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In the wake of the ongoing
tussle between the Centre
and West Bengal, the Union
Home Ministry on Tuesday
took over the control of oper-
ating trains for migrant labour-
ers. Invoking powers vested in
the Disaster Management Act,
the Union Home Secretary
Ajay Bhalla issued new
Standard Operating Protocols
(SoP) which entitles Railways
to allow Shramik Special trains
in consultation with Ministry
of Home Affairs (MHA) with-
out any consultation with the
State Governments.
The Home Ministry has
put the responsibility on the
States to inform the migrant
workers about the schedule of
trains and bring the stranded
people to nearby railway sta-
tions.
“Ministry of Railways
(MoR) would permit move-
ment of Shramik Special trains
in consultation with MHA. All
States/ UTs should designate
nodal authorities and make
necessary arrangements for
receiving and sending such
stranded persons. Based on
the requirements of States/UTs,
the train schedule, including
stoppages and destination
would be finalized by MoR.
The same would be communi-
cated by MoR to the States/UTs
for making suitable arrange-
ments for sending and receiv-
ing such stranded workers,” the
Home secretary has written in
his note.
Earlier, the railways decid-
ed on the allotment of trains in
consultation with the States.
The problem started when the
Centre accused the West
Bengal Government of not
taking steps to facilitate move-
ment of trains to the State with
migrant workers.
“Publicity of train schedule,
protocols for entry and move-
ment of passengers, services to
be provided in coaches, and
arrangements with States/UTs
for booking of tickets would be
done by MoR.
Sending States/ UTs and
MoR would ensure that all
passengers are compulsorily
screened and only sympto-
matic passengers are allowed to
board the train.
=0E8=D?037H0HQ =4F34;78
Acomprehensive data analy-
sis of the Covid-19 testing
pattern places national Capital
Delhi at the top in terms of
number of test carried out per
million population followed
by Andhra Pradesh and Tamil
Nadu.
The worst performer States
are Bihar, Telangana and Uttar
Pradesh in that order.
Interestingly, West Bengal,
which drew repeated criticism
from the Centre for its alleged
inept handling of the outbreak,
is ahead of several other States
in carrying out Covid-19 iden-
tification tests.
The data crunching also
reveals while some States have
taken the testing protocol very
seriously, others have paid lit-
tle heed to it. As a result, as
much as 18-fold gap exists
between Delhi and Bihar and
six-fold difference between
Andhra Pradesh and Uttar
Pradesh.
The analysis is based on
tests carried out per million
populations, which means the
size of the State’s population
and its geographical dimension
do not impact the comparative
outcome. The test numbers
are of May 18. By Monday,
Delhi carried out 1.39 lakh
tests, which translates into
7,052 tests per million popula-
tions. The national Capital has
a very low mortality rate of 1.57
per cent and recovery rate of 45
per cent. The second placed
Andhra Pradesh has carried
out 2,58,450 tests for a count of
4,949 tests per million. The
southern State has a mortality
rate of 2.5 per cent and recov-
ery rate of 66 per cent.
Tamil Nadu, which has
seen big spike in cases on daily
basis, has carried out 3,37, 841
tests for an average of 4,463
tests per million.
?=BQ =4F34;78
As life in several parts of the
country started limping
back to normalcy on Tuesday
following relaxation in lock-
down norms, the country saw
a massive spike in the number
of coronavirus cases with the
addition of nearly 6,119 new
cases and 145 deaths on
Tuesday.
The total numbers of infec-
tion across the country swelled
to 1,06,446 with Maharashtra
alone recording 37,136 cases
and Tamil Nadu and Delhi
contributing 688 and 500 new
cases respectively. Rajasthan
also added 338 new cases dur-
ing the day. The overall addi-
tion of new cases for the day
stood at 5,931 with number still
coming in around 10. 30 pm.
The total death toll due to
the virus in all the States and
Union Territories touched
3,301, according to the Union
Health Ministry. The number
of active Covid-19 cases stood
at 59,799 while 42,307 people
have recovered, according to
the Union Health Ministry.
“Thus, around 38.73 per
cent patients have recovered so
far,” said the Health Ministry.
Of the fresh deaths record-
ed as on Tuesday Gujarat reg-
istered high of 25, Bihar record-
ed nine deaths, West Bengal six,
Delhi six, Karnataka three and
Odisha one.
Tamil Nadu recorded a
high of new 688 cases, Delhi
500, Gujarat 395, Rajasthan
338, Karnataka 149, Uttar
Pradesh 145, West Bengal 137,
Bihar 72 and Odisha 102.
Maharashtra tops the list of
States with highest number
coronavirus cases in the coun-
try (with its Capital accounting
for 20 per cent of the cases) at
37,136 cases and a total 1,325
deaths while Gujarat has 12,141
cases and 719 deaths.
Tamil Nadu has 12,448
cases and 85 deaths, Delhi has
10,554 cases and 166 deaths,
Madhya Pradesh 5,465 cases
and 258 deaths, Rajasthan
5,854 cases and 139 deaths,
Uttar Pradesh 4,926 cases
and 123 deaths, West Bengal
2,961 cases and 250 deaths,
Odisha 978 cases and 15
deaths, Bihar 1495 cases and 9
deaths and Jharkhand with
228 cases and only three
deaths.
Mumbai situation is a
cause of concern for the State
as Mumbai’s Dharavi — the
largest slum area — witnessed
1,353 cases.
Similarly, another Capital
city Ahmedabad is causing
worry with 262 new coron-
avirus cases in the city taking
the number coronavirus cases
to 8,945. Ahmedabad has
recorded 576 deaths with 21
fresh ones on Tuesday.
Likewise Chennai regis-
tered two fresh deaths on
Tuesday taking the death toll to
59 in the city with 552 new
cases of coronavirus.
?=BQ ;D2:=F
In yet another sensational
daylight killing during lock-
down in Uttar Pradesh, a dalit
Samajwadi Party leader, whose
wife is also a sitting pradhan,
was shot dead along with his
son in Sambhal on Tuesday.
The incident took place over
laying of road in the area.
Soon after the killing,
senior officers rushed to the
spot and heavy police force was
deployed to avert confrontation
between the two groups.
Victim Chhote Lal
Diwakar (45) is husband of
Kamlesh Diwakar, who is a vil-
lage pradhan of Fatehpur
Shamshoi under Behjoi area.
Chhote Lal had a dispute
with a family of the village over
the road construction work
on Tuesday morning. The
members of the other family
opened fire at Chhote Lal and
his son Sunil Diwakar (22),
killing them on the spot.
Surprisingly the local res-
idents were engaged in making
video of the killing instead of
trying to save the victims from
the assailants.
?=BQ =4F34;78
Super cyclone “Amphan”
weakened into an extreme-
ly severe cyclonic storm on
Tuesday but still packed
enough force to pulverise
coastal districts of Odisha and
West Bengal where lakhs of
people were evacuated from
vulnerable areas and shifted to
safety, officials said.
As it rumbled over the
Bay of Bengal 510 km off the
Digha coast in West Bengal,
likely charting a north- north-
eastward course, the two States
were on high alert.
At least three lakh people
have been evacuated from
coastal areas and all steps have
been taken to deal with any
eventuality arising out of
Amphan, Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee said on
Tuesday.
Union Home Minister
Amit Shah on Tuesday spoke to
Chief Ministers of West Bengal
and Odisha — Mamata
Banerjee and Navin Patnaik
respectively — and assured
them of all possible help to deal
with the situation arising out of
Amphan, officials said.
During the telephonic con-
versation with Mamata, Shah
took stock of the situation in
Bengal, where the cyclone is
expected to make landfall on
Wednesday.
?A44C0BA8E0BC0E0Q
;D2:=F
The twitter war between
Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath and Congress
leader Priyanka Gandhi over
the permission for operation of
buses for the return of migrant
labourers to their homes took
a turn for the worse with the
arrest of UP Congress chief
Ajay Kumar (Lallu) in Agra and
lodging of an FIR against
Priyanka Gandhi’s personal
secretary Sandeep Singh and
the UPCC chief in Lucknow for
furnishing wrong details about
buses.
The Congress has hit back
at Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath saying he was
engaging in cheap politics.
Government spokesman
said Ajay Kumar Lallu, who
was staging a dharna at Agra,
was arrested while an FIR has
been lodged against him under
Section 420/467/468 IPC for
furnishing false details about
the buses purported to be for
ferrying migrant workers.
In a joint statement
Additional Police
Commissioner (Traffic)
Lucknow, Pudendu Singh
and RTO Lucknow, RP
Dwivedi, said that the verifi-
cation of the list of buses pro-
vided by Congress showed
that over 100 numbers were
that of tempos, ambulances
or taxis.
BC055A4?AC4AQ =4F34;78
After being closed for near-
ly two months, shopkeep-
ers in several markets across
the national Capital opened
their shops on Tuesday fol-
lowing the “odd-even” formu-
la while sanitising and trying to
establish social distancing pro-
tocols to contain the spread of
coronavirus.
Also, with relaxations
being granted for public
movement during the fourth
phase of the lockdown, there
was a significant increase in the
number of vehicles on roads
and traffic remained heavy at
some places, especially the city
borders on Tuesday.
While popular markets
like Connaught Place and
Khan Market bore a deserted
look in the first half of the day,
traders in markets like Tilak
Nagar, Karol Bagh and Sarojini
Nagar were seen cleaning their
shops.
Sushil Khatri, president of
the Tilak Nagar Main Market
Association, said shops had
opened but many were clueless
about the odd-even rule.
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The tragic deaths of
migrant workers in road
accidents in several parts of
the country have forced the
Road and Transport Ministry
to ask the Union Home
Ministry and the States to ear-
mark dedicated lanes for the
pedestrians.
These lanes should have
provisions for food and med-
ical assistance at certain inter-
vals to facilitate easy move-
ments of migrant workers who
have hit the roads to reach
their destinations.
Sources said the Home
Ministry is in the process of
issuing a separate advisory to
the States to ensure safety
measures for the migrants
walking on roads to reach
their home.
As many as 1,253 road
accidents claimed 456 lives
between March 24 and May 19
and left 930 persons injured
during the lockdown.
A report submitted to the
Centre by a road safety organ-
isation has shown that 180
migrants lost their lives in
road accidents which left 694
seriously injured.
According to a study com-
piled this week, a road crash is
10 times more fatal to someone
than getting infected with
coronavirus.
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Over dozen of migrant
labourers were killed and
many others injured in a truck
and bus collusion in
Naugachhia, near Bhagalpur in
Bihar on Tuesday. According to
reports, the truck fell off the
road after the collision.
The workers had started
their journey on bicycles six
days ago from Kolkata and they
might have boarded the truck
somewhere en route.
The driver and cleaner of
the truck, which was coming
from Bengal via Katihar, fled
from the spot.
Elsewhere, three migrant
labourers were killed and over
12 injured after a vehicle fer-
rying them overturned on the
Jhansi-Mirzapur highway on
late Monday night.
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Mumbai: Hundreds of
migrant labourers gathered
on an approach road to
Bandra Terminus here on
Tuesday before the depar-
ture of a Shramik Special
train for Bihar, leading to
chaos in the area for some
time. The incident occurred
over a month after hundreds
of migrant workers had
assembled near the Bandra
station demanding transport
for their repatriation to their
native places in the wake of
the lockdown.
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New Delhi: Providing huge
relief to people, specially in the
country’s small towns and
cities, the railways will run 200
special passenger trains from
June 1, the national trans-
porter said on Tuesday.
These trains will have non-
air conditioned second class
coaches and will run daily.
They will be plied in addition
to the Shramik Special and the
air-conditioned special trains
which are currently being
operated on the Rajdhani
routes connecting 15 major
cities to Delhi.
All categories of passen-
gers will be allowed to book
tickets which will be available
online.
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?=BQ B78;0
Himachal Chief Minister Jai
Ram Thakur on Tuesday
directed the officers of the
state government to ensure
regular medical check up of the
people kept in institutional
quarantine besides ensuring
proper conditions of these
quarantine centres.
Presiding over a video con-
ference with Deputy
C o m m i s s i o n e r s ,
Superintendents of Police and
Chief Medical Officers from
Shimla, the Chief Minister said
that a team of doctors must
visit the quarantine centres so
that people staying there get
better health care facilities.
He said that aged people
and chronic patients should be
provided all the required health
facilities and if required they
should be shifted to health
institutions, adding that prop-
er facilities such as separate
wash room must be ensured in
these institutions. He said that
if required, hotels could also be
requisitioned to be used as
institutional quarantine centres.
He said that this would instill
confidence amongst the people
staying in these centres.
Thakur said that the dis-
trict administration must
ensure that prior information
is provided to the elected rep-
resentatives of Panchayati Raj
Institutions regarding arrival of
Himachalis coming from other
parts of the country.
The Chief Minister said
that the State Govt has started
the national scheme ‘One
Nation One Ration’ Scheme in
the State to facilitate the migrant
labourers, adding that it must
be ensured that the migrant
labourers get free food grain for
two months. Those labourers
who do not have ration card
would also be provided free five
kilogram wheat or rice per
person and one kilogram pulse
per month, he added.
Thakur said efforts should
be made to motivate the per-
sons coming out from institu-
tional and home quarantine to
act as brand ambassadors to
sensitize other people regarding
social stigma associated with it.
Chief Secretary Anil Khachi, Jal
Shakti Minister Mahender
Singh Thakur, Director General
of Police S.R. Mardi, Additional
Chief Secretary Health R.D.
Dhiman, Principal Secretaries
J.C. Sharma, Onkar Sharma
and Sanjay Kundu were present
on the occasion.
CM THANKS REPRESEN-
TATIVES OF PRIs FOR SUP-
PORT
Addressing the Panchayat
Pradhans of various Gram
Panchayats through video con-
ferencing from Shimla, Thakur
thanked the elected representa-
tives of Panchayati Raj
Institutions for providing
wholehearted support to the
State Government to fight the
COVID-19 pandemic in an
effective way.The CM said rep-
resentatives of the PRIs have
also played a major role in pro-
viding face masks and food to
the needy and the poor, adding
that mostof thePanchayatshave
also done a great work in moti-
vating the people to maintain
social distancing and use of face
masks and face covers while
going out of homes. He said that
the representatives of PRIs have
ensured availability of basic
necessities to migrant labourers.
Thakur said the State
Government has been getting
SOS messages from thousands
of Himachali people stranded
in various parts of the country
was and providing all possible
help to bring them back.
H.P. SECRETARIAT SER-
VICES ASSOCIATION CON-
TRIBUTES RS 7 LAKH FOR
HP SDMA COVID-19 SDRF
Chief Minister Jai Ram
Thakur was presented bank
draft of Rs. seven lakh by
President H.P. Secretariat
Services (Gazetted Officers)
Association Kultar Singh Rana
on behalf of the officers of the
Secretariat towards ‘HP SDMA
COVID-19 State Disaster
Response Fund’ here.
?=BQ 270=3860A7
With 200th train leaving
from Amritsar on
Tuesday for Maharashtra,
Punjab Government has
already facilitated the return of
more than 2.80 lakh migrant
workers to their home states.
“Another 15 trains would
be leaving today taking total
number of Special Shramik
Trains to 215 run between
May 5 and 19. Punjab is one of
the top performing States in
this regard,” said the state’s
Nodal Officer with Indian
Railways Vikas Pratap.
Partap said that the state
government has been working
round the clock to provide all
relief and succour “to our guest
workers as per the directions of
the Chief Minister”, and the
task was being accomplished
with the collaboration of
Deputy Commissioners and
the railway authorities of
Ferozepur and Ambala
Divisions.
Capt Amarinder Singh had
assured all migrants working in
the State, ever since the crisis
broke out, of all assistance and
cooperation to whosoever
wants to go back to their home
state. Out of total 215, maxi-
mum 89 trains have gone from
Ludhiana with another 61
trains from Jalandhar have
taken migrants to different
parts of the country, followed
by 19 from Amritsar, 16 from
Patiala and 15 from Mohali. Six
trains have left from Ferozepur
with five from Sirhind and
three from Bathinda.
Maximum trains are going
to Uttar Pradesh followed by
Bihar and Jharkhand. Punjab
government is also sending
trains to Chattisgarh, Manipur,
Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra,
West Bengal and Andhra
Pradesh. Assuring the state's
commitment to go the extra
mile to mitigate their suffer-
ings, Partap said that food,
water and other essentials were
also being provided to all those
travelling back home for their
journey.
Besides, Nodal Officers
have been deputed for all these
states who are pro-actively
connecting to their counter-
parts in other states to facilitate
the return of the migrants,
and teams constituted at level
of the Deputy Commissioners
for the mandatory medical
screening of migrants.
PSHRC TAKES SUO MOTO
COGNIZANCE OF
MIGRANT LABOURERS
PROTEST IN LUDHIANA
Punjab State Human
Rights Commission on
Tuesday took the suo moto
cognizance of the protest by the
migrants in Ludhiana. The
Commission has sought a
report from the Government
through Ludhiana
Commissioner of Police to file
a report before July 27 — the
next date of hearing in the mat-
ter. Going into background of
the matter, hundreds of
migrants had come on road at
Vishwakarma Colony.
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Even as around 23000
migrant workers have left
from Chandigarh through spe-
cial shramik trains so far to
reach their home states, ten
more trains are scheduled to
run from May 22 to take the
migrant labourers back to their
states.
As many as 24867 strand-
ed persons including 22917
migrant workers have left either
by special shramik trains or
buses from Chandigarh to
reach their home towns, said an
official spokesman.
A special shramik train
with 1440 persons departed at
5 pm for Amethi, Uttar Pradesh
from Chandigarh Railway
Station on Tuesday.
While earlier two holding
centres were set up at ISBT-43
for medical screening of pas-
sengers, the Administration
has now decided to set up such
centres at Chandigarh College
of Engineering Technology
(CCET) as the bus services is
all set to resume in the city.
Giving details of train
schedule, the spokesman said
that no train is scheduled to
run for next two days. On May
22, a train is scheduled to
leave for Motihari (East
Champaran) in Bihar, Gaya
(Bihar) and Dhanbad
(Jharkhand) on May 23,
Chapra (Saran) in Bihar with
stoppage at Siwan on May 24,
Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) with
stoppage at Moradabad and
Shahajanpur on May 25,
Sultanpur (Uttar Pradesh) on
May 27, Madhapura(Bihar)
with stoppage at Ara (Bhojpur
district), Danapur (Patna dis-
trict) and Khagaria on May 28.
The schedule for trains to
Jaunpur (Uttar Pradesh) and
Hardoi (Uttar Pradesh) is also
being finalized, the spokesman
said.
?=BQ 347A03D=
Safeguarding mental health of
employees during the cur-
rent period of crisis generated
by the novel Coronavirus
should be the top priority of the
leaders opines Dehradun based
senior Cardiologist, Dr Punish
Sadana.
He said that lockdown
enforced to break the infection
cycle of novel Coronavirus has
resulted in accumulation of
emotional distress in people.
“Losing job or having reduc-
tion in income causes emo-
tional distress in many people.
It is important to understand
that businesses are closing
down due to circumstances
which are beyond anyone’s
control.
It is heartbreaking both for
employers and employees,’’ he
said.
Dr Sadana said that people
may experience sleep prob-
lems, tiredness, loss of appetite,
feeling of anxiety, anger or
depression, mood swings, guilt
and also suicidal tendencies. He
suggested that one should take
a break from reading stories
related to pandemic and
instead focus on taking care of
one’s body. Regular exercise,
meditation, healthy meals and
doing things which one enjoys,
help a lot in overcoming the
mental stresses.
“Employers should under-
stand that it is time for empa-
thy. HR now has a responsibil-
ity to foster a culture of con-
nectivity, caring and commu-
nication, in order to dispel
employee angst, he said.
Dr Sadana added that the
employers should ensure that
employees are connected
through real time communi-
cations by phone or video con-
ferencing. They should pro-
mote a positive and inclusive
culture and educate the staff of
the ways to stay mentally
healthy while working from
home and share tools and
resources with them, he said.
4`gZU*ecZXXVcZ_XdecVddZ_h`cVcd
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bW^d[SbW^f
^aT
T_PcWh
c^fPaSb
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3aBPSP]P
?=BQ 347A03D=
The vice chancellor of SGRR
University, U S Rawat,
emphasised on the need for
more innovations for advance-
ment in the health care system
in the present circumstances.
He was addressing a webi-
nar series on 'Challenges and
opportunities in Biological
Research' on Tuesday. He nar-
rated the importance of digital
platforms in imparting the
knowledge among masses and
providing a platform for better
connectivity. The keynote
speaker on the occasion was
Sanjai Saxena of Thapar
Institute of Engineering and
Technology. On the topic,
‘Drug Discovery- Microbes at
work’, he focused on the pio-
neer role of endophytic fungi as
a bio-resource of novel com-
pounds to be used against dif-
ferent maladies such as cancer,
arthritis and obesity. He
emphasized on the need of
multidisciplinary efforts to
channelize the identification of
active drugs.
The webinar would con-
clude on May 22. A total of 425
participants from different
states have registered for it.
:H QHHG LQQRYDWLRQ LQ KHDOWK
FDUH VVWHP 6**5 YDUVLW 9
?=BQ 70A83F0A
Two siblings died reported-
ly due to snakebite in their
shanty here.
The police are treating the
deaths as suspicious and have
sent the bodies for post
mortem examination. The
police received information on
Tuesday about two children
lying dead in a hut in the
Saptrishi area. Rinku, the
father of two and half year old
Shivam and three month old
Munni told the police that his
children had been bitten by a
snake. He said that while
sleeping on Monday midnight,
he heard his children cry out.
When he got up, he saw a black
snake going out of the hut.
He took the children to the
district hospital where they
were declared dead. According
to the police, the case is suspi-
cious and the father of the chil-
dren is being questioned. With
the bodies having been sent for
post mortem, the exact cause of
death will be known after the
report is received.
Cf^ZXSb
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?=BQ 270=3860A7
Punjab surpassed the 2000-
mark on Tuesday with its
three districts reporting a total
of 22 cases, with majority 19
from Ludhiana alone, includ-
ing 10 from the Borstal jail.
As the state’s tally reached
2002, its death toll has reached
38 after a 34-year-old man
suffering from coronavirus
died in Pathankot.
The health official said
that the patient, who was
also suffering from tubercu-
losis, was a resident of
Mamoon in Pathankot district
and died in a hospital at
Amritsar.
Of the 22 fresh cases,
Ludhiana reported a massive
spike with 19 cases, while two
cases were reported from
Patiala and one from
Gurdaspur.
Both of Patiala’s new cases
were people who recently came
back from Mumbai, while one
pilgrim tested positive in
Gurdaspur
As per the media bulletin,
eight jail inmates and two ward
attendants of Borstal jail —
which has been set up as a spe-
cial quarantine jail, four cases
from those reported at Flu
Corner, two are the contacts of
positive case of Railway Police
Force (RPF) jawaans, another
of contact of a positive patient,
and one of a traveler who has
recently returned from Uttar
Pradesh.
Of the 10 cases reported
from Borstal Jail, two of them
were arrested in sexual offence
cases.
“Two men, facing rape
charges, have tested positive for
coronavirus,” said the police,
adding that the duo, aged 27
and 25 years, were arrested in
two separate cases of rape reg-
istered at Haibowal Police
Station and Civil Lines Police
Station respectively.
The authorities have quar-
antined a police sub-inspector,
two assistant sub inspectors
and five constables, who came
in contact with the accused, for
14 days.
Notably, the State
Government has established
four special jails in the State to
quarantine those arrested in
fresh cases to avoid spread of
infection from new inmates to
those already lodged in the
jail.
For the same, the Prisons
Department has established a
special quarantine jail in
Ludhiana’s Borstal Jail, while
shifting around 200 old
inmates to Faridkot Jail.
According to the health
bulletin, as many as 95 coro-
navirus patients were dis-
charged from different hospi-
tals including at Fazilka,
Pathankot, Sangrur, Jalandhar,
Tarn Taran after they recov-
ered from the infection, tak-
ing the total count of cured
patients to 1,642 in the state,
at a recovery rate of 82 per-
cent.
Now, the total number of
active cases in the State is 322.
Amritsar continued to
lead the COVID-19 tally in
the state with 307 coronavirus
cases, followed by 209 in
Jalandhar, 155 in Tarn Taran,
169 in Ludhiana, 124 in
Gurdaspur, 105 in SBS Nagar,
103 in Patiala, 102 in Mohali,
95 in Hoshiarpur, 88 in
Sangrur, 65 in Muktsar, 61 in
Faridkot, 60 in Rupnagar, 59
in Moga, 56 in Fatehgarh
Sahib, , 44 each in Fazilka and
Ferozepur, 41 in Bathinda,
32 in Mansa, 33 in
Kapurthala, 29 in Pathankot,
and 21 in Barnala, as per the
bulletin.
Of total number of
patients, 38 have died while one
person is critical and on ven-
tilator support, the health
department''s document said.
A total of 55,634 samples
have been taken for COVID-19
testing so far in the state of
which 50,070 samples tested
negative and results of 3,562 are
still awaited.
As per reports, a 28-year-
old man, who was found dead
at his residence on May 16, has
now been tested positive for
coronavirus after death.
“According to the family mem-
bers, he was a drug addict.
His body was sent for the
autopsy to know cause of his
death. He has now tested pos-
itive for the coronavirus,” said
an official.
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At least 12 new cases of
COVID-19 infection were
reported from nine districts in
Jharkhand on Tuesday, health
officials said. Three cases were
reported from Koderma and
two from Hazaribag, they
added. Besides, one case was
reported from each of Ranchi,
Ramgarh, Jamshedpur,
Kharsawan, Lohardaga,
Simdega and Gumla.
Kharsawan had not reported
even a single case of
Coronavirus infection since
the virus entered India, said
officials.
Two suspects tested posi-
tive today from Kolhan. At least
12 suspects tested positive for
COVID-19 today said Health
Secretary Nitin Madan
Kulkarni. Officials from health
department said that around
100 migrant workers have test-
ed positive for COVID-19 in
Jharkhand this month.
A 23-year-old man from
Ichagarh block with travel his-
tory to Maharashtra became
the first COVID-19 patient of
Kharsawan. He was kept in
quarantine and his samples
tested positive at the Mahatma
Gandhi Memorial Hospital's
virology department. The
youth was shifted to Tata Main
Hospital's isolation ward in
Jamshedpur on Tuesday late
evening. Administration has
started contact tracing of the
youth.
Meanwhile, East
Singhbhum district got it's
sixth Covid-19 positive case in
the form of a 20-year-old
migrant worker from Jugsalai
with travel history to Mumbai.
The suspect was kept in
Jugsalai quarantine center. He
too was admitted in Tata Main
Hospital's isolation ward on
Tuesday.
Tuesday's findings take the
total count of COVID-19 cases
in Jharkhand to 244, officials
from the National Health
Mission (NHM) said.
According to NHM, at
least 127 of the 244 patients
here – around 50 per cent–
have recovered from the viral
infection and discharged from
hospital. Interestingly, most of
them did not show any of the
COVID-19 symptoms during
their treatment, said doctors
from Rajendra Institute of
Medical Sciences (RIMS) in
Ranchi.
While 119 of the 244 cases
reported in Jharkhand by
Tuesday evening are in the age
bracket of 11 to 30 years, 78 are
in the age bracket of 31 to 50
years, the NHM report said. At
least nine children, below the
age of 10 years, have been
infected by the virus in
Jharkhand so far, the report
added. The Government has
collected samples of nearly
40,000 COVID-19 suspects so
far, and 244 of them have
come out positive in the tests,
officials said.
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The Government has roped
in Swiggy and Zomato for
home delivery of liquor in
nine urban areas of the State –
a move aimed at reducing the
crowd at liquor shops when
they open on Wednesday,
Excise Secretary Vinay Kumar
Choubey said on Tuesday. The
Government is also in talks
with other companies in order
to smoothen the system of
home delivery of liquor, he
added.
The Government has
divided Jharkhand in three
categories – large urban areas,
small urban areas and rural
areas, said Choubey. Ranchi,
Bokaro, Dhanbad, Deoghar,
Giridih, Hazaribag,
Jamshedpur, Ramgarh and
Palamu are the nine large
urban areas where Swiggy and
Zomato have agreed to deliver
liquor.
The home delivery facility
will only be available in the
large urban areas, he said.
Customers in the identified
large cities can place orders
online for home delivery and
also buy liquor from the shops.
The ones living in small cities
can get tokens online and buy
liquor, while the rural areas will
only have over-the-counter
liquor sale facility, Choubey
added.
Following the footsteps of
Delhi and West Bengal, the
Government here has decided
to increase the tax on liquor in
a bid to make up for the rev-
enue lost during the lockdown.
However, in accordance with
the guidelines of Ministry of
Home Affairs (MHA), liquor
stores in containment zones
will remain closed until further
notice.
The VAT has been
increased from 50 per cent to
75 per cent, and an additional
10 per cent excise tax will also
be charged, said the Excise
Secretary. The total price will
increase by 20-22 per cent, he
added.
The liquor shops will open
at 7am and down their shutters
at 7pm, said officials from the
Excise Department. We have
also asked the law enforcement
agencies to deploy sufficient
forces at the liquor shops in
order to maintain social dis-
tancing and prevent chaos,
Choubey said.
The State has earned zero
revenue from Excise since the
lockdown was imposed in
March, officials said. However,
the Excise Department is still
hopeful of achieving its revenue
target of Rs.1600 crore in this
financial year.
The additional tax and
excise duty will get us around
Rs.200 to 300 crore additional
revenue if the quantity of liquor
sold is the same as it was
before the lockdown, said
Choubey. This may help us
make up for the loss incurred
during the two months of lock-
down, he added.
Many States decided to
open liquor stores in lock-
down 3.0 on May 3, but Chief
Minister Hemant Soren decid-
ed to keep the stores closed in
Jharkhand as a precautionary
measure against COVID-19.
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Pioneer dehradun-e-paper-20-05-2020
- 1. B>=8020;;B44C8=65 ???0AC84B=0H!! =Tf3T[WX) 2^]VaTbb_aTbXST]c B^]XP6P]SWXWPbRP[[TSP TTcX]V^U__^bXcX^]_PacXTb^] Ph!!c^SXbRdbbcWT_[XVWc^U XVaP]cf^aZTabSdTc^cWT R^a^]PeXadbX]SdRTS[^RZS^f] P]ScWT6^eTa]T]cbWP]S[X]V ^UcWTRaXbXb 94408=0??;820C8= ?A24BBC8;;0H!# =Tf3T[WX) CWT7A3X]XbcTa APTbW?^ZWaXhP[WPb^_T]TS cWTP__[XRPcX^]bdQXbbX^]U^a U^a944PX]!!=^fcWT P]]^d]RTT]cWPbQTT]PST P]ScWT944PX]!! P__[XRPcX^]U^aPePX[PQ[TPVPX] c^PXSbcdST]cbfW^Sa^__TS bcdShPQa^PS_[P]bcX[[Ph!# E4AC4AAA8BCB F08C8=6CB=40:8=)36? 9Pd) eTacTaa^aXbcbPaT _aTbT]cX][Pd]RW_PSbPRa^bb cWT;^2X]?PZXbcP]^RRd_XTS :PbWXafPXcX]Vc^X]UX[caPcTX]c^ cWT8]SXP]bXST9PdP]S :PbWXabSXaTRc^aVT]TaP[^U _^[XRT36?3X[QPVBX]VWbPXS 20?BD;4 ?=BQ =4F34;78 In the wake of the ongoing tussle between the Centre and West Bengal, the Union Home Ministry on Tuesday took over the control of oper- ating trains for migrant labour- ers. Invoking powers vested in the Disaster Management Act, the Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla issued new Standard Operating Protocols (SoP) which entitles Railways to allow Shramik Special trains in consultation with Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) with- out any consultation with the State Governments. The Home Ministry has put the responsibility on the States to inform the migrant workers about the schedule of trains and bring the stranded people to nearby railway sta- tions. “Ministry of Railways (MoR) would permit move- ment of Shramik Special trains in consultation with MHA. All States/ UTs should designate nodal authorities and make necessary arrangements for receiving and sending such stranded persons. Based on the requirements of States/UTs, the train schedule, including stoppages and destination would be finalized by MoR. The same would be communi- cated by MoR to the States/UTs for making suitable arrange- ments for sending and receiv- ing such stranded workers,” the Home secretary has written in his note. Earlier, the railways decid- ed on the allotment of trains in consultation with the States. The problem started when the Centre accused the West Bengal Government of not taking steps to facilitate move- ment of trains to the State with migrant workers. “Publicity of train schedule, protocols for entry and move- ment of passengers, services to be provided in coaches, and arrangements with States/UTs for booking of tickets would be done by MoR. Sending States/ UTs and MoR would ensure that all passengers are compulsorily screened and only sympto- matic passengers are allowed to board the train. =0E8=D?037H0HQ =4F34;78 Acomprehensive data analy- sis of the Covid-19 testing pattern places national Capital Delhi at the top in terms of number of test carried out per million population followed by Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The worst performer States are Bihar, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh in that order. Interestingly, West Bengal, which drew repeated criticism from the Centre for its alleged inept handling of the outbreak, is ahead of several other States in carrying out Covid-19 iden- tification tests. The data crunching also reveals while some States have taken the testing protocol very seriously, others have paid lit- tle heed to it. As a result, as much as 18-fold gap exists between Delhi and Bihar and six-fold difference between Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. The analysis is based on tests carried out per million populations, which means the size of the State’s population and its geographical dimension do not impact the comparative outcome. The test numbers are of May 18. By Monday, Delhi carried out 1.39 lakh tests, which translates into 7,052 tests per million popula- tions. The national Capital has a very low mortality rate of 1.57 per cent and recovery rate of 45 per cent. The second placed Andhra Pradesh has carried out 2,58,450 tests for a count of 4,949 tests per million. The southern State has a mortality rate of 2.5 per cent and recov- ery rate of 66 per cent. Tamil Nadu, which has seen big spike in cases on daily basis, has carried out 3,37, 841 tests for an average of 4,463 tests per million. ?=BQ =4F34;78 As life in several parts of the country started limping back to normalcy on Tuesday following relaxation in lock- down norms, the country saw a massive spike in the number of coronavirus cases with the addition of nearly 6,119 new cases and 145 deaths on Tuesday. The total numbers of infec- tion across the country swelled to 1,06,446 with Maharashtra alone recording 37,136 cases and Tamil Nadu and Delhi contributing 688 and 500 new cases respectively. Rajasthan also added 338 new cases dur- ing the day. The overall addi- tion of new cases for the day stood at 5,931 with number still coming in around 10. 30 pm. The total death toll due to the virus in all the States and Union Territories touched 3,301, according to the Union Health Ministry. The number of active Covid-19 cases stood at 59,799 while 42,307 people have recovered, according to the Union Health Ministry. “Thus, around 38.73 per cent patients have recovered so far,” said the Health Ministry. Of the fresh deaths record- ed as on Tuesday Gujarat reg- istered high of 25, Bihar record- ed nine deaths, West Bengal six, Delhi six, Karnataka three and Odisha one. Tamil Nadu recorded a high of new 688 cases, Delhi 500, Gujarat 395, Rajasthan 338, Karnataka 149, Uttar Pradesh 145, West Bengal 137, Bihar 72 and Odisha 102. Maharashtra tops the list of States with highest number coronavirus cases in the coun- try (with its Capital accounting for 20 per cent of the cases) at 37,136 cases and a total 1,325 deaths while Gujarat has 12,141 cases and 719 deaths. Tamil Nadu has 12,448 cases and 85 deaths, Delhi has 10,554 cases and 166 deaths, Madhya Pradesh 5,465 cases and 258 deaths, Rajasthan 5,854 cases and 139 deaths, Uttar Pradesh 4,926 cases and 123 deaths, West Bengal 2,961 cases and 250 deaths, Odisha 978 cases and 15 deaths, Bihar 1495 cases and 9 deaths and Jharkhand with 228 cases and only three deaths. Mumbai situation is a cause of concern for the State as Mumbai’s Dharavi — the largest slum area — witnessed 1,353 cases. Similarly, another Capital city Ahmedabad is causing worry with 262 new coron- avirus cases in the city taking the number coronavirus cases to 8,945. Ahmedabad has recorded 576 deaths with 21 fresh ones on Tuesday. Likewise Chennai regis- tered two fresh deaths on Tuesday taking the death toll to 59 in the city with 552 new cases of coronavirus. ?=BQ ;D2:=F In yet another sensational daylight killing during lock- down in Uttar Pradesh, a dalit Samajwadi Party leader, whose wife is also a sitting pradhan, was shot dead along with his son in Sambhal on Tuesday. The incident took place over laying of road in the area. Soon after the killing, senior officers rushed to the spot and heavy police force was deployed to avert confrontation between the two groups. Victim Chhote Lal Diwakar (45) is husband of Kamlesh Diwakar, who is a vil- lage pradhan of Fatehpur Shamshoi under Behjoi area. Chhote Lal had a dispute with a family of the village over the road construction work on Tuesday morning. The members of the other family opened fire at Chhote Lal and his son Sunil Diwakar (22), killing them on the spot. Surprisingly the local res- idents were engaged in making video of the killing instead of trying to save the victims from the assailants. ?=BQ =4F34;78 Super cyclone “Amphan” weakened into an extreme- ly severe cyclonic storm on Tuesday but still packed enough force to pulverise coastal districts of Odisha and West Bengal where lakhs of people were evacuated from vulnerable areas and shifted to safety, officials said. As it rumbled over the Bay of Bengal 510 km off the Digha coast in West Bengal, likely charting a north- north- eastward course, the two States were on high alert. At least three lakh people have been evacuated from coastal areas and all steps have been taken to deal with any eventuality arising out of Amphan, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Tuesday. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday spoke to Chief Ministers of West Bengal and Odisha — Mamata Banerjee and Navin Patnaik respectively — and assured them of all possible help to deal with the situation arising out of Amphan, officials said. During the telephonic con- versation with Mamata, Shah took stock of the situation in Bengal, where the cyclone is expected to make landfall on Wednesday. ?A44C0BA8E0BC0E0Q ;D2:=F The twitter war between Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi over the permission for operation of buses for the return of migrant labourers to their homes took a turn for the worse with the arrest of UP Congress chief Ajay Kumar (Lallu) in Agra and lodging of an FIR against Priyanka Gandhi’s personal secretary Sandeep Singh and the UPCC chief in Lucknow for furnishing wrong details about buses. The Congress has hit back at Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath saying he was engaging in cheap politics. Government spokesman said Ajay Kumar Lallu, who was staging a dharna at Agra, was arrested while an FIR has been lodged against him under Section 420/467/468 IPC for furnishing false details about the buses purported to be for ferrying migrant workers. In a joint statement Additional Police Commissioner (Traffic) Lucknow, Pudendu Singh and RTO Lucknow, RP Dwivedi, said that the verifi- cation of the list of buses pro- vided by Congress showed that over 100 numbers were that of tempos, ambulances or taxis. BC055A4?AC4AQ =4F34;78 After being closed for near- ly two months, shopkeep- ers in several markets across the national Capital opened their shops on Tuesday fol- lowing the “odd-even” formu- la while sanitising and trying to establish social distancing pro- tocols to contain the spread of coronavirus. Also, with relaxations being granted for public movement during the fourth phase of the lockdown, there was a significant increase in the number of vehicles on roads and traffic remained heavy at some places, especially the city borders on Tuesday. While popular markets like Connaught Place and Khan Market bore a deserted look in the first half of the day, traders in markets like Tilak Nagar, Karol Bagh and Sarojini Nagar were seen cleaning their shops. Sushil Khatri, president of the Tilak Nagar Main Market Association, said shops had opened but many were clueless about the odd-even rule. DeReVd¶X`RYVRUW`cDYcR^ZecRZ_d`SgZReVU 0+$ PDNHV 6WDWHV87V UHVSRQVLEOH IRU UHFHLYLQJ VHQGLQJ PLJUDQW ZRUNHUV WRIURP UDLOZD VWDWLRQV 344?0::D0A970Q =4F34;78 The tragic deaths of migrant workers in road accidents in several parts of the country have forced the Road and Transport Ministry to ask the Union Home Ministry and the States to ear- mark dedicated lanes for the pedestrians. These lanes should have provisions for food and med- ical assistance at certain inter- vals to facilitate easy move- ments of migrant workers who have hit the roads to reach their destinations. Sources said the Home Ministry is in the process of issuing a separate advisory to the States to ensure safety measures for the migrants walking on roads to reach their home. As many as 1,253 road accidents claimed 456 lives between March 24 and May 19 and left 930 persons injured during the lockdown. A report submitted to the Centre by a road safety organ- isation has shown that 180 migrants lost their lives in road accidents which left 694 seriously injured. According to a study com- piled this week, a road crash is 10 times more fatal to someone than getting infected with coronavirus. 5RDG 0LQ VHHNV GHGLFDWHG ODQH IRU PLJUDQWV RQ PRYH 92DeReVdcVbfVdeVU e`XZgVW``U^VUZTR] RZUd`_dfTYc`RUd ?=BQ =4F34;78 Over dozen of migrant labourers were killed and many others injured in a truck and bus collusion in Naugachhia, near Bhagalpur in Bihar on Tuesday. According to reports, the truck fell off the road after the collision. The workers had started their journey on bicycles six days ago from Kolkata and they might have boarded the truck somewhere en route. The driver and cleaner of the truck, which was coming from Bengal via Katihar, fled from the spot. Elsewhere, three migrant labourers were killed and over 12 injured after a vehicle fer- rying them overturned on the Jhansi-Mirzapur highway on late Monday night. ^`cV^ZXcR_ed Z]]VUZ_RTTZUV_e Mumbai: Hundreds of migrant labourers gathered on an approach road to Bandra Terminus here on Tuesday before the depar- ture of a Shramik Special train for Bihar, leading to chaos in the area for some time. The incident occurred over a month after hundreds of migrant workers had assembled near the Bandra station demanding transport for their repatriation to their native places in the wake of the lockdown. 0LJUDQWV FURZG %DQGUD VWDWLRQC^cP[a^PSPRRXST]cb) !$ C^cP[STPcWb) #$% C^cP[X]YdaXTb) ( XVaP]cbSTPcWb) ' 8]YdaTS) %(# 4bbT]cXP[f^aZTabSTPcWb) 8]YdaTS) !% cWTab)3TPcWb)!#%*X]YdaTS)! A^PSRaPbWTbSdaX]V[^RZS^f] Ua^PaRW!#Ph ($_ 'HOKL RQ WRS %LKDU DW ERWWRP LQ WHVWPLOOLRQ 3V_XR]Z_VjV`W 4V_ecR]de`c^Zd^fTY RYVRU`W`eYVcDeReVd HY`aaZ_X'TRdVd%UVReYd`_EfV DA]VRUVcd`_ dY`e`gVcc`RU h`cWZXYe 3;A4`_XµRehRc¶RWeVc FA8`gedRjd4`_X¶d Sfd]ZdeYRdRfe`deRiZd 0DUNHWV GHVHUWHG RQ 'D LQ 'HOKL 9VRgjecRWWZT`_ 4RaZeR]S`cUVcd $PSKDQ ZHDNHQV EXW UDLQ JXVWV ODVK %HQJDO 2GLVKD $]RYaV`a]VVgRTfReVU Wc`^T`RdeR]UZdecZTed ;^RP[bP]S_^[XRTT]bcP]S]TPacWTP]V[TSaTPX]b^UPQdbfWXRWR^[[XSTS fXcWPbcPcX^]PahcadRZX]HPePcP[SXbcaXRc^UPWPaPbWcaP^]CdTbSPh ?C8 XVaP]cb]^cPSWTaX]Vc^b^RXP[SXbcP]RX]V]^abVPcWTac^VTcTSXRP[[hbRaTT]TSQTU^aTQ^PaSX]VPcaPX]c^DccPa?aPSTbW SdaX]VcWT^]V^X]V]PcX^]fXST2^eXS ([^RZS^f]X]0aXcbPa^]CdTbSPh ?C8 7TPehcaPUUXR^]AX]VA^PSc^fPaSb BPaPX:P[T:WP]X]=Tf3T[WX^] CdTbSPh ?C8 New Delhi: Providing huge relief to people, specially in the country’s small towns and cities, the railways will run 200 special passenger trains from June 1, the national trans- porter said on Tuesday. These trains will have non- air conditioned second class coaches and will run daily. They will be plied in addition to the Shramik Special and the air-conditioned special trains which are currently being operated on the Rajdhani routes connecting 15 major cities to Delhi. All categories of passen- gers will be allowed to book tickets which will be available online. #!!dTYVUf]VU _`_24ecRZ_d Wc`^;f_V 5XbWTaT]cahc^R^]ca^[cWTXaQ^PcPXSa^dVWbTPPWTPS^UcWT[P]SUP[[^U2hR[^]T 0_WP]Pc?daXQTPRW^]CdTbSPh ?C8 ?aXhP]ZPbTRhD? 2^]VRWXTUQ^^ZTS U^aUP[bTSTcPX[b 4`gZU* 20B4B) %##% 340C7B) A42E4A43) #! CC0; BC0C4B CC0;20B4B340C7BA42E4A43 PWPaPbWcaP % !$ (%( CPX[=PSd !##' '$#'($ 6dYPaPc ! # ($# 3T[WX $$# %%#$ APYPbcWP] $$ (!! PSWhP?aPSTbW $#%$ !$'!% DccPa?aPSTbW #(!% !!( ' FTbc1T]VP[ !(% !$ # 0]SWaP?PSTbW !#'( $! %! ?d]YPQ !! ' %#! FRQWULEXWLRQ E 0DKD LQ WRWDO FDVHV LQ GHDWKV 0WTP[cWRPaTf^aZTaR^[[TRcbbfPQ bP_[T^UP6P]SWXPXSP]aTbXST]cU^a 2^eXS (cTbcPc3WPaPeXb[dPaTPX] dQPX^]CdTbSPh ?C8 /CWT3PX[h?X^]TTa UPRTQ^^ZR^SPX[h_X^]TTa7`]]`hfd`_+ fffSPX[h_X^]TTaR^ X]bcPVaPR^SPX[h_X^]TTa ;PcT2Xch E^[ #8bbdT ' 0XaBdaRWPaVT4gcaPXU0__[XRPQ[T ?dQ[XbWTS5a^ 34;78;D2:=F 17?0;17D10=4BF0A A0=278A08?DA 270=3860A7 347A03D= 7H34A0103E890HF030 4bcPQ[XbWTS '%# 51, 1R 5HJQ 877(1* 5(*' 1R 8$'2''1 347A03D=F43=4B30H0H!!!*?064B !C! m @A:?:@?' ?F4A604B 8==4?0; @?6J* B4=B4GA8B4B %?CB =85CH03E0=24B$$'$?CB 3B9CD91? B5DEBC6?B :EF5DB1997 !C@?BD m 2G6?F6D! C8?BC024 2;0C4G0
- 2. dccPaPZWP]S!347A03D=kF43=4B30H k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·V ZLOO QRW EH KHOG UHVSRQVLEOH IRU DQ NLQG RI FODLP PDGH E WKH DGYHUWLVHUV RI WKH SURGXFWV VHUYLFHV DQG VKDOO QRW EH PDGH UHVSRQVLEOH IRU DQ NLQG RI ORVV FRQVHTXHQFHV DQG IXUWKHU SURGXFWUHODWHG GDPDJHV RQ VXFK DGYHUWLVHPHQWV ?=BQ B78;0 Himachal Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Tuesday directed the officers of the state government to ensure regular medical check up of the people kept in institutional quarantine besides ensuring proper conditions of these quarantine centres. Presiding over a video con- ference with Deputy C o m m i s s i o n e r s , Superintendents of Police and Chief Medical Officers from Shimla, the Chief Minister said that a team of doctors must visit the quarantine centres so that people staying there get better health care facilities. He said that aged people and chronic patients should be provided all the required health facilities and if required they should be shifted to health institutions, adding that prop- er facilities such as separate wash room must be ensured in these institutions. He said that if required, hotels could also be requisitioned to be used as institutional quarantine centres. He said that this would instill confidence amongst the people staying in these centres. Thakur said that the dis- trict administration must ensure that prior information is provided to the elected rep- resentatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions regarding arrival of Himachalis coming from other parts of the country. The Chief Minister said that the State Govt has started the national scheme ‘One Nation One Ration’ Scheme in the State to facilitate the migrant labourers, adding that it must be ensured that the migrant labourers get free food grain for two months. Those labourers who do not have ration card would also be provided free five kilogram wheat or rice per person and one kilogram pulse per month, he added. Thakur said efforts should be made to motivate the per- sons coming out from institu- tional and home quarantine to act as brand ambassadors to sensitize other people regarding social stigma associated with it. Chief Secretary Anil Khachi, Jal Shakti Minister Mahender Singh Thakur, Director General of Police S.R. Mardi, Additional Chief Secretary Health R.D. Dhiman, Principal Secretaries J.C. Sharma, Onkar Sharma and Sanjay Kundu were present on the occasion. CM THANKS REPRESEN- TATIVES OF PRIs FOR SUP- PORT Addressing the Panchayat Pradhans of various Gram Panchayats through video con- ferencing from Shimla, Thakur thanked the elected representa- tives of Panchayati Raj Institutions for providing wholehearted support to the State Government to fight the COVID-19 pandemic in an effective way.The CM said rep- resentatives of the PRIs have also played a major role in pro- viding face masks and food to the needy and the poor, adding that mostof thePanchayatshave also done a great work in moti- vating the people to maintain social distancing and use of face masks and face covers while going out of homes. He said that the representatives of PRIs have ensured availability of basic necessities to migrant labourers. Thakur said the State Government has been getting SOS messages from thousands of Himachali people stranded in various parts of the country was and providing all possible help to bring them back. H.P. SECRETARIAT SER- VICES ASSOCIATION CON- TRIBUTES RS 7 LAKH FOR HP SDMA COVID-19 SDRF Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur was presented bank draft of Rs. seven lakh by President H.P. Secretariat Services (Gazetted Officers) Association Kultar Singh Rana on behalf of the officers of the Secretariat towards ‘HP SDMA COVID-19 State Disaster Response Fund’ here. ?=BQ 270=3860A7 With 200th train leaving from Amritsar on Tuesday for Maharashtra, Punjab Government has already facilitated the return of more than 2.80 lakh migrant workers to their home states. “Another 15 trains would be leaving today taking total number of Special Shramik Trains to 215 run between May 5 and 19. Punjab is one of the top performing States in this regard,” said the state’s Nodal Officer with Indian Railways Vikas Pratap. Partap said that the state government has been working round the clock to provide all relief and succour “to our guest workers as per the directions of the Chief Minister”, and the task was being accomplished with the collaboration of Deputy Commissioners and the railway authorities of Ferozepur and Ambala Divisions. Capt Amarinder Singh had assured all migrants working in the State, ever since the crisis broke out, of all assistance and cooperation to whosoever wants to go back to their home state. Out of total 215, maxi- mum 89 trains have gone from Ludhiana with another 61 trains from Jalandhar have taken migrants to different parts of the country, followed by 19 from Amritsar, 16 from Patiala and 15 from Mohali. Six trains have left from Ferozepur with five from Sirhind and three from Bathinda. Maximum trains are going to Uttar Pradesh followed by Bihar and Jharkhand. Punjab government is also sending trains to Chattisgarh, Manipur, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. Assuring the state's commitment to go the extra mile to mitigate their suffer- ings, Partap said that food, water and other essentials were also being provided to all those travelling back home for their journey. Besides, Nodal Officers have been deputed for all these states who are pro-actively connecting to their counter- parts in other states to facilitate the return of the migrants, and teams constituted at level of the Deputy Commissioners for the mandatory medical screening of migrants. PSHRC TAKES SUO MOTO COGNIZANCE OF MIGRANT LABOURERS PROTEST IN LUDHIANA Punjab State Human Rights Commission on Tuesday took the suo moto cognizance of the protest by the migrants in Ludhiana. The Commission has sought a report from the Government through Ludhiana Commissioner of Police to file a report before July 27 — the next date of hearing in the mat- ter. Going into background of the matter, hundreds of migrants had come on road at Vishwakarma Colony. 7XPRWP[2XbbdTbSXaTRcX^]bU^aaTVd[PaRWTRZd_^U`dPaP]cX]TS ?d]YPQUPRX[XcPcTbaTcda]^U^eTa!'[PZW XVaP]cf^aZTabcWa^dVW!caPX]b ?=BQ 270=3860A7 Even as around 23000 migrant workers have left from Chandigarh through spe- cial shramik trains so far to reach their home states, ten more trains are scheduled to run from May 22 to take the migrant labourers back to their states. As many as 24867 strand- ed persons including 22917 migrant workers have left either by special shramik trains or buses from Chandigarh to reach their home towns, said an official spokesman. A special shramik train with 1440 persons departed at 5 pm for Amethi, Uttar Pradesh from Chandigarh Railway Station on Tuesday. While earlier two holding centres were set up at ISBT-43 for medical screening of pas- sengers, the Administration has now decided to set up such centres at Chandigarh College of Engineering Technology (CCET) as the bus services is all set to resume in the city. Giving details of train schedule, the spokesman said that no train is scheduled to run for next two days. On May 22, a train is scheduled to leave for Motihari (East Champaran) in Bihar, Gaya (Bihar) and Dhanbad (Jharkhand) on May 23, Chapra (Saran) in Bihar with stoppage at Siwan on May 24, Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) with stoppage at Moradabad and Shahajanpur on May 25, Sultanpur (Uttar Pradesh) on May 27, Madhapura(Bihar) with stoppage at Ara (Bhojpur district), Danapur (Patna dis- trict) and Khagaria on May 28. The schedule for trains to Jaunpur (Uttar Pradesh) and Hardoi (Uttar Pradesh) is also being finalized, the spokesman said. ?=BQ 347A03D= Safeguarding mental health of employees during the cur- rent period of crisis generated by the novel Coronavirus should be the top priority of the leaders opines Dehradun based senior Cardiologist, Dr Punish Sadana. He said that lockdown enforced to break the infection cycle of novel Coronavirus has resulted in accumulation of emotional distress in people. “Losing job or having reduc- tion in income causes emo- tional distress in many people. It is important to understand that businesses are closing down due to circumstances which are beyond anyone’s control. It is heartbreaking both for employers and employees,’’ he said. Dr Sadana said that people may experience sleep prob- lems, tiredness, loss of appetite, feeling of anxiety, anger or depression, mood swings, guilt and also suicidal tendencies. He suggested that one should take a break from reading stories related to pandemic and instead focus on taking care of one’s body. Regular exercise, meditation, healthy meals and doing things which one enjoys, help a lot in overcoming the mental stresses. “Employers should under- stand that it is time for empa- thy. HR now has a responsibil- ity to foster a culture of con- nectivity, caring and commu- nication, in order to dispel employee angst, he said. Dr Sadana added that the employers should ensure that employees are connected through real time communi- cations by phone or video con- ferencing. They should pro- mote a positive and inclusive culture and educate the staff of the ways to stay mentally healthy while working from home and share tools and resources with them, he said. 4`gZU*ecZXXVcZ_XdecVddZ_h`cVcd 4_[^hTab bW^d[SbW^f ^aT T_PcWh c^fPaSb T_[^hTTb 3aBPSP]P ?=BQ 347A03D= The vice chancellor of SGRR University, U S Rawat, emphasised on the need for more innovations for advance- ment in the health care system in the present circumstances. He was addressing a webi- nar series on 'Challenges and opportunities in Biological Research' on Tuesday. He nar- rated the importance of digital platforms in imparting the knowledge among masses and providing a platform for better connectivity. The keynote speaker on the occasion was Sanjai Saxena of Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology. On the topic, ‘Drug Discovery- Microbes at work’, he focused on the pio- neer role of endophytic fungi as a bio-resource of novel com- pounds to be used against dif- ferent maladies such as cancer, arthritis and obesity. He emphasized on the need of multidisciplinary efforts to channelize the identification of active drugs. The webinar would con- clude on May 22. A total of 425 participants from different states have registered for it. :H QHHG LQQRYDWLRQ LQ KHDOWK FDUH VVWHP 6**5 YDUVLW 9 ?=BQ 70A83F0A Two siblings died reported- ly due to snakebite in their shanty here. The police are treating the deaths as suspicious and have sent the bodies for post mortem examination. The police received information on Tuesday about two children lying dead in a hut in the Saptrishi area. Rinku, the father of two and half year old Shivam and three month old Munni told the police that his children had been bitten by a snake. He said that while sleeping on Monday midnight, he heard his children cry out. When he got up, he saw a black snake going out of the hut. He took the children to the district hospital where they were declared dead. According to the police, the case is suspi- cious and the father of the chil- dren is being questioned. With the bodies having been sent for post mortem, the exact cause of death will be known after the report is received. Cf^ZXSb _da_^acTS[hZX[[TS Qhb]PZTQXcT ?=BQ 270=3860A7 Punjab surpassed the 2000- mark on Tuesday with its three districts reporting a total of 22 cases, with majority 19 from Ludhiana alone, includ- ing 10 from the Borstal jail. As the state’s tally reached 2002, its death toll has reached 38 after a 34-year-old man suffering from coronavirus died in Pathankot. The health official said that the patient, who was also suffering from tubercu- losis, was a resident of Mamoon in Pathankot district and died in a hospital at Amritsar. Of the 22 fresh cases, Ludhiana reported a massive spike with 19 cases, while two cases were reported from Patiala and one from Gurdaspur. Both of Patiala’s new cases were people who recently came back from Mumbai, while one pilgrim tested positive in Gurdaspur As per the media bulletin, eight jail inmates and two ward attendants of Borstal jail — which has been set up as a spe- cial quarantine jail, four cases from those reported at Flu Corner, two are the contacts of positive case of Railway Police Force (RPF) jawaans, another of contact of a positive patient, and one of a traveler who has recently returned from Uttar Pradesh. Of the 10 cases reported from Borstal Jail, two of them were arrested in sexual offence cases. “Two men, facing rape charges, have tested positive for coronavirus,” said the police, adding that the duo, aged 27 and 25 years, were arrested in two separate cases of rape reg- istered at Haibowal Police Station and Civil Lines Police Station respectively. The authorities have quar- antined a police sub-inspector, two assistant sub inspectors and five constables, who came in contact with the accused, for 14 days. Notably, the State Government has established four special jails in the State to quarantine those arrested in fresh cases to avoid spread of infection from new inmates to those already lodged in the jail. For the same, the Prisons Department has established a special quarantine jail in Ludhiana’s Borstal Jail, while shifting around 200 old inmates to Faridkot Jail. According to the health bulletin, as many as 95 coro- navirus patients were dis- charged from different hospi- tals including at Fazilka, Pathankot, Sangrur, Jalandhar, Tarn Taran after they recov- ered from the infection, tak- ing the total count of cured patients to 1,642 in the state, at a recovery rate of 82 per- cent. Now, the total number of active cases in the State is 322. Amritsar continued to lead the COVID-19 tally in the state with 307 coronavirus cases, followed by 209 in Jalandhar, 155 in Tarn Taran, 169 in Ludhiana, 124 in Gurdaspur, 105 in SBS Nagar, 103 in Patiala, 102 in Mohali, 95 in Hoshiarpur, 88 in Sangrur, 65 in Muktsar, 61 in Faridkot, 60 in Rupnagar, 59 in Moga, 56 in Fatehgarh Sahib, , 44 each in Fazilka and Ferozepur, 41 in Bathinda, 32 in Mansa, 33 in Kapurthala, 29 in Pathankot, and 21 in Barnala, as per the bulletin. Of total number of patients, 38 have died while one person is critical and on ven- tilator support, the health department''s document said. A total of 55,634 samples have been taken for COVID-19 testing so far in the state of which 50,070 samples tested negative and results of 3,562 are still awaited. As per reports, a 28-year- old man, who was found dead at his residence on May 16, has now been tested positive for coronavirus after death. “According to the family mem- bers, he was a drug addict. His body was sent for the autopsy to know cause of his death. He has now tested pos- itive for the coronavirus,” said an official. 3XQMDE VXUSDVVHV PDUN LQ RYLG FDVHV PLJUDQW ZRUNHUV OHDYH IURP KDQGLJDUK ?=BQ A0=278 At least 12 new cases of COVID-19 infection were reported from nine districts in Jharkhand on Tuesday, health officials said. Three cases were reported from Koderma and two from Hazaribag, they added. Besides, one case was reported from each of Ranchi, Ramgarh, Jamshedpur, Kharsawan, Lohardaga, Simdega and Gumla. Kharsawan had not reported even a single case of Coronavirus infection since the virus entered India, said officials. Two suspects tested posi- tive today from Kolhan. At least 12 suspects tested positive for COVID-19 today said Health Secretary Nitin Madan Kulkarni. Officials from health department said that around 100 migrant workers have test- ed positive for COVID-19 in Jharkhand this month. A 23-year-old man from Ichagarh block with travel his- tory to Maharashtra became the first COVID-19 patient of Kharsawan. He was kept in quarantine and his samples tested positive at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital's virology department. The youth was shifted to Tata Main Hospital's isolation ward in Jamshedpur on Tuesday late evening. Administration has started contact tracing of the youth. Meanwhile, East Singhbhum district got it's sixth Covid-19 positive case in the form of a 20-year-old migrant worker from Jugsalai with travel history to Mumbai. The suspect was kept in Jugsalai quarantine center. He too was admitted in Tata Main Hospital's isolation ward on Tuesday. Tuesday's findings take the total count of COVID-19 cases in Jharkhand to 244, officials from the National Health Mission (NHM) said. According to NHM, at least 127 of the 244 patients here – around 50 per cent– have recovered from the viral infection and discharged from hospital. Interestingly, most of them did not show any of the COVID-19 symptoms during their treatment, said doctors from Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi. While 119 of the 244 cases reported in Jharkhand by Tuesday evening are in the age bracket of 11 to 30 years, 78 are in the age bracket of 31 to 50 years, the NHM report said. At least nine children, below the age of 10 years, have been infected by the virus in Jharkhand so far, the report added. The Government has collected samples of nearly 40,000 COVID-19 suspects so far, and 244 of them have come out positive in the tests, officials said. !]Tf2E83 (RPbTb bdaUPRTX]9WPaZWP]S 58ABC20B4 A4?AC438= :70AB0F0= ?=BQ A0=278 The Government has roped in Swiggy and Zomato for home delivery of liquor in nine urban areas of the State – a move aimed at reducing the crowd at liquor shops when they open on Wednesday, Excise Secretary Vinay Kumar Choubey said on Tuesday. The Government is also in talks with other companies in order to smoothen the system of home delivery of liquor, he added. The Government has divided Jharkhand in three categories – large urban areas, small urban areas and rural areas, said Choubey. Ranchi, Bokaro, Dhanbad, Deoghar, Giridih, Hazaribag, Jamshedpur, Ramgarh and Palamu are the nine large urban areas where Swiggy and Zomato have agreed to deliver liquor. The home delivery facility will only be available in the large urban areas, he said. Customers in the identified large cities can place orders online for home delivery and also buy liquor from the shops. The ones living in small cities can get tokens online and buy liquor, while the rural areas will only have over-the-counter liquor sale facility, Choubey added. Following the footsteps of Delhi and West Bengal, the Government here has decided to increase the tax on liquor in a bid to make up for the rev- enue lost during the lockdown. However, in accordance with the guidelines of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), liquor stores in containment zones will remain closed until further notice. The VAT has been increased from 50 per cent to 75 per cent, and an additional 10 per cent excise tax will also be charged, said the Excise Secretary. The total price will increase by 20-22 per cent, he added. The liquor shops will open at 7am and down their shutters at 7pm, said officials from the Excise Department. We have also asked the law enforcement agencies to deploy sufficient forces at the liquor shops in order to maintain social dis- tancing and prevent chaos, Choubey said. The State has earned zero revenue from Excise since the lockdown was imposed in March, officials said. However, the Excise Department is still hopeful of achieving its revenue target of Rs.1600 crore in this financial year. The additional tax and excise duty will get us around Rs.200 to 300 crore additional revenue if the quantity of liquor sold is the same as it was before the lockdown, said Choubey. This may help us make up for the loss incurred during the two months of lock- down, he added. Many States decided to open liquor stores in lock- down 3.0 on May 3, but Chief Minister Hemant Soren decid- ed to keep the stores closed in Jharkhand as a precautionary measure against COVID-19. 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- 3. dccPaPZWP]S347A03D=kF43=4B30H k0H !!! 90B:8A0=27?A0Q DBBA84 March and April are the months when many high- altitude areas of Uttarakhand are coloured an exquisite pink- red with the blooming Rhododendron (Buransh) flowers. Due to climate change, this year the flowering of the Buransh trees took place early- in February itself. Abundant snowfall ensured that many of these areas turned red and white this winter. White apple blossoms and pink –red Rhododendrons cre- ate a magical look during springtime in Dhanaulti which is just 30 kilometres ahead of Mussoorie. Just a two and a half hour drive from the Doon val- ley, Dhanaulti is known for its beautiful Bugyals- the high altitude meadows. Dhanaulti has Buransh in abundance. The Buransh trees in bloom lend a lot of colour to the land- scape of Uttarakhand. It is not the fierce, flaming touch of the Gulmohar but a warmer,wel- coming hue . The people in these regions gather the flowers of Buransh from the forest and make juice from them, either individual- ly or in self-help groups. Making of Buransh juice is a popular cottage industry in the Uttarakhand hills. The lockdown made it impossible for people to gather the flow- ers from these trees and a lot of flowers fell off the trees in the rain and some storms that occurred in these last two months. This gave macaques and langurs a great opportunity to feast themselves on these flow- ers which are as sweet as honey in the beginning of the flow- ering season. “They were the only ones who could enjoy and nourish themselves with the Buransh and its juice this year,” says Birendra Singh Negi, pres- ident of the Mussoorie fruit belt development cultivators com- mittee and a fruit grower of Kanatal. He said that people who made juice of Buransh in the region could not do so and the entire season of flowering over- lapped with the long lock- down. “The flowers are all gone now,” he said. This caused a great setback to the hill econ- omy. Buransh juice is believed to cure stomach ailments, heart disorders and liver problems. Dhanaulti is often called the “Land of Rhododendron and Oak”. Dhanaulti is all about Deodars, Rhododendrons and green emerald grassy meadows which soothe not just the eyes but the spirit too. This beautiful mountain hamlet in the Tehri district has been a popular getaway for people from Delhi and Dehradun for the past two decades now. However, this year it lies deserted just like all other tourist destinations of Uttarakhand. Buransh is, in fact, sym- bolic of Uttarakhand’s rich bio- diversity and forest wealth. However, this year has been a great disappointment as far as the collection of flowers for juice production is concerned. Meanwhile, as nature heals, the macaques and langurs are hav- ing a field day in the hills. “The Buransh has nourished these animals this year,” says Negi. ^]ZThbUTPbc^]1daP]bWU[^fTab ;2:3F=?A4E4=CB5;F4A60C74A8=6 ?=BQ 347A03D= The chief municipal health officer Dr Kailash Joshi recently said that if locals will segregate their plastic waste from their regular trash and save it, Municipal Corporation of Dehradun (MCD) will assist them in selling it. He had also stated that seg- regation of garbage and its disposal at the source will resolve several issues that MCD has to face during garbage dis- posal. While most of the locals opined that things will not change unless MCD itself opti- mises the garbage collection process, some said that it could be a start to make a difference in garbage disposal and the environment. According to grocery store owner Surender Kumar, Even if people begin to segregate the garbage at their homes and keep the plastic waste separate, I do not think it is going to make much difference. Initially, people did segre- gate the dry and wet trash but sanitation workers always used to dump that together in their garbage collection vehicle. If everything is going to be mixed together by sanitation workers eventually, why would anybody bother to segregate their garbage. In fact, MCD needs to be efficient in its work system, he said. People do not have enough space to make compost or separate plastic waste to sell it. Besides, the corporation will only assist initially and then it will become apathetic again. If MCD would have wanted this, they could have started an awareness campaign in the city in the last few years, opined Nehru Colony resident Sachin Pandey. Though, most of the peo- ple want MCD to be more effi- cient and systematic in its work, some think irrespective of MCD’s work competence, locals should segregate garbage, prepare compost and separate plastic waste before dumping the garbage. “I segregate my garbage regularly and make compost by disposing of all the biodegradable waste in a pit in my garden. I do not care if they mix all the trash later because I dump my garbage as per the rules. Also, I never knew that MCD can help to sell plastic waste so I always dumped them with non-biodegradable waste. I think if MCD runs an awareness campaign on this, everyone will listen and follow it, said Dalanwala resident Mahesh Kant. According to a local Tejaswi Sharma, “Actually, segregating garbage is a tough job only for lazy people. How hard it is to keep your trash separately. Also, having no place for composting is a lame excuse. Anyone can compost kitchen biodegradable waste at their homes using a big drum, or old tank or anything with a lid in which things can be kept and stored. Even if there is more compost that one can use, you can always dispose of it at locations where plants grow. Of course, plastic waste disposal is tough and recycling it is always the best option. If people begin to dispose of most of their garbage at their homes and MCD helps people to get plastic waste to recycle, it will certainly help our envi- ronment. Everyone needs to understand that proper garbage disposal is not somebody's job, it is everybody's job, added Sharma. ;^RP[bUPe^da23_[P]c^WT[_RXcXiT]bbT[[_[PbcXRfPbcT ?=BQ 347A03D= The plastic waste in Dehradun has increased during the lockdown after the State Government temporari- ly lifted the ban on the use of polythene bags and some other plastic items. To resume the ban on these products after the lockdown, the Municipal Corporation of Dehradun (MCD) will give about 15 days to all the insti- tutions and bodies in the city to entirely stop using polythene bags, disposable plastic utensils and other such prohibited items. While talking to The Pioneer, Dehradun municipal commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey said that the State Government took the deci- sion of temporarily lifting the ban during the lockdown to provide food, water and some other essential items because it was not possible to pack all such things without plastic and send it to those in need dur- ing the lockdown. The plastic waste has surely increased during the lockdown, but as soon as the lockdown ends, the municipal cor- poration will take necessary steps to restore the ban on plastic items in the city, stated Pandey. However, he said that initially, all the enterprises in the city will be given the notice period of about 15 days to completely cease the use of the banned plastic items and let them know that the use of plastic is not allowed anymore. Subsequently, if anyone is found using the banned plas- tic products, MCD will take appropriate action against them, informed Pandey. Meanwhile, on the ques- tion of whether MCD will resume its campaign Main Besharam Vyakti hu (I Am a Shameless Person) in which the corporation imposes fine on the commercial bodies that do not maintain sanitisation or keep dustbins outside their buildings, Pandey said it will probably be resumed once the lockdown ends in Dehradun. 23c^bTaeT]^cXRTc^dbTab^UQP]]TS _[PbcXRXcTbPUcTaT]S^U[^RZS^f] ?=BQ 347A03D= The graph of the contagion of the Covid-19 in Uttarakhand has hit the upward curve with 15 new patients of the disease coming to fore on Tuesday. These cases caused a spike in the number of patients of the disease as the Covid-19 count reached 111 on the day. On Tuesday seven patients of the disease were reported from Nainital district while three were found in Udham Singh Nagar district. Two patients each were reported from Bageshwar and Pauri dis- tricts while one patient was found in Chamoli district. What is causing anxiety to the health experts is the fact that Bageshwar and Chamoli (both mountainous districts) had no case of the disease till Tuesday. In Nainital district, three females ( 50, 31 and 21 years) and four males ( 22, 19,14 and 11 years) were reported posi- tive by the health department on Tuesday. While five of these patients are returnees, two have contracted the disease from the returnees. In Pauri, a 19 year old youth of Nainidanda block who had recently returned from Delhi was found positive. In another case in the district, a 25 year old male having trav- el history from Gurugram was reported positive. In Bageshwar district, two males (35 and 20 years) were report- ed positive. In Udham Singh Nagar, a 45 year old male, one 13 year old boy and 19 year old female, all returnees were reported positive. In Chamoli, a 32 year old male patient from Gairsain was reported on the day. The spurt in the cases of the disease brought down the recovery rate to 50 per cent on Tuesday. Incidentally the rate was about 67 per cent few days ago. The additional secretary, state health department, Yugal Kishore Pant said reports of 415 samples were found nega- tive for the disease on Tuesday while 15 were found positive. He added that reports of 1456 samples are still awaited by the department. On Tuesday, a total of 792 samples were col- lected for Covid -19 testing. The authorities have so far taken swab samples of 14691 suspected patients for Covid-19 test. Out of the total samples taken, 0.84 per cent samples have been found positive for the disease. A total of 1522837 people have so far downloaded the ‘Aarogya Setu App’ on their smart phones. The doubling rate of Covid-19 in last seven days is 12 days. The state now has 58 active cases in the state with Dehradun and Udham Singh Nagar districts at top of the table with 18 active cases each while Nainital has 13 cases. Pauri has three active cases while Uttarkashi and Bageshwar districts have two active cases each. Almora and Chamoli have one active case each. 4`c`_RgZcfdT`f_e[f^ade`Z_FeeRcRYR_U $=4F20B4B 5C7438B40B4 78674BCB50A 8=030H A4?AC43 ?=BQ 347A03D= After much deliberation, the State health depart- ment has started the pool test- ing technique for sample test- ing of Covid-19 in the State. On the day, the lab of the Government Doon Medical College (GDMC) started employing this technique and probably from tomorrow the lab of medical college Haldwani would also switch over to this technique in an effort to increase its sample testing capacity. The additional director state health department, Yugal Kishore Pant confirmed that the pool testing technique has started. The health department hopes that the technique would help in increasing the testing capabilities from exist- ing 500 per day to 2000. In the Pool technique, the samples of five persons are mixed togeth- er and then the test is done. If this test is found positive then tests of all the five is done, otherwise test of other pool of five is done. @__dUcdY^W cdQbdcY^CdQdU ?=BQ 347A03D= Armed forces veterans of Uttarakhand are of the view that India and Nepal should solve the boundary issue in the border district of Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand with mutual understanding and talks. Amid border row with India, the Nepal Government on Monday had endorsed a new map in which the Lipulekh and Kalapani areas which fall in Pithoragarh dis- trict of Uttarakhand are shown as part of Nepalese territory. Terming the action of Nepal government unwarrant- ed, Lieutenant General (Retd) Gambhir Singh Negi opined that Nepal is under pressure from neighbouring China to act against Indian interests. He said that Lipulekh and Kalapani have always been part of India and Nepal prob- ably acted on the directive of China when India recently constructed a road in the strategically important area. The area falls on a tri-junction where the international boundaries of India, Nepal and China meet. “I think China is under duress due to pressure on its economy due to novel Coronavirus pan- demic. The whole world is ques- tioning dubious role of China in the pandemic, industries are leaving the country. USA has increased its naval presence in South China Sea and there is unrest in Hong Kong. All these things have put pressure on China and to divert the attention, China has inten- sified its anti India stand. Recent increase in ceasefire violations on LoC in Jammu and Kashmir and instances of border violation by China on its border with India are evi- dences of this ploy. China is also putting pressure on Nepal to adopt anti India stance,’’ he said. Lt Gen Negi however added that given the historic and cultural relations between India and Nepal, both the countries would resolve the issue. Another veteran, Brigadier (Retd), R S Rawat also shared Lt Gen Negi’s view that China is prompting Nepal to raise the boundary issue. He said that the Kali river forms the boundary between India and Nepal and due to its changing course, the issue has cropped up. Brigadier Rawat opined that the issue is chiefly cartographic and should be resolved amicably by the two countries. He added that China has nefarious imperialistic designs and is escalating tension in the region and Nepal is only play- ing a balancing game between its two big neighbours. “The border issue between India and Nepal can be solved by meeting of surveyors of the two nations,’’ he said. ?=BQ 347A03D= By taking the virus to the areas which were only few days ago were free from the contagion of the novel Coronavirus (Covid-19), the returning migrants are chang- ing the geographical distribu- tion of the disease in Uttarakhand. Pauri, Uttarkashi and Almora districts which were in green zone for Covid-19 were put in the orange zone on Tuesday among worst affect- ed Dehradun, Udham Singh Nagar and Nainital districts. On the other hand, Haridwar district which was in red zone till May 18 and was transferred to Orange zone on Monday is now in green zone with districts like Tehri, Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Pithoragarh, Bageshwar and Champawat districts. Incidentally Haridwar has reported no new case of the disease from last 31 days. 0LJUDQWV FKDQJLQJ RYLG ODQGVFDSH RI 8¶NKDQG ?PdaXDccPaZPbWXP]S 0[^aPcda]aP]VT 7PaXSfPaV^TbVaTT] ?=BQ 347A03D= Ahighly derogatory com- ment laced with expletives made by a Rishikesh based man on Congress general sec- retary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has stirred a hornet’s nest. An agitated Uttarakhand unit of Congress party has demanded arrest of the person. In a letter directed to the State's director general of police, Anil Kumar Raturi, Pradesh Cong Committee president Pritam Singh said that a case under Information Technology act should be registered against the person. Singh said that the Congress president Sonia Gandhi had proposed to the union Govt that the Cong is willing to pay the rail fare for the return of stranded labourers in different parts of the country to their homes. He said that in this context the national general secretary of the Congress party, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra wrote a letter to the UP Govt offering the commitment of the party to provide buses for the home coming of the stranded migrants in UP. She had also sought permission of UP Govt for entry of these buses into UP border. Singh said when this news item was prominently shown in news channels, one Brijesh Uniyal; a resident of Rishikesh used highly deroga- tory language against Priyanka on his FB post. Singh said that the action has hurt the pride of Congress workers and they are agitated. He said that on one hand the whole world is fighting a battle against Covid-19; there are some anti social elements who are using inappropriate lan- guage against women and insti- gating people. Strongest possi- ble action should be taken against such elements that are disturbing social harmony. ,QGLD 1HSDO VKRXOG UHVROYH ERUGHU WDQJOH 9HWHUDQV 3_^WQ^WbiQdTUb_WQd_bi VQSUR__[`_cd_^@bYiQ^[Q 2PbTd]STa8C0Rc bW^d[SQTaTVXbcTaTS PVPX]bccWT_Tab^] bPhb?22RWXTU ?=BQ 347A03D= Ayurveda can play an important role in control- ling the Covid-19 crisis. With no specific treatment available for the disease at present, Ayurveda is a very effective means for boosting the immu- nity, said Governor Baby Rani Maurya. She was speaking at a webi- nar organised by the National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Visual Disabilities (NIEPVD) and Uttarakhand Ayurveda University on the importance of Ayurveda during the Covid-19 pandemic on Tuesday. She said that Ayurveda aims to protect the health of humans and keep dis- eases away. It has made a remarkable place for itself at the global platform today. The AYUSH ministry had also sug- gested drinking warm water, practicing yoga and pranayam, consuming turmeric, cumin, garlic and coriander to strengthen the immune system. The Governor stressed that people should wash their hands regularly, wear mask in public places and maintain social distancing.The NIEPVD director Nachiketa Raut, vice chancellor of Uttarakhand Ayurvedic University, Dr Arun Kumar Tripathi and other Ayurveda specialists were also present in the webinar. $XUYHGD FDQ EH YLWDO LQ FXUELQJ RYLG FULVLV *XY
- 4. ]PcX^]#347A03D=kF43=4B30H k0H !!! 0A270=09HC8Q =4F34;78 As countries world over bat- tle the Covid-19 conta- gion, a new epidemic in the form of mental health disorder is on the anvil. Researchers in the UK have found that one in three people infected with coronavirus later suffers symptoms of post-trau- matic stress disorder (PTSD), including depression and anxiety. PTSD is an anxiety disor- der caused by very stressful, frightening or distressing events. The estimates are based on an analysis of multiple stud- ies of SARS and MERS, two outbreaks caused by different strains of coronavirus, as well as the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection on people in hospitals wherein they developed men- tal health disorders after an average of almost three years. One in four people hospi- talised with Covid-19 also experience delirium during their illness, which can increase risk of death or extend time in hospital, the researchers said in their study published in The Lancet Psychiatry. While the long-term effects of Covid-19 were not addressed in the study, the effects of pre- vious coronavirus outbreaks suggest long-lasting mental health problems. Overall, peo- ple infected by one of the many types of coronavirus may experience psychiatric prob- lems, both while hospitalised and potentially after they recover. “Most people with Covid- 19 will not develop any men- tal health problems, even among those with severe cases requiring hospitalisation, but given the huge numbers of peo- ple getting sick, the global impact on mental health could be considerable,” said co-lead author of the study Dr Jonathan Rogers at the University College London (UCL) Division of Psychiatry. “Our analysis focuses on potential mental health risks of being hospitalised with a virus infection, and how psychiatric conditions could worsen the prognosis or hold people back from returning to their normal lives after recovering.” The team analysed 65 peer- reviewed studies and seven recent pre-prints that are await- ing peer review. These includ- ed data from more 3,500 peo- ple who have had one of the three related illnesses. When data for patients with Covid-19 was examined, the scientists found evidence for delirium in 26 of 40 inten- sive care unit patients and more mild symptoms of agita- tion in 40 of 58 intensive care unit patients. ‘To avoid a large-scale mental health crisis, we hope that people who have been hos- pitalised with Covid-19 will be offered support, and moni- tored after they recover to ensure they do not develop mental illnesses…,’ senior author professor Anthony David, UCL Institute of Mental Health said. The study does have limi- tations, however — findings from the SARS and MERS out- breaks may not be applicable to Covid-19, considering how much bigger the new disease is in terms of death rates and dis- ruption to day-to-day lives. Indians too have been mentally affected with the lock- down. A survey conducted by the Indian Psychiatry Society (IPS) last month revealed that there has been a 20 per cent rise in mental illness cases, with at least one in five Indians suf- fering from it. ?=BQ =4F34;78 In view of the representa- tions received from various students who were scheduled to join colleges abroad but are now keen to pursue their studies in the country due to the changed circumstances arising out of Covid-19, the National Testing Agency (NTA) on Tuesday announced to give one last opportunity to fill the form of JEE (Main) 2020 till May 24. This is also applicable to other students who have not been able to complete the application process or submit online Application Form for JEE (Main) 2020 due to one reason or another. While HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank announced the NTA decision of dates’ extension, he also launched a mobile app called the ‘National Test Abhyas’. The App has been developed by NTA to enable candidates to take mock tests for upcoming exams such as JEE Main, NEET under the NTA’s purview. A senior HRD Ministry official said the app has been launched to facilitate candi- dates’ access to high quality mock tests in the safety and comfort of their homes since there was a demand for mak- ing up the loss to students due to closure of educational insti- tutions and NTA’s Test-Practice Centers (TPCs) due to the continuing lockdown. Students across the coun- try can use the App both online and offline to access high qual- ity tests, free of cost, in a bid to be fully prepared for the upcoming JEE, NEET and other competitive exams. Speaking at the occasion, the HRD Minister said, “This timely launch is designed to ensure that no student is left behind in getting exposure to practice testing, especially when Student’s loss due to clo- sure of educational institu- tions is to be compensated and NTA’s Test-Practice Centers are shut due to the Covid-19 lockdown.” Over the last year, edutech as a sector has witnessed a lot of innovation especially in leveraging advanced technolo- gies like Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, going beyond simple digital distrib- ution of content. Every student is unique and requires specific guidance to detect and overcome gaps in knowledge and test tak- ing strategy. The test report on the NTA Mock Test App comes with a detailed breakdown of stu- dents’ performance through which they can understand their personalised path to achieving better scores in their entrance examination. A094B7:D0AQ =4F34;78 Ambikapur in Chhattisgarh, Rajkot and Surat in Gujarat, Mysuru in Karnataka, Indore in Madhya Pradesh and Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra have got five-star rating for being garbage-free cities. The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has got three star rat- ing while Delhi Cantonment, Vadodara, Rohtak are among ‘one-star garbage free cities’. Incidentally, some of the five-star rated cities are coro- na hotspots. According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare data, Surat, Rajkot, Indore, Mumbai (including Navi Mumbai) and Mysore have reported 1127, 80, 2565, 21,385 and 89 confirmed cases of coronavirus so far. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on Tuesday certified six cities as 5-Star garbage-free cities, 65 cities as 3-Star, and 70 cities as 1-Star cities. According to the min- istry, as many as 197 cities applied for 7 star rating and none of them qualified. The cities include Vijayawada, Trupati, Chandigarh, Gandhinagar, Ahemdabad, Karnal, Bhopal, Ujjain, Khargone, Katni, Bhurhanpur, Chhindawar, Singrauli, Thane, Shridi and Jalgaon were among the 65 cities accredited ‘3-Star’ rating.The performance of municipalities of Bihar, West Bengal and North eastern states were not up to the mark. Chhattisgarh’s small town Ambikapur, having popula- tion of less than two lakh, came to limelight last year when the city got second in the Swachh City ranking. According to officials, Ambikapur is the only local body in the country, which runs a ‘garbage café’ for rag- pickers which will provide free food in exchange for plastic waste. The concept of this cafe is that people can get their plas- tic waste weighed and enjoy a warm meal in return. The cafe has been set up by Ambikapur Municipal Corporation (AMC ). Chhattisgarh’s nine cities got three star rating which include Patan, Bilaspur, Bhilai Nagar and Jashpur Nagar. The NDMC, which got the three star rating, had won the ‘cleanest small city’ award for the second consecutive year under Swachchh Survekshan 2019 in the category includes cities with populations of one to three lakh. Only 3 per cent of Delhi’s geographical area and popula- tion come under the NDMC, but it is considered the seat of political power in India. Mysore is the only city in south India which got five star rating. Announcing the star rating for garbage free cities, Union Housing and Urban Affairs minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that the coronavirus crisis has brought forward the importance of sanitisation along with solid waste man- agement. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the present situation could have been much worse, had it not been for the critical part that Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban has played in the last five years to ensure a high degree of cleanliness and sanitation in urban areas, the Minister added. In the recent phase of Star Rating Assessment, 1435 cities applied. During the assess- ments, 1.19 crore citizen feed- backs and over 10 lakh geo- tagged pictures were collected and 5175 solid waste process- ing plants were visited by 1210 field assessors. While 698 cities cleared the desktop assessment, 141 cities have been certified with Star Rating during field assessment. Puri also launched the revised protocol for the Star Rating of Garbage Free Cities at the event. The protocol has been devised in a holistic man- ner including components such as the cleanliness of drains water bodies, plastic waste management, managing con- struction demolition waste, etc. which are critical drivers for achieving garbage-free cities. This year 1,435 munic- ipal entities participated in the garbage free ranking competi- tion, finally after several veri- fications 141 cities have been ranked ?=BQ =4F34;78 Based on inputs from Interpol, the CBI has alert- ed the States/Union Territories/Central Agencies on a threat from a malicious software that uses a banking Trojan Cerberus which deploys its app to trick users into installing it on their smart- phones. This Trojan uses an update related to Coronavirus pan- demic and primarily focuses on stealing financial data such as credit card numbers and two- factor authentication details. “Based on inputs received from INTERPOL, CBI has issued an alert relating to a banking Trojan known as Cerberus. This malicious soft- ware takes advantage of Covid- 19 Pandemic to impersonate and send SMS using the lure of Covid-19 related content to download the embedded mali- cious link, which deploys its malicious app usually spread via phishing campaigns to trick users into installing it on their smartphones,” said the CBI which is the nodal agency for Interpol in India. The dubious app can use overlay attacks to trick victims into providing personal infor- mation and can capture two- factor authentication details, the agency said. Last week, the CBI had issued an alert relating to drug trafficking in the garb of ship- ments for Covid-19 protective equipment. The alert was also based on inputs from the Interpol. “Based on inputs received from INTERPOL, CBI has issued an alert relating to inter- national drug trafficking activ- ities taking advantage of this global pandemic scenario and of possible drug shipments concealed in cargo relating to Covid-19 protective equip- ments,” the CBI had said in a statement last week. The Interpol has also warned that criminal organi- zations are using food delivery services to transport drugs and other illicit goods as countries are undergoing lock down during the global Covid- 19 pandemic. A0:4B7:B8=67Q =4F34;78 The CRPF has ordered an enquiry after expired polio vaccines were allegedly admin- istered to some infants at a medical camp organised by a private doctor at the campus of Special Duty Group (SDG) at Pushp Vihar in Saket here on Saturday. The SDG mans the outer cordon of Prime Minister’s security ring both at his official residence as well as during out- door functions. The wife of a jawan, whose child was ‘immu- nised’ with such vaccine, has also written to the Union Home Minister Amit Shah complain- ing about the incident through communication that was also sent to the paramilitary chief AP Maheshwari, officials said. “Immunisation program was not official. Around 50 chil- dren of SDG/CRPF who were due for vaccination could not be administered the vaccines due to lockdown. Parents of these children had tied up with a clin- ic that was facilitated into the camp to vaccinate after observ- ing Covid-19 protocols,” a CRPF spokesperson said. “It is learnt that four doses out of 116 got expired on 30.04.2020. An enquiry has been ordered by CRPF Medical Directorate and report is like- ly to be received soon and find- ings of the report will be taken to its logical end as per the facts,” the spokesperson added. The private clinic was headed by Dr RK Sinha, a pae- diatrician who was earlier asso- ciated with Safdarjung Hospital and Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, officials said. Preliminary probe has revealed that no negative impli- cation has been found on the children immunised with the expired vaccines. The Medical Directorate has gathered infor- mation from the manufactur- ers/pharma companies that have suggested that the vaccines do not expire immediately after the expiry date and are effective for a few weeks. ?=B Q =4F34;78 With dentists, auxiliaries and patients at high risk of cross-infection in a dental clinic during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Union Health Ministry has banned any emergency dental procedures in the Red zone while in Orange and Green zones such services will be allowed with restrictions. The same will, however, still remain closed in Containment zones complete- ly but tele-consultancy can be done for those seeking such facility. Further, in case of emer- gencies, patients in this zone can seek ambulance services to travel to the nearby Covid dental facility, according to the guidelines issued by the Ministry on Tuesday. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has further said, “Due to the high risk associated with the examina- tion of the oral cavity, oral can- cer screening under National Cancer Screening program should be deferred until new policy/guidelines are issued.” “All routine and elective dental procedures should be deferred for a later review until new policy/guidelines are issued,” it further added. Meanwhile, the guidelines have also identified a list of protocols which need to be fol- lowed, in the clinics and den- tal hospitals irrespective of the zones. The Ministry has asked the dental clinics to ensure venti- lation and air circulation with natural air using exhaust blow- ers, avoid ceiling fans. In case of window or split air condi- tioning system, they should be frequently serviced. Use of an indoor portable air-cleaning system with HEPA filter and UV light has been advised. It also has encouraged telephonic screening as the first contact to get all necessary medical history and if the patients show symptoms of Coronavirus, the dental care appointment should be post- poned for three weeks except on dental emergencies. The dental professionals have been asked to encourage the use of Aarogya Setu App among the patients. Earlier, the ministry’s guidelines stated that dental care settings invariably carrytheriskofCovid-19infec- tion due to the specificity of its procedures,whichinvolvesface- to-face communication with patients, and frequent exposure to saliva, blood, and other body fluids, and the handling of sharp instruments. (PHUJHQF GHQWDO SURFHGXUHV EDQQHG LQ 5HG ]RQH ?=BQ =4F34;78 In the wake of opening up of more offices and workplaces following lockdown relax- ations, the Union Health Ministry has issued a set of guidelines detailing Do’s and Don’ts on preventive and response measures to contain the spread of Covid-19 in workplace settings. As per the guidelines, there is no need to close the entire office building and stall work in other areas of the office. Work can be resumed after dis- infection as per laid down protocol if there are one or two cases of coronavirus. The dis- infection procedure will be limited to areas visited by the patient in the past 48 hours. The Ministry said that if there is a larger outbreak, the entire building will have to be sealed for 48 hours for thor- ough disinfection. All the staff will work from home till the building is adequately disin- fected and is declared fit for re- occupation. “If any individual is found to be suffering from symptoms suggestive of Covid-19, it must be immediately reported to the concerned central or state health authorities as well as on the helpline number 1075,” as per the guidelines. “Any staff requesting home quarantine based on the con- tainment zone activities in their residential areas should be permitted to work from home” it said. “A risk assessment will be undertaken by the designated public health authority (district RRT/treating physician) and accordingly further advice shall be made regarding manage- ment of case, his/her contacts and need for disinfection,” said the Health Ministry. It said, “The necessary actions for contact tracing and disinfection of workplace will start once the report of the patient is received as positive. The report will be expedited for this purpose.” Simple public health mea- sures like respiratory etiquettes, physical distancing of at least one meter, mandatory use of face covers or masks and prac- tice frequent hand washing for at least 40 to 60 seconds even when hands are not vis- ibly dirty and use of alcohol based hand sanitizers for at least 20 seconds are the mandatory steps that the staff has to be followed to keep the virus at bay. =^]TTSc^R[^bTT]cXaT^UUXRTSXbX]UTRcaTbdTf^aZ 740;C78=8BCAH8BBD4BFA:?;0246D834;8=4B=2A=0 O ATbTPaRWTabX]cWTD:WPeTU^d]ScWPc^]TX]cWaTT_T^_[TX]UTRcTS fXcWR^a^]PeXadb[PcTabdUUTabh_c^b^U_^bccaPdPcXRbcaTbb SXb^aSTa?CB3X]R[dSX]VST_aTbbX^]P]SP]gXTch O ?CB3XbP]P]gXTchSXb^aSTaRPdbTSQheTahbcaTbbUd[UaXVWcT]X]V^a SXbcaTbbX]VTeT]cb O ]TX]U^da_T^_[TW^b_XcP[XbTSfXcW2^eXS (P[b^Tg_TaXT]RT ST[XaXdSdaX]VcWTXaX[[]TbbfWXRWRP]X]RaTPbTaXbZ^USTPcW^a TgcT]ScXTX]W^b_XcP[cWTaTbTPaRWTabbPXSX]cWTXabcdSh_dQ[XbWTS X]CWT;P]RTc?bhRWXPcah O CWTcTPP]P[hbTS%$_TTaaTeXTfTSbcdSXTbP]SbTeT]aTRT]c_aT _aX]cbcWPcPaTPfPXcX]V_TTaaTeXTfCWTbTX]R[dSTSSPcPUa^^aT $_T^_[TfW^WPeTWPS^]T^UcWTcWaTTaT[PcTSX[[]TbbTb O FWT]SPcPU^a_PcXT]cbfXcW2^eXS (fPbTgPX]TScWTbRXT]cXbcb U^d]STeXST]RTU^aST[XaXdX]!%^U#X]cT]bXeTRPaTd]Xc_PcXT]cb P]S^aTX[Sbh_c^b^UPVXcPcX^]X]#^U$'X]cT]bXeTRPaTd]Xc _PcXT]cb $$T`c`_RaReZV_ed]ReVcdfWWVcWc`^a`deecRf^ReZTdecVdd ?E2cV`aV_d`_]Z_VRaa]ZTReZ`_ W`c^W`c;66RZ_eZ]]Rj#% 218P[Tacb2T]caTBcPcTb ^]P[XRX^dbb^UcfPaT cWPcbcTP[bQP]ZX]VSPcPO CWT218P[TacTScWT BcPcTbD]X^]CTaaXc^aXTb2T]caP[ 0VT]RXTb^]PcWaTPcUa^P P[XRX^dbb^UcfPaTcWPcdbTbP QP]ZX]VCa^YP]2TaQTadbfWXRW ST_[^hbXcbP__c^caXRZdbTab X]c^X]bcP[[X]VXc^]cWTXa bPac_W^]Tb O CWXbCa^YP]dbTbP]d_SPcT aT[PcTSc^2^a^]PeXadb _P]STXRP]S_aXPaX[h U^RdbTb^]bcTP[X]VUX]P]RXP[ SPcPbdRWPbRaTSXcRPaS ]dQTabP]Scf^UPRc^a PdcWT]cXRPcX^]STcPX[b 'TZeZVdXVeWZgVdeRccReZ_X W`cSVZ_XXRcSRXVWcVV 2A?5^aSTabT]`dXahPUcTa Tg_XaTS_^[X^ePRRX]TbVXeT]c^ b^TX]UP]cbPcTSXRP[RP_
- 5. ]PcX^]$347A03D=kF43=4B30H k0H !!! 2E83 (DC1A40: :D0A274;;0??0=Q :278 Soldiers and officers of the Indian Army’s Dakshin Bharat Area (DBA) having jurisdiction over the States of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are underscoring the adages ‘Once a Soldier Always A Soldier’ and ‘I am a soldier. I fight where I am told and I win where I fight’. This time around, their fight is against coronavirus. Since the civilians in these States are well served by the respective Governments, the DBA, more popular by its name Southern Command, took up another challenge. The Army establishment through its words and deeds sent a mes- sage to the retired soldiers, offi- cers, war widows in these States that they were not alone in this world and the soldiers and officers respect and adore them though the veterans and their dependents are away from the regiments and brigades. The DBA launched a Whats App messaging system and reached the retired sol- diers, war widows and those above 70 years of age in par- ticular to enquire about their needs and well being. The mis- sion was named Operation Naman and the objective was to offer moral support to those who had devoted their lives for the nation and to resolve their concerns, if any. “The focus was to assist them in addressing health issues, delivering essential sup- plies and groceries to needy veterans, offer help in com- mutation and extending can- teen facilities on priority basis. The Rajya Sainik Boards and Zilla Sainik Boards played cru- cial role in making the opera- tion a success” said a release by the Army’s Southern Command. A Special Cell was estab- lished at Madras Regimental Centre, Wellington in the pic- turesque Nilgiris from where the serving officers and soldiers contacted all Ex Service Men and War Widows and enquired their well-being similar to the manner in which youngsters in the family asking their grand fathers and grand mothers about their health and well being. “Special activities are being carried out by Karnataka Kerala Sub Area (KKSA). A war widow who has uterus can- cer requires regular blood and platelets. She got admitted in a delicate condition during lockdown. She has been given continuous support by the Headquarters. Special arrange- ments have been made to pro- vide blood and platelets supply. 23 service personnel have been sent for blood transfusion. Also a case has been taken up for one-time financial grant to tide away the present financial difficulties,” said the release. Captain K Gopakumar who retired from Indian Navy who is in charge of the Naval personnel in Kerala told The Pioneer that he was in contact with soldiers and sailors to ensure that all is well with them. “Our Whats App Group is tracking the well being of all our former personnel and their families and attend to their needs,” said the Captain. Elderly veterans especially above the age of 80 were in for a surprise when the soldiers delivered a cake along with a card on behalf of General Officer Commanding Dakshin Bharat Area. 6ROGLHUV WDNH FDUH RI YHWHUDQV ZDU ZLGRZV :D0A274;;0??0=Q :278 Uncertainty stares on more than six lakh workers employed in the cotton knitwear industrial clusters in Tirupur district in Tamil Nadu. Tirupur accounts for 90 per cent of cotton knitwear exports from India, employs more than 6,00,000 workers and earns more than C200 bil- lion by way of exports every year. These are all going to be history as the industrial units are on the verge of closure following the refusal of Banks to grant moratorium of nine months on the term loans and working capital loans availed by the industrial units. “The units remain closed since March 24 as part of the national lock- down and there has been no business. It will take another nine months for the revival of business. Till then the Government should ‘hand hold’ the industrial units, declare a moratorium of nine months on equated month- ly instalments (EMI) as well as on the principal amount. We will pay back the entire amount with interest but what we are asking is some kind of breathing peace,” Raja M Shanmugham , president, Tirupur Exporters Association, told The Pioneer. The TEA chief has written yet another letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighting the pre- carious situation faced by the industrialists in Tirupur. “The Reserve Bank of India had issued a directive permitting a moratorium of three months on payment of instalments in respect of all outstanding term loans as on March 1, 2020. The Banks were allowed a deferment of three months on payment of interests in respect of all such facilities outstanding as on March 1, 2020. Our concern is that the mora- torium of three months period will get expired by 31 May 2020 and the com- mencement of repayment starts by June 1, 2020 including the compound interest calculated for the moratorium period,” said Shanmugham. He pointed out that the industries have not been permitted to operate for the last two months. :If we take into account the global market closure date it would be actually three months. The leading glob- al retail stores would reopen only from June and they would place the orders gradually, that too in an increment manner,” he has written in a letter to Prime Minister on Monday. Pointing out the sen- sitive nature of the current situation the TEA has asked the Government of India and The RBI for a moratorium on servicing of interest and principal by another nine months for the knitwear industry and MSMEs. CXad_daX]SdbcaXP[XbcbbTTZ(^]cWbc^_PhQPRZ[^P]b :D0A274;;0??0=Q :278 Kerala which won interna- tional acclaim for its effec- tive handling of the covid-19 is looking like losing the battle to the pandemic during the last two days. The State which claimed that it had flattened the coro- navirus curve a fortnight ago reported 12 new cases of the pandemic on Tuesday. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in his daily press brief- ing on Tuesday said that all the 12 persons who tested positive for coronavirus were those who returned to the State recently. “While eight persons were expatriates who returned to the State recently, the remaining eight were from Maharashtra (six) and Gujarat (two). It has to be said that the pandemic has come back to the State through the expatriates, many of them returned to the State without any valid reasons. This is highly objectionable,” said the Chief Minister. Vijayan said there were 642 persons in the State who have been confirmed of coro- navirus pandemic. “There are 142 persons undergoing treat- ment in various hospitals in Kerala. 72,000 persons are under observation out of which 71,545 are in their own hous- es. On Tuesday, 119 persons have been admitted to hospitals for suspected covid-19,” he said. The hospitals in the State saw unprecedented crowd over the last two days because of the revival of the pandemic, said the chief minister. He asked the expatriates to return to the State only if there was any emer- gency situation. “The State saw 74, 426 persons returning to the State from outside. We had contained the disease till the expatriates returned to the State. It was with their return the State saw the pandemic resurging,” said the chief min- ister. He also declared that vio- lation of rules governing the wearing of masks and social distancing would be dealt with sternly by the police. “Legal proceedings have been initiat- ed against 2036 persons for not wearing masks. It has come to the notice of the Government that many private tuition cen- tres are functioning in the State violating the guidelines. Legal actions will be initiated against such centres,” he said. The public examination for SSC students would be held from June 1 and the Government has made all arrangements for the smooth conduct of the examination. Liquor outlets would become operational for online sale of spirits by this weekend, said the Chief Minister. CWT310[Pd]RWTSPFWPcb0__ TbbPVX]VbhbcTP]SaTPRWTS cWTaTcXaTSb^[SXTabfPafXS^fb P]ScW^bTPQ^eThTPab^UPVT X]_PacXRd[Pac^T]`dXaTPQ^dc cWTXa]TTSbP]SfT[[QTX]V :D0A274;;0??0=Q :278 Atotal of 688 persons tested pos- itive for coronavirus in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday taking the total number of covid cases in the State to 12,448, according to a release issued by directorate of public health and preventive medicine. Out of the 688 persons tested positive on Tuesday, 87 were those who returned from West Asia (36), Maldives (1), Maharashtra (49) and Kerala (1). The number of cases tested positive on Tuesday has come as a disappointment to health profes- sionals because the State has been showing a reduction in the number of covid cases during the last one week. On May 12, the number of persons tested positive were 716 and since then the number of cases fluc- tuated from 509 to 536 which was registered on Monday evening. The 688 cases tested on Tuesday is the highest number of positive cases since May 12. Chennai city alone tested 552 positive cases taking the total number of cases in the capital city to 7,672. The death toll in Tamil Nadu stood at 84 as three more persons suc- cumbed to the pandemic on Tuesday. The day also saw 489 persons leaving hospitals fully recovered taking the total number of patients discharged from the hospitals till Tuesday evening 4,895. This means the total number of active cases in the State is 7,553. 3,48, 174 samples and 3, 32, 352 persons were tested in the State till date. There are 63 laboratories working round-the-clock in the State to test samples. Meanwhile the Tamil Nadu State Board Examinations for Class 10 students scheduled to begin on June 1 has been postponed to June 15. KA Sengottaiyan, School education Minister told reporters on Tuesday that the examination would be held from June 15 to June 25. The earlier decision of the Government to hold the examina- tion from June 1 had drawn criti- cism from M K Stalin, president, DMK, who had questioned the logic behind the move in the back- drop of the pandemic prevailing in the State. Sengottaiyan said that his inter- action with stakeholders was the rea- son fore the postponement of the examination. “Many red zones and hotspots in the State would change to green zone by mid-June and this would help to reduce the tension if any among the students, parents and teachers,” said the Minister. QHZ FDVHV LQ 71 WRWDO B0D60AB4=6D?C0Q :;:0C0 The Bengal administration evac- uated more than 3 lakh people to safer areas even as super cyclone Amphan raced towards the State sources at the State administrative headquarters Nabanna said adding Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had decided to stay back at the sec- retariat till Wednesday evening by when the storm is expected hit the land. Appealing to the people to remain indoors the Chief Minister said that the cyclone was believed to be stronger and more severe than Aila or Bulbul or other such storms that hit the region in recent times. “I request everyone to stay indoors and at safe areas till the cyclone subsides. Please do not go close to beach areas. Instructions have been given to all District Magistrates, SPs, Police Commissioners. We have evacuated people to shelter homes,” the Chief Minister said adding despite the large-scale evacuation the administration was trying to maintain social distanc- ing norms considering further proliferation of corona pandemic. Three districts of North and South 24 Parganas and East Midnapore apart from Kolkata are likely to bear the maximum brunt of the storm, sources in the weath- er office said. Reporting large-scale evacua- tion she said, while in South 24 Parganas, 2 lakh people have been evacuated about 50,000 people have been removed to safer places in North 24 Parganas.Some 40,000 people have been evacuated in East Midnapore and another 10,000 have been removed to safe areas in West Midnapore, she maintained. Earlier the Chief Minister had a brief conversation with Union Home Minister Amit Shah who called up Banerjee to express assurance, sources said. According to the weather office Amphan is expected to cross Bengal-Bangladesh coasts between Digha in this side of the border and Hatiya islands on the other side sometime post noon on Wednesday. The very severe cyclonic storm will hit the land area with a max- imum sustained wind speed of 155 to 165 kmph gusting to 180 kmph. ?=BQ :;:0C0 Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said that a lot of issues including speedy relief and handling of the corona pan- demic would be discussed when the leaders of Opposition parties meet via a video con- ference on May 22. “The leaders of Opposition parties including Sharad Pawarji, Sonia Gandhiji, MK Stalin, Sitaram Yechury and others would hold discussion- son corona pandemic through a video conference at 3 pm on May 22… It will be a discussion similar to the ones taking place between various government functionaries,” Banerjee said adding “all the sides during the discussion will share their views and experiences on how they are handling the crisis and what problem they are facing in tackling the crisis.” Such discussions between top leaders of the country were nothing new considering the situation, she said. “We have been discussing the issues at various levels. So there is noth- ing wrong if we discuss it here through video conferencing,” she said. The State BJP however slammed the Chief Minister for “playing politics during this hour of crisis.” Referring to the Friday meeting State BJP pres- ident Dilip Ghosh said, “in 2019 these parties came togeth- er to defeat the BJP. They staged a big tamasha in Kolkata but ended up losing so many seats. “After being decimated in the elections they are trying to stay afloat by creating new types of controversies. Instead of cooperating with the central Government and strengthening the hands Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has drawn world-wide acclaim for deft handling of the corona crisis these people are trying to fish in the troubled waters. “You can see what the Congress has been doing. First they offered buses to rescue the migrant workers and when UP Chief Minister Jogi Adityanath ji wanted their numbers she provided them with the numbers of vehicles that included auto rickshaws and even scooters… hence the people will ignore such gim- micks and they will watch Modiji perform.” 2^aYR_cRTVde`hRcUd H3]RYdVgRTfReVU C=A067D=0C70Q D108) Doing a balancing act, the Maharashtra Government on Tuesday declared Mumbai Metro Metropolitan Region (MMR) and areas falling under nine Municipal Corporations, including that Pune, Solapur, Nashik and Aurangabad, as “Red zones”, while it merged both green and orange zones of rest of Maharashtra into one and termed it as “Non-Red” zone to implement the Lockdown-4 norms. Announcing the new guidelines for the Lockdown - 4 along the lines the indications given by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray earlier, the Maharashtra Government declared the MMR (which among other areas comprises Mumbai, satellite towns like Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli, Navi Mumbai, Panvel, Vasai-Virar, Mira-Bhayandar and Ulhasnagar), the municipal Corporations of Pune, Solapur, Aurangabad, Malegaon, Nashik, Dhule , Jalgaon ,Akola and Amaravati as “Red Zones”. The State Government declared the Green and Orange Zones falling in remaining part of the state “Non-Red Zone” for the implementation of lock- down-4. The Chief Minister, it may be recalled, had on Monday night that State Government would enforce the lockdown-4 norms more strictly red zone areas as it would have to tide over the coronavirus crisis in the state before the onset of the monsoon. “We can lift the lock down at any time. But I know what will be consequences of lifting the lockdown at this state. I do not want to push the state into a crisis. I am ready to face any kind of crisis of criti- cism. I am not going to take the decision of lifting the lockdown in a hurry,” he had said. As part of the new guide- lines released on Tuesday, the State Government authorised the Municipal/district author- ities to “demarcate” the con- tainment zones within the Red and Non-Red Zones, “after taking into consideration the guidelines of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)”. “Municipal commission- ers district collectors are empowered to decide the con- tainment zones... In contain- ment zones only essential activ- ities shall be allowed. There shall be strict perimeters to ensure there is no movement of people in out of these zones. except medical emer- gencies for maintaining supply of essential goods,” the State Government guidelines stated. In “Red Zones”, the state government among other things, allowed: all essential shops permitted earlier, non - essential shops as per relaxation and guidelines issued earlier and operation of liquor shops if permitted, home delivery or other wise, “The shops/ malls/ estab- lishments /industries which are not allowed to open in the red zones, will be permitted to remain open from 9am to 5pm. only for the purpose of upkeep maintenance of material/machinery/furniture etc. and for pre-monsoon pro- tection activities of property and goods. However no other activity (commercial/ produc- tion) will be permitted,” the new guidelines stated. The Government permit- ted e-commerce activity for essential as well as non-essen- tial items material and all industries, work at all con- struction sites ( Public/ private), all such pre-monsoon works (Public/private). However, the state gov- ernment continued to ban Taxi/Cab/ Aggregator and autorickshaw, while it permit- ted plying of four wheelers ( 1+2) and two wheelers ( only one rider) for essential works and home delivery of food from restaurants/ Kitchen All emergency staff, includ- ing health medical treasury , Disaster Management, police Food Civil supply, Municipal services can operate at the level as per the need. ?=B Q 90D With one more death and 28 positive cases the total number of coronavirus cases reached 1,317 while the death toll touched 17 in the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday. At the same time, 38 patients were dis- charged from different hospi- tals after they recovered fully. According to official sources, a 55-year-old cancer patient from Rafiabad died at SKIMS taking the death toll in Kashmir to 15. Five Covid-19 positive patients have died in the last 3 days in Kashmir— 1 on Sunday, 3 on Monday, 1 on Tuesday. Out of 1,317 cases, the total number of active cases stood at 653, 551 from Kashmir and 102 in Jammu division. A total number of 647 patients have recovered so far. So fat, Anantnag district has reported the highest number of 247 cases while Srinagar has recorded 169 cases and Kulgam 166 cases. Meanwhile, the Jammu Kashmir Government Tuesday issued the fresh classification of districts in order to imple- ment the lockdown 4.0 from May 20, 2020. The order was issued by Chief Secretary, who is also chairman of SEC and it stated that all the districts of Kashmir province, except Ganderbal and Bandipora are listed as Red zones, while as Kathua, Samba and Ramban districts of Jammu Province have been declared Red zones. Similarly, Bandipora, Ganderbal, Reasi, Udhampur and Jammu districts have been classified under Orange cate- gory. Likewise, Doda, Kishtwar, Poonch and Rajouri districts have been put in Green cate- gory. The decision was taken after a detailed review of the current Covid-19 situation in JK was conducted with Financial Commissioner, Health; Divisional Commissioners of Jammu Kashmir divisions and other officers on the basis of “an over- all assessment of the situation pertaining to the spread of Covid-19 in Jammu Kashmir; the trend in new cases particularly the recent spread/ spike in new cases in view of the movement of stranded persons to Jammu and Kashmir, which is still a continuing exercise, and the risk perception of the Health department vis-à-vis each dis- trict; the parameters laid down by MOHFW, Govt. of India”. 78C:0=370A8 Q 90D Junaid Asharf, youngest son of Tehreek-e Hurriyat Chairman Mohd Ashraf Sehrai, was gunned down by the joint teams of secu- rity forces along with his associate in Nawa Kadal area of downtown Srinagar in a twelve hour long operation on Tuesday. Four jawans of security forces, including threeCRPFpersonnelandonepolicemanalso sustained injuries and were admitted in the command hospital. AnMBAgraduateofKashmirUniversity, JunaidhadjoinedranksofHizbulMujahideen shortly after his father was appointed chair- manoftheseparatistgroupafterSyedAliShah Geelani in March 2018. Junaid, originally hailed from Tikipora village of Kupwara. DirectorGeneralofJammuandKashmir police, Dilbagh Singh in Srinagar said, “the operation was launched in down town areas ofSrinagarlateonMondaynightonthebasis of specific input about the presence of ter- rorists in the area”. It was after a gap of more than two years local residents in Sher-e-Khas areas were woken up to the sounds of gun shots and grenadeblastsasthesecurityforcesestablished first contact with the hiding terrorists. The jawans of the Special Operations Group of Jammu and Kashmir police and commandosofCRPF executedtheoperation with precision to avoid collateral damage in the thickly populated area.Several local res- idents were escorted by the security person- nel to prevent loss of human life during the exchange of fire. DGP, Dilbagh Singh said, “ after zeroing on the exact location both the terrorists were eliminated by the security forces during the night long operation”. DGP Singh also con- firmedonlytwoterroristswerepresentinthe areawhileclarifyinginitialreportswhichhad claimed some terrorists might have escaped thecordon.Heidentifiedoneofthekilledter- rorist as Junaid Ahmed Sehrai son of Mohd AshrafKhanofSrinagarandanotherasTariq Ahmed Sheikh, resident of Pulwama. Singh said, “Junaid was active in central Kashmir and acting as self styled divisional commanderofHizbulMujahideenforlasttwo years”. On the other hand his associate was a fresh recruit as he had joined ranks of HM only three months ago. ?C8 Q =4F34;78 The Supreme Court Tuesday asked LG Polymers India to approach the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to raise the issue regarding setting up of multiple committees to probe the May 7 gas leakage from its plant in Visakhapatnam. The company also questioned the NGT's jurisdiction in ini- tiating proceedings on its own (suo motu) in the matter when the Andhra Pradesh High Court was already seized of the inci- dent. The leakage of hazardous gas, Styrene, happened early morning of May 7 from the company's plant at R R Venkatpuram village in Visakhapatnam resulting in the death of at least 11 people and impacting thousands more. A bench headed by Justice U U Lalit was hearing through video-conferencing a plea filed by LG Polymers India Pvt Ltd against the May 8 order of the NGT which had taken up the matter suo-motu (on its own) on the basis of media reports about the gas leakage and set up a five-member committee to probe the incident. New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to quash the initial FIR against Republic TV Editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami over his news show on the Palghar mob lynching but gave some relief by setting aside related multiple FIRs and complaints hold- ing they had a “stifling” effect on the exercise of freedom and expression. Observing that free citizens cannot exist when the news media is chained to adhere to one position, the court said journalis- tic freedom lies at “the core” of the fundamental right to free speech and India's freedom will rest safe as long as journalists can speak to power without being “chilled by a threat of reprisal.” Seeking to balance the rights of journalists and accountability, the court, however, said exercising the fundamental right to speech and expression is not absolute and is answerable to the legal regime. PTI 7HKUHHNH +XUULDW KDLUPDQ¶V VRQ VKRW LQ 6ULQDJDU HQFRXQWHU B2P[[^fb_a^QT^U58APVPX]bc0a]PQ 6^bfPX^eTa?P[VWPa]TfbbW^f C=A067D=0C70Q D108) Upping the ante on the coro- navirus situation in Maharashtra, a delegation of the Opposition BJP, led by former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, on Tuesday com- plained to Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari about the “ineffective handling” of the Covid-19 spread in the State by the Shiv Sena-led MVA Government and submitted a memorandum listing its various demands. Talking to media persons after meeting the Governor, Fadnavis said: “The health sit- uation in Maharashtra is wors- ening in the state. Today, we have highest number of Covid- 19 cases in Maharashtra. Nearly 30 to 33 per cent of total infect- ed cases are in Maharashtra, while the state accounts for 40 per cent of total deaths. Infected cases and deaths are multiply- ing ever6y day”. “ In Mumbai, patients are not getting beds and ambu- lances. They are going from one hospital to another. Patients are dying on the way to hospital. In a way, tThe health situation is totally crippled in the state,” the BJP leader said. Fadnavis said that the con- dition of farmers in the state was also grim. “In our memo- randum, we have requested the Governor to ask the gov- ernment to start the purchase of agricultural produce from the farmers. In addition, we have also requested the Governor to ask the state government to stop the walking migrant workers going to their states going by foot and send them back to their respective states by buses and trains”. Fadnavis urged the state government to announce a relief package for daily waged workers, along the lines of the one given by the Modi govern- ment. FUUYRgYR_U]Z_X4`gZUTcZdZd Z_VWWVTeZgV]j+3;A e`8`gVc_`c PPcPTTc^] R^a^]PfXcW__ [TPSTab^]Ph!! 0DKD GHFODUHV 005 PXQLFLSDO DUHDV UHG ]RQHV :TaP[PaT_^acb !]TfX]UTRcX^]b TaVTVaTT] aTSi^]TP]S cTaXcPb ]^]aTSi^]T :LWK IUHVK FDVHV - . 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