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HYDERABAD, THURSDAY APRIL 23, 2020; PAGES 12 `3

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}‘MARRIED WOMENCAN STILL DREAM

AND ACHIEVE’{

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GERMANY TO START FIRST CLINICALTESTS ON CORONAVIRUS VACCINE

Taking cognisance of the need for plumbing during the on-going coronacrisis, the Indian Plumbing Skills Council (IPSC) has prepared a database

of over 900 plumbers who are ready to provide their services during thelockdown period. The council aligned with the Skill India program under theaegis of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship(MSDE) to prepare the list of plumbing workforces in the hour ofneed. Keeping in mind the need for stringent health and safetynorms, a special IPSC technical task force has drafted guidelinesand asked them to take location-specific precautionarymeasures at residential buildings and apartments, hospitals,isolation centres, commercial complex, and other establishments.

LOCKDOWN VIOLATORS GREETEDWITH ‘AARTI', ‘PRASAD' BY COPSInstead of wielding the stick, the police are now resorting to 'Gandhigiri' of

sorts. In Kanpur, the Kidwai Nagar police has hit upon a new idea to makepeople realize their folly if they violate the lockdown. The cops, on Wednes-day morning, stood at the Juhi Gaushala crossing inKidwai Nagar and performed 'aarti' of about twodozen people who were strolling on the road inviolation of the lockdown rules. The copsperformed the 'aarti' amidst chanting of'mantras' and then showered flower petals onthe violators. They even gave a banana as'prasad' to the wrongdoers.

Scientists at the CSIR's Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology havecome up with a low-cost coronavirus test that will not require any

expensive machines for detection of the pathogen. Named after'Feluda', the detective character in legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray'sstories, the test has been developed by Debojyoti Chakraborty andSouvik Maiti as a simpler way of detecting SARS-coV2 presence inclinical samples, IGIB Director Anurag Agarwal said. CSIR is a departmentunder the Union Ministry of Science and Technology. It starts the sameway as a normal real time reverse transcription- polymerase chainreaction (RT-PCR), which is extraction of ribonucleic acid (RNA) and itsconversion to deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), Agarwal said.

SCIENTISTS DEVELOP LOW-COST COVID-19 TEST; NAME IT AFTER ‘FELUDA'

OVER 900 PLUMBERS TOADDRESS NEEDS IN LOCKDOWN

Germany has authorised its first clinical test of a vaccine for thenovel coronavirus, the country's regulatory body said on

Wednesday, green-lighting trials on human volunteersfor an RNA vaccine developed by German firmBiontech and US giant Pfizer. "The Paul-Ehrlich-Institut... has authorised the first clinical trial of avaccine against COVID-19 in Germany," theregulatory body said in a statement. It addedthat approval was the "result of a carefulassessment of the potential risk/benefitprofile of the vaccine candidate".

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated April 22, 2020 5:00 PM

ALMANACTODAY

Month & Paksham:Paush & Shukla PakshaPanchangamTithi : Amavasya: 07:54 amNakshatram: Ashwini: 04:05 pmTime to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)Rahukalam: 01:48 pm – 03:22 pmYamagandam: 05:58 am – 07:32 amVarjyam: 11:37 am – 01:24 pm,07:00 pm – 04:29 amGulika: 09:06 am - 10:40 amGood Time: (to start any important work)

Amritakalam: 08:03 am – 09:50 amAbhijit Muhurtham: 11:49 am – 12:39 pm

HYDERABADWEATHERForecast: SunnyTemp: 38/25Humidity: 57%Sunrise: 05:55 amSunset: 06:33 pm

Celebrities croonfor COVID-19theme songpenned by Kamal

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Covid crisis:ONGC asks govtto waive cess,royalty

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Lockdown is ablessing in disguise

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RNI No. TELENG/2018/76469Established 1864Published From

HYDERABAD DELHI LUCKNOWBHOPAL RAIPUR

CHANDIGARH BHUBANESWAR RANCHI DEHRADUN VIJAYAWADA

*LATE CITY VOL. 2 ISSUE 192*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

KTR serves food to municipal workersPNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana's Minister forMunicipal Administration andUrban Development, K.T.Rama Rao on Wednesday hadlunch with workers of GreaterHyderabad MunicipalCorporation (GHMC) who arefrontline warriors in the fightagainst coronavirus.

The minister also sharedhis meals with workers ofDisaster Response Force (DRF)and entomology wing.

Rama Rao appreciated theirefforts and stated that they areworking on par with the doc-tors and police officers in com-bating coronavirus in the state.

He interacted with every

worker and enquired abouttheir health. He asked theworkers to be safe and ensureall precautions are taken whiledischarging their duties.

KTR, as the minister ispopularly known, stated thatthe government recognizestheir efforts during this crisisand mentioned that Chief

Minister K. ChandrashekharRao passed orders to pay com-plete salaries to the employeesof GHMC, DRF, and entomol-ogy wings along with special

incentives .He instructed the entomol-

ogy wing to ensure spraying isdone properly to reduce mos-quito menace in the forth-coming rainy season.

FB buys stake inJio for Rs 43,574 cr PNS n NEW DELHI

Facebook on Wednesdayannounced an investmentof USD 5.7 billion (Rs 43,574crore) to buy a 9.99 per centstake in Jio Platforms -- adeal that will help RIL cutdebt and use WhatsApp tocreate an Indian e-commercegiant that could rivalAmazon and Walmart.

The largest foreign directinvestment(FDI) in thetechnologysector inIndia willgive the US social-networking firm a broaderfoothold in its biggest globalmarket.

"Today we are announcinga USD 5.7 billion, or Rs43,574 crore, investment in JioPlatforms, part of RelianceIndustries Ltd, makingFacebook its largest minori-ty shareholder," the companysaid in a statement.

Page 11

Attacking medics cancost up to 7 yrs in jailPNS n NEW DELHI

In a significant move, theUnion cabinet on Wednesdayamended the EpidemicDiseases Act, 1987 through anordinance in order to ensuresafety of health workers at atime when there has been aspate of attacks on them. Anyviolence against health work-ers may now bring steep finesand even imprisonments of upto seven years.

This move comes hoursafter Home Minister AmitShah addressed Nina MedicalAssociation through a videoconference, assuring them ofsafety and urging them towithdraw the symbolic protestscheduled for later this monthagainst incidents of violence onhealth workers pressed intoCVID-19 duty.

From now on, not just suchviolence is cognizable but alsonon-bailable offence.Additionally, it has provisions toprovide compensation for injuryto healthcare service personnelor for causing damage or loss tothe property, the governmentsaid on Wednesday.

K.S. Dhatwalia, PrincipalSpokesperson for the govern-ment, tweeted: "Ordinancewould help protect healthcare

service personnel and their liv-ing/working premises againstviolence".

"This actually helps protectthe entire health fraternityincluding doctors, nurses,paramedics up to ASHA work-ers, " said Union I&B MinisterPrakash Javadekar. TheMinister said the amendmentwas necessitated after inci-dents of violence were wit-nessed against them while dis-charging their crucial duty forthe country.

GOVT AMENDS EPIDEMIC ACT

COVID-19 BLUES

Union Home Minister, Amit Shah and the Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Science & Technology and EarthSciences, Dr Harsh Vardhan interacting with the doctors and senior representatives of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) inthe wake of country’s fight against COVID-19, through video conference, in New Delhi on Wednesday

Plasma transmission is aray of hope in Corona cureNAVEENA GHANATEn HYDERABAD

While chances of a vaccine forCoronavirus being developedin the near future grim, plas-ma therapy seems to be theonly ray of hope of a cure forsuch patients.

In convalescent plasma ther-apy, antibodies from the bloodof patients who have recoveredfrom Covid-19 are used totreat severely infected patients.Blood is taken from Covid-19survivors who are healthy anddon’t have underlying healthconditions.

It may be mentioned herethat at this point of time, theIndian Council of MedicalResearch (ICMR) does not rec-ommend this as a treatmentoption, outside of clinical trials.

In fact, as many as 99 insti-tutes across the country are

willing to take part in clinicaltrials of plasma therapy forCovid-19, based on a call byICMR.

Association of Surgeons ofIndia president Dr P RaghuRam said, “When a personrecovers from Covid-19 infec-tion, he or she does so by pro-ducing protective antibodiesthat enable the person to fightthe infection. In such a patient,

these antibodies reside in theplasma component of the bloodcirculation in that patient.Three to four weeks after therecovery of such a patient, testsare done to ensure he is Covid-19 negative on two separateoccasions and is free fromother co-morbidities like dia-betes, hypertension and nega-tive for Hepatitis B, C and HIV.”

L VENKAT RAM REDDYn HYDERABAD

In these life-shattering coronatimes, about 15 lakh TS con-struction workers have beendeprived of their chance toaccess Rs 1800 crore fund justbecause the Telangana Building& Other Construction WorkersWelfare Board and the stateLabour Department failed todo their job.

The Rs 1,800 crore plusfund constitutes the labourcess collected in Telanganafrom builders/contractorsspecifically for the welfare ofconstruction workers. Theentire amount is lying unused,or inaccessible rather, with theTelangana Building & OtherConstruction Workers WelfareBoard as the workers need tobe registered for direct benefittransfer of eligible amount totheir bank accounts.

In Telangana, the Labour

Department has not taken theinitiative to ensure registrationof all workers for DBT. Mostof the workers are not literate

and more than half of them areunaware of their entitlementunder the fund.

Lakhs of workers in TS sufferas Rs 1,800 cr fund is unspent

Lab challenges evictionnotice, HC provides reliefPNS n HYDERARBAD

Providing relief to TenetMedcorp Private LimitedCompany, which on April 15was approved by the IndianCouncil for Medical Research(ICMR) as one of the labora-tories to test samples forCovid-19, the Telangana HighCourt on Wednesday directedthe police authorities con-cerned to take necessary actionagainst those who obstruct itsfunctioning.

A single judge bench of theHC, headed by Justice T.Vinod Kumar, passed theorders while dealing with apetition filed by the compa-ny urging the court to issuedirections to the state govern-ment and the owners of thebuilding where the lab of the

company is located to ensurethat the lab can run smooth-ly without any hindrance andobstruction.

The petitioner companyapproached the Court chal-lenging the notice issued bythe building owner demand-ing it to vacate the premiseslocated on Road No.4 ofBanjara Hills.

No compromise on doctors’ safety, says PM NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday assertedthat there can be no compromise on the safety of healthcareprofessionals fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, and said the ordinanceapproved by the Union cabinet shows the government's commitmentin this regard. The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved anordinance which proposed stringent punishment for those harassingor attacking healthcare personnel involved in discharging their dutiesin containing the pandemic. He said the ordinance will ensure safety ofour professionals.

It may be mentionedhere that at this pointof time, the IndianCouncil of MedicalResearch (ICMR) doesnot recommend this asa treatment option,outside of clinical trials.

Home quarantine for 28 days nowPNS n HYDERABAD

The Telangana government onWednesday announced the-extension of the mandatoryhome quarantine period fromthe existing 14 days to 28 daysfor secondary contacts ofCovid-19 patients.

This decision has been takenin view of reports that, though theincubation period for the novelcoronavirus is between 2 and 14

days, cases have been reported inwhich carriers of the virusshowed symptoms after 14days. Therefore, the 28-day quarantine period isexpected to better pre-vent the spread of coro-navirus in the state.

Till date, the two-week home quaran-tine has beenenforced in the state-for secondary contacts of those

infected with Covid-19. The state government hasalso instructed the authorities

to perform Covid-19tests only on suspect-

ed carriers of the virusamong primarycontacts i.e. those

who may havecontracted the infec-

tion straight from a Covid-19 patient.

Minister KTRinteracted with everyworker and enquiredabout their health. Heasked the workers tobe safe and ensure allprecautions are takenwhile discharging their duties.

As cases mount in Maha , TS tightens vigil on borderPNS n HYDERABAD

In view of the continuingsurge in coronavirus cases inneighbouring Maharashtra,the authorities in Telanganahave further tightened vigila-long the border districts toensure that there is absolutelyno movement of peoplebetween the two states duringthe extended lockdown.

"While Telangana has 711cases and 23 deaths, Maharashtrahas reported about 4,245 casesand nearly 250 deaths. If the stateborders are opened, many peo-ple from Maharashtra may try toenter our state and similarly

people from our state may rushto Maharashtra. This may lead toa second wave of cases and aspurt in positive cases," healthdepartment sources said.

Telangana shares borderswith Maharashtra in the erst-while Nizamabad andAdilabad districts.

In March itself, as many asfive check-points were placed inAdilabad district to deter inter-state traffic from Maharashtra.Across the districts, policepatrolling teams and check-points have tried to keep themovement of people to a min-imum.

1 more deathin TS, 15 new casesPNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana State reported onemore death from Covid-19on Wednesday, taking thedeath toll in the State to 24.

A 65-year old female fromYakuthpura succumbed tocoronavirus onWednesday.

On Wednesday, 15 morepositive cases of Covid-19were reported, taking thetotal number of active casesto 725 in the state. In all, 10positive cases were reportedfrom Hyderabad, three fromSuryapet, and two fromGadwal.

Meanwhile, the ControlRoom in Hyderabad received510 calls, 13 of which per-tained to suspected coronacases. People from contain-ment zones are calling forfood supply.

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The Rs 1,800 crore plus fund constitutesthe labour cess collected in Telanganafrom builders / contractors specifically forthe welfare of construction workers.

n TS awaits ICMR approval for plasma therapy

MAUD and IT Minister KT Rama Rao serving food to GHMC workers of Disaster Relief Force and Entomology wing withwhom he had lunch on Wednesday.

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HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | APRIL 23, 2020 hyderabad 02

If one takes a moment toobserve, the evenings inHyderabad are not as bad as

they used to be in the recentpast.

Sitting in the balcony in theevenings is once again a pleas-ant experience, with the breezenot as warm as it was in the lastfew years. The weather thesedays reminds you of the pollu-tion-free Hyderabad of the1960s and 70s.

Pleasant evenings and nightswere the norm through theyear; light drizzle in the eveningwas a routine feature leavingevery individual to cover thebody with a bed sheet even inmidsummer.

It appears those days areback — though there is no driz-zle, no one switches on an AC.This may be due to the changein the weather condition orcould be effect of theCoronavirus linked lockdownforcing people to confine them-selves home, thereby indirect-ly making Hyderabad pollu-tion-free, emission free andradiation free once again.

New York Times reportedthat in one of the most pollut-

ed cities on earth, New Delhi,where many people routinelywear face masks to filter out thefilth, something rare and won-derful has emerged: a pure bluesky.

Because there are so few carson the road, few factories belch-ing out black smoke and almostno active construction sites tocreate clouds of choking dust,pollution levels in New Delhi,have dropped to remarkablylow levels, observed New YorkTimes.

This is true of almost theentire world.

According to MarthaHenriques who contributes tothe BBC, pollution and green-house gas emissions have fall-en across continents as coun-tries try to contain the spreadof the Coronavirus. Withinmonths of its appearance, theworld has transformed into aunique symbol of environmentchange.

For millions of people, who

have not caught the infection,there is a sea change in theirway of life and for many for bet-ter, thanks to the lockdown.

The streets of Wuhan, China,are deserted after the authori-ties implemented a strict lock-down. In Italy, the most exten-sive travel restrictions are inplace. In London, the normal-ly bustling pubs, bars and the-atres have been closed andpeople have been told to stay intheir homes. Worldwide, flightshave been cancelled, as the avi-ation industry buckles.

As industries, transport net-works and businesses have

closed down, it has brought asudden drop in carbon emis-sions. Levels of pollution havereduced steeply because ofmeasures to contain the virus.The proportion of days withgood quality air is up consid-erably.

Looks like that the environ-ment is benefiting in someinteresting and unexpectedway over the last few months,a blessing in disguise, thanks toCoronavirus.

Traffic levels, with no publicor private transport on roads,are also significantly down andas a result carbon monoxide

emissions have dropped.Another interesting effect onthe environment has been a sig-nificant reduction in air travel.This is significantly improvingair quality and reducing pollu-tion in the skies above manycountries of the world.

As more and more peopleare put under lockdownaround the world, energy con-sumption profiles in buildings

are being disrupted. Withmany people now workingfrom home domestic energyconsumption is predicted tohave risen sharply. Conversely,with fewer people in commer-cial and work place buildings,their energy consumptionshould fall steeply. This willultimately save energy as theincrease in domestic use ismore than compensated by thelarger drop in commercialand educational building uses.It also has the knock-on effectof reducing the consumptionof polluting fuels in power sta-tions as demand falls.

In addition, environmentrelated diseases are also on thedecline and almost negligible.People are generally sensitive toone or more allergies leadingto sneezing, running nose,itching of eyes, breathlessnessetc. which are normally symp-toms of allergic asthma. Theseoccur normally due to air pol-lution. Dermatitis a fancy

name for irritated andinflamed skin is caused due toenvironment pollution. Airpollution may break downsensitive tissues in the lungs.Some dangerous airborne par-ticles may damage sensitiveareas of the lung. This condi-tion, called pneumoconiosis,again is an environment relat-ed health problem. Eyes aresensitive to the environment.Polluted air can irritate theeyes and produce a burningsensation, redness and itchingin the eyes.

According to a leading pul-monologist and allergy special-ist Dr Vyakaranam, nitrogenoxide and sulphur dioxidecause extensive damage tolungs, heart and brain cells. Themost important, the PM(Particulate Matter) 2.5 size ofaerosols in pollution, have innatural 10 to 20% of microor-ganisms floating. Of these 80%belong to bacterial organismsand fungal elements.

it is proven that more the airpollution more the airbornebacterial concentration and res-piratory diseases leading toUpper Airway Inflammationthat can cause fatal pneumonia.Pseudomonas, empedobacterbrevis and staphylococcus groupof organisms predominantlypresent in air pollution. Besidesthese, few pathogenic bacteriaActinobacillus Proteobacteria,Firmicutes Cyanobacteria /Chloroplast and Bacteroidetesand Ascomycota, are alsoembedded.

Ever since the lockdown wasimplemented, none of theseallergies are largely reported.

In the 1970s, Hyderabadwas known for its weather; itwas the only place where peo-ple never suffered from heatand high humidity levels.Hyderabad now seems to haverediscovered its glorious past asfar as weather is concerned.

Hyderabadis, without asking,have got their glorious daysback. It reminds one of KishoreKumar’s hit song — ‘Koi LautaDe Mere Beete Huye Din’(Someone please return mybygone days).

Lockdown is a blessing in disguise

VANAM JWALA NARASIMHA RAOCPRO to Telangana

Chief Minister

As industries, transport networks andbusinesses have closed down, it has brought asudden drop in carbon emissions. Levels ofpollution have reduced steeply because ofmeasures to contain the virus. The proportion ofdays with good quality air is up considerably.

CS rushes to hotspot SuryapetPNS n SURYAPET

Chief Secretary SomeshKumar, who led a high-leveldelegation to the Suryapet dis-trict, has called upon the offi-cials concerned to take steps toarrest the spread of theCoronavirus cases. On thedirection of Chief Minister KChandrashekhar Rao, ChiefSecretary Somesh Kumar,Director General of PoliceMahender Reddy and Medicaland Health principal secre-tary Shanti Kumari rushed toSuryapet to personally monitorthe situation.

The officials visited the veg-etable market, from wheremost of the cases were report-ed. The top officials held areview meeting with districtcollector Vinay Krishna Reddy,Superintendent of PoliceBhaskaran and other officials toreview the situation.

Later, reviewing the situationwith medical and health,municipal, revenue officialsand also with containmentspecial officer at Collectorate,Somesh Kumar noted that 83people tested positive for thevirus in the district which hasa population of 13 lakh.Compared to those who test-ed positive in the GHMC lim-its, those who tested positivefor the virus in Suryapet dis-trict are more.

Appealing to the people ofthe district not to be worried

about the spurt in the cases, theChief Secretary tried to molli-fy them stating that the stategovernment would extend fullcooperation to the districtadministration's measures torein in the virus. SomeshKumar advised all governmentdepartments to work unitedunder the leadership of the dis-trict Collector and SP to ensure

that no more new cases arereported in the district.

Appreciating the districtadministration's measures torein in the virus, he said thatSarfraz Ahmed was posted asspecial officer to aid the districtadministration. Similarly,DM&HO of Yadadri-Bhongirdistrict, deputy DM&HO andmunicipal administration

deputy director were posted asOSDs in the district.

He said that the medical,revenue and municipal depart-ments have a key role to playin reducing the number ofcases. The tracing of contactsof those who tested positiveshould be done without givingroom for any errors, he saidasking the authorities to reviewthe old cases. He asked thepolice, health and municipaladministration departments towork with team spirit andtrace each and every contactexploiting the technology.

The primary contacts shouldbe sent to quarantine facilityand should be tested for thevirus. If they test positive forthe virus, they should be sent

to Gandhi Hospital. If they testnegative, they should be sent tohome by stamping on theirhands to undergo home quar-antine for 14 days. Nobodyshould be allowed to enter orexit from the containmentzones, he said calling upon theR&B Department to strength-en the barricading at the zones.

DGP Mahender Reddy saidthat the district administrationshould take it as a challenge torein in the Corona virus 100per cent here. He offered fullsupport of the police depart-ment to the district administra-tion in tackling the spread ofthe virus.

Shanti Kumari asked themedical teams to undertakedoor-to-door survey and testblood samples of the people liv-ing in quarantined areas bothin the morning and eveningand supply them with masks.Special arrangements should bemade to check the samples offever patients in private hospi-tals, while measures to preventspread of infections should beput in place in governmenthospitals, she said.

The high-level official dele-gation was told that 83 testedpositive in the district and oneperson was discharged. Thetotal number of active cases is82. There are 12 containmentzones in the town and sevenquarantine facilities. Additionaldistrict collector Sanjiva Reddyand others were present.

ASSESS SITUATION IN WAKE OF A SUDDEN SPURT OF COVID-19 CASES IN DISTRICT

The officials visited the vegetablemarket, from where most of the caseswere reported. The top officials held areview meeting with district collectorVinay Krishna Reddy, Superintendent ofPolice Bhaskaran and other officials toreview the situation

‘Mass testing holds thekey to contain virus'AVINASH DEEPAK PULI n MAHBUBNAGAR

Although the number ofCoronavirus positive caseshave seen a decrease in sever-al parts of the south Telanganafor the past four days as per themedical bulletins released bythe administration, there is aserious concern looming largein the urban and semi urbanparts of the rural Telanganadistricts about the occurrenceand identification of Covid-19cases.

Doctors feel that a massivetesting process in the rural andurban parts in the containmentzones would help to reducefears allayed by the people.They opine that the presenttesting process pertaining tothe identified members ofTablighi Jamaat meet and othervisitors would not yield thedesired results to rule out thepossibility of occurrence ofcases in the districts.

The authorities have told theTablighi Jamaat visitors, theirfamily members and neigh-bours to self quarantine beforeconducting the screening tests.

Majority of the people weretested positive for Coronavirusand they are being treated inHyderabad. However, the doc-

tors in Gadwal district nowopine that if the officials beginto screen random persons inthe city and surroundings, itwould help the HealthDepartment to overcome thechallenges from the peoplethat are certainly to come outin the next few days.

They suggested to utilisethe second phase of lockdownperiod to begin random testingin several areas of the district.

Doctors are citing the exam-ple of certain asymptotic casestested positive in the nationalcapital during the last few days.

The doctors inMahbubnagar while agreeingthat the state government isadopting serious measures toovercome the challenges alsosay that an occurrence of morenumber of cases could be wit-

nessed only when the testingprocess is expanded into thenew areas.

"We have come to a conclu-sion that the occurrence ofpositive cases was evident onlyamong the overseas visitorsand the Tablighi Jamaat atten-dees, but if the tests are con-ducted extensively we maywitness some startling details,"the doctors opine.

When asked why such a sus-picion is expressed by themedical professionals in thestate of peace, the doctors saythat this aspect could not be aruled out preposition as thenumbers are revealing laxityamong the people. "We shouldnot feel relaxed. Rather weshould intensify tests to meetthe challenge posed by theCovid-19," they asserted.

The authorities havetold the TablighiJamaat visitors,their familymembers andneighbours to selfquarantine beforeconducting thescreening tests.

Attacking medicscan cost up to...Continued from Page 1

The amendment has ensuredthat the investigation takesplace in a time-bound man-ner. A special provision is alsomade in the ordinance in casevehicles or clinics are dam-aged. In such cases, two timesthe cost will be recoveredfrom assailants.

No compromiseon Doctors’...Continued from Page 1"There can be no compromiseon their safety!," Modi tweet-ed and added that theEpidemic Diseases(Amendment) Ordinance,2020 manifested the govern-ment's commitment to protecteach and every healthcareworker who is bravely battlingCOVID-19 on the frontline.

As cases mountin Maha, TS...Continued from Page 1Officials pointed out thatmuch before the Centreannounced the lockdown andsealed the inter-state bor-ders, the state took measuresto stop the influx of peoplefrom the neighbouring state."The state may not have pow-ers to stop flights, but canrestrict movement on theMaharashtra border," a seniorofficial said.

Construction workers in TS suffer as Rs 1,800 cr...Continued from Page 1

Out of over 15 lakh construc-tion workers in Telangana,less than 7lakhhave registered.

All these workers have failedto access even the little moneythat could have been theirs,though most of them arealmost starving and arepreparing to go (or havealready set out) to their nativeplaces in other states on footin this scorching summer.

Lakhs of construction work-ers in Telangana have losttheir livelihooddue to lock-down in the state since March22. Most of them had migrat-ed from other states to work inthe boomingrealty sector inTS, especially Hyderabad andsurrounding districts.

Now, with little or no moneyin their hands due to suspen-sion of construction works,they are walking back home,hundreds and thousands ofk-ilometresaway, with their kithand kin.

The Centre had asked statesto distribute money lying withwelfareboards to cushion theimpact of lockdown on work-ers, but there has been no ini-tiative from thelabour author-ities so far.

Contrary to this, severalstates like Maharashtra havedistributed Rs2,000 to each ofthe stranded, starvingworkersfrom their respective welfareboard's fund.The amount wasdistributed by way of directbenefit transfer into thebankaccounts of workers.

As things stand, even if thelabour authorities wake up tothis harsh reality and decide todistribute money in the com-ing days, less than half of thetotalworkers would actuallyget the benefit, since a major-ity of them are not registered.

One cannot expect theLabourDepartment to act evennow, because it is known to benegligent in collectinglabourcess dues from buildersand contractors.It is believedthat money running into thou-sands of crores of rupees hasbeen evaded by builders andcontractors owing labourcessduring the last five years.

As per the Building andOther Construction WorkersWelfare Cess Act,1996, one percent should be paid to the

Labour Department forallconstruction work with overRs 10 lakh investment. Thefunds thus collected should beused for creating a corpus forBuildingand OtherConstruction Workers WelfareFund. This amount should beused for thewelfare of workers.

According to officialsources, labourcess totalingabout Rs 958 crore remainsun-collected under the purview ofLabour Commissioners inHyderabad, Rangareddy andWarangal alone during thelast five years.

A report by the Vigilanceand Enforcement wing to theLabourDepartmentmentions?366 crore dues from MissionKakatiya and MissionBhageerathacontractors in

Rangareddy zone alone, whilethe Metro Rail contractorowesRs 163 crore, and variousmobile service providers -- upto Rs 15crore.

According to one estimate,Rs 800 crore cess is payable onthe irrigationprojects takenup by the State governmentalone. If the arrearsaccruedfrom construction of roadsand other projects are alsocon-sidered, the outstandingamount from the governmentcould be huge.DespiteVigilance alerts, the LabourDepartment has not beenshowingany interest in thecollection of cess.Even fromthe amount collected as cess,the actual expenditure on wel-fare measures for theconstruc-tion labourers is often meagre.

Plasma transmission is a ray of hope in Corona cureContinued from Page 1

Drugs Controller General ofIndia has recently given the goahead for ICMR to assess theefficacy of convalescent plasmatherapy and its role in limitingthe complications and evaluat-ing safety of this therapy inCovid-19 patients.

Delhi, Kerala, Bengaluru arethe states where this therapy isbeing used.

Telangana is waiting for thenod from the ICMR to goahead with its proposal totreat Covid-19 patients withconvalescent plasma therapy. ATelangana Health Departmentofficial said, “We are still await-

ing approval from ICMR forplasma therapy. However acompany — Virco Biotech —has come forward to tie upwith the state on plasma ther-apy.”Sources in HealthDepartment indicated that thechances of getting approvalsquickly have improved drasti-cally. While Telangana is yet toget approval, hospital author-ities are seeking consent ofCovid-19 survivors to donateplasma when required. RedCross volunteers will also bemotivating patients to donateblood.

Hyderabad AsaduddinOwaisi has also requested peo-ple who are cured to donate

blood plasma for such a ther-apy. He tweeted: “My specialrequest to Indian Muslimswho have been cured(Alhamdulliah) of Covid toplease volunteer /contact RedCross & donate blood, remem-ber you will saving many livesof INDIANS”.

Tablighi Jamaat chiefMaulana Saad also appealed toJamaat workers and allMuslims who have been curedof Covid-19 to donate bloodplasma for those still infectedand under treatment.

Research suggests that onedonor can donate up to 400 mlof plasma that can save twolives. It is useful for both crit-

ically ill to moderately illpatients.

Dr Raghu Ram said, “Studieshave shown that plasma ther-apy has been effective in Ebolaand in other Corona infections.Only a small number of stud-ies have been done on Covid-19 patients the world over andin these limited studies, plas-ma therapy has been found tobe effective. However, thus far,no definitive large-scale trialshave demonstrated provenbenefit in Covid-19 treatment.There are now trials underwayin several countries, includingUSA and China to assess theefficacy of plasma therapy inCovid-19 treatment.”

FB buys stake in Jio...Continued from Page 1

Reliance Industries (RIL) in aseparate statement said theinvestment by Facebook valuesJio Platforms at Rs 4.62 lakhcrore pre-money enterprisevalue (USD 65.95 billion).

Facebook will be issuedfresh equity shares and will geta board position on JioPlatforms. Mukesh Ambani'stwin children, Isha and Akash,are also part of the board.

Jio Platforms, which wascreated in October last year tohouse all-digital initiative ofReliance, will retain Rs 15,000crore and use the remainingamount to pare some of itsabout Rs 40,000 crore debt.

Transaction advisors to pre-pare term sheet for the dealwere engaged sometime inNovember last year, implying

commercial negotiationsbetween the two groups wouldhave started in July or August.

Ambani had in August lastyear told Reliance Industriesshareholders about plans tosell stake in some of the busi-nesses with the goal of mak-ing the firm free of net debt by2021. The deal was originallytargeted for March 31, but theoutbreak of COVID-19pushed the negotiations into avirtual zone.The deal willbring together JioMart - the e-commerce venture of Ambani,and Facebook's WhatsAppplatform to connect con-sumers with neighbourhoodkirana stores, he said.

WhatsApp has over 400million users in India while Jiohas 388-plus phone sub-scribers. Facebook has about250 million users in India.

1 more death...

Home quarantine...

Continued from Page 1A total of 487 calls were

received on Wednesday from14 containment zones i.e.Qutubullapur, Gajilaramram,Chandanagar, Kukatpally,Alwal, Mayurinagar,Moosapet, Shaikpet, Yousu-fguda, Ramgopalpet,Redhills, Malakpet, Santosh-nagar and Chandrayanguttafor supply of food.

Continued from Page 1The authorities are of theview that keeping secondarycontacts under home quaran-tine for 28 days would be anadequate measure and thatthere is no need fortestingthem. Telangana is the fifthstate to stretchthe home quar-antine period to 28 days.

Lab challenges eviction...Continued from Page 1

In its petition, the companyalleged that the notice wasissued under the pretext thatsome neighbours were object-ing and threatening to causedamage to the property besidesclosing down the road leadingto it on account of the lab beingrecognised for Covid-19 testing.

Senior advocate S. Niranjan

Reddy told the HC that the labreceived the approval fromICMR only upon its compli-ance with the guidelines andprotocols issued by the coun-cil. He also said that the staffof the company were providedwith PPE and added that thecorona virus would not spreadfrom the employees involved inthe Covid-19 testing.

HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | APRIL 23, 2020 hyderabad 03

GMR led Rajiv Gandhi International Airport handles two specialpassenger relief flights to evacuate 100 US and 72 UAE nationalsfrom Hyderabad on Wednesday. Sanitisation and safety protocolswere in place throughout.

TAKING FFLIGHT

RIMEORNERC

2 cops rescuecattle fromburning shed,appreciated

Rachakonda Police team whichwas patrolling in Yadadri

district rescued cattle from ashed that was on fire onWednesday. Responding to thevideo, Director-General of PoliceM. Mahendar Reddy, appreciatedthe two constables for theirdeed. In the video posted ontwitter, flames possibly sparkedby the summer heat were seenconsuming the shade of thecattle shed made of dryhaystack. The constables whosaw two buffaloes tied close tothe fire trying in fear to freethemselves and run to safety,rushed into the shed, untied thedistressed animals and set themfree. The shed owner was notpresent at that time and due tothe timely rescue, the animalswere saved. The DGPappreciated the two policeconstables Yadagiri and RavinderReddy who rescued the cattle."Well done constable officersYadagiri and Ravinder Reddy.Preparedness is all about makingyourselves ready to act on,taking any risk and challengeinstantaneously, Spontaneitywhen added, you can serve moreeffectively and this can only bedriven by an attitude calledcaring," tweeted the DGP.

Virtual consultation: Thenew norm during CoronaNAVEENA GHANATE n HYDERABAD

Amid the nationwide lock-down, understandable focus ofpublic health facilities onCovid-19 cases and the vastlyreduced personal visits to pri-vate hospitals, many peoplewith non-life-threatening ill-nesses have switched totelemedicine in these coronatimes.

While private hospitals areusing apps offering online con-sultations like mfine, practo;governments are doing their bitby providing telephone num-bers of doctors in respectivedistricts. For instance, the T-Covid19 app brought out byTelangana government has 20doctors onboarded. Likewise,T-Consult app has also evokedhuge responses.

District collectors have pro-vided telephone numbers ofdoctors. Telemedicine facilitiesin districts too have clicked.

Sundeep Kumar Makthala ofTITA, which developed T-Consult app, said, "InNarayapet and Yadadri district,we have rolled out the T-Consult app wherein weonboarded more than 140 doc-tors and received nearly 1,000requests. Most of the helplinesnow in districts are telephonemedicine and not tele-medi-cine in true sense. In telemed-icine, the entire process shouldbe HIPAA (Health Insurance

Portability and AccountabilityAct)-complaint. The prescrip-tion, video conferencing every-thing should be encrypted, sothat privacy of the patient ismaintained. We want to spreadthis to other districts as well,but the problem is dearth ofdoctors to provide free ser-vices."

While the HIPAA guidelinesare Federal guidelines by US,Telemedicine guidelines givenby ICMR are being followedwhen rolling out the services.

Praveen Chandrahas of theForum for People's Healthsaid: "We received total 12,000calls since we started free 24x7telemedicine service. While itwas intended for people ofAndhra Pradesh and

Telangana, a lot of peopleacross the country people whocan speak in Telugu are callingus. Doctors from variousmulti-specialty hospitals aregiving free consultation. Fromsimple headache to seriouspatients, pregnant and handi-capped persons, all kinds ofpeople are reaching us on thehelpline".

Virtual consultations help inpreventing overcrowding ofhospitals and reduce the risk ofinfection. It helps hospitalssafeguard doctors and staffwho are among those facingrisks of contracting the virus.Telemedicine will also helppatients to avoid crowded wait-ing rooms and potential infec-tion.

Stranded NRIsseek help ofdocs throughTelemedicinePNS n HYDERABAD

Telugu NRIs stranded in US,Italy and other countries areseeking help throughTelemedicine. WhenGovinda Reddy ofKarimanagar was strandedin Tanzania reached out tohelp due to poor medicalconditions in the country toMinister KT Rama Rao, hewas provided with virtualconsultation using T-Consultapp. Dr VishnuPulmonologist spoke toGovinda Reddy and assistedhim.

Sandeep Kumar Makthalaof TITA said, "T-consultphase1 was actually designedfor NRIs stranded in severcountries including Italy,netherland, france. Due tothe severity of crisis, in thesecountries getting medicalsupport was tough. Weonboarded 54doctors someare Telugu doctors in USwhile others are inTelangana. So far 483NRIconsultations happened onour app".

District collectors have providedtelephone numbers of doctors

NAVEEN KUMAR n HYDERABAD

Coronavirus pandemic haschanged our daily lives beyondrecognition. We are drivingless, connecting digitally andeating healthy like our livesdepend on it. Because of this,our environmental footprintsare changing too. For starters,many of us are wasting lessfood, as we carefully planmeals to reduce supermarkettrips.

Moreover, as there is strictlockdown ensured on roadsand cancellation of weddingand other processions resultedin less noise pollution as well.

"Motor vehicles are a majorsource of pollution and emis-sions, and with people beinghome by travelling only foressentials while following gov-ernment rules, the levels arereally low for the past onemonth in the city," said an offi-cial from the pollution controlboard.

Working remotely and fromhome indefinitely is unlikely toapply to everyone, but expertsbelieve it may be best for thefuture to cut down on the dayswe commute and give workersmore options.

Many of us are using tech-nology that we may not have

used before, so it shows we canlive and work in differentways, says Abhishek Kumar, atrade analyst. "Let's hope hold-ing some meetings online cancontinue, to reduce travel evenwhen restrictions are lifted.That could save money and cutpollution at the same time," hesaid.

Individually, there may beother ways we are being moregreen in lockdown as we are nolonger grabbing the usual cof-fee in a disposable cup or notgetting parcels in plastic pack-aging.

"This was an unprecedentedopportunity for us to take a

close look at how air pollutionlevels have responded to anextraordinary development,"Dr Sarath Guttikunda, whoheads Urban Emissions, anindependent research groupthat provides air quality fore-casts, told the media.

Federal pollution controlauthorities quickly reported amarked improvement in airquality levels in 85 cities,including metros like Delhi,Hyderabad and Chennai. DrGuttikunda and his team ofresearchers looked at the dataspewed out by the 100-odd airquality monitoring stations allover India.

Lockdown improves air quality

Due to cancellation of wedding andother processions resulted in less noisepollution as well in the city

PNS n HYDERABAD

A recent study has found outthat patients with digestivesymptoms had the virus intheir bodies for a longer time,compared to those with respi-ratory symptoms. Scientistsin China have found evidencethat while Covid-19 most com-monly presents with respirato-ry symptoms, such as coughand shortness of breath, the ill-ness can also present withnon-respiratory symptoms,most notably digestive symp-toms such as diarrhoea, dimin-ished appetite and nausea.

The study has found patientswith digestive symptoms hadthe virus in their bodies for alonger time, compared to thosewith respiratory symptoms.The virus was also far morelikely to be found in theirexcretion. "We know that

patients with Covid-19 canhave nausea and diarrhoeaand estimates have rangedfrom 4 per cent to 57 per centin different studies," said areport.

If the virus gets into a per-son's saliva and they swallowit, it can then enter the intesti-nal system. It's thought diges-tive symptoms occur becausethe virus enters target cellsthrough a receptor found inboth the upper and lower gas-trointestinal tract.

The receptors to which thevirus binds are expressed at

almost 100-fold higher levels inthe gastrointestinal organscompared to the respiratoryorgans.

Scientists said becauseCovid-19 testing has beenlargely focused on patientswith respiratory symptomsrather than digestive ones, it'spossible there are a large num-ber of undiagnosed patientswith low severity illness whoare unknowingly spreadingthe virus. "At this stage, wedon't know how infectious thevirus is once it comes out in aperson's stools, which meanshand washing is always imper-ative" scientists opined. "If youthink you might have digestiveissues as a result of coron-avirus, the message is clear:keep hydrated. Make sureyou're washing hands regular-ly and are isolating yourselffrom others in your household.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Forests Minister A IndrakaranReddy on Wednesday laidemphasis on safeguarding bio-diversity on earth to preventviruses like Coronavirus play-ing havoc with lives of the peo-ple. Delivering World EarthDay message, he called for pro-tecting earth, the only planetwhere all species survive.

Natural calamities likedrought, floods and earthquakes or outbreak of newviruses is attributed the harmbeing done to environment.The people should realise thisand frequency of outbreak ofviruses would increase onlybecause of harm being done toenvironment, he said. If theenvironmental pollution

increases, the viral diseases alsomultiply, he said.

Attributing spread of virus-es to human error, he said thatthe humankind would have toface many more viruses likeCoronavirus in future if thepeople did not live how to co-exist with wildlife, which is apart of the nature. Outbreak ofviruses like ebola, MERS,

Nipha, SARS, bird flu in thepast was traced to destructionof environment, he said. NowCoronavirus is playing havocwith the people's lives. If thesame trend were to continue,it would have adverse impacton socio-economic develop-ment of the country puttingthe sustainability of humanrace in danger.

Food distribution by NGOs hit due to curbs PNS n HYDERABAD

Distribution of cooked foodand ration among the poor andneedy in different parts ofHyderabad and its outskirtsduring the ongoing lockdownhas been affected by the con-troversial move by the munic-ipal authorities to cancel thepasses issued earlier to NGOsand individuals for reliefworks.

Some NGOs have beenforced to shut their kitchenswhile individuals working toprovide succour to the needyin interior areas are unable tomove due to new restrictionsimposed by the police sinceTuesday.

With the lockdown complet-ing a month, families of dailywagers, migrant workers andothers with meagre sources ofincome are struggling to sati-ate hunger.

Shakera Begum, who lives in

a small rented house with hersix children, has been relyingon the aid distributed by phil-anthropists since the lock-down began a month ago.There are thousands like herwho don't get any aid from thegovernment.

At a time when scores ofNGOs, various socio-religiousorganisations and individuals

are rendering commendableservice, the decision of GHMChas come as a rude shock.

Mayor Bonthu Rammohanon Monday announced thatthe passes issued to thesegroups and individuals earlierwould not be valid. He insteadasked them to deposit the foodwith the GHMC for distribu-tion.

He came under flak fromthose engaged in the reliefworks. "GHMC and otherauthorities are unable to per-form their own duties. Theydon't have additional man-power and machinery toundertake this. How can theyreach out to the needy," askedactivist SQ Masood.

Masood told that he couldnot go for distribution of foodas the police restricted hismovement in the old city."Police seized the vehicle of myfriend who was going for dis-tribution of aid among migrantworkers. He was told that hispass is no longer valid."

Another aid worker AffanQuadri said three kitchens indifferent areas were shut due tocancellations of passes. "Thegroups which were runningthese kitchens have sent thepoor families they were so fartaking care of to us," saidQuadri.

Detention maybe scrappedfor DegreestudentsPNS n HYDERABAD

The government is toyingwith the idea of doing awaywith the detention system forfirst and second year degreestudents this year and pro-mote them to higher classeswith academic days gettinglost due to lockdown.

Telangana State Councilfor Higher Education onWednesday said that allarrangements were made toconduct entrance tests andthe exact dates would beannounced after May 7 afterthe lockdown ends.

Addressing media onWednesday, TSCHE chair-man T Papi Reddy said thatthe common entrance testswould be held whenever thesituation eases but the firstand second year studentswill get automatic promotionto the next year even if theydon't secure the mandatorycredits. "We don't want toburden students in the unpre-dictable situation now and arecontemplating removingdetention system for thisyear," he added.

This is not promotion, buteasing pressure on them.However, they have to clearthe backlogs next year asthey do by appearing in thesupplementary exams. Firstpriority for conducting theexams will be for final yearstudents as they have multi-ple plans like appearing fornational-level entrance examsfor various universities.Exams for PG courses willnot be a problem as theirnumbers are less compared toa few lakhs in degree cours-es. The exams would be heldas per the syllabus complet-ed so far. The council hasbeen speaking with collegesto assess the extent of com-pletion of the syllabus.Further, online classes wouldalso be conducted, he said.

7,000 vehiclesseized in a day PNS n HYDERABAD

Even after numerous requests,warnings and precautions,Telangana state still clocked inabout 7,000 cases of vehiclesviolating the lockdown in oneday. As of Monday, TelanganaPolice has seized 1.21 lakhvehicles across the state for vio-lation of lockdown norms.Director General of PoliceMahender Reddy said thatafter the lifting of the lockdown,the vehicles will be deposited inthe courts and the vehicleowners may collect their vehi-cles from courts. However, thestate witnessed a whoppingseizure of about 7,000 vehiclesthe very next day. On Tuesdayalone, police seized 6,953 twowheelers, 181 three wheelers,290 four wheelers, and fiveother vehicles. The DGP onMonday, however, made itclear that the vehicles have tobe collected from courts afterthe lifting of the lockdown.

HC tells stateto give priorityto challenged PNS n HYDERABAD

The Telangana High Courton Wednesday asked thestate government to do widepublicity to the helplinenumbers set up by it to servethe challenged persons of thestate.

The HC made it clear thatthe publicity should be donein the language understoodby the disabled of the state.It also asked the state govern-ment to work together withNGOs, who are willing toserve the challenged andensure delivery of all kindsessential commodities andmedicines at the doorsteps ofthe challenged persons dur-ing the ongoing lockdown inTelangana.

The HC told the state gov-ernment to secure fundsfrom private companiesunder CSR to carry out thehome delivery of the essen-tials to the challenged per-sons. It further asked thestate government to issuespecial passes to care giversand service providers of thechallenged persons whilemaking it clear that the policeshould not harass them.

Four of familyfound hangingPNS n HYDERABAD

Four members of a samefamily were found hanging intheir home at Almasguda ofMeerpet on Wednesday. Thevictims were identified asSuvarna Bai and her kids,Harish Rao, Girish Rao, andSwapna from Vikarabad. Thehouse owner informed themon Wednesday, after he sawthem hanging when hepeeped through a window. Asuicide note, purportedlywritten by one of them, wasfound in the room, attribut-ing their extreme step finan-cial crisis and ill health.

Preliminary investigationsuggests that Harish wasemployed in a private firm,while Suvarna Bai, Girishand Swapna stayed home.

The Meerpet Police haveregistered a case.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Former Secretary to CentralGovernment Anil Swarup, IAS(Retd.) said that ethical behav-iour is an integral part of theleadership style of all success-ful Civil Servants.

Dr MCR HRD Institute ofTelangana conducted a specialsession on 'ethics and civilservices' through virtual modeby Anil Swarup on the occa-sion of 14th Civil ServicesDay.

Over 140 trainee civil ser-vants and 30 military engineerservice probationers, fromacross the country, who are

attending their respective foun-dation courses, logged in toparticipate in the proceedingsof the Civil Services Day.

In his keynote address, AnilSwarup said that ethical behav-iour is an integral part of theleadership style of all success-

ful civil servants. Continuinghis address, he stated thatmerely being bosses and pos-sessing authority are notenough for getting the workdone by people in an organi-sation.

He advised the trainee civilservants and military engi-neer service probationers tokeep enriching their ethicalconduct which would go a longway not only in giving themenormous moral authority overtheir team members abut alsoin inspiring them to whole-heartedly contribute their opti-mum best in achieving thegoals of the organisation.

‘Ethical behaviour is integral part of leadership’

Arvind inspectsMega KitchenPNS n HYDERABAD

Principal Secretary ofMunicipal AdministrationArvind Kumar visitedNarsingi on Wednesday andinspected the Mega Kitchenbeing run by the AkshayaPatra foundation.

Arvind enquired about thearrangements made towardsassured food supply to theneedy. The foundation mem-bers informed that prior toCovid-19 their foundationwas supplying lunch to 45thousand people daily throughthe 150 annapurna canteens inthe city. After the outbreak ofCoronavirus, the foundationhas scaled it up to around 200annapurna centres, including

mobile centres and providinglunch and dinner to morethan 1.5 lakh people daily.

Arvind went round thekitchen and enquired aboutthe food distribution and sup-ply procedures. He expressedhappiness at the well main-tained and hygienic kitchen.Later, he inspected the worksbeing taken up by HGCL nearthe Narsingi circle. Heinstructed the officials to takeup greenery in the area with-in a week. He also asked theofficials to take up plantationsnear Ikea circle which wouldgive an aesthetic look. HGCLmanaging director Santosh,chief engineer of HMDA BLNReddy and other officials werepresent on the occasion.

Minister lays emphasis onsafeguarding biodiversity

Digestive issues could beearly signs of Coronavirus

HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | APRIL 23, 2020 hyderabad 04

PNS n HYDERABAD

Rajya Sabha member Joginapally SantoshKumar on Wednesday called on the TRSparty cadre to wear and distribute masksto mark the TRS Formation Day onApril 27.

"On a normal course, it's a Festival Dayfor all us on every 27 April, as it's theFoundation Day of TRS Party.

This time it's different all together. Weare in a situation like never before.Deadly Pandemic COVID is hamperingour celebrations of 20th anniversary on alarge scale," he said.

In a series of tweets he urged to all com-patriots to wear a mask. He tweeted, "Iurge all my compatriots to sport a mask& distribute as many as possible in yourareas, very strictly not in groups. Let's takethis up on War-Footing.

No one shall go without mask fromnow. You can share photos with Mask."

He was sporting a pink mask withKCR's picture on it. He pointed that astudy says, with everyone Mask-On in oursociety, there is mere only 1.5% chancesof spreading the virus. He asked people tokeep the mask on your face until wedestroy COVID19 entirely.

Santosh calls for distribution of masks

PNSn HYDERABAD

BJP state unit presidentBandi Sanjay onWednesday alleged thatthe farmers are beingduped while procuringpaddy by not countingfive kg for every quintalon the pretext of thepaddy containing emptyseeds. In a statement, theKarimnagar MP said thatthere were machines tomeasure empty seedsamong grains, but it hasno meshwork leading tothe farmers getting duped.

At many procurementcentres, paddy wasbrought 10 days ago, butno purchases were madeso far. The middlemenwere trying to make toagree for the loss of five kgfor every quintal of paddyprocured, he said addingthat there were attemptsmade on the farmersrefusing to accept the loss.

The BJP leader urgedthe state government toimmediately come to therescue of the farmers whosustained losses due tountimely rains and want-

ed the government to paysuitable ex-gratia to thebereaved farmers' families.

He asked the state gov-ernment to depute a VAOand Agricultural exten-sion officers to undertakefield visits in villages tofind out the farmers' prob-lems and to assess theactual crop loss.Depending on the loss, exgratia should be paid tothe farmers immediately,he added.

The governmentshould respond immedi-ately and lend a helpinghand to the farmers as theuntimely rains came as abolt from the blue to thefarmers who are also sus-taining losses on accountof the lockdown condi-tions, he said cautioningthe government against

impending suicide trendamong the farmers. Ifsuch a trend were to sur-face, the state governmentalone would have to beheld responsible, he cau-tioned.

Hails ordinanceMeanwhile, the Union

Cabinet took a seriousview of the attacks ondoctors and other medicalpersonnel, who have beencombating theCoronavirus and promul-gated an ordinance.Welcoming the ordinance,BJP state unit presidentBandi Sanjay recalled howthe attacks on Medicalofficers and ASHA work-ers in Telangana were notgiven the serious attentionthey deserved.

Therefore, the StateGovernment should wakeup from the deep slumberand take stern actionagainst the attackers intune with the ordinance,he said. He said that theordinance will boost themorale of the doctors andmedical personnel treat-ing Covid-19 patients.

Agricultural productivitypeaks in TelanganaPNSn HYDERABAD

Telangana Principal Secretaryfor Agriculture Dr B JanardhanReddy said that every inch ofTelangana is cultivated todayand the state has seen highestproductivity ever in its historywith 100 million tonnes ofpaddy cultivation.

He was addressing a Webinaron Supporting Agriculture &Horticulture in COVID-19 -Practical Approaches andStrategies, organised by TheFederation of TelanganaChambers of Commerce andIndustry (FTCCI) in associa-tion with The Federation ofIndian Chambers ofCommerce and industry(FICCI) on Wednesday.

In the opening addresses,FTCCI president KarunendraS Jasti, said "We are a countrywhere 60 per cent of our pop-ulation is depended onAgriculture and related activi-ties. Agriculture provides max-imum employment for our cit-izens. We organised thisWebinar to discuss the chal-lenges and issues faced by ourfarmers and agriculturists inthese Covid-19 times withlogistics disadvantages cou-pled with purchase and pay-ment issues. FTCCI sincerelyhope this discussion will offer

solutions to the issues wrt agri-culture in these corona timesand continue the supply chain."

"The state has exceeded allparameters in the productionof agriculture produce even inthese challenging Covid-19days. Paddy was cultivated inmore than 90 lakh acres acrossthe state. Maize productionreached 15 lakhs MT and cot-ton 17 lakh MT. 65,000 MTsweet oranges were cultivatedin the district of Nalgonda andMahbubnagar. The state wasso flooded with agricultureproduce that we have chal-lenges in storing and engagingmarket yards, traders, ricemillers and godowns!!

Organising labour for paddycultivation was a herculeantask. We needed 1 crore labourin just 20-25 days. The labourwas not available due to Covidrestrictions and high day tem-peratures. We used the tech-nology and took help of 15000harvesters in harvesting thepaddy crop. The state openedup 7,000 procurement centersin villages, moved all available96,000 tractors to villages forprocurement. For the firsttime the state is not only selfsufficient but also catering to2-3 neighboring states," saidJanardhan Reddy.

Dr Arabinda Kumar Padhee,IAS, Country Director - India,

ICRISAT lauded the initiativesof Centre and States especiallyof Telangana for taking pro-active initiatives in combatingthe global pandemic. He sug-gested for smooth functioningof the supply chain, with ade-quate safety measures for thepeople involved, in makingthe essential items available toconsumers.

He also suggested for lever-aging NREGS funds to pay partof the farm labor (with farm-ers paying the balance wageamount) to lessen the mone-tary burden on the farmer,while ensuring wage employ-ment to the landless laborersand workers.

10 million tonnes of paddy cultivated, unprecedented in history of StateThe statehasexceeded allparametersin theproduction ofagricultureproduce evenin thesechallengingCovid-19days, he said

Farmers being duped atprocurement centres: Bandi

Cong condemns police excesses on citizensPNSn HYDERABAD

Hyderabad City CongressCommittee (HCCC)Minorities Department chair-man Sameer Waliullah hasstrongly condemned the policeexcesses on citizens ofHyderabad in the name oflockdown. "Hyderabad CityPolice has turned too aggres-sive and brutal ever since thestate gvovernment announcedextension of lockdown on April19 till May 7. While we supportthe lockdown and appreciatethe services being rendered bythousands of policemen oncity roads, we strongly con-demn the high-handed behav-iour of a few police personnelsince the last three days,"Sameer Waliullah said.

The Congress leader saidthat it was wrong on the partof police to treat everyone

with suspicion. "Is it not wrongto question the intentions ofevery individual who is com-ing out to buy groceries, med-icines or other essentials?People are mentally, econom-ically and emotionally shat-tered due to lockdown. Sincestaying at home is the onlyoption to prevent the spread of

Coronavirus, almost 99.99 percent population is following thelockdown norms. There mightbe only a few persons whocoming out for no valid rea-sons. However, police is target-ting almost everyone and treat-ing common citizens like crim-inals," he said.

Sameer Waliullah said sever-

al videos of police excesses havebeen going viral on socialmedia wherein police person-nel are seen beating up andinsulting the poor and inno-cent people.

"They are treating everyoneas a liar and cheat and not will-ing to accept that they came outto buy groceries or medicinesor for some other importantneeds. In many cases, they aresimply beating the people withlathis without even asking any-thing," he alleged adding thateven women were not beingspared at many places. Citingan instance, he said sick

women, who were going to ahospital, were forced to de-board an auto-rickshaw in themiddle of the road atTolichowki.

"If police does not want tosee any person on the road,then it should impose 24x7curfew and give 2-3 hour relax-ation to buy groceries. In pre-sent condition, the entire lock-down appears to be a drama.People are coming out on theassumption that they areallowed to buy groceries from6 am to 6 pm. But they arebeing humiliated for no fault,"he said.

Congress leader Sameer Waliullah saidthat it was wrong on the part of police totreat everyone with suspicion. Is it notwrong to question the intentions of everyindividual, he said

TRS FORMATION DAY

COVID-19 TESTS

HC asks govtto file detailedreportPNSn HYDERABAD

The Telangana High Courton Wednesday directed thestate government to file adetailed report on the totalnumber of Covid-19 virustests done in the state so far.

A division bench of theHigh Court comprising of theChief Justice of the stateJustice RS Chauhan andJustice A Abhishek Reddypassed the orders afterrecording the statement madecounsel for the state govern-ment that all the govern-ment hospitals were doing anexcellent job in the presentsituation in extending treat-ment to Covid 19 patientsand suspects.

Responding to this, thedivision bench has said thatit would see if the Covid-19cases would increase ordecrease in the days to come.The division bench passedthese orders while dealingwith a Public InterestLitigation (PIL) filed by acity-based advocate PThirumala Rao.

In his petition, he told thecourt that the private labora-tories were charging up to Rs4,500 for performing Covid-19 tests. He said that the stateand the central governmentsought assure and undertakefull responsibility to providethe Covid-19 treatment freeof cost at all private labora-tories and private medicalestablishments.

city-based advocate PThirumala Rao also urged theHigh Court to call for the sta-tus reports on the diagnostictests conducted at the desig-nated covid 19 hospitalswhich are treating coronapositive patients and sus-pects.

ExpediteBhagirathaworks: MinisterPNSn HYDERABAD

Minister for Tribal WelfareSatyavati Rathod onWednesday directed theMission Bhagiratha projectofficials to complete works asearly as possible as the stategovernment released Rs 26.5crore to provide drinkingwater facility to 126 tribalthandas in the state. Shereviewed drinking water prob-lem in tribal areas along withtribal welfare commissionerChristina Chongtu, MissionBhagiratha Chief EngineerKrupakar Reddy and otherofficials at DamodaramSanjivaiah Bhavan here.

The officials told the min-ister that all efforts to tide overdrinking water crisis in sum-mer are being initiated. Oncethe Mission Bhagiratha work-ers are completed, the drink-ing water problem would besolved permanently.

Uttam demandsincentives for journalistsPNSn HYDERABAD

Telangana Pradesh CongressCommittee (TPCC) presidentand Nalgonda MP N UttamKumar Reddy on Wednesdaypraised the role being playedby journalists of print, elec-tronic and online media inreporting the Coronavirusacross the globe, includingIndia and Telangana. Speakingafter distributing food grainsand essential commoditiesamong 157 print and electron-ic media journalists inHuzurnagar of Suryapet dis-trict on Wednesday, Uttamdescribed the media personnelas the frontline warriors in thebattle against Coronavirus.

He said that the media per-sons have been risking theirhealth and lives to report thelatest happenings related toCoronavirus. He expressedconcern over dozens of jour-

nalists in Maharashtra, TamilNadu and other parts of thecountry getting affected withCovid-19 and prayed for theirspeedy recovery. He appealedto all the journalists to takeprecautions while venturingout for reporting and to theiroffices.

Uttam said in view of manyjournalists testing positive forCoronavirus in Maharashtraand Tamil Nadu, there has

been a suggestion from manysenior journalists inHyderabad for a Covid-19 testfor journalists doing fieldreporting in the State.Therefore, he said should testsshould be facilitated for all whoopts for it. He also demandedthat the media personnel,reporting the pandemic,should be given incentives onthe lines of Health, Police andother departments.

Check brewing of illicit liquor, says SrinivasPNSn HYDERABAD

Excise Minister V SrinivasGoud on Wednesday asked theexcise officials to take steps tocheck brewing of arrack dur-ing the present lockdown con-ditions as people addicted toalcohol might incline towardsconsumption of arrack.

Reviewing the activities ofthe Excise Department withsenior officials through videoconference from his office inRavindra Bharati complex, theMinister asked the officials tocontrol illicit brewing of liquorby working in tandem anduphold the prestige of thedepartment. He cautioned offi-

cials of strict action againstthem if reports pertaining toliquor consumption were to be

reported from any part of thestate.

He asked the senior officials

to conduct review meetings ondaily basis and submit reportsto his office and also that of theexcise commissioner. He askedthe excise officials to take stepsto prevent brewing of arrackand if necessary invoke theprovisions of the PreventiveDetention Act.

Earlier, the state govern-ment rehabilitated over 6,299illicit-brewers of arrack by giv-ing them a package worth Rs126 crore, the Minister saidcautioning the excise person-nel against showing derelictionto their duty. He said that thegovernment would go even tothe extent of placing the erringofficials under suspension.

HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | APRIL 23, 2020 nation 05SHORT READS

Like Kota students,make arrangementsfor migrant labourersLUCKNOW: Bahujan SamajParty chief Mayawati requestedthe Centre on Wednesday tosend home migrant labourersstranded in various parts of thecountry due to the coronavirus-forced lockdown by makingarrangements on the lines ofthe one made for Kota student.A couple of states have broughtback students preparing forvarious competitiveexaminations in the coachinghub of Kota in Rajasthan inbuses arranged especially forthem. In a tweet, Mayawatisaid, "Lakhs of poor people andmigrant labourers strandedmostly in states such asMaharashtra, Delhi andHaryana are facingunemployment and starvationdue to the nationwidelockdown. They are not able toget a single meal properly andwant to return home," she said.

Delhi govt warnsagainst selling liquorduring lockdown

Bengaluru dentisthailed for saving life ofmigrant worker, childBENGALURU: A dentist inBengaluru has suddenlybecome the toast of the townfor not only saving a migrantwoman labourer, who deliveredher child on a pavement here,but also reviving her new born.Though the incident occurredon April 14 morning, it came tolight only recently with socialmedia users showering praiseson Ramya Himanish, who runsa dental clinic in DoddaBommasandra. The migrantlabourer Shanti from NorthIndia had walked seven kilome-tres looking for a hospital andwhen she could not find one,she delivered the baby, as shewent into labour, on the pave-ment next to the clinic, whichhad not opened by then. As thechild did not respond, the hus-band wrapped it with a news-paper assuming it had died."When I went there, I saw thewoman bleeding. I brought herinside and provided treatment.Then I checked the baby," DrHimanish said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Ten staffers of a private hospi-tal in southeast Delhi's Okhla,who had come in contact witha coronavirus patient, havetested negative for the virus, asenior doctor at the hospitalsaid. A patient was admitted toAlshifa Hospital on April 13with anal abscess and was oper-ated upon. He later complainedof having chest pain and wasasked to get tested for coron-avirus at the Ram ManoharLohia Hospital. The reportconfirmed that he was infectedwith novel coronavirus andwas referred to another hospi-tal, the doctor said. The staffmembers, including the doctorwho operated upon the patient,got themselves tested for thevirus. The staffers had been un-der quarantine at the hospital.

NEW DELHI: The Delhi govern-ment has warned hotels, clubs,restaurants and liquor vendsagainst selling liquor during theongoing lockdown in thenational capital. The movecomes after the Excise Depart-ment noticed that someestablishments are smugglingout liquor from their premises.In an order, Excise Commissio-ner Ravi Dhawan said all thelicensee such as clubs, hotels,restaurants, wholesale andliquor outlets are warnedagainst indulging in unlawfulactivities of sale of liquorduring the lockdown untilfurther orders. "Strict action,including cancellation of licenseand blacklisting, will be taken..."Dhawan said in the order. Withliquor vends, clubs and othersuch establishments shut sincethe nationwide lockdown, theDelhi Police and the ExciseDepartment have cracked downon those indulging in selling ortransporting alcohol illegally,and seized nearly 8,400 liquorbottles of different brands.

Govt paves way for return ofstuck seafarers to homesPNS n NEW DELHI

The government has come outwith guidelines for change ofcrew at Indian ports, a move thatwill put an end to hardshipsfaced by stuck seafarers and paveway for them to return to theirhomes. Under the standardoperating procedure (SOP), anyseafarer would be allowed sign-on at the port of embarkationonly after test for COVID-19 isfound negative, failing whichaction as per guidelines of theMinistry of Health and FamilyWelfare would be taken.

Shipping Minister MansukhLal Mandaviya on Wednesdayin a statement said, "Crewchange at sea ports will be pos-sible now with the issuance ofthe SOP by the Ministry ofHome Affairs. This will put anend to hardships faced by thou-sands of seafarers."

"Change of crew of ship (sea-farers) is an important measurefor operation of merchant ships.The Ministry of Home Affairshas issued SOP... This SOP hasbeen formulated to streamlinethe sign-on/sign-off of Indianseafarers at Indian ports formerchant shipping vessels," theshipping ministry said in the

statement.For sign-on, ship owner and

recruitment and placement ser-vice (RPS) agency will identifythe Indian seafarers for joininga vessel, according to the SOP.

"The seafarers will intimatetheir travel and contact historyfor last 28 days to the ship owner/RPS agency by e-mail, as perthe procedure laid down byDGS (Directorate General ofShipping). The seafarer wouldbe examined by a DGS-approved medical examiner, asper the guidelines prescribed forthis purpose. At the same time,the seafarer shall also bescreened, and his travel and con-tact history examined for the last

28 days," according to the SOP.Local authorities in the area

where the seafarer resides will beintimated about his clearance forsign-on and for issue of a tran-sit pass from the place of resi-dence to the place of embarka-tion on the shipping vessel, itsaid.

"The transit pass for suchmovement by road, for the sea-farer and one driver, may beissued by the government of thestate/union territory where theseafarer resides. The transit pass(to and fro) will be issued for afixed route and with specifiedvalidity and will have to beadhered to strictly. Such transitpass would be honoured/

allowed by the authorities of thestate/ union territory along thetransit route," it added.

It said that social distancingand other hygiene norms, as perstandard health protocol, wouldbe followed by the vehicle trans-porting the seafarer to his des-tination.

Likewise, for sign-off, themaster of a vessel, coming fromany foreign port, or a coastalvessel from any Indian port,while arriving at its port of callin India, shall ascertain thestate of health of each person onboard the vessel and submit theMaritime Declaration of Healthto the health authorities of theport and to the port authorities.

Chouhan aide Narottam Mishragets Home and Health portfoliosPNS n BHOPAL

A day after expanding his cab-inet, Madhya Pradesh ChiefMinister Shivraj SinghChouhan on Wednesday allo-cated portfolios to the fiveinductees.

Narottam Mishra, a seniorBJP leader and Chouhan'sconfidant, was allotted Home,Health and Family Welfaredepartments, an importantassignment in view of theCOVID-19 situation inMadhya Pradesh.

Announcing the allocationof departments via a videorelease, the CM said TulsiSilawat will be incharge ofWater Resources Departmentand Govind Singh Rajput willhead Cooperatives, Food, CivilSupplies and ConsumerWelfare department.

Silawat and Rajput hadresigned as MLAs of Congressto join the BJP.

Kamal Patel is entrustedwith the Agriculture andFarmer Welfareportfolio whileMeena Singh will look afterTribal Welfare department.

Chouhan had assigned twodivisions each to the five min-isters, after they took oath onTuesday,to deal with theCOVID-19 situation.

He, however, suggested that

the arrangements could betemporary.

"The current allocation ofdepartments was made as perthe requirement arising due toCOVID-19 situation and theneed to bring the situationunder control," the CM said.

He said the state cabinet willbe expanded once the lock-down is lifted, and that depart-ments will be reallocated afterdiscussions.

On Tuesday, Chouhan effect-ed the first expansion of his sin-gle-member Cabinet since hetook oath on March 23, afterthe Kamal Nath-led govern-ment collapsed due to rebellionby Jyotiraditya Scindia and res-ignation of 22 MLAs of the

Congress. Till Tuesday evening,Madhya Pradesh had reported1552 COVID-19 cases with 80deaths.

Celebrities croon for COVID-19theme song penned by KamalPNS n CHENNAI

An ensemble of celebritieshave teamed up with actor-politician Kamal Haasan for atheme song on facing theCOVID19 situation, with theMNM chief insisting that"artistes always sow the seedsof hope."

Well-known names in thecinema industry--composersShankar Mahadevan, YuvanShankar Raja and R Anirudh,carnatic musician BombayJayashri, actors Siddharth,Andrea and Shruti Haasanhave lent their voices for thelyrics penned by the 65-year-old actor, who has also sung it.

The song titled "ArivumAnbum" (Knowledge andLove) will be released onThursday, a release from

Haasan's office said."The song penned by Kamal

Haasan will radiate hope andgoodwill among people. It willgiven energy for the people tobelieve they can tide over thisdisaster as a nation," the releasesaid.

Those who had crooned forthe song had shot their partseperately and technology hascome to the aid of giving it ashape, Haasan was quoted assaying in the release.

"Artistes always sow theseeds of hope. The song will

give us the strength to crossthis difficult phase," he said.

Gibran has composed themusic and he will release italong with Haasan onThursday on Zoom app, itsaid.

ITBP hands over 2,000 PPE kits,masks to CISF Delhi metro unitPNS n NEW DELHI

The Indo-Tibetan Border Police(ITBP) on Wednesday handedover 2,000 personal protectiveequipment kits and masks to theDelhi Metro unit of the CISF forprotection against COVID-19,officials said.

The ITBP has set up a specialfacility at its camp at Saboli inHaryana's Sonipat district toprepare fabricated personal pro-tective equipment (PPE) andmasks for the use of its troopsand for other organisations bat-tling the pandemic on ground.

These protection gears aremeant for frontline workers ofpolice, paramilitary forces andhealthcare workers and not fordoctors who treat the COVID-19 affected patients.

"Over 1,000 PPEs and anequal amount of triple-layer face

masks were handed over to theCISF metro rail unit today," anITBP spokesperson said.

"The PPEs and masks willenable the CISF to be preparedas and when they are deployedfor Delhi Metro protectionduties," he said.

The ITBP, with about 90,000

personnel in its ranks, is primar-ily tasked to guard the 3,488-km-long Line of Actual Control(LAC) with China. The DelhiMetro unit of the CentralIndustrial Security Force (CISF)is the largest deployment of theparamilitary in a single estab-lishment across the country.

IMA calls off proposed protests after meeting with ShahPNS n NEW DELHI

The Indian Medical Association(IMA) has called off its pro-posed 'White alert' and 'Blackday' protests scheduled on April22 and 23 following a meetingwith Home Minister Amit Shahthrough video conference onWednesday.

The doctors' body has beendemanding that the Centrebring a law to protect health-care workers from risingattacks at a time when they arebattling COVID-19.

According to a statement bythe IMA, the Home Ministerlauded the medical communi-ty for their work. He said thesafety and security of doctorsand other health care workerswas his great concern, thedoctors' body said.

"He (Union Home Minister)also assured IMA of a CentralLaw against violence. He

appealed on behalf of thePrime Minister to defer thesymbolic protest.

"In view of the assurancesgiven from the highest author-ities of the government, theIMA calls of the protest. WhiteAlert on April 22 and BlackDay on April 23 stand can-celled. We thank all our mem-bers for their unprecedentedsolidarity and support," thedoctors' body said in a state-

ment.Amid rising incidents of

violence against healthcareworkers on the frontline of thefight against COVID-19, theIMA had called for a nation-wide 'White Alert', asking doc-tors and hospitals across thecountry to light candles onWednesday as a protest againstsuch attacks.

The doctors' body had alsowarned that they will observe

'Black Day' if no action istaken by the government anddoctors in the country willwork with black badges onApril 23.

"The IMA has maintainedutmost restraint and patiencein spite of extreme provoca-tions. Doctors have beenabused, beaten up, deniedentry and residence.Obstruction to cremation is thelast straw that IMA can bear. "Ifdignity is denied even in death,our patience and restraint losetheir value,” it said.

“We demand a special cen-tral law against violence ondoctors, nurses, health careworkers and hospitals by anordinance," the IMA had saidon Tuesday.

Several incidents of violenceagainst medical professionalshave been reported from differ-ent parts of the country duringthe coronavirus outbreak.

UP police stationturns marriage venuePNS n LUCKNOW

Anil and Jyoti will alwaysremember how they begantheir married lives –- walkingout of a police station in themidst of a lockdown against avirus.

Their marriage ceremonytook place Monday on thepremises of Dheena policestation in Uttar Pradesh'sChandauli district.

Anil, who is from Mahujivillage in Chandauli district,and Jyoti from Ghazipur dis-trict tied the knot at a Shivatemple located inside thepolice station complex.

"It was a marriage with lim-ited means and five peopleeach from the groom's sideand from the bride's side werepresent during the ceremony,”SHO Rajesh Kumar told PTI.

Police were returning afavour to the couple.

Anil had helped them dur-ing a boat tragedy in February,saving several people fromdrowning. His role was laud-ed by senior officials of thepolice and the district admin-istration.

"Anil's marriage with Jyotiwas already fixed for April 20.However, the imposition of thenationwide lockdown and itssubsequent extension worriedhim. He then contacted us andsought a solution,” the SHO said.

Police reminded him aboutthe restrictions on gatherings.

2nd batch of 225 Iran returnees reachesLadakh after undergoing quarantinePNS n LEH

The second batch of 225 pil-grims who had returned fromIran reached here onWednesday in a special IndianAir Force plane after undergo-ing quarantine in Rajasthan,officials said.

The returnees, 208 hailingfrom Kargil and 17 from Leh,were airlifted from Jodhpur toLeh and were subjected toscreening by a medical teamon their arrival at Leh airport,the officials said.

They were evacuated fromcoronavirus-hit Iran by a spe-cial plane on March 25 andwere put under quarantine atvarious facilities in Rajasthan.

This was the second batch ofthe pilgrims who reached theUnion Territory of Ladakhwithin two days. On Tuesday,the first batch of 57 pilgrimswas airlifted from Hindon inUttar Pradesh to Kargil.

However, the returneeswould not immediately jointheir families as the authoritieshave decided to put them undera 14-day institutional quaran-tine at Leh and Kargil towns asa precautionary measure.

The UT administration hasthanked the Centre, the armyand the IAF for prompt con-sideration of the request for

evacuation of the pilgrimsfrom Iran and subsequently toLadakh, the officials said.

While nearly 600 pilgrimsfrom Ladakh were evacuatedfrom Iran in March, there arestill about 300 more pilgrimswho are stranded in the foreigncountry and 250 of them werereported to have tested positivefor coronavirus.

3 cops injured in clashover relief materials in WBPNS n KOLKATA

Three policemen were injuredin a clash with locals who wereprotesting in Baduria area inWest Bengal's North 24Parganas district on Wednesday,alleging that they were notgiven relief materials amid thelockdown, officials said.

Residents of Daspara inBaduria were protesting sincemorning over relief materialsand blocked a road in the area,they said.

A police contingent arrivedat the spot in the afternoon andtried to pacify the protesters,officials said.

The police urged the protest-ers to return to their homes andassured them that they will bedelivered essential items.However, the protest went on,provoking the police to "useforce", they said.

Soon after, a scuffle broke out

between the locals and police.The local people also hurledstones at the policemen, officialssaid. The police then baton-charged the protesters to bringthe situation under control,they said.

Three policemen and somelocals were injured in the inci-dent, officials said State foodsupplies minister JyotipriyoMullick said the incident hap-pened after a local councillortold people of the area that theywill be provided additionalrelief materials.

"After I came to know aboutthe incident, I enquired aboutit and found that all families inthe area have received the freeration being provided by thestate government. The troublehappened after the local coun-cillor who promised some reliefmaterials in his personal capac-ity failed to provide it to all thefamilies," he said.

TN govt announces intensifiedmeasures to stem COVID-19PNS n CHENNAI

With the city recording thehighest number of COVID-19positive cases in Tamil Nadu, thestate government on Wednesdayannounced intensified measuresto stem the spread of the pan-demic, including expediting con-tact tracing and testing thosewith symptoms like fever.

Of the 1,596 positive casesreported so far in Tamil Nadu,the state capital has 358 infec-tions, followed by Coimbatore(134) and Tirupur (109).

Chief Minister K Palaniswamisaid he has directed implement-ing a series of measures to checkthe spread of the contagion in thecity.

"Considering the prevailingsituation, I have directed steps tocompletely curb public move-ment in containment zones,

expedite contact tracing andsubject them to tests, and carryout coronavirus testing on thosein the city limits with symptomslike breathlessnes, fever andthroat pain," he said in a state-ment. Two senior IAS officialshave been additionally appoint-ed as zonal officers for this pur-

pose, he said.Further, catering to the front-

line workers in the battle againstcoronavirus, Palaniswamiannounced hiking the ex- gratiato Rs 50 lakh to the kin of suchpersonnel if they die while onCOVID-19 duty. The amount ispresently Rs 10 lakh.

Staffers ofOkhla hospitaltest negative

Those who hadcrooned for thesong had shottheir partseperately andtechnology hascome to the aid ofgiving it a shape,Haasan wasquoted as sayingin the release

For sign-on, shipowner and recruit-ment and place-ment service(RPS) agency willidentify the Indianseafarers forjoining a vessel,according to theSOP

"The currentallocation ofdepartments wasmade as per therequirementarising due toCOVID-19 situat-ion and the needto bring the situ-ation under con-trol," the CM said

As West Texas Intermediate(WTI) crude prices collapsedinto the negative territory in anafternoon of frenetic trading,far too many assumptions were

made about oil prices. Crude pricesplunged below zero to touch a historic lowof -$40.32 per barrel. Before anything else,one has to understand the basic nature ofcommodity trading, which is that, at theend of the day, a physical product has tobe delivered and one has to accept this. Theseller does not care what the trader or thebuyer does with the finished product. Now,WTI crude, which is produced mainly inwhat we call the “Texas panhandle,” isunique in the sense that it is delivered inone location, which is the town of Cushingin the US state of Oklahoma. In pre-COVID-19 times, the crude was delivered,the buyer accepted it and he/she carted thecrude away to a refinery for it to beprocessed. Cushing, with a crude oil stor-age capacity of around 70-80 million bar-rels, never saw storage fill up.

But these are not normal times, thestorage capacity at Cushing is almost fulltoday. And with the Coronavirus-imposedlockdown, oil consumption is minimal.According to one estimate, of the 100 mil-lion-odd barrels being used up daily beforethe COVID crisis, some 30 per cent is nolonger needed. No planes are flying; thereare hardly any cars on the road; there arefewer ships and less consumption of oil-derivative products such as plastics andother polymers. Global oil consumption,which was around 95-110 million barrelsof crude oil almost every day before thevirus hit, is now barely a third of previousconsumption, if not less.

Here is the critical thing to understandabout crude and its production: An oil wellis not like a water tubewell. You cannot just“switch it off.” Moreover, the physical char-acteristic of crude oil is more akin to tarthan petrol. While there are exceptions,Brent crude is particularly light and themost preferred one by oil refineries. Mostcrude oils are thick and if not kept at a cer-tain temperature and pressure — which iswhy many oil wells use steam to force crudeout — will quickly turn into a thick sludgeand at lower temperatures, solidify.

Simply put, “switching off ” an oil wellwill almost certainly make the crude use-less. Even if it recovers, it will cost bothmoney and time to do so. Most of the time,oil companies will need to spend monthsto redrill the same well. Thus, this limitsthe amount oil producers can drop. Mostoil wells can only reduce production tomaybe half, sometimes less, depending onthe characteristics of the crude beingextracted.

If Saudi Arabia and Russia could stopproduction, they would, but the fact is thatthey cannot. The same holds for shalefracking, which is popular in the US. Stop,

and the hydraulic fracturingwill close. So you cannot “turnoff the taps” for any sort of oiland gas production. And rightnow, production, even atreduced numbers, is far exceed-ing demand. While there are noproper estimates, over-capaci-ty is in the range of 50-60 mil-lion barrels per day, accordingto the most pessimistic num-bers.

You cannot just burn theoil off, that would just giveSwedish environmental activistGreta Thunberg an opportuni-ty to make it back into theheadlines. You store the oil butwith the world going into thesecond month of reduced con-sumption, the fact is that we arerunning out of storage space.

Almost every country hasfilled their strategic oil reservesto the brim and oil traders arerunning around across theworld, trying to find large stor-age tanks. So much so that old,dilapidated oil tankers are beingbrought out of mothballs andanchored just to store crude oil.Large fuel tank “farms,” as theyare called near ports andrefineries, are full. Farms arebeing rediscovered in thestrangest of places. There havebeen requests to reopen storagefacilities in Zimbabwe, forexample.

So with nowhere to storethe crude oil, what does abuyer do? He/she would obvi-ously try to get rid of that oil,to the extent that they wouldpay someone to take the oil. And yes, we could lookat trading algorithms goingcrazy but in essence, that isexactly what happened withWTI.

Now, other types of crude,like Brent, allow you to takedelivery anywhere. This is thereason why they were not hit bythe lack of storage capacity inone town. But any oil traderwill tell you that while youcould find maybe a couple ofmillion barrels of storage hereand another five million there,the world is almost out ofplaces to store crude oil — onland or offshore in super-tankers.

The “delta”, which is the dif-ference between the prices ofWTI and other types of crude,is too high to be sustainable.Therefore, people feel that alltypes of crude oil prices willcollapse, whether oil producerslike it or not. Already, Brentcrude, which fell 24 per cent inthe previous session, touched$15.98 a barrel, its lowest sinceJune 1999.

With nowhere to store theoil, the prices of Brent crude

may also go in the negative, ifnot this week, definitely by theend of the month. No matterhow you slice it or dice it, glob-al demand is not going torecover anytime soon, maybenot until the middle of 2021.Oil prices have slumped byaround 80 per cent this year asthe pandemic has spread acrossthe world. The viral outbreakhas caused fuel demand todrop by roughly 30 per centworldwide.

But is this a golden oppor-tunity for India? No. Our coun-try, too, is running out of stor-age space. There are no tankersleft to store crude, our strate-gic reserves are full and currentdemand is abysmally low. Sure,there could be a slight decreasein pump prices even with farhigher excise duties, but the oilbusiness, as we have known itfrom the time of the 1973 oilcrisis after the Arab-IsraeliYom Kippur war like so manyother things, is never going tobe the same again. What thismeans for the petrodollareconomies of Saudi Arabia andthe rest of the Arabian penin-sula is something that will nowhave to be added to the geopo-litical chaos that the virus haswrought on the world.

(The writer is ManagingEditor, The Pioneer)

It will be a huge deal for any large ForeignDirect Investment (FDI) to come into Indiain times when the country is in the midst

of a global public health emergency. This,while the economy itself is shuttered and hasshred to tatters Prime Minister NarendraModi’s ambition of turning the country intoa $5 trillion economy by the end of his sec-ond term. But the `43,574 crore ($5.7 bil-lion) deal by American social media giant,Facebook, which has acquired 9.9 per centstake in Reliance Jio, the country’s newesttelecom operator, is the second-largest sin-

gle investment after Reliance Industries’ $15 billion deal with Saudi oil majorAramco. The Saudi deal has now been put on hold, thanks to Indian authori-ties. Of course, with the collapse in global crude prices, it remains to be seenwhether the Saudi deal will still go through.

The partnership between Jio and Facebook will not only allow the telecomoperator to reduce its debt drastically, assuming that the funds will go to the com-pany and huge investments are made into next-generation 5G networks. It willalso transform other sectors such as retail, education, entertainment, media aswell as the payments industries in the country. And while a deal like this, com-ing at a time when the world is facing a crisis it has never seen before, is wel-come manna from heaven, it must be carefully scrutinised by the authorities con-cerned so that a monopolistic position is not acquired by Reliance in these sec-tors. This might make Mukesh Ambani bristle but it would also serve Reliance’spurpose if the deal is above board. The persistent accusations of favouritism,which have always dogged every move made by India’s leading industrial group,could be allowed to dissipate. This will also serve Facebook well. The Americantech giant has been trying to get a piece of India’s huge payments market throughits extremely popular Whatsapp messaging service. With anti-Chinese sentimentlikely to hit the Alibaba-promoted leader PayTM, the expected Whatsapp pay-ment service could get a leg-up on the competition. At the same time, with RelianceRetail using Whatsapp and its network of local kirana stores, this could trans-form the online retail space. Authorities as well as the Government need to ensurethat a level-playing field is provided for all players. It must also be seen that thehuge amount of money poured in by Messrs Ambani and Zuckerberg is not allowedto skew the market.

As healthcare personnel on the frontlineof humanity’s war against theCoronavirus fall prey to it daily, more and

more countries around the world are begin-ning to bank upon Artificial Intelligence (AI) andAI-powered robots to fight the pandemic. Eventhough the scientific community, technocratsand even techpreneurs like Elon Musk havetime and again warned mankind against thepossibility of AI and robots costing people theirjobs going forward and creating mass unem-ployment, right now they are partnering withthe human race and playing a major role in

the fight against COVID-19. In fact, robots seem to be a good option in fightingany infectious disease in the future. Right from AI predicting the spread, inter-preting and analysing data to robots replacing humans in hospital wards to savemedical personnel from infection, we are living this science fiction scenario forreal. For instance in the US, one of the major COVID-19 hotspots of the world,robots are replacing clinicians in hospitals, helping disinfect rooms, providingtelehealth services and are processing and analysing test samples from patients.In fact, doctors even used a robot to treat the first person diagnosed with COVID-19 in Everett, Washington. The robot in question was equipped with a stetho-scope to take the person’s vitals and a camera for the doctor to communicatewith the patient through a large video screen. AI systems are also helping doc-tors identify COVID-19 cases through CT scans or X-rays at a rapid rate withhigh accuracy. Italy and China, too, have used robots to deliver healthcare andminimise contact with Corona positive cases. In India, hospitals in Kerala, Rajasthanand Tamil Nadu have used robots for monitoring patients in isolation wards andfor delivering food and medicines to minimise contact with doctors. AIIMS, whosehealthcare professionals have borne the brunt of the virus during treatment, isnow mulling using robots in its Delhi and Jhajjar facilities where COVID-19 patientsare being treated. The Milagrow Humanoid ELF that AIIMS intends to use enablesdoctors to monitor and interact with COVID-19 patients remotely. Patients in iso-lation wards can also interact with their relatives from time to time through thisrobot. ELF can navigate around the ward independently and record the activi-ties in high definition video and audio. The advanced humanoid features eyeswith emotion and open application programming interface (API) for further devel-opment and customisation. There may not be the human touch but there is nolack of human emotion and intent. Milagrow iMap 9 is a floor disinfecting robotthat can navigate and sanitise the floors without any human intervention. It candestroy virus spores on floor surfaces using sodium hypochlorite solution, asrecommended by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The robot movesaround autonomously without falling while planning its own path.

Globally, AI is at the forefront of Coronavirus vaccine and drug research, too,as it has the ability to scan billions of papers and researches in a short whileand collate data, thus saving researchers and scientists a lot of grunt work andtime taken to come out with a probable cure. Perhaps, that’s the reason whyvaccine trials can take place sooner than estimated. However, the use of robotsin healthcare is nothing new and has been around for over 30 years. Robotshave been used to perform simple laboratory tests or highly complex surgeries,either independently or as an aid to a surgeon. They are also used in hospitalsand labs for repetitive tasks, in rehabilitation, physical therapy and in support ofthose with long-term conditions. AI has been around in the diagnosis of diseaseslike cancer and heart ailments. In fact, its use is enabling review and translationof mammograms 30 times faster with 99 per cent accuracy, reducing the needfor unnecessary biopsies. Plus, what about the health apps and wearable mon-itoring systems that we use? This is all AI-powered and we don’t even realisehow deeply-entrenched it has become in our lives. As science makes rapid strideseach day, more possibilities of the use of AI and robots in healthcare are open-ing up. AI and robots are even being used to provide end of life care to seniorcitizens and interact with those who live alone to sharpen their minds. The pos-sibilities are endless; it only needs a real human mind to unlock them.

Robot with human touch

Improve standards

Sir — The ongoing Corona pan-demic has badly affected theeducation sector. Examinationshave been postponed until the sit-uation improves. Policy-makershave thus advised teachers to useonline classes and mobile apps toreach out to the students duringthe lockdown period. The moveis welcome wherein students canconnect with the teachers virtu-ally and, thereby, utilise their timein academic activities.

However, it should be notedthat not many children and stu-dents can afford to connect toonline classes and mobile apps,for which internet connection isa must. It would be better if all thestudents can be reached out tothrough a common and popularplatform. Policy-makers shouldalso frame a detailed timetable forClasses I-V and VI-IX for boththe Central Board of SecondaryEducation (CBSE) and Stateboards and instruct the nationalTV broadcaster to telecast class-es live. This will benefit even stu-dents in remote parts of thecountry.

Varun DambalBengaluru

Tourism in shambles

Sir — Almost all industries havecome to a grinding halt due to thespread of the deadly pandemic.Among the worst hit are thetravel and tourism industry. Thevacation months of April and May

are considered the peak time fortravelling across the world, as it isin our country. The Indiantourism industry is staring atthousands of crores in losses. Forthis industry, which provides jobsto lakhs of people, directly andindirectly, the loss is terrible andappears insurmountable at the

moment. However, there is abright side, too. A full recovery forthis sector cannot be ruled outconsidering that this industryhad recuperated from pastslumps, too. Till then we musthope the situation stabilises.

M Pradyu Kannur

Chinese propaganda

Sir — This refers to the report,“Chinese rapid test kits ‘fail’!ICMR to vet” (April 22). It isshocking that the rapid antibodytesting kits, which India pro-cured from China last week forthe detection of the NovelCoronavirus, have shown aberra-tions in its reports. By manufac-turing and supplying shoddy anti-body testing kits, China has onceagain proved why “Made inChina” is so infamous across theworld. The production of substan-dard medical equipment is unac-ceptable, especially at this point intime when the entire world is fac-ing an unprecedented crisis.

It must also be kept in mindthat China is solely responsible forthe COVID-19 outbreak and thehavoc created across the globe. Totop it all, the country is conceal-ing its mortality rate from theworld caused by the pandemic.Isn’t it time for nations to boycottChina globally for its ceaselessimprudent conduct?

Tushar AnandPatna

P A P E R W I T H P A S S I O N

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op nionHYDERABAD | THURSDAY | APRIL 23, 2020

06

Oil wealth crisis

KUSHAN MITRA

The outbreak of Coronavirus is changing the nature of everything. What’s sure is that the energyindustry will never be the same again. But why did this happen? Let’s take a quick primer

Cricket in India has taken abackseat and there are nochances of the sport takingplace in the country in thenear future because of theCovid-19 pandemic.

BCCI president—Sourav Ganguly

It wouldn't matter where I am inthis world. I’m alone here andwould have been alone there (in India) as well. I’m gratefulfor the internet that enables meto connect with everyone.

Actor—Nargis Fakhri

As the two biggest economiesin the world, China and the USneed to lead the effort to fightthe Coronavirus. This is a timefor solidarity and cooperation,not finger-pointing.

Consul-General—Huang Ping

S O U N D B I T E

L E T T E R S T O TT H E E D I T O R

The reality of a world without work

The way we work is changing; it is an inevitable corol-lary of the COVID-19 pandemic. The lockdowns inmany parts of the world have already forced millions

to work from their homes. The extent to which the pan-demic will accelerate teleworking and the emergence ofa digital world remains to be seen. While the conceptof work-from-home is being bandied about, the ques-tion to ask is whether all kinds of work are really amenableto be done from home. Perhaps home is a “suitable”workplace for creative people like poets, artists and musi-cians as solitude is said to heighten creativity. But thenfor “raw material” and inspiration, they, too, may haveto come outdoors as often as they could. Overall, a lotof core economic activities are beyond the reach of apps,video conferencing, Artificial Intelligence (AI), robots andthe like. The range of work humans do and have evolvedto do cannot be contracted to the internet, mostly reliedon for “home working,” also called “remote working.”

The expenditure of human labour in the “widerworld”, as against home working, is what sustains humanpopulations. We are biologically so constructed that wecannot rely on laptops and smartphones for sustenance,

even though they are useful tools for ease of living. Thenature of work decides leverage and limitation and wherewe work and how we work. We are in the middle of arelentless pandemic and months away from a vaccine,thankfully COVID-19 is a vaccinable virus. To predict itsimpact on work and workplaces, and by extension, onour lives and lifestyles, is difficult at the moment.

G David MiltonMaruthancode

WITH NOWHERE TOSTORE THE CRUDEOIL, WHAT DOES A

BUYER DO? HE/SHEWOULD OBVIOUSLYTRY TO GET RID OF

THAT OIL, TO THEEXTENT THAT THEY

WOULD PAYSOMEONE TO TAKE

IT. AND YES, WECOULD LOOK AT

TRADINGALGORITHMSGOING CRAZY

BUT IN ESSENCE,THAT IS EXACTLYWHAT HAPPENED

WITH WTI

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

JiobookThe way our doctors are per-forming their duties in thesetesting times is exceptional.I urge every Indian tocooperate with doctors inthis fight against COVID-19.

Union Minister—Amit Shah

As robots take over frontline duties for COVID-19 patients,it is time to look at AI’s potential in healthcare

Facebook’s investment of $6.5 billion into Reliance Jio in themiddle of Corona crisis will boost confidence in the economy

Livelihoods in the lurch

THE WEST BENGAL GOVERNMENT IS DIRECTED NOT TOOBSTRUCT WORKING OF CENTRAL TEAMS ASSESSING

IMPLEMENTATION OF LOCKDOWN MEASURES.—UNION HOME SECRETARY

AK BHALLA

WHY HAVE SUCH TEAMS NOT BEEN SENT TO GUJARATAND UTTAR PRADESH? THESE ARE STATES WITH AHIGHER NUMBER OF CASES AND CORONA HOTSPOTS.—SENIOR TMC LEADER DEREK O’BRIEN

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

Globally, more than 25 million jobs would bethreatened due to the spread of theCoronavirus. The International Labour

Organisation (ILO) estimates that four out of fivepeople (81 per cent) in the global workforce of 3.3billion are currently affected by full or partial work-place closure. The US, UK, Canada and most of theEuropean and Asian countries have begun to reg-ister huge job losses, leading to a significant rise intheir unemployment rates. The ILO, in its reportCOVID-19 and the world of work: Updated estimatesand analysis, describes COVID-19 as the “worstglobal crisis since World War-II.”

The head of the International Monetary Fund(IMF) Kristalina Georgieva says the world is facedwith the worst economic crisis since the “GreatDepression” of the 1930s.

Most of the world’s informal workers, whoaccount for 61 per cent of the global workforce ortwo billion people, are from developing countriesand they would be the worst-affected in this scenario.There are severe concerns for low-paid and low-skilled informal workers in low and middle-incomecountries, where the industries and services have ahigh proportion of such workers as they lack anysocial protection or safety net. As per the ILO report,sectors such as food, retail, wholesale, business ser-vices, construction and manufacturing have expe-rienced falling production and losses in employmenthours and numbers. Combining 1.25 billion work-ers employed in these sectors, over one-third (37.5per cent) of the global workers are at high risk.

The Indian economy, especially the informal orunorganised sector, has been witnessing an unprece-dented slowdown in recent months. This scenariohas been aggravated by the lockdowns imposed bythe Government to stem the spread of theCoronavirus.

Such has been the impact of the shutdown onthe employment scenario in the country that a reportby the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy(CMIE) says that in the weeks after the lockdown,only 28 per cent or 285 million people were work-ing out of the total working-age population of 1,003million, which was way lower than the correspond-ing figure of 40 per cent or 404 million workersbefore the pandemic struck.

This indicates that in the first two weeks of thelockdown, around 119 million workers lost their jobsin the country. The CMIE report also indicates a sig-nificant increase in the unemployment rate in March,which at 8.7 per cent is way higher than theGovernment’s unemployment estimate of 6.1 percent in 2017-18. Understandably, these numbersindicate that the current nationwide lockdown hasbeen the biggest job-destroyer ever in the historyof the country. However, these estimates only revealthe impact on employment during the lockdownperiod and should not be considered a permanentloss of livelihoods. Many of them would be able toget back into the saddle after the lockdown is overand economic activity starts picking up again.

According to the Periodic Labour Force Survey(PLFS), 2017-18, about 90 per cent or 419 millionpeople are engaged in the informal sector, out of thetotal 465 million workers, in the country. The mag-nitude of informal workers in the rural areas at 95per cent is much more than it is in urban areas at80 per cent. This is primarily because 62 per cent

of informal workers are engaged in agri-cultural activities in rural areas as againsteight per cent in urban areas. This willhave a lesser impact on their livelihood asagainst those 92 per cent informal work-ers who are engaged in urban areas in non-farm sectors. It is these estimated 419 mil-lion informal workers who are at the riskof losing their livelihood and falling intodeeper poverty.

The analysis from the unit record dataof the PLFS 2017-18 shows that in urbanareas, about 93 million informal workersare involved in five sectors that are mostaffected, namely, manufacturing (28 mil-lion); trade, hotel and restaurant (32 mil-lion); construction (15 million); transport,storage and communications (11 million);and finance, business and real estate (sevenmillion). As many as 50 per cent of theseinformal workers are engaged in self-employment, 20 per cent are casual work-ers or daily wagers and 30 per cent aresalaried or contract workers without anysocial safety net. Due to the lockdown, alleconomic activities (with the exception ofessential and emergency services) relatedto physical labour at workplaces arebanned. Therefore, about 93 millionurban informal workers in these five sec-tors have been most hit. This is the largestinformal sector worker group next onlyto agriculture and allied activities and con-stitutes the size of populations greater thanmost of the countries in the world like theUK, Australia, Japan and so on.

Besides these informal workers, thereare many people involved in the organisedsector (unregistered firms) who may benot jobless at present but could find them-selves without a job after the lockdownperiod is over if enterprises refuse to takethem back. Many self-employed peoplelike street vendors and other small entre-preneurs may not be left with the capital

to restart their businesses and many maynot return from their native places.

Of these, the casual workers are themost vulnerable due to the unpredictablenature of their work and daily-wage pay-ments, which are highest in the construc-tion sector. So, all these regular salariedor contractual employees, those who arecurrently not working, and skilled work-ers and petty shopkeepers, who may be sit-ting idle at home or have returned to theirnative places or staying in shelter homes,may not be able to recover their jobs oncethe lockdown period is over.

The only silver lining in this dark jobscenario is the fact that the pandemic hascreated a boom for the gig economy, (suchas online delivery services) and highly-skilled professionals and technology inter-face sectors. However, their contributionto the workforce is estimated to be toominimal to substantially offset the over-all losses in jobs in the country. At the endof the lockdown, it is estimated that lessthan one-tenth of the workforce, those inregular salaried jobs, in essential servicesand businesses will continue to receivetheir regular income. There will be furtherlay-offs or trims in salaries or perks.

Going forward many Governmentemployees’ salaries could be reviseddownwards and in the private sector,adjustments would be done owing to non-revenue generation. However, some sec-tors like essential commodities supplies,insurance, automobile and healthcarewould actually see a rise in demand andrevenue, resulting in hikes in remunera-tion.

So, the Government today has thedual challenge of providing immediateassistance to informal workers, who havelost their jobs and to those who are alreadyunemployed and are looking for jobs.Apart from assisting informal workers,

who are migrants, their families need tobe considered, as they await the PradhanMantri Garib Kalyan Yojana 2.0 to berolled out soon. However, the big draw-back is that there is no proper nationallevel registry for people involved in infor-mal jobs or sectors, such as vegetable ven-dors, construction workers, rickshawpullers, auto-rickshaw drivers, temporarystaff and so on. There is an urgent needfor these registries to be instituted andupdated, using latest digital technologiesand innovations, along with a dynamicunemployment registry to provide directeconomic (universal basic income), health(universal coverage) and other necessarycontingency protection and security sup-port. The Centre must fast-track the pay-ment of delayed payments to each publicand private enterprise in this time of cri-sis. Further, the utility bills of the most vul-nerable must also be paid for by it.

Also, to ensure that each ward (84,420in 4,378 cities) and each Gram Panchayat(2,62,734 in 6,975 blocks and 706 districts)are fully equipped to serve the populace,each of them must be provided with emer-gency funds from the existing schemes likethe Swachh Bharat Mission and Jal JeevanMission. The Government must joinforces with its resilient private sector, non-profits, citizens and faith institutionswilling to steer through these turbulenttimes.

In totality, in the existing relief andmonetary aid, the masses have been leftout from the Government’s care, which isits primary duty. This shortcoming mustbe plugged as soon as possible and com-prehensive, pan-sectoral reforms for the21st Century must be undertaken to cre-ate the New India of our dreams.

(Mehta is Fellow at IHD and Co-Founder IMPRI and Kumar is Director,IMPRI.)

In the weeks after the shutdown, only 285 million people were working in the country asagainst the 404 million employed before the pandemic struck

analysis 07F I R S T C O L U M N

Epic leadershiplessons

HIMA BINDU KOTA

Like in any tough and challenging situation, COVID-19will bring out great leaders in all spheres — the

country, society, organisations and at home

BALWANTMEHTA

ARJUNKUMAR

THEGOVERNMENT

TODAY HAS THE DUAL

CHALLENGE OFPROVIDINGIMMEDIATE

ASSISTANCE TO INFORMAL

WORKERS WHOHAVE LOST THEIR

JOBS AND TOTHOSE WHO

ARE ALREADYUNEMPLOYED

AND ARE LOOKINGFOR JOBS.

APART FROMASSISTINGINFORMAL

WORKERS, WHOARE MIGRANTS,THEIR FAMILIES

NEED TO BECONSIDERED, ASTHEY AWAIT THE

PRADHAN MANTRIGARIB KALYANYOJANA 2.0 TO

BE ROLLED OUT SOON

As the Coronavirus continues to wreak havoc on the world, theWest is adopting some age-old Indian traditions like greetingpeople with folded hands and the use of ayurveda. As we bat-

tle the biggest common enemy of mankind, it is crucial for us to goback to our roots and give the world the much-required leadershiplessons that we have acquired from one of the greatest Hindu scrip-tures, the Bhagavad Gita, in the dialogue between Arjuna and his guideand charioteer, Lord Krishna.

Walk the talk: Not only in the Bhagavad Gita but also in the greatIndian epics, Mahabharata and Ramayana, leading by example is envi-sioned for a great leader. No matter how hard it is, a leader shouldwalk the talk. This has been beautifully brought out in chapter threeof Karma Yoga verse 21: “Whatever action is performed by a greatman, common men follow in his footsteps. And whatever standardshe sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues.” India was one ofthe first nations to organise a countrywide 21-day lockdown whichwas later followed by many others. This was quite a feat given thesize of the country and its population of 1.3 billion. Now, this lock-down has been extended till May 3. It is true that several sections ofsociety, particularly migrant workers, had to undergo tremendous suf-fering due to the shutdown but this decision had to be taken for thebenefit of the country, else the virus would have been uncontrollable.A good leader takes tough decisions when it is required. Indians col-lectively changed the global perception of being undisciplined and dis-organised and by and large followed the directives of the Government.Several countries and global organisations like the World HealthOrganisation (WHO) have praised India’s response as comprehen-sive and robust and have lauded our huge efforts towards preven-tion and spreading of the virus through increased surveillance, test-ing protocols and isolation procedures.

Mutual association: One of the most important concepts of well-being is coexistence and interdependence and a great leader shouldincorporate the same in his governance style. Man cannot survivealone on this planet, so it is his responsibility to take care of the envi-ronment, plants and animals. The shanti (peace) mantra from KrishnaYajurveda Taittiriya Upanishad shows the importance of mutual asso-ciation: “Om. May he protect us both together; may he nourish usboth together. May we work conjointly with great energy, may ourstudy be vigorous and effective. May we not mutually dispute. Om.Let there be peace in me. Let there be peace in my environment. Letthere be peace in the forces that act on me.”

All countries have to work with each other to solve the greatestproblem, the pandemic, which they are facing together. India has againtaken a lead in this regard in its fight against the Coronavirus. PrimeMinister Narendra Modi was the first world leader who called for col-lective action against COVID-19 at the SAARC and G-20.

Developing a sense of equanimity: Chapter 2, verse 48 of theBhagavad Gita throws light on samatva or equanimity. It teaches usthat a true leader performs his duties keeping the best interests ofsociety in mind. He might take some tough decisions, which maybe successful or could fail. But in either situation, a leader keeps hiscool. The lockdown was appreciated as a tough but necessary stepto stop the spread of the pandemic. But the Government was alsocriticized for the hardship suffered by the migrant workers. Accordingto a survey by Jan Sahas, a civil society organisation, most of thelabourers are worried about lost jobs, lack of food, illness and theinability to return to their hometowns and villages. The recent suicideof a labourer in Gurugram, leaving behind four children, wife and par-ents, is a grim reality of how these daily wage labourers are becom-ing victims of the lockdown. In addition, many small businessmenand traders are also suffering as their establishments are closed, withno revenue coming in and bills, loans and salaries pending. Biggerbusinesses with huge costs are also grappling with the problem ofliquidity. Professionals are worried as organisations lay off people.Leaders are faced with a catch-22 situation and having the virtue ofsamatva during these difficult times makes the difference between agreat commander and a weak one.

“This, too, shall pass,” is a Persian adage that shows the tem-porary nature of everything. The eternal hope is that this mayhemcaused by the Coronavirus will also become a thing of the past. Wewill go back to our normal lives but after learning very important lessonsabout respecting our freedom and responsibility towards nature andcivil society alike. And like with any tough and challenging situation,COVID-19 will bring out great leaders in all spheres — the country,society, organisations and at home — who would work harder to stayon top of things, explore and pursue innovative solutions to problemsand inspire other members to stay positive.

(The writer is Associate Professor, Amity University, Noida)

Not even a hundred yearsago, the water of theGanga river contained

the “Ninja virus.” Ninja, as we allknow, means warrior. Scientistscall them bacteriophages and thepeople of India call it Gangtva.

Gangtva is the main elementof the Ganga due to which thewater of the river never getsspoilt even if it is kept formonths.

There was a time when thisbacteriophage was found infour major rivers of the worldbut over the centuries, due to thematerial pursuits of mankind,the remaining three rivers andtheir civilisations vanished. Untilabout 20 years ago, this Ninja

virus was present in the six trib-utaries of the Ganga. Then webuilt a dam named Tehri anddiverted the confluence of twostreams, the Bhagirathi and theBhilangana, into the lake madefor the dam.

The result was that the bac-teriophage present here gotdestroyed in the still water of thelake. Significantly, Gangtva stillexists in the Bhagirathiupstream.

This element is also foundin the Alaknanda, Mandakiniand Pinder rivers. But it hasreduced so much in its strengththat its capacity to clean the dirtywater has become ineffective.And yet again, the reason for thischange is the stagnation of theriver water.

Nevertheless, some of thehistorical facts that still make usproud of the Ganga are thatMughal emperor Akbar used todrink Ganga water only and theBritish used to carry the Gangawater in vats during their voy-ages because it did not go bad for

months. However, in an increas-ingly scientific world, the scien-tific aspects of this water havenot been discussed too often.

In the shadow of theCoronavirus, we must try tounderstand its scientific side aswell.

Over a hundred years ago,there was a major outbreak ofthe dreaded cholera in the Statesof Bihar and Bengal. Such wasthe fear of the disease at thattime (because it was highlyinfectious and much like theCOVID-19 of today, they didnot have an effective cure for it),that people thought they wouldcatch the disease if they touchedthe corpse.

People were throwingcorpses by the thousands intothe Ganga as no one was willingto cremate them out of fear ofcontracting cholera.

At that time, a British sci-entist Hakins, who was doingresearch in India, feared thatcholera would spread every-where along the banks of the

Ganga river. But after a while henoticed that nothing of thissort had happened.

Intrigued by this phenom-enon, he researched and foundthat cholera bacteria could notsurvive in the Ganga water andsomething was destroying it.

As this research progressed,it was found that even the bac-teria of dysentery, meningitis,tuberculosis and severe diseasescould not survive in the water ofthe Ganga.

This research was going onto reconstruct the medicalimportance of Ganga but beforeit ended, the world saw theinvention of antibiotics, whichturned out to be the cure formost diseases known to man atthat time. This magical discov-ery pushed back the researchwork on the Ganga water.Ironically, over the ages, peopledeveloped antibiotic resistancedue to its overuse and senselessself-medication by people. As aresult, we increased the doses ofantibiotic that we consume and

accordingly the disease-caus-ing bacteria also increased itsstrength. Consequently, scien-tists all around world are facingthe biggest challenge of antibi-otic-resistant bacteria.

Now scientists and doctorsare once again looking towardsthe Ganga. But today’s sad truthis that the Ganga water aroundKanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi,Patna and Kolkata has not beenable to kill any bacteria. On thecontrary, some new and danger-ous findings are coming outfrom areas around Kanpur.

Scientists from the IndianInstitute of Toxicology Research,IITR, Lucknow, on the basis oftheir experiments on the Gangawater, claim that they havefound a bad bacteria, which isresponsible for producing diar-rhoea, blood dysentery andtyphoid. And this bacteria israpidly growing in the waterfrom Bithur to Shuklaganj inKanpur.

But these findings are inareas where the water is most

polluted and stagnant.Devendra Swarup Bhargava,

a scientist associated with IITRoorkee, has researched thatGanga’s Gangtva still exists andis present in its foothills. He saidthat the Ganga has the ability toabsorb oxygen. Some researchhas also found that bacterio-phages are also effective onsome viruses.

Dr Bhargava wanted to doresearch on the virus itself buthe was not supported by theGovernment in this effort.

Regarding the Coronavirus,Dr Bhargava claims that chlorineis most capable of protectinghumans against this virus.Therefore, its use should beincreased at the Governmentlevel. The Institute of MicrobialStudies, in its research on theGanga water at Rudraprayag andDevprayag, found that 17 typesof viruses were found in thewater here, which are capable ofkilling bad bacteria. However,the water in these places is alsonot considered completely pure.

The National EnvironmentalResearch Institute (NEERI) didhuge research on the capabilitiesof Ganga water, which foundthat it has the potential to kill 20diseases, but this report was notallowed to be published underpressure from antibiotic compa-nies and the scientists who wereinvolved in the research had togive it up.

The Corona crisis is a clearindication that in future, too,mankind could face manyunknown bacteria and viruses.We would not even know whatthey are and how many wouldbe deadly. Investment on virusresearch is needed today.

Nature has honoured uswith the most magnificent riveron Earth and we could not evenhandle it. All the scientists work-ing in this field believe that theGanga will enable us to fightevery biological battle if we justlet it flow.

(The writer is a military veteran and founder of

Atulya Ganga)

Ganga, an enigma waiting to be decipheredWith a history of curing big diseases, research in Ganga’s water can unlock a door

to the value of bacteriophage in our ancient river systems and spur fresh conservation efforts

HEM LOHUMI

HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | APRIL 23, 2020

www.dailypioneer.com

F O R E I G N E Y E

The British food system, aswell as individuals’ diets,need to be balanced. Priceis not the only factor.Change will not be easy.Our food system iscomplicated, as is theglobal one of which it is apart. Competing priorities— including price, animalwelfare, carbon footprintand consumer preference— produce inevitableconflicts. But somebeneficial effects couldfollow from our havingbeen forced to take morenotice. What we grow andeat are the result of politicalchoices.(The Guardian editorial)

FOOD FORTHOUGHT

HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | APRIL 23, 2020 money 08

CAPSULE

Kotak Mahindra’sboard approvesfundraisingproposalMumbai: The board of privatesector lender Kotak MahindraBank (KMB) on Wednesdayapproved a proposal to raisecapital through issuance of 6.5crore shares. According to thecurrent price of its shares, saleof 6.5 crore shares will entailraising up to Rs 7,500 crore.The capital raising may helpthe bank's promoter group ledby its chief executive UdayKotak reduce its holding in thebank to comply with a planmandated by the ReserveBank of India (RBI). As part ofthe bank's plan approved bythe RBI, the lender is requiredto get down the promoters'stake to 26 per cent from theover 30 per cent held as ofDecember 2019.

Apollo Tyresresumes operationsat Kerala plantNEW DELHI: Apollo Tyres onWednesday said it has partiallyresumed operations at itsKerala-based manufacturingfacility. "In view of the variousdirectives issued by thecentral, state governments onthe exemptions fromlockdown to be effective fromApril 20, 2020, and byadhering to the standardoperating procedures, theoperations of the company'splant situated at Perambra(Kerala) have partiallyresumed with effect from April21, 2020," Apollo Tyres said ina regulatory filing. Thecompany will provide updateon its other plants as wellonce operations are resumed,it added.

Triumph launchesupdated StreetTriple at Rs 11.13LNEW DELHI: British superbikemaker Triumph Motorcycleson Wednesday launched anupdated version of itsperformance street bike StreetTriple RS in India priced at Rs11.13 lakh (ex-showroom).The bike now comes with BSVI compliant upgraded enginemade with new styling. "As thecountry prepares to open upin a phased manner, webelieve the digital launch ofthe all new Street Triple RSwill bring in the much requiredexcitement into the market andamong motorcyclists,"Triumph Motorcycles India GMShoeb Farooq said in astatement. The 2020 StreetTriple RS reiterates Triumph'scommitment of bringing inclass leading technology andexemplary performance, headded. "The 2020 Street TripleRS is equipped with a host ofpremium and the best-in-classcomponents that make it theultimate street motorcycle anda potent track weapon," Farooqsaid.

Covid crisis: ONGC asksgovt to waive cess, royaltyPNS n NEW DELHI

State-owned ONGC has askedthe government to waive pay-ment of oil cess and royalty asplummeting international oilprices have meant that therate it now gets does not evencover the operating cost,sources said.

While the slump in interna-tional oil prices to more thantwo-decade low is good newsfor fuel consumers, it is spellingeconomic havoc on oil and gasproducers.

Sources said Oil and NaturalGas Corp (ONGC) manage-ment has told the governmentits average price realization ofUSD 22 per barrel in April isnot enough to cover even theoperating cost.

On top of it, the drop in nat-ural gas prices to a decade lowof USD 2.39 per million Britishthermal unit is leading to a lossof about Rs 6,000 crore annu-ally.

ONGC, sources said, hasasked the government to abol-ish oil development cess ifprice realized by producers isless than USD 45 per barrel. Italso wants royalty that thecentral government chargeson oil and gas produced fromthe offshore area to be waived.

The company has so far

maintained a capex of Rs30,000-34,000 crore in the lastfew years but the current pricesdo not generate enough sur-plus to cover even operatingexpenditure or opex.

Currently, the governmentlevies 20 per cent ad-valoremoil industry development(OID) cess on the price thatproducers get. Also,ONGC/OIL are required topay 20 per cent royalty on theprice of crude oil it extractsfrom onland oil blocks to thestate governments. The cen-tral government charges 10-12.5 per cent royalty on oil pro-duced from offshore areas.

Sources said the companywants the royalty charged bythe central government to bewaived for now.

It also wants the formula ofpricing domestically produced

natural gas at rates prevalent ingas-surplus nations such asthe US and Russia. The ratesusing the formula came toUSD 2.39 per million Britishthermal unit (mmBtu) fromApril.

This price is the lowest thatthe company will realize since

2010 when the governmenthad moved towards deregulat-ing gas pricing.

In May 2010, the Cabinethad approved an Oil Ministry'sproposal to raise the rate of gassold to power and fertilizerfirms from USD 1.79 permmBtu to USD 4.20.

Sources said OID cess,which has increased from USD3 to USD 13 over the years, iscausing a lot of stress on cur-rent and new oil and gas pro-jects.

OID cess is levied on crudeoil produced as excise dutyunder the Oil Industries(Development) Act of 1974.The cess is being levied oncrude oil from nominatedblocks and pre-NELPexploratory blocks only.

The OID cess was raisedfrom Rs 2,500 per tonne to Rs4,500 per tonne in March2012. The price of the Indianbasket of crude oil stood ataround USD 110 per barrelthen.

With the fall in globalcrude oil prices in mid-2014,companies were asked forreducing the levy and convert-ing it into 8-10 per cent ad-val-orem. The government hadchanged the levy of the cess to20 per cent ad-valorem inMarch 2016.

Sources said Oiland Natural GasCorp (ONGC)management hastold thegovernment itsaverage pricerealization of USD22 per barrel inApril is not enoughto cover even theoperating cost

Sensex rallies 743 ptson Reliance booster;Nifty tops 9,150 PNS n MUMBAI

Equity benchmark Sensex ral-lied 743 points on Wednesday,buoyed by robust gains inindex heavyweight RelianceIndustries as it struck a Rs43,574-crore deal withFacebook, amid positive cuesfrom the global markets. The30-share index ended 742.84points or 2.42 per cent high-er at 31,379.55. The wider NSENifty surged 205.85 points, or2.29 per cent, to finish at9,187.30.

Reliance Industries addedmore than 350 points to theSensex by soaring over 10 percent, after Facebookannounced an investment ofUSD 5.7 billion (Rs 43,574crore) to buy a 10 per centstake in Jio Platforms.

This deal makes Facebook

the largest minority share-holder in Jio Platforms, whichis part of Reliance Industries.

Asian Paints, IndusIndBank, Nestle India, Maruti,Hero MotoCorp and HUL werealso among the gainers, spurt-ing up to 5 per cent.

On the other hand, ONGC,L&T and PowerGrid ended inthe red. Positive cues fromglobal markets too liftedinvestor sentiment here, traderssaid. Bourses in Shanghai, HongKong and Seoul ended withgains, while Tokyo closed lower.Stock exchanges in Europe weretrading significantly higher inearly deals. Brent crude futuresslipped 2.16 per cent to USD18.91 per barrel. Meanwhile, therupee recovered from recordlow levels to settle higher by 15paise at 76.68 (provisional)against the US dollar.

OYO cuts 25 per cent offixed pay of employeesPNS n NEW DELHI

OYO on Wednesday informedemployees that 25 per cent oftheir fixed salaries will be cutand asked some staff to go ona four-month leave with lim-ited benefits from May 4 as thehotel rooms aggregator grap-ples with "economic pressures"due to COVID-19.

The company, which hasaround 10,000 employees inthe country, is a leading play-er in the hospitality industrythat has been ravaged by thecoronavirus pandemic.

The nationwide lockdown,which has been extended tillMay 3, to curb spreading ofinfections has also significant-ly disrupted economic activi-ties.

"We had to take the harddecision of placing someOYOpreneurs on a leave withlimited benefits (LwLB) fromMay 4, 2020, for four monthsuntil August 2020," OYO Indiaand South Asia CEO RohitKapoor said in a email send to

the employees which has beenaccessed by PTI.

Those going on this leavewill avail benefits such as con-tinuation of medical insur-ance and parental insurance,school fee reimbursement andex-gratia support, he added.

"In addition, to our col-leagues on LwLB, in case thereis an unforeseen medical emer-gency, we will support beyondthe insured amounts, if theneed so arises," Kapoor said.

All these colleagues remainintegral to the OYO family and"we hope we will be in a posi-tion to welcome them backinto full-time roles sooner

rather than later," he added. OYO is taking all necessary

actions to mitigate COVID-19's impact and ensure long-term success and sustenance ofthe business while ensuringthere are no job cuts despitethe economic pressures,Kapoor said. When askedabout the number of employ-ees it is placing on leave, itrefused to share numbers.

The company, however, con-firmed that the employees willreceive an ex-gratia amountequal to a total of 60 per centof the monthly fixed salary,paid in two equal instalmentsacross May and June.

Withdraw export duty on non-metallurgical grade bauxite: FIMIPNS n NEW DELHI

Stating that the COVID-19pandemic has hit all sectors,mining body FIMI has urgedthe government to withdrawthe 15 per cent duty on exportof non-metallurgical gradebauxite as its outbound ship-ments can bring in additionalrevenues for the exchequer.

"The spread of COVID-19pandemic has created extra-ordinary and unprecedentedsituation in the countryimpacting mining of all min-erals including production and

exports of bauxite from thestate of Gujarat andMaharashtra....

"...under the current criticalsituation the export of non-plant grade bauxite can play avital role in bringing addition-al revenue to the country'sexchequer," Federation ofIndian Mineral Industries(FIMI) said in a letter toFinance Minister NirmalaSitharaman.

Plant grade bauxite is con-sumed for manufacturing ofrefractories, abrasives, mono-lithic, specialized alumina,

cement, among others.Non-plant grade bauxite is

consumed in sectors like alu-minium metal extraction,cement industries and manu-facturing of zeolites.

The main market for exportof bauxite from India has beenChina.

However, owing to theexport duty of 15 per cent, thelanded cost of Indian bauxitein China works out to bemuch more than that of othercountries like Indonesia,Malaysia and Guinea, the let-ter said.

UP government exemptsinterest for three monthsPNS n LUCKNOW

In a major relief to all indus-trial and commercial institu-tions during COVID-19 lock-down, the Uttar Pradesh gov-ernment has decided toexempt interest on the amountpayable by these establish-ments under all heads fromMarch 22 till June 30, 2020.The lockdown implementedfor the prevention of coron-avirus pandemic has resultedin the temporary closure ofindustrial, commercial andinstitutional units located allover the world, India and thestate.

This has a resulted in dras-tic slowing down of eco-nomic activities, Ministerfor Industrial Developmentof the State, Satish Mahana,said in a press note.

In view of the financial cri-sis faced by these units andto spur the economic activi-ty in Uttar Pradesh, the stategovernment has allowedrestarting of operations bycertain industrial units, andhas also decided to allowexemption in interest ondues of industrial and com-mercial institutions of thestate for three months, theminister said.

India probes alleged dumping ofrolled copper products from ChinaPNS n NEW DELHI

India has initiated a probe intoan alleged dumping of copperalloy flat rolled products --used by auto and electricalindustries -- from China, Korea,Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka andThailand, following a com-plaint.

A domestic manufacturerAgrawal Metal Works Pvt Ltdfiled an application before thecommerce ministry's probingarm DGTR for anti-dumpinginvestigation on imports of"copper and copper alloy flatproducts" imported from thesesix countries.

The applicant has allegeddumping of the goods fromthese countries and requested

for imposition of the anti-dumping duties on the imports.The Directorate General ofTrade Remedies (DGTR) in anotification has said that on thebasis of prima facie evidencesubmitted by the applicant,"the authority, hereby, initiatesan investigation".

In the probe, the directoratewould determine the existence,degree and effect of any allegeddumping in respect of the prod-

uct under consideration fromthe six nations.

If it would found that there isa dumping and it is impactingthe domestic manufacturer, itwould recommend the amountof anti-dumping duty, which iflevied, would be adequate toremove the injury to the domes-tic industry. While the DGTRrecommends the duty, thefinance ministry imposes thesame. The period of investiga-tion is from January- December2019 (12 months). It would alsolook into the data of April2016-19 period.

The product under consider-ation is flat rolled products ofcopper, such as copper sheets,copper plates, copper strips,and copper foils.

PNS n TEL AVIV

India's largest software servicesfirm Tata Consultancy Services(TCS) willlaunch Israel'sfirst fully digitalbank in what isbeing seen as atrans-formativeinitiative thatcan impact thebusiness model of other sectorsas well.

TCS was selected by Israel'sMinistry of Finance to trans-form its banking sector bybuilding a banking servicebureau that would serve as ashared, plug-and-play, digitalbanking operations platform –powered by the TCS BaNCSGlobal Banking Platform - tohelp start-up banks launchtheir operations very quickly,the company said in a pressrelease.

"This initiative is seen as abid to boost competition in thefinancial services sector, sparkgreater innovation and

enhance customer experienceby democratising access tobanking in Israel by makingfinancial services accessible to

the consumer," therelease said.

"It will serve asan online finan-cial superstorethrough which anecosystem ofproviders of ser-

vices and products, such asinsurance and credit cards,can reach out to the new gen-eration of digital natives," itadded.

The yet to be named digitalbank is the first to receive abanking license in Israel inover 40 years and is to belaunched in 2021. The fullydigital bank will have no phys-ical branches and will provideIsraeli citizens with all theservices that regular brick andmortar banks offer, includingcredit, deposits, loans, accountmanagement, securities trad-ing and processing.

‘Inland logistics players' volume may fall 10-15%’ PNS n MUMBAI

Even as the government hasannounced some relief in thelockdown, inland logisticscompanies' volume is likely tofall 10-15 per cent in thefinancial year 2020-21 as theconsumption demand couldtake a longer time for recovery,according to India Ratings.

According to the agency,operational recovery for logis-tics players will be gradual andprolonged over 2020-21, asagainst a sharp V-shapedrecovery.

While the volume of inlandlogistics players is expected tobe down by 10-15 per centyear-on-year in 2020-21, thefirst quarter of the year islikely to see a 40-60 per fall asthe lockdown has been extend-ed till May 3.

"The volume decline will beasymmetric across the valuechain, with standalone truck

operators showing the higheststress, followed by inland logis-tics players, ports and ware-houses," the agency said.

It added that even if the gov-ernment announces somerelief in the lockdown, India'sexport-import trade mayremain subdued in the currentfinancial year, "as consumptiondemand could take evenlonger to recover, whileexports volumes remain mutedamid a weak global growthoutlook".

Also, the impact on prof-itability and cash flows isuncertain due to lack of clar-ity over realisations, costreduction initiatives taken byplayers, and government sup-

port, it said. The

agency further noted that thedisruption caused by theCOVID-19 outbreak will cer-tainly necessitate meaningfulrevisions to India Rating's basecase assumptions for 2020-21.

For 2021-22, Ind-Ra expectsalmost the entire value chainto recover above the pre-COVID-19 levels, exceptstandalone freight operators,who will continue to struggleamid low volumes andhigh debt.

"Despite logisticsbeing categorisedas essential ser-vices, we expectvolumes

to decline, given the first-mile(cargo evacuation from port)and the last-mile (supply-chainbetween inland containerdepots to company warehous-es) challenges. Severe shortage

of labour and drivers alongwith health safety environ-ment (HSE) checks at ports forforeign vessels may lead tocongestion at ports/depots,which may impact their effi-ciencies," it said.

While the arrivals of vesselswere normal in March 2020, theagency expects port volumes toreduce materially between Mayand June 2020 as global tradevolumes shrink.

"China and the US have amarket share of 18-22 per centtogether in India's total tradevolumes, thereby putting India'soverall port volumes at risk. Weexpect almost the entire valuechain to recover to the pre-COVID levels in FY22.

However, standalone freightoperators may continue tostruggle amid possible high-er delinquencies resulting

from high debt levels andpoor capacity utilisations," theagency said.

According to theagency,operationalrecovery forlogistics playerswill be gradual andprolonged over2020-21, as

against a sharpV-shaped

recovery

Welspun Indiaresumespartial ops PNS n NEW DELHI

Textiles major Welspun Indiaon Wednesday said it hasresumed partial operations atits manufacturing facilities atVapi and Anjar in Gujarat fol-lowing receipt of permissionfrom district authorities.

On March 24, the compa-ny had decided to temporar-ily close its operations withimmediate effect till furthernotice following announce-ment of nationwide lock-down to curb spread of coro-navirus pandemic. "In con-tinuation of our earlier disclo-sure dated March 24, 2020,we hereby inform that wehave received permissionsfrom administrative author-ities of Valsad District andKutch District to start oper-ations from April 21, 2020and the company hasresumed partial operations,"it said in a regulatory filing.

Under new guidelines, thehome ministry had allowedindustrial units in rural areasto resume partial operations.

‘Half of Frenchprivate-sectorworkers nowunemployed’PNS n PARIS

More than 10 millionemployees in France -- oneout of every two in the privatesector -- have been laid offduring the coronavirus lock-down and are now benefitingfrom an extended indemni-ty programme to weatherthe crisis, the governmentsaid Wednesday.

"Today in France there are10.2 million employeeswhose salaries are being paidby the state," Labour MinisterMuriel Penicaud told BFMtelevision.

Around 820,000 employ-ers, or more than six in ten,have applied for a socialsecurity programme thatgrants 84 percent of net payfor workers temporarily laidoff because of a drop in busi-ness, a number that isincreasing "day after day,""she said.

"It's a considerable number,we've never done anythinglike it in our country," shesaid. President EmmanuelMacron vowed that "no com-pany would be abandoned tothe risk of bankruptcy" whenannouncing the widespreadbusiness closures and stay-at-home orders implementedon March 17.

His government last weekraised its economic reliefpackage to 110 billion euros(USD 120 billion) andextended the temporary lay-offs programme to individu-als who employ nannies orcleaners who can no longercome to work.

Penicaud said entire sec-tors of the economy haveeffectively been shut down,with nine out of ten workersin hotels and restaurants aswell as in construction nowunemployed.

Kalpataru groupproviding mealsto 87,000 people dailyPNS n NEW DELHI

Mumbai-based Kalpatarugroup, which is into power,construction and real estatebusinesses, on Wednesdaysaid it is providing cookedmeal and dry rations to87,000 labourers and otherneedy people daily in view ofthe nationwide lockdownto control coronavirus.

Other items like soap,hand sanitisers and facemasks are also being distrib-uted.

"Our various group com-panies are caring for theneeds of over 87,000 peopledaily," the group said in astatement.

Over 37,000 workers arepresent on various sites ofgroup companies, while ithas roped in Akshay PatraFoundation to feed another50,000 people daily.

"Kalpataru Power is caringfor needs of 11,000 workersdaily -- 10,000 workers at itsvarious sites in India andabout 1000 workers at over-seas sites.

Apart from workers thecompany is also feedingabout 50,000 plus needyindividuals daily via theAkshay Patra Foundation,"the statement said.

Tata Steel raises Rs510 cr via NCDsPNS n NEW DELHI

Tata Steel on Wednesday saidits committee of directorshas approved allotment ofnon convertible debentures(NCDs) worth Rs 510 croreon private placement basis.

"The committee of direc-tors has today approved allot-ment of 5,100 unsecured,redeemable, rated, listedNCDs having face value of Rs10,00,000 each for cash aggre-gating to Rs 510 crore, toidentified investor on privateplacement basis," Tata Steelsaid in a BSE filing.

TCS to power Israel'sfirst fully digital bank

Follow us on@TheDailyPioneerfacebook.com/dailypioneer

ThursdayApril 23, 2020

ailed as one of thebest colonies inNorth Zone by theGreaterHyderabadMunicipal

Corporation, residents of theGokulnagar Welfare Societyin Tarnaka have been work-ing hard to keep their societyclean and green and do jus-tice to the tag.

Formed in 1989, theSociety has more than 300houses and 1,500 residents.The Society had joined handswith the GHMC to makemake the colony free of dirt,garbage and sewage.

Speaking to The Pioneer,Jagadeeshwar Rao, advisorymember, executive commit-tee of the Society says, “TheSociety was formed in 1989.Since its inception, we havebeen practising variousmethods to improve thebeauty of our colony. Byassociating with the GreaterHyderabad MunicipalCorporation, we are teachingour residents to segregate dryand wet waste. We areencouraging our residents toplant more trees around theirhomes to improve the green-ery.”

Jagadeeshwar Rao added,“The society has been suc-cessful in pursuing with theGHMC and the HyderabadMetro Water Supply andSewerage Board authoritiesfor developing the openspaces. We have been suc-cessful in keeping the colonyclean and green by involvingthe residents in SwachhBharat programmes. In fact,our colony is first awardee ofSwacch Colonies of NorthZone.”

He said that on everyRepublic Day, theSociety conducts var-ious activities forresidents. “OnJanuary 26, we cel-ebrate RepublicDay and conductvarious activitiesfor women andchildren. We havespecial sports eventsfor women and chil-dren. Towards the end,we conduct cultural activ-ities like Kuchipudi andother dance events toencourage kids. We havepeople from various back-grounds, cultures and tradi-

tionsand wecelebrateevery eventwith unity,”Jagadeeshwar Rao said.

He informed that thecolony members will go outfor Vanabhojanalu duringKarthika Masam. “Weobserve various cultures andtraditions together. We cele-brate various festivals toshow our unity. Festivals area great way to mingle withpeople. We conduct regularget together to share our hap-piness with others,”Jagadeeshwar Rao said.

The colony also has a largepark for people to relax inthe evenings. “Parks are thebest way to spend some qual-ity time and take in the freshair. Our children and seniorcitizens regularly visit theparks to spend their time.Parks are also venues forhealthy discussions on vari-ous contemporary topics,”Jagadeeshwar Rao said.

On first Sunday of every

month, theSociety conducts meeting todiscuss the development

activi-ties.

“On thefirst Sunday of

every month, we discuss thedevelopment activities andsteps to be taken forimprovement of the colony.We take stock of the ameni-ties and take the opinion ofsociety members. We alsohave various groups on socialnetworking sites and sharethe various problems facedby the colony residents. Wetake advice from our resi-dents to resolve various prob-lems,” Jagadeeshwar Rao said.

Not only conducting vari-ous sessions and awarenessprogrammes, the society alsoarranges regular healthcamps for its residents.Jagadeeshwar Rao says,“Health is important foreveryone and we are con-ducting regular health campsin the colony for the benefitof the residents. If we findany health problems duringthe camp, we advise peopleon the proper treatment.”

“The success or failure ofany society depends on itsmembers. It should be able to

identify the people withcommitment and persuadethem to be part of theexecutive committee andif possible, be the officebearers, rather thanchoosing people withstature that lack com-mitment. Our future goal

is to build a multipurposefunction hall in the open

place, leaving sufficientplace for badminton courts;having a bigger drinkingwater pipeline due to largenumber of apartment houses,train the future generation tobecome better citizens,”Jagadeeshwar Rao concluded.

t comes as no sur-prise that a world-renowned centerfor handloomsand textile weav-ing industry of

India, like most other indus-tries, is suffering terriblyunder the current country-wide lockdown. Covid19 hashit the heart of the handloomsector. The lockdown ineffect from 24 March tookeveryone by surprise, espe-cially this particular industry,which has now led to itsquestions of survivability.Craftspeople, who are, main-ly self-employed, and depen-dent on seasonal retail salesand direct orders, are bearingthe brunt of this pandemic.

Antaran, an initiative by

India’s oldest philanthropicorganisation Tata Trusts isbringing seminal changes inthe crafts sector, to beginwith, the handloom sector.Antaran focusses on hiddenhandloom clusters and hasstarted with four Statesknown for their rich culturalweaves viz. Assam (Kamrupcotton and Eri silk),Nagaland (Dimapur andPhek, backstrap loom tex-tiles), Andhra Pradesh(Venkatgiri — fine cottonand silk weave embellishedwith Jamdani, Zari) andOdisha (Maniabandha weftIkat in fine cotton, silk, andGopalpur weaves in Ghichaand Tussar).

In order to mitigate thehardships caused by this

downturn, beautiful hand-looms and weaves can bepurchased and the paymentcan be made directly to theartisan through the portal —www.antaranartisanconnect.in.

Sharda Gautam, Head ofCraft, Tata Trusts, says, “Ourartisans are enterprising andresilient and we need tostand by them in these tryingtimes. None of us has everwitnessed a situation like theongoing one, more so ourbrothers and sisters in theinterior of India. They do not need our charity. Theyneed our reaffirmation intheir art and craft and we candemonstrate this by continu-ing to purchase from them.”

With a developing base instrong entrepreneurshipskills, in order to becomeindependent brand owners,the artisans are now consoli-dating their business,improving their product cata-log, re-organising inventoryof raw material and finishedproducts. They are alsoactively trying to set upmicroenterprises to scale uptheir operations. At thispoint, they are trying tounlock their working capital,which has been blocked dueto buyers not being able totake deliveries of orders norgive any commitments due totheir own uncertain situa-tion. Therefore, it is need ofthe hour to support artisanswith much-required moniesthrough direct purchases, toavert and come out of thiscrisis with the least possibletrauma.

THECOLONY

MEMBERS WILL GO OUTFOR VANABHOJANALU

DURING KARTHIKA MASAM.IT OBSERVES VARIOUS

CULTURES AND TRADITIONSTOGETHER AND CELEBRATE

VARIOUS FESTIVALS TOSHOW UNITY

A COLONY WITHITS PRIORITIES

Residents of the Gokulnagar Welfare Society inTarnaka are involving in various developmentactivities to keep their premises beautiful andset an example for other communities in thecity, finds V SATEESH REDDY

in the right place

H

I

Buy, not donate, toSAVE LIVELIHOODSOF ARTISANS

COVID-19 killing the influencer market?re Instagram’s famous namesstill influential amid thepandemic? How are theyfighting economic issues?How long can they survivewith their throwback pic-

tures?Popular digital creator, Divya

Bopanna, who has also recently fea-tured on the cover of WOW maga-zine tells us that the influencermarket is adversely affected as thecollaborative pursuit has come to acomplete halt. The ticking needle isswinging on full-time influencers,hence high-fashion brands need tocome up with fresh marketingstrategies post the lockdown. Onthe contrary, Bopanna, an interior

designer by profession, is enjoyingthe break with no worries of finan-cial pressure. “I am glad we, as cre-ators, got a much-deserved breakthat is allowing us to save moneyand energy that otherwise goes intoshopping and shooting expendi-ture,” she informs.

Kavita Mahato, a fashion influ-encer with over 24,000 followers onher social media account, lovesposting pictures but fears the lock-down could get extended. Sheinforms us that brands and spon-sors are drying up, risking the influ-encer culture. “Running out ofprops, to being your own make-upartist, clicking self-portraits aresome of the real challenges we are

facing,” Mahato laments. She alsolays some emphasis on the recenttrend of glamming up for FaceTimephoto shoot. “Its a very innovatoryidea to keep our followers hookedwith captivating images,” she adds.

Highlighting the detrimentaleffects of COVID-19 on the influ-encer market, Esha Rao aka thefashionpsychic, says that there’s stillis a chance for the so-called contentcreators to survive this pandemicwhereas influencers depend mostlyon original content so they are like-ly to face hardships. “I am runningout of backdrops. Lighting is creat-ing a major issue as we lack techni-cal skills. With the weather gettinggloomier these days, it’s difficult to

shoot outside with natural lightingas well,” informs this managementstudent.

“We are fighting for our survival,even though there has been positiveprogress in our business sincethere’s no commercialisation”, saysDivya Pandey who is a lifestyleinfluencer. The work-from-homeculture is acting as an obstacle forinfluencers in creating content.There are battling issues of badinternet connectivity, reducedimage quality, etc. They are, howev-er, exploring live sessions and arereceiving massive response fromaudiences. The pandemic is, thank-fully, encouraging them to explorediverse genres.

A

Social mediainfluencers have

always had their waythrough every time

and season. Buthow are they faring

in times of thelockdown called due

to the Coronaviruspandemic?

SHIKHA DUGGALspeaks to some

of the leading social media

influencers fromHyderabad to learn

more about theircurrent lifestyle

We are fighting for oursurvival, eventhough there hasbeen positiveprogress in our

business since there’s nocommercialisation.

— DIVYA PANDEYLIFESTYLE INFLUENCER

Running out of props, tobeing your ownmake-up artist,clicking self-portraits are some of

the real challenges we arefacing

— KAVITA MAHATOFASHION INFLUENCER

I am running out ofbackdrops. Lightingis creating a majorissue as we lacktechnical skills.

With the weather gettinggloomier these days, it’sdifficult to shoot outside

— EESHA RAO, INFLUENCER

10

Hyderabad Thursday April 23 2020 what’s brewing

FUN

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

CALVIN AND HOBBES

l Each row and column cancontain each number (1 to 9)exactly once.

l The sum of all numbers inany row or column mustequal 45.

Yesterday’s solution

What if you are fired!ith the intent tocontain the spreadof COVID-19, theGovernment ofIndia with effectfrom March 25

announced a countrywidecomplete lockdown thatbrought as much as 70 per centof economic activity, invest-ment, exports and discre-tionary consumption to astandstill. Only essential goodsand services such asAgriculture, Mining, UtilityServices, some Financial andIT services and public serviceswere only allowed to operate. Itis said, this world’s biggestlockdown may have cost Rs 7-8lakh crore to Indian economy.This rapid spread ofCOVID-19 has not onlydisrupted the global econ-omy but also triggered apartial shutdown inmany parts of Indiafrom early March andan almost completeshutdown from March25.

The second phase ofall-India lockdown hasmade the economy fur-thermore worse andfirms may now haveto shut shop.Stating that thepandemic came atthe most inop-portune time forIndia whoseeconomy wasshowing signs ofrecovery after boldfiscal/monetary mea-sures, as mentioned byCentrum InstitutionalResearch. They havealso stated that thecountry again stares atthe possibility of lowsingle-digit growth forFinancial Year 2021(April 2020 to March2021).

If you are not worried aboutyour immediate survival in thecurrent national lockdown,then your next worry is howdoes this impact your employerand your future. Like mostprofessionals, your job is andwill remain your primarysource of income for the most

part of your life and thisunprecedented crisis appears tobe a major threat in the shortto medium term. If you are notworking in essential services,you have less work during ashutdown, leading to frustra-tion and anxiety. Here’s howyou can utilise the lockdownfor a positive impact on yourcareer and achieve careergrowth even in a lockdown, asyou prepare for thingsto swing eitherway.

Considering the global pan-demic and complete lock-downfor 40-days period, workersfired or dislocated by the coro-navirus may have all big ques-tions on their mind abouteverything from health careand unemployment benefits tofears of termination and coron-

avirus exposure.Many businesses, malls, cin-

emas, automobile companies,hotels, airlines, electronics andother retailers, publishing com-panies and bookstores, realestate companies, online plat-forms and even restaurants, aregoing to earn zero sales rev-enue during April. How aresuch companies likely to dealwith this scenario? Among

other things, by ini-tiating salary

cuts,post-

poning the date of joining ofnew hires, postponing freshhires and finally, by firingemployees. If you are a salariedemployee, your chances ofbeing in the line of fire overthe next few months, areremarkably higher. What is itthat you can do in this situa-

tion and be better prepared forit? Also, what are the pointsthat you need to keep in mind.

One need to go through thestages of grief in life —“Everyone deserves a grievingperiod,” “Life After Layoffs.”“For the first few days, don’tcontact anyone for new work,you’re going to feel rejectedand desperate and it’s howyou’re going to come off whenreaching out. It’s better to be ina position of confidence andpower.” But only allow yourselfa few days to mourn. “Oneneed not wallow either.”

If you do not have an emer-gency fund, start building one

immediately. A minimum ofthree months’ salary should

be set aside for this.Having said that, someemergency fund is bet-ter than none.

One needs to ensureto have a healthinsurance policy, overand above the com-pany health insur-ance policy. Doremember, if youlose your job, thecompany healthinsurance policy is no

longer going to bevalid. Hence it is

always advisable pre-vention is better than

cure.One shouldn’t get

obsessed in trying to fig-ure out a reason for your

firing. In situations, likethese there may be no rea-

sons other than the fact thatthe company wants to fire peo-ple.

You might wonder,didn’t the companyhave money even fora few extra weeks, tocontinue paying you.Maybe it did. Butcompanies don’t justlook at the past, they

will also plan for the future ofits business. So, they might beplanning for a huge slowdownin business post May 3rd, whenthe current lockdown ends.

Also, some companies lookat crises as opportunities towhittle down and become lean-er. It is always easier to fire

employees during a time of acrisis than otherwise. Who saidthe world is a fair place?

One must make sure thatthey have the hard and softcopies of all their personaldocuments in place. Theseinclude job contract, incre-ments, the offer letter etc. Also,one needs to ensure that theyhave erased all the personalstuff, if any, have on your com-pany devices, for that matter.

One must read their job con-tract carefully. Must be awareof the severance pay the com-pany needs to offer you, in caseif you are fired. Also, oneneeds to have recommenda-tions in place. Every companythat looks at hiring you isgoing to do a backgroundcheck.

In case if you are fired, doenquire if the company isoffering any outplacement ser-vices. Also, one needs to figureout, if there are any internaljobs available for which youcan apply. Be ready to move toa different location. These aretough times and a flexibility onthis front, will go a long way.

One needs to follow up dili-gently for the full and final set-tlement. Not every company isgoing to be fast about this.Patience matters!

If your finances are weak,talk to the company and figureout how you can access themoney you have saved regular-ly in the Employees’ ProvidentFund. This could be one mea-sure which could help at themoment.

In the time you are at hometry keeping yourself busy bytaking on the free-onlinecourses that are available thesedays. Figure out what is new inyour area of expertise and trylearning that. Google is a greatresource when used properly.

If you have enough money inthe bank and investments, thisis the time to sit and figure,whether you want to continuedoing what you have alwaysdone. Money is not alwaysabout winning the rat race, italways helps in making wisedecisions in life.

If you have lost your job andare stretched for money, try

living a frugal life. To startwith just go through your bankand credit card statements forthe last one year. You will fig-ure out, there are manyexpenses that you really don’tneed to incur. Also, try payingoff the loan with the highest-interest rate first.

This is a slightly tricky one.If you are fired, even though itwas no fault of yours, try hav-ing a story in place aroundthis, for the next recruiter whocomes along. Honestly, doesn’talways help on this front, goodreferences might.

But then ultimately oneneeds to find a job and getback to working and that iseasier said than done. For thatone needs to build a properprofile on LinkedIn. It needs tohave reasonable details of pastjobs along with good refer-ences of people they haveworked with. Also, one shouldnot hesitate in telling peoplepersonally or through thesocial media that they have losttheir job and are looking for anew one. Networking reallycan go a long way sometimes.Connecting helps a lot at thesecrisis times. Also, one needs tothink about their pitch. “Aspeople are getting more andmore inundated with apps andemails and everything they’retrying to keep up with, atten-tion spans are shorter thanever”. “Nobody wants to hear a20-minute diatribe.” Practicequick and succinct communi-cation, especially for your ele-vator pitch.

When interviewing for yournext role, “Never lie about get-ting fired”. It’s not worth therisk of your new employerfinding out. Be upfront, stickto the facts and leave emotionat the door. However, if thethought of that makes you toouncomfortable, then scriptyour thoughts and incorporatestatements like: “It wasn’t acultural fit” or “My boss and Icontinued to have differingopinions.” Or, like, you cansimply say the F****** word: “Ifelt like it was important forme to own that and that therewas power in owning my ownauthentic story.”

W SHASHIDHAR VUPPALAis an Independent

Researcher, IT Professional,Socio-Political Activist

In case if you are fired, doenquire if the company isoffering any outplacementservices. Also, one needsto figure out, if there areany internal jobs availablefor which you can apply.Be ready to move to adifferent location. Theseare tough times and aflexibility on this front, willgo a long way.

or the past few days,buzz about NagaShaurya playing thelead in AppatloOkadundevadu

director Saagar K Chandra’snext has been swirlingaround. According to reports,the untitled project will get offthe ground after the lock-down. However, a little dig-ging told us that this piece ofnews is far from true.“Shaurya and Saagar havebeen friends for a long time.They thought of doing a filmsometime back but it’s nothappening right now. Both are

busy with their respectiveventures now,” a source closeto the actor told us. WhileShaurya, who was recentlyseen in Aswathama, isattached to star in films ofSithara Entertainments,Northstar Entertainmentand East CoastProductions for theremainder ofthe year,Saagar iscommitted todo his next with14 Reels Plus.

— NG

11

tollywood

F

Hyderabad Thursday April 23 2020

AIDFLOWS for

Covid-19affected

elangana CMRelief Fundand CoronaCrisis Charity(CCC) con-tinued to

attract donations fromthe film industry onWednesday. Asian

Group, which holds achain of theatres and isalso into distribution,handed over a cheque ofRs 21 lakh to IT minis-ter KTR. Soon after,Rajasekhar daughtersShivani andShivathmika presented

KTR a cheque of Rs 2lakhs. “The state andcentral governments aretaking the right mea-sures to contain thespread of COVID-19.We have come forwardto do our bit in terms ofmonetary contribution.

We hope that the publicwill confine themselvesto their homes andstrictly adhere toinstructions given by thegovernment,” the duo,who’ve also contributed

a similaramount

to CCC, said in a state-ment.

Tamil actor Vijaywhose market in Teluguis on a steady riseannounced a contribu-tion of Rs 5 lakh each toCMRF of two Telugustates.

Gopichand, on theother hand, pledged adonation of Rs 10 lakhsto CCC. He has alsoagreed to sponsor foodfor an orphanage com-prising of 1500 mem-bers for the next twomonths.

T

fter making apromising debutwith HyderabadNawabs in 2006,success has eludedLakshmikanth

Chenna, as his subsequentefforts couldn’t weave magicakin to that of his maidenfilm. In a conversation withThe Pioneer, he admits thatlack of a super hit under hisbelt bothers him a bit“because success determinesfuture opportunities”. “AfterHyderabad Nawabs, I landedclose to 10 offers to do asimilar kind of film but Irefused, feeling that it wasnot correct to do same kindof film again. I would’vebeen in a better financialstate if I latched on to thoseoffers but I wanted to hopgenres. Which is why, I madeNinna Nedu Repu with AMRatnam’s son Ravi Krishna. Itwent through its share ofproduction hassles but was agood film overall. If it hadreleased now, its box-officefate would’ve been different.Nonetheless, its failure ledme slip into depression andfor almost two years Icouldn’t come out of

it. It took time for me torealise the importance offighting back, after all manylegendary directors had flopsin their careers as well. I hadto start all over again but I’mhappy that I’m still in thebusiness,” he recalls.

He is hopeful that his next,Commitment, will end hisdry spell at the turnstile.“Last year, a small film AgentSai Srinivas Athreya releasedand did good business. Infact, nobody expected it todo so well. So success andfailures are not in our hands.I believe if you make a gen-uine and honest film, thesuccess will follow. You neednot run after it. This is whatI’ve understood over years,”he explains.

Commitment, featuringTejaswi Madivada, AnveshiJain, Srinath Maganti andSurya Srinivas among others,has been written by Chennahimself. It’s an anthologydrama comprising of fourdifferent stories, with eachstory running into 35-40minutes. The director

informs that HindiNetflix drama

Lust Stories

inspired him toconceive theidea ofCommitment.“All the fourstories ofCommitmentare indepen-dent of eachother. Eachstory has a differ-ent title butCommitment is theoverall title for all thestories combinedtogether. Commitment as aword is carrying a differentmeaning these days. Manyare attributing it to sex. Thefilm, over four stories, willtalk about how a person iscommitted to love, family,society and career. It’s aproper commercial filmthough.”

Talking about Tejaswi’srole, he adds, “She will beseen as a budding actresswho faces casting couch.Dejected, she leaves theindustry for other industry.However, she encounterssimilar proposals over therebut a different word — ‘howabout a long drive’ — isused. What I’m trying to tell

as afilmmaker is that a person inhigh position expecting sex-ual favours is rampant cut-ting across industries, notjust in film industry. The dis-similarity being that a differ-ent terminology is used.”

Shot in Hyderabad,Zaheerabad, Kurnool andGoa, the film has beenwrapped up in 35 days, witha month of post-productionwork left. As a matter of fact,he also wrapped up a webfilm — Run for Aha — in flat 23 days.

“I invest a lot of time onpre-production. Before ourteam lands on the sets to

shoot, I’mready withthe boundscript, theshot divi-sion andlighting pat-tern. Actors, aswell, have a fair

idea of their lines asI conduct workshops

prior. I believe produc-tion should take less

time as it saves a lot ofmoney. Whereas for thepre-production, irrespectiveof the number of days youinvest, the expenditure willrun only in lakhs. ForCommitment, which is amedium-budget film, I spentaround four months on thepre-production,” he states.

The director is ready withthe script of his next as well.Continuing with his habit ofshifting genres, it will be asuspense thriller. “If not forCovid-19 outbreak, Iwould’ve been inpre-productionright now.The entirefilm is setabroad,” hesigns off.

YOU NEEDNOT CHASESUCCESS:Lakshmikanth Chenna

ALack of a super

hit under his beltbothers him a bit “becausesuccess determines future

opportunities”, tellsLakshmikanth to

Nagaraj Goud

‘Married women can still dream and achieve’nchor-actressAnasuya Bharadwaj,who played strongparts in Kshanam andRangasthalam,believes that her tal-

ent is yet to be fully tapped.Replying to a fan on the chal-

lenging role she played so far dur-ing a #AskAnasuya session onTwitter on Wednesday, she noted,“Nothing that challenging cameup yet (sic).”

To a question on what shelearnt during the lockdown peri-od, she pointed out, “That we

have done a lot of damage to thenature so it is doing the necessarynow. Just abide by. I hope we alllearn how to value and respectpeople and things .. irrespective ofthe fact that in abundance orscarcity.. (sic).”

On whether she is interested in

Tamil cinema, she said, “Actually Ido. Few stories came by.. butsomething or the other didn’twork out. I am looking fwd to youknow (sic).”

The actress also revealed aboutthe cause that is closest to herheart. “To make every married

woman feel life doesn’t end aftermarriage.. you can still dream..and achieve.. marriage is a boon..not a curse.. you will be a partnerbut not a slave/maid/babysitter/etc once you are married.Marriage should only better one’slife. (Sic).”

ooks like Niharika Konidela, who is yet to taste cinematicsuccess in Tollywood, is keen on shedding her girl-next-door image and experiment. “My next in Tamil is a roman-tic drama to be shot primarily in Goa. The director has

conceived a lot of romantic scenes on thebeaches,” she said. She was speaking in a

live session on Instagram recently.Last seen in Sye Raa NarasimhaReddy in a miniscule role, theactress-producer also wants to do

films in a hurry. “I’m not sure ifI can act post marriage; I’m nota Samantha. I don’t have muchtime and it is the reason why Iwant to sign more films and

web series after thelockdown

ends,” sheadded.

Niharika wantsto experiment

L

Shaurya andSaagar K Chandraare not teaming up

A

LIVERPOOL: Jurgen Kloppbelieves there is still roomfor improvement fromLiverpool despite theirincredible Premier Leaguecampaign, which is onhold due to pandemic.

The Reds were 25points clear of second-placed Manchester Cityand on the verge of theirfirst top-flight title since1990 when football washalted last month.

But Klopp saidLiverpool, who won theChampions League lastyear and have only lost onePremier League match allseason, could get even bet-ter.

“We will not change,that’s the first thing, butwhether we will be suc-cessful depends on whatother clubs are doing aswell because they have allthe chance to improvethings, do things better,” hetold Sky Sports.

“So I have no cluewhat the future will holdfor us. But we will notchange, this team is not thefinished article, and wehave a lot of space forimprovement, and wework on that.

“We have fresh bloodinternally coming through.We can improve with thisteam, which is great.”

Klopp does not believefootball should be “forcedback” after the COVID-19shutdown but admitted itcould have a positive

impact on the mood of thecountry.

“If we come togetherand train in groups of twoor five or six or eight, I’mnot sure when that will bepossible, we have to waitfor the government onthat. We cannot force thatand will not, because wecan’t, there’s absolutelynothing for that.

“But if football canhelp in some departmentswith lifting the mood, giv-ing something to thinkabout and to deal with ina different way, then wehave to start training at onepoint, but I don’t knowwhen that will be.” AFP

PNS n NEW DELHI

The numbers are heavily infavour of Mahendra Singh

Dhoni but former India batsmanGautam Gambhir says spin leg-end Anil Kumble was the bestIndia captain he has ever playedunder.

Gambhir has high regardsfor Dhoni and Sourav Gangulyas India skippers, but believesKumble would have been phe-nomenal as captain had he ledthe national team for a longerperiod.

“From the records point ofview it obviously has to be MSDhoni. He has won every ICCtrophy possible. He has done fab-ulously well, he has handled thepressure for a very long time.Sourav (Ganguly) has also donewell.

“But one person I would def-initely, would have liked to cap-tain India for a long time shouldhave been Anil Kumble. I played6 Test matches under him and

had he captained India for a longtime would have broken manyrecords,” Gambhir said on StarSports Cricket Connected show onthe occasion of IPL’s 12thanniversary.

“From the records point ofview Dhoni is right up there butfor me the best captain I playedunder is Anil Kumble,” Gambhit,who is now a BJP MP, added.

Kumble was appointed asIndia captain after Rahul Dravidin 2007 and led the side in 14Tests — winning three, losing sixand drawing five.

But his stint as captain last-ed little less than a year as heretired in November 2008, fol-lowing which Dhoni wasappointed as the skipper in allthree formats.

Gambhir also pickedMumbai Indians skipper RohitSharma as the all-time greatIPL captain.

“I think it’s Rohit Sharma. He has won the IPL four timesand his captaincy is all about

winning trophies,” he said.“He will end up being the

most successful IPL captains ofall-time as well, probably he willfinish with 6 or 7 titles under hisbelt.”

sport 12HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | APRIL 23, 2020

MUMBAI: Over the yearsAjinkya Rahane has facedseveral bowlers on differ-ent surfaces across theglobe, but playing againstEngland speedster JamesAnderson in his homecountry has been themost challenging task forthe India Test vice-cap-tain.

While insisting thatevery bowler in interna-tional cricket is challeng-ing, facing Anderson in

English conditions wasthe toughest for Rahaneby his own admission.

“(But) especially talk-ing about one particularbowler — JamesAnderson in England isreally challenging. Heknows the conditionswell. He (Anderson) isthe one,” said Rahane onan Instachat Live.

Rahane, who hasamassed over 4000 runsin Test cricket and has a

century in England, theWest Indies apart fromIndia, emphasised on theneed to be mentally fitduring the coronavirus-forced lockdown period.

"(At) this point oftime, it is important to bepositive mentally.Mentally, I'm visualisingmy cricketing stuff, bat-ting. As an internationalathlete, cricketer, it isimportant to be mental-ly fit," said Rahane. PTI

PTI n NEW DELHI

Swashbuckling India openerRohit Sharma believes the pres-ence of David Warner and

Steve Smith will make the tour ofAustralia later this year a “differentball game” for his side, which is alsoat its best right now.

India won the 2018-19 Testseries 2-1, their first in 71 years oftouring Down Under, but it cameagainst a depleted Australian teamwhich didn’t have Warner andSmith, who were both serving a one

year ball-tampering suspension.“I was looking forward to the

New Zealand series but unfortunate-ly, injury (calf muscle) happened atthe wrong time,” Rohit told IndiaToday on Wednesday.

“I can’t wait to go to Australiaand play the Test matches there.Australia in Australia with those twoguys (Smith and Warner) will be adifferent ball game,” India’s white ballvice-captain said.

For him, opening is a challengethat he has relished and a testimo-ny to that was his stupendous start

against South Africa at home.However, he has been ready for thejob since the 2018 Australia tourwhen the team management gavehim enough hints.

“I was told you might be open-ing in Tests as well. It was two yearsago. I was preparing myself fromthen onwards,” he said.

For him, watching the gamefrom the dressing room is no fun.

“You wanted opportunity,everybody wants to be out there inthe middle. I wanted to play and notwatch the game.

“When the chance came along,I was ready. There were some tech-nical aspects, I needed to be awareof,” he said.

Rohit said the Australia serieswill be an exciting one as thisIndian team is currently playing its

best cricket.“As a team, we are playing best

cricket right now, everybody wantsto take the game back to the oppo-sition. If it happens (amid theCOVID-19 pandemic), it will be agreat series to be part of,” he said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The time spent away from cricketwhile serving a doping ban was

nothing short of “torture” for him butyoung India batsman Prithvi Shawsaid it also made him hungrier for runs.

The talented 20-year-old was sus-pended by the BCCI in July last yearuntil November 15 for “inadvertently”ingesting a prohibited substance, com-monly found in cough syrups.

“It was a mistake. And the periodaway from cricket was a torture,” Shawsaid while interacting with fans duringan Instagram Live session on his IPLfranchise Delhi Capitals’ official handle.

“Doubts and questions arise, but Ikept the faith and belief. I spent sometime in London where I was working

on my fitness, as I wasn’t allowed to batanywhere. When the ban got over, andI returned to domestic cricket, I washungrier than before.

“I picked up my bat and realised Ihadn’t lost my touch at all. If anything,that time off made me a more deter-mined person,” he said.

IANS n LAHORE

Pakistan Test opener ShanMasood on Wednesday

called for patience and need togive players a long rope in orderto produce box-office cricketerslike Rohit Sharma, Jason Royand David Warner.

Masood was part ofPakistan’s home series winsagainst Sri Lanka 1-0 and theone-off Test against Bangladeshafter they lost in Australia 0-2in the five-day format.

Asked how Pakistan canalso produce box-office open-ers like India’s Rohit, England’sRoy and Australia’s Warner, hesaid: “There is fear of failurewhich is human nature. Theygot security over a long time.The England team started witha plan in 2015 and got result in2019 (by winning the WorldCup). They stuck to a core ofplayers.

“Consistency is veryimportant. We need to accept

defeat if we have to set a goallike that. As a nation we focuson short-term goals. Instantresults cannot be the way togroom players,” said the 30-yearold in a video conference chatwith reporters.

“Also these cricketers younamed got advantage of homecricket. We never got that.This is for the first time we got.We don’t get to play that often

also. For box office playersyou need consistency. We needto build players for a four-yearperiod.”

Masood also said he is notworried about being labelled asTest player, saying he has theright kind of people aroundhim to guide.

He also said this teamunder coach and chief selectorMisbah-ul-Haq is going in the

right direction and results willsoon start showing.

“Misbah bhai is trying tobring in new culture. Fitness isbeing given a lot of importance.During this lockdown alsoplayers are being worked on. A

lot of things is being done. Alsoculture is there...camaraderie isthere among players and Ihope as soon as cricket resumeswe can carve out a legacy forourselves. We hope to make amark.”

PNS n NEW DELHI

Even during the corona crisis andlockdown, a faction feud is raging

in the All India Chess Federation. Ina show of strength, the faction led byBharat Singh Chauhan conducted anextraordinary General Body meetingof the AICF through video conferenc-ing on Wednesday where it wasdecided to approach the Union SportsMinistry to hold the elections of theFederation under its supervision.

The GB also set up a five-mem-ber committee of senior players andofficials to look after day-to-dayaffair of the AICF. Members of thecommittee are: member committee ofVipnesh Bharadwaj, Naresh Sharma,Bhavesh Patel Neeraj Mishra andBhagyshree Thipsay.

The General Body meeting washeld on the request of as many 12 stateunits. It was attended by 44 membersrepresenting 22 affiliated units, whofelt that the Sports ministry shouldstep in to hold the AICF electionsbecause of the ongoing legal battlewithin the two factions of theFederation. The Madras High Courthad stayed the outcome of theFebruary 10 election of new office-bearers.

The 12 state units took the imi-tative to convene the meeting in viewof the ongoing faction fighting in thefederation and several arbitrary andillegal decisions taken by PRVenketrama Raja and DV Sundar,who have ceased to be President andVice-president of the Federation now.The meeting was conducted as perprovision of Section 11 of AICF con-stitution and Section 28 of TamilNadu Societies Registration Act 1975.Senior AICF officials. Member MrNaresh Sharma chaired the meeting.

The Madras High Court hadappointed retired Supreme CourtJustice F M Ibrahim Kalifulla asreturning officer to conduct theAICF elections. Justice F M IbrahimKalifulla duly conducted the electionsand declared Ajay H Patel as presi-dent, Bharat Singh Chauhan as sec-retary, Naresh Sharma as treasurer, MArun Singh as joint secretary, andVipnesh Bharadwaj as vice president.

After the new office-bearersassumed office, the High Court set

aside the election process on a plea ofRaja and directed to Kalifulla to con-vene a Special General Body Meetingto conduct fresh polls. Since thenAICF is in a mess and all its activi-ties have come to a halt.

The fact that only 7 associationand disputed officials like Mr Rajaand Mr Vijay Deshpande opposedthe meeting, showed that they don’tenjoy majority support and weretrying to muddy the water for selfishgains.

The meeting decided to probehow without any approval of theAICF Central council or GB, Mr Rajaand Mr. Vijay Deshpande tried tochange the bank signatories , prompt-ing the Indian bank, Chennai tofreeze the Federation account. Themembers felt that the it mustenquired as to how on March 31—within a day after illegal appointmentof Vijay Deshpande as Secretary,Sundar visited the bank with signa-ture of Deshpande, who is based inMaharashtra, when the country wasunder lockdown.

The GB also decided to restorethe affiliation of Maharashtra andRajasthan Chess Associations, anddisaffiliated Andhra Pradesh chessassociation for not paying the prizeof chess players despite severalreminders b y the Federation.

The GB decided that the recent-ly held election of the Bengal statechess association was illegal since itwas not conducted as per the AICFbye laws and the country's sportscode. The GB decided to disaffiliatethe Bengal chess association for notmaking suitable amendment s totheir bye laws as per the AICFconstitution and for not payingback an outstanding sum of`7.5 lakh to the Federation. TheGB decided to form an ad-hoc committee to run theaffairs of the associa-tions.

The members wel-comed the initiative byFIDE to resolve theongoing dispute issuewithin the Federationand decided to startonline program forcoaches, players andarbite.

PTI n LONDON

Former England all-rounderAndrew Flintoff believes the entire

Australian team was involved in theball-tampering scandal that rockedworld cricket in 2018 and then skip-per Steve Smith just “took the blame”to save his side.

Smith was suspended for a yearalong with David Warner andCameron Bancroft after being indict-ed in the sandpaper-gate during a Testmatch against South Africa in Cape

Town.“I can’t believe that the whole team

isn’t in on it. As a bowler, if someonegives me a ball that’s been tamperedwith, I know initially. One of the thingsthat Steve Smith did is take the blamefor everyone else,” Flintoff toldTalksport.

“Things like ball tampering havegone on for a long, long time and Ithink it’s just the degrees where youtake it. We were accused of puttingsweets on the ball. People put sun-cream on it, tried everything they can.”

Smith was also banned from tak-ing any leadership roles for two years— a suspension which has nowexpired.

The England legend said it is dif-ficult to believe that others in the teamdid not have a clue about what wasgoing on.

“Sandpaper is wrong, but it’s stu-pid more than anything. But I can’tbelieve that everyone in the team was-n’t involved in some way or another,”said Flintoff, who took 400 wickets andscored over 7000 runs in his career.

PTI n DHAKA

Star Bangladesh all-rounderShakib Al Hasan has decid-

ed to auction the bat he usedduring the 2019 ODI WorldCup to help raise money for thefight against deadly coronaviruspandemic.

Shakib, who is currentlyserving a two-year ban for notreporting corrupt approaches, isthe second Bangladeshi crick-eter after wicket-keeper batsmanMushfiqur Rahim to auction apersonal cricketing gear to raisemoney for the cause.

“I had said before that Iwant to put up a bat for auction.I have decided to auction the batI used in the 2019 World Cup.It’s a favourite bat of mine,”Shakib said during a FacebookLive session.

The 33-year-old all-rounderhad a hugely successful WorldCup in England last year, scor-ing 606 runs in eight matches atan average of 86.57, besidespicking up 11 wickets in thetournament and became theonly cricketer to score 600 plusruns and scalp 10 wickets in asingle edition of the World Cup.

“I had a good World cupwith the bat and ball. There weresome good performances espe-cially with the bat. I had used asingle bat throughout the WorldCup and even used tapes on itto get through games,” Shakibsaid.

“It’s not that this bat hasonly been used at the WorldCup. I have scored over 1500runs with this bat and had usedit prior to the tournament andafter it as well.

“Although I like the bat a lotbut I have decided to put it upfor auction with the thought thatmaybe it can leave some contri-bution to forming a fund dur-ing the ongoing coronaviruscrisis.”

The money raised from theauction will go to the Shakib AlHasan foundation.

“This is a very special bat tome, but my people are evenmore special to me,” Shakib said.

PTI n NEW DELHI

World Champion P V Sindhu was onWednesday unveiled as one of the

ambassadors for Badminton WorldFederation (BWF)’s i am badmintonawareness campaign.

The campaign provides a platformfor players to express their love andrespect for badminton by advocating andcommitting to clean and honest play.

Sindhu, an Olympic Silver medallist,said playing clean and honest is veryimportant in any sport.

“This message starts with one voice.If we as ambassadors can highlight this,then I think this will spread to more

players,” said the 24-year-oldIndian.

“You are playing thesport for yourself. You needto be happy about it. Youhave to play it very cleanand that is very importantto me.”

Besides Sindhu, otherambassadors include

C a n a d a ’ sMichelle Li,Chinese duo

of Zheng SiWei and Huang

Ya Qiong,England’s Jack

Shephard, Germany'sValeska Knoblauch,

Hong Kong’s Chan HoYuen and Germany’s MarcZwiebler.

THE HAGUE: The Dutch football fed-eration (KNVB) announced onTuesday its intention to call an endto the season, subject to discussionswith UEFA, following the govern-ment’s decision to extend a ban onlarge gatherings until September dueto the coronavirus pandemic.

“The professional football com-mittee intends to not continue play-ing the 2019/20 competition. TheKNVB will consult UEFA, afterwhich a decision will be taken,” thefederation said in a statement.

“The KNVB has not yet defin-itively cancelled competitions

because of financial difficulties in thefootball industry due to the coron-avirus crisis.”

Clubs and other stakeholders

will meet on Friday to discuss theconsequences of the decision.

There are eight rounds of match-es left in the Eredivisie, with defend-ing champions Ajax ahead of AZAlkmaar on goal difference.

According to the KNVB, match-es behind closed doors will not bepossible as they are consideredevents which require a permit andpolice presence. “There will be nomatches before September 1,” thestatement added.

The Dutch top flight and seconddivision have been suspended sinceMarch 12. AFP

AUS SERIES WILL BE DIFFERENT BALL GAME THIS TIME: ROHITAdelaide Oval is Hazlewood’s choiceif Ind-Oz series is held at one venueMELBOURNE: It’s “not ideal” but fastbowler Josh Hazlewood has sug-gested that the entire Border-Gavaskar Trophy be held at onevenue — Adelaide Oval — asCricket Australia is exploringoptions to save next summer’s Testseries against India.

A financially-weakened CA isdesperate to host India to save thebroadcast revenue from the con-test.

“The bowlers and batterswould probably be happy with that,it’s (Adelaide Oval) probably beenthe best cricket wicket the last fouror five years,” Hazlewood wasquoted as saying by the Australianmedia.

“It gives a bit to both battingand bowling, I wouldn’t mind it. It’snot ideal though. We want to getaround to all parts of Australia andchallenge ourselves on all those dif-ferent wickets.”

India are scheduled to playfour Tests, three ODIs and threeT20Is on their tour.

The T20 series will be played

ahead of the T20 World Cup,starting October.

The 29-year-old lanky pacer iscurrently out of the Australianteam and was targeting the now-postponed Indian Premier League(IPL) to impress the national selec-tors and secure his place inAustralia’s T20 World Cup squad.

“If we don’t play another gamebefore the World Cup it’s going tobe tough to get into,” Hazlewoodsaid.

“If an opportunity opens up,through injury or whatever, I’d takethat. The IPL was going to be agood opportunity for me in T20cricket, to hopefully do well forChennai and put my name forwardfor that World Cup,” he added. PTI

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Kumble best captain I’ve played under: Gambhir Pak need consistency, patience to produce box-office players: Masood‘T20 WC behind closed doors will lose charm’LAHORE: Pakistan batsmanImam-ul-Haq feels cricketmatches, including the T20World Cup, should be playedin front of spectators as thecharm isn’t quite there if it isheld behind closed doors.

“I personally feel T20World Cup, if it happens,should take place with crowdsas its charm is something elsefor players and everyoneinvolved,” Imam told reportersin a video conferencing chatfacilitated by Pakistan CricketBoard (PCB) on Wednesday.

“But this will be decidedby ICC and we will respect

that. Let’s hope for the best.We also need to ensure play-ers and crowd safety,” said the24-year old left handed bats-man. Imam said there were afew Pakistan Super Leaguematches behind closed doorsand it was strange.

“We played 1-2 matchesin PSL without spectatorsand it was a strange feeling. Sowe will respect the board’sdecision. But personally I feelit is better with crowds as thecharm is more. You need totravel in planes, stay in hotelsso I feel safety should alwaysbe top priority.” IANS

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