Pioneer dehradun-e-paper-12-may-2020

344?0::D?A4C8Q =4F34;78
In his marathon meeting with
Chief Ministers, his fifth one
to review the pandemic, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi on
Monday sought suggestions
on reviving the battered econ-
omy and scaling up all efforts
to bring more “red” zones with
high Covid-19 case load into
“orange” or “green” zones.
While the Prime Minister
maintained that country has
“largely succeeded” in con-
trolling the pandemic, most of
the Chief Ministers insisted on
graded opening of the lock-
down with at least five of them
— Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,
Telangana, Tamil Nadu and
Chhattisgarh — even opposing
the resumption of train services
from Tuesday and asked the
Centre to push it back, cau-
tioning that it would make it
harder to identify, isolate and
test suspected coronavirus
cases and could lead to chaos.
It was decided to “redraw
and narrow down” of the con-
tainment zones in different
States.
The States were asked by
the Centre to submit their re-
drawn maps of containment
units showing areas of maxi-
mum coronavirus cases and the
lowest ones by May 15, two
days ahead of the last date of
the extended lockdown.
While saying that people
should stay wherever they are
and be on “high alert”, Modi
said situation was “largely”
under control. “There is glob-
al recognition for India’s suc-
cess in handling the Covid-19
pandemic and the Government
of India appreciates the efforts
made by all State Governments
in this regard. Let us stay the
course as we move forward
together,” he said in the begin-
ning of the meet.
All States have raised con-
cerns about the crisis for thou-
sands of migrants, stranded
because of the lockdown since
March-end. Economic mea-
sures to help migrants, small
and medium industries and to
help revive consumption were
discussed.
?C8Q =4F34;78
Single-judge Bench of the
Supreme Court would hear
from May 13, appeals of bail
and anticipatory bail matters in
cases related to offences entail-
ing jail term of up to seven
years and application for trans-
fer of cases.
It is for the first time since
its inception that the top court
has provided for sitting of a sin-
gle-judge bench to hear mat-
ters. The apex court till now
normally used to sit in the
combination of two or three
judges, besides constitution
benches.
To reduce huge pendency
of the cases, the apex court had
?=BQ =4F34;78
The death of a patient in
hospitalduetoCovid-19will
be considered as non-medico
legal case and will not require
post-mortem as it might leave
the doctors and mortuary staff
exposed to the virus in the
body. At the same time, deaths
of those with negative or incon-
clusive test results but with
symptoms of the coronavirus
diseasewillberecordedasprob-
ableCovid-19deaths,theIndian
Council of Medical Research
(ICMR) has said in its recently
released fresh guidelines on
recording Covid-19 deaths.
The guidelines come in the
wakeofvariousqueriesfromthe
doctors and hospitals treating
the Covid-19 as well as symp-
tomatic patients. So far over
2,000 people have succumbed to
the deadly viral infection in the
country.In its guidance for
appropriate recording of Covid-
10 deaths in the country, the
ICMR said deaths with incon-
clusive test results, but in which
coronavirus symptoms are pre-
sent will be recorded as “prob-
able Covid-19” fatalities.
Covid-19 would be record-
ed as an “underlying cause of
death” when leading to pneu-
monia, cardiac injury and clot-
ting in the bloodstream, among
others, said the document.
BC055A4?AC4AQ =4F34;78
The Indian Railway Catering
and Tourism Corporation
(IRCTC) website crashed after
booking for tickets reopened
for as many as 15 pairs of spe-
cial trains on Monday. The
website crashed after a surge in
user traffic at 4 pm and after a
delay of over two hours, it was
back up again to take bookings
for passenger trains which will
run from Tuesday.
The Ministry of Railways
had announced to start oper-
ations of 15 special trains (30
return journeys) from May 12
in a graded manner. Other reg-
ular passenger services includ-
ing all express, passenger and
suburban services will remain
cancelled until further order.
The decision to restart
train services was taken in
consultation with Ministry of
Health and Family welfare
(MoHFW) and Ministry of
Home Affairs (MHA), the
Ministry said in a statement.
“These special trains which
have been started presently
will have only air conditioned
classes i.e. first, second and
third AC. The fare structure for
the “special trains” shall be as
applicable for the regular time
tabled Rajdhani trains (exclud-
ing catering charges),” it said.
Only online e-ticketing will
be done through IRCTC web-
site or through Mobile App and
“Maximum Advance
Reservation Period” (ARP) will
be of maximum seven days, it
added.
Only confirmed e-tickets
shall be booked. Booking of
RAC or waiting list ticket and
on board booking by ticket
checking staff shall not be
permitted. Current booking,
tatkal and premium tatkal
booking shall not be permit-
ted.
“No catering charges shall
be included in the fare. Besides,
provision for prepaid meal
booking, e-catering shall be
disabled.
?=BQ =4F34;78
As India’s confirmed cases of
Covid-19 crossed 70,000
mark on Monday while the
death toll topped the 2,220
mark, the Government said
some relatively large outbreaks
have been noticed in particu-
lar locations and it is important
to focus on containment efforts
to ensure that the country did
not reach the community
transmission stage.
With Maharashtra, Delhi,
Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil
Nadu, West Bengal and
Madhya Pradesh high num-
bers, the total count reached
70,717 by 10.30 pm, a jump of
3,540 new cases during the day.
This is the fifth day in a row
when the country has
seen new cases topping 30,000
mark.
Maharashtra continues to
be the epicentre of the coron-
avirus spread with the State wit-
nessing massive spike on daily
basis. On Monday, the State
added 1,230 cases and as many
as 78 deaths. Maharashtra has
now 23,409 cases and 869
deaths. Mumbai, the financial
Capital of the country, has
become the hotbed of the coro-
navirus spread in the State
where the number of cases has
reached 14,521 and the death
toll is over 500.
After reporting 669 new
cases on Sunday, Tamil Nadu’s
march towards south continue
on Monday also as it registered
record 798 new cases to touch
8,002 confirmed cases.
Rajasthan reported 174
new cases of coronavirus and
five deaths, taking the total
number of cases and deaths to
3,988 and 113, respectively.
Uttar Pradesh too reported
109 new infections, taking the
tally to 3,573.
Gujarat reported 347 fresh
cases of coronavirus in the last
24 hours, following which its
total count reached 8,542. The
State also reported 20 deaths in
the last 24 hours, after which its
death toll mounted to 513.
Madhya Pradesh, which
has seen exceptionally high
death ratio, reported 171 new
cases for a total of 3,785 and
228 deaths.
Kerala on Monday report-
ed seven fresh cases of coron-
avirus which took its infection
count to 519. Out of the total
tally, 27 cases are currently
active in the State. Of the new
cases, four are from Kasargod
and the patients had recently
returned from Maharashtra.
Palakkad, Malappuram, and
Wayanad reported one case
each on Monday.
Eighteen more tested pos-
itive in JK on Monday to take
the Union Territory’s coron-
avirus tally to 879 while after 14
fresh cases of coronavirus in
the last 24 hours, Karnataka’s
total count has reached 862.
This includes 31 deaths 426
recoveries.
Five deaths and 124 new
Covid-19 cases were reported
in West Bengal, taking the
total number of positive cases
in the State to 2,063. Bihar
reported 39 new cases to reach
a total of 749 while Jharkhand
continued to keep the disease
under control by reporting
just 4 new cases for a tally of
164.
While Punjab reported 54
new cases to reach a total of
1,877 cases and 31 deaths,
Haryana reported 27 cases to
reach a total of 730 cases and
11 deaths.
A094B7:D0AQ =4F34;78
Migrants are turning out to
be nightmare for certain
States which have somehow
managed to contain the spread
of coronavirus so far.
These States are now
haunted by the homecoming of
tens of thousands of workers
who are potential carrier of the
deadly virus. Bihar, Odisha,
Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and
West Bengal have begun to wit-
ness significant spike in Covid-
19 cases after return of the
migrants.
Majority of these migrants
were not tested for coronavirus
before they set out for their
nativeplaces.Onreturn,theyare
sent to quarantine after mere
thermal screening. The scope of
them acting as corona spreaders
remains a high probability.
The Centre in an affidavit
in the Supreme Court had
stated that almost a third of the
migrants returning to their
hometowns and villages could
be infected with the novel
coronavirus. But no efforts
ever have been made to carry
out bulk testing in case of
migrants.
As per the data of the
Ministry of Health and Family
Welfare, Odisha reported 154
cases till May 1 which has
become more than double to
377 after the migrant workers
from Gujarat and other States
returned in a big number.
Among the 377 who tested
positive, 290 had come from
Gujarat and West Bengal. So far
infections have been reported
in 21 of the 30 districts of the
State.
BC055A4?AC4AQ =4F34;78
In a bid to ferry migrants
stranded in various parts of
thecountryamidthenationwide
lockdown due to coronavirus,
100 Shramik trains to run daily.
Also,theCentrehasaskedStates
to assist migrants trudging back
to their native places.
The Maharashtra govern-
ment too announced launch of
free bus services up to the bor-
ders of Madhya Pradesh and
Gujarat for migrant labourers,
days after 16 workers, who
were walking back home to
MP were mowed down by a
goods train in Aurangabad
after they fell asleep on railway
tracks.
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In the Chief Ministers’
meeting with Prime
Monday, West Bengal CM
Mamata Banerjee raised the
issue of the Centre targeting
her State, sources in the State
Government said.
The Bengal Chief
Minister reportedly told the
Prime Minister how her
State administration was
being singled out by the
Centre at a time when all the
sides should work in cohe-
sion to fight corona pan-
demic.
Raising the issue of the
Centre repeatedly pulling up
Bengal for alleged dilution of
lockdown protocols, the CM
reportedly told the PM that
her State had worked accord-
ing to the central guidelines
and hence it should not have
been targeted the way it had
been for the past several
weeks.
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Indore: The National Highway
Number 3, also called Mumbai-
Agra Road that touches Indore
in Madhya Pradesh through a
bypass road, is seeing a steady
stream of autorickshaws from
the country’s commercial cap-
ital as people move back to
their native towns and villages
amid the coronavirus-enforced
lockdown that has rendered
them jobless. Officials and eye-
witnesses put the number of
these three-wheelers from
Mumbai crossing the Indore
Bypass Road at 50 every hour.
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After two persons tested
positive in Puri on
Sunday, the districtadminis-
tration on Monday morning
brought the surrounding area
near the sea beach under a
containment zone banning
public movement and sealing
the entry and exit roads with
barricades.
From Marine Drive Road
Chhak to Bholanath Kutir
Chhak via Renuka Hotel
lane and from Bholanath
Kutir Chhak to Marine
Drive
Road Chhak via
Mahodadhi Bhaban lane, the
area was declared the contain-
ment zone from 7 am on
Monday.
All business outlets and
Government and private offices
would remain shut.
Only medicine stores
would be opened.
The Municipality
Executive Officer was assigned
the charge of delivery of essen-
tial commodities to the house-
holds of the area at their
doorsteps.
Notably, Puri had been
categorised as a green zone on
May 3.
The two persons now
infected by the coronavirus
belong to a three-member
family, which was living in its
own hotel near the beach. A
week ago.
The father-mother-son
trio had returned from Kolkata
and had registered their names
with the district administration
as returnees.
After giving blood sam-
ples, they were remaining in
home quarantine.
On Sunday, the blood
test reports came out positive
for mother and son.
Reportedly, the son was a
student of a Bhubaneswar-
based technical
institute. After returning
from Kolkata to Puri, he had
visited Bhubaneswar twice
and played with friends in a
club in Puri despite strict
order of home quarantine on
the family.
Sources added that the
father, also a Kolkata returnee,
had also visited several places
in Puri for marketing and
met various people.
?=BQ 17D10=4BF0A
More than 5,000 Odia
migrants stranded in
Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and
Gujarat returned to the State by
five special trains on Monday.
A special train carrying
around 1,200 Odia migrants
from the Panvel railway station
in Maharashtra arrived at the
Titilagarh station in Balangir
district.
Around 1,200 migrant
workers arrived at the
Jagannathpur station in
Ganjam district from Surat in
Gujarat.
A train from Chennai car-
rying another around 1,200
stranded migrants also arrived
at Jagannathpur on the day. Of
them, 647 are from various
places in Ganjam district while
22 are from Kandhamal, 14
from Gajapati and rest 517 are
residents of other districts.
Two more special trains
brought migrant workers from
Ahmedabad in Gujarat to the
Khurda Road railway station.
Four more trains are
scheduled to bring over 4,000
Odia migrants from Gujarat
and Maharashtra and arrive
later at night.
?=BQ 17D10=4BF0A
The total number of coron-
avirus cases soared to 414
with 37 more persons testing
positive on Monday in the
State. The highest number of 29
cases was again reported from
the worst-hit Ganjam district.
In a first, Ganjam breached
the 150-mark recording a total
of 154 cases after detection of
the 29 new cases.
Sundargarh district report-
ed three cases while one case
each was reported from
Kendrapada, Boudh, Jajpur
and Cuttack districts.
The persons found positive
in Kendrapada district was on
quarantine at an isolation cen-
tre in Rajnagar block. He has a
travel history to Surat and
returned to the State recently.
He tested positive for the virus
on Sunday night.
The patient was shifted to
the Covid Hospital and samples
of other inmates of the quar-
antine centre have been col-
lected, informed Kendrapada
Collector Samarth Verma.
The person testing positive
in Cuttack belongs to Tigiria
block of Athagarh sub-division.
He is a migrant worker and had
returned from Surat recently
and lodged at a quarantine
facility from May 3.
Later, getting information,
Tigiria Tehsildar Paresh Kumar
Nayak, BDO Diptimayee
Behera, IIC Rabindra Bhujabal,
SDMO Dr Bijaya Mishra, and
Sarpanch Arun Nayak made
arrangements to shift the
patient to a Covid Hospital.
This is the second case to be
reported from Tigiria block.
The earlier case had been
detected on May 5.
However, in the midst of
the soaring virus cases, as
many as 17 persons in the State
recovered from the disease on
Monday. The cases include
seven patients of Sundargarh,
five of Khordha, three of
Bhadrak and two in Baleswar.
The total recoveries now stand
at 85 in the State.
?=BQ 270=3860A7
The novel corona virus cases
rose to 730 in Haryana on
Monday after 27 people,
including nine in the worst-
affected Jhajjar district, tested
positive, the Health
Department said. The number
of active corona virus cases is
382 up from 378 until over a
day ago, while 337 people have
been discharged so far, the
department said.On Monday
too, the majority of the new
cases are from NCR districts
–Gurugram, Sonepat, Jhajjar
and Faridabad. Haryana had so
far reported nine corona virus-
related deaths, added one more
now, taking the tally to 10.
The worst affected districts
of the State with maximum
number of positive cases are
Gurugram (145), Faridabad
(105), Sonepat (102), Jhajjar
(83),Nuh(60),Ambala(41)and
Palwal (37), Panipat (36).
According to the State govern-
ment’s health bulletin, 27 fresh
cases were reported from
Gurugram, Sonepat, Faridabad,
Jhajjar, Mahendragarh and
Charkhi Dadri.While hard hit
Gurugram reported three more
cases,takingthetotalnumberof
Covid-19 cases in the district to
145, Sonepat district that had so
far reported 100 cases over few
weeks ago, added five more
now, taking the tally to 105.
Faridabad reported seven more
cases, taking the tally to 102.
Jhajjarreportedninemorecases,
taking the tally to 83. One more
case reported in Mahendragarh,
taking the tally to 5. Charkhi
Dadri reported two more cases,
taking the tally to 4.
Meanwhile, 51 Covid
patients have been discharged
in Gurugram while 55 in
Faridabad, 24 in Sonepat, 10 in
Jhajjar, 57 in Nuh, 33 in Palwal,
18 in Panchkula and 38 in
Ambala.
0=9:D0AQ
270=3860A7
The nationwide 'Janata
Curfew' followed by the 21-
day lockdown, lockdown 2.0
and lockdown 3.0 to combat
the corona virus outbreak has
led to a significant reduction in
pollution level in the State
with many cities recording air
quality in the 'good' and 'satis-
factory' category, a Haryana
Pollution Control Board
(HSPCB) report stated.
While talking to the
Pioneer over the phone, Dr Jai
Bhagwan, Senior Scientist,
HSPCB (HQ), Panchkula on
Monday said that HSPCB has
established a network of 29
Continuous Ambient Air
Quality Monitoring Stations
(CAAQMS) with at least on
CAAQMS in every district.
The measures against COVID-
19 have led to a drop in air pol-
lution level in the State, he said,
adding that due to less stubble
burning, air quality index has
also improved this year com-
pared to last year. Amid the
ongoing lockdown, Haryana
has witnessed a drastic dip in
stubble burning in this wheat
harvesting season. There is a
reduction by around 74 per
cent in cases.
He said that as per available
report, 690 active fire locations
have been detected in the State
from April 15 to May 7, gath-
ered by the Haryana Space
Applications Centre
(HARSAC). During the corre-
sponding period in 2019, there
were were 2,647 cases.
About the reasons, the
Senior Scientist said due to the
lockdown, the procurement
season got extended and farm-
ers were busy in the procure-
ment process. Rain had also
played a major role in dis-
couraging farmers from burn-
ing stubble.
Meanwhile, Haryana and
other parts of the Country are
under lockdown with people
asked to stay home in view of
the corona virus outbreak.
Travel restrictions and closure
of industries have helped
reduce the pollution level,
HSPCB report stated.
The major sectors con-
tributing to air pollution are
transport power plants, con-
struction activities, biomass
burning, road dust and resi-
dential activities.
Transportation of crushed
stones and sand in open trucks,
which was another dominant
activity, also leads to high lev-
els of suspended particulate
matter and RSPM. The main
air pollutants of concern are
PM 10 and PM 2.5.
During lockdown, as a
result of combination of
reduced vehicles on the road,
functioning of only essential
commercial units and prevail-
ing weather conditions, the
concentration of particulate
matter (PM) and Nitrogen
Dioxide (NO2) and Sulphur
Dioxide (SO2) emissions
reduced significantly in various
cities of Haryana.
Dr Jai Bhagwan said that
an AQI between 0-50 is con-
sidered good, 51-100 satisfac-
tory, 101-200 moderate, 201-
300 poor, 301-400 very poor
and 401-500 severe. Air Quality
Index is assessment of the air
quality by taking into account
different factors. The lower
the AQI the better the air is
considered to be, he added.
He said that Gurugram,
Faridabad, Sonepat, Jhajjar and
Yamunanagar among others
districts of the State which
battle high levels of pollution
almost through the year also
showed significant improve-
ment. These big cities of the
State where the highest num-
ber of deaths is due to air pol-
lution also got a breath of
fresh air, quite literally.
HSPCB Senior Scientist
said that data generated by
HSPCB for the period of March
15 to April 25, 2020 ie before
lockdown, during lockdown
with a comparison of average
value of AQI of March 19, April
19 for the major air pollutants.
Dharuhere of Rewari dis-
trict witnessed 47.17 per cent
decrease in average AQI from
pre-lockdown period, during
lockdown period/ Average Air
Quality index of 13 cities have
improved from moderate cat-
egory to satisfactory category.
Ballabhgarh witnessed
52.66 per cent reduction in
average AQI for the month of
March 2020 as compared to
March 19. During the month of
April average AQI of
Ballabhgarh improved to satis-
factory category as compared
to April 2019 when it has wit-
nessed as poor. No city of
Haryana has witnessed poor
category as per average AQI,
during the month of 2020.
The Senior Scientist fur-
ther said that data generated for
the period March 15, 2020 to
April 25, before the lockdown
and during the lockdown on
specific prominent parameters
such as PM 10, PM 2.5, NO2
and SO2 from these stations
have been analyzed and the
same has been summarized
along with a comparison of
average values of these para-
meters observed in pre-lock-
down period March 15, 2020 to
March 21, 2020 and during
lockdown period March 22,
2020 to April 25, 2020.
There has been a big drop
in average values upto PM10 by
64.65 per cent, PM2.5 by 54.33
per cent SO2 by 56.45 per cent
and NO2 by 81.2 per cent
during lockdown period as
compared to pre-lockdown
period.
AQI remained satisfactory
or moderate and at no place
poor AQI was observed before
April 13, 2020. However, on
April 15, a dust storm from
western side hit Delhi, NCR
which contributed to poor
quality recoded on April 15.
Thereafter, the wheat harvest-
ing season started and with
sporadic incidents of stubble
burning, slight impact was
observed in the Air Quality of
wheat producing districts.
However, the Air Quality dur-
ing the month of April 2020 has
been observed to be better as
compared to that of April 2019
during which period the qual-
ity remained very poor, he
added.
Another HSPCB Scientist
said that the lockdown might
have slowed down the eco-
nomic activities in the indus-
trial areas but the air quality in
these areas has shown a marked
improvement. Perceptible
change in the environment
was visible in all parameters
like particulate matter, nitrogen
oxide and even the temperature
has reduced by 3 to 5 per cent
overall in the industrial areas.
This phase had made it clear
that human and planetary
health are interconnected and
it was up to human beings to
make the right decision to
address the problem of envi-
ronmental pollution.
A Panchkula based
Environmentalist opined that
the reduced pollution levels
should act as a wake-up call for
the State government. With a
recent COVID Air Quality
report showing pollution levels
falling by dramatic levels in
major cities across Haryana,
including Gurugram,
Faridabad, during the corona
virus lockdown there is need to
maintain levels even after the
lockdown is over.
?=BQ 347A03D=
The Pradesh Congress
Committee (PCC) presi-
dent, Pritam Singh has accused
the State Government of issu-
ing contradictory statements
on bringing the stranded
Uttarakhandis’ in different
parts of country by railways.
Addressing media persons
at the State headquarters of the
Uttarakhand Congress, the
PCC president said that three
different statements in last
three days from those within
the government have created
confusion and could create
chaos.
“The Government
spokesperson Madan Kaushik
had said that the trains would
resume from May 10 while the
nodal officer Shailesh Bagoli
had denied about any such
plan. Later the CM had talked
about trains on May 12 and 13,’’
he said. Questioning the deci-
sion of the state government to
hand over all responsibilities of
returning migrants to the vil-
lage Pradhans, PCC President
said arranging for quarantine
facility, regular care and food
for the migrants is too much a
task for the Pradhans. He said
that the state government
should have made arrange-
ments for health check up and
quarantine at base camps.
The PCC president
demanded that the state gov-
ernment should inform about
the blue print for employment
generation programmes for the
returning migrants. He said
that the farmers of the state have
been hit hard by recent unsea-
sonal rains and hailstorms. He
said that the state government
should provide adequate com-
pensation for such farmers
without delay. Singh asked the
state government to make nec-
essary changes in the disaster
management act to provide
relief to the farmers affected by
hail stones and un-seasonal
rains.Healsoremindedthestate
government of the promise of
agricultural loan waiver made
by it during the run up for the
assembly elections of 2017.
Singh also questioned the
silence of state government on
the issue of pass to the Uttar
Pradesh (UP) MLA during
lockdown. He said that the
state government should take
lesson from the action taken by
the Maharashtra government in
this regard. Reacting to the
recent statement of Member of
Parliament (MP), Lok Sabha
from Garhwal, Teerath Singh
Rawat about non fulfilment of
social distancing norms at
liquor shops, Pritam Singh said
that many BJP leaders are not
happy with the state govern-
ment but they are openly com-
ing out due to the fear of attract-
ing wrath of party high com-
mand.
A4CDA=586A0=CB
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?=BQ 347A03D=
The statements of the
Pradesh Congress
Committee president Pritam
Singh have exposed the party,
said the Bharatiya Janata Party
state chief spokesman Munna
Singh Chauhan. From the
state to the national level, the
Congress is intentionally incit-
ing the people to panic. Stating
this, Chauhan said that it is
unfortunate that every state-
ment of the Congress suggests
breaking the protocol fixed for
COVID-19.
“First the Congress said
that there is no registration for
bringing back migrants and
was busy publicising its pur-
ported app. However, the state
government made concrete
arrangements with nearly two
lakh migrants registering to
return while the Congress was
citing about 20,000. It is dis-
appointing that the Congress
has been presenting the trans-
portation of migrants during
the COVID-19 pandemic as
travel during normal times. It
didn’t show even basic respon-
sible thinking to comprehend
that in such times, both the
states concerned have to follow
standard operating procedure
and protocols. The Congress
doesn’t seem to know that the
state government has also
facilitated the return of thou-
sands of people from one dis-
trict to another within the
state. Thousands of migrants
have already been brought
back from various states with
the government also arranging
to send them to their homes.
In such a situation, shortage of
buses and transportation facil-
ities is natural.
However, arrangements
are also being made to oper-
ate special trains for bringing
back migrants from Delhi,
Mumbai and other big cities.
However, the Congress is not
understanding this and
embarrassed itself in
Uttarakhand with the cha-
rade of running ‘Sonia Gandhi
kitchen’,” said Chauhan.
He further said that the
Congress lacks the capability
to do anything itself and
should stop advising the
Uttarakhand government. The
BJP spokesman further said
that the state government has
effectively controlled the
spread of COVID-19 and is
undertaking relief works
which has been appreciated
across the nation.
Apart from this, the state
government is also preparing
schemes for rehabilitation of
the returning migrants with a
cabinet sub-committee work-
ing swiftly on this.
?22RWXTU´bbcPcTT]cbTg_^bX]V2^]VaTbb)19?
?=BQ A0=278
Chief Minister Hemant
Soren today said that final
decision on lockdown exten-
sion will be taken by the Prime
Minister, although the State
government will also review the
decision and take its decision
by May 17.
“I have already said that
when migrant labourers will
come, infection will increase.
Now, migrant workers are com-
ing and infection rate is also
increasing a bit, but we are
recovering very fast. Our recov-
ery rate is about 50 per cent and
the national recovery rate is
about 30 per cent. If this situ-
ation persists then we will
surely come out of this infec-
tion. And, after reviewing the
situation we will take decision
on State level,” said the CM.
“Several states have
requested to extend the lock-
down but the PM is the leader
of the nation and his decision
if final. We will take into
account the guidelines of the
Centre on May 17 and act
appropriately,” he added.
Notably, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi interacted with
the Chief Ministers of the
states through video confer-
encing about how to prevent
further infection of
Coronavirus and how to take a
further step towards lockdown.
What are the concessions that
should be given? All the states
should prepare a road map
before 15 May and send it to
the Central government so
that the Central government
can formulate a strategy for the
fourth phase of lock-down, as
suggested by the states. He
also asked the states to change
the lock-down to red zone,
orange zone or green zone
according to the circumstances
of their state and take decisions.
Hemant Soren said that the
Jharkhand government has
been following the advisory
issued by the Central
Government regarding the
Corona crisis and lockdown,
and the State Government will
follow the decision taken by the
Center in the future. Soren said
that in this difficult time of
Corona crisis, saving the lives
of people is top priority.
However, financial strength is
also very important.
“In such a situation, we
have to come forward to exe-
cute the work by creating a bal-
ance between life and liveli-
hood. In this Central govern-
ment's cooperation is expected.
The recovery rate from Corona
in Jharkhand has reached 50
per cent,” he said.
The CM said that special
emphasis should be laid on
implementing MGNREGA
schemes to make migrant
labourers connected with
employment. He urged the
Prime Minister to increase
MGNREGA budget and man-
day creation by 50 per cent and
wage rate of MNREGA. He said
that by giving preference to
MGNREGA, it will help a lot to
strengthen the rural economy.
Soren said that mining
work is very important in
Jharkhand. This state gets a lot
of revenue from mining. In such
a time, in this era of Corona cri-
sis, the tax collection system
should be changed slightly so
that the State can recover rev-
enue on account of its resources.
This will improve the financial
condition of the states. The
CM urged the Prime Minister
to give GST amount as well.
The CM said that the chal-
lenges of the States are increas-
ing due to the return of the
migrant labourers. The biggest
challenge is to provide them
employment. In this way ade-
quate support is expected from
the Central Government.
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?=BQ 347A03D=
No new patient of the novel
Coronavirus (COVID-19)
was reported by the State health
department in Uttarakhand
on Monday. The State has so far
reported 68 patients of the
disease out of whom 46 have
recovered and discharged from
the hospital.
Meanwhile, the district
administration and health
department of Udham Singh
Nagar went into a tizzy on
Monday when they got infor-
mation from Fatehgarh district
of Punjab that a 47 year old
person who was tested positive
of COVID-19 on May 7 has
drove into Bajpur town of
Udham Singh Nagar. On the
information, the district
administration traced the per-
son, a truck driver and admit-
ted him into the Sushila Tiwari
Hospital of Haldwani. The
cleaner of the truck is being
kept at a quarantine centre in
Bajpur town. It is learnt that the
COVID-19 positive truck dri-
ver had transported Iron bars
from Punjab to Bajpur. The
authorities are now tracing the
contact history of the driver.
Since the sample of the driver
was taken in Punjab he would
not be counted as patient of
Uttarakhand though he would
be treated here.
The additional secretary,
state health department, Yugal
Kishore Pant reports of 160
samples were received by the
health department on Monday
and all of them were found
negative for COVID-19.
He added that reports of
245 samples are still awaited by
the department. On Monday, a
total of 154 samples were col-
lected for COVID -19 testing.
The authorities have so far
taken swab samples of 9915
suspected patients for COVID-
19 test. Out of the total sam-
ples taken, 0.74 percent sam-
ples have been found positive
for the disease.
The rate of recovery from
the COVID-19 in the state is
67.65 percent. A total of 14183
persons are kept in home quar-
antine while 2846 are in facil-
ity quarantine. A total of
133304 people have so far
downloaded the ‘Aarogya Setu
App’ on their smart phones.
The state has 21 active
cases in the state with Udham
Singh Nagar district having
highest nine cases followed by
Dehradun district which has
eight active cases.
Haridwar district has two
active cases while Nainital and
Uttarkashi districts each have
one active case.
Meanwhile the slow rate
of testing of samples is caus-
ing concern among the
experts. Noted social activist,
Anoop Nautiyal tweeted, “I
am deeply concerned with
pace of sampling in
Uttarakhand. On May 11, the
health department collected
154 samples for testing and
160 samples were tested. The
health department owes an
explanation. More impor-
tantly this needs to be fixed on
an urgent basis.’’
?=BQ 347A03D=
Not a single poor person has
slept hungry in
Uttarakhand during the lock-
down. Elaborate arrangements
were made at the
Governmental and societal
level to ensure this.
Chief Minister Trivendra
Singh Rawat said this in the
video conference of Chief
Ministers chaired by the Prime
Monday.
Informing the PM about
various measures taken by the
State Government, Rawat also
sought varied relaxations in dif-
ferent spheres to revive eco-
nomic activity in the Sate.
Rawat informed that about
500 doctors and paramedical
staff had been posted to tack-
le COVID-19 in the State. Of
the 13 districts ICUs with ven-
tilators and BiPAP machines
had been arranged in 11 dis-
tricts along with arrangement
for training the paramedical
staff to enable facing of unusu-
al conditions.
The CM further informed
that the doubling rate of
COVID-19 in the state is 45
days while the recovery rate is
67.6 per cent.
Of the 68 positive cases in
the State, 46 had recovered and
returned home.
So far, 45,000 migrants
from Uttarakhand have been
brought back to the State with
the State Government bearing
the expense. Many migrants are
being brought back by train
from Surat and Pune. The
State Government has deposit-
ed C2,000 each in the accounts
of about two lakh labourers.
Work has resumed in about
3,500 industrial enterprises at
45 per cent capacity.
Stating that some reforms
had been made in labour laws,
he said that the State had ini-
tiated steps towards contract
farming.
He also spoke about devel-
oping a single window portal
for farmers as done for indus-
tries, adding that economic
activities will rise if the farmer
is strong.
Stating that a large number
of labourers are needed for
extracting mined materials, he
asked that priority be accord-
ed to National Green Tribunal
permission for this purpose. He
also sought permission for
opening residential schools in
the state. Considering financial
constraints and drop in tax col-
lection, the loan limit should be
four per cent.
Permission should be
granted for economic activities
outside containment zones.
Further, limited tourism activ-
ities should be permissible
between green zones in the
State.
Rawat said that hotel,
restaurants, tourism and trans-
port businesses have been the
worst affected by the pandem-
ic.
There are about 2.5 lakh
MSMEs in the state which
provide employment to lakhs
of people.
Measures should be con-
sidered to provide some relief
to such enterprises.
The CM also sought inclu-
sion of homestay, short term
agricultural works and other
activities under MNREGA. For
urban areas, a new scheme on
the pattern of MNREGA
should be introduced for
labourers.
Stating that a large number
of very poor migrants are
returning to the state, he said
that they do not have any
ration card. The Central
Government has proscribed
making new ration cards after
April 1. However, the poor
migrants numbering in about
three lakh have no immediate
source of livelihood and hence,
it is essential to make ration
cards for them.
?=BQ 347A03D=
Chief Minister Trivendra
Singh Rawat and Union Jal
Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh
Shekhawat discussed Namami
Gange and the Kumbh Mela to
be held in Haridwar during
2021 during a video conference
on Monday.Shekhawat said
that all possible help will be
provided to the State
Government for Kumbh Mela
works to be executed through
the Jal Shakti Ministry. He
appreciated the works done in
Uttarakhand under Namami
Gange. Rawat said that the
State Government will require
the assis-
tance of
the min-
istry for
v a r i o u s
construc-
t i o n
works are
to be done in Haridwar for the
Kumbh Mela.
The Union Minister
assured full support from the
National Mission for Clean
Ganga and the Jal Shakti min-
istry. Additional chief secretary
Om Prakash and additional
secretary to the CM, Meharban
Singh Bisht were also present in
the meeting.
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While online classes are
helping children to study
and stay connected to their
education despite the COVID-
19 pandemic, some parents
and teachers are worried that in
the long term, overexposure to
the internet during the lock-
down can be dangerous for
children.
Since the lockdown, my
children are spending at least
six to seven hours every day in
front of computer screens due
to their online classes, and
then to find some study mate-
rial on Google. I cannot even
say anything because we can-
not help them in every subject
and they need the internet. My
daughter is getting headaches
and even back pain due to
study through the internet. I
hope the situation will improve
soon to enable resumption of
regular schools, said local res-
ident Deepa Gusain. Some
parents also stated that while
using the internet to study, chil-
dren are opening several irrel-
evant sites of violent games,
videos and other material that
might mentally harm them.
Many teachers also expressed
the concern about children
spending more time with com-
puter and mobile phones. “I
understand that there is a
potential danger for children,
especially young students who
are new to the internet. Since
there is currently no other way
of teaching children besides
online classes, parents have to
be careful about what their chil-
dren watch and search on
internet. If the children remain
in lockdown being overex-
posed to internet, it can severe-
ly affect their mental health,
said a teacher Priyanka Garg.
Some experts advise par-
ents to create a positive
ambiance at home and to have
a proper conversation with
their children during the lock-
down. Parents need to have an
optimistic outlook in front of
children at home before having
an age-appropriate conversa-
tion with them, said Dehradun
based neuropsychologist, Dr
Sona Kaushal Gupta.
According to her, anxiety and
stress are contagious and chil-
dren can easily be affected by
the behaviour of their parents.
Talking about children
spending more time online, she
said that parents should be
aware of what their children are
watching and exploring online.
Last week, some children com-
mitted suicide during the lock-
down apparently due to trivial
reasons.
Speaking on this Dr Gupta
said that children are emo-
tionally sensitive these days and
any kind of aggravation by
parents can hurt their self-
esteem. Children do not com-
mit suicide due to trivial rea-
sons but mostly due to stress
which they fail to cope with at
that time. Therefore, parents
need to maintain an optimistic
and happy environment as it
really impacts the children,
she added.
?=BQ 347A03D=
The National Association for
Parents and Student Rights
(NAPSR) has alleged that the
private schools are harassing
students in the name of online
classes.
The President of the asso-
ciation, Arif Khan said that due
to the lockdown offices, facto-
ries and other works are closed
and thousands of people have
lost their jobs. All educational
institutes are also closed.
He said that the
Uttarakhand Government had
issued an order to the private
schools on fee collections. Khan
said that in view of this GO the
private schools have started
sending homework on the
WhatApp and are taking online
classes.
“Due to these online class-
es small children are forced to
sit for five to six hours before
mobile phones and later do
homework by going offline.
This routine is taking its toll on
the mental and physical health
of children.
Our association has taken
advice of many health experts
and all of them are unanimous
that long online sessions are
not good for eyes and neck
muscles of the children. The
schools are doing all this mere-
ly to collect fees from the par-
ents and bypass the regula-
tions,’’ he said.
Khan added that all private
schools have 25 per cent stu-
dents of poor parents who
had taken admissions under
Right to Education (RTE). He
said that such parents are
unable to purchase smart
phone, laptops or computers
for their wards. The online
classes are hampering studies
of such students which is
infringement on their Right to
Education.
On Monday, the associa-
tion wrote separate letters to the
Human Resource Development
(HRD) minister and State
Commission for Protection of
Child Rights (SCPCR) to take
immediate cognisance of the
issue and demanded immedi-
ate ban on online classes.
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In addition to the migrants
returning by road to
Uttarakhand, two Shramik spe-
cial trains also departed from
Gujarat and Maharashtra for
Uttarakhand on Monday. The
Surat to Kathgodam train car-
rying 1,207 migrants is expect-
ed to reach Kathgodam on
Monday night while the Pune
to Haridwar train with 1,206
migrants is expected to arrive
on Tuesday afternoon.
So far, 1.93 lakh migrants
have registered online for
returning to Uttarakhand. Till
Sunday, a total of 34,409
migrants had returned from
various states. Similarly, 8,687
persons had departed to other
states from Uttarakhand till
Sunday.
From Monday to May 15,
passes have been issued to
5,000 people for returning from
Uttar Pradesh to Uttarakhand.
Apart from the two trains
which departed on Monday
morning, process is underway
to facilitate trains to bring back
migrants from Karnataka,
Gujarat, Telangana and other
states. About 1,200 persons
are slated to return by bus from
Rajasthan.
Meanwhile, officials
checked arrangements at the
Haridwar railway station on
Monday. Twenty medical teams
have been deployed to admin-
ister health checks to all the
returning migrants. Those
returning on this train will be
transported to their home dis-
tricts by roadways buses. ADM
KK Mishra said that more such
special trains are likely to arrive
in Haridwar in the coming
days. The district administra-
tion has completed all prepa-
rations. Haridwar district mag-
istrate C Ravishankar, senior
superintendent of police Senthil
Avoodai Krishna Raj S and
other officials inspected the
arrangements at the railway sta-
tion on Monday. The DM said
that proper security arrange-
ments have been made to
ensure nobody exits without
proper screening.
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Faced with a daunting task of
providing local employment
opportunities to the returning
migrants, the Uttarakhand
Government is working on a
plan to link them with agri-
culture and horticulture sec-
tors. The department con-
cerned is said to have prepared
a comprehensive plan which
when implemented would help
in finding employment oppor-
tunities in agriculture and hor-
ticulture for the returning
migrants. The cooperative
banks would be roped in to
provide financial support to
these people in finding self
employment. Confirming the
development, the secretary,
agriculture and school educa-
tion R Meenakshi Sundaram
told The Pioneer that the plan
would be presented before the
state cabinet soon.
The migrants who are
returning from different parts
of the country back to their
native places in large numbers
have posed a big challenge
before the state government. It
is expected that the number of
these people would be around
three lakh when all of them
return back to their homes in
Uttarakhand in coming days.
According to the estimate of
the state government about
30000 people have so far
returned to the state after lock-
down was enforced by the
union government and state
governments to prevent the
infection of novel Coronavirus
(COVID-19) from spreading.
An estimated 1.92 lakh people
have so far registered for return
to the state. The state govern-
ment wants that a large per-
centage of these people should
be encouraged to remain at
their native places when the
lockdown ends. The chief
minister (CM) Trivendra Singh
Rawat who has time and again
advocated for home coming of
natives and has emphasized on
reverse migration has suggest-
ed that employment opportu-
nities should be explored in
agriculture and horticulture
sectors for these migrants based
on which the department has
prepared a draft proposal.
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The Municipal Corporation
of Dehradun (MCD) will
not carry out thorough saniti-
sation of all the wards as it had
done in the past two months.
This responsibility has now
been handed over to the coun-
cillors of the wards.
The MCD spent C2.50 lakh
last month for the transporta-
tion of one percentage sodium
hypochlorite disinfectant to
Dehradun from Kota.
According to Dehradun
municipal commissioner Vinay
Shankar Pandey, it was easier
to sanitise the wards during the
first and second phases of the
lockdown but due to the relax-
ations provided in the third
phase of the lockdown, the
places which were earlier
empty are now crowded.
Therefore, the corporation has
provided the councillors of
each ward with 100 litres of one
percentage sodium hypochlo-
rite to sanitise their respective
wards, said Pandey. The mar-
kets and other public areas are
regularly being sanitised by
MCD. We are also sanitising
the buses and trains through
which the people from other
states are arriving here, added
Pandey.
He further informed that
MCD received 26,000 litres of
one percentage sodium
hypochlorite disinfectant last
month from a Kota based com-
pany free of charge. The cor-
poration spent about C2.50
lakh for the transportation of
disinfectant to Dehradun,
added Pandey. He stated that
10,000 litres of this disinfectant
have been given to the coun-
cillors of 100 wards along with
the spray machines. The coun-
cillors can ask for more disin-
fectant as per their need. The
corporation still has 16,000
litres of disinfectant in stock,
said municipal health officer
Dr Kailash Joshi.
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The biggest challenge for
the Tourism department
is to revive tourism activities
after the COVID-19 pandem-
ic is resolved. Tourism secretary
Dilip Jawalkar said this while
chairing a video conference
with all the district tourism
officers to review the impact of
COVID-19 pandemic on
tourism sector and progress of
various departmental schemes
in the state.
Jawalkar said that the pan-
demic had affected the tourism
business considerably. The
State government is undertak-
ing necessary steps to provide
possible relief and relaxations
to those involved in the tourism
business. Information is being
collected from the district level
for this so that the steps to be
taken by the government can
be executed effectively. Stating
that reviving tourism activities
in the post-pandemic times is
the biggest challenge facing
the department, he said that
directions have been issued to
all district tourism officers for
effective implementation of
the government’s self employ-
ment schemes in their respec-
tive districts.
Infrastructural works
underway as part of the 13 dis-
tricts 13 destinations scheme
were also reviewed in the video
conference. All the district
tourism development officers
have been directed to maintain
establish communication with
the general public while main-
taining social distancing and
encourage online applications
for various schemes.
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The Government on Monday clar-
ified that only passengers with e-
ticket will be allowed access to rail-
way stations and they will be med-
ically screened and only asympto-
matic persons would be allowed to
board the train. This has been done
to maintain social distancing.
The Ministry of Home Affairs
(MHA) issued standard operating
procedures saying passengers must
adhere to social distancing and wear
face masks.
“Movement of passengers to
fro and entry at the railway station
would be permitted only on con-
firmed e-ticket. There would be
compulsory medical screening of all
passengers. Only asymptomatic per-
sons would be allowed to board the
train. During the travel and at the
railway stations, strict adherence to
Health/hygiene protocols and social
distancing must be observed.
All passengers would be provid-
ed with hand sanitiser at entry and
exit points at station and in coach-
es. Further, it would be ensured that
all passengers wear face covers/
masks at entry and during travel.
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The Union Home Ministry
on Monday directed the
States to provide security
and ensure smooth move-
ment of medical profession-
als and operation of estab-
lishments including private
clinics. The Ministry also
told the States to facilitate the
smooth movement of the
trains carrying migrant
labourers and prevent them
from walking through the
railway tracks.
Home Secretary Ajay
Bhalla, in a letter, told the
State Chief Secretaries that
private clinics and nursing
homes must be allowed to
open for the service of all
kind of patients.
“MHA has written to all
States/UTs pointing out that
unhindered movement of all
medical professionals is
essential for meeting public
health requirements and sav-
ing precious human lives.
Any restriction on the move-
ment of medical profession-
als and para-medical staff
can lead to severe constraints
in rendering COVID and
non-COVID medical ser-
vices. In the view of above,
the communication empha-
sises that all State/ UT
Governments should ensure
smooth movement of all
medical professionals, nurs-
es, para medical, sanitation
personnel and ambulances.
“This would help in ren-
dering all COVID and non-
COVID medical services to
patients without any con-
straint. It was also stated that
the inter-State movement of
all above mentioned profes-
sionals may be facilitated by
the States/UTs. It has been
further emphasised that all
private clinics, nursing homes
and labs, with all their med-
ical professional and staff, be
allowed to open.
This would facilitate in
catering to all patients,
COVID and non-COVID
emergencies, without any
hindrance and relieve the
burden on hospitals,” said
the MHA in statement.
On the migrant labourer,
the MHA asked the states to
prevent them from walking
through the railway tracks
and speedy facilitation of
‘Shramik Express’, the special
trains for the migrant
labourers.
The Centre also asked the
States to co-operate for more
trains for the transportation
of the labour force.
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In a touching gesture, the
Navy on Monday felicitated
a young woman, one of the 698
Indian nationals evacuated
from Maldives and brought to
Kochi, Kerala on Sunday and
who delivered a baby boy
shortly after disembarkation.
The Indian Navy warship
INS Jalashwa had brought the
Indians from Male while
another warship INS Magar on
Monday docked at Tuticorin,
Tamil Nadu with 200 more
Indians evacuated from
Maldives. Incidentally, the
woman, a nurse by profession,
returned on the ‘Mother’s Day’
and was felicitated on the eve
of the ‘Nurses’ Day.’ Moreover,
she had undergone miscar-
riage on some earlier occasions.
Giving details about the
felicitation, navy officials said
the young mother Sonia Jacob
was honoured by the Southern
Naval Command (SNC) at
Kinder Multispeciality
Hospital, Ernakulam. The SNC
representative, Lieutenant
Commander Remya Savy met
Sonia’s parents KA and Beena
Jacob as the COVID protocols
prevented physical contact with
the passengers.
The Naval officer pre-
sented the parents with a flo-
ral bouquet and conveyed
greetings and best wishes to
the extended family on behalf
of the Flag Officer
Commanding-in-Chief SNC
on the much awaited new
arrival into the family while
expressing the happiness in
the Navy being instrumental
in bringing Sonia Jacob to the
motherland on “Mother’s
Day” and into a long cher-
ished Motherhood.
Remya subsequently also
connected with Sonia and
Shijo, her spouse, who are
both under institutional quar-
antine, via videocall and con-
gratulated the proud parents
wishing the baby boy health,
happiness and a long life. The
family members on their part
conveyed the gratitude and
appreciation of Sonia to the
Navy for the care and comfort
accorded to her on board the
naval ship throughout the
passage.
Later, Remya said it is
indeed a proud moment for all
personnel in the Navy, par-
ticularly the crew of INS
Jalashwa to be associated with
this special moment in the
couple’s life considering the
number of miscarriages which
occurred previously with
Sonia. She highlighted the
fact that it was also special for
her to be able to wish Sonia
who is a nurse by profession,
on the eve of the “Nurse’s day”
in the backdrop of CoViD19
pandemic. Managing
Director, Kinder Hospital
Praveen Kumar Arjunan and
Chief Operating Officer
Narain Gunaseelan Pillai and
other hospital staff members
were also present on the occa-
sion.
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Obesity is associated with a
higher risk of developing
severe symptoms and compli-
cations of coronavirus disease,
independent of other illnesses,
such as cardiovascular disease,
according to researchers, who
have alerted that it is a risk fac-
tor that needs attention.
In their article published
in the latest journal of
Current Science, the
researchers said that obesity,
a comorbidity not well docu-
mented in the Covid-19 pan-
demic, is now being identified
as a risk factor for severe
viral-19 infection, including
in those less than 60 years of
age.
“We suggest that weights
and heights be recorded in all
case-record forms and epi-
demiologic surveillance tools
to assess the associations of
body mass index with infec-
tion status and disease out-
comes. Obese individuals
should be closely monitored
in view of the risk of
increased severity of COVID-
19 infection,” said Anurag
Bhargava and Madhavi
Bhargava, both from
Yenepoya Medical College,
Mangalore.
Mortality in Covid-19
infection has been related to
age and the presence of
comorbidities, among which
hypertension, cardiovascular
disease and diabetes are the
most common.
A recent meta-analysis
showed that the pooled preva-
lence of hypertension, car-
diovascular disease and dia-
betes was 16.3 per cent, 12.1
per cent and 7.8 per cent%
respectively, in hospitalized
patients, pointed out the
researchers.
Obesity is one of the com-
monest underlying comor-
bidities worldwide. However,
none of the studies in the sys-
tematic review mention the
prevalence of obesity in the
Covid-19 cases. Obesity is a
potential confounder of the
association between hyper-
tension, diabetes and out-
comes in Covid-19 infection,
and should therefore be
assessed, they added.
The researchers’ views
came following observation
that how obesity was identi-
fied as a novel risk factor for
increased disease severity and
mortality reported in the
influenza A (H1N1) pan-
demic. “It is pertinent to note
that obesity is also a risk fac-
tor for the severity of other
viral infections like dengue
fever in children.”
In the case of influenza A
(H1N1) infection, later work
highlighted several other
implications of obesity which
might be relevant to COVID-
19 infection.
It would also be impor-
tant to examine whether
lower prevalence of obesity in
countries like India is linked
to lower mortality due to
Covid-19 infection.
The database of patients
with Covid-19 infection in
India and other countries
should have information on
BMI. This will confirm the
initial observations of obesi-
ty as a risk factor for severe
Covid-19 infection in a larg-
er number of patients.
It will also reveal whether
a low BMI confers risk or pro-
tection against adverse out-
comes in Covid-19 infection.
Hence, obese individuals
should be more careful about
preventive measures during
the pandemic, said the
researchers.
?=BQ =4F34;78
Days after asking the defence
industries to be ready with
a plan to ramp up production
to the optimum level after the
lockdown is lifted, Defence
Minister Rajnath Singh on
Monday stressed the need for
India to become self-reliant and
“net exporter of technology.”
He also lauded the Defence
Research and Development
Organisation(DRDO)for com-
ing out with at least 50 items in
the ongoing fight against
COVID-19.
Addressing the scientists of
the DRDO on the National
Technology Day (NTD) here
through video conference, the
minister stressed that there is
no alternative to indigenous
technology and indigenous
manufacture. “We will be truly
self-reliant only when India
succeeds in becoming a net
exporter instead of a net
importer of technology,” he
said. The National Technology
Day is observed to commem-
orate the nuclear tests con-
ducted by India in 1998 that
symbolized successful achieve-
ments of home grown tech-
nologies.
While calling upon the
country’s pool of experts to
contribute to make India a
technological powerhouse,
Singh said the government and
people fully support their
future endeavours in this direc-
tion.
On the role of the defence
sector in the national effort to
fight the corona pandemic, the
minister said defence organi-
sations are tackling the chal-
lenges posed by COVID-19
using state-of-the-art technol-
ogy. India’s defence forces and
Research Development
efforts have contributed signif-
icantly in finding solutions to
the challenges posed by this
invisible enemy.
He added the DRDO has
developed more than 50 prod-
ucts in the last 3-4 months, like
bio suit, sanitiser dispenser,
PPE kits through its continuous
efforts to contribute to the
fight against COVID-19. “The
indomitable spirit of our
defence industry has increased
the opportunity for mass pro-
duction of these high quality
products in record time,” Singh
said.
He said, “National
Technology Day is an oppor-
tunity to take stock of our
technological advancements
and if we are to emerge as a
technological force then we
should know what to do.
This year’s National
Technology Day 2020 was cel-
ebrated at the DRDO to com-
memorate and pay tribute to
the dedication, determination,
and sacrifice of scientists and
engineers, who have worked for
achieving a national techno-
logical identity with the success
of Shakti-Pokhran 2. On this
occasion, a webinar was held
and a Presentation on DRDO
technologies to fight against
COVID-19 was given.
Member Niti Aayog and
former DRDO chief V K
Saraswat in his address said the
DRDO must provide more
focus on life sciences laborato-
ries and “must revive work on
bio-defence programme”. He
also emphasised on the need for
the development of more robot-
ic devices where the DRDO has
strong base. Principal Scientific
Advisor (PSA) to the
Government of India K Vijay
Raghavan emphasised the need
of developing IT enabled tech-
nologies and applications.
DRDO chief G Satheesh
Reddy appealed to all to reded-
icate themselves to the service
of the nation by providing cut-
ting edge technologies for mak-
ing the country strong and
self-reliant. He also said during
lockdown, products should be
supplied all over the world
adding “delayed delivery is no
delivery.” The DRDO has devel-
oped 53 products to fight
COVID-19, Reddy said and
some of the systems were
inducted in record time.
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QTbXchPhfâbT]Râ^]Pbh_c^b)BcdSh
P Obesity is one of the commonest underlying comor-
bidities worldwide. However, none of the studies in the systematic
review mention the prevalence of obesity in the Covid-19 cases.
Obesity is a potential confounder of the association between
hypertension, diabetes and outcomes in Covid-19 infection, and
should therefore be assessed, they added
?=BQ =4F34;78
The BSF on Monday report-
ed six new Covid-19 cases
followed by four in the CRPF
and one in ITBP, taking the
tally of patients in the para-
military forces to 764.
While the Indo Tibetan
Border Police (ITBP) reported
one positive case on Monday,
one infected personnel recov-
ered from the viral pandemic
in the last 24 hours, an official
spokesperson said, adding a
total of 156 infected persons in
its ranks are admitted at vari-
ous hospitals.
As many as 26 personnel of
ITBP are undergoing treat-
ment at AIIMS, Jhajjar,
Haryana, two patients are
admitted at Safdarjung Hospital
here and one at LNJP Hospital
in the national capital.
Besides these cases, 127
ITBP personnel infected with
novel corona virus are under-
going treatment at CAPF
Referral Hospital, Greater
Noida. One ITBP infected per-
son has recovered from the dis-
ease.
The CAPF Referral
Hospital is also managing 28
patients of BSF followed by four
infected persons from CRPF
and one each from CISF and
NSG apart from a civilian.
Four family members of ITBP
personnel are also admitted in
the referral hospital.
The Border Security Force
(BSF) on Monday reported a
total of six infected persons in
its ranks-one each in Delhi and
Tripura and four in Kolkata.
A BSF spokesperson said
all the patents are undergoing
treatment at designated Covid
health care hospitals.
One patient from 126
Battalion in Delhi and admit-
ted at AIIMS, Jhajjar, has recov-
ered after treatment.
In the Central Reserve
Police Force (CRPF), four new
Covid-19 patients were report-
ed and the tally of patients in
the paramilitary is 240 out of
which one had died and three
have recovered after undergo-
ing treatment.
One Covid patient of 39
Battalion who was admitted at
Sharda Hospital in Noida has
been discharged after recovery
from the disease. Presently, the
discharged patient has been
under home quarantine, a
CRPF official said.
BXg]Tf2êXS (RPbTbX]1B5
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Against the backdrop of the
Covid-19 pandemic, as
many as 177 new mandis from
10StatesandUnionTerritories,
including 26 in Punjab and 17
in Haryana, were integrated
with the e-NAM platform for
marketing of agricultural pro-
duce on Monday, taking the
total number of mandis inte-
grated with it to 962. The man-
dis integrated include those in
Gujarat (17), Haryana (26),
JammuandKashmir(1),Kerala
(5), Maharashtra (54), Odisha
(15), Punjab (17), Rajasthan
(25), Tamil Nadu (13) and
West Bengal (1).
Launchingthenewmandis
through video conferencing,
Union Agriculture Minister
Narendra Singh Tomar said
efforts should be made to
strengthen e-NAM further to
benefit the farmers. Right now,
farmers auction their agricul-
ture produce at 6,900-odd
APMC (Agriculture Produce
Marketing Committees) man-
dis spread across the nation.
Some agriculturists are also
usingonlinebiddingthroughe-
NAM platform.
Earlier, 785 mandis were
integrated with eNAM across
17 States and 2 UTs, with a user
base of 1.66 crore farmers, 1.30
lakh traders and 71,911 com-
mission agents. According to
the ministry, as many as 1.66
crore farmers, 1.30 lakh traders
and 71,911 commission agents
are using e-NAM platform.
Commodities, worth over
C 1 lakh crore, have been trad-
ed on the e-NAM as on May 9
this year. The volumes of trade
stood at 3.43 crore tonnes and
37.93 lakh bamboo and
coconuts.
That apart, digital pay-
ments worth C 708 crore were
made through the eNAM plat-
form, benefitting more than
1.25 lakh farmers.
A total of 236 mandis par-
ticipated in inter-mandi trade
across 12 States, whereas 13
states/UTs have participated in
the trade, allowing farmers to
interact directly with distantly
located traders.
At present, 150 commodi-
ties, including foodgrains,
oilseeds, fibers, vegetables and
fruits, are being traded on
eNAM. More than 1,005 FPOs
have been registered on eNAM
platform and have traded 2,900
tonnes of agri-produce worth
C7.92 crores.
?=BQ =4F34;78
Amid privacy concerns
raised by various quarters
about Aarogya Setu,
Government's digital platform
to track Covid-19 patients, the
Centre on Monday sought to
allay fears saying that it is
completely safe and it has
been ensured that user data are
not compromised.
Ajay Sahni, Chairman of
Empowered Group 9, said at a
press briefing here that “Aarogya
Setu app has been downloaded
in 9.8 crore smartphones so far.
It will be available on Jio feature
smartphones from tomorrow.
We've worked a lot on data pri-
vacy of Aarogya Setu users
made sure that user data are not
compromised.”
Recently a French hacker
had unearthed one too many
privacy issues with the app,
causing apprehension about cit-
izens’ privacy.
Countering the claims,
Sahni said that the App has been
developed to formulate health
responses that not only contain
the epidemic but alsoprotect the
health and safety of the com-
munity at large.
These health responses
require data of individuals for
the management of the Covid-
19 pandemic, syndromic map-
ping, contact tracing, and com-
munication between them.
“The Aarogya Setu is des-
ignated to carry out most of
these responses and needs con-
fidential information of indi-
viduals. The information
includes travel history, device
information, location data, con-
tact data, demography, and self-
assessment data, which is col-
lected by the app only after the
user has permitted it.”
The officer said that no data
would be retained beyond the
period as deemed necessary to
fulfil the purposes. At maxi-
mum, the contact, location,
and self-assessment data should
be permanently erased after
180 days from the day they were
recorded by the app. However,
the demographic data could
still be retained by NIC for as
long as the Protocol related to
the covid-19 pandemic remains
into effect.
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The coronavirus pandemic
has put more than two
million micro, small and medi-
um enterprises (MSMEs)
employing 1.3 crore workers in
a major crisis. The Tamil Nadu
Small and Tiny Industry
Association, the apex body of
MSME units in the State has
approached Union Finance
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
and Union Minister for MSME,
Nitin Gadkari with pleas to
save the sector and the employ-
ees from an impending disas-
ter.
The 45-day lockdown due
to coronavirus pandemic has
resulted in these units losing
their orders from major indus-
tries and other clients. The
migrant workers have gone
back to their respective villages
and all kinds of income sources
has been dried up putting the
entrepreneurs themselves in
trouble.
S Anburajan, president,
TANSTIA, reminded the
Centre and State Governments
that it was Union Minister
Gadkari who said that the
MSME units are on the verge
of collapse.
“In spite of repeated calls
by various MSME associations
in the State and in the country
nothing constructive has been
done to this sector,” said
Anburajan.
“Some of the Banks have
deferred the equated monthly
instalments (EMI) for three
months with some condition
which in turn will make the
MSME to pay more at a later
stage due to the accumulated
interest added in the principal
amount. Instead of relief this
will increase financial pres-
sure on MSME units,”
Anburajan told union finance
minster in a memorandum he
has sent.
The TANSTIA president
told The Pioneer that the
MSME units were willing to
pay back all the loans availed by
them but the Central
Government and the Banks
should show some compassion.
“What we are asking is that the
Banks should defer the EMI
payment by six months and the
waiver of the interest for this
period. We have also request-
ed that the pending principal
amount should be considered
as separate loan and allowed to
be paid back with 5 per cent
interest in easy instalments,”
said Anburajan.
Banks should be advised to
defer all the loans for a period
of six months instead of three
months which needs to be reg-
ulated by RBI instantly to save
the MSME sector, the TANS-
TIA has demanded
further.
The industrialists have
demanded a hike of 25 per cent
on all working capital loans. “As
on date, the practice is that the
Banks retain 25 percent of the
loan amount in the form of our
finished products which means
that for every one lakh rupees
of loan we avail, the Banks
release only C75,000 and retain
the remaining part as some
kind of surety for the loan. This
practice has to go as we will
return the loan promptly once
the crisis is blown over,” said S
Vasudevan, an entrepreneur
and joint secretary of TANS-
TIA.
The association has
demanded that the interest on
all working capitals be charged
at 5 per cent up to March 2021.
The TANSTIA also
demanded that the
Securitisation And
Reconstruction of Financial
Assets and Enforcement of
Security Interest Act (SAR-
FAESI Act) should not be
imposed up to March 2021. By
this Act the Banks were
empowered to launch pro-
ceedings for seizure of proper-
ty if the borrower d
elays to pay back the principal
with interest within two
months of the stipulated term.
“We want the Government to
exempt micro units which have
borrowed up to C2 crore from
the purview of
this dreadful act,” said
Vasudevan.
The grievances of TANS-
TIA found an echo in K Hari
Thiagarajan, chairman,
Confederation of Indian
Industries (Tamil Nadu State
Council).
“The MSME units should
be protected by offering them
all kind of concessions. The
MSME sector, which is one of
the largest employment
providers, is facing severe cri-
sis and this is the time to offer
help in the form of waiving off
bank loans and concessions in
Goods and Services Tax. We
expect lot of job losses and it is
sure that 30 per cent of the
MSMEs would have to shut
down immediately if no help is
forthcoming,” said Hari
Thiagarajan.
The plea by TANSTIA
comes closely on the heels of
the request sent by Tiruppur
Exporters Association to Prime
Minister Narendra Modi with
a request to save the knitwear
cotton industry from
sinking.
060( DSSHDOV WR VDYH VHFWRU IURP LPSHQGLQJ GLVDVWHU
Jammu: A patient admitted in
the Chest disease hospital died
on Monday taking the total
death toll due to Covid-19 in
Jammu Kashmir to 10. Four
days ago, 32-year-old son of the
patienttoohaddiedafterhehad
contractedcoronavirusinfection
while attending to his ailing
fatherintheSuperSpecialtyhos-
pital.
Meanwhile, 18 new positive
casesofcoronavirusweredetect-
ed, 12 from Kashmir division
and 6 from Jammu division on
Monday taking the total tally to
879 cases. Out of 12 new cases,
11 cases were detected positive
from Kulgam district alone
while 1 patient tested positive in
Baramulla. In addtion, 44
patients, all from Kashmir, were
discharged from hospitals after
complete recvovery.
So far , more than 51,000
samples have been tested across
Jammu Kashmir and 427
patients have recovered.
According to Shailendra
Mishra, SSP, Kathua, 3 more
tested positive for covid at
Billawar, taking the toll up to 05
in Kathua district. All 3 were
already in quarantine and were
identifiedatLakhanpurcorridor.
Let’s keep our guard up.
Three cases were detected
from Jammu. One of the patient
from New Plot area of Jammu
was already admitted in the
GMC, Jammu and one each
from Nagrota and Bhatindi,
with a travel history to
Ahmedabad tested positive dur-
ing screening at the gateway of
Jammu and Kashmir in
Lakhanpur.
On the other hand, Chief
Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam
Monday visited Jammu railway
station to review arrangements
for stranded passengers, reach-
ing here via special trains from
Tuesday. PNS
:D0A274;;0??0=Q :278
Expatriate workers who
reached Kerala during the
last two days brought with
them more coronavirus patients
to the State which had on last
Thursday declared that the pan-
demic curve has been flattened.
According to a release by K
K Shylaja, Kerala Minister of
Health, seven persons have
been tested positive for coron-
avirus in the State on Monday.
Out of this, four persons had
reached the State from
Maharashtra, one person from
Chennai and another from
Kuwait. An individual in
Wayanadu district who tested
positive on Monday got it
through a contact.
The Minister said that 27
persons are under treatment in
various hospitals in the State for
the pandemic. “Till Sunday,
1,307 persons returned to the
State from foreign countries. We
have put 650 persons under
home observation while 641
have been admitted to covid
care centres and 16 to various
hospitals for observation. There
are 229 pregnant women among
the expatriates who reached
the State,” said the minister’s
release.
The release further said
that 27, 986 persons are under
observation in the State. Out of
this 27,545 are in their houses
while 441 are in hospitals. 157
perosns have been admitted to
hospitals on Monday. There
are 34 coronavirus hotspots in
the State.
Earlier in the day, a woman
who reached Kochi by INS Jal
Ashwa from Male on Sunday
gave birth to a baby boy in a
Kochi hospital. The young
mother and her close relations
thanked the Indian Navy for the
help rendered by them during
the journey. The ship ferried 698
passengers inclusing 440
Keralaites from Male to Kochi.
INS Magar, another ship has
already reached Male to trans-
port 200 more passengers to
Kochi and is expected to arrive
at Kochi in the next two days.
Meanwhile the Kerala
Government on Monday issued
a special order allowing the
3,595 toddy shops in the State
to open from Wednesday. The
shops would function from 9
am to 7 pm. Tipplers may have
to buy the bottles and take it
home because they are not
allowed to consume the toddy
in the shop. The business would
be held as per the coronavirus
norms and regulations,
Chennai: In a gruesome inci-
dent, a 14-year old schoolgirl
was set on fire in Tamil Nadu's
Villupuram district by two
men connected to the ruling
AIADMK party. The girl, who
had suffered 95 per cent burns,
died on Monday, police said.
According to police,
Jayashree, daughter of small
shop-owner Jayapal, had given
a statement to the magistrate
naming two persons - G.
Murugan and K.Kaliaperumal
- as the persons who had set
her on fire.
The crime occurred on
Sunday at Sirumadurai locali-
ty near Thiruvennainallur
when the girl was alone at her
house.
On hearing the girl's cries
and the smoke coming out of
her house, neighbours rushed
in and were shocked. They took
the girl to the government
hospital where she breathed her
last.
Police told IANS that
Murugan and Kaliaperumal
have been taken into custody
and are being questioned.
According to a police offi-
cial, there had been a previous
enmity between the girl's father
and the alleged killers.
Meanwhile, major opposi-
tion parties have demanded
severe punishment to the
killers.
Demanding quick and
severe punishment to the two
accused, including a former
municipal councillor, opposi-
tion DMK's President M.K.
Stalin on Monday claimed that
the duo tied the hands and legs
of Jayashree, stuffed her mouth
with a cloth, and set her afire.
The girl was admitted in a
government hospital with 95
per cent burn injuries, and in
her dying declaration to a mag-
istrate, named the two
AIADMK members as the cul-
prits, he added.
According to Stalin, it is the
second such crime of burning
alive a student by AIADMK
members. A bus was set ablaze
in Dharmapuri, in which three
girl students of Tamil Nadu
Agricultural University were
burnt alive in 2000.
Stalin urged the police to
act impartially and ensure the
strictest punishment to the
culprits.
Similarly, PMK Founder
S.Ramadoss said whatever be
the previous enmity, the grue-
some act of burning alive a
school girl cannot be permit-
ted. Ramadoss, in a tweet, said
the killers should be speedily
punished in such a way that it
remains as a lesson for such
killers.
MDMK General Secretary
Vaiko too demanded a speedy
and severe punishment for the
killers. Meanwhile the ruling
AIADMK is silent on the
issue. IANS
DTY``]XZc]Sfc_eR]ZgVZ_E?
3ROLWLFLDQV GHPDQG VHYHUH SXQLVKPHQW
Bengaluru: Reinforcing
Karnataka's Covid-19 combat
efforts, a mobile fever clinic has
been inaugurated. Covid
mobile fever clinic has been
inaugurated, tweeted Chief
Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, here
on Monday.
The makeshift clinic, set up
in a remodelled KSRTC bus,
was inaugurated by the Chief
Minister at his home office
Krishna.
Bengaluru South member
of Parliament Tejasvi Surya
said his office along with other
entities developed the mobile
fever clinic. We have made
available swab collection facil-
ities for Covid, CBC, CRP and
ESR tests in five such clinics,
said Surya. The Karnataka
Government has deployed a
host of innovative solutions to
combat Covid-19. IANS
Thiruvananthapuram: The
Congress has alleged that the
Pinarayi Vijayan Government
in Kerala is engaged in only a
PR exercise and is least both-
ered about bringing back peo-
ple who are stranded in various
parts of the country.
Speaking to the media here
on Monday, Leader of
Opposition Ramesh
Chennithala said it has now
surfaced that the Indian
Railways has run more than
366 trains from various loca-
tions in the country.
It's really unfortunate that
not a single train came into
Kerala when thousands of stu-
dents, women and others have
been stranded since the lock-
down began in various states in
the country. They are waiting
to return to their home state,
said Chennithala. IANS
80=B Q ?0=098
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant in a video message, here
on Monday, urged villagers staying along the border not to
help those trying to sneak into the state during the lockdown.
There entry was being facilitated by residents of border vil-
lages for as little C500-1,000, he said. It has come to my notice
that people are trying to smuggle in their relatives or workers,
using shortcuts along the border. This should not be allowed.
People are coming to Goa in taxis, motorcycles or using short
cuts. It's wrong, Sawant said.
He urged people to not allow people to enter Goa without
coronavirus tests. If someone is caught, strict action will be taken
under the National Disaster Management Act, Sawant
said.
Goa, which shares borders with Maharashtra and Karnataka,
has green zone status, with not a single active Covid-19 case. The
State had seven Covid-19 patients, who tested negative after treat-
ment.
Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief
Minister K. Palaniswami on
Monday said migrant workers
living in the state will be sent
back home in phases with the
permission of the respective
state governments.
In a statement issued here,
Palaniswami said 9,000 migrant
workers with the permission of
the respective state govern-
ments have been sent back
home in special trains.
The remaining migrant
workers will be sent back home
in a week's time with the per-
mission of the respective state
governments, he said.
He requested the migrant
workers to remain in the camps
till such time. IANS
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fâZTabUa^PWPaPbWcaPc^PcWdaPP]Sc^^cWTa_PacbÛDccPa?aPSTbW
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C=A067D=0C70Q D108
Mumbai’s Dharavi slum
erupted once again on
Monday, as 57 more persons
tested positive for Covid-19,
taking the total number of
infected cases in Asia’s biggest
slum to 916.
A day after two more per-
sons succumbed to coronavirus
taking the total number of
deaths to 29 and 26 others test-
ed positive in Dharavi, 57 new
infected cases were reported
from various parts of this
densely populated slum.
Matunga Labour camp,
which has emerged as the most
affected area, reported as many
as eight Covid-19 positive cases
on Monday. There was a sev-
enteen- year-old among the
seven newly infected persons,
who comprised a 71-year-old
man and others were in the age
group of 31 years and 53 years.
Six new infected cases had
been reported from Matunga
Labour camp on Sunday.
Dharavi Cross Road area
was another where as many as
six cases were reported on
Monday.
Like in the previous days,
new infected cases were report-
ed from most of the localities
in this densely populated
slum.
What is worrying the
health authorities is that dur-
ing the last 40 days since the
outbreak of the pandemic in
Dharavi, there have already
been 29 deaths in this slum,
while the infected cases have
crossed the 900-mark
(916).
Despite creating contain-
ment zones and isolating the
“contacts”, the authorities have
so far not been able to arrest the
spread of the pandemic in this
slum.
Dharavi, a slum spread
over 240 hectare area that is
home to more than 4 lakh peo-
ple, has been an area of concern
for the Brihanmumbai
Municipal Corporation (BMC)
ever since the first couple
deaths and infected cases were
reported from this slum in the
first week of April.
That Dharavi is on the
BMC’s top agenda could be
evidenced from the fact that
Mumbai’s new Municipal
Commissioner Iqbal Singh
Chahal visited this slum and
took stock of the situation
hours after he assumed the
office on Saturday.
During his visit to Dharavi,
Chahal went around worst-
affected localities of Mukund
Nagar and Shastri Nagar and
took stock of the situation
there. He also visited a con-
tainment zone located near
Tata Colony and interacted
with the residents there.
Having apparently taken
cognisance of the reports that
public toilets in Dharavi have
become a major source for the
spread of Covid-19 in Dharavi,
Chahal inspected a public toi-
let there.
Among other things, the
new Municipal Commissioner
advised the police personnel
posted at Dharavi to enforce
the lockdown norms sternly in
the area in view of the rapid
spread of the pandemic in the
area.
He exhorted the BMC
medical staff to intensify the
tracing of Covid-19 “contacts”
in the densely populated slum
and put them in an institutional
quarantine in a big way to pre-
vent the rapid spread of the
Covid-19 in the area.
'KDUDYL PRUH FDVHV
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:D0A274;;0??0=Q :278
The number of coronavirus cases in Tamil Nadu
crossed the 8,000 mark by Monday evening.
According to the daily media release issued by the Tamil
Nadu Government, 798 persons tested positive for coro-
navirus in the State till Monday evening. With this, the
number of cases detected so far has reached 8,002 in the
State.
Though the spurt in the number was mind boggling
( from 2,757 patients on May 2 to 8,002 on May 11) , J
Radhakrishnan , special nodal officer, Greater Chennai
Corporation, has told the people on Sunday itself that
the number of covid patients in the State in general and
Chennai in particular would see an increase for a few
more days and the general public need not panic.
The death toll in the State stood at 53 on Monday.
But what shocked the people was that six persons suc-
cumbed to the pandemic on a single day. Out of the 53
fatalities, 32 are from Chennai.
Chennai registered 538 coronavirus positive cases
out of the 798 cases registered on Monday. Till date 2,
051 persons have been discharged from hospitals , fully
cured.
Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswamy, during the
video conferencing with Prime Minister Narendra Modi
on Monday has asked that train and air services from
and to the State should not be resumed till May 31 due
to the prevailing conditions.
71 RURQD FDVHV
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C=A067D=0C70Q D108
With his election to the
Maharashtra Legislative
Council having become a mere
formality, Chief Minister
Uddhav Thackeray on Monday
filed nominations for the State
Council poll scheduled for May
21.
Uddhav was accompanied
by his wife Rashmi Thackeray,
State Cabinet Minister-son
Aaditya Thackeray and Shiv
Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut
when he went to file his papers
for the State Legislative Council
polls.
Monday was the last day for
filing nominations. The nomi-
nations will be scrutinised on
Tuesday, while the last date for
withdrawal of papers is May 14.
The biennial elections to
nine State Legislative Council
seats have been necessitated by
the retirement on April 24 of
nine members — comprising
four from the NCP, three from
the BJP and one each from the
Shiv Sena and Congress.
Uddhav, who was sworn in
as the Chief Minister on
November 28 last year, is not a
member of either of the Houses
of the State Legislature. As pro-
vided under the Constitution,
Uddhav will have to get elected
to either of the Houses on or
before May 27, the six-month
deadline for his becoming a
member of either of the Houses.
Along with Uddhav, four can-
didates from the ruling Maha
Vikas Aghadi (MVA) also filed
their papers on the last day for
filing their nominations.
The others who filed their
nominations on Monday were:
Shiv Sena’s Neelam Gorhe, who
is the current deputy chairper-
son of Maharashtra legislative
Council, NCP’s Shashikant
Shinde, Amol Mitkari, Kiran
Jagannath Pwaskar and
Shivajirao Yeshwant Garje and
and Congress' Rajesh Rathod.
In addition to four BJP
candidates who had filed nom-
inations on May 8, two more
candidates from the same party
– Sandeep Lele and Ramesh
Karad filed their nominations
on Monday.
The four BJP candidates
who had filed their papers ear-
lier were: Praveen Dhatke,
Ranjitsinh Mohite-Patiol, Dr
Ajit Gopchade and Gopichand
Paralkar.
In addition, an independent
candidate Shahbaz Allauddin
Rathod filed his papers.
There are in all 14 candi-
dates in the fray. Of them, four
are dummy candidates – two
each from the NCP and BJP –
who will withdraw from the
contest, before the deadline for
the withdrawals. The candida-
ture of Independent candidate
will in all likelihood be reject-
ed.
As a result there will be only
nine candidates for as many
seats in the State Council for
which the biennial elections
are slated for May 21. Hence, the
election of Uddhav and eight
other candidates in the fray has
become a foregone conclusion
now.
However, the speculation
that was making rounds in the
state political circles on Monday
was that the Congress’ candidate
Rajesh Rathod had filed only
one set of nomination papers
and that too his papers might
not stand the test of scrutiny
scheduled for Tuesday.
In such an event, the State
Council poll schedule may
stretch till May 14, the last date
of withdrawal of nominations.
The one seat gainer in the end
will either be the NCP or the
BJP.
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Coronavirus continued to rule
the roost in Maharashtra on
Monday, as it claimed 36 more
lives and left an alarming 1230
others infected, causing consid-
erable anxiety among the health
officials battling the pandemic
for nearly eight weeks now.
With the fresh fatalities, the
total number of deaths in
Maharashtra mounted to 868,
while the total number of infect-
ed cases rose to a staggering
23,401.
Of the 36 deaths reported
from across the state on Monday,
Mumbai accounted for 20
deaths, while there five deaths in
Solapur, three in Pune, two in
Thane and one each in Amravati
district, Aurangabad city,
Nanded city, Ratnagiri and
Wardha. Additionally, 1 death of
an Uttar Pradesh resident was
recorded in Mumbai.
Off the 36 dead, 23 were
men while 13 were women.
Seventeen of them aged above 60
years, 16 were from the age
group 40 to 59 years and 3 were
aged below 40 years.
“Twenty seven out of the rest
36 patients (75%) had high-risk
co-morbidities such as diabetes,
hypertension and heart disease,”
the State health bulletin said in
the evening.
With new 20 deaths, the
total number of deaths in
Mumbai rose to 528, while with
782 fresh cases the total number
of infected cases went up to
14521.
Out of 2,18,914 laboratory
samples, 1,93,457 tested negative,
while 23,401 tested positive for
coronavirus until
Monday.
There are 1256 active con-
tainment zones in the state cur-
rently. Total 12,027 surveillance
squads worked on Monday
across the state and surveillance
of 53.71 lakh population was
done.
Meanwhile, 4786 patients
have been discharged till date
after full recovery. Currently,
2,48,301 people are in home
quarantine and 15,192 people are
in institutional quarantine.
PRUH GHDWKV PRUH YH FDVHV LQ 0DKD
Mumbai: In a major revision in the Covid-19 patient discharge
policy, the Brihanmumumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on
Monday announced that mild, very mild, pre-symptomatic cases
admitted to a Covid Care Facility would be discharged after 10
days of the onset of symptoms and there was no fever in patients
for three days.
On a day when fresh 20 deaths and 782 positive cases were
reported in Mumbai, the BMC said that its decision to revise the
Covid-19 patient discharge policy was in alignment with the
guidelines on the 3 tier Covid facilities and the categorization
of the patients based on clinical severity.
“There will be no need for testing prior to discharge. At the
time of discharge, the patient will be advised to follow the home
isolation for further 7 days as per guidelines available by govt.
of India,” the BMC announced in its daily medical bulletin.
“After discharge from the facility, if he/she again develops
symptoms of fever, cough or breathing difficulty he will contact
the Covid Care Centre or helpline no. 1916,” the bulletin stat-
ed.
“Moderate cases severe cases will be discharged as per clin-
ical parameters clinical opinion of treating doctors mention
in guideline.For severe patients 1 single RT PCR test will be done
after resolution of symptoms patients will follow all guidelines
as mentioned above after discharged,” the bulletin added. PNS
12 aTeXbTb
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