JOURNALISM OF COURAGE

SINCE 1932

DA ILY FROM: AHMEDABAD , CHAND IGARH , DELH I , JA IPUR , KOLKATA , LUCKNOW, MUMBAI , NAGPUR , PUNE , VADODARA ● REG .NO . MCS/067/2018 - 20 RN I REGN . NO . 1543/57

MONDAY, MAY 4, 2020, MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 12 PAGES `5.00, WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMJOURNALISM OF COURAGE

SINCE 1932

`̀ 91 per kilo

`̀ 119 per kilo

`̀ 146 per kilo

`̀ 50per Dozen

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEMUMBAI, PUNE,MAY3

FROMMONDAY, liquor shops,electronic stores,mobile phonestores andstationary shopswillbeallowedtoreopeninMumbaiandPune,theMaharashtragov-ernmentannouncedonSunday.The state, however, capped thetotalnumberof "non-essential"and"standalone"shopsthatcanreopen on any lane, street orroad to amaximumof five, andthat too only outside contain-ment zones in thesemetropoli-tanareas.The new order released by

thestategovernmentonSundaystated: "All standalone (single)shops, neighbourhood (colony)shops and shops in residentialcomplexes,withoutanydistinc-tionofessentialandnon-essen-tial, are permitted to remainopen in urban areas excludingcontainmentzones."Meanwhile, in linewith the

guidelinesissuedbythegovern-ment, the state excise depart-mentissuedanotificationallow-ingretail liquorshopstoremainopen from 10 am to 6 pm in

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Non-essentialshops inMMR, Puneto open today

BUSINESS AS USUAL

BYUNNY

ZEESHANSHAIKHMALEGAON,MUMBAI,MAY3

THE NUMBER of official Coviddeaths in Malegaon inMaharashtra is just 12 since thefirstcaseinearlyAprilbut,over-all, thenumberof deaths in thiscityhasshownanunusualsurge.At580deathsforApril,asper

civic records obtained by TheIndian Express, it’s almost twicethe figure for the samemonth

lastyear (277)anda48percentjumpoverthenumberofdeathsinMarch thisyear (see chart).Hard pressed to explain this

spike—someofficialsblamethelocked-downprivatehospitals—the state government has de-cided to randomly test familymembers of all thosewho diedafterApril 10.This amid concerns that

some of those who have diedmay have had Covid but wentundetected— and could, possi-

bly,havepassedontheinfectiontoclosecontacts.Malegaon, inNashikdistrict,

(population: 6 lakh) registeredits first Covid case anddeathonApril 8, and has since emergedas ahotspotwith229 cases and12 deaths until Sunday. Therehas beennoCovid death, as perofficial records, sinceApril 27.Last Thursday, over two

hoursat thecity’sbiggestburialground, Bada Kabrastan, TheIndian Expresswitnessed nine

bodiesbeingbrought in.“Onanormalday,wewould

have six or seven burials. Overthe last threedays,wehavehad

over 30 each day,” said RaeesAhmedAnsari, administratoroftheburialground.InApril, itsawas many as 457 burials — lastApril, the figurewas just140.Officials said the number of

cremations has remained rela-tivelyunchanged,26thisAprilascompared to 22 last April. OfMalegaon’s population, an esti-mated79percentareMuslim.“There has been a surge in

deaths inApril.Withouta thor-oughstudy itwouldbedifficultto say if some of these deathshappened due to Covid-19.Wehave decided to randomly testfamily members of all those

whodiedpostApril 10 to checkif theyarecarryinganinfection,”said Pankaj Ashiya, IAS, whooversees the MalegaonEmergency Operation Centreestablishedafter theCovidout-break in the city.TheIndianExpressspokewith

several families of those whodied in April, local doctors andhealthofficials.Someattributedthe surge to private hospitalsshuttingdownorcuttingoff ac-cesstohealthcare.Their fear,of-ficialssaid,wasexacerbatedafterthedeathof fivemedicalpracti-tioners, three of whom

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PAGE1ANCHOR

Ninebodieswerebrought toMalegaon’sbiggestburialgroundin justover twohours lastThursday. ZeeshanShaikh

Aspecial traincarryingover800migrantworkersarrivesatCharbaghrailwaystation inLucknowfromNashikonSunday.ANI

Traintickets issuedtomigrants inNashikFriday.

JAYMAZOOMDAARNEWDELHI,MAY3

A SUB-COMMITTEE of theEnvironmentministry’s ForestAdvisoryCommitteehasrecom-mendedclearanceof the3,097-MWEtalinhydroelectricprojectnearatigerhabitatinArunachalPradesh’sDibangValleydistrict,accepting “in toto” the report ofa field study by the WildlifeInstituteof Indiaunderthesameministry.Fundedbythedeveloper,the

WII study concluded that theproject would not affect tigerssincenonewascamera-trappedin the project area during thefour-month fieldwork.Yet the report sought Rs 4

crore,aspartofaRs11-crorecon-servation plan, for research and“monitoringtigerdistributionandmovements”ina10-kmradiusoftheprojectsiteforfiveyears.Reasoning that “villages,

habitat degradation, hunting,highvehiclemovementandlowprey base” might have kepttigers away from the proposedproject area, theWII report saidthat tigerpresence couldnotbe“completelyruledout”basedontheshort study.Therefore, stopping short of

naming itself, theWII recom-mended:“Acompetentresearchorganisation needs to be en-gaged for this monitoring

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RAVIKBHATTACHARYA&ATRIMITRABARRACKPORE,MAY3

INMAZDOOR Line, a cluster oftwo-room tenements near theBarrackpore Trunk Road in thejutemillhubofTitagarhinNorth24-Parganas, 28-year-oldMith-un Prajapati points to his wifeand two children: “Kya khayegayeh log (whatwill theyeat)?”A jutemill worker, Prajapati

has been without work sinceMarch22andthe lockdownex-tensionhasaddedtohisworries.

He says the PDS ration is notenough and he is counting on a“little advance” from the millownerbecausehehasrunoutofmoney.He is not the only one. The

Mazdoor Line is home to over

140 families, mostwith similarcomplaintsof littleornomoneyinhand,hopingforan“advance”.The gloom is pervasive, en-

veloping worker settlementsacross North 24 Parganas — inTitagarh, Barrackpore, Kanch-rapara, Naihati and Halisahar.This is one district fromwhereIndiasourcesitsjutebags,alwaysingreatdemand for grains tobepackedduringharvesting.On April 14, Union Textiles

Minister Smriti Irani wrote toChiefMinisterMamataBanerjee,urging her to operationalise 18

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12duetocoronavirusbut580deaths inApril isdoublethenumber lastyear, govt torandomlytestnextof kin

PRABHARAGHAVAN,SUNNYVERMA,PRANAVMUKUL&AASHISHARYANNEWELHI,MAY3

FROMASouthMumbaicafethatwoundupafter10yearsinoper-ations to a standalone salon intheheartofthecapitalthatisun-sure whether it can ever startagain to an eatery in Meerut’sshopping hub launched by afirst-timeentrepreneurwithhispersonal savings - each distressstory in the Micro, Small andMedium Enterprises sector isunique but all of themhave thesamerefrain.Operationsbuilt on theback

of personal savings, sweat andstruggle,nowfacetheendoftheroad. For, it is not just the prob-lem of how to survive the cur-rent phase, but questionsmorebasic: how difficult will it be topick up the pieceswhen thingsinchback tonormal?Will therebeademandfortheirservicestoensureviability?Thesebeneficiariesof India’s

consumption boom, helped inrecent years byonline apps anddelivery options, now stare at ableak future as beautyparlours,spas, restaurants, retail stores,guest houses, and several othersegments of the services tradefaceuptowhat liesontheothersideof thepandemic.Till then, the dice is loaded:

thereisnocredittotideoverthelockdownphase,newcredit cy-clerulesentailvendorsdemand-ingreadycashevenasbuyersareunwillingtopayondelivery,the

depleting working capital onpayouts such as rent, electricityandsalaries,andacompletelackof certainty on when demandwill beback- if at all.Take43-yearoldVishalBatra,

whoventuredoutoffamilybusi-ness to start his own in January2020.HiseateryinMeerut’smainmarket area held early promise,launchedwith an investment ofRs10lakhhepooledfromhissav-ingsandsomefamilyassistance.Thenthelockdownhit.Revenuesare zero, butBatra

has to pay shop rent and staffsalaries, in addition to payingfoodexpensesforsevenemploy-eeswhoarestrandedinMeerut.“It takes time foranewbusi-

ness to pick up andwe had justbegancoveringourexpenses,butinMarch, the lockdown started.In the first week of April, westarted selling through Zomato,but barely 10 days later, thepizza-delivery case (case of apizza delivery boy testing posi-tiveforcoronavirusinDelhi,lead-ingto72familiestowhomhede-liveredand17otherdeliveryboysbeing quarantined) happenedandourordersfellsharply,”Batrasaid.Hehadtodowntheshuttersfor thetimebeing.Chef Pooja Dhingra in

Mumbai is far away from BatraCONTINUEDONPAGE11

MSMESOS

AN EXPRESS SERIES

PART2

Salons to stores tocafes: small servicesstare at end of road

ANJUAGNIHOTRICHABAJALANDHAR,CHANDIGARH,MAY3

PUNJAB ON Sunday saw itssteepest rise in Covid-19 cases,with 331more persons,mostlypilgrimsreturningfromNanded,testing positive for the novelcoronavirus. Of the state’s tallyof 1,102 cases, those who havereturned fromNanded nowac-count for55.2% (609cases).Outof the331casesreported

Sunday, 270 have links toNanded,including12cottonfac-toryworkerswhocamebackonthe same buses as the pilgrims.The 12 belong to Nawanshahr,Punjab’sfirsthotspot,whichhas

reported85cases till now.Maharashtra and Punjab

have been trading charges overthe source of the infectionsamong the Nanded pilgrims,around4,000ofwhomhadbeenstuckataSikhshrinetheresinceMarch due to the lockdown.Maharashtrahasblameddrivers

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Allow hydelproject in NE,but give Rs 4 crto study tigers,says Institute

SAGARRAJPUTMUMBAI,MAY3

A34-YEAR-OLDdoctorhasbeenbooked for allegedly sexually as-saulting a 44-year-oldmale pa-tientof Covid-19 in the ICUwardofWockhardthospitalinMumbaionMay1 —the accusedhad jo-inedthehospitaljustadayearlier.Agripada police, however,

said the accused has not beenquestioned or arrested due tofears thathemaybe infectedbythe coronavirus. Instead, theysaid,hehasbeenplacedinquar-antine inside his home in anapartmentblockinThane,andisbeingmonitored.The hospital, meanwhile,

said it has sacked the accused.“The doctorwas on his first dayofduty,havingjoinedtheprevi-ousday.Followingthereceiptofinformation of misconduct andas per protocol, the administra-tion immediately informed thepolice.Theservicesof thedoctorwere terminated,”Wockhardtsaid inastatementSunday.Police sources said the ac-

cused, an MD who had com-pletedhismedicaleducationataNavi Mumbai medical college,hadbeenrecruitedbythehospi-tal on April 30, the same daywhenthepatientwasadmitted.The alleged incident took placearound 9.30 am on May 1(Friday), theysaid.

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Mumbai doc booked for‘sexual assault’ of Covidpatient, confined to home

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,MAY3

AS INDIAapproaches theendofa40-daynationallockdownandnegotiatesastaggeredexit,somekey questions sharply frame itsfight against Covid-19: Are weprepared for a possible surge incases if curbs are eased?Whatdoes containmentmeanwhenpeople start movingmore be-tween districts and states? Dowehaveenoughbeds,paramed-icalstaff, intensivecareunits,andventilators to face a possiblespike?Howmuch testing is op-timal and do we have enoughkits?What’s thenewnormal?

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TESTREP RTSFROMTHE

FIELDTRACKINGTHEVIRUS,

LOCKDOWN

Sacks they make are key to country’scrops, Bengal jute mill hub despairs

AVISHEKGDASTIDAR&IRAMSIDDIQUENEWDELHI,MUMBAI,MAY3

MANY MIGRANT workersboarding the Shramik Specialtrains to return to their homestates are paying for their tick-ets. While 31such trains haverun so far and more are ex-pected over the next 15 days,Maharashtra Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray andRajasthanDeputyChiefMinisterSachin Pilot Sunday demandedthe Centre and the Railways

bear the expenditure on hu-manitarian grounds since theworkers were already facingeconomichardships.When contacted, Railway

Board Chairman VK Yadav saiditwasaconsciouscallnottorunthese trains free of cost so thatonly thosewho intend to travelwere transported. “Problem isonce you make services free,everyone is eligible to travel.Thenwho is coming to the sta-tions; who all are travellingwould become a problem totrack.Thisserviceisforstranded

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As new phase of lockdownbegins, Centre tells states:72% of deaths in 20 districtsDIPANKARGHOSENEWDELHI,MAY3

ASAnewphaseofthelockdownwith relaxations begins onMonday,20districtsac-count for68percentofthe active COVID-19casesinthecountry,theCentre has communi-catedtostates.Asmanyas72percentofdeathsfrom the disease have occurredinjust20districts,statechiefsec-retaries were told in ameeting

chairedbytheCabinetSecretaryonSunday.These districts cover major

urban centres such asMumbai,Ahmedabad,Delhi,ChennaiandPune among others. Significant

overlaps are likely be-tween the two sets ofdistricts.The unionMinistry

of Health and FamilyWelfare has deployedcentral public health

teams to assist “statehealth departments” in

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Malegaon mystery: Covid count low but surge in overall deathsSHARPSPIKE

2019 2020January 354 275February 288 312March 214 390April* 267 580Source:MalegaonMunicipalCorporation*TillApril 29

DrRandeepGuleria

PAKISTANIAMONGTWOMILITANTSKILLED

ADILAKHZERHANDWARA,MAY3

A DECORATED CommandingOfficerof theArmy’scounter-in-surgency Rashtriya Rifles, aMajor and a J&K Police officerwere among the five securitypersonnel killed in a gunfightthat stretched on for over eighthours in North Kashmir’sHandwaraonSaturday.

The security forces had lostcontact with themen towardsSaturday evening, after theywent inside a house inChanjimullah village of

Handwara inNorth Kashmir, toflushoutmilitants.Thedead in-cluded the twomilitants, oneofthemidentifiedasaPakistani.

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HAMZAKHAN,PALLAVISINGHAL&MANAMANSINGHCHHINAJAIPUR,PANCHKULA,CHANDIGARH,MAY3

THECALLcameonSundaymorn-ing, but Pallavi Sharma says shealready feared theworst as shehadn’tbeenabletogetthroughtohusband Colonel AshutoshSharma,theCommandingOfficerof 21 Rashtriya Rifles, all ofSaturdaynight.

With their daughterTamanna, 12, sitting beside herattheirJaipurhome,Pallavisaid,“I couldn’t contact him. I calledtheunitandgot toknowhewasstuck somewhere. When somuch time passes with some-one being stuck, you knowsomething iswrong.”TheArmycalledthefamilyto

inform them that ColonelSharma,44,haddiedalongwithanotherofficer,MajorAnujSood,30, and three other security

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Security forcesweretryingtosavehostagesinHandwara

Familymembersof J&K PoliceSub-InspectorSageerAhmadPathanarrive totakehisbody inHandwara. ShuaibMasoodi

MajAnujSood (left)andColAshutoshSharmaof21RR.

‘He promised he would come soon. Heis coming, but wrapped in Tricolour’

Covid strategist, AIIMSchief Dr Randeep Guleriais guest at e-Adda today

21RRLOSESSECONDC.O. IN 20YEARS INANTI-TERROROP P6

CORONACOUNT

1,306DEATHS

10,886RECOVERED

10,46,450sampleshavebeentestedasonMay3

40,263CASES

Punjab records biggestspike, 55% of cases in statenow have a Nanded link

Colonel,Major among five security personnelkilled in eight-hour gunbattle in North Kashmir Wait forsafetynetasCovid threatens

operationsbuiltonsavings, struggle

Migrants pay to return home, statesask Centre to foot the train fare bill

Mumbai

THESECONDPAGE2 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,MAY4,2020

MMR, PuneMumbai Metropolitan Region(MMR)andmunicipal corpora-tions areas of Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Malegaon.However, wholesale liquorshopswill remainopenonly till5pm.Prohibiting the drinking of

alcohol in liquor shops, the no-tification added that nomorethan five consumers shouldqueueupinfrontof theshopsata time. "The shopownersmustconductthermalscanningofallworkersandconsumers. If any-one has any symptoms of cold,coughandfever,thenthepersonshould not be given entry intotheshop," it said. "Theshopandsurroundingareahastobesani-tised after every two hours," itadded.However,laterintheday,the

Pune Municipal Corporation(PMC) declared 69 “micro con-tainment zones” – reportingmaximum number of cases –which would be completelysealedfrommidnighttillMay17.In areas outside themicro con-tainment zones, the amendeddirectives issued by the stategovernment on Sundaywouldbeapplicable.In an order, Municipal

Commissioner ShekharGaikwad said, "The entire PMCarea was declared a contain-mentzoneandrestrictionswereputonpublicmovementacrossthecity.Now,ithasbeennoticedthat most cases are concen-tratedincertainpockets.So, it isnecessarytoidentifymicrocon-tainment zones andenforce re-strictionsofcontainmentzonesonlyintheseareas."Shopsofes-sential commoditieswill oper-ateinthesezonesfrom10amto2pm.LastFriday, theUnionHome

Ministryhadannouncedthatallstandaloneshops,neighbouringshops and shops in residentialcomplexeswouldbebepermit-tedtoremainopeninareasout-side containment zones in redzonesorhotspotdistrictsoncer-tainconditions.Butastategovernmentnoti-

fication, issuedonSaturday,hadstated that this exemptionwould not be extended to anyshop located inmunicipal cor-porations areas within theMMR,Pune,Pimpri-Chinchwadand Malegaon, which collec-tively account for91per cent ofcases in thestate.With Sunday's notification,

the government seems to havehad a change of heart to loosentherestrictionsa little.Chief Secretary AjoyMehta,

inhisorderonSunday,said:"...inareas under MumbaiMetropolitan Region, PuneMunicipal Corporation, PimpriChinchwad MunicipalCorporation and MalegaonMunicipal Corporation, if thereare more than five shops in alane/road,thenbesidesallshopsselling essential goods, up to amaximum five shops sellingnon-essential goods in thatlane/road, will be permitted toremainopen."Bhushan Gagrani, principal

secretary in the government'sCorona Control Room, empha-sisedthatonlystandaloneshopsoutside containment zones ofthese areas can stay open. As ofSaturday, therewere1,459con-tainment zones in areas fallingunder BrihanmumbaiMunicipal Corporation's juris-diction."Thenon-essentialshopsin-

clude liquor, electronic goods,mobile and stationary amongothers. Liquor shops can beopened if they are standaloneandarenotpartofmalls,restau-rantsandhotels," saidGagrani.Headdedthatwhilenomore

than five non-essential shopswillbeallowedinalanetoavoidcrowding, there is no such capon the numbers of essentialshops."Thelocaladministrationwill takeacallwhichfivestand-

alone non-essential shopswillstayopen," saidGagrani.He further said that social

distancingmeasureshave tobefollowed strictly at shops intheseareas.Whileconstructionprojectshavealsobeenallowedintheseregionsif theindustrieshave made accommodationarrangements for the workersonsite,privateofficeswillnotbeallowed to open in these areas,said Gagarani. All shops will,however,remainopeninorangeandgreenzones.Sources in the government

said that it is a part of a gradedexitstrategyfromthelockdown."Except MMR and municipalcorporations areas of Pune,Pimpri-Chinchwad andMalegaon,wehaveallowedac-tivities inrestof thestate. Someactivitieshavenotbeenpermit-ted in these areas, as a largenumber of cases have been re-ported from these places," saidanofficial, adding thatallowingliquorshopstooperatewillhelpthestategenerate revenue.

Bengal jute milljute mills identified by theCentretodealwiththeshortageof bags for packing food grains.The state government subse-quently allowedall jutemills toreopenwith the condition thatthey use 15 per cent of theirworkforce, ensure social dis-tancing and other protectivenorms.Butownerssaythatrunning

mills with 15 per cent staff andmaintainingsocialdistancing isdifficult. Moreover, mostmillsfall near red zones andare star-ing at a longer lockdown post-May 3. Owners estimate thattheir production loss could beover 2 lakh ton if the situationcontinues.West Bengal has 52 jute

mills, of which six are underlockout fordifferent reasons.Oftheremaining46,18millsareinNorth 24 Parganas. There areabout two lakh workers en-gaged in jute mills apart fromothersassociatedwiththetrade.ChiefMinisterBanerjee, at a

press conference last month,said: “We have already givenpermission for jute mills towork,butwithlessworkersandsocialdistance.”Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha

said, “Out of 46, 26 jute millshave been given permission tostartoperations.However,someare near containment areas.Their15%workforceareat least500workmen. So, it is difficulttomaintainsocialdistance.”IndianJuteMillsAssociation

(IJMA) chairman RaghavendraGuptasaid,“Juteislabour-inten-sive production. So, we cannotstart productionwith only 15%workers.WewrotealettertotheChief Minister and ChiefSecretaryandalsointimatedtheconditiontothecentralgovern-ment.”On worker wages, Gupta

said: “We have already startedgivinguptoRs5,000advancetoworkers.Mostownershavedis-tributed this advance. Some ofthemmay not have. Thework-ers should talk to them.”Theindustryusedtoproduce

12 lakh ton jute each year. Thisyear, production is downby 1.2lakhtonand,accordingtoGupta,mayslide further to2 lakh ton.

MalegaonwereconfirmedCovidcases.Said Malegaon’s Health

OfficerGovindChaudhary: “Westillhavetostudywhethersomeof the deaths were because ofCovid and went unreported.Malegaon initially faced aprob-lemas a lot of private hospitalshadshutdown.Peoplewithdis-eases could not get access totimely treatmentandmedicineswhichledtothejumpindeaths.”Asofnow20patientsarebe-

ing treated in Dedicated CovidHospitals;70 inDedicatedCovidHealth Care (DCHC) centreswhich are formoderate cases;

232 in Covid Care Centres forcasesdeemedtobemildand245werekeptinquarantinecentres.StateHealthMinister Rajesh

TopewhovisitedMalegaonear-lier this week said that he ob-servedpeoplewerenotreportingto hospitals even if they hadsymptoms.“Private hospitals havebeen

askedtorestart,theCollectorhasbeen ordered to ensure non-Covidpatients are treated there.Feverclinicsandmobilevanshavealsobeen started to ensuredoortodoorsurveyisdone,”hesaid.Ontheground, though, there

aregapsinhandlingofsuspectedCovidcases.An illustrative case is that of

60-year-oldShamimBanoAbdulQayyumwhocomplainedoffeel-inguneasylastSaturday.Hersontook her to a private hospitalwhichreferredhertoadedicatedCovid centrewhere shewas ad-mitted as doctors felt she hadsymptoms.“On Sunday (April 26), she

calledmetosayshewastheonlywoman in the entire ward atMansooraHospital surroundedbymenandcomplainedthatshewasnot being givenher regulardiabetesmedicine. OnMondaymorning, I received a call fromapatientwhowasin anadjoiningbedwho toldme that it lookedlikeshehadprobablydied inhersleep,”sonTauseefQayyumsaid.“Mybrotherwrappedupher

body. He alsowrapped up twoother bodies that died on thesameday.Mymother’sswabtestwastakenbutwearestillawaitingthe result,” Tauseef said.NeitherTauseef nor his brothers havebeentestedyet.“Wearestretchedthinandbut

aredoingallwecanwith the re-sourceswehave.Thehighdeathsinthecityareamatterofconcernbutnotallarevictimsofthevirus.A lot of these deaths have hap-pened because of the shuttingdownofservicesbyprivatehospi-

tals.We are nowworking over-timetoensurethatprivatehospi-talsopenup,”saidNitinKapadnis,deputy commissioner ofMalegaonMunicipalCorporation(MMC)whoisresponsibleforfor-mulatingacontainmentplanforthecity.“It is a densely packed com-

munity.We have 10-15 peoplestayingin100to150sqftofspace.The conditionsmake social dis-tancingverydifficult.Alsoalargechunkof people are daily-wageearners.Lackofmoneyandpoorlivingconditionsmakethemvul-nerable,”Kapadnissaid.

Randeep GuleriaThere is no better person to

addressthesequestionsthanDrRandeep Guleria, Director, AllIndia Institute of MedicalSciences, the country, who isclosely involved in buildingstrategies for prevention, con-tainment, andmanagement ofCOVID-19 in India. The IndianExpresswill host its secondon-line Express Adda with DrGuleria, also internationallyrenowned pulmonologist, onMonday,May4.The e-Addawill bemoder-

ated by Ravish Tiwari, PoliticalEditor, and Kaunain Sheriff M,PrincipalCorrespondent.DrGuleria ispartof thecore

team of top officials reviewingandmonitoringthepandemicinthe country. He heads theClinical Research Group of theNational Task Force for COVID-19. He is also amember of theempowered group constitutedby the government to track theavailability of facilities and crit-ical care training and heads ateam that runs the NationalTele-consultation Centre at AI-IMS, connecting doctors acrossthe country in real-time for thetreatmentofCOVID-19patients.The Express Adda is a series

of informal interactions organ-ised by The Indian Express

Groupand features thoseat thecentreofchange.Amongthere-cent guests were FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharaman,NobellaureatesAbhijitBanerjeeand Esther Duflo, ChiefEconomic AdvisorKrishnamurthy Subramanian,former UK Deputy PrimeMinister Nick Clegg and cancerspecialist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Dr SiddharthaMukherjee.Lastweek,theAddamoved online with Dr ArvindSubramanian, former ChiefEconomic Adviser and VisitingLecturer at Harvard KennedySchoolas thefirste-Addaguest.

NE hydel projectresearch in collaborationwiththestate forestdepartment.”Askedwhy the institute did

not opt for a longer study andhowmonitoring tigers in thearea would guide policy oncethe project was cleared, Dr G VGopi, coordinator of the studyand WII scientist, said: “Weworkedwithinatimeframeandit isuptothe forestdepartmentwhich research organisationthey engage (for theprescribedmonitoring) or how they factorin future research inputs.”Advising that “the project

may be allowed,” the FAC sub-committee noted last month:“Thewildlife studydonebyWIIis accepted in toto... alongwithall the recommendationswithcondition that the UA (useragency)fundstheConservationPlan.”The FAC considered the rec-

ommendations “favourably”duringitsApril23meetingheldviavideoconference.Senior Environment min-

istryofficialsdidnot respondtoqueries for comments.Several aspects of theWII’s

engagement in the clearanceprocessof theEtalinhydelproj-ect raise questions of proprietyandconflictof interest.

Consider these:* In February 2017, the FAC

sought a “multiple seasonalreplicate” study to assess theabundanceofwildlifeatthepro-posedproject site. TheWII lim-itedthestudyto fourmonthsoffieldwork and expanded itsscopetochartingaconservationplan formitigating theproject’simpact.*EtalinHydroElectricPower

CompanyLimited,a JVbetweenJindal Power Limited and thestategovernment,fundedtheRs1.7-crorestudy, followinganor-derbytheministryinSeptember2017 that “the cost of the studywillbebornebytheuseragencyasdemandedbyWII”.* The studywas led byWII’s

DrGopiwhowas alsopickedasamember of the FAC sub-com-mittee that subsequently ac-cepted the study’s recommen-dations.Proposed at a distance of 12

kmfromDibangwildlifesanctu-ary, the Rs 25,000-crore Etalinhydelprojectwill require felling278,038treesover11.65sqkmofmostlythick,multi-strata,“trulyirreplaceable” subtropical ever-green broad-leaved forest. TheFAC has considered the projectfourtimessince2015.

WockhardtPolicehaveregisteredacase

under IPC sections 377 (unnat-uraloffences),269(negligentactlikely to spread infectionof dis-easesendangering life)and270(malignant act likely to spreadinfection of diseases endanger-ing life), based on a complaintfromthehospital’sHRhead.“Wehaveregisteredthecase

on the basis of what the HRmanager has said in his state-ment. He told us that the ac-cusedwas interviewedonApril28 and 29 following which hewas hired by the hospital, andApril30washisfirstdayatwork.He committed the offence on

the secondday,” apoliceofficertoldThe IndianExpress.Thecomplaintstatesthatthe

accused entered the patient’sroomintheICUonthehospital’s10th floor onMay 1. It says theaccused made physical ad-vances that the patient tried toresist. “The patient raised analarm when the doctor as-saulted him and staffers whowerestationedoutsidewentin-side theroom,” saidanofficer.The victim then informed

hospitalauthoritiesaboutthein-cident.“Thehospitaltookadeci-sion to inform both police andBMC,”anofficial said.“We have registered a case

but we have not arrested thedoctor.Hecameinclosecontactwith the patient, sowe suspecteven he might have got in-fected,” said Senior PoliceInspector SavlaramAgwane ofAgripadastation. “Weareyet totakeastatementfromthevictimand the suspect,” an investiga-tor said.Aseniordoctorfromthehos-

pital said it had to urgently re-cruityoungerdoctorsafterapol-icy decisionwas taken to keepthose above 60 years old andwithco-morbiditiesathomeasa precautionarymeasure. “Thehospitalhashiredafewyoungerconsultants.Thisdoctorwasnotknowntomany,”theseniordoc-tor said.Wockhardt hospital re-

opened on April 23 after beingsealedfornearlyamonthwhen80 staffers were infected withCOVID-19. A BMC official saidthehospital,adedicatedCOVID-19 facility, has now opened up30beds to treatpatients.

Nanded linkwho came from Punjab to getthem for the infection, sayingthepilgrimshadtestednegativeandwere only then allowed toleave. The discovery of casesamongthecottonworkers,whoalso stayedwith thepilgrims atthe Gurdwara Langar Sahib forsome days, is expected tobroadenthe tracingnow.Apart from them, two driv-

ers who returned to NandedfromPunjab after dropping thepilgrims have now tested posi-tive. “This morning, three per-sons tested positive for coron-avirus. Out of them, two aredrivers who returned fromPunjabafterprovidingavehicleservice,”Nanded’sCivilSurgeonDrNeelkanthBhosikar said.“Now, thenumberof Covid-

19 patients who returned toNanded from Punjab has goneuptofive,”adistrictofficialsaid.OnSaturday,20pilgrimsstill

attheNandedshrine,GurdwaraLangarSahib, testedpositive.LocalNawansharleadershad

reached out to theworkers be-longing to the area to get toNanded to board the buses re-turning toPunjabwith theSikhpilgrims. Around 700workersandtradersfromPunjabarebe-lieved tobe stranded in variousparts of Maharashtra, and 50-oddof themtook thebuses.Oneof theworkerswhohas

tested positive and is now inNawanshahrsaid,“Ihadgonetothe Marathwada region forwork. Igotintouchwithleadersin Nawanshahr, who informedme about the buses beingarrangedfromNanded.”The26-year-old said otherworkers toohad come to the Nanded gurd-wara, hiring taxies or taking liftin trucks,hoping togethome.On Sunday, Punjab’s coron-

avirus toll roseby three to23. A48-year-old tested positive forCovid after his death inFerozepur, while the other twodeaths were reported fromLudhiana.

Lockdown 3.0managing the outbreak in 20districts that have the highestnumber of cases. These 20 dis-tricts were home to nearly 100millionpeopleatthetimeof the2011Census.

“These teams shall report tothe Addl ChiefSecretary/PrincipalSecretary/Additional Secretary(Health)ofrespectivestatesandassist state health departmentin implementation of contain-mentmeasuresforCOVID-19inaffected areaswithin these dis-tricts/cities,” the HealthMinistry’sorder says.“Eight districts are doubling

faster than 10 days: Mumbai,Ahmedabad, Chennai, CentralDelhi, Kolkata, North Delhi,KanpurNagar,Krishna,”saidthepresentationmade at Sunday’smeeting. Seven districts have ahighercasefatalityratethantheIndiaaverageof3.2percent,thepresentationsaid.Thecasefatalityrate(CFR) is

theratioof confirmeddeathstoconfirmed cases. These sevendistricts include major urbanand industrial centres such asMumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad,Indore,Surat,CentralDelhi,andKrishna.According to the presenta-

tion, nine districts, includingMumbai, Ahmedabad, Indore,Thane, Agra, Kurnool andKolkata, have positivity ratesthatare“twotimestheIndiaav-erage(4.4%)”.Amongthetop20districts of concern with highnumbers,nineareshortoncrit-ical health infrastructure, thepresentationsaid.As lockdown3.0begins,130

districts have been categorisedin the red zone, 284 in orange,and 319 in green— the presen-tation noted that “states haveflagged data related issues inzonal classification”. Sourcessaid that in previous interac-tions, several states haveprotestedagainstthenumberofred-zone districts. Some stateshave repeatedly asked that thepower toclassify shouldbedel-egated to them—thepresenta-tion, however, seemed to indi-cate that the Centrewould notagree,thoughanattemptwouldbemadetomakethedatamorerobust.The presentation said that

“going forward”, zonal classifi-cationwould be done on “linelist of patient data”. The Centrealso requested all states to “re-move mismatch of all testingdatainICMRportal”.Stateshavealso been asked to “update linelisting of patient data, updateoutcome data(deaths, recover-ies) andmaintain health infra-structure data (isolation beds,oxygen beds, ICU beds) onCOVID India portal as they im-pactdistrict classification”.In districts that have a high

doubling rate, the Centre hassuggested that states shouldemployfieldunitstoenforceso-cial distancing, ensure rigorouscontacttracing,counselpatientsandcontactsontheimportanceof following isolationandquar-antine guidelines, and makesure that PPE kits and prophy-laxis with hydroxychloroquinearemadeavailableif largenum-bers of health workers are in-fected.Indistrictswithhighcasefa-

tality rates, the “suggested ac-tions”includeraisingawarenessthroughcommunityaction,andappointing“communityvolun-teers/opinion leaders/religiousleaders” for awareness and in-creased sampling. In areaswherethere is“poorhealthcareseeking behaviour” such as de-layedreportingofcases,thesug-gested actions include “inten-sify(ing) active case search,destigmatization of COVID 19”,ensuring well functioninghelplineswith adequateopera-tional capacity, and advertisingthehelplinenumber.Wherethereare“inadequate

health care staff”, it has beensuggested to “mobilize stafffromdifferent sources” includ-ingadjacentdistrictsandprivatedoctorsoncontractualbasis,andexplorethepossibilityofengag-ing retired professionals, finalyear students, andNGOs.

FROMPAGEONE

5 security personnel killed in J&KOn Sundaymorning, after

recovering their bodies, theArmyconfirmed thedeaths ofColonel Ashutosh Sharma,CommandingOfficerofRR’s21Battalion,Major Anuj Sood ofthe same battalion, SI SageerAhmad Pathan of J&K Police’sSpecialOperationsGroup,NaikRajeshKumar and LanceNaikDineshSingh.A release said themen lost

their lives in a bid to evacuatecivilians,havinggotintelligencethatmilitants had taken themhostage. “AjointoperationwaslaunchedbyArmyandJKPolice.A team comprising five ArmyandJKPolicepersonnelenteredthetargetarea.andsuccessfullyextricatedtheciv(civilians),”the

releasesaid.However, itadded,theteamcameunderheavyfire.“Intheensuingfirefighttwoter-roristswereeliminatedandtheteam of five Army and JKPersonnel attained martyr-dom.”It’s the second time 21 RR

haslostaCommandingOfficer.In 2000, the then CO and aBrigadier had died in an IEDattack.TopArmyandpoliceof-ficers arrived inHandwara topayhomagetothedeadofficersonSunday.TheHandwara encounter

began on Saturday afternoon,whena joint teamof theArmy,paramilitaryandJ&KPolicecor-donedChanjimullahvillageandapproached a cowshedwhere

twomilitantswerebelieved tobehiding.Sourcessaidtowardslate evening, theofficers foundthemselves trapped in ahousewith themilitants,whichwaswhencontactwiththemenwaslost.Anofficersaidthatafterthey

couldn’tcommunicatewiththeofficers, they halted the ex-change of fire. “Firing againstarted at midnight.Subsequently,thetwomilitantswereshotdead,”asecurityoffi-cer in Handwara said, addingthat they also pressed in paracommandosfortheoperation.OnSundayevening,theJ&K

Policeidentifiedoneofthedeadmilitants as Pakistani nationalHaider,andsaidhewasaffiliated

with the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT)and had been operating inKashmir for thepast couple ofyears.“Theidentityoftheotherterroristisbeingascertained,”aJ&KPolicespokespersonsaid.TheArmy said itsmenhad

followed the militants intoChanjimullahvillageafteranen-counterwiththemonFridayaf-ternoonatWaterbala,around3kmaway,inHandwaradistrict.This is a secondbigblowto

theArmy inKashmirwithin amonth.InthefirstweekofApril,five elite Special Forces com-mandoshaddied in agunbat-tle lastingseveraldaysneartheLoC, also in Kupwara district.Fivemilitants had been killedthen.

personnel, in an encounter inChanjumullah area ofHandwara,NorthKashmir.Major Sood’s family got the

newsofhisdeaththesamedayas hewas scheduled to returnhomeafteragapofsixmonths.Whilehehad finishedhis two-year stint in Jammu andKashmirinMarch,hehadbeentold to stay ondue to the lock-down. “Hewas to comehomeforamonth-longleaveandthenjoinatGurdaspurinPunjab,”hisfatherBrigadier(retd)CKSood,whowas intheEMECorpsandalsoservedinKashmir,toldTheIndianExpress, at theirhome inPanchkula,Haryana.Intheirlastconversation,on

Saturday,Anujtoldhimhewasheading for an operation, theBrigadiersaid.“Ilatertextedhimto ask about hiswhereabouts.Hetextedbacksayingtheywerechasingtwomilitants.”

His eyeswellingup, the re-tiredofficersaidAnujhadbeenmarried just two-and-a halfyears and spent barely two-threemonthswithwifeAkritiinthat time. The twogotmarriedinSeptember2017,andrecentlyAkriti quit her job at a privatecompany in Pune to livewithAnuj inGurdaspur. She is cur-rently in Dharamshala, at herparents’ place, and theArmy issending vehicles to get her toPanchkulaamidthelockdown.ColonelSharma’sfamily,in-

cludinghiselderbrotherPiush,47,andmother, last spokewithhimonMay1, the26thRaisingDay of 21Rashtriya Rifles. ThelasttimePallavimethimwasonFebruary28,whenhe receivedtheSenaMedal for gallantry ataceremonyinUdhampur.Piush said Sharma always

wanted to join the forces. “Ourfamily has an ‘Army culture’. I

wantedtogetintotheArmytoobutcouldn’tduetocertainfam-ily issues. I livedmyaspirationsthroughAshutosh,” Piush said,callinghis younger sibling “myonlyfriend”.Originally belonging to

Bulandshahr district in UttarPradesh,where they still ownsome land, the family came tosettle in Jaipur someyears ago.Acousin,SunilPathak,saidtheydecided tomove after fatherShambhuDuttPathak’sdeath.Daughter Tamanna,who is

in Class 6, said she toowouldjointheArmylikeherfather.WhileMajor Anujwas the

thirdgenerationofthefamilyintheArmy, Sood saidhedidnotwant his son to join the forces.“Hewasabrilliant child, anall-rounder,goodatsports,studies,extra-curricular. Iwantedhimtojointhecorporateworld,havea full life. But he had a calling.

This iswhat hewanted todo,”Soodsaid.Anuj’s elder sister, who is

currently inMelbourne,won’tbeabletomakeitforthefuneral.Younger sisterHarshita, also intheArmy,isheadedhomefromArmy War College, Mhow,where she is undergoing sometraining. Anuj’smotherpassedawayinJanuary2011ofcancer.With Sharma’s body ex-

pected to arrive home onMonday,Piushbrokedown,say-ing this isnothowhehoped tomeethisyoungerbrotheragain.“Hehadpromisedhewillcomesoon.He is indeedcoming, butwrappedintheTricolour.”BrigadierSoodrecalledask-

ingAnujoncewhathewoulddoif he couldn’t clear the NDAexam.Theboywhowonhorse-riding nationals in Kolkata in2005said,“withacockysmile”,“internationaljockeybanoonga”.

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Mumbai

3THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,MAY4,2020

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THEOUTBREAK Maharashtra

SANJANABHALERAO&SADAFMODAKMUMBAI,MAY3

WITH PRIVATE clinics charginganythingbetweenRs250andRs500toissuemedicalcertificates,hundreds of migrant workersstranded in Dharavi, Sakinaka,Andheri East, Bandra East, andMalwani areas say they have toovercomeyetanotherhurdlebe-fore they can actuallymake thejourneytotheirhometowns.The application forms, dis-

tributed by theMumbai Police,for migrant workers seekingpasses to travel to their home-townsrequiredetailssuchasthename,village,andhowtheyplantoreachtheirvillages.Amedicalcertificate, confirming that theperson is not suffering fromanyinfluenza-typedisease, isalsotobe submitted along with theform.Stranded at hiswork unit in

SakiNaka,AjayTivari, a nativeofMadhyaPradesh,saidadoctor inhisareahaddemandedRs400toissueafitnesscertificate.“Weareagroupofeightpeopleandweretold to pay Rs 400 per person.Sinceweareoutofworkfornearlytwomonths,wedidnot have somuchmoneyonus.Wepleaded

with the doctor, who finallyagreedtoreducetheamounttoRs350,”hesaid.Tivariaddedseveralpeopleat

SakiNaka,whichhas a largemi-grant population,wereplanningtotakealoanorasktheirfamiliesbackhometosendmoneytoraisethe sum formedical certificatesandtravelcosts.“Wehaveheardthatwehave

topayforourtickets.Wehaveonlya littlemoney left now.Weweretold that once the transport isarranged,wewillbetoldaboutit.Since lakhs of workers have toleave,wedonotknowhowmuchtime it will take till our turncomes,”headded.

Migrantsstrandedincontain-mentzonessaid theywere facedwithagreaterordeal.AJharkhandnative,AmitYadav,whocurrentlylives at Rajiv Gandhi Nagar inDharavi,saidalongwith24othershadarrangedaprivatebustotakethem home. “We contributedaroundRs9,000per person andgot the travel forms filled, butcouldnotget themedical certifi-catesintime.ThepolicewerenotallowingustostepoutofDharavi.Whenwefinallymanaged togetto the only private doctor in thearea,thequeuetherewassolongthat itwouldhavetakenallnighttogetthecertificates.”Yadavsaidthegroupmanaged

to get medical certificates bySundayeveningonpayingRs250per person for the screening.“Now,therearenobuses.Wearetrying toget vehicles, butnopri-vate transport is currently avail-ableduetohighdemand,”hesaid.Meanwhile,asscoresofwork-

erslinedupoutsidecivic-rundis-pensariesandhospitals—mostofwhicharealreadyscreeningsus-pected COVID-19 patients— toobtainmedical certificates, theBrihanmumbai MunicipalCorporation on Sunday issued acircular allowing private practi-tionerstoissuesuchcertificates.“Allregisteredmedicalpracti-

tionerspracticinginMumbaicanissuesuchcertificatesaftertakinghistory and clinical examinationof the personswishing to travelthat he/she does not have in-fluenza-like symptoms,” the cir-cularstates.Italsoprescribesafor-mat inwhich all civic-run andprivatemedicalprofessionalsareexpectedtoissueamedicalfitnesscertificate. The circular does notmentionthefeestobechargedforissuingsuchcertificates.Earlier on Saturday, several

privateclinicsandnursinghomeshadsaidtheywerehesitanttois-sue fitness certificates in the ab-senceofclarityorguidelinesfromthecivicbody.

SANJANABHALERAOMUMBAI,MAY3

DHARAVI RECORDED 94 newcoronavirus cases Sunday,mak-ingitthehighestsingle-dayjumpinthearea.Withtwomoredeaths,thetollfromtheareatouched20.The total number of cases fromthe slum sprawl,which had re-ported89casesSaturday,jumpedto590onSunday.Over84percentofcasesinthe

area have been reported fromcongested slums, themaximumfrom31pockets.Meanwhile,Mahimreported

16newcases Sunday, includingtwo deaths. Besides, four newcases and one death were re-ported inDadar, taking thecasestallyto50fromthearea.Dharaviisoneoftheworst-af-

fectedareas in thecity. BMCoffi-cials saidmaintaining social dis-tancing in congested slumswasdifficult.Following the inter-ministe-

rial central team's suggestion to

rampup thenumber of quaran-tinebedsforDharaviandincreasethe number of people screenedfrom the area, the civic bodyhas starteddoor-to-door screen-ingofslums.Volunteerswith thermome-

tergunshavebeenscreeningthearea and those suffering fromfever are being referred to feverclinic.InDharavi,volunteershavescreened79,000people.“Wearedoing it as part of a strategy totracemaximumpositive cases.Lastweek,we scanned around25,000 people,” said KiranDighavkar, assistantmunicipalcommissioner G-North ward.Around350privatemedicalprac-titionersareworkinginDharavi.TheBMCisalsoshiftinghigh-

risk contacts andneighbours ofpositive patients to quarantinecentrestoensuretheydon'tposea risk to others. In the last oneweek, 1,920 contacts have beenshiftedtoinstitutionalquarantinefacility.AsofSaturday,2,050peo-plehavebeenadmittedinthefourinstitutionalquarantinefacilities.

Mumbai:Thecivicbodyhasaskedprivate laboratory, Thyrocare, totests only swabs taken by BMCfrom suspected COVID-19 pa-tientsandtemporarilystopallpri-vatetesting. OnApril22,BMChadissued anotice to theprivate laboverincompletedetailsofpatientsthat led to difficulties in contacttracingatwardlevel.The labhadthenprovideddetails sought bytheBMConApril 23 andwas al-lowedtoresumetesting.On Saturday, Additional

MunicipalCommissionerSureshKakani,however,temporarilysus-

pendedprivatetestingforthelab.“Wehaveaskedthemtotestonlysamples given by BMC.Wewillprovide themover 200 samplesdaily.Therewasanissueoflatere-portingastheyweretakingswabsofmoresamplesthantheircapac-ity,”Kakanisaid.“I havenot seen thenotifica-

tion, evenBMCdidn’t informus.Wearenot testinganyasympto-maticpatients afterBMC’sorder.Thisnotification,ifatall,isonlyap-plicabletoMumbaiandsuburbanareas,” said Sachin Salve fromThyrocare. ENS

SANJANABHALERAOMUMBAI,MAY3

TOENHANCEcoronavirusscreeninWorli-Koliwada,earmarkedasa hotspot, and isolate sympto-matic patients, theBrihanmumbai MunicipalCorporation (BMC) Friday hasrolledoutitsfirst ‘CovidBus’.Equipped with thermal-

screeningdevices,Oximeters,andx-rays fordetectingcoronavirus-likesymptoms,the‘CovidBus’willwork alongside the fever clinicsandmobiledispensarieslaunchedinslumareas,officials said. Ithasthecapacitytoscreen300peopledaily.<OnSunday, itvisitedWorlipolicestation,whereat least200people, including policemen,screened. According to officials,the 'CovidBus'will visit various

slum locations of the G-Southward,comprisingJijamataNagar,Worli-Koliwada,BDDchawl,andSiddharthNagar.OnFriday,thebuswasinaugu-

rated by state HealthMinisterRajesh Tope, EnvironmentMinisterAadityaThackeray,alongwithBMCcommissionerPraveenPardesi fromtheNational SportsClub of India inWorli via videoconference. “It is the firstmobile‘CovidBus’formassscreeningandwillbeusingacombinationofO2saturation,AI-basedx-raysforde-tecting novel coronavirus,” saidSharad Ughade, AssistantMunicipal Commissioner, G-Southward.The bus, he said, has been

madewiththehelpofKrsnaadi-agnostic and IIT Alumni counciland also equippedwith RT-PCRswabcollectionfacility.

IRAMSIDDIQUEMUMBAI,MAY3

VILAS INDULKAR, anautodriverfromGoregaon,was able topur-chase themost basicmedicinesfor hiswife, a diabetic, for April.Only fourmonths ago, Indulkar(51) hadpurchased an autorick-shawandhadhoped that his fi-nancial problems would besolved.Out ofwork sinceMarch24, when the coronavirus-in-ducedlockdownwasimposed,hesays,monthlyinstallmentsforhisvehicle loanand rentswerenowpiling.“When farmers are affected,

theyat leastget somerelief fromthe government. But there is re-allynooneforus,” Indulkarsaid.Rajman Yadav (51), an au-

torickshaw driver from

Nalasopara,hasbeenlivingoffRs4,000hehadmanagedtoborrowfrom a friend. “I am yet to payhouse rent, electricity andwaterbills…Now,gettingfinancialhelpfrom friends and acquaintanceshas become tough.With no in-come, everyone is in the sameboat,”Yadavsaid.Highlightingthegrowingdes-

perationamong the autodriversin the city,who are leftwith noearnings, or prospects of it, sincethe lockdownwas imposed, sev-eralautounionshaveapproachedthe state transportminister, AnilParab, andurgedhim to rope inmajorplayers inthebusiness, in-cluding Bajaj Auto Limited andMahanagarGasLimited(MGL),toextendfinancialaidtothe2.3lakhautodriversinthecity.Theunionshaveurged that a

committee, headedby the state

transport commissioner, beformedtooverviewthewelfareofautodriversinthecity.Theyhavealsodemandedthat financial aidbe extended to the driversthrough a network of RegionalTransportOffices(RTO)acrossthecity if the lockdownwas furtherextended.“BajajAuto Limited, its insur-

ance armBajaj Allianz GeneralInsuranceCoLtdandMahanagarGas Limited (MGL) should helptheautodriversoutinthistimeofcrisis,” Thampy Kurian, whoheads the MumbaiRickshawmen’sUnion,said.Every driver, he added, pays

roughlyRs16,000fortheirpermitto the state government. “Thedrivershaveahand-to-mouthex-istenceandarenowstrugglingtogetsupplies…Theywillbecom-pelled to follow the footsteps of

migrantworkers and take to thestreets if no assistance is pro-vided,”Kuriansaid.Blaming the government for

not paying heed to their long-pending demand for awelfareboard for autorickshawdrivers,autorickshaw union leaderShashankRaosaid,“Hadthegov-ernment created the board,wewouldhavehad the exact num-bersofdriverswhoneedfinancialaid and themoney could be di-rectlydisbursedfromthefundsintheboardamongthedrivers.”When contacted, Parab said,

“I’malreadyintalkswithvariouscompanies including those un-dertaking insurance aswell asmanufacturing companies likeBajajAutoforsomeaidforthe(au-torickshaw) drivers.” Bajaj AutoLimited,however,refusedtocom-mentontheissue.

TABASSUMBARNAGARWALAMUMBAI,MAY3

WHILE THE state says it hasenoughstocksofhydroxychloro-quine(HCQ)tablets,thedrughasgone off chemists' shelves andhasbecomeunavailableforthosewho take it for arthritis, lupus,andmalaria,withmanufacturersstarted directing their stocks togovernmenthospitals.Last week, theMaharashtra

government had issued a circu-lar allowing the anti-malarialdrug as preventivemedicationagainst COVID-19 for not justhealthcareworkers treating theinfected but also for high-riskcontactsofsuchpatients,includ-ing familymembers, aswell asfrontlineworkers in quarantinecentresandcontainmentareas.While 7.14 lakh tablets have

been distributed in Mumbaialone, 17 lakh tablets have beendistributed across governmentcentres inthestate.InMaharashtra,64manufac-

turershadreceivedanewlicensetomanufacture HCQ in the lastonemonthbuthavebeenunabletostartproduction.“Theyarefac-ing issues of rawmaterial... noteverymanufacturer is gettingsupply. There is also shortage ofworkers in severalmanufactur-ingunits,”saidVikasBiyani,JointCommissioner (Drugs), FDA. Headded that there are currentlyonlyfivemajormanufacturersofHCQinthestate.Maharashtra FDA commis-

sioner A BUnhale said, “We aremonitoringthesupplyandavail-ability of hydroxychloroquine.There is adequate stock asofnow.”The FDA is also monitoring

availabilityof55activepharma-ceutical ingredientsrequiredinthe production of COVID-19drugs and 97 other essentialmedicines, basedonanotifica-

tion issued by the Union gov-ernment.Data fromMaharashtra FDA

shows that as on April 29, thegovernmenthas a stock of 11.38lakh200mgHCQpills,whilepri-vatedistributorshavesevenlakh.While the government has astock of 14,940 pills and privatedistributors 2 lakh for 300mgtablets,for400mgpills,thestatehasastockof47,000anddistrib-utors1.10 lakhtablets.In all, Maharashtra has over

22 lakhHCQ tablets as of now–while 12 lakh arewith the gov-ernment,10lakharewithprivatedistributors.While FDA records show

there is adequate stock, privatechemistssaidtheycannotsupplythe pills to regular patients,addingthatthereiseitherhoard-ing or diversion of stock to gov-ernmentcentres.InAndheriEast,KineMedical

StoreusedtostockHCQuntilbe-fore the lockdown. “After thelockdown, the medicine hasstoppedcoming.Thedistributorsaidhedoesnothaveanystock,”

saidmanager JaykishanYadav.At Nobel Chemist in Veera

Desai,pharmacistRohitBindsaidthey could earlier procure asmanyHCQstripsastheywanted.“Nowafterrepeatedcalls,wegetonly five to six strips. In the lastonemonth,atleast12customerscame tobuyHCQ. Theywere allourregulararthritispatients.”In Andheri west, Mahavir

Medical’s manager AmritChaudhary said his stock wasexhausted amonth ago. “Fourpatients came since then forarthritis, but we had no stripsleft,” he said.DrSiddharthLalitkumar,gen-

eral physician, said for arthritispatients,thereisnoalternativetoHCQ to subside swelling andjointpain.Anil Navandar, secretary of

Maharashtra State Chemist andDruggistsAssociation,saidman-ufacturers have been asked toprioritise andsupply to thegov-ernmentfirst.“Localchemistsareunabletogetsupplybecausethestock is first directed to govern-menthospitals,whereitisbeingused as preventivemedicationfor healthworkers. The require-ment for HCQwas never huge,butarthritispatientsmajorlyde-pendonit,”headded.HCQ,ananti-malarialdrug,is

commonlyusedtotreatrheuma-toidarthritis, lupusandmalaria.Itdecreasespainandswellinginarthritis patients. The drug hasshot to popularity globallywithCOVID-19with research under-waytoinvestigateitspossibleuseintreatingtheinfectedanditsuseasaprophylacticmedicine.Indiahadbanneditsexportbriefly,butlater lifted its supply for theUS.On April 1, the Centre made itmandatory for chemists to sellthemedicinewith doctor’s pre-scriptiononly.

In Varsha Medical Shop,owner Rakesh Tiwari said thereareregularFDAcheckstoensuretheysell themedicinewithpre-scription. “If apatientofmalariaor arthritis does not have pre-scription, I can’t sell them themedicine.Wehad few such pa-tients, I asked them to get doc-tor’s prescription,” he added.Patients are finding it hard toconsult doctors withmost pri-vate nursing homes and clinicseither shut or operating foremergencycases.DaraPatel fromIndianDrug

ManufacturersAssociationsaidIndia scaled up its productioncapacity to beyond 20 croreHCQ tablets since March end.“Suddenly, itsdemandhasshotup. There is also panic buying,and chemists have been ad-vised to not sell more than amonth’s requirement to a pa-tient,” he said.Maintaining that there are

severalhurdlesinmanufacturinganddistributionofthedrug,Patelsaid: “Not allmanufacturers areable to get raw material.Transportation of medicines tochemists is also not easy. InBhiwandi, there are severalgodownsbutwehavenoloadersor workers to transport thestock.”He added that Mumbai-

basedIpcaLaboratoriesproduces50 per cent of India’s stock forHCQ.Next comes Zydus Cadilla.“Bothcompanieshavescaleduptheirmanufacturing.Excessisal-lowedtobeexported.”While Suryakant Pai, han-

dling distribution for IpcaLaboratories refused to com-ment, K C Mathews fromGujarat-based Torrent Pharmasaid,“Wearenotsupplyingtothemarket, we are directly supply-ingtothegovernmentnow.”

94newcases inDharavi, highestone-dayspike

Maharashtra has 22 lakh HCQtablets, but chemist shops run dry

Migrants scramble for fitness certificates,say private clinics charging Rs 250-500

NO INCOME,BILLSPILING

Auto drivers urge manufacturing firms for bailout

Atotalof 1,200migrantworkers tookaspecial train fromBhiwandi toGorakhpuronSaturdaynight.Deepak Joshi

First ‘CovidBus’ rolledout for mass screening

BMC temporarily suspends privatetesting for lab over delay in reports

64manufacturershadreceivedlicensetomanufactureHCQinlastonemonthbuthavebeenunabletostartproduction

AsanitisingboothhasbeensetupatWorli, aCOVID-19hotspot.NirmalHarindran

Local chemistsareunabletogetsupplybecause thestock is firstdirected togovernmenthospitals,where it isbeingusedaspreventivemedication forhealthworkers.Therequirement forHCQwasneverhuge, butarthritispatientsmajorlydependon it”

ANILNAVANDARSECRETARY,MAHARASHTRASTATECHEMISTANDDRUGGISTSASSOCIATION

Mumbai

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEMUMBAI,NAGPUR,MAY3

MAHARASHTRAONSundayreg-istered678newCOVID-19cases,taking the total patient count inthestate to12,974. Thestatehasseen548deaths,27ofthemoverthe last 24 hours. Chandrapurdistrict,tillnowinthegreenzone,reported its firstcase.Mumbai continued to add

the highest number of cases tothestate’stally,reportinganother411infected.Thetotalnumberofinfected in the city has touched8,800, or 69 per cent ofMaharashtra’s total count. OnThursday,Mumbai reported 21moredeaths,takingitstollto343.After Mumbai, Pune – the

secondworst-hit in the state –saw four deathswhile two per-sonsdied inThanedistrict.Of the27dead,16weremen

and 11 women. While 14 ofthose who died were over theage of 60, 10were between theageof40and59.Onlythreewerebelow 40. Moreover, 13 of thedeceased suffered fromcomor-bidities like diabetes, hyperten-sion, asthmaorheartdisease.Akola district has registered

a sudden jump in COVID-19deathswith five persons dyingin the last six days, taking thetally to seven. All the deceasedhad come in contact with thefirstpatienttohaddieinthecityearly last month. With this,Akola has become the secondbiggest hotspot in Vidarbha af-ter Amravati, which has regis-tered10deaths.Meanwhile,mysteryshrouds

thefirstcaseinChandrapurwith

officials unable to trace the ori-ginoftheinfection.Themanwasfoundtobe infectedafterhegothimselfadmittedtoahospitalashesufferedfrombreathlessness.“The50-year-oldmanisase-

curity guard at an apartmentbuilding.Hehasn’ttravelledany-where.So,therearechancesthathemay have contracted the in-fection from someone in thebuilding,” saidasource.The distinct administration

has sent all the 28 people livinginthebuildingtohomequaran-tine and taken samples of theman’s wife and two sons fortests.Around2,500peoplefromthe area where the man stayshave beenmade to undergo ageneral health check up. Theareahasbeensealed.So far, Maharashtra has col-

lected over 1.7 lakh samples fortesting. The rate of testing permillion in the state stands at1,237whilethenationalaverageis 803. On Sunday, 2,115 peopleweredischarged fromhospitalsafter recovery.Thestateatpres-enthas1.81lakhpeopleinhomequarantine.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEMUMBAI,MAY3

MAINTAININGTHATcentralisa-tion of power is detrimental tothe socio-economic growth ofthecountryandwelfareofstates,senior Congress leader SushilKumar Shinde on Sunday saidthat in the current political cli-mate, there is an apprehensionwhether India is heading to-wards a “perverted form ofdemocracy”.Shinde, a former state chief

minister andUnion homemin-ister,wasspeakingataninterac-tive series of Loksatta SathichaGazhal Maharashtracha.Warning that any digressionfromdemocracywouldbedetri-mentaltoIndia,hesaidthatpro-gressiveandsecular foundationof ademocracyshouldneverbecompromised.“Centralisationofpowerhas

neverworked.Whetheritwasinthe past or now,we have to ex-ercise caution to retain the fun-damentals of democracy,”Shindesaid.“Today,Iamworriedwhichway arewe heading. Arewemovingtowardsapervertedformofdemocracy?”heasked.

Clarifyingthathisstatementwas not against any individualleaderorparty,headded, “Indiashouldneverlosesightof itspro-gressiveand inclusivepolitics.”“The lockdown decision

taken by central leadershipwasanoutcomeof fear and concernto check COVID-19 pandemic.Repeatedextensionsarejustified.At the same time, the govern-mentcannotoverlooktheunrestamong the poor who have be-comejobless,”Shindesaid.

“If the concerns of the poor,who are starving and unem-ployed, is not urgently ad-dressed, it couldmanifest in re-volt. And that would bedangerous.”On Goods and Services Tax

(GST), Shinde said, “GSThas leftthe state entirely dependent onthe Centre. A state’s revenuegeneration sources have driedup.AlltaxcollectionandrevenuegeneratedthroughstatesgoestotheCentre.Incomparison,devo-

lution of funds from the Centreto states do not fulfil their re-quirements. The financial sup-port received fromtheCentre isnotadequate.”“Therefore, the Centre will

have to relook some aspects ofGST to accommodate states’concerns... Iamnotsuggestingarollback of GST.We should seehow things evolve for anotheryear. But somemodification intheGSTforstates’welfareisnec-essary,”headded.

Shindesaidthatthelockdown“euphoria”, which saw peoplebeating thalis or lighting lamps,cannotprovideanswerstothese-riousproblemsfacedbythepoor.“...Inclusive policies focussed onreachingout to thepoor and theoppressedarenecessary.”“Today,evenabigrealestate

developer isworried.Theentirehospitality sector is crippled.PeoplearepredictingthatthingswillstartmovingonlyinOctober.Imaginewhatmustbe the stateof dailywageworkers,”hesaid.Maintaining that divisive

politics,whichisdrivenbycaste,community and hatred, do notaugurwellforthenation,Shindesaid both Centre and the statehavetoworktogethertoupholdIndia’s “progressive legacy”.Askedabouttherecentdevel-

opments over Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray’s election tothe Legislative Council, Shindesaid: “In such an extraordinarysituation, the Governor couldhaveavertedsuchconflict.Somedecision, including urging theElectionCommissiontoconvenepolls,couldhavebeentakenear-lier if therewere reservations innominatingtheCMtotheCouncilfromtheGovernor’squota.”

ABHAGORADIAMUMBAI,MAY3

THESTATEschooleducationde-partment on Saturday directedall primary and secondary edu-cation officers as well as zillaparishadschoolstoimmediatelyannounce the results of the2019-20 academic year forclasses I to IX and XI eitherthrough telephone, SMS or on-line.Acircular issuedby thede-partment said that this is beingdone to assure students of theirpromotion, so that they canbe-ginstudying for thenextclass.InastatementonSunday, the

Brihanmumbai Association ofHeads of Secondary andHigherSecondarySchoolsaskedthegov-ernment to review thedecision.Theassociationsaidthatasallac-ademic records are in the schoolbuildings, it’snotpossible topre-pare results. “Should teachers gotoschoolsbravingtheriskofbeingmaltreatedbypolice?Moreover,don’t teachershavesummerhol-idays? The department has notclarified the roleof examinersofclassesXandXIIeither,”saidasso-ciationpresidentDilshadThobani.The department had earlier

announced that all studentsfromclassesItoVIIIwouldauto-maticallybepromoted.Later,thedepartment announced thesame decision for students ofclasses XI and XI as well, afterlockdown was extended postMarch 31. Besides, the last SSCexampaperwascancelled.Following a recentmeeting

helmed by School EducationMinister Varsha Gaikwad, thedepartmentisplanningtobeginassessment of Class Xpapers inlow-riskdistricts, a departmentofficial said.

Until now, Class X an-swwesheetshavenotreachedex-aminers as educational institu-tions were shut before examscouldbecompleted.Thechallengenowforthedepartmentistocom-plete assessment andannounceresults.“Ifassessmentsbeginafterschoolsresumeoperations,itwilladdtotheburdenoftheteachers.Inthisview,aletterwillsoonbeis-suedbythedepartment.Districtsingreenzone, someplaces inor-angezonecanallowexaminerstotravel,”saidtheofficial.Moreover, even as the de-

partment has cancelled the lastexam, themarking scheme forSSCpapers is yet tobe finalised.“Aproposalhasbeensenttothestate board, which is in theprocess of finalising the same,”theofficial said.The department has been

workingtobeginbroadcastingofeducationalprogrammesontel-evision and radio for those stu-dentswhomaynothaveInternetconnectivity.TheinitialplanwastostartthisfromthefirstweekofApril. However, the plan hit aroadblockafter itwasfoundthatthe curated content for broad-castingwas suitable for Internetand not television. “Wehad cu-rated existing educational pro-grammes. But rendering had tobedonetomakeitsuitablefortel-evisionandradiomediums.NowweareawaitingpermissionfromtheUnion government to begintheinitiative,”saidanofficial.Four-hour slots, 10 am to 12

pmand4pmto6pmhavebeenrequestedbythedepartmentforthe broadcast. While for radio,audio books will be broadcastthrough Akashwani, for televi-sion, the Central Institute ofEducationalTechnologywillrunprogrammesonDoordarshan.

SHUBHANGIKHAPREMUMBAI,MAY3

WITH MORE and more smallandmarginal farmers forced totake up daily wage labour onlargerparcelsof landforsurvival,the stategovernment is facingabigchallengetobringthembackinto the institutional credit sys-temafterthelockdownuslifted.While state Agriculture

Minister Dadasaheb Bhuse hasurgeddistrictagriculturecentrestorolloutakharifplantoensurefarmersgeteasyaccess toseedsand fertilizers, officialsworkingwithfarmersinthebackwardre-gions of Vidarbha andMarathwada have expressedconcerns over the financiallywrecked small and marginalfarmers ability to go back tofarming theirownfields.A senior secretary in the co-

operation department, request-inganonymity,said,“Thegovern-ment will have to provide aspecialeconomicpackagetoad-dress the concerns of small andmarginalfarmers.Tobeginwith,every farmer in this segmentwouldhavetobebroughtwithinthe institutional credit systemandtheirdebtswaived.Theywillhavetobegivenanadequateloantocovertheinputexpenditureforfarming.Withouttheseconcretemeasures, 40-45 per cent farm-erswillbeforcedtotakeupdailywagework onbigger farmlandsorexplorealternative jobs.”Auniformagriculturepackage

forbig,mediumandsmall farm-ers,theofficialsaid,willdefeattheobjectiveandfavouronlyfarmerswith larger landholdings andotherfinancialsupportsystems.In its annual report to the

state government, in April, theNationalBankforAgricultureandRural Development — an apexdevelopment financial institu-tion in India—had pointed out,“The government should pro-mote group farming,which hasbeen formulated tomake agri-culturesustainableforsmallandmarginal farmers. Along withthese efforts should bemade tobring new farmers, especiallysmallandmarginal,tenantfarm-ers,andsharecroppers,underthecrop loanbydifferent strategies,like revamping tenancy legisla-tionandorganisingtheminjoint

large groups and self-helpgroups.” It alsomentioned thatensuringtimelyavailabilityofad-equatequantityofrequiredagri-cultureinputs,likeseedsandfer-tilizers,wouldbekey.With recurring droughts

coupledwith low irrigation po-tential, not extending 18.9 percent, therehasbeenarise in thenumber of small andmarginalfarmersover theyears.The agriculture census data

shows, “There has been an in-creaseinsmall/marginalfarmers’holdings from78.06per cent to79.52per cent.While anaveragelandholdingsize,inrespectofmar-ginal farmer, hasdecreased from0.47hectaresto0.44hectares,theaveragelandholdingsizeofasmallfarmerhas decreased from1.44hectaresto1.33hectares.”Overall, the total number of

farmers in the state withsmall/marginal, medium, andbiglandholdingis1.53crore.Thisisoutof thestate’s totalpopula-tionof 11.24crore.Sources in Krishi Kendras,

which is coordinating withsmall/marginal farmers, said,“Thestategovernmentwillhavetolookbeyondcroploanwaivertohelpfarmers.Tillnow,18lakhfarmersreceivedRs11,000croreloanwaiver.”Thegovernmentplans todis-

burse crop loanworthRs74,000crore in2020-21.But if small andmarginalfarmersarenotbroughtinto the foldof thecredit system,theywillnotbeabletotakeanyad-vantageofthenewcroploan.Former CM Devendra

Fadnavissaid,“Thoughitiseffec-tive tomake farmers debt-free,croploanwaiverisnotthelastingsolution... To believe a one-timeloanwaiverwill end theagricul-turecrisisorstopfarmers’suicidewill be wrong. A holistic ap-proach,withgreaterfinancialandlogisticsupport,targetedforsus-tainable farming for small andmarginal farmers isnecessary.”

VIVEKDESHPANDENAGPUR,MAY3

DESPITE BEING surrounded bydistricts with high number ofCOVID-19cases,Wardhacontin-ues to remain free from thevirus, thanks to several meas-ures undertaken by the districtadministration over the pastthreemonths.Wardha is the only ‘green

zone’district inVidarbharegionbesides Gadchiroli, whileWashim and Gondia have seena sole patient each being dis-charged.ChandrapurhaditsfirstpositivecaseonSaturday.Among the initiatives taken

bytheWardhadistrictadminis-tration include strict vigil at thefour goods unloading pointsalongtheentrypointsof thedis-trict, and deployment of youthsquads in65villages.“Wearesurroundedbythree

highly corona-affected districtsof Nagpur, Yavatmal andAmravati. So, we needed to beextracautious.WestartedoffourcampaignasearlyasinFebruarywhenwe quarantined 13 girls

fromBeijing,whohadjoinedtheMahatmaGandhiAntarrashtriyaHindi Vishwavidyalaya. At thattime, therewas no talk of lock-down in the country,”WardhaCollectorVivekBhimanwartold

The IndianExpress.“In the middle of March,

when theMaharashtra govern-ment started discussing variousmeasurestocontainthepossibleoutbreak, we prepared a list of

about 54major crowding veg-etablemarketsinthedistrictandshiftedthemtolargeopenplacestopreventcrowding,”thecollec-torsaid,adding,“Westoppedtheentryof vegetables fromoutsideof thedistrict.”He said the administration

has been undertaking regularhealthcheckupsofallvegetablesvendors.The next major step was to

seal the 16 major roads andabout 98 obscureways to enterinto the district. “We knew itwould be impossible to deploypolice at all the points. So, weropedinstaff fromotherdepart-ments to form vigilance squadsalong with 65 squads of localyouths led by sarpanchs of vil-lagesneartheentrypointsofthedistrict,”Bhimanwarsaid.The collector, however, con-

siderssettingupoffourgoodsun-loadingpointsatthedistrictbor-ders as the most effective

measure.“Weallowedtransportvehiclescarryingessentialgoodsonly by four routes and createdunloading points at the entrypoints of district. Consideringdriversandcleanersofsuchvehi-clescouldbepotentialcoronacar-riers, we immediately sanitisethemandshiftthemtoaseparatefacility. They are not allowed tomixwith locals. They are not al-lowedtoenterthecityunderanycircumstances. The vehicles arealsodisinfectedandgoodsareun-loadedbylocallabourersandcar-ried tomarkets in separatevehi-cles,” thecollectorsaid.He added, “Agriculture

ProduceMarketing Committeeyards,wherelargenumberofve-hicles arrive regularly, have theoptionof creatingunloading fa-cilities on their premises, as pertheprescribedstandardoperat-ingprocedure (SOP).”

FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

4THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,MAY4,2020

THEOUTBREAK Maharashtra

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

27DEATHS INLAST24HOURS

Numberofdeaths 548

Totalnumberofpeopledischarged 2,115

Numberofpeople tested1.69 lakh

Totalnumberquarantined13,158

Numberofnewcases 678

TOTALPOSITIVECASESINMAHARASHTRA

12,974

SALUTING CORONA WARRIORSAirForceaircraftSU-30flypastMarineDriveinMumbaitoexpressgratitudetowardsmedicalprofessionalsandall frontlineworkers inthefightagainstCOVID-19,onSunday. PradipDas

678newcases, tallynears 13,000-mark

Policy to get small,marginal farmers backinto institutional creditsystem main task ahead´FiÀ°Fb°F

ÀFWÀFa¹FûþI

Centralisation of power never works: Shinde

SeniorCongress leaderSushilKumarShinde. File

IAF’sChetakhelicoptershowerspetalsoncoronawarriorsatahospital inMumbaionSunday. PradeepDas

Wardha remains in green zone, courtesy slew oftimely measures undertaken by district admin

Wardhais theonlygreenzonedistrict inVidarbharegionbesidesGadchiroli. Express

Govt asks schools toannounce results forclasses I to IX & XI

■CasesregisteredunderSection188(Violatinganorderissuedbyapublicservant)of IPC:1,834 (91,217)

■Personswhoviolatedquarantine:2 (630)

■Phonecallsmadeto100pertainingtoCOVID-19:744 (82,894)

■Numberof infectedpolicepersonnel:19 (361)

■Casesof illegaltransport:13 (1,255)

■Arrests:235 (18,048)

■Vehiclesseized:706 (51,719)

■Fines imposed:RS11LAKH (Rs3.25crore)

NUMBERWATCH

*FiguresinredarefromMay3;inbracket total so far

40-45%farmerswillbeforcedtotakeupdailywageworkonbiggerfarmlands inabsenceof specialeconomicpackage, sayofficials

Mumbai

5THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,MAY4,2020

THEOUTBREAK Nation

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

EVACUATING INDIANSABROAD

ABANTIKAGHOSHNEWDELHI,MAY3

HAVINGSTARTEDtheprocessoftakingmigrantlabourersbacktotheir home states in trains, thegovernment is now looking atevacuatingIndiansstuckabroad.Inapresentationsharedwith

states during ameeting chairedbyCabinetSecretaryRajivGaubaonSunday,theCentregavestate-wise breakups of peoplewant-ing to return to India and askedthem to ready quarantine andtestingfacilities for them.In theMEA’s presentation, it

wasestimatedthatofthe1crorepeoplewhoarecurrentlyabroadon an Indian passport, about1,92,000 in dire need may bebrought back in socially-dis-tanced flights, that they them-selvespayfor,oncethestatesarereadywith their protocols. This,provided they have proof of be-ingCOVIDnegative.Keralahassharedadetailed

protocol with the Centre forbringingback3.6 lakhof its es-timated22 lakhpeoplestuck invarious countries. However,

sources said the Centre feelstheir criteria for evacuation istoo broad-based, andwants torestrict thenumber toworkerswith expired visas and suchothers who have no resourcesor documents to stay wherethey are.A source who was at the

meetingsaid,“TheMEAhasdonean exercise to bring back about1,92,000 people from variouscountries... Many people havebeenstucksinceMarch22.Thereare some 88 lakh people in theGulf alone whowant to comeback. Theywill be charged thefareandallowed to travelonly ifthey have a COVID-free certifi-cate. States have been given abreakup of howmany theywillhavetoaccommodate.”The protocol Kerala has

shared with states banks onfree testing facilities availablein countries like the UAE. Forothers likeSaudiArabia,whereoutsidersdonothaveaccess tofree testing, the state has pro-posedflyingdownIndiansdoc-tors and lab technicians withreagents, while the local em-bassynegotiates for use of lab-

oratory facilities.“Whenasymptomaticpeople

withaCOVID-freecertificatelandhere,theygohomebutaremon-itored every day. Symptomaticpeople are screened and tested.Iftheyarenegative,theygohomewithmonitoring, and if theyarepositivetheygotohospital,”saidanofficial.The UAE has offered to fly

stranded Indians and citizens ofother countries,whowish to berepatriated, if theytestnegative,theUAE’sambassadortoIndiaDrAhmedAbdulRahmanAlbannahadsaidmid-April.Officialssaidtherewerecon-

cerns in some states about theevacueesputtingpressureonthealready stretched system.Sources said thatSunday’spres-entationwas to give states timeto“get theiract together”.Assam Health Minister

Himanta Biswa Sarma said:“There is something afoot tobring back Indians. We do nothave too many people, about300-400. We have also sentabout $2,000 towhoever regis-teredonourwebsite—about59people inall.”

Centre asks statesto ready protocol

GUJARAT:NorelaxationinredzonestillMay17

Gujarat on Sunday said thelockdownwillcontinuetobestr-ictly implemented inmunicipalcorporation areas of Ahmed-abad, Surat, Vadodara, Gandhi-nagar and Bhavnagar, design-ated as red zones, and in Rajkottill May 17. In these areas, noshopswillbeallowedtoopenex-ceptforthoseprovidingessentialgoods. Similar ruleswill be ap-plied tosixmunicipalities in thestate—Botad,Bopal,Khambhat,Bareja, Godhra and Umreth —that fallunderredzone.Thegovernmenthasdecided

to resume some services in or-ange and green zones. Barbershops, beautyparlours, hair cut-ting salons and tea/coffee stallswillbeallowedtoopen.Cab/taxiserviceswill also be allowed inthese areas. Thenumber of pas-sengers per cabhowever, is lim-ited to two. In green zone areas,thegovernmenthasalsodecidedto allow Gujarat State Road

Transport Corporation (GSRTC)buses to operate at 50 per centpassengercapacity.Shopssellingtobaccoproductsand liquorwillremainclosedtillMay17.Thegovernmenthasallowed

conditional resumption of in-dustrial activity in municipalcorporation areas of Junagadhand Jamnagar along with 156municipalities.

ASSAM:Nightcurfew,curbsingreenzones

Assam government anno-uncednightcurfewfrom6pmto6 am across the state fromMonday.Fourdistrictsof the tot-al33areinorangezonewhiletherestareinthegreencategory.Standalone shopswill be al-

lowedtoopen till 5pmingreenzones,whereasinlocationswh-ere shops are adjacent to eachother,onlyone-thirdcanopenina day. “In areaswhere there areadjacent shops, it shall be en-sured that thereareat least twoclosed shops in between two

open shops except for pharma-cies, grocery stores and bookshops... Market complexes andshopping malls shall remainclosed,” a government ordersaid. Haats and bazaarswill re-mainclosed.Governmentandprivateof-

fices in green zones can func-tion fromMondaywith 50 percent employees. However,womenemployees inbothpri-vate and public sectors, withchildrenbelowfiveyearsof age,arenotallowed toattendofficetillMay17.Restaurantswillonlybe allowed to operate for take-awayorders.Auto-rickshaws, cycle rick-

shaws and taxis can operatewithonedriverandtwopassen-gerswhileprivatefour-wheelersare allowed with a driver andtwo other passengers. “Barbershops,saloonsandparloursshallcontinue to remain closed.However,homevisitsofbarberswouldbeallowed...”

UTTARPRADESH:Malls,

transportshutinredzones

According to guidelines is-suedbythestategovernmentonSunday, metro trains, schools,colleges, hospitality services,gyms, cinema halls and shop-pingmalls will remain shut inredzones.Sportingactivitiesandpublicgatheringswillalsonotbeallowedinthesezones.Businessactivityhowever,will resumeinlargepartsof thestate.Workcanrestart in Special EconomicZonesandExportOrientedUnitsaswell as industrial cities. Also,IT hardware units and supplychains — including essentialgoods,medicine,medicalequip-ment and othermanufacturingunits—cangetbacktoworktoo.Except for people in essen-

tial services, nobodywill be al-lowed to cross the state borderbetween7pmand7am. Excisedepartment can permit stand-aloneliquorshopstoopenfrom10amto7pm.

(ENS GUWAHATI,AHMEDABAD,LUCKNOW)

States open up, some tread more cautiously

Aworkerpaintscirclesoutsidealiquorvendtoensuredistancing, in MohaliSunday. JasbirMalhi

LOCKDOWNENTERSPHASE III

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEMUMBAI,MAY3

MAHARASHTRACHIEFMinisterUddhav Thackeray on Sundayappealed to the RailwaysMinistry not to chargemigrantlabourers for the travel back totheirhomestates.“After the announcement of

lockdown relaxations,migrantlabourers are able to go to their

homes after many days. Sincetheirfinancialconditionhasdete-riorated, theRailwaysshouldnot

chargeanyticketfareonhuman-itariangrounds,”Uddhavsaid.“Theseworkers aredailywa-

gers and they may not haveenoughmoneyfortheirticketfare.In someplaces, NGOs andotherorganisations have given somemoneytothesemigrantsfortick-ets. If their ticket fare iswaived, itwillgivethemrelief,"headded.Officials said that in the last

twodays,specialtrainshaveleftfrom Nashik and Bhiwandi to

takemigrantshome.Uddhav,meanwhile, held a

video conferencewith the divi-sionalcommissionersanddistrictcollectorsonSundayevening.Heinstructed the officials to gatherinformation about all migrantworkersstayinginreliefcampssothat their transportation fromMumbai, Thane and Pune —wheneverthedecisionofrunningspecialtrainsfromtheseplacesistaken—canbeproperlyplanned.

Don’t charge migrant labourers for ticket: Uddhav to RlysOfficialssaidthat inthelast twodays, specialtrainshave left fromNashikandBhiwanditotakemigrantshome

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICETHIRUVANANTHAPURAM,MAY3

FACINGTHEthreatofacuteshort-age of labour force in case of enbloc exit ofmigrantworkers, theKeralagovernmentonSundayis-sued directions that only thoseworkerswhoare adamant to re-turnhomeshouldbesentback.Since Friday, Railways have

operated 11 Shramik non-stoptrains formigrantworkerswhoare stranded in Kerala. Thesetrainshave takenaround12,000migrantworkerstoBihar,OdishaandJharkhand.Afterthelockdown,3.39lakh

migrantworkerswere campinginKerala—amajorchunkofthemtaken care of by their employersorpeoplewhorentedoutaccom-modation.Chief Secretary Tom Jose

Sundayissuedadirectiontovari-ous District Collectors thatmi-grant workers should not beforced to go.WorkerswhowanttostayinKeralawillbegivennec-essary support. The directioncomesamidcomplaintsthateventhosewhowere not keen to re-turn were made to leave. Thelaboursector,includingconstruc-tionsegment,willbecomeactiveafterthelockdown,hesaid.

Don’t forcemigrant workersto leave: Keralato Collectors

ABANTIKAGHOSH&AVISHEKGDASTIDARNEWDELHI,MAY3

AMIDPROJECTIONSof a secondwave of novel coronavirus(COVID-19) cases once the lock-downislifted,thereisaproposaltorollout“trainhospitals”inTierII andTier III cities aswell as vil-lages,where the existing healthinfrastructure may not besufficient.While 5,150 train coaches

(non-AC)havealreadybeencon-vertedinto“isolationcentres”,theNITI Aayog has proposed thatsome of these should be up-gradedtohospitals,withoxygen,ICUandventilator facilities.This is in preparation for a

likelysurgeincases.AccordingtoNITIAayog’spresentationsharedwithstates lastweek, if the lock-downwasliftedasscheduledonMay3, thenumber of caseswasestimated to touch 65,000 byMay15,and2.74crorebyAugust15.So far, about 20 per cent of

the over 40,000 cases acrossthe country have neededhospitalisation.“This idea came from the

PrimeMinister.Theconversionofsomeof these isolation facilitiesinto hospitals (Level II and LevelIIICOVIDcarecentres)isahighlylogical step. It gives us capacitywithmobility,especiallyinplaceswheremedical infrastructure islacking.Theycanreachanywherein the countrywithin 24 hours,theycanbeparkedanywhere.Sowearepreparedforasurgeatanyplace, any time the local infra-structure isnotenough,” saidDrVKPaul,member (health), NITIAayog,who chairs the empow-ered group onmedical emer-gencymanagementplan.He said someof these “train

hospitals”couldberetainedevenafter the pandemic, to be usedduringdisasters. “Someof thesecould continue to be with theNational DisasterManagementAuthority,”hesaid.The staff, saidDr Paul, could

be sourced either locally fromwherever the train is stationed,orpostedonarotationalbasis.“NITIAayoghas suggested to

theempoweredgrouptoprovideLevel-IIcare,i.e.dedicatedCOVIDhealth centres, in the railwaycoaches,withfacilitiesforadmin-istering oxygen, IV fluids etc., tostrengthen the support to dis-tricts,asandwhenneeded.Ithasfurther been suggested that asmall fractionof coaches shouldalso be included as Level-III, i.e.dedicatedCOVIDhospitals,ifpos-sible.However,thecurrentproto-colstillstandsforrailwaycoaches-asLevel-I facilities,” saidHealthMinisterDrHarshVardhan.“Asperconsultationswiththe

HealthMinistry,wehadpreparedthese coaches as Level-I centres.We have been given to under-standthat,ifneeded,thesewouldbe deployed in areaswhere iso-lation facility isnot there. That iswhere thematter stands as ofnow,” saidArunArora, PrincipalChief Mechanical Engineer,NorthernRailway.Therearecurrentlythreelev-

els of COVID-19 facilities in thecountry:Level-Iisforisolationofthose who are positive butasymptomatic or have a historyof contactwith a confirmedpa-tient; Level-II (dedicated COVIDhealthcentres)arehospitalswithoxygenfacilitiesthatoffercarefor

casesthathavebeenclinicallyas-signed as moderate; Level-III(dedicatedCOVIDhospitals) arefully equipped hospitals withventilators and ICUs to treat se-vere cases. Following consulta-tions between the Health andRailwaysministries, 5,150 traincoaches have been convertedintoLevel-Iisolationcentres,butareyet tobeused.DrPaulmootedtheideatoup-

gradetheseintoLevel-IIandLevel-III facilities at ameetingwith theRailways’ topbrass lastmonth. Itwasunderlinedthatthesecoacheswould add more value to theCOVID-19containmentinfrastruc-tureashospitalsonwheelsratherthanisolationfacilities.“Itwaspointedoutthatisola-

tion of asymptomatic patientscouldhappenanywhere,likesta-diums,schoolsetc,whereasthesecoaches couldbemoreuseful ashospitals,”saidasource.However, some issueswere

raised,includingthefactthatsincethesearenon-ACcoaches,itwouldget veryhot for thepatients, andwould not have the facilitiesneeded forplugging in sophisti-catedmachinesforhealthcare.Theexampleof theRailways’

Lifeline Express, a hospital onwheels, was cited. However,source said replicating a similarrake would take about sixmonths.

FULLREPORTSONwww.indianexpress.com

Over5,000traincoacheshavebeenconverted intoLevel-Iisolationcentres. File

Rail coaches to be COVID hospitalsfor Tier II and III cities, villages

DEEPTIMANTIWARYNEWDELHI,MAY3

WITHArise in thenumberof COVID-19 cases amongpolice andprison inmates,theMinistryofHomeAffairson Sunday issued ordersandSOPsforcontainmentofcoronavirus infectionsamongthesetwogroups.Forpolice,theMHAhas

suggestedthatstatesmustprepareasecondlineofde-fenceandallowworkfromhome for policewhereverpossible. It has also askedthem to deploy homeguards and civil defencepersonnelinsteadofpoliceatplaceswherelawandor-der isnotan issue.In the case of prisons,

MHA has asked for thor-oughassessmentofCOVIDrisk among inmatesthroughthermalscanning,investigationofhealthhis-tory of newly arrested in-mates, limitedvisitofnon-essential staff to prisonsand restricting themove-ment of prisoners withinjailpremises.“Home Guards, Civil

Defence, NCC cadets,Scouts and Guides andStudent PoliceCadetsmaybe utilised in areaswheretherearenotimminentlawand order issues. They canespecially be of help inmaintainingorderatthere-lief centresand in facilitat-ing the maintenance ofsupply chain and for coor-dinating other essentialservices,” theMHAsaid.

MHA asks statesto use homeguards, NCC fornon-serious work

Mumbai

EXPRESSNETWORK6 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,MAY4,2020

GUJARAT MEDICAL SERVICES CORPORATION LIMITED(A Government of Gujarat Undertaking)

Regd. Office: Block No. 14/1,Dr. Jivraj Mehta Bhavan, Sector-10, Gandhinagar

Ph. 079-23250767, 23250766, 23257698

Emergency Tenders are invited online from reputedManufacturers / formulators / Authorized Distributors / directimporters for Purchase of (1) Rapid Antibody Test Kit forCOVID-19 (2) Viral RNA Extraction Kit on Quantity ContractBasis. Interested bidders are requested to submit the tenderthrough e-tender process. All tender documents can be down-loaded free on the website: https://gmscl.nprocure.co & TenderNotice is available on https://gmscl.gujarat.gov.in and thisoffice notice board.Duration of downloading of tender document (online): -03/05/2020 to 11/05/2020 upto 15:55 HRS.Last date for submission (online): 11/05/2020 upto 16:00 HRSLast date for submission of physical document:12/05/2020 upto 16:00 HRSOpening of Technical Bid Date (online): 13/05/2020 at 15:00 HRSINF/60/20-21 MANAGING DIRECTOR

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''IMPORTANT''

FORM 1(See rule 3 of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961)

NOTICE OF ELECTIONBIENNIAL ELECTION TO THE MAHARASHTRA LEGISLATIVE COUNCILNOTICE is hereby given that :-(1) an election is to be held of Nine members to the Maharashtra

Legislative Council by the members of the MaharashtraLegislative Assembly;

(2) nomination papers may be delivered by a candidate or by anyof his proposers to Shri Rajendra Bhagwat, Secretary(In-charge), Maharashtra Legislature Secretariat and ReturningOfficer or to Shri Vilas G. Athawale, Deputy Secretary,Maharashtra Legislature Secretariat and Assistant ReturningOfficer or to Shri Somnath Sanap, Under Secretary,Maharashtra Legislature Secretariat and Assistant ReturningOfficer at Room No. 145, First Floor, Vidhan Bhavan, BackbayReclamation, Mumbai-400 032 between 11.00 A.M. and3.00 P.M. on any day (other than public holiday) not later thanthe 11th May, 2020;

(3) forms of nomination paper may be obtained at the place andtime aforesaid;

(4) the nomination papers will be taken up for scrutiny at 12.00noon on 12th May, 2020 at Vidhan Bhavan, BackbayReclamation, Mumbai-400 032;

(5) notice of withdrawal of candidature may be delivered either bya candidate or by any of his proposers or by his election agentwho has been authorised in writing by the candidate to deliverit to either of the officers specified in paragraph (2) above at hisoffice before 3.00 P.M. on the 14th May, 2020;

(6) in the event of the election being contested, the poll will be takenon 21st May, 2020 between the hours of 9.00 A.M. and 4.00 P.M.

Sd/-Place : Vidhan Bhavan, (Rajendra Bhagwat)Backbay Reclamation, Secretary (In-Charge),Mumbai - 400 032. Maharashtra Legislature SecretariatDated : 4th May, 2020. and

Returning Officer.DGIPR/2020-21/C76

Biennial Election to MaharashtraLegislative Council, 2020

THE Election Commission of India has declared aprogramme of Biennial Election to the MaharashtraLegislative Council by the members of the MaharashtraLegislative Assembly. Accordingly, the said programme ofthe Biennial Election is to commence from 4th May, 2020and the last date of making nominations is 11th May, 2020.Also, the poll, if required, will be taken on 21st May, 2020.

In pursuance of the directions issued by the ElectionCommission of India, a 24x7 Control Room has been putinto operation at Room No. 145, First Floor, VidhanBhavan, Mumbai - 400 032 from 4th May, 2020 till thecompletion of the electoral process in order to attend allcomplaints submitted by people with regard to but notrestricted to undue influence by offering cash or kind to avoter with a view to getting his/her vote, any type of threat,coercion to voters in the free exercise of franchise, misuseof the state machinery for electoral gains, partisan attitudeor unbecoming conduct of connected election officers/police officers adversely affecting the fairness of poll etc.Whoever wishes to submit a complaint in respect of thesaid election may sumbit the same in the aforementionedcontrol room.

Sd/-(Rajendra Bhagwat)

Secretary (In-charge),Maharashtra Legislature Secretariat

andReturning Officer

DGIPR/2020-21/C75

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e-Mail : vht@msamb.com

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¹FF¶FF¶F°F ÀFd½FÀ°FSX ¸FFdWX°Fe ´FbdÀ°FIYF, ¦FF¼¹FFa¨FF °F´F¾FeÕX,AMXe ½F ¾F°FeÊ, RYFG¸ÀFÊ B°¹FFQe BÊ-d³Fd½FQZ¨Fe ¸FFdWX°Fehttp://mahatenders.gov.in ¹FF ½F ÀFd½FÀ°FSX BÊ-d³Fd½FQF ÀFc¨F³FFwww.msamb.com ¹FF ÀFaIZY°FÀ±FTF½FSX CX´FÕX¶²F AFWZX.

- IYF¹FÊIYFSXe ÀFa¨FFÕXIY

AfireworksdisplaybyNavyships intheArabianSeaoff theMaharashtracoast tothankfrontlineworkers.ANI

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,MAY3

PRIMEMINISTERNarendraModiSundayappreciatedtheeffortsbythearmedforcestothankdoctors,nurses, healthcareworkers andothers combating theCOVID-19pandemic.On the last dayof the second

phase of the lockdown-with amorerelaxedlockdownperiodsettokickinfortwoweeks-AirForceandNavyaircraftwentonflypasts,showeredpetalsonhospitals,anddisplayed banners, Armybandsplayed their best tunes at hospi-tals treating COVID-19patients,andtheNavy’svesselslitupflares.Senior officers fromall three

services also laidwreaths at theNational PoliceMemorial in thecapitaltoexpressgratitudetolawenforcementpersonnel.PrimeMinisterModitweeted

avideoshowingsomeoftheseac-tivities,andsaiditwasagreatges-turebytheforces.“Salutingthosewhoare at the forefront, bravelyfightingCOVID-19.Greatgesture

byourarmedforces,”Modisaid.Defence Minister Rajnath

Singh said: “ArmedForces todayhaveorganised several activitiestoshowtheirrespectandexpressgratitude towards the CoronaWarriorswhoarebattlingagainstthe global pandemic”.He addedthatthe“frontlinewarriorsaredo-ing commendable work instrengtheningIndia’sfightagainstCOVID-19”.“I thanktheArmedForcesfor

their special initiatives like fly-pasts, showering flower petalsand several other performancesto express gratitude towardsmedicalprofessionals,policeandother frontlinewarriors. The en-tirenationstandsunitedinthesechallengingtimes.”Singhsaid.ChiefofDefenceStaffGeneral

Bipin Rawat had said Saturdaythat “it is thedoctors,nurses,po-licemen,media,sanitationwork-ers,deliverypersonnel,bankem-ployees, government employeesandlocalstoreownerswhohaveputtheirlivesonthelinetoensurethatweasanationareprotectedandcaredforadequately”.

Armed forces expressgratitude to ‘coronawarriors’, get PM praise

Jammu:TheBJP’sLadakhunitpres-ident,CheringDorjay,quitthepartyon Sunday, accusing it and theUnionTerritory’sadministrationoffailing tobringback its residentsstrandedacrossthecountry.In a letter toBJPpresident J P

Nadda,Dorjay said theadminis-tration inLadakhwas insensitiveto theconditionof strandedpeo-ple.Therearearound20,000peo-ple fromtheUTwhoare stuckatdifferentplaces,hesaid.ENS

BJP Ladakh chiefquits party

SEEMACHISHTINEWDELHI,MAY3

A TOTAL of 116 benches of theSupreme Court heardmattersduring 22 days of hearings be-tweenMarch23—oncelockdownrulesentailingcourthearingsviavideo-conferencingwere put inpractice by the apex court—andMay1.Thecourt resorted to lim-itedhearingsviavideo-conferenc-ingduringthistime.FiguresaccessedbyTheIndian

Express confirm that 43benchesweredesignatedformainmattersand73benches for reviewpeti-tions.Thenumberofmattershea-rdwas538,apartfrom297conn-ected matters, sources said.Judgmentswere delivered in 57mattersthathadbeenreservedorwerecuriaadvisarivultandano-ther268connectedmatters “co-mprising all categories ofmatte-rs”. Also, 58 prayers for interimreliefandmentioningwereheard.Atotalof49specialleavepetitions,92writpetitionsand138reviewpetitionsweredisposedof.In comparison, Delhi High

Courttookup623casesinthispe-riodviavideo-conferencing.ChiefJusticeofIndiaSABobde

told The Indian Express lastweekabout a slump in court activity,with filings having droppedsteeply.“InJanuary,therewereupto205filingsperdayandatotalof4,108forthemonth.InAprilsofar(untilApril26), the totalnumberofe-filingswas305,”hesaid.The apex court under CJI

Bobdehasbeenkeentobeseenas

acourtthatwishestoadoptmod-ernmethodsmade possible byelectroniccommunication.Itwasset to launch theuse of artificialintelligence inMarch, but planswere delayed due to COVID-19.Evenbeforethelockdownwasde-clarednationally, itwasbyanor-deronMarch6thatSC institutedanewpractice toobservephysi-caldistancingbutcontinuetohearmattersthatcomeup.Concerns have been raised

thatvideo-conferencingleadstoopacity and not openness, butsources said the “practice is notnew”. In a 2003 judgment, theSupremeCourtheldthatrecord-ing of evidence by a courtthrough video-conferencingmode shall be considered to be“asperprocedureestablishedbylaw”. The Constitution uses theterm “Open Court” once, in ref-erence to functionality of thecourts.Article145(4)stipulates:“Nojudgmentshallbedeliveredby the Supreme Court save inopen Court, and no report shallbemadeunder Article 143 savein accordancewith an opinionalsodelivered inopenCourt.”

FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

116 benches of SC heard 835matters during lockdown

Chief Justiceof IndiaSABobde.

migrant workers, students etconly and they are allowed totravelonlyafterthoroughscreen-ing. These trainsarenot forgen-eral public,” Yadav told TheIndianExpress.“Sowearecharg-ing justnominal fare.”Separately, ina letter to state

chief secretaries, Union HomeSecretary Ajay Bhalla Sundaysought to clarify that the trans-portfacilitationwasonlyforsuch“distressed” personswhowerestranded after having startedfromtheirplacesofworkbeforethelockdown.“...(it)doesnotex-tend to those categories of per-sons,whoareotherwiseresidingnormallyatplaces,otherthanthenative places for purposes ofwork etc, andwhowish to visit

their native places in normalcourse,” it said.In its guidelines published

Saturday,Railwayssaid itwouldhandovertheticketstotheorig-inatingstatesandthestatewould“collecttheticketfare”andhandthemovertoRailways.Jharkhand,whichpaidRs5.4

lakh to Kota administration forone train to bring students backfromKota,saiditwasyettomakepayment for the 1,200migrantworkers who boarded the firstShramik Special Train fromLingampalliinTelanganatoHatiainJharkhand.“Initially,therewassome confusionwhether to payto the states or theRailways.OnMay2,anSOPissuedbyMinistryisRailwaysmakes itclear. It says

the fares have tobe collectedbythepassengers,”hesaid.Point 11(c) of the Railways’

SOPonsaleofticketsstates:“ThelocalStategovernmentauthorityshall handover the tickets to thepassengersclearedbythemandcollect the ticket fare and han-dover theamounttorailways.”Railway Board Chairman

Yadavsaidstatesweretryingoutmanymodels of financing theservices. “We see three-fourmodels emerging. In manyplaces, employers of labourershave given them themoney togohome; in someplaces, NGOshave sponsored. There are orig-inating stateswhicharepaying,and then there are destinationstates paying to originating

states. The services have juststarted, so the process will getestablishedslowly,”hesaid.Maharashtra CMThackeray,

however, saidSunday, “Migrantlabourers are able to return totheir homes after many days.Since their financial conditionhas deteriorated, the Railwaysshouldnotchargeanyticketfareon humanitarian grounds.”When contacted, Anil Parab,TransportMinister,MaharashtratoldTheIndianExpressthatfarecollected from migrants wasgiven to the Railways. “TheCentreshouldtakeacallonfaresand ask Railways to not chargemoney for running theShramikspecials. It will simplify theprocess and clear the confusion

withinstates,” saidParab.The Shramik Special trains

are allowed to run at two-thirdcapacity and for single runs,whichmeanstheyaresentbacktotheiroriginatingplacesempty.Instead of around 1,600, eachtrain has been allowed to carry1,200. “Obviously there is noquestionofprofithere.Infact,weareservingcomplimentaryfoodandwater. Ihaveinstructedthatnomatter howmany bottles ofwater a person requires, weshouldgivethem.Wearegivingsoap, sanitiser etc. We are notrunning these services to earnanymoney,” Yadav, Chairman,RailwayBoard, said.TheRailwaysischargingnon-

AC sleeper fare as per distancealongwith a superfast chargeofRs 30 and a reserved-berthchargeofRs20oneachticket.In the train that left for Puri

from Surat on Saturday, eachpassenger had to pay Rs 710.

Surat District Collector DhavalPatel said Odiya communityleadersprovidedthelistof thosewhowantedtotravelalongwithcontact detail. “They also col-lected the fare. An officer wentwith the community leader tothe station and collected the1,200 tickets and paid theamount to railway,”hesaid.At Nashik, 332migrants put

up at shelter homes left forBhopal on Friday were paid Rs250 per ticket. Sawant Kochle,who worked as a driver inMumbaiandwasreturningwithhis wife and two children said,he spent his last savings of Rs500 for the fare.In another Shramik Special

thatleftBhiwandiforGorakhpur,workers were asked to pay Rs800.LaxmanGawd(36)saidhisfamily loaned themoneyon in-terest forhim.(WithinputsfromAsadRehmanin

Lucknow&Kamaal Saiyed inSurat)

FROMPAGEONEMigrants pay to return home, states ask Centre to foot the train fare bill

HANDWARAENCOUNTER

ADILAKHZER,RAAKHIJAGGA&LALMANIVERMASRINAGAR,LUDHIANA,DEHRADUN,MAY3

SAGEERAHMADPathan,theJ&KPoliceSub-Inspectorkilled intheencounter at Handwara inKupwaradistrictonSaturday,hadbeen part of several successfulanti-militancy operations in theValley, earninghimthreeout-of-turn promotions in the force’sSpecialOperationsGroup (SOG)andseveralgallantrymedals.A resident of Karnah in

Kupwara, the 42-year-oldwasleading the SOG teamunder thecommand of District SP,Handwara, thatwas part of theoperation,alongwiththeArmy’s21RashtriyaRiflesBattalion.Pathan had joined police in

1999initsArmedWing,andhadbeenwiththecounter-insurgencyunitSOGsince2006.“Inrecognitionofhisimmense

contribution,Pathanwasgrantedthreeout-of-turnpromotionsandrosefromtherankofaConstableto Sub-Inspector,” a policespokespersonsaid.Among the bravery awards

Pathan—who leaves behindhisparents,wifeandfourchildren—wonwas Sher-i-Kashmir PoliceMedal forGallantry in2009andPoliceMedal forGallantrybythePresidentof Indiain2011.Callinghimacourageousoffi-

cer,theJ&KPolicesaidPathan“at-tainedmartyrdomprotectingin-tegrityandsovereigntyofourna-tion and safeguarding theinterestsofpeopletilllastbreath”.NaikRajeshKumar,whoalso

diedintheencounter,wasoneoffive siblings. The family is basedin Rajrana village of Punjab’sMansadistrict.Brother Subash Kumar said

theywereyettotell theirparentsof the 29-year-old’s death andwerewaiting for the body, ex-pected to arrive on Mondaymorning.“Theywillnotbeabletobear the shock.Wearenot evencryinginfrontof them.”Rajesh joined the Army 10

yearsagoandlastvisitedhomeinFebruary.Owning less thanoneacreof

land, the familymakes bydoingcontractfarmingattimesandde-pendedonthemoneyRajeshsenthome, villagers said.While thetwosistersaremarried,neitherofthebrothersis.

Family friendSandeep JayanisaidRajeshhadonly lastyeargotthe family’s small houserenovated.Subhashsaidtheywereproud

of their brother’s sacrifice. “Merabhai desh ke liye shaheed huahai.Voh kabhi jang se nahin dara(Mybrother laiddownhis life forthecountry.Heneverfearedabat-tle).”Mourning the loss of the five

securitypersonnelintheKashmirencounter,PunjabChiefMinisterAmarinderSinghannouncedajobfor amember of Rajesh’s familyplusRs10lakh, inadditiontothecompensationthe familywill re-ceiveaspartof anexistingpolicyof thestategovernment.LanceNaikDineshSingh,also

among those killed,was the sonof a retired Army Subedar. Thefamily, including fatherGodhanSingh,Dinesh’smother and twoelder sisters, belongs toMirgaonvillage in Almora district ofUttarakhand.His brother-in-law Laxman

SinghDasilasaidthe24-year-oldlast visited his family inNovember, butwould talk tohismotherdaily.Thefamilyhopedtoget the LanceNaikmarried thisyearandwerelookingforagirlforhim.Dinesh’s body is expected to

reachMirgaonvillageonMonday.The last ritesof thedeadperson-nel will be carried out bearingcoronavirusprotocolsinmind.

‘Haven’t told our parents,can’t even cry before them’

LanceNaikDineshSingh,alsoamongthosekilled,wasthesonofaretiredArmySubedar. Thefamilyhopedtogethimmarriedthisyear

21 RR loses CO inanti-insurgencyops second timein two decades

MANAMANSINGHCHHINACHANDIGARH,MAY3

ONSUNDAY, the CommandingOfficerofthe21stBattalionoftheRashtriya Rifles (RR), ColonelAshutosh Sharma,was killed inactionduringanencounterwithmilitantsinJammuandKashmir’sHandwara.Itwasthesecondtimeintwo

decades that the battalion lost aCOduringcounter-insurgencyop-erationsintheregion.In2000,theunit had lost its thenCO,ColonelRSChauhan,toamineblast.ColonelSharma,waskilledin

thelineofdutyalongwithaMajor,two jawans of the unit and aAssistantSubInspectoroftheJ&KPolice. Two terroristswere alsokilled in the same operation onSunday. Inanothersimilaritybe-tween the two officers, ColSharma and Col ChauhanwerebothrecipientsoftheSenaMedal.On August 21, 2000 Col

Chauhanwas killed alongwiththeSectorCommander,BrigadierBS Shergill, in an IED blast nearWarporavillageinBaramulladis-trictofsouthKashmir,notfarfromthe battalion headquarters. Awirelessoperatortravellinginthevehiclewiththetwoofficerswasalsokilled. Brigadier Shergill hadtakenover commandof the sec-torjustthreedaysbeforetheblastandwasonafamiliarisationvisittoareasunderhiscommand.

DEEPTIMANTIWARYNEWDELHI,MAY3

AFTERAcoronavirusoutbreakinCRPF’sMayur Vihar camp, theBorderSecurityForce(BSF)isfac-ing a serious situationwith thespreadoftheinfection.OnSunday,25BSFpersonnel testedpositivefor COVID-19 inDelhi, while 12testedpositive in Tripura, takingthetotal infectiontoll intheforceto54.Asmanyas 32of these cases

havebeenreportedfromagroupof 100-odd soldiers deployed atJamaMasjid andChandniMahaareaswiththeDelhiPolicetoen-forcethelockdown.“Fromthe126thBattalionBSF

Company deployedwith DelhiPolice, in JamaMasjid area, 25more BSF personnel have beentested positive today. This com-panyhasastrengthof94.Resultsofninecameyesterday,ofwhichsixwerepositive,”BSFspokesper-sonShubhenduBharadwajsaid.Sourcessaidonemoreperson

from a different battalion hadbeendeployedatJamaMasjidandhetoohastestedpositive.Resultsof80personnelwerereceivedonSunday, ofwhich25were foundpositive. Results for five areawaited.Sourcessaidcontacttracingof

all personnel is being done byDelhi health authorities eventhough investigations into howtheycontractedtheinfectionhas

notyieldedresultssofar.At BSF’s R K Puramhospital,

meanwhile, five medical staffhave been foundpositive, alongwithtwocancerpatientsandonewithakidneyailment.Thesepa-tients are suspected to have ac-quired the infection at a super-speciality hospital where theywerereceivingtreatment.“Afewcriticallyillpatientsare

admitted here (at R K Puram),whovisitdifferentsuperspecial-ityhospitals fromthisward.Onesuchkidneypatient,whovisitsanoutside super-specialityhospitalfordialysis, hasbeen foundposi-tive on April 29. Two other BSFpersonnel suffering fromcancer,whovisitacancerspecialityhos-pital, fromtheBSFhospitalward,werefoundpositiveonApril30,“Bharadwajsaid.FourteenBSFpersonnel have

testedpositiveinTripuratilldate.The count in the CRPF hadreached 135 on Saturday,whilefiveITBPpersonneltooaresaidtobepositive.

25 more BSF personneldeployed in Old Delhi testpositive, total cases 32

Asmanyas32of thesecaseshavebeenreportedfromagroupof100-oddsoldiersdeployedat JamaMasjidandChandniMahaareas

Mumbai

CORONAVIRUSDASHBOARD

97,424Iran

210,717Italy

165,183Germany

183,501United Kingdom

168,518France

216,582Spain

1,138,690US

97,100Brazil

126,045Turkey

TOTAL CONFIRMED: 3,462,682 DEATHCOUNT:244,911

THEWORLD

Source: JohnsHopkinsUniversity,updatedat11:00pmonMay3

134,687Russia

TOP 10STATES

INDIA COUNT: 40,263 (1306 DEATHS)

12,296Maharashtra

2757 Tamil Nadu

2772Rajasthan

1063 Telangana

2846MP

2626 UP

4122 Delhi

5055Gujarat

922West Bengal

Have a question on the COVID-19 outbreak andwhat you should/should not do?

Write to explained@indianexpress.com

1583Andhra Pradesh

RESTOFINDIAAndamanandNicobarIslands33ArunachalPradesh 1Assam 43Bihar 482Chandigarh 94Chhattisgarh 43Goa 7Haryana 394HimachalPradesh 40JammuandKashmir 666Jharkhand 115Karnataka 606Kerala 500Ladakh 40Manipur 2Meghalaya 12Mizoram 1Odisha 160Puducherry 8Punjab 772Tripura 4Uttarakhand 59

UnionHealthMinistryupdateasof11pm,May3.Somestatesmayhavereportedhighernumbers.Onlystates/UTswithatleastonecaselistedabove.10887PATIENTSDISCHARGEDIN30STATESANDUNIONTERRITORIES

ANEWstudy in theUShas assessedthemortalityrateamongcancerpa-tients infected with COOID-19.Described as the largest study thatmakesthiskindofassessmentsofar,it found people with cancer aremuchmorelikelytodiefromCOVID-19 than those without cancer.Conductedbyphysician-researchersat Montefiore Health System andAlbert Einstein College ofMedicine,the study was published in the on-line editionof CancerDiscovery.The study involved 218 cancer

patients who tested positive forCOVID-19 fromMarch 18 to April 8at Montefiore Medical Center, NewYork. Of them, 61 died fromCOVID-19,a fatalityrateof28%,ascomparedto the overall mortality rate of 5.8%forCOVID-19intheUnitedStates (asper theWorldHealthOrganization).These patients were treated at a

timewhen testingwasmostly donein symptomatic patients who re-quired hospitalisation. This, the re-

searcherssaid,maypartiallyexplainthe high fatality rate within thestudy’scancerpopulation.However,even when compared to mortalityrates in non-cancer patients acrossNewYorkCityduring thesametimeperiod, cancer patients demon-strated a significantly higher risk ofdying fromCOVID-19.As a group, COVID-19 patients

with blood cancers, such asleukaemia and lymphoma, had thehighestmortalityrate:37%(20of54patients).Forpatientswithsolidma-lignancies, the mortality rate was25% (41 of 164). Striking differenceswere observed among specific solidcancers: the mortality rate for pa-tientswith lungcancerwas55%andcolorectalcancerwas38%,comparedwithmortalityratesof14%forbreastcancer and20% for prostate cancer.“Our findings emphasise the

need to prevent cancer patientsfromcontractingCOVID-19and—ifthey do — to identify and closelymonitor these individuals for dan-gerous symptoms,” said VikasMehta,aco-leadauthorof thestudy,a surgical oncologist atMontefiore,andassociateprofessorof otorhino-laryngology—headandnecksurgeryat Einstein. “Wehope that our find-ings can inform states and commu-nities that have not yet been so se-verely struck by this pandemicabout theuniquevulnerability can-cer patients face.”

Source: Albert EinsteinCollege ofMedicine

PAPERCLIP

NEWRESEARCH

COVIDDEATHSINCANCERPATIENTS:HOWDANGEROUSISTHEVIRUS?

TABASSUMBARNAGARWALAMUMBAI,MAY3

LAST WEEK, the US Food and DrugAdministration (FDA) gave emergency ap-proval tousethedrugremdesivir forcriticalCOVID-19 patients. This came days after DrAnthony Fauci, director of the US NationalInstituteofAllergiesandInfectiousDiseases(NIAID),madeastrongcaseforthedrug. Andyet, also lastweek, a studypublished in TheLancetput aquestionmarkabout thebene-fitsof using thedrug.What is it about remdesivir that holds

promise, andwhy is itdebated?

What isremdesivir?It wasmanufactured in 2014 to treat for

Ebola,byUS-basedbiotechnologyfirmGileadSciences. It has since been used to treat forMERSandSERS,bothcausedbymembersofthe coronavirus family. Thiswas, however,notwithmuch success. Current research islookingatwhetherthedrug’santiviralprop-ertieswork against SARS-CoV2, the coron-avirus thatcausesCOVID-19disease.

What is thebasisof thehopesbingpinnedonremdesivir?SARS-CoV2replicatesitself insidethehu-

man cellwith the help of an enzyme calledRdRp.When remdesivir is injected intra-venously, it inhibits this enzyme and effec-tively blocks replication of the coronavirus.TheJournalofBiologicalChemistrypublisheda study onApril 13 concluding that indeed,the“drugisabletoinhibitthevirus”andpre-vent its further spread inhumancells.“Since January, our teams have been

workingdayandnighttodeterminewhetherremdesivir might work in patients withCOVID-19. These efforts include collabora-tionwith study investigators and govern-ments on the various clinical trials. (The)news, that remdesivir might play a role ineasing the burden of the pandemic, is theoutcomewe all hopedwould be possible,”Gilead Sciences chairman and CEO DanielO’Daysaid.

Whoallarestudyingit?There are sixmajor trials or studies un-

derwayforremdesivir. It isoneofthelinesoftreatment being investigated under theSolidaritytrialsundertheaegisof theWorldHealth Organization (WHO). Other investi-gations includeGilead’s ownSIMPLE study,the US NIAID’s trials, the French instituteInserm’s DisCoVeRy study, and two clinicaltrials inChina.On its website, Gilead says it is collabo-

ratingwith theUS FDA, Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention (CDC), Departmentof Health and Human Services, NIAID andDepartment of Defense-CBRNMedical, theChina CDC and National Medical ProductAdministration (NMPA), WHO, and re-searchers and clinicians across Europe andAsia to assess the antiviral properties ofremdesivir.The SIMPLE trial is looking atwhether a

five-daycourseofremdesivirworksaseffec-tively as a 10-day course. Phase-3 resultsshowed that it is indeed so. The trial evalu-ated 397 patients hospitalised for severeCOVID-19 infection. A spokesperson forGilead said, “This shorter duration of ther-apymay enable patients to be dischargedfrom the hospital earlier and allow health-care providers to treat more patients withtheexistingsupplyofmedication.”

Whatbenefitshavebeenfoundsofar?Initial trial resultsmadepublicbyNIAID

found thatmortality ratewas 8 per cent inCOVID-19patientsadministeredremdesivir,asopposedto11.6percentinanotherarmofpatients not given this drug. Recovery timeimprovedfrom15to11days.Thefulltrialre-sultsareyet tobepublished.NIAID director Fauci, an immunologist

and amember of the US task force againstCOVID-19, told the media in the WhiteHouse:“Thedatashowsthatremdesivirhasa clear cut, significant, positive effect in di-minishingthetimetorecover.Althougha31per cent improvementdoesnot seem like aknockout100percent, it isaveryimportantproof of concept.What it isproving is that adrugcanblock thisvirus.”A study published in The New England

JournalofMedicineonApril10foundclinicalimprovement in68per cent caseswith im-provedoxygenlevelsaftertheywereadmin-istered a 10-day course of remdesivir. Thestudywas, however, of a small cohort of 53patients and did not have a control arm tocompareresults for thosewhowerenotad-ministeredremdesivir.Dr Jagmeet Singh, professor of cardiol-

ogy in Harvard Medical School, sufferedfrom COVID-19 and required ICU supportforpneumonia.He isaparticipant inoneofthe US trials for remdesivir, although hedoesnotknowinwhicharmhewasplacedandwhetherhe received thedrug. “My re-sponsetothisdrugissomewhat lukewarm.While the drug certainly reduces days ofhospitalisation by over 30 per cent andthere seems to be some directional evi-dence in reduction of mortality rate, thereis still lack of statistical data to confidentlydrawconclusions. TheGileadstudyhadnocontrol arm; if it is directional it lacks sci-entific purity,” he said.

Whyisnoteveryoneoptimistic?Someof the trialswere limited in scope.

Then therewas the study in The Lancet onApril 29, about a clinical trial of 237COVID-19 patients in 10 hospitals in China. “In thisstudyof adultpatients admitted tohospitalforsevereCOVID-19,remdesivirwasnotas-sociatedwithstatisticallysignificantclinicalbenefits,” it said.Thestudyfoundadversedrugreactionin

18peopleandstoppedremdesivirtreatmentprematurely inthem. Itsaidthat therewereadverse events in 66% of the remdesivir-treatedpatients.Commentingon the study inThe Lancet,

theGileadspokespersonsaid,“Thestudydidnot identify any new safety concernswithremdesivir treatment. Cardiac events (car-diacarrestoracutecoronarysyndrome)andtreatmentdiscontinuationduetorespiratoryfailure were events associated with bothremdesivir andplacebo. Thenumberof pa-tientswhocompletedthestudywastoolowto enable any statisticallymeaningful con-clusions.Data from fully-powered trials areneeded to determine the safety profile ofremdesivir as treatment forCOVID-19.”

Towhatextent isremdesivirbeingusedinIndia?DrVRavishankar, chief operatingofficer

in Lilavati Hospital,Mumbai, who until lastweek had 25 COVID-19 patients, most ofthemonintensivecaresupport,saiddoctors

inhisteamaretryingritonavir, lopinavir,andeven immunosuppressant tocilizumab, butnotremdesivir.“Wecameacrosssomeglobalreports of adverse reaction of remdesivir inCOVID-19 patients. If patients are alreadycritical, we can’t risk experimenting at thisstage,”hesaid.Dr JalilParker,apulmonologist, saidthat

ideallytheywaitforsufficientdatafromclin-ical trials beforeusing adrug. “Butwedon’thavemanyoptionsrightnow,andwehavetotry newerdrugs for patientwithCOVID-19.It is doctor’s call whether or not to use thedrugsbeforeclinicaltrialresults. Iamopentoitsuse.”

Howmuchof it isavailable?Since January, investments have been

made to ramp up production and establishasupplychain.UntilJanuarytherewasanin-ventory to treat 5,000 patients on a 10-daycourse. ByMarch end, it was scaled up to30,000 patients. ByMay end the companyplans to produce enough stock for 1.4 lakhpatients. Gileadhas for nowstoppedmeet-ing individual requests for supply under itsCompassionateUse programme, except forpregnantwomen and childrenwith severeinfection.TheGileadspokespersonsaidIndiaisnot

onitsCompassionateUseprogrammeforthedrug. “India is part of the large global studydesignedbytheWHO—theSolidaritytrial,”thespokespersonsaid.

7WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

KAUNAINSHERIFFMNEWDELHI,MAY3

WITH SUMMER having arrived during anoutbreak,aquestionbeingaskediswhetherpeople should be careful about using air-conditioners.Anumberofresearchershavepredictedthat thenovelcoronavirus isun-likely to survivehigh temperatures.Additionally, a study by Chinese re-

searchershasconcludedthatdroplettrans-missionwaspromptedby air-conditionedventilation. Notmany other studies, how-ever, have associated AC usewith coron-avirus spread.The government has issued general

guidelines on the use of air-conditioners.Theseare limited to temperatureandrela-tivehumidity in thecontextof thevirus.

Whataretheguidelines?The guidelines compiled by the Indian

Society of Heating Refrigeration and AirConditionerEngineers(ISHRAE)sayatem-peraturebetween24-30°Cshouldbemain-tainedwhile operating ACs at home, andthatrelativehumiditylevelsintherangeof40%-70% is consideredmost suitable.ISHRAE cites data from a studywhich

examined the transmission of the coron-avirus in100citiesof China. Thestudyhadindicated that high temperature and highhumidity “significantly reduce the trans-missionof influenza”.“Studies conducted at various RH lev-

els have shown that using viral culturemethods low temperatures (7–8°C) wereoptimalforairborneinfluenzasurvival,withvirus survival decreasing progressively atmoderate Temperatures (20.5–24 °C) andfurtherdecreasesathigher(greaterthan30°C)temperatures.Aspersomerecentstud-ies,SARS-CoV-2hasbeenfoundhighlysta-bleonsurfacesfor14daysat4°C;onedayat37°Cand30minutesat56°Cwasneededto

inactivate thevirus,” ISHRAEstates.

What is thesignificanceof thehumidityrangestipulated?Relative humidity is believed to affect

infectivity of the coronavirus. Moisture intheairplaysaprimary role inprovingpro-tectionagainst respiratory infection. In theupperrespiratorytract,moistsurfaceswithmucous layers collect larger particles be-foretheyenterthetracheaandpharynx;inthelowerrespiratorytract,thebronchiand

alveoli trapsmallparticles.Whenwe breathe dry air, themucous

membrane in the lungs also become dry;thefluidovertheliningofthecellsbecomesmore viscous, and cilia, the little hair thatprotectsourlungsfromdeepsettlingofpar-ticles, are rendered dysfunctional so thatparticles settlemore deeply in the lungs.Humidity levels of 40-70% are consideredthemost ideal range for humans to fightpathogens. ISHRAE also notes that studiesindicate that80%relativehumidity tendtoneutralise theCOVID-19virus.Theguidelinesstatethat indryclimate,

relativehumidityshouldnotbeallowedtofall below 40%.Water evaporating from apan kept should be kept in the room; thiswill increasehumidity if it fallsbelow40%.Among other guidelines, recirculation

of cool air by room air-conditionersmustbe accompanied by outdoor air intakethrough slightly open windows and ex-haust bynatural exfiltration. “FreshAir in-

take through a fan filter unit will preventoutdoordust entry (containinghigh levelsof PM10andPM2.5particles) andexhaustthroughkitchenandtoiletexhaustfanskeptoperational,” theguidelines state.

What is thestudythat linkedCOVID-19withair-conditioning?ItwasconductedbyGuangzhouCenter

for Disease Control and Prevention, in anair-conditioned restaurant involving threefamily clusters. It concluded that droplettransmissionwas prompted by air-condi-tionedventilationandthekeyfactorforin-fectionwasthedirectionoftheairflow.Thestudy strongly recommended increasingthedistancebetweentablesandimprovingventilation.Theresearchers studied10positivepa-

tientsfromthreefamilieswhohadeateninthe same air-conditioned restaurant. Thefamily A, which had earlier travelled toWuhan,dinedintherestaurantonJanuary

24,whiletwootherfamilies—B&C—satatthe neighbouring tables. On the sameday,onemember(A1)of familyA,experiencedonset of fever and cough andwent to thehospital;andonFebruary5,atotalof9oth-ers (4members of familyA, 3members offamily B, and 2members of family C) be-came ill with COVID-19. The study hadfoundthattheonlyknownsourceofexpo-sure for the affected persons in families BandCwaspatientA1at the restaurant.“Virus transmission in this outbreak

cannot be explained by droplet transmis-sion alone. Larger respiratory droplets (>5microns) remain in the air for only a shorttimeandtravelonlyshortdistances,gener-ally <1m. The distances between patientA1 and persons at other tables, especiallythose at table C, were all >1m. However,strong airflow from the air conditionercouldhavepropagateddroplets fromtableCtotableA,thentotableB,andthenbacktotableC,” thestudyconcluded.

Spotlight on remdesivirSIMPLYPUTQUESTION&ANSWER

Thedebateoverthedrugcontinues. Ithasbeengivenemergencyapproval forCOVID-19treatment intheUS,evenasanewstudycastsdoubtover itsefficacy.What is thisdrug,andwhatdothestudiessay?

E EXPLAINED TheOutbreak

THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,MAY4,2020

KABIRFIRAQUENEWDELHI,MAY3

IN ALL the debate over the efficacy ofremdesivir intreatingCOVID-19patients,what has been clear is theway the drugacts — or is meant to act — against thenovelcoronavirusSARS-CoV2.Remdesiviris designed to obstruct the stage of repli-cation,whentheviruscreatescopiesof it-self, followedendlesslybythecopiescre-ating copies of themselves. Research lastmonthconcludedthatremdesivir indeedworksthisway,andanewpaperlastweekdescribedtheexactmechanismofinterac-tionbetweenthevirusandthedrug.

Howdoesreplicationtakeplace?Once the virus enters thehuman cell,

it releases its genetic material, which isthen copied using the body’s existingmechanism. At every stage of infection,various human proteins, virus proteins,and their interactions come into play. Atthereplicationstage, thekeyviralproteinat play is an enzyme called RdRp (an en-zyme is a kind of protein that speeds upchemical reactionswithinacell).ItisRdRpthatmakesthecopies,bypro-

cessingcomponentsoftheRNAofthevirus.University of Alberta researchers called itthe “engine” of the virus in a paper lastweek, inwhich they described the actionof remdesivir against this “engine”.Again,researchers at theMaxPlanck Institute ofBiophysical Chemistry in Germany de-scribedthesameenzymeasthe“copyma-chine” of the viruswhen they imaged thearchitectureof this“machine” in3D.Inscientificliterature,suchanenzyme

is called a polymerase (the p is RdRpstands for polymerase) or a replicase. Inanycase,thisistheenzymethatistargetedbyremdesivir.

Andhowexactlydoesremdesivirtarget thisenzyme?Inordertoreplicate,thecopymachine

processes rawmaterial from the virusRNA, broken down by another enzyme

withthatspecificfunction.Whenapatientis given remdesivir — the inhibitor — itmimicssomeofthismaterial,andgetsin-corporated in the replication site. Withremdesivirreplacingthematerialitneeds,thevirus fails to replicate further.“These coronavirus polymerases are

sloppyandtheygetfooled,sotheinhibitorgets incorporated many times and theviruscannolongerreplicate,”UniversityofAlbertamicrobiologistandimmunologistMatthiasGötte said inastatement.

Howfarhasthisactionbeenestablished?This iswhat the University of Alberta

researchers reported in the Journal ofBiological Chemistry. Using insect cells,theyexpressedRdRpcomplexesofSARS-CoV (the coronavirus responsible forSARS) and SARS-CoV2 (which causesCOVID-19).Theyfoundthatanactivecom-poundinremdesivirinhibitsthecopyma-chines of both viruseswith the samepo-

tencyandmechanismof action.Previously, the same teamhad found

similar results for remdesivir actionagainstthecoronavirusthatcausesMERS.ThedrugitselfwasdesignedtoactagainsttheEbolavirus,whichisnotacoronavirus.AsfarasSARS-CoV2isconcerned,apa-

per byChinese researchers lastweekhasadded to theemergingknowledgeabouttheactionof remdesivir.

Whatarethesenewfindings?Researchers fromvarious institutions

under the Chinese Academy of Scienceshaveimagedthehigh-resolutionstructureof the SARS-CoV-2 replicase complex,with remdesivir bound to it. They havepublished their findings inScience.Thestructureshowswherethevirus’s

RNA template enters the copymachine,where remdesivir is incorporated, andwheretheprocessof replication is termi-nated. The Chinese researchers too usedinsect cells.

SARS-CoV2

ACE2receptors

CellmembraneHostribosome

Releaseofvirusgenome

Translationofvirusproteins

Replicase

ReplicationofRNA

THE V IRUS AND THE DRUG

SchematicdiagramofSARS-CoV2replication.Remdesivir(picturedinGileadScienceslab,US)mimicsthevirus'srawmaterial,sothatthereplicaseenzymeincorporatesitandcannotreplicatefurther

How remdesivir tricks coronavirus

@ieExplained#ExpressExplainedIf there are questions of current or contemporary relevance that youwould like explained, pleasewrite to explained@indianexpress.com

AC in the time of COVID: the apprehensions, andwhat the guidelines say

Mumbai

8WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

KRISHI PRADHANNeedof thehouristomaximisepossibilitiesofagriculture,

whichhasdemonstrateditsutilityandresilienceintryingtimes

THEYEAR2019-20sawIndia’sagriculturesectorgrowby11.3percentatcurrentprices,morethantheoverallannualGDPincreaseof7.9percent.AccordingtoNITIAayogmemberRameshChand,thisisthefirsttimesince1980-81whenfarmsec-torgrowthhasexceededthatofnon-farmbysuchawidemargin.Butthat’snot

all.Thecurrentfiscal—theApril-Junequarter,definitely—couldseeagriculturalgrowthsur-passingthatofnon-agricultureevenatconstantprices.Simplyput,agricultureisbacktobe-ing theeconomy’smainstayand, indeed, theonlysectorgrowingamidanationwide lock-down.Oneindicatoriswheatprocurement.AsonMay1,governmentagencieshadbought14.3milliontonnes(mt)ofthenewcrop,equivalenttoaminimumsupportpricevalueofoverRs27,500 crore,with another20mt likely tobeprocuredbymonth-end. Farmingactivitybeingrelativelyunaffectedisalsocapturedbyretailfertilisersalesrising45percentyear-on-year inApril.Andif themonsoonturnsoutnormalas forecasted, thingsaren’t lookingthatbleakforagriculture;contrastthiswiththezerodomesticcarsaleslastmonth.Agriculturedoingwell is importantbothfromthestandpointof inflationcontrol (ade-

quatesupplyoffood,feedandfibre,alongwithlowoilprices,makesiteasierfortheReserveBankofIndiatopursueanaccommodativemonetarypolicy)andrevivingspending(farm-ers and rural labourers havehighermarginal propensity to consume). But it is also a factthatthefarmsectorcannotsupporteconomicgrowthbeyondapoint.ANABARDsurveyfor2016-17showedthatonly43percentoftheaveragemonthlyincomeofeventhecountry’sestimated10crore-plusagriculturalhouseholdscamefromcultivationandlivestockrear-ing.Thegrowthofnon-agricultureis,inotherwords,importantforfarmingfamiliesthem-selves,manyofwhichhavemembersderivingincomesfrommanufacturingandservicesec-torjobs.Manyofthemigrantlabourerseitherstrandedorreturningfromindustrialcentresand cities post-lockdownbelong to rural farming communities. Given that not everyonecanbe gainfully employed in farms, it is amatter of timebefore they headback toworkawayfromtheirhomes.Thatsaid,theneedofthehouristomaximisethepossibilitiesinasectorwhichhasdemon-

strateditsutilityandresilienceintryingcircumstances.Thefocusshouldbeonthecomingkharifcroppingseason,especiallyensuringtimelyavailabilityofseeds,fertilisers,pesticides,credit andother inputs. The latter includes labour andmachines,whosemovementwasrightly exempted from lockdownrestrictions. The government should seriously considerstartingattheearliestspecialtrainsforlabourersengagedinpaddytransplantationandotheragriculture-relatedoperations.Thisisalsothetimetofreefarmproducetradebyliftingallre-strictionsonstocking,domesticmovementandexports.Let Indianfarmersfeedtheworld,notjustIndia.

CHANGING COLOURSClassificationof red,orange,greenzones,drawingof

boundaries,hastobedynamic.Statesmustplayleadingrole

OnMay1,theUnionhomeministryextendedthenationwidelockdown—sched-uledtoendonMay3—bytwoweeks.Thethirdphaseof the lockdownwill,however,belessstringentthanthatexperiencedbythecountryinthepast40days. In603of the733districts,designatedgreenandorangezones,markets

otherthanmallscanre-open,factoriesandindustrialunitscanresumeoperations,self-em-ployedpeoplesuchasdomestichelpsandbarberscangobacktowork,ande-commerceinnon-essential itemscanrecommence.Butthefineprintof therelaxationmeasureshasleftseveral states dissatisfied. Their grouse largely pertains to the red zones, the130districtswhichhavebeendeemedasCOVID-19hotspotsandtherefore,placedunderthemaximumrestrictions stipulated in thehomeministry’s directive. PunjabChiefMinister, AmarinderSingh,forinstance,hascontendedthatseveralareasthathavenoCOVID-19cases,Nabhaforexample,havefoundthemselvesineligibleforrelaxationsbecausetheyhappentobelocatedinredzonedistricts.TheWestBengalgovernmenthasalsotermedtheCentre’sassessmentofsuchzonesinthestateas“erroneous”.AndDelhiChiefMinisterArvindKejriwalhasarguedagainstdesignatingentiredistrictsasredzones—onlythecontainmentzones,areaswithahighcaseloadinhotspotdistricts,shouldbesubjecttostridentrestrictions,hesaid.That319districts,morethanhalfthedistrictsinthecountry—greenzones—havenothad

a single COVID-19 case in threeweeksdoes testify to the success of the lockdown fromahealthcarestandpoint.Afurther284districtsdonothaveahighcaseload,theorangezones.However, epidemiologistshaveconsistentlyemphasisedthat lockdownsdonot frametheendgameinthebattleagainstthevirus.Hotspotscanchange,theinfectioncanrecedefromsomeareas and spread tonewones. Kejriwal, too, underscored theneed toview thepan-demicfromsuchadynamicperspectivewhenhesaidthat“what isagreenzonetodaycanturnred”.TheCentredoesallowstatestore-designategreenzonesasorangeandredzones.Italsoallowsthemthefreedomtoclassifyredareasasorangezones.Butitdoesnotgivethemthe flexibility to relax the lockdowninareaswithin thehotspotdistricts. TheDelhiCMun-derlinedthelimitationsof thisapproachwhenheasked:“Ifadistricthas50villagesand40casesemergeinone,whyshouldtheentiredistrictbedeclaredaredzone?”Statesandlocalauthoritiesdealingwiththeinfectionatgroundlevelarethebestplaced

tounderstanditsspatialvagaries. It’s, therefore, imperativethat theyhaveasay indrawingtheboundariesof theareas thathavetobeopenedup.Thedetailsof thered,orange,greenzoneschemeneedconstantreviewandrevisionfromsuchaperspective.

The new capitalism

AshutoshVarshney

RahamathunnissaA

Intheforeseeablefuture,politicswilldriveeconomicpolicies,notmarket-basedrationality

A CELEBRATION OF LEARNINGRamadanmarks the revelationof theQuran,whichplacesknowledgeaboveall

IN1920,JOHNMaynardKeynes,perhapsthemostinfluentialeconomistof thefirsthalfofthe 20th century, wrote a famous passage,which couldwell have beenwritten for ourtimes.Worth citing at length, Keyneswasspeakingof howthe FirstWorldWar endedwhatwenowcallGlobalisation1.0thatlastednearlyacenturytill then.“Whatanextraordinaryepisodeintheeco-

nomicprogressofmankind,whichcametoanend in August 1914?... The inhabitant ofLondoncouldorderbytelephone,sippinghismorningteainbed,thevariousproductsofthewholeearth, insuchquantityashemightseefit,andreasonablyexpecttheirearlydeliveryuponhisdoorstep;hecouldat thesamemo-ment andby the samemeans adventurehiswealthinthenaturalresourcesandnewenter-prisesof anyquarterof theworld, andshare,without exertion or even trouble, in theirprospectivefruitsandadvantages;...Hecouldsecure forthwith, if hewished it, cheap andcomfortablemeansof transit to any countryorclimate... But,most importantof all,here-garded this stateof affairs asnormal, certain,andpermanent,exceptinthedirectionoffur-ther improvement,andanydeviationfromitasaberrant,scandalous,andavoidable.”NoWorldWarislikelyanymore,asschol-

ars of international relations continually re-mindus,thankstonuclearweapons.ButcanCOVID-19, instead, bring an end to whatscholars call Globalisation 2.0,which beganin the early 1980s and has lasted for fourdecades,anerawhenhumanbeings,ofacer-tain class, “could order by (the internet)...products of the whole earth... adventurewealth in any quarter of theworld”, and re-gard “this state of affairs as normal, certainandpermanent”?In strictly economic terms, globalisation

isaboutthefreemovementof capital,goodsandlabouracrossnationalborders.AsIwroteinthesepagessometimeago(‘Globalisationin retreat’, IE, November 30, 2017), labourflowswere never as free as themovementsof capital and goods. Capital and goods aredisembodied; one does not necessarily seewho produced them.Migrants are embod-ied,as itwere.Onecandirectlyobservehowethnically, racially, religiouslydifferent fromthemainstreamtheymightbe.Hencelabourflows, if large, have nearly always triggered

right-wingpolitics of nativism inaway thatthemovements of goods and capital rarelyhave.Donald Trump’s unrelenting critique of

globalisation predates COVID-19. Hemadenon-whiteimmigrants,especiallyHispanicsandMuslims, a special object of hispoliticalire, but hewas also vigorously against freetradeaswellascriticalofbusinessmenwho,insearchof lowercosts,hadmadeChinathedestination of their accumulated invest-ments,transferringjobsawayfromAmerica’sindustrial heartland.He leviedhigher tariffstocurtailfreertrade,andexhortedAmericancorporationstobringcapitalbacktotheUS.InEurope,asimilarpoliticshasbeenledbytheUK, thoughlessvociferously.Whatwill thepandemicdotothispoliti-

calthrustthathadalreadybecomearealityinseveralmajoreconomies?Inanyrealisticpo-litical sense, this question cannot be an-swered unless we pay special attention tohowGlobalisation2.0hasbenefittedChina.Onemight,ofcourse,firstwishtonotethat

Chinawas among the biggest sufferers ofGlobalisation1.0(1815-1914).In1800,anesti-mated33percentoftheworld’smanufactureswereproducedinChina. DefeatsintwoOpiumWars later, thissharehadgonedownto6percentby1900.Moresignificantlyfornow,Chinawas far behindother economies in the earlyyears of Globalisation2.0. In 1980, itwas the48th largest economy in theworld. In 1982,withGDPsatroughly$200billion,IndianandChineseeconomiesweresimilarinsize.In 2018, the last year forwhichwe have

systematic data, China,with aGDP of $13.6trillion,was the second largest economy intheworld,behindtheUS($20.5trillion),butfar ahead of Japan ($4.9 trillion), Germany($4.0 trillion), Britain ($2.8 trillion), France($2.8trillion)andIndia($2.7trillion). In2018,Chinawas also the largest trading nation intheworld. Its exportswereworth $2.5 tril-lion, substantially ahead of theUS ($1.6 tril-lion).Andin2018,Chinaattractedover$203billionworthofnetforeigndirectinvestment(FDI),muchmore thanGermany, Japan,UK,Franceaswellas India ($42billion), andsec-ond only to the US ($258 billion), showinghowmonumental foreign investment inChinahadbecome.Given the current pandemic, evenmore

revealingarethedataonmedicalequipment.For50-80percentof itssupplies, theUSwasdependent on China for protective surgicalgarments, plastic face shields, textile facemasks and thermometers. Only for ventila-torsandhandsanitiserswasthedependenceless than20percent.Nomatterhowmuchbusinessmenand

economists argue that these trends arepurely economic, only demonstrating howeasy it is tomanufacture at scale in China,the political leaders of theworld, not sim-ply in theWest, can only view itwith greatconcern and, if China threatens supply dis-ruptions forcriticalmaterials,evenasa na-tional security issue.Thepoliticalwindsarenowindependent

of President Trump,who is clearly trying toscapegoat China to cover up his ownbungling.Givenallthedoubts,rightorwrong,about howChina handled the informationabout theorigins of the virus inWuhan, theanger againstChina inworld capitals is verypalpable.Bornofsuddenandenormoussuf-fering,suchangercannotbuthaveanimpactontheeconomicsof globalisation.We should not only expect that labour

flowswillnowbemorestrictlyregulatedthanbefore.Butalsomore thaneverbefore in re-centdecades,Westerninvestorswillalsohaveto factor inpolitical risks intheir investmentdecision-making. Instead of chasing lowerlabour costs, theywill either bring capitalbacktodomesticshores,orgeographicallyre-structure their supply chains. For a wholerange of goods, the global supply chains forall practical purposes becameChinese sup-plychains.Thatlevelofeconomicconcentra-tion isno longerpoliticallysustainable.Fortheforeseeablefuture,economiceffi-

ciency,thecornerstoneofmarket-basedsys-tems,willhavetogointoalowergear.Politicswill drive new economic policies, notmar-ket-based rationality. Globalisationwill notend,butitwillbepushedintogreaterretreat.Weareenteringanewphaseof capitalism.

Thewriter isdirector,Center forContemporarySouthAsia,SolGoldman

Professorof InternationalStudiesandSocialSciences,professorofpolitical science,

WatsonInstitute for InternationalandPublicAffairs,BrownUniversity

MANYTHINKTHATRamadanisamonthoffasting and giving charity. But is it just forthat?What is the actual reason for believ-ers being commanded to observe fastingduring this month? These are importantquestions and their answers will helpanyone to utilise this time in a way thatwill benefit both believers as well as allof humanity.The Quran says that it was during

Ramadanthatitsrevelationtookplace:“Themonth of Ramadan is that in which wasrevealed theQuran, a guidance for thepeo-ple and clear proofs of guidance and crite-rion.”2:185ThereisnoRamadanwithouttheQuran.

It is ananniversaryof theBookof guidance,which transformed the illiterate Arabs intothemostculturedandcivilisedpeoplewithina short period—the shortest inhumanhis-tory. There was nomagic. There were theguidelines sent throughtheQuranbyAllah.Its first commandwas not to perform fivetimesprayeroranyspiritualactivity. Itwas:“Read in thenameof thy Lordwhohas cre-ated..”96:1 to5The Quran, in another part, tells that

thosewho have knowledge and thosewhodonothaveknowledgearenotequal.The Quran deals with practically every

subjectrelatedtohumanlifeandallbranchesof knowledge. Spending resources on thepath to acquiring knowledge is encouraged

as an act of worship. If one has to travel toseek knowledge, he can even combine andshortenhisfiveprayersorpostponethecom-pulsory fasting.TheProphettaughtthatthewordofwis-

dom is the lost property of a believer andwhereverhefindsit,heismostdeservingofit. Thismeans that a believer should searchfor knowledge in every place possible. Thefollowing sayingof theprophet encouragesthe pursuit of knowledge: “Onewho pro-ceedsonapathinpursuitofknowledge,Godmakes himproceed therewith on a path toParadise.Andverily, theangels spread theirwings for the seekers of knowledge out ofdelight. Verily, every creatureof theheavenandtheearthasksforgivenessfortheseekerofknowledge,eventhefishintheocean.Themerit of the learned over the devout is likethemeritof themoonoverthestarsonafullmoonnight.The learnedaretheheirsof theprophets, for the prophets did not leavebehind a legacy of wealth but that ofknowledge.”Teaching someone is considered as an

“ongoing charity” — such a person gets re-warded continuously even after his death.Teachers and learned scholars are held inhighregard in Islamic societies.TheQurandoesn’tdifferentiatebetween

worldlyandspiritualknowledge.ThelongestverseintheQurantalksabouttheprocedurestobe followedand the importanceof docu-

mentation while lending or borrowingmoney(2:282).Therearemanyverses in theQuran that

can be used as foundations for differentbranches of knowledge such as astronomy,economics, politics, law, ethics, philosophy,biology, environmental science, geography,zoology, sociology, history andmedicine.Thisisinadditiontotheguidelinesandcom-mands on spirituality and worship. Anybranch of knowledge, as long as it benefitsmankind,isconsideredholy.TheQuranasksmantoponderandresearchthewondersofnature.“Do they not observe the camels: How

theywerecreated?Andthesky:Howitwasraisedhigh?And themountains:Howtheywere fixed? And the earth: How it spreadout?”88:17 to20.The Islamicworld influencedmedieval

European life and culture in various fields.The European scholar Gerard of CremonalearnedArabicbecauseofthe“abundanceofbooks in Arabic on every subject” and hetranslated87books fromArabic intoLatin.Ramadanisthetimetorevisit theverses

oftheQurananddomoreresearchonhowtoboosttheworldeconomyafterthepandemicpasses, as well as other issues facing theworld.

Thewriter isnational secretary,women’sdepartment, Jama’at-e-Islami

We should not only expectthat labour flows will now bemore strictly regulated thanbefore. But also more thanever before in recent decades,Western investors will alsohave to factor in politicalrisks in their investmentdecision-making. Instead ofchasing lower labour costs,they will either bring capitalback to domestic shores, orgeographically restructuretheir supply chains. For awhole range of goods, theglobal supply chains for allpractical purposes becameChinese supply chains. Thatlevel of economicconcentration is no longerpolitically sustainable.

The prophet taught that theword of wisdom is the lostproperty of a believer andwherever he finds it, he ismost deserving of it. Thismeans that a believer shouldsearch for knowledge inevery place possible.

FOUNDED BY

RAMNATH GOENKA

B E C A U S E T H E T R U T H I N V O L V E S U S A L L

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THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,MAY4,2020 WORDLYWISEFreedomofmovement is the essence of free

society. Once it is curtailed, all other rightssuffer.— WILLIAM O DOUGLASTHEEDITORIALPAGE

INDIRA ON ASSAMPRIMEMINISTER INDIRA Gandhi declaredinBhubaneswar that those arrested in con-nectionwith the Assammovementwouldnot be released “till the agitating organisa-tions give a guarantee” that theywouldnotresort to violence. Addressing an unsched-uledpressconferenceat theendofherone-day election tour of the state, Mrs Gandhisaid that therewasnopoint inreleasing theleadersof theAssammovementwhentheywerechangingtheirstandeveryday.Shere-iterated that “it is not correct to say that themovement has been peaceful”. Many peo-ple have been killed, she added. She ex-pressedregretatthestatementsbythelead-

ersof themovementwhichsheclaimedhadcreatedpanicamongminorities.

BAHUGUNA’S SWITCHH N BAHUGUNA is likely to resign fromCongress (I) and join the Congress, accord-ingtoreliablesources.Bahugunahasalreadyresigned from the party posts and his sup-porters have filed their nomination papersas independent candidates. They are beingaccommodated by the Congress. It is learntthat Bahugunawanted party nominationsfor 35 of hismen, 29 of whomweremem-bers of the dissolved assembly and hadjoined the Congress (I) alongwith him. TheCongress (I), however, gave party tickets to

onlyninemembers.

IMPHAL CURFEWNIGHT CURFEWHAS been imposed in thepredominantly Nepali settlement ofKanglatandi and Kalapahar on the Imphal-Dimapurroad,followingtensions,officialre-portssaid.Thereportssaidtensionprevailedin the two areas lying near the foothills ofSadar Hills inhabited by Kuki tribals.Kanglatandi is a historic settlement ofNepalese ex-servicemenwhomanned anarmy ordinance base in Imphal during theSecondWorldWar.Asmanyas158personshave been arrested in connectionwith thecurrentviolence inManipur.

MAY 4, 1980, FORTYYEARSAGO

Freeze Frame E P Unny

INGOOD FAITH

§

Mumbai

THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,MAY4,2020

WHATTHEOTHERSSAY“Big businesses will soon be asking taxpayers for even more financial support.Let’s set out principles for who should get funds and how.”

— THEGUARDIANTHE IDEASPAGEWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

LETTERS TO THEEDITOR

THECOVID-19PANDEMIChaseffectivelyex-posed flaws inmultilateral structures andhighlighted the lacunae in national capaci-ties, particularly in healthcare.Multilateralism has suffered retrenchment.The UN Security Council (UNSC) must befaulted for its egregious lack of action inMarch 2020when China held the rotatingpostofthepresident.ItwillremainoneofthegreatironiesofhistorythatChina,whichhasincreasingly sought to play a global leader-ship role, actively suppresseddiscussions inthe faceof amonumental threat to the livesand security of millions globally. Thewith-drawal of nearly $500millionworth of an-nual voluntary funding by the USA to theWorld Health Organisation (WHO) is a de-batablemove, notwithstanding the globalconsensusontheWHO’sChina-bias.At a timewhen the UNSC, G20, G7 and

theEUwere inert, PrimeMinisterNarendraModistoodoutwithhisinitiativestodevelopajointresponse. InbringingSAARCtogethertofightthepandemic,Modisaid“ourneigh-bourhood collaboration should be amodelfor theworld”.Therapidspreadofcoronavirusaroundthe

worldhascreatedfreshopportunitiesfordia-logue.There ishope, andscope, for creatinganewglobal compact. Contributionswill bemeasurednotindollarsalone,butinthelead-ershipthatcountriesexhibit—andtheirwill-ingnesstoshareideasandresourcestodevelopan internationalmechanism formonitoring,verification, earlywarning and cooperationamongnation-states, includinginvaccinede-velopment.Suchaframeworkwillhavetolookbeyondthelimitationsof theWHO.In light of COVID-19, there definitely ex-

ists a case for the greater scrutiny of “wetmarkets”inChina,south-eastAsia,andmanyother countries around theworld. Roadsidequacks across South Asia, too, are seen ex-tollingthespuriouscurativepowersof lizardoils and other extracts of protected species.Even the USA, which has enacted theEndangeredSpeciesActin1973,hasnotbeenabletoeradicateanimalfarmsthatbreedandtradeexoticspecies.Chinaoperatescommer-cial tiger farms for traditionalmedicine andsouth-eastAsiadoes likewisewithbears forbile extraction. All these activities increasethepotentialforzoonotictransmissionofun-known,deadlyviruses.The need of the hour is to devisemeans

that can dealmore effectivelywith the ille-gal slaughter of exotic animals. Effortsmustbemade to strengthen the Convention onInternationalTradeinEndangeredSpeciesofWild Fauna and Flora (CITES), amultilateraltreaty withmore than 180member coun-tries.Thereshouldberenewedfocusnotonlyon the illegal international trade that is al-ready covered by CITES, but also the haz-ardousexploitationofexoticwildlifespecieswithinnationalborders.Allsignatorystates,includingChina,mustpass andenforce leg-islationtocontrolthedomesticconsumption

ofwildanimals.Dubious“wetmarkets”andanimal farmsmustbeshutdown.India’srecordoflegislationinconservation

and enforcement of penalties for the killingand exploitation of protectedwildlife is bet-terthanmost.ThereisconsiderablescopefortheModigovernmenttotaketheleadinpro-posingthatCITESbegivenmoreteethtocon-duct internationalscrutinyandinspections.The COVID-19 pandemic has brought

acrossahometruth:Wealthisunabletopro-tect even themost affluent people from asilent killer. Individualswith higher immu-nity levelshaveabetter chanceof survival ifafflictedwithCOVID-19. The ancient Indianpracticeofyogaisknowntoboostimmunitylevels through the cultivation of a healthymindandbody.Thisisthetimetofurtherre-inforce theworldwide practice of yoga un-der the banner of the International Day ofYoga, alsoan initiativeofModi. India shouldplanforspecialvirtualeventsonJune21thisyeartoencouragepeoplearoundtheworldtopracticeyoga topromoteholistichealth.As theworld’s largest producer and ex-

porterofcost-effectivegenericdrugs, India’sreadiness to ship the anti-malarial drughy-droxychloroquinetofightCOVID-19toothersisa“GoodSamaritan”actinconsonancewiththe ethos of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”.India isalso in therace toproduceavaccine.If China is a “factory to theworld”, Indiahasthepotentialtobea“pharmacytotheworld”.Itcaneventakeonanewandwell-deservedmoniker,thatofvishwavaidya(globalphysi-cian). This provides an opportunity to pro-moteayurveda,whichcomplementsyoga.Ata strategic level, globalopinionseems

weighedagainst China, notwithstanding itsefforts to salvage credibility by shifting thefocus away from the origins of the coron-avirus to the “superiority” of its system intackling the pandemic. There is talk of thecoronavirushavingoriginatedinalaboratoryinWuhan,withmanytheoriesaboutbiolog-icalwarfareprogrammesandaccidental re-lease. This provides an opportunemomentto turn the spotlight on the inherentweak-nessesoftheBiologicalWeaponsConvention(BWC)of1975.Itisadisarmamenttreatythatdoesnotprohibittheretentionanduseofbi-ological agents, includingcoronaviruses, forprophylactic purposes which encompassmedicalresearchfordiagnosisandimmuni-sation. It hasnoverificationprotocol todeal

withanysuspecteduseofbiologicalagents.Indeed,theUNSCcaninvestigatecomplaintsinthisregard,butthevetopowerenjoyedbythe permanentmembers, including China,renders this a chimera. In the run-up to theninthreviewconferenceoftheBWCin2021,India could engage in consultations withothermiddlepowerstoevolvearegimethatcanprovidebetteroversight.Theverynotionofcriticalinfrastructurein

thecyberdomainischanginginmyriadwayswithasuddensurgeinusersanddataflowinthedigitalspace.Thishascreatedvastnewat-tacksurfacesinpersonalcomputersforhack-ers and cybercriminals, both state andnon-state.PostCOVID-19,therewillbeevengreaterrelianceonartificial intelligence (AI), surveil-lance technologies, onlineplatformsandbigdata.Indiamustredoubleitsefforts,alongwithpartnerssuchastheUSA,topushforamulti-stakeholdermodelof internetgovernance.Theoutlineofthepost-COVID-19era,par-

ticularly in relation to economic recovery,healthcare,andfoodsecurity,isfarfromclear.The pandemicmay serve to accentuate therift between the USA and China. However,giventheinexorablecentralityoftheChineseeconomyinglobalsupplychains,it isamootquestion if the economies of theUSA, EUorJapan can achieve a major decoupling.COVID-19hasshownhowChina’sactionsim-pacttheentireworld.Whateverthedenoue-mentinthematterofbringingChinatobookforitsactsofcommissionoromission,itsco-operationwillbevitalinreformingglobalin-stitutionsandpractices.India enjoys good relationswithmulti-

ple powers and iswell-regarded across thedevelopingworld.Withexcellentlong-termeconomicprospects inthedecadesahead,aconfident India appears fully capableof ab-sorbing the shocks of the pandemic andstriding forth to engage a world riven bytrade wars and ideological contestation.Despitehardships, Indiacan,andmust,takethe lead in bringing theworld together topractice a newmultilateralism that placesthe common interests of humanity abovenarrownational interests.

Thewriter isa formerambassador, andcurrently thedirectorgeneralof the

ManoharParrikar Institute forDefenceStudiesandAnalyses,NewDelhi.

Viewsarepersonal

WITH DIGNITYTHIS REFERS TO the editorial, ‘Goinghome’ (IE,May 1). Opening awindowformigrants to return home needs tobeaccompaniedbyferryingthemwithdignitytotheirhomes.Bareilly-typein-humantreatmentshouldnotbemetedout to them. It may also happen thattheir ownvillagesmaybe loathe to al-lowthembackonmisplacedsuspicionthattheymaybecarryingthevirus.Buttheirreturnmustbeensured,asthereisboundtobeabacklashif financiallyandemotionally shattered people are putthroughmore.

DeepakSinghal,Chennai

OTHER LEADERSTHIS REFERS TO the article, ‘Labour’sleader’ (IE, May 1). The article claimsthat“BRAmbedkarlaidthefoundationforworkers’ rights and social securityin India”.Ambedkarwasavocal leaderforworkers’rights.However,thecreditfor “laying the foundation” in this re-gard goes to others. N M Lokhndefoughtforthelabourrightsinthe1880s,leading the struggle for leave and rea-sonable working hours. There was aMadras Labour Union in the early1900s. Inthe1910s,Gandhijimobilisedthe labour of Ahmedabad textilemillsandfasteduntodeathforthelabourers’rights. All these took place before the

formationof the ILPbyAmbedkar.SuchakDPatel,Ahmedabad

BORN TO ACTTHIS REFERS TO the editorial, ‘Lovelylover’ (IE, May 1). Starting withMeraNaam Joker, for which hewon the na-tional award for the best child actor,RishiKapoormesmerisedfansthrough-out an illustrious career. He charmedthe country in Bobby. Since then, alsoshowedgreatversatilitywithfilmslikeMulk.Hewasborn toact.

ParulSrivastava,Prayagraj

9

As the world’s largestproducer and exporter ofcost-effective generic drugs,India’s readiness to ship theanti-malarial drughydroxychloroquine to fightCOVID-19 to others is a‘Good Samaritan’ act inconsonance with the ethos of‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’.India is also in the race toproduce a vaccine. If China isa ‘factory to the world’, Indiahas the potential to be a‘pharmacy to the world’. Itcan even take on a new andwell-deserved moniker, thatof ‘vishwa vaidya’ (globalphysician). This provides anopportunity to promoteayurveda, whichcomplements yoga.

LETTER OF THEWEEKAWARD

To encourage quality readerintervention, The IndianExpress offers the Letter oftheWeek award. The letteradjudged the best for theweek is published everySaturday. Lettersmay be

e-mailed toeditpage@expressindia.comor sent to The IndianExpress, B-1/B, Sector 10,Noida-UP 201301.

COVID-19iscausinghavocacrosstheworld,destroying both lives and livelihoods.DevelopingcountriessuchasIndiaarepar-ticularly vulnerable as their vast informalworkforce, which has no labour, social orhealth protection, iswoefully ill-equippedto copewith themedical and economicshocks of the virus. This is largely a conse-quence of the continuedneglect of the in-formaleconomyovertheyearsinthebeliefthat it is amarginal or temporary sectorwhere people subsistwhile theywait forformal jobs.Statisticssuggestthatthesizeof thein-

formal economy is far from insignificant.At the last count, 90.6 per cent of India’sworkforce was informally employed(Periodic Labour Force Survey, 2017-18).This estimate includes thosewhoare em-ployedininformalenterprises(unincorpo-ratedsmallorunregisteredenterprises)aswellasinformalworkersintheformalsec-tor (workers in the formal sectorwho arenotprovidedanysocialsecuritybenefitsbyemployers).Thepreviousemploymentun-employmentsurveyssuggestthattheshareof informally employed has been persist-entlyhigh.Between 2004-05 and 2017-18, a pe-

riodwhenIndiawitnessedrapideconomicgrowth,theshareoftheinformalworkforcewitnessed only amarginal decline from93.2per cent to90.6per cent.While therewas some decline in the share of workersemployedininformalenterprisesoverthistime period(from87.4percent to81.1percent), theshareof informalworkers in theformal sector increased from5.8 per centto9.5percent.Hence,thetotalshareof in-formally employed didn’t changemuch.Lookingahead,itislikelythatinformalem-ploymentwillincreaseasworkerswholoseformal jobs during the COVID crisis try tofindorcreatework(byresortingtoself-em-ployment) in the informal economy. Alsoformal enterprises are likely to continuehiringinformalworkersastheyseekmoreflexibility and attempt to cut labour coststo copewith the COVID-19 induced eco-nomicuncertainty.Thus,informalityisheretostayandthere

isanurgentneedtoplacetheinformalecon-omyat thecentreof thepolicydebate.Thisrequiresacomprehensiveunderstandingoftheheterogeneitiesintheinformaleconomyandthevariousdriversofinformality.Someself-employedpersons choose to be in theinformaleconomyvoluntarilytoavoidreg-istrationortaxation,whilstothersdosooutof necessity to eke out a subsistence livingin the absence of alternative employmentopportunities.Typically,fewinformalenter-prises,exceptperhapssomesurvivalactivi-ties, operate in isolation fromformal firms.Theysourcerawmaterialsfromand/orsup-plyfinishedgoodstoformalfirmseitherdi-rectlyor through intermediate (formal/ in-formal) firms.But theychoosetoremain inthe informal sector as they aredeterredby

thecostsofformalisationordon’tseemuchbenefit from formalisation. On the otherhand, the phenomenonof informalisationofwageemploymentintheformalsectorisa consequence of formal firms trying toavoid payroll taxes and employer’s contri-butions tosocial securityorpensions to re-ducelabourcosts.Theprevailingdiscourseon informality

revolves around the recommendation thattheinformaleconomyshouldbeformalised— a desirable objective indeed. However,giventhemultipledriversofinformalityde-scribed above, amulti-pronged and com-prehensiveapproach isneeded to facilitatethetransition.Itrequirescreatingmorefor-mal jobs through labour intensive growthsothatinformalworkerscanmovetothesejobs.Further,itrequiresregisteringandtax-inginformalenterprises.TheIndianexperi-enceof compelling informal firms to regis-ter and become tax compliant throughdemonetisation andintroductionofGSTfor-malised themonly ina legal sense.But for-malisation processes are not simply aboutlegalconsiderations, theyarealsoaboutin-creasingproductivityofinformalenterprisesand incomes of the informalworkforce byprovidingthemwith technicalandbusinessskills,infrastructureservices,financialserv-ices,enterprisesupportandtrainingtobet-ter compete in themarkets.Many peopleworkingintheinformaleconomyhaverealbusinessacumenanddynamismandcouldflourishifobstacles inthepathtoentrepre-neurshipwereremoved.Thiswouldenablean organic process of transition andmanyinformalenterpriseswouldwelcomeeffortstoreducebarrierstoregistrationandrelatedtransactioncostsas theyexpect to reapthebenefitsof formalising.Clearly, thetransitionfrominformality

to formality is a complex and long termprocess, one that cannot be achievedovernight. The policy discourse on infor-malityneedsto focusnot juston formalis-ing informalenterprisesbutalso reducingthedecentworkdeficitininformalemploy-ment. This requires protecting informalworkersbyprovidingthemasocialprotec-tion floor, ensuring a set of basic workingconditions such as adequate livingwages,limits on hours of work and safe andhealthyworkplaces and increasing theircollectiverepresentativevoice.While,thereis growingconsensusaround theneed foreachoftheseelements,thereislittleagree-ment on how this is to be achieved.Questions around the role of governmentand who bears the onus of protectingworkers deserve careful consideration inthebackdropof the rising incidenceof in-formal employment in the formal sectorand thegrowthof thegigeconomy.Aswegrapplewithahealth,economic

and humanitarian crisis of epic propor-tions, the immediate need is to provideemergency relief to cushion the effects ofthedual shocksof thevirusand lockdownon informalworkersbyprovidingnot justadequate income support but also freepublicprovisionof basic food items, otheressentialsandeffectivehealthservices.TheCOVID-19crisishasbroughttotheforethevulnerabilitiesandprecaritiesof theinfor-malworkforce. It isapparentthatinourre-lentless pursuit of economic growth, wehaveignoredthevoicesof India’s informalsector for too long.

Thewriter is senior fellowat ICRIER

Unheardand unseen

Inourpursuitof economicgrowth,wehaveignoredthevoicesof India’s informalsector for

too long.Thisneeds tochange

CR Sasikumar

India’s worldItcanabsorbshocksofpandemic,taketheleadinreshapingglobalorder

RadhickaKapoor

SujanRChinoy

SouthKoreaholdslessonsforleaderstryingtousecrisistoconsolidatepower

SOUTHKOREA once featured prominentlyinwhat is now, thankfully, an obsolete de-bateonwhetherauthoritariangovernmentscan deliver better economic growth thandemocracies. The countrywas thenheld asanexemplarysuccessstoryofexport-ledde-velopment under authoritarian rule.Whatever thewisdomof development ex-perts, and of the “Asian values” ideologuesat that time about a supposed trade-off be-tweeneconomicgrowthandliberty, theav-erage South Korean citizen had a differentview.Anation-widedemocracymovementended authoritarian rule in 1987 and inau-gurateditscurrentpolity:TheSixthRepublic.Threedecadeslater,agovernmentmade

upofthegenerationthatgrewupprotestingthe US-backedmilitary-authoritarian rulestands as an inspiring example of a liberaldemocracysuccessfullycontrollingaCOVID-19 outbreakwithout ever imposing a lock-down. South Korea was one the world’sworst-affected countries in February. OnApril29,itrecordedzerodomestically-trans-mittednewcases;itsfournewcaseswerealltied tooverseas travel.This isanespeciallyhopefulandinstruc-

tive story when illiberal leaders of certaindemocracies are trying to exploit the pan-demictoentrenchthemselvesinpowerandstifle criticismof officialhigh-handedness.To be sure, democracy or authoritarian-

ismpersehasnotbeenthedeterminingfac-torintheabilitytorespondeffectivelytothiscrisis. One important variable has been thecompetence of thosemaking key decisions

and the public’s trust and confidence inthem. The available legal regime shapinggovernmental responses has made adifference.A number of democracies, notably the

UnitedStates,haveperformedpoorly.Yet, itis surely not accidental that New Zealand,Iceland, andNorway,whose leaders—all ofthemwomen—havewonparticularacclaimfor their responses, areamongthebestper-formingdemocracies in theworld.There has been much well-deserved

praise for the technicalities of the SouthKoreanresponse:Extensivetestingandrapidcontact-tracing, thesmartuseofdigitalsur-veillance, and targetedmandatory quaran-tine only for those sick with COVID-19 ortestingpositive.Butthebasicdemocraticval-ueswidely shared among the current gov-ernment and its supporters that undergirdthis strategy has not received the attentionitdeserves.SouthKorea’sstate-of-the-art Infectious

DiseaseControlandPreventionActdeservesparticularattention. Itenablesthemobilisa-tionofmultiplestateandnon-stateactorsinawhole-of-society effort to stop the spreadof infectious disease. As Brian J Kim pointsout, it empowers governmental authoritiesto act farmore aggressively during a publichealth crisis than inmany other democra-cies. They are able to collect private data ofconfirmedandprobablepatients, andtore-quire telecommunications companies andpolicedepartmentstosharethegeolocationinformationofthoseindividuals.Butthegov-

ernment has been using these powers pri-marily to fosterpublic trust in its strategy.Inanunusualtwisttotheideaofthepub-

lic’s“righttoknow,”thelawrequiresauthor-ities to disclose locational information onquarantined persons to the public, though,thoseundermedicalsurveillancehavetobeeventually notified and the records de-stroyed. It also sets forth the obligations ofthe state to disinfect subways, buses andotherpublicplacesandestablishestherightof all citizens to receive free diagnostic andmedical treatment for infectiousdiseases.This lawstands inremarkablecontrast to

India’s antiquated EpidemicDiseases Act of1897, invoked to give state governments theauthority to enforce containmentmeasures.OriginallyenactedduringtheplaguepanicofBombay,itallowedthecolonialauthoritiestoput infected areas under a de facto state ofemergency. The more recent DisasterManagementActof2005,thatPrimeMinisterNarendraModi invoked to impose anation-wide lockdown,wasdesignedwithnationaldisastersandnotapublichealthcrisisinmind.Unfortunately,ittooprioritisesmilitary-stylecommandandcontrolmeasures—notexactlyconducivetonurturingpublictrust.President Moon Jae-in’s left-leaning

DemocraticPartywonalandslidevictory inSouth Korea’s parliamentary elections lastmonth, signalling strong public approval ofthe government’s handling of the crisis. Itsreliance primarily on thewilling and self-motivatedcooperationofthepublic,andnotonthecoercivepowersof thestate,hasa lot

to do with the recent political history ofSouthKorea.PresidentMoon,aformerlawyerspecial-

isinginhumanrightsandlabourlaw,cameofageduringawaveofstudentprotestsagainstauthoritarian rule. Hewas expelled fromschoolandjailedforhisroleinthoseprotests.Moon and other one-time pro-democracystudentprotestersarenowmembersandsup-portersof thecurrentgovernment.“Whenever democracy has fallen into a

crisis,” Moon told a reporter after beingelected tooffice in2017, “theKoreanpeoplehavesprungup inrage.”Havingbeenon the receiving endof au-

thoritarianarbitrariness, thecurrentgener-ationofSouthKoreanleadersappreciatetheneed to transcend what the University ofChicago-educatedvice-healthministerKimGang-lipdescribesasthe“limitationsof theconventionalapproachtofightinginfectiousdisease.” Gaining the public trust throughtransparencyandquickinformationflow,hesays, is central tohisgovernment’s strategy.Itisfartooearlyinthecoronavirussagato

pronouncethisoranyotherstrategysuccess-ful.Yet,whatthisnewly-energisedandvibrantdemocracyhasbeenabletoachieveinthepastfewmonths holds important lessons for therest of us—especially for theonce lively, butnowexhausteddemocraciesof theworld.

Baruah isprofessorofpolitical studiesatBardCollege,NewYork,andauthorof the

2020published, In theNameof theNation:Indiaand itsNortheast

Pandemic and public trustSanjib Baruah

Mumbai

10THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,MAY4,2020

THEOUTBREAK TheWorld

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

ASSOCIATEDPRESSROME,MAY3

FROMTHEUStoEuropetoAsia,the easing of some coronaviruslockdownsbroughtmillionsoutof theirhomes toenjoy theout-doorsandwarmspringtemper-atures. Yet the global pandemicis still slicing through the de-fenses of other nations, causinginfections and deaths tomarchrelentlesslyhigher.New coronavirus cases in

Russia exceeded 10,000 for thefirst time, reaching 10,633 onSunday—nearlydoublethenewcases reportedaweekago.A Russian epidemiologist,

however,saidthesharpincreaseincoronaviruscasesreflectedin-creased testing. AlexanderGintsburg of the GamaleyaResearch Center forEpidemiologyandMicrobiologywasquotedbythe Interfaxnewsagency as saying the increasingnumber of infections does notindicateadeepeningpandemic,noting that testing has doubledover thepast10days.Russia has reported 1,222

virusdeathsamong124,000in-fections, numbers that healthexperts widely believe under-countthetruetollof itsoutbreak.Therewasalsoworryingnews

fromAfghanistan,wherenearlyathird testedpositive ina randomtestof500peopleinKabul.China, which reported only

twonewcases, is seeinga surgein visitors to newly reopened

tourist spots after domestictravel restrictionswere relaxedahead of a five-dayholiday thatruns throughTuesday.Nearly1.7millionpeoplevis-

itedBeijingparksonthefirsttwodays of the holiday, andShanghai’s main tourist spotswelcomedmore than 1millionvisitors, according to Chinesemedia.Manyspotslimiteddailyvis-

itorsto30percentofcapacityorlesstokeepsomesocialdistanc-ing inplace.Italians are counting down

the hours until Monday, whenparks and public gardenswerere-opening nationwide forstrolling, jogging or bike riding.But with sunshine and warmtemperatures across the coun-try,manywere outside in forceSunday, walking down streets

andchattingonsidewalks.Prime Minister Giuseppe

Contehaswarnedthatif therateof contagion starts rising again,suchfreedomswillbecurtailed.InSpain,manyventuredout

this weekend for the first timesince its lockdown began onMarch14.“I feel good, but tired. You

sure notice that it has been amonth and I am not in shape,”

runner Cristina Palomeque saidinBarcelona.In Britain, Prime Minister

Boris Johnson is underpressureto reveal how the country willleave the lockdown that beganMarch 23. The restrictions aredue to last at leastuntil throughThursday, butwithhundredsofdeathsstillbeingreporteddaily,it’sunclearhowthecountrycansafely loosen therestrictions.

PeopleatabeachinHongKong,Sunday.China,whichreportedonlytwonewcases,sawasurgeinvisitorstotouristspots.Reuters

Somenations ease curbs, othersgrapple as pandemicmarches on

SupportersofDonaldTrumpprotestMinnesotaGovernorTimWalz’s stay-at-homeorders inStPaul.AP/PTI

REUTERSLONDON,MAY3

THEBRITISH government had acontingency plan for PrimeMinisterBorisJohnson’sdeathashebattledCOVID-19inintensivecare lastmonth,hesaid inanin-terviewwithTheSunnewspaper.Johnson, 55, returned to

work last week, a month aftertestingpositiveforCOVID-19.Hespent 10 days in isolation inDowning Street before he wastaken to London’s St Thomas'Hospital where he spent threenights in intensivecare.“They had a strategy to deal

witha‘deathofStalin’-typesce-

nario,” Johnsonwas quoted assayinginSunday'seditionofTheSun.“Itwasatougholdmoment,Iwon'tdeny it.”Johnsonsaid thatduring the

periodwhenhewas self-isolat-inginDowningStreet,hehadre-sistedgoing tohospital.“IwasindenialbecauseIwas

working and I kept doing thesemeetingsbyvideo-link,”hesaid.“...I said I reallydidn'twant togointo hospital. It didn't seem to

me to be a goodmove but theywere pretty adamant. Lookingback,theywererighttoforcemetogo.”Johnson was admitted to a

wardonApril5andgivenoxygenvia a facemaskanda tube inhisnose. “Iwasgoing through litresand litres of oxygen for a longtime,”he said.Hewasmoved tointensivecareonApril6.At one point, doctors dis-

cussed invasiveventilation.AfterJohnsonwasdischarged,

StThomas'saiditwasgladtohavecaredfor theprimeminister,butthe hospital has givennodetailsaboutthegravityofhisillnessbe-yondstating thathewas treatedinintensivecare.

Rohingya at seafor weeks arriveon Bangladeshisland

ASSOCIATEDPRESSDHAKA,MAY3

AT LEAST 29 Rohingya refugeesfromafishingboatfloatingintheBay of Bengal for weeks havelanded on an island in southernBangladesh,officialssaidSunday.The refugees, including 15

womenandsixchildren, landedon Bhasan Char island onSaturday and are believed to befrom one of several boats stuckat sea, said Tonmoy Das, localchief government official inNoakhalidistrict.Das said food, doctors and a

teamof10policemenweresentto the island to take care of therefugees.AnofficialfromBangladesh’s

Refugee Commissioner’s officeinCox’sBazardistrictsaidtheof-fice was aware of the develop-ment.Theofficial spokeoncon-ditionof anonymity.Rights groups say hundreds

of Rohingya are stranded on atleast two fishing trawlers be-tweenBangladeshandMalaysia.The refugees reportedly at-tempted to illegally reachMalaysia, but failed because ofstrict patrols to keep out thecoronavirus.

THENEWYORKTIMESBEIRUT,MAY3

IN Amud-walled village in thePersianGulf,aChristianwomansheds tears of love for aMuslimmerchant. But he is stuck in amiserablemarriagetoawomanwho longs for anotherMuslimman.Butshecan’thavehim,be-causehe is crazyabout the localrabbi’sdaughter.These tangles of interreli-

gious intrigueunspool in anewblockbustertelevisionseriesthathassetoffheateddebatesacrossthe Arab world about the re-

gion's historical relationshipswith Jewish communities andtheshiftingstancesofsomeofitscurrent leaders toward Israel.Fanslaudtheprogramme,set

inthe1940sand1950s,forhigh-lightinganoftenoverlookedas-pectoftheregion'spast—JewishcommunitiesinthePersianGulf— while providing a much-needed example of coexistenceamongdifferent faiths.Butcriticshaveblasteditasa

blatant effort to reshape Arabviews of Israel to pave thewayfor formal relations, or whatmany in the Arab world call“normalisation”.

With the coronavirus shut-teringmosquesandtheholycityof Mecca, this year's Ramadan,which began last week, was al-ready bound for the historybooks.But the virus's effect on the

Islamic holy month is just oneaspect thatwillbe longremem-bered, a prominent Palestinianjournalist, Abdel Bari Atwan,wrote thisweek.The other reason this

Ramadanwon't soonbe forgot-ten is because “itwitnessed thelargestnormalisationcampaign,drivenbytheSaudimedia,withhelp from the government, and

coordinatedwith the Israeli oc-cupationstate,”MrAtwansaid.Suspicionsthatthehistorical

TV drama, Um Haroun, or“Mother of Aaron”, is part of astate-sponsored push to swayopinions are widespread. Theshow airs on MBC, the Arabworld's largest private broad-caster, but one ultimately con-trolledby theSaudi state.The same network is also

broadcasting a comedy pro-gramme that hasmade light ofArabattitudestowardIsrael, fur-ther fueling a sense that bothshowsaremixingentertainmentwithpropaganda.

WhileMBC denied that in-cluding positive depictions ofJews was part of any govern-mentmandate,thisyear'sshowsdocoincidewithaquietbutclearwarming toward Israel amonggovernmentsinthePersianGulf.Historically, animosity to-

wardIsraelandsympathyforthePalestinians were some of thefew sentiments able to uniteArabsacrosstheMiddleEast.Butin recent years, wars, insurgen-cies and economic crises haveleftmanyArabgovernmentsfo-cusedondomesticissues,push-ing the Palestinian cause downthepriority list.

At the same time, somePersian Gulf leaders have cometoseeIsraelnotasaneternalen-emy, but as a potential allyagainstthesharedthreatsof IranandtheMuslimBrotherhood.Crown Prince Mohammed

bin Salman of Saudi Arabia hasspokenofoverlappingtradeandsecurity interests between thekingdom and Israel, and anIsraelidelegation isexpected toparticipate in a world expo inthe United Arab Emirates nextyear,althoughbothSaudiArabiaand the Emirates lack formaldiplomatic relations with thecountry.

AscenefromtheSaudiTVserialUmmHaroun.MBCGroupviaAP

Jewish characters in Saudi TV show sparks debate among Arabs

ASSOCIATEDPRESSJERUSALEM,MAY3

ISRAEL’SHIGHcourtheardpeti-tions Sunday that seek to blockPrime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu fromformingagov-ernment because he has beenchargedwithseriouscrimes.Apanelof 11 justicespartici-

pated in the highly anticipatedsessionthatwasbeingportrayedbysomeasawatershedmomentfor Israeli democracy. The hear-ingwasbroadcast live.If the court voids

Netanyahu’s ability to serve asprimeminister, Israel could beplungedintopoliticalchaos,anditwould likely trigger the coun-try’sfourthconsecutiveelectionin justover12months.The justices are being asked

todecidewhetheraprimemin-ister can form a governmentwhileunderindictment-some-thing the Israeli legal code doesnotexplicitlyprohibit.Netanyahuwasindictedear-

lier this year on charges of ac-ceptingbribes, fraudandbreachof trust. He has denied anywrongdoing. His trialwas post-poned due to restrictions afterthecoronaviruscrisiserupted.

Israel courthears pleasagainstNetanyahu rule

OTHERTOPGLOBAL STORIES

YUBARAJGHIMIREKATHMANDU,MAY3

SHEDDING ITS imageof beingareluctant player in the internalpoliticsofNepal,Chinahasbeenplayinganactiverole thesepastfewdaysinKathmandu’spowergames.Ambassador Hou Yanqi,

Beijing’senvoytoKathmandu,isbeingcredited,inlargemeasure,fortherapprochementatthetoplevel of the ruling NepalCommunist Party and, in theprocess,savingthechairofPrimeMinisterKPOli.Acrucialmeetingofthenine-

memberpartycentralsecretariatended SaturdaynightwithOli’svictoryaftera ‘let’sgotogetherasaunitedface’appealbydissidentleaderandformerPrimeMinisterPushpaKamalDahalPrachanda-on Wednesday night, it wasPrachanda who had used thesameforumtoaskOlitoresign.In the past ten days, ever

since Chinese President XiJinping had a 40-minute phoneconversationwith Nepal coun-terpartBidhyaDeviBhandari,os-tensibly to promise all supporttofighttheCOVID-19pandemic,AmbassadorHouYanqihasbeenveryactive -andvisible.President Xi had dropped

broad political hints, lendingsupport toPrimeMinisterOli ata timewhen at least six of thenine central secretariat mem-bers had come out openly infavour of his exit as party chair-manaswell asPrimeMinister.“His Excellency thePresident

ofChinaexpressedhishappinessover the return of RightHonourable PrimeMinister K PSharmaOlitonormalworksched-uleafterhiskidneytransplantsur-geryandconveyedhisbestwishesto theRt.Hon. PrimeMinister ofNepalforhisgoodhealthandhap-

piness,” statedapress release is-sued by theMinistry of ForeignAffairsonApril27,hoursafterthephoneconversation.“It was unusual for the

Chinese President to conveyhismessagetothePrimeMinisterofanother country through thePresident,” a senior diplomat ofNepal, now retired, said. “Afterall,hishappinessisalsolinkedtohis political success and defeatofdissidents,”thediplomatsaid.BetweenApril27andMay1,

an official holiday, AmbassadorHou Yanqi met PresidentBhandari, PrimeMinister Oli,Prachanda and former PrimeMinisterMadhav Kumar Nepal—15minutes separated the lasttwomeetings.There has been no official

word from any side about themeetings, but a highly placedsource said Ambassador HouYanqiadvisedunity in thepartyandastablegovernment.China hasmuch at stake in

Nepalgivenitsinvolvementinde-velopmental projects.Kathmandu isalsoasignatory toBeijing’sBeltandRoadInitiative.Incidentally,Prachanda’sap-

peal for unity, following his callfor ouster of Oli, tookMadhavNepalbysurprise.“IopposedPrimeMinisterOli

because I wanted the party toworkunderasystemandaspernormsand lawandnotas someone’s pocket borough. Twochiefscanalwaysbeononeside,butnotat thecostof partyprin-ciples,”saidNepalwhodeclinedto accept Oli’s offer to be thethirdchairmanofthepartyafterheandPrachanda.

NepalPMKPOli

BritishPMBorisJohnson

Oli stays for now,China envoy hadrole in truce

FANS SAY PROGRAMME HIGHLIGHTS JEWISH COMMUNITIES IN THE GULF, CRITICS CALL IT EFFORT TO RESHAPE ARAB VIEWS OF ISRAEL

British govt had contingencyplan for my death, says Boris

PAKISTAN

Over19,000casesreported,deathtoll440Islamabad: Pakistan'scoronavirus tally crossed19,000 on Sunday after989 new patients werediagnosed in a 24-hourperiod. The Ministry ofNational Health Servicessaid 23 patients died inthisperiod,takingtheto-taltollto440.Sofar,4,817people have recoveredfrom the virus, themin-istry said.Outof the total19,103 virus patients,Punjabhasreported7,106cases, Sindh 7,102,Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa2,907, Balochistan 1,172,Islamabad 393, Gilgit-Baltistan 356 andPakistan-occupiedKashmir67cases. PTI

PakistanPMImranKhansaid“wemayhaveto livewiththevirus forsixmonthsor(even)ayear”. File

PANDEMICWATCH

IRAN

Somemosques,schoolstoreopentodayDubai:Iranplanstoreopenmosquesandschoolsinar-easthathavebeenconsis-tently free of the coron-avirusasPresidentHassanRouhani’s governmentstarts to ease restrictionsthatwere aimed at con-taining the outbreak.“Mosqueswill reopen in132 low-risk or ‘whitecities’ and towns fromMonday.Fridayprayerser-monswillresumeinthoseareasaswell...However,allthesestepswillbetakenbyrespectingthehealthpro-tocols,”Rouhanisaid.Iran'shealth ministry has di-vided the country intowhite, yellow and redbasedonthenumberofin-fections and deaths.

REUTERS

BANGLADESH

Highestsingle-dayspikerecordedDhaka:Bangladeshregis-tered its highest single-day increase in the coro-navirus cases with 665newinfections in the last24hours, taking the totalnumber to 9,455.Bangladeshalsorecordedtwo more deaths fromthe virus in the last 24hours, taking the totaldeath count to 177, theDhaka Tribune reported.Directorate General ofHealth ServicesAdditional DirectorGeneral Nasima SultanaonSundaysaidthehealthauthorities have sofar conducted 81,434tests. PTI

Coronavirus becomes abattle cry for US extremistsTHENEWYORKTIMESNEWYORK,MAY5

AMERICA’SEXTREMISTSareat-temptingtoturnthecoronaviruspandemic into a potent recruit-ingtoolbothinthedeepcornersof theInternetandonthestreetsof state capitals by twisting thepublic health crisis to bolstertheir white supremacist, anti-governmentagenda.Although the protests that

havebrokenoutacrossthecoun-try have drawnout awide vari-etyofpeoplepressingtoliftstay-at-homeorders, thepresenceofextremists cannot be missed,with their anti-immigrant andanti-Semitic signs and codedmessagesaimedatinspiringthefaithful,saythosewhotracksuchmovements.Embellishing COVID-19 de-

velopments to fit their usualagenda,extremistsspreaddisin-formation on the transmissionof the virus and disparage stay-at-home orders as “medicalmartial law”— the long-antici-

pated advent of a totalitarianstate.“Theyarebeingveryeffective

incapitalizingonthepandemic,”said Devin Burghart, a veteranresearcherofwhitenationalistswho runs the Institute forResearch and Education onHuman Rights, a Seattle-basedresearch center on far rightmovements.What success the groups

havehadinfindingfreshrecruitsisnotyetclear,butnewresearchindicates a significant jump inpeople consuming extremistmaterialwhileunderlockdown.Various violent incidents havebeen linked towhite suprema-cist or anti-government perpe-trators enraged over aspects ofthepandemic.Engagementwithviolentex-

tremist content online in stateswithextendedstay-at-homeor-ders grew 21 percent in earlyApril comparedwith the eightpreviousmonths,accordingtoareportbyMoonshotCVE,astart-up that monitors extremistsearchesonGoogle.

ASSOCIATEDPRESSWASHINGTON,MAY3

US SECRETARY of State MikePompeo on Sunday said Chinahas been responsible for thespreadofdiseaseinthepastandmustbeheldaccountableforthecoronaviruspandemicthatorig-inated in thecountry.In comments likely to spark

protests from Beijing and else-where,Pompeosaid,“Chinahasahistoryof infectingtheworld.”Hecitedpoorsafetyandsecurityat epidemiological laboratories,including in the city of Wuhanwhere the virus was firstreported.He stressed that he had no

reason to believe that the virus

was deliberately spread but herampedupalreadyharshUScrit-icismof theChinesefortheirre-sponse to theoutbreak.“Remember,Chinahasahis-

tory of infecting theworld, andthey have a history of runningsubstandard laboratories,”Pompeo said Sunday on ABC’s

ThisWeekprogramme.“Thesearenotthefirsttimes

thatwe’vehadaworldexposedtovirusesasaresultof failuresina Chinese lab. And so,while theintelligencecommunitycontin-ues to do its work, they shouldcontinuetodothat,andverifysothatwearecertain, Icantellyouthatthereisasignificantamountof evidence that this came fromthat laboratory inWuhan.”Pompeo appeared to be re-

ferringtopreviousoutbreaksofrespiratory viruses, like SARS,which started in China. But hisremark may be seen as offen-sive in China given the historyof US discrimination againstthe Chinese and people ofChinese origin dating to the19th century.

MikePompeo

Pompeo on COVID: China hasa history of infecting the world

Mumbai

11THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,MAY4,2020

ECONOMYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

Market WatchS&P500RALLIES30%OFFMARCHLOWSNew York: The S&P 500 has rallied about 30 per cent off its Marchlows, fueled by monetary and fiscal policy designed to stimulatethe economy after the United States ordered country-widelockdowns to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. REUTERS

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,MAY3

INAbigrelief tothecapitalmar-kets, even as the coronaviruspandemic continues to hiteconomies andmarketsworld-wide, foreignportfolio investors(FPIs) significantly reduced thepace of outflows inApril, after arecordnetoutflowofRs1,18,203croreinMarch2020.InApril,FPIspulledoutanetofRs14,858crorefromequityanddebtmarkets.According to data sourced

fromCDSL, FPIs sold a net of Rs6,883 crore from the equitiesmarketinAprilandsoldnethold-ingsworthRs12,551 crore fromthedebtmarket.Theywere,however,netpos-

itive investors in debt voluntary

retention route (VRR) schemethat allowsFPIs toparticipate inreposandalsoinvestinexchangetraded funds that invest indebtinstruments.Theyinvestedanetof Rs 4,032 crore in debt VRRschemes inApril.TheVRR channel is aimedat

attracting long-term and stableFPI investments into debtmar-

kets, while providing FPIs withoperationalflexibilitytomanagetheir investments.Whilenet fundoutflowofRs

14,858 crore from capital mar-kets in April is a significantamount, it is one-eighth of out-flows seen inMarchwhen thepandemic started spreading inIndiaandthePrimeMinisteran-

nounced a 21-day lockdownonMarch24.The outflow from the equity

marketsreducedfromRs61,972crore inMarch toRs 6,883 croreinApril.Thesharpdeclineinout-flow brought relief for equitymarketsandtheystagedasmartrecovery,inlinewithotherglobalmarkets.Afterwitnessingasharpfall of 23 per cent inMarch, theSensexatBSErevivedsharplyby14.4percent inApril.Experts say as the govern-

ment has announced to signifi-cantlyrelaxthelockdownrestric-tionsindistrictsmarkedingreenand orange, and also allow cer-tainbusinessactivitiesindistrictsmarkedinred,itwillrestartsomeeconomicactivityinthecountrythathascometoagrindinghalt.“While there has been rela-

tivecontrolinthespreadofvirusinIndia,theuncertaintystillcon-tinues. However, as countriesaroundtheworldareworkingondevelopingmedicine and vac-cine for COVID-19 and thereseemstobesomeprogressonit,a success on that frontwill leadto a V-shaped recovery in theeconomy andmarkets. Unless,thereisafreshscareonspreadofvirus, I think FPIswill not pressthe panic button,” said the CEOof a leadingbrokerage.Himanshu Srivastava, senior

analyst manager research,Morningstar India, said, “So far,IndiahasbeenabletocontaintheCOVID-19 pandemic fromspreading aggressively. In addi-tiontothat,measuresannouncedby the government and the RBIperiodically torevitalizethesag-

ging economywould have alsoresonatedwellwithinvestors.”He further added that with

selective relaxation in the lock-downandgradualopeningupofeconomicactivityinthecountry,foreign investorswill be closelywatching the developments onthis front.Theywouldalsostartlooking

at the domestic economic indi-cators as well to see how thecountrymanages its deficits, headded.“These are unprecedented

scenarios; andwith risk-takinggoing off the table, emergingmarketslikeIndiamaycontinueto witness similar trends for aprolonged period or until thetime situation on the coron-avirus front stabilizes,” saidSrivastava.

AFTERRECORDNETOUTFLOWOF`1,18,203CR INMAR;SENSEXREVIVESSHARPLYBY14.4%

Equity Debt Debt-VRR Hybrid Total

Jan20 12,122.58 -11,647.95 529.15 -46.29 957.49

Feb20 1,819.83 2,096.76 2,637.25 2,416.38 8,970.22

Mar20 -61,972.75 -60,375.81 4,164.77 -19.28 -1,18,203.07

Apr20 -6,883.57 -12,551.68 4,032.53 544.18 -14,858.54

Total -54,913.91 -82,478.68 11,363.7 2,894.99 -1,23,133.90Note:Figuresare inRscrore;Source:CDSL

FLOWOF FUNDS

FPIspauseselloffmode,outflowdrops88%inApr

BRIEFLYEPFOstaffcontributetoPM-CARESNewDelhi:Employeesofre-tirement fund body EPFOhavecollectivelycontributedRs2.5croretowardsthePM-CARESFundtosupportfightagainstthepandemic.

BoBdisburses`2,300crtoMSMEsNewDelhi:TheMSMEsectoriskeypriorityareaandBankof Baroda is taking varioussteps, includingaRs2,300-crore financial support, tohelpthesector,executivedi-rectorVikramaditya SinghKhichisaid.

‘RCEPdealontrackforsigning’Singapore: The RCEP tradedeal is still on track to besignedby the endof 2020,Singapore’sMinisterofTradeandIndustryChanChunSingsaidSunday.PTI

Smallservicesstare at endof roadandMeerut but the concern isidentical. Earlier this month,Dhingra had to pull the plug onher Le15 Café in downtownMumbaiafter10yearsinopera-tions.Beforegivinguptheleaseon

the café, Dhingra had contem-plated other options: renegoti-atingthecafe’srenttodownsiz-ingher teamandoperatingas adelivery-only business. Yet, the“exceptionally high” costs ofrunningarestaurantinMumbai,coupled with a lack of cus-tomers, made it impossible tocontinue, she said.But,moreimportantly, itwas

whenshe lookedat thenext sixmonths that the prospectslooked grim. “Most of our cus-tomerswere tourists. That plusthe onset of the monsoonswould reduce footfalls. Thebleed over the next sixmonthsis one we couldn’t afford as abusiness,” she told The IndianExpress.Theownersof the12-mem-

ber strong Elvis and ReemaSalon in Greater Kailash-1, apopular standalone salon thatwould receive, on an average,around500clientsamonthbe-fore the lockdown, are not surehowmuch longer theycansus-tain themselves.Reema Bhatia, co-founder,

expectsclienteletonearlyhalveif andwhen they reopendue tosocial distancingnorms.“Ourmajor business comes

from longer, more elaborateservices, whichwe don’t thinkanyone will want. They willwant to come and quickly getminor services done and leave.We are getting some requestsfrom our regular clients askinguswhenwewill openupagain,but even if we do, we don’t ex-pect all our customers to re-turn,” she told The IndianExpress.The salon has been strug-

gling to pay its costs, which ac-countfornearly50percentof itsrevenues, because right now“thereisnorevenue,andweareabusinessthatoperatesondailyearnings.”While the salon has some

savings, costs like rent, electric-ity andwater bills and salariesof its employees, havedepleteditsreserves. Itexpectstorunoutof savings in the nextmonth orso, according to Bhatia. “All of a

sudden, when you don’t get toworkfortwomonths, itsetsyouback,”shesaid.“It isheartbreak-ing for me to even think aboutlaying off some of my team. Ican’t do that, because wherewould they go?Evenbigger sa-lon chainswon’t be hiring dur-ing this time,” she said.For small enterprises, the

problems aremulti-fold - fromcredit availability to lack ofworking capital to issues in en-cashingtheirassetsevenif theywere to shut shop.Service sector firms in the

downstream logistics businesstoo are facing challenges.AakankshaBhargava,CEOofPMRelocations,aGurugram-basedpacking andmoving companywith an annual turnover ofabout Rs 72 crore, said the dry-ing up of working capital is amajor challenge. This strainhasresultedinacashcrunchforem-ployers like Bhargava to paysalaries for April to her staff of500 employees in 10 officesacross the country. “Landlordsarenotwaivingtherentbyevena nominal percentage, forgetabout agreeing to delayed pay-ments. So, there’s pressure ofpaymentof rentsforofficesandwarehousesalongwithsalarieswhen revenues have becomezero,” she said.Theeventmanagementseg-

ment where contract employ-ees get a steady stream of in-come during marriages andother functions have been hithard. “Many people associatedinourbusiness-suchascaterer,chef, fruitsuppliers,confection-ers - have lost their livelihood.We don’t expect themarriage,celebrations business to im-prove in the next six months,”saidManish Goel, proprietor atLudhiana-based, Sri LaxmiFabrics,which provides fabrics,decor andcatering services.Across the board, the de-

mand for a relief package fromtheGovernmentcentresaroundliquidityandcapitalprotection.Logistics company PMRelocations’ Bhargava says thegovernmentshouldtakecareofthe Provident Fund contribu-tions for evenmicro and smallenterprises, inadditiontotheal-ready announced supportmeasures for a section of com-panies.Many said labour laws

should be tweaked to supportbusinesses to allowmeasuressuch as overtime to be permit-ted for next fewmonths. “Oncelockdowngetsover, theconcernis that workers may demandleaves later in the year and thatwillbeadoublewhammysinceindustries would be in crucialrevivalmode,” an industry rep-

resentative said.Other entrepreneurs have

ensured that their the workerswhochosetostaybackaretakencare of. Vipul Ray of Vadodara-based Elmex Controls, whichcounts Honeywell Automationand Rockwell Automationamong its customers, is onesuchunit. “MSMEsaretypicallyowner-drivencompanies,sotheculture ismoreof a familybusi-ness.While theymay not be ina position tomeet the govern-ment-mandated legal require-ments, they meet their ownmoral requirements. They willsee to it thatmedicines and ra-tion issuesare takencareof un-tilthingsgobacktonormal,”RaytoldThe IndianExpress.Until then,alleyesareonthe

Government. An entrepreneurinMumbai speaks for all: “TheGovernment is all in all, espe-ciallyforsmallbusinesseswhichhave to complywithabunchofregulationsandlaws.Ourappealto theGovernment is you regu-late everything, you decide ontaxes, yousayprotect the liveli-hoodofemployees,what’syourresponsibility at this, our dark-esthour?”(Tomorrow: The Emergency

Wishlist:Capital, safetynet for labour,easingof curbs)Additional reporting by Aanchal

Magazine, SandeepSingh

Post theCOVID-19 crisis, online car sales are likely to gaintraction as customerswould lean further towardscontactlessmodes of purchasing, according to a report byconsultancy firmEY

Online car salesmay gaintraction post-COVID-19: EY

REASONFearof infectionandlackofhygienearelikelytomovepeople’spreferencebacktopersonalmobility

EFFECTThis, inturn, is likelytoreversethetrendofdecliningcarsales

OUTLOOK■ EYsaidautomotiveretailneedstobecomevirtual, leanandflexibletoaligntothesuddenacceleratedchangeinconsumerbehaviour■PosttheCOVID-19crisis,thereisnodenyingthatcustomerswouldleanfurthertowardsonlineandcontactlessmodesofpurchasing.Vehiclesmayverywellfall inthesamecategorytoo.WhileIndiansarealreadymoreinclinedtowardsresearchingonlinewhilebuyingcars,onlinesalesarerare

duetolimitedawareness,optionsandflexibility

FALLOUTOneofthemanyfalloutsoftheCOVID-19crisis is likelytobepeople’sproclivitytoownandtravel inapersonalvehicleratherthanusesharedmobilityorpublictransport

Continuedadherencetosocialdistancingnormsinapost-COVID-19world

Thepathtopurchasewillcontinuetobeinfluencedbydigitalenablerswithsomecustomersegmentspreferringavirtualpathfromawarenesstoclosure

Acontactlesspurchase journeycouldbeawin-winsituationforcustomers,OEMsanddealers

Digitalheavyprocessesofferingflexibility inconsumerconnectsupportedbyleandealeroperationsisboundtobecomethenewnormal inthenearfuture

Anintegrated“phygital”platformwithadigitally-enabledagilesalesforcewillbecomeacriticalsuccesscriteriontotapintoselectconsumersegments

Source:EY/PTI

Agriculture anexception, fertilisersales jump 45% in Aprdespite lockdownHARISHDAMODARANNEWDELHI,MAY3

AUTOCOMPANIESdidnot sell asingle car or two-wheeler inApril as manufacturing plantsand showrooms remainedclosed due to the nationwidelockdown,butretail salesof fer-tilisers jumped 45.1 per centyear-on-year in April to 20.56lakh tonnes (lt).DatafromtheDepartmentof

Fertilisers shows urea sales in-creased36.2percent to10.95 lt,di-ammonium phosphate 71.7per cent to 2.97 lt, nitrogen-phosphorous-potash-sulphurcomplexfertilisers81.4percentto3.9lt,muriateofpotash43percentto1.33lt,singlesuperphos-phate 5.6 per cent to 1.31 lt andcompost 37.5per cent to11,000tonnes.The 45.1 per cent nutrient

sales jump in April, however,does not seem to be a one-offphenomenon. As the tableshows, fertiliser sales registereddouble-digit growth everymonthsinceNovember.“Therabi(winter-spring)sea-

sonwas great for us because ofanextendedmonsoon,whichledto groundwater tables gettingrecharged and reservoirs beingfilled to near capacity. Farmers,therefore, planted more area.Theynowwanttoutilisethesub-stantiallyimprovedsoilmoisturefor the ensuing kharif season aswell, which is reflected in theAprilsales,”saidafertiliserindus-tryexecutive.The nationwide lockdown

hasclearlynotimpactednutrientsales,partlybecauseagriculturalinputswere exempted from re-strictions onmovement, distri-butionorretailing. If anything, itmayhavehelped.“Justaswiththepanicbuying

we saw for foodstuff, dealerswanted to stock up in anticipa-tion of kharif demand.We nor-mally supply on 2-2.5monthscredit to enable sales that peakonlyafter June,buttheyactuallyliftedmaterialoncashthis time.Also,theyfearedthattherupee’sweakeningmay cause prices ofimportedfertilisersandinputstogoupinthecomingmonths,”theexecutivesaid.It is not only fertilisers; de-

mand for seed is also seen to behigh.Tillacoupleofweeksback,therewasconcernoveravailabil-ity of seed, especially for cottonwhosesowinghasjuststartedinPunjab, Haryana and northRajasthan.Muchofhybridpaddy,maize and cotton seed produc-tionisconcentratedinthesouth-ernstates.TheIndianExpresshadearlier reported that both pro-cessingandtransportofseedstotheconsumingcentreshadbeenhit by the non-availability oflabourandtrucks.“Seed processing plants are

still operating at about 60 percent capacity on account oflabourshortages.Buttransporta-tion issues have been signifi-cantly sorted out, particularlywiththeRailwayssteppingin.Oftheestimated90lakhpacketsre-quirement of cotton seeds forNorthwestIndia,50-60lakhhavebeenmovedinrailwagonsfromSalem(TamilNadu) toBhatinda(Punjab). Theresthavebeende-liveredbytruckswell intimeforsowing,”notedRamKaundinya,Director-General, Federation ofSeedIndustryof India.Nurserysowingofpaddywill

begin inPunjabandHaryanaaf-termid-May,whilekharifplant-ings in the rest of Indiawill takeoff with the arrival of monsooninJune.AccordingtoKaundinya,transport of vegetable seeds -which takes place in 40-50 kgpackets through surface courierservices, as opposed to truck orwagon loads forothers - contin-ues to face bottlenecks, “but theoverall situation ismuch betterthanwhatitwastwoweeksago”.Themost importantthingat

the end of day, though, is thatthe farmer wants fertiliser andseed.Thereisnocertainlyshort-age of demand here, whichmight not be so with cars andtwo-wheelers.

2018-19 2019-20 %GrowthOct 48.37 45.17 -6.62Nov 63.26 73.84 16.72Dec 70.86 87.08 22.89Jan 58.04 64.5 11.13Feb 30.39 46.61 53.37Mar 24.6 28.96 17.72Apr 14.17* 20.56** 45.1*April 2019, **April 2020. Source:Departmentof Fertilisers.

ALL-INDIA FERTILISER RETAIL SALES (LAKHTONNES)

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,MAY3

INDIACONTINUEStofacelowerdemand for power despite apartial easing up of the nation-wide lockdown during the on-goingCOVID-19pandemic.Peak power demand — the

highest energy supply in a dayacross the country — droppedover 26 per cent in May so far,showsPowerMinistrydata.May1 sawapeakpowerde-

mand of 131.40GWbeingmet,while 134.70GWwas the peakpowersuppliedonMay2.Bycom-parison, thepeakpowerdemandwas182.53GWinMaylastyear.InApril, too, thepeakpower

demand dipped about one-fourthfromthesamemonthlastyear.ThepowerdemandduringApril has ranged between116.89 GW (April 8) to 132.77GW (April 30), and peak powerdemand crossed the 130 GWmark on April 24 (130.02GW),April 29 (131.13GW) and April30 (132.77GW), the datashowed.Thismeans the overall peak

power demand met in Aprilstoodat132.77GW,downfrom176.81GWinApril 2019.The relatively cool weather

hasplayedspoilsport inAprilaswell asMay,keepingpowerde-mand low during this time, anindustryexpert toldPTI.Theloweconomicactivityin

the country during the lock-down, especially in themanu-facturingsectors,hasalsoplayeda role in the lower demand.Several companies insegmentsof the country’smanufacturingindustry areyet to restart oper-ations despite easing of the re-strictionsinthelasttwomonthsdue to issueswith liquidity andlabour.Industrybodiesandanalysts

have expressed concern about

the low power demand duringthe lockdown and its potentialimpact on the already finan-cially stressedpower sector.Thecountry’selectricitydis-

tribution companies (discoms)owe over Rs 92,800 crore toelectricity generators (gencos)asofFebruary2020,showsdatafrom the Power Ministry’sPRAAPTIportal.India’s daily power demand

haddeclined by 25-28per centsince the beginning of the na-tionwide lockdown, drivenpri-marilybyfactoryandofficeclo-sures in the commercial andindustrial sectors that con-tribute over 52 per cent of totaldemand,saidtheConfederationof IndianIndustryinareportlastmonth.At the time that the lock-

down had been extended toMay3,CIIestimateddiscomstosuffer a net revenue loss of Rs25,000croretoRs30,000crore.Experts said with mercury

expected to soar in the comingdays and resumption of someeconomic activities fromMonday, power demand maysee an uptick, reported PTI.However, they are of the viewthattouchinglastyear’s levels isstill a long timeaway.

■ India’s daily powerdemandhasdeclinedby25-28per centsince thebeginningofthe lockdown, drivenprimarily by factoryandoffice closures inthe commercial andindustrial sectors thatcontributeover 52percent of total demand,as per aCII report.

LOCKDOWNHITSPOWERDEMAND

Peak power demanddown 26% in Maydespite easing of curbs

Thelockdownhasnot impactednutrientsales,partlybecauseagricultural inputswereexemptedfromrestrictionsonmovement,distributionorretailing

ENSECONOMICBUREAUMUMBAI,MAY3

MUTUALFUNDSwitnessedout-flows of Rs 11,134 crore undercredit risk funds in aweek afterFranklin Templeton decided toshutdownsixcreditriskschemesonApril 24blaming theongoing“liquiditycrisis”inthemarket.According to theAssociation

ofMutual Fundsof India (AMFI),netredemptionsundercreditriskfunds stood at Rs 2,949.49 croreas of April 24, and peaked at Rs4,294.36 crore as of April 27.“Thereafter,forthepastthreedaysi.e. onTuesdayApril 28, April 29andApril30,thenetredemptionsundercreditriskfundsstoodatRs1,847.29 crore, Rs 1,251.17 croreandRs793.99crorerespectively,”AMFIsaid.

AsthecreditriskfundcategoryhadassetsofoverRs55,000croretillMarch,over20percentof the

fundswaspulledoutbyinvestorsinthelastweekofAprilalone.Theoverall debt segment hadwit-nessed outflows of Rs 1.94 lakhcroreinthemonthofMarch.However, AMFI said net re-

demptionsundercreditriskfunds,oneof debtmutual fundschemecategory,which constitute lessthan5per centof total debtmu-tual fundAUM, are tapering offsubstantially,postRBI’sannounce-mentofspecialliquiditymeasureofRs50,000crore for themutualfundindustry.“Allmutualfundshavemetthe

redemptionsinthenormalcourseofbusiness.There is81.5percentdropinnetredemptions increditrisk funds category onApril 30fromthepeaknetredemptionsasonApril27,courtesymeasuresan-nouncedbytheRBI,”AMFIsaid.NileshShah,Chairman,AMFI,

said: ‘’Declining trend innet re-demptionsfromcreditriskfundsisawelcomedevelopment, indica-tiveofinvestorscomfortfromRBI’sspecialliquidityfacilityavailabletotheMF industry. AMFIwill con-tinue toworkwith regulators fornormalfunctioningofthemarket.”Franklin TempletonMutual

Fund, the ninth largestmutualfund in the country, had given abig jolt to the investor commu-nitywith itsdecision towindupsix yield-oriented managedcreditfundswitheffectfromApril23,2020.The six schemes— Franklin

Indialowdurationfund,dynamicaccrualfund,creditriskfund,shortterm income plan, ultra shortbond fundand incomeopportu-nities fund—havecombinedas-sets under management ofaroundRs28,000crore.

WHILETHERBI’sRs50,000croreliquiditywindowhasgivensomecomforttomutualfunds,creditriskfundsaremostatriskif redemptionscontinue,particularlywherefundshaveexpo-suretolessliquidsecuri-ties,suchasunlistedse-curitiesandhigherriskappetitethroughexpo-suretodefaultedentities.

Riskycredit riskfunds

Credit risk funds see outflows of `11,134 crin a week after Franklin Templeton crisis

FROMPAGEONE

Allow districts with high economicactivity to resume biz operations: CII

PRESSTRUSTOF INDIANEWDELHI,MAY3

THEGOVERNMENTwill set upa panel to provide necessaryclearances needed by busi-nesses within a time frame ofthree-months inabid toattractforeign investment in MSMEs,MSMEMinister Nitin Gadkarisaid.Addressing the Chartered

Accountants Association ofIndia, he informed that a JointSecretary-level officer has al-readybeenappointedtolookaf-tertheforeigninvestmentinmi-cro, small and medium

enterprises (MSMEs).“Wearegoingtoformulatea

committee where wewill giveall types of clearanceswithin 3months and at the same time,there will be no red tape, fulltransparency, timebounddeci-sionmakingprocess,qualitativeapproach and no corruption,”Gadkari said.

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIANEWDELHI,MAY3

DISTRICTSWITHsubstantialeco-nomicactivity shouldbepermit-ted to resumeall industrial andbusinessoperationswithhighestsafetyprotocolsforenterprisestoremain financially sustainablewhile averting job losses, CII saidonSunday.

Confederation of IndianIndustry(CII)calledforeconomiccontributionofdistrictstobetakenintoconsiderationwhileclassify-ing lockdown zones. The lock-downhasbrought economic ac-tivitytoagrindinghalt,CIIalsosaid,citing findings fromitsCEOssur-vey,which indicated that 65percentof thefirmsexpectrevenuesto fallmore than 40 per cent inApril-Junequarter.

Thecommitteewillbesetupincoordinationwithstatesand thecentralgovernmentasstakeholders

‘Govt to set up panel togive clearances in 3-mthtime frame for businesses’

Mumbai

12THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY,MAY4,2020

SPORTWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

Vol. LXIVNo.104Printed for theproprietors, The IndianExpress (P) LtdbyMsVaidehiThakaratThe IndianExpressPress, PlotNo.EL-208,TTC IndustrialArea,Mahape,NaviMumbai -400710andpublished from 1st floor, ExpressTowers,NarimanPoint,Mumbai -400021.Editorial&AdministrativeOffices:ExpressTowers,NarimanPoint,Mumbai -400021.Phone:22022627/67440000. Fax:022-22835726.Chairmanof theBoard:ViveckGoenka,Chief Editor:RajKamal Jha,Editor:UnniRajenShanker, Editor (Mumbai):NirupamaSubramanian.* (*Responsible for selectionofNewsunder thePRBAct)

Additional air surchargeof `1 .00 -Goa.Copyright: The IndianExpress (P) Ltd.All rights reserved.Reproduction inanymanner, electronicorotherwise, inwholeor inpart,withoutpriorwrittenpermission isprohibited. The IndianExpress®

This (coronavirus) situation is aTestmatchona verydangerouswicket. Theball is seamingandspinning aswell— thebatsmanhas very littlemargin of error. So, thebatsmanhas to score runs andkeephiswicket safewiththis littlemargin of error, andwin thisTestmatch.”

SOURAVGANGULY

CROSSWORD4108

ACROSS1 Itgoes to theheadof state (5)8 Modelmaybeagirl in love

(8)9 The fall insteelproduction

(5)10 Gotbetter figure inarush(8)11 Serious,butnotgrave (5)12 Apoundcouldbeagood

investment (3)16 Soundscoming fromfoldor

stable (6)17 Father inpain,butbrave(6)18 Hisoppositenumber

(3)23 Gosurreptitiouslyasasnake

disturbed(5)24 Foodforpeopleorhorses

(8)25 Alighthousecasts it across

thevessel (5)26 Prevailingwetweather,we

hear (8)27 Argentine flowerofunusual

petaldesign(5)

DOWN2 Acheckonthepresent

demandforbread(4,4)3 Rather likeachatabouta

changeofweather (8)4 Authorusesanalternative

watersupply (6)5 Radiantgirl returnswest (5)6 Mengoout to find

undergroundspirit (5)7 Loseone’s footingonapiece

of glass (5)12 Growingorburnt timber (3)13 Wheretobuyadrinkand

somechocolate (3)14 There’s somehumanity in

him,nodoubt (8)15 Gamethatmaydisturbant

heaps (8)19 Makeamistakeandrunfor it

(6)20 Gohunting,wehear, fora

bird (5)21 Tinnedbeef like this is

poison(5)22 Notesaboutmasonry (5)

ARIES(Mar21-Apr20)Theworldmaybespinning intohyper-space,butyouarenowgoingtohaveto

keepyour feetontheground.Fromoutofnowherenewresponsibilitieswill appear,andyouwillbe takinganorganisingrole.Actually,newjobscouldbringagreatsenseof satisfaction.

TAURUS(Apr21-May21)Awholegroupofplanets isnowshufflingplaces, soit’sdifficult tobe

certainaboutanything.Probably theonly trulypositivepieceof goodadvice today is tomakemorespace foracreativehobby. I thinkyouoweit toyourself tospendmoretimedoingwhatmatters, insteadofwhatdoesn’t.

GEMINI (May22- June21)Mercury, theplanetwhich justhappenstobeyourpersonalruler, is topof the list

for importantalignments today.Therefore,youmayfeelperfectly free tochangeyourmindasoftenasyouwant—withinreason. It’sgreatwhentheplanetsgiveyoupermissiontobehaveasyouwish.

CANCER(June22- July23)Importantplanetsarealignedwithyoursignand, insomesenses,you’re

still thecentreof attention,butyouprobably feel that therealaction ismovingelsewhere.Only if youareutterlydown-to-earthandreliablewillyougetwhatyoureallyneed.

LEO(July24-Aug23)Youmaybegintothinkaboutputtingmuchmoreenergyinto the financial

arena.The fact that today’slunar influences focusonpurely routineneeds,mayobscure the fact that thereare long-termissues tobeconsidered.Still, sometimesyou justhavetoconcentrateonday-to-dayaffairs.

VIRGO(Aug24-Sep23)Venus’emotionalalignment is todaycompoundedbyMarsandcomplementedby

theMoon.Andthat’s just forstarters!Youshoulddefyyourreputation forbeingslightlyreservedandshyof expressingyourdeeper feelings.Otherpeopledeserve toknowwhatyoureally think.

LIBRA(Sep24-Oct23)Somepeopleobjecttosecretivebehaviour,but ithonestly looksas if

you’llbedoingeverybodyafavour if youkeepyourself toyourself. The fact is thatpartnersare justnot readytohearwhatyouhavetosay.That’spartly theirproblem,butit couldalsomakethingsawkward foryou.

SCORPIO(Oct24-Nov23)Forsometimenowtheplanetshavebeenwarningaboutemotional

confrontationsatwork,partlybecausetheresultscouldbecostly. Seeingas therelevantaspectsareclimaxingover thenext fewdaysyoushouldkeepthepeaceunlessyouareprepared for theconsequences.

SAGITTARIUS(Nov24-Dec22)Travelandadventureplansarestill strong,but theredoesseemtobean increasing

senseofuncertaintyordoubt.Inpointof fact thebestvacationwillbeof aspiritualorsubterraneannature, soyoucouldbeoff onaverymysterious journey indeed.

CAPRICORN(Dec23- Jan20)Your financialprospectsarestillturbulent. Ithonestlynowlooks

as if anysocialdisagreement islikely tobetriggeredbymoney,oradisputeoverwhopays forwhat. Suchthingsmayeasilybearranged inadvance.Aromantic fantasy is stillbuggingyou,but there’snothingwrongwithdreaming.

AQUARIUS(Jan21-Feb19)ThatoldplanetSaturn isnowbeingmorehelpfuloveraproblem,which

meansthatotherpeoplewillbeless inclinedtoblameyoufortheirownlackof success.Tobeperfectly frank,youcanprobablydowithabreak, forpartners’demandshavebeenbuildingup,unfairly inyouropinion.

PISCES(Feb20-Mar20)ThetripleallianceoftheSun,MercuryandMars indicatesthatyoumaynow

comeoutof yourshell andsharesomeofyourspecialideasand intuitionswithpeoplewhoareonyourwavelength.There’snothingtobegained fromkeepingyourambitions toyourself.

SUDOKU4199

DifficultyLevel1sInstructionsTosolveaSudokupuzzle,everydigitfrom1to9mustappear ineachofthenineverticalcolumns, ineachoftheninehorizontalrowsandineachofthenineboxes.

DifficultyLevel1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy;3s=Medium;4s=Hard;5s=VeryHard;6s=Genius S

OLU

TIONSUDOKU4198

Givenbelowarefour jumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemtotherespectivesquaresbelow.Selecttheletters intheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtogettheanswerforthegivenquip.Adoptthe_______:hersecretispatience.-RalphWaldoEmerson(4,2,6)

SOLUTION:AERIE,CARGO,BUTANE,CUPFULAnswer:Adoptthepaceofnature:hersecretispatience.-RalphWaldoEmerson

IRAEE ABENTU

CGAOR LUUCFP

SolutionsCrossword4107:Across:1Drawablank,6Rasp,10Sight,11Contralto,12Knockout,13Tense,15Tourist,17Pickets,19Pestles,21Bolster,22Lupin,24Downpour,27Toothache,28Total,29Deed,30Presentday.Down:1Desk,2Argonauts,3Attic,4Lockout,5Nonstop,7All in,8Professors,9Critical,14Stipulated,16Iolanthe,18Entrusted,20Sidecar,21Bowlers,23Probe,25Piton,26Play.

JUMBLEDWORDS

OVERTHEHEDGE byMichael Fry&TLewis

CALVIN&HOBBES byBillWatterson

MARVIN byTomArmstrong

DAYTODAY BYPETERVIDAL

Ministrymulls phase-wiseresumption of national camps

SPORTSMINISTERKirenRijijuonSundaysaidhisministry isdevisingaplantoensureaphasedresumptionofnationalcampsforOlympic-boundathletesbytheendof thismonthbutothersmighthavetowait till atleastSeptember.Rijijusaidthecoronavirus-forcednationwide lockdown,whichhasbeenextendedtillMay17, forcedhismin-istry todelaytheresumptionof thetrainingcampsatSportsAuthorityof India (SAI)centres.The lockdownwasearliermeant toendonMay3. "Thecampswill start inaphase-wisemanner.Firstwewill starttraining inNISPatialaandSAI,Bengaluruwhereathletesarebasedcurrently...by theendof thismonth,"RijijusaidatFICCI'swe-binar titled 'Corona&Sports:TheChampionsSpeak'. "Thecampswillbe forthosesportswhichhavequalified forOlympicsor thesportswhoseOlympicqualification is in future,"hesaid. "Wewillrelaxthingspartially lookingat theOlympics,"headded. PTI

Germany's interiorministerbacksBundesliga restartGermanInteriorMinisterHorstSeehoferonSundaybackedapossiblerestartfortheBundesligaseasonthismonthwithoutspectatorsasthegovernmentpreparesforakeymeetingnextweek.AlthoughBundesligaclubshavereturnedtotraininginsmallgroups,theleaguehasbeensuspendedsincemid-Marchduetothecoronaviruspandemicandthegovernmentistodecidenextweekonapotentialresumptionofsportsactivities.TheGermanFootballLeague(DFL),eagerforaquickrestart,hassubmittedahealthsafetyplanforgameswithoutspectatorswhichincludesregulartestingofplayers. REUTERS

THOSEMONTHS,THOSEMINUTESForced intoanunprecedentedlockdown,sport is staringatanunfathomabledespair. Indianathletes, though,havegiventhecountryreasonstorejoice inthepast.The IndianExpress looksbackatabunchof thesememories.

In a chatwithANDREWAMSAN,NEERAJCHOPRAnarrateshisremarkabletransformation

story, fromanobese teenager to achampion javelin thrower.

READTHESTORYONindianexpress.com

@indianexpress.com

MIHIRVASAVDANEWDELHI,MAY3

IF THESEwere non-Corona times, MasakiOhashiwouldhavebeeninBerlinrightnow.WithhisJapaneseteammates,hewouldhavebeen practising alongsideGermany,watch-ing the hockey giants’ showdown againstIndia and preparing notes for theOlympics.Thedefender,instead,isinTokyo.Hockeygearchucked in some corner of his apartment,puttingOlympicsonthebackburner, and, inthemidstofapandemic-inducedlockdown,returning tohisday jobasanassistantman-ageratoneof Japan’sbiggestprivatesecurityfirms.Since theoutbreakof COVID-19, athletes

around theworldhavebeen forced indoors.Not in Japan, however. Despite declaring astate of emergency, the country, which has14,877casesasonSunday,hasnotimposedacomplete lockdown as seen in India andmanyWesterncountries.Businessesarestillrunning, bars are open and, since they lackthe legal powers topunish, the governmentcanonlyaskpeopletostayhomebuttheyarenot obliged to. So, half a dozen Japanesehockeyplayershave to report forworkdaily–mostof theminTokyoandOsaka, the twoworst-affectedcitiestilldate–leavingcoachSiegfried Aikman anxious for theirwell-be-ing.Like the Indian hockey team, Japan too

continuedwith its national camp after theOlympicswerepostponed.However, unlikeIndia, who have a boarding facility withintheir trainingcentre,Aikmansays theyhaveto look after their own accommodation forthedurationof thecamp.So,aftertheywereasked to suspend their training twoweeksago, the players returned to their respectivehomes. “When they go home, they have toworkandearntheirmoney,”AikmantellsTheIndianExpressfromtheteam’strainingcen-tre inthecityofKakamigahara.As is the case elsewhere in theworld, all

Japanesehockeyplayers are amateurs,withnearly half of them still students. The resthave full-time jobs. Captain ManabuYamashita,forexample,workedforthecom-pany that mademaps for Tokyo’s under-

ground railway. Yamashita is between jobsright now. But there are some, according toAikman, whowork in schools while a fewothers, like Ohashi, work for ‘big securitycompanies’.Tomake sure they remain healthy, the

teammanagement has comeupwith strictprotocols. “Wemonitor them intensively.Everymorning,theyhavetosendustheirre-ports, things like body temperature, fatiguelevel, muscle soreness, mental state andmuchmore.Wedo it on a daily basis soweknowexactlyhowtheyarefeeling,”Aikmansays.If something goes wrong, he adds, the

playerisdirectlysenttothehospitalforade-tailed check-up. The teamhas alreadyhadacouple of scares –while the campwas stillgoing on, twoplayerswent downwithnor-malfluandwereisolatedfromtherest.Onlyonce they recovered completely, were theyallowed to join the rest of the group. Dayslater,oneofAikman’sassistantcoacheshadtogo into quarantine for twoweeks after hecame in contactwith a staff member of hischild’skindergarten,whotestedpositive.“Sowhentheseplayersgooutforwork,Iamwor-ried,of course,”Aikmansays.It isn’t just the physical well-being that

Aikmanisconcernedabout.TheuncertaintyaroundtheOlympics,whichhavebeenpost-poneduntilnextyear,hastakenamentaltollon the players ‘whowere preparing fairlywell’ for thehomeGames.

Mentalwell-beingUnderAikman,aDutchcoachwithIndian

roots,Japanhaveblossomed.Nottoolongago,theywereonthe fringes inAsiaandbarelyaspeckontheworldhockeymap.Aikmanhasturned them into a formidable unit, leadingthem to the AsianGames goldmedal – andthusearningarightfulplaceattheOlympicsratherthansneakinginashosts–andturningthemintoasidethat,ontheirday,canprovetobeabananaskinforanyteamintheworld.Tofurtherimprovethemselves,Japanhad

set up joint training sessions and practicematcheswithGermany.Itwasawin-winsce-nario: for Japan, it was a chance towork ontheirskillswhileforGermany,bronzemedal-listsattheRioOlympics,itwasanopportunityto get some game-time ahead of their twinProLeaguematchesagainst India, originallyscheduledtotakeplace late lastmonth.But as COVID-19 cases grew around the

world, Japan’s trip to Berlinwas cancelled.Weekslater,theOlympics–thatweresched-

uledtoopenonJuly24–werepostponedbya year. “It has a huge impact not just on ourschedule,butalsoonthemental stateof ourplayers because it is quite a long time,”Aikmansays. “Itmeans someof ourplayers,those who wanted to retire after theOlympics, they have to do onemore year.Mostof themhavefamilies,havechildren…mostofthemaregettingtoanagewheretheymight not recoverwell. So the question is, iftheymake it to thenextOlympics,will theystill addthesamevalue?That’s something, Ithink,willbe forall teams.”Ontheflipside,hesays,theextrayearalso

giveshimthechancetoworkonthingswhichheotherwisecouldnothavebecauseof lackoftime.Giventhatallcoachesandplayerswilluse the additional period to come upwithnew strategies and study their opponentsevenmore closely, Aikman feels the level ofcompetition in Tokyo next year could be‘stronger thanever.’That is, however, if theGames takeplace

at all. Last week, Japanese PrimeMinisterShinzoAbesaid that if thecoronavirusspillsoverinto2021,theywouldhavetocalloff theGamescompletely.It’san‘uncertainty’Aikmanhasfactoredin

while re-planning for theGames. But he in-sists it won’t impact how they approachTokyo 2021. “We don’t knowhow the virusdevelops so theuncertainty that itmightbecancelled…ofcourse, it’soneof theoptions.It’s in our heads. Butwe have set targets tillJuly next year andwillwork basedon thosetargets.So,until theycancel, it’son.”

Tokyo adriftIn Japan,withOlympicsuncertain,players returnto theirday jobs inmiddleof apandemic

Half-a-dozenJapaneseplayersarebacktotheirday jobs inTokyoandOsaka—twomost-affectedcitiesbyCovid-19—leavingtheircoachworried.

Wemonitorthemintensively.Everymorning,theyhavetosendustheir reports,things likebodytemperature, fatigue level,musclesoreness,mentalstateandmuchmore.Wedo itonadailybasissoweknowexactlyhowtheyare feeling.”

SIEGFRIEDAIKMANCOACH, JAPAN

THE DELHI High Court has decided not topassany interimorder toeither remove theDDCA ombudsman or curtail his authorityregarding affairs of the state cricket unit oritsmembers.HearingtwoapplicationsfiledbySanjay

Bhardwaj and theDelhi andDistrict CricketAssociation, JusticeAshaMenondeclinedtopass any order on a plea seeking to restrainombudsmanJustice(retired)DeepakVermafromexercisinghisauthority.Thecourtalsodidnotdealwiththeapplicationseekingdi-rection“forremoval/replacementofthecur-rentOmbudsman”.“Asobjectionstothecapacityoftheappli-

canttomoveanapplicationonbehalf of theDDCAhave been raised and it has not beenpossible to hear all the counsel for the par-ties on the said aspect, it is considered ap-propriate tograntanopportunity toall par-ties to file their responses to both theapplications,” theorder says.“Letresponsestotheapplicationsbefiled

throughemailbythenon-applicantswithinaperiodof twoweekswithadvancecopytothecounsel for theapplicants,whomay filerejoinders thereto, within oneweek there-after with copies to the respective counselforthenon-applicantsthroughtheirrespec-tiveemails,” theMay1elaborates.ENS

HCdeclines to pass ordersagainst DDCAombudsman

Mumbai

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