
after custom clearance
and before sale,” Food
and Consumer Affairs
Minister Piyush Goyal
tweeted.
New Delhi: The government is fighting a danger-
ous pandemic and not doing dirty politics like the
Congress party and its allies, said Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) leader and Union Minister Mukhtar Ab-
bas Naqvi on Thursday. “We are fighting a danger-
ous pandemic. It’s not the correct time for politics
so we are fighting Corona day and night and not
doing dirty politics with like the Congress and its
allies,” Naqvi said. This comes in response to Con-
gress leader Rahul Gandhi’s criticism of Centre’s
management of the pandemic and vaccines.
PRIORITISE SPECIALLY-ABLED DURING
TESTING, VAX, TREATMENT: DEPWD
GOVERNMENT ALLOWS IMPORT OF 17
MEDICAL DEVICES FOR 3 MONTHS
CENTRE FIGHTING COVID, NOT INDULGING
IN DIRTY POLITICS LIKE CONG: NAQVI
Sonitpur: An earth-
quake measuring 3.3 on
the Richter Scale hit As-
sam’s Sonitpur on
Thursday evening. The
earthquake occurred at
4.17 pm and its coordi-
nates were 26.59 N and
92.47 E.Today’s earth-
quake comes a day after
an earthquake of mag-
nitude 6.4 hit Assam
with Sonitpur as its epi-
centre, followed by a
series of aftershocks,
causing widespread
damage in the region.
Officials said there
were no immediate re-
port of deaths, but three
people were injured as
the first quake of 6.4
magnitude struck
Dhekiajuli,nearTezpur,
.The impact was felt in
almost the entire North-
eastern region, parts of
WB, and neighbouring
countries of Bhutan
and Bangladesh. —PTI
A health worker wearing a PPE kit distributes food at a
temporarily converted isolation ward for COVID-19 patients, at a
banquet hall in New Delhi on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Param Bir Singh
Quake measuring 3.3
hits Sonitpur in Assam
Sensex, Nifty
end higher in
FO expiry
TMC writes to EC over ‘inadequacies’
in directions over counting of votes
Jagdeep Dhankhar shows an
inked finger after casting his vote.

NEWS
07
NO COVID-19
POSITIVE IN
THIS VILLAGE
The Corona virus has caused
panic all around the world,
but the village of Ichhawar in
Banda district in Uttar Pradesh
has never had a Corona positive
case since the pandemic began.
The villagers follow the protocols
to tee and even check the Covid
test report of people who are
coming into the village and allow
then only if the result carried
shows negative for the person.
The village with a population of
3,000 is setting an example to
the whole country by following
protocols. Every villager in the
village is very conscious about
their own health and safety.
The village is not without people
who had written back from their
workplace in different cities
and state. A villager said that
since everyone is concerned
about their health and safety,
when ever a person comes into
the village from any part of the
country, it is made sure that
the person carries with himself/
herself a covid negative test
before entering the village.
Another villager said that
selected villagers keep vigilance
and monitor everyone health and
if any person who has symptoms
like cold, fever then they are
strictly advised to be at home
and take medicines but if the
symptoms are serious then they
are immediately taken to Jaspura
Community Health Center to take
a Corona test. The villagers say
that only due to following these
steps, the village has not been
touched by the virus.
—Amit Baliyan
C-TOLL 577
NOT 135
The State Election Commission
(SEC) is in the dock over
its alleged failure to enforce
Covid-19 guidelines which lead
to the deaths of 135 government
employees on poll duties. The rap
came from the Allahabad High
Court, which has warned SEC of
initiating criminal proceedings if it
fails to persuade people to follow
corona protocol and fixed May 3
for next hearing in the case.
Thursday was the last-phase of
the three-tier Panchayat elections.
Pictures of polling from various
parts of the State showed the
court order was followed more in
breach than in practise. As SEC
officials threw up their hands
in exasperation saying they are
helpless in the situation, various
teachers union have come up with
a list of 577 teachers and support
staff, they claim died on poll duty.
Complete with the names and
addresses, the list of the deceased
has been sent to the SEC.
“We has requested the
commission to put off the polls
on April 12 following Covid surge
but nobody gave heed to our
request,” says an upset Dinesh
Sharma an office-bearer of the
union. The irate teachers body, UP
Shikshak Mahasangh (UPSM), has
now given a call to teachers and
Shiksha Mitra not to participate in
the counting of votes on May 2.
—M Tariq Khan
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Politics
over an oxygen tanker
which reached Luc-
know from Chattis-
garh has started with
the Congress claiming
that the Chief Minis-
ter Bhupesh Baghel
had sent the oxygen
tanker after receiving
request from the Gen-
eral Secretary Priyan-
ka Vadra. The Medanta
Hospital meanwhile
has said that the tank-
er was donated by an
NGO in Delhi.
The confusion has
got people asking the
question that if the
high command meant
the donation of the
oxygen tanker to be a
secret, why are the
leaders of the state try-
ing to boast that the
donation was done by
the party.
With the state expe-
riencing high positive
cases and having diffi-
culty in managing its
resources, help has
been pouring in from
all parts of the county
as well as from big
names like Adani, Am-
bani and Tata Group.
The help has also
been coming from the
90 small MSMEs in the
state as they have be-
gun continuously sup-
plying oxygen to 285
hospitals in the state
without charging a
single penny.
On the other hand,
posts and messages
have bene doing the
rounds in Social Media
which states that upon
seeing the shortage of
oxygen in the state
Congress General Sec-
retary Priyanka Vadra
had requested the
Chhattisgarh Chief
Minister Bhupesh
Baghel to send a
16-tonne oxygen tank-
er to Lucknow.
Coincidentally
when a tanker reached
the Medanta Hospital
in the state’s capital,
Congress’s state presi-
dent, Ajay Kumar Lal-
lu and other leaders
began announcing that
the oxygen tanker was
donated by the party.
When the Medanta
Hospital was called to
confirm the same, it
said that an NGO based
out of Delhi had in fact
sent the oxygen tanker
and not any political
party. There has been
rumors that Priyanka
Vadra may have sent
the truck secretly un-
der the name of the
NGO but what has baf-
fled everyone is that
then why are the lead-
ers in Lucknow trying
to take credit for the
donation even after
they themselves had
suggested not to bring
politics into donation.
Jal Shati Min-
ister of the state, Dr.
Mahendra Singh said
that the government
has supplied
1160-tonne oxygen in
two days boasting
about it and hence the
Congress should also
not take credit for do-
nating 16-tonne of
oxygen. He added that
during the time of
crisis, everyone should
corporate with each
other.
PRIYANKA, MEDANTA INDULGE IN
TUG OF WAR OVER OXYGEN TANKER
Housefull at
crematoriums,
last rites shift
to pavements
Woman’s naked
body found
First India Bureau
Ghaziabad: With cre-
matoriums in Ghazi-
abad completely over-
run by bodies, people
have now started burn-
ing pyre on the pave-
ments.Till3daysagothe
bodies were being burnt
in the ghats of the Hin-
donRiverincitybutsud-
den surge in the death
rate meant that there
was no space for bodies
which were being
brought in numbers and
forcedthepeopletoburn
the bodies in the pave-
ments on the other side
of the crematorium.
There was a long
queue of ambulances
carryingbodiesof people
who lost their fight to Co-
ronaoutsidethecremato-
riums were long and sev-
eral of the ambulances
were also missing num-
ber plates. When the
numbers written on the
ambulances were called,
itwaseitherswitchedoff
or not reachable. There
has also been reports of
peoplehavingtowaitout-
side crematoriums with
the bodies of their loved
ones for hours while be-
ing covered with PPE
kits themselves.
The pain that the
loved ones of the passed
soul was visible as they
couldnotstopcryingbut
had to wait in long
queues before perform-
ing the last rites.
Lucknow: Miscreants
killed a 25-year-old
woman and threw her
naked body in an empty
plot in Para area of Yogi
Puram. Her head was
battered with stone. On
the spot, blood-soaked
brick and her clothes
were recovered. Local
people fear rape while
police is waiting for the
post mortem report.
Inspector told that ef-
forts are being made to
identify the woman.
Blood soaked brick was
also found on the spot.
Inspector informed that
CCTVs installed on the
route leading to the spot
of incident were being
checked.
Kalabazari stings covid patients
First India Bureau
Ghaziabad: During co-
rona epidemic, apart
from oxygen, Remedesi-
vir injection is also be-
ing black-marketed
heavily
. The situation
has become such that
despite injection Reme-
desivir being in stock in
privatehospitalsinGha-
ziabad, attendants of
patients have to run
to Delhi-Noida to pur-
chase it.
On receiving com-
plaint, Nodal Officer of
district Senthil Pandian
C conducted raids with
police and administra-
tion team at Nagar Hos-
pital and Ganesh Hospi-
tal late Wednesday
night, which revealed
misdeed of hospital
management.
The nodal officer said
seven patients could be
admitted to Civil Hospi-
tal, while the number of
patients here was less
and 40 Remdesivir injec-
tions were being pro-
cured by company daily
for the hospital. Despite
being present in suffi-
cient quantities, pa-
tients were asked to pur-
chase Remdesivir injec-
tions from outside.
The same situation
was in Ganesh Hospital
in Nehru Nagar. Here
too, patients were being
asked to buy injections
from outside, while ade-
quate quantity of injec-
tions was available in
the hospital. Investiga-
tions are being carried
out to verify facts.
Police and adminis-
trative officials are
awarethatblackmarket-
ing of Remdesivir injec-
tion was being done in
hospitals. In such a situ-
ation,NodalOfficerSen-
thil Pandian C sought
records from companies
and hospital manage-
menttocheckhowmany
injectionsof Remdesivir
had come in last 15 days
in all hospitals and
which patients it had
been injected.
Skeletons of fee reimbursement scamtumble out
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Fee reim-
bursement scam in the
Social Welfare Depart-
ment between 2010 and
2014 has started to sur-
face. In the investiga-
tion of Directorate of
Social Welfare, a single
student was paid fee re-
imbursement multiple
times. Action has been
recommended after
completion of investi-
gation about role of
clerks posted in District
Social Welfare Officer
office, Lucknow. Many
clerks set to retire and
are trying hard to sup-
press the matter.
Deputy Director Social
Welfare Srinivas Dwive-
di said during investi-
gation many students
have been paid fee reim-
bursement several
times, recovery of
which will be done from
the institute and clerks.
According to the inves-
tigation report, fee re-
imbursement in 2010-
11, 2011-12 and special
audit data of 2012-13
revealed that B Pharma
student Ranjit Gautam
was given Rs 73,200
twice for first year in
2011-12. In the same
year many students in-
cluding B.Tech student
Krishakant Joshi, Yash-
pal Rai, Pawan Bharti,
Mukesh Kumar, Neeraj
Kumar, Shashank were
paid in connivance with
senior and junior assis-
tants posted at Luc-
know at that time. The
role of the then District
Social Welfare Officer
is also being investigat-
ed. Apart from this, Ak-
shay Pratap Singh,
studying in BLS of GSS-
RM of Sarojninagar, is
unable to pay fee reim-
bursement. In the appli-
cation given to District
Social Welfare Officer,
he has raised allegation
regarding payment of
Rs 2340 or Rs 25000. He
has sought proper in-
vestigation of the case.
District Social Welfare
Officer Dr Amarnath
Yeti said the scam is be-
ing investigated by
higher officials. Any-
thing wrong with my
level will be rectified
and the student’s com-
plaint would be investi-
gated.
There is no fee reim-
bursement not only
from social welfare de-
partment but also from
minority welfare de-
partment. Basit Mujta-
ba, doing BCA from In-
tegral University, has
applied, but fee reim-
bursement is awaited.
Not only Basit alone
but many students in-
cluding Rukhsana Be-
gum and Shabana are
waiting for fee reim-
bursement after the ap-
plication.
SANITISING GODS’ ABODE
A worker sanitises Bankey Bihari temple during weekend lockdown at Vrindavan in Mathura.
Kanpur: Groundreport
of lack of oxygen and
vaccine in Kanpur was
presented by BJP public
representatives and dis-
trict heads before Depu-
ty Chief Minister and
Minister in-charge of
Kanpur, Keshav Prasad
Maurya.
Inthevirtualmeeting,
the minister in-charge
assured that this prob-
lem would be resolved
soon. BJP leaders said
that it was a big chal-
lenge to make arrange-
ments during epidemic.
The sooner oxygen, vac-
cine and other life re-
sourcesareavailable,the
betteritwillbe.TheMin-
ister in-charge said that
it was definitely chal-
lengingtomakearrange-
mentsinsuchabigcrisis
suddenly
, but in four to
five days the infection
spread would be over-
come besides lack of ox-
ygen would also be ful-
filled. Efforts were being
made to increase beds in
all hospitals, which
would be completed in a
day or two.
Dy CM Maurya takes
stock of oxy in Kanpur
Priyanka Gandhi Medanta Hospital
Cops inspect stock at a chemist shop in Ghaziabad.

08
2NDFRONT
TOTAL 75% TURNOUT IN FINAL PHASE;
COUNTING TO BE HELD ON MAY 2
PANCHAYAT ELECTION
In fourth phase alone, over 5.27 lakh candidates contested for about 2.10 lakh seats in 17 districts
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Polling for
the panchayat elections
in Uttar Pradesh ended
Thursday with an over
60 per cent turnout till 5
pm in the final phase,
marred by a group clash
in Mathura and the
deaths of two workers
who fell ill while on poll
duty. Lakhs of candi-
dates were in the fray
for over 7.32 lakh seats
in gram panchayat
wards, 58,176 in gram
panchayats. 75,852 in
kshetra panchayats and
3,050 in zila panchayats
in the state-wide elec-
tions, held over 4 phases
amid a surge in cases.
In Thursday’s fourth
phase alone, over 5.27
lakh candidates contest-
ed for about 2.10 lakh
seats in 17 districts.
Polling started in the
fourth phase at 7 am and
continued till 6 pm. Till
5 pm, about 61.19 per
cent votes were cast,” a
State Election Commis-
sion (SEC) official said.
The counting of votes
will take place on May 2.
With an hour to go be-
fore polls closed, Samb-
hal topped the list with
a turnout of 67 percent
and Banda was the low-
est at 51.96 per cent. In
Mathura district’s Bar-
sana, eight people were
injured when support-
ers of rival groups ex-
changed fire, police
said. They have arrest-
ed six people from both
factions. Additional Su-
perintendent of Police
(Rural) Shrish Chandra
said polling was affect-
ed for some time at the
Nehra village centre be-
fore The injured were
rushed to hospital,
where their condition
was stated to be stable.
In Shahjahanpur dis-
trict, two government
employees died after
taking ill while on poll
duty
. Among them, sani-
tation worker Sobaran
Lal complained of un-
easiness and died later
in hospital, District
Magistrate Indra
Vikram Singh said. The
family will be given Rs
15 lakh as government
assistance.
Another worker post-
ed a video clip on social
media as her health de-
teriorated and she was
admitted to a hospital.
In Kalan block too, a
teacher was taken to
hospital after recording
a similar video. The
cause of the two deaths
is not immediately clear
but employee associa-
tions have been alleging
that several people on
poll duty have suc-
cumbed to coronavirus.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Congress
leader Priyanka Gan-
dhi Vadra Samajwadi
Party supremo Akhile-
sh Yadav demanded a
compensation of Rs 50
lakh each to families of
officers teachers who
died due to COVID-19
while working in UP
panchayat polls.
Apparently referring
to an allegation by a
teachers union, Priyan-
ka Gandhi tweeted,
“The news that about
500 teachers deployed
in panchayat election
duty died due to conro-
navirus is horrifying.
SP chief Akhilesh Ya-
dav also made the simi-
lar demand said Rs 50
lakh and jobs should be
provided to the offic-
ers, teachers employ-
ees who were deployed
in the panchayat elec-
tion duty. “The govern-
ment should provide Rs
50 lakh financial assis-
tance to families of of-
ficers, teachers and
employees who died of
coronavirus due to
panchayat polls duty,”
he said in a separate
tweet in Hindi.
First India Bureau
Mirzapur: Five mem-
bers of a family were
killed when the roof of
their rented accommo-
dation in Mirzapur col-
lapsed. The incident
took place in Chhoti
Gudkari locality under
the limits of the City
Kotwali police circle.
The deceased include a
couple and their two
sons and a daughter.
District magistrate
Mirzapur Praveen Ku-
mar Laxar and SP
Ajay Kumar Singh,
who camped at the in-
cident site to monitor
the rescue operation
said, “The rescuers in-
cluding the police and
firefighters initially
recovered the bodies
of Shubham, 22,
Saurabh, 18, Sandhya,
20, and their mother
Gudia, 48.
Hours later, the body
of the husband, Uma
Shankar, 50, was also
taken out from the de-
bris and all bodies have
been sent for post mor-
tem.” ADM (finance
and revenue) U.P. Singh
said that the district ad-
ministration has ex-
tended financial assis-
tance of Rs two lakh
from the chief minister
relief fund for each de-
ceased person.
During the initial in-
vestigations, it came to
light that the house was
owned by one Ashutosh
Ranjan and he had rent-
ed out portions of the
housetoseveraltenants.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The Uttar
Pradesh Shiksha Ma-
hasangh, a federation
of basic and second-
ary school teachers of
Uttar Pradesh, has
threatened to boycott
the procedure of vote
counting on Thursday.
The federation had
written a letter to the
State Election Com-
missioner urging not
to hold counting of
votes of Panchayat
elections on May 2.
Convener of Maha-
sangh Dr R P Mishra
said here on Thursday
that the Mahasangh
has written a letter to
the Election Commis-
sioner saying that due
to spurge in corona
cases and reports of
hundreds of employees
who had taken part in
the election process,
tested positive the
counting should be de-
ferred till situation im-
proves It is better if we
postpone the counting.
The election is over.
The earth will not fall
if we delay the count-
ing by a month or so
and hold the same
when the situation im-
proves,” Dr Mishra
said.
The four-phase elec-
tions ended on April 29
and counting of votes
will be on May 2. He
claims that the Election
Commission has asked
the sangh to give a list
of employees who have
lost their lives due to
corona. “We are compil-
ing the list. So far, to
our estimate around
700 government em-
ployees, including
teachers, and their fam-
ily members have lost
their lives,” he said.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The Luc-
know Bench of Alla-
habad High Court dis-
missed a PIL seeking
action against Govern-
ment authorities, in-
cluding CM Yogi Adity-
anath’s ‘Team-11’ and
other Health authori-
ties, for failing to pro-
vide proper medical
facilities.
The Division Bench
of Justices Ramesh
Sinha and Rajeev Sin-
gh passed this order,
while hearing a PIL
filed by Pal Singh Ya-
dav. The petitioner ap-
proached the High
Court, stating that he
is aggrieved due to
carelessness, misman-
agement and denial of
guarantee of the right
to life under Article 21
of the Constitution
by the government
authorities.
The petition said
that the respondents
failed to provide medi-
cal facilities, such as
medicines, oxygen,
proper treatment, bed
in hospitals, ventila-
tors and many more
services to the last per-
son in the state of Ut-
tar Pradesh in this cur-
rent pandemic situa-
tion, leading to a large
number of deaths in
the state, especially in
Lucknow. In such cir-
cumstances, the re-
spondents are also lia-
ble to be prosecuted, as
they are responsible for
present situation,
prayed the plea. It
sought direction to the
authorities to provide
proper medical services
for the patients.
Opp demands `50
lakh aid to kin of
officials who died
Voters standing in a queue to cast vote in Uttar Pradesh Panchayat Election, in Mathura on Thursday.
Poll officials working during UP Panchayat elections.
POLL TIMELINE
Why were they
sent on duty if
their security
arrangement was not
proper? I support the de-
mand for `50 lakh each
job for family mem-
bers of the teachers.
—Priyanka Gandhi,
Cong General Secretary
Teachers’ Association
threatens to boycott
vote counting procedure
HC dismisses PIL seeking
action against Yogi govt
5 family members die after
roof collapses in Mirzapur
DISINFECTING HERITAGE
A frontline worker sanitising the iconic Chhota Imambara in Old Lucknow OnThursday.
—PHOTO BY SUMIT KUMAR
Site where incident took place
‘Removed debris
manually’
Officials said that
incident took place
on April 28 but res-
cue operation took
hours as debris had
was removed manu-
ally to avoid further
damage to the roof
of the upper floor.
BJP’s Kesar Singh’s
letter to Harsh
Vardhan goes viral
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Theruling
BJP in Uttar Pradesh
lostitsthirdlegislator
to Covid this week
when Nawabganj
MLA, Kesar Singh
Gangwar, 64, suc-
cumbedtothevirusat
a Noida hospital. He
joined BJP and won
from Nawabganj seat
in the 2017 Assembly
elections. His letter to
Harsh Vardhan be-
fore death is going vi-
ral on social media.
M Tariq Khan
Lucknow: Senior IAS
officer Deepak Trivedi
succumbed to Covid-19
on Thursday. Trivedi
died a day before his re-
tirement. While Trivedi
was admitted to Sanjay
Gandhi PGI in Luc-
know, Ahmad (69) died
at a hospital in Bareilly
during treatment.
CM Yogi Adityanath
expressed grief over
Trivedi’s demise and
conveyed his condo-
lences to the bereaved
family. Trivedi, a resi-
dent of Bharatpur in
Rajasthan, was sup-
posed to retire on April
30 and was the chair-
man of the state IAS
Association.
Singh had been un-
well since last month
and was initially ad-
mitted to Medical Col-
lege at Bhojipura. He
was discharged from
there after recovering.
However, his health de-
teriorated again, fol-
lowing which he had to
be taken to the hospital
again where he tested
positive Covid-19. He
didn’t survive even af-
ter getting plasma ther-
apy. Former Chief Min-
ister and SP Chief Akh-
ilesh Yadav, too, tweet-
ed and offered his con-
dolences to the family.
A 1985 batch bureau-
crat, Trivedi was the
senior-most IAS Offic-
er in the UP cadre, hav-
ing the largest contin-
gent in the country.
Trivedi was tested pos-
itive about a fortnight
ago. He was admitted
to the SGPGIMS after
he developed respira-
tory trouble and severe
lung infection.
IAS officer dies a day before retirement
COVID-19 VICTIM
Trivedi, a resident
of Rajasthan, was
supposed to retire
on April 30
Deepak Trivedi
The brave conquer the odds and
the reality is that one becomes
brave only by battling great
odds, problems and pain.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India

TESTED POSITIVE
The coronavirus pandemic seems to have hit Bollywood hard as the latest actor to have contracted the virus are Sonu Sood,
Manish Malhotra, Rahul Roy, Nikita Dutta, Akshay Kumar, Vicky Kaushal, Alia Bhatt, Sachin Tendulkar among others. The
actor took to social media to declare their health update and also added that they immediately isolated themselves and are
now under home quarantine.
LUCKNOW, FRIDAY
APRIL 30, 2021
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ I twitter.com/thefirstindia
facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
THE MONTH THAT WAS...
THE
EMOTIONAL LIFE
OF AN ACTOR
Priyanka Chopra Jonas virtually
launched Kabir Bedi’s autobiography,
‘Stories I Must Tell: The Emotional Life
of an Actor’, on April 19. PeeCee, who is
in London, will also be part of a tête-à-
tête with the veteran actor. ‘Stories
I Must Tell’ is said to be about
the “highs and lows of Kabir
Bedi’s professional and
personal life.
IRRFAN’S SON
BABIL’S DEBUT
Anushka Sharma
and brother
Karnesh’s next
production, Qala,
marks the debut of
Irrfan’s son Babil.
The Netflix film,
helmed by Anvitaa
Dutt, also features
Tripti Dimri and
Swastika Mukherjee.
REMAKE ALERT!
Kiara Advani will star
alongside Ranveer Singh
in S Shankar’s remake of
his Tamil psychological
thriller Anniyan (2005).
She is said to have inked
the deal on April 16. The
project has been courting
controversy after producer
V Ravichandran claimed
that he owns the rights to
the Vikram-starrer.
ALBUM LAUNCHED
Lata Mangeshkar
launched her
album, Bhavartha Mauli,
to mark Gudi Padwa on
April 13. It consists of
10 devotional Marathi
tracks rendered by the
legend, and composed
by brother Pandit
Hridaynath Mangeshkar.
The songs are based
on the works of Marathi
saint and 13th-century
poet Sant Dnyaneshwar.
‘DIL HAI DEEWANA’
Arjun Kapoor and Rakul Preet Singh shot for their
first music video Dil Hai Deewana by Bhushan
Kumar’s T-Series sung by Darshan Rawal and Zara
Khan. The romantic dance track that was recently
shot in Mumbai by director duo Radhika Rao and
Vinay Sapru, will have your feet tapping away with
its upbeat tunes.
‘EK VILLAIN
RETURNS’ IN GOA
After wrapping the first
schedule of ‘Ek Villain
Returns’ in Mumbai
recently, the makers are
all set for the second
schedule. While the
first schedule was shot
extensively across multiple
locations in Mumbai, the
second schedule goes
on-floors in Goa with Arjun
Kapoor and Tara Sutaria.
GOOD NEWS
Dia Mirza and Vaibhav Rekhi tied
the knot earlier in February this
year and the actress has now
announced her pregnancy on
her Instagram account with
a deep and poetic post. She
wrote, “Blessed to be...
One with Mother Earth...
One with the Life Force
that is the beginning
of everything...Of all
stories. Lullabies.
Songs. Of new
saplings. And the
blossoming of
hope. Blessed
to cradle this
purest of all
dreams in my
womb.”
FILM
HERITAGE
FOUNDATION
Sonam Kapoor Ahuja put up multiple
pictures in one post, along with a
video to show the work and the need
to preserve film heritage. She also
hopes that future generations see
the kind of efforts veterans
have put into the art of
cinema.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas
Soonam Kapoor Ahuja
Diya Mirza
Rakul Preet Singh and Arjun Kapoor
Poster of the film
Kiara Advani and
Ranveer Singh
Lata Mangeshkar
CITY FIRST BRUSHES UP THE HAPPENINGS OF THE MONTH OF APRIL IN BOLLYWOOD, COME WHAT MAY… LIFE GOES ON!
Late Irrfan Khan and Babil Khan

10
ETC
F
A
C
E
O
F
T
H
E
D
A
Y
MARY, Content Creator
LEO
JULY 24 - AUGUST 23
You will be able to remain
in saving mode despite
temptations. New contracts
and deals may be signed,
but their implementation can take
some more time. Focus on health will
become your priority and will have a
positive outcome on your fitness.
Take initiative on the property front.
LIBRA
SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22
You may get motivated to
plan finances for going in
for something big. You are
likely to enjoy good health
as you resolve to take up some
physical activity seriously. A family
member may be forthcoming in
extending a helping hand, but may
need guidance.
ARIES
MAR 21 - APR 20
You remain secure, as
previous investments keep
you financially strong.
Reputation on the
professional or academic front gets
boosted as your performance is
lauded by all. You maintain good
health through your determination to
continue regular workouts.
SAGITTARIUS
NOV 23 - DEC 22
Financially worries are set to
disappear as you are about
to come into big money.
Chances of winning a deal
become bright through your efforts on
the business front. You are likely to
resolve to come back in shape and
start an exercise regimen. Someone
you are working may attract you.
GEMINI
MAY 21 - JUNE 21
Those learning something
new on the work front will
finally get the hang of it.
Financially, you will be very
well off and continue to add to your
wealth. You will be more inclined to
shed bad habits in the interest of
health. Much caring and sharing at
home is likely to keep you happy.
AQUARIUS
JAN 21 - FEB 19
Your excellent showing on
the professional front will
help climb up the corporate
ladder. You will be able to
curb wasteful expenditure without
affecting your quality of life. Slowing
the pace will have a beneficial effect on
health. You will spare no efforts in
making your love life fulfilling.
TAURUS
APR 21 - MAY 20
You will be able to put your
best foot forward before
higher ups at work. A
decision on the property
front is likely to be given in your
favour. On the academic front, things
may begin to turn in your favour
soon. Meeting people you get along
with well is likely to make the day.
CAPRICORN
DEC 23 - JAN 20
You will be able to
effectively curb expenses
by taking some drastic
measures. New clientele
and soaring reputation promises to
give young professionals a new high.
You will be able to buy the property
you had been wanting for long. A
good phase begins for you.
VIRGO
AUG 24 - SEP 23
A new line of treatment for
an old ailment is likely to
work wonders. The day will
remain satisfactory as you
get a chance to enjoy the company of
your friends and relatives. Setting up
a new house or getting one built will
give an immense sense of achieve-
ment.
CANCER
JUNE 22 - JULY 23
You are likely to enjoy
good health by managing
to keep bad habits under
check. You can derive
immense satisfaction by making the
home front aesthetically appealing.
Constructing a house or acquiring an
apartment cannot be ruled out for
some.
PISCES
FEB20 - MARCH 20
Regular workouts and
eating right is your mantra
for keeping fit. Against all
odds, you will be able to
manage your finances well. Today,
you must give a thought to property
issues. Academic front looks bright
for those appearing for some
competition.
SCORPIO
OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22
Your professional stars are
on the ascendant and will
help make your mark on
the career front. Condition
of those ailing is set to improve by
leaps and bounds and get them
firmly on the road to good health.
Family life will cruise along smoothly
amid these hard times.
YOUR
DAY
Horoscope by
Saurabbh Sachdeva
third coronavirus
vaccine has been
approved for use
in India amid a
deadly second
wave of infec-
tions. Russia’s
Sputnik V has been
deemed safe and works in
a way similar to the Ox-
ford-AstraZeneca jab
made in India as Cov-
ishield. Sputnik V gives
around 92% protection
against Covid-19, late-
stage trial results pub-
lished in The Lancet re-
vealed.
India has so far given
more than 100 million dos-
es of two approved vac-
cines - Covishield and Co-
vaxin. Sputnik V’s ap-
proval came as India over-
took Brazil to become the
country with the second-
highest number of cases
globally.
With a total case tally of
more than 13.5 million
cases, India is now only
behind the United States
which has reported more
than 31 million cases.
With 13.4 million cases,
Brazil is now at number
three. India aims to vacci-
nate 250 million “priority
people” by the end of July.
But experts say that the
pace of vaccination has
been slow and unless the
drive is scaled up, the tar-
get could be missed.
On Tuesday the govern-
ment decided to give emer-
gency approvals to vac-
cines already in use in
other countries. It said the
decision was taken to “ex-
pand the basket of vac-
cines for domestic use and
hasten the pace and cover-
age of vaccination”.
WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT
SPUTNIK V?
The vaccine, developed by
Moscow’s Gamaleya Insti-
tute, initially generated
some controversy after be-
ing rolled out before the
final trial data had been
released. But scientists
say its benefits have now
been demonstrated. It uses
a cold-type virus, engi-
neered to be harmless, as
a carrier to deliver a small
fragment of the coronavi-
rus to the body.
Safely exposing the
body to a part of the vi-
rus’s genetic code in this
way allows it to recognise
the threat and learn to
fight it off, without the
risk of becoming ill. After
being vaccinated, the body
starts to produce antibod-
ies especially tailored to
the coronavirus. This
means that the immune
system is primed to fight
coronavirus when it en-
counters it for real. It can
be stored at temperatures
of between 2 and 8C de-
grees (a standard fridge is
roughly 3-5C degrees)
making it easier to trans-
port and store.
Unlike other similar
vaccines, the Sputnik jab
uses two slightly different
versions of the vaccine for
the first and the second
dose - given 21 days apart.
They both target the coro-
navirus’s distinctive
“spike”, but use different
vectors - the neutralised
virus that carries the spike
to the body
. The idea is that
using two different formu-
las boosts the immune sys-
tem even more than using
the same version twice -
and may give longer-last-
ing protection. As well as
proving effective, it was
also safe with no serious
reactions linked to the vac-
cine during the trial.
Some side effects to a
vaccine are expected, but
these are usually mild, in-
cluding a sore arm, tired-
ness and a bit of a temper-
ature. There were no
deaths or serious illnesses
in the vaccinated group
linked to the jab. Sputnik
V has been approved so far
in 60 countries, including
Argentina, Palestinian
territories, Venezuela,
Hungary, UAE and Iran.
SO WHAT DO WE KNOW
ABOUT COVAXIN?
Covaxin is an inactivated
vaccine which means that
it is made up of killed coro-
naviruses, making it safe
to be injected into the body
.
Bharat Biotech, a 24-year-
old vaccine maker with a
portfolio of 16 vaccines
and exports to 123 coun-
tries, used a sample of the
coronavirus, isolated by
India’s National Institute
of Virology. When admin-
istered, immune cells can
still recognise the dead vi-
rus, prompting the im-
mune system to make anti-
bodies against the pan-
demic virus. The two doses
are given four weeks apart.
The vaccine can be stored
at 2C to 8C. The vaccine
has an efficacy rate of 81%,
preliminary data from its
phase 3 trial shows. India’s
regulators gave the vac-
cine an emergency approv-
al in January while the
third phase of the trial was
still underway, sparking
scepticism and questions
from experts.
Bharat Biotech says it
has a stockpile of 20 mil-
lion doses of Covaxin and
is aiming to make 700 mil-
lion doses out of its four
facilities in two cities by
the end of the year.
WHAT ABOUT COVISHIELD?
The Oxford-AstraZeneca
vaccine is being manufac-
tured locally by the Serum
Institute of India, the
world’s largest vaccine
manufacturer. It says it is
producing more than 60
million doses a month.
The vaccine is made from
a weakened version of a
common cold virus
(known as an adenovirus)
from chimpanzees. It has
been modified to look
more like coronavirus - al-
though it can’t cause ill-
ness. When the vaccine is
injected into a patient, it
prompts the immune sys-
tem to start making anti-
bodies and primes it to at-
tack any coronavirus in-
fection. The jab is admin-
istered in two doses given
between four and 12 weeks
apart. It can be safely
stored at temperatures of
2C to 8C and can easily be
delivered in existing
health care settings such
as doctors’ surgeries. The
jab developed by Pfizer-
BioNTech, which is cur-
rently being administered
in several countries, must
be stored at -70C and can
only be moved a limited
number of times - a par-
ticular challenge in India,
where summer tempera-
tures can reach 50C. Inter-
national clinical trials of
the Oxford-AstraZeneca
vaccine showed that when
people were given a half
dose and then a full dose,
effectiveness hit 90%.
India has shipped 64
million doses of vaccines
to 86 countries in Latin
America, the Caribbean,
Asia and Africa. The re-
cipient countries include
UK, Canada, Brazil and
Mexico. Both Covishield
and Covaxin have been ex-
ported - some in the form
of “gifts”, others in line
with commercial agree-
ments signed between the
vaccine makers and the
recipient nations, and the
rest under the Covax
scheme, which is led by
the World Health Organi-
zation (WHO) and hopes to
deliver more than two bil-
lion doses to people in 190
countries in less than a
year. But in March, India
placed a temporary hold
on all exports of the Ox-
ford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
The government said ris-
ing cases meant domestic
demand was expected to
pick up, so the doses were
needed for India’s rollout.
What we know about India’s Covid-19 vaccines?
Sputnik V, Covishield, Covaxin:
A
Source: Wellcome Trust,
BBC Research (https://www.
bbc.com/news/world-asia-
india-55748124)

A
ctress Shrad-
dha Kapoor
has been busy
amplifying im-
portant resources and
needs of people amid
COVID 19 second wave
and now, she has
shared a photo of
her brother Sid-
dhanth Kapoor to
encourage plasma
donation. Siddhanth
also had battled COV-
ID 19 and hence, he
went ahead and donated
plasma amid the COVID
19-second wave. The Stree ac-
tress shared a photo of her
brother smiling away while do-
ing the needful and urged every-
one to do the same if they were
eligible. —Agency
T
here has been a lot of hype about Mar-
vel’s Eternals, especially after director
Chloe Zhao won multiple Oscars at
Oscars 2021 with
her movie Nomadland
even winning the
coveted Academy
Award for Best Pic-
ture. Marvel Stu-
dios president
KevinFiegeopened
up about one of
these characters
playing the cen-
tral role in the
project. He also
revealed that
Sersi will be the
lead of the film,
to be played by
Gemma Chan.
—Agency
STILL GOT
FEELINGS?
K
im Kardashian filed for divorce from
Kanye West in February this year. While
the couple hasn’t made any official state-
ment regarding their divorce yet, it looks
like the rapper is still considering reconcilia-
tion with Kim and fans have taken one of his
recent pictures as a hint of that. In an Insta-
gram story shared by DJ Khaled, eagle-eyed
fans spotted Kanye West wearing his wedding
ring. —Agency
I
n the year 2020, many Bollywood
gems left for heavenly abode includ-
ing actor Rishi Kapoor. The veteran
actor passed away on April 30 leav-
ing behind a big void. He won many
accolades for his acting including four
Filmfare Awards, three Zee Cine
Awards and a National Film Award.
The late actor is considered one of the
most successful actors in Bollywood.
Many actresses have worked with him
including Juhi Chawla. And ahead of
his first death anniversary
, the actress
recalled her shooting days with him.
In an interview, the actress said,
“When working with him (Rishi Ka-
poor),onewouldfeellikeheisshouting
at you. But that was not exactly the
case. Once I got used to his behaviour,
I started enjoying it. One day while
shooting he called me an insecure
actor. I had a habit of see-
ingthemonitoraftergiv-
ing every shot. I used to
be a little worried if my act-
ing is not up to the mark. This
irritated him a lot and then one day
he shouted at me saying that the
monitor is for the director and
not for you insecure actor.”
“The late actor had a tough
exterior but was a softie
from inside,” she added.
Both actors have worked in
films Bol Radha Bol and
EenaMeenaDeeka.Thelate
actorandactresswillbenext
seen in Sharmaji Namkeen.
The film is also is the last film
of Rishi.It is directedbydebutant
Hitesh Bhatia and is
produced by Ritesh
Sidhwani and
FarhanAkhtar
in association
w i t h
MacGuffin
Pictures.
ETC
11
The true ‘lead’
Hitesh Bhatia and is
produced by Ritesh
Sidhwani and
FarhanAkhtar
in association
irritated him a lot and then one day
he shouted at me saying that the
monitor is for the director and
“The late actor had a tough
actorandactresswillbenext
seen in Sharmaji Namkeen.
The film is also is the last film
of Rishi.It is directedbydebutant
MITALI DUSAD
mitalidusad01@gmail.com
Remembers Baba Irrfan
10thweddinganniversary
Happy Birthday
Anne Heche revealed
The Tomorrow War
O
n the death anniversary of Irrfan
Khan, Babil Khan took to social media
to pen a note for his ‘baba’ Irrfan
Khan. Recalling his ‘last days of evo-
lution’ during his chemo in London, Babil
shared sweet memories of his father as he
remembered him. Further, Babil even shared
a photo of the late actor from his chemother-
apy days and showed everyone how Irrfan
found joy in a simple thing such as building
his table or writing his journals. —Agency
I
t has been 10 whole years since the royal
wedding craze around Prince William and
Kate Middleton’s big day. The Duke and
Duchess of Cambridge celebrated 10 years
of marital bliss on Thursday and royal fans
across the world are flooding social media
with wishes for the couple. Over the last dec-
ade, Kate and William have taken on roles and
responsibilities as one united front and are
also doting parents to three adorable little
children. —Agency
A
ctor Siddhant
Chaturvedi
turned 28 on
Thursday
. De-
clared the ‘national
crush’ after the be-
loved Vicky Kaushal,
the Gully Boy actor
has slowly and stead-
ily climbed the ladder
of success. From
making an impres-
sive mark in the web series Inside Edge to his
breakout performance as Sher in Gully Boy,
Siddhant has stood out, make the right kind
of noise. —Agency
A
nne Heche
and Ellen
DeGeneres
dated from
1997 until 2000 and in
a recent TikTok vid-
eo, the actress
opened up about her
relationship with the
television host and
comedian while re-
viewing her old fash-
ion looks on the red carpet. As for their re-
lationship, after breaking up with DeGe-
neres, Anne married Coleman Laffoon in
September 2001. —Agency
C
hris Pratt has
emerged as the
new action star
in Hollywood in
the last decade. The
funny guy from Parks
and Recreations built
some muscles and exer-
cised his tough dude ac-
tion skills in Guardians
of the Guardians of the
galaxy Vol.1. The son in
law to Mr Action Ar-
nold Schwarzenegger
himself, Chris is hold-
ing huge guns as goes
through the time, blast,
and aliens in the up-
coming “The Tomor-
row War.
—Agency
ctress Ileana D’Cruz says almost
all her roles made her wonder
how she would pull it off, and that
is what pushes her forward. Ile-
ana said that the unknown chal-
lenges her to do better. “I think in
most films that I have done I con-
stantly question how I will do it, and that
is what pushes me forward because I
think if I walked into a film completely
cocky and confident, I wouldn’t be really
able to do justice in a way
,” Ileana shared.
—Agency
Confidence
Confidence
is the key
is the key
A
Dil De Diya Teaser
T
he highly anticipated
film, Radhe: Your Most
Wanted Bhai featuring
Salman Khan, Disha Pa-
tani and Randeep Hooda is all
set to release in May 2021 and
ahead of it, the songs have start-
ed to come out. After the raging
success of Seeti Maar, Salman is
gearing up for the second song,
Dil De Diya with Jacqueline
Fernandez. The superstar took
to social media and shared a
teaser of the song that is all set
to drop on April 30. —Agency
50 million
milestone
ingthemonitoraftergiv-
ing every shot. I used to
be a little worried if my act-
ing is not up to the mark. This
Remembering
THE STAR
Roots for
donation
J
acqueline
Fernandez,
who is quite
active on so-
cial media, crossed
the milestone of
50 Million follow-
ers on Instagram.
She keeps updating
her fans about her
daily routine and also
gives a glimpse of
her pets. Express-
ing her gratitude,
Jacqueline said,
“I am immensely
grateful to my family
of 50 million for their
constant love and
support. Everything
I am is because of
them.” —Agency
Ileana D’Cruz
Jacqueline Fernandez
Babil Khan’s post
Kate Middleton and Prince William
Kim Kardashian
Gemma Chan
Siddhant Chaturvedi
Anne Hechen
Chris Pratt
Shraddha Kapoor
...her post
Juhi Chawla and
Late Rishi Kapoor

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